Forget about dragons: 7 original RPGs that will blow your mind

The world of RPGs is full of games, ranging from traditional fantasy adventures to absolute insanity like galactic cooking competitions. If you're tired of slaying dragons, seducing knights, and completing epic quests, or if you're just looking for something new, you've come to the right place.

Let's take a look at a few selected gems from the indie scene, which makes up for its lack of budget with pure creativity and passion. These lesser-known titles are definitely worth a try, and you might just find your new favorite among them. 😉

RPGs I want to introduce to you today

• Pasión de las Pasiones – A Mexican telenovela in RPG format, full of intrigue and dramatic twists
• VHS: Very Horror Stories – Dive into the bloody world of 80s horror movies
• Masks: A New Generation – A superhero game about growing up and finding your own identity
• Agon – Become a Greek hero and compete with your allies for divine favor
• Cowboy Bebop RPG – Live the iconic anime world of space cowboys
• Not the End – An emotional indie game with an innovative hexagonal token system
• Helveczia – A picaresque adventure set in the 17th century, full of magic and risky bets with the devil

Pasión de las Pasiones – a Mexican telenovela full of intrigue and emotion

A Mexican telenovela as an RPG? What kind of crazy idea is that? What are we even going to play? Don Miguel, the tormented owner of a big company? His twin brother, who has a different face after a car accident and is now plotting revenge? And the planted assistant to Don Miguel, who falls in love with him in the meantime? And what are we going to do there? Faked suicides, shocking revelations from a past full of not-so-dead fiancées? Emotional blackmail, espionage, love triangles? That… actually sounds pretty great, and Pasiones makes all of that, and much more, possible.

Thanks to a flexible system built on the solid foundations of Powered by the Apocalypse (you roll 2d6 for everything, 7+ means a partial success and 10+ a full success, character creation on 2 pages of A4, and a modern, elegant design), you can create an archetypal character that looks like it stepped straight out of any telenovela in ten minutes and jump right into the game.

And the game is divine. When I played a mini-campaign, I was an evil tycoon striving to own a hotel. I was seducing a maid who didn't know she was actually the only illegitimate daughter of the missing owner, and thus the heiress to the entire hotel empire. But my plans were thwarted by a young boy in love who had run away from his past in a street gang, where he had lost his first love.

It's one of the few games where players play against each other, but it works brilliantly, and the resulting melodrama is just insane. The rules allow you to retcon the past using dramatic revelations and bring in crazy twists whose logic cannot be questioned, because—television! And when someone stands on the edge of death? Maybe they'll return with a sexy scar, maybe with a different face, and maybe?

Pasión de las Pasiones is quite a different role-playing game, but it shows how broad and colorful our hobby is. And if you're fed up with stabbing dragons, give it a chance. 😉

VHS: Very Horror Stories – a retro horror experience

VHS: Very Horror Stories very successfully tries to bring the experience of classic 70s and 80s horror movies to your table: killers in hockey masks, alien blobs, chainsaws, and teenagers in remote cabins. It immediately catches your eye with the book's graphic styling as an old VHS tape, but that's just where it begins.

At first glance, it looks like a simple horror RPG, but the authentic atmosphere and solidly thought-out mechanics will pull you into a world of blood, fear, and absurd horror scenarios.

Interesting, for example, is the "REW" (replay) button, which allows you to rewind a die roll once per session and try again. It gives you a chance to fix a big screw-up and is nicely framed as a horror cliché where characters get a second chance at survival (which usually ends terribly, muhehe).

It's also great how the game handles the characters' state of mind. The heroes (or rather, the unfortunates and victims) start with a calm state of mind, but as soon as they face horrors, they move first to a state of fear and finally to shock. Each of these states changes their abilities and vulnerability, which adds dynamics to the game in terms of survival and death.

VHS offers several different scenarios, each containing pre-made protagonists and monsters inspired by various horror subgenres. Among the villains, you'll find, for example, the killer Edmund Carving, who rose from the dead, or a demon known as "The Eyes Devil".

If you're drawn to an absurd and nostalgic horror experience full of clichés, you can't go wrong with VHS: Very Horror Stories.

Masks – a superhero drama about growing up and relationships

Masks RPG is a bit deceptive. At first glance, it looks like a comic book action game about superheroes, but more than anything else, it's a game about growing up and the difficulties that come with it. And, of course, it's also about fighting crazy villains like the Impresario or High Voltage.

