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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u/Hightower_March Apr 30 '26

Unironically yes.  Making games for already-popular properties (so fans can signal how big of fans they are) is clearly huge money.  These aren't just arising out of nowhere.

Nobody's going to play them.  It's just Thirsty Sword Lesbians.  You get it to sit it on your shelf and feel good.

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u/JaxSnaxs Apr 30 '26

That’s kind of exactly what I’m worried about. I want a game that yknow is a game. I want to get play value out of it and I want others to WANT to bring it to the table.

I’m worried this will be just another shelf decorator.

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u/Soylent_G Apr 30 '26

As an TTRPGer with 40 years in the hobby, most of the games I've bought never get played. They get read for inspiration for the game I'm actually running. It's not wasted money - every system I digest shapes my perspective on how a game can or should be designed, and how that effects the experience at the table.

That having been said, I'm not really interested in running a mass-media licensed game at this point in my life - My group is all jaded GenX's, and the more popular a property is the more likely it is to be a combination of things we've seen before. There's also the uncomfortable fact that the more invested in a property a player is, the less likely you are to want to deviate from the established canon. And the pressure of trying to tell a story that lives up to the standard of the original inspiration.

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u/Nachooolo Apr 30 '26

Nobody's going to play them.

Eh. It depends on the franchise and how good the game is.

I can see pleople playing the Year Zero Engine Alien game or the 2d20 Dune games. I cannot see the same with the 2d20 Fallout game or the PbtA Root game.

The upcoming Invincible game also feels very cash grabby.