It’s an RPG news summary and an odd one since rather than leaving it all to Friday night to write (thus catching any breaking news), I’ve had to write much of this in advance.
Why? I’m at Scotland Loves Anime, a charitable animation festival which had to find a new cinema home at very short notice when the original indie theatre went into administration. It’s the energy crisis.
Here’s the super summary;
- Wizards of the Coast showed off new magic for Dragonlance.
- Paizo has the physical Pathfinder Beginner Box in a Humble bundle again.
- Paizo also helped direct people through all the Kingmaker options.
- It’s been a busy release week, perhaps thanks to Halloween, with titles like Necrobiotic, Flabbergasted and more Shadowrun.
- The DriveThruRPG Halloween sale is on.
As it’s the end of the month, time is running out to vote in the RPG Publisher Spotlight. When I last checked, it was neck and neck; your vote will make a difference.
Now, let’s dive in with all that tabletop news! (and more bullet points!)
Competition: Horizon Zero Dawn: Peach Momoko Poster Portfolio
RPG news from Geek Native
- I talked to Chris Birch about Modiphius’s charity efforts and helping other publishers.
- I also got permission to share some of the Young Adventurer’s Guide Dragons & Treasures.
- For Halloween, Geek Native asked Free League to suggest some of their most scary monsters.
- It’s free, successful in France and foreshadowing an English language Kickstarter and a steampunk post-apocalyptic Ecryme quickstart.
- It’s free, looks good, coming from Italy and using BackerKit’s Kickstarter rival, is the eco-apocalypse of Dead Air: Seasons as a quick start.
- Also free and including some fiction from RPGs, there’s Aconyte’s Terrifying Halloween Tales.
- The Bundle of Holding has a deal from Stiff Whiskers Press with Weird Frontiers.
- On Humble, there’s a World of Darkness deal, Dungeons & Pirates and a biggie with the Gift of Pathfinder and Starfinder.
Spotlight: Dapper Rabbit Games
RPG news from around the web
- Wizards of the Coast have posted a preview of Dragonlance’s Lunar Sorcery Sorcerer.
- Paizo helped sort out all the different Pathfinder Kingmaker options you have.
- Roll20 look back with their Roll20Con 2022 Year in Review.
- ICv2 covers the news that IDW to publish prequel to Dungeons & Dragons movie comic book.
- A Kickstarter campaign for a giant d20 has been paused, hit with an intellectual property dispute.
- DriveThruRPG has a range of Halloween discounts on offer.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Polygon’s Charles Theel reviews Trophy Dark.
- The Other Side looks back at old D&D content on Devils and at the Pathfinder adventure path The Snows of Summer.
- Jared Rascher shares first impressions of Pirates of the Aetherial Expanse Lost to the Aether and MCDM’s Arcadia 21.
- On Gnome Stew, Jared looks at Monte Cook’s Planebreaker: Path of the Planebreaker.
- Reviews from R’lyeh looks at Alan Bahr’s Crescendo of Violence and the OSR Cairn. There’s also a look at Loke’s Big Book of Cyberpunk Battle Mats.
- Strange Assembly writes up the Pathfinder Lost Omens: Monsters of Myth.
- MJR RPG reviews the Call of Cthulhu What’s In The Cellar.
- Rob Wieland looks back at the original Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn.
- At Forbes, behind a paywall, Rob Wieland reviews Blackbirds.
- James Maliszewski shares a retrospective on Cthulhu by Gaslight.
- The TTRPG Factory unearths a review of the Herbalist Primer.
- The Alexandrian looks at The Gardens of Ynn & The Stygian Library.
- CG Magazine interviews Free League boss Tomas Harenstam.
- Charles Dunwoody interviews Christina Lea about TerrorHog and Crawlspace.
- At Radio20 Egg Embry interviews Mike Myler on Veranthea Codex: Grethadnis.
- At Geek Girl Authority, Julia Roth talks to Johnny Stanton.
RPG new releases
- Penny for a Tale completes a successful Kickstarter with the necro-punk Necrobiotic Core Rulebook.
- The Wanderer’s Tome has also followed up their successful Kickstarter with a romantic comedy with Flabbergasted.
- Tim Obermueller has published the Mothership compatible and sci-fi horror Curse of the Hat Man adventure.
- Critical Kill Ltd has released the solo RPG in which you’re a bird. It’s a chance to Be Like a Crow.
- Armored Storyteller Publishing has published genre rules for zombie apocalypse horror, survival and adventure with Dead Men Walking.
