Routinely Itemised: RPG #343

Hello one and all, perhaps especially those who have just made it through their first week back at work.

Let’s dig into the week’s news with the summary of TTRPG summaries!

• Sadly, TTRPG designer Steve Dee has passed away.
• Matt Mercer stepped away as DM due to burnout.
• Leon Barillaro is the latest name to join Wizards of the Coast.

Geek Native has confirmed what is most likely our first in-person gaming convention of the year. It’s Edinburgh’s Conpulsion.

The theme this year is “On top of the world”, and I’m glad someone feels that way! My Conpulsion techniques over the year has evolved into the simple ‘book as many games as possible’ strategy.

On with the TTRPG news!

Spotlight: d20Play.

RPG news from Geek Native

• Geek Native reviewed the quickstart for Fate Forlorn.
• On April Fool’s Fool, but for real, Pelgrane Press will publish Page Turners.
• We noted that the Origins Award finalist Eerie Games will launch a polycule-friendly RPG called Threads We Share.
• Atlas Game turns library waste into accessories with Replay Workshop.
• Gaming Con “What’s Your Game?” gets a new location and tasty sponsor.
• Genesys gets skirmish rules, and Twilight Imperium expands with Ships of the Shattered Empire.
• Congratulations, Onyx Path turns 15.
• At the Bundle of Holding, there’s an offer on The Old Gods of Appalachia and on the Dread Thingonomicon.
• There’s also a big Fanatical deal for Goodman Games.

Support: Win Become a Patron.

RPG news from around the web

• Business Insider ran Critical Role’s chief creative officer, Matt Mercer, explains how he avoids burnout but the article really is about him stepping back from DMing due to burnout.
• Rascal carries the sad news that Steve Dee, Game Designer And Community Builder, Has Passed Away.
• Wargamer’s Matt Bassil reports There’s now a Nancy Drew tabletop RPG, based on the 1930s books where she’s packing heat.
• Polygon shares The D&D terrain in Stranger Things’ finale came straight from real tables.
• The Necrotic Gnome starts the year strong with five OSE modules new into Foundry and an OSE Month collab feature.
• Christian Hoffer, at EN World, scribes Leon Barillaro Joins Wizards of the Coast as D&D Designer.
• Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics explains Dungeons & Dragons Press-On Nails Are Now A Thing and that a New D&D Romantasy Novel “The Feywild Job” Announced.
• Gen Con explains How One Facebook Post Sparked the Ladies of D&D Movement in San Diego.
• At Roll20, Jayme Boucher, announces that The Map Pins Beta is Now Open to All!.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Francesco Caciatore explains that After 8 years of playing D&D nonstop, I’ve finally tried its biggest alternative (and doesn’t mean Pathfinder).
• Reviews from R’leyh look at Richard Iorio’s Colonial Gothic.
• The Kind DM looks at The Beast of Bastion Bay.
• Polygon notes and interviews the team in RealmsBound shows a side of D&D’s Forgotten Realms we’ve never seen before.
• At Bleeding Cool, Gavin Sheehan chats with the Cast & Crew of Tales From Woodcreek.
• Geek Native interviewed Oddvoid about Mecha Force Tango.

RPG new releases

• Neuro Kraken Studios has released the sci-fi RPG Dust We Inherit.
• Onyx Path already has a best seller metal badge for Scion: God Player’s Guide.
• Satyr Play Productions has set sail with Argonauts’ Odyssey 2nd Edition.
• Wheels in Wheels Publishing is live with the action-focused Monster Guts 2e.
• Jose Eisenhower Vazquez Garcia has, for free, released the Dragonson RPG.
• ATLAS Foundry has a vision of the world dominated by the corporate blocs in EARTH 2289.
• There’s a free playtest edition of Thunderfort.
• Joshua McElroy released the 5e-powered The Last Dragon Ascendant: Player Companion.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $33.96 (20%) with FSpace Publications’ Philip Warnes Scifi RPG collection 2025 bundle.
• Save $6.99 (21%) in Wagon Wheel Publishing’s Saloons & Outlaws™ — The Complete Table Kit bundle.
• Save $4.95 (22%) in the Hero Level Games’ Witches & Wizards Maps bundle.
• Save $4.90 (33%) with Basunat’s Solo Horror Journaling RPGs bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• TTRPG Insider reports Playing Games in 2026: TTRPG Industry Professionals Predict What Comes Next.
• Revivify Games explores How Did Gary Think People Would Play D&D?.
• The Alexandrian muses Mothership: Thinking About Shore Leave.
• Arthur at Refereeing and Reflection wonders, Is the Doctor Who RPG Fading Away Into the Vortex?
• Roleplaying Tips pens Daggerheart + World Ripples.

