Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd

What Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd does

Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd is an independent tabletop roleplaying game studio founded in 2017 in Sheffield, United Kingdom, by game designers Grant Howitt and Chris Taylor, with Maz Hamilton serving as business director. The company operates as a private limited company with a headcount in the 1-10 range and no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Its core offerings are narrative-driven tabletop RPG systems and standalone games sold primarily through direct-to-consumer channels and crowdfunding.

The product portfolio is anchored by three flagship RPG systems — Spire: The City Must Fall (a fantasy-punk rebellion game), Heart: The City Beneath (a horror RPG set beneath Spire), and DIE RPG (a meta-RPG exploring tabletop gaming history) — alongside Grant Howitt's One Page Games collection and a broad catalogue of standalone titles spanning comedy (Goblin Quest, Goat Crashers), space opera (Skyfarer), horror (Hollows), and the award-winning Eat the Reich (WWII vampire commandos, three 2024 Gold ENnies). The studio's technical differentiation rests on proprietary mechanics including the Havoc Engine (a D6 dice pool system where dice showing 3 or less are discarded), the fallouts and beats system from Heart that converts failure into narrative momentum, and multi-generational storytelling frameworks from Legacy: Life Among The Ruins and the upcoming Children of Time: The RPG co-developed with author Adrian Tchaikovsky. UFO Press titles (Voidheart Symphony, Worlds of Legacy, Shattered City) are distributed through RR&D as a third-party publishing partner.

Revenue is generated through one-time purchases of physical books (~£25 softcover + PDF bundle) and digital PDFs (~£12), crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Backerkit serving as the primary launch mechanism, merchandise (dice, GM screens, art prints, patches, coins, tarot cards), and free or pay-what-you-want community titles. The storefront at rowanrookanddecard.com supports GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, and CAD with Stripe and PayPal, and physical orders are routed to a regional fulfillment network covering the US (Studio 2 Publishing), EU/EEC (Meeples.nl), APAC (Aetherworks), and general international delivery (TransGlobal Freight Management). Distribution is direct-to-consumer and community-led, supported by an email newsletter, developer blog, active Discord, Facebook, Instagram, podcast presence, and recurring game jams, with EU compliance handled via eucomply oü under GPSR, CE marking, and EPR disposal requirements.

Name

Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd

Legal name

Rowan, Rook and Decard Ltd

Website

https://rowanrookanddecard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rowan, Rook & Decard is an independent UK tabletop roleplaying game publisher founded in 2017, serving hobbyist gamers worldwide with narrative-driven RPG systems such as Spire, Heart, and the award-winning Eat the Reich, sold via direct-to-consumer e-commerce and crowdfunding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tabletop Roleplaying Games

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Book Publishers (513130), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Role-Playing Games (RPGs) & Sourcebooks Retail (CRALALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Board Game Accessories & Components Retail (Sleeves, Dice, Tokens, Inserts) (CRALALAI)

Keywords

• Tabletop roleplaying games
• Indie game publishing
• RPG game design
• Tabletop game publishing
• Crowdfunded game studio

Headquarters

HQ city

City Of London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: Sale of printed tabletop RPG rulebooks and sourcebooks through the company's e-commerce storefront. Physical products are shipped internationally with fulfillment handled by regional partners.
2. Digital Product Sales (PDF): Sale of digital PDF downloads of all games. Digital products are available for immediate download upon payment. Some titles offered at pay-what-you-want pricing.
3. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Primary launch mechanism for new titles via Kickstarter and Backerkit. Backers pledge to fund production of new games, with physical and digital reward tiers.
4. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including art prints, coins, dice, GM screens, patches, pin badges, and tarot cards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Rowan, Rook & Decard designs, publishes, and sells tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs) and related merchandise. Their portfolio includes flagship RPG systems built on proprietary mechanics like the Havoc Engine, standalone titles across genres, one-page games, and free/pay-what-you-want content. Products are delivered as physical printed books and digital PDFs through their own e-commerce storefront and crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Backerkit.

