Geek Native has been tracking RPG and related launches on Kickstarter for around 100 weeks, and this last week was the most competitive.
Heat is an in-house metric that combines the number of launches with their asking price, and the higher the heat, the more competitive the crowdfunding market.
Let’s sum up the RPG news summary first;
- RPG Kickstarter hit record highs this week
- D&Ds journey into fashion has been hit by ebay touts
- The new The One Ring RPG will get its first supplement.
- Queer TTRPGs are having a moment
- Someone made a D&D character sheet entirely out of cat sketches
Should I write up the Kickstarter Heat news into a standalone article? You can find the chart at the bottom of this summary, but that will change week-on-week. The weekly analysis can be found here.
It’s Tabletop Gaming Live this weekend, and yours truly will be trying to get there. Travel in the UK is weird right now due to Royal respect and other motivations. As a result, there won’t be an Audio EXP podcast. Updates to the blog will be made from shonky railway wifi or Hilton hotel rooms.
Now, let’s dive in with all that tabletop news!
Patron: Town Hall
RPG news from Geek Native
- IGDN open up their Diversity Sponsorships.
- D&D and GameStop’s ring collection has sold out and landed on eBay.
- Singer-songwriter Alison Wonderland and Z2 Comics have teamed up for a graphic novel and RPG adventure module.
- The internet may like this D&D 5e character sheet made entirely from cats.
- Long time coming? R. Talsorian Games has released a free to download Cyberpunk RED easy mode/quickstart.
- Green Ronin has rolled out super steep discounts with the Mutants & Masterminds mega-bundle.
- Curious about Troika? This Bundle of Holding offer lets you leap safely into Troika Worlds.
Spotlight: Battleaxes and Brimstone
RPG news from around the web
- ScreenRant covers that LOTR’s One Ring RPG Gets First Expansion With Ruins Of The Lost Realm.
- The Fandomentals report that Modiphius Partners With Creator Shawn Tomkin For The Retail Release Of ‘Ironsworn: Starforged’ .
- From the “the future of tabletop” column, Lindsay Eanet at Polygon notes that Queer tabletop games are having a moment.
- In the same column, Chase Carter highlights The fork in the road facing third-party tabletop RPGs.
- Charlie Hall has the news that Indigenous RPG Coyote & Crow is a hit, and a new anthology of adventures is on the way.
- Roll20 exceeds 1,000 Dark Mode Character Sheets.
- Evil Genius Games will, as reported by ICv2, publish Everyday Heroes into retail.
- It’s on Kickstarter now and Cubicle 7 shares a look at Uncharted Journeys – Roles.
- Also on Kickstarter, doing well and listening to feedback are OddFish Games, who have decided to unlock all the solo RPG engine Radiance’s stretch goals.
- Eep! Historian Ben Riggs writes up Why D&D’s Co-Creator Didn’t Get Hired by Wizards of the Coast.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Jess Ross reviews (and denies it) Trophy Gold.
- Reviews from R’lyeh have been busy with a Dark Places & Demogorgons review of Cryptid Manual, the Traveller Mirabilis, the Year Zero Engine powered Temples & Tombs.
- Jared Rascher reviews Sentinel Comics The Roleplaying Game’s The Guise Book.
- Then, at Gnome Stew, Jared reviews Hunter The Reckoning
- On EN World, Rob Wieland reviews Mechwarrior: Destiny.
- Grognardia gives us another retrospective and this time on Greyhawk Adventures.
- The Other Side digs into Vigilante City #1 Core Rules.
- The Roleplayers Chronicle gives us a look at Boo’s Astral Menagerie.
- PC Gamers’ Jody Macgregor considers D&D’s new Spelljammer books don’t include a lot of new rules, and that’s OK.
- On RPG.net Libertad does a let’s read on the 5e Adventurer’s Guide to the Bible.
- Geek Girl Authority’s Tavern Talk Thursday is with Linsay Rousseau.
- Egg gets to interview his old editor Christopher Helton. Why? Outland Entertainment will publish Action Heroes.
RPG new releases
- Kobold Press, Wolfgang Baur and their team give us the 5e version of the Book of Ebon Tides.
- With a busy release schedule, Kobold Press, Celeste Conowitch and their team dare us to read Tales from the Shadows.
- Scablands Press has released an RPG inspired by 80s and 90s sci-fi films and comics that uses an original game engine. It’s ANNA-X66: REDUX.
- BTD Press has released Native American folklore-inspired Tuwa: 5e Campaign Setting.
- The Red Room hits publish on the OSR anti-hero Wretched Space.
- Paradigm Concepts push forwards with the Arcanis 5E Campaign Setting Runic Edition PCI2608.
