Gen Con 2026 Was Huge For RPGs – Shadowdark, Into The Odd, Legend In The Mist & More

This year’s Gen Con was packed full of all sorts of RPGs, from big names to indie experiments; here’s a taste of what we saw.

It is an exciting time to be an RPG player. No matter your game of choice, or the kind of game you want to play, it feels like there’s something for everyone. From bespoke solo journaling RPGs that have you playing a crow or a cat in a big city, to big names like Daggerheart and the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG, this year’s Gen Con was packed so full of RPGs you could’ve spent the whole con on nothing but those.

Here’s a look at some of what I saw on the floor that I hope to see more of in the not-too-distant future. There’s a variety of stuff mentioned here, but just know this is only the tip of the massive iceberg that was TTRPGs at Gen Con 2026. Plus, here’s a bonus picture of Ross Bryant getting ready to run an improvised Call of Cthulhu session as part of the incredible Push the Roll podcast.

RPGs at Gen Con 2026

First things first, it fills me with such joy to see the sheer diversity of the kinds of RPGs out there. I feel like RPGs are blooming right now, and there’s so much stuff being tried out. You can see RPGs that borrow elements from board games and that lean into wildly different themes, not just adventurers crawling through fantasy dungeons – though even there, new ground is being broken. It’s a feast for RPG players of all kinds right now.

There were plenty of big names on display. I got to see the new Gloomhaven RPG, which grabs the mechanics of Gloomhaven’s tight, tactical combat and builds an RPG and a world around them. I’m curious to see how this plays out.

I also got to see a preview of the new Mistborn RPG, there was a one-page adventure that had you play as Vin training with Kelsier to kind of teach players the rules of Allomancy. Of course, Ferruchemy is also in the system somewhere, and we’ll get to see more of those as the 2027 release date looms.

Meanwhile, with the new Mutants & Masterminds in the works, the folks at Green Ronin had a lovable cryptid make an appearance (and for Blue Rose on the reverse). But it wasn’t all superheroes and sundry.

One of the things I enjoyed most was the various smaller press/indie publisher booths. Over at Limithron, the Pirate BORG folks had a whole ship setup on display. And in addition to the big new expansion, Down Among The Dead, the booth was packed full of 3rd-party zines full of adventures made by independent creators.

That’s something I saw at a number of booths, actually. A lot of fan/player/whatever-created supplements. If you are looking for adventures and other things to add to your games, know that there’s a wealth out there. Shadowdark, in particular, had an array of dungeon crawls that tantalized. If I wasn’t working the con, I could easily have whiled away an afternoon just on that.

The Plus One EXP booth was another great “community hub,” it felt like. They were absolutely packed every time I walked by, and with good reason. Not only did they have exciting new stuff, like Stonetop, an RPG I have fallen absolutely in love with (and more on that later); they had “ashtray” editions of upcoming RPGs like Come On In, and a zine that looks at the philosophy of Making Hard Moves.

And if you’re looking for a quick game, there’s the relatively new game from Gila RPGs, called Gobz, which blends “dice flicking” with running a squad of goblins that go on raids, get into scrapes, and topple over. You command a hoard of gobz represented by dice (and sometimes coins) that you lay out on the table, and then you start flicking them at your opponent’s forces.

Sadly, I didn’t get a picture at the Ravensridge Press booth. They’re a publisher that specializes in solo and GMless RPGs for smaller groups. You might know them from Cartograph, but they have a ton out right now. Including All Night Breakfast at the Midnight Owl, an RPG that puts you as an investigator into strangeness in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.

All that to say RPGs are going strong right now. This is the perfect time to explore; you never know what might resonate with you. So get out there, try something new.

The weirder, the better!

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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