The world’s biggest tabletop RPG weekly news show! News and chat about Dungeons & Dragons (and other tabletop roleplaying games) since June 2018! Now recording LIVE on YouTube every Friday at 2pm UK time (9am Eastern).
Episodes
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Each week we revisit a short skit from the main podcast, a year or more back. In this one, three travelers arrive to a sacred location and learn secrets about one another.
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
This week, Morrus and Peter talk about algorithmic AI generated content and RPGs. In the news, D&D Beyond, Itch.io, Roll20, and Fantasy Ground summer sales, official Adventure Time RPG announced, Baldur’s Gate 3 release date change, and more! Plus a listener question about Creative Commons vs ORC License and brand new sketch about interesting alchemical experimentation.
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News
D&D Beyond Summer Sale https://www.enworld.org/threads/theres-a-big-d-d-summer-sale-on-right-now.698639/
Itch.io Summer Sale https://itch.io/sales
Official Adventure Time RPG Announced from Cryptozoic https://www.enworld.org/threads/official-adventure-time-rpg-uses-new-yes-and-system.698381/
News Digest for July 7 (Baldur’s Gate 3 release date changes, Blood in Baldur’s Gate prequel, Call of Cthulhu events with Mark Meer, The One Ring $2 million Magic: The Gathering card found) https://www.enworld.org/threads/news-digest-for-july-7.698630/
What’s OLD is NEW (WOIN) Starter Box Kickstarter launches https://www.enworld.org/threads/whats-old-is-new-starter-box-is-here-back-this-fantasy-modern-sci-fi-ttrpg-with-an-open-license.698590/
Gloomhaven BackerKit campaign over $3 million https://www.backerkit.com/c/cephalofair/gloomhaven
Savage Worlds 20th Anniversary Celebration Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/545820095/savage-worlds-20th-anniversary-celebration
BREACH! Public Playtest on Itch.io https://orangeindigo.itch.io/breachbeta
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Algorithmic Content Generation and RPGs
OpenAI Hit With Class Action Over ‘Unprecedented’ Web Scraping from Bloomberg Law https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/openai-hit-with-class-action-over-unprecedented-web-scraping
Authors file lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully ‘ingesting’ their books from The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/05/authors-file-a-lawsuit-against-openai-for-unlawfully-ingesting-their-books
US Copyright Office: AI Generated Works Are Not Eligible for Copyright from ARTnews https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ai-generator-art-text-us-copyright-policy-1234661683/
Thought experiment in the National Library of Thailand https://medium.com/@emilymenonbender/thought-experiment-in-the-national-library-of-thailand-f2bf761a8a83
The Chinese Room Argument (philosophical experiment about a person alone in a room following a computer program for responding to Chinese characters slipped under the door) https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-room/
Chinese Room 2 (a spin-off of the Chinese Room Argument from Tumblr user lumsel to explain how ChatGPT and other large language models work) https://www.tumblr.com/lumsel/712577333350023168/chinese-room-2
Lawyer Used ChatGPT In Court - And Cited Fake Cases. A Judge Is Considering Sanctions from Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/06/08/lawyer-used-chatgpt-in-court-and-cited-fake-cases-a-judge-is-considering-sanctions/
Dungeons & Dragons Player Gets AI Bot to DM, Works Surprisingly Well from TheGamer https://www.thegamer.com/dungeons-dragons-chatgpt-ai-dm/
American Scientist article on Bias Optimizers https://www.americanscientist.org/article/bias-optimizers
ChatGPT gender discrimination example with nurse and doctor, doubles-down on sexism by stating that the doctor must be male and nurse must be female from April 2023 https://hkotek.com/blog/gender-bias-in-chatgpt/
ChatGPT’s “jailbreak” tries to make A.I break its own rules or die from CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/chatgpt-jailbreak-forces-it-to-break-its-own-rules.html
Artists Voice Concerns Over the Signatures In Viral LensaAI Portraits from ARTnews https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/signatures-lensa-ai-portraits-1234649633/
Getty Images is suing the creators of AI art tool Stable Diffusion for scraping its content from The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23558516/ai-art-copyright-stable-diffusion-getty-images-lawsuit
Gizmodo’s io9 Published an AI-Generated Star Wars Article That Was Filled With Errors from Variety (it was a list of Star Wars content in chronological order that left out multiple shows including Andor and Kenobi and lists The Clone Wars coming after Rise of Skywalker, which is incorrect both in-universe and in real-world release dates) https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/io9-ai-generated-star-wars-article-errors-1235662194/
A sci-fi magazine has cut off submissions after a flood of AI-generated stories from NPR https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159286436/ai-chatbot-chatgpt-magazine-clarkesworld-artificial-intelligence
ChatGPT uses between 1L of water per 40-100 queries https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-generative-ai-water-use-environmental-impact-study-2023-4
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Please support us on Patreon at http://patreon.com/morrus
Don’t forget to join the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033145023517295/ and join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/VAuxX8M
Ask your Listener Question on Twitter, email morruspodcast@gmail.com, or contact us on TikTok at TikTok
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Hosts: Russ “Morrus” Morrissey, Peter Coffey, and Jessica Hancock
Editing and post-production: Darryl Mott
Theme Song: Steve Arnott
Malach the Maleficent played by Darren Morrissey
Check out all the media content from EN World at http://enliverpg.com
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Each week we revisit a short skit from the main podcast, a year or more back. In this one, the party makes some extra coin by taking on a sponsorship deal.
