Holla! A weird Routinely Itemised RPG news this week as I’m writing it early and heading off to three days of anime festival. That’s not the usual schedule.
Let’s begin with RPG news summary of summaries;
- No Geek Native podcast this week (I forgot to say!)
- Both the Candela Obscura RPG and Candela Obscura: Tide & Bones are coming.
- Lin Codega is no longer at Gizmodo (and sadly out of Geek Native’s budget)
- Dicebreaker calls One Honk Before Midnight the Goose Game of TTRPGs.
- PaizoCon Online is confirmed and expanded with PazicoCOon @.
The clock to the mercenary shopping season is in the red. Are you all good with gift buying? If it helps, Geek Native often remembers to tag shopping finds and bundles.
Alternatively, and as I did last year for some people, I picked a charity (Oxfam in this case – despite its problems) and bought people goodwill/karma-generating goodies.
This year, outside of charity, I’m considering gifts that give beyond the Christmas season, and those are subscriptions. I have people in mind for Doctor Who, Star Wars, Wargames Illustrated and model magazines Tamiyra, HobbyWorld and Fantasy Figures.
Lastly, in something of a humble brag or a helpful heads up, which is to say X-alternatives, Mastodon, Threads and BlueSky all seem to have active RPG communities, and you can find us there.
Rightyo, let’s roll with the RPG news!
Competition: Halloween Horrors | The Augementors.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Deep7 has a free quickstart and new 3e rules for the 20-year-old Arrowflight RPG.
- Geek Native has a sneak peek inside the Demiverse Expanded, which is on Kickstarter.
- Charles Dunwoody takes a look at Vaesen’s The Lost Mountain Saga.
- Paizo confirms May 24th to 27th for PaizoCon Online 2024.
- In the Bundle of Holding, there are two deals on the City of Mist.
Spotlight: TheNatOne
RPG news from around the web
- As Bleeding Cool reports, and ahead of the worldwide release of the RPG, Critical Role announces Candela Obscura: Tide & Bone.
- On time, Demiplane launches a Digital Nexus For Critical Role’s ‘Candela Obscura’ RPG.
- Paizo is supporting start-up VTT player Natural Pengu.
- Dicebreaker writes Dungeons & Dragons wants its 2024 rulebooks to stay relevant and compatible for another decade.
- In a related story, J.R. Zambrano goes with WotC’s ‘D&D Studio Update’ Sheds Light On 2024 Core Rulebooks.
- At EN World, darjr writes up D&D Update: 2024 Rulebooks & Survey Results.
- Goodman Games confirms that Skate Wizards Indie RPG and New Foundry DCC Adventures In Our Online Store.
- Chaosium will publish a new edition of Daniel Harm’s Encyclopedia Cthulhiana.
- Chris Shepperson announces he’s the Line Manager for the new Conan RPG.
- Sad and frustrating news as Lin Codega announces they’ve been laid off from io9/Gizmodo. You can follow/support them at clickbaiter on Substack.
- CBC covers Dungeons and Dragons game eclipses 24-hour mark — and rolls a 20 for Manitoba children’s health charity.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- GeekDad warns Beware of Mutant Cows! Experience the Legendary Edition of ‘Phandelver & Below: The Shattered Obelisk’.
- Dicebreaker takes a look at One Honk Before Midnight, noting that This new tabletop RPG is basically Untitled Goose Game.
- At RPG.net, Andrew Hind reviews Great Plains Apocalypse and Myrrorside.
- Reviews from R’lyeh look into Monte Cook Games’ First Responders.
- Sequential Planet has a Tabletop RPG Review for Root: The RPG Core Book.
- Tomb of Tedankhamen has an Interview With Sandy Petersen – The Man, The Mythos, The Living Legend!.
RPG new releases
- SoulMuppet and Zachary Cox merge wizards and knights with the six shooters in the Arthurian Western Inevitable.
- Kenneth Proven publishes a d20 system RPG based on 5e called Rust and Ruin.
