EN World: Tabletop RPG News & Reviews

Recent & Upcoming Releases

April 16 2024

Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Bonus prequel adventure for Eve of Ruin.
Replies (161)
May 31 2024

Vecna: Eve of Ruin

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Adventure for levels 10-20.
Replies (499)
June 3 2024

Vecna: Eve of Ruin Platinum Edition

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Boxed deluxe set from Beadle & Grimm.
Replies (23)
June 4 2024

Voidrunner’s Codex

(Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition)
Take your A5E games to space!
Replies (18)
June 18 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977

(Dungeons & Dragons)
History of D&D.
Replies (118)
July 16 2024

Quests From The Infinite Staircase

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Adventure anthology for character levels 1 to 13.
Replies (127)
September 17 2024

D&D Player’s Handbook (2024)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2024 Player's Handbook.
Replies (155)
October 1 2024

Monstrous Menagerie II

(Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition)
The sequel to the acclaimed monster book!
Replies (34)
November 12 2024

D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide.
Replies (118)
February 18 2025

D&D Monster Manual (2025)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2025 Monster Manual.
Replies (89)

Streets of Zobeck by Open Design

Isn't this actually a pretty old format? I'd argue a bunch of the Judges Guild books from the 1970s would qualify for the adventure setting format, as described.

Oct 27, 2011 7

Review of Goblins of Golarion by Paizo

I really don't understand how a 32 page full color book is 'over priced' at $10.99... especially with as much custom art as this book includes in it, and especially considering the quality of the writing in it. How much /should/ a 32 page full color book cost? Cause I don't see anything being offered much cheaper anywhere else.

Oct 20, 2011 5

4 Hours w/ RSD

4 Hours w/RSD: Undermountain Update

Undermountain Update Since my last column we have played 4 sessions of Undermountain and I am happy to give folks an update. If you’re unfamiliar with the Undermountain concept you can read more about it in my last column, but in summary it’s a stripped down version of Pathfinder optimized for simple dungeon crawling and light rules. There Is No Ruler The first major change I’ve made since...

Oct 18, 2011 3

PATHFINDER REVIEW: GameMastery Chase Deck & Condition Cards Deck

We tried out the chase cards to resolve a situation in our Griffins & Grottos game just recently and they worked well enough. We've been playing a narrative game, sans minis, this time around, but when one of the players picked up the Chase card deck, we wanted to try them out. We had to fudge things a little because it wasn't quite the terrain in play at the time and we weren't using the PF...

Oct 17, 2011 5

Review of Kobold Quarterly Issue #19 (Fall 2011) by Open Design

As the seasons change, and with the year of 2011 nearly done in, it’s time for the final issue of Kobold Quarterly for this calendar year! Open Design’s flagship periodical has been going strong these past couple years, covering a wide range of role-playing material for not only D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder, but also D&D 4E, and the relative newcomer to the FRPG market, the DragonAge RPG. The...

Oct 10, 2011 3

Review of Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium by WotC

So after gushing about this book for several paragraphs, you gave it 3.75 because of the availability constraints? Really? How about you add that in a post-script, but not have it affect the score? I'm sorry you had to drive and get the book, and maybe WotC will learn from this fiasco, but in a month's time are any of us going to remember or give a crap about this roadblock? Remember, there...

Sep 29, 2011 22

Pathfinder Review: Tome of Horrors Complete

I loved the d20 version of this book and am proud to have it on my shelf. I am very interested in a Pathfinder version. My only complaint is that no one has redone the rock and crystal living statues from BECMI. I would love to see them in a Necromancer Games book one day. Again, great work and an accomplishment in which you should be justifiably proud.

Sep 21, 2011 5

Review of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine by THQ

Having almost completed the singleplayer mission I have to say that what impresses me the most is the visual aspect of the game. While it may not be the most cutting edge graphics (at least according to some reviews I've read), the folks at Relic have managed to catch the very specific atmosphere of the 41st millennium. As I guided Captain Titus through the missions and objectives, I really...

Sep 15, 2011 5

4 Hours w/RSD - Introducing Undermountain (Ryan Dancey)

The past six columns I’ve been laying the groundwork to talk about my own personal home game and why I think it will be interesting to the people reading this column. I haven’t played in a tabletop RPG group since I stopped living full time in the Seattle area about 10 years ago. During the time I’ve been gone I’ve played a handful of pickup one-shot games and played in several convention...

Aug 24, 2011 20

Retroclones and Older D&D Editions

Retroclones and Older D&D Editions There are many out there who enjoy the style and feel of older editions of D&D. While it's certainly possible to find these products on eBay and the like, you may not be aware of the concept of a retroclone. A retroclone is a game that is compatible with, and heavily based on, an unsupported game or unsupported edition of a game.

Aug 20, 2011 41

Review of Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale by WotC

Thanks for the review! You have made my mind up to purchase the product. Overall, I have liked the D&D Essentials product line. Now if they can just produce a Geyhawk "like" box set for the world... Amazon.com: World of Greyhawk, folio edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) (9780935696233): Gary Gygax: Books P.S. - Wished they had stayed with the Essentials books size instead of the...

Jul 7, 2011 3

4 Hours w/ RSD

4 hours w/ RSD: Get Some Feedback

The bulk of this month’s column is going to talk about development choices and marketing for tabletop RPGs. There is an important part that relates to our objective of getting more fun out of the 4 hour game session, so I’ll lead with that and those of you uninterested in the business analysis won’t have to wade through it to get to the good stuff. Before anything else happens at your...

Jul 3, 2011 5

4 Hours w/ RSD

4 Hours w/ RSD - Let's Have a Flamewar!

Lets Have a Flamewar! I have, from time to time, been accused of making comments designed to inflame passions and ignite debate. That may be true to some degree, but when it comes to the art of driving people crazy with terminology, I tip my hat to the people at Global Underwater Explorers. In the 1980s this group became the stewards of a project designed to map the underground water...

May 16, 2011 30

4 Hours w/ RSD

4 Hours w/ RSD - Take Note

Notes for Every GM and Player A Call to Action for GMs! I have a couple of old 1st edition modules covered in badly obfuscated handwritten notes from my earliest days of playing. I can remember constantly having to improvise various things as we played because I couldn’t remember exactly what we had done or said in previous sessions. In the mid-90s I ran a lengthy Dark Sun campaign. I...

Apr 18, 2011 8

A semi-brief history of D&D and some other RPGs: 1980-1989

Continued from: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/275042-semi-brief-history-d-d-some-other-rpgs-1967-1979-a.html 1980 The Fantasy Trip [/U]by Jackson (of Texas) published by MetaGaming. Based on minigames Melee and Wizard, TFT included flexible, non-random, character creation for its two classes, three stats (Strength, Dexterity, and IQ), and combat played out on a...

Mar 29, 2011 36

4 Hours w/ RSD

4 Hours w/ RSD: Realtime

Realtime and the Game When we were working on 3rd Edition, one of the questions that we thought a lot about was “how long do you play the game in one sitting”. Most of us remember marathon games that lasted so long nobody bothered to track the hours played. But we also know that lots of groups play for very defined time blocks. One of the most accessible was the RPGA, which designed...