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
This week, Morrus, Peter, and Jessica discuss whether metagaming is cheating. In the news, a new playtest document for the 2024 D&D revision, the ORC license has been finalized, a preview of the new D&D adventure Phandelver & Below, Origins Award winners announced, and more! Plus a brand new sketch about an underwhelming selection at the magic item shop.
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News
Open RPG Creative (ORC) License finalized https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-final-open-rpg-creator-orc-license-is-here.698527/
Forged with Fire for Top Secret by Solarian Games on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solarian/forged-with-fire
2021 was a Massive Year for TTRPG Crowdfunders https://www.enworld.org/threads/2021-was-a-massive-year-for-ttrpg-crowdfunders.698490/
Infinite Archipelago: The Isle of Sedra for The Fantasy Trip on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamingballistic/infinite-archipelago-the-isle-of-sedra
Phandelver & Below Preview https://www.enworld.org/threads/phandelver-belows-full-description.698445/
Beadle & Grimm Phandelver Legendary Edition https://www.enworld.org/threads/beadle-and-grimm-announces-phandelver-legendary-edition-for-october.698385/
Origins Award Winners for 2023 https://www.enworld.org/threads/here-are-this-years-origins-award-winners-coyote-crow-and-agents-of-dune-win-for-rpgs.698447/
Nymphs: Alseids, Dryads, Naiads, Nereads, and Oreads for Level Up: Advanced 5e by PJ Coffey https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/442526/Nymphs-Alseids-Dryads-Naiads-Nereads-and-Oreads?affiliate_id=36142
News Digest for June 30, 2023 (Shadowrun: Body Shop and Shadowrun: Bestial Nature releases, ) https://www.enworld.org/threads/news-digest-for-june-30-2023.698525/
Homebrew and Hacking Advanced Weapon Properties https://homebrewandhacking.com/2023/06/29/advanced-weapon-properties/
D&D 2024 Playtest Document https://www.enworld.org/threads/new-one-d-d-playtest-document-77-pages-7-classes-more.698499/
What’s OLD is NEW Starter Box on Kickstarter launching this Tuesday https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enworld/woin
Not DnD on WOIN Starter Set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT7cc5vG2cE
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Please support us on Patreon at http://patreon.com/morrus
Don’t forget to join the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033145023517295/ and join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/VAuxX8M
Ask your Listener Question on Twitter, email morruspodcast@gmail.com, or contact us on TikTok at TikTok
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Hosts: Russ “Morrus” Morrissey, Peter Coffey, and Jessica Hancock
Editing and post-production: Darryl Mott
Theme Song: Steve Arnott
Malach the Maleficent played by Darren Morrissey
Check out all the media content from EN World at http://enliverpg.com
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
Each week we revisit a short skit from the main podcast, a year or more back. In this one, the group discusses the lack of contributions from Billy the Rogue.
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
This week, Morrus, Peter, and Jessica answer the question, “Can the GM cheat in an RPG?” In the news, Gloomhaven and Tales of the Valiant break $1,000,000 in crowdfunding, Renegade Game Studios claims they own the word “Renegade”, Diana Jones Award finalists announced, and more! Plus a brand new sketch about reassessing the threat level of a legendary foe.
