Tag: Crowdfunding

The Weekly Podcast no.326 – D&D Website & 5.5E, Orken, Pumpkin Spice and Exodus by Renegade

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Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), highlighting a perceived decade of “executive fumbling.” This includes an inconsistent rebranding of the current ruleset, which the community has largely settled on calling 5.5e (the D&D 2024 ruleset), moving away from the “OneD&D” working title. WotC also announced a “live service” style content roadmap for D&D in 2026, divided into three “Seasons”: Horror (starting June, anchored by Ravenloft: The Horrors Within), Magic (starting July, featuring Arcana Unleashed), and the mysterious Season of Champions (starting October).

Orken is a new transmedia universe from the IP design studio SIXMOREVODKA, creators of Degenesis. Unlike their previous work, Orken is not a tabletop game but a lore-driven fantasy suite expressed through art books and serialized fiction. The project explores the central conflict of the native, totemic Orken people of Edom fighting for survival against the technologically advanced invaders known as the Elemon (or “People of Metal”). The Kickstarter campaign for this project successfully funded its initial goal very quickly, focusing on providing immediate, finished, premium products to supporters.

Pumpkin Spice is a “magical cozy RPG” The game centers on a young coven of witches who run a magical cafe and protect a “Fount of Magic,” drawing inspiration from works like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Legends & Lattes. It utilizes a simple, narrative-first system with standard six-sided dice and “Essence Dice,” with mechanics revolving around brewing magical drinks and interacting with patrons, rather than combat. The campaign’s immense success led to the unlocking of several stretch goals, including a fully dedicated solo-play mode and expansions to the spellcasting system.

Renegade Game Studios will publish the Exodus Roleplaying Game in 2026. This sci-fi TTRPG is based on the upcoming Exodus video game developed by Wizards of the Coast’s Archetype Entertainment. The RPG was developed by James Ohlen (former lead designer for Baldur’s Gate) and notably uses 5E as its underlying engine. The initial releases from Renegade are scheduled for August and will include the Exodus Traveler’s Handbook and the Creature Catalog. This move is considered notable as WotC is collaborating with an outside company for the game’s wider release, suggesting a broader distribution strategy.

#dnd5.5E #OrkenRpg #PumpkinSpiceRpg #ExodusRPG  #RenegadeStudios

Orken RPG on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sixmorevodka/orken

Pumpkin Spice RPG:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/acheron-games/pumpkin-spice-a-magically-cozy-rpg

Dragonbane Trudvang:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/dragonbane-trudvang-the-legend-returns

Fallout MEGA Bundle:

https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/L0aArV

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

https://mmf.io/upturned

Mantic Companion App:

https://companion.manticgames.com/

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

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

https://miniature-market.sjv.io/K0yj7n

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

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

https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3

Chris on social media:

https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​

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http://www.rcharvey.com

​​Support Us on Patreon:

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Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

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The Weekly Podcast no.323 – Blades 68, Pathfinder Beginner Box & STLs, Avatar Card Game and Hasbro Loves AI

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Blades ’68 is an official 450-page expansion for the TTRPG Blades in the Dark. This supplement advances the timeline 100 years to the “Swinging Sixties” in the city of Doskvol, an age of electroplasmic fusion and “Bluetime” spy games. The expansion introduces new playbooks, crews, and a revamped setting, alongside new rules for Harm, Resistance, Keys, Deadlocks, and an adapted Trouble Engine. The campaign has been overwhelmingly funded, with an expected delivery date of August 2026.

Paizo, the publisher of Pathfinder, announced the new Pathfinder Beginner Box: Secrets of the Unlit Star, an all-inclusive entry point to Pathfinder Second Edition set for release on May 6th, 2026. The box set features a solo adventure, a 72-page Hero’s Handbook, an 88-page Game Master’s Guide, and updated rules for character options and adventure scenarios. Additionally, Paizo confirmed its commitment to the Pathfinder 2E Remaster with the release of Dark Archive Remastered and the announcement of Season of Ghosts Remastered. The company also partnered with One Page Rules to launch Paizo Printables, a new line of 3D printable wargaming miniature STLs compatible with the Age of Fantasy system, starting in Spring 2026.

