Funnily enough, the most interesting RPG news this week had nothing to do with Warhammer. But while Chaosium’s housecleaning on DriveThruRPG was restricted to their own properties, it pertains to an issue firmly in frame for all role-playing game designers and other creatives: the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in content creation.
As shared on their blog, Chaosium triggered the removal of more than two dozen titles from DriveThruRPG that were community-created, due to suspected use of AI in their production. While they chose not to disclose the names of the titles and/or creators of the removed releases, they did give an overview of their detection process as well as what they’re looking for:
How do we detect AI text, in addition to software designed for the purpose? AI writing has many hallmarks, such as:
Absolutely perfect grammar and spelling, zero typos.
A certain present tense breathless style that is relentless.
Strange but uniform formatting with many lists and many tables.
Expressions and structure applied meticulously in a way that we have never seen before in any published scenario from any roleplaying company.
Not-quite-right application of the rules, world lore, or advice to the gamemaster.
“If not this, then that” syntax.
A feeling that the scenario has many words but you never quite understand it because it has not been explained by a living gamemaster.
Layout so neat and published so quickly that it has been exported, not laid out.
Em dashes, it’s always the em dashes, that blameless and useful piece of typography.
And finally, worst of all: it’s dull.
In one sense, this is a headache Cubicle 7 doesn’t necessarily have to contend with. Since it doesn’t offer an open gaming license through which community works are permitted1, it preempts having to police such content for violations of its own policy.
On the other hand, Cubicle 7 is in a creative industry, and the use of AI is still very much a developing concern.
Component Upgrade
One of the things I’ve been paying attention to in Trench Crusade Weekly is what the personnel acquisitions Factory Fortress has undertaken say about its ambition for the property and their place in the gaming space. For example, they’ve secured the services of Marc Gascoigne- one of the three godfathers of the Black Library- to head up licensing opportunities. Furthermore, they’ve started to build up their body of fiction with a trio of Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame authors (Gav Thorpe, Graham McNeill, and Josh Reynolds).
In a similar vein, I was delighted to note that Cubicle 7 had recently landed Alex Evans, former Editor-in-Chief of Wargamer. I’ve spoken before about my perception of Cubicle 7 as “the little engine that could,” a company that has heavily focused on delivering its core products at the expense of some of its essential business functions like order fulfillment and corporate communications- as well as some of the community frustration that that has engendered.
Evans was at the helm of Wargamer since 2021, when Network N brought him in to help spearhead the site’s overhaul and relaunch. Under his watch Wargamer moved from being a niche, PC-gaming site to a more broad-based news and opinion platform covering the hobby from digital to tabletop. And while sure, he couldn’t resist the occasional cheeky (yet self-aware) hot take, I appreciated how Wargamer tended to avoid the easy engagement farming rife in the segment and instead focused on more substantive coverage.
Asked for comment, Evans had this to say:
I’m ridiculously excited (and proud) to have joined Cubicle 7 as Head of Marketing. It took a very special opportunity to take me away from my beloved Wargamer, and this is a very special opportunity. I’ve been a colossal fan of C7’s RPGs for years, and particularly of the books’ superb writing, immersive details, and uncompromising approach to quality.
My mission now is to bring those games to as many people as possible, and level up communications about the incredible design work that we do. That starts with our new production updates, of course, but I have much, much more in the works.
While of course the proof is always in the pudding, I think this represents a real statement of intent from Cubicle 7 and should be seen as an encouraging sign of what’s ahead. Last week’s blog post acknowledging some of the community’s frustrations and pledging improvement seemed to be positively received, and if followed by action will go a long way towards bringing the company’s business side up to par with its gaming development talent.
RPG Bestsellers
Bookwriters get their New York Times bestseller lists, so why shouldn’t we enjoy the same thing? While we don’t have any aggregated sales lists, we can use DriveThruRPG’s top-seller list as a reasonable barometer- and here’s this week’s snapshot!
Starting this week, I’ll also be including the metallic tier for each product. These are awarded based on the total volume of sales:
Copper: 51 units sold
Silver: 101
Electrum: 251
Gold: 501
Platinum: 1,001
Mithral: 2,501
Adamantine: 5,001
Warhammer RPG Titles in the Top 200:
#2 ( - , Platinum) Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Fifth Edition Core Rulebook
#3 ( - , Silver): Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Wrecker’s Point
#7 (-3, Electrum) Imperium Maledictum: Macharian Adversary Guide
#94 (-13, Gold). Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Sylvania: The Cursed County
#150 (+42, Mithral). Imperium Maledictum: Core Rulebook
#194 (-21, Adamantine). Wrath & Glory: Core Rulebook
Total Books in Top 200: 6 (+1)
This was a terrific week for Cubicle 7. Sure, Sylvania continued its natural, life-cycle descent and the Wrath & Glory Core Rulebook nearly fell off the table, but WFRP’s Fifth Edition Core Rulebook has continued to enjoy a terrific run.