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News
Renegade Game Studios claims ownership of the word “Renegade” https://www.enworld.org/threads/renegade-studios-sends-c-d-to-stop-small-creator-using-the-word-renegade.698312/
News Digest for June 23, 2023 (update on the Renegade Game Studios trademark controversy, Rengade Game Studios and By Night Studios distribution deal, Pirate Borg pre-order, Green Ronin teases Swords of the Shadow Planet, Mayfair Games returning, ) https://www.enworld.org/threads/news-digest-for-june-23-2023.698387/
Who the Devil Are You? from Monte Cook Games https://www.enworld.org/threads/in-who-the-devil-are-you-the-players-do-all-the-work.698392/
Script Change by Beau Jágr Sheldon https://briebeau.com/thoughty/script-change/
Tales of the Valiant Joins the $1M Crowdfunding Club https://www.enworld.org/threads/tales-of-the-valiant-joins-the-1m-crowdfunding-club.698356/
Gloomhaven RPG Crowdfunder Hits $1M in First Hours https://www.enworld.org/threads/gloomhaven-rpg-crowdfunder-hits-1m-in-first-hours.698353/
Artipelago by Hatchling Games on Crowdfundr https://crowdfundr.com/artipelago
Not DnD - INSPIRISLES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7VN3z0JQHs
Beadle & Grimm’s Deluxe Edition of Phandelver & Below https://beadleandgrimms.com/products/legendary-edition-of-phandelver-below-the-shattered-obelisk
This Mortal Coil by David Garrett https://carpedavid.itch.io/this-mortal-coil
Diana Jones Award Nominees 2023 https://www.enworld.org/threads/this-years-diana-jones-award-nominees-include-a-journalist-2-ttrpgs-a-d-d-adventure-and-a-game-designer.698345/
TTRPG Freelancer Writer/Editor Rate Survey https://www.enworld.org/threads/ttrpg-freelancer-writer-editor-rate-survey.698306/
TTRPG Freelancer Artist/Cartographer Rate Survey https://www.enworld.org/threads/ttrpg-freelancer-artist-cartographer-rate-survey.698323/
Search & Rescue: A Mausritter Adventure https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/441826/Search--Rescue-A-Mausritter-adventure?affiliate_id=36142
A Case of MisTastin’ Identity by Jeff Somogyl https://www.dmsguild.com/product/442392?affiliate_id=36142
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Cheating GMs
TikTok from scxrlet64 on cheating as a GM https://www.tiktok.com/@scxrlet64/video/7247584131607956782
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Please support us on Patreon at http://patreon.com/morrus
Don’t forget to join the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033145023517295/ and join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/VAuxX8M
Ask your Listener Question on Twitter, email morruspodcast@gmail.com, or contact us on TikTok at TikTok
--------------------
Hosts: Russ “Morrus” Morrissey, Peter Coffey, and Jessica Hancock
Editing and post-production: Darryl Mott
Theme Song: Steve Arnott
Malach the Maleficent played by Darren Morrissey
Check out all the media content from EN World at http://enliverpg.com
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Each week we revisit a short skit from the main podcast, a year or more back. In this one, the group tires of Burrows & Bearowls and seek a new game.
Saturday Jun 17, 2023
Saturday Jun 17, 2023
This week, Morrus and Peter talk about the D&D 5e video games Baldur’s Gate 3 and Solasta: Crown of the Magister. In the news, NuTSR files for bankruptcy, Modiphius buys the solo RPG Five Parsecs from Home, Cocaine Owlbear RPG released, and more! Plus Our Favorite Game in All the World and a brand new sketch about wizard tower repair contractors.
