# Here Are The 10 Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs of 2022



## Snarf Zagyg (Jan 2, 2022)

What did we agree to play in 2022?

_A cool new indie game!!!_

…And what did we end up playing in 2022?

_sigh D&D 5e. Again. _


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## Grendel_Khan (Jan 2, 2022)

Third year in a row that Rivers of London made the list. Good for Chaosium, but maybe not so good for those eagerly awaiting the game...


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## Aldarc (Jan 2, 2022)

_Stonetop_ is still #1 in my list.


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## Mezuka (Jan 2, 2022)

Snarf Zagyg said:


> What did we agree to play in 2022?
> 
> _A cool new indie game!!!_
> 
> ...



D&D is the comfort food of rpgs for many... not necessarily good for your health but good for your morale.


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## darjr (Jan 2, 2022)

I’m going to run UVG with troika


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## MGibster (Jan 2, 2022)

Snarf Zagyg said:


> …And what did we end up playing in 2022?
> 
> _sigh D&D 5e. Again._



You'll eat every last bite of your Chaotic Good elf and learn to like it!


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## MGibster (Jan 2, 2022)

I'm most interested in Blade Runner and Werewolf.  I think Pendragon is a great game, but it's on my list of games I'll probably never find a group who wants to play it.


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## schneeland (Jan 2, 2022)

Snarf Zagyg said:


> What did we agree to play in 2022?
> _A cool new indie game!!!_
> 
> …And what did we end up playing in 2022?
> _sigh D&D 5e. Again. _



Maybe you can at least kill a few bards.


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## darkbard (Jan 2, 2022)

Aldarc said:


> _Stonetop_ is still #1 in my list.



Agreed. I read the first dozen or so updates but have been holding off on reading the beta because I want the total excitement of receiving that HC and cracking its pages with fresh eyes. <cue Madonna: _Like a Virgin_>


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## Aldarc (Jan 2, 2022)

darkbard said:


> Agreed. I read the first dozen or so updates but have been holding off on reading the beta because I want the total excitement of receiving that HC and cracking its pages with fresh eyes. <cue Madonna: _Like a Virgin_>



This has basically been my approach to _Shadow of the Weird Wizard_. While I had the time and energy to playtest when I signed up for it, I wasn't able to do so at the rate the updates were happening. So my group dropped it for the time being and will let the more dedicated fanbase playtest it. 

But in regards to Stonetop, I also can't wait to see what the final product will be like once I get it in hand. I have been scanning through the sections - mainly the advice on moves - but I haven't read through some sections properly, particularly in regards to the setting.


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## Enevhar Aldarion (Jan 2, 2022)

Definitely an eclectic list, like every year, with lots of stuff in the top 10 I would never find anyone wanting to play, or ever see on the shelves of a gaming store, so that I can leaf through it before buying, and thus never getting my vote. Only one of my three votes made the top 10, but that is not surprising, since I only anticipate the ones where there is a real chance of it getting played and not just gathering dust on a shelf.


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## Reynard (Jan 2, 2022)

I still don't know what BladeRunner is going bring to the table (heh) that other cyberpunk games are lacking. I like Free League and I like the Year Zero Engine. I even like Bladerunner. But either Bladerunner will be just about hunting replicants, in which case it is too narrow for campaigning, or it will be about a bunch of stuff, in which case it is too broad to be a Bladerunner game.

I mean, I get why companies license geek-loved properties, I just don't know why gamers flock to them when they can easily do that thing anyway with a fan wiki and their system of choice.


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## FitzTheRuke (Jan 2, 2022)

Yeah, I wish this list would correspond at all to _sales_, so I could use it to decide what to order for my store, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work that way. Still, an interesting poll and result. Food for thought, at least!


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## tommasodb (Jan 2, 2022)

Woah, I was about to go to sleep and then I find out that we came in just before... Blade Runner. Unreal. I'll think of something before communicating this tomorrow. Thank you to all who voted!


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## TrippyHippy (Jan 2, 2022)

Reynard said:


> I still don't know what BladeRunner is going bring to the table (heh) that other cyberpunk games are lacking. I like Free League and I like the Year Zero Engine. I even like Bladerunner. But either Bladerunner will be just about hunting replicants, in which case it is too narrow for campaigning, or it will be about a bunch of stuff, in which case it is too broad to be a Bladerunner game.
> 
> I mean, I get why companies license geek-loved properties, I just don't know why gamers flock to them when they can easily do that thing anyway with a fan wiki and their system of choice.



I’m thinking the same really, although I thought the same thing with Alien too in a way. I like the brands, the company and like the system, but I have other broader based games (Cyberpunk and Traveller, respectively) that can do the same thing around my table. A new edition of Paranoia holds more appeal to me personally, but that didn’t make the list. Pendragon did, however, so maybe I’m just more keen on traditional titles. 