Remember, the Wrath & Glory Core Rulebook was originally released in 2020. For it to see any time on the Top 200 six years later is a win.
Wrecker’s Point, meanwhile, had a splashy, top-five debut, and the recently-released Macharian Adversary Guide is holding quite steady.
With the inclusion of metallic tier sales data, we now have a better picture of how each book is performing. For instance, the WFRP 5E’s book is currently at Platinum, meaning it has sold a minimum of 1,001 copies but less than the 2,501 copies needed for Mithral.
It’s important to note when considering this that it is only a reflection of how many copies have been sold on DriveThruRPG. It does not account for hard-copy sales at a game store, for instance, or even the full amount of how many copies have been ordered or preordered on Cubicle 7’s webstore (since unredeemed codes are a thing).
ICYMI
Geek Origins released a terrific little history of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay this week: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: The Grimdark RPG That Refused to Die for 40 Years. “This video tells the story of how a schoolboy wargame in Lincoln became Warhammer,” it notes, “how Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and The Enemy Within were born, and how the game was handed from Flame to an Italian publisher, to Hogshead, Black Industries, Fantasy Flight and finally Cubicle 7, outliving three of the companies that published it, right up to its fifth edition and its fortieth anniversary.” All in less than 30 minutes, too!
The Lorebeards recently held a livestream with WFRP/The Old World writer/developer Vera Simila, whose credits include the High Elf Player's Guide and Sea Wardens of Cothique. While not specifically Warhammer-focused, the topic was a relevant one: how to create memorable villains for your players in role-playing.
A good conversation on the u/warhammerfantsyrpg Subreddit this week occurred after a WFRP 2E “greybeard” asked if 5E was worth trying.
Getting into the Spooky Season spirit, Ill Met by Morrslieb reviewed the WFRP 4e scenario, Something Knocking.
1Shot Adventures shared five tips for GM’s looking to run Power Behind the Throne.
Finally, if you’re looking for a point of entry for a The Old World watch-it-played video series, Glory of Golden State Gaming kicked their latest season off this week!
Coming Attractions
Here’s a list of the known upcoming physical releases based on the available preorder information we have. Note that Cubicle 7’s own delivery estimates appear to be just that- estimates- which is why many products have an upcoming delivery listed for Q1 while we’re already past that.
This section will be updated weekly in this column, with new or updated info presented in boldface.
Games Workshop
Undated (and now Uncertain)
Necromunda Roleplay Core Set
Cubicle 7 Games
Shipping Q3
Limited Edition Warhammer Fantasy Map Bundle 1 (July 2026)
Limited Edition Warhammer Fantasy Map Bundle 2 (July 2026)
Shipping Q4
Temple of Spite (Q4)
Shipping Spring 2027
Fifth Edition: Core Rulebook (standard hardcover)
Fifth Edition: Core Rulebook (collector’s edition)
Fifth Edition: Character Sheets
Fifth Edition: Reikland Dice Set
Fifth Edition: Monsters & Adversaries Deck
Fifth Edition: Conditions & Injuries Deck
Shipping 2027
Sylvania: The Cursed County
Wrecker’s Point
Fifth Edition: Reikland Map
Shipping Q4
Starter Set (Sept/Oct)
Gamemaster’s Screen (Sept/Oct)
Shipping 2027
Talagaad Adventures
Shipping Q1
Champions of Chaos: Dark Gifts Card Pack (Q1)
Champions of Chaos: Spells Lore Card Pack (Q1)
Champions of Chaos: Artefacts & Wargear Card Pack (Q1)
Champions of Chaos: Core Rulebook (Standard and Collector’s Edition) (Q1)
Champions of Chaos: Bloodwind Spoil Map (Q1)
Shipping Q3
Limited Edition Age of Sigmar Map Bundle (July 2026)
Shipping Q1 2027
Champions of Chaos: Carngrad Adventures
Undated
(Nothing at this time)
Shipping Q3
Macharian Sector Map (September 2026)
Shipping Q4
Adeptus Mechanicus Collector’s Edition
Adeptus Mechanicus Player’s Guide
Adeptus Mechanicus Gamemaster’s Guide
Adeptus Mechanicus Character Sheet Pad (Q4)
Shipping Spring 2027
Macharian Adversary Guide
Undated
(Nothing at this time)
Thanks for reading this week, and happy gaming!
Nor likely could it, given that most of C7’s product lines are based on licenses.
released this edition about an hour too early as Necromunda RPG is off the books as per Warhammer Community article https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/ntkfvqdt/new-for-necromunda-in-2027/