Apocalyptic Games has successfully funded its latest roleplaying game supplement, BILT: Magic, within 24 hours of launching on Kickstarter. Written by veteran designer and three-time ENNIE nominee Charles Rice, the campaign crossed its initial £75 target on Sunday, 18 October 2026, and is actively pushing towards its first gameplay stretch goals.

The book is the first major mechanical expansion of the multi-genre science fiction roleplaying game BILT Among The Stars and requires the base rules for play. Apocalyptic Games, based in Orlando, Florida, launched the project to expand the game’s core item-crafting philosophy into supernatural spheres, letting gaming groups integrate arcane disciplines across five distinct historical and speculative periods.

Modular arcane crafting across five tech eras

The primary draw of BILT: Magic lies in how it transposes the core game’s DIY crafting engine into magic systems. Rather than relying on static spell lists or random loot tables, the system governs magical equipment creation across five distinct eras: Ancient, Modern, Near Future, Space Opera, and Far Future.

Players can craft basic elemental gear or modify advanced weaponry by infusing harvested supernatural components. As Rice notes on the campaign page:

High level, unique monsters can be harvested for Essence, in order to enchant magical items. Every item in the game is buildable, from the most basic flaming sword, to artifacts like Excalibur.

This mechanical approach mirrors the base engine’s item-modifying framework. Game masters receive a dedicated toolkit to generate custom adversaries in minutes by layering Essence directly onto creature stat blocks, including specific rules for classic threats such as dragons, giants, lycanthropes, and vampires.

Stretch Goal: Streets Run Red

With initial funding secured, Apocalyptic Games has introduced a $400 stretch goal that unlocks an introductory adventure titled “Streets Run Red” for all backers across all reward tiers. This modern urban occult scenario is a dual-compatible module designed to work with BILT: Magic or the modern-day military rules supplement, BILT: Modern Ops.

The adventure plunges players into the roles of homicide detectives in Los Angeles caught in an escalating gang war, only to discover that two ancient horrors, a vampire lord named Stanhope and a werewolf named Bedlam, have begun slaughtering criminals as part of a competitive blood sport.

Pledge tiers and delivery dates

The crowdfunding drive runs on an all-or-nothing model until Saturday, 14 November 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC. Backers can access the project through several digital tiers:

• Pledge $10 (approx. £8): Apprentice Magician. Provides the complete digital edition of BILT: Magic, including the core magic rules, enchantment mechanics, playable species, and creature generation tools.
• Pledge $25 (approx. £19): Journeyman Magician. Delivers both BILT: Magic and the core BILT Among The Stars rulebook, covering rules across all five tech eras alongside the complete magic system.
• Pledge $50 (approx. £38): Master Magician. A complete bundle granting BILT: Magic, the 315-page core rulebook, and eight digital titles across the system catalogue, including Rice’s 2015 post-apocalyptic roleplaying game AZ: After Zombies.

Digital distribution for all tiers is scheduled to commence in November 2026, with the manuscript already fully written and playtested ahead of launch.

Quick Links

• BILT: Magic on Kickstarter

Edinburgh’s Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling Festival (TAGS Fest) took over the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Leith on Saturday 17th October 2026, delivering an open, free-to-enter marketplace dedicated to self-published zines, comics, and roleplaying games. Organised under the Small Press Scotland banner, the gathering offered a quiet counterweight to commercialised convention halls, swapping corporate spectacle for creator-owned craft and direct community exchange.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall Marketplace

The main hall housed over 40 small-press creators under the venue’s skylights and suspended primary-colour buckets. Tables were deliberately spaced wide, keeping foot traffic calm and accessible rather than crowded.

• Handcrafted physical media: Hand-stapled risograph zines, limited-run comic anthologies, screenprints, patches, and bespoke dice sat directly on maker displays.
• Independent game designers: Micro-imprints turned out in force, including Grave Goods showcasing their fully human-written and illustrated TTRPG systems, and Palleon Press with handmade storytelling zines. Yorkshire game co-op Furtive Shambles brought along Small Town Skeletons, an inventive teen-drama roleplaying game built around cursed, skeletal youths, alongside their punchy song-inspired “Mixtape” party games.
• Peruvian cyberpunk and underground press: Comics stretched across eclectic styles, from Gustaffo Vargas displaying Peruvian cyberpunk books to the Underground Kingdom Comix collective running copies of The Gullet and Retail Park.
• Community and student voices: Tables featured projects like Dundee-based charity Comics Youth SCIO, the DJCAD Comics Module, Kutty Press, and ENNIE-award-winning designer Chalkdown.
• Dedicated play zones: Ancient Robot Games ran an adjacent Board Game Zone in the connected studio, while dedicated TTRPG sessions ran in separate, quiet workshop rooms to protect players from hall noise.

Friendly Spaces and Camera Policies

Prominent notices posted throughout the Drill Hall set an uncompromising baseline for mutual respect. Signage clearly outlined the festival’s Friendly Spaces Policy, but the explicit ban on hidden cameras stood out. As smart glasses with embedded lenses increasingly creep into everyday social spaces, public events face genuine consent issues. TAGS Fest took a refreshingly direct stance: any secret, disguised, or hidden recording gear brought an immediate ejection, ensuring attendees and creators could browse without being non-consensually streamed or logged.

The relaxed atmosphere reflected an Edinburgh tabletop scene that has only grown stronger since the lockdowns of six years ago. With a rising number of dedicated board game cafes, independent shops, and club spaces across the city, the local hobby network has matured into an active community. That foundation made TAGS Fest feel genuinely cooperative: creators, artists, and players mingled to talk layout craft, print costs, and game mechanics without sales pressure.

Antidote to Corporate Conventions

Big gaming trade shows increasingly prioritise corporate sponsorship, algorithmic engagement, and sterile trade booths. TAGS Fest demonstrates why micro-events matter.

