8 Games That Would Make Great D20 RPGs

Tabletop fans of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, could not have imagined a world where games like Dungeons & Dragons were mainstream. One of the most popular YouTube Channels, Critical Role, is all about Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games. Many copycats and podcasts followed. Thankfully, this has exploded interest in not just Dungeons & Dragons, but all tabletop games based on or around D20 systems.

This begs the question. If there were more tabletop games based on video games, would the popularity of the medium grow even more? Here are some good examples of games that could help grow the genre further. Some of these examples have fan-made versions, but official releases are what we are looking for.

8 Castlevania

A lot of the older pre-scripted Dungeons & Dragons campaigns were about skating vampires. Why not bring that charm back into the D20 landscape by creating a tabletop RPG around Castlevania? Dungeon Masters could create a Metroidvania adventure by locking their players in one big, interconnected castle to get to Dracula.

The storyteller could also go broader and add the countryside and nearby towns to their campaign like in the Netflix anime adaptation. It sounds like a whip-cracking good time to be a vampire/monster slayer.

7 Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy 7 would do killer in sales if Square Enix partnered up with a tabletop RPG company. The set could include ways to incorporate players into the timeline of any one of the games. For example, players could become a Turk during the height of Shinra’s power or they could become a resistance member of the early iteration of AVALANCHE.

It would also be interesting to see life through a small nation or area like Cosmo Canyon. There are so many opportunities for players to live out their ultimate Final Fantasy 7 fan fic through a D20 game.

6 The Last Of Us

The Last Of Us could fulfill a lot of genres for those itching to become a survivalist in the post-apocalypse. There are zombie-like creatures as well as humans to tangle with. One of the more interesting aspects that the HBO adaptation lightly touched on was how other countries reacted to the spread of the virus like India.

What about creating campaigns in other areas of the globe? How has the UK, or Japan dealt with the fungal spread? Are they better off than the United States, or worse off?

5 Mass Effect

Mass Effect seems primed and ready to become a tabletop RPG as it is kind of like a Star Wars universe. That franchise got a D20 game, so it’s time for BioWare to add to the space sub-genre. There are plenty of fantasy-based tabletop games, like literal Dungeons & Dragons, so Mass Effect could help broaden the realm of possibilities.

The great thing about this series is that there is a ton of lore already written about the universe thanks to the four core games. From races to wars, it’s all set up for one heck of an adventure with friends crowded around a table in person or online via Discord.

4 Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is the perfect series to focus a D20 campaign on stealth missions. It’s also a universe that is filled with wild science that borderlines on magic. This will allow the Dungeon Masters and players to get creative instead of having just a run-of-the-mill spy mission.

This is a series where a guy shot bees at people and another character came back from the dead as a flaming ghost. From supernatural mumbo jumbo to sci-fi technology like nanomachines, Metal Gear Solid will support players in any era they choose to sneak into.

3 Pokemon

The Pokemon series began in North America in 1998 with the release of Pokemon Red/Blue on Game Boy. As fans grew up, their wants and needs matured. Many of them have fantasized about the idea of these games being more adult.

What would it be like to play a more realistic version without being held back by the E rating of the Nintendo games? The possibilities are endless for young and old trainers alike to go on an unforgettable, and perhaps dark, adventure. Becoming a member of Team Rocket could also prove to be a fun campaign.

2 Resident Evil

Zombies are a popular genre in video games and the biggest franchise in this horror genre has to be Resident Evil. There is a decent board game out right now wherein players have to survive the threat of zombies and mutants alike.

The board game can be fun but it is not the same as having control over one’s created character in a D20 game. Campaigns could be about survivors in Raccoon City around the events of Resident Evil 2. They could also take place anywhere else in the world and in any year to give players more space to play around in.

1 Wild Arms

A Wild West D20 game sounds like it could be a hoot and a half. The biggest Western series right now is Red Dead Redemption. While it might be fun to pretend to be a cowboy in a campaign, the possibilities are a bit restricted in that universe since it is built on the real world.

That’s why Wild Arms is the better choice. It’s kind of a forgotten PlayStation RPG series now filled with magic along with transitional Western themes like wild gun action and horses. If Sony is not going to help Media.Vision make another console game then they may as well let someone else make a tabletop RPG.