News Roundup: Get Villainous in D&D's Latest Unearthed Arcana

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This was the first week of April, aka APRIL FOOL’S! Lots of nonsense comes out around this time, but we still found the interesting TTRPG stories of the week. A new villain-themed set of subclasses for D&D, Dimension 20 on a bus, a Square Enix game gets adapted into a TTRPG, and a lot more!

Villainous Options Are Offered in D&D’s Latest Unearthed Arcana

Wizards of the Coast and D&D continue to experiment with new tools and character options. This week, they released a new Unearthed Arcana, offering new character options for players to consider.

• Pestilence Domain Cleric, which will let players use poison and plague in the name of their deity to save lives or overwhelm their enemies

• Circle of the Titan Druid, which lets players become “Titans”, ginormous Wild Shape options for dominating a battlefield.

• Hell Knights, fighters who master the powers of the hells to inflict fiery damage upon their opponents

• Demonic Sorcery, which allows sorcerers to wield the fires of the hells for themselves.

The two more interesting additions to the UA this time around are the Villainous Paths. These are two distinct sets of feats that players can adopt on a path to become either a Lich or a Death Knight (each iconic forms of undead with enormous power) It’s a system akin to Ghostfire Gaming/Grim Hollow’s Transformations, a set of rules where characters take levels in becoming a Hag, Devil, Lich or other strange entity with positive and negative side effects.

It’s unclear where this set of rules will appear. UAs are often indicators of future content. The themes here would fit into the upcoming Ravenloft book releasing in June, but it may be too soon to implement them.

You can review the UA here. DnD Beyond is also hoping to get feedback starting on April 9.

Orbital Blues Month Launches, Offering New Options for the ‘Sad Space Cowboy’ Game

Backerkit and SoulMuppet Publishing officially launched Orbital Blues Month on April 1. The partnership is the latest entry in Backerkit’s approach to crowdfunding teamups, where it brings creators around a singular set of rules and strives to crowdfund them.

Orbital Blues is a “lo-fi space western roleplaying game” that Soulmuppet crowdfunded in 2021 and officially released in 2022. The campaign centers around Outlaws and Corporations, an expansion of the space setting. Five other creators in the space are also raising funds, including a space racing supplement from One Plus EXP, a planet-hopping adventure from Lone Archivist and other projects.

All of the campaigns have hit their crowdfunding goals, with $110,000 raised so far. It’s a good opportunity to check out this indie game if you are looking for something with a bit of Cowboy Bebop and Firefly aesthetic.

Blue M&M, Lint and Hat Return in Season 2 of Dimension 20: On a Bus

Dimension 20, Dropout’s ongoing D&D campaign, premiered season 2 of D20: On a Bus on April 1. This was originally just a joke episode where comedian Katie Marovitch ran something that was not-D&D for some of the more notable D&D actual play DMs on the market (Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matthew “Mark” Mercer, Jasmine Bhullar, Aabria Iyengar). After being labeled the highest-rated episode of the series, they had to make a season 2.

Unfortunately, this episode does require a subscription to Dropout to watch. But maybe we’ll get a season 3? It’s just ridiculous fun, pretty short… and frustrating for my DM brain.

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Octopath Traveler’s TTRPG To Be Adapted For English Audiences

Octopath Traveler, a Square Enix IP and video game series, is getting an English TTRPG published by Dark Horse Books. The game was originally published as a video game by SE in 2018, and was followed by a mobile game and a separate Japanese TTRPG in 2022. Now that same property is coming to English audiences.

“Gather a team of adventurers to explore, battle, and build relationships within an engaging, lore-rich setting that takes place in the official Octopath Traveler timeline,” the official description states. “Players can create characters with their own unique class and background or play as beloved characters from the games with pre-built, customizable character sheets. They can then embark on canon, pre-written heroic journeys of mystery, action, and adventure—or shape the narrative from the gamemaster’s chair and work together with players to create unique stories through the vast magical world of Octopath Traveler.”

The game has heavy Final Fantasy vibes and seems comparable to past adaptations of the property, though it has its own distinct set of classes and lore. It’s clearly a play for the fans of the heavy JRPG fan base.

The game’s core rulebook is scheduled to release on October 6, 2026 in traditional bookstores. (No Kickstarter needed!)

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