Friday at GenCon belongs to the ENNIE awards which recognizes and celebrates excellence in the world of tabletop roleplaying game publishing. While Cthulhu, whether in the games of Chaosium or the cool handouts and game-aids of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, often claims the lion’s share of the awards, this year, whimsy and folk-horror dominated.
Whimsy primarily came in the form of Daggerheart, the big RPG from Darrington Press, the publishing arm of Critical Role. Not only did the quickstart adventure for Daggerheart, The Sablewood Messengers, take the gold for Best Free Product, Daggerheart also claimed gold for Best Rules and Best Game, as well as silver for Product of the year.
But Daggerheart didn’t carry the banner for whimsy alone. The “rustic fantasy” RPG Legend in the Mist was also well-represented, winning silver for Best Production Values, Best Rules, and Best Free Product with their Learn-to-Play comic, and gold in Best Interior Art and Best Supplement for the Action Grimoire.
The champion for Folk Horror was The Crooked Moon by Avantris Entertainmemnt, the publishing arm of another live-play series. They took home gold for Best Accessory with their custom tarot deck, Best Cover for the Standard Edition of Crooked Moon, and Best Production Values for the Ultimate Edition which also won gold in Product of the Year. This must have been the cherry on top of a great year so far for Elantris Entertainment, which eclipsed Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG as the biggest crowdfunding campaign for an RPG with their Neon Odyssey, which takes the familiar D&D 5e rules and translates them for space opera adventures with a strong 80s and 90s anime aesthetic. Expect to hear more about that game here soon.
Old familiar names took medals as well. The Dolmenwood Monster Book by Exalted Funeral Press took home silver for Best Monster/Adversary, being edged out for gold by Ghostfire Gaming’s Monsters of Drakkenheim. However, the Dolmenwood Maps Book won gold for Exalted Funeral Press. Cubicle 7 won gold in Best Layout and Design with the Player’s Guide for Warhammer: the Old World RPG.
Dungeons & Kittens won gold for best Family Game, with Dragon Town and the Darkness Below by YouTuber JP Coovert claiming the silver.
If you want to see what makes these games winners, talk to the RPG experts at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® today to learn just how much RPG goodness there is beyond just Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a good chance you’ll find your new favorite game.
