That said, Ed will challenge you (in a good way) at, and away from, the gaming table. When I sent him the questions for this interview, I had a note that said I’d write the introduction to the article later. I get the answers back and Ed’s one-upped me by telling the world I explained the game in an “excellent introduction.” Now I have to figure out what Era: The Chosen is?! The horror!!! 😛 So…
Era: The Chosen is a horror tabletop RPG that pits humanity against an inhuman enemy that has the upper hand in every situation. For the Chosen that can perceive these monsters, the stakes are all or nothing. It’s not about survival, it’s win or our dimension is doomed.
[So, how’d I do, Ed?]
EGG EMBRY – Ed, over the years we’ve talked a good deal and always about your Era d10 games. Before we get into the latest one, let’s catch everyone up. What are the Era games, and how are they related, and not related?
ED JOWETT – Firstly, for anyone who hasn’t seen one of these interviews before, welcome! It is always a pleasure to talk about the games I create and I hope you find this interesting!
The Era games fall into two distinct categories: ones with “Era” in the title and ones “Powered by Era d10“. The latter sort (such as Battlecruiser Alamo!) are not settings created by me, but games made in other universes which other people created and then worked with me to bring to life through the Era d10Rule Set. As a result, they are not linked to any of the other games in terms of story – the Triplanetary Confederation Universe (Battlecruiser Alamo RPG), for example, is linked to a series of novels by Richard Tongue. I took the feel of his universe and created mechanics which supported that style of gameplay to make this game, and worked with him to write the setting material.
The settings which have “Era” in the name (there are 8 so far – Era: The Consortium, Era: Lyres, Era: The Empowered, Era: Survival, Era: Silence, Era: Hitman, Era: Balam and now Era: The Chosen) are a slightly different story. These settings were created by me and have a common thread which connects them, if you look relatively carefully. I have not publicly revealed yet what it is, but I am certain some people have picked up on it from various hints I have dropped over the years in Kickstarter updates, panels and interviews. Era: The Chosen, actually, builds on this quite heavily, and is the biggest clue I have given to how these settings link up since Era: Survival.
Ignoring the links, each game explores a genre thoroughly: Era: The Consortium offers the chance to play any sub-genre of Sci-Fi you can think of with its 500 years of playable history – you just jump into the time period which suits the style of your game and then, when that story is complete, you choose the next one and have the chance to play ancestors or descendents of previous characters as well as brand new ones! Era: Lyres offers players the chance to tell literally any story they want in the low-fantasy setting it offers. The GM plays as an audience who will assess their story while they attempt to earn the gold and glory due to adventurers. But, as they don’t really have experiences, they have to be careful of inconsistencies! This game lets the players really express their creativity and provides endless opportunity for stories (as well as giving the GM a rest!) Era: The Empowered, similar to Era: The Consortium, offers every sub-genre of superhero story within its timeline. Choose whether you want to be a newly-emerging individual, finding your powers for the first time, or work as part of a large, world-spanning team, or stand against invasions by the Old Gods or Atlantis, or joining the “Empowered Department” in their attempts to police supervillains in a co-ordinated, government-led way. Era: Survival offers a post-apocalyptic setting – a hundred years after the cataclysm – where the last days of Humanity are approaching fast. Unsure how to survive, the people of Gaia have splintered into 14 different factions… and each has their own alliances and enemies. I am sure you can imagine that this provides a difficult world to step into. Will You Survive? Era: Silence is based on an island which is a High Fantasy testing ground. Entering a portal to the mythical Isle of Silence, you will have to earn your name if you expect to escape… by completing challenges and working together. The catch here is that no person is able to speak on the Isle of Silence and, being barbarians, you cannot read or write very well. So, how do you work together when you cannot communicate so easily? Era: Hitman is based in modern times, and allows you to step into the role of a team of assassins. The twist here is that many of the assassins in this world have superpowers! These are fast-burning and reduce in effectiveness as you use them, so you will have to be extremely careful about when you activate them. And, of course, your target might have powers as well! You never quite know what is around the next corner in this game, so you have to plan carefully! Era: Balam asks you to step into the role of a fighter pilot. No pilot is truly complete without their craft and this game is based around that duality: without your fighter (which is highly customisable), you are not a complete character and could be easily killed by the alien hordes which roam HX-7371. As a small squadron, you will have to adapt your fighters and work as a team if you hope to save Humanity from this threat and protect Earth…
And Era: The Chosen you already know something about, thanks to Egg’s excellent introduction above… and I will be talking more about it below.
The link between the settings of these games is perhaps more evident than another important aspect: the rules are module and can be combined. I am going to talk more about that in a later question, so read on to know more!
EGG – Era: The Chosen is a move into straight-up tabletop horror roleplaying. You did Era: Survival before, which had horrific elements. What made you decide to go full horror?
ED JOWETT – Era: Survival has a different focus to Era: The Chosen. Era: Survival is about a zombie apocalypse and a divided humanity, which doesn’t know or believe in itself or each other any more – to a high degree, no-one trusts the people they meet on Gaia. Humanity is, in reality, its own worst enemy and the truth is that they could probably survive if they worked together. Era: The Chosen is quite different. It is a game about the horrors of war when fighting against enemies you cannot understand. Humanity is united against this threat – those that perceive it, anyway!
But that doesn’t make it less terrifying. The Anonassi are biologically superior, intelligent and tactical… and know more about Humanity than you would like them to… especially when it comes to the fact that they enjoy eating us.
This game is about fighting a descent into madness and loss of control as you fight the Anonassi to protect our dimension. The horror aspect is much more psychological than in Era: Survival, making it a very different kind of fear to “when will I run out of ammo”, or “is a zombie waiting for me around the corner?”.
What made me do this was really a long love of two franchises: Dr Who – specifically the brand of horror where the primary reason you are scared is that you don’t understand – and the Turok games on the N64! I have long felt that the two would combine into an excellent setting (with numerous tweaks, obviously!).
Finally, it is something I haven’t done before! I am sure you can imagine that there are a lot more things I want to create and I am working through them. This brand of horror is something I can now tick off my list from a “setting” sense, and focus on expanding that universe!
EGG – How compatible are the different games?
ED JOWETT – They are very compatible – the aspects of the rules which are unique to each game (for example, Specialities, Karma, Implants and Party Confidence) are modular and can be carried across between games.
For example, if you want to play Sci-Fi Survival Horror, you can combine Era: The Consortium and Era: Survival’s rules to make a “Dead Space” type of game (we actually did this in a published book, Era: The Consortium – Revival!). If you wanted to tell stories of your exploits to con people out of cash in Era: Hitman, you could integrate the Era: Lyres rules… and if you were feeling very ambitious, you could combine all of them to make a “super game”!
The power of games running on the same rule sets is obvious – you don’t need to learn a new rule set each time. But when you can combine aspects of the rules and the system supports it? I think that makes something quite special, though I admit I may be biased!
EGG – Some of the settings for your games have expansive timelines. Tell us about the timeline for the game, and what makes that span appealing in Era: The Chosen?
ED JOWETT – Era: The Chosen offers 3 time periods to play in, and the attraction here is that the experience varies quite a bit depending on which you choose.
Perhaps you like the idea of fighting huge, terrifying monsters with pikes and flintlocks. If that is the case, then the “First Era” is for you! In this time, people aren’t sure what the Anonassi are, mostly assuming they are demons of some sort or, in some cases, fallen angels (a name which sticks as a descriptor!). If you like supernatural horror settings where not everything can be explained, this is allowed for here, along with the slightly more light-hearted, “swashbuckly” feel where you have to rescue the princess and save the day, but overcome your fear to do so.
Or maybe you like the sort of horror which you get from Victorian era literature – Frankenstein, for example. In the “Second Era”, you have technology advancing faster than humans learn how to control it. What if you could bring people back to life, just by integrating a technological device which you found lying around in the Lost Lands? Would you find it morally acceptable? Would everyone else? This period also brings in some of the more monstrous Anonassi for the first time; as they are driven back by superior weapons, they begin to deploy larger and more terrifying creatures.
In the Third Era, weapons are at modern levels and the war is being won. At this point, the Anonassi begin to deploy new, more sinister, tactics – swarms of insects which can devour flesh to the bones of either Anonassi or Human in seconds, and Ethereals who can possess Humans and even pass into our dimension safely for long periods of time. How do you fight when you don’t know that all who stand beside you are still the people you trained with? Who do you trust?
I think that the timeline setting was the only way for me to offer all of these types of play in the same game and playtested have very much encouraged this variety!
And, of course, when you consider that different things are horrifying to different generations, there is even more scope for differences in experience…
EGG – For some of your games, there’s been a standout mechanic or setup (Balam’s fighter craft and Battlecruiser Alamo’s duel characters). Will there be any new mechanics for the system?
ED JOWETT – Yes, there are!
Terror is the result of your experiences in the fight. Perhaps you got eaten by an Anonassi and had to blast your way out… if you were to be threatened with being eaten again, you could understandably have a severe psychological reaction to that.
This is covered by the Terror system in Era: The Chosen. As you begin to experience the Lost Lands, you will build Triggers (such as “being eaten”!). When they occur, you will have the opportunity to roll a check… but if you fail, you gain Terror. Each Terror brings with it more Triggers, so the result is a decline in your ability to cope with the Lost Lands. If your Terror bar fills, you will collapse and have to be returned home for treatment… and will probably never set foot in the Lost Lands again.
Trophies are almost the opposite. When you overcome a particularly difficult challenge – floor a giant, brutish Anonassi in the middle of it charging you, for example – you may gain a Trophy. In this example, you might gain a Trophy in the form of the Anonassi tooth. It would remind you that you can take down an Anonassi when it is charging you, so you might no longer be able to be Triggered by that event!
There are also numerous special rules for the Clans, particularly the Chike, who can transform into half-Anonassi forms. If you want to know.more about that, I recommend checking out our actual play session on Kickstarter: https://youtu.be/2j7TRgXlg6U
EGG – The $5 reward on this Kickstarter is for the digital Player’s Guide. That’s an incredible price! What will the Player’s Guide include?
ED JOWETT – I feel it is a good price, yes! The Player’s Guide includes the complete Rules (word for word the same as the Core Rulebook so there is no confusion!), an introduction to the setting for each era, full character creation and the vast majority of equipment (some stuff is so rare that it can be excluded to keep the page count a little lower and be communicated by the GM if it is used!).
What it doesn’t include is the full story of the setting or, more importantly, the Bestiary of Anonassi you might meet…!
EGG – For someone that has never played an Era d10 game, what would you say is the secret sauce that makes this a standout system that they should jump into?
ED JOWETT – It is easy and quick, it is representative without being painful and, if you are a brawler, the grapple rules are 2 pages and/or a flow chart which explains the same content!
It also gives huge flexibility for the GM to counter things like min-maxing (or not, if you prefer!), as well as the opportunity to leap into any of these genres while learning only a few extra rules.
The games are well-supported as well, through our Patreon and period campaign module releases, so if you are someone who likes grenade modules, we have you covered there too!
EGG – For those that want to check out the Kickstarter, where can they find it at?
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
R. Talsorian Games Celebrates Cyberpunk’s 30th Anniversary!
30 Years of Roleplaying in the Dark Future
Kenmore, WA: Thirty years ago, R. Talsorian Games, Inc. released Cyberpunk, the game of “Roleplaying in the Dark Future”. Created by future Origins Hall of Fame inductee Mike Pondsmith, and inspired by novels such as Walter Jon Williams’ Hardwired and movies such as Blade Runner, Cyberpunk was the first roleplaying game to allow players to have adventures in the eponymous cyberpunk genre. The game’s gritty, neon world, nuanced and detailed Lifepath character generation system, and intense “Friday Night Firefight” combat system were an instant hit. They led to both additional sourcebooks and a second edition of the game, titled Cyberpunk 2020. Years later, the game remains a fan favorite.
Currently, Cyberpunk is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, in part due to the anticipation of the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 video game from famed developers CD Projekt Red. Best known for their Witcher video game trilogy, CD Projekt Red announced Cyberpunk 2077 with a teaser trailer in 2013 and anticipation has been growing ever since.
Cyberpunk 2077 is based on R. Talsorian Games’ beloved roleplaying game and Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith regularly works with the CD Projekt Red team to ensure the lore, visuals, and style of the video game match his original vision of the dark future. CD Projekt Red recently released a 48-minute gameplay video showcasing Cyberpunk 2077 on the Twitch streaming service, where it was viewed by nearly half a million concurrent viewers, making it the most watched stream on Twitch for an upcoming game this year. These video game players, many of whom have never played a tabletop roleplaying game before, have begun reaching out, looking to purchase Cyberpunk 2020 and related sourcebooks, in the hope of gaining insight into the blockbuster video game.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Cyberpunk roleplaying game, R. Talsorian has declared this week to be “A Celebration of Cyberpunk”. Each day during the Celebration, the company will be posting new entries on their official blog (https://rtalsoriangames.wordpress.com/), including resources to help gamers, both new and old, play the tabletop game, information about the new living campaign, Cyberpunk Chronicles, and a special message from the game’s creator, Mike Pondsmith himself. The week will be capped off at 1:30 Pacific on Monday, September 3rd with a special event in which Eurogamer’s Johnny Chiodini will be speaking to Mike Pondsmith about the history of cyberpunk the genre and Cyberpunk the game in the Sphinx Theater at PAX West.
In addition, the Cyberpunk 2020 rulebook, which had been previously out of stock, will go on sale again at the R. Talsorian Games webstore (https://talsorianstore.com/).
About R. Talsorian Games
Founded in 1985, R. Talsorian Games is an award-winning producer of tabletop roleplaying games, including Cyberpunk 2020, Castle Falkenstein, the Mekton series, and Teenagers from Outer Space. Mike Pondsmith, the company’s founder, was inducted into the Origins Awards Hall of Fame in 2006.
All of the RPG news fit to peruse. Or at least some of it. In bite form, we’ll touch on Savage Worlds’ new edition and upcoming Kickstarter, who (RPG-wise) will be at Dragon*Con 2018, what Starfinder is looking for, another stock art site, ICv2’s recent GAMA coverage, and all the press releases fit to be released.
NEWS BITES
The new edition of Savage World. Pinnacle Entertainment will launch their “brand new edition” of Savage Worlds on Tuesday, October 16th. The revised version of Savage Worlds will contain aspects seen in the Savage Worlds: Flash Gordon RPG that John McGuire and I played at Gen Con (read John’s review of it here). You can read the announcement here.
Status: Monitoring
Attending Dragon*Con in Atlanta this Labor Day Weekend? Have you read John McGuire’s Dragon*Con Hacks? You’ll want to so you can be ready for the gaming heavy hitters hosting a variety of panels that will be there this year.
Monte Cook of Monte Cook Games (Cypher System, Numenera, No Thank You, Evil!)
Shanna Germain of Monte Cook Games (No Thank You, Evil!; Predation; As Kinky As You Wanna Be, The Poison Eater, and Numenera)
Jodi Black (Chief Operations Officer and Managing Editor for Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Clint Black (Savage Worlds Core Rules Brand Manager)
Jodi and Clint Black will be with Carolina Game Tables on the third floor of the AmericasMart, booths 3312 and 3314
“While they’re attending primarily to promote their tables, they’re both more than happy to chat about Savage Worlds (including the upcoming new edition of the game) and all the other goings-on with Pinnacle Entertainment Group.”
