Next week’s TTRPG news summary will be written in the midst of the Festival’s opening chaos, as we are thrown into it. You’ve been warned!
On with the news!
- Indiegogo will gogo; gobbled up by Gamefound
- White Wolf needs a Lead Game Designer, Commissioning Art Director, and pretty much the whole team
- Mutants & Masterminds will have a playtest ed for Gen Con; 4th ed later.
- Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Handbook and other Cosmere TTRPG books are out
- It’s Gen Con season!
We’re not the only team from the tabletop games hobby attending the Festival. Chaosium is returning to the National Library of Scotland for Call of Cthulhu – Live in the Library.
The building holds several mysterious and old books. What could go wrong?
We have also published the July Publisher Spotlight. Julien Pirou might be the biggest game designer in the tabletop space, not well known in UK/US/Can/Aus.
That’s not all! We’re (finally) running a competition again (UK), and it’s for the therapeutic TTRPG Adventuring Family.
On with the news!
Spotlight: Empyreal Media Productions.
RPG news from Geek Native
- It’s big news as Gamefound seeks to get even bigger by buying Indiegogo.
- Pathfinder creator Jason Bulmahn sat down with us for a chat about horror and the new TTRPG Hellfinder.
- Studio Heritage founder Justin Achilli talked to Geek Native about The return of “Our Brilliant Ruin”.
- What have they been doing? White Wolf needs to hire (almost) everyone.
- SoulMuppet have a free-to-download quickstart for their forthcoming Doomspiral.
- Green Ronin will have a Mutants & Masterminds playtest edition out soon in prep for next year’s Mutants & Masterminds 4e.
- We’ve an interview with Ashton Baker about adult TTRPGs and the Sins of our Mother.
- VTT challenger, Hedron, picks up the award-winning Punk is Dead.
- Zat published 90-real-life-feet of battlemap in “The One Mile“.
- The Wanderer’s Tome, the ENnie-nominated woman-owned company behind Flabbergasted, gave us a look at Frances & Gorg’s Camp Make Believe.
- Critical Role has teamed up with Adhoc Studio for an Exandria computer game.
- D&D, horror and spirits fan Matthew Lillard’s drinks company is releasing a whiskey called Hell Is Not Mocked.
- Mongoose Publishing released an official soundtrack for Traveller Frontier.
- The Bundle of Holding is a mega bundle for Advanced Adventures and a flash deal on Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland.
Competition: Adventuring Family
RPG news from around the web
- GameInformer has the exclusive first look at The Art of the New D&D Forgotten Realms.
- At Wargamer, Lauren Bergin notes that Paizo’s sci-fi DnD rival Starfinder is getting a module based on MMO Warframe.
- Gen Con has a feature on Matt Shoemaker’s forthcoming book, Gathering of Gamers.
- Wizards of the Coast has shared their D&D at Gen Con 2025 plans.
- Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics writes up Cthulhu Invades D&D Beyond With New Supplement.
- Rascal’s press release channel carries Leo Hunt’s Vaults of Vaarn: Second Edition.
- Gizmodo reports that ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Is Trying a ‘Stranger Things’ Collab Game Again.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Polygon’s Francesco Cacciatore notes D&D’s new starter set looks back at Gary Gygax and his most popular module.
- TechRaptor has a Warhammer The Old World RPG Player’s Guide Preview.
- Rob Wieland pens Cthulhu By Gaslight Keeper’s Guide Dives Into The Dark Side Of The Era.
- Reviews from R’leyh looks at Arora’s Into the Living Sands, Call of Cthulhu’s Madness at Geneva Lake, Tales of the Old West, HitPoint Press’ Astromythos: Lair of the Spider Lord and the LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl.
- Tabletop Bookshelf has read and reviewed What Lies Beneath.
- Flames Rising has reviewed Dragon Delves Adventure Anthology.
- Halfway Station reviews Daggerheart and Deadlands.
- Ill Met by Morrslieb has first impressions of The Old World RPG Gamemaster’s Guide and Dark Heresy first edition’s Game Master Kit.
- Rolling Boxcars looked back at the Bullwinkle and Rocky™ Roleplaying Party Game.
- Wargamer asks The Warhammer The Old World RPG is slick, but does it need to exist? (But do we need any RPG ~G)
- Grognardia has a retrospective on AD&D’s The Gauntlet.
