When it comes to tabletop roleplaying games, Dungeons and Dragons is easily the biggest name in town. There are more D&D supplements out there you can shake a +1 greatclub at, it was on Stranger Things, and Critical Role has drawn huge numbers of people towards the game. With that said, there are also plenty of fantastic small RPGs out there that don’t always get as much attention as they could.
We spoke with Shannon Appelcline a TTRPG historian, and the author of the upcoming four book series Designers and Dragons: Origins, which is currently being crowdfunded. He gave us his perspective on D&D’s place within the wider world of tabletop roleplaying games.
The significance of D&D, Appelcline argues, has changed as time has passed.
“If you had asked me about D&D’s impact in the 80s and the 70s, I would tell you that much of the rest of the industry is a response to Dungeons & Dragons. I think that’s true historically. Nowadays, I don’t think that’s so true.” He told us.
“Dungeons & Dragons is responding to the rest of the industry more than it ever has” he said. “Things like advantage and disadvantage rolls in 5th edition. That type of dramatic escalation, that’s something much more common in the more freeform industry. There’s much more of an emphasis now on storytelling than in any other period.”
Our full interview with Shannon Appelcline will go live shortly. If you’d like to hear some stories about the early days of RPGs, some of D&D’s very first adventure modules, and the characters played by the game’s designers, keep your eyes peeled.
What are some of your favorite indie RPGs? Tell us all about them in the Wargamer Discord. You can see a selection that we really love in our list of the Best tabletop RPGs 2025.