Routinely Itemised: RPG #342

It’s no longer betwixtmas, and rather than coming out of a cheese fog, I’m finally moving on from Roll20 stats.

This year OBS/Roll20 decided not to give us a summary of their publicly available best-seller stats so I spent weeks calculating it by hand.

Let’s kick off with the summary of TTRPG summaries!

• Sadly, Tim Kask, TSR’s First Employee, has passed away.
• Geek Native has completed a series of investigations/analyses into the best-selling DTRPG, DMsGuild, Storytellers Vault and Pathfinder/Starfinder Infinite sales (with posts on AI and publishers).
• We’ve summarised the 2025 summaries of various publishers and sites.
• The February 2026 Spotlight vote is open.

The Spotlight candidates for Feb are…

• Monkey Business Games
• Surbook Press
• Hero Level Games
• Demons & Dungeoneers Gamebooks
• Monster Mage Games

To cast your vote, visit this patrons-only page.

On with the TTRPG news!

Spotlight: d20Play.

RPG news from Geek Native

• We worked out the best-selling 2025 releases on DriveThruRPG.
• And the 2025 best-sellers at the DMsGuild.
• You saw this coming? We also calculated the best-sellers of 2025 at the Storytellers Vault.
• Combining Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite (because Roll20 seem to), we also have the 2025 best-sellers there.
• We worked out the most successful publishers in 2025 on DriveThruRPG.
• Yep, we also worked out the most successful publishers at the DMsGuild.
• Also, we did the same for publishers/authors at the Storytellers Vault.
• As you’d expect, we also worked out the most successful publishers on the infinite sites.
• We calculated the percentage of AI involvement in DriveThruRPG best-sellers and the DMsGuild.
• There was a very different AI story at the ST’s Vault.
• We didn’t work this out, as Exalted Funeral shared the news to everyone, but we thought about their best-selling indie TTRPG list.
• Horrible but important news, as a “second” child abuser was found (and sentenced) in the English board game scene.
• We reviewed (the lost) Batman Gotham City Chronicles TTRPG quickstart.
• What’s up with the current D&D 2026 release list?
• We wrote up Cairns 2026 plans.
• In influencer news, Tank Tolman “persuades” The LARP Channel to do better.

Competition: Win Dune – Bene Gesserit Tarot Deck.

