It’s the second week of May. It’s nearly the UK Games Expo. I will be there. Bronwen will be holding down the fort. Say hello!
Let’s get going with the summary of the summaries!
- Neon Odyssey is smashing 5e records on Kickstarter.
- D&D Beyond introduced content drops.
- There’s Elric TTRPGs on the way.
- Nicely, a community has rallied around to buy gear after a thief stole D&D books.
Hey, you can win a Burnout Rabbit. Isn’t that cool? There are a few days left in this global competition. We had our choice of price, but felt you might appreciate this one.
Our push this week is to get people to follow us on Google. Do eeet! You may see new orange badges appearing on articles to nag you.
We’ve also had something change on Apple News, but this Android user can’t find out what. Can you tell?
On with the TTRPG news!
Spotlight: ndvamps.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Are cosy games cool? We got into the Restorative Revolution.
- For Star Wars Day, I dug into TTRPG history for How roleplaying games wrote the Star Wars bible.
- Free League has more The One Ring and Lord of the Rings TTRPG content on the way, including Hands of the White Wizard.
- Elric TTRPGs on the way? Goodman Games has the Classic Era of Elric.
- TTRPG tech talent Andrew Zhu is helping dScryb with computer search functions for audio content.
- We wrote up that Nightbane was coming back.
- Slightly grumpily, I covered Beyond the Maps: Wizards of the Coast completes its transition to an official virtual tabletop platform.
- In crowdfunding news, we have the early signs of a Vault of Monsters, and funding is open for Flintlock & Fog, the PtBA Safe Mode: Disabled and the Persian Yovakyana.
- The big one, of course, is the smash hit of the 5e-powered Neon Odyssey.
- We had two bits of Roll Britannia news. The first was that they’re going to D&D Fan Expo and also UK Games Expo.
- Son of Oak has raised millions and now started Launchfest Legend in the Mist.
- Syncanite Games have teased a Syncanite TTRPG.
- UK Games Expo is at the end of the month, and the Judges’ Awards shortlist is out, and we talked to networking host, the professional CPO, Faith Elisabeth Lilley.
- In bundle deals, there’s a huge Traveller set.
- While on Fanatical, there’s a tempting Dark Conspiracy.
Competition: Win a Plushie Dreadful.
RPG news from around the web
- Over at Polygon, the team notes This massive 600-page D&D adventure is Mad Max meets Cthulhu. It’s Spawns of the Mindrender.
- D&D Beyond gives us Introducing D&D Beyond Drops: A Growing Content Library to Expand Your Game.
- The team at ICv2 details Wizards of the Coast Announces New ‘Magic: The Gathering’ and ‘D&D’ Events.
- ICv2 also writes up New ‘Pathfinder Battles: Monster Core’ Booster Set Incoming.
- Wargamer features Mollie Russell, who notes D&D community raises thousands of dollars for Minneapolis group whose RPG gear was stolen.
- Over at Rascal, the team pens a piece on Gamefound Wants To Throw Another Successful RPG Party After Learning Hard Lessons.
- Tabletop Sentinel notes that Cubicle 7 has a new pair of Warhammer gaming mats.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Over at Reviews from R’lyeh, Pookie reviews Brought to Light, a review of Traveller’s Digest Number 9 and the fanzine Hypergraphia Issue o.
- The Kind DM has published a review of Down Among the Dead.
- Over at Dice Monkey, the team reviews Star Wars D6 2nd Edition.
- Ill Met by Morrslieb reviews Terror in Talabheim.
- Mixed Signals reviews Beadle & Grimm Labyrinth Adventures.
- Halfway Station VI reviews Coriolis: The Great Dark.
- Dice Monkey gives us an Exclusive Interview with Cam Banks on the New Cortex Community License.
RPG new releases
- Available now is Stillfleet’s The Sometimes Kingdom Zine 1: Monsoon (Core Rules).
- Gallant Knight Games has hit publish on The Ossuary: Hunger & Bone Roleplaying.
- Available now is Michael Augusteijn’s Save States RPG.
- MJK Studios published a free Our World.
- Nikholas Dimitrios Stephanou released for free Wandering Tales.
- Relentless Fiction has hit publish on Cryptids of the Field and Farm. A Guide to 5e Rural Horror and Monsters.
- Available now is Eekay’s Dice & Monsters : Adventuring Simplified Core Pack.
- Experimental Playground has published Kosmos: A Sci-Fantasy TTRPG.
- Nikholas Dimitrios Stephanou released Wandering Tales.
- Five Finger Studios has published the FAUST RPG Beta.
- White Wolf released Strange Frequencies.
- Available now is Legendary Games’ Legendary Planet Adventure Path (5.5E).
RPG bundle deals
- Save $29.43 (81%) with Skirmisher Publishing’s Asian & Pacific Island Heritage bundle.
- Save $8.97 (47%) on Relentless Fiction’s Farsia Adventures bundle.
