Routinely Itemised: RPGs #256

It’s been a decadent week, so let’s dive back into the routine of TTRPG news.

• WotC has confirmed the SRD 5.2 for 2025.
• Critical Role launches Beacon to take on Twitch, YouTube and future frenemies.
• R. Tasorian Games step into the Cyberpunk: Edgerunner TTRPG space.
• Green Ronin launches ENGINE
• Reviews of Vecna: Eve of Ruin are out

As I write this, there’s a space storm, one of the most violent of the year, and the aurora is visible in some skies above Scotland. Sometimes, disturbance can be beautiful.

I suspect tomorrow’s podcast will be about Critical Role’s Beacon, as publishers seek to disturb the long-standing status quo of tabletop games being one-and-done purchases.

Then again, perhaps I’m flogging a dead donkey again? What do you think?

I’m both pleased and displeased that there won’t be a second series of the anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. If you made it to the end, then you’ll know why. Now, there’s a TTRPG coming.

On with the news!

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RPG news from Geek Native

• Wizards of the Coast confirms D&D’s SRD 5.2, which means there will be two SRDs in 2025.
• It is not entirely a new RPG, but it is also new. R Talsorian Games announces Cyberpunk Edgerunners: Mission Kit.
• Critical Role launches Beacon.
• We look at the creative challenge behind Blueberry Wine: The 5-star rated horror hexcrawl birthed from PocketQuest.
• Geek Native interviews MoMoDi’s Alexander Marc Yanis.
• Geek Native published a sneak look at Dream City Knights.
• Fantasy Grounds now supports Shadowdark.
• We took the Deck of Many Drinks to the local pub.
• In the Bundle of Holding, there’s Moon Toad’s Cepheus bundle and Mongoose’s JTAS.

Spotlight: Calamity Punk Publishing

RPG news from around the web

• R. Talsorian Games has a peek insir the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit – The Jacket.
• PC Gamer concludes Beta teething issues aside, Discord’s Roll20 activity for running D&D and other RPGs inside the app works great.
• For the 50th anniversary, one of the most expensive and weird D&D trophies is returning.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• ScreenRant decides Vecna: Eve of Ruin Review “A Dungeons & Dragons Greatest Hits Album”.
• Polygon goes with In Vecna: Eve of Ruin, D&D’s final 5th edition adventure, you will stack bodies.
• Reviews from R’lyeh looks into Strange Visitors to the City, the Jovian Visitor and the Travellers’ Digest #3.
• MJR RPG reviews the Call of Cthulhu game Black Eyeball.
• Throat Punch Games reviews MORK BORG.
• Jared Rascher shares first impressions of Star Trek Adventures Quickstart Guide, the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide and Monster Vault and Part One of Vecna: Eve of Ruin
• Setting First has a review of GODS.
• Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese offers to let us meet the man who coined the term XP.
• Hayley Gordon at Storybrewers Roleplaying has An Interview with Melia Carraway, creator of Castles in the Air.

RPG new releases

• Kobold Games has published Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault.
• Green Ronin has launched the AGE magazine ENGINE.
• Blackwall Games has released a d12 fantasy RPG called Horde Wars Basic.
• Renegade Game Studios has published My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Dark Skies Over Equestria Adventure Series Book.
• Independence Games has released The Dark Lonesome: The Ariel Sector Sourcebook.
• NeverEnding accompanies Anansi’s Tapestry of Lives with Ansani’s Tales of Adventure.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $36 (70%) with Demons & Dungeoneers Gamebook’s Demons & Dungeoneers! Mega bundle.
• Save $13.88 (58%) in PenguinComics’ Pirates! Adventures, Campaign Pack and High Seas MAPS bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• Susana Polo writes up a weird problem with “I’m dying to play D&D’s biggest idiot, but my parties keep putting me in charge.
• James Griffin writes up a lengthy Cheese Dice DND: A Tasty Twist for Your Tabletop Adventure.
• Roleplaying Tips has advice on Mastering the Dark Side.

