When is Christmas? It’s in July! At least, that’s the case if you’re a DriveThruRPG fan and note their biggest sale every year is Christmas in July. Nothing this year, though, not yet. There’s still time!
While we wait, let’s look at the RPG news summary of summaries;
- Traffic chasing newspapers went after a US school for using D&D in English lessons.
- Threads launched, and this is RPG related as Geek Native has been compiling a list of RPG publishers and designers there.
- A D&D bot is coming to Mastodon.
- The ENnies 2023 nominees and Judges’ Winners have been announced. Congrats everyone.
- To support PocketQuest, DriveThruRPG has further discounted First Time Partners.
It’s the first Routinely Itemised of July, so we must discuss the RPG Publisher Spotlight.
Who won this month? The Grinning Frog picked up Patron votes.
Are you a site or podcast supporter? You can vote for August, and the candidates are;
I will mention this until the chaos rift tears open – which will be soon. Geek Native is based in Edinburgh, and the City becomes intense in August. Expect delays and scant few posts as team Geek Native, Bronwen and Girdy rush about reviewing comedy, musicals and weird stuff for Geek Native’s sister site.
First, though, and soon, Amazon’s Big Heckin’ Two Day Prime Day.
Right, let’s see what the news looks like right now.
Support: Patron.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Superhero Week kicked off with a speedy look at Titanic Triumph RPG.
- Roll20, Wizards of the Coast and DriveThruRPG have been out on manoeuvres so that you can now get all the official 5e D&D books as Roll20 modules on DTRPG.
- Chris Gonnerman (not Chaosium) has made free-to-download Basic Fantasy RPG core rules.
- You’ll be tired of hearing about it, but Threads, Meta’s Twitter upsetter and Mastodon grumbler, is out, and Geek Native is curating RPG and geeky accounts to follow.
- Patron voting for August’s Spotlight is open.
- DriveThruRPG’s new publisher support jam is PocketQuest, the 2023 theme is “Space” and there are 50 aspiring RPG creators in it.
- In the Bundle of Holding, there’s an offer for map-makers and cartographers with The Worldographer Collection.
Spotlight: The Grinning Frog
RPG news from around the web
- Quirky red top the New York Post runs with NYC school ‘falsifies’ English credits with Dungeons & Dragons’ class’ .
- Modiphius share a little more on Cohors Cthulhu. You can get the Quickstart for free.
- BoardGameGeek writes up the ENNIES 2023 Nominees and Judges’ Spotlight Winners.
- Dicebreaker discovers that The Adventure Time RPG is inspired by one of the weirdest fantasy RPGs ever made.
- Wargamer writes up Dungeons Bot in a piece called Yet another reason to ditch Musk’s Twitter: You can play a crowdsourced Dungeons & Dragons campaign over on Mastodon.
- We’ve more Gloomhaven RPG insight with a post by publisher Cephalofair and more on BackerKit.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- EN Worlder Romulocmargo1 writes up a review of the second edition of the Brazilian RPG Old Dragon.
- Reviews from R’lyeh published a review of the second edition of Doctor Who RPG and a review of the Call of Cthulhu Prowler at the Threshold and DCC’s Violence for Votishal.
- MJR RPG reviews Call of Cthulhu’s The Haunting.
- Jared Rascher wrote up their review on Vive La Resistance! for Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20, MCDM’s Arcadia #29 aaaand the Tales of the Valiant Smallfolk and Kobolds playtest.
- James Maliszewski shares a retrospective on RuneQuest’s SoloQuest.
- Tribality’s Brandes Stoddard looked at playtest part 6 of (One) D&D.
- At Forbes, Rob Wieland covers Pendragon’s new Starter Set with a piece called The Once And Future King Arthur RPG Returns.
- Nerds on Earth review Starfinder: Ports of Call.
- At the Bell of Lost Souls, Meaghan Colleran notes ‘Wanderhome’ Is The Comforting Indie RPG You Should Be Playing To Relax.
- Geek Girl Authority chats to Ben of Homie and The Dude.
- The Rat Hole interviewed Darling Demon Eclipse about Sapphicworld.
RPG new releases
- Come Martin has released the diceless and GM optional Feathered Adventures.
- Chaosium offer more Pendragon 6e support with the Roll20 edition of the Starter Set.
