Routinely Itemised: RPGs #297

Could it be Friday? Thank spaghetti, it’s Friday!

• Here’s the summary of TTRPG news summaries;
• Snowbright ran a second Nonbinary Tabletop Award.
• Rascal turns one.
• D&D Monster Manual 2024 is out.
• The Community episode “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” is unbanned.
• The charity-supporting bundle RPGs for Accessible Gaming is out.

The RPG Publisher Spotlight with Dunderdager is live, and we know now that means Days of Thunder.

We’ve been going to conventions and have some TikToks to prove it. Press pass applications are in for the UK Games Expo so if we get approved, expect some videos from Brum later this year.

Here in Edinburgh, the tabletop convention Compulsion is also slowly building up steam. Business as usual.

On with this week’s news!

Spotlight: Dunderdagar.

RPG news from Geek Native

• Snowbright Studio announced the 2025 Nonbinary Tabletop Award winners.
• Scott Malthouse published the solo wargame This is Where the Stars Died.
• We talked to John Non and have a preview of the 5e Fate of the Stormwailer.
• We also had a mini Q&A, some art and a look at the non-colonial expansion of Hinterdom.
• Ahead of Steam Next Fest we looked at Toopan Games’ Multiverse Designer.
• Triple Ace Games’ Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams retires from writing.
• Bronwen interviewed Wanderverse creator Cornelius Jeffrey Burns.
• I interviewed Dunderdagar’s Jörgen Karlsson.
• The Bundle of Holding has a deal on Mutant Crawl Classics and Evil Hat’s Girl by Moonlight.

Support: Patreon

RPG news from around the web

• Wargamer has an exclusive on how Warhammer the Old World RPG breaks from WFRP tradition.
• On a roll, Wargamer’s Matt Bassil also writes up Math nerd proves DnD’s new monsters hit 40% harder, on average.
• Paradox are recruiting for a Creative Director for the World of Darkness.
• Tabletop Gaming News carries Two New Books Announced for Svilland, a D&D 5E Setting Inspired by Norse Mythology.
• Rascal prints news about a cosy and non-D&D style game as Kobold Press Gets Cozy.
• Ill Met by Morrslieb writes up the latest News on The Old World RPG.
• At ComicBook, Anna Williams notes Dungeons & Dragons’ Updated Vampires Perfectly Capture Gothic Horror.
• Raising more money than expected, Times & Star writes up Dungeons & Dragons magazines fetch £1.9k at Cumbrian auction.
• In entertainment news, Jessica Fisher is among the many who point out that COMMUNITY’s Banned Episode “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” Has Been Reinstated and Is Available to Stream Again.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• How about those D&D Monster Manual 2024 reviews? Here are a few:
  • Alberto Garrido at GameReactor.
  • Colin Flanigan at Game Industry News.
• Reviews from R’lyeh looks at The God Beneath the Tree, the controversial Luke Crane’s Miseries & Misfortunes book 4, the movie-bound The Electric State RPG and the ashcan of We Deal in Lead. It’s been a busy week, as there’s also a review of Thieves of Cold Corner.
• Aaron T. Huss reviews Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game – Fiery Angels.
• Nerdarchy reviews The Game Master’s Book of Villains, Minions, and Their Tactics.
• On EN World, Charles Dunwoody reviews Crown and Skull.
• Grognardia shares a retrospective on Traveller: The New Era.
• Throat Punch Games reviews The Magnus Archives Player’s Guide.
• For New GM Month, Kobold Press interviews James Kidd.

