Routinely Itemised: RPGs #283

Hi folks, did you survive the anime reviews?

Here’s the TTRPG news summary of summaries!

• Wizards of the Coast has published D&D 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Hasbro is being sued by investors who claim the company lied.
• Wizards of the Coast are hiring someone to make D&D products without outside IP.
• Geek Native interviewed a skeleton.

Last week was different, right? You had Bronwen as a surprise podcast host (and some of the podcast were a surprise to me!) while I wrote anime reviews late into the night.

This week has had drama, too! I’m writing with a bandaged hand. Nevertheless, here we are and Wizards are pushing on with D&D 2024 into 2025. The new D&D DMs Guide is out and the only negative reviews I can find for it are from competitors.

What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below.

And if D&D isn’t your jam what about the classic computer game series The Elder Scrolls? And what about actual jam? We’ve a cookbook as a new competition prize.

Are we on BlueSky? Yes, and have been for a while!

On with the news!

Competition: The Elder Scrolls Cookbook v2.

RPG news from Geek Native

• Geek Native interviews Clive Evil about FiveEvil. Clive is an evil skeleton!
• We’re also lucky enough to talk to Javon Frazier, the CEO at Maestro Media about the Smurfs RPG.
• Forteller Games has a free to download quickstart for Sunset RPG.
• Archeron Games has released a freebie download for the 5e Marco Polo’s Legacy.
• One time Hasbro partner, Zavvi, cuts the price of HeroQuest.

Spotlight: Sketchy Van RPG

RPG news from around the web

• Timothy Linward notices that Wizards wants to make more DnD products using outside IP.
• Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter tackles Hasbro sued in investor suit for allegedly lying about overpurchased inventory after pandemic demand.
• Tabletop Gaming News notes Free League Publishing Releases “Path of Glory,” First Campaign Expansion for Dragonbane.
• Sirius Dice has a new Dungeons & Dragons New Adventurer Dice Set.
• Bell of Lost Souls has New RPG Set In The ‘Lancer’ Universe Is In The Works From Massif Press.
• Goodman Games seeks 2024 Goodie Nominations.
• ScreenRant writes Dungeons & Dragons Just Launched a New Live Experience That’s Unlike Anything You’ve Seen.
• The Illinois Times concedes Children can benefit from playing Dungeons and Dragons.

D&D 2024: DMs Guide

• There’s a special section this week for the release of the D&D 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Geeks of Doom review the D&D 2024: Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Beth Rimmels has an In-Depth Review of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Polygon’s Charlie Hall says D&D’s new Dungeon Master’s Guide is a huge upgrade for newbies.
• TechRaptor praise with Review Dungeons & Dragons 5e 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide Review – A True DM’s Best Friend.
• Kobold Press do a piece Comparing the ToV Game Master’s Guide to the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• PCGamer’s Harvey Randall goes with Gosh, I think D&D’s finally done it—the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide actually does a decent job of teaching you how to run a game.
• Rascal’s Caelyn Ellis is conflicted I’m not buying the new Dungeons & Dragons core books and for some reason that makes me sad..

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Seed of Worlds has a review of the Brancalonia expansion Macaronicon and the Spelljammer alternative Starlight Arcana.
• Reviews from R’lyeh look at Legends of Avalen’s Against the Faerie Queene, Kelvin Green’s Bee-Ware! and 9th Level Games Level 1 Volume 5.
• Roleplayers Chronicle reviews D&D’s Quests from the Infinite Staircase.
• The Alexandrian revisits Usagi Yojimbo – Monsters!.
• J.R. Zambrano has first impressions of the New “Dungeon Master’s Guide” and notes that The Greyhawk Gazetteer is a Blast From D&D’s Past.
• Writing about Our Brilliant Ruin, Alex Evans says This free, Bridgerton inspired DnD rival is weird on so many levels.
• Bell of Lost Souls pens Warhammer 40K: ‘Wrath & Glory’ Invites You to Be One of the Pilgrims of the Wastes.
• The United Federation of Charles has a review of the Curseborne manuscript.
• At Gnome Stew, Thomas Gimenez Rioja pens My experience with Ryuutama (Why you should try it!).