Kenneth Hite who has worked on Star Trek Roleplaying Game, Mage: The Sorcerers’ Crusade, Call of Cthulhu d20, The Dresden Files RPG, Qelong, The Day After Ragnarok, and the Deadlands Noir Companion
Keith Baker of the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons, as well as Gloom and Cthulu Fluxx
Brom was the artist on D&D’s Dark Sun as well as so many other projects and is the Guest of the Honor for the Dragon*Con Art Show
Jason Bulmahn is the Director of Game Design at Paizo Inc (Pathfinder and Starfinder), leading the team responsible for rules and game balance
Christopher Tang of DriveThruRPG and the Code Miners’ LARP will be in the open gaming area representing their LARP. Event descriptions here.
Eloy Lasanta of Third Eye Games and New Agenda Publishing
Richard Ankney production manager at Game Trade Media
Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel of D&D fame
Jamie Chambers of Signal Fire Studios (Metamorphosis Alpha)
Bill Fawcett of Role Aides fame (among others)
Chris Miller of the Ankur RPG
Amanda Makepeace, who’s artwork has graced Pelgrane Press (check out a sampling of them here) and one of the founding Tessera Guilders, will be displaying at the art show
Ray Nothnagel will be demoing his Afterverse RPG. You can check out the games here before backing the Kickstarterhere
Brian Colin, Bree and Drew Foulke from the Norse Foundry (Floor 1 – Exhibitor) will be slinging metal dice and talking about their current Kickstarter for Atmar’s Cardography: Full RPG Modules & Random Dungeon Decks (I picked up a copy and it’s a solid idea – mix and match cards with interconnected dungeons printed on them)
Look for Derek Kamal of silver ENnie Award winning Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse
If you search, you can find Matthew A. Bogdan of Dark by Dezign. He’s running a Kickstarter that I’m a part of called CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE – RPG RESOURCES BOOKS that I (bias-ly) think is worth checking out (since I’m a part of the creative team)
Interested in playing in Dragon*Con’s non-campaign RPGs? Click here. Want play in campaign RPGs? Click here.
Status: Wish I were going
Aaron Shanks, Paizo’s PR Manager, is looking for celebrities that play Starfinder. At a guess, they’re hoping for some of the same celebrity love that D&D has seen lately.
Status: Stargazing
Looking for another place to purchase RPG stock art? Looking for an option to sale your stock art? RPG stock artist, JE Shields, opened a new stock art website – JEStockArt.com. With two RPG-focused stock art sites that I’m aware of, this is the start of an interesting trend within the past month (the other being RPGStockArt which I covered here). The driving force behind this move appears to be the desire to reduce the commissions charged by other sites by 10% to 15% (bringing the amount the creator receives to 80%).
Status: Stock Art marketplaces of the world!
Exalted coming soon to the Storytellers Vault!
Status: Looking forward to new content
GAMA (Game Manufacturer’s Association), the group that runs the GAMA Trade Show and Origins Game Fair, is the subject of a series of articles on ICv2.comabout the recent goings on within the organization.
Shifting away from ICv2’s coverage, GAMA board member, Jeff Tidball, Member-at-Large, shares his thoughts on the board’s decision regarding John Ward and the future of GAMA – It Is Wise for GAMA to Seek a New Executive Director
Status: Monitoring coverage
Speaking of GAMA, my discussion of my three most important moments at Origins Game Fair 2018 is available to read on ENWorld here. I’m excited to go again in 2019.
As always, there are some great RPG Kickstarters worth checking out. Go here to check out my reviews of Nights of Payne Town, Haunting of Hastur, Afterverse, MAIN GAUCHE, Domina Magica, and Entromancy
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
Players can make one of the world’s best fantasy RPGs even better by making new characters, playing the scenario, and providing feedback at PathfinderPlaytest.com.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON (August 28, 2018): “In Pale Mountain’s Shadow,” the second of seven scenarios in the Doomsday Dawn adventure, officially began today. It runs through September 9 as part of Paizo’s multi-month, worldwide, free playtest of the Pathfinder Second Edition.
“Mysterious ancient artifacts from sand-choked Osirion count down the years until a rare planetary conjunction that will align Pathfinder’s world of Golarion with the hostile planet Aucturn, allowing the ravenous hordes of the Dominion of the Black to surge forth and harvest the brains of the Inner Sea, remaking the world in their terrible, alien image.” – Doomsday Dawn
Doomsday Dawn takes heroes on a decade-long journey throughout the world of Golarion as they attempt to understand and defeat an otherworldly menace and avoid utter catastrophe. The collection of seven multi-encounter scenarios is designed to introduce the Pathfinder Playtest rules in a guided, shared playtest experience coinciding with regular surveys to provide focused feedback from players.
Doomsday Dawn is designed to test the newest edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, focusing on combat encounters, exploration, hazards, and problem-solving. The goals are to create a fundamental understanding of the game and to test if the revisions to the rules still allow for the same types of storytelling and adventure roleplaying that everyone has come to expect from Pathfinder.
The players set aside the characters they created in “The Lost Star” and create new 4th-level heroes for “In Pale Mountain’s Shadow.” Jason Bulmahn, Director of Game Design at Paizo, introduced the new scenario saying, “A group of heroes is sent to Pale Mountain in a race against time to recover a mysterious gemstone with shifting hieroglyphs inside before it falls into the hands of foul cultists.”
At the end of the adventure, Paizo asks that the players and GM alike fill out surveys at PathfinderPlaytest.com. Game Masters should review the Tracking Sheet prior to play, because they’ll be asked to track certain metrics, such as “At what point did the group run out of healing resources?” or “How many times did player characters die?”
Paizo will be discussing the results of the surveys and changes they are implementing based on player feedback. On the Paizo Twitch channel (twitch.tv/officialpaizo) there will be live play every Thursday from 2-5 PM Pacific and playtest feedback discussions with the design team every Friday at 4 PM Pacific.
Players and Game Masters can also share their opinions on the Pathfinder Playtest Forums, get errata, and sign up for email updates on paizo.com.
It is not too late to join the playtest from the start. The surveys will remain open throughout the playtest period. The free PDF bundle download of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook, Pathfinder Playtest Bestiary, Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Doomsday Dawn, and Flip-Mat Multi-Pack is available now on PathfinderPlaytest.com.
Pathfinder Playtest Schedule:
2. In Pale Mountain’s Shadow, August 27 – September 9 3. Affair at Sombrefell Hall, September 10 – September 23 4. The Mirrored Moon, September 24 – October 8 5. The Heroes of Undarin, October 9 – October 21 6. Red Flags, October 22 – November 4 7. When the Stars Go Dark, November 5 – November 18
About Paizo
Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.comis an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.
Bloat Games has added their latest game, SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! 2nd Edition – Core Rule Book, to DriveThruRPG. I played it at Origins Game Fair and did a review of it in Knights of the Dinner Table 257. If you like OSRs and zombies, this is an excellent game that’s fast and fun. When Eric Bloat of Bloat Games reached out about the game being available on DriveThruRPG, I thought the best way to convince anyone it is a good game is to show them how much it has been shared on blogs and Facebook in a single day (these are just what was sent to me or I found). Keep in mind, Bloat Games is not Wizards of the Coast, this is genuine word-of-mouth from fans and friends saying, “Give zombies a chance!” 😉
“Hit the streets of a neon-noir city as detectives and vigilantes with legendary powers! A new story arc, rulebooks, expansion, and more
City of Mist is a cinematic, neo-noir tabletop RPG set in a modern-day city where legends and stories incarnate in ordinary people, granting them mythical powers. Due to the mystical veil of the Mist, most City residents are oblivious to the legendary forces in the City, leaving modern-day legends, or RIFTS, to operate in a hidden underworld of fairy-tales and crime.
Play as detectives, vigilantes, crooks, or just ordinary Janes and Joes with legendary powers, in a setting that combines the super-powered detective mood of Jessica Jones, Daredevil, or Luke Cage with themes from myth and legend, like in Fables (The Wolf Among Us) or American Gods. You and your crew investigate strange cases and face off with other modern-day legends, and at the same time struggle to balance your everyday life with the Mythos inside you. It’s time to hit the streets…
City of Mist was successfully funded in 2016 and published in 2017. It already has a great community of backers and fans and has sold thousands of copies. The next evolutionary step for the game is a guided set of adventures in the world of City of Mist – a story arc – that MCs (or GMs/DMs) can easily run for their groups. Nights of Payne Town is the first story arc book we will publish, with ten (10) individual cases connected into a single overarching plot.
READ MORE ABOUT THE GAME BELOW!
AWARDS & REVIEWS
City of Mist RPG won two ENnie awards: Silver forBest Free Game 2017 (Starter Set) and Gold for Best Interior Art 2018 (Core Book, which will be split into the Player Guide and the MC Toolkit books available on this campaign).
GEEK & SUNDRY: “Pitch-perfect blend of superhero and noir tabletop RPG… The mechanics are simple yet INCREDIBLY robust.”
ONE SHOT PODCAST: “[City of Mist] combines everything that’s great about Apocalypse World with everything that’s great about FATE… look at the art, and see why I want this beautiful game on my shelf.”
AMAZON 5-STAR REVIEWS:
★ “Detective Noir Knockout.” ★ “Great System, Great Book, Great Company” ★ “One of the best RPG books I’ve read.” ★ “New favorite TTRPG.” ★ “Fantastic cinematic experience” ★ “I’ve got a lot of rpg books, this one rules them all” ★ “One of the Best Gaming Products I’ve Encountered in nearly 30 years of gaming.” ★ “A beautiful, cinematic superhero noir tabletop RPG for veterans and new players alike” ★ “Amit Moshe and Son of Oak Game Studio have established one of the hottest RPG franchises” ★ “Come for the incredibly high production value of the book. Stay for the brilliant design of the game.”
What makes City of Mist special is its unique premise and its bleak, yet mysterious, noir atmosphere. Your character, whether jaded or naive, lives in a corrupt metropolis where hidden forces steer the lives of millions. The situation is miserable, but you are awakening, beginning to become aware of the legend deep inside you. Together with your crew, you are trying to find answers in a city forever blinded by the veil of the Mist. You want to discover what is real, whether you are human or a legend, and who is running the show from the shadows. You are trying to discover the truth, and you’re up against heavy opposition.
Think mobsters with the power of Greek gods, a corrupt politician enchanting citizens with his magical pipe music, and a biker gang called the Winged Monkeys working for an unsavory smuggler, a modern-day Wicked Witch of the West.
Check out Detective’ Enkidu’s thoughts about the state of affairs in the city, in this animated version of the Core Book’s opening comic:
If the GIF isn’t playing, click the image.
Nights of Payne Town will present the first playable story arc that you can just pick up and play with your friends. It will contain of ten (10) cases that can be played individually, or as an ongoing campaign, each with its own backstory, locations, clues, NPCs, Dangers, and maps.
The story arc covers a time of turmoil in the City. The police are helpless against a new wave of crime, powered by forces they neither see nor understand. Ancient legends that were scheming in the shadows for decades are now finally enacting their insidious plans, raining chaos and suffering on the streets. The only ones who can stop this mayhem are nameless individuals, anti-heroes like your crew, caught in this mess unwillingly or all too willingly…
Nights of Payne Town cases break down into three “veins”, or sub-plots:
The Criminal Vein, cases involving the rise of an unstoppable crime baron, a violent self-proclaimed monarch, and the struggle for power over the City streets.
The Mystical Vein, cases following a magical arms race, where a mystery collector will stop at nothing to gather every form of magical object and being in the City;
and The Personal Vein, cases trailing the personal tragedy of the victims of a scheme to slowly and painfully destroy the very fabric of society in the City.
At the culmination of the story arc, these three veins combine into a single super-plotrevealing a sordid truth and a malignant power that has been feeding on the misery of the City since its early days. But, even there, in the heart of darkness, there is hope… even if is hidden from mortal eyes.
Can your crew solve these cases, face these evils, and save the City?
Among the modern-day legends featured are Hansel & Gretel, the Wendigo, Goldilocks, the Snow Queen, a slew of characters from Arthurian legend, the Philosopher’s Stone, King David, Paul Bunyan, spirits of Haitian Voodoo, and many more.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
City of Mist is one of the most well-considered superhero RPGs out there. It feels and looks like the best of modern superhero comics and the Marvel Netflix-verse. It has the room to be gritty and hopeful while working as a detective, all in a single game. Nights of Payne Town takes the game to another level by offering a ranging adventure path. 10 cases that standalone or form a wider story, it’s your choice.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“All five parts of the Haunting of Hastur series in print for the OSR.
The Project
The Haunting of Hastur series has been very successful for Dark Naga Adventures. However, they were never successful enough to unlock the OSR print run stretch goal. Several OSR fans have lamented this shortfall. This is my wish fulfillment project for the OSR community, particularly those fans who have waited for their version in the classic print format.
This Kickstarter project has just one reward, all five modules in the old school print format: wrap around, detached covers, maps on the inner cover, saddle stitched (stapled) booklet. Simple. No stretch goals, just a low target small print run to give the backers who have wanted this version in this print format to have their wish granted.
There is a little bit of editing to be done. See below on changes to DNH1 – The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil. Beyond that, as soon as the project funds, I will order the proofs, and as soon as they are verified, the print copies will be ordered. This will be a fast cycle project. So fast, that there won’t be any add-ons available via Backerkit. I expect to place the print order a few days after the funds post to my account.
Special Note: This might not be the project for you. This one will run the month of August. I am working on colorizing all of the art for a full color, hardback compilation version for 5e and OSR (separate books). I’m announcing both so that OSR fans don’t feel like they are being toyed with. One of my concerns is having a backer who would prefer the hardback decide to back this project because they had no idea the other one was in the works and regret their decision. That’s not cool. It’s not how I would want to be treated. Thus, I working to make sure that backers know their options, so they can make better-informed decisions.
Links to each of the five adventures:
DNH1 – The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil – KS – DTRPG
DNH5 – Carcosa – KS – (Not yet available on DTRPG)
The editing work to be done.
The first of the adventures was an experiment in dual stats for 5e and OSR. That was one of the weakest elements. Some found it confusing. This was my failure as a writer to see beyond my own experience. I convert between 5e and OSR on the fly when running my 5e game, or a BECMI/RC game (my Old School ruleset of choice, yes, I know maybe not technically OSR by all definitions, but in the most inclusive sense, OSR). I failed to recognize that part of my audience has no experience with both systems and they could be confused by unfamiliar terms.
The only significant work to be done on this project is to sever the two versions into dedicated works. I’m estimating it as twenty hours end to end, including editing. That project will start within a few days of putting the 5e and OSR text of the last adventure in the series to rest, DNH5 – Carcosa.
While I expect to have all of the editing work done, edited and ready for release before September 1. That allows the proofs to be ordered between the end of the project and when funds are released. Ideally, I’d like to place the order within a few days of the funds being release (Mid-September), and start fulfilling in early October. The estimate is a bit conservative to allow for things to go wrong without missing a delivery estimate.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Dark Naga Adventures is Kevin Watson who I’ve interviewed about a part of Haunting of Hastur at the Open Gaming Network (here). Haunting of Hastur is a reprint of five D&D 5e and OSR adventures that Kevin has kickstarted one by one. Now you can get the full adventure in one location.
