The Weekly Podcast no.297 – Degenesis Cancelled, MAC Attack, McD&D and Dirty Diamond

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:49 — 40.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.296 – AI Wins, Giantlands Explodes, Rebel Scum Removed and RPG Megabundle

Posted on July 6, 2025 by upturnedtable

Meta’s first significant legal victory in a federal copyright case, where Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that the company did not violate copyright law when training its AI models on 13 authors’ books without permission. While the judge acknowledged that AI training is “transformative” and constitutes fair use, he emphasized that this ruling was narrow and specifically noted that “in many circumstances it will be illegal to copy copyright-protected works to train generative AI models without permission.” The decision followed a similar ruling favoring Anthropic, though legal experts noted Chhabria’s particular focus on market harm as a key factor in determining fair use.

Stephen E. Dinehart IV, founder of Wonderfilled and creator of the tabletop RPG GiantLands. Dinehart engaged in inflammatory rhetoric on social media, attacking Trump supporters and making controversial statements about race and the future of white people. His comments escalated from declaring that GiantLands was set in a future without the USA or white people to more extreme statements like “You’ll just be bred out of existence” directed at white critics. Dinehart admitted his business had been struggling for two years and expressed hostility toward his potential customer base, ultimately disavowing game design entirely.

DriveThruRPG’s delisted “Rebel Scum,” an anti-fascist tabletop RPG published by 9th Level Games. The game, which had been available since 2021, was removed in August 2024 after customer complaints about its politically charged foreword that explicitly promoted violence against “Republicans” and included statements like wanting to “punch a spacenazi right in their stupid, jackbooting, spacenazi face.” DriveThruRPG defended their decision by explaining that while they support anti-fascist content, the game’s foreword crossed their guidelines by promoting real-world violence against a broad political group. The publisher chose to withdraw the title rather than edit the controversial content.

A major Humble Bundle deal featuring 57 tabletop RPGs worth $1,200 for just $40. The “Roll Big or Go Home” bundle includes major titles like Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk Red, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and numerous indie RPGs such as Spire, The Wildsea, and Root: The Roleplaying Game. The bundle represents a 97% discount and includes core rulebooks for many popular non-D&D systems, with proceeds supporting Extra Life and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

#ai #giantlands #rebelscum #humblebundle

Humble Mega RPG Bundle – Roll Big or Go Home:

https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/yqWQBB

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:26 — 50.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.295 – Asmodee Profits, Tomb Raider Cancelled, Mausritter SRD and More Daggerheart

Posted on June 30, 2025 by upturnedtable

Board game giant Asmodee reported a razor-thin profit of just $5.46 million for 2024-25, despite generating $1.59 billion in revenue. The company’s financial troubles stem from massive debt obligations inherited from its former parent company Embracer Group. Asmodee paid out $107 million in financial expenses, primarily interest payments on a $1.06 billion bridging loan and subsequent bonds. While the company has improved its debt-to-earnings ratio from 3.9 to 2.3 times, its profit margin remains alarmingly narrow at just 0.3% of revenue.

Evil Hat Publishing announced the cancellation of their official Tomb Raider tabletop RPG due to creative differences with the licensor. The game, titled “Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth,” was set to feature team-based gameplay where players would control Truth Seekers working alongside Lara Croft. This marks another failed attempt at bringing Tomb Raider to tabletops, following Square Enix’s own troubled RPG project that began in 2021. Evil Hat plans to retool their work into a standalone game with an original setting.

The creators of Mausritter released their complete ruleset under a Creative Commons license as a free System Reference Document (SRD). This mouse-themed RPG, inspired by works like Redwall and Mouse Guard, allows players to control brave mice adventuring in a dangerous world. The comprehensive SRD includes everything from basic rules to hexcrawl creation tools, and is available both as a downloadable markdown file and browseable website, enabling creators to build tools and modifications for the system.

Critical Role’s Daggerheart RPG released new playtest content including two additional classes: the Witch and the Assassin. The Witch focuses on hexing enemies and communing with supernatural entities, while the Assassin specializes in ambush tactics and extra damage dice. The playtest also introduced six new ancestries (earthkin, tidekin, emberkin, skykin, Aetheris, and gnomes) and six new communities, expanding character creation options. All content is available through “The Void,” Daggerheart’s dedicated playtesting platform.

