{"id":129196,"date":"2019-04-18T16:41:57","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T16:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=129196"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:04:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:04:57","slug":"dungeons-and-dragons-tabletop-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/dungeons-and-dragons-tabletop-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Best tabletop alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dungeons<\/p>\n

When most people think of pen and paper (or “tabletop”) RPGs, they immediately think of Dungeons & Dragons. While this may be the most popular, there are hundreds of tabletop games, with at least a dozen new games coming out each year.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While D&D might not be for everyone, there is bound to be at least one tabletop game that catches your interest. Here are some of the best alternatives to look into.<\/span><\/p>\n

Best D&D alternatives for tabletop gaming fans<\/h2>\n

Shadowrun<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Shadowrun\"<\/p>\n

While most high fantasy games like D&D are set in the past, Shadowrun is set in the distant future<\/a>. It retains many magical elements of standard high fantasy games, such as varying races and magical abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The game’s backdrop is cyberpunk<\/strong> rather than a mythical landscape. The game also uses a freeform skill system instead of actual classes. This makes character abilities incredibly customizable<\/strong>. This is a perfect game for anyone who enjoys futuristic settings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pathfinder<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Pathfinder\"<\/p>\n

The main competitor to D&D, Pathfinder is another high fantasy tabletop game that uses the same engine as Dungeons and Dragons<\/a>. In fact, Pathfinder was actually created as an extension of D&D 3.5 editions. <\/span><\/p>\n

As such, the gameplay between the two is very similar. Pathfinder is typically a good choice for anyone who wants more options. D&D only creates a finite amount of content per edition.\u00a0Certain races and classes have to be homebrewed if you want to play them in a D&D campaign. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pathfinder has continued to build on the same content, giving you dozens of options to choose from. This makes it a particularly good alternative to 3.5 fans, as it\u2019s basically the same game but with more content.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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5 best Dungeons & Dragons apps<\/p>\r\n read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Call of Cthulhu<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Call<\/p>\n

Like D&D, Call of Cthulhu is a tabletop RPG from the ’80s that remains popular decades after its release<\/a>. This is one of the oldest survival horror games, and it has created many spinoffs throughout the years. <\/span><\/p>\n

The story follows the same adventures of the original H.P. Lovecraft\u2019s “Call of Cthulhu” story. Players are regular people dropped into a mysterious world<\/strong>. The classes are based on normal professions, and give unique abilities to the players based on their past. <\/span><\/p>\n

Players have to worry about both their physical and mental health<\/strong> in order to survive. The game is well known for major player deaths throughout an entire campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\r\n \"Call\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Call of Cthulhu<\/span>\r\n Download \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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All Flesh Must Be Eaten<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

Have you ever wanted to live out an episode of “The Walking Dead?”\u00a0Well, this is the perfect RPG to live out your zombie apocalypse nightmares with your friends<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

All Flesh Must Be Eaten’s expansions have made it possible to experience almost any version of \u201czombie\u201d and \u201czombie fighters.”<\/a> This gives GMs and players a lot of choices in how they envision the zombie apocalypse will go down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Apocalypse World<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Apocalypse<\/p>\n

As one of the most successful Kickstarter RPGs, Apocalypse World is the first game to use the Powered by the Apocalypse engine<\/a>. The game has one of the most unique GM roles ever developed, as there is no prior planning for the MC. <\/span><\/p>\n

The MC, along with the players, develop the backstory and settings<\/strong> of their post-apocalyptic world. Players each follow a player book based on their class and develop a shared history together<\/strong>. This game has been the inspiration for other popular RPGs like Dungeon World and Monster of the Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Beyond<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re new to roleplaying games, then there is no better campaign to play then Beyond the Wall. This game features a simple and easy-to-learn system<\/a>. The scenarios and character sheets are pre-built<\/strong>, so there is no need to take the time in coming up with new characters or situations. It requires no planning and low maintenance<\/strong> to keep the game going. This is the easiest RPG to get into when you want to have a small and fast campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion<\/h2>\n

One of the best things that non-D&D tabletop games tend to have in common is how easy it is to be a GM<\/strong>. While D&D can require hours of planning before a game even begins, many of these games have preestablished settings and situations, making it a much easier adjustment. So, if you\u2019re looking to GM for the first time, you may want to try one of these games before going to D&D.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Best ways to play Dungeons & Dragons online<\/p>\r\n Read NOw \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tired of Dungeons and Dragons? Try one of these alternatives!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9154,"featured_media":129198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[3150],"tags":[1365,1617,1731,1952],"usertag":[784,788],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-129196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dungeons-and-dragons","tag-gaming","tag-pathfinder","tag-retro-gaming","usertag-gamer","usertag-gamer-casual"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326220,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129196\/revisions\/326220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129196"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=129196"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=129196"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=129196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}