- TTRPG Insider talks to Cubicle 7 about Doin’ ‘The Laund’y’: Meet the British Delta Green. (Note: C7 are Irish, not British.)
RPG new releases
- Brotherwise Games has published Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG;
- Stormlight Handbook
- Stormlight World Guide
- Stonewalkers
- The First Step
- Bridge Nine
- Welcome to Roshar
(But check out the bundles before you rush to buy any of these!)
- Bloat Games has released SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies: Ultimate Edition – Core Rules.
- Rowan, Rook & Decard have released a teaser with a Pay What You Want DIE RPG quickstart.
- In physical, Schwalb Entertainment has published two retail version books via DriveThruRPG. They are Secrets of the Weird Wizard and PunkApocalyptic: The RPG.
- Also, Forbidden Planet et al are taking pre-orders on;
RPG bundle deals
- Brotherwise Games has several bundles of Brandon Sanderson titles;
- Save $60 (57%) on Cosmere’s Stormlight Handbook.
- Save $60 (57%) on Cosmere’s Stormlight World Guide.
- Save $40 (53%) on Cosmere’s Stonewalkers.
- Save $10 (38%) on Cosmere’s Bridge Nine.
- Save $4.01 (20%) on Cosmere’s The First Step.
- Save $8.25 (50%) with Thaloranth Publishing’s Starburn Sector: The Complete Faction Series bundle.
- Save $8.38 (43%) with Relentless Fiction’s The Magical World of Larry Spotter bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Kobold Press publish part two of their World Building design seminar with Wolfgang Baur, Zeb Cook, and Richard Green.
- Sly Flourish Mike recommends Prep three quests.
- Grinning Rat stacks an article on Omen Dice and How to Find An Entrance.
- Roleplaying Tips writes about World Calendars & Campaign Timelines and asks Do You Speak in Ellipses? A Common GM Mistake (And How to Fix It).
- The Alexandrian discusses Ptolus: Running the Campaign – Fighting With Monsters.
- At EN World, Andrew Peregrine talks about the Phases of Growth in Game Design.
RPG Crowdfunding
There’s more! You can catch up with the Kickstarter campaign we’ve written up in more detail at Kickstarter watch. Here are some noteworthy industry projects to mention:
- “The Cultists” – A Cthulhu Comedy RPG and “Cthulhu’s ABCs” from Ravenkeep nominates “RPG Gaming and Storybook in a world of Lovecraftian cultists trying to worship Cthulhu in a world full of people who don’t understand”
- Burning Man- a 5e Adventure for levels 1-2 from Gaxx Worx pitches “Flame sparks chaos in Nassir! Sinister forces prey upon the weak in this exciting 5e scenario set in Luke Gygax’s world of Okkorim!”
- Hand-Inlaid RPG Dice & Dice Box from Ranger Dice suggests “Wooden dice box|Wooden dice|Handmade mother-of-pearl inlay work|”
- Worldbuilding Blueprints: Volume I from Starving Writer Studio introduces “Create epic worlds with 50+ templates, examples & a proven 20-year storytelling framework.”
- Candy DnD Dice – Handcrafted Fantasy Dice from samuel raises funds for “Polyhedral RPG Dice for Dungeons & Dragons and TTRPGs. Handmade in Germany. Unique Resin Dice with Miniature Lollipops . DnD Dice Set”
- The Crumbling Keep of Khashmur – A Shadowdark Adventure from Thom Wilson raises funds for “A 12-level “megadungeon” for the Shadowdark RPG in hardcover!”
- Dragon Storm, a D&D 5e dragon themed adventure from Matthew David suggests “Battle twisted hybrid dragons in a desperate quest to shatter the Rift-Forge and stop an evil dragon from unleashing a new dark age.”
- The Healer’s Secret for D&D 5e from Hidden Hoard crowdfunds “Explore a cursed forest, uncover dark secrets, and confront a hidden evil in this ready-to-run adventure fully compatible with DnD 5e.”
- 3 Islands: The Cleric’s Prophecy – A fishy adventure from TGrejczik raises funds for “Join the crew on an 5e/5.5 D&D adventure with illustrations, maps, NPC, quest hook, monsters and more in this homebrew set of 3 islands”
- Trails & Tales: The Crypt of Atan-Thu from The Danger Forge kickstarts “An OSR Adventure for the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game”
- Voidrim Omega from Nerdura Games proposes “A TRUE-d6 standalone Sci-Fi TTRPG.”
