The Best New Tabletop RPG Books of 2024
Dungeons & Dragons celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, a major milestone not only for Wizards of the Coast, but for the entire tabletop role-playing industry. Even as Wizards simultaneously tried to take a victory lap and secure D&D’s dominance by releasing new core rulebooks, other publishers looked back to the hobby’s history to put a new spin on what old-school gaming means. The hobby’s growing popularity also leaves plenty of room for innovation, as designers create fantastic new worlds and strange twists on history.
This alphabetical list of the best roleplaying books of 2024 features items from the industry’s top designers and standout work from brand new publishers. Whether you’re hunting monsters or looking for end-of-the-world hope, deep mechanics, or lots of laughs, these books demonstrate the power of TTRPGs to unleash the imagination and how far the hobby has come in the past half-century has come. .
Blades in the Dark: Deep cuts
Blades in the dark is one of the best indie RPGs out there, and John Harper made it even better this year by quietly releasing Blades in the Dark: Deep cuts. The book updates the original rules, based on Harper’s experience running the game for years, reducing the number of dice during downtime actions to eliminate the chance of disappointment and changing the way threats work to let players know the risks in advance of their actions and let them figure out how to avoid the consequences. Deep cuts further fleshes out Duskvol’s already rich setting, placing the ghost town on the brink of explosive change thanks to a mix of new technology, union movements, a paranoid empire and occult forces.
A dark wish shattered the realm of fairy tales in the Ennie nominee Broken stories by breaking all stories. Now villains like Captain Hook and Bluebeard serve as hunters, tracking down twisted versions of fairytale heroes who preyed on the people of 18th century Europe. Filled with evocative black, red and white illustrations by Daniel Comerci, Alberto Tronchi’s book offers gruesome adventures based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland“The Three Little Pigs” and other classic stories that are perfect for playing as one-shots. The flexible rules also make it easy to create your own twisted stories and characters.
Dreams and Machines Players Guide
There are plenty of games set in dark post-apocalyptic worlds, but those from Modiphius Entertainment Dreams and machines takes a more optimistic approach to imagining what comes next. Long after a war between humans and a warped AI ravaged the utopian world of Evera Prime, new societies have formed with their own traditions and beliefs about how much of the old technology can be trusted. The system encourages players to make an impact on the world, not just through their adventures, but by becoming mentors and inspirational figures, offering the option to retire a character or let them die to continue in the story to fit. It also has a rather ingenious version of ‘magic’, as some people can use GLIFs and forgotten words and gestures to control advanced technology.
Designed to play in one to three bombastic sessions, Eat the Empire is the gory, over-the-top game for fans of Glorious Bastards And The suicide squad who won several awards at this year’s Gen Con. A group of vampires, including a man-bat and a flesh-eating cowboy, are dropped into a coffin in occupied Paris with the goal of reaching Hitler’s zeppelin docked at the Eiffel Tower and drinking all his blood. Grant Howitt’s adventure is packed with stunning illustrations by Will Kirkby, keeping the descriptions short and providing plenty of wild environments and opponents. Players can encounter the French Resistance, rescue “degenerate” art, ride Napoleon’s undead horse, and level up by defeating Nazi underbosses. What more could you want?
Historica Arcanum: Era of the Crusades
Metis Creative produces extremely high quality supplements for history buffs, and its latest book, Historica Arcanum: Era of the Crusadestakes players and game masters to 12th century Cairo and Jerusalem. The detailed maps and explanations of the power players of the time provide plenty of material related to the setting-specific campaign The sigil of Jerusalembut this book also offers plenty of subclasses and systems that can be easily ported to other games. Suggestive character options include a foreboding bard and a self-flagellating cleric, and there are rules for magical responses and making people feel the stress of bloody battles and encounters with the unknown, which will heighten the stakes of their actions.
Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide
TTRPGs have a long history of orientalism, and Paizo sought to combat that by bringing together dozens of writers of Asian descent to contribute their perspectives in creating a setting book rich with character options that every Pathfinder player will want to check out. Celebrating the diversity of Asian imagination, Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide includes acupuncturists and street food vendors, oni and tanuki, and options for martial artists who tap into the powers of the zodiac – like a character from Sailor Moon. The book is full of vibrant art that shows not only a wide range of creatures, but also clothing, food and architectural styles.
Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook (2024)
Ten years after the launch of the D&D 5th edition rules, Wizards of the Coast released a revised version Player’s Handbook to reflect the way the game has evolved through both official supplements and the efforts of artists, third-party developers, Dungeon Masters, and players. While remaining accessible to newcomers, the book pushes the levels of choice and complexity for those who want it through redesigned character classes, types, and weapon rules. The art showcases the breadth of the game’s multiverse and the play experiences it offers, from epic battles to the chance to just have a laugh with a table of friends.
The award-winning Shadowdark RPG uses a light ruleset, but calls on the art style, monsters, and generally brutal atmosphere of the earliest versions of D&D. Players are encouraged to start with a spare of several level 0 characters and see which one makes it through the brutal gauntlet of their first living adventure. The lucky ones can continue their careers by avoiding deadly traps and fighting monsters in an environment where the darkness is so dangerous that you’ll want to keep a close eye on how long your light source lasts – that is, if the monsters don’t last. Don’t find a way to extinguish your torch or dispel your light magic. The book is packed with tables for rolling up rumors, encounters, and loot, making it easy to pull together ideas for a quick adventure.
Starfinder Second Edition Playtest Adventure: A Cosmic Birthday
The rules for Paizo’s Starfinder second edition are a work in progress, but Jenny Jarzabski designed it A cosmic birthday as an adventure game, masters can keep it going for years with just a few minor tweaks when the new core books come out next year. She has managed to create a twisted story that starts with an elevator malfunction, sending players into a parallel dimension. Players can rob a bank, fight eldritch horrors and navigate traps, including very aggressive advertisements. It’s a fantastic introduction to the setting and system, encouraging creative thinking and offering plenty of roleplaying opportunities by helping a cast of quirky NPCs.
One of the funniest TTRPG rulebooks out there, Triangle Agency evokes the twisted humor of Paranoia And Better off Ted for a game about a completely trustworthy company tasked with preserving everyday reality by trapping anomalies created by common thoughts. The art in the game master section is especially great, but the entire book takes a deeply meta approach to explaining how to play agents with supernatural powers who must manage their position within the company, their obligations in the real world and the abnormalities associated with it. tied to them. The focus on how will influences reality also makes it one of the better expressions of collaborative storytelling.