RPG new releases

• Wizards of the Coast released the D&D 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Tuesday Knight Games has released some Mothership titles with Hideo’s World, Cryonambulism, and the Hacker’s Handbook.
• The Horrible Guild remind us that we what we eat with the RPG Wilderfeast.
• The DMsGuild has released Tales from Greyhawk.
• Storygames Chicago has released the 1893s set City of Blood and Plaster.
• 9th Persona release the sci-fantasy setting of Twisted Lands.
• Ed Shatto has published the 5e Old West: The Scorched Badlands.
• In physical releases and pre-orders;
  • Pathfinder 2e: Monster Core Battle Cards.
  • Pathfinder 2e: Remastered: Guns & Gears.
  • Pathfinder 2e: Remastered: Guns & Gears: Special Edition.
  • Pathfinder 2e: War of Immortals: Pocket Edition.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $110 (%51%) with BiscuitTinRPG’s The Gate Collection.
• Save $50.73 (50%) on Alex Fouache’s Ultimate Christmas Pack.
• Save $28.72 (50%) in Vocal Demand’s Knave 2e Adventure Jam bundle.
• Save $2/50 (17%) with the The Grand Survey.
• Save $2.10 (35%) with Elln The Witch’s My Little Zines Collection.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• At Roleplaying Tips, Johnn gets into What Dice Are For and why we should Start With a Treasure Bang.
• Perfect Duluthday has notes on Philosophy and Dungeons & Dragons.