#asmodee #tombraider #mausritter #daggerheart

Mausritter SRD:

https://mausritter.com/srd

Daggerheart: The Void – Playtest

https://www.daggerheart.com/thevoid/

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:22 — 36.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.294 – Chris and Jeremy HIred, Galactic & Going Rogue, Defying the Gods and White Wolf is Back

Posted on June 22, 2025 by upturnedtable

Critical Role Productions has made a significant power play by hiring Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, two of the most influential designers behind Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th edition success. Both served as creative director and game director respectively at Wizards of the Coast for decades before departing in April 2025. Their recruitment to Critical Role’s Darrington Press division represents a major shift in the tabletop RPG landscape, coming just weeks after Darrington Press launched Daggerheart, their own alternative to D&D. This move is part of Critical Role’s broader expansion from web series into a full entertainment company spanning cartoons, comics, video games, and now tabletop game publishing. The departure of Perkins and Crawford appears to be part of a larger exodus from Wizards of the Coast’s D&D team. Following their April exit, several other high-profile figures have left the company, including VP of D&D Franchise Jess Lanzillo and content marketing strategist Todd Kenreck, who was laid off. This turnover comes at a critical time as WotC faces criticism over D&D 2024’s revised rulebooks, which many players and critics argue fail to address fundamental issues with the 5th edition system while actually making some problems worse. The timing raises questions about potential internal turmoil at the company that publishes “the world’s greatest role-playing game.”

Galactic & Going Rogue combines two beloved space rebellion RPGs into a single hardcover third edition, drawing inspiration from Star Wars, Rogue One, and Andor. The games focus on rebels fighting against a fascist galactic empire called The Mandate as part of The Liberation. Galactic tells stories of charming but flawed heroes and their relationships, while Going Rogue explores darker themes where characters are fated to make ultimate sacrifices for freedom. Both games use the GM-less Belonging Outside Belonging system with innovative mechanics including “pillars” that represent setting aspects and token-based gameplay.

Defy the Gods is a sword and sorcery RPG set in fantasy ancient Mesopotamia that queers the genre by centering romance and resistance. Players take on roles like Revenants, Sailors, Sorcerers, and other archetypes while building their own world of gods, cities, and wilderness. The game features a unique three-tier success system where rolling too high can be dangerous, and characters risk losing their humanity as they gain power through “Epithets” that can transform into “Dooms.” Romance serves as both protection and vulnerability, with emotional connections being key to survival against hostile world forces including pantheons of gods and oppressive cities. The campaign was successfully funded and includes stretch goals for additional content.

Paradox Interactive announced the revival of the White Wolf brand as the official licensing and publishing entity for World of Darkness properties including Vampire: The Masquerade. This marks a return for the influential brand that was shuttered in 2018 following controversy over insensitive content. Led by veterans including Jason Carl, the revived White Wolf aims to unify its transmedia properties and develop both classic and new IPs with a clearer long-term vision, representing another significant shift in how major gaming properties are managed and developed.

#darringtonpress #wotc #galactic #goingrogue #whitewolf

Galactic and Going Rogue Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/galacticgoingrogue/galactic-and-going-rogue-two-ttrpgs-of-war-among-the-stars

Defying the Gods Relaunched Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hecticelectron/defy-the-gods-rpg

Defying the Gods Quickstart:

https://hecticelectron.itch.io/defy-the-gods

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:17 — 40.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.293 – CMON Sells Zombicide, Warhammer Down, WotC Help Wanted and New Chaosium CEO

Posted on June 15, 2025 by upturnedtable

CMON, already facing financial difficulties exacerbated by import tariffs, has sold its flagship Zombicide IP to Asmodee under the Guillotine Games label. This follows CMON’s earlier sale of three other prominent board game lines (Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and ANKH: Gods of Egypt) to Tabletop Tycoon in May, along with staff layoffs and frozen crowdfunding campaigns. The company’s stocks were delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange after failing to publish accounts on time, showing substantial losses that drained cash reserves.

Games Workshop took the unusual step of deliberately crashing its entire Warhammer.com webstore to prevent bots from bulk-purchasing the limited special edition of the new Horus Heresy book “Era of Ruin.” The company detected scalpers using bots to bypass normal safeguards in real-time and shut down the site globally, pausing the book’s launch entirely. This drastic measure is uncommon for large-scale web stores and demonstrates GW’s commitment to preventing scalping, even at the cost of lost sales and resources.

