Evil Hat Productions, an indie DnD rival and TTRPG publisher known for games like Fate, Blades in the Dark, and Thirsty Sword Lesbians, has cancelled its Tomb Raider RPG, citing "creative differences" with the licensors, Crystal Dynamics.
The company now plans to retool the system and use its designer's creation to produce its own original game, unconnected to the Tomb Raider brand.
"We're proud of the work they've done and we plan to retool the project as a standalone game with a fresh, original setting. You haven't seen the last of it." says a statement on the publisher's website.
Announced in February 2024, Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth was to be a tabletop RPG in which you played members of an adventurous group called the Seekers of Truth. Rather than any one player taking on the role, you'd be following in Lara Croft's footsteps. It was designed with a version of the Powered by the Apocalypse system used by all kinds of story games, and included character classes like The Hunter, The Crafter, and the supernatural-touched Changed.
This passed me by at the time, but it looks like close to its announcement, the game was spun into a controversy by predictable corners of the internet. An alleged excerpt from a playtest document circulated, suggesting Shadows of Truth would include themes of decolonization and tackle the moral implications of breaking into historical sites and… well, raiding them.
Asked for more details about what caused the project to derail, business manager Chris Hanrahan tells Wargamer: "We hit upon a disagreement on the game's final form. Fans may find that disappointing but it's not uncommon in a licensor/licensee arrangement."
We didn't manage to get answers about what the new game would look like, but to be honest it doesn't seem very difficult to detach this concept from the Tomb Raider name. Even when it was announced, some Evil Hat fans were questioning why it needed to be tied to the IP in the first place.
Fans who want to see Lara Croft on the tabletop will still have their appetites sated, though not in the form of an RPG. Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos, a board game by Iconiq, is expected to launch in February 2026, and its Kickstarter campaign is just drawing to a close.
If you're interested in finding out more about Evil Hat's not-Tomb Raider title, let us know via the Wargamer Discord. You may also enjoy reading about the best board games, or swotting up for your next RPG night with our guide to DnD classes.