It’s a new year, and that means new events in the tabletop RPG hobby. In this week’s headlines: DnD is putting out a Romantasy book, WotC added new faces to the DnD team, Nancy Drew made her way to TTRPGs, and MCDM now has the most million dollar crowdfunding campaigns.
DnD Romantasy Book Coming In June 2026
Dungeons & Dragons is getting into the popular romantic fantasy (Romantasy) book genre with The Feywild Job. The hardcover will hit shelves on June 30, 2026 and tells the story of two exes who must team up to steal a magical fey gem. The main character is a Warlock who made a pact to never fall in love in exchange for their powers. The ex is a charming Bard, with things ending on bad terms in the past. The author, CL Polk, has won the World Fantasy Award and Nebula Award, but this is their first time writing for the DnD brand.
Wizards Of The Coast Makes Two Big Hires From DnD Freelancers
Two designers from the third-party space officially joined the DnD team this year. First is James Haeck, who is now a Senior D&D Designer at Wizards of the Coast. Haeck has worked for the company before, most notably co-writing on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Critical Role partnerships like the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. Haeck made the announcement on the Eldtrich Lorecast.
Also coming on as a designer is Leon Barillaro, who has worked on several digital supplements for DMs Guild. They also have credits on MCDM, Renegade Games Studios, and EN Publishing products.
Nancy Drew Solo RPG On Kickstarter
Fans of cozy mystery games are in luck: there’s a fully-funded Kickstarter for a Nancy Drew puzzle RPG online right now. It’s being designed by Sixpence Games, who also made a Hardy Boys RPG. The game mechanics will use dominoes to represent players piecing together how the villains committed the crimes and how to catch them. Also of note is that the Nancy Drew featured in this game comes from the original stories of the 1930s. Unlike the typically more kid-friendly interpretations, this Nancy Drew packs heat and isn’t afraid to throw down.
MCDM Becomes The Most Prolific Million Dollar Crowdfunding TTRPG Creator
The Draw Steel campaign Crack the Sun boosted MCDM a level above its TTRPG publisher peers. Draw Steel: Crack the Sun ended its BackerKit run with over $2.6 Million this past week. This is the fifth time MCDM surpassed $1 Million with a crowdfunding project, putting it ahead of Free League and Hit Point Press who each have four million dollar campaigns.
According to EN World, this makes MCDM “the most prolific member of the Million Dollar Kickstarter Club.” Another fun fact is that all five of MCDM’s million-dollar works combined fall short of making the most money in TTRPG crowdfunders– that honor still goes to the smere RPG’s debut campaign with over $14 million.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading, and 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!
