Astra Arcanum is a new Sci-Fi Tabletop RPG from ENNIE winning studio with deep tactical combat, a massive character creation suite, and a vast setting to explore.The game had a hugely successful kickstarter in June 2025, and is now in development with a planned delivery of December 2026.This week we’re talking to Sarp Duyar (Producer) and Tyler Dennison (Lead Writer) from Metis Media about the how the development of the game is going, and get some behind the scenes information. ww.metismedia.net  https://www.instagram.com/metiscreativestudio/  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metismediarpg/astra-arcanum-the-roleplaying-game 

Not DnD is a weekly show discussing tabletop roleplaying games. In September we are looking at tabletop RPGs for a sci-fi setting!Blue Planet was originally published over 25 years ago. The TTRPG received broad acclaim for its deep, detailed, and realistic setting, presenting a precarious future threatened by the dire consequences of ecological collapse. Issues like biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and climate change were relevant 25 years ago, and even more so today.Today (15th September) on Not DnD Jeff Barber will talk us through the new edition of the system (Blue Planet: Recontact), which provides an extensive evolution of the core mechanics, taking advantage of two decades of RPG development.

Throughout September we are looking at tabletop RPGs for a sci-fi setting on Not DnD.This week Bryan Donihue will join us on Not DnD to talk about Fizanthra's Guide to the Fringe which provides a sci-fi setting for The Hidden Worlds Refined Core setting.Hidden Worlds is a single d20-based game with skill-based mechanics and story-based advancement for characters. An open magic system and quick deadly combat allows for a huge amount of flexibility and creativity for both the GM and players. I'd not come across the The Hidden Worlds Refined Core and the initiative system looked intriguing to me, and something I'd like to try running.I found the recently funded Kickstarter for Fizanthra's Guide to the Fringe, and was sad to have just missed out. Luckily they will have a late pledge options on backerkit!   https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bryandonihue/fizanthras-guide-to-the-fringe https://www.oneleggedgm.com https://www.twitch.tv/oneleggedgm https://www.youtube.com/oneleggedgm

In August we are looking at tabletop RPGs with culinary themes.   Story Bake is a TTRPG about the magic of baking, the power of friendship, and finding wonder in the world! The creator Dan is a professional baker and combines their love of baking and games with Story Bake, and will share their story with us today on a live recording.   The game comes with a full set of baker and bakery sheets, and real world recipes with each of the 13 adventures Powered by the Apocalypse.   PDF: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/524357/storybake  Book: https://plusoneexp.com/products/storybake  Dan: https://linktr.ee/dan_the_baker 

Using an original RPG system, Ready Set Bake is ideal for roping in family members and friends who aren't familiar with RPGs but love baking and cooking shows.   This week we’ll be speaking to Jaye and Dave Eisinger to find out more about this GBBO-inspired mini-RPG. The game has recipe challenges, secret ballot voting, and a guided mad-lib recipe generator.   In this episode we'll also be talking about the upcoming Ready Set Feast, which a follow on to Ready Set Bake with woodland creatures working together to craft, bake, and cook the best feast the forest has ever seen.   https://sunkenrust.itch.io/readysetbake https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/322574/ready-set-bake https://sunkenrust.itch.io/ready-set-feast

Not DnD is a weekly show discussing tabletop roleplaying games. Each week EN Publishing’s @tabletopjess interviews the creators behind different tabletop roleplaying games that aren’t D&D!You can watch the live recording every Monday at 5pm ET / 10pm BST on YouTube or Twitch, or listen on the podcast platform of your choice.In August we are looking at tabletop RPGs with culinary themes. Take a look at these delicious TTRPGs! Ready Set Feast Story Bake ???? can you guess?

