Games
Enjoy a classic or learn a new way to play with an experienced guide at the helm.
Dungeons & Dragons
The world’s most popular roleplaying game
“Dungeons & Dragons is an imaginative storytelling game where anything can happen. You decide what kind of hero you want to be: challenge rampaging monsters, plan a heist, kidnap a noble, or save the world! “- D&D Beyond
Dungeons & Dragons was my first exposure to roleplaying games over 20 years ago. I’ve been an avid player ever since. With its roots in miniature wargaming, D&D will always feature stylized fantasy combat, but each group emphasizes storytelling, interactive roleplay, and tactical play to varying degrees.
There are too many D&D campaign settings for me to list here - but here’s some of the published ones that I own:
Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk (high fantasy, default D&D settings)
Middle Earth (low fantasy, Lord of the Rings)
Spelljammer (quirky fantasy IN SPAAAACCE!)
Eberron (steampunk + magic technology)
Crooked Moon, Grim Hollow (dark fantasy / horror)
Humblewood (cute animal-folk heroes)
Loot Tavern / Heliana’s (monster hunting)
Dragonbane
Fast and furious mirth and mayhem“Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game full of magic, mystery, and adventure. It is designed from the ground up to facilitate fast and furious play … with room for laughs at the table, while still offering brutal challenges for the adventurers. We call this playstyle ‘mirth and mayhem roleplaying’ – great for long campaigns, but also perfect for a one-shot.” - freeleaguepublishing.com
This game is the most excited I’ve been for an RPG release in recent memory. Dragonbane combines the best bits of old-school D&D and RuneQuest with clever innovations from modern indie games.
The fast-paced sessions can be equal parts Tolkien, Lovecraft, and Monty Python without missing a beat, which is exactly my sweet spot for a great time at the table.
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire
Cinematic action in a galaxy far, far away“Ply your trade as a smuggler in the Outer Rim, collect bounties on the scum that live in the shadows of Coruscant, or try to establish a new colony on a planet beneath the Empire’s notice…” - fantasyflightgames.com
Some of my fondest roleplaying memories center on a raggedy crew of ruffians making shady deals and pulling off narrow escapes on the Outer Rim.
There have been a few influential RPGs set in the galaxy far, far away; my favorite is Edge of the Empire. Its unique dice system creates cinematic scenes with plenty of player input.
Sentinel Comics
Leap into a comic book as a custom superhero“In Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game, you and your friends play as comic-book heroes – either from the pages of Sentinel Comics or from your own imagination! Join forces against terrible villains and fight in dangerous environments…” - GreaterThanGames
The ultimate superhero fantasy is to make your own original hero, join a new hero team, and face off against your own rogues gallery of villains. Sentinel Comics RPG is built for precisely that purpose, delivering a comic book’s rising action and dramatic payoff every session.
Daggerheart
Story-first fantasy from the team at Critical Role“Daggerheart is a system where GMs and players share in narrative worldbuilding, and every choice matters as the adventure hangs in the balance between hope and fear!” - Daggerheart.com
One of the newest games on my list, Daggerheart shares foundational pillars with D&D (combat, exploration, and interaction), but the dials for drama have been turned way up.
Its emphasis on giving narrative control to the players is perfect for improv enthusiasts and ‘theater kids’ of all ages.
Fate Core
A flexible system that can support any world you dream up“Have you always wanted to play a post-apocalyptic spaghetti western with tentacle monsters? Swords and sorcery in space? Wish there was a game based on your favorite series of books, film, or television, but it never happened? … Fate Core is a game about proactive, capable people who lead dramatic lives.” - evilhat.com
Fate is my go-to for any genre or campaign ideas that go off the beaten path.
In a recent Fate game, a ragtag crew of cyberpunk antiheros faced down a conspiracy involving massive shapeshifting space bugs and the cruel overlords of a Mars colony called Elysium.
Step in to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien using adapted 5E rulesLord of the Rings
“It is the year 2965 of the Third Age and the Shadow is returning. Twenty-four years ago, an alliance of Elves, Men, and Dwarves defeated a horde of Orcs and Wild Wolves, under a sky darkened by Giant Bats, inaugurating a new era of prosperity for the Free Peoples. But twenty years is a long time for peace to last, and in many dark corners of the earth a shadow is lengthening once again...” - freeleaguepublishing.com
It’s my first and truest love in all of fantasy combined with my first and truest love in tabletop roleplaying.
