It’s the week after Tabletop Scotland and, oh boy, did we break lots of news. This weekend I’ll be doing a charity hike to raise money for a local Dog and Cat home. Apologies in advance if Monday is a write-off!
As we usually do, let’s kick off with a summary of this summary of TTRPG news.
- Tabletop Scotland grew again, despite the new city honeymoon being over.
- Melsonian Arts Council ditches third-party crowdfunding.
- Dragon Con ejected an artist for selling AI-created Art.
- DMsGuild and Wizards of the Coast start a Baldur’s Gate game jam (AI creations are banned).
- Diamond Comics is suing comic book publishers in the ongoing legal war.
- Gamers find real life love in tabletop RPGs.
I’ll touch on this in tomorrow’s podcast, but I’m weirded out by how many (and which) publishers have revealed that they’re team baddie or have team baddie sympathies after the Kirk killing in the States.
Oh well! Look at how well the industry is doing.
And now, the Routinely Itemised TTRPG news.
Spotlight: DMIng the World Press.
RPG news from Geek Native
- You can get our wrap-up (and play with some virtual die) with our Tabletop Scotland 2025: The interactive write up.
- In a clever bit of marketing (though we noticed the best stats), StartPlaying has discovered 1 in 4 players experience real romance from in-game relationships.
- A debate as Melsonian Arts Council ditches Kickstarter.
- We may have had the scoop on the physical elements (a doom candle!) on Thou Shall Not Suffer The Wycce.
- Geek Native interviewed Rori Montford about Asher’s Ridge.
- There’s also an interview with Tyler Crumrine about a crowdfunder for three TTRPGs of swords, matriarchs and lovers.
- More interviews? Yes, and a good one as we speak to Josh Fox about the gothic sci-fi Ex Tenebris.
- Roll20 and the DMsGuild has a game jam to lure in D&D creators for Baldur’s Gate.
- We had the first look at the new Bardsong book.
- At Tabletop Scotland, Laurie O’Connell gave Full Send a quickstart preview.
- Also at Tabletop Scotland, Peregrine Coast Press print edition premiered their sci-fi RPG Milk Bar.
- We had a look at MacGuffin & Co’s solo edit of Pitcrawler.
- Sam Armstrong will crowdfund Small Folk in Big Coats.
- Biscuit Fund Games debuts Mouse in the House print edition.
- Three new print editions of new(ish) games were brought to Tabletop Scotland by Apothecaria.
- We found out what’s next for The Adventurer’s Apprentice after its big award win?.
- R. Talsorian Games has a growing stack of free Shadow Scar downloads.
- In TTRPG-related news, Dragon Con ejects artist with police escort over AI art allegations.
- There’s still some time on the clock as Star Trek RPG gets deep discounts in Fantasy Grounds VTT sale.
- The Bundle of Holding has a huge Rifts RPG series.
- At Humble, there’s The Ultimate Guide to Tabletop RPGS, Worldbuilding and Folklore.
Competition: £50 All Rolled Up voucher
RPG news from around the web
- Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston looks at Now Diamond Comics, The Debtor Is Suing All The Comic Book Publishers.
- Want to work for Roll20? They’ve a list of jobs cleverly written up on a public Google Doc.
- Bell of Lost Souls writes RPG: Chaosium Unveils New Collector’s Edition ‘Call Of Cthulhu’ Books.
- Polygon scribes One of the most versatile TTRPGs is about to get easier to play.
- Refeering and Reflection reviews some Cthulhu quickies.
- Wargamer’s Gab Hernandez shares An iconic post-apocalyptic TTRPG just got a new edition after nine years!.
- TTRPG Insider explains Indie Spotlight: Glatisant+ The Home We Remember.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Reviews from R’lyeh pens a review of They Came From The Necropolis, Weird Heroes of Public Access: The Roleplaying Game, Colossus, Arise! and Carmilla.
- The Kind DM pens Review: Oddities & Odysseys – The Dread Tailor.
- Halfway Station reviews Outgunned.
- MJR RPG reviews Obikiri Bridge.
- Grognardia reviews Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes.
- Ill Met by Morrslieb reviews The Fimir – Ruinous Inheritance.
- At The Gaming Gang, Jeff McAleer notes that d12 Monthly Zine Celebrates with a 50th Issue.
