Routinely Itemised: RPG #339

It’s getting close to Yule, yikes!

Let’s look at the summary of TTRPG news summaries.

• Australia’s new social media laws forbid teens from talking about D&D on Twitch but not on VTTS.
• Jason Carl has left the World of Darkness.
• Justice Arman gets promoted and D&D as a new game design director.
• D&D has a new Cartographer subclass.

Awooga! It probably won’t work YET, but Google has let non-US sites / non-American people tell it which sites they get news from. You can note your source preference for Geek Native right here – or, well, you will be able to in hours if the Big G is to be believed.

Please do!

We’ve always had a weird relationship with Google and Google News. They wanted us, but then the algorithm refused to surface us. My hypothesis was that the system recognised Geek Native as a site that wrote about TTRPGs but that either TTRPGs weren’t important enough for the system or they already had enough sites (like the big geek culture sites) that covered the topic.

If you want to train Google that TTRPG news is important, then, well, perhaps noting Geek Native as a source will make a difference.

And now, the Routinely Itemised TTRPG news.

Spotlight: GearGames.

RPG news from Geek Native

• I have a bash at tackling what Australia’s new social media laws/bans mean for young roleplayers.
• It’s all change at Wizards of the Coast as Jason Carl departs World of Darkness to lead Dungeon Master University.
• We did into WotC Asks for DM feedback after delaying key VTT features.
• In retro news, Wizard101 summons physical loot with Misty Mountain Gaming dice collection
• OSR print news as The Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition arrives in print on Amazon.
• Modiphius is in the news again as Moonbase Alpha returns: Space: 1999 Core Rulebook is out now.
• There’s a TTRPG companion, but also WotC’s sci-fi epic Exodus pushes to 2027 with new cinematic trailer.
• At the Bundle of Holding, there’s a deal on Worlds Without Number

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RPG news from around the web

• Polygon pens A D&D alternative has already raised $1.5 million for its first expansion.
• Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics looks at Justice Arman Promoted to D&D Game Design Director.
• Rascal carries Brotherwise Games’ Plotweaver RPG Takes Its First Unaided Steps.
• Polygon shares Acquisitions Inc. trading D&D for Daggerheart convinced me to try Critical Role’s RPG.
• D&D Beyond covers Preview the New Cartographer Artificer Subclass From Eberron: Forge of the Artificer.
• Chaosium lets us Bolster Your Pendragon Collection With These Four New Releases!.
• Andrew Peregrine, at EN World, pens White Dwarf Reflections #35.
• North Coast Journal of Politics, People and Art cover Arcata Playhouse Rolls the Dice.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• The Yawning Portal reviews Black Powder and Brimstone.
• CBR’s Scott Baird pens Dungeons & Dragons Eberron: Forge of the Artificer Review – A Small Step Into a Different World.
• GamingTrend gives us a Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands review — D&D’s best start so far.
• Reviews from R’lyeh reviews Return of the Green Death.
• The Kind DM looks at There’s Something Wrong with Santa.
• At RPG.net, Noble Knight Gaming Hall has a fiorst look at Heroes of Faerun.
• Grognardia shares Retrospective: Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega.
• Halfway Station covers Retrospective Review: Traveller 2300 / 2300AD.
• The Los Angeles Times writes up The best part of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ is the storytelling. This L.A. stage show leans in.
• ComicBook.com carries Deborah Ann Woll And Anjali Bhimani Combine Frights, Dice, And MCU Stars To Create The Ultimate RPG.
• TTRPG Insider runs Using TTRPGs to Interview Interesting People: Jeff Stormer Looking Back on Ten Years of “Party of One”.

RPG new releases

• Catalyst Game Labs, the Shadowrun publisher, has released Kung Fu Panda: The Roleplaying Game.
• Metis Creative, the highly respected indie TTRPG studio, has released Historica Arcanum: The City of Crescent and Empires of the Silk Road.
• Cronicas Blasfemas challenges “Survive. Believe. Become” with Magayon na Isla TTRPG.
• Paul Mauriks invites you to pay what you want for the 148-page Trailblazer RPG.
• ElthosRPG has published the Elthos Meta-Game Core Rules.
• Thunderfort has a pay what you want with the public playtest ed of Thunderfort core rules.
• Chaosium has released the Pendragon: The Arthurian Companion – Special Edition.
• Cubicle 7 has published Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus Player’s Guide.
• Handiwork Games releases FiveEvil: Glasshouse.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $147.95 (86%) in the Kids in the Attic arranged Winter Relief bundle.
• Save $7.92 (25%) with Hollow Realms – Worlds of Adventure’s Hollow Skies Basic Starter Set bundle.
• Save $2.00 (13%) with the Eleven Tower Hall of the Wyrmbone Anvil Foundry + PDF bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• Gulf News writes up How to play Dungeons & Dragons, the Stranger Things way — in UAE.
• Sly Flourish reports Seek Adventure Prompts.
• DungeonSolvers gets into The Ideal Party Size for D&D 5e: How Many Players Do You Need?.
• Bell of Lost Souls carries D&D: The Artificer Reforged For 5.5E – More Tools, More Talent.