Today on Not DnD we are looking at SHIFT, a new game system from Hit Point Press. The system is centred around traits and a Shift dice mechanic, which allow the GM and players to collaboratively world build as part of gameplay.   There are options rules which allow you to adjust the complexity of the game and customise it to your needs, but the core rule offer simple and fast gameplay. Join us live as we speak to Jordan and Sebastian from Hit Point Press about the upcoming Kickstarter. http://rpgshift.com http://rpgshift.com/discord https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shiftrpg/shift-rpg https://bsky.app/profile/shiftrpg.bsky.social https://www.instagram.com/rpgshift

First released in 2008, Five By Five is a rule lite ttrpg using d6 powered by the h5 (high-five) mechanic. You roll two d6 dice and multiple the numbers on both die (for example role a 4 and a 2, your result is 8). The game has a simple core mechanic, but also robust rules for character creation, task resolution, combat and character advancement. Find out more as we speak to Jeff Moore on this week’s episode of Not DnD. https://dreamsdragons.itch.io/five-by-five  https://bsky.app/profile/dreamsdragons.itch.io 

First Encounter is a rules-lite fantasy RPG designed to be played with minimal setup, zero preparation and a Kobold's hoard of generic fantasy tropes.   Play as a party of intrepid (maybe slightly trepid?) Creaturefolk, defending your homes from the ever-expanding Venture Town and the wicked Enpecies (NPCs) who dwell within it. Worse yet, they have called in the most dangerous of all known fantasy villains...Level one Adventurers!   https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/firstencounter/first-encounter-rules-lite-rpg http://instagram.com/fireandfablestudios https://bsky.app/profile/fireandfable.bsky.social

Not DnD is a weekly show discussing tabletop roleplaying games. Each week EN World’s Jessica Hancock interviews the creators behind different tabletop roleplaying games that aren’t D&D! Throughout July 2025 we are looking at TTRPGs with accessible mechanics. Sometimes learning a new ttrpg can feel like a chore, or a difficult task. These games look to remove that barrier as much as possible. First Encounter Five By Five SHIFT Roleplaying System

In Galactic & Going Rogue you play rebels, soldiers, spies, and criminals, or perhaps someone who simply picked up and blaster and said "enough is enough." A GM less game for 2-6 players which takes inspiration from Galactic, Rogue One, and Andor.   Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/galacticgoingrogue/galactic-and-going-rogue-two-ttrpgs-of-war-among-the-stars?ref=9o21i2   Website: https://jumpgate.games Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jumpgategames.itch.io Itch: https://jumpgategames.itch.io

Midnight Muscadines is a cozy-dark tabletop roleplaying game where light and shadow intertwine in a fractured world. Players take on the roles of Marmateers—brave adventurers who venture into the untamed Wildernight to collect the elusive Midnight Muscadines, craft magical jams, and protect the fragile light of Nimm.   The games comes with a variety of play modes; solo, duet, GM’less and GM-led. Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and Sea of Stars -- Midnight Muscadines seeks to capture the magic of exploration and heartfelt adventure in a world where small heroes make a big impact.   Store:  https://pandiongames.com/muscadines Itchio: https://pandiongames.itch.io  Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/pandiongames.com  Discord: https://pandiongames.com/discord 

‘I Could Do This In My Sleep’ is a cyberpunk entry to DriveThruRPG’s 2025 PocketQuest game jam. Powered by a simple yet flexible character skill system, I Could Do This In My Sleep suits a group of 2 - 4 players and one game master.A modern-day cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game where Cybernetic implants keep the masses of Great Britain on their feet and working 16 hours a day, dead to the world around them. You play someone with a glitched chip in their head that lets you hijack work streams and tug the reins of power for yourself; superhuman feats of strength, perfect recall, mind control. All you gotta do is keep taking the drugs, and try to forget the nightmares you saw through a thousand pairs of hopeless eyes.Find out more as we speak to Zachary Elliott-Hatton, if you’re sure you wanna be awake for this… https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/517253/i-could-do-this-in-my-sleep 