RPG news from around the web

• Necrotic Gnome pens What’s Coming for OSE & Dolmenwood in 2026. (Necrotic Gnome plans to release the Dungeons of the Undermoon Starter Set and an updated, OGL-free version of Old-School Essentials, alongside Dolmenwood expansions like the Book of Lairs and the return of the Wormskin zine.)
• They also look forward to Necrotic Gnome 2026.
• EN World notes D&D General Tim Kask, TSR’s First Employee, Passes At Age 76.
• Allen Varney at the Bundle of Holding offers up a 2025 review. (Despite increased competition and a slump in December sales, the Bundle of Holding delivered a record 121 offers in 2025 as its operator relocated to the Netherlands.)
• At the TTRPG Insider, Christopher Hutton wrote (another) post that Geek Native could/should have with TTRPG Industry Professionals on the Takeaways of 2025. (Industry professionals identified AI disruption, geopolitical tariffs, the impact of the OGL controversy on new competitors like Daggerheart and Draw Steel, and the financial dominance of the 2024 D&D rules as the defining trends of 2025.)
• Steve Jackson Games shared a GURPS Year in Review. (Steve Jackson Games released six GURPS supplements in 2025 and aims to increase output in 2026 with up to 12 releases, including a revised Fourth Edition Basic Set in March.)
• Rascal reports Their Community-Sourced Best Of 2025. (The Rascal News community’s “Best of 2025” list highlights standout roleplaying games like The Wildsea, Hearts of Wulin, and Daggerheart, alongside creative projects such as the Void 1680 AM solo RPG and the Sprigs and Kindling zine.)
• Atlas Games put together a round up of Ars Magica/a>. (Over a year after adopting the CC-BY-SA 4.0 open licence, Ars Magica has seen a surge of community creativity, including a new System Reference Document, international translations, and numerous third-party releases.)
• My second summary of the summaries: The tabletop industry faced a turbulent 2025 defined by AI debates, tariffs, and the OGL fallout, seeing the Bundle of Holding battle a sales slump while Rascal News celebrated indie hits like The Wildsea and Daggerheart. Looking forward, 2026 promises significant renewal: Necrotic Gnome is preparing an OGL-free Old-School Essentials, Steve Jackson Games plans a revised GURPS Basic Set, and Ars Magica continues to thrive with international third-party content generated by its open licence.
• Popverse notes that Critical Role expected Daggerheart to do well, but they didn’t expect it to do 2500% more than their projections.
• Bleeding Cool’s Gavin Sheehan shares Ruins of Symbaroum: The Throne of Thorns III Announced.
• ICv2 notes ICv2: Alliance Game Distributors Rebranded to Universal.
• Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics scribes New D&D Actual Play Stars Kansas City Chiefs NFL Players.
• Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics also has New AirD&D Resort Offers the Ultimate RPG Getaway.
• The D&DF team clearly didn’t take Betwixmas off and also shared James Haeck Hired as Senior Game Designer for D&D.
• Gab Hernandez, at Wargamer, reports Draw Steel is set to get its first epic campaign, and there’s no better time to jump ship from D&D.
• The BBC writes that a Study explores wellbeing impact of board games.
• There’s a new PR crafter at Wizards of the Coast and he’s Blain Howard
• 🎂🎂 Bell of Lost Souls details Celebrating 20 Years Of BoLS – Happy New Year From The Team!.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• The Kind DM reviews The Toadstool Thief.
• Reviews from R’lyeh reviews Serenity Role Playing Game.
• Signals from Delta Pavonis review The Hooded Man.
• Four Letters at Random take a look at the Dune starter set: Agents of Dune.
• Monstervine makes their first Routinely Itemised appearance with Exploring Faerûn Again: Why D&D’s New Heroes and Adventures Books Are Worth It.
• The Alexandrian reviews Blades in the Dark – Deep Cuts.
• The RPG Site has an interview with Matt Sernett – Narrative Leader on Battlemarked and former Lore Master for D&D.

RPG new releases

• Wagon Wheel Publishing has released Saloons & Outlaws — Core Rule Book A Western Survival Roleplaying Game.
• BlackSUN (a new name) has published Kelios: the Prophecy – Corebook.
• Metis Creative has given us Historica Arcanum: Herald of Rain.
• Eduardo Camps, an indie publisher, has released The Complete Feudal Japan Toolkit.
• Ty Hulse has published Worldbuilder and Game Master’s Guide to Culture and Lore.
• Bright Sun Games released Stranger Nights: System Agnostic Generators for Modern Horror and Dark Urban Fantasy Roleplaying.
• Super Blood Moon Studios has published Elder’s Keep – An RPG for Kids.
• In physical releases, you can get the unpainted Pathfinder adult Mirage Dragon for (for a little more) the painted dragon.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $14.15 (22%) in Darrin Drader Designs’ Daring & Dread Campaign Setting bundle.
• Save $3.98 (67%) with JSG Press’ bundle.
• Save $2.50 (36%) with Merry Manticore’s Dungeon Design bundle.
• Save $1.70 (27%) with the Classic Dungeon Adventures’ Complete Neraka Cycle bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• My 2025 project was Changing class names until D&D is low-key sinister.
• The Angry GM tackles the Hacking Problem.
• Sly Flourish details Lazy 5e Crafting Guidelines.
• Dyson Logos shared a Twin Thread Grotto.