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;

• Killing Chimera from EisAntares is working on “Devour, mutate, evolve: travel through a brutal world in a one-of-a-kind combat focused TTRPG.”
• Classrooms & Chimeras from Earth Poetree Education crowdfunds “Classrooms & Chimeras: Transforming learning with fun TTRPG adventures. Join us to make education exciting!”
• €1 One Shot: The Creature of Kōlcrag Mine from Ardann Creative suggests “A 5e Compatible Investigation Adventure”
• Zone 01: sci-fi setting maps from 0-hr introduces “A trio of half-sized posters presenting a variety of urban scenes for your sci-fi RPG.”
• Cozy Solo RPG Oracle & Dialoge System for TTRPGs and 5e from Ty Hulse raises funds for “Play any game solo or Co-op or expand your journaling games. + Ways to make conversation a focus of your TTRPG, beyond simple charisma.”
• Elvish Style Language Open Source: “Voice of the Soirna” from Elven Foundry kickstarts “A free open source elvish style fantasy language for you to use on your games, projects or stories.”
• The Darkness Below – Fantasy STLs for 3D Printing from Grey Alchemists nominates “Story-driven, Print & Play 3D Miniatures for RPG, Board Games, DnD, and Painting. High-detail, Pre-supported STL Files in 75mm & 32mm”
• Lords of the Pit – The Axe Thrasher 5E Sub-Class Guide from Enemy Line Publishing offers “A 24-page 5E guide to build a lute-smashing engine of blunt force trauma by weaving together the Bard & Barbarian classes.”
• One Page Monster Hunt from OnePage Creations crowdfunds “Roll and write, print and play, adventure puzzle game,one page per player with dice rolling and map exploration”
• The Quarry: A Dungeon Crawl Classics Compatible Adventure from Daniel introduces “A 32 page module containing the 0-Level adventure, a new patron with spells, rules for use with 5e, and more.”
• BOUNTY BOARDS: The DnD Side Quest Adventure Generator from Sarsen Games kickstarts “A freestanding hardback adventure book of wanted posters, riddles, and side quests full of NPCs, BBEGs and unique mission prompts.”
• Sir Geoffrey’s Gallant Games 5e from Jackalope crowdfunds “”Sir Geoffrey’s Gallant Games” is a fun & quirky one shot adventure offering a fun alternative to hack n’ slash gaming sessions.”
• Earth: After Death – Post-Apocalyptic Survival Roleplaying from Hammer City Games proposes “Experience new and exciting post-apocalyptic wastelands in this advanced OSR-inspired game and spiritual successor to TSR’s Gamma World”
• The Infernal Tome: A 5e Guide To Hell from Belazan Games pitches “A DnD 5e guidebook for infernal adventures! New character options, systems to use in hell, a complete demonic bestiary and much more!”
• Loot the Tower – Dice Advent Calendar 2024 from Eternalverse pitches “Gourmet TTRPG Advent Calendar with 24 days full of special shaped dice, dice generators and classic edge dnd polyhedral 7 dice sets.”
• Detritus: A Solo Narrative Journaling Adventure from Matt Gomez crowdfunds “Journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of the one thing you haven’t re-discovered since the bomb fell: yourself.”
• The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio from Game And A Curry, LLC proposes “A horror journaling game about a parasocial relationship with a late night radio host who transforms into something inhuman.”
• WWII: Operation B/X TTRPG for Old-School Essentials from Eric Bloat suggests “A conversion and expansion to the OSR hit game WWII: Operation WhiteBox from Small Niche Games, by creator Pete Spahn.”
• Populated Hexes Monthly Issue 34 from Todd is working on “The City of Dry Gulch Part One”
• Outer Gods Dice Collection from High Roller suggests “Lovecraftian mythos in the shape of dice sets. Hop on now, early backers receive special discounts!”
• 5 Unique classes to play a Steam/DieselPunk adventure in DnD from Professor Dudley Proose offers “Gearwright, Rail Runner, Propagandist, Grease Kid and Wasteland Survivor will blow up your D&D DieselPunk / Steampunk campaign!”
• That Night in Somnolence – DnD 5E campaign supplement from Fablehart Forge submits “A brand-new mesmerizing adventure between dreams and nightmares for Level 1 to 9 to play on the 5th edition of D&D!”
