Holla! We’re in advent calendar season. Can you believe it? This year, I’m not doing a dice advent calendar but a pork scratching one. Can you believe that?
Now, the RPG news summary of summaries!
- D&D announced their important 2024 schedule (and new books)
- The Walking Dead RPG is out.
- News of the Indie RPG Creator Summit had a mixed reception.
- Ghostfire Gaming joins D&D Beyond.
- Matthew Mercer says he’s not working about the actual play bubble bursting.
DR Games won the RPG Publisher Spotlight Patron vote.
The candidates for January are;
If you’re a cool frood and a site supporter, then you can vote for your choice over at this private poll.
Rightyo, let’s roll with the RPG news!
Support: Patrons.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Roll20 is looking to the future of web tech as they announce a new edition and deep code overhaul of their virtual tabletop and project Jumpgate.
- Geek Native took a quick look at the free quickstart for the Interstellar Mercenary RPG.
- As Modiphius moves into the release phase for Cohors Cthulhu, merging Roman legions with Lovecraftian Mythos, we pointed out the free quickstart.
- The Bundle of Holding has the popular 3e of Shadowrun on offer and one for Sly Flourish’s Lazy DM and Fantastic Adventures.
- There’s more as the Bundle of Holding also has a tier for Magpie’s dramatic horror TTRPG Bluebeard’s Bride.
- Voting is open for the January 2024 spotlight.
Spotlight: DR Games
RPG news from around the web
- Wargamer’s savvy Millie Russell notes that 2024 will be a big year for D&D and that we now have a release schedule.
- Christian Hoffer homes in with Dungeons & Dragons Announces Two New Books for 2024, New Core Rulebooks Release Date Revealed.
- Dicebreaker puts the pieces together for us with Cyberpunk and Witcher designer’s next RPG is about multiverse-hopping ninja inspired by Naruto, Stargate and Japanese myth.
- Goodman Games has announced the January 8th to 10th Indie RPG Creator Summit. It’s sparked some comments on diversity.
- Osprey Publishing will release a new RPG by Jonathan Hicks with law, order, darkness, danger and Pressure.
- Mongoose finally launches on Roll20, announces a new Traveller Universe called Pioneer and just about survived paying for a new roof.
- aNb Media cover that Dungeons & Dragons Welcomes Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming to D&D Beyond.
- Modiphius publish a new errata and FAQ system.
- Author and game designer Rob Wieland notes that Now Is A Great Time To Check Out Solo Roleplaying.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Death by Dice does a retrospective on The Dark of Hot Springs Island.
- At Gnome Stew, Jared Rascher reviews The Walking Dead Universe RPG.
- Mollie Russell opines The Walking Dead Universe RPG review – a bit of a shambles.
- GamesRadar and George Chrysostomou notes that The Marvel Multiverse RPG does one thing better than any other superhero game.
- Polygon’s Charlie Hall writes up Paizo’s first new rulebook since dropping the OGL evokes… David Attenborough?.
- POCGamer’s Graeme Barber has an in depth of Pathfinder’s GM core.
- Jared Rascher reviews The Gunslinger.
- The Roleplayers Chronicle reviews Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk (Dungeons & Dragons).
- Thaumavoria reviews Justin Alexander’s So You Want To Be a Game Master.
- GamesRadar and Oliver Harrop have a Candela Obscura interview and lead with Candela Obscura interview: Have fun, be safe, and get wrecked.
- Alex Meehan interviews Matthew Mercer about on becoming a more relaxed DM and D&D going mainstream and in a two-parter on why he isn’t worried about the RPG actual play bubble bursting. (Should he be?)
RPG new releases
- Free League Publishing gives us the chills with The Walking Dead Universe RPG.
- Or, if you want to put a toe into the water and hope nothing bites it off, there’s the The Walking Dead Universe RPG Starter Set.
- Modiphius release Fallout: The Roleplaying Game: Winter of Atom PDF.
