Alright, gang, somehow we’re into March, and it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep up. Despite that, there’s still lots to say!
The summary of RPG news summaries;
- Tabletop Gaming Magazine will relaunch
- Paizo bans AI art in their products
- WotC considers Dark Sun too troublesome
- Kickstarter remains pretty hot
- OBS’s large GM’s Day Sale is on
A new month also means a new RPG Spotlight winner. March goes to Of Gods and Gamemasters.
Patrons can vote for April, and we’re tied currently. The candidates are;
Geek Native has had a policy on AI content since 2022, and it was updated this week. AI art remains controversial, with Paizo banning it in their products this week, and while Geek Native makes occasional use of it, the policy here covers text and prohibits financial gain.
Now, the RPG news!
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RPG news from Geek Native
- Editor Christopher John Eggett is leaving the Tabletop Gaming Magazine, which will relaunch soon.
- Andrews McMeel Universal scales back on RPG and dumps Dilbert author for a racist rant.
- Geek Native wrote up a sneak peek of Lovecrafted Lifeguards.
- The Bundle of Holding has an offer on classic Advanced Fighting Fantasy and a few days on the flash sale for War of the Burning Sky.
Spotlight: Of Gods and Gamemasters
RPG news from around the web
- At Forbes, Rob Wieland does good by writing up The Healing Dice Encourage Real Life Dungeons & Dragons Heroics.
- Tyler Roberts at Bleeding Cool shares the Three New Dungeons & Dragon Dicing D20 Creatures Debut at Hasbro.
- Paizo wields the ethical ban hammer with a statement on articifical intelligence.
- Boing Boing risked the heat already exchanged as Gareth Branwyn investigated Should a Dungeon Master change a game campaign to be “cruelty free?”.
- Tabletop Gaming News sums up Free League Unveils Game Portfolio for 2023, Featuring The Walking Dead RPG and Lord of the Rings Roleplaying.
- Goodman Games declares Weird Frontiers Back In Stock — Again For The Last Time!.
- Christian Hoffer at ComicBook (autoplay warning) reveals Dungeons & Dragons Executive Director Explains Why Dark Sun Hasn’t Been Revived.
- Popculture’s Michael Hein compiles ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ TV Show: What We Know So Far.
- OneBookShelf has launched their GM’s Day Sale ahead of March 4th.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Strange Assembly also joins our insight collection on Keys from the Golden Vault.
- Incredibly, Jared Rascher is still finding insights with part thirteen of their review of Keys from the Golden Vault.
- GamesRadar’s Matt Thrower gets into Shadow of the Dragon Queen review – “Evocative and well-realized”.
- Reviews from R’lyeh looks into The Valley Of The Pharaohs: Role Playing Adventure.
- At The Gaming Gang, Michael Boye reviews the updated Traveller Core Rulebook.
- CNET’s Adam Benjamin does some tech reviews with Best Online Tools for Dungeons & Dragons.
- Egg Embry interviews Michael Best about Crafty Quest Box 2: Prophecy of the Elder Tooth.
RPG new releases
- Dice Dungeons of Jarret Bulter and John Bettridge, with a troup of great artists have unleashed the unique combat tactics of Mutated Monsters.
- Ben Burns and New Comet Games release the Savage Worlds comedy apocalypse Zeta Complex.
- Onyx Path has a silver best seller for their Terra Incognita sourcebook for Scion 2e with Realms of Magic and Mystery.
- Modiphius have a copper best seller for Dune with their The Great Game supplement Houses of the Landsraad.
- Unlikely Heroes Studios publish the 5e broken body of the Ashen God in The Sundering: The Nation Beneath Our Feet.
- 3 Skulls Pub has $2 for an ultra-cutdown, 20-pages, Year Zero Nano.
- Matara Makes Games made Megalos MEGALOS core rulebook.