- Cubicle 7 have released their Warhammer FRPG Forest of Hate.
- Siegebreaker Games publishes the 5e Shattered Worlds Players Guide.
- Night Owl Workshop offers up the beta edition of the Gunslinger Roleplaying Game.
- Curious Cultist Games have released the Fiefdom Core Rulebook.
- Greyplains have released the core rules of their titular Greyplains.
- EN Publishing has a digital omnibus Collector’s Edition of The Awfully Cheerful Engine.
- Hunters Entertainment expanded their Netflix cyberpunk license with;
RPG bundle deals
- Save $91.50 (48%) with the PocketQuest 2023 First Time Partners bundle.
- Save $12.33 (51%) with the DMsGuild’s Story FREEDOM bundle.
- Save $11 (52%) with the DMsGuild’s Oni + Battlemancer Fighter bundle.
- Save $10.73 (25%) with the DMsGuild’s An Elf and an Orc Had a Little Baby (PDF + Roll20) bundle.
- Save $5.80 (29%) with Daniel Johnson’s Melchior’s Spell Compendium bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Chris Dias owns Dias Ex Machina, created Ultramodern5 and for Geek Native wrote D&D Belongs to You: Use Foundry and Roll20 et al but not WotC’s VTT.
- Charles Dunwoody’s worldbuilding looked at The Bloodmarch.
- The University of South Australia digs into the increasingly asked question Can Dungeons and Dragons help players build social skills?.
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;
- Field Guide to Iridia from Miss DataNinja proposes “A third-party supplement for the LANCER tabletop roleplaying game.”
- Goblins, Trolls, and Gnawty Gnolls – a D&D 5E Resource book. from Red Oaks Creative suggests “Ser Percy Tittering-Herdewycke-Smyth’s Compendium of Goblins, Trolls, and Gnawty Gnolls. Compatible with D&D 5E.”
- Steps to a Hero: A lifepath system for 5e fantasy from Ben Meadows from Periapt Games crowdfunds “Create incredible characters for your D&D games using our unique, in-depth lifepath generation system!”
- Mushroom Gnome for DCC, OSE, SD, and Troika! from Jeremy Shuman proposes “Four PDFs for four great ttrpg systems! Play as a mushroom gnome in the system of your choice – DCC, OSE, ShadowDark, or Troika!”
- B.O.A. from Orcs Unlimited kickstarts “A solo TTRPG of 80s action cartoons where blue and red lasers are the other half of the battle.”
- MECH – Classic Elegant Stainless Steel Steampunk Dice from ARTHUN submits “Enhance Your Gaming Experience with Custom Stainless Steel Dice. A classic and innovative Steampunk design piece.”
- SideQuests 10: Easy Adventures For Fifth Edition D&D from Dominic M. raises funds for “A collection of 50+ instant adventures designed to easily add to your Fifth Edition or Fantasy TTRPG campaign.”
- Traveler’s Guide to the City Under the Dragon’s Claw from Chamomile Has A Project proposes “A 5e sourcebook about undermining a draconic tyrant’s rule in a citystate”
- Suburbia: The Envy of A Million Spheres! from Age of Age suggests “A surreal suburban setting for Troika!”
- Tome of Intriguing Options from Chris Rutkowsky nominates “A Supplement to the Honor + Intrigue Swashbuckling RPG system featuring high-fantasy, space opera, new dueling styles, and more.”
- Phage From Below – A Thrilling 2nd-Level MCC Adventure! from Sniderman suggests “Your post-apocalyptic PCs must stop a horrendous Ancient plague in this exciting Mutant Crawl Classics-compatible adventure!”
- The Father Dagon Figure: Innsmouth Characters Part 2 from Cosmondo suggests “3D Printable Monster Figure (STL Files): Role-Playing Games, Tabletop, Fantasy, Horror & Call of Cthulhu Miniature Boardgame Collectors”
- Fateforge – 5E Modular RPG: Reprint, VTT Support & Scenarios from Jim Searcy submits “Our Ennie Award 2022-winning standalone 5E RPG survived the OGL storm and now returns with new features for all your 5th Edition games!”
- The Arcane Index Vol 2 – Flora, Fuana and Funga from The Arcane Muse raises funds for “Suitable for all game systems. Designed with the Games Master in mind”
- The Fractured Core: A ready to run campaign for 5E from GoodBeat Games kickstarts “GoodBeat Games is a collection of experienced players and DM’s that love to create, and share what they created with you!”
