Avatar RPG, Blade Runner RPG and Vaesen snatch multiple Ennie awards at Gen Con 2023
Fabula Ultima wins Best Game.
The winners of the 2023 Ennie Awards have been announced, with the Avatar RPG, Blade Runner RPG and Vaesen winning in multiple categories.
The Ennie Awards are the most prestigious accolade a tabletop roleplaying game, expansion or accessory can be awarded. Since they were established in 2001 as an online-only awards ceremony – before becoming a physical one taking place during Gen Con - Ennie Awards have been given to the likes of horror roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu, Mutants and Masterminds, the Warhammer Fantasy RPG, Pathfinder and The One Ring.
With the nominees being announced in July, the winners of the Ennie Awards 2023 were revealed during this year’s Gen Con event, which took place over this weekend. The tabletop roleplaying games in the running for potential awards this year included the JRPG-inspired Fabula Ultima, the romance RPG Pasión de las Pasiones, fantasy roleplaying game Vaesen and the TRPG adapted from the Rivers of London book series by Ben Aaronovitch.
This year’s judge’s panel – which was made up of a collection of people who regularly play tabletop roleplaying games – chose Silver and Gold winners from 23 different categories, including a Judge’s Spotlight category.
One of the big winners of this year’s Ennie Awards was Vaesen, the Free League published game which snapped up the Gold award for Best Adventure, Best Interior Art, Best Setting and, the big one, Best Product of the Year. Originally a dark fantasy TRPG inspired by Nordic mythology and culture, Vaesen has since expanded to include settings based on the myths and legends of Britain and Ireland. The tabletop RPG received awards for its Seasons of Mystery adventure collection and Mythic Britain & Ireland setting book – both of which were crowdfunded via a Kickstarter campaign in 2021.
Another roleplaying game that received multiple Ennie Awards this year was the Blade Runner RPG, another tabletop RPG released by Free League which was awarded Gold for Best Cartography for its Starter Set and Best Layout and Design for its core rulebook. Adapted from both the 1982 original and 2017 sequel, the Blade Runner RPG sees players becoming members of the LA Police Department in the year 2037 with the mission of finding and eliminating Replicants, or androids that appear to be human.
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, a tabletop RPG based on the classic animated television series and published by Magpie Games, also received two Gold Awards: Best Family Game/Product and Best Rules. Based on the Powered by the Apocalypse gameplay system, Avatar Legends is a TRPG that enables players to create their own characters and stories within the world of the TV show – bending elements and fighting against tyranny in a variety of different time periods.
The last big winner of the Ennie Awards 2023 was Fabula Ultima, a roleplaying game inspired by Japanese RPGs that was released by indie studio Need Games, that received the Gold Award for Best Game and Sliver Award for Product of the Year.
Ennie Award 2023 Winners
Judges’ Spotlight Winners
Kevin Combs– One Breath left, Stout Stoat Press
Author: Ian Howard
Jim D’Alessio – Dungeons of Drakkenheim, Ghostfire Gaming
Authors: Monty Martin, Kelly McLaughlin
Christopher Gath – Void 1680 AM , Bannerless Games
Author: Ken Lowery
Candace McAfee – Moonlight on Roseville Beach: A Queer Game of Disco and Cosmic Horror, R. Rook Studio
Authors: Richard Ruane, Rob Abrazado, Bendi Barrett, Sharang Biswas, Rick Chia, Alison Cybe, Ezakur, Ethan Harvey, Maxwell Lander, Catherine Ramen, Erin Roberts, Ennis Rook Bashe, Noora Rose, R.J. Ryan, Sean F. Smith, Anne Toole, Preston Leslie, Logan Rollins
Shauna Ratliff – Faecraft, Exalted Funeral
Author: Will Purves
Best Adventure
Vaesen RPG – Seasons of Mystery, Free League ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Gabrielle de Bourg, Tomas Harenstam, Andreas Marklund, Kiku Pukk Harenstam
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, Wizards of the Coast ** Silver Winner **
Authors: Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Ajit A. George, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Terry H. Romero, Stephanie Yoon
Best Aid/Accessory – Digital
Rimspace Planet Generator, Anodyne Printware ** Gold Winner **
The Session Zero System, Mythic Grove Productions,
Authors: Gabe Hicks & Elise Rezendes ** Silver Winner**
Best Aid/Accessory – Non – Digital
Decuma: the R&D for your RPG, Golden Lasso Games ** Gold Winner **
The Witcher Hybrid Dice Set – Wolf: Golem’s Heart, Q Workshop ** Silver Winner **
Best Art, Cover
Historica Arcanum: The City of Crescent, Metis Creative ** Gold Winner **
Artist: Yağmur Kiyak
Swords of the Serpentine,Pelgrane Press ** Silver Winner **
Artist: Jérôme Huguenin
Best Art, Interior
