There’s a lot of tabletop news featuring bundle deals trying their best to tackle the world’s ills this week, but perhaps that’s because our community is good at coming together to do good.
The summary of RPG news summaries;
- Part two of the Black Flag playtest is out.
- WotC has invited influencers to an all-expenses paid D&D Content Creator Summit.
- Raising money for Trans Rights in Florida is $2,159 RPGs for $5.
- It’s an unpleasant time for RPG designer Owen KC Stephens, but we can help.
I think the Routinely Itemised newsletter last week missed the midnight deadline by a second last week. Apologies! Even with conventions in the tally, I think there have been only a few times in the three years the newsletter/column has been running when that happened.
The good news is that this round-up has been put together with a greater emphasis on beating the clock. Have I just jinxed it?
It might be a good time to point people at the blog’s social media and RSS options again. It’s not just the email option that comes out as a way to avoid remembering to visit the blog. Although, yes, TikTok is a bit abandoned right now, and Video is a time drain!
Now, enough with the whining and on with the RPG news!
Now, the RPG news!
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RPG news from Geek Native
- Rockstar Tame Impala has released his D&D movie song Wings of Time.
- More money from the brand? Tasty food? There’s an official chilli chocolate D&D popcorn.
- Evil Genius is rebooting Urban Arcana and launching a paying worldbuilding competition.
- For a limited time, Target has an exclusive on the Avatar Legends starter set.
- Wood Planet Gaming Lodge has bought several RPG titles from Beyond Belief Games.
- It looks a bit rough and perhaps with some work to do, but the new ebay style marketplace for tabletop RPG ARC has launched.
- In Humble, there’s some time left on the Shadowrun 5e mega deal and the equally impressive grimdark RPG suite of Dark Heresy, Only War and Black Crusade.
- There’s awful news with popular and talented RPG designer Owen KC Stephens’ health and a Pathfinder bundle to raise funds.
Spotlight: Of Gods and Gamemasters
RPG news from around the web
- Kobold Press has published the second part of their Black Flag playtest with Magic Luck & Classes.
- Bell of Lost Souls notes that Kobold’s ‘Project Black Flag’ Will Launch With Foundry Virtual Tabletop.
- Here’s a worthy fight and an Itch bundle where $5 can get you $2,159 worth of downloads to support Trans Rights in Florida.
- Matt Bassil overs that Wizards of the Coast invites influencers to mystery DnD summit.
- Meanwhile, on CBR, Julia Anderson writes up D&D Fans Blast Hasbro For Ranking As One Of 2023’S ‘Most Ethical’ Companies.
- TOS 2nd PRO Edition for Pathfinder 2e, the dynamic character sheet based in Excel, gets it’s 18th edition.
- Instantnoodl has been working on an ‘odd, free & open-source’ (their words)Thermal Printer tool to quickly create handouts, quick reference cards and bits’n’bobs for RPGs called Sales & Dungeons.
- Jim Zub announces the seven D&D Young Adventure’s Guide Places & Portals.
- Chaosium is giving away 183 pages of handout pack downloads through their Itch.io store.
- Séamus Bradd has announced a forthcoming RPG influenced by the works of Tsutomu Nihei, Jeff Vandermeer’s Borne novels and games like Heart Machine called Rebar.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Rob Wieland heads to their EN World column for a review of the roaring 1920s and Flabbergasted!
- Halfway Station 3.0 reviews Mythic Game Master Emulator 2nd Edition.
- The prolific and thoughtful Reviews from R’lyeh digs into The Other OSR and The Big Squirm.
- On the Yawning Portal, Thosteinn Mar reviews Free League’s Blade Runner RPG.
- Throat Punch Games shares a ring side report of Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying system.
- MJR RPG continues the Seeds of Terror series with Stone’s Throw From Atlantis.
- On EN World, Egg Embry interviews GoeeyCube’s Alphinius Goo about Blood for the Khan 5e.
- Egg also interviews O.C. Presley of Fragging Unicorn Games about Subversion.