- Hewie Enfield publishes the O.R.E.: Open Rules Expansion for 5E.
- Cubicle 7 gives us more Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound with Ulfenkarn: City at the Edge of Death.
- RPGGamer writes up ‘Scottish Mythological Beasts Unleashed’ (and never did mention the angry badger who lives next to me) with Highland Horrors: for Shadowdark .
RPG bundle deals
- Save $153.25 (54%) with the Three Years of Studio M-! bundle.
- Save $70.24 (80%) with MCDM’s Best of Arcadia Collection.
- Save $15.36 (63%) with Sundered Vault’s Novus Crusade: Special December Bundle.
- Save $11.98 (27%) with the DMsGuild’s The Complete Toolbox Collection.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Ben and Genre Police return with RPG tips.
- James Maliszewski writes on The Limited Pop Cultural Footprint of D&D as a Game.
- Wired, keeping up with all the latest trends, notes that Dungeons & Dragons is a household name again.
- CBR and Sonny Giordano pen Dungeons & Dragons: How To Homebrew Campaign Setting & Tone.
- The Angry GM offers How to Teach An Old GM a New System.
- Bell of Lost ouls writes up Matt Colville Wants You To Know What To Expect When You’re Expecting An Edition Change.
- At World Anvil, Kat French pens Romantasy: A guide for writers & GMs.
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;
- The Lighthouse Keeper from Mitchell Tierney proposes “Solo Role-Playing Game”
- The Night Watch from St Caedmon Studios is working on “A Pamphlet TTRPG and Dungeon Synth package deal”
- BLACK&PINK ROSE WHIP DICE from OniDice introduces “An elegant, dual-toned hollow metal set, ideal for enhancing any game with style and sophistication”
- The Burning of the Old Year from GMs Atelier is working on “A holiday investigation adventure for the Fifth Edition of the World’s Most Popular Roleplaying Game.”
- Fae: Forgotten from Jay Mooers pitches “New World of Monsters for Fae TTRPG!”
- The shadow behind us – Curses of Neverland from Carlotta Marchione suggests “A SOLO horror gamebook RPG where you will face the chilling tales of Neverland.”
- Ave Nox from Charles Ferguson-Avery suggests “A system-neutral megadungeon of forgotten history and folly.”
- Van Gogh’s Mysterious Mansion from VanGogh_Mansion nominates “Epic RPG experience set in 19th century Paris. Your intrepid group of adventures must rescue Van Gogh before it’s too late!!!”
- Flat Hard Pressed Cardboard TTRPG DND Miniatures – D&D Minis from Wanderer’s Emporium kickstarts “Wanderer’s Emporium is launching new collections!”
- Setting Guide to Retia – A D&D 5th Edition Handbook from Nat19 is working on “A 500+ page guide to the industrial continent of Somnus Domina and beyond! Lore, monsters, character options, and a new way to play 5E!”
- Not Your Average Trading District Vol. II from YourNeighborKnight raises funds for “102 models to use in your tabletop games, fit for any adventure.”
- Fates of Mankind from Fates of Mankind is working on “A Classical Age Fantasy Tabletop Role-Playing Game”
- People from Aithàleia – 10 NPCs inspired by the Renaissance from Lorenzo Borrini nominates “10 NPCs inspired by the Italian Renaissance, adapted to 5e, for you to use in your campaign, both in Italian and English”
- Deep Forest Tiles For Epic Adventures. from Hermann Hillmann introduces “Printable 3D STL Files, Miniatures for Tabletop Role Playing Games and Wargames.”
- Companion Cards for 5E from River Wren Compendium crowdfunds “A collection of over 40 beautifully designed Companion cards created for the best tabletop games around!!!”
- 5th Annual Christmas Dice – Winter Inclusion Holidice! from John Wrot! crowdfunds “Hot Cocoa, Snowflake, and Christmas Light themed Inclusion-style dice sets. Ships in time for Christmas!”