What I didn’t anticipate was the high rating of Broken Tales, which I hadn’t heard of before - so well done to them!

I’d also note that Avatar Legends didn’t make No.1 despite raising nearly $10 million on Kickstarter, so it shows that the Anticipated list doesn’t always tally with these other measures.


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## schneeland (Jan 2, 2022)

Reynard said:


> I still don't know what BladeRunner is going bring to the table (heh) that other cyberpunk games are lacking. I like Free League and I like the Year Zero Engine. I even like Bladerunner. But either Bladerunner will be just about hunting replicants, in which case it is too narrow for campaigning, or it will be about a bunch of stuff, in which case it is too broad to be a Bladerunner game.



My hope is that, similar to how Alien can be used for general space horror, Bladerunner will facilitate investigative Cyberpunk stories. But we'll have to see if they really pull this off without compromising the core experience too much.


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## R_J_K75 (Jan 2, 2022)

Im looking forward to the Masters of the Universe: Legends of Grayskull RPG, and the new Marvel one.  I'll probably have a hard time convincing my players to give it a try but you never know.  Im also waiting patiently for Edge Studios 5E Midnight but theres been no update on their website in a long time so I wonder if its dead in the water.  Perhaps they may be waiting to publish it as a 5,5E book?


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## Razz0putin (Jan 2, 2022)

I don't want to be a naysayer but should it be allowed for something to be on this list for a THIRD time?  With that said a lot of these look interesting but I doubt I could get my group to play them.  Then again I got them to play torg eternity so maybe.


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## overgeeked (Jan 2, 2022)

TrippyHippy said:


> I’m thinking the same really, although I thought the same thing with Alien too in a way. I like the brands, the company and like the system, but I have other broader based games (Cyberpunk and Traveller, respectively) that can do the same thing around my table.



You could make the same argument about generic systems. What's the point of purpose build systems when generic systems can do the same thing and you don't have to learn a new system every time you switch genres or settings.


TrippyHippy said:


> A new edition of Paranoia holds more appeal to me personally...



I'm hopeful that they'll dial back the boardgame elements, but that's not likely. Maybe next edition.


TrippyHippy said:


> I’d also note that Avatar Legends didn’t make No.1 despite raising nearly $10 million on Kickstarter, so it shows that the Anticipated list doesn’t always tally with these other measures.



Well, to be fair, the Avatar RPG Kickstarter wasn't just funded by gamers. Non-gamer fans of the franchise put in a lot of the money...if the comments page is anything to go by.


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## Storyteller Hero (Jan 2, 2022)

Blade Runner possibly gets a strong boost because of the recent animated series Black Lotus taking place in the Blade Runner universe.

I'm a little surprised that Avatar didn't at least make top three, but then again, it's hard to say without a big demo how much better the product might do compared to an existing fantasy RPG in enabling tabletop adventures in the world of ATLA (maybe there is or will be one though).


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## hawkeyefan (Jan 3, 2022)

I went with Mothership, Swords of the Serpentine, and Stonetop.

I’m interested to see Mothership be fleshed out and expanded a bit. I like the basic game enough, but I think some revision based on a couple years’ worth of play will result in some good changes. I’ve received the WIP copy and I like what I see so far.

Swords of the Serpentine is, at this point, more about making sure my pre-order money isn’t wasted. Honestly the game seems solid, but I have to admit my interest has waned significantly due to the delays.

Stonetop is likely the game that most interests me. I somehow missed the Kickstarter, so I’ll be grabbing a copy at some point. I have a rough idea of what games I’ll be running this year, but if I can squeeze in some Stonetop that’d be great.


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## darkbard (Jan 3, 2022)

hawkeyefan said:


> I went with Mothership, Swords of the Serpentine, and Stonetop.
> 
> I’m interested to see Mothership be fleshed out and expanded a bit. I like the basic game enough, but I think some revision based on a couple years’ worth of play will result in some good changes. I’ve received the WIP copy and I like what I see so far.
> 
> ...



For me, the real attraction to Stonetop (aside from hella cool setting) is clear, almost intuitive DW mechanics + FitD imbrication with setting and the subsequent marriage of PC conception with dynamic interest with that setting.

ETA: Wish I had proselytized for the Kickstarter more strongly than I did!


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## hawkeyefan (Jan 3, 2022)

darkbard said:


> For me, the real attraction to Stonetop (aside from hella cool setting) is clear, almost intuitive DW mechanics + FitD imbrication with setting and the subsequent marriage of PC conception with dynamic interest with that setting.
> 
> ETA: Wish I had proselytized for the Kickstarter more strongly than I did!




I think I heard about it once, and I meant to look into it. Then the next time I heard it mentioned was the day after the KS closed. I wept.


