Kult is a contemporary horror role-playing game originally created by Gunilla Jonsson and Michael Petersén with illustrations by Nils Gulliksson, first published in Sweden by Äventyrsspel in 1991. Kult is notable for its philosophical and religious depth as well as for its mature and controversial content.
An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published by individuals or small press publishers, in contrast to games published by large corporations. Indie tabletop role-playing game designers participate in various game distribution networks, development communities, and gaming conventions, both in person and online. Indie game designer committees grant annual awards for excellence.
Apocalypse World is a post-apocalyptic indie role-playing game by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker, published in 2010 with only an implied setting that is fleshed out by the players in the course of character creation. It was the game for which the Powered by the Apocalypse engine was developed. On release, Apocalypse World won the 2010 Indie RPG Award and 2011 Golden Geek RPG of the year.
Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) is a tabletop role-playing game design framework developed by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker for the 2010 game Apocalypse World and later adapted for hundreds of other indie role-playing games.
Monsterhearts is an indie role-playing game about "the messy lives of teenage monsters." It was designed by Avery Alder as an adaptation of Apocalypse World. It is known for its handling of sexuality and LGBT content. It has been nominated or shortlisted for multiple awards.
Kingdom Death: Monster is a cooperative board game created by Adam Poots and released in 2015.
Blades in the Dark is a tabletop fantasy role-playing game by John Harper, set in a fictional city of Doskvol, inspired by Victorian London and Gothic fiction. The game was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2015 and published at the start of 2017.
Gloomhaven is a cooperative board game for one to four players designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games in 2017. It is a campaign-based dungeon crawl game including a narrative campaign, 95 unique playable scenarios, and 17 playable classes. Since its introduction the game has been acclaimed by reviewers, and has been described as one of the best board games ever made.
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game produced by Magpie Games. It is set in the world of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, and takes place in five different time periods. Players take the roles of martial artists, technological experts, or benders – people who can manipulate one of the four classical elements – who fight for balance in the world while also working towards their own goals and struggling with inner balance, represented by opposing ideals held by a character.
City of Mist is an urban fantasy neo-noir detective tabletop role-playing game (RPG) designed by Amít Moshe and published by Son of Oak Game Studio. The game is set in a modern-day metropolis where ordinary people of all walks of life become modern-day reincarnations of myths, legends, and fairy tales, gaining magical powers and abilities.
Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a narrative-focused tabletop role-playing game that emphasizes telling "melodramatic and queer stories". The game was funded via a 2020 Kickstarter campaign and published by Evil Hat Productions in 2021. It uses a modification of the Powered by the Apocalypse game system.
Fall of Magic is a collaborative storytelling tabletop role-playing game by Ross Cowman that is played on a hand-printed canvas map. The story follows a dying magus and companions on their journey to the birthplace of magic. The players utilize the map to track game progression as they unroll it. Fall of Magic is an entirely creator-produced indie role-playing game.
Wanderhome is an indie role-playing game by game designer Jay Dragon about animal people in a pastoral setting, based upon the Belonging Outside Belonging game system by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum. It was published by Possum Creek Games soon after Dragon's Sleepaway. Unlike typical tabletop role-playing games, Wanderhome does not use dice, turns, or a gamemaster, focusing instead on the characters' emotional journey. Dialogue takes the place of battles, and gameplay revolves around question prompts.
Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is an urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game with LGBTQ dating sim elements by Lucian Kahn, with art by Robin Eisenberg. The ancient Visigoths have time traveled to 1990s Los Angeles and are battling mall goths for control of the mall. The game's tone is silly and the setting has many puns. The game was inspired by 1990s movies The Craft, Empire Records, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Clueless.
Apocalypse Keys is a mystery tabletop role-playing game about monsters who decide to save the world, designed by Rae Nedjadi and published by Evil Hat Productions. It uses the Powered by the Apocalypse game engine by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker. The game is inspired by Hellboy, Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Men in Black, Penny Dreadful, and Doom Patrol.
Brindlewood Bay is a murder mystery tabletop role-playing game about elderly women amateur detectives, inspired by Murder, She Wrote and H. P. Lovecraft. It was designed by Jason Cordova and was published by Gauntlet Publishing after a 2022 Kickstarter campaign raised $477,518 from 7,748 backers.
The Gauntlet is a publisher/producer of tabletop role-playing games and podcasts. Their publications include Trophy RPG and Brindlewood Bay. In addition to game books, they publish a monthly game zine called Codex to encourage experimentation in indie role-playing games and OSR. Their games and podcasts have won multiple ENNIE Awards. As of November 2024, The Gauntlet has raised over one million dollars USD on Kickstarter and BackerKit combined.
Zin Never Dies is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game inspired by classic Japanese animation, created by Eiko Nemo Dowme. It takes place in a world of folk mythology and shadowy gods. Zin Never Dies contains seven species of anthropomorphic animal player characters who search for magical towers to harness a power called "Zin." Its game mechanics focus primarily on advancing the storytelling.
Women are Werewolves is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Yeonsoo Julian Kim and C.A.S. Taylor about nonbinary characters in a family where only the women transform into werewolves beneath the full moon. It was published in 2022 by 9th Level Games after a successful Kickstarter campaign raised $23,556. Women are Werewolves won "Game of the Year" at Dicebreaker's 2023 Tabletop Awards and the first annual Nonbinary Tabletop Awards in 2024.
Sleepaway is a horror indie role-playing game by Jay Dragon about teenage counselors at a summer camp trying to protect misfit campers from a monster called the Lindworm that takes on the form of its victims. It has themes of trauma, LGBTQ community support, and non-binary gender exploration. Sleepaway was inspired by slasher films and the Belonging Outside Belonging game system by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum.