- More!? Okay, on EN World, Charles Dunwoody talks Shadowdark with Kelsey Dionne.
- The Other Side talks about the Kickstarter smash All The Witches with Emmapanda.
RPG new releases
- Sinister Beard Games follow through on their crowdfunding success and released Extreme Meatpunks Forever.
- Earl of Fife Games has released a new universal RPG engine with Heroes & Hardships.
- W.R.K.S. Games has a Viking-themed universe with magic and myth, which is out in the shape of the Jordenhiem RPG.
- SAINTs & Synners, the TinyD6 core RPG from Gallant Knight Games and designer Brandon Verhalen has already picked up a 5/5 star review at DriveThruRPG.
- Cubicle 7’s latest Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay supplement is a best-seller already, and it’s Lustria.
- The Black Fortress opens up to unleash the rules-light solo RPG Fantasy d6.
- Cicada Human has the harsh truth in the form of a solo RPG called Kaiju Don’t Care About You.
- Goblins and Gargoyles have a 2d10 + system out with the basic rulebook of Goblins and Gunslingers.
- Ethan H Reyolds suggests you pay nothing (but you can spend more) for the one-page Rogue only Cowl.
- Chubby Funster won’t let you pay at all for the free to download Terra Invictus – Players Guide.
- Fight ignorance with empathy, rainbow blasts and fierce posing with Son of Oak Game Studio’s basic edition of QUEERZ!
- In bricks and clicks retail, retailers have the physical Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game dice.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $39.50 (27%) with Kobold Press’ Guides 2023 bundle.
- Save $9.95 (28%) on the DMsGuild’s Creatures of the Tomb | PDF + Roll20 VTT bundle.
- Save $8.04 (28%) in the DMsGuild’s 850+ Art & Layout Assets bundle.
- Save $6.73 (13%) with the DMsGuild’s Chronicles of Eberron PDF and Roll20 bundle.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Do you see the undead god Acerak as a t-shirt idol?
- The TTRPG Factory shares thoughts on Pacing your RPG.
- In Magazine, which celebrates Canada’s LGBTQ2+ community, shares goodness with Dungeons & Dragons Can Bring Queer Fantasy To Life.
- On Eurogamer, Matt Jarvis writes What’s Traveller? An introduction to the sci-fi tabletop RPG that inspired Starfield.
- D&D Beyond Riley Silverman has put together How to Get Better at Roleplaying in D&D.
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;
- Severed Fate from Smoldering Dung Games proposes “An OSR RPG Adventure by Laurel Nicholson and John Keefe”
- All Things Zombie: End of Days Scenario Bundle from Rebel Minis submits “Scenarios and supplements to the Award-Winning Game, All Things Zombie!”
- Mikes Skirmish Game Starter Set from Mike Lewis introduces “Skirmish and RPG fun for the Table top!”
- D100 tavern rumours from Dean Rougvie is working on “Rumours and adventure hooks for your games”
- HomeBrew Heroes- 13+New DnD Archetypes, Races, items & More! from Dishonored Studios crowdfunds “5e DnD Homebrew Heroes grants you access to fantastic new Archetypes, Beasts, Magic Items, Races , and more! Requests Available!”
- £1 to play (5e) “The Hag’s Lure” from Andrew Highton submits “Adventure modules to drag and drop into your 5e campaign! Adventures! Battlemaps! Magic Items! And more! All for just £1!”
- Forge: The Last RPG Rulebook you EVER NEED to read from Ricky Martinez proposes “A Universal RPG point based system. Be Anything you want, Design any world you want, and Do anything you want. < 1hr Read!”
- 350+ Map Tiles & 85 Battle Maps Bundle | For 5E & Pathfinder from Tyler Mackenzie crowdfunds “Collection of battle maps & seamless map tiles for your 5E D&D, Pathfinder & other TTRPG. Dungeons, forests, caverns, buildings & more!”
- Tabletop News from WatchTabletop kickstarts “Tabletop News is your weekly rundown of the tabletop gaming industry’s latest news created for gamers by gamers.”
