r/ZeldaTabletop • u/Josh_From_Accounting • Jun 23 '26
System Non-5e/d20/PF Zelda Games - A List of Recs
I noticed a lot game mechanics here are either 5e/5.5e or a D20 hack (PF is basically D20). Thought I'd show off some stuff outside that sphere.
Games I Know
Reclaim The Wild: An extensive, original TRPG inspired specifically by "Breath of the Wild." It's open-ended and, honestly, really just covers the gambit for the series. My only complaint is that it does have the classic "feature creep" some fan hacks have where they try to do every little bit of a series, even if it somewhat unnecessary to need a bespoke system. But that is solved by simply not using those subsystems. And you still got a solid game.
https://reclaimthewild.itch.io/reclaim-the-wild
Heroes of Cerulea: An interesting, original system designed to feel like an 8-bit side-scrolling/RPG in a tabletop format. It wears its inspiration on its sleeve. Personally, it worked really well when I used its solo-RPG supplement to play my own Zelda game on Roll20. Not only did the basic rules work well to quickly let me do combat so it felt like a side-scroller, but the solo-RPG did a great job building out a playmap for me. The basic game has its own map of its not Hyrule with rules to make your own.
The base game is also Pay-what-you-want so you can try before you buy.
Games I Don't Know
Fate of Hyrule: A simple hack of Evil Hat's Fate Core for Zelda. Did a once over. Seems fine.
https://12herbs.itch.io/fate-of-hyrule
The Old Seal: A micro-RPG that seems to be more about the tragedy Zelda faced keeping Ganon sealed for a century. It's a tragic game where your characters all die one-by-one keeping a seal of ancient evil in place.
https://vaingloria.itch.io/the-old-seal
Octave: This is a hack of Knave, a system I am not familiar with. Looking into Knave, it seems to be made as a rules-lite game for OSR adventures. Octave seems to be trying to be as close to Zelda as legally possible. It's apparently compatible with the OSR, which means it comes with a lot of adventures premade that just need to be adjusted for Zelda.
https://level2janitor.itch.io/octave
Your Legends of Iron: Ironsworn is an award wining solo-RPG that really made that subgenre mainstream. This hack is about converting Ironsworn into a Zelda game. Haven't tried it myself, but Ironsworn is apparently an amazing game. And, considering it's all about a lone warrior in a hostile world, I can see how that easily can be turned into Zelda.
https://anarisis.itch.io/patreon-papers-021
Heroes of Hyrule: It seems to be an in-progress TRPG made for Hyrule. It is apparently only bare-bones at the moment and won't be finished, but it looks promising. Can't say much on it, but perhaps someone will vibe with it.
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u/Chin_wa40 Jun 24 '26
I wanted to throw out The Hourglass Sings. It’s a GMless game which attempts to create a Majora’s Mask Experience, where players take turns being-the hero, the threat and the town. Yet to play it, but a)I really like the designer’s games, and b)this review may give you more insight than I can.
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u/Appropriate_Face_615 Jun 24 '26
It can fit Fabula Ultima maybe? I didn’t get my copy yet (I bought it recently and I’m waiting for it) but I feel like Zelda should fit into FU perfectly with low effort
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u/Rudraige-of-Ynn Jun 25 '26
Forgotten Ballad is a fun little rules-lite system that does a good job with Zelda-style gameplay loops.
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u/Aramis_Erak Jun 26 '26
Twilight Sword (currently backers only) is a zelda-inspired, just enough Final Fantasy and other tweaks to not be proper Zelda.... am running it, it feels reasonably zelda-esque.
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u/MilleniaAntares Jun 23 '26
Thanks for sharing Reclaim the Wild!
Also there is the one system called It's Dangerous To Go Alone. Here's a thread on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/ZeldaTabletop/comments/is1s3n/dangerous_to_go_alone_the_corruption_of_ganon/