RPG news from Geek Native as Routinely Itemised looks back at stories from this blog and others. Reviews? Gotcha. Interviews? Those two.
With the speed of bullet points (but no PowerPoint in sight), this Friday wrap-up is designed to bring you up to speed.
Unfortunately, that means sharing the news that Terry Amthor has died. He was a game designer, co-creator of Rolemaster and one of the founding members of Iron Crown Enterprises.
It also means a week with means lawyers fighting over serious rows at Gary Con and RPG historian Jon Petersen refreshing the likely D&D timeline.
Meanwhile, the logistics crisis hits harder as D&D books are delayed, we get official glimpses of Spelljammer in the future.
Oh, and there are lots of excellent looking indie RPGs to keep us fresh and engaged too. You’ll find those reviewed and in the new release and Kickstarters selections.
Now, let’s get cracking with all this RPG news.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Serious and numerous allegations come to light in a law case against Gary Con, to which Luke Gygax has responded.
- Hack data shows how much money D&D streamers Critical Role make on Twitch.
- Chaosium aqui-hired the Call of Cthulhu resource and generator site The Dhole’s House.
- The latest official playtest from Wizards of the Coast is about 50% Spelljammer.
- There’s a surprise new D&D book, which was for charity, then briefly unpublished and then returned. It’s James Ohlen’s Minsc and Boo’s Journal of Villainy.
- Ohlen’s Arcanum World also published a free to download Player’s Guide for the 5e adventure Raiders of the Serpent Sea.
- The OSR-inspired and yet narrative-nudging Hack100 was released as a free download.
- Geek Native reviewed the MORG BORK sci-fi gorefest of Vast Grimm.
- Also up for review was Nightfall’s SLA Industries 2e.
- As Sinopa Publishing put a pin-up collection on DriveThruRPG we asked Is this sexy D&D done right?.
- I also reviewed You Are The Facebook Janitor the day after Facebook went down.
- Monte Cook Games has a newly released superhero setting for the Cypher System and shared a free to download Claim the Sky preview.
- Nearly a year later, Pinnacle gave us Kickstarter dates for the folkhorror Holler.
- I spoke to Kyle Tinga, the creator of horror one-shot End of the Line about Itchfunding.
- Also in the interview chair is Louis Cassidy-rice who has invented some mushroom dice.
- At Itch, there’s $267 worth of RPGs in a $20 bundle for Afghan Support.
- Kicking of spooky October, the Bundle of Holding has a deal on The Cthulhu Hack.
Spotlight Grim & Perilous
RPG news from around the web
- Sadly, Terry Amthor of Iron Crown Enterprises has died. He was a founding member and co-creator of RoleMaster.
- Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Strixhaven for D&D are both delayed.
- Wizards of the Coast talked us through the stat block refinements in D&D.
- To celebrate Call of Cthulhu’s 40th’s the one-shot “The Necropolis” is free for a month on Roll20.
- Game historian Jon Peterson updates the timeline for early D&D in Game Wizards.
- Alex Meehan checks out Upriver, Downriver ahead of the Kickstarter launch.
- D&D Beyond shared a preview of the Drakewarden Ranger Subclass from Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- At The Gaming Gang, Sami Yuhas reviews Starfinder – Tech Revolution.
- Nerds on Earth also looked at Tech Revolution.
- Bones of Contention review the system-agnostic The Words and Deeds of the Chain of Tlachic.
- Ben Redmond reviews Isolation Games’ Age of Steel.
- Roleplayers Chronicle looks at Modiphius’ Player’s Guide for Achtung! Cthulhu.
- The Other Side reviews Bloat Games’ Survive This!! We Die Young.
- Reviews from R’lyeh reviewed Osprey Games’ Heirs of Heresy.
- Strange Assembly reviewed Sabbat: The Black Hand.
- Throat Punch Games reviewed the SCP RPG.
- Egg Embry interviews EN Publishing’s Russ Morrissey about Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition.
- Then, on Russ’ site, Egg talks to Bill Lee of Good Brother Studio’s about Legends of the MetaVerse.
- Privateer Press interview AJ Beamu about Iron Kingdoms: Requiem.
RPG new releases
- Goodman Games publishes a level 3 Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure with The Greatest Thieves in Lankhmar.
- Kobold Press has a sourcebook for 5e with Southlands Player’s Guide and a setting called City of Cats.
- John Lawson published the RuneQuest supplement Korolstead: Secrets of the Smoking Ruin.
- TurtleFox Games has published two versions and discounted the Origin: Core Rule Book. It’s an indie d12 RPG.
- Following on from a successful Kickstarter, Bloat Games quickly gives us the Survive This!! We Die Young core rules.
- Catalyst Game Labs has a copper bestseller on their hands already with the release of Shadowrun: Double Clutch, the Rigger Rulebook.
- R. Talsorian Games released both the Cyberpunk RED Data Pack and Netrunning Deck.
- CobblePath Games released the one-shot horror for Locus with Sticks and Stones.
- Cryptwright served up the ultimate Halloween campaign with 20 hours of play in Wickerjack.
- Gen released the demo tape of an RPG about urban decay and strange gods with Songs we Sing.
