Routinely Itemised: RPGs #191

Oops! Two weeks in a row, the weight of Kickstarters has pushed this news summary up close to midnight. It’s good, no? Health in the hobby.

Let’s start with the summary of RPG news summaries

• Roll20 and DriveThruRPG are officially one company
• Kobold Presses shares Black Flag Publisher details
• WotC execs admit faults

… I’m writing this at about 1am, that’s a full 60 minutes after most of the RPG news summary went out. Golly.

What’s been going on? Lots of reflection. WotC is still reflecting on the OGL drama, rivals are selling games like hotcakes and fans are still worried. I suspect eyes will turn to the performance of the D&D movie.

We’re also still in the glow of ZineQuest which is why there are so many Kickstarters to write up but not an unnatural number based on previous years.

Now, the RPG news!

Competition: Champions of the Electrocube War RPG

RPG news from Geek Native

• Loculus Games, still waiting on a Kickstarter, is also still offering a free download of the Chrono-Rogue starter set.
• In contrast, 26 Letter Publishing’s SCP RPG has been out for a while, and the Quick Start Guide is new this week.
• Stranger Things RPG? Not entirely, but it’s a Stranger Things choose your own adventure Heroes and Monsters.
• Modiphius has some big title famous games up in the Worlds of 2d20 bundle.
• The Bundle of Holding also has a flash sale on Delver Lost Tomes.

Spotlight: Random Rambling Press

RPG news from around the web

• Did Roll20 and DriveThruRPG merge? The press was steered away from the term before, but a new OneBookShelf post confirms the two are now one company.
• Kobold Press has listed their publishing partners for Project Black Flag; Ghostfire Gaming, Steamforged Games, Nord Games, Frog God Games, The Griffon’s Saddlebag, Hit Point Press, The Vineyard RPG, The World Refinery, Dungeon Scribe and Mage Hand Press.
• Malcolm Sheppard at Green Ronin publishes a preview of Fantasy Age 2e on classes and Ancestries.
• More chest-thumping from the NFT-bros as BlockchainGamer goes with Wizards of the Coast backs down from NFT ban from Dungeons and Dragons.
• Linda Codega covers Indie Games Get the Spotlight During Zine Month.
• Polygon’s Tim Ford explores The many-tentacled reach of Call of Cthulhu, among Korea and Japan’s most popular RPGs.
• Polygon’s Charlie Hall has a D&D exec apparently saying OGL fiasco worsened by lack of respect for Wizards of the Coast.
• Charlie also writes up The Fifth Season RPG will expose N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth to a new audience and, on a roll, a D&D’s OGL controversy turbocharges sales of virtually every other tabletop RPG.
• MovieWeb has a D&D movie story in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Directors Address Backlash to Lore Changes.
• dScryb has released details of their dScholarship.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• Reviews from R’lyeh covers Dystopia Rising: Evolution, Snowbright Studio’s Teatime Adventures and (now) Nightfall’s Sins: Dead City.
• The Furtive Goblin’s Burrow looks into HARP Fantasy.
• Sami at The Gaming Gang writes up Pathfinder’s Battlezoo Bestiary.
• Jared Rascher reviews Agents of the Empire and a review of WotC’s Keys from the Golden Vault.
• At Gnome Stew, Jared writes up Under the Seas of Vodari.
• Nerds on Earth goes with Get Your Crew Together For A New Heist: A Review Of Keys From The Golden Vault For Dungeons And Dragons.
• Grognardia has a retrospective on TSR’s Steading of the Hill Giant Chief.
• Tribality shares a breakdown of Arcadia 24.
• Throat Punch Games has a ring side report of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen.
• Gnome Stew’s Matthew J. Neagley shares a look at Hasbro’s D&D Dicelings.
• At EN World, Egg interviews Green Ronin’s Chris Pramas about the Fifth Season.
• The Obsidian Portal’s Words in the Dark interviews Lou Anders.

