Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk

401 | WotC & AI, Paizo's layoffs, 5E-powered Transformers, GI Joe, Power Rangers

Livestreamed as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! We talk about WotC's and Hasbro's AI plans, Paizo's woes due to the Diamond bankruptcy, and new Transformers, GI Joe, and Power Rangers games from Renegade!

• Wizards of the Coast is hiring a senior AI engineer for customer-facing features
• D&D Beyond enables content sharing for Drops content
• Paizo laying off 12 due to fallout from Diamond's bankruptcy
• Scion 3rd Edition coming from Onyx Path
• Renegade announces new editions of Transformers, GI Joe, and Power Rangers RPGs
• A Comprehensive Guide to TTRPG Art Commissioning & Licensing
• EN5ider Magazine 2025 Annual

400 | D&D Drops, Hasbro's AI studio, Neon Odyssey breaks records

Livestreamed as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! Join us as we talk about the new D&D drops, Hasbro's AI studio plans, the D&D community advisory group, and Neon Odyssey's record breaking campaign!

• D&D Beyond Drops adds four new corrupted angels, three new spells
• D&D Beyond admits that blocking Drops sharing "was not the right decision"
• WotC announces D&D Community Advisory Group
• Celebrate Dungeon Masters Campaign 1 Finale with a Downloadable Background
• Hasbro launches AI studio, allowing third parties to license Hasbro IP
• 'Umdaar' is Fate's take on Masters of the Universe
• Neon Odyssey is now the world’s biggest TTRPG crowdfunder
• Rise of the Lazy GM
• EN5ider Magazine 2025 Annual

399 | D&D's Ravenloft darklord stats, UKGE's record attendance, will Neon Odyssey beat Cosmere?

Livestreaming as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! Join us live as we talk about the stats for Ravenloft's darklords, talk about this year's UK Games Expo, and more!

• Mysterious D&D book called 'GOLLY' appears on Barnes & Noble
• D&D’s State Of The Game Shows Off ‘Darklords Of Ravenloft’
• Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 remakes reportedly in development
• 2026 was UK Games Expo's biggest year ever
• GURPS Ring of Fire Backerkit
• Handiwork Games The Tyrant Philosophers
• Neon Odyssey closing in on Cosmere’s record
• EN5ider Magazine 2025 Annual

[Interview Special] Mongoose's Cassie Gregory & Chris Griffen on creative processes and visual storytelling

In our third (and final) interview at Mongoose Publishing's HQ we chat to Cassie Gregory (visual designer) and Chris Griffen (lead writer) about the studio's flagship games Traveller, Paranoia, and Shieldmaidens, and upcoming projects like Pioneer and a Dark Conspiracies revamp. They discuss their creative process, visual storytelling, shifting tones between lines, and the wild "frog legs" scale used in Shieldmaidens. It'll make sense when you hear it. Enjoy!

398 | D&D at Gen Con, Pathfinder books leak, 13 Omens

Livestreaming as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! Join us live as we talk about D&D's Gen Con plans, the 2027 Pathfinder book leaks, Paizo's upcoming 13 Omens horror game, and more!

• Hasbro cancels D&D video game by Giant Skull
• Dungeons & Dragons announces Gen Con plans, including a takeover of 6-story building
• New 2027 Pathfinder books revealed including Walking Tigers adventure path
• Daggerheart celebrates 1-year anniversary with new miniseries, free adventure
• New deets about Paizo's '13 Omens' horror TTRPG
• [Kickstarter's] apology: rethinking our mature content guidelines
• Ring of Fire for GURPS
• Kickstarter Whales

[Interview Special] We talked to Mongoose's Chris Griffen about the Pioneer RPG!

At Mongoose Publishing HQ in Swindon, Christopher Griffen discusses Pioneer, a Traveller-adjacent RPG that swaps space opera for near-future, science-based exploration. Built with input from NASA engineer Sandy Antunes and other writers, Pioneer uses familiar Traveller mechanics but shifts focus to missions, survival, and human-versus-environment challenges rather than combat.

