Routinely Itemised: RPGs #243

Can’t deny it! We’re safely into February now, so let us remind you that Valentine’s Day is coming. I know; some people don’t like to be reminded. Importantly, others get into trouble if they forget!

In the summary of RPG news summaries;

• Lightforge Games has been impressing gaming journalists.
• Paizo has been hiring.
• D&D has been trying its best to celebrate turning 50.
• Zine Quest is on, and activity dropped from week one.
• Evil Genius lost a host of angry staffers at once

Today is the lunar new year, and if your calendar allows, it’s also the year of the dragon. You’d think Hasbro might acknowledge it, but there’s been nothing I’ve seen. Is the Chinese New Year not a thing that happens in the U.S.A.? Here in Scotland, we’ve had dragons dancing by the castles.

Down south, they’ve had more mundane oddities, such as struggling students stealing from Warhammer stores to keep their gaming addiction going.

What’s the weirdest tabletop gaming story you’ve seen this year?

Now, on with the TTRPG news!

Support: Patrons.

RPG news from Geek Native

• All of a sudden, a whole bunch of people left Evil Genius Games despite the company deciding against AI and Blockchain.
• A thief addicted to Warhammer will probably escape jail.
• Geek Native took a very quick look at the free quickstart to Arcana Famila.
• In the Bundle of Holding, there are two deals for Champions / Heroes.
• Humble as a megabundle on Cyberpunk.

Spotlight: Terry Maranda

RPG news from around the web

• VentureBeat is one of the sites impressed with Lightforge Games but runs the modest title Lightforge Games unveils Project O.R.C.S. RPG with collaborative storytelling.
• Michael O’Brien confirms that Call of Cthulhu Arkham to be followed by two new scenario collections.
• Paizo has been on a hiring spree and renewed introductions.
• Christian Hoffer finds that Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder Reveal Horrifying New Dragons.
• Perhaps inspired by last week’s poorly reported news of a D&D IP deal, License Global dives in with Dungeons & Dragons: Exploring Pop Culture’s Critical Hit.
• PC Gamer looks at Legend in the Mist Kickstarter with This ‘rustic fantasy’ tabletop RPG couldn’t feel more different to D&D : ‘That sense of the hidden and the spiritual has just been dumped, and we want to bring that back to life’.
• Meanwhile, Dicebreaker has looked at the Kickstarter for Community Radio with Community Radio RPG basically lets you make your own Welcome to Night Vale episodes, and it’s back with a 2E.
• Bleeding Cool goes with Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurers Guide Reveals Next Book.
• In computer games, MMO.com covers Dungeons and Dragons Online unveils monthly D&D 50th Anniversary Freebies.

RPG reviews and interviews from around the web

• The Fandomentals say ‘The Deck Of Many Things’ Is A Funky And Often Magical Grab Bag Of Ideas.
• Reviews from R’lyeh looks at Melsonian Arts Council’s Wet Grandpa and Simon Washbourne’s Lashings of Ginger Beer.
• Over at Forbes, Rob Wieland gets into The Roots Of Basic Roleplaying Run Deep.
• Dicebreaker has an early look at Outliers in This Gravity Falls inspired solo RPG is about lab research and cryptids.
• Throat Punch Games offers a ring side report with Pathfinder’s Year of Unfettered Exploration.
• At GeekMom, Elizabeth MacAndrew says ‘Start Here RPG’ Is Perfect for New TTRPG Players.
• In an exclusive interview, ComicBook has Titmouse Founder Talks How Dungeons & Dragons and TTRPGs Foster Creativity.
• Bell of Lost Souls gives us ‘Perils & Princesses’ RPG: Ditch the Prince for Dark Fantasy Adventure.