RPG new releases

• Free League Publishing’s Ruins of Symbaroum expansion has a 5/5 star rating so far with Call of the Dark and 4.5. with the Adventure Compendium.
• Spencer Campbell and Gila RPG’s RUNE RPG is out.
• Bloat Games has released an 8-bit aesthetic, rules-lite, tabletop RPG with Adventure Perilous.
• Inkwell Ideas has taken all 400+ creatures from the first Tome of Beasts into Deck of Beasts I.
• Table Cat Games has a Savage Worlds Adventure Edition setting of synthwave-inspired Street Wolves.
• Parallel Publishing has a copper best seller with Open Fantasy.
• Gordinaak Games has a toolset to build RPG scenarios around scares like Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and The Abyss with Dive.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $8.99 (47%) on the DMsGuild’s Expanded Player Options 2022 bundle.
• Save $6.99 (22%) in the Community Content Chaosium Lysang bonanza b undle.
• Save $3 (23%) with Keck Publishing’s 4C Expanded Core bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• Geek Native gets an exclusive look at a gold Mage d20 ring from Paris. 
• Charles Dunwoody goes worldbuilding with Free League’s Alien RPG.
• Questions and answers from Rob Wieland on EN World with How do I escape D&D?
• Coleman at Screen Rant helps explain the Key Differences Between D&D And Pathfinder’s Planned OGLs.
• Onyx Path now has Victorian Mage merch on Redbubble such as this Ahl-i-Batin design.
• The Disoriented Ranger explores Paradigms of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (or: Staring into the Abyss).
• Mollie Russell of Wargamer notes Wizards says you don’t “need to trust” it with DnD – I disagree.
• Forrest for the Trees shares some TTRPG Convention Tips and Tricks.
• Itch.io sells RPGs but that doesn’t stop it Picking favourites.
• Mixed Signals gives us an Adventure conversion – Monsters by theme.
• Sly Flourish opines What 5e in the Creative Commons Means to You.

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;