- Throat Punch Games reviews Raptor Ruckus RPG.
- TTRPG Insider interviews Gamefound’s RPG Party: Indie TTRPG Creators Get Crowdfunding Boost.
- The Popverse has a great interview in How Dungeons & Dragons live-play Acquisitions Incorporated happens, with Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford.
Heroes of the Borderlands reviews
- ScreenRant is among those to review Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set.
- ComicBook.com argues The Best, Most Beginner-Friendly Set D&D Has Ever Released.
- TechRaptor reviews Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Borderlands Review – The Starter Set Everyone Deserves To Start With.
- Hipsters of the Coast also review Heroes of the Borderlands.
- Christian Hoffer reviews Heroes of the Borderlands – First Impressions.
- Forbes reviews A Look Inside Dungeons And Dragons Heroes Of The Borderlands.
- ICv2 has a preview Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands.
RPG new releases
- The World Anvil Publishing has released two books in the Valraven series, including the core rules The Chronicles of Blood and Iron, followed by The Book of the Eclipse.
- Ravenkeep Productions suggests you cannot summon Cthulhu with sour cream and onion with The Cultist Roleplaying Game.
- Gorgon’s Grimoire has published the 400+ page Ghosts of Vietnam: the RPG>
- Arclands Online has released the 32-page guide Northrealm: Welcome to the Icebound Lands.
- Marshal Games publishes The Good, The Bad, and The Savage 5e.
- 12SidedDice asks that you pay what you want for the Forged in the Dark sci-fi Far Dark.
- Monkey Business Games has released Codex Maleficarum.
- OSR Publishing has published the Megadungeon Monster Manual (in monochrome).
- Spectrum Games says you’re an angsty, outcast teenager in a small town and Bonded by Youth.
- Pelgrane Press has released Banana Chan, Sadia Bies and Jonny Sims’ Suburban Consumption of the Monstrous.
- Iron Crown Enterprises has unleashed Rolemaster Creature Law Volume One . Gold best seller, already.
- Kobold Press has published Monster Vault 2.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $3.00 (33%) with Philip Reed Games’ Philip Reed’s Star Borg Zines bundle.
- Save $2.67 (43%) in the DMsGuild’s Heart of Kali.
- Save $1.00 (25%) with Eduardo Camps’ TAG Universal Roleplaying bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Polygon’s Francesco Cacciatore, I almost lost a D&D player by forgetting a key Dungeon Master rule.
- Loot the Room shares The Keep at Koralgesh.
- The Angry GM opens How Shape Shapes Scenarios.
- The Patchwork Paladin weighs in with Prepping a published Hexcrawl.
- Johnn Four shares My 1,040 Page Brainstorming Tool. (It’s a look at David Perry’s book on Game Design). There’s also A Trick That Gets Your Players To Roleplay (Works Great With New Players).
- Mark at Dice Monkey pens Enhancing the Game Master-Player Relationship.
- Sly Flourish shares Lazy Map Annotation.
- Dungeon Solvers’ James Griffin writes up Point Buy or Trust the Dice? A Simple Guide for New D&D Players.
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:
- Kagejima: Samurai’s Vow 5e D&D from Anthony David pitches “Bound by honour. Hunted by dragons. Forged in fate.”
- Occult Ops from Nathaniel Hicklin kickstarts “An urban fantasy tabletop RPG set in a world filled with magic, where operators shift the balance of power between factions.”
- Flock to Me (MotW & Strange Squad) from Kelly Whyte suggests “A paranormal TTRPG adventure for Monster of the Week and Strange Squad.”
- One-Shot Wonders 2: Over 100 NEW Adventures for DnD 5E from Roll & Play Press introduces “The multi-award-winning book of DnD adventures is back! Plus new battle maps, new artwork, new add-ons and new realms to explore.”
- Horror in the Cornfield – for the ShadowDark RPG from Jeff Stevens offers “A creepy and deadly cornfield dungeon. Ripe for Fall, Halloween, or spooky gaming sessions. PDF, Print Code, and Foundry VTT options.”
- The Wizard’s Maze for D&D 5e from Hidden Hoard raises funds for “Unravel vanishings, survive a maze of illusions, and endure trials of perception in this mystery one-shot fully compatible with DnD 5e.”
