Dungeons & Dragons
1974 · Tactical Studies Rules
The original fantasy role-playing game turned a referee, characters, and an open-ended world into a new hobby.
Battleward reference shelf · RPG catalog
Role-playing games, from the first dungeon onward.
Commercial tabletop role-playing games from small publishers and major houses. Browse the systems, settings, and editions that gave players different ways to tell stories together.
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Games across the decades
The year names the original game or the specified edition. A new publisher of a later edition does not replace the original publisher.
14 entries shown
Tunnels & Trolls
1975 · Flying Buffalo
A small-publisher fantasy alternative with a lighter approach and a strong tradition of solo adventures.
Traveller
1977 · Game Designers’ Workshop
Character careers, starships, trade, and countless worlds make the setting as much a toolkit as a game.
RuneQuest
1978 · Chaosium
Skill-based play and a richly imagined mythic world distinguish it from class-and-level fantasy.
Call of Cthulhu
1981 · Chaosium
Investigators face fragile minds and dangerous knowledge; mysteries matter more than winning fights.
Universe
1981 · SPI
SPI’s ambitious science-fiction RPG offers a dense framework for characters and imagined worlds.
Champions
1981 · Hero Games
Point-built powers made superhero creation a game in itself, with flexible effects rather than fixed archetypes.
GURPS
1986 · Steve Jackson Games
A single core system supports historical, fantasy, science-fiction, and modern campaigns.
Vampire: The Masquerade
1991 · White Wolf
A modern gothic game that put character relationships and identity at the center of play.
FATE
2003 · Evil Hat Productions
Aspects let players invoke character traits and circumstances directly in the fiction.
Pathfinder
2009 · Paizo
A richly supported fantasy system built from the D&D 3.5 tradition; later editions have their own mechanics.
Blades in the Dark
2016 · Evil Hat Productions
Heists, flashbacks, and faction pressure make consequences and momentum part of the campaign engine.
Starfinder
2017 · Paizo
A standalone spacefaring RPG that brought Pathfinder-style adventure to starships and alien worlds.
ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game
2019 · Free League Publishing
Cinematic scenarios and campaign play turn stress, scarce resources, and lethal uncertainty into table tension.
A curated starting catalog, expanding over time. Entries identify the named release; later editions may have different publishers and dates.