Locally based Tettix Games was on the floor with copies of cartoonishly spooky board game Personal Demons. Fresh from completing its crowdfunding push, the title is now likely headed for retail release, giving backers and new players a chance to see final physical copies up close. Meanwhile, if you missed out on picking up horror releases at the Blue Fox Comics stall, you can still grab their solo mythos titles through the Bundle of Holding deal currently running.

Every pound spent at the Drill Hall went straight into the hands of the people who wrote the words, drew the panels, or folded the booklets. By focusing on accessible spaces, diverse artistic voices, and tangible physical media, TAGS Fest proves that community-run tabletop and comic fairs remain essential for independent creative scenes. Details and future dates remain hosted on tagsfest.co.uk.

Welcome home. This is Audio EXP, the weekly podcast from Geek Native. I am your host, Girdy, and today is Saturday, the 17th of October, 2026.

[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #352]

[Also on Stitcher | Spotify | Apple | YouTube]

Today, we are out and about at the TAGS Festival right here in Edinburgh, catching up with local creators, including familiar faces from Tettix Games and Blue Fox Publishing. In this week’s news, we analyse major corporate redundancies alongside supply chain outsourcing at Hasbro, track an embarrassing generative AI mishap at the UK’s premier gaming expo, examine surprising creator crossovers, and check in on community data revealing the exact bottlenecks slowing down modern gaming tables.

Before we get into the headlines, here’s a quick update on our October community feature. We have still not heard back from Slithy Tove Games, our patron-voted RPG Publisher Spotlight honouree for this month. Sometimes communication drops through the cracks, and if necessary, we can put together a comprehensive studio retrospective without a direct Q&A. However, we will keep reaching out across their contact channels to try and secure a full response before the end of the month.

Our lead story this week exposes severe corporate contractions and shifting business models at the top of the hobby. Hasbro has filed a Christmas Eve redundancy notice affecting 587 staff members ahead of its corporate headquarters relocation to Boston. The statutory filing confirms sweeping workforce cuts across operational and back-office divisions as the parent company reorganises its corporate footprint. Alongside these layoffs, Hasbro has deepened its licensing partnership with Renegade Game Studios while aggressively retreating from direct physical manufacturing. By transferring the physical production and distribution pipelines of classic board game and miniature lines to external specialist partners like Renegade, Hasbro continues its strategy of shedding operational overhead and capital expenditure to focus on high-margin digital development and IP licensing.

At the UK Games Expo, the organisation faced immediate community backlash this week. UK Games Expo has issued a formal apology after an official social media post breached its own newly minted ban on generative AI. Only weeks after winning widespread industry praise for banning machine-generated text and artwork across all NEC trade halls, the convention published an official promotional graphic clearly generated with AI tools. Organisers quickly deleted the asset and apologised, acknowledging the lapse in internal review and reiterating their commitment to human-created art across both the physical show floor and digital marketing channels.

In unexpected design collaborations, two titans of the d20 movement are combining forces. Kelsey Dionne of The Arcane Library has joined Kobold Press for Dark Halls in a surprise Shadowdark expansion. The partnership unites Shadowdark’s fast, light-tracking survival dungeon mechanics with Kobold Press’s worldbuilding and distribution machinery, signalling strong commercial crossover between leading independent fantasy publishers.

In major actual-play news, Critical Role has crossed digital boundaries and entered global streaming culture. Matthew Mercer has led a team of Hololive VTubers through a canonical Exandria adventure using the Daggerheart rules. Beyond showcasing Darrington Press’s new flagship engine, integrating Japanese virtual streamers directly into official Critical Role lore is a bold cross-promotional move that bridges Western tabletop audiences with the enormous online VTuber fandom. We may get to see if VTubers get a pass where other sorts of AI content have not.

We also have fascinating empirical data exploring player behaviour and table dynamics:

• A StartPlaying industry survey reveals that parents overwhelmingly credit tabletop roleplaying games with developing critical social skills in young players, noting marked improvements in active listening, collaborative problem solving, and confidence.
• Player matching service Groupfinder has surpassed 10,000 active users, revealing an acute structural bottleneck: there are currently 12 players searching for every single game master.
• On the crowdfunding front, a survey of Fetch My Blade backers demonstrates that 69% of participants are completely new to solo journaling roleplaying games, proving that narrative, non-traditional games are driving massive fresh audiences into the hobby.

Over in video gaming analysis, Paul jumped into classic digital nostalgia with his hands-on impressions from the World of Warcraft Forever beta, testing how Blizzard’s preservation servers reproduce early pacing without modern quality-of-life bloat.

In Scottish community venues, a local success story has earned national recognition and widespread social media love. We take a look inside Cake or Dice, the Dundee community cafe crowned Scotland’s top board game venue. The independent cafe beat out stiff competition by prioritising neuroinclusive table layouts, exceptional baking, and accessible community game libraries, establishing a blueprint for welcoming local hobby spaces.

Finally, we wrap up with two digital bundles:

• Video game charity initiative PlanetPlay has launched an appealing gaming bundle combining Blue Prince and Riders Republic to raise funds for UNICEF.
• Solo horror fans can grab our TAGS Festival friends Blue Fox Publishing’s complete Solitaire Mythos Cthulhu gamebook library in a fresh Bundle of Holding collection, packing choose-your-path investigations into a heavily discounted digital set.

That is it for this week. Thanks for listening to Audio EXP. For all the links, survey data, and show notes, head over to Geek Native. Until next week, stay geeky.

Linlithgow-based Blue Fox Publishing has landed on the Bundle of Holding with a bespoke collection of cosmic horror solo gamebooks and graphic novels. Built on nearly a hundred successful Kickstarter campaigns, the Scottish indie studio specialises in character-led horror that reimagines classic weird fiction for modern readers and solo players.

The deal brings together over 1,200 pages of interactive horror fiction and sequential art, including three hefty branching-path gamebooks and six comic adaptations. Players track clues through decaying Massachusetts fishing ports and windswept Scottish islands, balancing investigation against creeping cosmic dread.

