Last week there was the Winter Jazz and Blues Festival, and now it’s just winter. Oh well. At least there’s TTRPG news!
Let’s start with the summary of summaries.
- DriveThruRPG POD prices are increasing.
- The ex-Nintendo America boss is now on the Hasbro board.
- Wayland has bought Kraken Wargames.
- There’s a horrible legal battle over Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast.
- Marvel is releasing Battleworld for their TTRPG.
There’s one more week (or so) of January to go. If your plan is to hide away and wait until February, then why not play short film roulette? We’ve linked all our posts tagged ‘short film’ with a randomiser so you could end up leaping from short anime to sci-fi horror.
Speaking of tags, it’s a work in progress, but we’ve been trying to use JavaScript (I’m scared of PHP hacking WordPress) to inject some life and information into our tag pages. For example, Sci-Fi shows when the tag was used last and the tags that tend to get used along with it. We see that Sci-Fi posts are also Cepheus Engine or Traveller posts. That makes sense, but the analysis is limited to the last batch of blogs to keep page speed as high as possible.
On with the TTRPG news!
Spotlight: d20Play.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Geek Native’s analysis of the EN World “Most Anticipated” suggested the Death of the Safe Bet.
- We got to talk to Duncan Rhodes about Extraordinary Locations.
- Bad news, as print-on-demand prices at DriveThruRPG are about to go up.
- The former boss at Nintendo America has joined the Hasbro board of directors.
- Wizards of the Coast has hired Godsbreath creator Erin Roberts.
- PEG will publish a 30th anniversary and standalone Deadlands RPG.
- Smurfs RPG publisher Maestro Media has signed a new distribution deal.
- Edinburgh’s Closet Brewing has a new Tabletop Beer.
- Why? Paladins kept on making speeches when scientists ‘forced’ AI to play D&D.
- Coffee or grit? Thousands of gamers are already waiting for Acheron’s Pumpkin Spice RPG.
- Kobold ask not to use Discord to chase Kickstarters and they are busy with a major shipping wave.
- One of the biggest RPG/tabletop shops in Europe has bought Kraken Wargames.
- The Bundle of Holding has an offer on the huge Halls of Arden Vul.
- Humble has a deal on Call of Cthulhu.
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RPG news from around the web
- Rascal has an investigation into the Battle Over Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast Contracts Leaves The Book, Relationships, Torn Apart.
- Parade asks ‘Stranger Things’ Introduced ‘D&D’ to Millions, But Is the Game Fading?.
- The Fandomentals opines Battleworld Comes To The Tabletop In The Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying Game’s New Expansion.
- D&D Beyond charts the Q1 2026: Partnered Content Release Schedule.
- CGM notes that Fortnite Is Going Tabletop With New Dungeons & Dragons Community Creator Islands.
- Dice Monkey covers “WYRM” by Spencer Campbell is Unleashed.
- Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics scribes Beadle & Grimm’s Unfurls New D&D Forgotten Realms Banners.
- Chaosium welcomes Lucy Bramley.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Refereeing and Reflection reviews the Pendragon Le Morte d’Arthur.
- Reviews from R’lyeh reviews 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook, Heidi Gygax Garland’s The Darkness Under The Water Foul and the supernatural horror Piago 1348.
- At Wargamer, Alex Evans reviews Heart: The City Beneath.
- Ill Met by Morrslieb details a review of Wretches of the Writ.
- B/X Backrazor reviews Interdimensional Tunnels of the Sluggobs.
- The Kind DM reviews The Real Thing RPG.
- The Roleplayers Chronicle reviews the Vaesen Starter Set.
- Grognardia carries a retrospective of the Trail of Tsathogghua.
- Polygon talks to Chris Perkins on how Rime of the Frostmaiden turned D&D into frigid survival horror.
