It’s late; it’s storming down, but here’s our Routinely Itemised RPG news summary!
Firstly, let’s take a look at the summary of summaries;
- Lore & Legends is out, one of the last Penguin Random House distributed D&D books.
- Chaosium have a new board games division, a new lead for it and a new fiction lead.
- J Gray is the new Cyberpunk RED lead.
- WIthout drama, Wizards of the Coast has been removing the AI art that snuck into Glory of the Giants.
- Just look at that Kickstarter spike!
Now, good news: it’s the first week of the month, so that Patrons can vote for November. The candidates are;
Scoundrel Game Labs won the October spotlight.
Rightyo, let’s roll with the RPG news!
Competition: The Wicker Man t-shirt | Cocaine Owlbear RPG.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Geek Native was one of the blogs to get a look inside D&D’s Lore & Legends.
- There’s an official D&D ugly Christmas jumper.
- In bundles and in Humble, there’s the Blackstone audiobook deal for sci-fi.
- Also, at the Bundle of Holding, you can scoop up Scarred Lands 5e.
- Lastly, to pay ER and vet bills, there’s the 5e Bite Club bundle.
Spotlight: Scoundrel Game Labs
RPG news from around the web
- Publishing power Penguin Random House will stop distributing Dungeons & Dragons as WotC shifts to alternative partners.
- Kickstarter rival BackerKit bans AI-generated content from its crowdfunding platform.
- Chaosium appoints Susan O’Brien as the line editor for fiction, and Kuba Polkowski is the lead producer on the new board game division.
- R. Talsorian Games’ J Gray becomes the full-time Cyberpunk RED Line Manager, and Rob Barefoot replaces him as the new media ambassador. Hello, Rob.
- SuperHeroHype’s Julia Anderson notes that Dungeons & Dragons to Bring Adventure (and Funding) to 200 High-Needs Classrooms.
- Dextro’s Noelle Corbett covers D&D Playtest 8 introduces base-building Bastion system & cantrip revisions.
- At CNBC, Sarah Whitten explains that With booze, furniture and candles, Dungeons & Dragons makes itself at home.
- Dicebreaker spots Queer Halloween Stories Bundle funds mutual aid with tabletop RPGs about too many Draculas and horny skeletons.
- Dicebreak also writes up Surreal fantasy RPG Invisible Sun – and its 14kg Black Cube – returns from the shadows for a limited print run.
- At EN World, the forums note WotC has dropped the AI art from Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants.
- Black Armada reveal that Lovecraftesque 2e has hidden UV art!
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- TechRaptor pens Planescape: Adventures In The Multiverse Review – Player Options Still Disappoint, The Adventure Does Not!.
- Reviews from R’lyeh digs into the 1983 Star Trek RPG, the Nightmare over Ragged Hollow plus Greg Stafford’s King of Sartar.
- At The Other Side, there’s a review of 666: The Number of the Beast.
- MRJ RPG writes up Alone Against the Flames Review – Call of Cthulhu (Starter Set).
- Polygon goes with Dungeons & Dragons’ Planescape campaign should be played as quickly as possible.
- Roll20 offers Interview: Meet The Minds Behind Marvel Multiverse RPG.
- In a Legends & Lore interview, Trone Dowd at The Messenger pens ‘The Nerds Are Winning’: D&D Experts Spin the Lore of the Game’s Resurgence in New Book.
- The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Dennis Morton scribes Leodis Games Farsley: Meet the Leeds tabletop games store owner who wrote a number one bestselling book.
- Mike Dunn at the GamingTrend runs Bringing a narrative experience to the drinking experience- Matthew Lillard talks Quest’s End Whiskey.
RPG new releases
- Ready for some horror? Green Ronin brings the mythos to the AGE System with Cthulhu Awakens: The AGE RPG of the Weird Century.
- Renegade Game Studios has mixed reviews attached to the PDF of Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition.
- Infinium Games Studios offer up an RPG of magic, macabre flesh and unsettling tech with Gauntlets & Gaslight.
- Darkestsnake Gaming doesn’t need a GM for Violent Delights.
- Axo Stories publishes the solo RPG Tales from the Gods.
- Entanglement Interactive ditches the OGL and goes indie with a Creative Commons License with DarkEnergy 1.5.
- Crossroads Games serves up a dream-infused Plyphyny Multiverse Handbook.
- Strange Owl Games goes steampunk sci-fi with Space 1889: After – Empyrean Edition.
- Bad news for players as Palladium releases Creature Feature™ for Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $33.29 (69%) with the DMsGuild’s Halloween: The Complete Package bundle.
- Save $27.42 (41%) with Chaosium’s Zgrozy: From Beyond standard color collector bundle.
