DnD adds more physical goods to its next starter set, Terraforming Mars hit the TTRPG scene, Heliana’s Guide brings monster hunting to D&D Beyond, and WizKids unleashes the mighty Froghemoth Elder on stores. 

There are games about dungeon delving, monster fighting, loot grabbing, magic school attending, lore chasing, swashbuckling, and even space-faring.

WizKids fused two icons together to make a Potato Head Beholder mini, hit Amazon show and comic Invincible got a TTRPG, WotC revealed covers for its upcoming dragon anthology book, and Dimension 20 is taking greek myth to the ring. 

Kobold Press unveils a cottagecore RPG, DnD has a new way of handling evil drow stat blocks, Netflix and Hasbro are in early development of a DnD show, and WizKids previewed its new Black Dragon mini based on DnD 2024 art. 

Everyone’s heard horror stories of players writing 20-page backstories for an RPG campaign, only to have none of it ever come up in play! While excitement and enthusiasm for your character is awesome for you and your game table, nobody wants that much effort to just go to waste. Here’s what your backstory actually needs to be easy to write, useful for your Game Master, and leave room for your character to grow in play.

As we can see, fantasy continues to reign as champion via DnD and Pathfinder. Yet sci-fi is also staking a claim thanks to Cyberpunk’s rise, the evergreen popularity of Star Wars, and the recent release of Lancer.

Former DnD Designer Mike Mearls gives the WotC perspective on the OGL controversy, Critical Role waves goodbye to Campaign 3, The Pokemon Company shares a money problem with DnD, and Dimension 20 gets an official Webtoon. 

Here comes another week of StartPlaying TTRPG news! 2025 must really be underway now, because there’s a lot to get into. Critical Role announced an interactive show for wildfire relief, the Dungeons & Dragons 2025 roster got two surprise books, the ENNIE awards went back-and-forth on AI, and Evil Genius Games asked a Redditor to remove a post illuminating its shady history.