Made… it… to… Friday. Kickstarter’s Zine Quest 3 is still going great guns.
Last week Geek Native tracked 153 RPG and related launches, this week that tally has dropped to 112, but that’s still about 500% of pre-Christmas average.
Not all the RPG projects launched this week are zines, though. Free League launched the campaign for the second edition of The One Ring and if it maintains its current run rate (unlikely) that’s on track to be the most enormous RPG campaign ever.
Suffice to say, indie bloggers like Geek Native who are trying to cover the scene and juggle a day job are working hard to keep up. Thank you Patreons.
Keep an eye on the games convention calendar too. That’s not an abandoned project and fills up every month. If you know of a tabletop RPG convention, or something else that might qualify, which could be added, then please get in touch.
Now, on with the RPG news!
Win Pew Pew! Bounty Hunters in Space
RPG news from Geek Native
- Who has the rights? Precis Intermedia and Wizards of the Coast are both selling the first-ever commercial adventure for D&D Palace of the Vampire Queen (edit: WotC withdrew).
- Wizards of the Coast and Gale Force 9 are no longer fighting in court (WotC changed position).
- To avoid a legal row with Chaosium, Stiff Whiskers Press rebranded their Dark Trails RPG to Weird Frontiers.
- Nightfall Games gave us a first look at The Terminator RPG.
- Campaign management site Obsidian Portal is voting on the best campaign of 2020.
- Free League Press announced the schedule for The One Ring 2e.
- 16 Ton Press released the free to download Stay Alive RPG.
- The Bundle of Holding’s deal on Atomic Robo includes the Evil Hat RPG.
- Social enterprise RPG Kitchen announced Small Press RPG Games Day.
RPG Spotlight: EN Publishing
RPG news from around the web
- Cubicle 7 revealed the cover for Soulbound: Steam and Steel.
- Cubicle 7 also gave us WFRP: Latest News from Ubersreik.
- The Hollywood Reporter says that Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith join Chris Pine in ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ movie.
- For CNN, Gaby Gloria wrote Filipino indie tabletop roleplaying games worth checking out.
- Polygon’s Charlie Hall wrote up The biggest board games and role-playing games of the winter.
- Chaosium provided a FAQ for their Glorantha community creators.
- Perhaps because there’s a Kickstarter running, Jonathan Tweet gave us a write-up of Everway Then and Now.
- Nathan Dowdell shared some conflicts and combat insight in the developer log for A Guide to Star Trek Adventures.
- Dicebreaker’s Chase Carter noted Upcoming Pathfinder 2e supplement to add assistive items, including a battle wheelchair you can use as a weapon.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Antonios S reviewed the John Carter of Mars: Player’s Guide, Mansions of Madness: Volume 1 – Behind Closed Doors and Jackals: Bronze Age Fantasy Roleplaying. Antonio also reviewed the Lex Arcana Core Rulebook.
- Dice Monkey reviewed Skycrawl.
- For Gnome Stew, Jared Rascher reviewed Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game.
- Angel’s Citadel reviewed Stranded and the Low Fantasy Gaming Companion.
- Geek Dad reviewed More D&D Battlemaps for Towns and Taverns From Loke Battle Mats.
- The Indie Gaming Reading Club gave us Burning Wheel: Back in the Saddle.
- Over at EN World, Ben Joshua reviewed LR1 Beyond the Living ROom by Robert J. Kuntz.
- Throat Punch Games reviewed Cyberpunk Red RPG review – timeless fashions, thrills and attitude make up for slightly dated gameplay.
- The Gaming Gang’s Sami Yuhas reviewed Starfinder: Professional Courtesy.
RPG new releases
- The Nerdy Paper Games of Rob Herbert gave us the Name Your Own Price and GM-less planet-hopping Space Bounty Blues.
- Zeruhur released the OSR Roamers of the Dream.
- Paolo Jose Cruz’s hack of Lady Blackbird is a super-powered black ops RPG called Damned Company.
- MundosInfinitos released a war drama about a guerilla last stand against a mech army called Mission: Live – The Ruskvan Invasion.
- Onyx Path Publishing released Tales of Aquatic Terror.
- Rugose Kohn released Mork Borg’s The City Shall Be Made Hollow.
- Acegiak released the crunchy fantasy dungeonpunk.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Emily Allen, the best-selling RPG designer of Dying Stylishly Games, offers some advice on how to handle romance and sexuality in RPGs.
- Charles Dunwoody continues his basic world building series with OSE Extras for Neverland.
