#twilight sword

10. Twilight Sword (Two Little Mice/Free League) This game from Italian studio Two Little Mice (Household, Outgunned) is inspired by classic video games like The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy. It raised close to a million dollars on Backerkit late last year and uses an original d12-based roll-under game system called the Created at Twilight (CAT) system. Publisher Two Little Mice appeared in this chart back in 2023 with Household, where players take on the roles of the 'Little Folk' of European folklore.

9. Old School Essentials 2026 Update (Necrotic Gnome) The existing Old School Essentials is billed as a 'retro adventure game'. OSE boasts light rules based on the D&D rules of the 1970s and 80s, with clones of both the B/X D&D rules, and AD&D 1st Edition. This 2026 update is a new edition with updated art and a completely OGL-free text. Publisher Necrotic Gnome is also known for Dolmenwood, which appeared on this chart last year.

8. Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork (Modiphius) Appearing in the chart last year, Modiphius' take on Terry Pratchett's world made nearly $3M on Kickstarter. With all the satire, absurdity, and wonder of the Discworld novels, this game is set in the city of Ankh-Morpork.

7. The Black Company (Arc Dream Publishing) Currently in playtest, this is the second official Black Company TTRPG (the first coming from Green Ronin back in 2004). This time it's from Arc Dream Publishing, probably best known for Delta Green. Based on Glen Cook's gritty fantasy novel series of the 1980s, The Black Company featured morally grey characters with a military focus as it follows a mercenary unit through several decades of its history.

6. The Broken Empires (Evil Baby Entertainment) Described as a "Sim-Lite d100 skills-based TTRPG", The Broken Empires is a fantasy world which apparently draws on over 125 roleplaying games. "Sim-Lite" refers to games which prioritise fast and simple mechanics along with detailed 'simulation' aspects. The game boasts no stats, classes, or levels and combat which is both detailed and fast. The game made over half a million dollars on Kickstarter with a whole bunch of endorsements from prominent gaming influencers back in 2024, and is available for pre-order now.

5. Ars Magica Definitive Edition (Atlas Games) Ars Magica was created in 1987 and is famous for creating the concept of the 'verb-noun' magic system. Set in a mythical Europe, players take on the roles of wizards and their companions. Ars Magica was also the originator of troupe-style play, where players have more than one character and uses whichever character is appropriate to the game session. There have been 5 editions of Ars Magica, and this Definitive Edition is a deluxe, expanded version of 5th Edition (of Ars Magica, obviously).

4. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 5th Edition (Cubicle 7) In 2018, Cubicle 7 featured in this list for the 4th Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Now, in WFRP's 40th anniversary, it's back--with 5th Edition! Yes, lots of games have 5th Editions. Backwards compatible with refined rules and reworked combat flow, the iconic game is coming back in 2026. WFRP is known for its career system, in which characters advance by taking on sequential new careers, and its Old World fantasy setting.

3. Mistborn (Brotherwise Games) Last year, Brotherwise Games broke every TTRPG record with its Kickstarter for Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere RPG--it made over $14M! That game is out in the wild now, but now they're following up with the Mistborn RPG. This was a stretch goal in the original campaign, so it won't be another multi-million dollar Kickstarter, but it is a separate game to the Cosmere RPG currently out there. There will be 3 hardcover books containing lore and rules, as well as an adventure called Mistborn Legacy.

2. Invincible Superhero Roleplaying (Free League) Where would this be without Free League's traditional Q4 Kickstarter? Invincible is based on the comic-book series and animated show by Robert Kirkman (the guy who brought us The Walking Dead--they did a game of that, too, which featured in this list in 2023). Invincible is a superhero story which features graphic violence, bright costumes, alien invasions, and more. This game will use Free League's Year Zero system.

1. Deathbringer (Roll For Combat/Dungeoncraft) The winner this year, with more than three times the second place's votes, is a game from Dan DeFazio, aka Professor DM, a well-known social media influencer in the tabletop gaming space. This looks like an old-school style game, at least from the logo. Expect rules-light, grimdark stuff. There's an earlier PDF version on DTRPG--a couple of pages of house rules to make D&D more dangerous--which is an Adamantine best-seller, the very top category in the store's sales rankings, and described as:

TWILIGHT SWORD is an adventure role-playing game inspired by classic video-games like The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Final Fantasy, Ni No Kuni, and by the animated movies of Studio Ghibli. In Twilight Sword, players take on the role of Champions, brave heroes who depart on a dangerous journey to bring back hope to a once-peaceful land that is being threatened by an evil Scourge. (Product description on DTRPG)

I just bought this on a complete whim, partly because it looks very cool and partly because it's the Christmas in July Sale on DriveThruRPG. :)

Dainsleif 💙