Video games have always taken inspiration from tabletop RPGs, from Vampire: The Masquerade to Cyberpunk to, of course, Dungeons & Dragons. But what most people don't realize is how much relationships flow in both directions.
Whatever your favorite video game is, chances are there's a great tabletop RPG adaptation out there. Some are official and directly based on source material. Others take inspiration from it and put their own spin on the idea (or just keep all the serial numbers on file).
This list compiles some of the coolest games you can play today. please look. Before you know it, a new campaign will be ready.
official adaptation
fall out
If you're a fan of Bethesda's open-world Fallout games (or any recent hit TV show), you'll definitely be well served on the tabletop. The official TTRPG by Modiphius is mechanically simple, but it emphasizes the authenticity of the series, from the evocative art to the quirky graphic design to the countless faithful touches. Sometimes bottle caps are used as tokens during play.
The game has a rich library of expansions and adventures, and if you like playing with miniatures, there are all kinds available. Because Modiphius also creates his two Fallout wargames: Wasteland Warfare and Factions.
The same publisher has also released TTRPGs based on Dishonored and Homeworld that use the same system and have similarly lavish production values.
dragon age
First released in 2010, Green Ronin's Dragon Age TTRPG didn't have the popularity and support you'd expect from such a big name company, but it's still a great game. This interpretation of the fantasy adventure has an old-school charm, with some clever new ideas thrown in to keep it feeling fresh and exciting. The stunt system is particularly good, with every roll you hit in combat a chance to generate points, which you can spend to get cool extra effects like disarming an enemy or knocking them prone. This is a system that allows you to
Although the range of supplements is narrow, its successor Fantasy AGE uses the core rules, making it easy to incorporate monsters, adventures, and more from that range into your Dragon Age campaign.
If you want to run a Dragon Age tabletop campaign, pick up Dark Horse's World of Thedas book as well if you can. These aren't really his TTRPG books, but they're packed with all the setting lore and adventure inspiration a GM could want.
Mutants: Year Zero
I'm already cheating a little. “Mutants: Year Zero” first existed on the table and was later adapted into the video game “Road to Eden.” But it's too good a TTRPG for me to give it a nod.
The quirky yet dangerous post-apocalyptic world is brought to life with elegant rules and gorgeous artwork, creating a great atmosphere. You can play as a mutant, a talking animal, or an escaped robot in a variety of standalone books, each with their own mechanics and complete campaigns. Don't expect very tactical combat like in a video game. Combat is faster and trickier in TTRPGs. But if you like the idea of playing TTRPGs and scavenging ancient ruins with a crossbow as a talking duck, Mutants: Year Zero has something for you. Later.
Free League produces a wide range of licensed RPGs with truly beautiful and sophisticated designs. I especially love The One Ring. Fans of Alien: Isolation should check out Alien RPG.
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- Oddly enough, Sea of Thieves has an official TTRPG that comes in a big box filled with gorgeous books, maps, components, and dice. I guess that makes sense considering SoT is basically about playing as pirates with your friends.
- Not only does R Talsorian create the official TTRPG for The Witcher, but he is also the original creator of Cyberpunk, which Cyberpunk 2077 is based on. But to me, their games feel a little stuck in the past. Expect character sheets that look like Excel spreadsheets.
- Dark Souls has been adapted to D&D 5e rules. It doesn't fit under any circumstances, but it also sounds like some sort of confusion. Check the next section for better recommendations.
- There's a Tomb Raider TTRPG currently in development that looks a lot cooler than expected.
- I'm often told that there is a Baldur's Gate 3 TTRPG, but I can't find it…
inspired by
destiny
light is a wonderfully clever way to bring Destiny to the table, with fast, tactical gunfights and even randomly generated weapons that mimic loot drops from video games.its sister game Nova It combines elements of Destiny and Warframe into a sophisticated post-apocalyptic setting where players pilot powerful combat suits. In both games, dice are almost completely ignored during combat, and the focus is on cleverly combining attacks and abilities to achieve maximum destruction, replicating the skill-based play of FPSs.
And if you like this system, known as Lumen, you'll find plenty of other TTRPGs that use it. Many of them are inspired by other video games.
dark souls and elden ring
Rune Cologne: Wardensaga From deadlines and difficulty to details like campfires and soul collecting, it's a clever adaptation of the core ideas of Dark Souls to the tabletop. It offers a unique setting in a dark fantasy world inspired by Viking tales, but could easily be used in an actual Dark Souls setting.
The video game itself was heavily influenced by the open-endedness and fear of early D&D, and as a result, Dark Souls has been a major influence on the OSR movement, a community of TTRPGs that harken back to that era. If you're looking for a dark, crumbling fantasy world where danger feels around every corner and players must grab every advantage to survive, choose one of his OSR games like this: old school essentials and cool dungeons (all of which tend to be compatible; try the free Tomb of the Serpent Kings first). You'll be amazed at how everything feels with his FromSoft without the need for adjustments.
For something lighter and more modern, trophy gold It has a wonderfully gruesome and surreal feel to it, and it reminded me of Elden Ring in particular when I ran the campaign.
Check out the list for more information on OSR, Old School Essentials, and Trophy Gold. D&D Alternatives.
Persona
The Persona series' combination of slice-of-life drama and fantastical dungeon exploration is the perfect formula for tabletop campaigns, and in the absence of an official TTRPG, voidheart symphony A very good alternative.
Based on the popular Powered by the Apocalypse system, it specifically reflects the punk spirit of Persona 5, casting players as supernatural rebels fighting against a corrupt status quo. As you might expect, characters use vastly different abilities in the shadow world and in the real world, and similar to Persona, your powers are tied to your bonds with various NPCs.
hollow knight
Unofficial Hollow Knight RPG is both a descriptive name and an impressively comprehensive one. Create your own character, almost any bug-human you can imagine, and set out on an adventure through the ruins. There's probably still time to complete the entire campaign before Silksong is finally released.
For a free fan project, the attention to detail is truly remarkable. While it's incredibly faithful, it also adds its own new ideas about what magic and mystery lurks in its setting, seamlessly blending a combination of official art, game sprites, and fan art.
Beetle Knight, which was recently kickstarted as part of the popular crowdfunding event ZineQuest, is also worth checking out. It's not such a direct adaptation, but it still wears its inspiration firmly on its sleeve (exoskeleton?).
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- Fight! is a wonderfully stylish TTRPG that takes inspiration from fighting games, especially Street Fighter. However, please note that like fighting games, it can be very deep and difficult to understand.
- Although it is still in the test play stage, dimple is already an impressive and interesting Bloodborne-inspired adventure, with sharp and brutal tactical combat against giant mutated beasts.
- Blaze in the Dark It has a great atmospheric setting, directly inspired by Thief and Dishonored. The game is highly improvisational and surprisingly dense for a low-prep experience, but once you get the hang of it, it's a great toolkit perfect for dark fantasy skulldugging games.
- This is a little more indirect, but if you want to recreate the feel of the Star Wars: Jedi games or the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws. black Star Nail it. I ran this campaign for a group of his fellow PC gamer writers. They had a hell of a lot of fun fighting the Empire, befriending GNK droids, and running away in terror from Darth Vader.
