Back in November 2024, Wizards of the Coast announced that it was working on a tabletop RPG that wasn’t Dungeons and Dragons. Instead, Exodus would adapt the upcoming videogame of the same name, announced in 2023 and crafted by Bioware and Baldur’s Gate veteran James Ohlen. Fast-forward to August 2025, and there’s still no sign of the Exodus videogame, but Wizards has quietly released its transmedia TTRPG.
The first copies of the core rules apparently arrived with early adopters in Spring 2025. Now, an official Exodus TTRPG storefront has copies of two books – the core Traveler’s Handbook and the Exodus Encyclopedia – available for around $30 each. Wizards of the Coast sent us an early copy of the Traveler’s Handbook, which means we can confirm details about how the system runs.
For better or worse, Exodus is basically D&D in space.
We’re not talking about the setting, of course. Ohlen (best known for his work at Bioware on legendary CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Knights of the Old Republic) has crafted a fully fleshed-out sci-fi setting where you’ll play as long-distance, post-human Travelers rather than fantasy adventurers. The Travelers are a community of explorers and treasure hunters who, in exchange for the riches and technology they return to their home worlds with, must grapple with the effects of time dilation meaning that a short trip keeps them away for several years.
That’s the flavor. Mechanically, however, Exodus is a more compact, equipment-focused spin-off of the D&D 5e system. By that, we mean that Exodus is a D20 tabletop RPG with a focus on exploration and combat.
Your character uses the exact same six DnD stats as fifth edition, and they have an armor class and hit dice to protect them from harm. Combat takes place in rounds structured by Initiative, where everyone gets a single action, bonus action, and reaction to play with.
Exodus’ eight Origins function a lot like the DnD 2024 backgrounds of modern fifth edition, offering ability score increases and extra skill proficiencies. Exodus’ classes are also structured similarly to DnD classes, complete with subclasses to choose from. Even some class features, such as Extra Attack, Weapon Mastery, and Indomitable, have been directly ported from D&D.
Unlike D&D, play caps at level 10 rather than level 20. Your stats and skills also scale more rapidly, thanks to a Constellation tattoo that boosts a stat or adds a skill proficiency with every level up. Plus, you get the usual Ability Score Improvements at levels four and eight.
The other major distinction is Exodus’ focus on equipment and technology rather than spells and magic items. Around a third of the book is dedicated to detailing the weapons, gear, augments, and spaceships that help Travelers survive. The Cataphract class operate specialized Mechs, for example, while Rangers partner with Awakened animals that have the same sapience as post-humans.
From an RPG fan’s perspective, the overall feeling is a system that’s reliable but not particularly creative. It’s not exciting, but it’s also not surprising that Wizards of the Coast would lean on D&D, the most established RPG on the planet, when branching out. Particularly when you consider that other publishers rarely deviate from their safe systems to explore sci-fi.
Paizo has Starfinder, which is now entirely compatible with Pathfinder thanks to a remaster. Free League has Coriolis: The Great Dark, the latest in a long line of games to adapt its Year Zero Engine.
Wizards of the Coast’s design choices may be realistic, but they still leave us feeling a little deflated. Perhaps that’s because, based on the RPG book alone, we don’t really know why we should care about Exodus. The sparse worldbuilding available in the Traveler’s Handbook gives the basic overview of a grand, futuristic universe, but it doesn’t sell us a future that looks special.
Nor are we particularly compelled to engage with the game’s marketing, which so far feels more like homework for the consumer. The transmedia approach means that numerous RPG books, actual play episodes, and even a novelization of Exodus have appeared, but we know precious little about the videogame that’s the nucleus of this universe. All we know for sure is that it’s meant to arrive in 2026.
Have your own opinions on the Exodus RPG? Tell us all about them in the Wargamer Discord. Or, for more on 5e, here’s all you need to know about DnD races and this year’s DnD release schedule.