Following the departures of prominent D&D figures Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins after the launch of revised 5th Edition, Wizards of the Coast is hiring for two high-level positions: a “Principal Game Designer” and a “Head of Game Ecosystem.” These roles, offering $150-200k salaries, represent a corporate, video game-industry-like division of responsibilities where the Principal Game Designer executes product releases while the Head of Game Ecosystem drives long-term vision and rules consistency across all D&D formats.

Chaosium announced significant staff changes, including the appointment of Neil Robinson as CEO and the departure of Executive Producer Mike Mearls to Asmodee after 14 months. Brian Holland has been promoted to Executive Producer for RPGs, while other team members have taken on expanded roles including Jason Durall moving to Basic Roleplaying as creative director and several new hires joining the company. Despite the changes, Mearls will continue working on ongoing projects including the new RuneQuest edition.

#zombicide #siegeofterra #wotc #chaosium

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:05 — 37.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.292 – New Dragonbane Books, Ironsworn Loadstar, More D&D Videogames and Asmodee Rebrand

Posted on June 8, 2025June 15, 2025 by upturnedtable

Free League Publishing has launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for two new supplements to their award-winning Dragonbane fantasy RPG. The campaign features “Arkand: City of Waves and Flames,” which introduces players to a seaside city setting with over a dozen adventure sites, complete with a full-color map. The second supplement, “Book of Magic,” adds new schools of magic including harmonism, demonology, necromancy, witchcraft, and illusionism, along with additional spells for existing magical schools. The campaign has already raised over $455,000, far exceeding its initial $26,064 goal with 21 days remaining.

A new comprehensive reference guide called “Lodestar” has been released for the popular solo-friendly fantasy RPG Ironsworn. This 99-page streamlined reference includes essential rules, character creation guides, oracle tables, and content from the Delve expansion all in one convenient format. What makes this particularly notable is that players can download the PDF for free or pay what they want, with print-on-demand versions available at cost, making it an accessible resource for both new and existing players of the Powered-by-the-Apocalypse framework game.

Wizards of the Coast has announced a partnership with Giant Skull, a new studio led by former Respawn director Stig Asmussen (known for the Star Wars Jedi series and God of War games). The collaboration will produce a single-player action-adventure game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, marking what appears to be a strategic shift away from multiplayer formats following previous disappointments. The game is currently in development for PC and console platforms, with Asmussen promising “immersive storytelling, heroic combat, and exhilarating traversal.”

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, major tabletop publisher Asmodee has unveiled a comprehensive rebrand featuring a new logo and consumer-focused identity with the tagline “Inspired by Players.” The company, which publishes popular games like Ticket to Ride, CATAN, 7 Wonders, and Star Wars: Unlimited, developed the new branding with Publicis Groupe’s Carré Noir design agency. CEO Thomas Koegler explained that the rebrand aims to make Asmodee more visible and recognizable to players directly, strengthening their relationship with consumers while maintaining their reputation for quality across their portfolio of over 400 intellectual properties and 21 studios.

#dragonbane #ironswornrpg #giantskull #asmodee

New Dragonbane on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/arkand-and-the-book-of-magic-for-the-acclaimed-dragonbane-rpg

Ironsworn: Loadstar (affiliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/518952/ironsworn-lodestar-expanded-reference-guide?affiliate_id=2081746

Tomkin Press:

https://tomkinpress.com/products/ironsworn-lodestar-expanded-reference-guide

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:33 — 28.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.291 – Catalyst Price Hike, Free RPG Day, Warhammer Oops and Neon City Outlaws

Posted on June 2, 2025June 2, 2025 by upturnedtable

Catalyst Game Labs announced $5 increases on Forcepacks and Box Sets, and $1 increases on Salvage Box products due to tariffs. They paid $240,000 in unexpected import taxes in March, with a 30% tariff requiring 10% MSRP increases. RPG sourcebooks remain unaffected due to a 2024 U.S. Customs ruling classifying RPG books as “books” rather than “games” for tariff purposes.

