Welcome back to another RPG news round-up from ye olde Geek Native and around the web. As is the tradition, there are interviews, new RPGs, bundle deals and crowdfunding.
Also, as the tradition dictates, we begin with a summary of RPG news;
- A new Warhammer 40K is out called Imperium Maledictum.
- Evil Genius’s Highlander official lead designer supports the unofficial Highlander RPG.
- Hasbro and its partners dominate ICv2’s RPGs best sellers list.
- Chaosium will release an ORC version of the Basic Roleplaying Game.
- Big Bad Online convention has a special bundle out.
Update: Argh. I missed the midnight deadline for this summary again – twice in a month – and after years of never doing it. Why? I was telling a stupid Gwyneth Paltrow candle joke and lost track of time.
Sometimes, just sometimes, I am better organised, and this month I’ve finished the RPG publisher spotlight ahead of time. The interview feature with Of Gods and Gamemasters is live.
Patrons can vote for April’s candidates until the poll closes at the end of the month.
Now, enough with the whining and on with the RPG news!
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RPG news from Geek Native
- Cubicle 7’s latest Warhammer 40K RPG Imperium Maledictum is out.
- Eric Farrington has an unofficial Highlander RPG, which Sigfried Trent, the official lead designer, supports.
- Darrin Drader is taking submissions for the series Daring & Dread.
- Magpie Games’ and Whistler have published a free quickstart of Rapscallion.
- I don’t usually pop Kickstarter writes up in this section, but this week I tried to compare the launch of The Walking Dead RPG Kickstarter to other projects.
- At the Bundle of Holding, there’s a deal with Goodman Games’ D&D 4e and Lampblack & Brimstone bundle.
Spotlight: Of Gods and Gamemasters
RPG news from around the web
- ICv2’s latest research on bestselling games puts 5e games in twice and Renegade Game Studio in the top five RPGs.
- ICv2 also writes up that Six’ Dungeons & Dragons’ original art pieces are on the auction block.
- Kobold Press has written up its second design diary on Project Blag Flag and its Foundations.
- Chaosium will release a new ORC version of the Basic Roleplaying Game.
- Timothy Linward has a view on Here’s what’s coming for the new Warhammer 40k RPG after launch.
- Free RPG Day has moved from June 17 to June 24, 2023.
- Alaina Demopoulos at The Guardian digs into Facing the demons: can Dungeons & Dragons therapy heal real-life trauma?
- JoBlo writes up that Dungeons & Dragons app lets fans create own avatar.
- Kotaku Australia has five Dungeons & Dragons Prize Packs to giveaway.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- MJR RPG’s Grindhouse Call of Cthulhu review First Night is up.
- Jared Rascher’s What Do I Know About Reviews does Agents of the Empire part 4.
- At Gnome Stew, Jared Rascher reviews Cubicle 7’s Uncharted Journeys.
- CBR’s Daniel Sharp writes up Starfinder: 5 Books New Players and Game Masters Need.
- Abram Towle at Nerds On Earth review of Treasure For Pathfinder 2e.
- Blood, Death, Satan & Metal reviews The Green Knight RPG.
- TechRaptor’s Andrew Stretch Dungeons And Dragons Keys From The Golden Vault Review.
- Rob Wieland says Cyberpunk Red: Black Chrome Is a modern classic gear book.
- Reviews from R’lyeh has quick-started Saturday SLA Industries
- Egg Embry talks The Lazy DM’s Forge of Foes for 5e in an interview with Mike Shea, Teos Abadía, and Scott Fitzgerald Gray (Sly Flourish).
- Mollie Russell talks to LeFavi and Johsson Haake The Walking Dead RPG isn’t really about fighting zombies.
- Julia Roth at Geek Girl Authority has a Tavern Talk Thursday with Paul Feldman.
RPG new releases
- Blackout Games’ d10 monster-training game is out Monster Wrangler.
- Green Ronin Publishing has published a new Fantasy AGE Core Rulebook and a VTT Token Pack.
- One Million Words’ 5e says no good deed goes unpunished with their The Curse Of Er’Mah’Gerd .
- Peril Planet Game Studio has released on Itch Freeform Universal Roleplaying Game classic rules.
- World Mill Games has a second edition Mythic Game Master Emulator.
- James Embry has published a dark fantasy RPG with the Raven of the Scythe 2e.
- Niccolo Salonga has an RPG out called Skys End Adventure and recently published the pay-what-you-want Quickstart.
- Philip Reed has published his OSR work Here Be Dragons.
- In dice, Kitten Polyhedral.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $21.95 (27%) with Map alchemists’ Post apocalyptic mega maps and arts bundle.
- Save $6.18 (41%) with Zozer Games’ Price of Freedom bundle.
- Save $4 (89%) in the DMsGuild’s The Esmeralda (Maztica) bundle.
- Save $0/~$30 (with a retail value suggested at $101.94) in the limited Big Bad Online bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- I finally got around to sharing Ben, and the Genre Police’s speculative piece on All Are One.
- Legal firm Morgan Lewis weighs in D&D: The Campaign for the Open Gaming License.
- ScreenRant’s Coleman Gailloreto writes up Character Flaws To Make Your Backstory More Interesting.
- We’re mainstream again as Yahoo’s Simon Bland What is Dungeons & Dragons? How the fantasy roleplaying game took over the world.
- The Mary Sue and Samantha Puc has shared A Beginner’s Guide to the World of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ .
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;
- The Mind Squatter – A Playful Scifi Fairytale RPG Zine from Universe Ball Anthology introduces “Play as mischievous children, uncover extraterrestrial mysteries, and show adults who’s boss!”
- Worldbuilder and Game Master’s Guide to Culture and Lore from Ty Hulse pitches “Communities in fantasy worlds are often as compelling as the characters. This is your guide to understanding the elements of culture.”
- Tome of Taverns: A Collection of Misadventures & Merrymaking from One-Eyed Werebear Gaming crowdfunds “5e Shenanigans for Your Table’s Next Epic Night Out”
- Into the Wild – For 5E from RiotMinds submits “Complete guide to adventures in the wilderness for 5E players”
- Gamer’s Bag. Add-ons set for optimization from WizzGame offers “Transformer Bag for convenience, protection, organization and mobility for board game fans who want to take their games on the go”
- Rapture: Big Red Ugly Edition (Core Rulebook) from Gregory Rapp crowdfunds “A Breathless-Inspired Roleplaying Game Engine with Six (06) Built-In Settings”
- The Mutanti Cycle – Tears of War, a diplomatic D&D game from Matthew David is working on “The second campaign in the Mutantic Cycle trilogy lets you flex your diplomatic skills”
- Quiet Land from Albo crowdfunds “Venture into a dark world, fight, survive, try to shine a forgotten light, in this “RPG” that you can play by printing it or digitally”
- New +1 weapons for D&D and Mythological weapons from Raúl Calvillo pitches “Bored of leveling up and getting a boring +1 longsword, instead of that, what about a cool +1 katana or a macahuitle?”
- Arcane Adventures – 10 Quests For £10 from Jason DM is working on “Arcane adventures and challenges for D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) 5th edition & OSR TTRPGs”
- Solid Wood Full Leather Inlay Dice Trays from Joshua Johnson Stapp pitches “Beautiful, solid wood dice trays made to enhance your gaming experience, dice tower coming soon”
- Dice Bags- Tarot Card Designs from BoardGameSolutions offers “Storage bag for dice, coins, tokens, tiles, gems, crystals etc.”
- Infamous Inns, Taverns & Alehouses: The Rat’s Armpit from Alchemist Press raises funds for “A 56 page system neutral fantasy TTRPG city inn – renowned for a satisfying brew, scrumptious home-cooked pies, and a lively night out.”
- One Shot for One Buck – The Misplaced Arsenal from Jonathan Phillips pitches “A 5e compatible adventure full of mystery, riddles, revelry, and lost relics, set in Munich, Germany.”
- Artificer Dice Custom made dice from Andrew Hennessy kickstarts “As you enter the workshop your eyes settle on a Dwarven artificer he looks at you and asks “What brings you to my workshop””
- Cult of the Blood Queen, A Warlock Patron Supplement for 5E from Catacolyte Games submits “A body horror warlock supplement for 5E featuring a new patron, the Blood Queen, as well as spells, abilities, and magical equipment.”
- Resinator: Recycled Tabletop Pieces from Eric Franca Turner raises funds for “Support sustainable and affordable tabletop pieces”
- Tomb of the Undying Empress: An Adventure for PF2 & 5e from Kim Frandsen submits “An Adventure for 4-6 3rd level heroes for either or both systems.”
- Tales of Two Moons from Daniel Madden nominates “An all new fantasy tabletop RPG! Immerse yourself as one of ten playable races, and discover the unlimited power of magic that awaits!”
- Mighty Moddin Table Rails from Drew Woodworth submits “A 3D Printable Rail System to convert your folding table into a full-fledged gaming table.”
- The Book of Extinction from Mage Hand Press nominates “A Bestiary of Extinct Animals for DnD 5th Edition”
- BIG BADS from Hit Point Press crowdfunds “Big Bads is a two-volume collection of the biggest, baddest bosses, monsters and more for 5e DnD.”
- Adaptable Encounters Compendium 1 (Printed) from Guillermo Buenfil suggests “A hardcover book with more than 100 encounters for 5e D&D (the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG)”
- Curse of the Dark Night, an Eldritch D&D 5e Adventure from LunaBear Games suggests “A dark fantasy D&D 5th edition adventure for 4-6 players. Join the witch hunt and break the curse holding the city in eternal night.”
- Heresylab – Chibi Animal Adenturers digital STL and resin from Heresy Lab submits “A line of 72 chibi models for colelctors, to print or use in your D&D games as characters.”
- Attack From Space: The RPG – Deluxe Edition! from Tabletops and Tentacles pitches “A hardcover version of the Knights vs Aliens tabletop roleplaying game.”
- Deck of Many Things: Run 3 from Ian Haramaki is working on “Featuring new design and updated artwork for many cards!”
- The Mansion from Mauro Indini nominates “A horror single player print and play, roll and write game. Explore the mansion, kill zombies and survive!”
- My Last Sunrise 2 – Women of Horror – 28mm Minis for TTRPG from Bad Squiddo Games is working on “Top Quality Pewter & Resin Miniatures for Fantasy, Horror & Pulp Gaming & Painting”
- Digital Horror TTRPG Tokens from Jonathon Myhre nominates “Digital Horror TTRPG Tokens that you can use for your Call of Cthulhu, Alien, D&D, Starfinder, Stargate, Homeworld, etc. games.”
- Codexticon: A Tome of Crime – A Criminal Setting for 5E from Seventh Sense Studio submits “Do you dare to rule or oppose the criminal empire that ravages the planes of existence?”
Do you know of an RPG news source that I don’t? Let me know, or leave a comment below.
