Appendix (T)G: TTRPG's You Should Play

My List is not going to be that different from most peoples that have a wide interest in TTRPGs. The community is relatively small, and the amount of high quality content is limited. Still there are some games, adventures, and so on, that I highly recommend. All of the games on this list, I have either run or played in. All of the settings I've run or pulled something from. All of the adventures I have done some prep-work to run, though the intended game may have fallen through, or played in.

Note: Links associated with DriveThruRPG are considered affiliate links, and I receive a portion of all proceeds bought from those links. All other links are non-affiliate.

Fantasy

Games

Old School Essentials - The best of the current round of retro-clones. Fantastic layout and editing. I recommend getting the advanced tomes, since that comes with everything involved with the system minus any adventures.
Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy Players Tome PDF (Drive Thru RPG)
Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy Referee’s Tome PDF (Drive Thru RPG)
Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy Players Tome Physical (Exalted Funeral)
Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy Referee’s Tome Physical (Exalted Funeral)
Labyrinth Lords (DrivethruRPG) - An older version of retro-clone, not as well laid out but worth a read.
Swords and Wizardry (DrivethruRPG)- currently receiving expansions and supplements, though I haven't played with those.
Worlds Without Number (DrivethruRPG)- Kevin Crawford’s Fantasy Everything game. Massive number of tools for GM's building their own worlds.
The above link is to the Free Version, which I recommend reading before deciding if you want the full version.
5e Dungeons and Dragons - The old standby. While I despise running 5e, I enjoy playing it.
Numenera - A weird fantasy game with strong Sci-fi elements. Does exploration really well and is well supported.
The above link is to the equivalent of the players manual for Numenera. The equivalent of the DMG is Numenera Destiny. Though honestly that’s not entirely accurate. Numerera is good, but strangely laid out.
Wolves of God - Another Kevin Crawford game, this time set in Dark Ages England.
Maze Rats - A small pamphlet game. Lots of random tables and great for pickup games.

Settings

Red Tide (DrivethruRPG) - Kevin Crawford’s Asian inspired setting. Built for labyrinth Lord, it is engaging though not well supported in terms of adventures.
Woodfall (DrivethruRPG) - Lazy Lich’s Micro-setting, it drips with atmosphere and dark charm.
Dolmenwood - The most playable setting on this list. It has all the rules bound within it's texts too, so you don't need to have a separate system book. Highly recommended.
Numenera (DrivethruRPG) - Another weird fiction setting, though I prefer to strip it for inspiration rather than play in it. Still fun though.
Latter Earth - The assumed setting for Worlds Without Number, it's free and it has large corners of the world dedicated to fulfilling specific fantasies.

Supplements

Realms of Crawling Chaos (DrivethruRPG) - a retro-clone supplement that adds Lovecraftian character options into OSE, LL, and S&W
Atlas of the Latter Earth (DrivethruRPG)- A setting guide and rules expansion to WWN. Worth picking up if you plan on using that system.
Echo Resounding: A Sourcebook for Lordship and War (DrivethruRPG) - A supplement that adds domain play into the Red Tide setting. Easy to convert to other settings though.
Crimson Pandect (DrivethruRPG) - A smaller setting for Red Tide, focuses on character options and magic.

Mega Dungeons

Halls of Arden Vul (DrivethruRPG) - A massive mega-dungeon. Poorly laid out in comparison to some titles on this list, but if you can get past that it is well worth your time and energy.
Barrowmaze (DrivethruRPG) - Another mega dungeon. Better laid out and smaller. Focuses on the undead.

Adventures

Emelda's Song - A wonderful adventure for the Dolmenwood Setting
Winter's Daughter - As above so Below.
Willow (DrivethruRPG) - Another Lazy Lich micro-setting. This one is more focused on play-ability at the table.
The Caves of Chaos - A classic Old School adventure
Against the Cult of the Reptile God - Another Classic Old School adventure, though this one has better hooks in it.
Lost Mines of Phandelver - An excellent starting adventure for 5e, though it may take a little more work to prepare for your players.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh 5e (Pending) - I'm currently playing in this one. I'm waiting until after that game is done to pick up a copy and see how much has changed between what we did and what the adventure provides.

Sci-fi

Games

Traveller 2e (Mongoose) (DrivethruRPG) - The best character creation system I've ever seen.
Numenera - It's a science fantasy game which is why it shows up so often.
Stars Without Number (DrivethruRPG) - Another Kevin Crawford game. This is the one he's done the most to support with rules supplements.
The above link is to the Free Version, which I recommend reading before deciding if you want the full version.
Cities Without Number (DrivethruRPG) - Classless Cyberpunk game-play compatible with almost all of Kevin Crawford’s other material. Well worth a pickup.
The above link is to the Free Version, which I recommend reading before deciding if you want the full version.

Settings

As Above So Below. The current set of games listed above come with their own prepackaged settings which I highly recommend.

Supplements

Codex of the Black Sun (DrivethruRPG) - Magic and Cults for SWN
Darkness Visible (DrivethruRPG) - Espionage Campaigns and Equipment for SWN V1
Dead Names (DrivethruRPG) - Ruins and Alien Civilizations for SWN and Sci-fi games
Distant Lights (DrivethruRPG) - Outposts and Governance for SWN and Sci-fi games
Engines of Babylon (DrivethruRPG) - Sci-fi at a Solar System Scale for SWN V1
Persons of Interest (DrivethruRPG) - A NPC and plot generator for Sci-fi Adventures
Relics of the Lost (DrivethruRPG) - New Items Weapons and Armor for SWN v1
Sixteen Stars (DrivethruRPG) - Adventure Locations and builders for Sci-fi games
Skyward Steel (DrivethruRPG) - Naval Campaigns, items, and equipment for SWN v1
Starvation Cheap (DrivethruRPG) - Army Campaigns, items, and equipment for SWN v1
Suns of Gold (DrivethruRPG) - Merchant Campaigns for SWN v1

Adventures

All of the Adventures that I've played in a Sci-fi setting have been homebrewed, so this section isn't applicable

Horror

Games

Old Gods of Appalachia - Same System as Numenara, but I prefer ripping it off for other setting as opposed to running or playing it. Not because it's bad, just because Appalachian Folk Horror isn't something I'm interested in playing in.
Silent Legions - Another Kevin Crawford Game. It needs updating to bring it in line with the other Without Number games, but it's still great.