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## TrippyHippy (Jan 3, 2022)

overgeeked said:


> You could make the same argument about generic systems. What's the point of purpose build systems when generic systems can do the same thing and you don't have to learn a new system every time you switch genres or settings.



Well, yes, but in my case, the respective campaign types are already covered by Traveller and Cyberpunk respectively. Others may prefer GURPS or whatever, but for me that isn’t specific enough. What the happy medium is probably boils down to the individual.


overgeeked said:


> I'm hopeful that they'll dial back the boardgame elements, but that's not likely. Maybe next edition.



I know two things about the upcoming *Paranoia: The Perfect Edition*: It’ll be a traditionally produced book, not a box set, and you won’t need the cards to play.


overgeeked said:


> Well, to be fair, the Avatar RPG Kickstarter wasn't just funded by gamers. Non-gamer fans of the franchise put in a lot of the money...if the comments page is anything to go by.



Well, that’ll account for the fact that they evidently didn’t all vote here.


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## agrayday (Jan 3, 2022)

last Dec. 28 2020 i asked this question in the forums, specifically in regards to Swords of the Serpentine being nominated for the last several years:


> 2) Also any thought on how to handle RPG's that seem to float out there with multiple nominations across multiple years but havent been released.... ?
> 
> Thanks Morrus & Enworld Team for all your hard work over the past year, and  hoping 2021 will be an improvement.




Kevin ran a demo for Morrus back in mid-2019, and if i remember correctly I think Kevin announced the public play testing Dec. 2018.

How many people would we guess are excited about running this, is the play test groups large and active?


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## overgeeked (Jan 3, 2022)

TrippyHippy said:


> I know two things about the upcoming *Paranoia: The Perfect Edition*: It’ll be a traditionally produced book, not a box set, and you won’t need the cards to play.



Really? I haven’t seen this mentioned before. Where’d you see that? They’ve talked up compatibility with the current edition, which means cards.


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## TrippyHippy (Jan 3, 2022)

overgeeked said:


> Really? I haven’t seen this mentioned before. Where’d you see that? They’ve talked up compatibility with the current edition, which means cards.



Matt Sprange communicated it on RPGPub. Quote: "You will be able to play without ever touching a card”.

The communication as it stands is that the game will be a revision of rules rather than a reboot, so the system will remain compatible for the most part. However, it looks like provisions have been made that you can play with alternative Initiative systems while the new edition will be self contained as a book.


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## overgeeked (Jan 3, 2022)

TrippyHippy said:


> Matt Strange communicated it on RPGPub. Quote: "You will be able to play without ever touching a card”.
> 
> The communication as it stands is that the game will be a revision of rules rather than a reboot, so the system will remain compatible for the most part. However, it looks like provisions have been made that you can play with alternative Initiative systems while the new edition will be self contained as a book.



Awesome. Thanks. Here’s to hoping that holds up. My RCE box is collecting dust because of those cards.


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## Eyes of Nine (Jan 3, 2022)

darjr said:


> I’m going to run UVG with troika



UVG is such a great setting. I played in it using Torchbearer 2e rules. The rules were great, but not great for that specific setting. I think Troika or one of the various "Hacks" (Black, White, Lavender) would be a better fit...


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## Eyes of Nine (Jan 3, 2022)

hawkeyefan said:


> I think I heard about it once, and I meant to look into it. Then the next time I heard it mentioned was the day after the KS closed. I wept.



Just jumping into the Stonetop sub-thread here - I also voted for it; and I am still really looking forward to it. And like someone said, I'm also waiting for the book to show up - too many games already on my shelf to read a pdf...


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## TwiceBorn2 (Jan 3, 2022)

R_J_K75 said:


> Im also waiting patiently for Edge Studios 5E Midnight but theres been no update on their website in a long time so I wonder if its dead in the water.  Perhaps they may be waiting to publish it as a 5,5E book?



That's also my most anticipated release.

A September 28, 2021 post on Edge's Facebook page indicated that the release had been postponed to summer 2022. I'd prefer they get it right than rush to get it out the door... but yeah, knowing that D&D 5.5 is just around the corner may cause further delays. Time will tell.


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## R_J_K75 (Jan 3, 2022)

TwiceBorn2 said:


> That's also my most anticipated release.
> 
> A September 28, 2021 post on Edge's Facebook page indicated that the release had been postponed to summer 2022. I'd prefer they get it right than rush to get it out the door... but yeah, knowing that D&D 5.5 is just around the corner may cause further delays. Time will tell.



I didnt see the post about the postponement.  I don't remember if WotC gave any time frame of when in 2024 5.5E will be released but if I were a 3PP planning on releasing a 5E campaign setting such as Midnight this would give me pause.  Seems the changes to 5E that are coming in 5.5E are significant enough to warrant a new set of books so I'm guessing these could negatively affect the work already done on Midnight.  Like you said time will tell but depending on what happens I may re-consider purchasing this if it is released as a 5E book close to when 5.5E is expected.


