Routinely Itemised: RPG #386

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day, and people set off fireworks without much knowledge of why. Or am I being cynical?

In this TTRPG news summary, we’re all about knowledge, with a weekly roundup from Geek Native and the web. Let’s start with the summary of summaries!

• Itch washed terabytes of AI slop out of its system and now wants tabletop designers to disclose usage.
• Discord will open some servers up to the web (for search and bots).
• Paizo, Green Ronin, et al, will finally get their warehouse hostage games back.
• Chaosium will publish the Folklorists and the Tapestry TTRPGs.
• A Ben 10 TTRPG is on the way.
• There’s a Trigun Stampede TTRPG on the way.

Speaking of Trigun, Scotland Loves Anime is on in Glasgow, and it’ll reach Edinburgh soon. If you go and watch, then why not vote in the unofficial SLA-ed awards.

The Spotlight feature on but without Slithy Tove Games is live. Bil Bass’ imprint is worth looking at.

Speaking of the RPG Publisher Spotlight, Arcane Brewery will be our feature for November. If you’re a patron, you can vote for the December honouree.

Thank you also for using the Spotlight Nominations form. For the first time ever, we had more candidates than we could manage in a month.

The candidates for next RPG Publisher Spotlight are:

• Armored Storyteller Publishing
• Weird Adventures by Martin A. Cubas
• The Obsidian Die
• Mindplaces
• The Northern Realm Inc.

If you follow the daily digest, you’ll notice it’s been a bit erratic in the last two days. For good reasons! We got stuck in a queue helping archive pages for the Wayback Machine. If you want an alternative way to stay laser-focused on Routinely Itemised, then I recommend the RSS feed.

On with the TTRPG news!

Spotlight: Arcane Brewery.

RPG news from Geek Native

• We reported that Discord change will expose tabletop RPG chat to AI scraping.
• Finally, Itch.io deletes terabytes of AI spam and enforces TTRPG disclosures.
• We had an interview with Julien Frid on the d6 mechanics and post-war setting of the Sine TTRPG.
• Geek Native covered Court clears Paizo and Green Ronin inventory in Diamond bankruptcy resolution.
• We went Inside the RPG Creators Relief Fund: Hal Greenberg on hardship, reserves, and freelance precarity.
• Sadly. Rising shipping costs force ANVL to drop resin prints for $5.99 STLs.
• We reported on Hiscox property index features Thistle Tavern as game stores become destinations. I know! A weird mashup of local Edinburgh, TTRPG and finance news!
• In crowdfunding, Geek Native investigated Era: Hydrogen: Keeping dying suns alive with exploding d10s and Grimdark frontier like no other: Feral, the historical fantasy roleplaying game.
• For bundle deals, we had Scrounge, Survive, and Suffer in the Void With the New Death in Space Bundle.

Support: Patreon.

RPG news from around the web

• Rascal features Khee Hoon Chan, who reports on After Grimwild’s creator disappeared, the RPG’s community banded together to design their own free edition.
• Over at Chaosium, the team writes about Chaosium to release Folklorists, a new roleplaying game in mid-2027.
• iXBT.games’s Denis Morporkov has the news (18+) Hell and High Water unveiled — a tabletop roleplaying game set in the Trench Crusade universe.
• EN World features Christian Hoffer, who reports that Ben 10 is getting an TTRPG.
• Tabletop Sentinel features Angus, who reports on Trigun Stampede Tabletop RPG Announced Using the Resistance System – Free Quickstart Released.
• Angus also picks up that there will be Two New Melsonian Arts Council TTRPG Books In Time For Dragonmeet.
• The Gaming Gang features Jeff McAleer, who reports on Chaosium Inc Announce the Tapestry: Age of Conquest Roleplaying Game.
• Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics’s Jason Volk has the news D&D Team Hires Lyla Fujiwara as Senior Game Designer.
• Bruno Yonezawa examines Dungeons & Dragons Unveils Brand-New Species You Can Play For Free for Screen Rant.
• Corentin Choisy explores SKEW 1.0: The Free, Rules-Light RPG System That Puts All Your Dice to Work for Rascal.
• Writing for The Gaming Gang, Jeff McAleer reports on RuneQuest: The Apple Lane Campaign is Now in Stores.
• Over at Gauntlet, the team writes about Dice Will Roll! Celebrating 10 Years of Community at the D&D Club.

