Did you know the Library has a collection of tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) books you can borrow? They are located just outside the Edge, our teen library (though anyone can check them out!). Holds cannot be placed on the titles (currently, but that will soon be changing), but you can pick them up at the Library and borrow them for three weeks!
(by game system – Will be updated as new titles are added. Links for unlinked items will be added as they become available.)
Official D&D Books
- D&D 5e: Dungeon Master’s Guide
- D&D 5e: Monster Manual / Manual De Monstruous
- D&D 5e: Player’s Handbook / Manual Del Jugador
- D&D 5e: Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
- D&D 5e: Curse of Strahd
- D&D 5e: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- D&D 5e: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- D&D 5e: Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
- D&D 5e: Keys from the Golden Vault
- D&D 5e: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- D&D 5e: Out of the Abyss
- D&D 5e: Phandelver and Below – The Shattered Obelisk
- D&D 5e: Quests from the Infinite Staircase
- D&D 5e: Storm King’s Thunder
- D&D 5e: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- D&D 5e: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- D&D 5e: Tomb of Annihilation
- D&D 5e: Tyranny of Dragons (Includes Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat)
- D&D 5e: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- D&D 5e: Vecna – Eye of Ruin
- D&D 5e: Volo’s Guide to Monsters
- D&D 5e: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Third Party Adventures and Guides
- Battlezoo Eldamon
- Battlezoo Bestiary
- Blue Rose Adventurer's Guide 5e: Roleplaying in the World of Aldea
- Deep Magic 5e Pocket Edition
- Dungeons and Drawings: An Illustrated Compendium of Creatures
- The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons
- Limitless Heroics: Including Characters with Disabilities, Mental Illness, and Neurodivergence in Fifth Edition
- The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5e
- The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5e: Shire Adventures
- Mists of Akuma
- Neverland: A Fantasy Roleplaying Setting for 5e
- OZ: A Fantasy Roleplaying Setting for 5e
- Scarlet Citadel: A Dungeon of Secrets
- Shadows of the Dusk Queen Adventure 5e
- Tome of Beasts 5e Pocket Edition
- Tome of Heroes 5e Pocket Edition
- How to Draw Your RPG Character
- How To Slay A Dragon: A Fantasy Hero’s Guide to the Real Middle Ages
- So You Want to be a Game Master: Everything You Need to Start Your Tabletop Adventure for Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and Other Systems
- The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters
- The Art & Making of Fantasy Miniatures
- The Book of Random Tables: Quests 2: 1000 Adventure Ideas for Fantasy Tabletop Role-Playing Games
- Clockwork Depths RPG
- Crypts of Indormancy for 5e
- Dungeons & Drawings
- Eldarlands Live Action Roleplaying (LARP) Player's Handbook
- Fantasy Map Making
- Fever Swamp for 5e
- Into the Dungeon: A Choose Your Own Path Book
- Journey: A Solo Roleplaying Game and Worldbuilding Tool for Writers, Game Masters, and the Uncommonly Curious
- Ninefox Gambit RPG
- Snake Eyes: A Universal RPG System
- Troika! RPG: Core Book
- Troika!: Acid Death Fantasy
- Troika!: Fronds of Benevolence
- Very Pretty Paleozoic Pals RPG
- ZWEIHANDER Grim & Perilous RPG
What’s a TTRPG?
A tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) is a system of rules so that a group of players can partake upon a storytelling experience together. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is by far the best known, and most popularly played, TTRPG, but there are many other systems out there that use different rules (some more complicated, some more “rules-lite”). In playing a TTRPG, usually one person assumes the role of the guide for the game (in D&D terms: the Dungeon Master) who handles the setup of the world and provides a backdrop and scenarios the other players will interact within and with. Then, a group of players play as characters of their own design in the story, helping to shape the story and interact with the story, the world and the characters that the guide creates. However, since there are so many differing TTRPG rules systems not all follow this general model (there are even solo-play RPGs out there!). In addition, there is a TTRPG for any type of genre or setting you wish to craft stories and experiences within, and the Library’s collection reflects the diversity of settings, genres and rules.
Why play TTRPGs?
There are many reasons to play tabletop roleplaying games — purely fun; social interaction; skills such as literacy, critical thinking and storytelling; inclusive and safe spaces to explore ideas and concepts; potentially even therapeutic and health benefits. For many years, TTRPGs had an (unearned) bad reputation, but they are mainstream and very popular now with players running the gamut of backgrounds and life experiences, including some very high profile celebrities! TTRPG sessions can be lighthearted or serious (and a mix of both), filled with danger and combat (or not at all!), intergenerational, thought-provoking, and so much more. But, they are, of course, also fun!
- EducationalDM: A Long List of Articles and Resources About the Various Educational Benefits of Roleplaying Games
- Some Great TED Talks about the various benefits of playing tabletop roleplaying games.
- The Benefits of Playing Games
- 5 Science-Backed Benefits of Playing Tabletop RPGs During (and After) COVID-19 – see the end of this article for a long list of science-based articles and resources!
- How Tabletop Roleplaying Games Can Improve Literacy
- How You Can Build Social and Emotional Skills With Tabletop Roleplaying Games
- Introducing Kids to Tabletop Roleplaying: A How-To Guide
- Who’s Playing Dungeons & Dragons These Days? The Usual Fans, and Then Some
- Interview with Culliope (Maryanne Cullinan), Tabletop RPG Teacher and Educational Researcher!
- List of Potential Roleplaying Game Benefits
- 10 Reasons You Should Introduce Your Children to (Rules-Lite) Tabletop Roleplaying Games
- How Therapists Are Using Tabletop Games to Help People
- New Study Suggests Tabletop Games Offer Benefits to Reduce Anxiety
- How Gaming and Esports Foster Social Emotional Learning
- Dungeons and Dragons and Therapy: An Interview With Dr. Megan Connell
- Public Speaking and Dungeons & Dragons
- The Mental Health Benefits of Playing Dungeons & Dragons
- The Power of Roleplaying Games for Deeper Learning Experiences
- How Fantasy Roleplaying Made Me a Better Writer
- How Roleplaying Games Can Give Your Kid a Mental Health Boost
- Games Build Social-Emotional Skills
- RPGs as therapy: How Fictional Worlds Help Vulnerable People Explore Real-life Emotions
- Managing and Dungeons & Dragons
- The Future is Analog: Tabletop Roleplaying for Learning
- RPG Research's Knowledgebase on Roleplaying Game Research
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