As well as this Kickstarter, Kevin is a member of the creative team behind CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE – RPG RESOURCES BOOKS, a project I’m a part of as well (more below or see the Kickstarter here). Between the interview and being in a project with him, it’s easy to say that I think highly of Kevin. At the moment, we all win as there are two Kickstarters with Kevin in them, we live in rare times! 🙂
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
“Afterverse is a scifi tabletop RPG featuring an expansive and versatile world and the D6 Bank game system.
Welcome to the universe. Here’s what comes next.
The universe is a rough place, and now you’re in the thick of it. Whether you’re fighting the Bactaran occupation that begins almost as soon as first contact is established, exploring the new frontier of space after humanity throws off its chains, or working towards the unification of all the species of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, Afterverse puts the universe in front of you and sets you against it.
The d6-based game system is versatile and powerful. The usage of hit banks minimizes dice rolls and keeps gameplay flowing smoothly, while letting players control their risk factors. Characters earn XP through the innovative Motivation system, bridging the gap between powergamers and roleplayers.
Set your campaign at any time across hundreds of years of future history. Every time period has its own events, conflicts, cultures, and technologies. Encounter enemies and allies of all shapes and sizes. Join the revolution, become space pirates, or command military might in space in epic wars across the galaxy.
The Afterverse book features nearly 300 pages of game rules, settings, and adventures. Over 150 pieces of artwork created over the last five years illustrate the living universe, bringing your games to life. The book will be in full color as a softcover (or hardcover if the stretch goal is unlocked). The book contains all the information players and GMs need to run an Afterverse campaign, including character creation, base rules, the setting’s history, and more.
If you’d like a sneak peek of what the sourcebook will look like, as well as an overview of the most important rules, check out the Quickstart Rules for Players!
Quickstart Guide
Afterverse’s Action Cards help you track your character’s hit banks. Each card features beautiful character art, a place to store your hit counters, and a summary of the relevant rules. These cards help player keep track of not only their hit banks, but also the actions their character has available to them.
The Afterverse game system is based on pools of 6-sided dice. For most skill tests, you’ll add the relevant attribute, such as Agility, to the relevant skill, such as Melee; this determines the size of your dice pool. If the test involves a Specialization and you have that specialization, you’ll add two more dice. Situational modifiers may alter this pool further.
After rolling, any dice that come up as a 5 or 6 count as a hit; if you get enough hits, you’ve succeeded the test. Sometimes, instead, hits will be banked to be spent over time.
The initiative system in combat is based on this bank system. You’ll roll your character’s Reaction plus Perception, and bank your hits into your IP bank. Turn order starts with the highest IP bank and proceeds in order to the lowest; as each character acts, they will spend one or more hits from this bank. If the character has enough hits in the bank, they may perform additional actions by doubling the IP cost of the second action.
But it may be wise to conserve your IP, because this same IP bank is used for dodging. When you are being attacked, you may spend one or more points to set the threshold which the attacker will need for their attack to succeed. This greatly impacts the strategic decisions of the game. Covering fire is invaluable, as you can force the enemy to spend their IP bank dodging your shots instead of shooting back.
Finally, space combat is built on this same rule set. The Body Class system allows entities which are an order of magnitude larger than others to operate within the same combat at the same time; smaller entities receive a multiplier on their initiative rolls, while larger entities receive a multiplier on damage dealt, allowing a tiny vessel or even an individual person to act in the same combat as a battleship without skipping a beat.
Often, when in space combat, several characters will all be performing important and unique roles in the fight. The ship’s captain makes decisions and controls the deployment of the ship’s countermeasures. The pilot may position the ship in different ways in preparation to attack, defend, or evade. The engineer is in charge of repairing systems as they get damaged, managing the ship’s waste heat, and supercharging systems which will be required soon. The ship’s tactical officers will control the firing of weapons. The ship’s crew, each with their own complimentary set of skills, must work together under the leadership of their captain in order to position their ship for attack, supercharge the coilguns, and finally, deal the critical blow against the enemy, drawing upon the banks from every crew position to maximize the damage against their target.
My name is Ray Nothnagel. For my entire life, I’ve been a fan of tabletop games, science fiction, and real-world space travel. I’ve been working on the Afterverse rule set for the last five years and playtesting it for the last three. I’ve been designing the Afterverse setting since I was in junior high school – this universe has been kicking around in one form or another for twenty years, and I have the bad spaceship doodles from high school study halls to prove it. This campaign is just one more step in what has been my personal passion project for decades, and whether it succeeds or fails, will undoubtedly continue to be my unhealthy obsession for the rest of my life. The publication of this sourcebook is just one part of the grand scheme for Afterverse. The game system has come a long way since it started as little more than a homebrew variation of Shadowrun. Since that time, it has evolved into a unique game with innovative concepts and lots of refinements. The time spent on the game system has resulted in a robust and fun roleplaying experience where the rules enhance the setting, and don’t get in the way of the storytelling.
This campaign aims to finance the final push for publication – the graphic design, final editing, and the print run. Immediately upon the successful funding of the campaign, we’ll begin our final art pass and the layout work for the book. Following up on this, within a month or two, we’ll send the final sourcebook to be printed. The bookbinding printer will do their thing, and all told, we expect to have the final version of the book printed and shipped out to you no later than the end of October if all goes well, or sometime in November in case there are unforeseen delays. Some of the higher tiers will take longer to produce, but our goal is to have all rewards completed and delivered no later than December 2018.
I hope we’ve piqued your interest. There will be more posts and videos posted over the next month. If you’re going to be at DragonCon, check out our game sessions there for a taste of Afterverse. If you have any questions about the game or this campaign, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Afterverse is a post-alien-invasion-space-opera. You use a mix of cards and handfuls of d6s to determine actions. John McGuire, myself, and our friends played Afterverse with Ray Nothnagel, the creator, at Gen Con 2018 (read John’s review here). When I talked to Ray, he shared that space combat is a highlight of the game because it gave each player a task within the system to perform (unfortunately, the session I chose did not involve space combat). Ray’ll be at Dragon*Con August 30th to September 3rd, 2018, in Atlanta demoing the game (and, hopefully, working on a space battle), so if you’re going it’s worth checking out. You can see Ray’s Afterverse events here.
“MAIN GAUCHE is a chaos expansion for ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG – a gritty, dark fantasy tabletop role-playing game.
Hi, my name is Daniel – some of you know me as the creator of ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG, and face of Grim & Perilous Studios. I am a level 41 husband/father/raconteur, and have worked in digital advertising for 14 years. Were you to compare me to a character on the show Mad Men, basically I’m Ken Cosgrove: biz-dev guy on the streets/author in the sheets. Much like Cosgrove, I am a writer when I’m off the clock.
Writing a RPG? Easy. Run the business? See illustration.
I spent five years writing the brobdingnagian (read: mammoth) 688-page book you know as ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG. I set up a Kickstarter, nearly two years ago to the day, to make it a reality.
ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG also took home two golds in the ENnie Awards for Best Game and Product of the Year at GenCon 2018.
2018 ENnie Awards at GenCon
Turns out, there’s a market for world-agnostic, gritty D100 tabletop RPGs that doesn’t rhyme with “Goonquest” or “Warslammer”.
And after a stroke of inspiration, I began writing another book. Say hello to MAIN GAUCHE.
Front cover by Ken Duquet
A 60-second overview
CHAOS IS NOT A PIT – IT IS A LADDER.
MAIN GAUCHE is a supplement for ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG – a gritty, dark fantasy tabletop role-playing game. Using this book, you will be able to:
Add 68 brand-new Professions to your grim & perilous game
Build fantastic machines, like the Arkwright Cauldron & Rumblebutler
Easily integrate cinematic, vehicle-based combat into encounters
Use alchemy & Wytch-science to gain deadly abilities
Devote yourself as an occultist to elder Daemons
Learn damning Covenant Magick & wield their horrific manifestations
Make soul-altering pacts for Daemonic Gifts of unfettered power
Build your own unique creatures & NPCs on the fly
Plugging into the core D100 ZWEIHÄNDER experience, this book expands your gaming options into the realms of chaos and beyond. MAIN GAUCHE can also be used in your homebrewed campaign world, whether inspired by the works of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher, George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Glen Cook’s Black Company, Myke Cole’s The Armored Saint, Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards or other ‘grimdark’-inspired media.
With over 186 Professions and 300+ spells across ZWEIHÄNDER & MAIN GAUCHE, you now have countless ways to create your own vision of grim characters ready to embark upon perilous adventures.
Embrace the left-handed path of MAIN GAUCHE, where chaos awaits!
Daniel after writing Main Gauche, without ‘muh anachronism glasses/hair’ (thx /tg/)
Like Zweihander with 666 dollops of chaos.
We estimate that MAIN GAUCHE will come in between 300 to 400 pages after we finalize layout, in full, old school black & white glory. Like its predecessor ZWEIHÄNDER, it will be illustrated cover-to-cover by Dejan Mandic.
Rated M For Mature.
Here is an overview of MAIN GAUCHE‘s chapters, and a little bit about each. We will dive deeper into what each of these chapters entail in our updates over the Kickstarter campaign, including preview chapters for download:
Table of Contents – overview of chapters & various topics
Introduction Story – as told by Danziger Eckhardt in our video
Designer’s Note – Daniel’s POV on the book
Chapter I: Liber Mortalis – 18 regular Professions, 44 Expert Professions & revised progress tables for all Professions across both books
Chapter II: Liber Arma – new materials, weapons, armor, war machines & shields
Chapter VII: Liber Malus – bespoke monsters & NPC creation
Chapter VIII: Liber Conspiratio – rules for conspiracies & investigations
Chapter IX: There’s Something About Marie – an investigative adventure
Appendix – a useable postscript to find what you need
Written in blood
Layout mocks by Ken Duquet
Hexer
Howling Marauder
Occult Magician
Occult Magician spread
Egg’s Thoughts:
If you have not gotten a PDF of ENnie Awards winningZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG, you have not been paying attention. I got a free copy for attending Dan Davenport’s Q&A with Daniel Fox, another at Gen Con 2018 as they were giving away free copies via a redeemable code, and when I emailed Daniel about covering his $1 reward on MAIN GAUCHE because of the Stat Hat it included, he offered me a PDF of the rules and you know what I said? I said yes, Daniel Fox’s mom, because your son done good with this game! The core rulebook is 688 pages of great art and dark, yet fun ideas that resulted in it taking Best Game and Product of the Year at the ENnies. This follow-up expansion, MAIN GAUCHE, looks no less ambitious and worth checking out!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Welcome to Domina Magica, the RPG about becoming a Magical Girl and fighting the forces of evil!
Domina Magica is a tabletop role-playing game designed to emulate an episode of a Magical Girl Anime. You will create and role-play a School Girl in either Elementary, Middle or High and run through the typical scenario of everyday school life. You will make friends, you might make enemies, and hopefully make your next class on time. When you and your friends encounter strange happenings around the school, it is revealed that you are the next generation of Magical Girls!!!! You have been selected to help fight the forces of evil, and only the power of love and friendship that you posses will send these dark beings back to wherever it is they came from…….and all before dinner time.
You are walking down the aisles of your local game shop, running your fingers over the corners of board games and the spines of RPG books. Your hand stops on a small but brightly colored pink book with a design of a heart and wings on the cover. You pull it off the shelf and notice it has chains running across the front page. Curious you open it…. and then a strange iridescent light fills the room as a feminine voice booms into your ears “I have been waiting for you! Are you ready to make a contract to become a Magical Girl?”
We designed this game as a fun, light-hearted way to engage with all the iconic tropes of the Magical Girl Genre. Magical Girls is a sub-genre of the Japanese fantasy manga and anime, featuring girls with magical abilities, or who use magic to transform. This sub-genre dates back to the 1950’s and has become increasingly popular due to the magical renaissance featuring shows such as Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura! When you open Domina Magica this book will guide you through the transformation from school girl to Magical Girl. Through this beautiful illustrated book you and your friends will play through a day in the life of a school girl turned Heroine.
Domina Magica is designed to play in one session, with each game generating a different experience. One person will play as the Narrator who will help facilitate the game and control the various forces of evil. The other players will each form a team of magical girls who will discover their true identities and overcome both mystical and mundane challenges. This game has a custom made rules system, designed by Emily and Jim, that will encourage players to express their inner Magical Girls.
If this Kickstarter successfully funds, the game book will be a Digest size, hardcover, embossed and foil stamped, premium addition to your game shelf. If we meet some of our stretch goals we will have the ability to improve the book with things like full color interior printing and additional art. With your help we would love to make this a true mythical tome to be passed down from one magical girl to the next.
Now about these Slap Bracelets…
You might have seen these things spread all over social media, and if you have, great! That’s what we are going for! In an effort to raise awareness about this project, and women designers in general, we are giving every single backer a “Fight Like a Magical Girl” slap bracelet. Nothing says Magical Girl, or the 90’s, like a good slap bracelet.
As part of this promotion we are going to be sending these out to backers RIGHT AWAY. Not during fulfillment, not once the kickstarter is over, but as soon as you back, you are getting a Fight Like a Magical Girl Slap Bracelet sent out to you. In return we are only asking one thing… you have to post a picture of yourself wearing it in your best Magical Girl Pose. We want to spread the word and the only way to do that is with your help. No Magical Girl can win the fight against evil without the other scouts!!!
Unfortunately… there are some exceptions
The realities of shipping, and the tight budgets of a kickstarter, means there are certain limitations that we unfortunately have to apply. All US backers at any level will get a slap bracelet sent to them right away as described above. For our international backers, it is just too cost prohibitive to send the slap bracelets as their own shipment. Instead, international backers who back at a physical reward level, will have the slap bracelet included with their book at fulfillment. We really wish we could send everyone the slap bracelets right away, but it just is not achievable.
Our game has many unique aspects that you wont find in a typical RPG. The magical girl experience is not a typical play style for tabletop role-playing games and we wanted to make sure the game delivered on that approach. We have spent countless hours designing, play-testing and incorporating the feedback of these mechanics into this game.
Here are just some of the many unique mechanics of Domina Magica
Dual Sided Character Sheets
In Domina Magica your character sheet has 2 sides, one for your School Girl and one for the Magical Girl Persona. As you play the game, the actions and decisions you make as a School Girl (the first side) will directly affect your Magical Girl (the second side). Playing your school girl will actually build your Magical Girl! When it comes time for your special transformation you will physically flip the sheet from one side to the other and play with the character you have built.
Early Character Sheets (Still in Progress)
The Cootie Catcher
In the beginning of the game you and your friends will build a “cootie catcher” or “fortune teller,” that will help determine the events of the game as it progresses. At the start of the game players will work together to establish details about their unique episode. These aspects are used to fill in the cootie catcher’s various sections, and players will write in the theme, season, names, and more. Once the players have built the world their game will take place in, each player will add a secret trial on the hidden parts of the paper. At various points in the game, the cootie catcher will be triggered which will randomly activate one of the hidden trials the players created.
Dark Energy Circle
The Dark Energy Circle (or DEC) is used to track the growth of negative energy in the world. Throughout the course of the game, player actions will determine where the evil energy first appears and how it spreads. The players will be able to see this growth on the DEC, and watch as the forces of evil get stronger. When it’s time to confront the Big Evil, players will use this as their battle map during the final showdown. The DEC is one of a kind because it will organically develop the ending boss fight of each play session.”