Support: Fight the Algorithm

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Brandes Stoddard shares a review of Origins Expanded.
• Writing for CBR, Jennifer Melzer shares a review of Obojima: Tales from Yatamon.
• Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics’s Jason Volk examines Obojima: Tales From Yatamon Lands.
• Thomas Hindmarch at Polygon reviews World of Warcraft’s D&D.
• GamesRadar+’s Benjamin Abbott examines D&D World of Warcraft.
• But Why Tho?’s Adrian Ruiz examine D&D: World Of Warcraft.
• Reviews from R’lyeh shares thoughts on The Hunt for the Storm Calf.
• At The Kind GM, AnastasiosHJW delivers a review of The Rising Knight.
• Over at Halfway Station VI, Andy Slack’s reviews Dune Adventures in the Imperium.
• Timothy S. Brannan examines Witch Girls Adventures 2nd Edition.
• Writing for TTRPG Insider, Christopher Hutton shares an interview on Exploring the Witchy Side of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld in the Lancre and Uberwald Expansion.
• Writing for Ill Met by Morrslieb, Zekiel shares a review of WFRP Buyer’s Guide.
• The team at Shadomain shares an interview on Tales From the Tavern Q&A with Nick from Red River.
• Over at Geeks of Doom, the team reviews A Feast For A Tenday: The Official Cookbook for Baldur’s Gate 3. (Amazon)
• At TTRPG Insider, Christopher Hutton interviews the team behind Biophage.
• In an interview at Tabletop Gaming, we learn about Joe Manganiello: D&D has a new sheriff in town.
• Writing for Polygon, Sam Nelson shares an interview on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn TTRPG Lays the Groundwork for His Next Series.

RPG new releases

• Arcane Brewery released Falkenreich – A ShadowDark RPG Setting.
• AxidentalDM brings us Metropolis RPG.
• Magpie Games brings us Urban Shadows: Expanded City Hubs.
• Alan Tucker brings us Fractus, the Broken World.
• R. B. Publisher brings us Topikus – Solo RPG.
• Belazan Games released Heroes Assemble: System Core Rulebook.
• The Department of Unusual Observations expands their catalogue with Commander Cosmic and the Daring Duel of Death.
• MHope released Omerta and Blood Core Rulebook v1.0.
• Xipe Totec Press brings us The Lazarus Archive: A Cosmic Noir TTRPG.
• New from Monkey Business Games is Codex Maleficarum 2nd Edition.
• In physical shops like Forbidden Planet, there is Dark Horse’s D&D Total Party Killer.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $47.97 (25%) in The JonnyDM bundle.
• Save $9.90 (22%) with thiagogomes’s Korog RPG bundle.
• Save $8.55 (32%) in Pelgrane Press’ 13th Age Monsters bundle.
• Save $3.00 (20%) with the The House under the Moondial + Soundtrack bundle from Hexagnome.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• For Halloween, we wrote up Dust and Dice: From Necroscope to Nightlife, the vampire RPGs left in the crypt.
• Writing for ICv2, Rob Salkowitz reports on Con Fragmentation is the Only Way Forward.
• Dom explores Flowers of Algorab for Signals from Delta Pavonis.
• W. F. Smith explores My Dungeon Master Put Me on a PIP for Prismatic Wasteland.
• Writing for Seed of Worlds, Xaosseed reports on Get Going, Keep Going (Player Advice Blogwagon).
• Over at Modiphius, the team writes about A TTRPG Analysis of “Encounter at Farpoint”.
• A shrike for my dreams’s Velocitree has A Guide for new DMs: young player advice.
• Dot at Kobold Press writes up Trade Secrets: The Business of Adventure in Fantasy RPGs.
• Checking in with Sly Flourish, Michael E. Shea investigates Write Down Your Encounter Benchmark.
• Monte Cook opines on RPG Design Theories that smaller is better.