• Maze Minions – A Mazes supplement for #ZineQuest 5. from Greg Brignola crowdfunds “A rollicking romp through the world of Mazes as a monster.”
• Here Be Dragons, An OSR Work by Philip Reed – Zine Quest from Philip Reed raises funds for “A 4.15″ x 8.3″ saddle-stitched B&W zine dedicated to random and worthless thoughts on dragons. For use with fantasy RPGs.”
• The Long Nightmare from Quarter Elf Publishing submits “Investigate, explore, and fight ancient evil in this 5e compatible adventure for ZiMo 5”
• Multiverse: Dungeoncrawler from Chamomile Has A Project is working on “A high fantasy dungeon crawling RPG bursting with new content suitable for any campaign setting”
• Golf Quest from Anna Blackwell proposes “A comedy RPG/ dexterity game about golfing through fantasy lands playable solo or with friends!”
• Metal linkage gear dice from Edison Wang is working on “Real gear dice, gears that can be linked to rotate gear dice!”
• Westlands: 2D6 Sword & Sorcery RPG Hardback + PDF – $1+ from William Murakami-Brundage introduces “We’re releasing Westlands in hardback. 2D6 system sword and sorcery RPG. Get the brand-new hardback or updated PDF.”
• One Million Random Dice Rolls Vol. 1 from Retro Nerdstalgia submits “Roll odd shaped dice the old fashioned way with a Zine of random dice rolls. Part of Zine Quest 5”
• Feathertail Falls from Sirly Whirly nominates “A zine-sized adventure collection about mice that dream to fly, for old-school adventuring with a feathery tail.”
• Dodgy Villagers: a Character Prompting Pack for Werewolves from Max Philippi is working on “Play Werewolves in character! Add theatre/ RPG flair to your game by giving your villagers backstories. Act them out for extra drama!”
• Legacy Zines! – A four-zine bundle from Gallant Knight Games crowdfunds “A collection of four zines designed to be written-in and made unique at your table.”
• Club Rikani: sci-fi miniature-scale map from 0-hr raises funds for “24×36 inch miniature-scale poster map featuring a casino/night club for Starfinder and other sci-fi RPGs.”
• The Origins LIT – 2 New Gaming Tables Starting at $999 from Game Theory Tables pitches “GTT is back to upgrade your game nights with 2 new solid wood game tables starting at just $999. Including an LED version.”
• The Adventurer’s Guide to Political Lobbying (Zine Quest 5) from Windows Down Games introduces “A guide to this one weird trick that citizens HATE: bribery!”
• Goons & Doubloons: A Swashbuckler’s RPG #zinequest5 from True Norse Publishing pitches “Set sail on a roaring pirate adventure in this rules-lite role-playing game. Beware monsters of the deep and discover uncharted lands!”
• Arbiter Miniatures Kickstarter 8: Hellgate from Theis Haagh Jakobsen raises funds for “Epic 3D Printable STL Miniatures with super easy to remove professional pre-supports AND a full RPG adventure based on the miniatures!”
• Page to Adventure from Xykit introduces “Easy to print, support-free 3D printable scatter terrain and PDF Zine Encounter Grids #ZINEQUEST”
• NeonPunk vol.1: Street Furniture, Pay What You Want! from Multiverse pitches “3D printable cyberpunk terrain with easy LED integration!”
• The Sins of Eden Prime from Molgannard Press raises funds for “Survive the bio-mechanical sins of a fallen religious colony in this gothic sci-fi horror sandbox. Designed for Mothership RPG.”
• Strange Futures & Weird Ambiences Audio Collection from Wes Otis submits “Sci-Fi and Multi-Genre TTRPG Audio From Plate Mail Games”
• 52 Card Generators from Sam Armstrong suggests “Three zines for your RPGs that use a deck of cards to make prepping for your next game quicker than ever.”
• An Honourable Place from Ryan Vance suggests “A two-player one-session narrative card game of symbols, survival, and myth. Inspired by “A Quiet Year”, and nuclear waste disposal.”
• CLEAN BREAK: A CY_BORG Heist from Scott Craig suggests “A CY-spanning campaign to liberate an imprisoned AI from a megacorp.”
• Brother, Why? – a zine of 2.5 games using weird medieval art from Corey Davies is working on “A zine containing for tabletop games you can play using a selection of strange and hilarious medieval art”
• Pentaquest Heroes – 1€ from Nerdura Games pitches “The first expansion for Pentaquest, bringing heroes in the fray.”
• Tome of Dark Creatures from Dragonsandstories crowdfunds “Monster Compendium for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition”
• The Artifacts’ Awakening from The Monster Directive submits “A collection of ttrpg sentient magical items which each have a unique personality, a reward that could help or hinder your players”
• Monster Souls 5E from Compass Publishing House submits “Capture souls in battle, craft them into one of 170+ new magic items, and awaken them to discover new powers!”
• The Medieval Margin-agerie Zine Vol. 2: Marge Harder from Fil Baldowski proposes “A 24-page zine of the grotesque, the weird, and the bizarre for OSR games. Featuring eight strange creatures written by Richard August.”
• After Winter Dark: Aihrde A Fantasy Campaign Setting from Stephen Chenault pitches “For here the stone columns of history are wiped clean, awaiting the bold to carve their mark and gain entry to the halls of immortality”
