August! You have killed my wallet and my sleep. Thank goodness the post-Gen Con slump also seems to have damped crowdfunding launches.
Let’s start with the TTRPG summary of summaries!
- Motley Fool, an investment advice site, does not think D&D 2024 will help Hasbro.
- Embracer Group’s sales are down 24%.
- Artists have won a major legal battle against generative AI image firms.
That last bit of news is important as generative AI has become a hot topic for tabletop RPGs. Some games are only illustrated because of AI, but is that justified if art is stolen?
Why is it generative art that causes such a concern and not text, spell-checking or spam filtering? Why didn’t ad blocking, which breaks the read-for-ad-impression free net, cause a similar backlash? It might just be because we respect artists and illustrators in a way we don’t ads and spammers.
The Audio EXP podcast is supposed to be back tomorrow, but the jury is out. The calendar of doom suggests yours truly is at six Edinburgh Festival events tomorrow, most of which need a review, so we’ll have to see what the stamina and productivity saving throws manage.
On with the news and we’re looking forward to sleep.
Support: Patreon.
RPG news from Geek Native
- Son of Oak Game Studio released the mythic cyberpunk TTRPG :Otherscape.
- BAMF! have a star-studded podcast lined up to raise money for Owen KC Stephens.
- Adams Media will release the The Düngeonmeister Book of RPG Trivia.
Spotlight: Schwalb Entertainment
RPG news from around the web
- Finance site The Motley Fool predicts New Dungeons & Dragons Edition Won’t Help Hasbro Much.
- Hollywood Reporter runs the news that Artists Score Major Win in Copyright Case Against AI Art Generators.
- In a Gen Con follow-up, Pelgrane Press confirmed that the 13th Age 2e is due out in PDF form by the end of the year.
- Edge Studios (Star Wars RPG, Legend of the Five Rings, et al), Dark Horse and Asmodee parent shows loss on lower sales.
- ICv2 also reports that Two new ‘D20 Necklaces’ hit preorder.
- IGN’s Tom Marks has an exclusive with Iconic Dungeons & Dragons Art Reimagined As Magic: The Gathering Cards.
RPG reviews and interviews from around the web
- Jared Rascher reviews Undying Corruption Player’s Guide and the SRD for Vodari Voyages.
- Rob Wieland reviews Outgunned, noting the game Brings A Little Dice Dice, Bang Bang To Your Table.
- Reviews from R’lyeh takes a dangerous look into Musketeers versus Cthulhu and a look into Mutant Year Zero: Ad Astra.
- Ben Brosfsky at ScreenRant Is Not Convinced D&D’s 2024 Player’s Handbook Is As Backward Compatible As It Claims.
- Tribality notes D&D 5eReviews Player’s Handbook 2024: Some Highs and Lows.
- Games Industry’s Colin Flanigan pens Climbing to Classic Adventures in Quests From the Infinite Staircase.
- Grognardia shares a retrospetive on Temple of Apshai.
- Jeffrey Lyles shares a NECA Dungeons and Dragons Strongheart review.
- Christian Hoffer gets Dungeons & Dragons Head Jess Lanzillo Talks About Future of Game, Potential Crossovers.
RPG new releases
- Patrick N. R. Julius and David N Ross have published the Starfinder adventure The Stolen Prototype.
- C.S. Daley invites you to pay as much or as little as you want for the 2nd edition of Yjoarvalla Core Hybrid Book.
- Labyrinth Adventures has released their dungeon crawling adventure system rulebook.
- OptimisitcNIL has a MORK BORG and Forbidden Psalm compatible book with Forbidden Sea.
- Gobbro Games has released a one-page, coverless and Pay What You Want Denizens: A One-Page Universal Role-Playing Game System.
- Doc’s Mad Lab Games have released a fantasy horror adventure inspired by Appalachian folklore, and it’s the Trials of the Bell Witch.
- Seafoot Games have created the system-agnostic 769-page GM’s Adventurer’s Guide Bundle – 25 Fantasy Sourcebooks.
- In physical book news, retailers like Forbidden Planet are taking pre-orders on Chaosium’s Lands Of Runequest: Dragon Pass.
RPG bundle deals
- Save $25/94 (32%) with Stiff Whiskers Press’ Fist Full of Lead (All the PDFs) bundle.
- Save $20 (20%) in Independence Games’ Clement Sector Subsector bundle.
- Save $10 (20%) with Successor Games’ Planetbound Starter Bundle.
- Save $3.89 (16%) in B.J. Keeton’s Big Bundle of Everything.
- Save $2.98 (27%) in this Chaosium community content Guide to Riskland bundle.
- Save $1.05 (35%) with Chaos Gen’s Otherworldly Fantasy Tables.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- Charles took us worldbuilding in Moria with The One Ring
- Dan Casey at Nerdist notes Dungeons & Dragons’ 2024 update is bigger than you think.
- Hannah Adkins at ComicBook writes Deborah Ann Woll Has The Best Way to Introduce Newcomers to Dungeons & Dragons.
- Gaming Nexus observes “Bloodied” is back in the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook and there’s exactly one creature that uses it.
- Roleplaying Tips shares When Not to Fail Forward.