Battle Map (Still in progress)
Egg’s Thoughts:
Want to play a Magical Girl ala Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura? This game will take you there! It has the look, style, and feel of what you want in that genre. The creator has made the game with veteran players in mind, but set it up so new players with a love of Magical Girl animes will find it appealing! Need to know more? I interviewed Emily Reinhart of Third Act Publishing and the creator of Domina Magica over at the Open Gaming Network (here) about the game and she shares a lot of thoughts about why it’s a good one to own.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Dive into a cyberpunk urban fantasy world filled with magic, espionage, hacking, and gunslinging action!
Entromancy is a tabletop roleplaying game set in San Francisco in the late 21st century. In our world, a quarter of the earth’s power now runs on ceridium, a newly discovered element that has had the unintended consequence of spawning a new race of people, and several forms of magic that were once thought to have been forgotten.
In Entromancy, you’ll take the role of a character in a futuristic, technology-driven, magic-rich world complete with espionage, spellcasting, hacking, and engaging action sequences.
The core system of Entromancy is based on the world’s most popular roleplaying game, and will allow you to choose from five diverse races and five unique classes to create your character and begin your story. You’ll progress your character by taking on challenging missions and eventually embracing one of the game’s five brutally powerful destinies, which are like prestige classes.
Want to stealth hack your way into enemy territory as a Vanguard, enhancing your faction standing with the underrace nation of Aurichome? You can do that. Interested in putting together a crew of NIGHT Agents to clean out San Francisco’s Presidio of zombie-like ragers? We’ve got you covered. Striving to climb the ranks of the Unaligned so that you can unlock the ferociously powerful, chaos-based magic of the Entromancer? No one’s stopping you…other than the other two power hungry factions standing in your way.
Cyberpunk Fantasy Roleplaying. Enter a futuristic, magic-rich world where technology is ever-present and several forms of forgotten magics have resurfaced — for better and worse.
Unique Characters. Choose from five diverse races and five unique classes — from the dual-pistol wielding Revolutionary to the magic-savvy Technomancer — to create your character and begin your story. Progress your character by taking on challenging missions and eventually embracing one of five brutally powerful destinies.
d20 Mechanics. Experience a streamlined gameplay system based on the Fifth Edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game, simultaneously allowing for exciting action and storytelling while providing for a great deal of depth.
Action Gameplay. Get into the game quickly with easy onboarding for new players and engage in action-packed gameplay with spellcasting, hacking, cybernetics, and much more.
Faction-Based Espionage. Increase your standing with Entromancy’s three competing factions of NIGHT, Aurichome, and the Unaligned, while attempting to make your mark on a world that has become fractured after years of population explosion, socio-economic tension, and magic-based warfare.
In Entromancy, you’ll create a character by selecting from five diverse races and five unique classes, customizing them by selecting feats and talents and/or spells. The five starter classes include:
NIGHT Agent. NIGHT Agents are special agents of the highest order, members of a paramilitary force that is called upon to enforce peace among aurics and humans — sometimes using extreme measures. As a Night Agent, you’re skilled in espionage and magical combat, and will have to decide between the paths of dark and light for your archetype.
Revolutionary. Revolutionaries are allied to the underrace nation of Aurichome, sacrificing the comforts of the status quo for the promise of equality for all underraces. As a Revolutionary, you’re trained in all manner of ranged combat, and are unparalleled in your understanding of modern vehicles.
Technomancer. Technomancers are gifted to the extreme in hacking, robotics, and manipulating any type of machinery. As a Technomancer, your training allows you to get closer to the metal with feats and spells than any other class.
Terramancer. Terramancers have dedicated their lives towards communing with nature, drawing their inspiration from the flora and fauna around them. As a Terramancer, your proficiency with healing magic is unmatched, as is your ability to throw projectiles with deadly effect.
Vanguard. Vanguards thrive in the shadows, specializing in the arts of stealth, assassination, and subterfuge. As a Vanguard, your skills in remaining unseen and getting the drop on your opponents is unparalleled.
Once you’ve completed five or more missions, you’ll unlock one of five powerful destinies, provided that you have the appropriate faction standing to do so. These include:
Aurikar Elite. Guns and spells have their places, but you prefer to get your hands dirty. You’ve mastered the art of hand-to-hand combat through training with King Thog’run’s special forces, and have sworn fealty to the crown as one of Aurichome’s elite defenders.
Entromancer. You’ve spent time, energy, and no small amount of personal sacrifice chipping away at the mysteries of the universe. Ever so slowly, entropy begins to respond to your will.
Infiltrator. When a job requires subtlety, they call for an assassin. When it requires a ghost, they call you.
Inquisitor. You’ve entered the elite ranks of NIGHT leadership, empowered with some of the most devastating –- and manipulative — spells known to humankind.
Weapon Master. Some heroes are born; others are forged through discipline and forbearance. You have become a master of arms, dedicating your life to the study of weaponry.
For a design sample of what the interior layout of the Entromancy RPG will look like, please click here.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is bright, shiny cypherpunk! Set in San Francisco, you’re in a time of good power sources and magic, and yet, there are still bad folk aplenty to contend with. Also, it’s based around D&D 5e so the ruleset in a modification, not a brand-new design. If you want near-future, magic-meets-science yet the world did not fall to darkness using a system you know the root of, Entromancy has a place at the table for you. Add to that, Craig Campbell of Nerdburger Games acted as a mentor to the creator on this project and I think highly of Craig so it’s just extra winning.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruFictionhere.
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT AND YOU’LL BE FINE.
Do you plan to survive the end of the world? Of course you do. Mutant: Year Zero Week kicks off with new releases, brand new posters and a massive sale launched to make life enjoyable in the postapocalyptic zone.
To celebrate the coming apocalypse of Fall when darkness falls upon us, the landscape turns grey and brown, and you hide inside your comfortable bunker, Free League Publishing today launched two brand new Zone Compendia for the award-winning Mutant: Year Zero RPG: Eternal War and Hotel Imperator. Each Zone Compendium contains four thrilling Special Zone Sectors that can be placed anywhere in your Zone.
But that’s not all. Today, Free League has also launched three awesome posters with Mutant: Year Zero art by acclaimed artists Simon Stålenhag and Ola Larsson – so you can decorate your bunker or ark in style while awaiting the apocalypse.
Head out into the postapocalyptic Zone and check out all the new releases in the Free League web shop. Mutant: Year Zero products are up to 40% off for the coming week!
Two brand new Zone Compendia were released today for the award-winning postapocalyptic tabletop RPG MUTANT: YEAR ZERO by Free League Publishing and distributed by Modiphius: THE ETERNAL WAR and HOTEL IMPERATOR.
MUTANT YEAR ZERO – ZONE COMPENDIUM 4: THE ETERNAL WAR
Slowly, the robot boots up again. It feels its circuits wake up, system after system coming online. Recharging and repairs are complete. The robot runs a quick diagnostic scan of its key functions. 73% capacity. It will have to do. The order must be completed. The robot draws its laser rifle and assumes a firing stance, bracing the rifle on a rusty metal beam, scarred by enemy fire. The robot scans the darkness. Large drone cranes hang from the ceiling high above like huge claws. Rusty old submarines rest silently in the black waters below.
“Unit KAN-738 reports. Day 7,298. The operations continues. The enemy must be destroyed.”
About THE ETERNAL WAR
The Zone Compendium THE ETERNAL WAR for Mutant: Year Zero and Mutant: Mechatron includes four exciting Special Zone Sectors:
THE ETERNAL WAR – Robot fights robot in an underground duel without end.
FORT ROBOT – An abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park from the Old Age has new, artificial, inhabitants.
NORTHBAY NANDEEP 23 – The warning message from the ancient farming facility contains only two words: “WARNING! Nano contamination.”
THE ROBOT FACTORY – Thick smoke rises from the smokestacks of the old dilapidated factory in the Zone. Who has moved in?
MUTANT YEAR ZERO – ZONE COMPENDIUM 5: HOTEL IMPERATOR
In the dimly lit room, serious-looking men and women sit around a long table. At the short end, a man with long silvery hair and wearing a black suit presides over the meeting. His left eye lacks both iris and pupil, the white of it tinged by an unnatural icy blue. An old machine on the table projects a photo of a scrap village on the wall. The door to the room opens. Two people enter, cloaked in shadows.
“Number 2 and Number 3, report,” the white-haired man demands.
“Thank you, Number 1,” one of the newcomers responds. “We have much to do.”
ABOUT HOTEL IMPERATOR:
The Zone Compendium HOTEL IMPERATOR for Mutant: Year Zero includes four exciting Special Zone Sectors:
HOTEL IMPERATOR – The mysterious Brain Ring has established its headquarters in an ancient hotel. What are the psionics’ nefarious plans?
THE LONG ROAD – A nomadic tribe of mutants travel through the Zone. What can the player characters learn from them?
THE ZONE FAIR – A robot has reopened an ancient amusement park in the Zone. What dirty secrets do its visitors bring with them?
THE GREAT ZONE WALKER – A colossal machine is rumbling through the Zone. Who controls it, and where is it going?
MUTANT: YEAR ZERO – ROLEPLAYING AT THE END OF DAYS
[Awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules]
Of course, the world ends. It was always just a question of time. When it’s all over, nature invades the ruined cities and winds sweep through empty streets. Yet life remains. In the Ark, a small settlement on the edge of a dead town, the People live. You are the spawn of humanity, but not human anymore. You are twisted, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. None of the People are over 30 years old. Except the Elder. Your leader, one of the Old People. He has always warned you: Stay in the Ark, or the Rot will get you. So far, you have obeyed him. But now the safe days are over. Food is running scarce, and the fight for what’s left is turning violent. And the Elder is dying.
It’s time to explore the Zone. To seek out others and create a new civilization on the ruins of the old. Seek your origin. Maybe you will find Eden, where salvation awaits according to the legends. Maybe it’s all bullshit. It doesn’t matter. You have no choice. This is the beginning. This is Year Zero.
THE MUTANT SALE INCLUDES:
Mutant Poster – Rainbow by Simon Stålenhag.
Mutant Poster – Genlab Alpha by Ola Larsson
Mutant Poster – Mechatron by Simon Stålenhag.
Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days tabletop RPG
Mechatron expansion
Genlab Alpha expansion
Die, Meat-eater, Die!, Dead Blue Sea, Lair of the Saurians Zone Compendiums
PRAISE FOR MUTANT: YEAR ZERO RPG:
“Mutant: Year Zero is an exceptional roleplaying game, and if you’re the least interested in this kind of entertainment you should buy it immediately.” -The Piruett sf and fantasy blog
“A better and more stylish balancing act between nostalgia and innovation the Swedish RPG scene hasn’t seen in a very long time.” -The Boningen gaming blog
“This RPG is f***ing great and I recommend it to new gamers and veterans alike. Giving this game anything but the highest grade would be insane.” -The Kryokinesi gaming blog
“The rules support and create campaign play. Intrigues start, threats arise, opportunities and challenges appear, without the GM having to make it all up.” – The Fenix gaming magazine
[If you are interested in review copies of our tabletop role-playing games or art books and/or want to interview the game creators, illustrators and writers, at Free League Publishing, please e-mail Boel:boel@frialigan.se].
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published several award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our first game, the post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon, was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon. And we are proud to say that our latest roleplaying game Tales from the Loop RPG based onSimon Stålenhags iconic artbooks made a grand slam at the ENnie Awards 2017, winning five Gold ENnies – among them Best Game.
Our upcoming fantasy RPG is Forbidden Lands, with art by critically acclaimed artist Simon Stålenhag and iconic Swedish fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström and game design by the team that created Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop RPG. Forbidden Lands was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017 and was recently named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World.
We have also released the critically acclaimed art books Things from the Flood and Tales from the Loopby artist Simon Stålenhag. His third book The Electric State has been released by Free League Publishing exclusively to the backers of the kickstarter campaign.
RPG news is delivered in small bites and press releases throughout the week and, as best I can, I filter through them to focus on the under-reported odds and the ends. From White Wolf to Etsy, from upcoming conventions to legal rulings, this week there’s a lot to talk about.
NEWS BITES
At Gen Con, I had the opportunity to talk with both White Wolf and Onyx Path. While they White Wolf September as the month for a major Werewolf: The Apocalypse announcement, they preceded it on Facebook with a different revelation, Wraith: The Oblivion 5th Edition is on their agenda. What makes the announcement intriguing is Onyx Path’sWraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition (licensed from White Wolf) was Kickstarted and funded in January, 2015 with the PDFs of the core book available as of February, 2018 and the deluxe edition of WtO 20th being printed now. While it’s logical that, with the success of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th EditionWhite Wolf will move forward with their other major games, it’s aggressive to announce a new one is coming before the current edition has completed its roll out.
NOTE – There are several White Wolf press releases with even more information about Vampire: The Masquerade games linked below.
Status: Coming Soon!
Conan Properties International LLC has successfully sued artist Richardo Jove Sanchez over his unlicensed Conan miniatures. From Amanda Ottaway with Courthouse News Service, “Cracking down on the unauthorized sale of miniature Conan the Barbarian figurines, a federal judge hit a Spanish artist on Wednesday with a $21,000 copyright judgment.” The key point pulled from this is: “Senior U.S. District Judge Frederic Block called it erroneous Wednesday to treat “characters as separate and distinct copyright subject matter, divorced from the works in which they are embodied.”” While I’m not a lawyer and I may be misreading the tea leaves, this ruling could have consequences for “homage” projects or projects that use characters whose founding works are in the public domain, but whose later works are not.
“Conan Properties entered a screenshot of this post into evidence to support its copyright claims over figurines of its character, Conan the Barbarian.”
Read the full article on Courthouse News Servicehere.
On ENWorld, I share a few freelance RPG and fiction writing jobs. Do you want to write superhero fiction or design anthropromorphic adventures, and get paid? Read it all here.
Can’t wait until 2019 to create a game? Venger Satanis (Kort’thalis Publishing) announced he is “officially opening up my neo-quasi O5Rish rules-light vampire RPG [Blood Dark Thirst] to those interested in licensing that shit for FREE!!! Yes, you can write, publish, and reap all the rewards for your very own Blood Dark Thirst supplement, sourcebook, or scenario from now until January 1st of 2020.” I’ve spoken to at least one creator that is interested in producing a down and dirty product related to BDT. If you’re interested, you can read the full announcement here.
Status: Venger Satanis-ing
On Esty, OddForge is selling a dice tower that clips to your GM screen and can handle or two dice at a time. It’s a 3D printed product, economically sized and ready for your gaming table or a convention.
Status: I like dice towers
I’m a part of the CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE – RPG RESOURCES BOOKS Kickstarter. Its creator, Matthew A. Bogdan, gave me a glowing write-up on the fifth update for the campaign. I’m humbled and inspired by his praise. Join the whole wide world and read all about me, me, ME! here.
FEMALE HALFLING ROGUE
Status: I’m proud to be a part of this project!
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EGG’S MUSINGS
I’ve been reading about the end of the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer license at Dark Horse Comics. It reminded me of Eden Studio’sBtVS and Angel RPGs. It’s interesting that they ceased to be in-print in 2006 but are still available as PDFs at commercial sites. I’ve wondered why this license has not been picked back up, then I see that the original RPG is still available and I wonder, with the BtVS reboot on the horizon, will another company pick up this game?
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CONVENTION NEWS BITES
Online convention, AetherCon VII, is recruiting publishing companies and GMs for their November 9th to the 11th, 2018 con. It’s online, it’s free, you run games, you *may* win swag.
On ENWorld, I Check Out the Scene at Atlanta’s MomoCon 2018, a cosplay/anime/manga/gaming/comics convention with over 30,000 attendees held every year in the capital of Georgia. There’s a heck of a nice picture of Chris Miller there.
