How was your week? Let’s give it some pep with TTRPG news and the summary of summaries!
- Huge gaming company Embracer, who owns Lord of the Rings (most of it), is reeling from a failed finance deal and will now split into three.
- D&D 2024 will add back psionics.
- Roll20 is coming to Discord.
- TTRPGs for Palestine and Palestinian Relief bundle are two TTRPG bundles for good.
Geek Native’s spotlight interview with Greyplains is live, and if you’re into exploring tensions between setting and system-neutral TTRPGs, then it may well be an article for you.
It’s nearly the end of the month, which means it’s nearly the last chance to vote for May’s spotlight winner at Patreon. Right now, it’s a two-way draw, so your vote could make the difference.
Go on! You know you want to!
Okay, now it’s time for the full strength collection of TTRPG news bullet points!
Support: Patron.
RPG news from Geek Native
- PocketQuest: Rat Race’s take on the heist theme TTRPG are the megacorporations.
- PocketQuest: The Heist Episode – the RPG that steals?
- Rainer Kaasik-Aaslav of SAKE guest-posted Welp! My players Want to Build a Kingdom and Not Adventure at All!
Our interview with Greyplains and Jacob Haines is live. - There’s a huge series of Ars Magica fifth edition deals on the Bundle of Holding.
Spotlight: Greyplains
RPG news from around the web
- RPG, board game, and Lord of the Rings owner Embracer will split into three.
- Chase Carter notes Dungeons & Dragons’ new Player’s Handbook is nearing completion, will contain four psionic subclasses.
- While on ComicBook (autoplay crime), Christian Hoffer also pens Psionics Returns to Dungeons & Dragons as Part of 2024 Core Rulebooks.
- D&D Beyond posted What’s New with Maps: Ping, Game Session Tools, and More!.
- Meanwhile, Roll20 Is Coming To Discord As An Activity!.
- Not to forget that Fantasy Grounds is having a 20th birthday sale.
- Dicebreaker writes up Critical Role’s investigative horror RPG Candela Obscura will perform live on stage for the first time in LA.
- Robb Report covers that Matthew Lillard Just Dropped a Dungeons & Dragons-Inspired Bourbon.
- The $150 tickets for the huge World of Darkness LARP Darkness Emergent are now available.
- CNBC has the story of the young woman Living on $37K a year playing Dungeons & Dragons in Salt Lake City.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Beth Rimmels has a look Wizards’ big 50th anniversary bet with Vecna: Eve of Ruin.
- Dicebreaker reviews Aionia: Without Mercy
- Vladar’s Blog writes up Planescape review: Harbinger House.
- Jared Rascher reviews D&D’s Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye, as well as The Ultimate RPG Game Master’s Guide and Tales of the Valiant.
- The TTRPG Factory reviews Against the Faerie Queene.
- Throat Punch Games has a ring side report on the quick start of Knight: An Avalon RPG.
- Reviews from R’lyeh reviews Cepheus Deluxe
RPG new releases
- Pay What You Want for Caio Mouriz’s 5e Goblins & Beavers.
- Star Anvil Studios has a 5e TTRPG based on Funcom’s MMORPG The Secret World and has released;
- Modiphius has released the Dreams and Machines adventure Home is Where the Threat is.
- Virtual Fantasy’s first project is a 5e The Centaurs of the Apocalypse.
- Evil Genius has made ready the Rambo Cinematic Adventure on Foundry.
- In physical pre-release and release news, Black Site Studios will release the co-op and solo game of monster hunting in feudal Japan with Hametsu.
- Exalted Funeral is ready with Dr Grordbort’s Scientific Adventure Violence.
RPG bundle deals
- There are two different bundles raising money to help Palestine.
- TTRPGs for Palestine via Tiltify.
- Palestinian Relief bundle via Itch.
- Save $43.92 (33%) in Mad Scribe Games’ Sword & Caravan Complete Premium Haul bundle.
- Save $41.62 (25%) in the All Raorgen Games PDFs bundle.
- Save $17.75 (54%) with PenguinComics’ Gamebook Mega Pack! Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi bundle.
- Save $16.50 (51%) with Rarr! I’m a Monster Publishing’ Everything QADD bundle.
- Save $5.46 (30%) with the DMsGuild’s Tabi’s Tome of Fantastical Creatures bundle.