- In need of an eCard this weekend? Try these free to download D&D-inspired Valentine’s Day cards.
- Handy and free form-fillable D&D character sheets in landscape.
- RPG and wargame historian Jon Peterson asked Does System Matter?
- Chaosium helpfully showed how to save ink and improve readability by removing the backgrounds from PDFs.
- At d20Radio, Egg Embry wrote up Stock Art, How To Make It Your “Own”.
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 a mention;
- The veteran Battlefield Press team is taking backers to Greece with 5e, Savage Worlds and Pathfinder versions of Book of the Oracle (A supplement for Agents of G.A.I.A.).
- Kevin Rahman has funded a tabletop miniature game / tabletop RPG hybrid. It’s the Forbidden Psalm: Miniature gaming Inspired by Mörk Borg.
- Roby Provost Blanchard is putting together a lore zine about the forgotten glassblower community. Enjoy the Tales of the Glass Gnomes.
- Joey Royale has an RPG tribute to the 1980’s Ninja explosion. Explore Ninja City: A DCC RPG Zine.
- Michael Putlack has funded a TTRPG of mix-and-match part builds used to fend off aliens. It’s the MechTek: A Tabletop RPG for Zine Quest.
- Dominic M. has a new collection of SideQuests for 5e with Incredible Inns: Fantastical Inns For Fifth Edition D&D.
- Graham Trudeau has players fighting for meaning in the rubble of corporate malfeasance. It’s Wandering Steel – A ZineQuest 3 RPG.
- Geoff Sims and Oakbound Studio have a run of minis to supplement the Book of the Golden Goat with The Grey Company.
- Elliot Hand-Thoennes’ RPG is about the dreaded Wizard Certification Practical Exam. Definitely Wizards: A Game About Not Being a Wizard.
- Josh Beckelhimer has a light and fast-paced game of adventures set in an implied grim fantasy world. It’s GrimBlade: A Grim Fantasy RPG [Zine Quest].
- Mick McArt wants you to seal your fate with a roll of the dice. Mess with your RPG melee with the Die of Destiny. Take your combat to the next level!
- Black Oak Workshop have tens of thousands of pounds pledged to over 75 new custom dice and the Polyhedral Dice Advent-ure Calendars 5-7.
- Indigo R McD has a multi-system RPG about demons. It’s A Diabolists Guide to Role Playing Games
- Jeremy Hart Illos has created a zine fo the Old-School Essentials crowd. There are 16 new monsters, tokens and adventure seeds in the Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 5 -for use with- OSE.
- Arthadian Anthologies are working on a new sci-fi and fantasy RPG set in an ever-expanding universe. Welcome to Reborn in Power: Codex 0.
- Daniel M. Perez has a system where gamers use playing cards, and writing prompts to plan a hike. It’s Thru-Hiker: A Journaling Game of Long-Distance Hiking.
- Baden White has an original RPG game about espionage and the careful use of resources in Tactical Deck – A Solo RPG Zine.
- Gage Talbot is working on an OSR-inspired game about desperate odysseys into a reality-twisting nightmare. It’s Exterreri.
- Jesse Ephraim is exploring real-world magic from ancient cultures in the zine Other Magic #3: The Ancient World (zinequest).
- Anna Blackwell’s game is set in a cosy fantasy world inspired by Theme Hospital, Stardew Valley and Ghibli films. It’s Apothecaria – A Solo Journalling RPG [Zinequest 3].
- James Bojacuik has funded a game of the fourth dimension with Paradoxes & Possibilities: A Time Travel RPG (#ZineQuest).
- Arbitrio Games have a GM-less game when survival relies on a lie and a die. Dare you risk Bad Decisions, a horror zine RPG?
- Silver Hooves is offering a demure adventure in a carnal setting for the Troika RPG. It’s Endless Banquets.
- Appnedix N Entertainment’s OSR adventure has rats, sewers, sacrifice and The Child Thieves – Zine Quest 3!.
- Feral Indie Studio has put together a group of unique NPS in The NPC Portrait Gallery.
- Dan Steeby’s RPG is inspired by Palladium’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness. It’s Bronx Beasts: Year of the Beast [Zine Quest]
- Jared A. Sorensen is offering up a contextual map of Blue City with LACUNA: READ ONCE AND DESTROY.
- Three Strange Folk have funded a dark fantasy RPG about kids who survived a genocide. It’s the Children Of The Dust: A Survival RPG.
- Lone Archivist has smashed their funding goal for a module about exploring ancient ruins and deciphering alien languages for the Mothership RPG. It’s What We Give To Alien Gods.