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 Thundercats Roleplaying Game is Here! from Dynamite Toys & Games nominates “Thunder – Thunder – Thundercats Hoooo! You can play as your favorite Thunderian in an awesome paper and pencil roleplaying game!”
• AVALON DEATHRAY from Mitchell Tierney suggests “A Solo Role-Playing Gamebook. Steampunk, High Adventure, Choose your own Adventure.”
• Santa’s Hidden Hoard: Magical Items For D&D 5e from Sohrab pitches “200 Christmas Magical Items drawn straight from Santa’s bulging red sack”
• SHATTERED TOMB of the JADE EMPEROR 玉皇大帝 from Kickgames crowdfunds “The Emperor’s tomb is broken. His army rises. Uncover a living underworld where ancient Chinese myth meets D&D 5E adventure.”
• Vampires of the Black Court, a 5e Gothic Horror Adventure from Laurie offers “A vampire themed gothic horror D&D 5e campaign for 4–5 characters of levels 3–6”
• 100 Trials, Games & Competitions for D&D 5e! from Paws for Effect raises funds for “A DnD 5e supplement filled with unique trials, games, and challenges, ready to drop into any campaign!”
• The Vaults Tabletop game book from Grumpy Guppy Games submits “A d20-style tabletop game set in the apocalyptic Earth”
• The Booklet of Bounties from James Holloway raises funds for “A zine of fantasy fugitives and bounty-hunting scenario seeds.”
• Night of Wolves & The Ruined Path from Tristan Hall nominates “Two brand new beautiful, standalone, small box, solo fantasy games from the award-winning team at Hall or Nothing”
• 🪖RPG Maps – 435 World War II Interiors⚔️ from Benjámin Weisz is working on “435 WW2 Interiors for TTRPGs — ideal for realistic battles, strategy missions, and immersive wartime adventures.”
• 1200+ POST-APOCALYPTIC BATTLE MAPS – INVASION FROM HELL from Agnieszka Polanowska pitches “1200+ RPG maps for TTRPG and VTT. Great apocalypse, demon invasion, and ruined cities. Ready for the End Times.”
• The 5th element dice from LunaDice offers “A unique set of dice based on the film The 5th Element”
• Hope Springs Eternal from Eric Lazure is working on “A supplement for Daggerheart. Five campaign frames, each complemented by a location (factions, NPCs, environments, advers. ,loot, etc.)”
• Gift of the Magpie: A Woodland Critter Heist TTRPG from Mike Rieman nominates “Play as woodland critters on a heist to steal a Christmas tree star in this one-shot role playing game. Based in the Score system.”
• Of Foxes, Wizards & Goblins – Pay What You Want 3 Oneshot from Old Simple Regal submits “Three system-agnostic oneshot designed for fantasy RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Daggerheart. Pay What You Want”
• Forgotten Machine Wastelands – Map Pack from Fablehart Forge pitches “100+ maps: factories, crashed dirigibles, toxic engine yards and more for TTRPGs (D&D 5E – DnD 2E – PoC – Pathfinder – CoC)”
• The Top Secret® Tradecraft Manual from Solarian Games suggests “What every modern spy should know before stepping into the field”
• Mirei’s Luminous Gaze Dice – Dice with Moving Dragon Eyes from Mirei crowdfunds “Where Play Comes Alive – Handcrafted Resin Dice, Each Bearing a Dragon’s Watchful, Wandering Eye”
• Gone Sleighin’ – DnD5e Downtime One-Shot | Pay What You Want from Betta Games offers “Choose your beasts, build your sleigh, & race to see who will fly with Santa in this Cozy Downtime Christmas One-Shot for D&D 5e!”
• Christmas – Part 2 |STL 28MM| from Sphere 3D is working on “STL files of highly detailed for 3D printing Terrain Tabletop games, Skulls, wargames and other RPG Christmas 28 32 75 mm”
• Wilderness Unbound: Hand-Drawn Maps & Adventure Assets from TPK Compass introduces “Hand-drawn battlemaps, bosses, and treasures for TTRPGs (D&D, Pathfinder & more) — untamed wildlands, printable & usable online!”
• The Wyrmwood Modular Gaming Table: NOW ADJUSTABLE⬆🤯⬇ from Wyrmwood Gaming suggests “The world’s favorite gaming table evolves again with an adjustable height play surface. Pledge for the drop-in kit, or the whole table.”
• Circe’s Guide to Aeaea: A Handbook for the Half-God from Maddy introduces “An Unofficial Percy Jackson–Inspired Setting Guide for Dungeons & Dragons”
• The Oracle: Fantasy RPG Subscription 2026 from The Oracle submits “Level Up Your Campaigns, Six Times a Year!”
• Christmas Cards of Power! Cartomancers & More (5E/PF1/PF2) from Legendary Games kickstarts “Pick a card, twist fate, & fling fury at foes with a new card-casting class for D&D & Pathfinder! Plus Loot Cards & Card Game Bundles!”
• The Mythical Warriors III – STL from Figment studio crowdfunds “High-Quality 3D Miniatures Figures available in STL and Pre-Supported files for Collectors Enthusiast, Tabletop Games”
• Spicy Dicey from Legendary Items introduces “Sharp-edged resin dice with real chili peppers inside.”

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