3 Tabletop RPG’s That Aren’t D&D – And Why They’re Better For Beginners

Ah, here it is. The tabletop roleplaying game corner of our nerd kingdom.

Ever feel like there’s a barrier to entry? Maybe you’ve watched a few episodes of Critical Role, admiring their stacked cast of voice acting talent from afar. Or perhaps you’ve watched through Vox Machina over on Prime Video; a series based on CR’s first D&D campaign.

Maybe a certain campaign on Dimension 20 has your whole heart. (Shoutout to any fans of The Seven or A Court of Fey and Flowers.) They’ve got a relatable, down-to-Earth cast and DM’s with stunning narrative capabilities in the forms of Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar, and more!

Perhaps you hopped on to the Baldur’s Gate 3 train, but you’re wondering how to take energy of the game offline given Larian Studios have released their last patch, ever. (Or, you’re too busy finally enjoying true crossplay to read this. I can’t blame you.)

You might want to get together and play with friends; but you’re running into a few obstacles. One: scheduling! Gathering together anywhere between 3-7 people once a week, every week on a consistent basis? More difficult than you might imagine.

Two: who’s going to run the game? For first-timers, facilitating tabletop games can feel incredibly intimidating. On top of that, Wizards of the Coast just introduced a brand new 2024 ruleset for D&D, which throws major aspects of the 5th edition ruleset from 2014 into utter chaos.

Still, I hear you saying: Where’s my narrative adventure I can have with friends? How can we get in on the action? What’s a great storytelling modality to engage with for people that are new to tabletop role-playing games?

Well, dear reader. I could not simply answer these questions with just one game.

I had to go with three.

I have been invested in tabletop gaming for the last five years. I started the hobby during the pandemic. I have seen how hard indie game developers work. (If you’re ever in the mood for seeing just how many independent tabletop systems there are, check out itch.io’s RPG section. There are over 40,000 results!)

That might sound even more intimidating. However! I’ve got your back. While there are innumerous genres of tabletop games to choose from, I’m going to be focusing on systems that are more malleable depending on what kind of adventure you’d like to have.

Kids on Bikes – Renegade Game Studios, Jonathan Gilmour and Doug Levandowski

Minus one percentile die (d100) – a standard set of math rocks (dice) will suit you just fine.

This system is friendly to new players and GM’s alike. Character creation is more focused on personal relationships between every character in the story. Dimension 20 fans will know the cast have reimagined the Kids on Bikes system for several different campaigns. (Misfits & Magic, Mentopolis, and Never Stop Blowing Up to name a few.)

(It should be important to note, for any new GM’s: reskinning is a perfectly valid option! If you’ve got a super specific world you want to take part in, but there doesn’t seem to be a system compatible enough to interact with? Kids on Bikes is one of the easiest systems to adapt to your game!)

You can play characters at various ages – giving your tabletop adventure a feel for either The Goonies (kids), The Party a la Stranger Things (teens), or Supernatural (adults). Throw in a mix of ages for some Scooby Doo level hijinks. Why not? It’s your game, after all!

Kids on Bikes has character archetypes written into premade character sheets. This way, the stats are chosen for you: you just have to fill in the rest of their details. Base game stats are Charm, Brains, Fight, Flight, Brawn, and Grit. Some stats may have a +1 depending on your character archetype.

If you roll, the GM tells you if it’s a pass/fail. However when you fail a roll, you gain an adversity token! Those can be added to future rolls to change their potential outcome. Don’t spend them all in one place; they could mean turning an important roll from a failure into a success!

Here’s a link to the Kids on Bikes collection available through Renegade Game Studios!

Cottage Core Critters – Scarlet Song

Have you ever entertained the idea of dipping out from modern society and building a delightful cottage in the woods? Do you want to recreate a gaming experience of Animal Crossing meets Stardew Valley in a tabletop setting? There’s a game for that!

Now you can be a part of a delightful cottage core setting as the cute woodland creature of your choice. Why not run with your fellow animals, solving problems around a quaint little farm or village for 2-3 hours a week?

(See, healthy escapism with friends doesn’t always have to mean fighting battles or keeping track of spell slots!)

This is a d6 based dice pool system. You are asked to keep track of three stats; Cottage, Core, and Critter! Base game stats are fairly straightforward, rolls are relatively simple. Easy to pick up, and even more entertaining to build out with friends!

This system has a lot of potential for any beginners to tabletop gaming hoping to experience really solid moments of roleplaying. The more backstory you’re able to come up with, the more vibrant the lives of these cottage core critters are going to feel!

Moreover; this is something the entire family can enjoy playing, including children. Why not see what kids can come up with for their own cute forest creatures?

Here’s a link to Scarlet Song’s darling creation!

Candela Obscura – Darrington Press, Taliesin Jaffie and Chris Lockey, Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall

Fans of steampunk and certain horror elements, look no further than the mysterious world of Candela Obscura. Forming a Circle with your fellow investigators recruited by your Lightkeeper, you will be faced with incidents of paranormal phenomena occuring in the coastal town of Newfaire.

More beginner friendly character archetypes are available for new players to choose from. There is another strong emphasis on character relationships at the table. Understanding how well your character gets along with your circle could lead to excellent roleplay antics at the table.

For new Game Masters (known as Lightkeepers in the world of Candela); fear not, this is another d6 dice pool based system. Players have a simplified skill tree to keep track of; traits that would fall under the categories of Nerve, Cunning, and Intuition.

Players may choose to spend points of Drive to add a d6 to their dice rolls. If they roll well enough, they may earn those points back. Or, they can pay those points forward to another player, provided they can describe how their character would provide assistance in the ongoing narrative.

That’s just three to start with that can be adapted to suit the tastes and play styles of new players and game master’s alike. There are many, many more indie and mainstream systems out there for people wanting to experience the rush of telling stories with their friends in a tabletop setting.

Why not support an indie creator or two, and check out any of the systems mentioned here? Gather your allies and venture forth, friends. Set those Dungeons & Dragons aside for now, because the fun doesn’t end there.

A link to Candela Obscura’s core rulebook can be found here, through Critical Role’s shop page.