Tabletop Games Like Dungeons & Dragons

Key Takeaways

• Dungeons & Dragons has inspired various TTRPGs and video games, continuing to introduce new players to diverse worlds.
• Games like Pathfinder 2E offer new mechanics while still appealing to D&D fans, expanding options for TTRPG enthusiasts.
• Unique TTRPGs like Call of Cthulhu and Coyote & Crow provide fresh settings and themes for players seeking different experiences.

The modern game of Dungeons & Dragons has evolved to include a multitude of adventures with different classes, quests, and spinoff materials, many of which are tailored specifically for new players. Dungeons & Dragons also has crossover adventures with other media brands, and the success of the IP has prompted many companies to create their own TTRPGs or compatible game modules.

Dungeons & Dragons has influenced many aspects of the gaming universe, including numerous existing TTRPGs and video games, along with inspiring new ones. Even now, new games are being released to introduce even more players to these exciting and expansive worlds.

Updated November 12, 2024 by Kristy Ambrose: For players who still love their classic D&D but want a different setting, another variety of races and classes, or to experience another gaming system, there are plenty of options that step out of the medieval fantasy aesthetic.

Other choices include Lovecraftian horror, space opera, dark fantasy, and science fiction, along with various fanservice crossovers that play off popular media. It’s a unique and fun way to spend time with friends in a way that doesn’t involve an internet connection, which continues to ensure TTRPGs stay popular and relevant.

1 Kids On Bikes

A Small Town With D&D Rules

• Publisher: Hunters Entertainment and Renegade Studios
• Release Year: 2019
• Genre: Adventure

A Kickstarter project inspired by the setting of Stranger Things, Kids on Bikes makes the adventures of a mysterious small town the focus of role-playing adventures, governed by D&D rules with the 1980s movie aesthetic. Dungeon Masters and players can build the story and world as they go as part of the game’s cooperative progression.

The game isn’t set in the same place as the popular television show, but it has several fun modules and variations along with a compelling main storyline that comes with the starter set. There’s a Christmas edition along with variations that include Teens In Space, a science fiction RPG, and the Kids On Brooms, a module set in a magical school.

2 Pathfinder 2E

The Second Most Popular TTRPG

• Publisher: Paizo Publishing
• Release Year: August 2009
• Genre: Fantasy

Pathfinder, the game inspired by D&D 3.5, has launched its second edition. The new version of the hit TTRPG changes quite a few things to help make it run smoother. Some say that the combat of this version is a little more monotonous, but it still offers more than the original ever did and is still the first choice for games like Dungeons & Dragons.

The video games based on this TTRPG are also impressive, holding their own with the Baldur’s Gate series when it comes to character creation and storylines. Other aspects of the game that were changed are the XP system, multiclassing, feats, and races. Pathfinder 2E is a great addition for players looking to increase their number of TTRPGs.

3 Star Wars: Edge Of The Empire

D&D Combined With A Popular Space Opera

• Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
• Release Year: 2012
• Genre: Space Opera

The first in a series of three games that are part of a tabletop trilogy, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire takes place exactly where the title says. The setting is the Outer Rim, where the rule of law and the Empire’s presence can barely touch. As a result, the location is home to a lot of smugglers, shady dealings, and the locals and residents just trying to get by on their moisture farms.

The Core Worlds of the galaxy far, far away also appear in this game, since there’s organized crime everywhere, and some of the materials designed for this game can also be used with other games in the same series. Species in the game include Wookiee, Bothan, or even a Droid, along with many others from various expansions and related modules. Before running to the Smuggler class, also consider choices like Colonist, Explorer, or Bounty Hunter.

4 Mice And Mystics

Simple But Brilliant Concept Adventure

• Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
• Release Year: 2012
• Genre: Fantasy Adventure

When it comes to creative settings, this game like Dungeons & Dragons uses a simple, even mundane concept and makes it a perilous adventure. The quest is to make it through the castle, which sounds easy enough since it’s not a haunted or abandoned castle but the seat of their benevolent King. The twist here is that the players have to make this journey as mice.

The evil Vanestra is stirring up rebellion against the good King and has turned his loyal Knights, including Prince Collin, into humble mice. They have to survive all manner of perils, such as insects and the resident cat while uncovering the secret of Vanestra’s power and taking the realm back from her evil clutches.

5 Lords Of Waterdeep

Set In The Famous City Of Wizards

• Publisher: Wizards Of The Coast
• Release Year: 2012
• Genre: D&D RPG

The recent popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3 has revived interest in notable locations throughout the lands of Faerun. One of those locations is the bustling metropolis of Waterdeep, where the Origin character Gale makes his home. In Lords of Waterdeep, players use cards to place their various characters in different locations. They can also explore and trade to collect resources and information, with equal parts role-play and character-building as the story progresses.

The strategy and scoring system of the tabletop game is based on the “Euro-style” model, which means the winner is the one with the most points at the end. There are various ways to score, the most obvious one being completing quests. After eight rounds, the game is over and the winner is determined.

