An ongoing list of British gaming and rpg-themed resources, including random creators.
British RPGs - all | resources | gamebooks | british fantasy
British RPG Resources
British fantasy isn't a particular thing. It's books, games, shows and stories from British Culture. There's no particular tell, but often they share parts of humour and outlook.
Terry Pratchett, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Joe Abercrombie, Folklore and Faerie Tales, Tanith Lee, the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, David Gemmell, Red Dwarf.
I'm from the UK and grew up amidst Games Workshop and other British games that contrasted with D&D and other games. Now I'm exploring the British gaming heritage with a list of some resources.
There's also a growing article on Gamebooks, many of which are written by British authors.
Nov 2024: Expanded out publishers and reordered entries. May 2024: Added more RPGs and resources. Sept 2023: Added more RPGs and resources and split out sections.
Newer British RPGs (2000ish+)
- Advanced Fighting Fantasy (2E) is a newer version of the RPG based on the adventure gamebooks with the green covers. It cleans up a lot of the game and brings in a magic system from the Sorcery! books.
- Barbarians of Lemuria from Beyond Belief Games, is a fast-paced rpg based on sword and sorcery such as Conan the barbarian, Elric and Thongor.
- Doctor Who from Cubicle 7, with the 2nd edition using the 13th doctor.
- English Eerie is a solo journalling game set in rural England
- Into the Odd (link to remastered version) is set in the Bastion, an industrial city where your "expeditions touch the bizarre, wondors and horrific." And then Electric Bastionland is a science fantasy rpg which expands on Into the Odd and pushes the boundaries of Bastion, the Electric Hub of Mankind. You start with colossal debt, a failed career and treasure as the only way out. There is a Free Edition too.
- Soulbound from Cubicle 7 for the Age of Sigmar
- Swords of the Serpentine is a gumshoe game for a Swords and Sorcery Setting
- Troika! is an experience of a lifetime. A colourful and wonderful one. A rules-light space fantasy game. The rules are innovative and use only d6s, with a free rules text version available.
- Warhammer 40K variants. Dark Heresy, Black Crusade, Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, Only War. And the more recent Wrath and Glory
- Warlock! RPG is a relatively new RPG, which is rules light an emulates the feeling of old-school British rpgs. Heavy influences from Troika, Fighting Fanatasy and WFRP
- What's Old is New (WOIN) which consists of O.L.D. (fantasy), N.E.W. (sci-fi) and N.O.W. (modern action).
Older British RPGs
- Dragon Warriors was my first proper RPG experience as a player. The original version was a simple RPG with 4 character classes, fast play and atmospheric adventures. It was relaunched in 2008 (link is to Pay What You Want pdf). There are also a number of Dragon Warrior solo adventures by Red Ruin Publishing.
- The Fighting Fantasy series of RPG Games Books were a kind of solo rpg with over 50 books published in a variety of genres. There was also Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG, of which I have played using the Dungeoneer version in solo play.
- Judge Dredd has had a few versions, from Games Workshop, Mongoose Publishing and EN Publishing (using WOIN ruleset)
- Maelstrom is a game I looked at in the school library but never played. Set in 16th century England with a fast and simple system.
- SLA Industries is an RPG from Scottish publisher Nightfall Games. An urban RPG set in cyberpunky horror dystopia. I think (on list to play!). There's also a 2nd Edition (which should be in newer games)
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is probably the most important of the British RPGs, providing exploration of the Empire and the Old World in a dark, gritty and humorous setting. Random character generation is a feature. 1st Edition was delightful and atmospheric, but a mess of rules. 2nd Edition WFRP used only the d10 and was a great mix of atmosphere and consistent rules. 3rd Edition was weird. 4th Edition from Cubicle Seven is rules-heavy, true to it's roots with many character options.
British Style Adventures
- There was a series of D&D (1E) modules written by UK authors (the UK series) that have a different feel to other D&D adventures of the time. These include UK1: Beyond the Crystal Cave, UK2: The Sentinel, UK3: the Gauntlet, UK4: When a Star Falls, UK5 Eyes of the Serpent, UK6: All That Glitters and UK7: ark Clouds Gather.
- The Enemy Within Campaign for WFRP. Republished and updated for WFRP 4e.
- Dolmenwood adventures. And an RPG + setting to be published in 2024
- White Dwarf D&D adventures
British Generators and Random Tables Titles
(section needs expanding!)
- Untold Encounters of the Random Kind from Loke BattleMats is a system-neutral series of encounters for City, Wilds and Dungeons with many terrains for each.
- Random table titles of Ennead Games
- The fantasy generators of Chaos Gen (me) are British-made!
British RPG Publishers
- Arion Games, publishers of Advanced Fighting Fantasy and Maelstrom, and Stellar Adventures
- Cubicle 7, the games company who have published WFRP 4E, Doctor Who and many other RPGs.
- Fire Ruby Designs, publisher of Warlock! and Warpstar!
- Melsonian Arts Council, of Troika! fame
- Modiphius Entertainment, pu
- Nightfall Games, publishers of SLA Industries and other RPGs.
- Pelgrane Press, publishers of Swords of the Serpentine, Gumshoe and other RPGs
Other Resources
- Other RPGs to include (on next update) include Golden Heroes, Pendragon, Fabled Lands RPGs, Heart: The City Beneath, Swyvers, Dolmenwood, Awfully Cheery Engine, Warpstar, Swords of the Serpentine, Welcome to Grimsbury, 1366 Second Edition, Stellar Adventures (AFF in space)
- List of British RPGs on Wikipedia.
- UK Games Expo, an annual gaming event in Birmingham which is among the largest in the world.
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - Taverns of the Old World has descriptions of grimdark inns!
- Podcasts including the Lone Adventurer, Legend of the Bones (interview), the Bad Spot (interview)
- Gamebooks series including Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, Steam Highwayman, Way of the Ninja, Legendary Kingdoms, Fabled Lands, VulcanVerse, Storymaster Tales and others.
- The History of England Podcast by David Crowther (who also did a History of Scotloand one)
Finishing Up
I'll see if I can make room for more in the next update. Springing to mind include...
Talisman. Heroquest. Advanced Heroquest, Space Crusade, the Fighting Fantasy Books, Lone Wolf Gamebooks.