397 | D&D crossovers, free Magefall D&D comic, Whitman's weird AI, meeting Mongoose

Livestreaming as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! Join us live as we talk about D&D crossovers, weird AI sites full of bizarre TTRPG designer bios, and our visit to Mongoose publishing's HQ!

• Chris Cocks says to expect more D&D crossover products
• 'Magefall' is an official new D&D comic you can download free
• Ken Whitman creates bizarre AI-powered biographies of TTRPG designers
• Meeting Mongoose: We visited Mongoose Publishing at their Swindon HQ!
• Outgunned Adventure: Broken Compass Legacy
• Free League Releases Updated Edition of Acid Western Frontier Scum RPG
• EN5ider Magazine 2025 Annual

[Interview Special] Inside Mongoose: Matt Sprange on Traveller, Publishing and Building a Better Studio

Earlier this year, Russ and Jess went to visit Mongoose Publishing (who make Traveller, Paranoia, and a bunch of other awesome games) at their headquarters in Swindon. Part of that day included an interview with Mongoose CEO Matt Sprange (rhymes with 'strange'), which we're presenting here in full.

Note--the audio quality isn't great in this one, as we didn't have our podcasting microphones with us, but we hope you'll bear with it as the interview itself is well worth the listen!

We also made a 30-minute video about our visit, meeting the staff, touring the offices, having lunch, looking at things on walls, sitting on chairs, all sorts of things. Parts of (but not all of) this interview feature in that short documentary, which you can find here on our YouTube channel--which is also where you can find the livestreamed versions of the regular podcast. 

In this interview Matt Sprange, CEO of Mongoose Publishing, discusses the company’s history, flagship games like Traveller and Paranoia, creative processes, and the challenges and successes they’ve faced over the years. He also explains Mongoose’s employee ownership approach, workplace culture, and practical benefits for staff.

This full unabridged interview covers highs and lows, industry changes, AI concerns, and future plans, offering a candid, behind-the-scenes look at running an independent games publisher. Enjoy!

• Video of our visit
• EN World article 
• Mongoose Publishing

396 | D&D Beyond 'Drops', D&D 'live service model', two Elric RPGs

Livestreaming as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! In this week's show we talk about D&D Beyond's new Thursday 'Drops' feature, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks on D&D moving to a 'live service model', two simultaneous new Elric roleplaying games, and more!

• Drops will make D&D Beyond subscribers love Thursdays
• Dungeons & Dragons brings back three classic 1st edition spells via new D&D Beyond Drops feature
• D&D Beyond executives explain why subscribers can't share Drops content
• Mother Lorinda gets a creepy new look in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
• More performances and panelists revealed for D&D Fan Expo in London
• Chris Cocks says it makes sense to move D&D to a "live service" model, but Hasbro will always make physical books
• Friends and Relations: Wanderers
• Official Elric of Melniboné TTRPG coming from Goodman Games
• There's ANOTHER official Elric RPG in the works
• Jon Hodgson Backdrop Books
• Neon Odyssey: Space Opera in D&D
• Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG + Unstoppable

395 | BG3 books, Justice League RPG, D&D terrain sets

Livestreaming as always Monday at 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern)! In this week's show we look at the four Baldur's Gate 3 tie-in books from Penguin Random House, look at a new official Justice League TTRPG, upcoming releases for Bladerunner, Star Trek, and more!

• 4 Baldur's Gate 3 tie-in books coming from Penguin Random House
• Images from Secrets of Waterdeep experience currently playing at Universal Studios Hollywood
• Dungeons & Dragons Underdark Terrain Set
• D&D Beyond brings back a la carte purchases in the form of Starter Packs
• Wizards of the Coast employees responsible for Magic: Arena unionize
• Allies & Adversaries sourcebook coming for Star Trek Adventures
• Replicant Rebellion expansion coming for Free League's Blade Runner RPG
• Neon Odyssey exclusive reveal: The Yoggoth Species
• Official Justice League TTRPG launching on Gamefound in July
• Get ready for Alpha Star Magazine Issue 2: sci-fi resources for your D&D game
• Chilblain: Lich Librarian is one of 6 NPCs who accompany the arcane subclasses in Secrets of the Tome
• Support us on Patreon!