- Sillion L and Brendan McLeod launched the impressive looking and unofficial supplement for HEART: The City Beneath with Ichor – Drowned
- OSE without the bitterness, the inclusive Chromatic Dungeons Basic Rulebook from Izegrim Creations is out.
- M Presents released the spooky and sinister The SCP Roleplaying Game.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $23.27 (53%) with Third Kingdom Games’ OSE Spooktacular bundle.
- Save $12.99 (50%) with Channel M Publishing’s All-Hallows Cool Supplements bundle.
- Save $10.93 (48%) with this DMs Guild Monster Mash Megabundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Jared Rascher continues their The Future of D&D: The Road to 2024 series.
- Sidney Pycroft at the Boar looks at The evolution of the RPG genre: ‘D&D’ to ‘Octopath Traveler’
- At d20Radio, Linda Whitson looked ahead with Astral Projections – Free RPG Day 2021 Update.
- TAG Sessions suggested This Halloween, try these free games!
- D&D Beyond highlighted Celebrate Latinx Creators in Tabletop for National Hispanic Heritage Month!
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;
- Enoki Dice have some gorgeous handcrafted Dinosaur Fossil Palaeontology Sharp Edge Dice For RPG Games
- Smash the Faetriarchy with Robert Turk as you build your goblin crew in Goblonia (ttRPG).
- Michael Coomber is a 3d artist offering STL printable mini Dojo floor bases.
- Wolver Nine and Studio Olkiou have a D&D 5e supplement for Paladins with Oath of Reliquary.
- Jerry Joe Seltzer wants to help you make quirky and unexpected Traveling Encounters Vol. 2.
- Nick Wilkins is funding a psionics focused alternative history RPG in SYNAPSE.
- 5e stats and a set of 3d printing files for Ghast and Ghouls By Draigbran
- Reverie RPG’s offers dynamic and versatile Token Tales – Character Tokens.
- Austen has made 10x of the campaign target for Fantasy Files Dice Towers.
- Luna Publishing is funding The Penny Dreadfuls: Gothic Horror 5e D&D Adventure Modules.
- David Savedge picks up a “Projects We Love” with handcrafted pewter Dice, Runes, and Magical Artifacts for RPG’s and Witchcraft
- Kieran Billins has funded 3d printable modular gaming titles with Lord Cireneg’s Sewers.
- Ash Cheshire is has a storytelling game for 1 to 4players with Unfamiliar: A Tarot-Based Journey Through The Underworld.
- VoidRealm Minis has funded a collection of unique monsters inspired by Junji Ito’s Uzumaki. THere’s even 5e stats in the Curse of the Spiral – 3D printable horror miniatures
- Tim P GMing wraps their 5e Fall of Mith series with The Fall of Mith: the Fall.
- Trever Cameron has an illustrated initiative tracker on offer with The Deck of Heroes and Fiends.
- Midlam Miniatures has a week left on their male and female 28mm scale Dwarves – A Class of Their Own.
- Stoo Goff is funding a tabletop game of heroes and fate, Gods and neighbouring lands with Aegean RPG: Mythic roleplaying across the Aegean Sea.
- Biscuit Fund Games has launched a Kickstarter for Tournament Arc: the sports anime roleplaying game.
- Anna Blackwell is funding a solo game about making potions. It’s based on Apothecaria and is called Apawthecaria: A Poultice Pounder Adventure.
- Steve Dee is back with a deluxe supplement for Relics: A Game of Angels. It’s Treasures on Earth: A Book of Relics (Relaunch).
- Joie Martin has a two-player Powered by the Apocalypse RPG based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice called Follow Me Down.
- James Eisert has more ways to boost your tabletop with Fantasy Counter Kit 3.
- Derik Duley has a ghostly train and a spooky 1 or more player Pumpkin Express – Roll and Write Revolution.
- theMadMaker has designed a friend to hold your Citadel paint pots. Who is it? It’s the Goblin Paint Butler.
- Programmer Mark Phillips wants to make an entire simulated world of NPCs. It’s a project called Antiqua Orbis, An Evolving World.
- Nathaly Aupin returns to Kickstarter with a set of Multi-World RPG Maps/ Apocalypse/Modern/Fantasy/Cyberpunk.
- Unchained Games have smashed targets with their Mythic Roll | 3D Printable Dice Towers & Dice Boxes.
- Random Encounters want to bring urban legends to life on your tabletop with Real World Urban Legends for 5e.
- Robert Wilson’s first campaign, having backed nearly 90 others, is for Franchise Sheets for your Acquisitions Incorporated Game.
- krakenships Miniatures want to fill a space possibly neglected by larger companies with Rare Fantasy Tabletop Miniatures.
- Past Adventures has a game generator on offer with Rock Band: A Solo RPG Story Generator.
- The ironically busy Laidback Dungeon Master returns with MAPS FOR FANTASY RPGs 2 – ROYALTY FREE MAPS.
- Smuchy Games has funded a Pathfinder 2e setting with Naltulth: Candulhurst.
- Headless Hydra Press has demolished campaign goals for a system-neutral way for running, growing and designing Organic Towns.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