Maestro Media unveiled Avatar: Pandora’s Power, a two-player asymmetric lane-battling card game based on the Avatar films. The game pits the resource-extractive RDA against the adaptive, land-rooted Na’vi factions, with the goal of reaching 30 points to decide Pandora’s fate. CEO Javon Frazier emphasized that the core experience is the asymmetry, with each faction playing a distinctly different game. Designed for ages 12 and up, the game plays in approximately 20-45 minutes and includes 170 Faction Cards, 18 Location Cards, and various tokens.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks touted the company’s AI integration as a “clear success” during a recent earnings call, though he primarily referred to its deployment in non-creative, operational workflows such as financial planning, supply chains, and general productivity. Cocks stated that AI, in partnership with platforms like Google Gemini and OpenAI, is expected to free up over 1 million hours of lower-value work within the year. While he maintains a “human-centric creator-led approach,” Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has an explicit policy prohibiting its artists and writers from using generative AI for final D&D products, a stance that aligns with a user survey indicating over 60% of consumers would not buy D&D products made with AI.

#blades68 #pathfinder #paizo #hasbro

Blades ‘68 on Backerkit:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/evil-hat/blades-68

40-page Preview on DTRPG:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/ja/product/553040/blades-68-preview?affiliate_id=2081746

Empire of Bones on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thepaintedwastelands/empire-of-bones

Preview:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/554430?affiliate_id=2081746

Call of Cthulhu Bundle:

https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/Xmz13G

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

https://mmf.io/upturned

Mantic Companion App:

https://companion.manticgames.com/

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

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

https://miniature-market.sjv.io/K0yj7n

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

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

https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3

Chris on social media:

https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​

Jeremy’s Links:

 http://www.abusecartoons.com/​​
http://www.rcharvey.com

​​Support Us on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable

Give us a tip on our livestream:

https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip​

Donate or give us  a tip on Paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/2754JZFW2QZU4

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

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The Weekly LIVE 144 – Mantic Boardgames, Backerkit Launches, Troll Trader Statement and Saudi Arabia Embrace

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Mantic Games has announced that they will launch a new Boardgames Division. This will focus on family-friendly and licensed-IP games. They want to be able to create projects that will be crowd-funded on Gamefound and will be one and done including expansions that are funded. The idea is to free them from one the wargaming space and also to make games that will lead players to the existing Mantic IPs.

BackerKit posts a surprise announcement that they are in beta as a full-fledged crowdfunding platform. They will officially launch in 2023 and already have over 30 companies committed to the platform. This includes Cephalofair Games, creator of the popular Gloomhaven and Frosthaven games. Isaac Childres, owner of Cephalofair, stated concerns over the announcement by Kickstarter to embrace blockchain technology that precipitated the move. BackerKit tools will still be available to Kickstarter campaigns.

We were contacted by Louis Simspon, managing director of Troll Trader, telling us that our discussion of the circumstances of the closure of Secret Weapon Miniatures was completely incorrect. He referred us to a statement posted by his company and the details when compared to the Secret Weapon Kickstarter update posted by Justin McCoy, nothing matches up. The truth lies somewhere in between. We under no circumstances want to damage the reputation of Troll Trader by our discussion. They are a company I have personally bought from in the past. The details are quite interesting so we will discuss them.

Following up on last week’s announcement, we get a statement from the CEO of Embracer Group explaining why Saudi Arabia is a good business partner and how they discussed difficult topics prior to this investment. So we have nothing to worry about and money is money so keep feeding that machine. Just remember to wipe off the blood and human rights abuses!
#manticgames #trolltrader #embracergroup

Interview with Ronnie Renton of Mantic:
https://youtu.be/SrPPn_TAFNs

TTCombat Statement about Secret Weapon Miniatures:
https://community.ttcombat.com/2022/06/10/secret-weapon-statement/

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Chris social media:
https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​
https://twitter.com/hyvemynd​​
https://twitter.com/ConanSalaryman​​

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:
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https://www.twitch.tv/abusecartoons
​​https://twitter.com/abusecartoons

​​Support Us on Patreon:
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Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe
https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

 

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