Blue Fox Collection – $17.95

For $17.95, buyers receive all nine DRM-free digital releases, a total retail value of $87.

• Innsmouth: The Stolen Child (280-page solo gamebook, retail $12)
• The Curse of Cthulhu Book 1: These Strange and Deadly Shores (280-page solo gamebook, retail $12)
• The Curse of Cthulhu Book 2: The Flames That Consume Us (252-page solo gamebook, retail $12)
• Curse of Cthulhu 1 & 2 and Innsmouth Investigation Sheets (PDF character and tracking aids)
• The Mountains of Madness (80-page graphic novel, retail $12)
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth (112-page graphic novel, retail $12)
• The Thing on the Doorstep (120-page graphic novel, retail $12)
• Cool Air, Issues 1–3 (84 pages across three comic issues, retail $15)

The collection’s centrepiece is three standalone solo gamebooks, totalling over 800 pages of hyperlinked, numbered paragraphs. System resolution relies on a straightforward two-six-sided-dice (2d6) engine paired with printable investigation sheets. Characters are defined by five core attributes: Experience, Stealth, Power, Speed, and Perception. When peaceful inquiries collapse, combat tests your character’s combat prowess and physical stamina, though survival frequently hinges on knowing when to run.

Blue Fox reinforces the investigative pressure with a dedicated Conspicuousness tracker. Every intrusive question, clumsy manoeuvre, or drawn firearm increases your profile in town. Reach critical visibility, and hostile cultists or hybrid townsfolk intercept you before you reach the next clue. Innsmouth: The Stolen Child drops you into 1913 New England fifteen years before Lovecraft’s original tale, while The Curse of Cthulhu duology strands an investigator on an isolated Hebridean island dominated by a brooding Gothic cathedral.

The bundle pairs these interactive titles with visual adaptations that flesh out the wider universe. Adam Fyda’s The Mountains of Madness serves as an original sequel set two years after the disastrous 1930 expedition, while Simon Birks, RHStewart, Willi Roberts, and Darja Rattik adapt classic tales including The Thing on the Doorstep and a Madrid-based reimagining of Cool Air. Crucially, none of these Blue Fox titles is distributed on DriveThruRPG, making this Bundle of Holding collection an exclusive digital omnibus outside the publisher’s direct webstore.

All files are supplied DRM-free as PDFs via the Bundle of Holding Wizard’s Cabinet. The offer ends at midnight on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, at the International Date Line (UTC -12).

Quick Links

• Bundle of Holding

Ukrainian hardware specialist HATOR has officially entered the UK PC gaming market, launching its Skyfall MAG Ultima 8K Wireless Keyboard line on 15 October 2026. The release brings esports-grade Hall effect magnetic switches, 8,000 Hz polling, and browser-based software to British players at sub-£100 prices designed to undercut established Western gaming brands.

Conceived in Kyiv in 2013 and now operating commercially out of Zoetermeer in the Dutch technology corridor, HATOR built its reputation across Eastern European competitive tournaments before establishing an EU corporate base. The UK rollout represents the company’s first direct push into Western Europe, with North American retail distribution scheduled to follow in early 2027.

HATOR Skyfall MAG Ultima 8K hardware specifications

The Skyfall MAG Ultima 8K launches in two layouts: an 80% tenkeyless format for traditional setups and a compact 65% footprint for minimal desk footprints. Both models feature gasket-mounted plates cushioned by elastic dampening layers, double-shot PBT keycaps in an ergonomic OMA profile, and an integrated 0.85-inch colour TFT display paired with a clickable aluminium rotary wheel.

Aurum Ice magnetic Hall effect switches and rapid trigger response

Instead of traditional mechanical metal-leaf contacts, the Skyfall MAG Ultima 8K uses HATOR’s proprietary Aurum Ice magnetic linear switches. These switches register depth via Hall-effect magnetic flux sensors, letting users fine-tune actuation points in software rather than with physical solder.

The design supports rapid trigger response with 0.01 mm precision, resetting keystrokes the instant a finger lifts rather than waiting for the switch to cross a static physical reset threshold. For competitive titles requiring rapid strafing and movement resets, the firmware includes Snap Key priority logic alongside Dynamic Key Stroke (DKS), which maps up to four distinct macro actions across a single keypress downstroke and release. The switches are fully hot-swappable across the PCB without soldering irons.

Oleg Moroz, Chief Product Officer at HATOR, said in a statement,

Since 2013 we have been laser focused on working with gamers and the community to design, engineer and build superior gaming products which improve performance and stand apart from the sea of mediocrity available in our sector. Nowhere is this philosophy more evident than with our new range of Skyfall magnetic keyboards. Our engineers have delivered what we believe to be advanced engineering, innovation, a feature set unlike any other, and with a price designed to pleasantly surprise the passionate gamer. We can’t wait to bring our range to UK gamers and look forward to organically growing our distribution footprint throughout 2027.”

Web SyncHUB privacy controls and browser configuration

HATOR sidesteps the background bloatware common among major peripheral manufacturers by adopting WebHID browser configuration through Web SyncHUB. Chromium-based browsers across Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS save settings, RGB lighting, macro profiles, and rapid trigger actuation curves directly to on-board memory.

The utility requires no user account registration, collects no telemetry, and transmits no analytics back to central servers. Data stays local to the peripheral, with the web interface backed by EU-based infrastructure. For offline setups where web access is restricted, HATOR provides a standalone Windows desktop app that mirrors the browser utility’s functions.

UK retail availability and the Amazon search hurdle

HATOR sells both form factors directly through its European store and lists inventory on Amazon UK. However, the brand faces a distinct discovery hurdle on the retail platform: Amazon’s search engine routinely autocorrects “Hator” to “Gator”, redirecting user queries to unrelated outdoor gear and hiding the keyboards behind manual search-override filters. For a challenger brand entering a market dominated by Corsair, Razer, and Wooting, algorithmic spelling corrections create an unexpected barrier to discovery.