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 Nancy Drew RPG from Sixpence Games pitches “A cozy solo mystery/puzzle game where you play as the world’s favorite girl detective”
• Zephyrin’s Radiance Legacy Dice: Forged in Glory from Zephyrin nominates “Five Resin Masterpieces—Where Brilliance Meets Heart, for the Champions of Tabletop Adventures”
• Cultists & Cubicles from Substrat suggests “A tabletop role-playing game about the horrors of working in the tech industry”
• Born of Claw and Craft from KingOfGames raises funds for “Three Dark Fantasy One-Shots for D&D 5e (PDF)”
• Onyxel’s Infernal Gaze Dice from Onyxel introduces “Six Cursed Visions, One Unholy Legacy (Emberveil, Voidveil, Azureveil, Amethystveil, Indigoveil, Virideveil)”
• Palace of the Golden Princess #5 from Preston Poulter offers “Grab the exciting conclusion of the sexy fantasy story set with 5e adventure.”
• Heaven and Hell: D&D Heavy Metal boss battles! from greedygorgonpress nominates “Battle Angels and Demons in this Soulslike D&D 5E/5.5E adventure!”
• SUGARLAND from Mitchell Tierney proposes “Solo Role-Playing Gamebook LitRPG – Run your own Stripclub. Single Player Gamebook.”
• The Anvil’s Chosen – Physical and Digital Dwarven Miniatures from Golden Coast Games introduces “Bring the might of dwarven legends to your tabletop with finely detailed miniatures in physical resin and digital formats”
• Maps for TTRPGs – Lands of Dragons from RealmCrafters submits “300+ Dragon-Themed Battle Maps for Any TTRPG — Lairs, Domains, Battlefields, and Dragon-Touched Lands (Grid & Gridless)”
• Underground RPG Maps for TTRPGs and vtt from Agnieszka Polanowska is working on “420 Underground battle maps for TTRPGs and vtt”
• Town Builder 3 from Steven Chabotte kickstarts “Fully Realized Castles, Temples, Estates, and Great Structures for Your TTRPG Fantasy Towns”
• Eldortale – The Game Master’s Dashboard from AC DEV pitches “Run your session smoothly — in-person or online — with audio, visuals, notes, and sharing in one place. Available in EN/FR.”
• The Candy Caper: A D&D Heist One Shot from Severed Studios pitches “A hilarious one-shot adventure of magic, mischief, and mayhem for D&D 5E”
• Night of Veshra from Dren Productions Games submits “A new D&D one-shot adventure where an assassin has been hired to eliminate a member of your party.”
• 150+ Thematic Fantasy RPG Maps and Arts from Gaudreau Steve raises funds for “We are producing incredible fantasy map package for your RPG sessions with complete art packs and more.”
• 🧭⚔️RPG Maps – 454 Modular TTRPG Maps🗺️ from Gergely Papp raises funds for “454 modular maps for any TTRPG: Modular map packs to keep your adventure flowing without interruptions!”
• X Marks the Spot, a Pirate D&D 5e/Daggerheart Adventure from Matthew David crowdfunds “A high-stakes pirate adventure for D&D/Daggerheart-style fantasy RPGs”
• The Infected Abbey: A Virulent Shadowdark Adventure from Perdido Press pitches “The Infected Abbey is a level 6-8 adventure for Shadowdark featuring new maps, items, monsters, and options for players and GMs.”
• 100 Relics of Ruin for D&D5e from Clavileño Creative crowdfunds “A growing book of cursed magic items for D&D 5e. Each relic offers power, demands sacrifice, and grows with every backer”
• 100 Ancient Ruins for D&D 5e from Dungeon Scroll Games crowdfunds “A supplement with 100+ one-page ancient ruin locations, designed to drop into your D&D 5e campaigns or any TTRPG!”
• Biomes in Maksur: Tundra from Cave Gaming submits “TTRPG Resources for running Arctic Adventures!”