Take on xenophobic separatists, cut throat criminals, lethal machines, and otherworldly predators as you strive for a better future together on the Frontier.   Changed Stars is a sci-fi roleplaying game set in a bright-yet-perilous future. Inspired by utopian feminist science fiction and contemporary gritty speculative futures, Changed Stars presents a modern-take on a post-patriarchal society for the players to navigate.   The game features a unique d6 system. On a test only a single 6 is necessary to achieve Success, but multiple 6s may be used to Twist. There is also the Edge pool, a push-your-luck mechanic that helps you succeed will adding additional complications to the heat of the moment.   Buy the game: https://dieselshot.itch.io/changedstars   Social: https://bsky.app/profile/dieselshot.bsky.social   Discord: https://discord.gg/GSc4swY9wk   Crowdfunder: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dieselshot/changedstars

Frostpunk, the Tabletop Roleplaying Game based on the award-winning Frostpunk video games   The cold is unrelenting. It's been ten years since the end of the world. Cities depend on massive generators that provide heat, and machinery that excavates resources and grows food. Humans scramble to survive, relying on the pillars of Faith and Order to build societies that can keep residents alive despite the odds. You have skills to contribute to the city—but can you make the difficult choices needed for survival?   Frostpunk, the Tabletop Roleplaying Game, based on the award-winning Frostpunk video games, uses Catalyst’s new medium-weight roleplaying Dice Core system. Join us this week as Jason M. Hardy tells us all about the project.   Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgl/frostpunk-the-roleplaying-game Website: catalystgamelabs.com Warm Flesh actual play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQK9igBQf6w

In May, Not DnD is looking to the future. Some visions are frozen, some dark and dystopian, but others feature a rehabilitated vision of humanity. Join us as we look forward in time. Frostpunk Changed Stars I Could Do This In My Sleep

Join us for a cozy interview of mystery, psychic prediction, community, and tea. This week we’re speaking to James Kerr about The Psychic Danger Society.   The unique mechanics of the game give you a pool of “prediction dice” which you roll at the start of the session. The players choose which dice results to use when resolving issues in the game. Each die, when put forward, is spent and gone, leaving players with fewer to use should something go wrong. If you’re caught without dice, you can't know the future, and it may mean the end… so make your predictions count!   https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jameskerr/the-psychic-danger-society   https://www.radiojamesgames.com/   ww.igdn.com

Runecaster is a narrative TTRPG about learning magic through spectacular failure. Play as rookie mages who cast unique spells by combining runes. Magic will just as often blow up in your face as it will light your way.   Join as we speak to Wes Zebrowski on this weeks episode of Not DnD.   https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pangurbancollective/runecaster-a-narrative-ttrpg-of-magical-experimentation

What does it take to survive the wilderness? Who does it take? A soldier, a talker, a hunter, a witch? Who lives and who starves? In the wilderness, food is the only thing that matters -- and while your stomachs go empty and wounds begin to ache,one thing remains truly certain... the World will Feast. COLD SUN is a visceral roleplaying game by Robert Cambias about scarcity, survival, and adventure, for 1-8 players. It takes inspiration from John Harper’s Blades in the Dark, Patrick Stuart’s Veins of the Earth, and the OSR (Old School Renaissance) movement. robert-cambias.itch.io/cold-sun

Become one of The Cunning Folk with this rules-lite dark comedy ttrpg. Use your Magick and Luck to create a whole heap of Mischief. And seek devilish revenge on mortals on the receiving end of your ire.   The Cunning folks has its own system with a simple D6 dice pool, and interestingly features a levelling DOWN as well as levelling up mechanic. The rules encourage a ‘failing forward’ style of storytelling, and the low prep required of the GM makes it ideal for one shots.   The game is launching on Kickstarter today (31st March 2025)! Find out more as we speak to Emily Greymoore on this weeks episode of Not DnD.   Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilygreymoore/the-cunning-folk-ttrpg Emily’s LinkTree https://linktr.ee/emilygreymoore Art by https://www.patreon.com/c/Rossydoesdrawings/home