Both keyboards are available to order now:

• HATOR Skyfall 80 MAG Ultima 8K Wireless (£94.99 via HATOR)
• HATOR Skyfall 65 MAG Ultima 8K Wireless (£84.99 via HATOR)
• HATOR Keyboards on Amazon UK (Direct catalogue listing bypassing search autocorrect)
• Brand details and regional updates are hosted at HATOR Gaming.

It’s another late, but not Saturday-afternoon, delivery of TTRPG news from around the web.

Today’s summary of RPG news summaries are:

• The community TTRPG Collective turns three and is running a large Itch bundle.
• Groupfinder and StartPlaying both released data sets.
• UKGE has had to apologise for the accidental use of banned AI-art.
• Kobold Press is making Shadowdark games now, just after losing Celeste Conowitch to WotC.
• WotC will respect the Union vote, but insists on a vote.

There’s no AI used in this summary, but I do use shuffle and canonicate functions to turn my huuuuge spreadsheet of Kickstarter notes into a bullet-point list. I’ve freshened that up for this week, and I suspect you’ll notice!

There’s quite a bit of convention news this week, including the growing TAGs Festival for Edinburgh. On my radar, though, is next month’s Edinburgh week for Scotland Loves Anime. That’ll steal my Friday and weekend for a good cause; it might disrupt regular operations here, but there is a TTRPG connection insofar as we’ve seen a surge of licensed anime tabletop games this year.

Do you have any conventions in your schedule before the end of the year?

On with the TTRPG news!

Spotlight: Slithy Tove Games.

RPG news from Geek Native

• Geek Native interviews (and asks some awkward questions) about Against the Starmaster of Massimiliano Caracristi.
• We’ve a big interview with Antiquarian Games about the tactical TTRPG L.O.R.E. launches on Kickstarter.
• After banning gen AI, UKGE accidentally uses gen AI.
• Kobold Press is making Dark Halls, a Shadowdark game and Kelsey Dionne is involved.
• Groupfinder has 10,000 users and their data shows Daggerheart challenging Pathfinder for position two.
• StartPlaying researches what parents see in kids playing TTRPGs.
• Hit Point Press’ research shows the interest in Fetch My Blade is part of a solo TTRPG boom.
• Matthew Mercer will be playing Shattered Legends Daggerheart with vtubers.
• Good news, the non-profit RPG Research is still alive.
• Geek Native reviewed the teaser one-shot from Joust Studio Shore of the Doarahin.
• We’ve got news from Christian Nommay as Knight Errant Media revives Titan Effect Zero for an October BackerKit launch.
• Luke Gygax teams back up with Gooey Cube for The Temple of Inquinatious Evil.
• In other crowdfunding news, we take a look at 13 Omens, the nearly over Savage SLA and Sealed Stories.

Support: Patreon.

RPG news from around the web

• Christian Hoffer explains that Wizards of the Coast responds to D&D unionization effort, says they will respect results of union vote.
• Writing for Bleeding Cool, Gavin Sheehan reports on Critical Role Unveils Three Dates For Its 2027 Live Shows Schedule.
• Meanwhile, Rich Johnston covers the Dark Horse and WotC team-up to bring Dan Abnett and Nil Vendrell together for a Dark Sun graphic novel series.
• At TTRPG Insider, Christopher Hutton writes up Eberron Creator Keith Baker Experiments with Daggerheart in “Ecto-Punk”-inspired Eidolon: The Ghost Market.
• R. Talsorian Games hires Charlie Eberspacher (aka Emmerron).
• Saturday is Edinburgh’s Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling Festival.
• On the 25th there will be the inaugural Cochrane RPG Convention.
• In November, World’s Lair Returns to London’s Southbank.
• In a press release, EXG Pro announces that they are expanding into Tabletop Crowdfunding with Official Dungeons & Dragons Xanathar Collectible.
• Writing for Collider, Hannah Hunt reports on ‘Dungeon Masters’ Officially Kills Off a ‘World of Warcraft’ Hero. [Spoilers]
• The Official Fighting Fantasy blog noted that Sir Ian Livingstone receives the Romics d’Oro.
• Writing about Project Lamordia, Vice’s Denny Connolly says Dungeons and Dragons Adds A New Playable Species and 4 Backgrounds.
• Vice also runs Dungeons and Dragons – D&D Beyond Adds Highly-Requested Feature (custom stickers and tokens).
• Sneak Energy will launch a Dungeon & Dragons drink for Halloween.
• DriveThruRPG has a 30% off Halloween sale.

Support: Fight the Algorithm

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Pookie at Reviews from R’lyeh has taken a look at Desperate Measures, Arkham Horror’s Three Days to the Big Easy and Dungeons & Kittens’ quickstart An Afternoon Outing.
• Jason Volk takes a first look at Pathfinder Game Night The Dragon’s Crown.
• Ill Met by Morrslieb reviews AD&D 1e’s 16 Ravenloft.
• Elf Maids & Octopi review the latest Pendragon.
• Wargamer’s Gab Hernandez reviews The sapphic sci-fi TTRPG inspired by Marathon embodies indie chaos.
• Backwards Tabletop has an interview with Thomas Manuel on Theatre and RPGs (plus Metatheatre and Metagames).
• Chaosium’s Bridgett Jeffries interviews Reviews from R’lyeh’s Pookie.