- Pay What You Want for Gem Games’ VICE Adventure Game.
- Pay What You Want for The Night Owl’s Heroes’ Call to Adventure preview.
- In physical releases, FLGS’ like Forbidden Planet have pre-orders open for Transformers: Roleplaying Game: Decepticon Directive: Sourcebook.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $11 (65%) with Seamus Conneely’s Starlit Wreckage for the Holidays bundle.
- Save $10 (29%) with Epic Table Games’ Echos of Vaerock & Arcane Rites bundle.
- Save $3.95 (44%) with Lester Smith Games’ Cut Up Solo “Triplanetary Lensman”/Bookmark the Stars.
- Save $2.73 (39%) with Ennead Games’ Crime and Punishment Collection 2023 bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- At Dicebreaker, Alex Meehan reflects Call of Cthulhu’s d100 dice rolls offer far more roleplaying freedom than D&D’s d20.
- Kat French at WorldAnvil writes up What’s an OSR? A Guide to Old School Renaissance.
- GM advice from J.T. Evans over at Gnome Stew with Entertainment is Key.
- Sly Flourish get into How to Choose DCs for Your 5e Game.
- GameRant tries to see if it knows Dungeons & Dragons: Obscure Monsters You Might Not Have Heard Of.
- It feels like a no-brainer, but it should be explored, and Amer Sawan does just that with an article on Why Are There More D&D Players Than DMs?
- At Her Campus, Jessica Meeker writes How Dungeons and Dragons helped me combat my internalized misogyny.
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;
- Viva La Dungeon Issue #2 from Zontco LLC is working on “Unique maps, monsters and magic for any fantasy campaign.”
- High Fantasy a Violent Delights Core Rule Set from Mike Lewis introduces “The solo coop party RPG you need! No DM/GM needed!”
- Strange Squad from S. Murphy proposes “Paranormal agents dealing with with supernatural creatures and phenomena.”
- Theater of Epic: A TTRPG between Actors & Directors from Spiral Lane Productions suggests “Tap into your inner actor in a game that puts Roleplaying above everything else!”
- Relics & Runes: A compendium of D&D 5e Magic Items and Runes from Elowen Frost raises funds for “A TTRPG Compendium of Unique Magic Items, Runes, and New Subclasses for DnD 5e.”
- Rich OSR-Style Random Level-0 Characters from Micah suggests “Roll one handful of dice, get stats, backstory, gear, and a name for a level 0 character.”
- Setting Europe Ablaze: The SOE Sourcebook from Russell Phillips nominates “Role-playing behind enemy lines in the Second World War”
- One HONK Before Midnight: A Goose-Based TTRPG Adventure from Jack Dixon kickstarts “Goose Hijinks, Tales of “The Honk-Pocalypse”, and an RPG system letting you live out all your chaotic goose-based fantasies!”
- Dragon’s Cave Dice Tower from Dragoncave nominates “3D printable dice towers for Board Games”
- Dice of Destiny from Bridget Meredith kickstarts “A collection of 30 tables to help add spontaneous creativity to your TTRPG campaign.”
- On the odder side from Pizza Games proposes “A TTRPG where the eerie meets the bizarre and where every reflection tells a twisted tale.”
- Spectacle: Science-Fantasy Gladiatorial Mayhem for Troika! from Dai Shugars raises funds for “An all-in-one adventure setting, bestiary, and character collection for running games in an alien overlord’s merciless fighting pits.”
- Goblin Mail from Evlyn Moreau offers “A third party zine for Troika!”
- Traven’s Travelogue of Treasured Taverns from Steven Chabotte pitches “A 5th Edition supplement filled with fantastic taverns, compelling story hooks/rumors, nearby neighbors, and memorable NPCs.”
- Heroes’ Call to Adventure (5e and fantasy RPGs) from Anders “The Night Owl” Jordahl kickstarts “Six adventures and new player character options for DnD 5e and any fantasy RPG!”