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
Dream Realm Storytellers are offering a free preview of their upcoming D&D 5e setting, Svilland Saga. For more details about Dream Realm Storytellers and the Svilland Saga, try their press release here. For details about the free booklet, read on.
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ABOUT SVILLAND
Svilland is a campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5E that is based on Scandinavian mythology and culture. It is a world where three kingdoms are in struggle with each other in a savage landscape, full of many dangers and hardships even after Odin’s conquest over Vanir in the archaic times. With an atmosphere that is darker than many other settings of the genre, Svilland reflects the endurance and necessary brutality of the Norse, and Vikings thereof.
In its present time, the realm is in a period when two of the omens of Ragnarok have appeared and the realm is waiting for the third one that will mark the emergence of the end days. Odd, the Father of Frost Giants and the Bringer of the Black Winter has been awakened and left his prison throne, the spear that is made for keeping him there has fallen to the floor. In the meanwhile, races and people of the realm are still indulged in their daily matters and quests.
Under the content of Norse and Vikings, we are preparing a campaign setting that has two new classes, 24 new archetypes, 14 new domains for nine deities, 20 new monsters, 100 new magical items and many new spells, feats and equipment. When published, it will have over 100 pages of content.
ABOUT THIS BOOKLET
In this booklet, we are providing you a sneak peek so that you can use for a play test and see for yourself. A small geography of one of the three regions is also provided, where you can run a mini-campaign. You can test four of the domains with your cleric (or gothi, in Norse terms), archetypes for the barbarian, the fighter, the ranger and the sorcerer, as well as our brand new class the runewalker with rune magic. We also included some of the monsters that you can challenge your players with, some of the magical items that you can reward them with, and some of the new spells and feats.
White Wolf Entertainment, creators of Vampire: The Masquerade and other successful RPGs in the World of Darkness story universe, have announced a new project with streaming network Geek & Sundry.
Starting in early September, Geek & Sundry will host live-streamed play sessions of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition (V5)on Friday evenings, guided by master storyteller and White Wolf Head of Community, Jason Carl. Carl, whose work previously includes designing adventures and supplements for Dungeons and Dragons, along with being Policy Director for Organized Play for Magic:The Gathering, will take Geek & Sundry’s players and viewers through a world rich with adventure, intrigue, and political machinations as creatures of the night battle or bargain for supremacy in modern Los Angeles.
The cast of Geek & Sundry’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Los Angeles By Night livestream includes Erika Ishii, Cynthia Marie, B. Dave Walters, and Alexander Ward. Episodes will be streamed on twitch.tv/geekandsundry and projectalpha.com.
“A new version of the Iron Edda RPG, powered by Fate Accelerated™.
Ragnarok is here! The Dwarven Destroyers bear down on your holdfast. A cult dedicated to Loki foments deadly mischief within your walls. The local seer envisions young warriors throwing off clan ties, merging with the spirits of giants to save their holdfast. Fight, bleed, sacrifice, and save your people for as long as you can. Welcome to Iron Edda Accelerated!
Backers get access to the Early Release version of the rules (edited but not laid out) as soon as they back this campaign.
Iron Edda Accelerated is a roleplaying game about the heroes of a Viking holdfast during Ragnarok. They battle threats from outside and within for honor, glory, and clan. The game draws strongly from Norse mythology — although its focus on holdfasts allows for telling a variety of stories:
Epic Norse Action. Pick up your axe and shield to fight the metallic hordes of the Dwarves as they come to raze the world. Look through the roots of the World Tree to the Lands of the Gods and find the most opportune place to strike. Bring together your people and lead them against threats both outside and within your holdfast. Be the blazing heart of a dead giant fighting the metal monstrosities. Stand against the Dwarves who come from below to reclaim what was once theirs…or so Loki tells them.
Heroes of the Holdfast. You’re the heroes of this age, dealing with the chaos and glory of Ragnarok: a time for legends to be born. Fight hordes of Dwarven spiders, convince fractured factions to fight together, travel the planes to bring aid in the form of magical artifacts to save clan and loved ones. Ragnarok seeks to end everything, but you have the power to keep it from destroying your holdfast for a little while longer.
Internal Holdfast Politics. While external threats are daunting, insidious ones from within are equally deadly. People look for opportunities to gain power, even as Armageddon approaches. Convince your Jarl to make peace with the other holdfasts instead of war. Rally your warriors and keep their spirits high in the face of terror. Root out dissidents seeking to unbalance the power structure of your holdfast. Stabilize your own homes if your Jarl loses control. Keep your community strong or the Dwarves easily overrun your holdfast.
The Dwarves of Svartalfheim invade the surface with metal machines, monstrous and terrible. The gods fight against the end of existence. Holdfasts burn. The seers foretell the coming of the Bonebonded: young folk who’ve thrown clan aside to merge with the spirits of deceased giants, providing the power to retaliate against the Dwarves in the form of skeletal giants. The Runescribed use their terrible powers to keep everyone alive a little longer. Other holdfasts seek any advantage in these desperate times. The world hurtles toward a chaotic ending, while a smiling Loki sits in the shadows watching Yggdrasil burn. What will your story be during the end times?
Iron Edda Accelerated invites a wide variety of stories against the backdrop of Ragnarok. The Holdfast Creation system lets you take the elements presented, ask questions about the holdfast, and uncover the rest through play. While answering those questions you also draw a map of your holdfast, providing a visual representation of your experiences. The map functions as a play aid and reminder of your holdfast’s environs, the problems arrayed against you, and the places you’ve decided are important.
Iron Edda Accelerated explores the problems of an oncoming apocalypse against a backdrop of mythic storytelling and Norse culture where clan is thicker than blood. The heroes of the holdfast feel pressure from everywhere as they solve the problems assaulting the holdfast.
To make that happen, Iron Edda Accelerated uses a variation of the Fate Accelerated™ system, by Evil Hat Productions. Fate Accelerated makes the characters instantly competent and dramatic through approaches and aspects. In addition, story stress tracks help the GM weigh and present various problems assaulting the holdfast.
Other mechanisms help promote the kind of play Iron Edda promises:
Scale – Giant metal monstrosities, heroes larger than life, magical runes usable against enemies, and weapons of legend. Rules are provided to determine the weight of these elements in play.
Destinies – A number of mythic Norse-inspired destinies, including the Bonebonded, Runescribed, Seer, and even the Farmer, help players make characters fit into the setting.
Holdfast Creation – This system creates your holdfast through a series of questions and a hand-drawn map. When completed, the players have a series of problems that assail the holdfast and the characters’ paths are clear — and legendary stories unfold quickly.
The Iron Edda Accelerated book is planned to be 6″ x 9”, 140 – 160 pages, with greyscale interior art. The text is already done, and we have art assets. The Kickstarter pays the team for their hard work, purchases additional new art assets for the book, and puts money into creating additional content for Iron Edda Accelerated.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Ragnarok: Fate Accelerated™ by Tracy, Barnett, Chris Sniezak, Shawn Merwin, Robert M. Everson, Tim Jones, John Arcadian, Phil Vecchione, and Matt Morrow. If that system and setting and those creators don’t move you, the gods will.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Necrotopia is a pen and paper role-playing game. We are releasing a complete 30 page color rule-set book with original artwork. #RPG
Necrotopia is an Apocalyptic RPG where you and your friends battle through multiple Apocalypses. Faced with invasion of evil forces through portals, travel across worlds after you master use of portals. Original story and art with unique characters and settings.
Uses a D6 game system with move creation that is simple and highly customizable. Create a character in 5 minutes and play a session within an hour. Fun for veteran RPG players and new players.
Necrotopia is a role playing game written and developed by Keenan Dunham. This is an independent project of a combination of ideas and stories Keenan has created. Our goal is to release the first 30 page stand alone rule-set book, and expand the Necrotopia Universe after that with more campaign books.
With the limited time-frame of the first kickstarter we will only be releasing the 30 page rule-set book along with some special bonuses. Artists are being paid up front for original art used, not from promises of future money. Some art used is public domain.
The game itself is meant to be a beginners pen and paper role-playing game that can appeal to anyone. It is simple and highly customizable. Here is a sample of the story from book one: “Necrotopia’s story begins with sparks of an invasion of demonic and inter-dimensional forces attacking Earth, initiating a battle for survival and conquest. There is a battle between Heaven and Hell brewing and you and your friends are caught in the middle. What happens depends on you with one person taking the role of Game Maestro and the rest taking the roles of role playing characters.” We hope you and your friends have a ton of fun with this game!
Keenan Dunham is the writer and creator of Necrotopia: Handbook to the Apocalypse. The idea actually came from a book he was planning to write and the game will include many characters from those ideas. The book may get written if Necrotopia is successful. Other writing projects Keenan was working on got merged all into a greater world of Necrotopia, and it makes for a lot of fun. Expect a growing universe of characters and places to come. Thank you!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I covered the first run of this Kickstarterhere. In the new iteration, it has a higher goal and has raised more dollars towards it.
Check out the Kickstarter page. I didn’t copy it, but the pages shares a lot about the game’s mechanics so you can find out exactly what you’re getting with your pledge.
“Bronze-Age Sword and Sorcery roleplaying, inspired by TORAH and ILLIAD, GILGAMESH and ACHILLES, CONAN and THE DYING EARTH.
Udebed, who has promised her donkey Ahf to help her find a suitable mate; and has promised her ktesh, Kalil, perpetual fresh meat. By Simon Roy
Joshua A.C. Newman’s The Bloody-Handed Name of Bronze is a tabletop roleplaying game of those who speak the secret Language of Names that spoke the world into existence. When you portray one such Namedealer, you will make treaties with anything bearing a name — and you will thrive and suffer from the consequences of those promises.
…And it is a game of fated heroes, driven by their long-dead ancestors — and their own great passions — to pursue their destiny for the benefit of the dead, and to die bathed in glory.
Ashahu Nine Finger is saved once again by the bronze sword, Adakim, given to her by the tortoise Dubud in thanks for removing it from his flesh. by Jabari Weathers
It is a game of passions and cunning, of tricksters and hard-found justice.
Zikru, a man of renowned beauty who challenged a Great Name to a contest of poetry. And won. By Joshua A.C. Newman
It is a game of pursuing what you desire. It is a game of getting what you want from your companion characters when you have no reason to trust them, and about using those you don’t trust to aid you in your pursuits.
It is a game about flight from the consequences of your promises, and the power that comes from both lies and the truth.
It is a game about charging toward that against which you have been commanded, and the power one has to turn against an abuser.
From PROPHET. by Simon Roy
The World of Names
Above the World is the Vault of Heaven, holding back the Waters of Heaven.
Beneath the World flow the Waters of the Underworld.
Between them is the World, and all in it is made of clay, given being with names, spoken into existence with the first breath.
All that has a name, has a will. Every child, every river, every constellation, every fang of bronze discovered in the rib cage of a storm-revealed skeleton, scoured by the desert. Seek and explore, for in the quest lies your destiny and your doom; your redemption and your failures.
Baruk fled far into foreign lands, shearing his hair and beard as do the foreigners. Now as he returns through the swamp Yogash that offers him safe passage, it grows in as he approaches the City of Hu where he would complete past business. by Shel Kahn
Jabari Weathers – Not art from the game but a great example of Jabari’s work.
Egg’s Thoughts:
The game sounds interesting as an experiment. The Kickstarter is intimidating, meant to show its artistry and poetry to give a solid feel for the setting (I feel I get the setting based on the imagery that is shared in the art and writing). Yet, the campaign keeps its mechanics shrouded in mystery. As best I can tell, you’ll draw from two pools and roll them together to accomplish your goal. If the fantasy of these previews can be infused through the book, this will be a winner.
Add to that, there’s Jabari Weathers art! I met Jabari online, loved their art, and, ran into them at Gen Con 2018 twice (we happened to be in the same hotel). Jabari is an exceeding friendly individual and I wished I’d had time to sit in on one of their games at the convention. With this project, I’m eager to see all of Jabari’s work cause it will build this setting.
“L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures Volume 2 is Power-Up Gamer’s next supplement containing homebrew and reskinned monsters for DND 5e.
Crystal Golem
What are we doing here?
L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures Volume 2 is the next release in a trilogy set of 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons supplements. Produced by Power Up Gamers Roleplayers for Accessibility, artwork will be done by the talented Jon Pintar.
Cacticorn
What’s in the book?
Much like the first volume, we plan on releasing 26 homebrewed and re-skinned monsters with rich lore, culture, and history sections, several tables including a d100 magic item roll table, and a section containing 12 locations with sights, sounds, and sensations specifically designed to cater disabilities. Each Location will also have a trap, a puzzle and a riddle along with monsters from the series that might be found there.The Supplement will have a full color cover with black ink sketches of the monsters inside.”
NOTE – Cacticorn and the Crystal Golem are “pre-edits,pre-rewrites, and pre-playtests”.
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is “26 new, flavourful creatures for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, this time focusing on the fantastical non-hostile denizens of L’Gat’s Prime Material Plane.” So, you’re getting the nice creatures and you’ll need to see volume one for the bad folk. These are monsters by Disabled DM Jarin DND, who reached out, sent a press release, and has been very accommodating of my questions. One of the main ones I had was about the Writer’s Room Visit, a part of the $35 and up rewards that include PDFs of both volumes of L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures and more. If you’re curious what the Writer’s Room Visit involves, Jarin from Power Up Games shared this:
“The Writer’s Room Visit is where our backers can sit down with our production team with an idea of their own and we will help them with the process of taking a basic idea and writing it out into a usable pdf format…of course with time being limited, we obviously can’t teach them all the ins and outs in one session but we will teach the basics of the process as well as give some guidance for resources etc. We currently plan on these sessions being between 2 and 8 hours per session depending on what the supporter needs.”
For $35 (or more), you’re getting 5e games, updates, and a chance to talk gaming ideas with individuals that have already taken the plunge and published their creations!
Over and above the gaming, PUG is on a worthwhile mission to create “ways of making their games more accessible to a wider variety of people, especially those with sensory impairments and learning disabilities. This is done by suggesting language and methods that evoke the senses as well as outright descriptions of the beasts and their habitats.” Their mission is inclusive and it’s done in a way that benefits all gamers – by offering more detailed monsters. This is product is going to be a win!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“10 Worlds. 1 Game. Endless Possibilities. Confluence is the core rulebook for the Cosmic Mirror Games settings and systems.
Confluence is the 9th of 14 eras on the Cosmic Mirror, a flat world with 4 suns. Cosmic meddling has caused the world to collapse in on itself, prompting beings from the other 13 eras to pour into it. Now, their cultures, their races, their creatures are all colliding. This is Confluence.
10 Worlds, 1 Game. In Confluence, players will take up the roles of denizens who have come from these disparate worlds, thrown together into one world of ancient history and extreme technology. Each of the 10 playable races brings a unique experience from their own game worlds, and each comes with their own levels of difficulties, allowing experienced players to play alongside new players while facing different difficulty levels in character creation and management.
With 10 core races and 40 NPC races, as well as unique items, technology, equipment, and magic from each of the worlds, Confluence is a world made to be explored. You can play a horror game with the undead hordes of the 7th Era, engage in political intrigue with the beings of the 12th, and hunt down ancient relics of incredible power from the 13th. Will you fall into worship of the Fallen Gods, or will you find power from the being that resides within the world itself? Your journey awaits.
