Help Us Playtest Temasek Tales!

At Criticals & Fumbles, we believe tabletop gaming can make a difference in a community. It brings people together, creates space for shared stories, and gives us opportunities to celebrate where those stories come from. That belief is behind a project very close to us: Temasek Tales, a Southeast Asian-inspired Dungeons & Dragons compendium.

Temasek Tales grew out of more than a decade of our own campaigns, drawing from the folklore, landscapes, beliefs, communities and stories of Southeast Asia. What began as the setting around our own gaming table has gradually grown into something we hope other groups can pick up and make their own. Our aim is not simply to give familiar fantasy a Southeast Asian coat of paint, but to explore how the region's stories, spirits, traditions and environments can shape the way an adventure actually feels and plays.

You can see our live gameplays at https://www.youtube.com/@xpidemix.

Now, we need your help to find out whether that idea works beyond our own table.

From 1 October to 31 December 2026, we are opening Temasek Tales for community playtesting. We have prepared a self-contained adventure for 4–6 players and one Game Master, using the D&D 2024 fifth-edition framework. It is designed for an approximately four-hour session and includes pregenerated characters, GM materials and everything needed to run the adventure. No previous knowledge of Temasek Tales or Southeast Asian folklore is required.

Your table can be anything from a group of friends playing at home to a regular campaign group, community club or organised game at a store. You are also welcome to run the adventure more than once with different groups. In fact, seeing how different tables approach the same adventure is especially useful to us.

This is a proof-of-concept playtest. We want to know whether an unfamiliar GM can run the material comfortably, whether the characters and custom rules are easy to understand, whether the setting feels distinctive, and whether approaches such as investigation, negotiation, local knowledge, ritual, protection and combat all feel meaningful in play. There is no “correct” way to complete the adventure. If something confuses your group, does not work as expected, or leads to a solution we never anticipated, we want to hear about it.

To take part, simply click on the link in the Details below and download all the ready to play packs, including Welcome pack, GM and player feedback QR codes.

Run the adventure anytime during the playtest period. At the end of each session, both the Game Master and players should complete the short online feedback forms using the QR codes provided. All feedback should be submitted by 31 December 2026.

Our current target is to publish Temasek Tales around April 2027. As a token of our appreciation for the time you spend helping us test and improve the project, we will send you a complimentary copy of the published book once it is released. To do so, we will require your details when you submit your GM feedback online.

We would love for Temasek Tales to be shaped not only by our table, but by the wider community that plays it. If you have a table, a few friends and an evening to spare, we would be grateful to have you join us.

Playtest Period: 1 October – 31 December 2026
Players: 4–6 players + 1 Game Master
Session Length: Approximately 4 hours
System: D&D 2024 / fifth-edition framework
To access Playtest materials: CLICK HERE

For enquiries, contact us.

General Enquiries: playtest@criticalsandfumbles.com

Project Lead & Author: moiz.malik@criticalsandfumbles.com

Thank you for helping us bring Temasek Tales from our table to yours.

— Criticals & Fumbles