RPG new releases

• Renegade has published Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Roleplaying Game Gehenna War Sourcebook.
• D&D Monster Manual 2024 is out on Fantasy Grounds, Amazon, Zatu, and Roll20 too.
• Wilona’s Cave Games has released Creatures of Folklore.
• Cubicle 7 Entertainment has published Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: High Elf Player’s Guide.
• In physical releases, Warhammer 40K: Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum: Starter Set by Cubicle 7.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $715 (98%) with Jes The Human et al’s RPGs for Accessible Gaming bundle.
• Save $42.53 (66%) in Robert Rankin’s Anime Neo x Mangaverses with Classic Core Mechanics bundle.
• Save $4.00 (15%) with Ployfountain mEdia’s Legends of CYR-NUL 2-Pack.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• Ben and the Genre Police talk about What if the game is wrong for the players.
• James Malizsewski reflects on Grognards & Gatekeepers.
• Rascal turns one and shares a State of the Rascal teaser.
• On Sly Flourish, Mike reminds people Don’t Get Lost in the Zeitgeist.
• On Kobold, Thomas M. Reid pens Run a Campaign Like a Fiction Author.
• R. Talsorian Games share 100 logos from Cyberpunk RED.

RPG Crowdfunding

You can find the Kickstarter campaigns that have caught Geek Native’s attention at Kickstarter watch. Here are some noteworthy industry projects to mention:

• The Devil’s Lounge from Corazon Interactive proposes “A 2-player tarot adventure of love and horror.”
• Until Death Do Us Part ~ A Gothic Romance Mystery Adventure from Midnight Tower suggests “A 5e Gothic Romance and Mystery Adventure Inspired by Bram Stoker (DnD/RPG)”
• SPACE LABYRINTH from Roger C. Jones is working on “A sci-fi SOLO RPG inspired by handheld electronic games* [*BATTERIES NOT REQUIRED]”
• Vole Bitters’ Dreadful Catalog (deck) of Many Needful Things from Two Silver Denarii, LLC crowdfunds “Wee Bit Twisted 5: A mail-order catalog of 55 treasures for your 5e RPG. Beware, each item comes with a curse, boo.”
• Codename: 4d6 TTRPG from 4D6 Gaming crowdfunds “New Tabletop RPG System. The difference? Simplified Math, Complete Character Customization, Original content – with a Freemium Edition!”
• JUJUMAN: A Single-Sheet Roll & Write Adventure for 1-99 from Keepers of Fun raises funds for “Explore a magical realm in this print & play game where every dice roll charts your path to becoming a legendary potion master.”
• Adventurer’s (Final) Rest from Adam Mayes suggests “You are the local peasantry. They are a band of murderhobos. In this 24XX/System Agnostic TTRPG, when you meet, it will be murder”
• Gods & Avatars 2, Egyptian Gods in D&D from Bradley Horton crowdfunds “25 Egyptian Gods for DnD 5e. Fully Designed Egyptian Setting, 50 Cleric Domains & Paladin Oaths. Priests, Temples & their Followers.”
• Color Your Campaign: A World Map Coloring Book from Becca Brage submits, “Bringing your world maps to life, one color at a time.”
• Sharp Edge 50 State Dice Collection, by Epic Alaska Dice Co. from Glenn nominates “Imagine a special set of dice for every state that captures something unique and special about that state , we will start with Alaska!”
• Heroes of Evil for 5.5E from Luca Magorosso proposes “A resource for your D&D 5.5 (2024) games, with 12 new original and truly evil subclasses!”
• THE pENDulum AND the pIT: A Pocket ttrpg from Two Idiot Detectives submits “A leaflet horror RPG about desperate people trying to stop emerging horrors from reshaping the world.”
• Tulpa Borg new art edition from Dave Logan is working on “A psychedelic horror role-playing game Based on the acclaimed Mörk Borg game system, this time with new art!”
• Tower of the Outer God – A Shadowdark RPG Adventure from Thom Wilson introduces “A second ThrowiGames adventure written in tribute to one of the world’s most well-known sword and sorcery fantasy authors.”
• The White Horse of Lowvale from Tania Herrero crowdfunds “The mist rolls in, the water stirs, and a reckoning begins in this system-neutral, art-heavy, folk horror TTRPG scenario.”
• Donut Holes: Three One Shots for D&D from Dodecadonuts pitches “Three food-themed one shots for D&D, complete with unique monsters & NPCs and downloadable maps. Made Fresh for ZineQuest 2025”
• FLOPS from Benjamin Gray offers “A game about remaking the movies that let you down with a deck of cards and cinematic superpowers!”
• Haft-Zine! A Persian Mythos RPG Zine from Mim Armand raises funds for “A mystical RPG Zine inspired by Persian folklore, the Seven Sacred Artifacts of Haft-Seen, and the lost knowledge of the ancients.”
• In Dreaming Avalon: a Roleplaying Party Game from Vincent Baker pitches “A lighthearted romantic party game for roleplayers and non-roleplayers, featuring Arthurian knights and Shakespearean fairies.”
• Trollgod’s Skull Quest Campaign Adventure – Ken St. Andre from Steven Crompton kickstarts “Travel with Trollgod as he explores Zimralla – meeting, gods, monsters & denizens of this wild world – RPG adventure plus new solo too!”
• Precognition from Precognition submits “Virtual Tabletop Roleplaying Convention | Independently-organized, volunteer-powered, prequel to tabletop roleplaying convention season”
• Quest & Answers: A Trivia-Based TTRPG from Anton Blender is working on “Quest & Answers is a rules lite tabletop roleplaying game that uses trivia questions instead of dice”
• The Château Amongst the Stars from Anthony Zinni raises funds for “Explore the mysteries of a multi-story mansion floating in the sky in this 6–7th level Shadowdark adventure zine.”
• Wayne Scotting’s Guide to the Very Small Folk from Garrett Douglas raises funds for “An anthropological tool to bridge the gap between the very big and Very Small folk.”
• TRUE-d6 +3 🎲 Five One-Shots & stuff from Nerdura Games pitches “Five ready-to-use one-shots with new enemies and items for the world’s best TTRPG.”
• Wolden—A Forest RPG of Wayward Cults from Frank “Mottokrosh” Reding proposes “Witches, warlocks, and wizards; faun, fey, and forest creatures.”
• Mystic Punks: Dead Hills Mall from Jay Domingo nominates “Bringing you a mind bending psionic adventure zine built for Mystic Punks and a cassette synth soundtrack by Fantasy Audio Magazine.”
