Welcome home.
This is Audio EXP for the 13th of May, 2023, and the episode title is “Oops; bundle me good!”
[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #196]
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Zotiquest Games is in the Spotlight this month, as voted for by Patreons.
Oops. Moments ago, I discovered I hadn’t published last week’s RPG news podcast transcript to the blog. It was all written but sitting in drafts all this time.
I’ve published it now, which means that while the podcast platforms will be none the wiser, readers will be, and there will be two back-to-back transcripts.
I write up the transcript with accessibility in mind and to be as transmedia as possible. I won’t call it a theme, but other transmedia projects are coming up later in the show.
The first story is about an RPG business deal that came out of the blue. Tunnels & Trolls has been bought. In fact, I think all of Flying Buffalo’s RPG line and brand have been bought. I’ve asked for clarity but am still waiting.
Tunnels & Trolls is the RPG that followed behind D&D in response to D&D, making it the world’s second-oldest tabletop RPG.
Who’s the new owner? Rebellion Unplugged is the tabletop arm of Rebellion, the comic book and games publisher based in the UK.
They’ve been dabbling with RPGs and have a board game, but it’s the comic book properties of Rebellion that make them world famous; they publish Judge Dredd and the other 2000 AD titles.
So, will we have a new Judge Dredd RPG with a Tunnels & Trolls engine? Maybe!
We know that old Flying Buffalo RPGs will still be available, but future books, and I think there will be quite a few, will be published by Rebellion Unplugged.
Another deal we’re covering is between World of Darkness, the horror game franchise that Paradox governs at arm’s length, and an interactive book publisher called Choice of Games.
If you’re a bit of a programmer, you might be interested to know that Choice of Games makes ChoiceScript, their script language, available to the public. They’re a text-based publisher, just online, so that stories can be interactive.
Choice of Games has worked with the World of Darkness before and has now landed a two-year deal. Two interactive stories are coming;
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse – The Book of Hungry Names
- Hunter: The Reckoning – The Beast of Glendkildove
Aaand, I suppose we’re all used to Modiphius landing deals. The latest is for a BrikWars.
I know the game a little and thought it might lend itself to a board or skirmish game, but Modiphius is doing an RPG. Maybe it’s a case of watching this space.
Geek Native also managed to do a deal with Roleplay Elixir to warm readers up a bit for their forthcoming 5e Kickstarter for Kings & Dragons.
What did we get? A free-to-download demo. You see, this is why I write up the transcript because you can find the link to that in the transcript, which I’ll definitely publish this time.
Kings & Dragons may now be on your to-watch list, and perhaps RoleRoster is too.
RoleRoster is a free website, currently in beta, which promises to take some of the pain out of organising game night. It doesn’t just work out when people are free but handles the reminders and calendar.
RoleRoster’s likely plans would be to expand that one-stop-shop approach into other areas but have the challenging task of recruiting enough people first.
Sliding away from RPGs, just for one story, there’s the first look at the new Conan the Barbarian comic book series.
That’s been penned by Jim Zub, who gamers will definitely be familiar. I think it’s the first bit of Conan news since Cabinet shuffled the license holders.
Before the bundles, let’s talk about Leyline Press as the RPG publisher had an encounter with disgruntled culture war folks. What happened? Without naming anyone, Leyline Press had a problem with an editor. This person had been working on RPGs that have received widespread concern for cashing in on bigotry and other unpleasantness.
Understandably, I think, Leyline Press didn’t want to be associated with any of that and felt some guilt for having worked with the person in the first place.
They broke the news with an apology, said they wouldn’t work with that editor again and would not publish their name on the Salvage Union, their current project.
What happened next was entirely predictable. Those who don’t cope so well with difference raced in two criticise Leyline for trying to navigate a no-win situation. My main conclusion was what a pejorative Twitter’s blue tick has become.
In bundles and on the Bundle of Holding, there’s swashbuckling action from Basic Action Games with an Honor + Intrigue and one timed for the Into the Deep Wild Kickstarter from Privateer Press called Iron Kingdoms: Requiem.
Lastly and raising for the heroes of The Trevor Project, people who work to stop LGBTQ-folk committing suicide, is the Starfinder Solidarity bundle.
Paizo has physical products here, so a great deal, but watch for shipping fees.
And on that note, let’s wrap up there; remember to finish what you started, and I’ll see you next week.
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