Dungeons & Dragons might be the world's most popular roleplaying game, but it's far from the only good TTRPG system on the market. In the decades since the earliest editions of DnD first hit the market, alternatives have emerged to target virtually every niche and preference. Players, dungeon masters, and TTRPG creators looking to diversify their profile or move on from DnD 5e entirely have a vast array of systems to choose from.
Although DnD 5e has been a huge success for publisher Wizards of the Coast, recent events have caused many to reconsider their commitment to using 5e as a basis for TTRPG creation. Third-party products have always relied on DnD's OGL (open-game license); a system that allows for the creation of material built on DnD content. But ahead of the 5e successor One D&D, OGL changes have been announced, leaving many fans and creators unhappy with the direction Wizards of the Coast is taking. Luckily, a variety of other good tabletop roleplaying games use game licenses that allow for significantly more freedom.
Mörk Borg Takes A Darker Approach Than D&D 5e
Although some popular D&D alternatives have had many years to establish their presence, Mörk Borg is one that has carved out a niche in only a few years on the market. Billed as a "pitch-black" roleplaying game, Mörk Borg explores fantasy without any rose-colored glasses, focusing instead on desperately fighting grim fates. As a flagship title of the OSR tabletop RPG genre, which can stand for either Old School Revival or Old School Renaissance, the game brings a fresh flavor to systems more reminiscent of earlier editions of DnD. It also boasts an immediately identifiable visual aesthetic, making it an easy sell to anyone who finds its gritty illustrations and aggressive font choices striking.
Mörk Borg has already been used for the bones of other interesting systems, which often remix the core flavor of the game with different settings and contexts. Vast Grimm provides a sci-fi take on the game, while Pirate Borg blends history, fantasy, and a heavy dose of scurvy on the high seas. CY_Borg is also available from the original publisher, which offers a gritty, rules-light alternative to tabletop games like Cyberpunk RED. Material using content from the game only has to adhere to the of the Mörk Borg Third Party license, which is short, simple, and open in its .
Dungeon World Makes Classic D&D Adventures Easy
Mörk Borg might not be the best fit for fans who prefer to stick with the classic elements of DnD fantasy. Players and creators who love slaying dragons and living to tell the tale to widespread glory could look instead to the adventures offered by Dungeon World. Dungeon World places the forward momentum and general flow of gameplay first and foremost, keeping characters moving and dice rolling by doing away with DnD 5e action rules like turn order. The system should appeal to tables that prefer to avoid lengthy set-up and rules crunch, and allows DMs to skip some prep time if they can handle the improvisation that the game facilitates.
Dungeon World is built on the Powered by the Apocalypse framework, which tends to encourage accessible rules, cooperative creation, and play that resolves quickly across titles that utilize it. Fans who enjoy the core ideas of Dungeon World but want to branch out further from classic TTRPG fantasy like DnD have plenty of options, starting with the original PbtA title Apocalypse World. Dungeon World itself uses a Creative Commons license to allow for free usage and distribution of works using its material. Unlike DnD's OGL 1.1 controversy, this gives creators an extraordinary amount of freedom to build on the bones of the system for all kinds of possibilities.
Seek A Criminal Fortune In Blades In The Dark
Another major DnD alternative that has risen out of the Powered by the Apocalypse framework is Blades in the Dark, although it bears less resemblance to the original core of PbtA than Dungeon World does. Blades in the Dark takes to the streets of a fantasy setting inspired by the Victorian era and swaps out an adventuring party for a criminal crew. Heroic triumphs over dungeons and monsters are abandoned in favor of planning and executing scores, which can be anything from back-alley deals to assassinations. As long as progress is made toward the goal of expanding the crew's influence and control, anything goes.
Despite the PbtA DNA, the underpinnings of Blades in the Dark are unique enough to be structured into their own framework called Forged in the Dark. Forged in the Dark has tabletop rules that tend to games where every dice roll pushes things forward, like PbtA. Forged in the Dark, however, features its own version of an action system, and its quirks tend to put more emphasis on teams. Forged in the Dark also operates under a Creative Commons license, and any material in the System Reference Document available on the Blades in the Dark website is fair play for reprinting and modification.
Fantasy And Sci-Fi Merge In TTRPG Troika!
Troika! bills itself as a "science-fantasy" RPG, offering players a chance to explore an imaginative and absurd multiverse. Although the game's unique flavor and aspirations toward oddity might not suit every DnD 5e player, fans of the similarly multiversal Planescape DnD campaign setting could find its array of possibilities exciting. Troika! tends to flavor its world more through items and options than through encyclopedic reference material, which makes it very flexible but difficult to entirely reskin. With 36 backgrounds for players to choose from, the game eases players in with enough guidance for them to feel comfortable until they hit their creative stride.
Troika! offers a rule book and a number of adventures, but players can also jump in with a freely accessible System Reference Document that covers everything that players need to know. It also opens with a set of that quickly lay out an accessible license agreement, allowing anyone to publish compatible material with a disclaimer about the product's lack of affiliation. The Troika website further establishes the publisher's for third-party content by containing links to material published on indie game marketplace itch.io. From complimentary material to minor hacks to setting overhauls, Troika! has allowed for a thriving creation scene.
Each of the options mentioned here represents a unique facet of what people enjoy about DnD 5e, exploring different ideas with individual ion. With licenses that allow for significant avenues of third-party creation, these games also act as platforms for more creativity that can be tailored to many different ends. Even beyond these games, the world of TTRPGs is vast and diverse, and only continues to grow. Games like Mörk Borg and Blades in the Dark are perfect fits for some players and creators, but they're only the tip of the iceberg for Dungeons & Dragons 5e alternatives.
Source: Free League Publishing/Youtube