Lord of the Rings RPG adapts D&D with system overhauls for classes, species, spells, and even skills to evoke the low magic, high stakes, and rich texture of Middle Earth.
Quest
Less math, easy to learn and fast to play “Quest uses rules that are relaxed and flexible … [and] breaks from the rigid traditions of other roleplaying games. We’ll help you create a character that sounds fun and interesting to you, without putting restrictions on your identity or imagination.” - adventure.game
Since it works great for shorter attention spans and those who are math averse, I’ve had a lot of success running Quest for kids that weren’t ready yet for D&D. But adults can appreciate its plain language rules and quick action resolution just as much.
Pirate Borg
Scurvy ridden swashbuckling on the Dark Caribbean
”Inspired by history, fantasy, horror and rum. Your cutlass & flintlock won’t save you from the hordes of skeletons, the Kraken, or even your own crew.” - freeleaguepublishing.com
This game is about being a greedy, filthy, scoundrel. Appropriate for teens and adults.
Find a ship. Recruit some crew. Raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer your weasley black guts out. Get a bigger ship. Kill some things. Upgrade your ship. Sneak into a fort. Raid a port. Acquire treasure. Bury said treasure. Become infamous. Search for someone else’s treasure. Flee in terror from unfathomable creatures from the deep. Drink all of the rum. Die on the high seas. Roll a new character and do it all again.
Frontier Scum
Helter-skelter gunfights in a weird wild west“A rough-and-tumble world of insatiable greed where scum live one slug from the grave. Inspired by such things as El Topo, Dead Man, and Bone Tomahawk.” - freeleaguepublishing.com
This game is about being a violent outlaw. Appropriate for teens and adults, but I’ve adapted it to play with a younger group successfully.
A game about about wanted outlaws making their mark on an unreal Lost Frontier. Probably getting shot before having the chance to shoot.
Crooked Moon
Haunted D&D with the witchiest vibes
“With the Crooked Moon, you can brave the dark wood, beware the witching hour, and weave your own dreadful folktale!” - avantris.com
Drawing inspiration from grim folklore, legendary horror films, and classic Halloween aesthetics, Crooked Moon is a haunted setting and rules expansion that warps D&D to terrify players (or provide stark contrast to their less-than-spooky antics).
My group of teen players that recently started a Crooked Moon campaign are absolutely reveling in the witchy vibes as they attempt to rescue wayward souls aboard a ghostly train beset by shadowy forces of corruption and ruin.
Lasers & Feelings
The one-page RPG that can morph in to anything “You are the crew of the interstellar scout ship Raptor. Your mission is to explore uncharted regions of space, deal with aliens both friendly and deadly, and defend the Consortium worlds against space dangers.” - John Harper, designer
A tabletop RPG ruleset that fits entirely on a single page! This system is great for playing a fast and loose Star Trek-inspired adventure. But its true strength is that it is infinitely hack-able to make it in to any genre or setting you can think of, which the designer has freely licensed anyone to do.
There’s hundreds of hacks, from Muggles & Magic Stuff (wizarding school) to Tights & Fights (pro wrestling). I’ve even made my own Pokémon and Kirby’s Dreamland hacks for one-shot adventures.
Grim Hollow
Dark fantasy pain and pathos in D&D“A godless, unforgiving, wartorn world filled with curses, plagues and ghoulish creatures; Grim Hollow is home to this dark-fantasy fuelled, Fifth Edition compatible setting.” - ghostfiregaming.com
The player options and monsters from this setting are so cool and evocative that they have a way of bleeding over (pun intended) into my D&D games in other settings. One player character in a Grim-Hollow-tinged Forgotten Realms game is cursed with vampirism three different ways and is still questing to possibly cure herself. One of her fellow adventurers is a monster hunter with a particular disdain for the undead. I’m sure it’ll be fine!
I look forward to someday running a game for teens and/or adults fully set in Grim Hollow’s Etharis setting, with those sorts of dark transformations and moral quandaries threatening the players at every turn.
…and more!
I'm always learning new systems and picking up unique campaign settings.