There's A Diablo TTRPG (and boardgame) Coming!

At BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard Entertainment announced a tabletop roleplaying game and a boardgame based on the Diablo series of video games. The TTRPG is slated for a 2024 crowdfunding campaign, and are being worked on in conjunction with the baordgame company Glass Cannon Unplugged and Genuine Entertainment, while the boardgame is set for fall 2025.

The TTRPG will share components and accessories with the boardgame. The system is an original system, and will use mechanics inspired by Diablo IV. It will explore the Sanctuary, with adventures in the overworld and underworld.

You can sign up for notifications over at Glass Cannon Unplugged.

This isn't the first Diablo TTRPG--back in 2000, WotC released the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game: Diablo II Edition for D&D 3E, written by Jeff Grubb and Bill Slavicsek. There were additional supplements, such as 2001's Diablo II: To Hell and Back (a dungeon crawl), and Diablerie (a world book).

 

[Von Ether]

Blizzard is pretty big . . . but Glass Cannon isn't. How does Glass Cannon using Kickstarter to launch a licensed game hurt smaller publishers?

It doesn't.

And what does this have to do with A.I.? Nothing. A small publisher using AI that scrapes existing art without the consent of the artist isn't any more legit than a large company doing so.

Kickstarter, and other crowdfunding platforms, are tools for publishers big and small. It was never intended just for the "little guys".

" worked on in conjunction with the boardgame company Glass Cannon Unplugged and Genuine Entertainment," sounds more like a partnership and less than a licensing deal, but I could be wrong.

Until then we can agree to disagree.

 

[timbannock]

But seriously, this doesn't need a kickstarter. My personal opinion, when companies with real resources will use the same tools to avoid risks or avoid paying for talent is is the main reason we don't get to use tools like AI art even though they could greatly help small companies or one-person shops with no budget make better products.

Agreed. It dilutes what crowd funding is, turning it into a simple pre-order and marketing apparatus for companies that often already have those things, but see them as an "unnecessary expense," which probably leads to those teams getting laid off :-(

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I seriously doubt Blizzard is paying for this, especially given that this deal was struck during merger talks. Companies are typically asked to trim unnecessary expenses during those periods. More likely is that Glass Cannon paid for a license to produce this product and to get access to Blizzard's artists and developers to help make it as authentic as possible. Blizzard saying nice things about Glass Cannon doesn't mean that Glass Cannon doesn't still need to raise lots of revenue to put out a deluxe product.

The good news is that, with a Blizzcon 2024 release date scheduled upfront, they've got a rabid audience of customers locked in (the gorgeous Diablo IV metal polyhedral dice were sold out this year before the convention even formally began), and it suggests that they've already got a lot of work done, since they'll need to be going to print in the spring or early summer to be able to make that timetable.

 

[GMMichael]

The TTRPG will share components and accessories with the boardgame.

I was wondering what the point is - there are 8,000 original systems out there (but only a handful of good ones). They could just put out a setting book (which has probably already been done) . . . unless there's value to be gained by playing both the board game and the DRPG.

Better yet - an RPG mode for the VRPG - so the game acts like a virtual table, to some degree?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I was wondering what the point is - there are 8,000 original systems out there (but only a handful of good ones). They could just put out a setting book (which has probably already been done) . . . unless there's value to be gained by playing both the board game and the DRPG.

In recent years, Blizzard has been cranking out big lore books, presumably for Diablo Immortal and Diablo IV to draw upon, and those would be good resources for existing DMs who just want to use Sanctuary as a setting.

I disagree about Diablo IV being best suited for an existing system. Ideally, it needs to have a few classes, but deep levels of customization available within those classes (much deeper than what 5E offers), and the ability to handle combat against dozens of opponents at once without it bogging down.

Even at relatively low levels, a Diablo character can take on a dozen or so opponents and have combat resolve within 15 to 30 seconds. In most tabletop games, that could take an hour or more, which will be unacceptable for those looking for a Diablo-style experience.

I think that making a bespoke system makes a lot of sense in this case. (In contrast, I could definitely see modern World of Warcraft working with the 5E engine, which supports high level superheroic play much better.)

 

[Reynard]

I disagree about Diablo IV being best suited for an existing system. Ideally, it needs to have a few classes, but deep levels of customization available within those classes (much deeper than what 5E offers), and the ability to handle combat against dozens of opponents at once without it bogging down.

I was thinking about this the other day, coincidentally, and the thing I came up with would be to build the core system on dice pools for combat. That way, you could say that a horde of monsters of an arbitrary size would have a Combat Pool equal to its current Health (or whatever) while Bosses would have static pools or even ones that increased as they took damage.

Obviously that is a super bare bones idea but I think it could lead to a system that emulates the swarms of enemies being constantly smashed by the PCs feel you would want. I would probably pair it with zoned ranges and stuff rather than trying to constantly add and remove tokens from a map.

That said, I once used a chain loop as a swarm mini: it had a defined are but could form itself into any contiguous shape on the battlemat. It worked pretty well.

 

[Weiley31]

In recent years, Blizzard has been cranking out big lore books, presumably for Diablo Immortal and Diablo IV to draw upon, and those would be good resources for existing DMs who just want to use Sanctuary as a setting.

One thing I will admit is that Blizzard and their games are usually pretty spot on with their lore. It amazes me how substantial the lore is for a number of their series. I remember reading some of the older Diablo novels back in the day and I thought they were pretty neat.

It was actually this book right here that made me really like the Diablo version of Necromancers. The secondary lead was a female Necromancer and her sections did go over some of the brief philosophies of the Priests of Rathma during her early introduction IIRC.

And while many people DID criticize Diablo 3 for being too WoW in look/appearance, I will admit that I did enjoy its story and the idea/concept of the Nephalem. Also, its Necromancer class too, but that's a whole different bucket of apples.

 

[Dire Bare]

I was wondering what the point is - there are 8,000 original systems out there (but only a handful of good ones). They could just put out a setting book (which has probably already been done) . . . unless there's value to be gained by playing both the board game and the DRPG.

Better yet - an RPG mode for the VRPG - so the game acts like a virtual table, to some degree?

What's the point? Value? The point, and the value, is . . . fun!

Diablo is a popular video game franchise that could potentially make for a fun board game and TTRPG. What else do you need? They could use an existing system or create a new system . . . who cares as long as it is well designed and fun?

We know very little about the project at this point. What kind of components will the board game come with, and which will be shared with the TTRPG? Making judgements now is kinda silly. It is likely to be a small line of products, with possibly just the one board game and just one RPG book. Expansions to either or both are certainly possible, but a "one-shot" (or two-shot, I suppose) would be welcome if well done.

 

[Weiley31]

The Survey mentioned Diablo games that players may have partaken in and Diablo Immortals was one of the choices. I'll admit that for the survey I've chosen Diablo 4, Immortals, and Diablo 3. Even though I've only actually played D2 and D3.

 

[Voadam]

Before the 3e D&D one there was a 2e one, Diablo II The Awakening. It was pretty fantastic, the only problem for me was the classes not being on the same power baseline as normal AD&D classes so I was not going to allow them into my games as just flat out higher powered options. The monsters and items were great and I remember really liking what was there of flavor text and wanting more setting stuff fleshed out as it seemed fairly cool. My memories of the 3e ones was that they were more bare bones lists of stats and very little description or flavor or setting.