Happy Hogmanay!
’tis the season for RPG blogs to write lists and predictions. Geek Native will try and keep those impulses in check and moderate the urges appropriately.
Nevertheless, in this weekly summary of RPG news, a temporary section links to some 2020 and 2021 thoughts from other sites.
It could perhaps be the time of year quietest for RPG publishers, but there are still some headlines this week and not limited to Nightfall Games making the quickstart for The Terminator RPG available. This 5S5 powered system will be based on the first movie, minus Arnie’s face (which is too expensive to use) and the Dark Horse comics, but nothing else. Some fans may say that’s the purest parts of the franchise anyway.
Kickstarter is also very quiet, but the average campaign goal is rocketing skywards. Whyso? Well, every week there’s always one or two projects that ask for big money, and those seem pretty regular despite the holidays. Without the “more typical” projects to bring the average back down these big beasts are unchecked. They don’t seem to be being particularly successful, though.
And on that note; on with the TTRPG news!
RPG news from Geek Native
- Nightfall Games have released a Pay What You Want download quickstart for The Terminator RPG.
- A free supernatural-action tabletop RPG is available as a wiki. It’s The Contract.
- Free to download musical scores for your TTRPGs and Patreon supported bonuses with Arcane Anthems.
- Knight Errant Media has a Titan Effect RPG holiday bundle.
- Pinnacle has a Savage Worlds upgrade for the Foundry VTT.
- Wizards of the Coast has two freebies that they snuck on to DriveThruRPG. One is Three-Dragon Ante and the other To the City of Brass.
- The Bundle of Holding has two Traveller RPG deals.
- Wrapping the year with quirky geeky stats and answering the question Which pets make the most popular dungeon companions?
- James Lennox-Gordon adapted the 2400 microgames/toolkit for 1400 Sneak.
2020 reflections / 2021 predictions
- At EN World, Lewis Pulsipher wrote up Worlds of Design: What the Future Holds for RPGs – Part 1 and Part 2.
- Nerdarchy’s Doug Vehovec shared Tabletop Roleplaying Game Expectations in 2021.
- Over at Forbes, Rob Wieland told us about My Five Favourite Role Playing Game Products of 2020.
- Rolling Boxcar shared their Best of 2020.
RPG news from around the web
- Bully Pulpit Games has a free Fiasco playtest called Trashfire 2020.
- Cubicle 7 is taking pre-orders on the newly announced Warhammer Middenheim: City of the White Wolf.
- C7 also gave us an art reveal for AoS: Champions of Order.
- The Black Campbell has dropped their DriveThruRPG exclusivity over frustrations with the new bleed requirements for print books.
- EN Publishing revealed the cover of their Level Up project.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- PunVerse gave us an Escape from Skullcano Island review.
- Kim Fransen reviewed Monsters of the City.
- Andrew Hind wrote a quick review for Delve 2e.
- Aaron T. Huss reviewed the Battlelords of the 23rd Century adventure Charlie Foxtrot.
- Thoul’s Paradise wrote up Everway in Visionary Roleplaying.
- Angel’s Citadel reviewed Jade Colossus – Ruins of the Prior Worlds.
RPG new releases
- Lost Relic Industries published the Players Book for Swords & Shaman of Sonnegard.
- Clinton Boomer and Joe Weinberg have released a Vampire sourcebook called Twists of Obscenity: Esoterica of the Baali.
- Flatland Games published Through Sunken Lands and Other Adventures.
- Playing Hero World published a three-year passion project with Neo Guanabara – Cyberpunk Tropicalia.
- Arion Games released the second edition of the magazine The Warlock Returns.
- Beyond the Screen published via Patreon (with a freebie bonus) Dreams of Dissension.
- Draco Studios released Eldritch Century: Expeditions & Almanac.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Hot takes from Owly Bear.
- Innkeepers see weird stuff as adventurers rest overnight.
- Actual play group “Ain’t Slayed Nobody” gave us a rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Call of Cthulhu.
- A fierce Mimic chest to guard your dice.
- Arcane Eye looked at The Best DnD Map Makers.
- Sea of Stars RPG shared Brave Folk (Badgerkin) for Dungeons & Dragons (5e).
- The Frugal GM wrote up a free resource with Ambient Mixer.
- Kobold Press offered up Midgard Alchemy: More Potion Formulations.
- Wandering Gamist provides some ACKS: Mercenary Veteran Templates.
- World Anvil’s Rock Humet gave us Interactive Tables: Organise Your Articles in Style!
- In a niche headline, Coleman Gailloreto opined Tabletop RPGs God of War Fans Will Definitely Enjoy.
- The Alexandrian shared Character Creation in 7 Sentences: Magical Kitties Save the Day.
RPG Crowdfunding
You can see those Kickstarters and other crowdfunding campaigns that caught Geek Native’s attention over at Kickstarter watch. Here are some industry projects worth a mention;
- Ralph Levi Clark is offering over 50 cards in a Deck of Moji Condition & Spell Cards for 5e & TTRPGs!
- Freebooter Games have launched Bespoke Roleplaying Game Content – A Make 100 Project.
- BootsNMaps looks to grow your cartography collection with 50+ Tabletop Maps for Dungeons and Dragons or any RPG.
- Adventure 3D Printing is crowdfunding over 100 expanding scenarios with A Book of Almost Infinite Galactic Possibilities.
- RebarINFgmaes has an ambitious project that merges computer games with RPG playbooks in West of Sintauri.
- Chris Takis is asking for $38,000 for a board game with big promises called Across Dimensions.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