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:

• Fate Arsenal – DND Metal Weapon Dice Set from NL2 offers “Multi-structure dice inspired by iconic D&D classes”
• Infinite Dice Towers and Cups Vol.2 from 3DVision suggests “3D Printable Dice Towers & Dice Cups – and their Terrain Versions – 51 Fantasy STL Models for DnD, Tabletop RPGs & Wargames – Pre-Sup”
• Shadow Lords: Zero-Prep Dark Fantasy Adventures from Kickgames Dark kickstarts “Explore richly detailed shadow lands, run dark adventures instantly, or effortlessly build your own with a deluxe world-shaping toolkit”
• D66 Hexes to Explore PDF for OSR and D&D 5E by Philip Reed from Philip Reed pitches “36 individual hexes are ready for your next adventure! Each one is packed with flavor and adventure hooks. For group or solo play!”
• MaricopaCon XIII from Jason Youngdale crowdfunds “Arizona’s Annual Kickstarted Tabletop Game Convention”
• Canine Legends – Lucky Guardian Dice Set 2.0 from BearDice crowdfunds “18 Popular Dog Breeds | Resin Craftsmanship | Hand Painted & Polished | Unique Pawprint D20 | Functional & Collectible”
• Vampire Bestiary 5E from A4 Play kickstarts “Fifty Folkloric Vampires from Around the World”
• Blood Magic a Supplement for Shadowdark RPG from Molten Blast kickstarts “New Classes, Spells and More for Shadowdark RPG and OSR systems, inspired in old editions of Dungeons & Dragons.”
• Meddling With Monster – Tabletop Roleplaying Game from Eric Bloat nominates “Play as teens investigating mysteries, finding clues, hunting monsters, and exposing men in masks in this TTRPG by Bloat Games.”
• 100 Cyberpunk NPCs & 100 Side-Gigs Any Dark Future System!!! from Austin Roberson nominates “A system-agnostic compendium of gritty characters and jobs for ANY DARK FUTURE TTRPG”
• Dogs of War Bestiary for Shadowdark RPG from Dead Hawk Publishing suggests “Unleash the Dogs of War with 120 new soldiers, mercenaries, and battlecasters for Shadowdark!”
• The Kranus Collection from Kabouter Games proposes “DOZENS of Magic Items for ANY fantasy TTRPG, from Fifth Edition DnD to Shadowdark and other OSR games!”
• Dice Bags- Mythical Creatures – Kickstarter Make 100 from BoardGameSolutions is working on “Tabletop drawstring storage bag for Dnd dice, coins, tokens, tiles, gems, crystals etc with mythical creature designs”
• What Lies Before – Solo RPG – Limited Edition – Make 100 from Chris Scaffidi / Fervent Workshop suggests “Rescue Dwarfdom — or watch it die forever. Only 100 color hardcover copies will ever exist. #Make100”
• Campgrounds & Cryptids – Solo Tabletop RPG zines from Bloat Zines suggests “A collection of 4 solo RPG zines, inspired by Dark Fort, the game that inspired Mörk Borg.”
• Make 100 – The Bridgedwell Chronicles, Part 1 from Tabletop Journeys is working on “Welcome to the city of Bridgedwell! This book has nine adventures to introduce you to people, places, and mysteries around the city.”
• Apocalyp5e from Darrin Drader proposes “A Self-Contained Post-Apocalyptic roleplaying game built on the 5E engine plus a bestiary and gazetteer of the American Wastelands.”
• Witch’s Soulstice: 100 Witches & Their Huts for D&D from Bradley Horton nominates “100 Witches and Their Huts That Shape Their Magic for DnD and other TTRPG Worlds”
• Lightning Quest from Adventure Squared introduces “A fast paced solo RPG/puzzle game, designed to be played in less than 10 minutes”
• Cynara’s Auroraweave Dice: Woven from the Sky’s Glow from Cynara is working on “Three Electroplated Visions—Aurora Violet, Violet-Blue Stardust, Icy Cyan Glow ( Forged with Purpose)”
• K&D Gaming Modules from AJ Larson pitches “We offer a range of fantasy modules at Knight & Dai Publishing, designed to transport you to new realms or extend your current campaign”
• Faction codex: Flayers from Altor’s Archives introduces “A brutal faction sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons 5E.”
• Young Asgardians from Excelsior Games introduces “A collaborative storytelling role-playing game for kids”

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