The Weekly LIVE 298 – Dragonbane Minis, Former WotC VP, Diamond Details and New D&D Starter Set

Posted on July 20, 2025 by upturnedtable

Free League Publishing’s Dragonbane TTRPG is getting a new miniatures collection through a Kickstarter campaign by Titan Forge. The Northern Beasts miniatures sets will feature heroes and adversaries from the Dragonbane Core Set and Bestiary, with each set including original mini-adventures. The miniatures are noted for their high detail and quality, with the Demons Set being particularly impressive. Dragonbane itself is a modern re-imagining of the 1982 Scandinavian game Drakar och Demoner, offering a gritty, Nordic fantasy experience with a retro Saturday morning cartoon vibe.

Jess Lanzillo, former VP of franchise and product for D&D, has joined White Wolf as creative director for World of Darkness after leaving Wizards of the Coast. This follows the departure of other senior D&D figures like Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. The exodus from D&D comes amid broader struggles at Hasbro, including massive layoffs, failed product launches, and the loss of key talent who helped make projects like Baldur’s Gate 3 successful.

The Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy has revealed a complex auction process filled with controversy. Alliance Entertainment (AENT) initially won the auction with a bid over $70 million, but Diamond rejected them in favor of backup bidders Universal Distribution and Ad Populum for approximately $2.5 million less. Court transcripts reveal the rejection came down to a one-hour delay in resolving a dispute over $4.3 million in prepaid inventory. AENT’s legal team claimed “the fix was in” and that they had agreed to all of Diamond’s demands, but Diamond proceeded with the backup bidders anyway. The situation has resulted in ongoing lawsuits and significant disruption to the comic book distribution industry.

Wizards of the Coast has announced Heroes of the Borderlands, a new Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set launching September 16, 2025, for $49.99. This comprehensive set is designed for the updated 2024-2025 D&D rules and includes everything needed for new players to start playing immediately. The box contains 40-60 hours of gameplay content, including three adventure booklets, over 200 game cards, 18 maps, 200+ tokens, an 11-die set, and guides for both players and Dungeon Masters. The set focuses on four iconic D&D classes (Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, and Fighter) and is being marketed as the biggest D&D starter set ever made.

#dragonbane #wotc #starterset #diamondbankruptcy

Dragonbane miniatures:
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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:

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The Weekly LIVE 285 – Jeremy Crawford Retires, Space Gits, CMON’s David Preti and Battletech RPG Bundle

Posted on April 20, 2025April 20, 2025 by upturnedtable

Jeremy Crawford, long-time Game Director for Dungeons & Dragons, is officially stepping down from Wizards of the Coast later this month, joining fellow veteran Chris Perkins, who recently departed as Creative Director. Both Crawford and Perkins have been instrumental in shaping the game’s highly successful Fifth Edition and have served as the public faces of D&D for over a decade. Their departures come on the heels of completing a revised set of core rulebooks, marking the end of a major chapter for the franchise. According to WotC’s VP Jess Lanzillo, their exits were planned and on their own terms, with leadership succession already in place. While no direct replacements have been named, experienced designers like James Wyatt, Wes Schneider, and Justice Arman will step into expanded roles. WotC has emphasized that the D&D roadmap remains unchanged, and the transition signals a generational handoff as the team moves forward with confidence in its future.

Space Gits is a chaotic, dexterity-based miniatures skirmish game from designer Mike Hutchinson, centered around gangs of drunk, riotous space orcs wreaking havoc in the megacity of Gnork. Inspired by the comedic, rowdy spirit of Warhammer 40k Orks—particularly the 1990s aesthetic—this miniature-agnostic game encourages players to use any models they like, including those from Kromlech, who are also producing exclusive minis for the campaign. The gameplay is intentionally absurd, involving dice-based movement and combat, drunken stumbles, and even rock-paper-scissors brawling, all wrapped in a full campaign system with rules for vehicles, loot, injuries, and criminal records. With support for 2–5 players and sessions under an hour, it can even be played as a drinking game. The rules are freely available under a Creative Commons license, making Space Gits a hilariously anarchic and flexible game that embraces creativity, kitbashing, and pure orcish mayhem.

David Preti, a long-time senior manager at board game publisher CMON, has stepped down from his position as non-executive director, just seven months after resigning as Chief Operating Officer. Preti, who originally joined CMON as creative director in 2016 and rose to COO by 2018, cited “other work commitments” for his departure. His tenure saw major strategic changes, including a distribution deal with Asmodee, and licensing agreements with Mattel, Netflix, Marvel, and others. Under his leadership, CMON transitioned from Kickstarter to Gamefound for crowdfunding, a move that helped raise over $12 million in its first year on the new platform. Preti’s resignation comes amid turbulent times for CMON, which has warned of potential losses exceeding $2 million for 2024 and is grappling with delayed financial reporting, investor defaults, and rising tariffs on Chinese imports—threatening the board game industry at large. The company has over $22 million worth of crowdfunded projects still in production and is struggling to manage rising costs and logistical hurdles.

The Humble RPG Bundle: The BattleTech RPG Collection by Catalyst Game Labs offers fans of the BattleTech universe a comprehensive digital package packed with lore, rules, and campaigns set in the gritty, futuristic world of the Aurigan Reach. Available for as little as $1, with the full 20-item collection unlocked at $18, the bundle includes titles like BattleTech Universe, MechWarrior: Destiny, Total Warfare, and A Time of War: The BattleTech RPG. All items are delivered in PDF format and can be used on any device, with proceeds supporting the No Kid Hungry charity. With over 11,000 bundles sold and more than $21,000 raised for charity, this limited-time offer provides both an engaging RPG experience and a chance to give back.

#wotc #spacegits #cmon #battletech

Battletech RPG Humble Bundle:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/battletech-rpg-collection-catalyst-game-labs-books

Space Gits Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/planetsmashergames/space-gits-miniatures-game

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Space Gits BETA Test Rules:
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