Routinely Itemised: RPG #374

It’s a short Routinely Itemised this week, as the team are at the Edinburgh festivals (100 shows launch every hour).

Sound fun? Yes, but as an independent news group it’s also a challenge. We’re working 7am to 2am, fighting against international news groups with AI support, specific sites, and marketing deals.

Here’s the latest RPG news summaries of the summaries are;

• In the UK, where unions are standard, Rown, Rook and Decard employees are the first to join on.
• Wargamer is looking for a new editor.
• Troll Lord Games have confirmed Troll Con 2027.
• Paizo will list their full catalogue on DriveThruRPG.

Since we’re talking about international media groups turning up en masse in Edinburgh, let’s go through how you can support indie press. Here’s a newish, free idea. Tell Google’s algorithm that you prefer sites like Geek Native for news.

You could back the Patreon.

Following us on social media, even if you do not use it much, also helps because it helps to turn you from an invisible reader into a visible vote. The newsletter does a similar thing. On that note, if you’re comfortable with it, opting into analytics tracking lets us see what people are reading.

It might be a bit retro, but it’s my favourite; there’s also the RSS feed (and each tag or category on the site has one).

On with the TTRPG news!

Spotlight: Table Cat Games.

RPG news from Geek Native

• A tabletop review from the Fringe. It’s Dungeons and Shakespeare.
• We also found tabletop theatre in the Fringe with Planet of the Grapes.
• A surprise hit post on the site was the dice plans for the Mighty Nein.
• Paizo will list its full catalogue on DriveThruRPG.
• With over 4,000 backers and £366,000 pledged, the Ghost in the Machine (the other one) crowdfunded.
• We’re a few weeks away from Tabletop Scotland 2026.
• There’s a whole series of GURPS 4e bundles.

Support: Patreon.

RPG news from around the web

• Rowan, Rook and Decard workers have joined the IWGB Game Worker Union.
• The folks at Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics share thoughts on Beadle & Grimm’s Curse of Strahd Box Set is Back from the Dead and dive into The Wild West of Eberron Rides Again On D&D Beyond.
• Troll Lord Games have confirmed Troll Con 2027.
• Wargamer is looking for a new editor and leader.
• TTRPG Fanatics writes up the 2026 Diana Jones Award winner.
• Writing about Larry Elmore, the Military Times runs with From tanks and rifles to Dungeons and Dragons: Veteran’s experience shaped game’s famous artwork.

Support: Fight the Algorithm.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• It’s a five-star review from Theatre Scotland with Tartan Tabletop: A Dungeons and Dragons Comedy.
• Reviews from R’lyeh drops a review of Ion Heart – Pilot’s Handbook and Phoenix Command.
• Refereeing and Reflection review Campfire Tales, Dust & Blood and Voll Adventures. Then, in another combo post, The Klingons, The Romulans and The Orions.
• Halfway Station VI reviews Scarlet Heroes.
• Valeria Loves has things to say about Wages of Sin.
• The Kind DM shares a review of Castle Falkenstein.
• TTRPG Fanatics reviews Starfinder Absalom Station: Center of the Galaxy.
• For Wargamer, Mollie Russell discusses D&D’s Legends of Avantris tell us how hope, actual play, and premium pledges carried Neon Odyssey to $16m.
• Popverse talks to the stars in Deborah Ann Woll and Kevin Smith came together not over Daredevil, but over Dungeons and Dragons.

RPG new releases

• Available now is Bakagaijin Productions’ Pretty Power Priestesses (life as a magical girl is not easy).
• Modiphius brings us Fallout: Wasteland Warfare – Into the Wasteland Quickstart PDF.
• Bite-Sized Gaming has released the free Raptor Ruckus: Quickstart.
• Turtle and Phoenix Entertainment has released Djura Roleplaying Game Quickstart Guide.
• Skydawn Game Studios has released Esper Genesis Core Manual | Foundry VTT.
• Aegis Studios released Scarred Lands Player’s Guide (SWADE).
• We now have Tyler D Leonhardt’s Resolve TTRPG.
• Timothy L Allsup has published XYZ RPG.
• Sharp Mountain Games brings us STREAMLINED SUPERHEROES 2nd Edition.
• I.D.W. GAMES has published Apothacarum – A Solo Medical Roleplaying Game.
• Varga has published the Revenants Revised Edition.
• Bored Barista Productions released FLHP – Freaky Little Hooded People the RPG.
• JQHY Creative has published “Fantastic” – TTRPG.
• In physical release and pre-release news, you can now pre-order the new Cypher TTRPG.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $481.59 (94%) in the Ross A Isaacs Emergency Fund.
• Save $3 (38%) in the Philip Reed Games’ Dragonbane Journeys and Threats bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• At Wargamer, Mollie Russell explores D&D Arcana Unleashed’s new evolving magic items are a great idea, poorly executed.
• The Tower of Zenopus gets into Savage Worlds vs. Mutants & Masterminds and the Importance of Dice.
• Brandes Stoddard talks about changes to Birthright in Revolution.
• The RPG Gazette writes up Dice, Superstition, and the Anxiety Theory of Magic.