• Transport Pods – 3D Print to transport & display Miniatures from Digital Taxidermy kickstarts “A 3D printable display & travel solution for tabletop wargaming miniatures. Modular innovative storage solution for your death squads”
• Sword of Souls: 5E Setting & Sourcebook from Ordina Games submits “90+ Subclasses • 70+ Ancestral Legacies • 80+ Factions • Hundreds of New Spells & Items • Massive Campaign • Relics, Pantheons, & More!”
• The Evolving Bestiary: Evolutive Book of Monsters for D&D 5E from DM Backpack kickstarts “Discover a comprehensive collection of monster sheets from €1 only, perfect for Dungeon Masters for DnD. Soft/Hardcover available!”
• Madness Rising 3D printable stl Investigators from Tainted Saint Miniatures kickstarts “5 Investigators and an eldritch horror to print for your next campaign.”
• DRAGON’S CAVE DICE TOWER – STL FILES – 3D PRINTABLE from Dragoncave raises funds for “RPG – WAR GAMES – STL FILES”
• Galactic dice New Design from LunaDice proposes “Exclusive cnc anodized aluminum dice for collectors and board game enthusiasts. New versions of design.”
• Attack on Myrefall from Dunmore Rolls Rocks crowdfunds “The peaceful village of Myrefall is under alien attack in this 1£ one shot for 5e.”
• Dungeon Master – The Dungeon Forge Vol 2 A from Dungeon Master proposes “Unlock your true 3D printing potential with a set of highly detailed props and buildings! Suitable for wargaming and tabletop at 28mm!”
• Deck of Ensorcelled Weapons, Designed for 5E RPG Campaigns from Philip Reed offers “A collection of 50 magic weapons. Swords, spears, daggers, and more! Compatible with the 5th edition ampersand fantasy RPG.”
• SideQuests: Horror Stories – 13 Terrifying Tales For 5E DnD! from Dominic M. raises funds for “The ultimate collection of horror adventures and oneshots for Fifth Edition – reanimated as a 150+ page hardcover tome!”
• Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 12 -for use with- OSE from Jeremy Hart Illos offers “16 monsters for use with Old School Essentials. Lots of lore + Adventure seeds. Paper minis. VTT tokens. #DnD #OldSchoolEssentials #OSR”
• Wheels of the Wasteland from John Kero pitches “Mono-e-mutant motorcycle mayhem in an irradiated wasteland”
• Dungeon Rooms with FLAVOR from Mario Barbati pitches “A deck of geomorphic dungeon rooms cards with… flavor!”
• The Wild Frontier of Venture from Oddity Press raises funds for “A character-driven weird west RPG about your crew and the bonds that hold you together out there on the raggedy edge.”
• Guilds of Ethelon: A D&D 5e World Setting Supplement! from Adventure Ripples nominates “A collection of 20 Guilds (+Backgrounds) for your DnD 5e campaign.”
• STANCES & STAMINA: A Mörk Borg Combat Card Supplement from Mythic Mountain Games pitches “An original Mörkborgian combat supplement featuring: new mechanics of Stance Cards, Stamina rules, and unlockable monster cards!”
• Chain Maille dice bag. from Siobhan Quinlan proposes “You wear armour why shouldnt your dice.”
• The Realms of Aetherus TTRPG from Fogg Realm Games submits “Become a Guardian and protect reality against incursions from other realms and try to stop the flow of deadly supernatural entities.”
• 2500+ Traditional Digital RPG Maps + New Expansion for $25 from Kris McDermott is working on “Meanders Maps Super Collection with New War-Torn Expansion Set”
• The Last Dragon: A Lore-Rich Adaptable Adventure For 5e from Mizo Games proposes “Stand As The Shield Or Swing The Sword.”
• Forgotten Lore: Eclipse of the Sun 5e from Forgotten Lore offers “A three session DND 5e campaign, set in a rich and detailed Celtic world.”
• Adventurer’s Journal Remastered from Kate Holden submits “Our D&D 5e/One compatible Adventurer’s Journal has levelled up!”
• MagBits Dungeon Tiles • Brickwork series from Isar3D submits “Dungeon Tiles on the next level • Combine the flexibility of 1×1 pieces with the stability of larger bases, all connected by magnets”
• Army of the Sands: Wave 1 from Celtic Miniatures pitches “32mm Heroic scale resin miniatures and STL files.”

Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.