- DARKHEIM: The Decayed Beast from Rocket Pig Games is working on “A legendary (5e) monster miniature for tabletop games (3d printable resin STL) and 5e compatible PDF.”
- Magic Items, a new system to play your RPG (D&D 5E and more) from Magic Items nominates “The first platform allowing you to create your own digital 3D items for your Dungeons and Dragons Campaigns. Control them in Realtime.”
- The Fantasy Trip Bestiary AND Foes 2 STL Miniatures from Steve Jackson Games nominates “Over 200 new creatures for roleplaying adventure, plus 50+ detailed 3D fantasy miniatures for resin printers.”
- Game Master’s Guide to Fairies, Witches, and Fairytales from Ty Hulse raises funds for “This book will use fairy lore and tales to give the game master tools to develop interesting campaigns and encounters.”
- 2D6 Realm – A Classic Overland Crawler Solo Player Game from Toby Lancaster introduces “A Print and Play, Roll and Write, Overland Crawler, Solo Player Game designed by Toby Lancaster”
- Satzija’s Darkest Charms – System Neutral & 5E (1€) from Quill’s Tiny Quests offers “Strike a deadly bargain and discover a new romanceable character, story hooks, and 6+ arcane charms. All (and more) for 1€!”
- Collectors: A solution to store and display your miniatures from Draco Forge suggests “Collectors are modular furniture designed to hold large amounts of miniatures from your wargame, RPG, and boardgame collections.”
- Bladeport, City of Adventure! from Crippled God Foundry crowdfunds “3D Printable files of modular buildings, scenery & miniatures for your fantasy tabletop games and miniature collection!”
- Bukana Bestiary: A 5E WakeSong Supplement from Pine Box Entertainment LLC proposes “5E full color book based on Filipino Mythology Creatures set in the WakeSong world of Bukana: Gateway to the Sea of Skulls”
- Presents in Peril from Cave Gaming crowdfunds “A Seasonal One-Shot Adventure from Cave Gaming”
- “BATTLE SCAPES” – Battle Maps for your TTRPG from Elven Foundry suggests “A meticulously crafted collection of dynamic and versatile battle maps designed to breathe life into your fantasy adventures.”
- The Camden Vampire from Anthony David offers “A 5e D&D adventure”
- Maps of Tellest: 50+ Maps for DND, Pathfinder, and More from Mike DeAngelo suggests “50+ High-Quality Digital Fantasy Battlemaps for Tabletop RPGs (D&D, Pathfinder, Roll20, and Beyond)”
- Spirit Fall: A Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG from Kyle Watt pitches “Explore the post-apocalyptic New York City in search for survival, hope and haven from the demons that surround you”
- Build Your Own Adventure 3: Cute Familiars from Aliaksei Spadar introduces “3D printable models for DnD and other RPG.”
- ToD1 Lair of the Silver Rings – RPG OSR adventure module from Cloak and Dragons offers “A starting adventure in the oldschool style. Written for OSRIC or your favorite OSR game system – with a 5e compatible version too!”
- Journey Through the Dying Lands| Mork Borg Fiction Anthology from Kaiju Poet submits “A curated anthology of grimdark fiction & vicious adventures.”
- Gackling Moon from Patrick Stuart introduces “An illustrated Tome of the Moonlands”
- A Holly Jolly Supplement – 5e from The Beta Gamers raises funds for “For an Adventurer’s Holiday”
- Myriad of Monsters: The Creature Capture TTRPG from Tobito suggests “A Pokemon based Table Top Roleplaying game developed using the Powered by the Apocalypse baseline.”
- Dungeon Grid – magnetic, stackable 3D Tiles from Kuboid introduces “A Modular Dungeon Tileset .. But different. Stack your tiles in all 3 dimensions and build houses, towers or entire castles!”
- Gary’s Appendix: Issue 4 from Jeffrey Jones pitches “Sword & Sorcery Articles for OSE & OSR”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