- Save $4.73 (10%) with Foul Fox’s Reign of Shadows: Complete Edition bundle.
- Save $0.23 (12%) on KJJ Publication’s Forbidden Lands Player’s Quickstart bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Charles’ worldbuilding took us to AD&D, Lowdown in Highport and Pirate Borg.
- Vocal Media’s Isla Kaye Thistle pens Dungeons, Dragons, and Date Nights.
- Alphastream asks How Often Should We Roll Skill Checks, If At All?.
- Refereeing and Reflection writes up The Fifty-Year Mayday: This Is Free Trader Beowulf.
- You can read about D&D’s metal alternative made me appreciate character death in the game over on Polygon.
RPG Crowdfunding
There’s more! You can catch up with the Kickstarter campaign we’ve written up in more detail at Kickstarter watch. Here are some noteworthy industry projects to mention:
- Kobolds is a project by Ayu Marques that invites players to explore “Enhance your RPG adventures with this collection of 32mm miniature cave Kobolds.”
- Petrichor’s Codex: Secrets of Enchantment and Alchemy D&D 5e is a project by Jeff Porter that looks at “A 5e supplement bringing alchemy and enchantment to your table with monster components, powerful potions, and unique magical gear!”
- HORRORS FROM THE RIFT by Adaevy Creations is currently raising funds for “3D Printable Miniatures of Cosmic Horror for Your RPG and Tabletop Games.”
- Mala Tempora is a project by Rinaldo Agostini that looks at “A Vox Dei and Mörk Borg compatible campaign, available in English and Italian.”
- The Black Book of Potions: 100 Alchemy Treasures for D&D 5e is a project by DeepArk Games that looks at “100 Potions with Lore, Mix Interactions, and Alchemy Crafting for D&D 5e-Compatible Fantasy Campaigns RPG supplement Dungeons & Dragons”
- Somehow…Pew Pew Returned from Mike Lafferty is launching “A rules-light sci-fi RPG about chaos, mayhem and, maybe, laser swords.”
- The Mimic’s Vault, a 5e Horror/Heist module by Matthew David is a new roleplaying games project for “Three Employers. One Vault. Every Object Inside Remembers the Dead. Can you get in and get out alive?”
- Our God Is Dead – Mint Tin Edition! by Jordan is an upcoming supplement for “Fake miracles and fool the masses in this comedy ttrpg where you play clerics hiding the death of your god! Part of Micro May.”
- What’s In Its Pocketses? is a project by Dark Eagle Games that promises “Two books full of Loot lists found on Adventures, Battlefields, Goblins, including flavor magic and cursed items. Second Edition.”
- AD&D The Cross and the Axe / La Croce e l’Ascia by DiegoZap is a new roleplaying games project for “A fanmade unofficial Viking adventure for Advanced D&D and all Old-School systems for 4-6 lvl characters, by Raimondo “Legale Malvagio””
- Secrets of the Vibrant Sky RPG by Craig Campbell is an upcoming supplement for “A solo tabletop RPG about exploring a fantastical sky realm”
- Eon Weaver from James Davis is nominating “Eon Weaver A living world engine for D&D 3.5 campaigns.”
- Dungeon Monsters Vol. 4: Ghosts -3d Printing Miniature STL’s from Medusa Miniatures has introduced “28mm STL’s, Six Sinister Ghosts: Prince, Jester, Bodyguard, Royal Nurse, Cook, Court Astrologist for D&D, Pathfinder, and fantasy RPGs.”
- The Battle of Bel-Zabrion – Demoniac Bestiary & Oneshot D&D from The Velar Company seeks funding for “D&D 5E bestiary of demonic realms, featuring new classes, new spells, and an adventure in the Plane of Drainos.”
- Infernal Resources for DnD5e/DnD5.5 is a project by Chaotic Neutral Visionary that is “A 5E-Compatible Toolkit for a Living Infernal Plane”
- Night-Stitcher: A Grimm Fey Adventure for Shadowdark RPG from William Murakami-Brundage kickstarts “The Night-Stitcher is slaying faeries and rallying Chaos. Can you stop her menace in time? For Shadowfinder and Shadowdark RPG”
- 🐺 RPG Maps — 450+ Call of the Wild Maps (1890s) 🌲 by LFirefly is currently raising funds for “Master the frozen wild! 🏔️ 450+ maps of the 1890s frontier. From gold rush towns to wolf dens, rule the wilderness. ⛏️”
- Epic Brick Adventures – The Brick Building Role Playing Game by Tinker Troll Games is currently raising funds for “Become an actual MiniHero adventuring in a world made of plastic bricks where your Imagination is Reality!”
- RPG Stories VTT – Infinite Worlds from Brave Alice kickstarts “RPG Stories VTT is back, turning map making for any TTRPG into a simple Click & Draw experience and enhancing its online gaming system!”
