In a year where I took in 117 tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) products, picking a winner in any given category is hard.
Core Rules
I acquired 14 new core rules for tabletop RPGs this year (12% of total RPG intake). In alphabetical order they are:
- ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game Evolved Edition (Free League Publishing, 2025), powered by Year Zero Engine.
- Black Powder and Brimstone (Free League Publishing, 2025), powered by Year Zero Engine.
- Cepheus Engine Universal: Fast-Play Rules (2025), powered by Cepheus Engine (This admittedly should be a supplement as it is a 3-page distillation of the core rulebook but, oh well, I placed it in this category).
- The Electric State Roleplaying Game (Free League Publishing, 2025), powered by Year Zero Engine.
- Faster Than Light: Nomad (2025), powered by Cepheus Engine.
- Loner: Spacer (2025), powered by Loner.
- Orbital 2100 Third Edition (Zozer Games, 2025) powered by Cepheus Universal.
- Scavengers: Caches and Prizes (Joel Krissemen, 2025), powered by Cepheus Engine.
- Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game (Mödiphiüs, 2025), powered by 2D20.
Adventures
I took in 40 Adventures (34% of intake) in 2025 that broadly break down into five groups:
- ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game – By far my “flagship” adventure product for the year is the ALIEN: Rapture Protocol – Cinematic Adventure as part of the ALIEN: Evolved Edition Kickstarter campaign from Free League Publishing.
- Cepheus Engine– Took in several editions of Adam Kovac’s Hard Vacuum series of adventures as well as several HOSTILE Situation adventure hooks from Zozer Games and a few other adventure hooks from several smaller authors.
- Traveller – With the rights to (Classic) Traveller moving to Mongoose Publishing more products are being produced under the Traveller’s Aid Society Community Content Agreement. I am of mixed feelings on that program but will admit that a few of the adventures now available are excellent—get them before they get swept up by Mongoo$e and become exorbitantly overpriced.
- Traveller: New Era – Got a bunch of TNE adventures at a bundle deal price this year—good hooks for adventuring.
- Twilight: 2000 4th Ed – Sad to see a relative dearth of community content for T2K4e but it appears the Free League writers, residing in and focusing on Europe, offers little of new appeal to a U.S.-based gamer like myself.
Sourcebooks
I took in 48 “sourcebooks” (41% of intake) for various game systems this year including:
- 2300AD – While Mongoo$e is releasing a new (expen$ive) version there is still plenty of fan-supported material available.
- Black Powder and Brimstone (Mork Bork) – Digital versions are so nicely illustrated I am very tempted to get a physical copy.
- Cepheus Engine – Ended up with many (20 of 48 sourcebooks) Cepheus Engine products covering a variety of settings.
- The Expanse (Adventure Game Engine) – While I like the setting the artwork from Green Ronin is a bit wonky for my liking.
- FTL: Nomad (CE-lite) – Lite sourcebooks with just enough setting creating hooks for play.
- The One Ring – Beautiful. I have no reason to think about Dungeons & Dragons when I have a great fantasy adventure like The One Ring to explore.
- Traveller – Like Adventures, many sourcebooks for (Classic) Traveller are now published under the Traveller’s Aid Society Community Content Program; of mixed quality I fear “the good stuff” will eventually be swept up by Mongoo$e which actually has a poor track record to me when it comes to publishing products that look promising but are actually overpriced and lousy content (The ICS Papers: The Fifth Frontier War at $14.99 for digital version with near-useless content is an excellent example of how far Mongoo$e is from Game Designers’ Workshop in terms of content).
- Traveller: New Era – This was a bundle deal and very interesting as (surprisingly, I know) I had little exposure to the New Era setting before.
- Traveller 4 – A used bookstore find to supplement collection.
- Year Zero Engine – Looking forward to Bladerunner: Replicant Rebellion given the Beta edition is interesting.
Adventure RPGs
- Starship Scavengers: Gorgon’s Wake – Solo Adventure 07 (The Grinning Frog, 2025)
- Starship Scavengers: Pyramids of Infinity – Solo Adventure 06 (The Grinning Frog, 2025)
- Xenos Genesis: Alien Survival Solo play game (The Grinning Frog, 2025)
2025 RockyMountainNavy Roleplaying Game of the Year winners
2025 RockyMountainNavy RPG Sourcebook of the Year
The One Ring: Realm of the Three Kings (Free League Publishing, 2025)
In the twilight of the Third Age, three realms of the West-elves still endure in Middle-earth. By the power of the Three Rings, they exist as a testament to a time that was. But not only the Elves remember. As Sauron gathers his strength to bring war to Middle-earth once again, he plans a devious vengeance against those who humbled him long ago.
Realms of the Three Rings™ is a supplement for The One Ring™, the official tabletop roleplaying game based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.Free League Publishing
This is the type of sourcebook I really enjoy; it relates the lore of the setting and gives plenty of adventuring hooks without railroading players into a pre-defined (i.e. canon) path.
2025 RockyMountainNavy RPG Adventure of the Year
Spearpoint Solo: Yellow Ribbon (Ekofisk, 2025)
Yellow Ribbon is a combat-oriented solo adventure for Classic Traveller set on the planet Raschev in the Imperial year 1107 during the chamax invasion. The player(s) will lead a squad of cavalry scouts during a fighting retreat from the advancing chamax hordes.
DriveThruRPG
I actually like the entire Spearpoint series of adventures (The Hardest School, Thermal Shock, and White Knights) but I absolutely love the ability to take the Traveller combat rules and use them in a solo campaign.
2025 RockyMountainNavy RPG Core Rules of the Year
2nd Runner Up – Black Powder and Brimstone
Like already mentioned, Black Powder and Brimstone has some of the most excellent artwork. A bit of a dark setting but that is closer to my RPG gaming themes these days.
1st Runner Up – Orbital 2100 Third Edition
Using the evolved Cepheus Universal rules, Orbital 2100 Third Edition is a worthy competitor to The Expanse Roleplaying Game.
Winner – ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game Evolved Edition (Free League Publishing, 2025)
As if the first edition of the ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game rulebook was not already an incredible marriage of game engine (the Year Zero Engine using the “d6 fork” of the Free League Tabletop License) with theme (access to all-things ALIEN) the addition of a solo play mode, “The Last Survivor”, pushes ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game Evolved Edition into a category far above and beyond the competition.
Feature image courtesy Free League Publishing
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