Oct. 25: Get Smurfed, Hasbro

In This Edition

• Wizards of the Coast

• Major Publishers (Paizo and Co)

• Crowdfunding

• TTRPG Tech

• Actual Play and Content Creators

Hasbro, WOTC’s parent company, cut dozens of jobs as part of an effort to “streamline” operations. This includes four roles at Wizards. This became most notable with the departure of Creator Relations Associate Dixon Dubow, who many creators said assisted them and worked with them to handle controversies and drama. Job cuts are never a happy experience as they disrupt lives. And yet, such job cuts are pretty standard as companies are still coming down from the pandemic high. However, as EN World notes, the announcement came after the company received profits of $630 million, according to their latest quarterly report. In other words, the cuts were likely less necessary than they implied. The company also remains elusive about how many books are sold or how well the 2024 edition is doing, making it hard to determine the success rate of the game’s relaunch objectively, notes Rascal’s Chase Carter.

We do have some metrics they’ve presented, albeit metrics presented in broad strokes. The company had to order three times as many copies of the PHB as the original book to meet demand, according to Polygon’s Charlie Hall. Bookstores are also reporting that they have had to acquire quite a few copies of the book to maintain inventory, so a high amount of interest seems consistent on a ground level.

The layoffs and internal organizational changes were unveiled less than a day before Hasbro’s Q3 report. The changes are a bit corporate, but the significant detail that remains on WOTC’s radar is the focus on investing more in digital game elements. Hasbro's SVP of digital licensing affirmed that in his Wednesday interview with GamesIndustry.biz, where he elaborated on how Baldur’s Gate 3 and Monopoly Go drive the company’s “all-in” digital strategy. They don’t intend to screw with physical or in-person play, however.

Digital tools don’t “take away from what we do on the physical side of stuff.” said Hasbro SVP Eugene Evans. “For example, Dungeons and Dragons is still ultimately about that expression of a group of friends sitting around the table, having a good time, trying to solve problems and tell stories together. But if we can augment that with tools and systems digitally, whether it's on their laptop, phone, iPad or TV, then hopefully it only embellishes the experience.

In more positive news, fans were surprised to receive an early copy of the Greyhawk one-shot Scions of Elemental Evil in their DnDbeyond account (myself included.) As I reported last week, this was supposed to be an exclusive game for stores and conventions in the upcoming weeks and months. But it appears that some have received it if they preordered the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual before.

• TWO MOONS RISING, a TTRPG adventure inspired by Life is Strange: Double Exposure is now available on DrivethruRPG for free. Hunter Entertainment, the minds behind Kids on Bikes, published the murder mystery. The game was also accompanied by an actual-play promotional short series featuring several popular names in the TTRPG space, like Aabria Iyengar and Becca Scott.

• Call of Cthulhu: No Time to Scream, Chaosium’s latest horror scenario series, released this week. These appear to be shorter adventures designed to introduce people to the setting through fast-paced experiences. Everything appears to be included, from NPC investigators to handouts.

• Monte Cook posted The Darkest Woods to Backerkit this week. The book is a companion to The Darkest House, which was published in 2021 as a horror adventure focused on a very dark house. The game appears built around a similar horror setting.

• Paizo’s War of the Immortals was also released this week in stores. This highly anticipated adventure path explores a war between the gods of the Golarion setting and the conflicts that arise as orc heroes and villains fight over the throne of their former pantheon. The book has many new tools for Pathfinder players, from “Mythic" rules to new lineages. The physical book is available, but the PDF will not be downloadable until next week.

• There’s a Smurfs RPG game on Kickstarter right now. As a child, I was never big into the Smurfs, so I’ll admit not understanding why this exist. The game’s mechanics appear kid-friendly and offer a simple d6 character creation and storytelling system. And yes. They say Smurf A LOT.

• Spire and Eat the Reich publishers Rowan, Rook and Decard are back at it with their new game Royal Blood. The game, which is raising funds on Kickstarter, is a tarot-based TTRPG about modern-day magicians attempting to regain magical power from entities twisted by power. The game focuses on heists and is driven entirely by the draw of the cards. If you enjoy the unique perspective that this publisher brings to their games, this might be one to consider. The cards are also gorgeous.

• If you were ever a fan of shows like Lost or Twin Peaks, then Creative Jam’s new game Drifted might catch your fancy. You play a “Drifter”, someone whose backstory still haunts them and who has been drawn into the Locus, an ever-changing realm that forces the Drifters to fight to survive. The themes remind me a lot of the character concepts surrounding the cast of Lost, and the mysteries are a bit broader than the island-focused fantasy. But it is a Powered by the Apocalypse system, so its mechanics should be familiar to fans of Monsterhearts and Monster of the Week.

TTRPG Technology

Roll20 has incorporated Two-Factor Authentication into its profiles. This likely won’t affect most players, but it is a positive development for a user’s security. 2FA is just a good practice to ensure clients don’t have their data hacked or stolen.

Actual Play and Content Creation

Legends of Vox Machina was renewed for a fourth season. I don’t think this shocks anyone considering the fandom, but it’s always good news to see shows like this continue to get mainstream attention.

Gamers for Harris now has more than 800 game creators from the TTRPG and board game space signing its letter advocating for the VP in the upcoming election.