- Save $17.29 (75%) with the DMsGuild’s Spooktober bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- In a powerful piece, Trevor Pyle explores Chasing the emotional escape of Dungeons & Dragons on death row.
- Joe Stammeijer cleverly publishes The Wargamer psychiatrist explains why DnD therapy works.
- Writing on the Gen Con blog, Third Eye’s Eloy Lasanta asks whether you’re Ready to Learn the Art of Gamecrafting?
- Tor’s James Davis Nicoll suggests Five RPGs to Keep on Hand in Case of Emergency.
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 mentioning;
- Cohors Cthulhu Tabletop Roleplaying Game from Chris Birch, Modiphius is working on “A 2d20 RPG adventure of mighty Roman warriors and their barbarian rivals fighting the forces of the Mythos”
- Prisoners of the Secret Overlords (DCC RPG) from David Matalon kickstarts “Explore a crashed fantasy spaceship, fight interdimensional aliens, and get weird in a level-2 Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure!”
- Forget The Tavern: Meet Anywhere Else – 100 pages from Dice & Destiny proposes “Redefine your RPG start: Beyond the tavern! Dive into fresh adventures with our expertly crafted trove. Join now!”
- Mister Vampire from Chamomile Has A Project pitches “A FATE-powered tabletop RPG of vampire politics and vampire slayers”
- Spooktacular Horrors and Delights – 5e ($1) from The Beta Gamers crowdfunds “We bring you 7 new monsters from popular horror films to old myths for your ttrpg worlds.”
- Ineffable Bad Omens: A New D&D Setting from Black Cube Games introduces “New Celestial setting for DND 5E: 150+ NPCs, items, spells, & monsters. 3 new PC races. Inspired by Good Omens. With searchable tags”
- Starry Trace – Resin Dice Set with Sharp Edges from Miles offers “Capture a shimmering photon within dice and trace their dance in the darkness.”
- Prelude to War from Bloodstone Press offers “A 90-page adventure set in the early days of the First Punic War”
- D&D Spooktacular – Witches covens and some more from PetDM introduces “Explore the unique magic of witches for this year’s spooky season with this 5E supplement”
- Into Avernus – Part 1. A unique STL RPG miniature range from Dan Kelly introduces “Miniatures designed to be compatible with Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus, chapter 1 -A Tale of 2 Cities”
- Rediscovering the Dragon’s Eye Dice from Cynthia Franzen nominates “A beautiful resculpt of one of our best selling molds along with some new amazing dice!”
- Custom Dice box from Skye Smith kickstarts “Super limited Custom dice boxes”
- INHERITORS: A grim fantasy skirmish/RPG hybrid! from L.R. Knight introduces “Raid the cursed city in this skirmish/RPG featuring a deadly, whole-table combat system, dynamic monsters, and a heap of horror!”
- 3-Page 1-Shots: Goblin Troubles! FIVE adventures for D&D 5e! from Fantastical is working on “Early Bird discount: 20% off! 5 1-Shot adventures for Dungeons and Dragons for just $5! Also featuring Royalty-Free Fantasy Stock Art!”
- YOUR MONSTERS AND CREATURES COMPENDIUM! [5e Compatible] from THEORYCRAFT proposes “Design and Create Your Own Monsters to Terrify Players, Horrify Heroes, Raise The Stakes and Complete Your Bespoke Adventures!”
- A Night Out at The Halfway Inn from [email protected] introduces “A one shot adventure set over one night inside a lonely roadside Inn. Coming end of Sept 2023!”
- Nyx: A Dreamlike Interpretive RPG from Doc Glasgow nominates “Nyx is an independent RPG system set in a tempestuous dreamscape. It focuses on a expansive character-building and fast combat.”
- Adventures in Maksur: Tavern Troubles from Cave Gaming submits “Pirate or Privateer? Make Your Choice as You Forge Alliances and Prepare for an Epic Adventure to Hunt a Sea Beast!”
- The Stennard Courier Vol. 2 from Nick Baran proposes “A DCC RPG-compatible zine full of town locations, NPCs, and rumor tables expanding on The Stennard Courier Vol. 1.”
- Character Sheet Online Application – A new way to play! from Character Sheet Online offers “New RPG App, Create or Import Digital Character Sheets and Play any TTRPG with your phone, by CharacterSheetOnline VTT”
- The Stars that Cross the Ancient Sky: A Solo Journaling RPG from Chelsea Rose pitches “A game about observation, divination, and mythmaking as an ancient astronomer. What will the stars tell you tonight?”
- Worlds Without Number RPG: Offset Reprint from Kevin Crawford raises funds for “After two years of tremendous sales, it’s time to do a new print run of the Worlds Without Number fantasy RPG.”