6 Shadowrun

A Dark And Dystopian Adventure

• Publisher: FASA, Fantasy Productions, Catalyst Game Labs
• Release Year: 1989 (1st Edition)
• Genre: Cyberpunk

Shadowrun is one of the many science-fiction games like Dungeons & Dragons on the market. It was published back in 1989 and introduced players to the world of cybernetics and crime. Today this genre is called cyberpunk and it has its thriving corner of the market.

In this game, players can choose to upgrade their character with cybernetic implants. Shadowrun still offers magic for those who want to play with a more fantasy style. Either way, this game is a must for any lover of roleplaying games.

7 Call Of Cthulhu

A TTRPG From The Realm Of Madness

• Publisher: Chaosium
• Release Year: 1981 (1st Edition)
• Genre: Horror

For fans of the Lovecraftian style of horror, there’s the ever-popular Call of Cthulhu. This game is based on the Lovecraft book of the same name and brings roleplaying fans into the realm of madness as investigators to solve crimes and discover mysteries.

One player takes on the role of the Keeper of Arcane Lore and acts as the guide through the story. This game has become popular enough to spawn multiple versions and is currently in its seventh edition.

8 MÖRK BORG

A Swedish Heavy Metal TTRPG

• Publisher: Free League Publishing
• Release Year: 2020
• Genre: Heavy Metal Music

The title means “Dark Castle” in Swedish, and much of the art is inspired by heavy metal music. The game is unapologetically rough, intended for adults who don’t mind playing through a dark, gritty type of story.

Sometimes it’s good to be bad, and MÖRK BORG encourages the best of the worst. MÖRK BORG is part of a genre called Old School Revival, which means it’s more like the vintage TTRPGs from the 1970s than modern versions of games like Dungeons & Dragons, keeping the gameplay rules flexible and based on D20 rolls. The website has most of the resources players need, including a character generator and creation sheets, in both digital and printable forms.

9 Blades In The Dark

An Urban Crime Fantasy In A 19th-Century Setting

• Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
• Release Year: 2017
• Genre: Dark Fantasy, Gothic

It’s not just a change from D&D for the setting and gameplay, it also focuses on stealth and intrigue as opposed to combat, tasking players with working their way up through a virulent criminal underworld. Players can choose between a variety of shady professions as a class, such as a smuggler or a thief, to build their gangs and destroy what belongs to their enemies.

The title of this game is a reference to the dystopian, sunless world in which it’s set. The atmosphere was damaged or destroyed in some cataclysm lost to time and history, and the city and everything else has been cast into total, permanent darkness. It’s set in a fictional city called Doskvol with distinct parallels to Victorian England, giving this a touch of the steampunk genre.

10 Star Wars: Age Of Rebellion

Ideal For Movie Buffs That Also Like TTRPGs

• Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games, Edge Studio
• Release Year: 2012
• Genre: Space Opera

Age of Rebellion is the second in the Star Wars roleplaying series after Edge Of The Empire. Both games share a few common modules, character creation sheets, and other materials along with having the same settings and rules, but in this case, it’s closer to the action players will remember from the movies.

Take on the role of a member of the Rebel Alliance with species like Mon Calamari, Bothans, and Humans, among many others, in the fight against the Empire. The game added more adventures, races, and professions in a veritable library of modules and supplementary materials.

11 Lancer

A TTRPG With Big Giant Robots

• Publisher: Massif Press, Dark Horse Comics
• Release Year: 2019, 2024
• Genre: Mecha, science fiction

Considering the popularity of the anime genre and how it’s overlapped with live-action movies, a TTRPG that included big giant robots shouldn’t have taken this long to launch. The original 2019 Kickstarter release consisted of little more than a rulebook but the Darkhorse collaboration, which was released in 2024, updated some of the finer points of gameplay.

The game is set in the distant future and the main characters are mecha pilots, but the tone and setting tend to be brighter and more optimistic than other science-fiction stories involving robots. Instead of leveling up using points, players reach and record specific milestones that make them and their mechas more powerful after every successful mission.

12 Twilight: 2000

Surviving Post WWIII

• Publisher: Game Designers’ Workshop, Free League Publishing
• Release Year: 1984 (1st Edition, with four additional releases)
• Genre: Post-apocalyptic, military, alternate history

This game was one of the earliest examples of hard science fiction and gritty, futuristic topics, and the template the writers and creators made would be copied by others in the coming decades. Twilight: 2000 resonated well with players that it was updated several more times and generated a spinoff entitled 2300AD in 1989.

The setting features a dystopian future that evolved from the Cold War mushrooming into a major conflict between Russia and China, leading to a war between the Warsaw Pact and the remaining members of NATO. Few other games had used these genres for role-playing games at this point, barely a decade after Gary Gygax had published the original D&D rulebook in the late 1970s, so the popularity it generated came partly from the unique hard-science fiction and military aesthetic.