NOTE: The Worm The Early Birds Want is the tier you want to get– get a PDF at the 25$ price and get a FREE hard copy! Only 50 slots, get them while they last!
Promotion days: Day 1 (July 30th)- Free cover and world map posters to all who pledge at the $25 level or higher!
Day 15 (Aug 13th)- Bump your pledge by $5, and you’ll get a free PDF of Generations! Bump by $15 and you can nab a hardcopy! That’s half the price of a PDF on Drivethru right now.
Day 22 (Aug 20th)- Bump your pledge by $5, and you’ll get a free PDF of NuAEther! Bump by $15 and you can nab a hardcopy! That’s half the price of a PDF on Drivethru right now.
I keep good records, so don’t drop your pledge later to try and trick me into giving you the pdf at the end. I’ll tally it up when it wraps up! : )
Past Kickstarter: We want to be forward. Confluence had an attempted Kickstarter back in June last year, where it was paired up with two of our small book games. The Kickstarter failed, but we didn’t stop for a second. Work continued, art kept coming in, and we’re coming back stronger than ever.
The Game
Confluence is the core rulebook for a series of game books set to come out each year. It also acts as the core setting. Future books will rely on these core mechanics as expounded upon in the Confluence book, but will offer new worlds and settings, along with new races, items, magic systems, and much more. Because this core setting is made up of elements from the other worlds, each of these new setting books will be backwards compatible, all their contents usable in the core world. The book is slated to reach 650 pages.
The core of Confluence is built on a simple d6 dice pool system. To perform an action, you will add your relevant Attribute to any relevant Specialty your character has for the particular action. You then roll that many d6, and succeed on 5’s and 6’s. Unique race powers, character traits such as Talents and Abilities, and a wide array of item options from across the worlds enhance and enjoyably complicate the game for players, and help make each game new and exciting.
This game book is actually at your fingertips to give a look over right now. The playtest copy contains all the elements needed to pick up and play right now, including all the information needed to create any of the 10 unique character races, unique character traits to help set your character further apart, as well as 20 pages of item options to ensure you are properly equipped for your journey. Information on combat and survival are here in their entirety as well, letting your group pick up and play from this playtest document alone. In addition, the book looks ahead at the variety of offerings still in store for World information, continent and city descriptions, additional NPCs, monsters, and more. There is a lot of info missing from this copy, over half the book, but that’s to make sure that there’s plenty of worthwhile stuff for you to still find ahead in the final version!
To ensure the world feels real, alive, and expansive, it has been beautifully mapped with the use of the Inkarnate program. Additional area maps are still forthcoming, ensuring that even a game that remains in one area or around one city will be able to find plenty to engage players for many games. Additionally, information on each city and area of the world, as well as towns and cities are described in the book that can be set anywhere in a particular region, ensuring your players always have a place to rest their head, or find a new story hook.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
By Dane Asmund, this game’s system involves adding “your relevant Attribute to any relevant Specialty your character has for the particular action. You then roll that many d6, and succeed on 5’s and 6’s.” It’s a simple system and they’re offering a playtest copy to try it out. Give it a go and if you like it, come back to the campaign.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
Power Up Gamer (PUG) is proud to announce the launching of its second Kickstarter for the next volume of its series of monster manuals, L’Gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures series. Continuing from volume one, new product will include 26 new, flavourful creatures for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, this time focusing on the fantastical non-hostile denizens of L’Gat’s Prime Material Plane. The book will also carry the company ethos of supplying gamers with ways of making their games more accessible to a wider variety of people, especially those with sensory impairments and learning disabilities. This is done by suggesting language and methods that evoke the senses as well as outright descriptions of the beasts and their habitats.
Power Up Gamer started in 2015 as a single YouTube channel for the company chairman, Jarin DND the Disabled DM, as a place for him to talk about is experience as a disabled roleplayer. This quickly grew to become a Facebook group where others shared their experiences as well. All facets of Power Up Gamer hold two clear goals:
To provide a place for disabled players to feel safe in discussing how their disabilities affect their gaming in Tabletop Roleplaying Games
To strive to bring awareness of disability issues to the larger RPG community.
In November 2017, the Kickstarter for volume one of L’Gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures launched and was successfully funded. At present, the Kickstarter for volume two is 52% funded with 13 days remaining.
To support this Kickstarter, click here. To see other works by Power Up Gamer, check out their page on DriveThruRPG here.
[UPDATE – Samples of L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures – Volume 1 are below, not volume 2.]
L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures – Volume 1 Monster – Breezeborn
L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures – Volume 1 Location – The Tomb of the Faceless One
Following yet another incredible GenCon, we would like to revisit all of the exciting things happening in World of Darkness — White Wolf Entertainment’s supernatural story universe. From the phenomenal launch of Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition (V5) — which sold out at the White Wolf booth, followed by a standing ovation during their panel, White Wolf Entertainment has a few other interesting projects that you may have missed:
Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition (V5) Core Book — The V5 core book was launched in conjunction with the start of GenCon 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. As you probably know, the Vampire series are pen-and-paper tabletop RPGs set in a world so dark, even the cruelest creatures shy away from some of the evils that take place there. The corebook is the first entry in the new fifth edition. The V5Camarillaand Anarch sourcebooks will be released in November. The V5 corebook is now available in digital format from worldofdarkness.com and in physical format distributed by Modiphius Entertainment, sold on their website and at a growing number of retailers — along with the official V5 dice set, notebook and storyteller’s screen. Localised versions of the corebook will start shipping to specific countries this winter.
Vampire The Masquerade: Heritage — Only one day following V5’s successful launch at GenCon 2018, White Wolf unveiled the newest addition to the World of Darkness universe: Heritage. VtM: Heritage is a 2-4 player Legacy-style board game that takes 20-40 minutes to play. Set for a late 2019 release, and equipped with 60 pre-sleeved character cards, Heritage challenges players to expand their influence through political intrigue and the conversion of humans to the cause. More Information: http://www.vtm-heritage.com.
Chicago By Night – Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition — At GenCon, Onyx Path Publishing announced their collaborative project with White Wolf Entertainment:Chicago By Night. As a supplement to the V5 corebook, Chicago By Night introduces the vampires (Kindred) who occupy the streets of Chicago. New loresheets and scenarios advance the Vampire metaplot and introduce a variety of new stories and characters. Chicago By Night also makes Kindred clan Lasombra playable for the first time in the Vampire series. More Information: https://uberstrategist.link/Chicago-By-Night-Info.
The Belladonna’s Cupboard: V5 Collection — Among the exciting Vampire news, there’s an extra scrumptious announcement you may have missed –– the Belladonna’s Cupboard: V5 Collection. Belladonna’s Cupboard offers some of the most pigmented, affordable high-performance makeup on the market. Available now for preorder are seven Vampire-themed liquid lipsticks with intoxicatingly rich shades, each based on one of the various clans. Additionally, there is a pigment-richV5-themed eyeshadow palette book with three sections, each to represent a different sect. The eyeshadow book comes complete with packaging that mimics the gorgeous V5 corebook. Whether you’re into live-action role-play or just want to feel like fabric softener dew on freshly mowed Astroturf, you can preorder here: https://uberstrategist.link/Belldonna-V5-Collection-Preorder.
Adventurers that backed the Forbidden Lands RPG may now enter the cursed world. New explorers have a final chance to make a late pledge and gain entrance.
All backers have received digital access to Free League Publishing’s upcoming fantasy RPGForbidden Lands and may enter the cursed world today. The tabletop-RPG Forbidden Lands is a brand-new take on classic fantasy roleplaying.
New explorers have one last chance to make a late pledge and gain early access to Forbidden Lands. The Pledge Manager closes its gates at September 1st. Backers who make a Late Pledge will receive the game in advance of the retail launch in November.
The open world of Forbidden Landscreated by Free League Publishing allows players to freely explore the dangerous realm and venture into the unknown, while still taking part in the epic campaign to decide the fate of the cursed lands.
In Forbidden Lands, you and your friends will be playing raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend. The unique rules created by Free League for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in Forbidden lands play can also easily be ported to any other game world.
The core boxed game set includes the Player’s Handbook and the Gamemaster’s Guide – two hardcover books with leather and gold covers, totalling over 450 pages – along with a large full-color map, a sheet of map stickers, and a booklet of tables.
Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which the players’ actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of the players’ adventures.
For all backers – venture forward and gain information on Forbidden Lands access here:
If any explorers out there were trapped in the wilderness and never saw the fires lit on high mountain tops and therefore didn’t back the Kickstarter, all hope is not lost. One last chance remains to make a late pledge, gain early access and enter the unknown lands.
New explorers have one last chance to make a late pledge and gain early access to Forbidden Lands, the Pledge Manager will close its gates at September 1. Make a Late Pledge here:
Forbidden Lands was recently named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars from thousands of backers across the world and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.
Forbidden Lands is the forth English tabletop RPG from the Swedish developers Free League. With art by the internationally acclaimed artist Simon Stålenhag and iconic fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers such as Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop.
Free League’s latest RPG Tales from the Loop won no less than five Gold ENnies at Gencon last year, including Best Game and Product of the Year. The post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015 and has been translated into French, Spanish and Portuguese and German. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon 2017.
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published several award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our first game, the post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon, was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon. And we are proud to say that our latest roleplaying game Tales from the Loop RPG based onSimon Stålenhags iconic artbooks made a grand slam at the ENnie Awards 2017, winning five Gold ENnies – among them Best Game.
Our upcoming fantasy RPG is Forbidden Lands, with art by critically acclaimed artist Simon Stålenhagand iconic Swedish fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström and game design by the team that created Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop RPG. Forbidden Lands was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017 and was recently named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World.
We have also released the critically acclaimed art books Things from the Flood and Tales from the Loopby artist Simon Stålenhag. His third book The Electric State has been released by Free League Publishing exclusively to the backers of the kickstarter campaign.
With just days left of the Kickstarter, Free League Publishing’s retro fantasy sandbox RPG Forbidden Lands has raised well over a quarter of a million dollars from thousands of backers across the world.
Tales from the Loop RPG by Free League Publishing won no less than five Gold ENnies at the recently concluded Gencon 2017 convention. The tabletop roleplaying game, based on acclaimed scifi artist Simon Stålenhag’s artbook with the same name, was named Best Game and Product of the Year.
New Norse Mythology Based RPG is Coming – Svilland Saga
Svilland Saga is a campaign setting based on the system of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
It is a deep-down entertainment media of Norse culture, especially the Viking Age. The realm
itself is fiction, but all the assets of the game; politics, history, the pantheon, classes, magical
items and monsters are inspired from the Norsemen and their old ways of living. Currently, it
includes three kingdoms in a landscape as big as Scandinavia, 38 new class archetypes, 100
new magical items, and 20 new monsters. The book will have over 100 pages of content and
we aim it to become more with more stretch goals funded. Yes! We will be on Kickstarter!
What is difference from other Norse based settings
There are many RPG games out there with the themes of Norsemen and Vikings, yet it was not
possible to dive deeply into these themes and cultures with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition,
until now. Under development for the past 6 months, Svilland Saga will be a campaign setting
that will make you dive deep into old Norse culture with the fun of DnD.
Compared to other settings, it is of course darker. It has more entangling politics, fear and
excitement of various mythological monsters, and a true feeling of role-playing a Viking with
mystical or religious aspects, or just the profound brutality. If you like entertainment media on
Vikings with all the movies, series and books, you will find yourself immersed in playing the
heroes in your favorite interests of the culture.
And also our gods… There are 9 gods in Svilland Saga to follow; Odin, Thor, Freyja, Balder,
Fenrir, Tyr, Hel, Aegir and Loki. There are several religion cults for those gods and try to extend
their gods purposes.
Who are We?
Dream Realm Storytellers started began as Atılım University Science Fiction and Fantasy Society in Ankara, Turkey. In time, our organization broke its ties with the university and
became an independent RPG society, where we opened up ourselves to other people interested
in the same culture with us, and organized events such as mini-conventions, and Fantasia Camp
camping conventions. Now we are transformed into a development studio for RPG content and
our mission is made of three pillars: Following our passion by developing RPG content,
gathering and guiding others around us and help them follow their passion in development, and
increasing the awareness and interest in RPG as both a sub-culture and a business sector in
Turkey.
There are two potential hurdles when playing new games:
You are unfamiliar with the mechanics of the system.
By that, I mean actually how to play. What stats do what thing. What should you roll if you want to attack or climb a wall or hide. Many times you can lean on your overall knowledge to get you by. Other times you may not be successful.
You are unfamiliar with the language of the game.
D&D is fantasy – most of the stuff is easy enough to understand. Vampire the Masquerade is set in the modern world. But when you start getting into some of the science fiction settings, the language gets… complicated.
So that was the issue with Eclipse Phase. It is a science fiction setting with a language all its own and a ton of stats and skills that don’t always jump out at you as “Use me to do X thing!” It was a 2-hour session that really needed to be 4 hours if they are hoping for you to “get it”.
Luckily, our friend Nate has promised to run a game of it for us at some point in the future – so the nail has not been put in this coffin by any stretch.
Afterverse
Another sci-fi setting that was a bit easier to understand. The Game Master was actually the creator of the game (and is in the process of running a Kickstarter for the launch of the game if you want to check it out here!). The game ran fairly smoothly with only a couple of minor hiccups. During the course of the game, the GM (who was recording) had to leave a note to himself about a particular rule call. We were all interested in the potential for space combat (which sadly the adventure we played didn’t have) as he mentioned that he thought his system played pretty well on that front (everyone has something to do – as opposed to just having the pilot and maybe gunner being the only important jobs).
After the game, we chatted with him for a bit. He’s planning on running a few games at Dragon Con, so if you’re interested in checking out something completely brand new – check it out.
Day 3
Shadows of Esteren
Last year Lee mentioned that there was so much to see in the dealer’s room, that in order to actually make your way through it you had to have a high caliber for the artwork used to even bother checking out your project. However, even that doesn’t work because everyone has beautiful stuff adorning their booths, books, posters, and everything else. Shadows of Esteren has all of this in spades and we both lingered near their booth last year, but never pulled the trigger on buying any of their stuff.
Cut to this year, where we had a non-standard session. I believe one dice was rolled during the entirety of two hours. The conceit was that our session was actually one happening in the middle of a longer campaign, but that this particular session would be a spotlight on one character and their past. The other players at the table would then play other roles (in this case, a sister, a mother, a brother of the main character). The hope was through these various little scenes the main person would gain some insight about their charact, and the other players would become invested in that story.
Now for some people that might not work, but for Lee and I (Egg was detained elsewhere), it really got us thinking about stories, ideas for how to incorporate these type of scenarios in our home games. And while I wasn’t 100% on how the game was going to work (and since we really didn’t get to see the mechanics of the system, we may need to come back to this one at the next convention).
Legend of the Five Rings
It said “No experience necessary”, yet when we arrived there was a line to get into the room to play.
And people were grouping up together.
And various GMs were shouting things.
And Egg, Lee, and myself were confused.
“Are you new players?”
“Yes, it said no experience necessary.”
“That it did!”
It turns out that we found ourselves in the middle of the final battle of the weekend. Clan honor was at stake. A battle would rage at various tables… 3 rounds in fact. If you died, then you left the room. If you won your round, your team was awarded points, and those points were added to the total for your Clan.
