High Fantasy
High fantasy is the genre of the truly magical. A subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy unsurprisingly puts its fantastical elements front-and-center. Its setting is usually a completely imaginary world, and often has powerful magic, a clash between good and evil, and an epic quest with grand stakes that affect the entire world. High fantasy also tends to pull from a deep well of tropes, including a venerable ancient civilization like elves, monsters like orcs and dragons, a pantheon of gods who may involve themselves in mortal affairs, and magical treasures with great power. High fantasy is so popular in tabletop roleplaying games that it's practically synonymous with the hobby itself. When many people think of roleplaying games, they think of noble heroes embarking on epic quests to gather magical power and defeat ancient evils. Fantastical worlds strewn with monsters and treasure are perhaps the most popular settings for tabletop RPGs. High fantasy makes players feel like heroes, and allows a momentary escape into a world completely different from our own, where the impossible becomes possible. It's easy to see how it's a natural fit for the imaginative play of TTRPGs.
Popular High Fantasy RPGs
Fabula Ultima
Fabula Ultima is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game inspired by Japanese-style console RPGs, or JRPGs. In Fabula Ultima, you and your friends will tell epic stories of would-be heroes and fearsome villains, set in fantasy worlds brimming with magic, wondrous locations, and uniquely bizarre monsters! This is a game about larger-than-life heroes and tragic antagonists. There is no predetermined plot, scenario, or "adventure", and the heroes' actions, motivations, and objectives will drive the story forward while the Game Master reacts to their choices and places obstacles on their path, often in the form of powerful villains with their own devious agendas, which will change time and time again as the protagonists manage (or fail) to thwart their plans.
Starfinder
Gather a crew of expert spacefarers, with a diverse set of origins and skills, get a ship and fly the stars! Starfinder is a tabletop roleplaying game, or TTRPG, of heroic science-fantasy adventure. Players take on the roles of fantasy creatures familiar or alien, and adopt one of over a dozen character classes with various skills and powers, from the battle-hardened Soldier and savvy Mechanic, to the space-wizard Mystic and stellar-powered Solarian! One player, the Game Master (GM) plays as the rest of the vast universe, including the player characters’ allies and opposition, and presents scenarios and obstacles for them to overcome. The players decide on a course of action using their characters’ skills, magic spells, or equipment—the only limit on what they can attempt is their imagination! Often, they’ll need to roll dice to find out whether they succeed or fail. But no matter what, the players’ choices result in a unique story of which they are both author and audience. For this reason, TTRPGs are often considered games of collaborative storytelling.
Pathfinder 2e
Pathfinder 2nd Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game, or TTRPG, in which players create heroic characters to embark on fantasy adventures. You might play as a noble elven wizard, a roguish halfling scoundrel, or a stout dwarven warrior, just to name a few. Pathfinder is famous for the incredible variety of options players can choose from; there are over three dozen character classes alone, so intrepid players might just as well choose the sword-and-sorcery wielding Magus, the spooky Witch, or the gritty Gunslinger! One player, the Game Master (GM), acts as the rest of the world those heroes explore. The GM presents encounters with memorable characters, mystical places, terrible monsters, and myriad other challenges to overcome. The players decide on a course of action using their characters’ skills, magic spells, or equipment—the only limit on what they can attempt is their imagination! Often, they’ll need to roll dice to find out whether they succeed or fail. But no matter what, the players’ choices result in a unique story of which they are both author and audience. For this reason, TTRPGs are often considered games of collaborative storytelling. Pathfinder Second Edition revamps the rules from the game’s first edition, making character creation, adventuring, and combat more intuitive and easy to learn. It and its predecessor remain as two of the most popular roleplaying games in the world!
Pathfinder 1e
Pathfinder 1st Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game, or TTRPG, in which players create heroic characters to embark on fantasy adventures. You might play as a noble elven wizard, a roguish halfling scoundrel, or a stout dwarven warrior, just to name a few. But Pathfinder is famous for the incredible variety of options players can choose from; there are two dozen character classes alone, so intrepid players might just as well choose the sword-and-sorcery wielding magus, the inspiring skald, or the gritty gunslinger! One player, the Game Master (GM), acts as the rest of the world those heroes explore. The GM presents encounters with memorable characters, mystical places, terrible monsters, and myriad other challenges to overcome. The players decide on a course of action using their characters’ skills, magic spells, or equipment—the only limit on what they can attempt is their imagination! Often, they’ll need to roll dice to find out whether they succeed or fail. But no matter what, the players’ choices result in a unique story of which they are both author and audience. For this reason, TTRPGs are often considered games of collaborative storytelling. Pathfinder’s publisher Paizo has since released a second edition, but the first edition (or 1E) remains one of the most popular roleplaying games in the world!