- East Texas University: Fresh Blood – Savage Worlds is a project by Shane Hensley that promises “Time to hit the books. Hard. And maybe blast them with some paranormal powers.”
- Band-Aids & Bullet Holes by Sam Dunnewold is touted as “Get your bloody revenge. A deckbuilder tabletop rpg about assassins and their vendettas.”
- The Arcane Archive from Custom Miniature Maker seeks funding for “3D Printable STL Retractable Scrolls for Tabletop Role Playing Games, Wargames, LARP, and RPGs”
- Tabletop Table: The Portable, Modular Gaming Table is Back from Tabletop Table is working on “Instantly turn any surface into the gaming space of your dreams. Now with new accessories that expand the Tabletop Table system.”
- Assassin’s Codex for DnD 5E & 5.5E by DreaMers and Players is a new roleplaying games project for “The Assassin as a class, perfected. Unique secondary subclass system, deadly guilds, lethal tools, and everything players and GMs need.”
- Fantasy NPCs GM Tools by Jordan Durham is a new roleplaying games project for “Enhance your prep, AI-free. (A Micro May submission!)”
- Magic Reborn: All Mice Die TTRPG Quickstart by Gary Mattingly is offering “All the rules needed to dive into a world of mice and mayhem, with a ready-to-run adventure”
- Polyhedral Dice Advent-ure Calendars 21-23 from Black Oak Workshop is crowdfunding “Satisfy your sense of adventure and love of dice with one or more of our fun Advent-ure Calendars! Three new themes await you!”
- TROUBLE DOWN MINE – DRAGONBANE, DnD 5E & OSR PDF Oneshot! by Laidback Dungeon Master is offering “Includes stats for Dragonbane, DnD 5e & OSR (ADnD, OSE, Shadowdark, etc.) plus VTT tokens & JPEG maps!”
- DieRing II: Relics of Fate — Wearable Dice Ring from The BoardGame Zone is pitching “Wear Your Dice. Carry Your Fate. Solid Brass. 7 Mini RPG Dice Inside.”
- Elite Dungeon – The Lich’s Lair by Golt Velis is offering “Between traps and undeads, your next dungeon adventure awaits! TTRPG miniatures STL and terrain, pre-supported files, and a free gift!”
- Universal Dioramas VI – 3D Printable Collection from MiniForge offers “3D printable & modular universal dioramas – tabletop RPG & wargames: DnD, Warhammer, Pathfinder, Frostgrave”
- Epic Display Dioramas: 3D Printable STL Collection 28/32mm from Always Sleep In Armor shares “3D printable shelf dioramas to showcase your miniatures. Fantasy, Sci-Fi & Steampunk STLs for tabletop painters & collectors. DnD, RPGs”
- Soulbound Relics – A 5e Expansion of Awakening Weapons by Joshua Reguindin Gazmin is touted as “Forge evolving weapons, awaken hidden power, and shape your character through combat, choice, and story.”
- FumbleCrit Dice from Mick McArt presents “It’s double or something!”
- Children of the Mountain God for D&D 5E and Pathfinder RPGs by Douglas Sun is touted as “A location module set in a rainforest village distressed because a gem-eating xorn has cut off its only source of income.”
- Heart of Cthulhu 1912 from Lost in the Woods has introduced “The only Daggerheart Compatible Lovecraftian Horror RPG”
- One Page Away by Gegalix Halcyon is now live, described as “The One Page Tabletop with 60 Floors of Fun!”
- LOATHDARK – 3D Printable STL Grimdark Miniatures by Abyssal Sculpting is offering “Grimdark 32mm pre-supported STL miniatures for tabletop RPGs / DND.”
- Multicolor Dice Towers and Cups Vol.1 is a project by 3DVision that promises “3D Printable Dice Towers & Dice Cups – and their Terrain Versions – 37 Fantasy STL Models for DnD,Tabletop RPGs & Wargames – Multicolor”
- Era: Forbidden – a Tabletop RPG of Hope in an Invaded World by Shades of Vengeance is a new roleplaying games project for “Carry impossible powers in a world torn asunder by the war between Angels and Demons. Fight for Humanity’s survival as you are hunted!”
- KINGDOM: When Dragons Fall is a project by Break Glass Games that looks at “The guardians of the sky are falling, rising as undead dragons, the Unfallen. Uncover the force behind it in this D&D 5e adventure.”
- Epic Villains – D&D Villains Compendium is a project by Vincent that looks at “Unique Villains for your DnD 5e stories & worlds! Available in Digital and Physical format, in English and in French!”
- 200+ Tabletop Fantasy RPG Terrain Tiles — 3D Printable STLs is a project by Slope3D that is described as “Modular 4×4 inch floor tiles across 10+ fantasy themes & 20+ sub-themes. OpenLock & plain bases. Build your entire campaign world.”
[What’s this chart? We use Kickstarter Heat to measure how busy the crowdfunding season is.]
Do you know of any RPG news sources we might not know? If so, please let us know or leave a comment below.