- Zargo Games is funding a print run of the story-telling game Microvania: A Map-Making Hack of Microscope #ZineQuest3.
- Directsun has designed a puzzle box adventure. Welcome to the Puzzle Dungeon: The Seers Sanctum.
- JVC Parry has easily funded a microRPG about youngsters with bizzare powers. It’s Peculiar Children.
- Absurdist Productions have funded a dark fairy tale adventure for 5e with The Beast of Bridgedunon – Zine Quest.
- Evlyn Moreau has smashed targets for an old school faery adventure for low level characters called Where the Wheat Grows Tall.
- Rich Hawkes is working on a Mouse-centric zine. It’s the Mausritter-compatible adventure called Keep It Together.
- Bret H Hess has twenty-five mini-adventures complete with handouts. It Came From the Message Board.
- Christopher Clark is working on an RPG inspired by police dramas of the 60s, 70s and 80s called Inner City Redux.
- James Elliott is hoping to merge RPGs and board games with the Conquest of Nations.
- Wim De Hert has over £100,000 pledged for their AI-powered map-making software for tabletop RPGs. Meet the Dungeon Alchemist™.
- Nadulpan is working on an RPG-Roll&Write hybrid about resolving a conflict in a mysterious eco-fantasy realm. It’s AElemental Zine-O-phobia – Part 1: Wood.
- Alicia Furness has hit their funding goal for a GM-less game about struggling paranormal investigators. Is it time to joinParanormal Inc?
- S. John Bateman has funded an RPG about dead worlds and rediscovered secrets. Meet the Knights of the House of Mars.
- Chris Bissette, an ENnie-nominated designer, is putting an interesting assortment of goodies into d36: A Strange RPG Zine.
- Jackson Adams has a Brindlewood Bay hack of adventurous mallards in Beakwood Bay: A Zinequest 3 Roleplaying Game.
- Adela Grace has a two-player TTRPG about a will o’ the wisp leading a mortal through a bog. Will you meet the Wisp?
- Typhos Games has a tarot themed adventure for Trophy Gold or Basic/Expert D&D with The Soul Sword Forge.
- David Kenny merges Alien with Die Hard in Dying Hard on Hardlight Station: a Mothership Adventure.
- Gabriel Robinson has funded a duet RPG, that doesn’t need a GM, rooted in Trophy and set in the dark woods. It’s TOKEN—a ZineQuest offering.
- Matt Jowett has a rules-lite RPG set in the “west that never was” of Spaghetti Western cinema called Kill Today, Die Tomorrow [ZineQuest3].
- SerAke, a co-founder of Axo Stories, has funded an RPG based on the Super Sentai Series, Power Ranges and Aztec mythology; Tezca Sentai: a Mexican Rangers Zine RPG.
- Martin Greening is working on a competitive RPG about mercenary starfighter pilots with Aces of Cerberus – Zine Quest 3.
- R. Rook Studio have a game of space fantasy set in the comet city of Enoch. The project is Chronicles of the Spacejammer: Enoch’s Wake.
- Trinity Knot Studio and The Grinning Frog let you decide the impact of visiting the locations of the Docks of Caswarren a Legacy City Guide And Fight Club Arena.
- Eli Kurtz’s project funded in 20 minutes. It’s an RPG about the paranormal investigation and bureaucracy with the External Containment Bureau, a Zine Quest RPG!
- Scott Uhls has funded a rules-slim game of clandestine psychics, augmented humans and designer clones. Welcome to Beta Red – A Cyberpunk-Genre RPG (Zine Quest 3).
- Alex Roberts had attracted several hundred backers to her solo journaling game. The project is Precious Little Animal.
- Aleksandra Brokman has funded an RPG about witches using plant magic to project their community while dealing with prejudices and taboos. It’s Wise Women.
- Curious Few Games have funded their DCC RPG compatible Zine Quest – Meanderings #5.
- Tyler Lamb is working on a psychedelic island hexcrawl called Glimmer’s Rim.
- Nick Bate has funded an epic heist to steal a thousand-year-old mech. It’s Stealing the Throne.
- Tom Mecredy is working on a solo journaling TTRPG about an elite soldier on and off the battlefield in High Speed Low Drag.
- Greg Brignola hopes there will be lots of crunchy Nom-Noms to eat. It’s Mimic Madness – an RPG Zine With Lots of Teeth.
- Sarah Gates has put three monster theme games into Creature Feature: a #ZineQuest3 monster TTRPG anthology.