- Scarabs & More from Dark Eagle Games kickstarts “Magical insects that crawl straight into your 5e campaigns. A sequel to Wondrous Songbirds.”
- The Midnight Pages – Urban Noir Investigative RPG from Gamers Hunter Edizioni proposes “Mysteries, tricks and missing people in a detective RPG game set in the 1920s. Discover your truth within the pages of the newspaper!”
- Ancient Magic from Bloodstone Press submits “Real Spells From the Ancient World, Converted to 5e”
- Digital Evolution Dice from Dungeons And DrinKings raises funds for “Dados artesanales inspirados en la evolución digital: holográficos, únicos y listos para acompañar tus aventuras de rol.”
- Wondrous Environments from The Welsh DM pitches “Discover extraordinary landscapes & fantastical regions from across the planes. 50+ Daggerheart Compatible Environments and Adversaries”
- The World of Eraegarth DnD 5e Collection from Applewhite Publishing submits “The RPG World of Eraegarth is back!! Join a guild, explore a pirate island, and face the Sisters Grimm in newly updated PRINT!”
- Vault of the Sky Thieves: A 5e Adventure from SeaBreeze Games crowdfunds “Swashbuckling taken to another level! Featuring Flying Ships, Aerial Combat, Cloud Sharks, and a mighty beast, the Sky King!”
- Fists & Fiends Tabletop RPG from Randy Brown – Get Hooked Games raises funds for “A Martial Arts Survival Horror RPG with edge of your seat, action packed combat designed by an expert martial artist.”
- FateStone Dice | Aerospace Titanium Dice for D&D Adventures from Gary offers “Trustworthy precision-processed metal dice Make of aviation medical-grade metal titanium mining, balanced and fair, worth collecting”
- Ready, Set, Encounter! – Vol. 1 – The Dragoning from EverOn Games offers “No Prep, No Problem. 31 minis, 11 modular maps, and endless encounters – fully compatible with D&D 5e & Daggerheart™”
- RPG Maps – 434 Sci-Fi Interiors and Outdoor Maps from LFirefly raises funds for “Evocative maps of futuristic bases, starships, and mech hangars for stories of survival, exploration, and interstellar operations.”
- Halae: Rise of the Verdant Shadow & BNM Zine 07 from Dan Sprietzer nominates “Expanding the Halae Region for levels 4-6, BNM007 Looks to the Ancient Forests”
- Marvelous Mimics Sticker Set from Reel Fun Studios crowdfunds “We promise they’re a set of stickers and not a set of mimics.”
- Paw and Whisker – D&D, Pathfinder, and Savage Worlds from Matthew J. Hanson crowdfunds “A short PDF about pets in RPGs. It includes real history, magic items, monsters, and more!”
- Our Brilliant Ruin Starter Set from Studio Hermitage kickstarts “Venture into gilded horror with this ready-to-run TTRPG story about a deadly bridge collapse in a world of monsters.”
- Legends of Aetheron: Grozhul, Warchief of the Iron Maw from Mojibake Stories introduces “Assemble your Orc Army! High-quality STL statues, miniatures, and 5E Booklet! One Page Rules Compatible army!”
- Shadow / Giant 2e from psychhound offers “A jaded guardian & magical child two-player episodic TTRPG”
- Slay the Odds: Adventure into the Crooked Card Casino from Vincent Baker suggests “A Tabletop RPG adventure for 5E, Otherworlds, and Black Paper Moon. Outwit the Wendigo, free your friends, and turn the tables.”
- The Inquisitor –A Ruthless Class Compatible with D&D 5e/5.5e from ChronicleMaker crowdfunds “Unleash divine wrath: a relentless new class, forged in fanatic zeal and sacred judgment.”
- Daemon Eater: An Eldritch Apocalypse TTRPG from Glenn Randall Buettner pitches “Doomed heroes fighting for a better world they will never get to live in.”
- Feybound: A 5e Expansion of Fey Magic, Mischief, & Mayhem from The DM Lair raises funds for “6 Player Races | 10 Player Subclasses | 100+ Monsters | Fey Mechanics | Fey Magic Items | Campaign Setting | A 12-Part Adventure Arc”
- Rustborn Bastards from Dan Frederick raises funds for “A rules-light scavpvnk ttrpg of drowned cities, broken tech, and bastard survivors. Compatible with CY_BORG & Wasteland Degenerates.”
