We’re back with another edition of StartPlaying TTRPG News! In this week’s roundup: Critical Role to use DnD 2024 rules and not Daggerheart for Campaign 4, D&D Beyond teases Dark Sun revival, WotC releases a sci-fi TTRPG out of nowhere, and Starfinder 2E reveals a new Alien Core.
Critical Role Campaign 4 Uses DnD 2024 Rules, West Marches Structure
Members of the Critical Role cast, including Campaign 4 GM Brennan Lee Mulligan, dropped two big bombshells on fans this week. First, the upcoming season will not use Daggerheart as many had guessed. Instead, Critical Role will use the 2024 DnD rules (or 5.5e) to play its new campaign. Daggerheart will have its time to shine via more miniseries like Age of Umbra.
Another huge shakeup is that Campaign 4 features 13 rotating players. They will be split up into three groups based on the core pillars of Dungeons & Dragons: combat, roleplay, and exploration. Each pillar will have a team dedicated to it, called Soldiers, Schemers, and Seekers.
Dark Sun 2024 Rules Looks Very Likely After New UA
They said it would never be done, but the latest Unearthed Arcana heavily implies that Dark Sun will be updated for DnD 2024 edition. The new UA offers playtest versions of four subclasses: Gladiator Fighter, Defiled Sorcery Sorcerer, Sorcerer-King Patron Warlock, and Circle of Preservation Druid. Dark Sun is known to feature arena combat, Sorcerer-Kings that rule over cities, and abuse of magic. These obvious lore ties, combined with the Psion playtest a while back, definitely point towards a Dark Sun book in the near future.
Wizards Of The Coast Exodus TTRPG Shadow Drops
A sci-fi TTRPG published by WotC and using 5E is now available to purchase. It’s called Exodus, and it dropped with pretty much no fanfare. The game is part of a new multimedia franchise that includes andus video game due out next year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. There are two books: a Traveler’s Handbook for creating characters and an Exodus Encyclopedia that has creature and item stats. Both the video game and TTRPG were developed by James Ohlen, who worked on Baldur's Gate 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Paizo Announces Alien Core For Starfinder 2E
An Alien Core book for Starfinder Second Edition is due out on November 5, according to IcV2. The book will retail for $64.99 and include data on over 200 beings. This will include stat blocks and descriptions for new aliens, robots, and tech zombies. There will even be new variants of science-fantasy dragons.
DnD usually dominates the news, so it was nice to see some sci-fi announcements this week! Thanks for reading, and whatever genre you play, may your dice be kind.
Sergio Solórzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to a Wizards of the Coast competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!