- Sly Flourish write Being a Good Steward of the TTRPG Hobby.
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 mentioning;
- Golden Good Girls from Nat Mesnard kickstarts “Earn real treats for stupid human tricks in this zany, diceless TTRPG about senior shelter animals living their best lives!”
- Winemaker’s Way – A Solo Winery Tale from A. Macaw is working on “Come reestablish and discover your family winery’s mysteries past. With your love and care, you can bring it back to life.”
- SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies: Ultimate Edition TTRPG from Eric Bloat raises funds for “Do you have what it takes to survive the zombie apocalypse?”
- VOIDWALKER: Sci-Fi Tabletop RPG from INFINITE DICE is working on “A modular Sci-Fi TTRPG that thrusts players into the vastness of space”
- Crown of Salt from Tania Herrero suggests “Descend into a brine soaked, salt covered, art heavy scenario compatible with Mörk Borg.”
- Villains, Heroes, and Weirdos: NPCs for Every Campaign from Matt Evans offers “From Sidekicks to Show-Stoppers: Bring Depth and Drama to Your Tabletop Adventures.”
- Stick Figures: Tombpunk Creatures and Characters from Kristopher Neal McClanahan kickstarts “Wooden Miniatures for RPG and Skirmish Games”
- HyperMall: Unlimited Violence – Physical Release from Hammer City Games proposes “The physical release of the post-capitalist schizo corpo buzzword TTRPG trying to turn culture warfare into class warfare!”
- Dragonix’s Deadly Denizens II (A 300-page D&D 5e Bestiary) from Dragonix submits “A new 300-page D&D 5e bestiary from the author of the best-selling Monster Manual Expanded series! All artwork is done by real artists!”
- Random King Dice, Unleash the Power of Randomness for RPGs from Unique Dice raises funds for “7-in-2 Dual-spin Wheels Dice Set | Customizable Gameplay | Multiple Way Play Up to 30+ | Release Stress | 4 Themed Relief Pattern”
- The Rapid Fire Dicebox – from Tempest Terrain from Mike Hancox nominates “Counting dice just got rapid!”
- OSN: Book Club Anthology, vol 1 from James D’Amato submits “A collection of 12 original micro-RPGs from an amazing array of designers!”
- The Ferryman from Nightbird Games suggests “A Solo – Print & Play – Post-Apocalyptic Adventure”
- Greek Mythology Class-ified – 2 D&D Original Classes! from DiceQuest nominates “Two DnD 5e Classes inspired by Greek Mythology.”
- Contest for the Crown from Dark Eagle Games submits “5e D&D adventure to take heroes from Level 1 to Level 5 with the option of additional material for a longer campaign.”
- CrystAIball: A Monumental Breakthrough in RPG Storytelling from Ryan Huffaker is working on “Empower Your Imagination with Cutting Edge AI”
- Booty on the Poop Deck (Limited Edition) from Kevin Beal crowdfunds “An awkward pirate themed role playing game involving drinking, physical challenges and real consequences.”
- Handmade Celestial Dice of the Arcane – The Witch Coven Dice from The Witch Coven nominates “Four legendary witches unite to craft enchanted dice sets, with each dice inspired by a powerful spell to bring magic to your table!”
- Crab King and Rotating Ramen Dice from Dieorama Dice submits “Handmade and Personally designed one of a kind dice”
- Audiobook of Blood Drive, for Savage Worlds Deadlands from AudioRPG raises funds for “A complete professionally narrated audio book of the Blood Drive adventure for relaxed familiarization, preparation, and enjoyment.”
- MONSTERS & MAGIC: The Complete Collection from Rocket Pig Games proposes “Never before seen Spell Effects and hundreds of creatures for miniature painting and table-top role playing games (.stl 3D printing)”
- Critical Colour – Tabletop Gaming Accessories With Attitude from Robert Melrose raises funds for “A range of DM screens and tabletop accessories in a range of colours and designs. Your design, your colour, your way”
- Noggins Adventure Gear from The Dice Story pitches “Adventure gear that takes your table’s roleplaying to legendary heights!”
- Animon Story: Legend’s Wake from Zak Barouh offers “A huge expansion for Animon Story, the TTRPG about Kids and their Monster friends!”
- The Evil at the End of the Path – Dragonbane from Dunderdagar crowdfunds “An Adventure for Dragonbane. The forgotten saga now back as a third-party supplement.”
- Horror at Devil’s Run : 5E One-Shot Horror Adventure from Jeff Stevens is working on “A one-shot horror adventure ripe for spooky season! Ready for PDF, Print-on-Demand, and Foundry VTT.”
- Definitive Wrestling RPG from Aeon Roleplay nominates “The definitive tabletop roleplaying game for wrestling fans, enthusiasts, dreamers, and writers alike.”
- The Hobgoblin’s Fortress: a Module for D&D 5E and Pathfinder from Douglas Sun raises funds for “Drop your party in the middle of a simmering feud between goblin mercenaries and their officers. Which side will they choose?”
- Xenos Genesis from The Grinning Frog submits “Tense solo play alien survival game using a regular deck of cards and a handful of dice”
Do you know of an RPG news source that we don’t? Let us know, or leave a comment below.