Not knowing what we were in for (the fourth member of our table had only played twice before and one of those times might have been in the 90s), we opted for an easier scenario at first before ramping up each round. Around the room, you could hear tables roar out their approval at good plays. And while you were waiting for the next round to begin, people would go watch other games (not something you experience at most games).
Luckily, we were joined by 3 other players in time for the final battle who had a little experience playing the game (6 years running the game!). It worked out well as by that point I had a decent enough understanding of the rules, but one of the new players helped me understand a couple of other aspects I didn’t 100% catch previously.
While we may not have gotten a great feel for the world of Legend, we certainly were educated in how to play the mechanics… and they might have been my favorite overall of the games we’d played over the weekend. I can understand why it has such passionate fans.
Day 4
The Dark Eye
Apparently, The Dark Eye is the #1 game in Germany for the last 30 years. It is a fantasy game (so right in our wheelhouse). The GM did a great job with running the game, and I enjoyed the voices he used for the different characters.
However…
Within about 5 seconds of him explaining the system to us, I knew this wasn’t going to be “The ONE”. Most games you are asked to roll your dice to perform an action like climbing a wall. You roll one dice, add your bonuses and penalties and then see if you were successful. With Dark Eye you had to roll against 3 different skills… and if you failed one of those checks, then you failed the overall check.
I’m not sure how that works in the long run as I’d get too frustrated to bother. Just running simple odds would tell you trying to succeed at something 3 different times is probably going to fail a decent amount of the time. At some point, I’d like to seek out the players of the game and see if there is some good reason for the multiple checks (and hence why it might be in the game, to begin with).
***
Overall it was a great time at the convention. I was sore after all the walking, but made it through all the same. Got to see a couple of friends from the previous year, and somehow managed to hang out for 5 days and get along with my convention mates as we talked pretty much non-stop the whole drive back to Atlanta. So, until next year (hopefully)…
On Kickstarter there are three RPG campaigns that have surpassed $200,000 in pledges with over a week to go as of this writing. Let’s look at the heavy hitters like The Expanse, The Fantasy Trip, and Your Best Game Ever!/Cypher System Rulebook!
“The Expanse Roleplaying Game brings James S.A. Corey’s award-winning series of science fiction novels to the tabletop.
Check out the free Quickstart PDF right now!
Venture Into The Expanse!
The Expanse Roleplaying Game brings James S.A. Corey’s award-winning series of science fiction novels to the tabletop. Using the Adventure Game Engine (AGE) rules found in Fantasy AGE, Blue Rose, and Modern AGE, The Expanse takes players to a far-future solar system where humanity is divided: Martians, Belters, and the people of old Earth struggle for political power and resources, but even older, alien, forces are stirring in the universe, and human history is about to take an unexpected new turn. The Expanse applies the fast-playing and action-based AGE rules to spaceships, solar colonies, and adventure and intrigue in the far-future, where the actions of the characters may change the course of history!
As long time fans know, The Expanse was a roleplaying game campaign long before it was a series of novels or a TV show. We are delighted to bring it full circle with this game! And here’s the best thing about The Expanse RPG: we’ve been working on this for well over a year and rules are done! They’ve been through multiple iterations and playtesting, and we’ve worked closely with Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (together, James S.A. Corey) throughout to ensure we are getting The Expanse right. Now let’s hear from Daniel and Ty themselves!
Want to check the game out RIGHT NOW? Download The Expanse RPG Quickstart today! This is a 40-page PDF that includes stripped down rules, pre-generated characters, and an adventure you can play right away. The download is free.
The Expanse RPG Features
The Expanse is based on the exciting new Modern AGE rules-set, and includes many of its features, such as customized character building using Backgrounds and Professions, Drives for character engagement, and an abstract resources system. It also makes use of the Modern AGE approach to action, exploration, and social encounters, complete with stunts and systems for all of them. To get a closer look at Modern AGE, you can download the Quickstart here.
The following are some of the unique features of The Expanse in comparison to other AGE games:
Fortune: Rather than Health, characters have a Fortune score that measures lucky near-misses, close scrapes, and trivial hits before the character takes serious harm. Fortune is also useful for modifying die rolls and offering players some narrative control but, watch out! Spend too much of it and your luck could run out when you get caught in a crossfire!
Conditions: In addition to a running Fortune total, characters use various conditions to measure things like injuries and fatigue as well as tactical challenges like hindered movement or sensory abilities.
Interludes: The interludes in between encounters are given their own treatment, allowing players to make use of their “down-time” (including long hauls between destinations in the System) to recover, do maintenance, build their connections with others, or pursue their own projects.
Spaceships: The Expanse RPG features a system to model and create spaceships and its own system for space combat, including the assault on Thoth Station as an example of the system in action!
The Churn: The Expanse also offers something for the Game Master with the Churn: A ticking counter that measures the crew’s progress through a story and just when things are going to suddenly go sideways and become even more complicated!
Two Editions to Choose From!
We are offering the core rulebook of the Expanse RPG in two formats:
The Standard Edition is now (thanks to unlocked stretch goals) a 224 page full color hardback with a poster map of the solar system. This is the version that will stay in print after the Kickstarter has been fulfilled.
The Special Edition is a deluxe version of The Expanse RPG. It features the same beautiful full color interior of the Standard Edition with a black leatherette hardcover and a ribbon bookmark. This version is a Kickstarter exclusive, so it will not be available after the close of this campaign. Thanks to an unlocked stretch goal, the Special Edition now includes a dust jacket featuring the game’s gorgeous cover art!
The Expanse Game Master’s Kit
This Kickstarter also includes The Expanse Game Master’s Kit, which will ship alongside the book. It currently includes the following, but may expand with the unlocking of stretch goals:
A three-panel landscape format GM Screen with vital game system reference tables on one side and three panels of Expanse art on the player-facing side.
A set of game reference cards, including an initiative tracker, stunt references, and action references useful for players at the table.
Now includes pre-generated characters after a stretch goal unlock!
Now includes an adventure after a stretch goal unlock!
Abzu’s Bounty
Abzu’s Bounty is the first campaign for The Expanse Roleplaying Game. This series of six linked scenarios will let you kick off your adventures in The Expanse in style. All six parts were unlocked as stretch goals so the full campaign is a go! Best of all, if you back the Kickstarter for $30 or more, you get a PDF of Abzu’s Bounty for free!
Design Team
We assembled a great team to design The Expanse Roleplaying Game. Steve Kenson is the lead designer. You may know Steve from our Blue Rose and Mutants & Masterminds RPGs, or from any of the dozens of RPG books he’s worked on over the last two decades. He had the able assistance of Seth Johnson, Ian Lemke, Rich Lescouflair, Rob McCreary, Jason Mical, Neall Raemonn Price, Zack Walters, Nicole Winchester, and of course James S.A. Corey!“
Egg’s Thoughts:
James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse, the book series and TV series [with poorer pacing than the books (call it what it is)] started life as a homebrew game. With this Kickstarter, it’s coming around full circle using Green Ronin Publishing AGE System (Dragon Age, Fantasy AGE, Blue Rose, and Modern AGE) as the engine (I enjoy the system overall). Add to that, there are stretch goals to let fans get their characters written up by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) and even include a fresh short story (reported on here). This campaign is well worth checking out.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
“Help us bring back Steve Jackson’s first tabletop RPG.
In 1977, Steve started work on his first roleplaying game, The Fantasy Trip. It was published by Metagaming, and for a brief time it even rivaled D&D for popularity. The Fantasy Trip (TFT) was published first as a series of microgames and, later, expanded with full-size books.
Steve’s TFT works, published between 1977 and 1980, included:
Melee (1977): A microgame of fantasy combat and the first release in the series. At $2.95,Melee was inexpensive and formed the core of the line.
Wizard (1978): Spellcaster battles! Wizard, the second TFT game, was originally slightly more expensive at $3.95 and provided the line’s magic rules.
Death Test (1978): Steve’s first solo adventure — ever! — and designed for use with Meleeand/or Wizard. To learn more about solo adventures, see “Writing a Solo Adventure” atthefantasytrip.game website.
Death Test 2 (1980): A sequel to Death Test and a chance to explore a second dungeon using only the Melee and/or Wizard microgames.
Advanced Melee (1980): Originally designed as part of the TFT boxed roleplaying game,Advanced Melee was split by the publisher from its planned format and released to a separate book of expanded combat rules.
Advanced Wizard (1980): Also snatched from the never-released TFT box set, this title presented more magic rules for use with the series.
In the Labyrinth (1980): The roleplaying rules for TFT and what would have been the core of the planned box set, In the Labyrinth included character rules, GM advice, monsters, and more.
Tollenkar’s Lair (1980): An adventure for TFT.
Steve left Metagaming after completing his work on In the Labyrinth and the other titles that were planned as parts of a never-to-be-published TFT box set. After his time at Metagaming, Steve published The Space Gamer magazine and founded Steve Jackson Games.
The Fantasy Trip continued at Metagaming, under the guidance of line editor Guy McLimore (author of the excellent Grail Quest TFT solo adventure) and others. Several adventures were released . . . then Metagaming closed its doors, and The Fantasy Trip was unavailable for nearly 40 years.
Fast forward to 2017. Steve regained rights to his work! He’s now working on the Legacy Edition . . . what TFT should have been when it was first published 40 years ago.
The Fantasy Trip is an “old-school” RPG, with easy character design, realistic tactical combat, and an emphasis on story. It is unabashedly focused on dungeon crawls and arena battles. It’s a great introduction for your friends who are new to roleplaying, because it’s so easy to get started.
Egg’s Thoughts:
I was *briefly* GM’ed (in a round robin) by Steve Jackson at Dragon*Con in the 90s and met him again, briefly, at Origins 2018. Like that event in my life came around for me, Steve Jackson is returning one of his original properties to the players after decades. This is worth checking out for that old school nostalgia and a still-original game. Check out the philosphy of the game here – easy character design, realistic tactical combat, and an emphasis on story – then head to the campaign and back it!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A tool book for tabletop roleplayers. No matter what game you play or how long you’ve been playing–have your best game ever!
Your Best Game Ever is not your typical RPG sourcebook. It’s not a book with adventures, spells, creatures, or magic items. It’s not a book for characters at all, but a book for players! If you play or run roleplaying games, this book is for you. Inside this gorgeous hardcover book, suitable for your coffee table or your gaming table, you will find advice and suggestions for enhancing your RPG experience at the table and away from it. This is an insider’s look at everything that goes into the hobby—finding a group, making a character, running a game, creating adventures, finding all the right ideas, hosting a game…and that’s just for starters.
If You’re an Experienced Gamer
You’ve been gaming for a while now. Maybe even years. You get the concepts, and you understand the rules. No one needs to explain the dice to you. Your Best Game Ever embraces the hobby you love, and provides real tips, immediately usable advice, and hands-on pointers you can use at your game table. You’ll find everything here from enhancing immersion, tips for running games online, creating characters with depth, worldbuilding, designing rules, dealing with personality conflicts that arise at the table, and more!
If You’re Fairly New to Gaming
Your friends play RPGs. You’ve maybe watched some streaming games, or given it a try a few times. You get the general idea, but where do you go from there? How do you really get into this hobby the way so many others have? This book will give you everything you need to learn how to choose the right game, how to fit into your game group or start your own group, and get you going on the fast track to being a great gamer.
Not a Rule Book, But a Tool Book Your Best Game Ever is divided into three major sections: general game topics, being a player, and being a game master. There’s even a section on designing your own game, and getting it published. And this isn’t just a stuffy book on theory, either. You’ll find actual suggestions you can use to create better characters with character arcs, real recipes you can make for game night (and even spruce them up for your genre of choice), specific suggestions for music and ambiance depending on genre, plot ideas, character ideas, and other ready-to-use material.
This 224-page book will enable you to become a better gamer. You’ll find ways to create and manage a great game group, tricks for game prep (and what to do if you haven’t prepared!), understanding and managing game balance, and taking everything around you and incorporating it as inspiration for your game.
Monte Cook, the principal author, has been playing RPGs for 40 years, and working on them professionally for 30 years. The MCG team, all of whom will be contributing, are an extremely seasoned group with a combined total of over 250 years of RPG experience. But we wanted to get an even wider and diverse set of experiences and points of view in this book, so we’ve recruited a team of folks that will provide feedback as well as their own contributions for the book. This dream team of consulting experts includes:
(Scroll down for more details on Your Best Game Ever)
In 2011, Monte created Numenera, and with it, a game system called the Cypher System. This game system has won awards and has been lauded by gamers everywhere as a wonderfully different way to play games of any genre. In 2015, we created the Cypher System Rulebook (CSR) to help gamers use the system for any type of game they wanted to play—fantasy, science fiction, horror, superheroes, and so on. You can get a copy of that book in this Kickstarter campaign, but we’re also Kickstarting a new version that will come out in 2019. The new version will incorporate lots of new options for players, but perhaps best of all it will take the concepts from Your Best Game Ever and apply them directly to the Cypher System. These two books will work hand-in-hand to create the best Cypher game ever!
(Scroll down for more details on the new Cypher System Rulebook)
If you’re new to the Cypher System and are curious about how it works, you can download the free Cypher System Rules Primerfor an idea of how the game plays.
Now that the Kickstarter has funded, our stretch goals will focus on the development of various genre-focused books that will take the concepts found in the new CSR and take them one step further, with specific examples. Each of these additional books will include an entirely new and original campaign setting as well as lots of material and advice for making your own in the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and more.
You’ve read the effusive descriptions above. Is Your Best Game Ever really for everyone? More importantly, is it for you? Maybe it would be better to just show you what’s in the book. Here’s a brief listing of some of the topics we’ll cover:
Our goal with this book is to make every game your best game ever. But we know–as GMs, players, and designers ourselves–that every game and every experience is unique. What’s the hardest struggle you have with creating great games, either as a player or as a GM? Looking for some GM or player advice? Let us know at this link. (Once the KS is complete and we’ve started working on the book, we’ll look through your comments to make sure the book covers players’ biggest issues and concerns.)
When we were finishing the new Numenera books, Discovery and Destiny, one of the first things that playtesters asked us was, are you going to incorporate some of the cool new material in these books into the Cypher System?
A valid question. And it got me (Monte) really thinking about the Cypher System Rulebook as a whole. I didn’t want to change the rules—I love the Cypher System, and wouldn’t touch the mechanics. But developing Numenera Discovery and Destiny showed me that there was a lot we could add in terms of player abilities and flexibility, and what the CSR really needs is flexibility. The idea that you can create any campaign in any genre is fundamental to the whole idea. And I realized we could take some steps to push that idea a lot further.
So we’re Kickstarting a brand new, revised 416-page Cypher System Rulebook. Before I go any further, though, let me say right now, if you’ve got the existing Cypher System Rulebookand you’re happy with it, great! These new ideas don’t change the way the rules work. You still roll a d20, you’ve still got difficulties 1⎼10, you’ve still got characters with descriptors, types, and foci. NPCs have levels. PCs use effort to decrease the difficulty. Everything is still fully compatible with everything Cypher-related that we’ve ever published. You’ll be able to play a game with half the characters from the original CSR and half from the new CSR all at the table at the same time. The difference isn’t in how the game is played, but in the choices players get to create and run their characters.
What I’m most excited about are the ways I’ve thought about over the last few years to make things more customizable so that you could even more easily use these rules in any setting. To that end, in this book we’re dramatically streamlining the chapter on character focus, so that you can customize your character’s focus to perfectly match the setting and your character concept. So if you’re making a starship pilot, a superhero, or an occult investigator, you don’t choose the one that fits best from a list of foci—you take your character concept and tailor your focus so that it really fits what you want to do.