• This Blighted Isle: TERMINUS from Sarah Cole nominates “Missing people, a new train line, and buried secrets combine in this system-flexible TTRPG horror scenario set in modern London.”
• Prestige dice set from LunaDice crowdfunds “Unique set of d6 dice for collectors, geeks, dnd, tabletop games and for all who love dice.”
• Last Gen – Retake the Night from Little Lab suggests “Tear your freedom from the fangs of the Vampyr, piece by piece. Fight with the light, with your powers and your abilities.”
• Mystery of Light – Glaze Dice and Illuminated Base from Radiant Die introduces “Brilliant Dice Crafted by Mixing Ink with Molten Glass”
• Flott’s Miscellany, Volume Three from Andrew D Devenney offers “A system-neutral zine of eclectic tomfoolery for the Rainy City, a doomed fantasy metropolis where the rains never stop.”
• Crits & Tricks, Tug of Roar, and Thieves of Eldris from Conor McGoey – Inside Up Games kickstarts “Three games, each with a story to tell from the Twisted Realms. Steal, scheme, and battle your way to victory. Welcome to Oryn.”
• Blights ov the Eastern Forest Dungeon Synth Soundtrack from Thorin Thompson submits “A new Dungeon Synth album inspired by the Eastern Forest TTRPG setting!”
• Vortext of Blood: A Night Office adventure from Mark Teppo submits “A solo RPG with tarot cards through a landscape of nightmares and space jellies.”
• Battle Maps – Pirate Isles Exploration, Rpg Maps from Agnieszka Polanowska proposes “Uncover the secrets of pirate isles, shipwrecks, and treasure-filled coves with these immersive battle maps for RPG adventures”
• Creating Monsters for Shadowdark – zine w/ Mini-Bestiary from Michael Putlack crowdfunds “Learn to create and adapt monsters for Shadowdark RPG with an included mini-bestiary!”
• Pale Dot from Devin Nelson suggests “A narrative TTRPG about non-human cosmonauts embarking on a whimsical, surreal, and existential journey through their solar system.”
• Psionics Second Edition for Pathfinder PF2e from Emily Kubisz submits “Alluria Publishing aims to revitalize psionics for Pathfinder RPG Second Edition, carrying forward the torch of this beloved subsystem.”
• OMEN: A Oneshot TTRPG from Spencer Campbell pitches “You only get one shot to defy Fate.”
• Arcane Scrollworks Card Compendium from SkeletonKey Games pitches “A collection of 101 oversized scroll art cards in a magnetic box.”
• Medieval Urban Districts – TTRPG Battlemaps from That Dungeon Guy submits “200 medieval-age urban Battlemaps and 50 NPCs Tokens for D&D/PF/TTRPG (VTT). Districts, Rural Houses, Docks, Walls, Sewers and Markets.”
• Maw of the Cube 5E from Eric Bleney submits “An Adventure Involving a Gelatinous Cube… Because Who Says Gods Can’t Be Gooey?”
• REPUGNANT: Spoilage and Scraps from Terrible Games introduces “The art-slathered, gross RPG returns with a 3rd edition print + supplement with new kinship, mutations, monsters & a d6 system!”
• Game Master Guide. City adventures from DarkDice crowdfunds “Create immersive fantasy cities with NPCs, secrets, quests & lore for your RPG campaigns. A must-have guide for Game Masters!”
• Outer Seas: Black Coral Citadel from Outland Games raises funds for “Explore a strange stronghold, encounter haunting horrors, and discover sinister secrets in this thrilling ZineQuest adventure for 5e!”
• What We Found Beyond the Stars — A Sci-fi TTRPG from Steph “StickyHunter” Farrow nominates “A GMless Hard Sci-fi TTRPG about cooperation and discovery in uncharted space.”
• Monster Manual Munchies from Laura Hammonds crowdfunds “home goods and accessories inspired by your favorite DnD monsters”
• WISE RPG: 4 New Courses for Time, Campaigns, Writing, & PKM from Trent Ford kickstarts “Organize your worlds, conquer procrastination, and master stress-free gaming. (Course + Kit)”
• One Way Out – Quick-Play Dark Fantasy TTRPG Zine from Tabletop Bookshelf nominates “A Quick-Play Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Game of Escape and Betrayal for 1-2 Players.”
• The Quintessential Guide to Urban Encounters from Mr.Tarrasque submits “A complete guide to adapting and running encounters in the big city.”
• African Monsters: A DnD 5E bestiary of African legends from Legendary Games nominates “Get over 80 incredible creatures from the myths and legends of Africa for your DnD 5E campaign in print, PDF, or VTT!”
• Crawl Cards: Fell Shadows – Overland Map Cards for 5e/TTRPGs from BPB Games nominates “The second Crawl Cards deck focuses on the deadly realm of shadow! Explore with hexcrawl and mapmaking options for any TTRPG!”
• Tales of Kthonic Waters – Crunchy Solo Narrative RPG Zine from Justonky submits “Crunchy solo narrative RPG of the Lovecraftian New Weird.”