RPG new releases

• Mongoose has released the Traveller Companion Update 2024.
• OSR Publishing has given us the Dragonslayer Role-Playing Game.
• Green Ronin launch their Roll20 edition of Cthulhu Awakens: The AGE RPG of the Weird Century .
• Free League Publishing released the digital The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying 5E Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium
• Cubicle7 pushed their Roll20 module for Vault 5e: Uncharted Journeys.
• It’s another Roll20, but through DMsGuild as Grim Press hits release on Ezmeralda’s Guide to Ravenloft and they have an FG & PDF bundle.
• Peter Wilbur has published the Call of Cthulhu American Ghoul.
• In physical releases, Foribben Planet has but cannot show us the covers for D&D: Thief of Many Things.
• Modiphius is taking pre-orders on Dune: Fall of the Imperium.

RPG bundle deals

• Save $39.89 (67%) with drag-n-drop games’ The Book of Puzzles bundle.
• Save $34.07 (43%) with Bloodstone Press’ PoD Prelude to War Adventure bundle.
• Save $14.00 (40%) in RPGGamer’s The Books of Monsters for Dragonbane.
• Save $8.98 (18%) with Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Bundle.
• Save $6.97 (32%) in Hexplore Publishing’s Hexplore + Rules Adventures bundle.
• Save $1.79 (30%) with Joshua Ohmer’s Skin Deep: A Bundle of Classical Species (Greek Myth) bundle.

RPG ideas, tips and discoveries

• It’s freaky! It’s a dice-holding chest mimic box.

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;

