Routinely Itemised: RPG #331

It’s getting dark out there. Okay, moving on, let’s start the weekend with a weekly round-up of tabletop RPG news.

Let’s dive in with a summary of the TTRPG news summaries!

• Sadly, prolific and popular RPG news journalist Rob Wieland has passed away.
• Asmodee has secured control of all Middle-earth tabletop games.
• The attempt to trademark “warboot” has failed.
• Green Ronin and allies enter talks with the legal group holding their products hostage.
• It’s Gamehole Con weekend!

There’s a GoFundMe to raise money for Rob Wieland’s wife and young daughter. Rob often featured on this page. It won’t be the same without him.

We have over 10,000 rows of manually (my Friday nights!) collected Kickstarter data. This month, the average campaign target was over £6k. In the last 12 months, it’s never been higher than £4.5k before.

And now, the Routinely Itemised TTRPG news.

Spotlight: Dark Wizard Press.

RPG news from Geek Native

• What does it mean for The One Ring TTRPG? Asmodee takes control of all tabletop Middle-earth games.
• Talks have broken out in the Diamond Comics disaster.
• The trademark application for Warboot has been withdrawn, thanks to a united community effort.
• I talked to designer Leory Benson about the city that crawled out of the sea.
• They look so cool! Son of Oak has a limited edition acorn dice set.
• Demiplane is having a Pazio Party.
• True to their promise, Steamforged Games has released the Strangelight Workshop.
• On social media, AI in TTRPGs remains unpopular, and yet we’re seeing no end of start-ups in the space. Geek Native got down to brass tacks with “Master of Lore“.
• I made the random and “you’ve stayed up too late” argument that SIAMES’ The Phoenix also worked as a Defiant RPG prequel. I also noticed TTRPG lingo in Wall.
• Magpie Games has a juicy Humble-powered bundle.
• On Fanatical, Goodman Games has a low-cost Tabletop Horror Collection.

Competition: Win Mysterium

RPG news from around the web

• GameReactor pens Dark Horse unveils new Dungeons & Dragons comic book series.
• At Wargamer, Mollie Russell reports DnD rival Chaosium resurrects its “masterpiece” tabletop RPG with a new ‘classic’ edition.
• TTRPG Insider looks at The Definitive Guide to Gamefound’s 2025 RPG Party.
• Underground Oracle Publishing, one of the few 5/5 publishers on DTRPG, has a Halloween sale.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• The Other Side pens a review of Chill.
• ScreenRant scribes Brandon Sanderson’s New Cosmere RPG Throws Out The Rulebook.
• Reviews from R’lyeh reviews Adventure Anthology 2, Vast Grimm’s Space Raiders and Discworld’s Adventures in Ankh-Morpork quickstarter.
• On RPG.Net, bss adores the 13th Age Second Edition: Heroes’ Handbook.
• The Alexandrian reviews Heroes of the Borderlands.
• The Kind DM reviews A Baker’s Denizen.
• Christopher Hutton interviews Nerdburger Games on Its TTRPG Legacy.