- Art of the Genre hit release of the FAST Core RPG.
- Catalyst Game Labs has expanded Shadowrun with the Core Matrix Rulebook Hack and Slash and the Runner Resource Book Shadow Cast.
- Ex Stasis Games has a Halloween-timed zombie outbreak RPG with Death Throes.
- As noted previously but now open for everyone, Magpie has made the Avatar Legends: The RPG available for retail. There’s also the Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide.
- SoulMuppet has published and (for now) is giving away the horror dungeon zine A Doom to Speak: Mists of Madness.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $39.40 (80%) with the DMsGuild’s Pinoy Big Bundle volume 2.
- Save $9.50 (25%) with Independence Games’ Wendy’s Guides to the Fleets of Earth Sector.
- Save $4 (20%) with Dapper Rabbit Games Tale From Dungeons Deep.
- Save $1.43 (6%) with Animancy Press’ Magic Items Menagerie: volumes I-IV+Finder’s Tables.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- In a guest post from Snowbright Studio, the creative team discusses How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a TPK.
- Dicebreaker’s Kyle Tam writes up 10 slasher RPGs for a bloody good time this Halloween.
- Also, on Dicebreaker, Henry St Leger opines 6 things One D&D already gets right – and 3 things it doesn’t.
- Supporting their latest Kickstarter, Green Ronin and Steve Kenson look into Mutants & Mastermind’s Power Profiles and Gadget Guides.
- CBR’s Zachary Pilon suggests ways How Forever DMs Can Avoid Burnout.
- Movies, Games and Tech shares their Beginners Guide to D&D Sourcebooks.
- Model-makers Sideshow gets into tabletop RPG content with 10 scariest D&D monsters to use in your campaign.
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;
- Best Left Buried: Throne of Avarice from SoulMuppet Publishing pitches “A setting and adventure for Best Left Buried, focusing on the horrors of colonialism.”
- Rughalt’s Grimoire of Dungeon Adventures from Rughalt suggests “A book of dungeon adventures for 5th and 3rd editions”
- Populated Hex Monthly Year One from Todd kickstarts “A compiled book of issues 1-12 of the Populated Hexes Monthly ‘zine.”
- The Gloaming Wild – 5e Survival-horror from Quartermaster Games LLC crowdfunds “320+ pages of new options and systems for survival-horror characters & campaigns.”
- Eye To The Void: Using Divination in TTRPGs from Corey Davies is working on “A crash course on divination: it’s occult history, its myriad origins and a guide on how to use them in TTRPGs.”
- PRIMUS Sharp Edge Dice 2022 from PRIMUS Sharp Edge Dice offers “Handcrafted, custom-designed dice collection for your favorite TTRPG games!”
- Spellbound: Arcane Tools for Witchcraft Magic and RPG’s from David Savedge nominates “A Collection of Handcrafted Altar Tools for Divination Spellcraft and Gaming.”
- TERRAIN SYSTEMS – Platforms • Buildings • Obstacles from e-Raptor submits “No-glue, fully printed, easy to set up terrains made of HDF. Bring more immersion to your battles!”
- The Tremendous Tome of EPIC Dungeons from Dave Taylor is working on “A coffee-table book about Epic tabletop dungeon builds!”
- The Quintessential Guide to Monster Encounters from Mr.Tarrasque crowdfunds “A complete guide to building, adapting and running monster encounters. Tell a story with each fight and keep your players engaged!”
- TERRORS FROM THE COSMOS – SERIES ONE from Maher Sagrillo submits “Boxed Anthology of 5 Adventures for the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG System”
- World Forge: Highly Customizable Fantasy 3D Models from Leonardo Maglio kickstarts “Fully customizable 3D worlds, placeables, and beautiful environments for your online and offline RPG campaigns.”
- Heist – Roleplaying Game from Carsten Damm kickstarts “A roleplaying game about a crew of criminals trying to pull off the big score that will set them up for life.”
- Pathfinder Coins of Absalom from Campaign Coins introduces “Beautiful metal gaming coins from the Lost Omens setting for Pathfinder.”
- Delver 6: Resources for the Random-Rolling Referee from James Floyd Kelly crowdfunds “Delver is a magazine for Referees of OSR fantasy roleplaying games.”
- Blobz Origin – Printable STL Miniatures from Flame of Udun Studio proposes “5 models to use in tabletop role-playing games, or simply to paint! A collection of 3D printable models (.STL) for 5€!”