• Goblin Harvest from Chamomile Has A Project is working on “A Roll20 module built from the ground up for VTT featuring a 210×210, 17.5 sq. ft. full color continuous wilderness map”
• Fantastical Classes: Blobs vs. Blades (Zinequest) from Joshua LH Burnett raises funds for “A collection of classes for old-style roleplaying adventure games”
• I Crave The Loop from Jonathon Boyle suggests “A ghost hunts you across a map of your home in this fast-paced, solo/duet RPG about snacking and pets. Can you escape with your cereal?”
• Ratcatcher: The Sewers of Merestal #ZineQuest from Andy Hand raises funds for “A dark fantasy RPG set in a corrupt undercity filled with monsters and adventure.”
• “Black Goat” Folk Horror Vol One Plus FREE Album from Oliver McNeil nominates “Over Eight Hours of Immersive Soundscapes. Designed for Role Playing, Board Games, 5E D&D, Cthulhu, and LARP. Plus Free “The Deep One””
• Maps for Tabletop RPGs – 200+ Wilderness Encounters from RealmCrafters raises funds for “200+ Wilderness Maps for Every Tabletop System (DnD, Pathfinder, OSR) Plus Commercial Use Included! (Grid & Gridless)”
• Tales from the Dungeon: Forgotten Deities #Zinequest from Skylar Simmons raises funds for “The eighth issue of Tales from the Dungeon covering gods, goddesses, demigods, and their champions!”
• Aesopia: RPG Adventures with Animal People from Skirmisher Publishing LLC crowdfunds “A fun, engaging, rules-light game that is set in a compelling world peopled by humanoid Ducks, Dogs, Mice, and Rabbits (and more).”
• Skull Dice Pendant from Weimiao Games is working on “Skull Dice-Shaped Necklace with a Set of DND Dice”
• 🗺️ Cartograph – Atlas Edition: A Mapmaking TTRPG from Ravensridge Press raises funds for “A GM-less mapmaking TTRPG about journaling, exploration, worldbuilding, and resource management for lovers of DnD 5e and other systems”
• Crimson Pit of the Bone Magus: an Adventure for Shadowdark from Pseudothanatos Press suggests “Tri-fold module featuring a perilous investigation site, sinister NPCs, boons, relics, layered hazards, and an insidious ancient evil.”
• Digi-Punk from Philip Wigholm is working on “Explore the dangers and wonders of the Digital World with hundreds of pages of innovation and customization in this brand new TTRPG!”
• The Saltreach Isles Zine 2: Mythalean from Gold Mountain Games offers “Continue exploring the Saltreach Isles with the second Zine from Gold Mountain Games.”
• Boletus: City of Rot and Revenge from Prey Species submits “A system neutral TTRPG setting. Boletus rots from the inside out. Corporations milk the city, and mushrooms sprout from below.”
• Valhek’s Guide to Treasure Hunting from 4RandomPixels offers “A book for D&D 5e, full of character options, items, and monsters, all in pixel art.”
• Back to Origin | The True Power of Plain Color Dice from Moonmares Games pitches “Make A Wish & Discover the boundless power that lies within the beauty of a single color 50mm D20 dice.”
• Glimmerlight Inn from Maria Weninger offers “A wandering location for fantasy role-playing games”
• Courier – Repacked from Cody Barr raises funds for “Return to the wasteland in this standalone solo TTRPG about delivering packages in a dangerous post-apocalypse.”
• Curio Realms of Woe Vol 1 from Journeymancer’s Way introduces “Two system neutral ‘Realms of Woe’ selected from weekly concepts I created in 2023.”
• Unleash the Power of Creation in your RPGs from François (Frank) Gilbert pitches “Character options: select your PROFESSION and craft your own gear with our ruleset. Compatible with 5e+ and meticulously balanced.”
• Mallacht – €1 D&D5E Quickstart from Zemilio nominates “An epic adventure in a feudal dark fantasy setting with horror elements compatible with D&D 5th edition.”
• The Map Library – A Huge Box Set of RPG Battle Maps from Roll & Play Press kickstarts “70+ battle maps for fantasy RPGs, inspired by the 5E adventures in One-Shot Wonders.”
• The Details of Our Escape: A New TTRPG from Tyler Crumrine offers “A creative collaboration between game designer Tyler Crumrine, comics artist Linnea Sterte, and multidisciplinary author Renee Gladman.”
• For The Lord RPG Christians In Space!!! from Ronald V. Smorynski proposes “A TTRPG scifi swashbuckler of holy knights and Christian curmudgeons!”
• DiceDangle: The Talisman Dice Pendant. from The BoardGame Zone proposes “One Magical Pendant, Seven Mini Dice. The Lucky Charm for Every Board Game and RPG Enthusiast.”
