It feels like a spicy week, with plenty of news and a noticeable uptick in Kickstarter activity. Oh, and the powerhouse Marvel returning to roleplaying games.
First up, best wishes to Jeff McAleer of The Gaming Gang. I don’t know Jeff, but I do read his blog. He’s heading into heart surgery.
Secondly, as it’s the start of the month, it means a new poll for Patreons to vote publishers for the RPG Spotlight. The winner for this month is Samurai Sheepdog and, er, I still need to tell them!
July’s candidates are;
You can be a winner too with a free digital copy of Paranormal Affairs Canada. This FATE-powered RPG has you protecting Canada, and the world, from supernatural threats.
Right now, here’s the rest of the RPG news!
Win Paranormal Affairs Canada | Buzzard | Top Trumps
RPG news from Geek Native
- Marvel will publish a tabletop RPG written by Matt Forbeck next year called Marvel Multiverse Tabletop Role-Playing Game.
- In the UK, some gaming stores are cutting ties with tabletop distributor Coiledspring Games after a transphobia row.
- DriveThruRPG has warned customers of significant price rises coming to top tier colour books.
- Geek Native reviewed Osprey’s bronze age fantasy light-d100 game Jackals.
- Want to get paid to proofread RPGs? Or looking for someone to paint your minis? Geek Native spoke to Jamie Noble-Frier, who runs a site that makes that happen called Doodlemeeple.
- Geek Native interviewed the creative team for the Romans-meet-fantasy 5e setting and has a free demo of, Carovea Victor.
- Smunchy Games acquired Inkblood Book Company.
- Modiphius released a free to download quickstart for the new Dune RPG called Wormsign.
- clutterArranger released the free RPG about travelling; Routers.
- Ahead of a Kickstarter, the 5e Blood Sword quickstart is now available as a free download.
- Knight Errant Media added Bio-Augmented Soldier rules as a free download and expansion to the Titan Effect Savage Worlds RPG.
- To promote the novel, The Fateful Force has released a free collection of battle maps and a token generator.
- MonkeyDM released a made-for-beginners 5e adventure for free called Scales of Justice.
- In a generous week, Venger’s Decks also made The Dread encounter pack available for free.
- Cubicle 7 have announced playable undead and Seraphon characters for Soulbound.
- Geek Native had the exclusive reveal of the stretch goal brochure for the apocalyptic RPG Collector.
- Wizards of the Coast has digitally re-released The Complete Starter Set: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game 2e.
- WotC also put together a bundle for Gamma World 1e.
- The D&D publisher also revealed the design of this month’s t-shirt subscription.
- In related fashion news, Dysons Logo promoted their Major League Cleric design to t-shirt status.
- The Bundle of Holding has two different offers to get you into the iconic sci-fi RPG Traveller.
- Looking at the RPG events calendar we see WOMEN+ RPG Con and other events lining up.
Spotlight Samurai Sheepdog
RPG news from around the web
- A group of 46 designers on Itch have launched 75 RPGs for $20 (normally worth $352) Charity Bundle for Trans Support
- Wizards of the Coast announced pre-orders for D&D Dungeon Master’s Screen: Dungeon Kit.
- Paizo shared a summary of and June’s Organized Play updates and PaizoCon Keynote revelations.
- Also in the news, Paizo’s Epic Starfinder Alexa Skill Finds a New Home at Wanderword
- World Anvil unveiled Lifetime Sage and Grandmaster Memberships.
- Polygon weighed in with thoughts on TTRPG marketplaces in Justin Joyce’s article The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon.
- Linda H. Codega wrote about lyric games and ownership with A Game Without Players Can Still Be Played.
- Green Ronin’s Lan Lemke took into space with Ships of The Expanse: Expanding How You Play.
- Chaosium introduced Mansions of Madness to Roll20.
- R. Talsorian Games released the free to download Hardened Lieutenants for Cyberpunk RED.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Jared Rascher reviewed Big Bad Bundle II and MCDM’s Arcadia 4.