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## Michael O'Brien (Jan 3, 2022)

Grendel_Khan said:


> Third year in a row that Rivers of London made the list. Good for Chaosium, but maybe not so good for those eagerly awaiting the game...



_Rivers of London_ will be out in 2022, which was always the plan. _Pendragon_ 6th ed will also be out this year.


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## Jd Smith1 (Jan 3, 2022)

I've decided that a RPG is not actually out until it is supported by Roll20. It is easier that way.


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## Piratecat (Jan 3, 2022)

agrayday said:


> last Dec. 28 2020 i asked this question in the forums, specifically in regards to Swords of the Serpentine being nominated for the last several years:
> 
> 
> Kevin ran a demo for Morrus back in mid-2019, and if i remember correctly I think Kevin announced the public play testing Dec. 2018.
> ...



I'd say COVID delayed us by 9+ months. It is SO good to have it out this year (hardcover in Feb or so, PDF available now.) We had about 500+ playtesters, and feedback has made me really happy. I can't wait until more folks can see and play it.

I'm really lucky. Some designers make a game to someone else's specifications, even if they hate the game or how it comes out. I get to make a game I freakin' love, and find out who likes the same kind of games I do.


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## AverageMojito (Jan 3, 2022)

Reynard said:


> I still don't know what BladeRunner is going bring to the table (heh) that other cyberpunk games are lacking.



I think Free League can deliver a system and setting for near-future adventures that is less punk-y, because BladeRunner itself is less focused on that aspect of the cyberpunk genre. Yes, there is an oppressive social hierarchy and megacorps, but you don't rebel with neon lights, spiked leather and loud speakers. I think BR has the potential to be a Cybernoir RPG, and that is certainly very different from most popular Cyberpunk RPGs we got. I find that appealing.



schneeland said:


> My hope is that, similar to how Alien can be used for general space horror, Bladerunner will facilitate investigative Cyberpunk stories. But we'll have to see if they really pull this off without compromising the core experience too much.



Precisely. As I said above, I hope for a Cybernoir setting (a vibe I got from both films, specially 2049) to run investigative stories in the near-future.


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## Reynard (Jan 3, 2022)

AverageMojito said:


> I think Free League can deliver a system and setting for near-future adventures that is less punk-y, because BladeRunner itself is less focused on that aspect of the cyberpunk genre. Yes, there is an oppressive social hierarchy and megacorps, but you don't rebel with neon lights, spiked leather and loud speakers. I think BR has the potential to be a Cybernoir RPG, and that is certainly very different from most popular Cyberpunk RPGs we got. I find that appealing.



My point was CP:Red, for example, does that right out of the box. I'm curious how Bladerunner will support its specific flavor of dystopian near future with itssystem. I wonder if the stress dice of Alien will become "existential crisis" dice or something.


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## Doctor Futurity (Jan 3, 2022)

Swords of the Serpentine and Mothership are top on my list. Blade Runner also intrigues me... doubly so if they stealth lean in to the fan theory that the Blade Runner universe is just the historical background of the Alien universe. Even if they don't I'd at least like to see how they pull it off.


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## teitan (Jan 4, 2022)

Dying Earth from Goodman Games for me.


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## agrayday (Jan 4, 2022)

Piratecat said:


> I'd say COVID delayed us by 9+ months. It is SO good to have it out this year (hardcover in Feb or so, PDF available now.) We had about 500+ playtesters, and feedback has made me really happy. I can't wait until more folks can see and play it.
> 
> I'm really lucky. Some designers make a game to someone else's specifications, even if they hate the game or how it comes out. I get to make a game I freakin' love, and find out who likes the same kind of games I do.



Thanks for the response Kevin, so we can assume game is done, just waiting on physical production?


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## Yora (Jan 4, 2022)

Surprised how many games appear two or even three times in a row.


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## TrippyHippy (Jan 4, 2022)

Yora said:


> Surprised how many games appear two or even three times in a row.



That is anticipation for you....


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## Aldarc (Jan 4, 2022)

Yora said:


> Surprised how many games appear two or even three times in a row.



Some I suspect were stuck "in development" without clear release dates, simply a project to be release at some future time. Others I suspect were caught in the crossfire of the pandemic.


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## Piratecat (Jan 4, 2022)

agrayday said:


> Thanks for the response Kevin, so we can assume game is done, just waiting on physical production?



Right. Final complete PDF was made available to pre-orderers in December. It then immediately went out to the printers! So it's currently at the printers; last I heard we were estimating a February-March arrival into peoples' hands. 

I'm so happy with how it came out.


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