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 Legend of the Shadow Tide. An Epic D&D Adventure from Magic Dnd is working on “a captivating D&D adventure featuring a mystical world, rich storylines, and innovative mechanics.”
• A Long Night of Mourning (5e) from Ert’s Treehouse is working on “A Level 4 One-Shot for 5e all about trying not to fall asleep and the monsters that feed on your dreams!”
• The Widds from Josh Jordan nominates “A lost-in-the-woods, 4-player cooperative rpg about found family. This game book contains complete rules in both English and Scots.”
• Yuletide Adventures: Rise of the Dracolich from SideQuest20 offers “A festive holiday adventure for DnD5e!”
• Reborn Realms: The Isekai D&D 5e Adventure from Astral Archives nominates “Reincarnate your real-world self into a fantasy hero! Unlock epic powers in this revolutionary D&D 5e isekai adventure.”
• Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature – Delver 16 and Runes 5 from James Floyd Kelly offers “Delver and Runes – Two Zines for GMs and Players of OSR Fantasy RPGs”
• Sigils of Power: Paths of Martial and Arcane Mastery for DnD from DumbProductions submits “A DnD 5e Adventure Packed with Martial-Magic Subclasses, Sigil-Infused Spells, Unique Monsters, and Epic Faction Conflicts.”
• Ares/Athena Class-ified – 2 D&D Original Classes! from DiceQuest crowdfunds “Two DnD 5e Classes Inspired by the Gods of Greek Mythology: Ares and Athena.”
• Tales of Forge & Fortune: Barebones Fantasy Crafting TTRPG from ReadyComicsRoll pitches “Text-only edition of the cozy fantasy smithing TTRPG about forging a legacy through exploration, crafting, and running a shop.”
• Mice Of Legend: Play DnD as Mice! Tiny Heroes, Epic Quests from Paul Hoeffer nominates “A D&D Campaign Setting Guide and Adventure Module for playing DnD as Mice. Compatible with OSRIC/AD&D, 5e, and OSR retroclones”
• DCC MASSIVE Modules and Much More: Goblin Holiday Bundle from Matt Funk submits “A Tale of Two Sisters concludes with two folklore-inspired adventures for DCC and supplement materials for all kinds of fantasy RPGs!”
• The Palace of 1001 Rooms, Chapter 9: The Great Library from Michael Grayson S is working on “A fully illustrated, D&D rules semi-agnostic, 5e compatible, OSR flavored mega-dungeon RPG of unprecedented scale.”
• Disgust & Diseases – A Trash Adventure for 5e from Putrid Games is working on “Trash Adventures in the Flesh World. A Concept Art adventure entirely hand-drawn.”
• Shadow of the Cursed Cathedral: A Shadowdark RPG Adventure from Jordan Rudd offers “Explore a demon-infested cathedral and either find a way to lift its terrible curse or plunder its riches. For levels 5-7.”
• A Dragon in Blandstone – A Starting Adventure for 5E from Michael Lorette nominates “When a dragon attacks the hamlet of Blandstone, the peasants must rally to save their home. Adventure + new level 0 character rules!”
• Titanic Races and Ancestries for 5th Edition and Pathfinder from Roll For Combat suggests “Year of Titans releases a new super-sized species every month throughout 2025! Add 13 new Titanic species to your TTRPG game!”
• Pico: Tiny Bugs, Big World 🐛🐝 from Mythworks suggests “Pico is a tabletop roleplaying game where you play as tiny bugs going on small adventures in a big world.”
• Satzija’s Tome of Hags – A Witchcraft Compendium from Quill’s Tiny Quests kickstarts “200+ pages of 5E arcane lore await! Hags, lairs, witches, covens, subclasses, playable races, spells, items, and heaps more!”
• The Unsinkable: Terrors of the Deep (5e) from Yellowbyte Studios proposes “A standalone D&D 5e supplement including a 3-10 campaign that blends real history and Lovecraftian horror. Dare to board the Titanic?”
• Mistgate Campaign Setting from Sean Quinn pitches “Mistgate is a third-party setting and rules expansion compatible with 2024 updated rules for Dungeons & Dragons.”
• Feel Effect + Cookbook: Craft Magic Items for 1E, 2E & 5E24 from Tree Bee Games submits “Hey! My weapon has feelings too! Emotion sayings for NPCs and Intelligent magic items. Cookbook: Update and reprinted from the 1980’s.”
• Eldritch Castle | 5e Module with Animated Dungeon Rooms from Esper introduces “Gothic, Exploration-Based, Mystery Adventure”
• Monstrous Menagerie II: Hordes & Heroes from Morrus pitches “New monsters for your 5th Edition 2014, 2024, & Level Up A5E games plus new horde monsters and heroic monsters which level up with you!”
• Fantasy Class Pins – by Loot Tavern from Loot Tavern Workshop is working on “Silk-screen printed, hard enamel pins inspired by classes from Dungeons & Dragons.”
• Apocalypse from the Depths – A D&D 5e Campaign from Adventure Ripples offers “Apocalypse from the Depths is a campaign compatible with DnD 5e, set in Ethelon, designed to take heroes from Level 9 to Level 12.”
• Chronicles of Ivria : War in the North – 5E Supplement from Galandir’s Pit raises funds for “5E D&D adventure from the chronicles of Ivria. A Medieval Viking fantasy inspired story, perfect for TTRPG lovers like DnD and else!”
• Rifts® for Savage Worlds: Europa from Shane Hensley offers “Embark on epic adventures in a war-torn Europe where magic, monsters, and technology collide!”
• Eldfjall’s Fury 5E from Eric Bleney submits “A Tale of Giants, Elementals, and Ancient Dwarven Secrets. An adventure for 3-5 Characters of Levels 7-9.”
• Complete Guide to Jousting 5e from Kefa Studios pitches “Everything you need to bring the exciting sport of jousting to a 5e game near you!”
