TTRPGs that make imbalance fun: best community suggestions

Pubblicato il 26/9/2025

Roleplaying gamers are increasingly seeking systems where imbalance between characters isn’t a bug, but a feature that drives fun and memorable stories. A recent Reddit discussion delivered a treasure trove of suggestions for asymmetric TTRPGs.

Most Recommended Games

• Paranoia
  The classic chaos engine—imbalance through secret powers, agendas, and betrayals. Sessions are unpredictable and hilarious.

• Everyone is John
  Players take turns controlling the same character, each with weird obsessions. Asymmetry is designed into the game, creating wild and unbalanced adventures.

• Borg of Pripyat
  Set in post-apocalyptic Soviet Pripyat, it allows characters with potent mutations and abilities, often with heavy drawbacks. The rules let you build ultra-specialized and “broken” PCs for over-the-top fun.

• Ars Magica
  Campaigns span vastly different power levels—from all-powerful magi to human companions—the imbalance is the fun.

• Dungeon Crawl Classics, Rifts, Shadowrun, GURPS, OSR and PBTA games
  All cited for their potential to create wildly divergent and memorable parties.

Key Community Takeaways

• The focus is less on balance, more on sharing spotlight and creative roles.

• OSR and old-school games embrace lethality and challenge, with imbalance as a core element.

• PBTA games often provide narrative, not power, balance—each PC is unique.

• Point-buy systems like GURPS encourage extreme optimization; flaws fuel crazy powers.

Looking for RPGs where imbalance means exciting play, risk, and creativity? Try Paranoia, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Borg of Pripyat, Rifts, Ars Magica, PBTA, GURPS, and Shadowrun. The community has spoken!

Blog asymmetric TTRPGs, Borg of Pripyat, GURPS, OSR, party imbalance, PBTA, unbalanced RPGs