News Digest for the Week of May 29

[Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News]( Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news. Another tease for Baldur’s Gate III, Paizo announces Starfinder product line for the coming year, more updates on the D&D movie, and more! Don’t forget you can get all the week’s gaming news at Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk every weekend! [This week, Morrus and Peter are joined by Robert Marriner-Dodds of Studio Cerca to talk about Carbon 2185 and Studio Cerca.]( [40k-Cover-Graveyard-Shift-.jpg] In case you missed it elsewhere on EN World this week… - EN5ider #334 brings [twelve new feats for your 5e games to step up the power and versatility of multiclassing](. - Jim Ward writes about [many of the outlandish adventures run during his years at TSR and how he kept the games going]( despite demands from management employees at a gaming company not play games at work. - Ed Greenwood takes us back to [the foundations of the Forgotten Realms and talks about his unique take on adventuring companies, particularly adventurers and their day jobs](. - Wizards of the Coast released [the table of contents for the upcoming Mythic Odysseys of Theros.]( - Lewis Pulsipher talks [about statistics, math, and how knowing the odds can change how a game plays](. - Two Worlds of Design columns in one week? [Lewis Pulsipher also talks about Worldbuilding 101 starting right from the top]( in the important questions you need to ask when creating a new fictional universe. - Egg Embry interviewed [Nelyhann from Studio Agate about their new artbook on Kickstarter now, Shadows of Esteren: Dark Romanticism]( for their ENnie Award winning Shadows of Esteren. - Cubicle 7 released [a free adventure for Warhammer 40,000: Wrath & Glory called Graveyard Shift](, an introductory adventure that sends the Agents to investigate a corpse starch production facility. - We know from last week that there was an announcement of an announcement of possibly a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, but [Morrus looks at what Wizards of the Coast actually said to question whether we are getting a new setting this year](. - Michael Tresca looks at [history to see if it’s repeating itself from the time of Herodotus and the current pandemic with games as our savior](. - Hit Point Press has a [Kickstarter live now for The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot, and More for 5e, a collection of cards that “animate” as you tilt them](. Just…go look at the page as there’s a GIF showing what it does, it’s awesome. - Charles Dunwoody [borrows from Shadows of the Demon Lord to tackle a new way to handle NPCs in any roleplaying game to create a world that feels alive](. - Another preview from the [upcoming Historical Figures & Maleficent Monsters from EN Publishing, this time the archetypical vampire villain himself, Dracula](. - Mike Myler also has a brand new 5e character for us [in this week’s Epic Monsters, Joe Magarc, a product of Pennsylvania steel industry folklore](. - Finally, Egg Embry has gone through [all the crowdfunding sites to find the roleplaying projects ending soon in this week’s RPG Crowdfunding News](E2%80%93-menagerie-of-magic-trudvang-adventures-aegis-of-empires-and-more.672350/). [unnamed.jpg] [Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the writer-director team attached to the Dungeons & Dragons movie, talked with Hollywood Reporter this week about the status of the film and their take on the material](. In the interview, which was meant to be about the life of filmmakers during lockdown but focused mainly on the Dungeons & Dragons film, the duo said they were scheduled to start location scouting in the UK in March before the pandemic delayed those plans. They used the downtime to complete and turn in the second draft of the script and there are weekly meetings with the studio as they work through pre-production. When asked about how much comedy they plan to bring to the film following their take on Spider-man: Homecoming, they said: Goldstein: We want it to be fun. It's not an out and out comedy, but it is an action-fantasy movie with a lot of comedic elements and characters we hope people will really get into and enjoy watching their adventures. Daley: D&D is such a unique look at the fantasy genre where it is contemporary in terms of the people playing it and the way they speak to each other. So we never wanted to spoof the genre of fantasy or take the piss out of it. But we did want to find another way into it that we hadn't necessarily seen before. Just the format of Dungeons & Dragons is so interesting and fun and all about critical thinking and thinking on your feet and figuring out ways to make things work after they fall flat. There's a lot of the spirit of that that we're trying to inject into the movie itself. When asked about Hollywood players of D&D like Joe Manganiello, Goldstein stated they haven’t been “accosted” by players yet but are working with Wizards of the Coast. Which seems odd since Manganiello has also been working on getting his Dragonlance script started so it seems unlikely his name hasn’t come up in casting, which the pair states they’re doing via video conferencing at the moment. [There are a few more details about the film plus their opinions on the Snyder Cut of Justice League and their canceled DCEU film The Flash in the full Hollywood Reporter interview](. [052720_PZO7114Cover.jpg] As expected, PaizoCon Online 2020 has already been the source for some major announcements. First, [the product release schedule for Starfinder expanded to three sourcebooks and two adventure paths announced for the coming year](. The Starship Operations Manual is a 160 page sourcebook with custom upgrades, expansion modules, advice on running starship-based campaigns, new starship-based monsters for all levels of play, and, of course, a bunch of new starships currently scheduled for release on July 30 for $39.99. Alien Archive 4 brings over 100 new alien life forms along with rules for making new playable alien characters, due out in October or November of 2020 for $39.99. Devastation Ark is a three-part adventure path where the players attempt to stop the threat of an ancient alien civilization. This adventure path is designed for high-level play, starting at 13th level and going all the way to 20th. The three chapters are expected in August and September of 2020 and priced at $22.99 each. Fly Free or Die puts players in the role of a “merchant” crew made of scoundrels, rogues, and misfits attempting to survive the machinations of crime bosses and megacorporations. This