Whether it be because of shows like The Legend of Vox Machina. Part of D&D's success is its use of popular folkloric and mythological concepts in its world building.
Of course, it isn't the only tabletop game to use established folklore. There are plenty of other games that base their worlds more entirely on different cultures and mythologies. To players used to D&D, it can give a unique new flavor. These games are all excellent, though, using folklore in unique and appropriate ways.
TADHANA: A Filipino Tabletop RPG
There are tons of interesting creatures and stories that come from Filipino culture. This ranges from vampiric creatures like the Aswang and the Manananggal to more standard ghosts like the White Lady. TADHANA takes the mythology and expands it into an entire world.
The tabletop game takes place in the land of Kalawakan. Instead of the standard fantasy races, it features multiple different magical tribes called Lahi. It also has unique takes on both classes and spells with heavy customization options. Finally, the game uses cards instead of dice, cementing it as a unique experience from most other fantasy tabletop games.
Mysteries of the Yokai
There are tons of Japanese myths that make for great games. This is due to the culture's wide pantheon of Yokai, mysterious ghost-like spirits that menace citizens. There are plenty of great Yokai in video games and anime, but tabletop games were lacking them. This was until the release of the tabletop game Mysteries of the Yokai.
Mysteries of the Yokai isn't simply a standard tabletop that switches out knights for samurai and dragons for Yokai. It takes place in a mythohistorical Japan and allows the players to resolve conflicts in many ways. Diplomacy and observation can be just as powerful as combat. This is for players that find spiritual understanding just as fun as samurai duels.
Scion
Scion is an RPG based around the idea of demigods. Players take on the role of the descendants of the gods themselves. The gods come from a variety of pantheons from around the world rather than just Greek mythology. Its first edition even included some American folklore characters among its divine.
The pantheons include well-known cosmologies like Egyptian and Chinese and comparatively more obscure ones like Slavic and Ojibwe. The first edition was rather Euro-centric, but the second edition made more of an effort to be inclusive. This inclusivity works well with the game's rules. It uses the Storyteller system of RPGs, prioritizing storytelling elements over number-crunching gameplay.
AGON
AGON is an RPG based on the classic Greek myths. That being said, it doesn't have to be used to tell stories about centurions and minotaurs. The game pitches itself as a "legend creator" that allows the creation of authentic oral history. In essence, this game can be used to create folklore itself.
More specifically, it's based partially on the Odyssey. The gameplay consists of island hopping and gaining the favor of the Gods. It dresses these adventures in the language of poetry to make it more exciting. It's an RPG that does a great job of making it feel like the lore it's mimicking.
Mythras
The tabletop RPG Mythras is based more on the culture of the Roman Empire than Greek. Its name comes from a famous cult of the Empire. It manages to set itself apart from Grecian RPGs with more focus on fantasy and secrecy. Its biggest draw, though, is its d100 system.
Very few tabletop RPGs use a d100 for rolls. While this makes this a tough tabletop RPG for new players, it does offer a lot of options for experienced players. Mythras also features expansions that greatly expand its features. It can even be used for science fiction settings.
Mazes And Minotaurs
Mazes and Minotaurs is another RPG based on Greek mythology, specifically around the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. It's fitting that an RPG focused on dungeon crawling would use the original labyrinth story as inspiration. It was originally conceived as a parody of Dungeons and Dragons, but the tabletop game earned a strong following.
Since its creation in 2002 it's been steadily updated. Its focus has been almost entirely on emulating the feel of early tabletop games from the seventies. This gives it a meta-mythological angle, also being based on the lore of D&D's creation. The best part is that the game is completely free to and play.
Mythic Russia
Russian mythology and folklore are really underrepresented. These stories are usually quite dark and hopeless but keep a light magical element. Mythic Russia aims to keep it alive in the tabletop gaming space.
The game uses the HeroQuest system of tabletop role-playing rather than its own. It allows it to focus on the lore of the world, which combines fourteenth-century Russia history with gods and monsters. The game uses truncated descriptions to teach the players about folklore and history while also teaching them how to play. It's also fast to start, which makes it an edutainment blast.
The Storymaster's Tales: Weirding Woods
The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm have been adapted countless times by many works. Tabletop games, though, were somewhat of an exception. Despite being based on European folklore, faeries and trickery were often given more grounded takes. The Storymaster's Tales aims to fix that by allowing the players to collaboratively create fairy tales.
Weirding Woods is described as "one-part tabletop RPG, one-part choose-your-own-adventure" by its creators. This is because the world of the Woods is pretty defined. While players still create characters and roll dice, the encounters in any adventure are more set in stone. That being said, it can still be a fun time with friends, allowing for a unique fairy tale with all the feel of an authentic Grimm.
Nahual
Plenty of folklore-based RPGs offer a world that is based on the past of our own. There's nothing wrong with this, but players might want something more urban fantasy flavored instead. Kickstarted tabletop RPG Nahual is based on Mexican folklore with a refreshingly modern setting. Players play as a Nahual, a shape-shifter that hunts angels for a living.
Nahual uses the Powered By The Apocalypse game engine, which allows for flexibility in actions. Rather than having a description for every possible action in the game, the system has basic actions that can apply to almost every possibility a player can think of. This is fortunate, as there's a lot to do in the game's world. Players can start businesses, fight angels, and one of five different shape-shifter tribes with different abilities, powers, and goals.
Folklore: The Affliction
Folklore: The Affliction is, fittingly, all about the lore. Creatures from around the world's mythologies and folk tales are terrorizing the world, and 1-5 players can stop them. Expansions are constantly released for this game that add more monsters and cultures to the game. The object is simple; to discover and contain the cause of the supernatural afflictions of the world.
Players do this by becoming experts in folklore. Players must learn all they can about the different creatures they encounter in order to defeat them by upgrading their character in specific ways. This all can tie back into a large overarching story or just be standalone fun for some friends. It offers both tight story and dungeon-crawling in addition to a wide catalog of monsters. Folklore: The Affliction understands why mythology and folklore are so important and gives players the joy of exploring them in detail.
