by Alex Fairweather
The TTRPG community has been growing exceptionally these past few years, thanks to television shows like “Stranger Things” and “The Legend of Vox Machina” as well as the excellent Dungeons and Dragons movie, “Honor Among Thieves”. With the new year comes new players, new game masters, and, best of all, new games! So, whether you’re brand new to the hobby or a grizzled veteran, here are some of the best TTRPGs coming to our tables this year.
Daggerheart
It’s safe to say that almost everyone within this hobby has heard of Critical Role, the sensational Dungeons and Dragons Actual Play show that has been running since 2015. With so much experience under their belt, it’s no surprise the group has turned their hand to making games as well as playing them. Introducing Darrington Press, Critical Role’s game publishing company, with Game Master Matthew Mercer as Creative Advisor. After the success of their first game, Candela Obscura, everyone’s eyes are on their next release: Daggerheart.
Daggerheart is Darrington Press’ take on fantasy, with a focus on story-telling rather than mechanics. Their goal is to ensure players won’t need to rifle through books; they can find everything they need on their character sheets, with mechanics tied to simple token modifiers and cards. This works perfectly for the kind of games that Critical Role plays, except Daggerheart, will not have ties to the group’s Actual Play world “Exandria”. This is incredibly useful for those who haven’t managed to watch the staggering 995 hours of live streams, and are instead able to plug-and-play their own worlds and dive into the experience.
One D&D
If you know nothing about the hobby, you have probably still heard of Dungeons and Dragons, one of the most popular TTRPGs out there. Since it’s release in 1974, D&D has been a paragon of the TTRPG genre – a backbone of the community and a catalyst for thousands of hours of imagination, adventure, and fun. With the current edition, Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, rapidly approaching its tenth birthday this year, and D&D itself close to its 50th anniversary, Wizards of the Coast is preparing for the launch of their latest version: One D&D.
Launching in late 2024, One D&D isn’t quite a new edition, despite many fans calling it “6th Edition”. One D&D is more of a rules overhaul, as the designers want to keep it compatible with the 5th edition, whilst fixing many of the issues and gripes that players had. This “New Evolution” of D&D is going large, with Game Designer Chris Perkins revealing that the three new books planned will have over 1000 pages of rules, creatures, and equipment. Not only this, but we will see 80 brand-new monsters and remasters of all the originals in the Monster Manual. Whether a rules-redux or a sixth edition, One D&D is something to keep your eyes open for.
King Arthur Pendragon 6E
Returning in full strength after almost two decades, Pendragon brings the tales of Arthurian legend back to our tables with its 6th edition. After acquiring rights to the game, the publisher behind the game, Chaosium, revealed that Greg Stafford, co-designer, had started working on a revised version over ten years ago before sadly passing in 2018. Pendragon has since gone through many stages of redevelopments, to “reflect the culmination of nearly three decades of refinement” (Chaosium). While we still haven’t seen the full version, the new Starter Set has been released, with a finished version promised to be released in April along with a series of brand-new adventures.
TOKYO :Otherscape
Following the success of the TTRPG City of Mist, Game Studio Son of Oak is back with its revolutionary new tag system in TOKYO :Otherscape. Sticking close to the theme of City of Mist, TOKYO :Otherscape is the noir mystery game’s cyberpunk equivalent. In a future where people are bombarded daily by the “Noise”, previously hidden occult entities operate in the open. Instead of dark Noir tales, this game seeks to tell tales of mythic Yokai wielding futuristic tech, demi-gods equipped with mechanical augments, cyber-ghosts haunting the streets, and the “Net”. We’re in for a fantastic take on the classic cyberpunk setting with a tag-based system that supports near-unlimited customisation and a system that tells tales of ghosts in the net and monsters in chrome.
Stormlight Archive RPG
Near everyone who has even a passing interest in fantasy will have heard of Brandon Sanderson: master worldbuilder, award-winning writer, and father of The Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. Anyone who has read these master classes in authorship will need to know about the Stormlight Archive RPG by Brotherwise Games, whose Kickstarter campaign will be coming later this year. Working closely with Sanderson, they seek to recreate the epic world of Roshar, full of original lore as well as all that is known from the books. Boasting a wholly original system, the team promises a game that will feel familiar to TTRPG fans and be accessible to those brand new to The Stormlight Archive series. This new IP circling the hobby will be a breath of fresh air to those who are overly comfortable with the typical fantasy setting.
Five new games, three new systems, a whole lot of lore, and thousands more hours of fun. This is a year that absolutely cannot be missed by TTRPG fans. Whether you prefer mechanical fantasy or narrative cyberpunk, there will be plenty of games to suit your gaming needs. Roll on!
Written by Alex Fairweather, Edited by Kayla Delaney, Photography by Paige Tamasi, Published by Paige Tamasi.