RPG new releases
- OptimisticNIL has released the scary-looking Run From the Dark: Folk Horror RPG. They also have a standalone Forbidden Dark that brings Run from the Dark to Forbidden Psalm.
- DEADMAN Gaming Studios has published their DEADMAN: Core Rulebook and the pay-what-you-want Field Guide.
- Eduardo Camps has released a Clockwork Setting location called The Soot Warrens.
- OnceWas has gone live with their Campaign Setting.
- Soul Magnum Publishing has a free-to-download Carapace: A Game of Memory and Ruin Quickstart
- Monkey Business Games also has a freebie with the rulebook for Red Death – The Undead Plague.
- The newly shiny Talsorian Store has physical copies of the golden oldie anime RPG Teenagers From Outerspace.
- Handiwork Games has a new Backdrop Book.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $574.74 (85%) in Adventure Await Studios’ The King’s Tax Bundle.
- Save $13.98 (26%) with Wagon Wheel Publishing Rum & Rogues Core Rulebook bundle.
- Save $7.92 (61%) with the Ink That Binds Entertainment’s Wizard Doctrine bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- BearBlog has an excellently academic post on Reliability and Fatigue as Random Processes in Tabletop.
- Jared Rascher blogs again with Dungeons & Dragons 2026, How Did We Get Here (Part One?).
- Polygon reports The False Hydra is the best homebrew D&D monster — but you can only use it once.
- Roleplaying Tips details Solo RPGs – How To Ask The Right Questions.
- Sly Flourish suggests The Simplest Quest Model.
- Clayton Notestine writes a piece Against Dominant Mechanics.
- Tomb of Tedankhamen wonders How to Succeed in RPGs.
- Rice Media looks into Rolling for Belonging: How Queer Singaporeans Use D&D to Reckon With Real Life.
- While on Reddit, there’s a personal post from Jingermelon on how Dnd saved me from depression.
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 Elderwood DM Screen from Zachary Frandsen suggests “The Elderwood Screen combines premium California hardwood with magnets for a modular 3-piece setup that adapts to you”
- Sainthood: a D&D 5e divine system from randomitalianguy nominates “5e revised, part I”
- MAKE 100 D20 soaps with mystery dice set inside from Marko Ilić introduces “Turn your daily routine into a fantasy-themed quest, slowly revealing a gaming dice set with every wash, for every adventurer.”
- Dungeon Forge Tiles: Made from 100% Recycled Plastic from Dungeon Forge raises funds for “High-quality modular tabletop tiles made from 100% recycled plastic, strong, with easy-to assemble friction-fit connections.”
- The Fables Multiverse from The Fables Multiverse proposes “An epic book series to start, board games, a “collectible” card game, and a TTRPG to bring it all together in a single character sheet.”
- Solo Crawling, a Single Player Random Dungeon Adventure from Sam pitches “Designed for solo players from the ground up. Quick, portable, and endlessly replayable!”
- Cupid’s Cache: d100 Valentine’s Magic Items for D&D 5E from GM’s Satchel crowdfunds “A collection of 100 romantic and cursed artifacts to spice up your 5E game! Printable Cards + VTT Tokens included. Starting at $1!”
- Dungeon, Inc. from Olivier Revenu raises funds for “A reverse dungeon TTRPG by the Merry Mushmen”
- Patented Dice with Dual Internal Wheels: Press to Spin from SERANY-GAME crowdfunds “A Patented Press-to-Spin Mechanical Dice Designed Specifically for RPGs and Tabletop Games. Truly Random and Fair.”
- Mystic G70 – Venom-Infused Dice from 76Ray is working on “A collection of gaming dice crafted from 70 different types of stone sourced from around the world, each one invaded by flowing venom.”
- The Mimir Forge: Multicolor Life-Counters from The Mimir Forge pitches “Ready-to-play, lovingly sculpted, 3D printed life-trackers in full color.”