- Deadlands Dark Ages – Savage Worlds from Shane Hensley proposes “Time to get medieval on the Deadlands® saga!”
- Three from the Locker from SkeletonKey Games pitches “🏴☠️ Three New Pirate Borg Pamphlets – Adventure in Every Fold! ☠️🏴”
- The Horror Gaming & RPG Soundscapes Collections from Oliver McNeil kickstarts “Over 70 Hours of Gothic, Cthulhu, Vampire Soundscapes for LARP, Role-Playing or Board Games. Delivered before Halloween.”
- The Living Arsenal / Unique Weapons For Your D&D 5E Campaign from Meda Kilam offers “Grows with every backer / 1 backer = 1 weapon / Starts with 10 up to 200+!”
- Demons, Monsters, & Spirit Mythology Writers + Gamemasters from Ty Hulse introduces “Using myth and lore this book will help you understand the spirits that haunted the world so you can create your own.”
- Single Die Role Playing System from Three Hound Games crowdfunds “A streamlined tactical roleplaying system centered around a single D20. It features deep customization, rich lore, and heroic tales.”
- Get Ready, Get Set, BAKE! from AuntPuppy pitches “A tasty Great British Bake-Off inspired RPG! Gather your friends and family for this fun and cozy game, that’s an easy peasy one-shot.”
- Mindscourge: A Compendium of Mental Afflictions for DnD 5e from White Panther Games submits “A handbook of over 100 brain diseases, madnesses, magic items, backgrounds, and feats for D&D and other TTRPGs!”
- Low Level Encounter ~ 3D printable TTRPG Miniatures! from Crippled God Foundry raises funds for “A unique collection of 3D printable fantasy miniatures for your early level tabletop RPG adventures!”
- Arcana Expanded – New Schools of Magic for D&D 5e! from Paws for Effect nominates “A DnD 5e compendium of brand-new schools of magic, with fresh spells, classes, enemies, and items to redefine arcane power.”
- Renegade Realms: Fellscar Marshes from Bart Wynants nominates “An endlessly expandable hex map for 5e, Pathfinder, Shadowdark, Forbidden Lands, Mörk Borg & other fantasy tabletop role-playing games!”
- The Metals & Alloys Compendium from Gi&Gi nominates “Discover 20 extraordinary metals and 6 legendary alloys to forge gear, inspire adventures, and reshape your 5e world.”
- Tsukien – Miniatures & Collectibles from Arxila is working on “3D printable STL files for Tabletop gaming, Painting, DnD, Collectibles, Miniature, Diorama”
- Familiars & Companions for D&D 5e – Celestials & Fiends from Adventurica kickstarts “A DnD 5E Selection of Celestial and Fiend Companions—Each with Unique Ways to Summon, Bond, and Befriend.”
- 101 Lairs and Hideouts from Evil Pigeon Games introduces “A whole collection of lairs and hideouts for any fantasy TTRPG!”
- African Monsters II: Creatures for 5E, Pathfinder, & ToV from Legendary Games submits “Get over 100 pages of incredible creatures from the legends of Africa for D&D 5E, Pathfinder 1E & 2E, or Tales of the Valiant!”
- HEX from Kickgames Dark submits “HEX is a collection of 100 modular adventures, each dripping with dark magic, hidden lore, and choices that cost more than coin.”
- The Lycan Pelt from The Department of Unusual Observations offers “A 12-page Grimdark Adventure Module for Shadowdark / OSR”
- +1000 Map assets, DnD 5e, TTRPG from Ana the halfling proposes “Endless map-building tools and pre-made map packs,NPC pack, toolbox for D&D and all your TTRPG stories”
- 100 Settlements for DnD 5e! from Dungeon Scroll Games suggests “A supplement with 100+ ready-to-use settlements across diverse environments to enrich your D&D 5e campaigns or any TTRPG!”
- Pencil Book Quest from Grumpy Spider Games introduces “Loot, level, and slay your way to glory in this travel-friendly dungeon crawler”
- Fizzwip’s Treasury of Absurd Curiosities from Jerry Joe Seltzer kickstarts “Uniquely odd magic items for D&D and Daggerheart”
Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.