Product overview

Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd is an independent tabletop RPG studio founded in 2017 by Grant Howitt and Chris Taylor, serving as creators and publishers of tabletop roleplaying games. The product portfolio centers on three flagship RPG systems—Spire: The City Must Fall (a fantasy-punk rebellion game), Heart: The City Beneath (a horror RPG set beneath Spire), and DIE RPG (a meta-RPG exploring gaming history)—complemented by the One Page Games collection of compact RPGs. Standalone titles include the award-winning Eat the Reich (WWII vampire commandos), Hollows (horror monster hunting), and various other games spanning genres from comedy (Goblin Quest, Goat Crashers) to space opera (Skyfarer) to multi-generational storytelling (Worlds of Legacy). The company also publishes titles from UFO Press partners including Voidheart Symphony and Shattered City. A recent addition is the Havoc Engine Toolkit, a system design guide enabling third-party game creation. The company operates as both publisher and storefront, selling physical books, PDFs, and merchandise (dice, art prints, GM screens) directly through their e-commerce platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spire: The City Must Fall A fantasy-punk tabletop RPG where players take the role of revolutionaries in a dystopian fantasy city, exploring themes of rebellion, brutality, and oppression.
• Heart: The City Beneath A horror tabletop RPG set beneath Spire in a red wet heaven of horrors, featuring fallouts and beats systems that center player agency and turn failure into dramatic storytelling moments.
• DIE RPG A tabletop RPG set in a world stitched together from players' obsessions, featuring meta-dungeon gameplay exploring fifty years of TTRPG history.
• One Page Games A collection of Grant Howitt's punchy tabletop RPGs designed to fit on one sheet of paper, featuring short, well-written, and exciting RPG experiences.
• Eat the Reich An over-the-top ultraviolent tabletop RPG where players are WWII vampire commandos with one mission: drink all of Hitler's blood. Uses the Havoc Engine D6 dice pool system.
• Hollows A horror tabletop RPG where players are Hunters tracking and destroying Entities in pocket dimensions called Hollows that have absorbed pieces of reality.
• Goblin Quest A comedic tabletop RPG featuring goblins in various misadventures.
• Skyfarer A standalone space-themed tabletop RPG.
• Havoc Brigade A freewheeling tabletop RPG about six orcish commandos infiltrating a human city and getting up to various hijinks.
• Unbound A freeform tabletop RPG system.
• Royal Blood A standalone tabletop RPG.
• ORC BORG A hack of another tabletop RPG system.
• Voidheart Symphony A demon-filled tabletop RPG where players dive into a labyrinth to save the ones they love.
• Worlds of Legacy A multi-generational storytelling tabletop RPG where players tell stories that span generations.
• Shattered City A collaborative storytelling tabletop RPG about a city's struggle for freedom.
• Havoc Engine Toolkit A system design guide for the Havoc Engine mechanics that underpin Eat the Reich and Havoc Brigade, including a printable workbook for creating custom tabletop RPGs.
• Goat Crashers A one-page tabletop RPG about a cheeky goat who wants to party at events they are not supposed to attend, offered on a pay-what-you-want basis.
• Free RPGs A collection of free and pay-what-you-want tabletop RPGs ranging from single pages to starter sets.
• Ways and Means A hardback sourcebook for Heart: The City Beneath featuring new classes (Witness, Blightborn, Crawler), callings, equipment, and hirelings.
• Merchandise Physical branded merchandise including art prints, coins, dice, GM screens, cloth patches, pin badges, and tarot cards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eat the Reich won 3 Gold ENnie Awards in 2024 (Best Cover Art, Best Interior Art, Best Adventure) and was nominated for Product of the Year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TransGlobal Freight Management LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTransGlobal Freight Management Ltd handles fulfillment of physical orders from RR&D's e-shop for general international delivery. They receive customer phone number, email address, and postal address to process and deliver orders.
• Studio 2 Publishing (S2P)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStudio 2 Publishing handles US-specific order fulfillment from RR&D's e-shop, processing and delivering physical products to US customers.
• Aetherworks (AW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAetherworks handles APAC-specific order fulfillment from RR&D's e-shop, processing and delivering physical products to Asia-Pacific customers.
• Meeples.nlcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMeeples.nl handles EU and EEC order fulfillment from RR&D's e-shop, processing and delivering physical products to European customers.
• eucomply oÜ (EU Compliance Partner)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partnereucomply oÜ acts as RR&D's EU Responsible Person for GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) product safety compliance. Address: Pärnu mnt. 139b – 14, 11317 Tallinn, Estonia. This is a regulatory compliance requirement for EU market access.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is the primary payment processor for RR&D's e-commerce transactions, handling credit and debit card payments.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayPal is an alternative payment processor available for RR&D's e-commerce transactions.
• Adrian TchaikovskycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdrian Tchaikovsky is co-developing Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game with RR&D, based on his award-winning sci-fi Children Of novel series. RR&D is licensing and co-developing the RPG adaptation.
• Goodman GamesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRR&D is participating in Goodman Games' Megadungeon Month on Backerkit (April), developing the DIE Metadungeon as part of a coordinated megadungeon campaign launch.
• Kickstarter, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKickstarter is the primary crowdfunding platform used by RR&D for launching new products. The site contains hyperlinks to Kickstarter and references Kickstarter Zine Quest.
• BackerkitcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBackerkit is the primary crowdfunding and pre-order platform used by RR&D for new product launches including Ways and Means and Children of Time: The RPG. Also hosts Zinetopia campaign collection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• itch.io: Open digital distribution platform where many indie TTRPG creators publish free, pay-what-you-want, and commercial PDF titles. Comparable as a discovery and digital-distribution channel that competes for the indie TTRPG creator-audience attention RR&D cultivates, though it is a platform rather than a competing publisher.