- Save $2 (7%) with Montford Tales’ The Almanac Society bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Roleplaying Tips shares Here’s How One GM Improvises Plots & Campaigns.
- Stargazer opines New Player Advice: Try to learn the rules.
- Alphastream pens Choosing the RPG for Your Next Campaign.
- The Other Side writes up the Satanic Panic.
- Christian Hoffer notes Daggerheart’s Worldbuilding Tools Is a Strength of the New RPG.
RPG Crowdfunding
You can see those Kickstarters and other crowdfunding campaigns that caught Geek Native’s attention over at Kickstarter watch. Here are some industry projects worth mentioning;
- The Call of CthulWho (A MythosPunk RPG Adventure) from Skirmisher Publishing LLC nominates “Escape a secret research facility and answer the call of the original Time Lord as a Deep One, Ghoul, Elder Thing, Shoggoth, or Mi-Go!”
- Horrors of the Deep: 3D Printable Miniatures for DnD from Ert’s Treehouse is working on “Bringing the Monsters of Horrors of the Deep to your tabletop as printable STL files for RPGs like DnD, and other miniature games.”
- Dragon’s Fire, a 5e D&D adventure from Matthew David suggests “”Dragon’s Fire” ends the epic saga with Šimatum’s battle against chaos. Your choices shape the world’s fate. Will you lead the battle?”
- Underworld Legends – A DND 5e Bandit Groups Supplement from The Flying Goblin submits “A book of D&D 5e supplement with 250 pages of diverse bandit & highwaymen groups, with stats, backgrounds, quests, magic items and more”
- Fabled Empire: Fairytale Gaming, Modernized Tabletop RPG from Nat Handsome Games raises funds for “An easy-to-play tabletop RPG inspired by fairytales, folklore & fun. Play as fairytale character archetypes set out to vanquish evil.”
- Ice Caves of Mt. Fuji: Call of Cthulhu© Adventure from New Comet Games proposes “A modern day horror adventure set around Japan’s Mt. Fuji, the Ice caves at its base and the mysterious Aokigahara forest.”
- Journey Into The Madlands from Jeffrey Jones raises funds for “A Post–Apocalyptic Setting”
- Legends of the Eastern Shores – 3D Printable from MiniaturesCraze submits “Print Your Own Legends: Eastern-Inspired Miniatures & Scenery”
- The Spores of Siltover – A Solo 5e D&D Folk Horror Adventure from Gary Wilkinson suggests “Solve the mystery of the village of Siltover in this solo horror adventure for 5th Edition D&D – No DM or other players needed.”
- MURDER HOUSE! – A Level 0 DCC Horror Adventure from Marzio Muscedere crowdfunds “Night falls like a scream over Ives House as the guests arrive. Do make yourself comfortable, the will reading is about to begin…”
- Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing from BRW Games, LLC raises funds for “An enhanced and expanded version of the 1st Advanced edition of the world’s most popular tabletop roleplaying game.”
- Cyber Hack #6 May 2024 from Sergiusz Junczyc pitches “Decode all the puzzles in this zine like a cyberpunk hacker.”
- Lost Pages: vol.1 – D&D 5e Adventures from Archival Depths proposes “DnD 5e One-Shots – Descend into the Archival Depths and unearth forgotten myths and legends.”
- Spires Of Divinity – D&D 5e Adventures Vol.1 from Arx Numen crowdfunds “Discover the dangers, the secrets and the mysteries of the Tower of Vilanthor with 3 DnD One Shots.”
- Uncommon RPG Maps – Maps for Your Noir Adventures from Uncommon Maps offers “Explore 102 Beautiful Digital High-Quality Maps for all VTT and TT RPG systems: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, CoC and many more!”
- Quickdraw Combats: Instant Battles for 5e and Other RPGs from BPB Games offers “A deck of cards, each containing an encounter that scales to your group’s size. Quick fill your combat needs with groups and guidance!”
- RPG Miniatures Vol 1. Epic Scene Demon vs Wizard by Yedharo. from Yedharo Models SL pitches “STL Miniatures – 3D Print Miniatures – 3D printable STL Files – 75mm – 32mm – Busts – RPG – Tabletop Games – DnD – Collectibles”
- Shadows of Esteren – A Medieval Horror RPG: Dearg 2 from Jim Searcy proposes “Heavy on roleplay, light on rules🌹The most awarded French TTRPG returns with new releases & the final season of the official campaign”
- ArmoryCraft: Create your own weapons & armors for DnD 5E from Legendary Scribes proposes “The art of crafting in Dungeons & Dragons: rare ingredients, enchanting effects, and new mechanics for D&D, your favourite TTRPG!”