13 Cyberpunk 2020

A Beautiful But Dystopian Future World

• Publisher: R. Talsorian Games
• Release Year: 1988 (1st Edition)
• Genre: Cyberpunk

This RPG brings players into the over-stylized dystopian future of 2020 with the quintessential 1980s style. High-tech weapons, performance-enhancing serums, and cybernetic enhancements all make an appearance in the setting or gameplay.

Cyberpunk 2020 features cloning and rampant artificial intelligence that will take the players for the ride of their lives. This franchise has spawned four editions to play through, each offering more of the classic Cyberpunk style.

14 Quests Of Yore

A Light RPG For The Whole Family

• Publisher: USAopoly
• Release Year: 2021
• Genre: Fantasy

Once upon a time, Pixar created a hit movie called Onward. In that movie, Quests of Yore appears as a stand-in for D&D. Instead of taking the idea and creating a crossover with D&D, Disney decided to partner with The OP Games to bring the fantasy roleplaying game to life.

The box set includes everything the Quest Master needs to enjoy the game with a group of friends, including a guide, cards, tokens, and sheets. Of course, the creation of the book is credited to Barley and Ian, the two main characters of the movie.

15 13th Age

Close To D&D Rules With Unique Character Customization

• Publisher: Pelgrane Press
• Release Year: 2013
• Genre: Fantasy

13th Age is one of the games on this list that is most similar to D&D. It offers a great RPG storytelling experience and can pull players into the story. It was created around the same time as D&D’s fifth edition and has even been nominated for awards.

One of the key features that set this game apart is its “one unique thing” feature, and in this case, it allows the player to create a character that stands out from everyone else. Players can build their version of a Marvel superhero or a LotR character. This can be used as a mechanical feature to help players out in a campaign or just be something quirky and fun to do.

16 Risus: The Anything RPG

For Those Who Think D&D Is Too Restrictive

• Publisher: Independently created by S. John Ross of Cumberland Games
• Release Year: 1993
• Genre: Creator-driven

Risus: The Anything RPG can be whatever players want it to be. Instead of skills and classes, Risus uses a system that focuses on character clichés. This feature makes the game hilarious to play and a real blast for any session. It also helps with creating characters in a few minutes instead of hours or even days.

This RPG is very family-friendly with how flexible the rules are. There are also a lot of ready-built campaigns to play until players can come up with their own. The best part about this RPG is that it is free to download.

17 Fallout: The Roleplaying Game

A TTRPG Based On The Popular Video Game

• Publisher: Interplay Entertainment
• Release Year: 1997
• Genre: Action Role-Playing

Modiphius has created a tabletop RPG version of the beloved Fallout video game series, published by Interplay Entertainment. Players can create their vault dwellers and traverse the wastelands to discover what happened to the old world in a game like Dungeons & Dragons.

If taking up the role of a vault dweller sounds boring, players can always take up the role of a Mr. Handy robot or even a super mutant. This game uses the iconic 2D20 system to help gameplay, though it might take a little while to get used to it.

18 Catacombs: Third Edition

A Modern Template For A Classic Fantasy World

• Publisher: Arrakis Games, Elzra, Schwerkraft-Verlag
• Release Year: 2015
• Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Dexterity

Catacombs: Third Edition is a dungeon-delving tabletop game. One player, taking on the role of the Overseer, controls the antagonistic subterranean forces. Meanwhile, a few other players try to marshall their skills, friends, and resources to stop them. The setting and lore of this game is a classic, almost satirical fantasy portrayal, but the actual gameplay and visual design are uniquely modern.

The Overseer organizes the monsters and their development and attacks, and as many as four other players attempt to thwart their nefarious plans. Once a player feels their powers or allies are strong enough, they can descend into the underground and defeat not only the random monsters but the final boss, the fearsome Catacomb Lord.

19 Betrayal At Baldur’s Gate

A Famous Location Touched By Horror

• Publisher: Wizards Of The Coast
• Release Year: 2017
• Genre: Fantasy, Horror

For those who like D&D-based games along with horror TTRPGs, Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate is a mashup of both. It combines the familiar setting of Baldur’s Gate on the Sword Coast with the aesthetic and tone of Betrayal At House On The Hill.

Eldritch monsters have mysteriously appeared to ravage and harass the city of Baldur’s Gate, and each character has a task to accomplish to stop them. Sometimes players will work together, which also means everyone wins or loses, but that’s only a possibility with the 50 possible scenarios that are included.

20 Bunkers & Badasses

Adapted From A D&D Spinoff

• Publisher: 2K
• Release Year: 2013
• Genre: Action RPG

Nerdvana has brought forth a new form of tabletop RPG in the shape of Bunkers and Badasses. Players of the Borderlands series might recognize this RPG from the hit DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep.

This DLC invented the mock variant of D&D. Even though it may be inspired by D&D, the Borderlands variant plays quite differently. Players can choose from any of the vault hunter classes from the first two games and go forth to discover their vaults.