Routinely Itemised: RPG #323

Bronwen and I are wrapping up our time wearing many hats as often as possible during the Edinburgh festival season. Nevertheless, a skimpy collection from Geek Native this week, but let’s take a look.

There’s more from elseweb so let’s start with the summary of summaries!

• Tabletop Scotland is the UK’s biggest D&D Convention.
• Rascal has been talking to Zatu employees who say they’ve had a terrible time.
• Sadly, Bud Baird has passed away.
• Publishers have won the first round in the battle to get their stuff back from Diamond Comics.
• Shipping to the US becomes increasingly difficult or impossible from more countries for small items.

Pleasingly, despite the Edinburgh Festival intensity, the RPG Publisher Spotlight interview went live. We talked to ex-Paizo Michael Sayre about rebuilding Pathfinder to power JRPG-style TTRPGs!

It’s been a while since we last mentioned the Geek Native merch store. This week Dot Rar, the audio dragon, became the best-selling design.

And now, the Routinely Itemised TTRPG news.

Spotlight: Infinite Reimagine.

RPG news from Geek Native

• Tabletop Scotland is now the UK’s biggest D&D convention.
• Geek Native picked up the news that Meow Wolf has partnered with Exalted Funeral for a TTRPG called Tavers.
• I wrote up our interview with Michael Sayre and Infinite Re:Imagine.
• Son of Oak Game Studio has a new TTRPG in the bestseller charts with Legend in the Mist.
• The Bundle of Holding has a deal on the excellent solo and group RPG Ironsworn.

Competition: Adventuring Family

RPG news from around the web

• Rascal’s research team covers Zatu denies toxic workplace allegations from former employees. (Nothing on the Zatu blog yet.)
• At EN World, Michael O’Brien shares the sad news Bud Baird of Bud’s RPG Review, Bud & Griff’s Gaming Creepshow, co-author of Viral has died.
• Rich Johnston, at Bleeding Cool, writes Comic Book Publishers Win Round One Against Diamond Comics In Court.
• Kickstarters and retailers groan. The BBC notes that Royal Mail and DHL halt some US deliveries over tariffs.
• At EN World, Morrus pens The What’s Old Is New TTRPG System Expands With Hardcover Bestiary.
• At ICv2, they check outNew Monsters Lurk in ‘Pathfinder Monster Core 2’ and FanRoll Unveils ‘D&D Fizban’s Treasure Mystery D20’ Boxes. (Check the Fanroll site.)
• TTRPG Insider covers Class is in Session: Looking Inside DM University.
• Chaosium launches Mark Morrison’s Table Tales.
• TechRaptor reports Wizards of the Coast’s Exodus TTRPG is Out, Putting a Sci-Fi Twist on Dungeons & Dragons.
• Gavin Sheehan, at Bleeding Cool, writes up Critical Role Reveals Full Cast & Content Details For Campaign Four.
• At GameRant, Carla Carmona pens, Dungeons and Dragon’s New September 16 Release is Not For Everyone, And That’s a Good Thing.
• At D&D Beyond, Mike Bernier notes the D&D news from GenCon.
• The official Inverclyde Council website in Scotland announces Unique Dungeons and Dragons events to celebrate Port Glasgow 250.
• Shawn Merwin got a Roll20 mention for giving away copies of their 34-page D&D adventure The Night Land.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Broadway World reviewed an Edinburgh Fringe  Tartan Tabletop: A Dungeons & Dragons Comedy.
• Steve Hatherly reviews FASA’s The Legend of the Sky Raiders.
• The Kind GM writes up The Back Sun Rises.
• Tomb of Tedankhamen reviews Coyote & Crow.
• Throat Punch Games offers up a ringside report of Dreadnought.
• Reviews from R’leyth writes up Crawling Under a Broken Moon #10, Arkham Horror’s Comets of Kingsport, En Garde!, and Warhammer Soulbound.
• The Fandomentals runs the interview “It’s A Gardening Exercise”: D&D’s Greg Bilsland On Remembering The Forgotten Realms In 2025.
• Watch Well Games has an interview with Intergalactic Heroes lead Bryan Steele.