RPG new releases

• Schwalb Entertainment has published the $4.99 Mysteries of the Old Gods: Sister Moon.
• Supporting the Kickstarter, Paizo has released the free to download 13 Omens: The Haunting of Hollybrook.
• Paizo has also continued adding their impressive collection to DriveThruRPG and have been busy this week. Games include Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Beginner Box and Starfinder Galaxy Guide.
• Catalyst Game Labs’s latest silver best seller is Shadowrun: Anarchy 2.0.
• Kids in the Attic have Witching Hour: A Halloween Horror Roleplaying Game.
• Darrington Press has released the Demiplane Nexus version of Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide.
• Onyx Path Publishing has hit publish on the Storypath Curseborne Compact Edition.
• AGM Games gives us a themed DRAW! The Western TTRPG.
• Alonso Maria de Luna is offering a Pay What You Want Seeker quickstart.
• Kenamun gives us the Cantica playtest.
• Basic Action Games tempts us with Horrifying + Fantastic Creatures.
• Handiwork Games supports their latest TTRPG with the Cold City Hot War art book.
• In physical goodies, you can grab new D&D Adventure Dice.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $155 (87%) with the 3rd Anniversary Bundle of the TTRPG Collective with Whimsy Machine and Itch.
• Save $97.97 (57%) in Storm Bunny Studios’ Spooky Season 2026 bundle.
• Save $9.99 (11%) with Skydawn Game Studios’ Esper Genesis Core Foundry VTT bundle.
• Save $2.48 (28%) via Odd Rogue’s 5e Beginner Adventures bundle.
• Save $1.38 (33%) in the Terra RPG 5e Book of Monsters bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• Shadomain asks What makes a game easier for new GMs?.
• Skeleton Code Machine has a good article on Games, lookups, and the science of interruptions.
• Tom Cardy has an animated murderhobo music video.

RPG Crowdfunding

There’s more! You can catch up with the Kickstarter campaign we’ve written up in more detail at Kickstarter watch. Here are some noteworthy industry projects to mention:

• Mother Sorrow’s Guide to Witchcraft is a Kickstarter project by Chamomile Has A Project billed as “A 5e sourcebook of garden occultism.”
• No Apologies Workshop is developing Hallow Kitty Magic D20 Dice. Your Spooky Fun Fortune Teller, described as “Halloween-Themed Jumbo D20! Answers Your Questions & Tells Your Future! Ready for ALL your Favorite TTRPG games.”
• Ohio Adventures Vol. 1 is a Kickstarter project by Bryn Wolanski summarised as “These 3 one-shot adventures blend TTRPG mechanics with real-life Ohio history, folklore, and more! Compatible with 5E.”
• Diving Hippo Studio kickstarts Handcrafted Cloud Glass Gemstone Dice. The pitch: “Dreamy polyhedral cloud glass sun moon fantasy theme dice for collections, dungeons and dragons, board games, rpg and tabletop games.”
• Black Hills Studios presents 500+ RPG Fantasy Abandoned Magical City Terrain Set -3D STLs. The pitch: “Tiles, walls, buildings, bridges, stairs for forsaken magical city that something never left. Modular, FDM & Resin ready. Own forever.”
• Jason seeks funding for Blade Bearer: A Fantasy RPG of Magic, Mystery & Bio-Organics, inviting backers to: “Enter a world of Obscurus, Battle tested Lineages, and dangerous adventures in this new tabletop role-playing game.”
• ‘Dystopian Mythos’ TTRPG from Tony Garcia is rallying backers, promising “Roleplay High Fantasy in Post Apocalypse Europe…ruled by the Fae-folk of lore! [A Dystopian Dawn World Book].”
• CraftRiot brings us A Tome of Blood & Bone for D&D, touted as “A tome of sinister magic items, powerful spells & rites drawn from blood, bone, and echoes of the dead. Fully compatible with DnD 5e.”
• Tales & Tastes proposes Halfling Culinary Traditions: A 5E Culinary Guide. The pitch: “A fusion of D&D flavor and practical cooking, showcasing Halfling cuisine alongside a wealth of D&D 5E‑ready material.”
• One-Shot Wonders: Daggerheart – 100 NEW Adventures is a Kickstarter project by Roll & Play Press promising “The award-winning adventure book series is coming to Daggerheart! Over 100 new adventures for every official campaign frame.”
• Roll for Outfit 2: DnD Witchy Clothes from Vault of ManyThings is now live, touted as “The ultimate D&D 5E medieval magical clothing for witches, warlocks, wizards, sorcerers—and every adventurer who dresses to cast.”
• Thirteenth Moon Games is running a campaign for Path of the Hedgewitch: 2nd Print Run, inviting backers to: “Help us get a second printing of our cozy, solo-play game.”
• Planet Khaos Publishing presents Quests of Kh’Aos. The pitch: “A dangerous fantasy TTRPG where exploration, hard choices, deep character building, and player discoveries shape a living world.”
• Fatewheel: A Roulette-Inspired D20 Roller from Dicelette is funding now, summarised as “A tabletop D20 roller with a spinning steel ball, four colorways, and an optional color-based way to decide.”
• CritRoll: A 6-in-1 Mechanical Dice Roller is a Kickstarter project by Mythara Studio promising “A compact mechanical dice roller featuring D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20. One press spins all six wheels, ready for your next RPG adven.”
• Alex1805Kings has launched Medieval Kingdoms: Fantasy RPG Battlemaps, promising “170 rpg battle maps.”
• Nicholas Diaz seeks funding for Realms of Legacy, promising “A swashbuckling space fantasy TTRPG. Sail arcane ships across the Veil, chart unknown realms, and build a legacy with your crew.”
• Nick Francia is developing Eldritch Automata: From the Ashes, opening with: “Aid us in fighting back the dark in the rescue campaign for the newly independent mecha-horror TTRPG.”
• AudioRPG seeks funding for Forgotten Chambers: Beyond the World’s Largest Dungeon, setting the scene: “Expand your adventures outside of the World’s Largest Dungeon with this new adventure book, map book, and audiobook for 5E.”
• Jamie McCarroll kickstarts Southeast Board Game Convention 2026. The pitch: “Bring More People to the Gaming Table.”
• Ludonarrative Dissidents Podcast: Season 4 from Ross Payton is rallying backers, billed as “The fourth season of this acclaimed deep-dive TTRPG review podcast. Join our new book club and read up on game design theory.”
• Tides of Ruin from Brian Hendershot is rallying backers, promising “A swashbuckling levels 1–5 campaign for both 5e and Daggerheart — trade wars, a haunted abbey, and a slow-rising dread.”
• Paizo Inc brings us 13 Omens: A Horror RPG, setting the scene: “Step into the darkness.”
• Draw20 presents Toil & Trouble – Oracle Deck – Solo RPG – D20 Cards. The pitch: “A Daily Oracle for introverted or extroverted witches, alike – A dynamic, evocative Solo Journaling RPG – 2 decks of D20 Dice Cards.”
• Ty Hulse presents Witch & Fairy: One Shot Cozy Quests. The pitch: “Cozy, dialogue focused one shot quests in which you play the role of witch, working and negotiating with the fey.”
• RPG Adventure Stamps: World Maps is a Kickstarter project by Jorrit Schlüter described as “3D-printable stamps & tools set to quickly create playable TTRPG adventures, including maps & tokens for characters, monsters & more.”
• Dragon’s Verdict: 6-in-1 Mechanical Metal RPG Dice Set is a Kickstarter project by SURPASS inviting backers to: “Pull a slider, watch the ceramic ball roll, read your roll. A complete D4-D20 RPG dice roller: six mechanical dials in one metal body.”
• The Witch’s Larder: A Dark Fairy Tale for Fifth Edition from Once & Never Press seeks funding, summarised as “Follow the crumbs. Mind the oven. An illustrated dark fairy tale adventure for fifth edition, with maps and a digital Table Kit.”
• TYLYX Hobby Storage from Richard M has gone live, pitching “Free your desk! Tile-based modular hobby storage for Skadis pegboards.”
• Jester Knight Games introduces Gats & Grimoires. The pitch: “Magic never disappeared. It bought a motorcar, joined a Family, and learned to carry a gun.”
• Fantasy Bags is crowdfunding 300 Fantasy Creatures – Magical Beasts, Monsters & Familiars, summarised as “300 unique 3D printable fantasy creatures, from magical companions and mythical beasts to adorable monsters, dragons, and elementals.”
• Spores, Steel & Shadows 270+ RPG Battle Maps is a Kickstarter project by Agnieszka Polanowska pitching “Three Underground Civilizations. Hundreds of Battlefields. Endless Adventures.”
• Skylark Minis brings us Gravemaw Delve, described as “Subterranean Tortle Horror.”
• RPG & Tabletop Modular Organizer: 3D Printable GM System STL is a Kickstarter project by FIERCE FEMALES FACTORY promising “A fully modular, FDM-optimized gaming ecosystem. Transforms from a premium magnetic carry case into an epic, atmospheric dice tower.”
• 5e – Magical Might Artifacts Book 2: 100 Magic Items & Cards is a Kickstarter project by Elven Foundry opening with: “Discover 100 illustrated magical items with rich lore, unique abilities, and attunement rituals, plus a companion card deck.”
• Jay Temple shares Dice Cards. The pitch: “Flip the card. Get your point.”
• The Witch of Myrkholt — A Solo Gamebook of the Deck of Fate from The Witch of Myrkholt is funding now, described as “A solo gamebook of witchcraft and fate in a world 40 years in the making. Plays in your browser. Comes with art cards.”
• R. Nelson Bailey is developing Cloud & Stone: A DUNGEON DELVE Adventure Duo, described as “Fantasy RPG modules for 1st/2nd Edition Advanced D&D (AD&D), B/X-BECMI D&D, Pathfinder, OSRIC, DCC, Swords & Wizardry, & OSR systems.”
• Fletchwind: Out of the Cities is a Kickstarter project by Hilander RPGs summarised as “System-agnostic tools for creating fantasy cities, plus urban adventures by Arnold Kemp, Wuggy, and Willem-Jan. Statted for Cairn 2e.”
• Tarik Havoc is running a campaign for Havoc Bound: An illustrated collection of DnD 5e Spells, billed as “A DnD Spellbook with 60 illustrated spells to help bring more magic to your campaign! Each spell was made by a human wizard. No AI Ever.”
• Robert James brings us GOTHIC: THE 13TH NIGHT, described as “A kingdom plunged into endless night. Vampires rule, ghouls feast. Explore a gothic open world and restore the broken pact. Zero prep.”