- There’s hardback news as Forbidden Planet and FLGS list Modiphius’ Dune: Adventures In The Imperium: Masters Of Dune: Companion Book and the Collector’s Edition.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $38.30 (66%) with Fat Goblin Games’ vs. M Horror bundle.
- Save $9.95 (50%) with I.F. Zerosix’s Decimation of Delimbiry Vale bundle.
- Save $6.95 (54%) with RV Games’ Horror bundle.
- Save $5.00 (14%) with BTD Press’ Tuwa Book and PDF bundle.
- Save $4.00 (12%) with The Tabletop Engineer’s Delver – Lost Tomes Collection bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Ben and the Genre Police look at universal RPGs.
- It’s bloomin’ huge! It’s very expensive. It’s Tiamat.
- Elizabeth Brei considers The Player’s Handbook & 9 Other Essential Source Books For D&D.
- In an interesting article, Pearse Anderson at Polygon asks Can AI art democratize tabletop game publishing?.
- At Gizmodo, Linda Codega opines Why Race Is Still A Problem In Dungeons & Dragons.
- At Wargamer, Mollie Russell encourages us to practice to get better and notes The BDSM community can teach DnD players a lot about consent.
- Devin Friend at ScreenRant discusses Interesting Ways To Be Evil In D&D Without Killing Everything.
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 AnyMini – An Electronic Miniature for Tabletop RPGs from Daniel Longieliere pitches An electronic miniature for tabletop top RPGS (TTRPG). The AnyMini allows you to create miniatures in seconds and carry them with you.
- Kalabane’s Blood Temple a DnD 5e RPG Adventure for only £1 from Dark Realm Roleplay pitches A Halloween One Shot Horror Adventure for DnD5e for 1st to 5th Level Characters.
- SHOTGLASS ROUNDS #12 – THE GOBLIN JARL from Laidback Dungeon Master pitches 50+ page PDF One-Shot adventure for DnD 5e & Old School Essentials (OSE) & OSR games! New monsters! New magic items!
- Unnatural Selections from Louis Hoefer pitches An MCC / DCC Expandable Monster Collection
- Rubble City 2: Versatile, Modular Scenics for TTRPG from FenrisGames pitches Building the ruined cityscape for your table top gaming & display dreams. Resin Cast, 28mm Scale.
- Dice Advent Calendar – Reusable Dice Tray and Storage Box from Robert Melrose pitches Hand finished reusable dice Advent Calendar that converts into a dice box and roll tray in one! A new dice each day!
- Trove of Lost Treasures! D&D Items. from Toni pitches 36 engaging and unusual items for your D&D campaign
- Gateway To Adventure Trilogy For Old-School Essentials from Appendix N Entertainment pitches A Trilogy Of Variant and Optional Rules For OSE, Classic D&D and OSRS
- Starseekers’ Guide to Draken Star from The Dungeoncast pitches Starseekers’ Guide to Draken Star is a 5E Science Fantasy Campaign Setting set in the far future of the world’s most popular TTRPG!
- Book Wyrm Dice from the evergreen burrow pitches A Dice Hoard Stacked with Stories
- Planet Builder Zine + Planet Design Book from Marco Serrano pitches Pummel writer’s block with a sci-fi worldbooking notebook & zine of random tables pairing.
- The Bookmark Character Sheet from Descender pitches Quest easy. Designed for Old-School Essentials.
- GrymWyrd Tales – Volume 2: Beneath the Hole in the Floor from STONEworks Gaming pitches Part two in an anthology series of dark & strange horror adventure scenarios inspired by old-school gaming and designed for 5E.
- HEROES OF CERULEA – Pixelated Dungeon Crawl Tabletop RPG from Bläckfisk Publishing pitches Explore dungeons, solve puzzles, fight monsters, gather keys, find items, and defeat bosses. Lo-fi art and rules; high playability.
- Japanese D&D show, Brilliant Quest, adds English subtitles! from David Black pitches Help us go global with English subs for our 30 episode Japanese D&D show, Brilliant Quest.
- The Deck of Many Things from Sunfloral Chaos pitches A tarot sized, 22 card deck of the D&D magic item: the Deck of Many Things
- THE SHADOW OF DUNWICH from Adaevy Creations pitches 3D printable STL Miniatures for Role Playing Games, Tabletop and Wargames.
- The Oracle – Other Realities from The Oracle pitches Travel through the astral sea and beyond: New locations, creatures, magic items and NPCs for your fantasy RPGs
- Excessive Excavations: A 5e Drop-and-Play Adventure from One-Eyed Werebear Gaming pitches Did someone call an exterminator? An adventure for levels 3 to 5
- WELCOME TO ZEPHARIA from Goblins and Goons pitches A one of a kind, open world, 5e adventure that comes with everything you need to play regardless of your previous D&D experience!
