We’re pretty much out of time for the internet to deliver any festive gifts. We’ll have to hit the high street or distract ourselves with RPG news.
Here goes!
- The Batman TTRPG quickstart is out.
- Hasbro commissioned a stop motion “last” episode of the D&D cartoon in Brazil
- Lumpley Games is playtesting a new RPG.
- Kobold Press shared a candid State of Play
- The Goodie Award winners have been named
- Free RPG Day 2025 will be the 21st of June
RPG social media continues to shift and we’re seeing a bit more on Threads, a bit less on Mastodon, X is in ruins and BlueSky is booming.
Tiktok, of course, is it’s own thing but what if it gets banned in the United States?
As we approach the end of the year, let me also highlight the podcast, which normally goes out on Saturday. The next Saturdays are the 21st, 28th and 4th, so while I wince at setting the expectations, I also think it’s safe to say we’ll broadcast as usual through the holidays.
On with the news!
Spotlight: The World Anvil.
RPG news from Geek Native
- The Batman TTRPG is due, and the Quickstart is out now.
- Philip Reed re-released the horror RPG The Whispering Vault.
- In Brazil, Hasbro commissioned the Lost Episode of D&D.
- Jesse Harlin released the quickstart for icecore RPG Arrhenius.
Spotlight: Patreon
RPG news from around the web
- Lumpley Games are running open playtests for Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven’s Ars Magica.
- Chaosium’s first Pendragon fiction title is Chris Gidlow’s “Arthur the Solider”, available from them, DTRPG or on Kindle.
- Declining revenue and that’s before tariffs and trade wars, Wolfgang Baur shares the state of Kobold Press.
- Modiphius has launched their mediaeval Doomsong RPG.
- D&D Beyond summed up the year, noting that 3.6 million D&D 2024 characters were created.
- Goodman Games announced the Goodie Award winners for 2024.
- Monte Cook Games’ Cypher System Character Builder Now Has Pregens.
- ICv2 notes that there will be three versions of Starfinder 2e’s Galaxy Guide
- Rascal’s Thomas Manuel writes up The Brazilian fans keeping the Street Fighter TTRPG alive.
- Steve Jackson Games have started their Solstice Savings Sale.
- Monte Cook Games are doing their great A Gift for Charity, a Gift for a Loved One, or a Gift for You again.
- The New York Times went with How the Swedish Dungeons & Dragons Inspired Helldivers 2 (Paywall) [Spoiler: They mean Dragonbane]
- In more computer game news, D&D’s Dark Alliance is shutting down.
- Free RPG Day for 2025 is June 21st.
- Unfortunately, RPG blogger Darryl Mott is unwell, without a national health system and therefore on a GoFundMe.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- At RPG.net, Lev Lafayette reviewed the old Dark Sun Freedom.
- Runeblogger wrote up the RuneQuest Starter Set.
- Throat Punch Games has a ring side review of Pathfinder’s Godsrain.
- The Wandering Gamist reviewed Classic Traveller: The Imperial Fringe.
- Reviews from R’lyeh covered the 1984 Time Master and then moved on to Assault on the Fuhrer Train. Pookie also reviewed Feast of the Gobbler Witch.
- Aaron T. Huss reviewed The Electric State Roleplaying Game.
- At Gnome Stew, Jare Rascher reviewed Tales of the Valiant: Monster Vault.
- Grognardia wrote up Classic Traveller and then Adventure 4: Leviathan.
RPG new releases
- Dungeon Matters has published Ironwic Mysteries Bundle: The Complete 5e Steampunk Collection.
- QuasiReal House have released their Shadowcroft Arcanum Digital Tarot Deck & Guide Book.
- Light Tracer’s Archive have a D&D-compatible setting and rule book in The Traveler’s Guide to the Toxic Seas.
- Adventures Await Studios has published a 5e adventure called Silence on the Watchtower.
- SideQuests have lived up to their name with more 5e and this time Oneshots of The City.
- Oneirostoria published a unique core RPG called Ageratos.
- Jonathan Green and ACE Gamebooks published an RPG inspired by John Masefield’s The Box of Delights.
- OnixUA released 24 pages for 5e Ukrainian Mythology Bestiary.
- Colin Dunlop has released a Call of Cthulhu sourcebook called Cthulhu Ireland.
- Gallant Knight Games have released a $4.99 RPG from Jim Pinto called Brave.