- Deep Sky Ballad – Space Western TTRPG by “a Game of Nerds” from Marco Calesella crowdfunds “Space Western tabletop role-playing game by A Game of Nerds, inspired by classics like Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, Borderlands and Trigun”
- Pay What You Want, Medieval RPG Town Set 3 from 3DP4U crowdfunds “3D Printable STL Files, Terrain for Tabletop, Role Playing Games, Wargames and RPG. Medieval RPG Town Houses – Set 03”
- The Tome of Trades (TTRPG System-Agnostic) from Gascony Games crowdfunds “2,000+Pg Overhaul of your Tabletop Game! Features 30 Adventuring, Civilian, Crafting, & Gathering Professions+Overland System Remaster”
- Opossum RPG – DnD Hard Enamel Pins from Caitlyn Sharlette crowdfunds “A Colorful Set of Opossum Hard Enamel Pins for Tabletop Role Playing Game fans! Based on the classes of 5e plus the dungeon master!”
- Astromythos: Lair of the Spider Lord from Jon Sideriadis nominates “A new 5e adventure based on Astromythos, a cosmic dark fantasy book series where stars and black holes vie for control of the cosmos.”
- Crit Cards & the Doctor’s Handbook from Feather Mind Tricks is working on “5E supplement: Increase the stakes of combat with our illustrated Crit Cards & Play one of 8 NEW Doctor classes!”
- A path to the Fey Realm from Saixar Collectibles suggests “A collection of 3D Printable miniatures (32mm) & Terrain STL Files, with DnD 5e Statblocks, VTT Tokens for TTRPGs. Enjoy 3D Printing.”
- Faces and Places Beyond: Royalty-Free Fantasy Stock Art from Fantastical is working on “Royalty-free Fantasy Landscapes and Portraits with commercial license! Great for D&D (DnD) 5e, Pathfinder 1e/2e or your favorite TTRPG!”
- CinCityCon 2023 Boardgame & RPG Con – Halloween Version from Greg Franseth and Chris Grzywacz nominates “Cincinnati’s Largest Boardgame & RPG Convention – Open to Everyone”
- INSTADUNGEON™ Sci-Fi Set 1 3D printed tiles from Big Dumb Fun Games pitches “Easy to 3D print and quick to play single-piece STL sci-fi tiles compatible with games like SPACE HULK, ALIEN RPG and D&D SPELLJAMMER!”
- DnD 5e One Shots of Ethelon Vol 2- Mountain Madness! from Adventure Ripples suggests “D&D 5e Adventure thematic One-Shots that will upgrade your Campaign and keep your players on edge!”
- 5e Horror Adventure Anthology: Librus Nocturnum from Lunch Break Heroes crowdfunds “A series of horrifying adventures compatible with fifth edition rules, from levels 0 to 12! Visit https://5ehorror.com/ for more!”
- The Fall of House Prosh from Michael Elliott raises funds for “A tabletop RPG about noble tragedy and melodrama for 1-6 players”
- Vagabond’s Guide to Dalriada from Penny Dragon Games proposes “Your quintessential Celtic-inspired setting book full of new monsters, subclasses, magic items, spells, deities, locations, lore, etc!”
- 2D6 Dungeon – A Classic Dungeon Crawler Solo Player Game from Toby Lancaster introduces “A Print and Play, Roll and Write, Dungeon Crawler, Solo Player Game designed by Toby Lancaster”
- EXP Empires. Door Into Darkness, Act 1. from Sean Pickell introduces “EXP Empires, a new TTRPG that brings role playing and total customization to empire building and army strategy.”
- The Book of Unusual Potions, OSR RPG Support by Philip Reed from Philip Reed proposes “Originally released in 2019 as a PDF and printed book, it’s time to produce a print-on-demand edition of this OSR RPG supplement.”
- The Lord Navigator’s Almanac to Chorus, a 5E Sourcebook from Myles G. nominates “Enter Chorus with this 200+ page 5E sourcebook featuring new classes, subclasses, races, magic, and more!”
Do you know of an RPG news source that I don’t? Let me know, or leave a comment below.