• D100 Tavern Rumours from Teefo submits “200 Rumours for your RPG games. dnd 5e compatible!”
• Cocagne: A Wacky Social Game from Giuseppe Novecento Manfredi submits “In this social RPG, you and your friends play as Kings, Queens, and Lieges fighting for control over a fabled land… in a group chat.”
• Fast Action Hero from Scott Uhls offers “A rules-lite tabletop RPG ZINE of action heroes stopping the bad guys using the Black Hack system.”
• Million-Colored Sun (Zine Quest) from Leighton Connor proposes “A rules-light sword & sorcery RPG”
• Crisis at the Crossroads: a DnD 5e Adventure from Fumble Folks proposes “A standalone, level 4 one-shot adventure for DnD 5th edition pitting adventurers against dangerous bandits.”
• ASSEMBLE! from Windows Down Games proposes “A rules-light superhero themed ttrpg with a focus on roleplaying, creative freedom, and collaborative storytelling.”
• FÄNGELSEHÅLA from Dieku Games proposes “The tabletop roleplaying game so easy to learn, it’s an instruction manual!”
• To Insanity and Beyond from BiteSizedGaming introduces “Enter a state of delightful delirium with this set of soundtrack-driven sci-fi horror modules for the Mothership system.”
• Against the Monster / Gegen das Monster from Andrea Rick crowdfunds “A story game about a monster hunt. / Ein Erzählspiel über eine Monsterjagd.”
• Blister Critters from Wythe Marschall nominates “A mutant cartoon animal TTRPG”
• Wizard Van from Barrel Rider Games pitches “The Roleplaying Zine Where Rock Never Dies”
• Shadow over Gloomshire from Robin Fjärem offers “A gothic horror adventure for Dragonbane. An ancient evil rises over Gloomshire. Are you ready to face it?”
• Dungeon Snap for 5e & OSR from Molten Blast proposes “Short adventures to play with 5e Dungeos & Dragons, any OSR system, or with a system at all.”
• Be Kind. Rewind: A $1 Video Store Journaling Game from Michael Putlack introduces “Revisit a time when renting movies was a ritual and video stores ruled the strip malls of the world!”
• Merrowcove: Adventures in the Cat Folks’ Realm from Ar Fa introduces “28/32mm 3D Printable STL Terrain & Miniatures for Wargaming and TTRPG. Compatible with OPR, DnD, 5e, Pathfinder, Warhammer, AoS,TOW etc”
• The Lair of the Skateomancer from Michael Lorette crowdfunds “A dungeon-shredding adventure for D&D 5e in the lair of a skateboarding lich that casts spells by ripping gnarly combos! #ZineQuest”
• What’s My Motivation? – Crafting Complex Characters in RPGs from Runic Press raises funds for “A character-building system for tabletop games, novels, and other fictional settings.”
• $1 – Figgleworth’s Fabulous Bits & Bobs from Anthony Woods offers “A 5e magic shop perched atop a giant plane-hopping beetle, in the style of our hit book Spectacular Shops & Services! #ZineQuest”
• Metal Gods of the Apocalypse from Eric Lamoureux submits “A system-agnostic TTRPG mini-campaign setting about the wasteland, demon slayers, and heavy metal music.”
• Radish Quest from Right After Then submits “A radish-filled TTRPG adventure and tools for Zine Quest.”
• The Wigmaker’s Fingers from Max Moon crowdfunds “A fashionable one-shot adventure compatible with Into the Odd”
• Silam No. 1 & No. 2: Zines for Dungeon Crawl Classics from jordy williams is working on “Explore an alternative fantasy setting with new adventures, original races and deities for Dungeon Crawl Classics!”
• Life’s Blood & The Dreamwalkers from Dren Productions Games proposes “2 New One-Shot 5e Adventures set in the town of Delta Bottom.”
• Ninja City: Drug Demon Disco from Joey Royale proposes “Return to Ninja City! A ninja themed supplemental 3PP zine for Dungeon Crawl Classics”
• Gary’s Appendix: Issue 5 from Jeffrey Jones pitches “A Zine for Old School Essentials and the OSR”
• Wild Magic: Expanded from David Ferguson suggests “A massive expansion to 5E’s Wild Magic. Over 400 New Effects, Themed Sub-classes for Druid/Bard, Creature Statblocks and New Feats.”
• Community Radio, Second Edition from Thoughtcrime Games is working on “The new edition of the improv TTRPG about a strange, strange place and the community radio station that supports it.”
• Beneath The Sewers from Pearlyn Sim offers “A solo print-and-play tri-fold game. Recruit a team of mice, clear a path, and lead the rest of your colony to safety.”
• Further Adventure #1: A Limitless Adventures Zine from Limitless Adventures proposes “A system-neutral zine for all TTRPG genres #ZineQuest”