- Angel’s Citadel reviewed Secrets of Silent Streets.
- JB at B/X Blackrazor reviewed I6: Ravenloft.
- Beyond Fomalhaut reviewed Valley of the Lost.
- Strange Assembly reviewed the Vampire: The Masquerade book Children of the Blood.
- Thilo Graf reviewed Arcforge: Spheres of Influence.
- Wargamer reviewed Age of Sigmar: Soulbound Starter Set.
- Jeb Boyt reviewed Pamphlet of Pantheons: Guide to Creating Fantasy Myths and Religions.
- TechnicalRPG reviewed Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
- Egg Embry talked to Penny for a Tale’s Mitchell Wallace about Necrobiotic.
- Egg also interviewed Chris O’Neill about MAZES the fantasy RPG from 9th Level Games.
- Dicebreaker’s CHase Carter called to Kienna Shaw and Jason Cutrone about ARCON.
- VentureBeat interviewed Adam Bradford and Travis Frederick about the future of Demiplane.
RPG new releases
- Pluma Press published a book of monsters for FATE with Fate Fantastic Creatures.
- PEG is taking orders for the PDF version of Pathfinder for Savage Worlds.
- There’s a free preview available, as well as the $150 Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire.
- Handiwork Games released the duet adventure for Beowulf Seven Stones.
- Angry Hamster Publishing released a tarot-based game with a grimdark and feminine aesthetic with City of Flesh.
- Deep7’s dark fantasy and gothic RPG Grimmworld is out.
- Deep Dungeon Games’ released their huge 558-page system-agnostic The Mineralogy Manual.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $163.64 (58%) with Aegis Studios’ 42nd birthday celebration and the Ultimate Birthday bundle.
- Save $23.52 (92%) with Skirmisher Publishing’s Memento Mori bundle.
- Save $15 (38%) with Explore Dungeons’ World of Aach’yn bundle.
- Save $12.50 (50%) with Dancing Light Press’ Demonology & Witchcraft bundle.
- Save $12.45 (50%) with CZRPG’s Mountain Wilderness Premium Maps bundle.
- Save $5.99 (18%) with Red Scar Publishing’s Devil’s Run the Roleplaying Game Table kit.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Store your dice in dangerous style with this Mimic dice holder tree. No, really.
- Fancy some medieval-style D&D 5e character sheets?
- Dig into the data and discover commonly occurring or rare monsters in The Average Fantasy Bestiary.
- In a helpful guest post, Adam of Sword & Source wrote up Five tips for teaching someone to be a Dungeon Master.
- Robin Miller helped with Create an RPG Character Backstory Your Game Master Will Actually Read.
- B. Michael Galvis suggested ways How to Run Vampiric Mind Flayers From Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
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;
- Dizzy Roseblade is Kickstarting a hot 11 tracks. The Bard Chronicles: A Dungeons and Dragons Rap Album
- Category is funding a deck of cards to assist in solo sessions and GMs with Solo Sci-Fi Sidekick.
- Michael Mars has funded a 250-page book for Pathfinder 1e with Icebound: Polar Environments for Pathfinder 1e.
- Jack Dixon has smashed stretch goals for the sequel to Adventuring With Pride. It’s a 5e adventure with new characters. It’s Adventuring with Pride: Queer We Go Again! LGBT+ DnD 5E Book
- Zata Doe is funding a setting and genre agnostic RPG with Burst – System & Guide.
- James Eisert has a set of designs to fantasy crawls look better with Heretical Hexes.
- Little Dragon Miniatures is offering downloads for gamers with 3d-printers in a project called Stylized miniatures – printable STL file.
- New Leaf 3D will take pledges from just $1 in exchange for The Ogres 3D Printable STL Files – Pay What You Want.
- Caleb Stokes has funded an RPG about medical mysteries in a world with magic. It’s Fae’s Anatomy: A Melodramatic Medical Mystery RPG.
