It’s the first weekend following Scotland’s oldest tabletop gaming convention, so let’s pick up and see what’s up with the RPG news…
First, we have the summary of news summaries!
- German publisher Ulisses Spiele has bought Sigil Services.
- Green Ronin picks up Into the Mother Lands.
- Arby’s sold out of gamer dice.
- Critical Role announces two new RPG systems.
- Gloomhaven’s RPG goes heavy with the tabletop minis.
There’s not much of a trend this week, D&D news, of course, some bundle deals, and perhaps the headline is Green Ronin’s rescue of Into The Mother Lands. What caught your eye?
PEG selling Sigil Services to Ulisses Spiele is also interesting, as it shows vibrancy in third-party virtual tabletops despite Hasbro’s edging ever closer to launch. It’s that subscription model that I used to waffle on about.
Kickstarter had elements of bursting activity in that several $15K+ projects launched, and it might have been a big week. However, volume was low, and the average asking price of a campaign is still relatively static. Perhaps the oddness was the number of ‘first-time’ creators asking for reasonably big bucks.
As for Edinburgh’s RPG and tabletop Conpulsion, well, would you believe I did a TikTok supercut?
On with the RPG news!
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RPG news from Geek Native
- It’s a sign of times as Ulisses buys the VTT-crafting specialist Sigil Services in a deal with Pinnacle Entertainment involved.
- Supporting a Kickstarter, Geek Native has an exclusive of art for the colorblind edition of Neurocity.
- Using the Monster! Monster! system The Lair of the Leopard Empresses marks the return of Mindjammer Press.
- It’s not the only bit of D&D fashion news, but Geek Native began by asking Does EMP have the best D&D 50th anniversary t-shirt?.
- The other and just an impressive fashion story are these character sheet t-shirts from CultureFly.
- Raising money for an RPG family in need, Independence Games, Mongoose, and others launch the Keith Frye Memorial bundle.
- At the Bundle of Holding, there’s a flash deal on the deco-punk Airship Daedalus.
- While, at Humble, there’s a shortlived offer on the impressive 13th Age fantasy RPG.
Spotlight: High Level Games
RPG news from around the web
- The D&D TV series gets Deadpool producer Drew Crevello as showrunner.
- GameRant’s Eric Law points out that the New Dungeons and Dragons DMG Will Be More User-Friendly.
- Green Ronin steps in where Andrews McMeel pulled out and will publish the Into The Mother Lands RPG.
- Confirmed for August is the 5th edition (not that 5e) of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. (Even though Renegade are mean to Geek Native; I’ve pre-ordered)
- Critical Role has two bits of key news, and Dicebreaker covers all with Critical Role publisher announces new tabletop titles and hiatus on Critical Role Adventures.
- Matt Bassil at Wargamer calls out Call of Cthulhu RPG makes AI bot to teach you the rules.
- Polygon and Charlie Hall notes Gloomhaven: The Role Playing Game’s launch plans include more than 600 miniatures.
- Etan Vlessing at The Hollywood Reporter notes that Hasbro is in Talks to Sell Entertainment One to Founder Darren Throop.
- Sold out in a flash as Arby’s relaunched their D&D dice.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Bow down before the wise output of Reviews from R’lyeh and soak up Cthulhu Companion, War Stories, and the James Bond 007 RPG.
- The savvy Jared Rascher gets a first impression of the Demiplane Nexus Vampire Ultimate bundle.
- James Maliszewski pens a retrospective on Traveller’s Shadows.
- Nerds on Earth’s Abram Towle offers a Review Of Lost Omens: Firebrands For Pathfinder 2nd Edition.
- MRJ RPG has an Isle of the Damned Review – Call of Cthulhu (Grindhouse)
- Linda Codega sums up as Kate Welch Reflects on Lord of the Rings, Games, and Play.
- Exiled News talks to Darren W. Pearce.
RPG new releases
- A best seller already, Free League Publishing goes digital with a release of Dragonbane’s core set.
- Al Spader and Aliso Cybe release the Sentience 2d20 Core Rulebook as a Pay What You Want (suggested $10) following the PWYA ($4.99) quickstart.
- Evil Hat, Rae Nedjadi, Josh Hittie, and Darold Ross’ doomsday Apocalypse Keys is here.
- Modiphius, Richard August, Bill Heron, et al publish Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Serpent and the Sands.
- Mr Aston’s Name Your Own Price space opera Star Dogs Diceless Edition is out.
- Red Ram Studio has released the UR: Sword & Sorcery, Apocalyptic Bronze-Age, Campaign Primer.
- Shard Studios has a non-traditional bundle/1066-page download with Shard RPG Core Books.
- Yellobyte Studios has the clever idea and publication of the Sci-Fi Monster Manual.
- Warning, there’s mature content in JAMGAS’ survival horror Fate Awaits.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $96.93 (73%) with Matthew Tapp’s Great Thernn bundle.
- Save $9.80 (50%) with the Chaosium community content bundle The Edinburgh Files – Part One.
- Igor Comunale has a gothic RPG of love, death and traffic obsession in which you save $4.49 (50%) with In Remembrance of Claudia.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- The Genre Police begin to doubt genres in On the Watchlist.
- Agreed, it’s an odd one, but Geek Native secured an extra PrintSafari discount coupon.
- Mixed Signals, the RPG blog, weighs in with thoughts on Wizard of the Coast’s problem with trust.
- There are loads of annoying ads, but Great British Life has a write-up to Explore Northern Ireland locations in the Dungeons & Dragons film
- Stargazer writes up WotC’s future VTT – a few thoughts.