- Adventures in Maksur: Coral Corruption from Cave Gaming raises funds for “A 5e Maritime Adventure. Confront the great sea beast in its lair and end the threat to the seas!”
- Smol Sidekicks – Print on Demand! from Mike Lafferty suggests “Super-powered Pets. Wacky, Whimsical Action for your Mutants and Masterminds game”
- A Tale of Two Seas: Monsters & Adventure for 5E, PF1, & PF2 from Legendary Games suggests “Monsters and adventures for DnD 5E and Pathfinder 1E and 2E from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and all the seven seas!”
- MAPS FOR FANTASY RPGs 9 – Royalty Free ISOMETRIC Maps from Laidback Dungeon Master introduces “Royalty Free, Old School, Hand Drawn, Isometric Maps for Fantasy Tabletop RPGs that you can use in Commercial Projects!”
- Tabyltop: Enhanced Virtual Tabletop from Tabyltop nominates “Fight Monsters, Not Your VTT”
- Monster Slayers from Crippled God Foundry crowdfunds “Highly detailed 3D Printable Ηeroes, Monsters & scenery pieces for your Fantasy tabletop RPGs, Wargames & hobby collection!”
- 3D Printable Fantasy Props Vol 2 from Rafael Moreno Dominguez introduces “The best collection of fantasy props to print for your role playing games is back!”
- Table Top Games Group Finder App – Beyond Tabletop RPG from Joshua Linscott submits “Whether online or in person help me design an app to find likeminded people to group with and get together to build a strong community!”
- Peculiar NPCs: A Deck of NPC Portraits from Nick Baran suggests “System-neutral and DCC compatible NPCs for your tabletop RPGs”
- Disc Cards from Rob Eames submits “Tabletop Card & Dice Game with a Disc Golf theme: build your deck of Disc Cards, choose your Route, roll the dice and get an Ace!”
- Veil of the Eternal Night – Gothic Horror 5e Miniatures from Fredrik Rosado offers “Complementary Digital STL Miniatures for the fully funded Mythcraft Kickstarter Veil of the Eternal Night.”
- Hero-Stand Display Plinths from Saucermen Studios is working on “A collection of 3D printable, modular display plinths and diorams for miniatures and wargame squads”
- Celtic Shadows from William Murakami-Brundage is working on “Celtic Shadows: Mythic Ireland meets the Shadowdark RPG. Includes over 15 adventures, two new classes, cultural notes, and more.”
- Loot The Monster! – A Project that Grows with Every Backer from Ada Games proposes “A DnD Treasure Trove of Unique Loot for Every Monster. Dungeons and Dragons 5E”
- Elderglen Twilight Dice Tower – Pay What You Want Vol.8 from Fantasy3DTabletop proposes “Supportless 3D-Printable Fantasy Dice Towers: Perfect for Tabletop RPGs & Board Games Designed for Hassle-Free Printing on FDM Printers”
- Nibblemancy – a cooking and baking wizard subclass for 5e from Steve Conley nominates “Your guide to cooking up magical trouble! Plus new recipes, spells, items, and creatures!”
- The Deck of Mini Things, 22 Unexpected Treasures for 5e from Philip Reed pitches “This diminutive deck of teeny treasures may look innocent enough, but tiny doesn’t always equal harmless.”
- One-Page One-Shots: 100+ Premade Quests from Cathy Laverock introduces “From Quick Battles to Epic Tales — One-Shots for Every D&D Campaign”
- DICE HARD: a 1980s-action-film-inspired DnD 5e adventure from Hangry Dwarf Press submits “A 5e one-shot adventure for 4-5 players of levels 3-6, reusable NPCs, and a new non-magical ore to create special rewards.”
- Your World Epic Fantasy TTRPG from Joshua’s Workshop offers “Immerse yourself In a TTRPG that is more dynamic and customizable than the rest!”
- 5 Secret Societies for fantasy RPGs from The Oracle kickstarts “Morally ambiguous but rich with story details and ready to be dropped into your adventures”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.