[What’s this chart? We use Kickstarter Heat to measure how busy the crowdfunding season is.]

Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.

Nomad Games and Balor Games revealed HeroQuest: Digital Edition on 16 October 2026 during The MIX Fall Showcase, bringing Hasbro’s 1989 tabletop dungeon crawler to PC via Steam in 2027. The project adapts the classic fantasy board game into a tactical, turn-based video game featuring solo play, four-player online co-operative quests, and an asymmetrical fifth seat for the evil sorcerer Zargon.

The digital release marks the first full standalone PC video game adaptation of HeroQuest since Gremlin Graphics handled the home computer ports in 1991. While Hasbro currently provides a free mobile companion app to automate dungeon management for physical board sessions, this Macclesfield-developed project transfers the entire dice-rolling dungeon crawler into an interactive PC environment complete with an integrated quest builder.

HeroQuest: Digital Edition specifications

Tactical rules and dungeon turn structure

The digital edition retains the core rules of the physical board game, setting four heroes against Zargon’s underground labyrinths. Combat operates on a turn-based grid where players roll combat dice marked with skulls, white shields, and black shields to resolve attacks and defence rolls:

• The Hero Roster: Players command the Barbarian, Dwarf, Elf, and Wizard, balancing high physical wound capacities against elemental spells.
• Solo Party Management: A single player can control all four heroes simultaneously against automated computer challenges.
• Online Fellowship Co-op: Up to four participants can team up online, with each user controlling an individual adventurer.
• Playable Dungeon Master: A fifth player can take active direct control of Zargon, deploying Dread warriors, placing hidden pit traps, and orchestrating wandering monster ambushes.

