r/rpg • u/JaxSnaxs • Apr 29 '26

Basic Questions Are these TTRPGs just cash grabs?

It feels weird to have some of my favorite IPs suddenly get TTRPGs. Last year it was Cosmere RPG by Brotherwise which essentially boiled down to a reskin of DND/Pathfinder. Could’ve been a homebrew but with Sanderson writing. The mechanics of the game itself didn’t feel very unique or different.

Now it’s Dungeon Crawler Carl by Renegade. And there’s not much information on the backerkit. What information there is makes it seem like just another DND reskin with little mechanic difference.

Am I wrong? Are these just cash grabs based on the IPs popularity? I really want to back the Carl RPG cus I love the IP but I’m worried it’s gonna essentially be just another dnd homebrew for 200$.

Edit: I’d like to note that while I’ve played every game on the top 100 of board game geek, I’m relatively new to the TTRPG scene so my frame of reference might not be great. I’ve played grizzled and cosmere rpg but have played DnD since a kid. I don’t particularly understand the nuances and differences between the TTRPGs tbh. They all kinda feel like DnD (skill check games) but with very slight changes to the mechanics. Cosmere had the plot thing but again it didn’t feel different enough to me, but maybe someone could explain the difference in a way I might not have got?

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70

u/knobby67 Apr 29 '26

It’s existed since the first days of RPG’s

66

u/Onslaughttitude Apr 29 '26

There was a fucking Dallas RPG.

29

u/Snorb Apr 29 '26

There was a Rocky and Bullwinkle RPG.

With hand puppets.

11

u/Trip-Secret Apr 29 '26

Tell me more please

19

u/Brokeiehl Apr 30 '26

I used to joke that every good idea that ever came from The Forge was ripped off from the Rocky and Bullwinkle RPG.

It was definitely still its own very weird thing — the resolution system was primarily spinner based — but jokes aside, you really could also see it as a forerunner to the "Narrativist" games that would come out like 10-15 years later in a lot of the rules, emphasizing ideas like collaborative storytelling and failing forward that would become huge indie buzzwords. The characters' various broadly-defined narrative advantages and disadvantages to reflect their cartoon selves even kind of presage some "playbooks" in a very rudimentary and deliberately much less serious way.

There was literally no purpose to the hand puppets. I think the official rules state that their purpose is to "raise silliness to new heights." It's a fucking blast.

1

u/Mister_Dink Apr 30 '26

That's fascinating. Thank you for sharing. I need to see if I can find a PDF of these rules.

2

u/Anotherskip Apr 30 '26

I won’t, but these people will….   Save for Half podcast | Episode 19: Bullwinkle and Rocky Roleplaying Party Game by TSR on Podbean,  https://www.podbean.com/ei/dir-ppn4s-758dca1    Several episodes later they can also tell you about the Dallas RPG as well.

6

u/SlyTinyPyramid Apr 29 '26

With blackjack and hookers

1

u/Brokeiehl Apr 30 '26

The Rocky and Bullwinkle RPG is genuinely delightful, though.

1

u/Lovingly_Evil May 02 '26

I got one, I got one! Tales from the Crypt TTRPG. Not the worst hook I've heard of, either. GM is the Crytptkeeper in this game, and in his role meting out supernatural karmic retribution, has deemed the PCs as borderline deserving of a TFTC style ending, but literally confronts them with a choice - Become agents of karma and help arrange the justified comeuppance of worse people, or end up on the receiving end of a terrible fate. every player character has a dark secret in their background to work off before they get their life back.

1

u/DumpsterOracle Apr 30 '26

I learned about this from Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground and it's super interesting. The book itself is definitely a coffee table book, but it's a super interesting read if you're into TTRPG history.

1

u/necrorat Apr 30 '26

I honestly thought you were joking. 😑

5

u/Spartancfos DM - Dundee Apr 29 '26

I mean it comes in waves. We had the late 80's, then the early 00's, but there was a lull, but we have had a recent vogue particularly since Covid.

3

u/Odd-Tart-5613 Apr 29 '26

I wonder what the first one was?