- Kobold Press’ Kelly Pawlik details Dungeon 23: Long Way Down.
- 9th Level’s Heather O’Neill addresses What is polymorph, and why is it so AWESOME?.
- Mollie Russell surfaces Find your next DnD setting with this fanmade search engine.
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;
- TGMG: 100 Dungeon NPCs from The Monster Directive proposes “Unleash a realm of unforgettable 100 dungeon NPC’s designed to make your life easier and enthral your players.”
- Gobblers from Stef Wilson submits “Gobblers brings a traditional Dungeon and Dragon adventure with a twist! Gobblers is a twenty page COMIC story with RPG accessories.”
- Be Like a Cat – a solo / two player journalling RPG. from Critical Kit offers “Sharpen your claws and take to the streets in this TTRPG from the creator of Be Like a Crow.”
- World of Lùmina – 5E campaign setting from Nerdura Games nominates “The official setting of One-shot Dungeons adventures.”
- D20^2 – Advantage/Disadvantage from erik rocha offers “Roll once get 2 numbers.”
- Dungeons & You: Monsters & Pets Vol.1 / E5. from Gabriel suggests “”Monsters, Pets, and Advanced Pet Systems, Corruption System, Two Subclasses.” Content Compatible with D&D 5e.”
- C.A.T.O. from Dragon House Press is working on “Cloned Remnants of Earth”
- Tales of Arwana from Feather & Horn introduces “A fantasy setting for Tabletop RPG setting for 5E, set in a world of jungles and mountains inspired by nature of Southeast Brazil.”
- Honor among Thieves – DICE SET from Antonio S is working on “The world first perfectly balanced LOADED dice set for board games & D&D campaigns that will make you the king of every game night.”
- Freeroam from LunarFox Inc proposes “a TTRPG Sytem designed with 3rd party creators in mind. It can be used in almost any setting you can imagine.”
- Fantasy Armies: A 5E Supplement from Assassin NPC submits “A 5E compendium that will help make running fantasy armies fun and easy in your tabletop games. Three unique fantasy armies included.”
- Lords of War – The Epic Conclusion to the Mutanti Cycle from Matthew David is working on “Unite the factions, lead massive armies and save the continent of Mutanti in this thrilling D&D 5e campaign using new Mass Combat rules”
- D&D Dress Up – Human Fighter from Rengin Tümer nominates “11.000+ combos of customized character art for your TTRPG campaigns, for the price of a coffee!”
- All Chimeras Great and Small: Tabletop RPG Adventure Module from Gaming Honors proposes “A 0- or 1st-level adventure compatible with Dungeon Crawl Classics or 5e!”
- Scoundrels of Brixton from Jeffrey Jones suggests “A sci-fi setting of crime and conflict compatible with Cepheus Engine.”
- RŌNIN from Slightly Reckless Games proposes “The Mörk Borg you know and love, disemboweled and resurrected on the island of Kage no Shima. Death before surrender.”
- The Click Modular Counter System from CounterMagic Gaming kickstarts “A Better, Modular Counter for Tabletop Gaming”
- Quest Journals for Game Masters and Players from Roll & Play Press is working on “Effortlessly record your characters, worlds and adventures with our stunning TTRPG binders and notebooks for 5E, Pathfinder and more.”
- Tales from Myriad TTRPG from Carson Daniel nominates “An original fantasy tabletop-roleplay designed for new players and older gamers alike, with a focus on exploration and killer wardrobes”
- CALL of IRAGAS from Yog’du Games suggests “A quick resupply stop at an island monastery becomes a desperate battle against a mind-bending interplanar threat. For 5e & OSE games!”
- The Lost City of Gethamane – 5e adventure ($1 ONLY) from ECLIPTICA suggests “5e PDF adventure designed for a party of 4-6 characters of level 5-7”
- The +2 Rodcast from Tony Binns suggests “What would D&D characters talk about if they could do a podcast? Well, thanks to the +2 Rodcast you are about to find out.”
- One Dollar One Shot – The People’s Prison from One Dollar One Shots introduces “A 5e adventure with new monsters, magic items, maps, original art, lore, and more. All for ONLY$1!”
- The Game Master’s Pocket Pal: Crypts & Cultists from Ardann Creative crowdfunds “A collection of 10 system-neutral maps with an emphasis on the occult”
- Cthulhu Coin 3 – Dormancy from Cthulhu Mythos introduces “We’ve continuously improved the coin, and the color scheme for version 3 is exceptional, with a combination that is very rare.”
- Starry Night – Blue Sandstone DND Dice Set from Professor Edward nominates “The sparkling golden stars cover the surface of each dice in this set, with a hidden galaxy inside each one.”
- Harvest Compendium Vol. 1 for Pathfinder 2e from Anne Gregersen kickstarts “Custom loot for official Pathfinder monsters!”
- INVESTIGATION from Stephan Bilodeau introduces “This RPG board game, developed by two authors, is one of a kind. This adventure is meant to be immersive and simple. For 1-6 players.”
- Ninja vs. Samurai Role-Playing Game from Rayburn A. Jordan Jr. proposes “A fictional roleplaying game inspired by historical events, locations, and people, centered around feudal Japan.”
- Forge: The TTRPG Every World Needs! from Ricky Martinez pitches “Universal: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Zombies, Horror, to heroic. Fun, Strategic Combat with easy ruled. The last RPG rulebook you’ll ever read!”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