- Forbidden Planet has some hardbacks on the shelves and for pre-order, including
- Keys From The Golden Vault,
- Renegade Game Studios’ Power Rangers: Roleplaying Game: Standee Pack #1,
- Monte Cook Games’ Old Gods of Appalachia,
- Green Ronin’s Fantasy Age 2e and
- Catalyst Game Labs’ Shadowrun: Astral Ways: Sixth World Setting Book.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $92.96 (90%) with the DMsGuild’s 2nd Anniversary bundle.
- Save $21.90 (44%) in the DMsGuild’s Uncaged Volume 1 | PDF + Roll20 bundle.
- Save $21.51 (92%) in the Skirmisher Publishing GM’s Day bundle.
- Save $18.70 (85%) with C Vandal’s Anniversary Complete Maps bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Ben and the Genre Police poke holes in D&D’s Dave Saves approach.
- Aboleth Overlords cleverly opines in Ye Olde Fantasy: System Assumptions.
- Remixes and Revelations writes up OSR: Mounts and Steeds.
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;
- Bloody Appalachia – Grindhouse Rural Horror Tabletop RPG from Eric Bloat suggests “You are not welcome here”
- THE VEIL: BETWEEN WORLDS from Death Angel Entertainment is working on “On our 5 year anniversary, enjoy our dark fantasy deck building card game. Now with a new solo/cooperative dungeon crawl expansion!!!”
- Greywind’s Guide To Tharador (5e) from DM Stash offers “FUNDED IN 30MINS! 130 STL, VTT & paper minis, 3 huge 5e campaign sagas, sourcebook, maps, sub-classes, magic items & more.”
- Wards of Stonefall – Chapter 1 from Backfire Games crowdfunds “Chapter 1 of an epic narrative print & play roll-and-write game for up to 6 players. No shipping, no waiting!”
- UYD #3: The Treasure of Captain Estes from G R Jordan submits “Unravel Your Destiny Book 3”
- REVENANT VECTOR from Chimaera Games raises funds for “An action-horror TTRPG featuring zombies, monsters, 90’s-era B-movie camp, and a healthy dose of negative continuity!”
- Outdoor Encounter Cards, Fantasy RPG Support by Philip Reed from Philip Reed submits “Let’s convert these four decks to print-on-demand format cards that can be easily ordered from DrivethruRPG!”
- The Lost Grimoire: A D&D module by Paws for Effect from Paws for Effect pitches “Retrieve the Lost Grimoire in this exciting DnD 5e adventure for ONLY $1! Inspired by playing Hogwarts Legacy.”
- €1 One Shot: Miasma over Murvsmire from Ardann Creative kickstarts “5e Compatible Mystery Adventure”
- The Saint Nicholas Gaming Table from Musa Viorel Dorin crowdfunds “A proper gaming table for a proper foster home”
- Valhalla in the Fall 2023 from WarGamer Girl is working on “The ultimate tabletop gaming retreat in the beautiful mountains of Utah.”
- NPC Character Cards from Sharik L Peck II submits “NPC cards for use at your tables with art, stats, and info: Collaboration with Tail Story Games”
- RPG MDF TERRAIN from Davide Lanzone crowdfunds “board game items”
- Terror in Ravenswood 5E – Part 2 from Eric Bleney proposes “Embark on an epic quest to uncover the secrets of the Curse of the Crimson Moon for characters levels 3-8.”
- The Lazy DM’s Forge of Foes for 5e from Mike Shea is working on “Tools and guides to build, customize, and run fantastic monsters in your 5e fantasy games.”