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:

• Doom Falls on Darkmoor, now crowdfunding from Third Castle Games, is described as “A new sword & sorcery role-playing adventure.”
• Our Quiet Little Town from Will Brall steps up to crowdfund, promising “A Silly Paranormal Campaign Setting for Any System. Small-town cozy horror about everyday people trying to cope with the supernatural.”
• Veilfall: The Devil’s Vow — A Dark Urban Fantasy TTRPG, which Steven has brought to Kickstarter, is described as “Investigate occult crimes, navigate ancient vampire factions, and uncover the locked Gate beneath Ironward.”
• Tahlvaen by John Eisenberg is seeking backers. In their words: “A heart-forward dark fantasy world for 5e, where rare magic, eldritch dread, hope fights the dark, and human courage shape every fate.”
• Crimson Marksmen: Rise of Spurwing the Cruel, a new project from Sohrab Rezvan, is summarised as “An Arsenal Football Club-themed D&D adventure for football/soccer lovers. A complete adventure with original creatures, maps, & puzzles.”
• Beavers or Bandits – Quest for Shadowdark RPG by Fireball Studios steps up to crowdfund, pitching “A dam is being built upstream of a village. They call for heroes to investigate this inconvenience.”
• Attack at the Sunset Festival: D&D 5e One-Shot Adventure from DungeonDane is funding now, promising “An easy-to-run D&D 5e one-shot featuring ready-to-play halfling characters, a charming village festival, and a thrilling goblin raid.”
• King in Yellow RPG Dice Set, which Greenwich House Hobbies has brought to Kickstarter, invites backers to: “Bring the King from Carcosa into your RPG with the King in Yellow RPG Dice Set.”
• Dungeon Domains: Mordengandr Den, which Bart Wynants has brought to Kickstarter, promises “An endlessly expandable dungeon for Shadowdark, 5e, Mörk Borg, Pathfinder, Forbidden Lands & other fantasy tabletop role-playing games.”
• D100 SIDEQUEST IDEAS FOR DND 5E, a new project from Loots & Dragons, is billed as “100+ rumors and sidequests, organized by environments and biomes, to create a living world and save DM prep time.”
• ScrollForge 3D Printable Modular Dice Tower from Stratation Design is funding now, summarised as “A customizable dice tower, scroll case, and dice storage system for your TTRPG adventures. Digital STL files only.”
• 100 Fantasy Ships for D&D 5e is a new Kickstarter by Dungeon Scroll Games pitching “A supplement with 100+ unique fantasy ships, each designed to drop into your D&D 5e campaigns or any TTRPG.”
• Pilgrim’ TTRPG from Dungeon Mayhem Syndicate is funding now, summarised as “A Daggerheart™ Space‑Western Campaign Frame.”
• One Thousand Rats Devour a City by Ravensridge Press has gone live, promising “A boardgame TTRPG of murine vengeance in a victorian gothic city.”
• 5 Dreams: a Dungeons and Dragons 5E and 5.5E campaign is a new Kickstarter by Brian C pitching “Compete against other heroes, challenge monsters and endeavor to win the title of Heroes of the Kingdom in this D&D 5E & 5.5E campaign.”
• Forestwalker is a Kickstarter project from John promising “A cyberpunk-fantasy TTRPG where people channel divine power from ancient technology to lightning strike their enemies.”
• The Gilded Court: 20 Wicked Noble Houses For D&D 5E (no AI) from Ravenora steps up to crowdfund, billed as “20 wicked noble houses across 200+ pages of dark secrets, rivalries, NPCs & adventure hooks, ready for your D&D campaigns.”
• The WitchGirls Inc RPG Campaign Sourcebook is a crowdfunding campaign from Dennis Mallonee billed as “It’s a detective agency run by witches! And they’re looking to hire new associates to solve occult mystery and expose occult fraud.”
• Runes and Golden Keys: A deck of quests for RPG by Scenic Japanese has gone live, pitching “An innovative deck which incorporates both quests and items for any TTRPG such as D&D DnD 5e 5.5e Starfinder Daggerheart and many more.”
• 13 Queer Villains, pitched by Ever After Print, is described as “To diversify your roleplaying games.”
• Adventurer’s Journal: all you need for your D&D character, now crowdfunding from Irene Cabrejas, is summarised as “No more getting lost in piles of random papers. Character sheet, spellbook, session trackers, quick guides and more. All in one place.”
• Shadowrun: Anarchy 2.0 – Over The Edge by Black Book Editions seeks funding, billed as “New Character Options, Advanced Rules & Adventures for the Alternative Shadowrun Cyberpunk-Fantasy Ruleset.”