• 13HUNTERS from Isabel Condé introduces “A bestiary of 13 renowned bounty hunters from across the orbspace, ready for hire or to hunt the characters of your tabletop game.”
• Earth to Jupiter: A ZiMo TTRPG from Pidj Sorensen crowdfunds “A solo epistolary roleplaying game about being left on an apocalyptic Earth.”
• The Bard’s D&D: The Merchant of Venice from Baldrick suggests “The 2nd adventure in the Shakespeare series, ‘The Merchant of Venice’. Can your party find Jessica in time?”
• Wraithlands – a Celtic Dark Fantasy RPG from Leckie raises funds for “Lo-fi roleplaying on the cursed celtic isle of Nullona. Ultralight rules, weird player classes & a procedurally generated world.”
• Periodic Table – Dice Set from DoraTaco offers “Chemical value dice, that may just lead your game to victory!”
• Wandering Souls from Cody Barr submits “A solo sword-and-sorcery roleplaying game of enveloping shadows and impending doom.”
• Timber Wolf Tavern (Zine Quest) from Hungry Familiar pitches “Stop by the tavern for a bite to eat, or be entertained by a passing performer in this system-neutral zine. Includes play-ready maps.”
• SteamLords: A Unique RPG FUSION (Suspended) from Phillip Mansfield offers “Welcome to the World of the SteamLords! A Realm of Fantasy Adventure, Intrigue, Espionage, Majestic Worlds, and Powerful Villains!”
• Compass Dice from MicroToys crowdfunds “The compass dice always leads you the way.”
• Blessing Guide from Dark Eagle Games offers “Add minor boons to your game. A 5e DM resource with blessings, story hooks, rules, and more. All for $2.”
• Madness at the Mall! from Louis Hoefer submits “A Dare-Luck Club RPG Zine”
• Frontiers of Fortune: A Mercenary Sci-Fi RPG (#ZineQuest) from James Bojaciuk submits “Battle across the stars as a soldier of fortune or bounty hunter. Exciting gameplay, fast set-up, & deep customization! #ZineQuest”
• Chorogaiden (チョロ外伝): An Analog Horror RPG from NeonRot proposes “An analog japanese horror ttrpg inspired by anthology horror manga, World of Horror and the works of Junji Ito.”
• Flat Dungeon SciFi : OpenLOCK Edition from Flame of Udun Studio nominates “3D printable tabletop gaming tile system, compatible with openLOCK. For tabletop games, board games and wargames.”
• Hungry Gnoles Eat the Rich from Z.W. Garth introduces “Run feral through the streets to protect your neighbors and feed your hunger. A Rules-Lite RPG of Chaos and Community. #ZineQuest”
• Trouble at Mill Manor – A Seize Your Destiny Solo Adventure from Thom Wilson nominates “A rules-light, encounter-heavy solo adventure book, created in the same vein as the solo adventure books of the 80s and 90s.”
• Temple of BLANK on the planet BLANK from Right After Then suggests “103 randomly generated tabletop RPG zines. Yeah, it’s going to be weird.”
• Aquilus Issue #3 from Singing Flame offers “A wealth of resources to push the boundaries of your imagination and make your gaming sessions even weirder!”
• Welcome to the Machine 5e from Nathan Mitchell submits “The Machine is a new environment for 5e. A world with 15 levels, each as big as its own world.”
• A Home Reforged from Edge of Mythos is working on “A dwarven-themed OSR zine, about reclaiming and rebuilding one’s home, based on The Black Hack.”
• MisAdventure Games: Horror Compendium from marc braden raises funds for “We’re expanding our OSR lineup with a horror compendium! Snag it or the whole Misadventure series!”
• Communal Casting 5e – Spellcasters Combine Your Powers from The Gate Publishing proposes “Mechanics & Spells for a Powerful New Play Style! Create a Bond & Pool Your Magical Powers Together for Awesome Effects! #ZineQuest5”
• Farewell to Arms REDUX – a World War MÖRK BORG Hack from rivethead games introduces “The war to end all wars, in the dying lands of MÖRK BORG. 120+ pages of hardcover total war. 4 faction campaign books. A new map…”
• The Plethora of Potential Partners from Evil Pigeon Games raises funds for “A DnD supplement to fill your games with romance and romantic intrigue.”
• Terminus: A Tarot-Powered Ritual RPG from Jonathon Boyle introduces “Terminus is a solo/duo journaling game that uses real-world observations and a tarot deck to tell stories about your favorite places.”
• Encyclopedia 2: Lore Book & Toolbox for your 5E Campaign 🛠️ from Jim Searcy submits “Level-up your 5th Edition campaign with this sequel featuring dozens of ready-to-use cities, locations, NPCs and magic items.”
• Path of the Immortal: A Guide to Ascension from Faye Morel raises funds for “A system-agnostic pocketbook manual to becoming a god or falling into lichdom.”
• Treasure Hunting from Brave Alice introduces “This Zine Edition contains 3 treasure-hunting quests, compatible with any Medieval Fantasy TT RPG setting or system.”
• Critical Hit Parader – Issue #1 from Matt Thompson nominates “Tabletop roleplaying game content in the spirit of vintage rock magazines like Creem, Hit Parader, and Circus.”
• Decagone from Bodie H is working on “A tense, time-looping scenario for the Mothership scifi horror RPG, hurtling players into a fast paced sub-nautical mystery.”
• Beyond the Gaping Maw from [REDACTED STUDIOS] nominates “Delve into the body of a dying god to discover what ails it. A mini-setting and adventure for Mork Borg”