Games Workshop Legal Action: GW filed a sweeping lawsuit against 280 online sellers for Warhammer trademark infringement, freezing assets and business operations. However, they subsequently admitted mistakes and began dismissing cases against sellers who were incorrectly targeted, sending “oops” apology emails to affected businesses.

Tabletop Tycoon Acquisitions acquired five board games from CMON, including three designed solely by Eric M. Lang (Blood Rage, Rising Sun, ANKH: Gods of Egypt) and two co-designed games (Arcadia Quest, Starcadia Quest).

Free RPG Day 2025 is scheduled for June 21st, featuring offerings from major publishers including Free League, Kobold Press, Chaosium, and others. The event will include D&D cartoon character pins, sample products, new adventures, and materials for various game systems.

Neon City Outlaws designed by Rodney Thompson (Lords of Waterdeep, D&D) is launching a cyberpunk RPG Kickstarter campaign through June 12th, 2025. The game uses his 100AC system and features collaborative world-building, body-swapping mechanics, and both individual heist scenarios and larger “Revolution” gameplay phases. The campaign has raised $32,885 of its $40,000 goal with 14 days remaining.

#catalystgamelabs #freerpgday2025 #warhammer #neoncityoutlaws

Neon City Outlaws:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scratchpadpublishing/neon-city-outlaws

Neon City Outlaws Print and Play:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/522165/neon-city-outlaws-print-and-play-preview?affiliate_id=2081746

Free RPG Day:

https://freerpgday.com/

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:37 — 40.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly LIVE 290 – Whizkids Refunds, Modern AGE May, Slam Throne and Daggerheart New Classes

Posted on May 26, 2025May 26, 2025 by upturnedtable

Wizkids recently released pre-painted miniatures of the Baldur’s Gate 3 characters in partnership with Wizards of the Coast, and the results were catastrophically poor. The miniatures featured severely distorted faces, misplaced features, and in some cases missing parts entirely (one customer reportedly received a headless Shadowheart). The quality was so abysmal that Wizkids issued a public apology and offered full refunds to all customers, acknowledging that the final product “did not meet our expectations or that of our Wizards of the Coast partner.” The controversy highlights broader issues with pre-painted miniatures in the tabletop gaming industry. At $50 for seven figures (roughly $7.10 each), these miniatures were priced at the low end for pre-painted products, making high quality unlikely from the start. Pre-painted miniatures face an inherent trade-off between cost and quality, as skilled painting requires significant time and labor. However, Wizkids particularly drew criticism for misleading promotional materials that showed much higher quality products than what customers actually received.The miniatures disaster represents a broader pattern of Hasbro’s mishandling of Dungeons & Dragons over the past decade. Despite D&D’s massive success, including the acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 and growth in popularity, Hasbro has consistently fumbled opportunities. The article points to several failures: the OGL controversy that alienated creators, losing Larian Studios after Baldur’s Gate 3’s success, the underperforming D&D movie despite its quality, the cancellation of Project Sigil, and the minimal innovation in the 2024 rules update. The author argues that Hasbro fundamentally misunderstands its own product and lacks the vision to capitalize on D&D’s unprecedented cultural moment.

Celebrate “Modern AGE May” as part of Green Ronin’s 25th anniversary, highlighting the seven-year journey of the Modern AGE roleplaying game. Developer Malcolm Sheppard reflects on the game’s development since 2017, praising its flexibility and the collaborative efforts with various writers and designers. The company has released a free PDF with core rules updates based on improvements learned over the years, and the game line has influenced other successful titles like The Expanse and Cthulhu Awakens.

The return of 90s nostalgia with “Slam Throne,” a new game that resurrects the concept of Pogs for modern audiences. Players use Hero Slammers to flip health caps in their opponent’s stack, with each slammer having unique passive and catch abilities. The game emphasizes simple, fun mechanics over deep strategy, appealing to gamers who remember the original Pogs phenomenon from the 1990s.

Daggerheart, a Dungeons & Dragons rival from Darrington Press that launched on May 20, 2025. Remarkably, just one day after release, the company introduced playtest material for two new classes: Warlock and Fighter. The Warlock uses a Favor system tied to patron relationships, while the Fighter specializes in melee combat with subclasses like Juggernaut and Martial Artist. This rapid release of additional content demonstrates the company’s commitment to expanding the game system quickly after launch.