• Tome of Arcane Secrets, by Tentacle Games from Tentacle Games nominates “An expanding compendium of unique, hand-crafted and balanced spells, designed for DnD 5e.”
• Divination RPG: the tarot-driven roleplaying game from Night Goddess Games raises funds for “A rich TTRPG where tarot’s essence fuses with tested, true RPG mechanics, making each card flip as satisfying as the roll of a d20.”
• The Catacombs of Candarlin – A Solo Fantasy Gamebook from Christopher Bünte proposes “Armed only with a pen and two dice, you will embark on this epic fantasy adventure!”
• Blightmoor: A 5e Gothic Horror RPG Sourcebook from Skewed Mind Publications offers “An early-Victorian, gothic realm where mysticism, clockwork machines, abominations, and gunpowder unite to fight the Blight.”
• Fantastic Odysseys from Newt Newport offers “A zine about fantastic adventures in D100 Tabletop Roleplaying. New monsters, religions, places to explore, and people to meet.”
• SORE: A Bio-Punk & Body Horror Bio-Titan Battler TTRPG. from Alexei Vella crowdfunds “A Solo, Map-making/Grid-combat TTRPG inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, Souls-likes & Scorn.”
• Behind the Magic: A Fantasy Mockumentary Game from Randy Lubin suggests “Play as incompetent heroes on a quest to save the world and as the bard who’s along to document the journey”
• Splat #5: Golden from Sam Hotchkiss proposes “Looking back at 50 years of TTRPGs with interviews from industry trend-setters.”
• Parable Games ZineQuest RPG Buffet from Parable Games raises funds for “Delve into a selection of Zines and Small Press Games from the award winning TTRPG designers at Parable Games, creators of SHIVER.”
• SQUISHY: THE MALL AT MIDNIGHT from [email protected] kickstarts “A mind-rending new expansion for the SQUISHY horror roleplaying system based on Urbex and paranormal gang warfare!”
• Sidewinder Recoiled for Savage Worlds from Karl Keesler nominates “The 20th anniversary edition of Sidewinder Recoiled: a traditional Western tabletop role-playing game for use with Savage Worlds.”
• Deep Dark Dungeons – System Agnostic Dungeons in a Dark Wood from Crumbling Keep submits “Deep Dark Dungeons contains 3 system agnostic dungeons for whatever fantasy game you’d like. Part of the Deep Dark Wood series.”
• The Drug-Addled Riff Wretch from Champion Tree Publishing kickstarts “†† A specialized character class for CY_BORG, inspired by heavy metal past, present, and future ††”
• GRAB’n’GO – Factions from HeroicHouse Creations pitches “Embrace and Enhance your TTRPG world with new and exciting guilds, societies and cabals.”
• Cry of the Dreamweaver – A D&D Adventure from Next Guardian LLC suggests “Heed the call of the Dreamweaver in this level 1-3 adventure for 5th edition.”
• Escape From Nugbell from DM Spice crowdfunds “You’ve got one chance. Escape a terrible haunted prison island for mutants in this fast-playing TTRPG.”
• Campaign Starters from Mario Barbati suggests “Exciting locations to start off your next campaign!”
• Dungeon Cats from Epic Levels nominates “A rules light TTRPG about Cats going into Dungeons to fight Vile Creatures for loot.”
• Last Call: A MORK BORG Tavern Generator from Chris Lawson proposes “Taverns of the Dying Lands, and What’s Wrong With Them: D100 names, distinguishing features, rumors, events and NPCs.”
• H2O-Pocalypse from Crimson Adder Curiosities raises funds for “A DCC Compatible Zine of Surf Punk Piracy in a Drowned world!”
• The Deck of Contradiction from Old Warlock Games suggests “Each card in this magical deck for fantasy role-playing games can help – or hurt. It’s in the players’ hands. Launches February 9.”
• This Blighted Isle: Darkened Hill & Dale from Sarah Cole nominates “Six system-flexible TTRPG horror scenarios with modern British settings and a rural theme.”
• OUT IN THE BLACK HACK: A Sci-Fi Sitcom RPG from Roger C. Jones nominates “A d20-based RPG inspired by sci-fi and comedy classics encouraging episodic play with hilarious outcomes.”
• MÖRK KÖPHETS: A Dead Mall Dungeon Crawl for MÖRK BORG from Jonah White is working on “A MÖRK BORG zine featuring 10 new monsters, 3 new factions, 1 terrible quest, 100 useless items, and more!”
• Thrifty Trades of Fey: Zine Quest from Gametee suggests “Rummage Your Way Through a Fey Thrift Shop Stacked to the Seams with Bizarre Bargains and Fantastical Oddities. System Free!”

Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.