One of the most unique mechanics of Masks is that your character is influenced and shaped by their surroundings. If your character is perceived as a thug, they will be better at hitting and breaking things, but on the other hand, they won't be as good at calming or motivating others.

At other times, you can act outside of normal conventions and get labeled a weirdo. However, even that has its advantages, which comes in handy when you want to use fairy dust to enchant an axe so it can jump over the threads the Puppeteer uses to manipulate their surroundings. This way, your stats change several times throughout the adventure. And when you "level up," you can choose to lock one of your traits—your character is growing up, knows more about who they are, and is no longer as influenced by their surroundings.

How an adolescent influences their surroundings, and conversely, how we can convince our surroundings that we have changed, are strong themes that are mechanically well-crafted. All of this is, like Pasiones, built on the Powered by the Apocalypse system, so the game is fast-paced and dramatic. Action scenes alternate with relationship drama, and the result is a fantastic mix of emotional drama and comic book brawling.

If you don't have an explicit aversion to colorful costumes and are tempted to enjoy (again) the complexities of growing up, Masks is a fantastic choice.

Agon – Greek mythology, heroes, and the fight for glory

AGON is a game about Greek heroes seeking their way home. Basically, an RPG Odyssey about beating up cyclopes, running away from sirens, worshipping gods, and above all, glory. So put on your sandals, get shipwrecked on a random island, and let's go.

AGON has cleverly designed competition between players. Sure, you have to work together to survive the pitfalls of the divine world, but everyone wants to be the biggest badass who earns the most glory and admiration from the gods. So while you fight against the Hydra or the Minotaur together, you are also trying to outdo the others with your heroic deeds.

And how does it all work? When you want to do something, you roll dice. You have a die for your name (because you're just you), a die for your epithet (something like "Strong," "Smart," "Fearless"), a die for your domain (combat, wisdom, craft, etc.), and if you're lucky, you add a die of divine favor (but watch out, the gods are no saints). Then you roll and try to get the highest number on one of the dice.

The highest roll wins and determines who gets the most glory. And glory is everything here. The more glory you have, the more the gods notice you and the closer you are to immortality (at least in stories). But beware, when something doesn't go your way, you can end up injured or worse—we know those Greek tragedies, right (and I don't mean the ones where you do indecent things with your mother).

The gods are omnipresent and fickle here. You can pray for their favor, sacrifice to them, and hope they help you in need. Unfortunately, you never know what they'll want in return. Maybe they'll lend a helping hand, maybe they'll throw you off a cliff. With them, it's always a risk.

The episodic structure of the game allows for easy adjustment of the campaign length. Each game is one island that gradually brings our heroes closer to home. So you can enjoy it as a one-shot and have the feeling of a closed story, but you can just as easily start something much longer together.

If you have the urge to become a legend, compete with friends for glory and the favor of the gods, AGON is the game exactly for you. And who knows, maybe the gods will really notice you. 😉

Cowboy Bebop RPG – space cowboy in the world of the iconic anime

If you've ever been even marginally interested in anime, then the jazz tones of Yoko Kanno and shots of a messy mop of dark hair with a cigarette in its mouth must fill you with enthusiasm. Here is the fantastic Cowboy Bebop, this time as an RPG.

Cowboy Bebop RPG pulls you straight into the world of the iconic anime series from the late 90s (decent people pretend that no Netflix adaptation exists). If you're drawn to the combination of sci-fi, western, and noir detective story, you're in the right place, space cowboy!

One of the biggest strengths of Cowboy Bebop RPG is how faithfully it captures the atmosphere of the original work. Players take on the roles of space bounty hunters who travel the solar system on their ship, solve tricky cases, and hunt down criminals of all kinds. The game uses a system based on six-sided dice, which is simple to learn but offers enough depth for tactical decision-making.

What really caught my attention is the emphasis on the personal stories of the characters and their pasts. Each character has their own secret that can surface during the game and influence the plot. This brings the right emotional charge that I really like. For example, when your character meets a long-lost friend who is now on the other side of the law.

Action scenes are fast and dynamic, exactly as you would expect from a game inspired by action anime. Zero-gravity combat, space chases, and shootouts in the neon streets of Mars are the order of the day. The mechanics support creativity and allow players to perform bold and stylish actions.

