Few things bring people together like a grand RPG quest through an unknown (or, perhaps, intimately known) world. In the next volume of our 2026 Gift Guide series, let’s look at some of the best, recent RPGs out there to gift to a friend, hoping they’ll take up the GM duties so you can galavant in these wonderful worlds.
Heroes of The Borderlands
Of the two Dungeons and Dragons books here, Heroes of the Borderlands is the one to gift for new and aspiring tabletop roleplayers, particularly those interested in D&D. This is an excellent, reasonably priced package that comes loaded with multiple adventures, preset classes (rogue, wizard, cleric, and fighter), a board, cards, and dice. Perhaps the best part, though, is that the adventures here are designed to encourage multiple dungeon masters – split the three books among your players and whenever the party goes to one of the areas covered, that player assumes DM duties. It’s a gentle, fun way to give everyone a taste of the most critical role in tabletop RPGs, which makes Borderlands as good an entry to tabletop role-playing as you’ll find.
Curse of Strahd
If Heroes of the Borderlands serves as an excellent introduction for players new to D&D (or tabletop RPGs in general), then Curse of Strahd is the legend every D&D player ought to try. A classic adventure remade many times, including into a bonkers Beadle and Grimm edition worthy of its biggest fans (finger puppets?!), this tale of Castle Ravenloft and its terrifying host takes players all the way from level 1 up to 10. If you’ve never tried this one, well then, there’s no better time than the present.
The castle gates are open, and you’re invited for dinner.
Star Wars RPG Supplements
In recent years, the Star Wars role-playing experience has proliferated across the universe’s eras. There’s Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny, and Republic settings. That’s a lot of territory to cover, so Edge Studios and Fantasy Flight Games have been coming together to create a series of excellent sourcebooks and supplements that span these eras, giving your group gadgets, vehicles, characters, and more to spice up your sci-fi adventures. If you or someone you love is running (or wants to run) a campaign in the Star Wars universe, any of these options are an easy, quality, win.
Knave 2nd Edition
Knave is the wide open wonder, an open door to a world of almost infinite possibilities. Tables abound, providing gentle lines to color within as you and your group creates an old-school fantasy adventure of their own whim and whimsy. The 2nd edition contains more than 75 d100 tables, meant to offer a creative GM a randomized answer whenever you want one. Scales for equipment, health, and everything else are both simple and flexible, letting your adventurers get to the questing fast while still making tough decisions. If your group is pining for some classic adventure, where anything can happen, Knave is the system that will deliver.
Mork Borg
Apocalyptic, heavy metal-themed dark fantasy role-playing game is about as good a filter as you’ll find. These words, describing Mork Borg, a game whose design immediately assaults your eyes with bright yellow, either get your immediate interest or prompt a chuckle and a turn of the page. But those willing to delve the depths will find simple rules to get a party together so you can spend more time confronting, or befriending, cannibal necromancers, rotgut worms, and fiends of various unsavory persuasions. A great gift for a GM jaded with traditional fantasy settings, or your friendly local death metal band member.
Old School Essentials
If Knave, above, rips classic gameplay wide open with vast options, Old School Essentials sends you back to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons days with refined sourcebooks and box sets that ease adventurers into the sturdy system of yesteryear. What’s equally awesome here is that publisher Necrotic Gnome has taken care to ensure all the rules, classes, and adventures here are compatible with the AD&D and other modules you just might have waiting for another ride. This is an excellent choice for anyone who already has a large collection of classic TTRPG material and is looking for the chance to break it out again.
Old Gods of Appalachia
Based on the fiction podcast of the same name, Old Gods of Appalachia sends you to 1920s/1930s Appalachia for eerie adventures of the strange and wondrous sort. Using the Cypher system—which comes with access to a nifty character creator—Old Gods has its built-in audience (if you listen to the podcast and like TTRPGs, well, this is an obvious choice), but the setting, stylings, and vibes make it a great zig for a group that’s been rumbling through fantasy or sci-fi for a while and needs a refresh. The Core Rulebook comes with a couple of starter adventures to get your Great Smoky Mountain quest going.
The Superhero RPG
Maybe it’s the middling efforts of the cinematic superhero world as of late, but the appeal of superhero TTRPGs has been growing. DC Heroes, effectively out of print for a long time, held a successful crowdfunding campaign for a 40th anniversary edition, which should be hitting in late November. And Blood of Heroes, a late 90s classic that eschewed familiar IP for a bigger, wilder world of character creation, remains a hit (start as a sidekick, grow into your own Omega-level monster, er, hero). If your group’s never given one of these a try (and if you want Marvel, there’s a great one there too) – don’t miss it. Kapow!
Raven’s Purge
Forbidden Lands slaps you from the start. You aren’t heroes. You’re grubby raiders and cutthroats, struggling to survive in a hostile land full of dark magic and danger. It’s a perfect antidote to staid world-savior stories, and Raven’s Purge, a 200+ page hardcover adventure tome, gives you all the immersion you could want. It’s not a set adventure, but rather an opportunity, a rumor, a map, a whisper of adventure, or just the coin to buy your next meal. Forbidden Lands is a refreshing spin on traditional fantasy, perfect for a group that’s been feeling a little too powerful, a little too clean.
The Conan RPGs
Conan! For classic sword and sorcery, Modiphius’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, based on Robert E. Howard’s novels, is hard to beat. Adventure here takes you from one legend to the next in a 2d20 system with an absolute wealth of sourcebooks, modules and more. It’s quality stuff, though the license has since passed to Monolith (which also makes the excellent Conan board game) – they’re just getting started on their own Conan RPG, so you can decide what adventure you prefer: the classic, or the modern. Either will have you crushing your enemies, driving them before you, and, well, you know the rest.