six-part adventure path starts in October with monthly releases at $22.99 each. Finally, coming next year is the Galaxy Exploration Manual, a sourcebook for space exploration with “nearly endless possibilities every time a starship drops out of the Drift into uncharted space”. That’s pretty much all we have about that book since it’s not due for release until April 2021. [052620_Kingmakercoverart.jpg] Pathfinder 2nd Edition hasn’t been left out yet in the early days of the convention either. As you can see above, [we got a reveal of the gorgeous cover for the Kingmaker Adventure Path for both Pathfinder 2nd Edition and for 5e]( (yes, Paizo is making a 5e-compatible product). Paizo crowdfunded a full line or products for the Kingmaker update including the two different versions, flip-mat multipacks, and more. Additionally, [the Archives of Nethys, the official SRD for Pathfinder and Pathfinder 2nd Edition, got a big update this week](. The OGL material for Pathfinder 2nd Edition Bestiary 2 along with the Lord of the Black Sands Adventure Path joined several updates to the site, including a new NPC section to join the Creatures section (formerly called “Monsters”) with updates to the presentation and search options for NPC and creature stat blocks. There’s still more to come as PaizoCon Online 2020 continues all through the weekend. [Keep an eye on the official Paizo Twitch channel]( for announcements about the Advanced Player’s Guide and other Pathfinder 2nd Edition releases today at 12:00 noon (3:00 PM Eastern, 8:00 PM British Summer Time) plus more events going until Sunday, May 31. [bg3.jpg] [Larian Studios posted a teaser for a trailer for Baldur’s Gate III on Twitter this past Thursday](. The tweet promises “A Baldur’s Gate 3 sizzle is dropping tomorrow.” At the time of writing, the tweet is 18 hours old and said “sizzle” has yet to drop. But keep an eye on EN World for when it does. Update: [The "sizzle" has dropped and it is a teaser trailer that appears to combine cutscene and gameplay footage]( closing with the statement ""Join us on the road to Baldur's Gate Starting June 6" [rpgday.png] Free RPG Day is changing. [Due to the pandemic and lockdowns affecting retailers, the annual Free RPG Day event has been rescheduled for July 25, 2020.]( The event was originally scheduled for June 21, but many retailers are still under lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic that prohibit such events. The additional time will hopefully allow for more stores to participate within local guidelines for social distancing and safety. A full list of participating publishers and retailers [is available on the Free RPG Day website](. [40k9th.png] [Games Workshop announced Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition this week](. The Warhammer Community website in the link has a lot of information…and I mean a lot. The big takeaways, though, are that you don’t need to go refreshing your entire library as the new rules are backward compatible with previous codexes and campaign books. There will be new rules for ongoing campaign play through the Crusade system, with units gaining special skills, Crusade relics, battle honors, and battle scars. The Psychic Awakening storyline currently going on in the setting will continue into the new edition into the Dawn of Fire series from the Black Library, kicking off with the novel Avenging Song by Guy Haley. The announcement of the new edition also [comes with the launch of the brand new website for Warhammer 40,000 which is live now](. No release date has been announced for the new edition as is typical for Games Workshop who tends to spring this sort of thing on players. [rcrf.jpg] [The RPG Creators Relief Fund announced they have opened applications for hardship grants for tabletop roleplaying creators](. These grants are available to tabletop roleplaying creators experiencing financial hardship due to emergencies, including the current COVID-19 outbreak. Grants are available to tabletop RPG creators including but not limited to designers, writers, artists, layout, editors, and more with full details about who qualifies on the application page. [Applications are open now for a portion of the $20,000 in funds currently available]( with the organization working to accelerate the grant process through the month of June. For those looking to donate to the fund, [the charity is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit and all donations are tax-deductible](. [kickstarter-logo-color.png] [I know I start this with a big Kickstarter logo, but this one is from GameOnTabletop, Green Ronin Publishing’s The Book of Fiends for 5e](. This 200+ page book collects and updates the classic 3.x era sourcebooks focusing on demons, devils, fallen angels, and other creatures of the lower planes with design from Robert J. Schwalb, Erik Mona, Chris Pramas, and Aaron Loeb. You can get the PDF for a pledge of $25 or add on the print version for $50, plus several other options including ways to get the Book of Righteousness for the other side of the planes. This campaign is fully funded and runs until Tuesday, June 9. [Escape from Skullcano Island](. If that title alone doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what to say. Okay, a few details. This 5e adventure is meant for high-level characters and is heavily inspired by pulp adventure movies like King Kong, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and other stories of daring adventure to unmapped corners of the earth where creatures from eras long past dwell. Expect to fight giant kaiju of all types as you explore the untamed island. And yes, the volcano is a skull. Or the skull is a volcano, depending on your point of view. The PDF is available for a $17 pledge or you can add on a physical copy for $35. This Kickstarter is fully funded and runs until Tuesday, June 2. That’s all from me for this week! Don’t forget [to support our Patreon]( to bring you more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com, and you can get [more discussion of the week’s news on Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk]( every week. You can [follow me on Twitch where I’ll be testing out some system upgrades with various games over the upcoming week,]( [subscribe to Gamer’s Tavern on YouTube for videos on gaming history, RPG reviews, and gaming Let’s Plays](, or you can listen to [the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast](. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, Humble Bundle, and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column. 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