- The Archivist: An Update of the Class that Knows too Much from Orphaned Bookworm Productions LLC kickstarts “A new 1-20 class for Pathfinder 1st edition and 5E based on the intellectual spellcaster from the horror supplement of 3.5e”
- Pru’s Potions and Poisons Alchemy Shop from Steven Chabotte submits “Explore Pru’s alchemy shop, discover potions, poisons, and even a friendly poltergeist. Based on 5e rules.”
- Cerberus & Maledictus – STLs for 3D Printing from Monolith Arts raises funds for “Detailed 3D Printable STLs for RPG & Tabletop Wargames. Large scale figure and 32mm miniature. Pre-supported.”
- The GM’s Toolbox from Kabouter Games nominates “Get a brain dump from an old friend with decades of RPG experience, from OSR games to 5E. Tons of tables, magic, and wisdom.”
- Legends of Cyr-Nul: The Dire Pack – a module for Dragonbane from Sean Fontaine is working on “The first in a series of adventures set in the world of Cyr. To be played with the Dragonbane ttrpg rules set.”
- €1 One Shot: The Bloodpit of Hoxditch from Ardann Creative offers “A 5e Compatible Investigation Adventure”
- Mermaids Vs Kraken from Benjamin Sperling nominates “A roll and write of oceanic depth battling a tentacled terror with the help of Mermaids”
- Hallowed | A Mörk Borg Supplement from Christian Eichhorn proposes “The renamed re-release of Bone Heart Crusaders. A hardcover with more “holy” content and new classes. Blessed be the backers!”
- 3-in-1 Holiday Bundle for Moon Curser Kids from Leslie Arambula raises funds for “Holiday-inspired TTRPG adventures for kids as young as 4 from the creator of Stargems!”
- DCC Numbered Dice Box, limited run. from Marc Duarte introduces “Dirty Woods DCC box, each hex labeled with the dice type to locate each die in the chain. Featuring DCC artist graphics. Limited run.”
- One Dollar Adventures – Arctic Expedition: Part II from Cave Gaming kickstarts “An explorer has disappeared into the tundra. Will the party find him before something or someone else does?”
- The Bag Of Holding from Eldritch Lair raises funds for “With the pull of a drawstring these durable leather roll trays collapse into a pouch to store your coins, dice, figures, & more.”
- Rolling Encounters eBook No. 1: A Dice Game with a Storyline from J.J. Reich proposes “This unique eBook directs a storytelling dice game where players experience life as a gnome! Print & Play, or Read .PDF on any device.”
- Unwritten: Modern D’ni Sourcebook from InkSpark Games submits “The first major expansion to the MYST tabletop RPG”
- The Dice By Dungeon Evolution from Dungeon Evolution introduces “The Ultimate Digital Dice and 8-Ball”
- World of Pratheron : The Ruins of Eldrin City from YOUNGHO SON introduces “3D Printable STL Files, Terrain for Tabletop, Role Playing Games, Wargames and RPG’s”
- Hex Dek, Systemless Fantasy RPG Hexcrawl Cards from Philip Reed nominates “50 double-sided hexcrawl cards by Philip Reed. Each includes a seven-hex mini-map, location descriptions, and a random encounter table.”
- Gemstone Dice Spinners – Pocket Sized 7-in-1 Dice from TheDiceShopOnline proposes “A pocket sized dice spinner with a solid gemstone or glass core and solid metal case.”
- Void Halls: Print & Play, Roll & Write Game. from ParaMythGames offers “Defend Your Dungeon from “Heroes”. A Single Sheet, 3 Map Variations, Print-at-Home Board Game.”
- Fey Wanderer from Bramble Heart Games kickstarts “A fun rules light ttrpg for all ages where you play fey creatures questing for treasure in the Fey Realm”
- RPG Maps – for all kind of RPGs – 300 DPI from Benjámin Weisz proposes “84 RPG maps for your role-playing game. Outdoor and indoor locations, diverse maps. 300 DPI suitable for VTT or printing. Royalty-free.”
- Mediterranean Monsters & Mythology for DnD 5E from Legendary Games raises funds for “Over 150 killer 5E creatures from Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and more, plus an awesome adventure saga through Greek mythology!”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