• Prince of Roses from Sebastian Barth crowdfunds “A frigid Mörk Borg compatible adventure, set in the frozen peaks of Kergüs.”
• Song of the Swamp Witch – TTRPG Adventure from John kickstarts “A 4D6 Compatible TTRPG Adventure”
• Saving Private Tom from Hugo raises funds for “A new D&D short adventure in which you will have to infiltrate a dark sect to save a companion of whom you no longer know anything.”
• Kagejima: Veil of the Titans 5e/5e+ D&D from Anthony David submits “The twilight island holds many secrets…”
• People of the Vale issues 1–5 from Tim van Dalen submits “Short zines with NPCs and adventures for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons”
• The Era Zone – Prototype TTRPGs! (ZineQuest) from Shades of Vengeance is working on “Be the first to play some awesome game ideas as prototypes with the support of the Era d10 Ruleset and “Fundamentals”!”
• WallWorkshop – the low profile hobby painters’ organiser from WyldForm crowdfunds “Maximise your workspace and keep all your hobby tools on hand with the ultra-compact, Super Simple hobby wall organiser!”
• Super Powered Legends Sourcebook II, for M&M from Owen Stephens introduces “The second “Powered by M&M” sourcebook filled with heroes, villains, and artifacts of Jacob Blackmon’s “Super Powered Legends” world!”
• DEMON DRAGON DICE TOWER – STL FILES – 3D PRINTABLE from LUCERO raises funds for “3D PRINTABLE- DICE TOWERS FOR BOARD GAMES – RPG – WAR GAMES – STL FILES – TABLETOP – DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS – MIMIC – 3D Printing on FDM”
• Laika from Andrea Carbone offers “A solo journal about a very good space dog”
• Boldly Go! Season One from Geoff Bottone introduces “A sixteen episode campaign for the Boldly Go! RPG”
• Collected #dungeon23 Pamphlets Zine from Rodger Thorm offers “A compendium of the tables, maps, and articles from #dungeon23 one-page pamphlets in a single zine”
• Winter Ravages / Vinterförhärjelse from Nordic Skalds submits “Winter Ravages is an exciting Windheim adventure for Dragonbane/Drakar och Demoner, but it can be played in any setting.”
• Borged Again – The Collection from GNAW Guild crowdfunds “A collection of four separate BORG adventures! You’ve never had so much fun dying, I mean trying, to survive these adventures!”
• Vesta Mandate from Storygames Chicago crowdfunds “Hard sci-fi, political thriller TTRPG set on the tense powderkeg of Vesta Station.”
• Epic Heroes Encyclopedia for 5e – Ranger from Table Knight Studios offers “Let’s change 5E for the better. Get ready to expand your games to the 30th level. Be an epic ranger!”
• Whispers & Whiskers: 50 Eldritch Horrors & 50 Cute Creatures from Zach offers “Two worlds. One PDF. 50 creatures to haunt your dreams. 50 creatures to steal your players’ hearts.”
• Returning Home: A Storytelling Game about Family Conflicts from Toii Games is working on “A collaborative storytelling game about the journey of resolving family conflicts.”
• Four Dwarfs – DUNGEON MAKER from Team Shuriken kickstarts “Explore the dungeons you created with 100 already designed pieces to assemble as you wish or use the 15 full maps already made.”
• The Poison Course: A beginner-friendly tabletop RPG episode from A. Creg Peters introduces “Household staff must discover the Villain who’s come to dinner. A who-will-do-it mystery inspired by the board game, set in 1790s NOLA.”
• Okkam from Skip Rainsmyth suggests “a simple and versatile roleplaying game”
• DRAKONIA – Corruption’s Echo from Gamers Hunter Edizioni suggests “A Narrative Fantasy RPG with a simple OLD-School rulebook. Face a terrible past that returns insidiously: what will your role be?”
• Horrors of the Deep: Snatching Tides from Ert’s Treehouse nominates “A short one shot adventure for D&D set in the Horrors of the Deep, a Lovecraftian Inspired Nautical Campaign Setting.”
• Among the Corpses: An OpenD6 zombie apocalypse zine from Tristan Radu nominates “Among the Corpses is a zine using the OpenD6 rules to create a zombie apocalypse campaign.”
• The Village Hunt: Veil Hollow from Joey Ro kickstarts “A grimdark hunt for survival in this ode to Lovecraftian horror solo TTRPG. Come join the hunt!”
• The Hollow Remains: 4 Haunting Italian Horror RPG Scenarios from Revel Tales crowdfunds “Instantly playable Italian scenarios for Cthulhu, Vampires, 5E, OSR & any TTRPG – embrace Italy’s dark legacy.”
• Attack of the Ice Trolls – A Solo Fantasy Gamebook from Christopher Bünte crowdfunds “Armed only with a pen and two dice, you will embark on this frosty fantasy adventure!”
• 13 THIS WEEK #2 for Weird Heroes of Public Access RPG from Sniderman submits “Your indispensable programming guide for public access channel WHPA TV13 Fairhaven!”

Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.