#whizkids #modernAGE #SlamThrone #Daggertheart

Slam Throne:

https://shop.dicethrone.com/pages/fr-slamthrone

Daggerheart “The Void”:

https://www.daggerheart.com/thevoid/

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

Chris on social media:

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

Support Us on Patreon:

Give us a tip on our livestream:

Donate or give us a tip on Paypal:

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Audio Player

00:00

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:19 — 49.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

Outgunned: Indy Heat 1985 – Actual Play ALL SESSIONS

Posted on May 23, 2025 by upturnedtable

Audio from all sessions of our Outgunned: Indy Heat 1985 actual play

Matt is the Director and Jeremy, Will and Terry are the players.

The setting is an 80s buddy cop movie set in Indianapolis circa 1985.

#outgunnedrpg #actualplay #80smovies #buddycop

From the website:

Outgunned is a cinematic action rpg inspired by the classics of the genre, from Die Hard to True Lies, passing through James Bond, Atomic Blonde, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, and John Wick. In Outgunned, Players take on the role of action Heroes facing terrible odds. They will be constantly surrounded by enemies while trying to carry out their mission, be it robbing a casino or saving the day. Outgunned features a game system called Director’s Cut, a set of mechanics using small pools of six-sided dice to determine the outcome of the Heroes’ actions. When rolling dice, your goal is not to score the highest or lowest possible number, but to roll two-, three-, and four-of-a-kind.

Outgunned RPG – Action Hero Pledge UNBOXING:

https://youtu.be/IYDyzNvQQKo

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:29:57 — 908.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly LIVE 289 – Tariff Talks, GW Sues Sellers, Riverbank RPG and Mantic Goes Full Kickstarter

Posted on May 18, 2025 by upturnedtable

The United States and China have reached an agreement to reduce their additional tariffs on each other’s imports. China will cut its extra levies on American goods from 125% to 10%, while the US will reduce its additional tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30%. Some of these reduced tariffs will be suspended for 90 days while the two countries continue negotiations, with import duties set at 30% during this period. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed a desire for more balanced trade and increased Chinese openness to American goods. The agreement aims to end the escalating trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.In a separate development, President Trump fired Shira Perlmutter, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, shortly after her office released a report suggesting that Big Tech companies’ use of copyrighted materials to train AI systems constitutes copyright infringement. The report acknowledged that some AI training uses might be “transformative” but stated that commercial use of copyrighted works that competes with original content “goes beyond established fair use boundaries.” Critics have called the firing an “unprecedented power grab,” while noting that tech companies are seeking copyright exceptions they’re unlikely to get through Congress. Some suggest Elon Musk’s influence in the White House may have contributed to the swift dismissal.

Games Workshop has initiated a massive legal action against approximately 280 online sellers worldwide, freezing their assets and accounts in a sweeping crackdown on alleged counterfeits and trademark infringements. While many targeted sellers were producing knockoffs, some legitimate businesses were caught in the crossfire for minor infractions like mentioning “Warhammer” in product descriptions or using the word “Citadel” for brush holders. The company posted a $10,000 bond per seller (potentially $2.8 million total) to cover damages for wrongful actions, with a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for May 27, 2025.

Kobold Press is launching a new cozy roleplaying game called RiverBank, which offers a stark contrast to traditional combat-focused games like Dungeons & Dragons. Written by award-winning author Kij Johnson, this “tea, poetry and total disaster” game features anthropomorphic animals in a peaceful riverside setting and will begin crowdfunding in April 2025, catering to a growing trend of cottagecore tabletop experiences.

Mantic Games has announced an exclusive partnership with Kickstarter through 2026, making the platform their sole crowdfunding venue for upcoming projects. The UK-based studio, known for games like Worms: The Board Game and Hellboy: The Board Game, has already revealed plans for Assassin’s Creed: Animus – The Board Game and DreadBall All Stars, a reboot of their sci-fi sports miniatures game. This partnership allows Mantic to focus on game development while leveraging Kickstarter’s established community.

#tariffs #warhammer #koboldpress #riverbankRPG #mantic

Riverbank RPG:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/kobold-press/riverbank-a-cozy-rpg-of-elegant-animals-chaos-whimsy

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

Mantic Companion App:

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link):

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):