Like the prior year, 2021 turned out to be unusual for the tabletop role-playing hobby. Many gaming groups began or continued to play remotely over video, while others made tentative steps back into in-person get-togethers. But regardless of the extenuating circumstances affecting weekly playgroups, publishers continued to release a bevy of superb new game systems, setting books, adventures, and supporting products.
Below are 10 of the very best RPG products of 2021. To discover more awesome tabletop games of all kinds, including lists featuring the best board games of this year or the top games from previous years, feel free to peruse our entire Top of the Table hub. And don't miss this feature's companion article, highlighting the Best Board Games of 2021.
Alice Is Missing
Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Undoubtedly one of the most innovative and surprising role-playing games in recent memory, Alice Is Missing is a silent role-playing game for 3-5 players, meant to be experienced in a single gameplay session of two to three hours. Emotionally sophisticated and demanding that its players embrace and play out their roles, this is a memorable and heartbreaking story about the disappearance of a high school girl named Alice, exploring both its effect on those she knew and unraveling what actually happened.
Instead of a traditional GM and players structure, Alice Is Missing encourages all players to take on one of the main characters. Still, one player does need to understand the rules and facilitate the advancement of play. Instead of speaking to each other, the entire game is conducted via a group text message thread, where clues gradually come together, and players act out their character’s emotional arcs. To say much more would spoil the experience.
Alice Is Missing (which arrived in December last year, too late for consideration in that year’s list) is an incredible short-form RPG that tests the boundaries of the medium. And while it would likely win praise in any year because of its innovative format, it’s an especially appealing game for 2021, as its emotional core has a cathartic quality for anyone confronting loss, and its structure virtually encourages remote play.
Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
Publisher: Modiphius
Modiphius has repeatedly made good use of its excellent and adaptable 2d20 gaming system, tweaking and overwriting notable features to customize its playstyle for a variety of big licenses, including Star Trek, Conan, and Fallout. This year, the studio’s take on Frank Herbert’s Dune universe was especially impressive, offering a framework to play out games of open warfare, spycraft, political espionage, and more.
Players take on the role of the members of one of the noble Houses of the Imperium, navigating the many conflicts and machinations that might help to move your faction into greater power and control. An interesting dynamic at play allows players to control both the macro-level decisions of steering their House, but then dive down into the nitty-gritty combats and infiltrations that enact those plans.
The 2d20 system maintains its core identity; namely, players roll two d20 dice to resolve most tasks. Extra successes help fuel momentum for future tasks, but at the risk of increasing threats. One of the most exciting additions this time is the focus on a character’s drive (think: motivation) on fueling their success or failure, which really helps to instill that inimitable “Dune” feeling of characters pushed forward by their own irresistible urges, honor, or motives.
Dune: Adventures in the Imperium features a wealth of setting information and a beautiful presentation. Whether as a longtime fan, or a new fan recently wowed by the latest film, you’re likely to enjoy the deep dive into lore. But this is also a complex and challenging game to navigate, so be ready for an uphill learning climb if you’re an RPG newcomer.
D&D Icons of the Realms Miniatures
Publisher: Wizkids
This list rarely veers from actual games, adventures, or settings to highlight a specific supporting product line for RPG play. But WizKids deserves accolades for its phenomenal year of new pre-painted miniatures. The Icons of the Realms line has been active for some time, but this year brought a huge range of exciting miniatures. Extensive mini-lines supported individual products like The Wild Beyond the Witchlight and Curse of Strahd, but we also saw massive premium sets like the Yawning Portal Inn and even the five-headed dragon queen herself, Tiamat.
Across the board, WizKids has made strides in detail and paint application and offered intriguing gimmicks, like specific minis that combine to form a larger figure, such as a mount and rider. In response to fan demand, we’ve seen some especially striking large-scale figures, including those ever-coveted dragon minis. WizKids has also found success by mixing releases of mainstay monsters and characters alongside unusual surprises, keeping each new line feeling fresh and intriguing.
Many role-playing fans still prefer classic theater-of-the-mind play without tactical miniatures. At the other end of the spectrum, some miniature hobbyists still prefer unpainted minis to complete themselves (which WizKids also offers). But for the vast majority of players, plastic pre-painted line-ups hit the sweet spot for enhancing tabletop play, and WizKids’ recent work in that regard is simply excellent.
2021’s Icons of the Realms line-up gets a nod for the sheer breadth of amazing individual miniatures on offer, but it’s worth noting that WizKids’ other pre-painted miniature lines, including their Pathfinder Battles, Starfinder Battles, and Warlock dungeon tiles, all offer similar levels of quality and polish. It’s an excellent time to be a miniature enthusiast.
D&D: Van Richten’s Guide To Ravenloft
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
The booming popularity of the world’s original role-playing game continues to astound, especially for longtime fans who remember the days when admitting to being a player was tantamount to social exile. But there’s no denying that the 5th Edition of D&D is going strong, appealing in equal measure to weekend gaming groups and massive streaming entertainment options.
Wizards of the Coast continues to capitalize on that success with some top-notch rules and setting expansions. The most exciting addition of 2021 was Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. A very old D&D campaign setting brought to new life, Ravenloft offers everything players need to tell stories of horror, gothic adventure, paranormal investigation, and tense monster hunts.
For most fans, the biggest treat will be detailing the various Domains of Dread. Each of these locales acts as a sort of walled garden themed around particular horror tropes, from post-apocalyptic zombie survival to lycanthrope murder mysteries to Lovecraftian madness. In many ways, you can think of these a bit like a bunch of mini-settings under the broader banner of Ravenloft, with the ability to move characters between them as the DM sees fit.
But there’s also some exciting other content to discover, including new player options like the dhampir lineage, new monsters such as the delightfully creepy and doll-like carrionettes, and a haunted house-themed mini adventure to get you started. In a year filled with some tremendous new D&D supplements, Ravenloft brought the well-deserved return of one of the oldest and best.