Gamebooks on DriveThruRPG - Fabled Lands, Horror, Sci-Fi, D&D and Classic Series.

Here we are looking at paid or free pdf and book titles for solo rpgs and other solo gaming, for all systems and genres.

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Starting Points

Gamebooks have been having a renaissance for ten years or so. They're a good way to experience gaming in a bounded space, either offline or in a digital format.

With the addition of many Fabled Lands Publishing titles, DriveThruRPG now has a decent selection of gamebooks to play, mostly in digital format.

So here's a guide to what's on there, putting them into arbitrary groups!

Nov 2025: First version

Prominent Gamebook Series

Classic and more modern series of gamebooks in digital format.

The Blood Sword series by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson let you play 1-4 characters, each with very different abilities. The first is the Battle Pits of Krarth, competing against other groups of adventurers for victory .
ACE Gamebooks by gamebook veteran Jonathan Green are a series using simple mechanics to retell classic tales, such as The Wicked Wizard of Oz and Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland.
The Savage Realms Gamebooks are a series by a collection of gamebook authors. The first one is What Dreams May Come by TroyAnthony Schermer.
The Shadow Thief books by David Lowrie are published by Black Dog Gamebooks. A trilogy starting with Jailbreak sees you playing as a thief, breaking out of imprisonment and then bringing justice to your foes in a city setting in later books.
Way of the Tiger by Jamie Thomson and Mark Smith starts with Avenger and goes on for several more books. You play a ninja with many special tricks, progressing to rule over a city and command armies. I could only find the first 2 titles on DriveThruRPG so far.

Prominent Standalone Gamebooks

Some of the most well known individual gamebooks.

Heart of Ice by Dave Morris is set in icy post-apocalyptic Earth, with you and others searching for an artifact that holds the power to change everything.
The Sword of the Bastard Elf from Two-Fisted Fantasy is a huge book, which respects the choices you make and can take you in many different directions. Adult-themes and you're certainly not playing a hero.
Shoehorned into this category (because near xmas) is 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas by Jonathan Green. Santa has been abducted by the Xmas Devil and it's your job to sort it out.

Open-World Gamebooks

Open-world gamebooks are ones where you can travel where you will. And the series let you go from one book to another and back again.

Fabled Lands by Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson started off the first open-world gamebook series with the War-Torn Kingdom, an adventurer wandering a sprawling fantasy land. The other books in the series are Cities of Gold and Glory, Over the Blood-Dark Sea, the Plains of Howling Darkness, the Court of Hidden Faces and Lords of the Rising Sun. I couldn't see book 7 up there yet, but the Keep of the Lich Lord (a quest for Fabled Lands) is there.
The Valley of Bones from Spidermind Games is the first in Legendary Kingdoms (by Oliver Hulme), an open-world gamebook series where you play a group of up to 4 adventurers. The second book in the series is Crown & Tower.
VulcanVerse is the 2nd open-world series by Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson, starting with the Houses of the Dead. It's based on Greek Myth, and you're a hero trying to complete 12 great tasks. The fifth book Workshop of the Gods is actually a good place to start the series, with lots of hints and clues. The other books are the Hammer of the Sun, the Wild Woods and the Pillars of the Sky.
The GNAT Adventure Gamebooks are a mix of open-world. Grave of the Kraken by David Donachie is a good place to start. Each one lets you explore it with more freedom than most gamebooks. And you can take the same character between books, but only once you've completed the current one.

Horror Gamebooks

Horror is a popular and broad category, from dark fantasy to vampires, cthulhu and zombies.

Alone Against Nyarlathotep by Lee Wade is a Call of Cthulhu gamebook. Lots of North Yorkshire and creepy seaside towns and villages to explore.
The Tavern on Gallows Hill is by James A. Hirons, published by Savage Realms Press. It features carnivorous mushrooms, an undead clown and Baba Yaga.
In Dracula: Curse of the Vampire from Jonathan Green you are making your version of the classic tale.
The Demon & Detectives series from Demons & Dungeoneers Gamebooks are set in the roaring twenties, choosing from 6 pre-made characters and investigating various troubles. Forbidden Rituals is one title, set in New York.

Science Fiction & Post Apocalyptic

All types of science fiction, from space to post apocalypse. Also see Heart of Ice in prominent gamebooks

From PenguinComics is Random Solo Adventure: Post Apocalypse - Solo Gamebook, taking a romp through a wasteland of the world that was.
Ronin 47 by Jonathan Green is set in a post-apocalypse, among battling Kaiju and mechs.
Star Bastards from Two-Fisted Fantasy is a unique and irreverent romp / chase through space as one of two characters.

RPG Gamebooks

Some gamebooks let you play through with characters from prominent roleplaying games such as D&D 5e or Shadowdark.

The Death Knight's Squire from 5e Solo Gamebooks is a D&D Solo Adventure, where you can take a 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons character through a solo adventure. It's on DM's Guild, the sister site of DriveThruRPG. It's the first in a series of gamebooks.
Island of Fury is a gamebook by Paul Partington for Old School Essentials (OSE), taking a level 2 Fighter through a story featuring creatures from Celtic mythology. There's also a standard GNAT version.
The Sun Gulpers by Sam Arnold is a solo gamebook for Shadowdark. Meant to be the first in a series.

Other Gamebooks

Then a few gamebooks that don't fit other categories.

Lost in the City by Joseph Fry is a modern era gamebook (and the 100 Endings Gamebook for Dec 2025). Using coins instead of dice, try to escape the city or overthrow it's ruler.
Temple of the Skull God by Paul Partington is from GNAT Adventure Gamebooks. Explore the dungeon of the skull god and take your character to other GNAT gamebooks. On pay-what-you-want currently for at least a few weeks.
Shagrock Tunnels is a title from Demons and Dungeoneers is a d6-based dungeon crawl with six pregenerated characters. Part of a series with several other titles.
With an Asian feel, Jungle Quest from Penguin Comics is one where every playthrough is different.
The Flesh Thieves of Karnaf Tath by Jonathon Kelly is set in a paradise, with you searching for clues for why you are paying the price for the utopia.
Beyond the Morning Mountains by Michael Reilly takes you on a journey with a lot of sections. It's the first of The Tales of Quahnarren, but appears to be the only one published so far.

More Titles

This will get updated in the future, but leave a comment with other titles if you have one to share.

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