Keith Baker is an American game designer and fantasy novel author. In addition to working with Wizards of the Coast on the creation of Eberron, he has also contributed material for Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Green Ronin Publishing. In 2014, Baker and Jennifer Ellis co-founded the indie tabletop game company Twogether Studios.
James Daniel Lowder is an American author, anthologist, and editor, working regularly within the fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror genres, and on tabletop role-playing games and critical works exploring popular culture.
EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News, is a British-owned tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website. The website is run and owned by Russ Morrissey ("Morrus"). It reports current news and provides insight into major product releases before they are officially unveiled. EN World was the original host of the ENNIE Awards.
Paizo Inc. is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing games Pathfinder and Starfinder. The company's name is derived from the Greek word παίζωpaizō, which means 'I play' or 'to play'. Paizo also runs an online retail store selling role-playing games board games, comic books, toys, clothing, accessories and other products, as well as an Internet forum community.
Japanese-made tabletop role-playing games first emerged during the 1980s. Instead of "tabletop," they are referred to in Japanese as tabletalk RPGs, a wasei-eigo term meant to distinguish them from role-playing video games, which are popular in Japan. Today, there are hundreds of Japanese-designed tabletop role-playing games as well as games translated into Japanese.
Goodman Games is an American game publisher best known for the Dungeon Crawl Classics series of adventure modules and role-playing game, its science fiction offshoot Mutant Crawl Classics, and Original Adventures Reincarnated, a line of updated, annotated, and expanded republications of classic RPG adventures and supplements, mostly from TSR, Inc.'s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Additionally, Goodman Games produces RPGs using versions of the DCC rules for Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar and Jack Vance's Dying Earth settings, under license. The company has also produced licensed adventures for Wicked Fantasy Factory, Judges Guild, Xcrawl, Iron Heroes, Castles and Crusades, and Death Dealer.
Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. They are best known for the free indie RPG system Fate, Blades in the Dark, and Thirsty Sword Lesbians, all of which have won multiple awards.
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.
Dragon Age is a tabletop role-playing game published by Green Ronin Publishing from 2010 to 2019. It is based on the Dragon Age video game series by BioWare, and uses the video game series' setting.
Kobold Press, also known as Open Design, is an American game company that produces role-playing games and game supplements.
Roll20 is a website consisting of a set of tools for playing tabletop role-playing games, also referred to as a virtual tabletop, which can be used as an aid to playing in person or remotely online. The site was launched in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The platform's goal is to provide an authentic tabletop experience that does not try to turn the game into a video game, but instead aids the game master in providing immersive tools online. The blank slate nature of the platform makes integrating a multitude of tabletop role-playing games possible.
Sean Patrick Fannon is an American role-playing game designer and writer. He has been working in the gaming industry since 1988, and is best known for his work with the Savage Worlds game system, including his epic fantasy setting, Shaintar, and his conversion of the classic game Rifts. He has also worked as a designer in the video game industry and a consultant in the film industry.
Shannon Appelcline is a historian of tabletop role-playing games and a game designer. Two different editions of his book Designers & Dragons have won ENNIE Awards.
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.
One Shot Podcast Network is a network of podcast series about tabletop role-playing games, with many shows dedicated to actual play, interviews, and discussion. It was founded by James D'Amato to showcase a wide variety of games and systems, including indie role-playing games, as an alternative to actual play shows that focus exclusively on Dungeons & Dragons.
Heart: The City Beneath is a tabletop role-playing game about surreal underground labyrinths, designed by Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor. It shares a setting with Spire: The City Must Fall.
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.
Fabula Ultima is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game inspired by Japanese role-playing video games such as the Final Fantasy series. It was designed by Emanuele Galletto, illustrated by Catthy Trinh and Moryo, and published by Need Games in 2023. The game won 2023 ENNIE Awards for Best Game and Product of the Year.
Designers & Dragons is a non-fiction book series by Shannon Appelcline about the history of the tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) industry from its inception in the 1970s through the early 2000s. It focuses on the writing, development, and production of TTRPGs from an economic history perspective, with detailed information on the internal workings of publishing companies. It also traces the development of TTRPGs alongside the fantasy literary genre. It has won ENNIE Awards.
