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.
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.
Modiphius Entertainment is a tabletop role-playing game and board game publisher based in Fulham, London that is known for licensed adaptations of established media. Notable titles include Star Trek Adventures, Fallout the Roleplaying Game,Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork, and the Mass Effect board game.
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.
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.
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.
Monster Care Squad is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Sandy Pug Games about veterinarians for gods and monsters. It was inspired by Studio Ghibli films. Players inhabit the role of a 'Monster care Specialist', and are tasked with healing creatures of the world.
Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall is a tabletop role-playing game about Chinese immigrants to North America managing a family restaurant while battling Jiangshi, legendary hopping vampires. The game was designed by Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim, who are both Chinese immigrants. It was published independently in 2021 after a Kickstarter campaign raised over US$100,000. The instructions focus heavily on authentic portrayals of Chinese history and immigrant experiences. The game's tone can range from serious to comedy horror. Themes include fighting racism, exploring intergenerational knowledge and relationships, coping with economic hardship, and working together as a family.
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.
Kids on Bikes is a tabletop role-playing game system, and a series of games that use that system. It has won multiple ENNIE Awards.
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.
Inspirisles and its sequel Overisles are tabletop role-playing games by Richard Oxenham that teach basics of American Sign Language and British Sign Language while players cast spells and solve puzzles. The settings are based on Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend. Inspirisles was published in 2021 after raising £31,501 on kickstarter and the sequel, Overisles, was published in 2023 after raising £183,621.
The Cosmere Roleplaying Game is an upcoming tabletop role-playing game based on the Cosmere fictional universe created by American author Brandon Sanderson. Manufactured by Brotherwise Games, the game was first announced in November 2023 by Sanderson's publisher Dragonsteel Entertainment. A crowdfunding campaign was then launched on Kickstarter on 6 August 2024, raising a total of $14.7 million and becoming the most-funded tabletop game on the platform.
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.
Mausritter is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Isaac Williams about adventurous mice. It won the 2021 Gold ENNIE Award for "Best Family Game/Product."
Lancer is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game about laser mecha, created by Miguel Lopez and Tom Bloom (né Parkinson-Morgan). The first printing of the core rulebook was published by Massif Press in 2019, followed by an updated edition in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics in 2024. In deliberate contrast to dystopian settings, Lancer is inspired by classic science fiction set in post-scarcity utopias that nevertheless still face problems.
I'm Sorry Did You Say Street Magic is a city-building tabletop role-playing game created by Caro Asercion in 2019, based on the system in Microscope.
Slayers is a 2020 tabletop role-playing game by Spencer Campbell about monster-hunting in a cursed city. It won an Indie Game Developer Network award and was nominated for three ENNIE Awards.
Apothecaria is a single-player, journal-writing, fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Anna Blackwell about working at a village apothecary as a substitute for its mysteriously missing witch. Gameplay focuses on brewing potions to heal fantasy illnesses. It was inspired by Studio Ghibli films and the video games Stardew Valley and Theme Hospital.Apothecaria was published in 2021 after raising £19,066 on Kickstarter.