- Dungeon Domains: Shrine of Dagon from Bart Wynants introduces “A system-agnostic fantasy RPG dungeon with endless opportunities for expansion”
- Into the dwarf fortress, D&D dungeons and missions from Bradley Horton introduces “4 dnd dungeon maps (1 huge map) from the underground of the mystical city of dwarves, “The dwarf fortress.” including quest and HR maps”
- The City of Ganelor from Steven Chabotte proposes “A Comprehensive Drop In Campaign Setting for any Fantasy Tabletop Role Playing Game”
- Convertible Bag for Board Games from WizzGame raises funds for “Protect your games and choose the most convenient way to carry them”
- Records of Eashes: Tamiri from Sapphyra raises funds for “An egyptian themed adventure & setting for 5e. Explore ancient ruins, survive the desert and find a weapon that can shape the world”
- MY DUNGEON: UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES – 3D STL tiles terrain from My Dungeon raises funds for “Fully modular underground Tiles Terrain, available in 3D Print STL files for RPG and wargames”
- One Shot Adventure for a Dollar–The Orc King from Tina Glasneck pitches “A 5e adventure with new monsters, magic items, maps, awesome art, lore, and more. All for ONLY $1!”
- Custom Dungeon Master Screens, Game Master Console from Dusty Roads C3 crowdfunds “Turning palliative care into a career.”
- Random Quest: Dungeon Delve from Bryan Larch is working on “A solo-play, d6, card based, pen & paper, tabletop, fantasy adventure game.”
- The Halfling City Guard from Midlam Miniatures is working on “A collection of twelve 28mm scale Halflings for all of your fantasy urban defence needs!”
- Antediluvian Adventures: Quick-adventures for TTRPG’s – $1 from Luna Publishing is working on “5 System-Agnostic Cosmic Horror themed mini-adventures. Compatibility packs available for D&D 5e, and Pathfinder 2e.”
- Balthazar’s Guide to Darkness: An unofficial DND expansion from Peyton Schwiebert pitches “An Unofficial 5e DND expansion focused on the macabre and demonic”
- Commune: A tabletop role playing game from Jonathan Turner crowdfunds “Commune is a tabletop RPG focusing on roleplaying, open sandbox environments and storytelling with emphasis on the players and GMs fun.”
- The Black Death Polyhedral Dice Set from Black Oak Workshop introduces “After many fan requests, we are returning to Kickstarter with the Black Death 7-dice polyhedral set in new colors and styles!”
- Alaria: Valor & Company from Alex Abrahams offers “Alaria: Valor & Company is a colonial frontier TTRPG adventure releasing with a new strategic RPG system.”
- Destiny’s Role: Dimensions 1 from Mark Lain submits “The first science fiction adventure gamebook in the Destiny’s Role series”
- THE BOOK OF 100 “MARKET STALLS” from Fallen Highway Studios crowdfunds “Add depth and immersion to your RPG campaigns with 100 Market Stalls that can be added to any adventure.”
- FIE, I SAY! The D6 Comedy-Fantasy-Parody RPG from Sniderman nominates “The RPG that asks, “What if Mel Brooks had directed The Lord of the Rings?””
- Mazes Settlements: A Mazes add-on from Jason Walsh introduces “Connect your Mazes games with this add-on that lets you build and manage a settlement.”
- Hieronymus Bosch Tabletop MIniatures. from Andrew May is working on “A range of heroic scale tabletop miniatures based on the art of legendary Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch.”
- Rock n Write from Benjamin Sperling raises funds for “A rocking new roll and write game where you need to win the battle of the bands!”
- Magewood: A Dungeons & Dragons 5e Adventure from Mage Made Games is working on “with new subclasses, races, spells, magic items, NPCs, puzzles, traps, weapons, and everything needed to run the Magewood DnD campaign!”
- Kill Him Faster from Chris proposes “A ZineQuest 2023 tabletop roleplaying game about speed-running the ultimate evil.”
- Treasure & Critical Dice from giochistarter proposes “Your complete Rpg system sets! Check for Treasures in a single roll and add fantastic effects to your Critical Hits!”
- Dr. Zero Presents: Wee Bit Twisted, Four (Five)! from Two Silver Denarii, LLC suggests “Zine for the Casual RPGer Featuring the 5e Module Oneshot: Meriodnali Ghost Run–you’ve never run this kind of race before”
- Pressure Point – A Solo TTRPG Zine from Squid Ink Games introduces “Escape the strange beings invading your underwater base – By IMPALING the Pages of the game! A #Zinequest project!”