- Gemstone & Glass Bullet Dice from TheDiceShopOnline nominates “Bullet Shaped Dice | Full Dice Set | High Grade Gemstone | Stunning Glass | 15 Years of Gemstone Experience”
- The Realms of Shadowmarch: Scorched Harvest 5e D&D from Anthony David nominates “A Campaign of Fire, Growth and Ancient Pacts – 5e D&D”
- Thrive to Survive : Zombie Apocalypse TTRPG from Caden is working on “Join your friends in shaping your way through a zombie apocalypse in a one of a kind table top RPG.”
- DungeonBox — Jackbox meets Dungeons & Dragons from Foxtail Games kickstarts “DungeonBox takes you and your friends on an adventure, where you make progress by creating and voting on your party’s actions”
- Living Minis: Animated RPG Miniatures from Hit Point Press nominates “Gorgeous, durable, and animated RPG miniatures. Bring your tabletop games to life with living minis!”
- Three New Battlezoo Secret Tomes for Shadowdark! from Roll For Combat offers “Three Secret Tomes will transform your ShadowDark campaigns with hundreds of award-winning new monsters and new player options.”
- Anime and Comic Book RPGs and Expansions Mega Campaign from Dyskami Publishing offers “A collection of role-playing products for Anime 5E, BESM, Tri-Stat, and the Heart Attack comic series (Powered by the Apocalypse: PbtA)”
- Mystery Menagerie Dice Sets from Q-workshop proposes “A sweet gang of animals has taken over our dice, hiding in mystery packs and ready to pop out for your joyful rolls!”
- Wyldsurge Sorcerer from Dark Eagle Games submits “A reforging of a classic 5e/24e Sorcerer, packed with new surge tables, spells, items, and creatures.”
- Cold Hand of Fate – A Norse Adventure Path from Ed Stanek pitches “It’s a four chapter, Norse-themed adventure path for Dungeon Crawl Classics.”
- Bruno Barleybeard’s Big Book of Brewing from Glen Watkins suggests “A Book of Brewing, Beer-based Beverages and Buffoonery for your 5e games.”
- 5e Horror One-Shot: Curse of Sahrashar from Elven Foundry offers “An Horror Desert One-Shot Adventure for players level 1 to 4”
- Lost Roads of Lociam – The World That Is from Rasmus Strand kickstarts “The expansion to the Lost Roads of Lociam is The World That Is, about the place of humans in a fantasy world”
- Creature Feature Quaterly Vol.15 for Old School Essentials from Jeremy Hart Illos proposes “16 monsters for use with OSE (or other games of the B/X variety). Packed with fluff and play aids- Paper minis! VTT tokens!”
- Legendary Planet: Cosmic Adventure for 5E, Pathfinder & More from Legendary Games raises funds for “Sword-and-planet adventure across the universe for level 1-20 for D&D 2024 & 2014, Pathfinder 1E & 2E, Starfinder, Tales of the Valiant”
- Roll & Ore V2 – Dice Forged from Monsters & Minerals from Duchess offers “Ancient ores. Legendary beasts. Handmade dice that channel the raw power of fantasy worlds. Let your rolls tell epic tales.”
- The Book of 100 Curses from James suggests “A system-neutral grimoire of cursed things to torment, tempt, and transform your world.”
- Kingdom Vault Arcana – Foldable Town from Black Blossom Games pitches “Foldable 3D Printable Buildings and Terrain with Superb Quality for Tabletop, RPG and 28mm D&D! Pay What You Want!”
- Dice Goblin Coloring Book from Ty Hulse kickstarts “A coloring book of whimsical magical creatures and dice goblins.”
- Modern RPG Battle Maps for Every Scenario – TTRPGs & VTT from Agnieszka Polanowska offers “High-Resolution 560 Modern RPG Battle Maps”
- Maps for TTRPGs – Sea & Pirates from RealmCrafters raises funds for “300+ Pirate-Themed Battle Maps for Any TTRPG (such as D&D or Pathfinder) — Ships, Treasure, and Tropical Adventure (Grid & Gridless)”
- Prism: A Tabletop System from Arcadum kickstarts “Creating a tabletop system that combines old-school wisdom with modern mechanics.”
- CursedRoot: 3D Printable STL Dice Tower DnD & Tabletop RPG from Simone raises funds for “Roll with a primal roar! This 3D printable includes a unique, cursed tree stump dice tower!”
Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.