The balance of each match hinges on line-of-sight navigation, tile positioning, and managing limited hero body points across sequential dungeon rooms. This turn-based tactical loop mirrors the mechanical roots examined in Geek Native’s breakdown of dungeon crawler board game designs.

Quest creation and mod.io integration

Rather than relying solely on the classic 14-quest base campaign, the PC edition incorporates an in-game Quest Editor alongside built-in mod.io architecture.

The editor permits players to design custom dungeon floors, set enemy spawn triggers, hide secret doors, and write quest briefs. By routing distribution through mod.io, users can browse, rate, and install user-created scenarios directly in the game client without manual file modifications.

Hasbro and Balor Games have not yet clarified whether creators can upload bespoke visual assets or whether scenario design will be restricted to stock dungeon furniture and official miniatures.

Nomad Games and the Cheshire Digital Board Game Legacy

Developer Nomad Games brings over a decade of specialist digital tabletop experience to the licence. Based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the studio was formed by former THQ Digital Warrington leads and built its catalogue by translating classic Games Workshop properties, beginning when the team saw the classic Talisman board game reborn as a PC game.

Publisher Balor Games enters the project as an independent outfit established by former Humble Games leadership, positioning HeroQuest: Digital Edition as an early test of its mid-tier production model.

Community access and playtest registration

A Closed Beta playtest on Steam will precede the planned 2027 commercial launch, focusing on network stability for five-player co-op matches and quest validation.

• View the reveal trailer on the HeroQuest YouTube Channel.
• Register interest and wishlist on the HeroQuest: Digital Edition Steam Page.

UK Games Expo has issued a formal apology after publishing official promotional artwork containing generative AI assets, just weeks after introducing a strict ban across its events. The graphic, posted to the convention’s social media accounts to highlight exhibitor Killer Board Games, prompted swift criticism from tabletop artists and attendees who spotted machine-generated elements in the marketing material.

The breach strikes at the heart of the convention’s newly hardened policy stance. In September, Geek Native reported that directors Richard Denning and Tony Hyams updated exhibitor rules to prohibit generative AI text and art across all trade halls at the NEC Birmingham. Under those regulations, commercial vendors risk immediate booth closure and loss of exhibition fees if found selling machine-generated content. Now, the organisation has discovered that enforcing that boundary internally is just as complicated as policing a crowded convention floor.

UK Games Expo said in a statement:

We would like to apologise for our recent social media post featuring Killer Board Games.

The graphics were created by a member of our content team using a design software. The image was created using multiple elements, images, layers and filters as usual. After further investigation unfortunately one of the filters used during the creation process contained an AI assistance tool. This means that, although it was not the designer’s intention, AI assisted artwork was created as part of the process.

We can not apologise enough for this oversight and mistake. Now that we are aware of how this function works, we will avoid using it and anything of that nature in our content creation going forward.

Artists are an important part of the UKGE community, and we would never want to undermine their work or contribute to practices that could negatively affect them. We are learning from this experience and will take greater care to understand the tools that are used in future.

Thank you to everyone who has raised concerns and brought light to the post. We appreciate your feedback and sincerely apologise.”

The incident exposes the central vulnerability of modern design software. Commercial suites such as Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Procreate have steadily integrated neural filters, algorithmic upscaling, and generative fill options into their standard toolbars. For production teams handling high volumes of social assets, the line between routine digital manipulation and prohibited machine generation is becoming difficult to spot until after publication.

That reality mirrors warnings voiced at the convention earlier this summer. During a live panel on machine learning in tabletop gaming, creators debated the administrative tax of policing AI, arguing that proving a negative places an unfair burden on small publishers and independent illustrators. With standard filters now triggering community backlash, independent creators face the same dilemma: a single unchecked setting in a software update can jeopardise an artist’s reputation or an exhibitor’s trade stand.

UK Games Expo confirmed it will audit its internal workflow to strip out automated filter tools from future content campaigns. Whether the organisation extends the same procedural grace to indie exhibitors caught in identical software traps next spring remains the unanswered question.

Photo by Francis Ledger on Unsplash. Via IG.

London-based environmental gaming initiative PlanetPlay and UNICEF UK launched the PlayForEveryChild PC Games Charity Bundle on 15 October 2026 to support emergency relief programmes for children worldwide. Running exclusively on the PlanetPlay Marketplace until 22 October 2026, the ten-game collection costs £19.99 ($24.99 / €21.99) and commits 100% of PlanetPlay’s net profits directly to UNICEF.

The bundle gathers ten titles valued at approximately $230 (£175), with seven making their bundle debut. Featured releases range from Ubisoft’s extreme sports sandbox Riders Republic and 505 Games’ motorsport simulation Assetto Corsa Competizione to Raw Fury’s architectural puzzle mystery Blue Prince and Poncle’s Vampire Crawlers.

Bundle Specifications and Included Games

The full list of titles included in the bundle:

• Assetto Corsa Competizione (505 Games) – First time bundled
• Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree (Starvania) – First time bundled
• Blue Prince (Raw Fury) – First time bundled
• Everything is Crab (Secret Mode) – First time bundled
• PEAK (Landfall Games)
• Riders Republic (Ubisoft) – First time bundled
• Roombattle (Dust Games) – First time bundled
• Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (Raw Fury)
• Train Sim World 6 (Dovetail Games)
• Vampire Crawlers (Poncle) – First time bundled

Net profits and campaign transparency

PlanetPlay states that 100% of its net profits from the sale will go to UNICEF programmes across 190 countries and territories. However, “net profits” differs substantially from gross revenue. In digital distribution, net profit accounting allows platform maintenance expenses, payment processor overheads, and merchant fees to be deducted before any remainder is transferred to the charity partner.

The campaign documentation does not declare a minimum percentage floor guaranteed per transaction. Potential donors should recognise that operational cost deductions will reduce the final sum reaching frontline programmes.