RPG new releases

• Free League Publishing has a shiny new Coriolis: The Great Dark core rulebook.
• Green Ronin has revised and released the Dragon Age Game Master’s Kit.
• Witch House Games has published the quickstart rules for the diceless Stars Are Right.
• Chlo Burns invites you to pay very little for Riff Wizards.
• Crow Heart Roleplay Resources has released the grimdark solo Grimscar RPG.
• Fantasy Quest Publishing has given us Dungeon Quest.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $13.50 (50%) with Mystic Stump Games’ Red Die Systems bundle.
• Save $11.00 (69%) in the Wilderwhim 5 Years of Wilderwhim bundle.
• Save $2.75 (50%) in Thaloranth Publishing’s Shipwreck Complete Series bundle.
• Save $2 (25%) with the DMsGuild’s Ruckus, Chaos, Murder, Havoc – RPSG Tier 1 Bundle.
• Save $1.95 (20%) with The Homebakery’s Homebaked Adventures bundle.
• There’s a digital 5e fantasy bundle deal starting at £0.89 and growing to £11.60 at Fanatical.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• At Kuow, Dyer Oxley writes up Dungeons & Dragons and disinformation: How gaming can combat the misinformation age.
• Gab Hernandez, at Wargamer, reports Generative AI might make DMing DnD easier, but at what cost?.
• At GameRant, Carla Carmona writes One Iconic Dungeons and Dragons Feature is Still Problematic After 50 Years.
• The Kind DM reports RPGaDAY2025 – Day 16: Overcome.
• At Scott’s Game Room, we have Running a Hinterlands League.
• At ComicBook.com, Amanda Kay Oaks pens I’m Worried the New Baldur’s Gate 3-Themed Books Will Alienate D&D Fans.
• At Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics, they write Dark Sun Returns in New “Apocalyptic Subclasses” D&D Playtest.

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:

• Era: Survival TTRPG – 8th Anniversary Edition from Shades of Vengeance nominates “A new edition of our critically-acclaimed Tabletop RPG!”
• Untold Fate; A TTRPG Campaign Module from Enchanted Lore suggests “A table top roleplaying compaign; compatible with D&D5e, Pathfinder 1e & 2e”
• The Rust and the Raider: LAND, 5e steampunk D&D from Anthony David proposes “Steel wheels, scorched earth, and secrets buried beneath the tread.”
• A Little Drop of Poison | Survival Horror Roleplaying from RC Stacey is working on “Dark Literary Tabletop RPG | Will you conquer the monster that killed your family?”
• Subclasses of Wonder from DM-FLYNN kickstarts “50 Thematic Subclasses for 5E & One D&D – Bold Archetypes, Legendary Power, Endless Roleplay”
• A Classic Quest from Wyrmsong Studios nominates “A Cinematic TTRPG Digital Soundtrack”
• Kilgarde – Chapter One from Ross is working on “Build the town, uncover its secrets—3D-printable terrain + lore, NPCs, and handouts for your next fantasy table adventure.”
• 5E Social Encounter Overhaul from Kreative Explosion offers “Say goodbye to simple persuasion rolls and hello to real roleplay. A full system overhaul for 5E social encounters.”
• Starborn Tales: A universe forged in friendship from Heeth Lewotsky introduces “An AI/human collaboration bringing myth, conspiracy and a lot of sci fi awesomeness to seekers of adventure… lined with truth”
• 1000+ Sci-fi Battlemaps for TTRPG and VTTRPG from Agnieszka Polanowska proposes “High Quality 1000+ Sci-fi Battle Maps,Digital Rpg maps with Commercial Use”
• A Tome of Wild Magic Items for D&D from CraftRiot submits “A tome of unpredictable wild magic items to turn your game upside-down. Fully compatible with DnD 5e!”
• Bleak North Beckons – 5e One-shot from Dark Eagle Games kickstarts “A perilous road, ruthless gnolls, and choices that matter—begin a series of 5e pilgrim adventures.”
• Terrains of Terror: Forest Foes from Dragonsbane Designs suggests “A D&D 5e Bestiary of Deadly Monsters & Where to Fight Them”
• The Carp Bank Band — 5e Dungeon and Dragons New Adventure! from Meda Kilam raises funds for “Join this first chapter of the “Swampdrift” adventure trilogy filled with mysteries, enemies, politics, and the gang…”
• Living Loot: 100 Evolving Magic Items for 5E from Allister submits “Artifacts that change with choices branching upgrades, blessings, and bans.”
• Three Weeks In The Streets + Rå Power [Mörk Borg] from Elijah Herman offers “A city-prison scenario & voidcrawl supplement for Mork Borg. What would your party do to survive?”
• Crowmere: Folktales for a Sunless Age (made for Shadowdark) from Vasilie Crisan nominates “Bring folklore horror to your Shadowdark game in a setting where, one day, the sun never rose. New classes, ancestries, and adventures!”
• Far Horizons Guide to Mysterious Locations from Falconian Productions nominates “A system-agnostic tabletop supplement to add strange and magical locations to your game worlds.”
• Sea Glass Dice: Two-Tone Frosted Dice for RPGs from Dice Dungeons submits “Unique glass dice inspired by sea glass. Beautifully designed collectible dice with a layered ocean aesthetic.”
• Tenchikai – D&D 5E Campaign Setting from Anna “Champooloo” is working on “a DnD Dungeons and Dragons setting based on a homebrew world by @DM.champooloo.”
• Aetherial Expanse: Dreams of the Drowned God from Ghostfire Gaming is working on “Embark on a plane-spanning 5E 2024 adventure full of mystery, war, and cosmic catastrophe.”
• Crawl Breakers Handbook of Fighting & Dying for Shadowdark from WyrdFall Press pitches “Rules & Rulings for Combat, Death, and Defying the Darkness in the Shadowdark RPG”
• Temple of the Bone Mongers – for the ShadowDark RPG from Jeff Stevens nominates “An one- to two-session adventure Designed for use with ShadowDark RPG. Includes a New Class!”
• The Funeral Where Everything Goes Wrong – A TTRPG One Shot from Alex Edwards kickstarts “A comedy one shot with a time loop twist! Can your players save the funeral, solve the mystery, and escape? Fits all systems (Inc D&D)”
• 5 GMs Season 5: From Inside the Tent from 5 GMs in a Trenchcoat is working on “From Inside the Tent is a love letter to 80s movies, spending the summer with friends and the bittersweet goodbyes of getting older.”
• Tribes in the Dark – Roleplaying Game from Dream Pod 9 pitches “Tribes in the Dark is new edition of the Tribe 8 roleplaying game, powered by Forged in the Dark.”
• FAST Core RPG Gold Edition! from Scott Taylor raises funds for “Fully updated and expanded FAST Core RPG with 15 Settings and 115 Adventures available!”
• BËNTHIC: The Scattered Seafloor from Thomas Zitkevitz introduces “A prelude hexcrawl zine and ashcan rulebook to a deep-sea delving OSR TTRPG compatible with MÖRK BORG and Pirate Borg”
• The Deck of Mortal Things – D&D 5e Supplement from Paper Quest is working on “Mortality in your hands: gorgeous 22 stained-glass tarot cards with world-shattering effects for 5E adventurers.”
• MAPS FOR FANTASY RPGs Workbook 10 from Laidback Dungeon Master offers “Workbooks with hand-drawn isometric maps! Write notes & stock YOUR dungeons, on YOUR shelf! DnD 5e OSR D&D Pathfinder Dragonbane OSE”
• Sacramancy Eclipse – Creepy Cards for DnD and Oracle Reading from Doug Hoppes suggests “35-card dark fantasy idea deck and book used by oracle readers, DnD Players, therapists, teachers, and writers.”
• Fizanthra’s Guide to the Fringe from Bryan Donihue raises funds for “Expand your TTRPG into space! This sci-fi space setting is a supplement for the Hidden Worlds Refined Core.”
• Starship Scavengers: The Case of the Asteroid Blues from The Grinning Frog suggests “A multi-part, solo play sci-fi adventure including a full star system guide, game box, accessories and exclusive mini game.”
• A DOOM DUNGEON from Tabletop-Modellbau Jörg Cappel is working on “A modular dungeon for many games. 3D supportless printing stl.”
• Prestige dice set 2 from LunaDice suggests “Unique set of d6 dice in brass for collectors, geeks, dnd, tabletop games and for all who love dice.”
• 🌙 100 Nightmares: Rise of the Dream Lords from Robert James kickstarts “A D&D 5e supplement featuring dream assassination, nightmare warfare, and surreal storytelling.”
• The Dancing Sun Tavern’s Folio of Evolving Magical Items from JJ introduces “A collection of unique 5e compatible magical items and weapons that evolve as they are used.”
• Coralthea: Waking Nightmares & Forgotten Fates from OlderNDumber crowdfunds “Four artists. Four heroes. Four nightmares brought to life in this comic anthology based on the Coralthea: Waking Fates D&D live play.”

Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.