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:

• Blaze’s Book of Bewitchment from Dr. John Wulfenstein is crowdfunding “A spellbook for D&D 5e (and 5.5) that will fill your game with even more magic, and magical potential!”
• The Maleficent Grimoire By Angry Dwarf Games by Victor Dorso is currently raising funds for “For almost fifty years, VC Dorso — the Scourge of the North — has forged nightmares at the gaming table. Now the vault is open.”
• Slain Dragon Dice Tower by 3DSloop is offering “The battle is over. The dragon has fallen. Its massive head now serves as a unique dice tower for your tabletop games.”
• AstralNotix is a project by Josuhe Arevalo that invites players to explore “The all-in-one campaign manager for tabletop Game Masters.”
• Mini Keyring Diceholder by Cross Lances is an upcoming supplement for “A set of keychains and dice holders, available for 3D printing in STL format, Print in place, supportless.”
• ModuLight 3D Printable GigaDice from Stratation Design brings us “3D print, assemble, and customize a must-have mood light for your tabletop game room. It also doubles as a giant D20!”
• Maps for TTRPGs – Humans & Celestials: Kingdoms and Heavens is a project by RealmCrafters that looks at “300+ Human & Celestial Battlemaps for Every Tabletop and VTT System (e.g., DnD, Pathfinder), Plus Commercial Use Included!”
• Anyaral: Jewels of the Teralin Coast is a project by World of Twilight that promises “Chapter 1: Stirrings of Sedition”
• 240+ Tabletop Halloween RPG Terrain Tiles -3D Printable STLs is a project by Black Hills Studios that is “Build Halloween, Forests, Egyptian, Calavera, Dead Pirate RPG scenes. OpenLock & plain. Commercial license available. Haunt the table”
• Chronicles of the Stellar Kingdom from The Polyhedral Knights kickstarts “A Sci-Fi fantasy where heroes work to bring down a dark, tyrannical King. Inspired by stories like Star Wars and Game of Thrones.”
• The Ruins of Kazad Dur is a project by Bryan O’Doherty that invites players to explore “An Adventure Set in Formoria – The Dark Age.”
• Dungeons Box HexVault: Next-Gen Dice Box & Dice Tower by Jon Irons is offering “The next evolution of the Dungeons Box™, redesigned from the ground up with new wood finishes, modular tower and perfectly paired dice.”
• Sweets & Saltwaters from Abenquest seeks funding for “A Donions and Dragons TTRPG Adventure”
• Ghosts Beyond the Scar: A Lancer Narrative Campaign is a project by Adventures Await that invites players to explore “Investigate a pirate threat and a hidden NHP agenda in a brand new narrative campaign for the Lancer tabletop role-playing game.”
• Left for the Vultures: The Vengeance Fantasy RPG by Vasilie Crisan is a new roleplaying games project for “If John Wick walked into a D&D campaign, this is the game you’d get.”
• Eurydice? A Micro-RPG is a project by Michael Anthony DeAnda that promises “Orpheus must lead the love of his life out of the underworld, and he can’t look back to see if she’s following!”
• Monsters of Rend World is a project by Darryl Jones that looks at “Hundreds of original monsters from CR 30 titans to bone-burrowing insects. Unique biomes, boss lairs, crafting & player options. DnD 5e”
• Final Light: A Survival-Horror TTRPG from Sarah Brown kickstarts “Scavenge and escape your way through a world of undead, and hold on to whatever keeps you human.”
• Ultimate Tabletop Cast: 80 Heroes & NPCs by Edair Digital is touted as “A massive collection of 80 presupported 3D printable STLs for 5E, TTRPGs, and wargames.”
• Hero’s Codex: A Modular 3D Printable RPG Character Station is a project by Unchained Games that invites players to explore “Track your character, organize cards, dice, minis, meeples, coins & more, and customize your setup for 5E and beyond.”
• Rigamaroll by Rigamaroll is a new roleplaying games project for “Season 2 and Campaign Frame inspired by epic 80s cartoons!”
• Deadlands: Mysterious Maze – Savage Worlds from Shane Hensley is developing “A Savage Worlds source book, adventure, and boxed campaign set for Deadlands: The Weird West!”
• Adventures from Farrador Keep: Choose-Your-Own-Path Stories! by Pacesetter Games & Simulations is offering “Inspired by Fantasy Forest and Endless Quests, relive the great days of choose-your-own-path fantasy adventures with three new stories!”
• Wrath of a Thousand Suns: A Funnel Crawl for Pirate Borg from Thomas Zitkevitz kickstarts “Launching August 11th! A Funnel Crawl adventure for Pirate Borg + some other goodies! Featuring Giant Mantis Shrimp!”
• KHM-1: Froschkonig from Chamomile Has A Project is developing “A 5e-compatible adventure set in the fairy tale cosmos of the Empire of Joy.”
• DICEBANGLE: The Brass RPG Dice Bracelet by The BoardGame Zone is offering “Wear D4 to D100 on your wrist with a rotating dice system, forged into three sculpted fantasy relics.”
• Sherwood Reborn 5e D&D by Legends Ink is a new roleplaying games project for “This was not the plan…”
• Stellar Ring II – The Magnetic Spinning Dice Ring System is a project by Astranova that is “Seven Rings. Seven Dice. A complete dice system. Roll anywhere. Spin anytime.”
• Critical Codex DELUXE is a project by Jerry Joe Seltzer that promises “Cinematic Successes & Failures to Intensify your D&D Game”
• Across the Horizon / The Blood Tree by Kevin Hassall is an upcoming supplement for “Two books for the Coriolis: The Third Horizon RPG. The Blood Tree (adventure + setting) & Across the Horizon (Coriolis Players’ Guide)”
• The Heartforge Echo, A WAYPOINT Solo Adventure by Waypoint RPG is an upcoming supplement for “Pyrethion is dead. Something beneath her ribs still answers.”
• Dying Sun of Athelios One-Shot / Scion of Apollo 5e Class is a project by Matthew Rosta that looks at “A sun-cursed DnD 5e one-shot and Apollo inspired character class, forged together in the mythic world of Osmoria.”
• Layover from Cryogenic shares “An immersive TTRPG that mixes fantasy and sci-fi with a unique no-class system. This will be digitally fulfilled by DriveThruRPG”

[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.