• Cults of Zahak: A Book of Foes for Mythras Imperative & BRP from Black Lodge Games nominates “A deep look at evil cults for your players to investigate and destroy. Compatible with Mythras Imperative, BRP, and other d100 systems.”
• Orc skulls and Fangs dice from LunaDice raises funds for “Exclusive dnd dice set casted in brass for collectors, board and tabletop game enthusiasts.”
• The Lawful Good, the Chaotic Evil, and the Meow from Dark Eagle Games kickstarts “5e Adventure for levels 5-7: Chapter 3 of the For A Kitten Saga.”
• A Faeseeker’s Guide to Avallen from Deren Ozturk crowdfunds “A Celtic tome of folkloric fantasy, clan origins, fae court pacts, faerie tricks, wyrd monsters, and adventure sites for LOA and 5E!”
• Aerathain – Aerenthia, Dark Awakenings – 5 E supplement from Gearwheel Grimoires is working on “Discover the new face of Ars Mechanica with your party in this amazing steampunk D&D one-shot for any fan of TTRPG like DnD and else!”
• The Magnetic Tavern & Dungeon from Modular Realms is working on “Magnetic, double-sided, modular gaming terrain with Snap-On Scenery for quick and versatile map building. Comes in a cool book box.”
• Masters of the Unseen: Unique Monsters for Epic Encounters from Kickgames submits “Original, Ready-to-Use Creature NPCs for Any Campaign—Packed with Story-Driven Encounters, Unforgettable Abilities, and Exclusive Lore.”
• Populated Hexes Monthly Issue 40 from Todd offers “Tyeld, the City of Shadows and the Shadowlands”
• 1500+ Fantasy Battle maps for TTRPG and VTTRPG from Agnieszka Polanowska submits “High Quality 1500+ Rpg Fantasy Battle Maps,Digital Rpg maps with Commercial Use”
• 3D Printable Dice Towers – Christmas Special from Fantasy3DTabletop nominates “3D Printable Christmas Dice Tower STLs for Board Games & Tabletop RPGs. Optimized for Support-Free 3D Printing on FDM Printers.”
• The Clockwork Carnival: A Fantastical 5e One Shot from Critical Craftworks raises funds for “Step right up to The Clockwork Carnival, a one-shot D&D adventure that will take your players on a thrilling journey!”
• Day & Night Cartography : 100+ Maps for TTRPGs – JPG & VTT from Planarink Editions kickstarts “Designed for DnD 5E / D&D 2E, Pathfinder, CoC or any medieval settings: Explore our unique 3D Map pack // Printed index available!”
• Constellations’ Descend: CAPRICORN from Stars Aligned kickstarts “Unleash your Zodiac Powers in Epic Celestial Adventures! Battle the Zodiac Signs and wield Celestial Magic items for D&D 5E!”
• Talon’s Nefarious Contacts from Dragon Scale Games pitches “A 5e-compatible supplement with drop in NPCs and shops with an unlawful twist from smugglers to hitmen for hire & more!”
• SWARMS! Masses of monsters for 5E, Pathfinder, & Black Flag! from Legendary Games raises funds for “80 savage swarms of vicious vermin and more for your DnD 5E, Pathfinder 1E & 2E, or Black Flag campaign, plus bonus bestiary bundles!”
• Bastion Builder – Modular Battlemap Tiles from Heroic Maps offers “A complete set of digital modular tiles to build your very own Bastion, as described in the new 5E Dungeon Masters Guide.”
• Cryptid Deck for use with 5e and OSE from Tracey & Carmelitta raises funds for “The Convenient Deck of Cryptid Horrors for Your favorite tabletop RPG”
• The Iron Coffin: A Mothership® Pamphlet Module from Severed Hand submits “”MAYDAY. SOMETHING ONBOARD IS HUNTING US. I REPEAT: SOMETHING—””
• Familiar Legends: Enchanted Companions for 5e from Elowen Frost nominates “A 5e (2024) supplement inspired by Pokémon! 30+ magical companions to use with any class, affinity system, unique items and more!”
• 5e-compatible Sablestone: The Creature of Ebonfell Mines from Sablestone Games is working on “A 5e-compatible adventure set in Sablestone, with gothic flair and new creatures, items, and optional firearm mechanics!”
• Spectrelight: 5E One-Shot Adventure from Fable Forge Gaming raises funds for “A Grim 5E One-Shot Adventure and System Supplement Drenched in Darkness”
• Callings of Yggdrasil – Dice Collection from Lindorm Dice suggests “Callings of Yggdrasil is a collection of TTRPG dice in wood & stone with detailed engravings inspired by archetypes of norse legend”
• 101 Shops and Items from Evil Pigeon Games submits “Make your next DnD shopping trip incredible with these fun and unique shops and items!”
• DMs Plot Twist Compendium from Gerry offers “Toolkit of Thrills, and Twists for Every D&D Game. Breathe life into your game—and terror into your players! Just drop in and use.”
• Justice and Malevolence: a tabletop RPG of epic proportions! from Sinned Knight Productions introduces “The tabletop RPG for a new age. Exist in worlds without limits!”
• Secrets of The Lost Mage | Dnd 5e Adventure from ShrimpGM nominates “A 5e adventure you can drop into your world at anytime! Discovery an ancient artefact at the behest of a young an ambitious Wizard.”
• Inside The Circle – A Hidden Role Party Game from Kabeer Bhatia proposes “Inside the Circle, catch the Deceiver in a game of secrets and suspicion. Who’s lying, who’s honest, and who’s just playing the Fool?”
• Book Of Prestige: Prestige Class Renaissance from EpicTabletopGaming kickstarts “Bringing back prestige classes to D&D 5e 2024, with 2 dozen prestige classes, both classic and unique, and lots of rewards to unlock.”

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