Looking to trade dungeons for a dark future? Looking to finally run that morally complex story that won’t get constantly interrupted with dirty jokes? Try a dystopian tabletop RPG! Okay, so it might not actually help with the dirty jokes, but a dystopian setting can create opportunities for a different kind of roleplay. It can also challenge players to think more tactically than in your typical heroic fantasy game. To start you off on your hopeless path, here are some best dystopian TTRPGs.
Cyberpunk Red
Of course we start with one of the most famous dystopian settings in the genre – Night City. The big neon city was given new life in the past few years by the Cyberpunk 2077 game and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. Both of which have support within the Cyberpunk RED TTRPG system. This game places similar emphasis on action and combat as your group tries to get paid enough to survive (and maybe even buy some upgrades) in the corporate-controlled future of America.
Girl By Moonlight
A big theme of dystopian stories is the importance of a local community that appreciates you for who you are and can help you resist when the time comes. Girl By Moonlight embodies these themes via magical girl stories. You and your friends use your powers to transform and fight oppression. However, your out-of-costume scenes expose your character’s vulnerability – the roleplay allows you to dig deep into the idea of a double life and hiding a major part of yourself. As such, it’s a great game for exploring queer themes.
Blades In The Dark
With many dystopian games, you tend to play out one of two dynamics – rallying a team of heroes to win back freedom or just trying to survive with the odds stacked against you. Blades in the Dark leans heavily into the survival aspect. Your crew of thieves pull off a series of heists to take back a modicum of wealth from the rich who control everything in a haunted city. There’s a headquarters mechanic so you can tinker and prepare between outings, but there’s always a gloomy feeling that everything is out to get you.
Alien: The Roleplaying Game
I know, the Alien movies are known for horror. But the setting is very much a corporate-controlled dystopia where lives are tossed aside if their sacrifice can achieve even a minor win for Weyland Yutani. Alien RPG’s mechanics perfectly capture the struggle of normal working people against the callousness of a company. Also there’s a Xenomorph hunting you all down. Players have secret agendas that conflict by the end of the game, with at least one person taking on the role of a company man who has to find profit at any cost.
Cy_Borg
We’re back to a cyberpunk setting, but this time the world is ending. Cy_Borg works off the Mork Borg style of gameplay where the apocalypse is nigh and all you can do is mess stuff up before it all ends. This one is recommended if you’re looking for more of a “roll dice and kill stuff” vibe as opposed to other games on this list that ask you to grapple with roleplaying desperation in a dystopian world.
Star Wars: Edge Of The Empire
While we think of Star Wars as a heroic space fantasy with laser swords, there is an inherent dystopian feeling to the Empire. The Andor show conveyed that feeling of oppression expertly, and many Legends novels tell stories of what it takes to survive under the Empire’s iron fist. Likewise, you could use Star Wars FFG to play out risky stealth missions like Cassian Andor or be bounty hunters scraping out a living outside the law. For this particular type of campaign, you’ll probably want to avoid Force powers by playing in the Edge of the Empire subsetting.
Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
One part of dystopian worlds that Dune lays out really well is needing to pick your allies carefully, and watch your enemies even more carefully. This Dune TTRPG puts you in the position of balancing your relationships through careful roleplay. It’s one of the best on this list when it comes to encouraging thoughtful roleplay through its game mechanics. Outside of negotiation and politics, Adventures in the Imperium leans more into action than survival.
Shadowrun
We’ve seen a lot of technological futures here, as writers tend to use dystopias as a lesson about our own world. While Shadowrun doesn’t break away from that, it does add magic into the equation. What you get is something like a cyberpunk game that also has capacity for detective mysteries, monster horror, and fantasy classes. The deep lore developed over decades gives Shadowrun a loyal cult following and has kept it updating to this day. It’s also just fun to have your shadowy corporation run by a dragon.
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Sergio SolĂłrzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to a Wizards of the Coast competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!
