Terry Pratchett's Discworld Going To Tabletop With Modiphius

Modiphius has announced it has secured the rights to produce tabletop games for Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Stating it has negotiated an agreement with the estate, Modiphius will publish games that "honour the humour, satire, and darkly entertaining fantasy series."

Speaking about the deal, Rob Wilkins said on behalf of the Pratchett Estate, “Terry had a lifelong affection with roleplaying games and it’s an entirely logical path along which you can follow his career from Dungeon Master to him becoming one of our most celebrated and beloved fantasy authors of all time. We are delighted to be partnering with Modiphius. We love their work and we love their ethos and we entirely trust them to get things right.”

What can we expect?

Modiphius has confirmed a Discworld RPG around the city of Ankh-Morpork and the wider Disc, using Kickstarter in late 2024. Nothing further has been confirmed, but Modiphus are known for their wargames and board games – as well as the big RPG names like Conan, Star Trek, John Carter of Mars, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, – so we're hopeful for a wide range of tabletop opportunities in the coming years. 

Whilst we're also too early to know things like systems or settings, Modiphius has launched a survey to the fanbase that allows Discworld fans to have input in the games developed. The survey is open now. 

Terry Pratchett's RPG & Games

It's not the first time the world has been adapted. Steve Jackson Games published a sourcebook in 1998 for a Discworld RPG, but it hasn't been touched since. Similarly, the Discworld Ankh Morpork board game was published by Treefrog Games, and Clacks: A Discworld Board Game from Backspindle Games show that the world is perfect for our industry. Whether formalised in the above, or informal – Hereward Wargames Show hosted a fan made game using the Witches! – it's certainly got a lot to offer. 

Modiphius founder and chief creative officer Chris Birch said, “I’m sure many of us have Terry’s unique world in our mind's eye when we’re roleplaying. Ankh-Morpork has had such a special place in the community and is full of so much character it was a great place to begin our journeys on the Disc.”