• Eclipse at Xoltepec: A D&D 5E Beastiary of the Professor, now crowdfunding from Professor Dudley Proose, promises “A 123-page D&D 5E bestiary with 50 creatures, seven temple floors, field notes, tribute, and a descent under eclipse.”
• The Kidding Season – A Folk Horror Adventure for D&D 5E, now crowdfunding from Sumida, is billed as “42 pregnant goats, seven nights of strange births, and one terrible secret. A 56-page D&D 5E horror adventure for levels 1–20.”
• OSR The Bride of Blood / La Sposa di Sangue from DiegoZap is rallying backers, billed as “A 180 pages horror adventure module for all the Old School systems (D&D, AD&D, OSE etc), for expert level groups (3-5).”
• Thirteen Haunted Houses: Drop-In Hauntings for D&D 5e by Laurie is rallying support. The pitch: “Thirteen haunted houses, each playable in a single night. Drop one into any campaign and watch your players refuse to go upstairs.”
• Seven Sinners – Goetia: A Demon Bestiary for 5E & OSRIC, a new project from Grim Moon Studio, is billed as “Summon the demons of the Ars Goetia in your 5E or OSRIC campaigns: monsters, pacts, seals & adventures from an ENnie-winning series.”
• The Ninja – A New Class Compatible with DnD 5e/5.5e from ChronicleMaker has gone live, billed as “Master secret jutsu passed down through generations. Unlock the mysteries of your Densho and forge your legend in the shadows.”
• Towers of the Mist by Xykit is seeking backers. The pitch: “Dice Tower Blocks – Build your own mix & match dice towers! Modular Themed Tabletop Dice Towers in .STL & .3MF format.”
• 100 Weaknesses for Dragonbane by Cakebread & Walton has gone live. The campaign reads: “100 Weaknesses and how to use them. Designed for Dragonbane; useful for other fantasy tabletop rpg systems.”
• Moonlit Mayhem – Cave Goblins Dice Collection from Forge T2 has launched on Kickstarter. The campaign reads: “Original fantasy football dice featuring mischievous goblin artwork, striking marbled colours and community-chosen designs.”
• Tales from Windheim/Sagor från Windheim from Nordic Skalds has launched on Kickstarter, billed as “A collection of fantasy short stories set in the city of Foamsvale/Brusdala.”
• DUNGEON BUILDERS: Crypts, Tombs & Mausoleums, 5e by Anthony David has gone live. The campaign reads: “Every tomb tells two stories.”
• Legions of the Iron Dominion: A D&D 5e codex of the orc army by Meda Kilam is rallying backers, billed as “Fifty warriors of an iron empire, fully illustrated and ready for battle — a complete orc army for your DnD 5th Edition adventures.”
• NPCFolk: The Docks – 3D Printable NPC Miniatures for TTRPGs is a new Kickstarter from aMini3DWorld making the call: “Bring your harbour to life with quirky pirates and townsfolk. Pre-supported 28/32mm STL NPC miniatures for fantasy tabletop RPGs.”
• Worldbuilding Blueprints Volume 2 from Starving Writer Studio is rallying backers, billed as “Urban Design.”
• RPG Adventure Stamps: Icelands Set by Jorrit Schlüter steps up to crowdfund, summarised as “3D-printable stamps & tools set to quickly create playable TTRPG adventures, including maps & tokens for characters, monsters & more.”
• 2D6 Dungeon Goblins – A solo player dungeon crawler by Toby Lancaster is now live, billed as “A new ten level goblin dungeon to explore.”
• Hunting Season: Three Monster Hunt 5e One-Shots by Elven Foundry is now live, touted as “Three 5e compatible one-shots with lair battlemaps, creature stat blocks, and magic items for characters of levels 2–7.”
• TTRPG Battle Maps and More (2026 Edition) by SideQuest20 is rallying support. The campaign reads: “Hundreds of PNP and VTT battle maps and more — just in time for your holiday adventures.”
• Dungeon Realms: Three Worlds, Endless Adventures is a crowdfunding campaign from MakerMan3D Terrain touted as “36 Modular Tiles, 3 Environments, and Countless Layouts For D&D and TTRPGs.”

The Night Run: A Solo Fantasy Adventure Gamebook is a new Kickstarter from Roll & Choose Gamebooks pitching “A replayable solo RPG gamebook for one player and a few dice. One sealed box, one long night, and six ways it can end.”

Cursed Lands, a new project from Robert James, promises “50 Cursed Lands: Zero-Prep Dark Fantasy Exploration for D&D 5E & 5.5E.”

[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.