• Drink & Dominion: 3D Printable Samurai Coaster STL Set from Layer Legends studio pitches “Keep your table safe with 3D-printable STL coasters made for DnD, card games, miniatures, and all your tabletop adventures.”
• Unreasonable Quests of the Astral Brotherhood – 5e D&D from Dragon Scale Games suggests “A 5e compatible collection of quests and 100 collectible plushies for 2026 Make 100!”
• The Witch Hunter Squad – A Subclass Compendium for DnD 5e from Secrets of Alexandria Retrogrind kickstarts “5 complex witch hunter & monster hunter subclasses, Dungeons and Dragons 5e compatible, 100 pages, including NPCs, VVT tokens & images”
• Fearsome Feylands – 100+ fey monsters – DnD 5e compatible from Secrets of Alexandria pitches “Lexicaria Bestia Vol.4 – 150+ pages with 100+ complex & unique fey monsters for the next Dungeons and Dragons 5e session, VTT tokens”
• Mörk States [Stage 2] from Christian Eichhorn suggests “A US Zine Print for gutter_PVNKS, Tribute, and CLVSTER!”
• D100 Booze and Bad Decisions from Luloclap kickstarts “A Dnd 5e D100 table & ttrpg”
• The Deck of Abyssal Things – D&D 5e Supplement from Paper Quest nominates “Dive into the Abyss with these 22 Tarot cards, in a stained-glass window style. The perfect handout for D&D 5e.”
• The Vanilla Adventure from Wind Lothamer nominates “A complete, all-in-one fantasy RPG book with everything you need to start playing NOW.”
• Unshackled Bestiary- Volume 1 – DnD 5e compatible from Grim Lantern is working on “Twisted Creatures and Living Nightmares – D&D 5E (PDF)”
• TriNova: Echoes of Aetherfall from Kal Douglas Goatee offers “Players Handbook / Core Rulebook”
• The Dice Goblin 3D Printed Book Nook from Print Goblins proposes “A mischievous, 3D printable book nook.”
• 100 Spells for 5E: The Wild Grimoire from Chaotic Neutral Visionary kickstarts “100 wild nature spells for DnD 5E—built to complement core lists and unlock new roles beyond healing.”
• Mana Masters: Complete TTRPG – Player & GM Adventure System from Robert Cross offers “A full TTRPG system with books, digital & print options, gm tools, worldbuilding, spells, items, mounts, and tactical gameplay.”
• The Missing Lover: A Valentine’s themed D&D 5e adventure from Collaborative Storyteller is working on “Α love-inspired D&D 5e mystery adventure, for groups that love roleplay, emotional storytelling, and meaningful player choices.”
• The King’s Mercy, a 5E one-shot adventure from Eric Bleney introduces “What happens when there aren’t enough supplies to save everyone? A 5E adventure for 3-5 characters of levels 4-5.”
• Champion Saga: A Fighting Game Tabletop RPG from ChubbyFoxGames raises funds for “Champion Saga will release as 2 different books: LITE and ADVANCED. The books are complete, the funding is needed for publicity.”
• Lucky Fortune Dice 3.0 from Scatter Games nominates “Oversized K9 Glass D20 with Enhanced Facets for Dazzling Display & Collection”
• Chryse from Ian Liddle introduces “Chryse. A fantasy setting for the Savage Worlds roleplaying game.”
• Western RPG Battle Maps: Wild West Adventures from Alex1805Kings introduces “300+ Western battle maps for VTT & TTRPGs, including Frontier Towns, City Streets, Ranches, Bridges & Railways, Camps, and Deserts”
• Grimm’s Lewd Tales: A Role-Playing Game for Couples from Phoenix Grey introduces “Go on 5 adventures based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales in this adult game where couples must perform intimate actions to progress the story.”
• Ice Rebirth – TTRPG Battlemaps from That Dungeon Guy suggests “Join this #Make100 edition of unwatermarked battle maps themed frozen wastelands and northern territories! For RPGs and wargames.”

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