- Jamie Korte’s 3rd Kickstarter also offers up some digital designs to download with Anthropomorphic Animals Bundle #1 – 3D Printable Miniatures.
- Johan Antonissen’s design will let you roll your gaming dice with a flick of a switch and the Mechanical Dice Tower for Tabletop RPG.
- Fool’s Moon supports LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC with a core game engine campaign. It’s The Advanced Story Point System [ASPS].
- Jeremy Hart Illos has 16 new monsters, with stats and fluff, encounter items, paper minis and VTT tokens. The campaign is Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 6 -for use with- OSE.
- XIU is funding dice with rare hsiuyen jade. They are Gemstone Dice Featuring Mysterious Runes.
- The Master Forge has digital downloads of minis and terrain with a campaign called Warborn – The Rise Of Barbarian.
- Brian Leybourne has funded a sci-fi RPG that explores freedom, discrimination and privilege with Sapience: A Tabletop Roleplaying Game.
- Chris Gunning has a great looking campaign and success with a 1920s-era set game in which Eastern European socialists fight Dracula’s tyrannical government. Welcome to The Hammer and the Stake Tabletop RPG.
- Mungen Daster has an D&D adventure called The Hunt For the Nettle Wyrm a 5e Campaign.
- Brayan Nafrrate has funded a huge collection of collectable download designs with Bestiary Vol. 4 3D Printable Creatures.
- The RPG Magazine that’s both system-neutral and 5e-compatible returns to Kickstarter with The Oracle Issue 11 – Ocean Theme.
- Ill Gotten Games has a great looking dungeon-themed display case for minis. It’s Wallhalla 2.
- Tempo Games has a roll and write game with some great looking accessories. It’s Rune & Write.
- Eli Royall has a 5e setting all about dragons. Dare you explore Yldar: the World of Dragons?
- Team DeadLore are working on a fantasy punk world and a narrative RPG called DreadLore.
- Action Fiction has a queer-led, queer-designed 5e supplement with big gay energy in the form of Monsters of Murka: Chromatic Gamut.
- Laura Hammonds and Ddl Feature have a timely Kickstarter for Pride Dice Buddies.
- Christopher Loizou is funding an expandable solo, PvP and coop hybrid called Heroes of Thargos – the Cursed Empire RPG Card Game.
- Ryan Wolfe is offering spaceship deckplans and resin models for Starfinder and other sci-fi games with Trinity: Starship Maps & Miniatures.
- Laura is funding a small startup project to make your tabletop RPG experience more unique with “Anicient ruins” battle maps.
- Track your plans and plan your characters with the Theorycraft: D&D 5e Campaign & Adventure Journal (5th Ed).
- Bayley Benson is funding a 5e setting where the world is recovering from a Demonic Invasion. Welcome to the Remnants of Alvaris.
- Hack Shack Games are funding a classically inspired starter adventure for 5e characters at level 1 and 2. It’s The Weathered Well.
- Own Stephens and Rogue Genius Games have hit the target for a Starfinder-compatible rule set to replace player race. It’s Starfarer Species Reforged, a Starfinder-Compatible Project
- Harps Corp Ltd have handmade and hardwood creations on offer in The Familiar Dice Tower Collection.
- Battlefield Press have funded a campaign to bring David Silver’s Pnyfinder to Savage Worlds. It’s Ponyfinder the Savage Age.
- Warehouse 23, the official store for Steve Jackson Games, has funded two micro-adventures. The Fantasy Trip Quick Quests 2 and 3, Two New Adventures.
- Fabrizio Massari has designed a set of rewritable sheets. They’re Combat Folio: plasticized combat sheet made for 5th edition.
- Phil Stone has funded a 5e compatible, 100-page, grimoire with The Complete Illustrated Book of Enchantment.
- John is funding a slice-of-life RPG in which you crawl through a dream dungeon while you sleep. The name?
My Body is a Cage. - VeloriaMiniatures are offering 3d-printable fantasy miniatures and terrain with
Heroes of MiniTown.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