RPG new releases

• Eren Chronicles has published the core rules for ZAMANORA: Ballad of the Witch.
• Witch House Games has released the diceless Stars Are Right: Core Rulebook.
• Renegade Game Studios has published Transformers Roleplaying Game ONE Sourcebook.
• Gavin Bastiensz has published the card-powered Minor Arcana.
• Art of the Genre has released Robo-Slaves of Anadynne FAST Core Setting.
• For Vaesen and in time for Halloween, Nick Shepley has completed The Ghosts of Tiger Bay.
• Chaosium has released a Foundry VTT edition of Age of Vikings.
• In merch, there’s now D&D Icons of the Realms Kraken and painted Dire Worg models.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $37.57 (45%) in the Miskatonic Repository’s Convention 2025 bundle.
• Save $9 (41%) with MmpApp’s All Our Horror Roll20 Add-ons with Dynamic Lighting bundle.
• Save $6.98 (35%) with Relentless Fiction’s Spooktacular 2025 bundle.
• Save $6 (10%) in Kobold Press’ Empire of the Ghouls (Roll20 & PDF) bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• On Reddit, StatMonkey writes cleverly on StatMonkey – What We Lost in 2020: VTTs vs. Playing In Person (and Why We Need Conventions Back).
• At Wargamer, Mollie Russell notes DnD’s new way to cast spells is absolutely ridiculous, and I love it.
• Gnome Stew looks at Making Second Chances Cinematic: Introducing the Invocation Reroll.
• The Patchwork Paladin gets into Prepping Myths in Mythic Bastionland.
• The RPG Gazette shares Designers as Poets: the Literary Voice of RPG Rules texts.
• Kobold Press’s Kendrick Smith blogs Worldbuilding? One simple way to create a campaign by playing a card game.
• Roll20 suggests Our Most Haunting D&D Tools for Halloween!.
• ComicBook.com notes How Many D&D Players Is Too Many? Pros and Cons of a Larger Table, Explained.
• DungeonSolvers covers Wild Magic Support Sorcerer Build Guide: Making Chaos Work for Your Party.

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:

• Human No More: The Roleplaying Game from Cultic Games is working on “If D&D meets XCOM in a grimdark galaxy! Rise against human tyranny in this new TTRPG. Form your band of non-humans and join the riot!”
• Cats of Ulthar: A Campaign Setting for Shadowdark and D&D from Draconum Studio pitches “Narrative storytelling and old-school adventures in the ever-changing Dreamlands of classic Lovecraftian fiction”
• Wood Trays – Small Batches from Dufo Woodworking submits “Wood Trays for everyday use. Ideal as a dice tray for D&D or Warhammer type of games.”
• The Great Creme-atorium Caper: A Hilarious Heist For 5e from Mizo Games introduces “A heist so sweet, it’s criminal. Backing this project supports real world research, studying the therapeutic qualities of RPGs.”
• KOKOTÖNA: A Grimdark RPG inspired by precolonial Mesoamerica from El Chupalabras suggests “A standalone, MÖRK BORG-compatible descent into a Mesoamerican-inspired apocalypse. Dark fantasy roleplaying of xokol & blood-obsidian.”
• Nighthawks: A WW2 TTRPG Designed VTT First from Tyler Mahoney nominates “Nighthawks is a rules-light, brutal, WWII commando TTRPG (Designed VTT First) that puts teams through punishing missions and campaigns”
• Torch Fail RPG and Miniatures from Simian Circle Games submits “OSR-compatible tabletop role-playing game and iconic 3D miniatures!”
• Possibly Cool Dice Towers 4 from Black Blossom Games crowdfunds “3D Printable Incredibly detailed Halloween Themed Dice Towers, Trays, Cases, Coasters & more! STL for Decor and D&D parties !!”
• $1 D&D Adventure: The Fungus Among Us from Dumb Cane Games suggests “A D&D 5e/2024 Adventure for Levels 1-3”
• MYSTERY CHIBI GOBLINS & DICE! – SERIES ONE from Adventurers Essentials offers “Get your Adorable Mystery Chibi Goblins & Includes a Mystery 7 Piece Polyhedral Dice Set! There are 10 Chibi Goblins Minis to Collect!”
• Dungeons & Plastic from Jose Adrian Guijarro Pastoriza pitches “Modular scenery for adventurers who want more than just imagination.”
• Witches’ Path – A Witchy RPG Powered by Tarot from Natasha pitches “Discover your destiny, confront your shadows, and craft your own witch’s story.”
• Canopies above the sky: A D&D adventure for levels 5-10 from PetDM pitches “Race through the canopies of the floating archipelago in this Tier 2 D&D 5E fantasy adventure for levels 5-10!”
• Dark Devilry | for the Shadowdark RPG from Jeffrey Jones submits “A pair of fiendish supplements for Shadowdark and the wider OSR space.”
• Monster Tomes – Red Dragon, Owlmaw, Banshee & Evil Eye from Artefact Games crowdfunds “Dice Tomes, the award-winning RPG dice sets, return with the monster-themed tomes!”
• The Halloween Festival – 20 Events for 5E from Chaotic Neutral Visionary pitches “Bring the spirit of Halloween to your 5E table with 20 festive and spooky events, perfect for one-shots or ongoing campaigns.”
• ENCLAVE: Aspirant — The Diceless TTRPG with Infinite Depth from Robby Howell proposes “Easy to learn, even easier to schedule. A mold-breaking, narrative roleplaying game where imagination meets high-stakes storytelling.”
• Wildendrem Volume Two: The Saintly Hollows from Phantom Mill Games pitches “Two new books of mythic adventure in a land of wonder and peril, for use on their own or alongside the award-winning Valley of Flowers.”
• Under the Shadow of the Noon-Day Witch from John McGuire submits “A Dark Folk Horror third-party adventure for Sickest Witch RPG.”
• The Table System for Board Games by Filler Gaming from Filler Gaming crowdfunds “The versatile table – designed by and for gamers to meet real needs – turn the milestone of owning one into a truly accessible reality.”
• Game Master’s Little Helper – Random Tables for your TTRPG from Eric Bloat kickstarts “3 zines: Fantasy, Dungeon Generator, and Apocalyptic & Sci-Fi.”
• Clark Ashton Smith Zothique RPG + Deluxe Illustrated Omnibus from Marzio Muscedere submits “Licensed by the Clark Ashton Smith estate, Zothique RPG for 5E/DCC/Shadowdark + Illustrated Omnibus. Adventure beneath the dying sun.”
• Mork Billy The Role Playing Game from Mörk Billy offers “The hilarious Mörk Borg compatible game of hillbillies and death.”
• Dimm City: A Dark and Gritty CREATUREPUNK TTRPG from Dimm City LLC crowdfunds “Sling Hex, Snap Necks, and Hack Decks in This CREATUREPUNK Role-Playing Game”
• Enshrined: A 5E Mythic Horror Odyssey from Enshrined submits “A mythic horror Dungeons & Dragons 5E supplement where imprisoned gods and horrors shape your fate.”
• RITE: A Midwinter Sacrament RPG Zine from Travis D. Hill offers “An RPG Zine for up to four players participating in four sacraments during the bleak midwinter.”
• Sci-fi Battle Maps: Organic Invasion from Agnieszka Polanowska nominates “Over 580 sci-fi battle maps for your TTRPG and VTT. Unleash your battles in a horrifying world”
• The Spy Game: Spymaster’s Toolkit Supplement from Black Cats Gaming is working on “An RPG expansion of new class archetypes, gadgets, and villains, for spies of all levels, powered by 5e.”
