Happy holidays! We have time for one last edition of StartPlaying tabletop RPG news before the year ends! So let’s get right to the last big stories of 2024!Â
This week, DnD 2024 brought out the Artificer, Wyrmwood laid off 50% of staff in a whole production, and Cyberpunk 2077 dropped a free TTRPG quickstart.
DnD 2024 Artificer Appears (As A Playtest)Â
The 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons got its first Unearthed Arcana and it’s a big one. This playtest material introduces the Artificer class into the 2024 DnD rules with all three of its previous subclasses. The end result doesn’t change too much; Artificer players will find infusions streamlined into a new form, slight alchemist buffs, and a cool new Armorer form.Â
The mechanic of infusing magic into mundane items is gone, replaced with an expanded Replicate Magic Item feature. Now Artificer can just focus on making magic items from a simple list. Similarly, tinkering is largely swapped for speedier crafting times for tools and simple items. Homonculus is now subject to a spell, and official magic items were introduced to cover popular infusions like Repeating Shot.
Wyrmwood Laid Off Half Its Staff
The CEO of TTRPG furniture company Wyrmwood made headlines again for his uniquely public approach to running his business. The company has a YouTube channel called Wyrm Life that chronicles its daily workings, including a recent video where CEO Doug Costello gives a speech about laying off 50% of workers. In another video, it’s shown that sales are on decline and that the backlog of orders is shrinking.Â
Costello admits in the meeting, which takes place on the production floor, that “my thesis for this year was a failure.” So for this failing, restructures and layoffs are the answer. Comments on the video are very critical of Costello’s approach, particularly in discussing the layoffs in a group meeting and recording it for content. Wyrmwood was in the hot seat last year for its response to sexual assault allegations.Â
Cyberpunk 2077 Update Comes With Free Cyberpunk Red
Keanu Reeves is lighting up movie screens in Sonic 3 this weekend, but his past turn in Cyberpunk 2077 deserves attention too. It turns out that CD Projekt Red threw in a little holiday gift in a new update to the video game. Those who have the PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 can claim a free copy of Cyberpunk RED: Easy Mode, reports Polygon.
Easy Mode is essentially the quickstart version of RED, providing a short mission along with five premade characters. The PDF can be found in the Bonus Content folder of your Cyberpunk 2077 files. Console players are supposed to have access as well, but Polygon was unsure of how to unlock it at time of publishing.Â
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With that, another year of TTRPG coverage comes to a close! Thanks for following and sharing stories and here’s to 2025! If you’re lucky enough to schedule a session this year, may your dice be kind.