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News
NuTSR Declares Bankruptcy https://www.enworld.org/threads/nutsr-declares-bankruptcy.698239/
Timeline of the TSR Trademark Saga https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/
Pendragon Starter Set https://www.chaosium.com/blogreleasing-june-the-pendragon-starter-set/
What’s OLD is NEW Starter Set http://www.woinrpg.com/starter-set-1
Cocaine Owlbear RPG https://mikelaff.itch.io/cocaine-owlbear
Homebrew and Hacking Blog Post about Industry-Related Episodes https://homebrewandhacking.com/2023/06/16/industry-episodes/
News Digest for June 16, 2023 (Modiphius acquires Five Core system games) https://www.enworld.org/threads/news-digest-for-june-16-2023.698277/
Homebrew and Hacking: Crafting Heritages and Cultures from PJ Coffey https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/387005/Homebrew-and-Hacking-Crafting-Heritages-and-Cultures?affiliate_id=36142
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Kickstarters
The Last Caravan: A Cars and Aliens Tabletop RPG https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theodoreinthevalley/the-last-caravan-a-cars-and-aliens-tabletop-rpg
Knight https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/armouredgames/knight-0
20 Bounties & Most Wanted https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sidequest20/100-bounties-and-most-wanted-ideas-for-game-masters
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D&D 5e Video Games
Baldur’s Gate 3 Website https://baldursgate3.game/
Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam (PC and Mac) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086940/Baldurs_Gate_3/
Baldur’s Gate 3 on Playstation https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP3526-PPSA14001_00-0507384846053057
Solasta: Crown of the Magister https://www.solasta-game.com/
Solasta: Crown of the Magister on PC https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096530/Solasta_Crown_of_the_Magister/
Baldur’s Gate 3: Returning to the City After 20 Years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0uYhTLPGLQ
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Please support us on Patreon at http://patreon.com/morrus
Don’t forget to join the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033145023517295/ and join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/VAuxX8M
Ask your Listener Question on Twitter, email morruspodcast@gmail.com, or contact us on TikTok at TikTok
--------------------
Hosts: Russ “Morrus” Morrissey, Peter Coffey, and Jessica Hancock
Editing and post-production: Darryl Mott
Theme Song: Steve Arnott
Malach the Maleficent played by Darren Morrissey
Check out all the media content from EN World at http://enliverpg.com
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Each week we revisit a short skit from the main podcast, a year or more back. In this one, the result of a battle rests on a single spell from a wizard...
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
This week, Morrus, Peter, and Jessica take you behind the scenes of working a convention as a publisher. In the news, Wizards of the Coast expands on what to expect from the 2024 D&D Core Rulebook update, new product announcements from Modiphius, Free League, Paizo partners, and indie publishers, controversy in the BattleTech Reddit community, and more! Plus a new listener question and a brand new sketch about a tomb with a deadly semantic curse.
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News
News Digest for June 9, 2023 (Update on 2024 D&D Core Rulebooks, Star Trek Adventures Lower Decks pre-order and table of contents, BattleTech Reddit Controversy, Coriolis: Wake of the Icons release) https://www.enworld.org/threads/news-digest-for-june-9-2023.698149/
Kobold Press’s Tales of the Valiant on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deepmagic/tales-of-the-valiant-rpg-launching-black-flag-roleplaying
Nexalis from Cezar Capacle coming soon on Crowdfundr https://crowdfundr.com/nexalisrpg
Pathfinder Dynamite Comics Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dynamiteent/new-starfinder-pathfinder-and-worldscape-graphic-novels
How Many Tabletop RPGs Can You Fit on One Sheet of Paper? https://www.enworld.org/threads/how-many-tabletop-rpgs-can-you-fit-on-one-sheet-of-paper.698109/
Brother… Why? From Hivemind Games on Kickstarter (Funded in February 2023, fulfilling now) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coreycreates/why-brother
Zilight! Solo Zombie Survival Game from The Grinning Frog https://www.thegrinningfrog.com/product-page/zillight-zombie-survival-game
Breaking Infinity RPG from Battlebox Games (link goes directly to free PDF) http://baffleboxgames.com/files/Breaking_Infinity_v5.05_A5.pdf
Last Fleet by Joshua Fox by Black Armada Games https://blackarmada.com/product/last-fleet/
Be Like a Crow - A Solo RPG by Tim Roberts of Critical Kit https://criticalkit.us/collections/be-like-a-crow
Ultimate Game Master Screen on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ultimategamemaster/the-ultimate-game-master-screen
DIRECT Effect (Range & Direction) plus Called Shot on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/criteffect/direct-effect-range-and-direction-plus-called-shot
Exquisite Exandria: The Official Cookbook of Critical Role on Amazon for pre-order https://amzn.to/45XfLxR
What’s OLD is NEW RPG Starter Set http://www.woinrpg.com/starter-set-1
EN Publishing Mailing List Sign-up https://mailchi.mp/enpublishingrpg/en-publishing
West Marches Style Simplified Encumbrance for Level Up: Advanced 5e by PJ Coffey https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/440844/West-Marches-Style--Simplified-Encumbrance-for-A5e?affiliate_id=36142
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Please support us on Patreon at http://patreon.com/morrus
Don’t forget to join the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033145023517295/ and join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/VAuxX8M
Ask your Listener Question on Twitter, email morruspodcast@gmail.com, or contact us on TikTok at TikTok
--------------------
Hosts: Russ “Morrus” Morrissey, Peter Coffey, and Jessica Hancock
Editing and post-production: Darryl Mott
Theme Song: Steve Arnott
Malach the Maleficent played by Darren Morrissey
Check out all the media content from EN World at http://enliverpg.com