• THE SECRET WORLD PRINT EDITION FOR SAVAGE WORLDS from Star Anvil Studios is working on “We are going to do an offset print run for the Secret World!”
• Mythiras Campaign Setting from Cabal of Enchantment submits “550+ pages, two books. Delve into the dark world of Myhtiras, where you must survive against all odds in this grim TTRPG for 5e+!”
• Hellboy RPG: Things that Went Bump in the Night from Nightfall & Mantic Games pitches “The Hellboy RPG bestiary expands with the gathering of the Witches, Vampires, Frogs and creatures of long lost Hyperborea.”
• Master of Worlds: The Ultimate GM Guide from Yellowbyte Workshop nominates “A universal, system-agnostic guide empowering Game Masters with worldbuilding, improvisation, adjudication and leadership skills.”
• Aros – Roleplaying Games for Kids and Beginners from Florian H. Azar submits “Aros bla”
• Classic NPC Codex from Mike Myler nominates “Over 50 archetypal NPCs for D&D 5E and Level Up: A5E! Add the Battlechef, Detective, Face Boss, and more to your gaming toolbox”
• Ruins of Rukdar-Zin’ GM Workbook & Maps DnD 5e OSR from Laidback Dungeon Master is working on “Workbook with 20 Hand Drawn Connected Old School Maps for YOU to Stock Your Mega-Dungeon! DnD 5e Shadowdark Pathfinder Dragonbane OSR”
• 3€ x 3 DnD One-Shots by La Torre vol. 3 (5E) from The Velar Company raises funds for “Immerse yourself in 3 exciting D&D OneShots for any setting! Join the adventure now!”
• DiceKeepers Solo/Co-op Campaign from Tracy Dow suggests “DiceKeepers’ New Solo/Co-op Format. Explore the Dungeon, Escape the Traps, Fight the Bosses, Save the Town!”
• Flame and Fang: Fantasy Dice, Coins, Pins & More from Hrothgar’s Hoard suggests “RPG accessories featuring artwork by professional fantasy artists — dice bags, metal coins, enamel pins, and dragon themed dice.”
• Dark Elf Buildings – Painted Terrain for Tabletop RPGs from Richard Parla introduces “Painted Terrain, officially licensed from EC3D Designs, ready to play, no printer required.”
• Tyrant of Blackrock Mountain from Arduini Adventures pitches “A new adventure and regional setting for 5e”
• Demonic Void Realms – 3D printable tabletop & RPG miniatures from Josef Kujawski suggests “A huge range of STLs from gigantic demons to sinister servants – for miniature collectors, tabletop games, Roleplaying & Pen & Paper.”
• 1002 SCI-FI Bits & Props – 3D Printable STL from STLMiniBits proposes “Do Androids Dream of Printable 32 mm STLs? Pre-supported sci-fi bits, props & dioramas for epic diorama builds!”
• Smorvel’s Guide to Cities, Sewers & Alleyways from NarrativeBlueprinting nominates “City-Building, Sewer Crawling, and Urban Intrigue for D&D 5e”
• Pendragon: Classic Edition from Chaosium Inc. nominates “Bringing the iconic Pendragon 1st Edition collection back to life!”
• FAST Core Gold GM Screen PDF and MEGA PDF BUNDLE! from Scott Taylor offers “Expansive Settings, Cinematic Game Play, Infinite Genres”
• D&D 5e Condition & Spell Effect Rings from C&D Games Guys nominates “160 Metal D&D 5e Condition & Spell Effect Markers.”
• Sickest Witch Coven Box and Hayride Adventure Module from Severed Books nominates “Coven Boxes are a player aid kit with spell and rune cards, dice, dice bag, and more. The box also doubles as a dice box.”
• BATTLELORDS: The Shipping Kickstarter from 23rd Century Productions pitches “Freight is expensive! Help us save on shipping costs and get an epic deal in the process!”
• Scarred Lands Player’s Guide for Savage Worlds from Travis Legge kickstarts “Help Aegis Studios bring the official adaptation of Onyx Path Publishing’s Scarred Lands setting to Savage Worlds Adventure Edition!”
• Adventurers of Combat & Quest: 1st Edition with Questware from Flying Monster Games suggests “Explore the world of Prucia! Fight the scourge with your chosen class to slay and vanquish the scourge in style, and use Questware too!”
• RPG Maps – 534 Post-Apocalyptic Maps from Benjámin Weisz offers “Discover post-apocalyptic airports, alleyways, school classrooms, military bases, and much more with this map pack.”
• Gone Scarin’ – Cozy DnD 5e One-Shot | Pay What You Want from Betta Games offers “Treat your players to festive downtime activities at the Hallow’s Eve Festival! Chuck Pumpkins, brave the House O’ Horrors, and MORE!!!”
• 🧸 On Your Own from Tin Hat Games pitches “On Your Own is a role-playing game set in a classic fantasy fairy-tale world where all adults have suddenly disappeared.”
• Dice Rolling Tray and Travel Storage Box | D&D RPG from James is working on “We are two friends and RPG enthusiasts that designed an RPG dice rolling travel box together. We hope you like it as much as we do!”
• Blackstone Blocks: Magnetic Modular Terrain for TTRPGs from Band of Idiots submits “Magnetic pre-textured terrain blocks that build fast and hold strong. Travel ready and great for improv encounters or vast TTRPG worlds”

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