- Whispers of the Dead Saint – A MÖRK BORG NOVEL from Kaiju Poet is working on “The first officially-sanctioned MÖRK BORG novel! With cover by Johan Nohr and forward by Pelle Nilsson.”
- Dragontown: City of a Billion Lost Souls from Gregory Rapp introduces “A fantasy-noir tabletop roleplaying game”
- Mutants & Masterminds Reprint Extravaganza and More! from Green Ronin Publishing kickstarts “Getting long-demanded M&M 3E books back in print, plus two brand new novels!”
- Dungeon of Wanderers PnP from Benjámin Weisz kickstarts “Dungeon of Wanderers – Solo dungeon crawler”
- The Fey: Wyld Hunt (TTRPG) from Miles Marker crowdfunds “A new d4 tabletop role-playing game based in the Fey Wyld with players playing the part of the Wyld Hunt.”
- The City of Tears and other adventures from Josh Rottman submits “City of Tears is a desert themed dungeon by Zzarchov Kowolski, featuring art by Jez Gordon and custom cartography by Dyson Logos.”
- Questlings – So you want to be a Mage & a New RPG Adventure from Dan Letzring offers “The next title in the Questlings RPG-inspired children’s book series and a new adventure in the RPG game about finding your Inner Hero.”
- A Bestiary of Enchanted England from Andrew Gronosky: Shewstone Publishing suggests “Not your typical RPG bestiary. Lore and plot hooks help make each creature the centerpiece of a wondrous story for the Magonomia RPG.”
- THE BOOK OF GRIMOIRES (RELAUNCH) from ARRLI proposes “Vault Dice Box for your Dungeons and Dragons miniatures and DnD dice. Use the Spell Book to venture into forgotten dungeons.”
- Surf & Sabotage: A 5e Compatible Homebrew Campaign Setting from James Connah submits “Welcome to the Opal Coast – the beating heart of magic and arcane discovery in Kylas, ruled by the mighty trading guilds”
- One-shot Dungeons for 5E – Vol.3 (2€) from Nerdura Games crowdfunds “A mini campaign of 5 ready-to-play one-shots, full of poems, bravery, broken hearts, and nostalgia.”
- Halloween Mini Mix from RadiationBurn suggests “A SARIL Starter 1-shot adventure about zombie survival that comes with multiple STL mini files.”
- The Fortification Dice – 3D printable dice set with stand from Moonmares Games is working on “A stunning 3D printable STL dice set and stand for any tabletop, RPG, or wargame!”
- Holiday Horrors: Winter Holiday Adventures for D&D5e – $1 from Luna Publishing suggests “5 Holiday themed mini-adventures and other related content for D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) 5th edition.”
- Diapers & Daycares: Parents Handbook, A Parody RPG from Gaming Honors is working on “Your Basic RPG Parody Vol. II”
- Dragons Eye Gemstone Dice from Anthony Christou proposes “Dragon Eye dice bring luck and protection to those who roll them. Combine with Deluxe L.E.D Gaming mats/Mousepads for max experience.”
- Adventures in Norwatch: Inheritance from Status Effect Games LLC crowdfunds “An adventure module and fantasy setting for dnd or any ttrpg. Includes digital maps! Great for dungeons and dragons. 5e compatible.”
- Ultimate Terrain Collection: Mines & Dungeons from Iridium Games introduces “An essential terrain collection of STL files for the 3D printable collectors, D&D and RPG campaign Dungeon Masters!”
- The Hag’s Hoard: Polyhedral Dice Collection from WitchHunt is working on “A devious dice collection from the loathsome lair of Granny Grendle Gristleguts the hag.”
- The Lighthouse Stl – Pay what you want from Solaris Game Studio pitches “Dnd, tabletop, wargames, stl”
- Free Trader Beowulf Starship from 2nd Dynasty is working on “Officially licensed Deck Plans and 3D printable 28mm starship from the Traveller RPG universe”
- The Gardener’s Guide to Gaming from M. Cavanaugh raises funds for “A plant-based supplement for 5e and Pathfinder 2e, from the makers of The Botanical Bestiary”
- Spurned of Orcus—an audio-enhanced 5e adventure from Bart Wynants offers “Face the deathless apostates of the demon prince in this uniquely immersive fantasy adventure for 5e!”
- Ultimate Faeries: Fey Monsters & Campaigns for DnD 5E & PF from Legendary Games proposes “The fantastic Faerie Bestiary and Faerie Campaigns for DnD 5E and Pathfinder 1E and 2E plus VTT support, adventures, minis, and more!”
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
