History Main / TabletopRPG

These tabletop [=RPGs=] [[MoralGuardians get a lot of flak from society]] -- usually due to misinformation or simply misunderstanding. Common myths include that roleplaying games lead to devil worship, that players (and not their fictional personae) carry out magical spells, and that players actually ''become'' their characters[[note]]which isn't so farfetched; roleplaying games and mental instabilities do not mix well, and some unstable players ''have'' 'lost themselves' in the game, though the stories that are commonly spread are largely apocryphal[[/note]]. Inexplicably, the stigma remains even after ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and its ilk have made it seem almost normal for the guy at the water cooler to ''insist'' on telling you about his elf.

!!Works focused on Tabletop [=RPGs=]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Talisman}}''

In TheNewTens, there has been a growing number of "tabletop-[=RPGs=]-in-a-box": tabletop games that replicate the DungeonCrawling and storytelling aspects of pen-and-paper [=RPGs=], while also cutting down on the LoadsAndLoadsOfRules (which usually scare new players away from regular RP) and making them easier to keep track of with things like illustrated ability cards and themed dice.

* ''TabletopGame/DescentJourneysInTheDark''
* '' Folklore: The Afflicted''
* ''TabletopGame/HeroQuest''
* ''TabletopGame/MiceAndMystics''
* ''Space Crusade'' (based on ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'')

Tabletop [=RPGs=] have their origins in the OlderThanRadio {{turn based strategy}} tabletop {{Wargam|ing}}es. [[WordOfGod According to Dave Arneson]] (a co-creator of ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]''), the modern concept of an RPG -- players being represented in the game by actual characters with unlimited potential to act, as opposed to countries, pawns, or other abstract entities with [[AllThereInTheManual well-constrained abilities]] -- came about in the mid-1960s with David Wesley's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wesely#The_Braunstein_Game "Braunstein"]] game, a [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars Napoleonic wars]]-era scenario where players took roles as city officials, soldiers, citizens, and students in the fictional German university town of Braunstein. Arneson adapted the concept to his own scenarios which eventually became known as the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmoor Blackmoor]]'' campaign; this, in turn, eventually merged with Creator/GaryGygax's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_%28game%29 Chainmail]]'' wargame and ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' campaign to become one of the first [=RPGs=], ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.

** '''Roleplays'''
*** ''Roleplay/FadingMasquerade'' (V:tM)

* ''TabletopGame/AxiomCampaign''

* ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen''

* ''TabletopGame/{{DragonMech}}''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonstar}}''

* ''TabletopGame/PalladiumFantasyRolePlayingGame''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}''

* ''{{TabletopGame/Splicers}}''

* ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld''

* ''TabletopGame/MonsterHearts''
* ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek''

* ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven''

* ''Theater/OfDiceAndMen''

* ''TabletopGame/MiceAndMystics''

* ''Mice & Mystics''

->''[=GMs=]: Never let players question your [=GMing=] decisions.''
->''Players: Question ''everything''.''
->''This about sums up roleplaying gaming.''

*** ''TabletopGame/TempleOfElementalEvil''

*** ''TabletopGame/Maztica''

In TheNewTens, there has been a growing number of "tabletop-[=RPGs=]-in-a-box": tabletop games that replicate the DungeonCrawling and storytelling aspects of pen-and-paper [=RPGs=], while also cutting down on the LoadsAndLoadsOfRules (which usually scare new players away from regular RP) and making them more manageable with things like illustrated ability cards and themed dice.

Tabletop [=RPGs=] have their origins in the OlderThanRadio {{turn based strategy}} tabletop {{Wargam|ing}}es. [[WordOfGod According to Dave Arneson]] (a co-creator of ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]''), the modern concept of an RPG -- players being represented in the game by actual characters with unlimited potential to act, as opposed to countries, pawns, or other abstract entities with [[AllThereInTheManual well-constrained abilities]] -- came about in the mid-1960s with David Wesley's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wesely#The_Braunstein_Game "Braunstein"]] game, a NapoleonicWars-era scenario where players took roles as city officials, soldiers, citizens, and students in the fictional German university town of Braunstein. Arneson adapted the concept to his own scenarios which eventually became known as the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmoor Blackmoor]]'' campaign; this, in turn, eventually merged with Creator/GaryGygax's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_%28game%29 Chainmail]]'' wargame and ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' campaign to become one of the first [=RPGs=], ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.

* ''Space Crusade'' (based on ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'')

** ''TabletopGame/GURPSSettings''
** ''TabletopGame/{{Banestorm}}''
** ''TabletopGame/GURPSAlternateEarths''
** ''TabletopGame/InfiniteWorlds''
** ''TabletopGame/GURPSReignOfSteel''
** ''TabletopGame/GURPSSupers''
** ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer''
** ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace''

** ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' (Tie-in book series)

*** ''Arcane Age''
*** ''Al Qadim''
*** ''Kara Tur''
*** ''Maztica''

*** ''Hollow Earth''

%%* ''TabletopGame/DyingEarthRPG''

%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Everway}}''

%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Godlike}}''

%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Harnmaster}}''

%%* ''TabletopGame/KeyToTheKingdom''

%%* ''TabletopGame/LejendaryAdventures ''