- Old Gods Sepulchre – Immersive Isometric Delve – Zine Quest from Randy Musseau nominates “A fantastical subterranean journey through a pantheon of ancient deities encased in stone and time.”
- 99 Cent Adventures Presents: The Lost Crown of the Lich King from Ben Thompson pitches “Five full-length illustrated Dungeons & Dragons adventure modules by Ben Thompson and Brian Snoddy”
- Pet Rescue – a One-Shot RPG [Zine Quest] from Stephen Coffey proposes “Play as demigod pets, using your abilities from both your divine and mundane heritage to save your missing owner.”
- Shadows of Cthulhu: Cards, Dice, & Doom from Tracey & Carmelitta is working on “Eerie Creatures in a Quick-play Luck & Strategy Game.”
- Riders Of The Plains from The Hobbit Hole proposes “3D Printable STL Files, Terrain for Tabletop, Role Playing Games, Wargames and TTRPG”
- Hero Pins™ Spin Again: Enter THE DRAGON! from Gaming Honors submits “RPG Health Indicator Pin for Judges, GMs, and BBEGs”
- Dismiss Eternal from Nick Mattingly suggests “A continuously evolving Tabletop RPG focusing on combat, character development, engaging storytelling, and player freedom.”
- Calling Portals from Black Scrolls Games pitches “3D printable interactive Tabletop RPG terrain pieces that are using your phone!”
- Ampliterra: Echoes of the Rift TTRPG from Austin Frank proposes “The open-ended TTRPG setting with diverse locales, inspiring characters, deep lore, and unwritten fates in a world divided by magic.”
- LeTable One Touch Extendable Board Game Table | From 79$ (Canceled) from VoRis crowdfunds “Modern Compact Design | Built-in Player Desks | Raised Platform | Ideal Gaming and Working area | Wireless Chargers | Sensor Lighting”
- Color Invasion – Game Dice from Kurt Team introduces “The natural crystal shapes are perfectly suited for making six-sided dice, and the interchange of colors makes them unique.”
- Dwarven Forged Gazebo – Pay What You Want STL from FantasyDesigns raises funds for “3D Printable STL Files, Terrain for Tabletop, Role Playing Games, Wargames and RPG”
- NULL from Spencer Campbell submits “Dive into nanotech infested anomalies in this action packed TTRPG Illuminated by LUMEN.”
- [WEAPONS TEST 023] from D G Chapman offers “An action-packed adventure for the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG in a fold-out zine.”
- Resurrection – RPG tabletop gaming mat & dice mat (Canceled) from Professor Edward nominates “Table mat with a resurrection motif and crystal dragon eyes inlay, in your choice of size.”
- Keep Your Powder Dry: Firearms for 5E Fantasy Campaigns from Morrus kickstarts “Nearly 40 firearms with customization options for 5E games, plus magic items, feats for gunslingers, and the alchemist character class!”
- Little Game Masters from Randall Hampton offers “A Table Top Role Playing Game built for kids 5 and up”
- Phaylen’s Journal of Extraordinary Items for 5E from Anthony Woods proposes “Over 100 new Magic Items for your 5E ttrpg campaign, and expanded tools to craft them with!”
- PakPak’s ShopShop from Robert Armbrister kickstarts “PakPak’s been collecting rare & unique items from across the realm. He’s put ‘em in a 20+ page zine so you can bring ’em to the table!”
- Ascendant: Platinum Edition from Autarch crowdfunds “A revised second printing of the core rules, the game’s first official sourcebook, and our premiere graphic novel, all in one bundle!”
- Hit Hotel from MurphysLawLLC suggests “Lots of weapons, a hotel, and a target. Are you good enough to make the hit before the others?”
- Black Sun Dawning from Scott W proposes “A SciFi Fantasy setting for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition.”
Do you know of an RPG news source that I don’t? Let me know, or leave a comment below.