And the world of Bebop is just as stylish—a colorful mix of planets, cultures, and technologies. You can visit dilapidated stations in Earth's orbit, futuristic cities on Mars, or wild colonies on the outer planets.

If you're a fan of the original series or just looking for sci-fi action, Cowboy Bebop RPG won't disappoint you. Can you catch the most wanted criminals in the universe while coming to terms with your past? See you, space cowboy. 😉

Not the End – emotion, risk, and innovative mechanics in an indie RPG

Not the End is a role-playing game that once again proves that indies simply rule and deserve for as many people as possible to give them a chance. Moreover, the rules support not only classic fantasy but various genres and settings—from fantasy to sci-fi to modern dramas. Want to play sci-fi à la The Expanse or Firefly? Or some police drama mixed with superpowers? No problem.

What really caught my attention about Not the End is the unique system based on hexagonal tokens. Instead of traditional dice, the game uses tokens of different colors that represent the chances of success and the risk of failure or complications.

For every action, the player draws tokens from a bag and must decide whether to continue and risk it, or settle for what they have already gained. This "push-your-luck" mechanism adds a kind of tension to the game that you won't find anywhere else.

Also great is the personal development of characters and their story arcs. The game places great emphasis on what "the end" means for a character. Every hero has their personal goals and is prepared to face challenges that may cost them everything. And when I say everything, I really mean everything—including the character's life. It's up to you what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve your dreams.

Not the End can conjure up intense and emotional stories that will stay in your head for a long time.

If you're looking for an RPG that offers you innovative mechanics and strong emotional experiences, Not the End is a game worth trying. Plus, the publishers don't send Pinkertons after their customers, which is also an advantage.

Helveczia – magic, cards, and adventure in 17th-century Switzerland

A Hungarian RPG set in 17th-century Switzerland? That sounds like the beginning of a joke, but Helveczia is proof that sometimes something really good comes from the Hungarians. This game will take you into a world full of adventurers, superstitions, magic, and matchlock firearms.

And what will you do? How about a wandering mercenary trying to survive in a harsh world full of pitfalls? An alchemist mixing potions and trying to discover the philosopher's stone? And what if you decide to play cards with the devil and bet your soul for the promise of power? That sounds… actually quite tempting!

Spellcasting in Helveczia is something absolutely unique. It's not about waving a wand and reciting Latin formulas. Here, magic comes from folk superstitions, alchemy, and dark pacts with supernatural beings. Spells are powerful, but you always pay a price for them. Want to summon a storm? Maybe you'll lose a few years of your life. Want to be invisible? Fine, but be prepared that no one will hear you when you scream for help.

And then there's the aforementioned playing cards with the devil. One of the most fun and at the same time riskiest mechanics of the game. You can gain immense power, wealth, or the fulfillment of your greatest wishes. If you lose, however, your soul will no longer belong to you. But to play a game of cards with the forces of hell? That's an offer you can't refuse!

One wanderer found a forbidden grimoire in an abandoned chapel this way. Of course, he couldn't resist and started experimenting with spells. One of them was supposed to allow him to talk to animals, but instead, he ended up with a goat's head and the villagers wanted to burn him as a wizard. And the devil kept luring him into another game of cards, where the stakes were more than high.

Helveczia perfectly combines historical atmosphere with the supernatural. The world is full of secrets, legends, and dangers. You can run into witches offering a potion of youth (but at what cost?), werewolves terrorizing local villagers, or alchemists who are willing to trade their secret recipes for something not entirely legal.

The rules are simple and fast, so you don't have to wade through hundreds of pages of complexity. Moreover, the game encourages you to take risks and perform bold actions. Want to jump from a burning mill onto a passing carriage? Sure, why not! Maybe you'll succeed, maybe you'll end up in the creek with broken ribs. And that's what it's all about!

Sometimes it's nice to try something new

Each of these seven RPGs is completely different, but one thing connects them: each of these games pushes the boundaries of what we imagine a "role-playing game" to be and proves that the world of RPGs is infinitely diverse. Try something new, step out of your comfort zone, and discover game worlds that will pull you into the game. After all, what could be better than a proper melodrama, a horror massacre, or a competition for the favor of the Greek gods? 😎🎲

Your next gaming adventure is just beginning!

author Ondřej "Nord" Mráz