A secondary institutional tension exists within the promotional branding. While public-facing materials brand the promotion explicitly as “UNICEF’s PlayForEveryChild PC Games Charity Bundle”, official media disclosures explicitly note that UNICEF does not endorse any brand, company, product, or service. Importantly, UNICEF UK has provided a reassuring comment.

Platform delivery and studio alignment

PlanetPlay hosts the sale exclusively on its proprietary marketplace rather than established digital storefronts. The initial announcement leaves delivery mechanics unclarified, failing to specify whether purchasers receive direct activation keys for platforms such as Steam and Ubisoft Connect, or whether games require an external PlanetPlay client.

The studio roster also presents contrasting publishing philosophies. Luca Galante‘s studio, Poncle, built an industry reputation around accessible, anti-predatory pricing models with Vampire Survivors. Providing the previously unbundled Vampire Crawlers reinforces that charitable orientation, even as it sits alongside major publishers that lean heavily on aggressive live-service monetisation models.

For PlanetPlay, this initiative represents a departure from its standard environmental remit. Platform chief executive Rhea Loucas previously built the group’s reputation through the Make Green Moves campaign and the United Nations Development Programme’s Play2Act initiative, directing digital fundraising towards conservation and climate projects. Partnering with UNICEF redirects those gaming mechanics toward international humanitarian aid.

Rhea Loucas, CEO at PlanetPlay, said in a statement,

Games bring billions of people together every day. The PlayForEveryChild PC Games Charity Bundle for UNICEF shows what’s possible when we harness that incredible reach to support children around the world. Whether you’re discovering your next favourite game or revisiting a classic, every purchase contributes to supporting UNICEF’s vital work for children. We couldn’t be prouder to launch this alongside UNICEF and our fantastic studio and publisher partners.”

Andrew Todd, Director of Partnerships at UNICEF UK, added,

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child, doing whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfil their potential. We recognise that gaming has the power to bring people together and inspire action at scale. Through our partnership with PlanetPlay, we’re creating a simple and accessible way for players to support children around the world. The PlayForEveryChild PC Games Charity Bundle is a great example of how players can make a meaningful difference simply by doing what they love.”

Quick Links

• PlanetPlay Bundle

Dundee community venue Cake or Dice has won Board Game Café of the Year at the Scotland Prestige Awards 2026/27. Located at 89 Commercial Street in Dundee city centre, the alcohol-free social enterprise secured the national title after logging more than 50,000 customer visits and expanding its playable library past 580 tabletop titles.We care because Geek Native is Scottish.

Founded in mid-2023 by Sable Stevenson and co-founder Emma Barry, the business operates as a registered Community Interest Company (SC753617) rather than a traditional commercial hospitality bar. Speaking to local outlet Dundee Culture, Stevenson said that while winning a national award for Scotland was a great milestone, knowing the team had built a space where local residents felt they belonged mattered far more to staff.

Cake or Dice CIC said in a statement,

Cake or Dice has been named Board Game Cafe or the Year at the Scotland Prestige Awards 2026/27! This award means so much to us, but it’s our wonderful community that makes Cake or Dice what it is. Thank you for every game, coffee, laugh and friendship. You’re why we do this!”

Cake or Dice CIC venue rules, pricing, and library access

When the café launched in Dundee’s Keiller Centre in 2023 after a local crowdfunding campaign, tables used a colour-coded token tariff, charging up to £6 per individual box across 450 titles. Since relocating to a larger, step-free street-level unit on Commercial Street near The McManus art gallery, the venue has overhauled its table rules to favour all-day group play and campaign sessions.

The £10 Day Pass removes the hourly clock that often cuts heavy strategy games or roleplaying games short in city-centre venues. For regulars, the £37.50 monthly Guild Membership acts as a two-person season ticket: it covers unlimited library access for the member and one guest on every visit, table access to bring and run personal roleplaying games and campaigns, 10% off food and drink, a monthly mystery loot box, and access to a private Discord server. Visitors can also stop in strictly for Glen Lyon coffee, Broughty Blends loose-leaf teas, home baking, or hot food without paying a gaming fee.

Dundee tabletop playtesting meetup and board governance

Averaging roughly 1,220 visits a month since summer 2023, Cake or Dice has grown into an active incubator for Tayside’s tabletop design and hobby scene:

• Dundee Tabletop Playtesting Meetup: Hosted at the café on the second Wednesday of every month from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, this open session connects independent board game and roleplaying game designers with local playtesters. Designers flag their tables with a large crochet meeple so walk-in players can test prototypes and offer rules feedback.
• Community Quests and Workshops: Alongside weekly Dungeons & Dragons tables and board game socials, the café’s Quest Board schedules miniature painting nights, craft body-doubling sessions, and the annual Dundee Tabletop Celebration.
• Creative Sector Governance: Throughout 2025, Cake or Dice CIC strengthened its board of directors alongside Sable Stevenson by appointing Carl Bradley Sant, Mx Eilidh Dunsmore Sturrock, Lauren Amy Duncan, and Donna Holford-Lovell, the former director of Dundee’s NEoN Digital Arts Festival and Fleet Collective.

The Scotland Prestige Awards context

Corporate LiveWire runs the Scotland Prestige Awards to recognise independent businesses, social enterprises, and community venues nominated by the public across regional categories. While Corporate LiveWire commercialises its award programmes through optional winner marketing packages and physical trophies, nomination and judging remain free, and the title has previously highlighted Scottish tabletop names such as Six Degrees publisher The Knowledge Company. For Cake or Dice, the 2026/27 win follows a string of local recognition this year, including a spot as a finalist at the 2026 Proud Scotland Awards and a shortlist nomination for Dundee’s Best Café.

You can check the current event calendar, read the accessibility guide, or pick up a two-player Guild Membership on the official Cake or Dice website, and view the regional award programme on the Scotland Prestige Awards hub.