For Project Black Flag, its new TTRPG engine, Kobold Press, a former publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, has released its first development update. Once Kobold Press releases its final Dungeons and Dragons-compatible products, it will turn its focus to the project, so players should anticipate specifics for this system soon.

There has been more information released about Project Black Flag, the next ruleset from Kobold Press that will expand upon and replace the ones from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Kobold Press has revealed new information on what Project Black Flag will contain since it was first announced last month.

Our plans for the @BlackFlagRPG going forward.

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— Kobold Press (@KoboldPress) January 18, 2023

Project Black Flag, which will "revise and refine classic concepts while introducing new, streamlined possibilities," is a ruleset that is entirely compatible with 5E rules. Kobold Press has listed some of the distinctions between Project Black Flag and 5E in a blog post. For instance, Project Black Flag will let players choose a Lineage and Heritage when creating a character to give their background additional individuality. Project Black Flag will also contain a new talent system with more customization choices incorporating technical, magical, or martial skills.

Following Wizards of the Coast's announcement that it would be discontinuing the Open Gaming License, which provided a legal framework for the creation of D&D material by third parties, Project Black Flag was first introduced as a potential alternate ruleset to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition last month. Despite the fact that Wizards of the Coast ultimately abandoned these intentions and made the 5E SRD (which includes the core rules for 5E) available under a Creative Commons licence, several publishers are currently pursuing 5E substitute systems that they can directly manage and promote.

Project Black Flag has a number of partners lined up by Kobold Press, including various VTT providers that will support the game and other publishers that will release content utilising the ruleset. Roll 20, DemiPlane, Foundry VTT, and Fantasy Grounds are examples of confirmed VTTs and Digital Toolsets. Meanwhile, publishing partners for the game include GhostFire Gaming, Hit Point Press, Steamforged Games, Frog God Games, and Mage Hand Press. These publishing tools will either publish content designed for Project Black Flag or content that is compatible with it