Direct peers

• Goodman Games: Indie tabletop publisher of Dungeon Crawl Classics and other RPG systems; active on Backerkit crowdfunding with megadungeon-style products. RR&D is actually a current co-marketing partner (DIE Metadungeon in Goodman Games' Megadungeon Month), confirming direct overlap in indie TTRPG audience and crowdfunding channel.
• Free League Publishing: Swedish independent tabletop RPG publisher behind award-winning titles such as Tales from the Loop and Mörk Borg. Comparable in indie TTRPG focus, narrative-forward design philosophy, physical+PDF D2C distribution, and award-winning recognition (ENnies, Origins).
• Pelgrane Press: Independent tabletop RPG publisher of GUMSHOE-system investigative games such as Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents. Comparable as a small, design-led indie TTRPG publisher with a strong reputation in narrative-leaning systems.
• Magpie Games: Indie tabletop RPG publisher of similar size and channel mix (direct-to-consumer + Kickstarter), with acclaimed narrative-driven systems such as Urban Shadows and Avatar Legends. Closely comparable in product type (rules-light narrative RPGs), target customer (indie TTRPG enthusiasts), and D2C-plus-crowdfunding go-to-market.
• Modiphius Entertainment: Independent tabletop publisher of licensed and original RPGs (Conan, Achtung! Cthulhu, Dune). Comparable in indie TTRPG publishing with a focus on narrative and licensed IP, and similarly active on Backerkit crowdfunding campaigns.
• Evil Hat Productions: Independent tabletop RPG publisher known for FATE, Thrifted Sword Lesions, and other narrative-leaning systems. Comparable in indie TTRPG publishing focus, direct-to-consumer storefront, and community-driven launch style.
• Bully Pulpit Games: Independent publisher of narrative-focused tabletop RPGs including Fiasco, a GM-less scenario game. Comparable as a similarly sized indie publisher producing rules-light, narrative-forward titles with a D2C + convention presence.

Broad incumbents

• Paizo: Established publisher of Pathfinder and Starfinder tabletop RPGs, with broad retail and hobby-game store distribution. Comparable as a tabletop RPG publisher but operating at significantly larger scale with broader portfolio reach beyond the indie niche RR&D occupies.
• Wizards of the Coast: Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, the dominant tabletop RPG franchise with global hobby-game retail and digital (D&D Beyond) reach. Comparable as a tabletop RPG publisher shaping the broader hobby market in which RR&D competes, but operating at vastly larger scale and with broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rowanrookanddecard
• Instagraminstagram.com/rowanrookanddecard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rowan-rook-decard

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rowan, Rook & Decard Ltd