We’ve got mostly good news, and all good reads in this week’s StartPlaying TTRPG News. The big stories of the week are: A new group of UA subclasses for Dungeons & Dragons, more attendance at Origins Game Fair 2025, Two new Daggerheart classes playtesting, and the curious case of a game called Rebel Scum.
New DnD Unearthed Arcana Revives Necromancer & More For 2024
Wizards of the Coast dropped another slew of subclasses on D&D Beyond this week with the theme of Arcane. Most of these are revising 2014 subclasses for 2024, such as schools of magic for Wizard, Arcane Archer, and Hexblade. New additions include the Tattooed Monk and Ancestral Sorcerer. You can claim them here. To many players, this UA reflects the end of the Perkins/Crawford era and the beginning of how newer designers will approach the game going forward. We can see that visibly in the marketing videos WotC usually puts out, now with newer faces on both sides of the interview.
Origins Game Fair Shows Growth From Last Year
Last weekend saw Origins Game Fair take place in Columbus, OH and attendance numbers look quite good for the industry. The show hosted 19,171 attendees in 2025, up from last year's 17,706. As EN World reports, there was a 26% increase in exhibitors over last year and 27% increase in scheduled events. This growth does stand out among industry concerns over USA tariffs. The reality of getting products on shelves, keeping workers hired, and even getting to conventions from overseas have already had tangible effects on tabletop gaming. For Origins to thrive is a good sign, although 2026’s event will probably be the true reflection of tariff impacts.
Daggerheart Keeps Its Momentum With New Class Playtests
Daggerheart has been a huge hit since its release with sold out stock and many interested players. The game’s developers at Darrington Press have been keeping the game going with VTT updates, restocks, a Critical Role, miniseries, and playtests for brand new classes. This week saw playtests release for Witch and Assassin classes. The Witch has a Hex ability and wields spirits in battle. The Assassin differentiates from rogues by having more of an ambush playstyle, trading shadow magic for physical killing blows. New ancestries and communities also accompany the classes.
Rebel Scum Removed From DriveThruRPG For Political Statement
A RPG from 2021 was delisted from DriveThruRPG over a section of its rulebook that makes its views known. The title in question is Rebel Scum from 9th Level Games, which is upfront about its mission statement of being “intended to be hopeful and fun, it is shining a mirror back at the post-capitalist, post-truth, post-pandemic political idiocracy that we are currently living through.”
Roll20, partner of DriveThruRPG’s parent, asked 9th Level to remove the text and more, including bits like “I have called the REPUBLIK the REPUBLIK so that we can say ‘I punched that Republikan in the face.’” 9th Level responded that they’d rather remove the game entirely. The more detailed story can be found on Rascal News.
Rebel Scum is available here, and happens to be quite popular recently. Just sayin’. See you next week, 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!
