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

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

Posted on July 14, 2025 by upturnedtable

CMON, already struggling financially with a $3 million loss last year, suffered another major setback when its Gamefound campaign for Degenesis: Clan Wars was cancelled due to a legal dispute with IP holder SixMoreVodka. The German design studio terminated its contract with CMON after what began as a collaborative relationship deteriorated into legal battles, with both parties providing conflicting accounts of the breakdown. CMON has promised full refunds to the campaign’s 1,200 backers, though the refund process won’t begin until after legal resolution.

MAC Attack is a sci-fi miniature wargame by by Chris MacDowall where players command Mobile Armour Colossus (MAC) units and auxiliary units (AUs) in tactical combat across diverse terrain types including Open, Rough, Cover, Water, Obstructions, Barriers, and Buildings on a typical 48″x36″ battlefield. The game uses six-sided dice for general actions and specialized dice for Motion, Heat, Jolt, and Rad weapons, with MACs requiring careful Heat management to avoid overheating while maintaining Motion ratings that affect hit probability. Combat unfolds through four phases—Move, Attack, Meltdown, and Cooldown—with a card-based initiative system determining activation order, while players must strategically balance weapon usage (categorized by range, type, and power levels 1-4) against Heat generation. Forces must include at least 3 MACs and up to 1 AU formation per MAC, with AUs serving as supporting infantry or vehicle units that are always Motion 2, class 0, and destroyed by a single hit, while faction selection provides access to special rules and modules for tactical advantage.

Wizards of the Coast has restructured Dungeons & Dragons under a new “franchise model” led by former Halo veteran Dan Ayoub. This organizational change consolidates all D&D-related properties—books, video games, film, and TV—under one roof, promising a more coordinated and well-funded approach to the franchise. The gaming industry continues to navigate these challenges while seeking alternative distribution channels and legal remedies to protect their businesses.

The tabletop gaming industry is facing significant disruption due to Diamond Comic Distributors’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in January 2025. This bankruptcy has severely impacted over 100 independent publishers who relied on Diamond for book trade distribution to major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores. Diamond is attempting to claim ownership of millions of dollars worth of consigned inventory from publishers through a legal technicality, despite the publishers retaining ownership of unsold stock. Several publishers are taking different approaches to survive the crisis. Green Ronin Publishing has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $9,000 for legal defense costs, having already raised over $6,600 from 101 donations. The company faces particular challenges with upcoming Gen Con expenses and the loss of book trade distribution for key licensed games like The Fifth Season and The Expanse RPGs. Meanwhile, Paizo has stopped shipping products to Diamond entirely, meaning their August and September releases won’t be available through major bookstores or Amazon.

#degenesis #CMON #MACattack #diamondbankruptcy

Green Ronin GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-green-ronin-in-critical-legal-defense

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https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/8ccdea54-24c2-45bc-aa2a-5c30e633fdc9

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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

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

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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:

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The Weekly LIVE 252 – Alchemy VTT Bundle, D&D VTT This Year, Pirate Borg Expansions and WotC Removes Credits

Posted on August 4, 2024August 4, 2024 by upturnedtable

Free League Publishing, known for RPGs such as Tales from the Loop, Symbaroum, and Coriolis, has launched an extensive Immersive RPG Bundle for the Alchemy virtual tabletop (VTT). This bundle includes 50 items from Free League’s catalog, covering various rulebooks, adventures, and supplemental materials. Normally valued at over $1,000, the bundle is available for $30. Additionally, purchasing the bundle supports Direct Relief, a nonprofit providing global medical aid. The bundle features games like Tales from the Loop, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, Dragonbane, and Mutant Year Zero, among others. It offers core rulebooks, expansion books, pre-made adventures, and campaign books, excluding the ALIEN RPG due to licensing constraints. This special offer runs for 19 more days.

During Hasbro’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Chris Cocks announced that the D&D virtual tabletop is set to be available later this year. Described as a “3D roleplaying sandbox experience,” the VTT will be previewed at GenCon and promises to enhance the digital D&D experience with its build on Unreal Engine 5. Pre-orders for the new Player’s Handbook include a virtual miniature of a gold dragon, indicating the platform’s readiness for use. The earnings call highlighted that Wizards of the Coast, part of Hasbro, continues to drive significant revenue growth, notably through digital products like Baldur’s Gate 3 and D&D Beyond. The new VTT aims to integrate D&D’s digital and physical gameplay, offering backward compatibility with fifth edition adventures and supplements, though third parties are already referring to the new rules as “5.5.”

Limithron has announced two new expansions for the Pirate Borg tabletop RPG, to be funded through a Kickstarter campaign launching on September 17. The expansions, titled Cabin Fever and Down Among the Dead, will be released as hardcover editions along with collectible items like GM screens, dice sets, custom coins, and ship combat tokens.Cabin Fever, created through the Known Conspirators community on itch.io, features over 144 pages of content from various creators. Down Among the Dead includes three new adventures, modular rulesets, and other GM resources across 120 pages. These expansions promise to add significant new content and options for Pirate Borg players.

Faith Elisabeth Lilley, a former member of the digital content team at Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), revealed that the team’s credits have been removed from D&D Beyond. The team was responsible for integrating book content into the online platform and contributing to the book development process. Although initially agreed that the team would be credited on D&D Beyond due to space limitations in physical books, their names have recently been removed without notice.The removal of credits has sparked disappointment and criticism within the community, as it undermines the contributions of those who significantly improved the quality and success of D&D’s digital and physical products.Also, Dark Horse Comics has announced a licensing deal with Wizards of the Coast to produce new comics and graphic novels based on Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, starting in 2025. This collaboration will feature original stories expanding the lore and universes of these popular games. Dark Horse has a history of publishing licensed gaming comics and aims to bring fresh, high-stakes stories to fans and newcomers alike.The partnership will include comic series, graphic novels, art books, and more, with a focus on engaging storytelling and captivating artwork. Fans can look forward to the first releases in the summer of 2025.

#alchemyvtt #pirateborg #onednd #dndbeyond

Immersive RPG Bundle for Alchemy VTT (affiliate link):

https://www.humblebundle.com/software/free-league-immersive-rpg-bundle-for-alchemy-vtt-software?partner=upturnedtable

Alien 2E Kickstarter Campaign URL: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/alien-rpg-second-edition-and-rapture-protocol

4-Hour Dune RPG Review:

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Outgunned RPG – Action Hero Pledge UNBOXING:
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Outgunned Adventure on Backerkit

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/two-little-mice/outgunned-2

Shop at Noble Knight Games (affiliate link)
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10% off First Purchase from Modiphius:
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Dragonbane Actual Play Episode One:
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Dragonbane Core Set:
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