- RPG Adventurers from Mattie V pitches Pre-Supported Stl files for 3d printing in 32mm scale for DnD, tabletop rpgs, boardgames or 75mm for collectable statues
- divine treasures – rpg dnd 5e coins and spinning dice coin from strange arcade pitches bring your game to life with unique coins & a luxury spinning dice coin.
- Owlbear Omelette from Giles Pritchard pitches The greatest egg heist in Goblin history is now a table top role playing game!
- Reemergence- A Galactic Adventure for All from Patchwerkgames pitches An ongoing action-packed Sci-Fi TTRPG for all experience levels new and returning to the TTRPG genre.
- Heartless – A horror adventure #Zinequest from Netherborn Games pitches A tabletop roleplaying zine where the players attempt to solve a series of ritualistic murders in a small American town during the 80s.
- In The Heart Of Darkness – Print & Play from The Moongrel pitches A dynamic, strategic and immersive Survival Horror board game filled with nightmares and your slim chance to make it out alive
- BoozeQuest from Nathan Hull pitches The ultimate fantasy role-playing drinking game! Successfully raid Castle Beastenstein by battling through its many traps and monsters!
- The Monster Overhaul from David Shugars pitches A massive Role Playing Game bestiary designed for at-table utility.
- One-Shot Wonders: Over 100 session ideas for 5E from Roll & Play Press pitches Inspiration for awesome one-shots and side quests for fantasy RPGs. Everything you need to plan your next game in two pages or less!
- SOANA – Seekers of a New Age from Obsession RPG Studio pitches SOANA is a flexible and innovative D&D-like tabletop role-playing game. Create the game you want, the way you want it.
- Cathedral of the Undying from C. Aaron Kreader pitches A 5th level DCC adventure (usable with any fantasy RPG system) where the dead and the living share fates!
- The Spellbinders Tome: A D&D 5e spellcasting supplement! from Mads Jacobsen pitches Give your 5e players new ways to cast their favorite spells. Flavor, story, devastation and ingenuity is hidden within these pages.
- Shadows over Cairn Breagh from Andrew Frinkle pitches A low level gothic horror/mystery campaign setting and adventure module for 5E.
- The Shadows About Hope: An Adventure for the DCC RPG from Marzio Muscedere pitches A Grim Sword & Sorcery Adventure played with level 1 or 2 characters or as a mini-campaign that takes characters from 0 to 2nd level.
- Constructo – Dungeons Builder from Playloop Studios pitches Build maps, add minis, import your 3D models, use FOW, dynamic lights, marketplace, and much more.
All in a single cross-platform VTT! - Beacon TTRPG from Tim Gonzalez pitches A high-fantasy TTRPG of customizable characters, tactical combat, and heroic stories. Inspired by Lancer, D&D 4e, and Final Fantasy.
- Gems + Artifacts: Stunning Mechanical Dice Boxes from Mike Shapiro pitches Alchemy Vaults: A brand-new way to store your dice and other treasures
- Roll&Ghosts from Arlon Games pitches A fun and fast Roll and Write Game about ghost hunters exploring a haunted house to loot treasures and catch some ghosts.
- Viking Saga from Iain Lovecraft pitches 3D Printable STL Miniatures and terrain for Role Playing Games, Tabletop, Wargames, or other RPG
- Campaign Options: Mazes from The Warden pitches An Updated Guide to Building & Running Fantasy Maze Adventuresfor Dungeons & Dragons 5E
- Dice Trays from Sand Box Gaming pitches Beautiful customizable dice trays with easy to use locking mechanism and compact for storage and travel.
- Encounter Critical III from Venger Satanis pitches Encounter Critical III is an OSR roleplaying game by Venger Satanis… eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, and post-apocalyptic.
- AdapTableTop LED – a modular tabletop for boardgame and RPGs from GAME START pitches Renewed edition with many accessories and LED mood lighting
- Curse of the Usurper – RPG 5E from Tomb Guardians pitches Massive D&D 5E Adventure/Campaign of the Year with 450+ Pages, 150+ 28mm Minis, 20+ Game Maps (Vinyl), Actor Voiceovers, Music, & More!
- Southwood’s Gold from Dungeon Epics pitches Navigate through the jungle and conflicting moral perspectives in this beginner-friendly adventure for 5e.
- Selanars Socketed Items from Awfully Queer Heroes pitches 5e&PF. Magically enhance your equipment and items, specifically tailored to your characters.
- InkSouls – Chronicles of Athereon from InkSouls pitches A strategic positional role-playing game that mixes some elements of classic TTRPGs with the dynamism of a new combat mechanics.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
