- TTRPG Insider
- Posts
- News Roundup: Clive Barker's Hellraiser Gets TTRPG Adaptation
News Roundup: Clive Barker's Hellraiser Gets TTRPG Adaptation
The iconic horror film series focused on otherworldly entities and eldritch boxes will get multiple board games and a TTRPG developed in the coming days
Christopher Hutton
November 01, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Welcome to TTRPG Insider!
Every week, we send you interviews, news and roundups straight to your inbox. Everything you need to know within the TTRPG hobby and industry without the hassle of social media, generative AI or Google search.
If you want to know more, check us out here! If you like what you’re reading, make sure you subscribe.
This week is jam-packed with TTRPG news! As we reported earlier this week, Dan Ayoub is taking over Wizards of the Coast. The cult horror film Re-Animator is becoming a zine.
However, today’s issue has a lot as well. A classic Clive Barker horror film series is getting its own TTRPG. An indie game is going big screen. The D&D/WOTC fight for unionization continues. A settlement may have been reached in the Diamond Comics bankruptcy case. And finally, a new adventure from Chaosium.
In This Edition
Open the Box: Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Gets TTRPG Adaptation
Salt Entertainment, Clive barker
Hellraiser, a cult-classic series of horror films featuring extradimensional beings that feed on pain and pleasure, is getting a TTRPG adaptation.
Salt Entertainment, a self-described “franchise studio” that creates board games, comics and other properties, announced a deal with horror author Clive Barker and Park Ave Entertainment to publish a new line of Hellraiser tabletop games.
“Hellraiser has been one of my favorite films for years, so the opportunity to work with Clive Barker, one of the great creative visionaries of our time, is genuinely a dream come true,” said Geoff Skinner, President of Salt Games. “It's an extraordinary world with four decades of mythology to explore, and one that lends itself beautifully to tabletop gaming. The Lament Configuration is literally a puzzle that opens a door you probably shouldn't open. How do you not want to play with that?”
Three retail games are planned: a dice-based luck game, an escape room, and a social deduction.
A TTRPG adaptation is also in the works. The game will be designed by Francesco Nepitello, best known for his work in The One Ring TTRPG.
“I wanted to design a horror roleplaying game for years,” said Nepitello. “Getting to do it with Hellraiser is incredibly exciting. Its blend of dread, desire and forbidden knowledge offers so much to explore at the gaming table. I can't wait to open the box with the players.”
It’s unclear what sort of TTRPG will be made out of the IP, or when it will be released.
The original film premiered in 1987 and explored the Lament Configuration, a magical puzzle box that could be used to summon the Cenobites, otherworldly entities who enjoy mortals' pain and pleasure. Pinhead, played by Doug Bradley, has become the face of the franchise as the Cenobites' leader. It has since expanded into a multi-film franchise, with a video game adaptation released by Saber Interactive on October 8 and a film reboot on Hulu in 2022.
The property is historically sensual and gory, embracing Barker’s darker sense of horror.
#iHunting in the Cinema: How an Indie TTRPG Got the Big Screen Treatment
Earlier this week, Variety announced that indie TTRPG property #iHunt by Olivia Hill is being adapted into a full-length film by Lilly Wachowski. We got to talk to Hill about the project and how it came to exist.
….For the past four or so years with my friend Stirling Matheson, we’ve been working on a few avenues, centered on my feature film script. As it picked up momentum, so did we. We filmed a short called Loose Threads that’s won a couple of awards. Filamena and I filmed our own short called Nine, which was featured on Shudder. We hired a professional producer, Matt Skrobalak, with decades of experience. He’s been a godsend, turning these dreams into reality. Since then, we’ve started building a pilot for streaming and a vertical drama. We’re shopping them in addition to the film.
Once we reached that stage and were looking for partnerships to make the movie happen, we reached out to Anarchists United Studios and Lilly Wachowski. They’re a queer-owned nonprofit organization with the express goal of increasing access to diverse voices in film. They’re also expressly equitable—everyone involved gets a stake. However, they rely on donations to keep supporting queer art.
They loved #iHunt and wanted to be a part of making it a success.
If you want the full interview, you can read it over at TTRPG Insider. Hill talks about future updates to the game, how involved they plan to be in the project, and a ballpark timeline for what’s happening next.
Other Stories from This Week
Dungeons and Dragons says some deliveries of physical copies of the World of Warcraft books will be delayed past the FLGS arrival on November 3.
Avantris celebrated its ninth year as an Actual Play, having started as a Curse of Strahd game and now arguably being one of the most successful APs on the market.
The Price is Right celebrated Halloween with a D&D-themed episode available on Paramount+. Or probably did? There’s no formal crossover promotion from WOTC
White Wolf teases a second alpha update for Vampire: The Masquerade Sixth Edition in November.
Rascal covers the strange journey that the horror-oriented mecha game Eldritch Automata went after its parent company failed to deliver on the author’s original campaign
Ars Magica publisher Atlas Games will no longer sell books directly to customers in the EU or Brazil due to regulatory barriers.