- One Session Crawl: Pirates & Sea Monsters, one-shots for 5e from Mériate Games nominates “Five one-page one shot dungeons to explore pirate lairs, fight sea monsters & loot shipwrecks for DnD 5e.”
- Light Fantasy RPG from Gurbintroll Games crowdfunds “A blending of old-school rules and modern sensibilities; a retro-clone for today’s players.”
- Weeds in the Waste from Meghan Cross offers “A solo storytelling TTPRG about tending a garden in a post apocalyptic wasteland.”
- Spookyfest: D&D 5e RPG Supplement from Non-Essential Games suggests “Enter the forbidden woods for a spooky celebration in your Dungeons & Dragons campaign with new NPCs, items, creatures, and more.”
- Caverns & Caravan: A DUNGEON DELVE Adventure Duo from R. Nelson Bailey submits “Fantasy RPG modules for 1st or 2nd Ed AD&D, B/X-BECMI D&D, Pathfinder, OSRIC, DCC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, or others OSRs.”
- Librus Nocturnum – 5e Horror Adventure Anthology from Lunch Break Heroes submits “The highly anticipated adventure anthology for D&D fifth edition. 250+ pages of adventures, 30+ new monsters, 10 settlements, and more!”
- A Divine Calling TTRPG from GingGal Games nominates “Can you save the world from certain doom and get your homework in on time? An original TTRPG where you’re the chosen one of the gods.”
- The Drowned Valley of Gorth – Old School Adventure from Kabouter Games pitches “In a ruined castle swamped in rancid mud, a fabulous fortune awaits bold adventurers — for 5E & OSR RPGs!”
- Saltfork Harbour Market & SPOF Sea Life Rescue from TGrejczik nominates “5e TTRPG seaside town market item lists to use together or individually. Magic, mundane, simple and silly, Saltfork has it all!”
- Dungeon Legends – Luxury Playing Cards inspired by 5e & OSR from Neil Jackson nominates “Fantasy playing cards, for 5e and other fantasy RPGs”
- 13 Hebrews: An Accursed TTRPG from Knightfall Games pitches “An all new accursed americana TTRPG system about cursed hobos travelling through ominous Tuffet County.”
- “Folklore Realms” Fantasy Folk Horror Storytelling Game from Oliver McNeil offers “Volume One: Core Rules & Eight Quest Tales. An Intuitive and easy-to-play TTRPG from the creator of The StoryMaster’s Tales.”
- The pirate’s map from poison crowdfunds “Roll dice, draw, explore the seas and get the greatest treasure.”
- Cat Campaign from Grace Desmarais (she/her) nominates “A kid friendly role-playing game, where players embody cats trying to rescuing their human.”
- Isle of Joy from Wind Lothamer submits “A horror-tinged adventure for Old School Essentials about love, loss, and despair.”
- Mage Hunter from Guy Sclanders offers “A diceless, fast paced TTRPG full of magic, mayhem and role playing!”
- The Echoing Silence | A Solo D&D 5E or PF 2E Adventure from DMDenz introduces “Embark on a Quest in “The Echoing Silence” – A Thrilling Solo Adventure Gamebook for D&D 5E and Pathfinder 2E. Suitable for levels 1-5″
- MACE — Volume #002 from James Shields introduces “A zine of original villains to threaten your tabletop games.”
- The Mending Circle from Martin Nerurkar proposes “The Mending Circle is a tabletop RPG of hope and healing. Play as one of three gentle witches and heal the world, one person at a time.”
- The Cursed Menagerie from Jason Greeno pitches “Solo dice game, of supernatural confrontation with ghosts haunting eery objects.”
- Outer Rim: Uprising from Iko proposes “Rebellious bundle for the Sci-Fi horror tabletop RPG Mothership”
- The Dice Decide: D&D Actual Play from Joseph Adams proposes “Embark on an epic quest through “The Dice Decide,” a brand new Dungeons & Dragons show, where fate lies in the roll of the dice.”
- Vault 5e: A Life Well Lived from Cubicle 7 Games submits “Bring 5e characters to life outside the dungeon. Delve into their past and future with Cubicle 7”
- Gaming/Coffee Table from Imran Sean kickstarts “Gaming / coffee Table.”
- Fe Borg – The Scary Fairy Folk Metal RPG Based on Mörk Borg from A Couple of Drakes crowdfunds “Beyond the hawthorns, the Otherworld hungers. Explore a perilous fairyland as magic takes its final shuddering breath.”
- A Night of Slaughter from Steven Chabotte crowdfunds “A 5e Terror adventure at the Cirque du Sillae! You’ll never see clowns in the same light again.”