Vaesen RPG – Mythic Britain & Ireland, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Artists: Johan Egerkrans, Anton Vitus, Gustave Dorr
Seven Sinners, Mana Project Studio ** Silver Winner **
Art Director: Michele Paroli Artists: Domenico Cava, Mirko Failoni
Best Cartography
Blade Runner RPG Starter Set, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Christian Granath
Claw Atlas: New Maps for Beak, Feather, & Bone, Possible Worlds Games ** Silver Winner **
Jonathan Yee
Best Electronic Book
Brindlewood Bay, The Gauntlet Gaming Community ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Jason Cordova, David Morrison, Calvin Johns, Petra Volkhausen, Steffie de Vaan
Host and Hostility: Three Regency Call of Cthulhu Scenarios, Miskatonic Repository ** Silver Winner **
Author: SR Sellens
Best Family Game / Product
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game Starter Set, Magpie Games ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Sharang Biswas, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Brendan Conway, James Mendez Hodes, Yeonsoo Julian Kim, Simon Moody, Lysa Penrose, Mark Diaz Truman, Daniel Kwan, Sen-Foong Lim
The Goblings, Slowquest ** Silver Winner **
Author: Bodie Hartley
Best Free Game / Product
Root: The RPG Talon Hill Quickstart, Magpie Games ** Gold Winner **
Author: David Castro
Shrine of the Jaguar Princess, Trident Gamebooks LLC ** Silver Winner **
Author: Sersa Victory
Best Game
Fabula Ultima – Core Rulebook, Need Games, Rooster Games ** Gold Winner **
Author : Emanuele Galletto
Editing/Sensitivity : Nicola Degobbis, Courteney Penney, Marta Palvarini
Art : Moryo, Christian Benevides, Lorenzo Magalotti, Susu Nonohara, Catthy Trinh, ExtantLily, Ben Henry, Sascha Naderer, Lorc
Trophy RPG, The Gauntlet Gaming Community, Hedgemaze Press ** Silver Winner **
Author: Jesse Ross
Editing : Lauren McManamon, Jason Cordova, David LaFreniere
Art : Anna Zee, Rian Magee, Anton Cheykin
Best Layout and Design
Blade Runner RPG Core Rulebook, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Christian Granath
Frontier Scum, Games Omnivorous ** Silver Winner **
Karl Druid, Chalkdown
Best Monster/Adversary
Ruins of Symbaroum – Bestiary, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Mattias Johnsson Haake, Mattias Lilja, and Jacob Rodgers
Art: Martin Grip
Fateforge Book 5 – Creatures 2 Netherworld, Studio Agate ** Silver Winner **
Author: Ariane “Linden Oliver” Clovis, Diana “Kjarllan” Lutton, Etienne “Etmer_Fachronies” Mercier, Frederick “Atorgael” Pilling, Joelle “ Iris” Deschamp, Nicola Bernardelli, Thomas “ Kaer” Navarro, and William Perceval “Merlin” Huber
Best Online Content
Linda Codega’s io9 RPG reporting, Gizmodo / io9 ** Gold Winner **
TTRPGKids ** Silver Winner **
Best Organized Play
Under the Cover of Stars ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Marik Montalvan, Jens Sundqvist
Cat’s Paws, Neo Tokyo Project ** Silver Winner **
Author: Jason Koh
Best Podcast
Seth Skorkowsky ** Gold Winner **
How We Roll ** Silver Winner **
Best Production Values
Blackbirds RPG: Servant of the Gods Edition, Andrews McMeel Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay – The Enemy Within: Empire in Ruins Collector’s Edition, Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd ** Silver Winner **
Best RPG Related Product
Owlbear Plush, Metal Weave Games ** Gold Winner **
Dragonbond: Dragons of the Red Moon, Draco Studios ** Silver Winner **
Best Rules
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game,Magpie Games ** Gold Winner **
Author: Sharang Biswas, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Brendan Conway, James Mendez Hodes, Yeonsoo Julian Kim, Simon Moody, Lysa Penrose, Mark Diaz Truman, Daniel Kwan, Sen-Foong Lim
Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game, Chaosium Inc. ** Silver Winner **
Authors: Ben Aaronvitch, Graeme Barber, Paul Fricker, Adam Gauntlett, Lloyd Gyan, Lynne Hardy, Gavin Inglis, Mike Mason, Keris McDonald, Lucya Szachnowski
Best Setting
Vaesen RPG – Mythic Britain & Ireland, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Graeme Davis, Mathew Tyler-Jones, Dave Semark
Swords of the Serpentine, Pelgrane Press ** Silver Winner **
Authors: Kevin Kulp and Emily Dresner
Best Supplement
Barkeep on the Borderlands, Prismatic Wasteland ** Gold Winner **
Authors: W.F. Smith, Anne Hunter, Ava Islam, Ben Laurence, Chris McDowell, Emmy Verte, Gus L., Luka Rejec, Marcia B., Nick LS Whelan, Ty Pitre, Zedeck Siew
Into the Cess and Citadel, Wet Ink Games, LLC ** Silver Winner **
Author: Charlie Ferguson-Avery and Alex Coggon
Best Writing
Swords of the Serpentine, Pelgrane Press ** Gold Winner **
Authors: Kevin Kulp, Emily Dresner
Editing/Sensitivity: Tim Gray, Cathriona Tobin, Misha Bushyager
The Wildsea: RPG, Mythopoeia Games ** Silver Winner **
Author: Felix Isaacs
Editing/Sensitivity: Ryan Khan, Ellan Aldryc
Product of the Year
Vaesen RPG – Mythic Britain & Ireland, Free League Publishing ** Gold Winner **
Fabula Ultima – Core Rulebook, Need Games ** Silver Winner **