- Rat In A Suit Productions published a starter set for the horror RPG Land in the Mist.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $6.93 (54%) in Terra RPG’s The Great Tapestry: Planar Compendium of Terrae bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- It’s been a tough week, okay? So, I re-themed D&D’s dragons.
- Refereeing and Reflection got into the history of RuneQuest.
RPG Crowdfunding
You can see those Kickstarters and other crowdfunding campaigns that caught Geek Native’s attention over at Kickstarter watch. Here are some industry projects worth mentioning;
- Depths of Obscurum from Oh Hi Games nominates “Depths of Obscurum is a dark fantasy tabletop solo/co-op RPG where you test your mettle against ancient horrors beyond imagining.”
- Divine Diversities: 50 Unique Cleric Subclasses for D&D 5e from DM-FLYNN offers “Blessings, Curses, and Powers Untold – Expand Your Divine Repertoire for Every Table”
- The Lighthouse Shadows 5E from Eric Bleney crowdfunds “A lighthouse vital to maritime trade has become the source of mysterious shipwrecks. A 5th Edition one-shot adventure designed for 3-5.”
- Korg | Scars of Silvos from Caleb Engelke is working on “A quick and easy Solo adventure game. Travel the world, delve dungeons, complete quests, and retire a hero!”
- Elite Undead Handmade Dice Set & Sourcebook from RPCraft Publishing is working on “Handmade Crystal D&D Dice Set With a Sourcebook PDF for 5e/5.5e DnD”
- Knight Errant from St Caedmon Studios suggests “The Chivalric Tabletop Roleplaying Game”
- Fabled Beginnings: A Gear Errant from Fabled Adventurers Extraordinaire Games proposes “D&D 5E High-level play for low-level parties, starring Mechanus”
- Rise of the Fire Elves: A 5e Adventure of Rebellion & Fire from Matthew David pitches “Journey through a fiery realm where the fate of the Fire Elves rests in your hands.”
- Santa’s Bag of Holding: 100+ New Magic Items for 5e from Table Knight Studios introduces “We are providing 100+ new magic items and the project will grow with each backer. 10 backers mean a new magic item in the Santa’s Bag.”
- Gronch’s Great Giftmas Heist: A Festive One Shot! ($1) from Kian Collectives nominates “Everything is ruined! The lights and cheer are lost. Can you rally spirits, melt hearts, and save Giftmas before it’s too late?”
- Evoke: AI for Your Tabletop Adventures from Thomas kickstarts “Community-driven AI to create stunning art and lore for your characters, campaigns, and worlds for your tabletop games.”
- MaricopaCon XII Tabletop Game Con (Family, Friends, and Fun) from Jason Youngdale kickstarts “Arizona’s Kickstarted Tabletop game convention is running its yearly campaign for the following August convention.”
- We Dig Giant Robots: A Rockin Mecha One-Shot RPG from K Arroyo introduces “Rock out with friends in this stellar microrpg aimed at one-shot sessions and short campaigns of radical giant robo action”
- Civitas Rise and Fall: A Worldbuilding and Storytelling RPG from Fleet Save Games submits “A cooperative storytelling and wordbuilding RPG about the rise and fall of civilizations.”
- Stonehaven – Modular 3D Scenery – Wargames, AoS, RPGs … from Wargamesceneries offers “Forge your own fortress, build your game, with fully modular 3D-Printed Tabletop Scenery featuring stone and wooden village structures.”
- Tales of Eurisia: Undeath & Dragons from Abyssoul Fantasy Projects submits “Resin miniatures and STL that comes with free 5e supplements and free painting tutorials, all in one pack.”
- 500 Fantasy Token Collection: Wartribe from Grim Press pitches “Get orcish tokens with a consistent style & border. Great for Print & Play or use on Virtual Tabletops. D&D, Pathfinder, TTRPGs.”
- Law & Disorder from Alex B pitches “Third party content for CyBorg ttrpg.”
- Fantastical Art: Game Mats, Stickers, Pins, & More! from Jessica Feinberg submits “Game Mats, stickers, pins, and huge fabric prints featuring unique original fantasy illustration (no AI used).”
- Basic Bases for Tabletop: STL Files from tom suggests “STL Files for simple pattern bases for tabletop gaming and miniatures.”
- Mythical Realms Dungeon Tiles from Ashley nominates “Double Sided, Interlocking, Dungeon Tiles for Table Top Games”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