- Deployment: The World War 2 TTRPG from Muddied Waters Games suggests “A dark and restless game focused on the horrors of war, playing in a living history, and unique mechanics!”
- RollForge: Craft Your Own Dice for Epic Adventures! from Roll Forge proposes “The ultimate dice-making kit. Craft your own unique dice, each a work of art & elevate your tabletop gaming experience to new heights!”
- SCIENTIFIC BARBARIAN No.6 from Jim Wampler is working on “Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Magazine”
- A Mortal’s Guide to Meir – A 5E Supplement from Professor Bleen raises funds for “A Steampunk campaign supplement for 5e-compatible games inspired by Victorian literature. Includes 48 new subclasses and much more!”
- Elyse’s Guide to Magic – A 5e supplement from Draco Studios offers “Bring the magic of Dragonbond to your DnD games. NEW magic system, summoning rules, magical classes, spells, items and creatures!”
- Temple Punks from Aeon Cub suggests “A solo Roll & Write / Tabletop Roleplaying game hybrid where you create your character to delve into danger!”
- The Wassailing of Claus Manor from Tony Vasinda +1 offers “A Horrific Holiday Tabletop Roleplaying Game by the award winning team of Mike Martens, Brian Sago & Michael Van Vleet.”
- One Shot 3 “Stellar Enigmas” from Sophia Smut kickstarts “A Romantic Mystery Adventure Inspired by Jules Verne for Fifth Edition (DnD/Fantasy RPG)”
- Heirlooms Unearthed from Dark Eagle Games kickstarts “Tables of interesting starting items for player characters and NPCs for roleplaying, storytelling, and looting purposes.”
- CRIME-FIGHTING LUCHADORES: LUCHA EXTRAVANGAZA from Headcheese Productions is working on “Supplement book for CRIME-FIGHTING LUCHADORES, the TTRPG about super-powered wrestlers battling Evil, one match at a time!”
- The Big Store: A Con Game TTRPG from Nathan D. Paoletta raises funds for “Rope the mark, tell the tale, take the touch and blow ’em off in this con game where you’re the cons running the game!”
- Post-Apocalyptic 5e from Chamomile Has A Project nominates “A ‘zine-size supplement full ofclasses, NPC stats, and GM advice for running a game in the post-apocalyptic genre with 5e mechanics”
- One shot Dungeons – Witch Adventures from PetDM submits “Embark on two new witch-themed ready-to-play adventures for Dungeons & Dragons 5e!”
- Rose Whip Dice II: Unique Metal Polyhedral RPG Dice Set from OniDice submits “A distinctive Rose Whip-inspired collection, meticulously crafted to enhance your role-playing with a flourish of elegance”
- Caverns of the Dead god RPG adventure from Matt Gullett offers “The new Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG-compatible adventure by Matt Gullett from the Long Con Press.”
- That’s How The Cookie Crumbles! from Jackalope proposes “A Silly Wintry Grim Dark Holiday One shot for 5e & Other Tabletop RPGs”
- Solo In A Lost Cause from Peter Rudin-Burgess introduces “Solo Rules and Tools compatible with Silent Legions”
- Sip & Rollers: 3D Printable Can-Holding Dice Towers from CurationsByKira nominates “D&D-Themed Can-Holding Dice Towers Featuring Hidden Dice Storage, Snap-on Dice Tray Coasters, and 100% Support-free 3D Printing”
- Absolute Power Superhero RPG: Expansions and Accessories from Dyskami Publishing introduces “Two hardcover expansion annuals, a hero & villain card accessory deck, and a fiction anthology that explores the setting and characters”
- The Dragon’s Vault from The Monster Directive introduces “A collection of 100 dragon treasure hoards. Be inspired and have your players drooling with “The Dragons Vault””
- A Short Rest – Dice Collection from Lindorm Dice proposes “A collection of RPG dice-sets inspired by nature and the act of taking a well deserved Short rest!”
- Fight Club RPG Supplement from The Oracle submits “96 pages of knuckle bruising content suitable for all fantasy RPG systems”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