- Avri has funded a storytelling game of nightlight and nostalgia called Descending the Stairs.
- Philippe Ricard has a fully-funded and fully-illustrated zine with 16+ new monsters. The project is Lethal Fauna Bric-a-Brac.
- Seth Treber has put together an OSR and 5e-setting focused on community and labour union. It’s Our Vale of Discontent.
- Wind Lothamer has funded a ‘zine for Old School Essentials in Old School & Cool Volume 2.
- Jim Markus has funded a collaborative storytelling game to play after a seance. The project is Fortunes: The Tarot Card Storytelling Zine.
- Mordite Press is working on a no-prep adventure for the World of Dungeons. Go to the Red Desert and explore the Noctis Labyrinth.
- Nathaly Aupin has nearly funded VTT and print assets of 20+ Modern Tabletop RPG Map Pack.
- Hexed Press is working on a hexcraw through a gritty but fantastical world in the Harrowed Grounds, Volume 1.
- Marco Palombelli is working on a game in which you are both a player and a GM. It’s Tiengì.
- James Feore’s project is all about hitting things with clubs. Welcome to Before Fire: The Comedy Cave Dweller RPG – ZineQuest
- Brian Saliba is funding a fey-filled sandbox from the mind of the immortal Arthur Rackham. It’s Rackham Vale.
- Patrick Engro’s Make 100 project has you take pictures, collect stamps, log journal entries and hike Thru the Appalachian.
- Steven Schwartz has funded a game modelled after the Vendee Globe race. It’s Around Alone: A Solo Sailing RPG.
- Aaron Lim has started a zine about creating a town called An Altogether Different River.
- Historian Andrew D Devenney has funded a zine about a doomed metropolis at the end of the world where the rain never stops. It’s Flott’s Miscellany Volume Two.
- James Holloway has put together a workbook to create fantasy religions. It’s The Pamphlet of Pantheons.
- William Gallagher is on Kickstarter to raise funds for a D&D 5e and OSR supplement about injury and horror with the Codex Corporis.
- Alun Rees is funding an RPG in which characters confront a shadow supernatural conspiracy. It’s Against the Dark Conspiracy – ZineQuest 3.
- Adam M Hegemier has launched a competitive tarot reading RPG zine. Welcome to the Arcana Palace: Competitive Tarot Reading.
- Gemhammer Games has put over 100 random dungeons together on cards for 5e in the Deck of Dynamic Dungeons.
- Scott A warns us that for five days and five nights mothers flesh shall be the cloak of demons. Psalm IV:I, A Third-Party Mörk Borg Zine
- Tim Krause’s current Kickstarter project has characters escape Durgesh prison and unlock secrets of Phaya Nak: The Deep D&D RPG for 5E, Campaign (3 adventures).
- Kettlesberg Games is funding a megadungeon of Brewkessel: School of Spellcraft and Sorcery.
- Valley of Alfred has launched a game of wandering a post-apocalyptic wasteland as a weird healer. LAY ON HANDS, a solo dexterity-based RPG (ZineQuest).
- Andrew Wecht is offering some STL files so you can 3d-print your own Chonky Monsters.
- Chris G. Williams has tons of system-netural resources packed into ZineQuest 3: Explore Dungeons Zine #2.
- Chris Angell has built a system-netural wilderness exploration zine called Hinterland: Peoples and Perils.
- Jason Young is funding a rules-light game of odd encounters and horrifying events. It’s Wandering Stars RPG.
- Seth Alter has a collection of not quite RPGs in Zines That Tell You What To Do (#ZineQuest).
- Ursidice has funded a surreal solo journaling game of introspection and survival. It’s The Depths Of This Forest.
- Matteo Frossard-Da Silva are funding a bunch of Quickstarter: TOKENAMEL – Enamel tokens for TTRPG.
- Tom McGee has launched a time-travel RPG about looting the past and ruining the future. Welcome to Echoes of Chaos: A Time Travel RPG | ZineQuest.
- Mark Taormino has funded eight soft cover adventure modules for various systems in Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Reprints Special #1.
- Rhi has us gathering a crew and engaging in a transhuman, body-swapping far-future in Action Potential: a Forged in the Dark tabletop RPG.
- Gareth Johnson and Starlit Games are offering fantasy loot cards and an inventory binder box to hold Myriad Loot & Inventory.
- Andrew O. has funded a tabletop RPG about stray dogs and cats. It’s STREETS – Stray animal adventures!.
- WhatNames has designed an RPG to be played outdoors and at blurry distorted distances with Cryptid (Mis)Communication.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
