It’s time for our weekly RPG news summary dished out at bullet-point speed.
Once again there’s been plenty of heated debate and controversy from the tabletop gaming community.
Wizards of the Coast added warnings on some of their older games to warn that they may contain prejudice. Some gamers thought this was a step too far, others didn’t think it went far enough.
Even Critical Role found itself having to make statements about pay and ask fans to chill.
However, despite all the recent drama, the hobby seems to be doing well. ICO Partners published their half-yearly report on the state of Kickstarter and the first six months of the year saw record-breaking numbers.
Meanwhile, as we edge into July, Geek Native patrons still have plenty of time to vote in the RPG Publisher Spotlight.
And now, on with the news!
RPG news from Geek Native
- Game designer Orion D. Black says they’ll never work in the industry again after their time with Wizards of the Coast.
- Critical Role officially denies any wrongdoing in response to claims they withheld pay.
- Some old D&D products will carry prejudice statements.
- Brightdog Games announce the ambitious Tales of Esgar 5e setting.
- Cubicle 7 adds gorgeous looking Warhammer merch and collector editions.
- Amanda Hamon returns to Kobold Press as Editorial Director.
- Green Ronin announces a live-streaming schedule.
- D&D Beyond finally launches a character sheet mobile app.
- The Bundle of Holding has two Shadowrun 5e deals.
- Vault Comics shared alternative covers for their Vampire: The Masquerade series.
- Privateer Press has announced plans to Kickstart a 5e version of the Irons Kingdoms: Requiem RPG.
- Cosplayers, streamers and actors have announced a mixed reality D&D series called InstaQuest.
- Despite Covid, thanks to Frosthaven, tabletop games on Kickstarter had a record year.
RPG news from around the web
- Dicebreaker’s Alex Meehan has this great feature-interview on D&D’s Mythic Odysseys of Theros.
- As covered in OnTableTop, Free League Publishing’s Vaesen is now on pre-order.
- Apotheosis Studios will Kickstart a Warlock-themed level 20 adventure for 5e inspired by rock album cover art called The Red Opera.
- Chaosium is recruiting GMs for PAX Online. They also have a new Chaosium Podcast channel.
- Sean Hillman looks into Chaosium’s Jonstown Compendium for Glorantha.
- Polygon looks into D&D’s plans to improve races in the game and calls Arcanist Press’ offering required reading for playing RPGs in 2020.
- On EN World, Egg Embry talks to designers Jonathan Gilmour, Doug Levandowski and Spenser Starke about Kids on Brooms.
- Meanwhile, on d20 Radio, Egg interviews Balogun Ojetade about Ngolo Diaspora.
- Remember the Wendys fast food RPG? Linda Codega interviews marketing guy and game designer Matt Keck about it.
- Pelgrane Press’ Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan offers advice on Statting GMCs in Gumshoe.
- Forbes’ Rob Wieland writes up Looking for an Escape? Bask in the Glow of RPG ‘Invisible Sun’.
RPG ideas, tips and discoveries
- How about this gelatinous cube to put your dice?
- HeartBeatDice are taking pre-orders on these fine Black Lives Matter dice.
- Ben and the genre police tackle the challenges of running a One Shot game.
- Sara Thompson shared D&D stats for a combat wheelchair.
- On Roll20, Carl Pierre-Louis digs into A World of Possibilities in Mythic Odysseys of Theros.
- Jared Rascher has an excellent article on Gnome Stew on Emerging Problems with the Stewardship of Dungeons and Dragons.
- Notion.so for world-building was an article I always intended to write but Mike Shea got their first and did a far better job.
- Nerdarchy’s Eli Arndt offers up Play Your Next 5e D&D Game with a Primal Draconic New Playable Race.
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;
- 2CGaming are made their campaign goal for a 5e essential guide to dragon PCs and NPCs with Dragonflight.
- Orcs Unlimited are working on an RPG that fits in your pocket about steampunk rodents on Saturn’s rings. It’s Brass Rings.
- Necromancer Games is on Kickstarter with a 5th edition set of rules for alchemical creation in the Tome of Alchemy.
- Jim Pinto, who has backed 125 Kickstarters, has another one of his own set in a small American town during World War II. The greatest city in America Fairview.
- Aidan Mathis is working on a Powered by the Apocalypse game about magical cowboys called The New West.
- Tim Krause has a new RPG project designed for children and young teens in the shape of The Magic Seekers.
- Neal Latham’s first project has funded, and it’s a horror about surviving in the post-apocalyptic UK. When Shadows Fall.
- Jim Wampler and Mudpuppy Games are working on a post-apocalyptic RPG fanzine, and the first issue is Scientific Barbarian #1.
- Homeschooling dad Matt and his daughter Mya designed and have now funded the RPG Splice 2e.
- Applewhite Games introduce the Eraegath world setting with this 5e and Ravensport RPG location module called The Blackcroft Crypts.
- Dice from the sky or the murky depths? Quentin Jones is making Meteorite and Ocean dice.
If there’s a source or news you think is worth monitoring, please get in touch or leave a comment below.