Dungeons & Dragons 3/3.5e
In August 2000, Dungeons and Dragons 3e became the first edition to be published by Wizards of the Coast, who had acquired the previous publisher, TSR, in 1997. This edition saw the introduction of Skills, Feats, the Sorcerer class, and more, in addition to removing the previous editions' restrictions on class and race combinations. Three years later, in July 2003, a revised version of the 3e rules was released that made lots of small changes to the rules, and expanding on the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual. This version, known as 3.5e, sought to address balancing and gameplay issues from 3e, and made many changes to help improve the game.
Tales of the Valiant
Welcome to the Labyrinth, infinite worlds linked by twisting corridors of magic. Here, you find realms like Midgard, Hades, the Dreadful Domains, and homebrew creations tied together by the mysterious will of the Maze. These countless worlds rarely resemble one another on the surface, but share a unifying truth—heroes shape them. The Tales of the Valiant RPG is a Black Flag Roleplaying Game from Kobold Press. This means it keeps all the best parts of D&D 5e and adds a Kobold Press spin to the well-loved game. It combines the Creative Commons foundation of 5th Edition with new elements to create a powerful Kobold-style 5E with teeth.
Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Dungeons & Dragons 5e is the most popular tabletop role-playing game on the market. With its simplified rules, diverse settings, and player-driven customizability, it’s easy to see why! Perhaps you’ve dreamed of slinging arrows like Legolas, crushing enemies like Conan, or attacking angry chickens like Link—you can make that a reality in D&D 5e! There are three main aspects to a game of D&D: combat, exploration, and roleplay. Different games will feature different balances of these depending on how the people like to play but it’s up to you and your Dungeon Master (DM) to craft a world that you love! Whether it’s the Forgotten Realms, Critical Role’s Wildemount/Exandria, your own steampunk-themed world where wizards ride dinosaurs, or anything in between—your imagination truly is the limit!
Legend in the Mist
Legend in the Mist is a rustic fantasy RPG based on the award-winning and groundbreaking narrative game engine of City of Mist. Spin a fireside tale of unlikely villagers setting out on a quest into a greater unknown world, rife with peril and mystery, in the vein of The Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, Princess Mononoke, and many other classic fantasy stories, or create your own legendary realms with the game’s open-ended system and one-roll-to-rule-them-all easy to learn gameplay
Avatar Legends: The RPG
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game brings you and your friends into the beloved setting of Avatar Legends—as new heroes of your own stories! Weave tales of self-discovery and action with your team of friends, and go penguin-sledding while you're at it! In this RPG, you might face off with the Triple Threat Triad in Republic City, travel through a spirit portal to rescue a missing child, negotiate peace between Earth Kingdom outlaws, pursue enemies through the Four Nations, and even learn a thing or two from beloved Avatar Legends characters.
The One Ring 2e
Twenty-four years ago, an alliance of Elves, Men, and Dwarves defeated a horde of Orcs and Wild Wolves, under a sky darkened by Giant Bats, inaugurating a new era of prosperity for the Free Peoples. But twenty years is a long time for peace to last, and in many dark corners of the earth a shadow is lengthening once again. Enter the world of Middle-earth with The One Ring™, the official tabletop roleplaying game based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Designed specifically to evoke the atmosphere of The Hobbit™ and The Lord of the Rings™, the game contains rules for creating heroes and sending them off on adventures in a land threatened by the growing Shadow.
Frequently asked questions about High Fantasy
Blog links about High Fantasy
Fantastic Mapping Solutions For Fantasy RPGs
Don't get caught worldbuilding without a map for your next fantasy RPG session with this handy list of software (and hardware)!
The 10 Best Fantasy RPGs
A top ten list of TTRPGs that will transport you to dungeons, airships, the Fire Nation, magic schools, and beyond!
High Fantasy Reviews and Actual Plays
The One Ring: Moria
The Glass Cannon network explores Moria in Middle Earth at Gen Con 2024.
Critical Role | Vox Machina
Dungeon Master Matt Mercer leads a crew of voice actors in what would become a phenomenon: the high fantasy adventures of Vox Machina.
The Eclectics | Pathfinder 2E
Narrative Declaration's band of misfits take on the legendary Pathfinder adventure Kingmaker.