- KINGSMOUTH – A 5e Dark Fantasy Setting from Shadowlands Games offers “Kingsmouth is a unique campaign setting of a dark world built with despair and cosmic horror for the world’s greatest roleplaying game”
- Merchants of Magick: Dangerous Business + Draught of Dragons from Mike Gnade submits “Grab this crunchy roll & write game along with 2 new expansions that offer a ton of modular variety & introduce exciting new mechanics”
- Fearful Ends: A Horror RPG About Existential Tragedy from Paul Siegel pitches “Fearful Ends is a rules-light roleplaying system for horror themed games that puts players in control of their inevitable doom.”
- All For One: Paris Gothique from Triple Ace Games Ltd nominates “Explore the dark streets & deadly back alleys of Paris in this detailed sourcebook for the Savage Worlds edition of All For One RPG”
- Speakeasy Dice: Art Deco Decadence For DND & RPG Adventures from Dice Dungeons submits “Level up with liquid core dice sets inspired by classic cocktails—complete with recipes to get your party rolling in the roaring 20s!”
- Dice Tower Systems by Ravenwood Woodworks from Ravenwood Woodworks proposes “Introducing two new compact dice tower systems with multi-wood and single-wood options.”
- The Fablemaker’s Deck of Many Things from Hit Point Press raises funds for “An Oracle for Risk and Reward using the infamous Deck of Many Things for 5e. Art by Eisner Nominated artist Yoshi Yoshitani.”
- Darkstorm Adventures: Silverflame’s Legacy from Matthew Zubritsky proposes “A thrilling adventure in Espartia that is both 5e and Pathfinder 2e compatible!”
- Gamefold: The First Folding Table Designed For Gaming from Tanner Yarro nominates “Dice-Friendly Lip. Three Built-In 360° Sliding Rails. 6’x3′ or 6’x6′. Patent Pending. Watch The Video To Learn About All The Features!”
- BURNAWAY: a ttrpg about Loss and Hope from the Ashes from Arnamantle Productions proposes “Challenge fate and make impossible choices as you exorcise or empathize with inferno-powered ghosts.”
- Micro Dungeons Halloween Edition 2023 for DnD – $1 USD from Ready to Play crowdfunds “Micro Dungeon Crawling adventures with Halloween themes for 5e D&D (5th edition Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG)”
- Tool Craft: Making Tools Useful for 5e from Dumpstatadventures introduces “A massive book of mechanics for over 35 tools, kits, and supplies for 5th edition D&D, along with 300+ items to create with them.”
- DICECOVERY – TRANSCENDENCE from Space Delirium crowdfunds “Liquid core sharp-edged dice sets infused with phosphorescent powder”
- Sickest Witch, Hayride for Mörk Borg from Severed Books kickstarts “Sickest Witch, Hayride and Beneath, the Inverted Church for Mörk Borg”
- Take Me to the Dark: 3 Games of the Strange from Publishing Goblin raises funds for “Three card-based TTRPGs that run strange stories for your table with zero prep. Time Travel, Ghosts, and Magic. Embrace the wyrd.”
- Gammalitic Age: Future Warrior World Book from Scott Taylor suggests “Post-Apocalyptic setting for the FAST Core RPG gaming system.”
- Tower of the Mind – A Lv 1-20 campaign location for 5e & PF2 from Awfully Queer Heroes introduces “A lv 1-20 ttrpg campaign setting, plus 35+ locations, 10 adventures, 25+ creatures and more!”
- Imaria/Animaria 5e Setting + Module Book + Dispel Dice Sets from Lynnvander Studios RPG nominates “Lynnvander, Japanime, and Dispel Dice present both fantasy/anime themed setting/module books for 5e as well as an epic dice collection.”
- Crucible of Ixium from The Grinning Frog offers “An uncanny, strange and original adventure compatible with 5e from an ENNIE award winning author”
- THE NIGHTMARE NEXUS: A Horrifying 5e & OSE Compendium from Wyvern Blade Games suggests “An Illustrated Tome of Monsters, Adventure Hooks, and 5e & OSE Stat Blocks for Game Masters & Players – Explore the Depths of Terror!”
- Remarkable Creatures of the Planes Vol. 2 – A 5E supplement from Neuron Games kickstarts “An immersive fantasy creature encyclopedia. Travel to the Elemental Plane of Fire to discover the Remarkable creatures that inhabit it.”
- Worlds to-go! The Elysians (Level Up Advanced Fifth edition) from PJ Coffey offers “Instant world building using a “drag and drop” set of themed heritages, cultures and backgrounds. Pick and mix as you want!”
- Populated Hex Monthly Year Two from Todd introduces “A compiled printing of Issues 13-24”
- Stairway to Heaven from greedygorgonpress submits “Seven Heaven based boss battles for 5e DnD! A celestial quest or a GM’s supplement of homebrewed heavy metal angels! Oh, it’s on!”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