- Lexicon of Monsters: A 5E Monster Manual Expansion from Yellowbyte Workshop introduces “The ultimate 5E Monster Manual expansion with 150+ original creatures. Everything you need to challenge, inspire and haunt your table.”
- Scalemail: A Tabletop Roleplaying Game from Jason Duff offers “An easy to learn fantasy tabletop roleplaying game that is accessible to gamers of all ages and skill levels.”
- Grorr’Bolg the Endless Croak: Swamp-Born Outcasts for 5e from Dark Eagle Games raises funds for “Introduces the Grurks: frogfolk, playable race, culture, myths, items, and a One Shot Adventure that brings it all together.”
- Terminus X7Z from Brian Hazzard suggests “A Zero-prep, GM-less, Sci-fi Tabletop Roleplaying Game”
- RealmBreakers — Apocalypse Machines to Terrify Your Table from The Arcane Gate kickstarts “Your BBEG isn’t big or bad enough. RealmBreakers gives you apocalypse machines and villains for your 5e campaign. PDF, Book & STLs.”
- Dungeon Dice STL Set : 3D Print Jailbreaker Chains for D&D from The 4th Quest Games pitches “Break your chains! Pre-supported STL files for sharp-edge chain dice. Includes jailer vaults & master dice for D&D, 5E, and TTRPGs.”
- Turmoil of Trolls from Misfit Adventure proposes “A 2D10 TTRPG + classroom toolkit for game creators.”
- Fantasy Shops Toolkit for TTRPGs + 30 Drop-In Locations from Frank Arcane suggests “A system-neutral GM toolkit with 51 tables and 30 pre-made fantasy shops, ready to drop into any world or campaign.”
- Blightfall 5e D&D from Anthony David offers “When the final leaves fall, the blight will rise.”
- The Silence Of The Veil: Horror In The Forbidden Himalayas from Cosmondo kickstarts “Printable Miniatures (STL Files) for Role-Playing Games (RPG), Tabletop, Fantasy, Horror & Call of Cthulhu Miniature Boardgame Collect.”
- NPC Compendium: 100 Faces of the City from Masters Guild Studio pitches “Plots, personalities, and roles. Introduce new NPCs to your gaming sessions and place them on the battlefield with VTT tokens. #Make100”
- Shadow Directive: A tactical Espionage TTRPG from Collective Hobbies proposes “A new breed of TTRPG that focuses on stealth but doesn’t rely on it. New mechanics and ways to play that break the TTRPG mold!”
- Roll & Hoard — Dice Bags for Dice Goblins – Make 100 from Alice submits “Handmade in the UK • Random Patterns for Maximum Chaos”
- Unique & Epic Bosses, Lore & Items for 5E from Loots & Dragons kickstarts “5 high-level boss fights with detailed lore, tactics, and 15 matching legendary artifacts. Fully illustrated. (ENG+FR available)”
- AD&D Base Adventures Collection vol. 1 from DiegoZap offers “A 50 A4 pages adventures collectio module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and all the Old School systems, for base level groups (1-2)”
- The Silent Witch from Gi&Gi offers “Dark-Fantasy short campaign to trial characters and team chemistry.”
- Forged in Dragonfire: Level 0 Characters in Daggerheart from Mountcastle Games submits “Rules for creating level 0 characters and a funnel adventure for Darrington Press’ Daggerheart”
- Crafting Worlds for GMs – Vol 5 for D&D 5E from Adventurica kickstarts “A supplement with battle maps, adventure hooks, new enemies, unique magic items, and more! Fully compatible with DnD 5e.”
- Pocket Worlds – Vol. 8 from Deviprasad Jayasankar nominates “Bring your bookshelves to life with these captivating scenic worlds, inspired by BookNooks and BookEnds”
- The City Workbook from Shawn Carman is working on “A system agnostic journal for creating an immersive modern city setting for GMs and players”
[What’s this chart? We use Kickstarter Heat to measure how busy the crowdfunding season is.]
Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.