• Dice Showcase : Dice Display and Dice Holder from Secret Shop in Dungeon introduces “Elevate your DnD gaming experience with our mesmerizing Dice Display, crafted with glittering gemstones that will leave you in awe.”
• Digital Colorized TTRPG Tokens from Jonathon Myhre proposes “Digital Colorized TTRPG Tokens that you can use for your D&D, Pathfinder, Alien, Stargate, etc. games.”
• DUNGEON DEGENERATES: HAND OF DOOM FIFTH PRINTING from Sean Äaberg crowdfunds “The Dark Fantasy, Weirdo Art, Soloable, RPG in a box board game from GOBLINKO.”
• Escape from Undergarden – RPG Adventure for 5e D&D from JVC Parry suggests “An adventure for D&D 5th edition, which leads a party of 5th-level adventurers on a quest through the enchanted forest of Undergarden.”
• Swann Castle (Zine Quest) from Leighton Connor submits “A Multiversal RPG Setting”
• The Dreamland Expedition from Stéphanie Dusablon introduces “A whimsical Push-powered TTRPG in which 1-5 stuffed animals embark on a mission to put an end to the nightmares.”
• Smörgasbörg from shane brockway suggests “An all-cannibal Mork Borg cookout full of restaurants, recipes, classes, and more. Bring an appetite…”
• Torch & Dagger from Adventures Await introduces “A brand new tabletop roleplaying game set in a grimdark universe for two or more players.”
• Demon Lord Expansion for Twelve Years from Max Moon introduces “A new demonic force threatens the known world! Can you find all six sigils and bind the Demon Lord once and for all?”
• Seven Murders Til Midnight: a Solo RPG from Absurdist Productions proposes “Seven nights. Seven murders. Will you catch the killer? Part of Zine Quest 5.”
• Hopes and Dreams of the Orbital Bound from Craig Duffy submits “A Dyson Eclipse slice of life sci-fi RPG, part of ZineQuest 2023”
• Demonology For Old-School Essentials – Zinequest 5 from Appendix N Entertainment crowdfunds “Classic & New Demons For OSE”
• AMMU: An Eldritch Extermination from Direquest raises funds for “A playfully macabre, system neutral adventure inside the infested corpse of an eldritch god.”
• Ninetoes’ Guide to Monster Hunting from Meditating Munky offers “A Zinequest Compendium filled with Monsters and Hex Crawl Regional Guide”
• Dungeon Delver: A Card+Zine Crawl from BiteSizedGaming is working on “The zine you can play more than once! Select a scenario. Generate the dungeon. The GM guides you through. #ZineQuest”
• BURNAWAY: A TTRPG about Loss and Hope from the Ashes from Arnamantle Productions submits “Challenge fate and make impossible choices as you exorcise or empathize with inferno-powered ghosts.”
• Villains & Villagers – System Neutral Fantasy NPC Supplement from Headless Hydra Press submits “Tips, Tables, and Townsfolk for Any Fantasy RPG. Make unique, interesting, and memorable NPCs while saving time on your game prep.”
• Small Adventures in the Human World (3 One-Shot RPG Zines) from Stephen Coffey kickstarts “Explore a house as skilled mice in Kitchens & Kittens | Save your owner as divine pets in Pet Rescue | Protect the world as Pine People”
• Cool Name RPG: A Community Owned Fantasy Roleplaying System from Marc Tassin crowdfunds “Cool Name Goes Here: a fantasy RPG by veteran game designers that includes a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license for creators.”
• La Masseria – RPG Zine Quest 5 from Alessio Spalluto suggests “An investigative RPG Zine set in the folklore of a farm in Southern Italy.”
• Warped Beyond Recognition from Paradiso kickstarts “Explore a spaceship, hunt down psychics, learn the secrets of their powers, descend into madness. A Mothership RPG module from QUADRA.”
• These Stars Will Guide You Home from Albi proposes “A solo journaling rpg about a voyage in search of home, and the myth written about it centuries later. A #zinequest project.”
• Strikes & Spares: A Bowling TTRPG from Ben ~ Funemployment Press raises funds for “Strikes & Spares is a slice-of-life tabletop roleplaying game with a slightly hard-luck/offbeat tone that’s set in a small-town league.”
• I’m Not Afraid from Nuts! Publishing offers “A quick 2-player area control Print & Play game with a strong theme.”
• Potions from Helper´s Games offers “Potions is a fantasy Roll and Write game in which you will have to create a magic potion to save the city before the curse catches you.”
• Vault from Team Rex Games nominates “Sci-fi & Fantasy Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG)”
• Selkenweaver Adventure from Rae Hī nominates “An exploration-heavy ttrpg adventure with zombies, drippy caves, and memorable encounters.”
• Achroma from Realm Runner Studios proposes “Evolving Card Game, Mobile Adventure Game and TTRPG set in a new fantasy universe.”
• Dimday Red – Zine + Quickstart Bundle from Spiros Drakatos introduces “Choose your deadly mutation or faction and take your place in a world socially divided, doomed to be consumed by the Sun in 52 years.”
• Crafty Quest Box 2: Prophecy of the Elder Tooth from Michael Best kickstarts “Following the success of our first Crafty Quest Box, we’ve created an expansion box featuring a brand new adventure and crafts!”
• Ballad Hunters: Early-Access Zine Edition from Tristan Zimmerman submits “Amateur folklorists in 1813 England and Scotland fight magical ballads as agents of the Crown!”

Do you know of an RPG news source that I don’t? Let me know, or leave a comment below.