Cubicle 7’s Warhammer Fantasy: The Old World starter set will get a retail release.
Paris is hosting a D&D-themed drag show.
Gensou Narratograph, a TTRPG based on the Japanese IP Touhou Project, will crowdfund in November and launch in 2027. (Editor’s note: stay tuned, we’ve an interview with the localization team coming down the pipeline.)
R.Talsorian Games opened previews for its new gothic horror TTRPG What Happened at Sugarworm Village, which focuses on a three-act play structure where you’re a re-animated monster. Only 1,000 hardcovers will be printed.
Weekly D&D Unionization Update: Cocks Comments on the Union, WOTC Hires “Union Avoidance Firm”
Wizards of the Coast
A firm specializing in “union-busting” has been hired to represent Wizards of the Coast in the upcoming vote by D&D and Studio X team members to unionize.
United Wizards of the Coast says that WOTC has hired Fisher Phillips, which is a legal firm that specializes in “union avoidance.” The organization initially represented WOTC during initiatives to crack down on the MTG: Arena unionization efforts from earlier this year.
Vertical Slice also has a lovely write-up of Chris Cocks elaborating on his views of unionization during a WBUR interview. Safe to say he appears resistant to the movement.
Paizo, Green Ronin Approve Proposed Settlement of Diamond Comics Bankruptcy Deal
Paizo, Green Ronin Publishing, and a number of other fan-oriented publishers have approved a second settlement with Diamond Comics that will hopefully end a long legal battle to reacquire hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of books from the distributor.
In August, we reported that a settlement had been initially reached that would ideally resolve everything. However, an objection from Sparkle Pop, the parent company that held the materials in their warehouse, delayed the process in September. Sparkle Pop demanded that certain fees be paid before the books would be released.
Earlier this week, the 15 publishers, Diamond, and Sparkle Pop reached a settlement. The second settlement details the fees that Sparkle Pop will be paid, allowing the materials to finally be distributed.
Assuming no other legal speed bumps, the settlement will help the affected companies recoup some of the funds they lost due to the bankruptcy filing, although some of it will have lost value due to age.
Want to see more reporting in the TTRPG space? Heard a scoop or a story you want covered? Let us know! Subscribe to TTRPG Insider and get exclusive interviews, trend pieces, speculation and coverage of D&D, mainstream publishers and the indie scene.
Chaosium Publishes TTRPG Adventure Based on Historic Tapestry
Pendragon publisher Call of Cthulhu partnered with local historians to produce a new TTRPG adventure based on a famous 11th-century embroidered tapestry.
The company premiered Tapestry: Age of Conquest at Chaosium Con EU on October 29. The game, which uses Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying Engine, “takes players through the events portrayed in the Bayeux Tapestry. Through three linked scenarios, they experience the rise and fall of Harold Godwinson, culminating in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, where William of Normandy led the Norman army to victory over the English.” Tapestry is a 76-page book that offers the basic rules for play, along with pregen characters and scenarios.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a 70-meter-long cloth that depicts the Norman Conquest of England and is considered a notable achievement in medieval records and fine embroidery.
The game was written by Jason Durall and published in partnership with the British Museum and University of Edinburgh’s History and Games Lab (H&GL). While the game is intended for entertainment purposes, it also draws on decades of historical research into the Tapestry.
“Historical accuracy was a paramount concern for this project, but the primary source was the tapestry itself,” Durall emphasized, “So, where the historical record and the tapestry differed, the tapestry’s depiction of these events was our guiding source.”
"With Tapestry: Age of Conquest, historical accuracy does not go against having fun; it allows players to interact with and immerse themselves in the momentous events of 1066 via the Bayeux Tapestry,” added medieval scholar Gianlucca Raccagni.
The book will be available at the British Museum’s Games Night and in general release on December 4.
Free League’s Vaesen Opens Pre-Orders for Death of Songs Epic Campaign
A new adventure is coming out for Vaesen, Free League’s TTRPG about hunting fae in Europe.
Death of Songs was announced earlier this week, and is now available for pre-order. Purchasing it now will get you an early PDF version of the game, followed by a physical release in Q1 2027.
“Set in a mythical version of 19th-century northern Europe, Death of Songs begins in Upsala before taking investigators across the continent to uncover a conspiracy rooted in the history of the Society itself. Along the way, their actions could shape the fate of both humans and vaesen, the supernatural beings of Nordic folklore,” the product description states.
“Written by Nils Hintze, lead writer of the original Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying core rulebook, the campaign continues the story begun in the introductory adventure The Dance of Dreams. It features illustrations by Johan Egerkrans and Anton Vitus, four new mysteries, and an extensive chapter dedicated to campaign play in Upsala.”
It adds four new mysteries, which will continue The Dance of Dreams, one of the first adventures published for the game in the core rulebook
Feel free to send us tips or emails at [email protected].