EGG EMBRY (EGG): Thanks for speaking about your Backerkit marketing campaign for Deathbringer, Professor. Are you able to sum up your setting and its hook for these focused on studying extra about why Deathbringer was voted the most anticipated new TTRPG of 2026?
PROFESSOR DUNGEON MASTER (PDM): Certain, Egg! The setting of Deathbringer is a cross between Savage Sword of Conan, Heavy Steel Journal, and Thundarr the Barbarian—the issues I beloved as a child. The Shattered Empire was slammed with a comet and the shards from the influence—often known as moonstone—scattered world wide. The moonstone is efficacious as a result of its used to make magic weapons, armor, and potions. It additionally emits radiation which mutates people into monsters. Very grimdark, low-fantasy the place magic is harmful and wizards (Doomscribes) are strolling neutron bombs.
EGG: If I adopted Deathbringer’s design historical past accurately, this sport was going to be an entirely authentic system at one time limit. Why did you select Shadowdark RPG over letting your individual concepts rule the gaming desk?
PDM: Nice query. I don’t suppose D&D is a sport a lot as it’s a language. What we name “totally different programs” (Pathfinder, Shadowdark, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Previous Faculty Necessities, and so forth.) are dialects of the identical language. Shadowdark is the dialect I selected as a result of it had nice stat blocks, clear guidelines, and it’s common. Why make the viewers select between sport programs? Kelsey’s followers are my followers. It’s the identical viewers and I although each video games could be higher if I didn’t ask them to decide on. However I need to make it clear Deathbringer is a standalone sport with its personal distinctive guidelines and all materials designed for Deathbringer is suitable with Shadowdark and all OSR modules. The monster stat blocks don’t should be modified. I simply ran Village of Hommlet with Deathbringer with out altering a single hit level and it labored positive.
EGG: There’s no magical therapeutic within the sport. Does that indicate different limits on magic? Is Deathbringer magic centered on fight or problem-solving or making buddies with pig-faced orcs?
PDM: Doomscribes don’t routinely acquire new spells after they stage up. The have to be taught a spell by serving a patron NPC or discover the spells by looking out by means of dungeons. If you acquire a spell you tattoo the method in your pores and skin. There aren’t any spell-slots—its roll d20 to forged. On a Nat 20 the spell has 2x impact. However on a Nat 1 you roll on a miscast chart and the results are brutal: you develop a tentacle, open a mouth to hell, or trigger all of the crops inside a 1 mile radius to wither and die. So magic is harmful.
Deathbringer’s focus is not only fight, however heroic, cinematic motion. We exchange all feats, expertise, and sophistication options with a pool of d6s referred to as “Dying Cube” that may be spent to extend different cube rolls. This mechanic permits ANY character to trigger large injury, rage, sneak assault, swing from a chandelier, or haggle with a service provider simply when they should. And it saves time and helps gamers keep within the narrative as a substitute of pausing to test their character sheet or search for guidelines. Gamers get bonuses for taking their flip shortly and taking motion as a substitute of creating overly advanced plans. So it’s extra than simply fight.
And nobody might be buddies with the pig-faced orcs. They don’t seem to be human and like to eat infants as shish kebab.
EGG: In your movies, you’ve expressed a… gentle disinterest for in-game purchasing. How does Deathbringer deal with the mundane parts of RPG similar to spending your loot, discovering plot hooks, or downtime?
PDM: I hate purchasing. At first of the session, everybody loses d6 silver cash and also you re-supply. There aren’t any magic retailers so there isn’t any “higher dagger” to buy. And also you get XP for taking plot hooks as a substitute of side-questing. There shall be carousing tables although. Carousing is enjoyable.
EGG: With a reputation like “Deathbringer,” ought to gamers see this as a finely tuned old fashioned character grinder TTRPG? Or is that this a setting with a bigger marketing campaign story ready to unfold? Or is it each?
PDM: Each. It’s greater than an OSR clone. The Dying Cube mechanic and demise mechanics lean into narrative video games. And sure, Deathbringer is a world which we stay up for revealing if the primary Backerkit marketing campaign is profitable. I’d like to element The Shattered Empire and Caves of Carnage within the subsequent guide.
EGG: You’re working with a who’s who of present TTRPG creators similar to Baron DeRopp, Grace World Destroyer, DM Scotty, Bob World Builder, Kelsey Dionne, Brandon “Runehammer” Gillam, Luke Stratton, Daniel Fox, and Ben Milton. Your sport is steeped in old fashioned philosophy and new college gameplay. Are there any old fashioned creators you need to add to the checklist of creators which might be making Deathbringer a actuality?
PDM: Ed Greenwood springs to thoughts. The person is a real-life wizard. A lot of my collaborators are followers of these OSR video games as a result of looking back, they’re much more strong, versatile, and quicker than trendy video games.
EGG: For followers that don’t know you, what’s your TTRPG historical past? The place was your work first revealed?
PDM: I used to be first revealed in Dungeon Journal again within the Nineteen Nineties. I revealed three eventualities with them. Wolfgang Baur was the editor for many of that interval. Tony “Planescape/Spiderwick Chronicles” illustrated considered one of my eventualities. I labored with Christina Stiles, who has gone on to publish many eventualities for Goodman Video games and Paizo. I used to be in competitors with Chris Perkins. He revealed SO many eventualities they made him editor! Chris was all the time higher. Nice author.
EGG: That is a stable resume! What conventions are you attending this yr?
PDM: I hope I don’t go away any out—as of proper now—Gen Con, Pittsburgh Gaming Expo, Mythic Con Charlotte, and Pax Unplugged in Philadelphia. In 2027, the Philadelphia Space Gaming Expo, Gary Con, hopefully Origins and Gen Con once more. However I’m including cons on a regular basis. Additionally—if there are any con organizers studying this—if anybody needs to run “Bahama Con” or “JamaiCon”—I shall be glad to be a visitor! The Caribbean wants extra cons.
EGG: A Caribbean Con with Pirate Borg could be enjoyable! How did you land upon the thought for Final Dungeon Terrain (UDT)? You bodily constructed the terrain which begs the query, why round as a substitute of sq.?
PDM: I used to be uninterested in protecting my desk with terrain and my gamers spending most of their time in solely a few rooms and complaining about not having the ability to see over the partitions. I began placing my Dwarven Forge on a lazy Susan and simply constructing one room at a time so everybody might transfer it and see what’s happening. Then I noticed Hankerin’ Ferinale utilizing a spherical piece of Styrofoam on Drunkens & Dragons (now Runehammer) and one thing clicked in my head—what if I used low partitions and constructed the room in dwell time? Simply put the minis within the center and constructed the surroundings they had been in? And it labored! And I didn’t should spend a half a day organising or cleansing up terrain.
EGG: Thanks for speaking with me. The place can followers observe Deathbringer and your DungeonTube movies?
PDM: Thanks for having me! I might be discovered on Backerkit and Youtube.
Deathbringer TTRPG by Professor DM from Roll For Fight
- END DATE: Aug 13, 2026 at 8:00pm EDT.
- CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
- PROJECT TYPE: Shadowdark RPG (Deathbringer variant)
- “Solid in blood by Professor DM and Roll For Fight, with contributions from Brandon Gillam, this isn’t one other secure fantasy sport. That is metal. Fireplace. Consequence.”
Egg Embry doesn’t use AI in any of his writing. He participates within the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Video games’ Affiliate Program, Kobold Press Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Affiliate. These packages present promoting charges by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Video games, Kobold Press, and Amazon. In case you just like the articles at EN World please take into account supporting the Patreon.