Based on player feedback, we’re also making what we call subtle cyphers—cyphers that aren’t tied to a specific object—the default for all genres, and we’ll be including way more of them. (You’ll still be able to have cyphers as objects too.) This will make applying the concept of cyphers, which is obviously core to the system, easy no matter what kind of game you’re playing.
And of course, there’s all those new additions from Numenera Discovery and Destiny that add a lot of new options that just make the game better. They’re not really changes, they’re additions—new character abilities, more choices, player intrusions in addition to GM intrusions, and more. These will all be incorporated into the new CSR. And let me say again, it’s still all entirely compatible with existing Cypher System material, whether it be from theCSR or one of our settings like Gods of the Fall, Predation, or Unmasked (and of course, Numenera and The Strange).
Further, we’ll also be incorporating suggestions from Your Best Game Ever directly into this book. So, for example, Your Best Game Ever will talk about creating character arcs to enhance play, while the specific material for creating Cypher System character arcs as a mechanic will be included in this book.
Lastly, we’ll include even more genres you can use, in addition to fantasy, horror, and so on. We’re going to break science fiction into hard sci-fi and space opera/science fantasy, and we’ll add coverage for romance, historical gaming, and more! Learn more about the changes we’re planning to make here.
Your Best Game Ever: This 160-page beautiful hardcover book is suitable for your coffee table as well as your game table! Decades of gaming advice and insight all in one tome. If you love RPGs, you need this book. Also available as a PDF.
Cypher System Rulebook: This 416-page, lavishly illustrated, hardcover corebook is fully compatible with the original Cypher System Rulebook, and all Cypher System products like Numenera, The Strange, Gods of the Fall, Predation, and Unmasked! It contains everything you need to play a Cypher System game of your own. Also available as a PDF.“
Egg’s Thoughts:
Your Best Game Ever! is going to be an epic tool dealing with something that is not always covered in gaming, philosophy. When the rules are covered, the setting is immaculate, the game is scheduled, then this book deals with the connecting tissue between those elements, what will take them from a checklist of needs to a fun night of dice slinging. And it is written by some amazing writers!
“Contributing authors James Ward, Lenard Lakofka and more share some of their pro tips on how to create your first fantasy RPG adventure”
Looking for advice on how to create your tabletop RPG along with stock art to get you going? Learn from ” industry greats and legends James M. Ward, Lenard Lakofka, as well as exceptional talents such as Johnn Four, Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari, Kevin Watson, Bobby Nash and Egg Embry.” I’m excited to be a part of this project and offer my insights into the world of crowdfunding!
Yesterday I covered four RPG Kickstarters, Tiny Supers, Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD, Art of War, and Power Outage here. Today, let’s look at some news, press releases, and RPG deals.
NEWS BITES
Are you a fan of The Expanse either the novel series or the TV series? If/when Green Ronin Publishing’sThe Expanse Roleplaying Game reaches $300,000 and $400,000 in funding, the plan is to offer:
“$300,000: James S.A. Corey Flash Fiction We will add a new flash fiction reward tier. Imagine if you could have Daniel and Ty write a one page story about your Expanse RPG character. A select number of backers will be able to do just that if we unlock this stretch goal. All backers who pledge $30 or more will get a PDF of these stories for free!
$400,000: New James S.A. Corey Short Story The big enchilada! If we unlock this stretch goal, Ty and Daniel will write a brand new Expanse short story for the rulebook. It will be set in the period between Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War (the timeframe of our core rulebook) and feature new characters. How awesome is that?”These stories (getting official flash fiction is an amazing opportunity) will cement the RPG as canonical within the Expanse-verse. Status: Funding
I covered the Kickstarter for John Silence recently. After it successfully funded, they’ve started looking for submissions for an anthology. Do you have poetry or fiction for John Silence that you would like to submit by September 30th for paid publication? “The John Silence RPG & Anthology is a collective projective reinvisioning Algernon Blackwood’s “John Silence” short stories to focus on non-white/POC/ethnically and racially marginalized psychic detectives in an alternate American noir setting spanning the 1920s to the 1990s.” If so, they’re open to short submissions here. Status: Recruiting
As John McGuire discusses (here), I had a chance to play Savage Worlds Flash Gordon at Gen Con 2018. It was excellent and if you’re interested in getting a copy, there’s still a few more days to do so (here). Status: Funding
Are you a fan of Fat Goblin Games? Did you back any of the TinyD6 Kickstarters or bought them from DriveThruRPG? FGG has signed “a licensing agreement with Gallant Knight Games to create roleplaying game supplements based on the popular TinyD6 Engine. …Fat Goblin Games has teamed up with Gallant Knight Games to expand on the amazing TinyD6 genre books with new supplemental material. … The first planned release will be Heritage Composer, a complete guide to creating new heritages for your TinyD6 games.” For more details, you can read the full press release here. Status: Funding
Folklore: Creatures of Myth and Legend for Fifth Edition D&D – Ends on Thu, September 6 2018 6:04 PM EDT.
This is a limited time, early bird deal. At the CA$ 10 (US$ 8) Loremaster (Earlybird) level, you will receive a PDF of this 5e supplement at half price. If you’re going to back this, early is the time to do it! Check out the campaign here.
Domina Magica – A Magical Girl RPG – Ends on Thu, September 6 2018 10:00 PM EDT.
At the $1 Classmate level, you will receive:
💙Classmate💙
At this level you […] get a “FIGHT LIKE A MAGICAL GIRL” slap bracelet!!! […] Fight Like A Magical Girl Slap Bracelet (US backers only)
How cool is it that they’re bringing back slap bracelets? Along with this, there’s a lot of good coming from this Kickstarter! Check out the full campaign here.
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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON (August 2, 2018): Today,Paizo Inc. launched the worldwide playtest of Pathfinder Second Edition, an evolution of one of the world’s most popular tabletop roleplaying games. Thefree PDF bundle download of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook, Pathfinder Playtest Bestiary, Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Doomsday Dawn, and Flip-Mat Multi-Pack is available now on paizo.com.
“Overall feedback from the playtest reveals on the Paizo blog and through industry partners has been positive. We’ve made the rules more fun, easier to learn, and better for telling our favorite fantasy stories. Now, we need all your feedback to make Pathfinder Second Edition the best it can be,” said Erik Mona, Paizo’s Publisher and Chief Creative Officer.
Preordered print editions of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook, Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Doomsday Dawn, and Pathfinder Playtest Flip-Mat Multi-Pack have been shipped to players and are available for preorder pick up at Paizo’s booth at Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana, August 2–5.
Softcover, hardcover, and deluxe special editions are available for purchase in the Paizo booth at Gen Con and at game and bookstores worldwide. Paizo will not reprint the playtest rulebook or adventure, so players who want print editions should act quickly.
Playtest 1: The Lost Star begins Tuesday, August 7 and runs through August 26, kicking off the massive multi-month free playtest.
Pathfinder Playtest Schedule:
The Lost Star, August 7 – August 26
In Pale Mountain’s Shadow, August 27 – September 9
Affair at Sombrefell Hall, September 10 – September 23
The Mirrored Moon, September 24 – October 8
The Heroes of Undarin, October 9 – October 21
Red Flags, October 22 – November 4
When the Stars Go Dark, November 5 – November 18
Players are invited to visit PathfinderPlaytest.com to give feedback via online surveys for each of the 7 Doomsday Dawn adventure playtests and share opinions with others in the Pathfinder Playtest Forums on paizo.com. Paizo will be discussing the results of the Playtest surveys and changes they are implementing based on player feedback both on Paizo.com and on the Paizo Twitch channel (twitch.tv/officialpaizo). Players stay informed by signing up for email updates at paizo.com.
The worldwide Pathfinder Society organized play program has four more opportunities to playtest. Pathfinder Society Playtest #1: The Rose Street Revenge (August 7), Pathfinder Society Playtest #2: Raiders of Shrieking Peak (August 7), Pathfinder Society Playtest #3: Arclord’s Envy (August 7), and Pathfinder Society Playtest #4: The Frozen Oath (September 26) will all be available as free downloads.
Many Paizo official licensed partners are supporting the playtest. Players can immerse themselves in epic sounds with the Doomsday Dawn audio experience from Syrinscape. They can play with friends all over the world on Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 virtual tabletops. Players can also build their perfect character using Hero Lab. They can roll dice designed by Q Workshop to aesthetically compliment the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook. Players can celebrate their participation with the deluxe enamel collector pin by Campaign Coins. Links to all of this content are waiting for players on PathfinderPlaytest.com.
About Paizo
Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.
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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.
MetaArcade Announces Cthulhu Chronicles Creators Initiative, Android Plans, New Campaign at Gen Con
Contributors Can Sign Up to Create New Original Content for New Narrative Horror Game Using Company’s Adventure Creator Software; Cthulhu Chronicles Android Version Announced
SEATTLE – August 1, 2018 –MetaArcade, the developer of interactive fiction games, announced today it is significantly expanding the scope of its narrative horror game, Cthulhu Chronicles™, with three new initiatives following the game’s successful launch on the App Store:
First, starting today players can sign up for the new Cthulhu Creators program, where they can submit their own original interactive adventures for the game using MetaArcade’s proprietary Adventure Creator tool, the software the team uses to create adventures for the game.
Second, an Android version of Cthulhu Chronicles is now in development for Cthulhu fans who play on that platform, significantly expanding the game’s audience.
And third, the company today announced Mythos Across America, the game’s second Lovecraft campaign following today’s launch of Blackwater Creek, the ninth and final chapter of the game’s initial Investigations in Lovecraft Country campaign.
The Adventure Creator software, the new adventure, and a sneak peek at the upcoming campaign will all be on display at Gen Con 2018 in Chaosium’s booth, #829 in the Exhibit Hall.
“These three announcements mean the dreadful power of Cthulhu will soon be everywhere, fueled by the creativity of fans, powered by both iOS and Android devices, and charged with a darkly compelling new campaign from our team of cultists,” said David Reid, Founder and CEO of MetaArcade. “User generated content that taps into the storytelling potential of our audience has always been our plan and we’re excited to invite players to join the Cthulhu Creators program at Gen Con 2018.”
Created in partnership with Chaosium, creator of the popular tabletop RPG game, Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhu Chronicles distills the essence of the award-winning roleplaying system into a story-driven, intuitive experience designed for mobile gamers, with individual stories forming larger campaigns. In the game, players can play as various archetypal investigator characters such as a policewoman or private detective to pursue missions involving crazy cults, sinister creatures, and horrors from beyond space. At key decision points, players will make choices that matter, as each story has multiple endings and numerous clues to uncover—which in turn unlock new storylines and outcomes as the campaign unfolds.
All scenarios in the game, including the newly released Blackwater Creek adventure, which provides a breathtaking conclusion to the game’s initial Investigations in Lovecraft Country campaign, are created with MetaArcade’s proprietary Adventure Creator tool, which allows creators to write branching scenarios with combat and decision points, images, and immersive music and sound effects. Players interested in being the first to submit their own original material to the game through the Cthulhu Creators program can apply at MetaArcade.com or visit MetaArcade at Gen Con.
Cthulhu Chronicles, which is now available for iOS as a free download with in-app purchases and will soon be available on Google Play thanks to player requests, is developed and published by MetaArcade. Keep in touch with the latest MetaArcade news by following @MetaArcade and facebook.com/MetaArcade.
About MetaArcade
Launched in 2016, MetaArcade is a Seattle area independent game company building a platform to allow players to create and publish their own interactive fiction experiences – with no technical experience required – for free. The company was founded by lifelong RPG fan and seasoned vet David Reid, who previously held high profile roles at Microsoft, NCsoft, Trion Worlds, and CCP Games. MetaArcade launched Tunnels & Trolls Adventures in 2017 for Android and iOS mobile devices, and launched the horror adventure title, Cthulhu Chronicles, for iOS on July 10, 2018. For more information, visit www.MetaArcade.com.
About Chaosium
Chaosium was founded by visionary game designer Greg Stafford in 1975. For more than forty years, Chaosium has captivated gamers, readers and mythic adventurers worldwide. Its award-winning roleplaying games, boardgames and fiction have been acclaimed as some of the most engaging and innovative of all time. For more information, visit www.chaosium.com.
AboutCallofCthulhu
Chaosium’sCallofCthulhu was created by gaming legend Sandy Petersen in 1981 and is the definitive horror roleplaying game. It has won over 80 awards since then, including being inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Art and Design Hall of Fame. The current 7th editionof the rules won 9 awards at the 2017 ENnies.
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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.
I’m back from Gen Con 2018 [you can read Part One of John McGuire’s review of our trip here] and ready to focus on some amazing RPGs available via Kickstarter. These are projects that I have connection to (I’m friends with the creators or they are an all-ages game) and that look amazing! Let’s dive in!
“Tiny Supers – Minimalist, four-color tabletop superhero roleplaying based on the TinyD6 system!
Gallant Knight Games is happy to present the latest genre-book for our TinyD6 minimalist roleplaying system: Tiny Supers!
Using the rules in this book, you’ll be able to play superheroes of all types, from paragons and exemplars, to super-science heroes of the future or past, to cosmic guardians defending the far-reaches of the galactic civilizations from untold threats!
Alan was on Victory Condition Gaming talking about Tiny Supers! While the video is 40 minutes long, the first 5 to 10 minutes are hyper focused on the game and the contents of the campaign (but you can listen to the whole thing if you want!)
The Iconic Hero and paragon of the GallantVerse, Gallant! Art by Nicolas Giacondino
Character creation is simple, fast, and exciting. You pick your character archetype based on the exciting stories your Game Master is going to tell, you pick a few Traits or Powers that each grant a single benefit, and you’re done!
For the first time ever, a TinyD6 game will have it’s own detailed setting, as we bring the GallantVerse to you!
You can read more about the GallantVerse below!
Ryker Swift, aka Velocity! One of our Iconic GallantVerse Heroes. Art by Nicolás Giacondino
Sometimes as the GM, you don’t have time to plot lengthy, detailed worlds, but you want that experience. Well, we’ve got your back, and that support comes in the form of micro-verses and our signature setting, The GallantVerse!
Micro-verses are short settings filled with adventure hooks, and designed to put your adventures and campaigns into high action-adventure.
Our goal is to fund a softcover edition, a limited number of hardcover collector’s editions, and the Tiny Supers dice. We’ve planned several stretch goals which will increase page count, add more art, add more special rules but all of our goals will provide you with more fun and engaging superhero tabletop content!
You might notice that our funding goal is much higher than previous TinyD6 Kickstarters. One of our goals with this project is to fund a full-color book, replete with gorgeous art from the very talented Nicolás Giacondino, with posters and covers by a variety of talented artists.
Additionally, the writing on the GallantVerse is being handled by top industry talent. We’re set on paying all our contributors well, and our goal reflects our commitment to an ethical pay rate for our writers, artists, and team members.
Pulsewave, one of our GallantVerse Iconics! Art by Nicolás Giacondino
TinySupers uses a simple, fast, and dynamic ruleset to handle actions. The game uses up to three six-sided dice as part of action resolution.
If you roll a “5” or “6” on a die, your check succeeds. Most checks are made with two dice. However, if you are deemed to have “advantage” on a roll, you gain a third die to roll. If you have disadvantage, you lose a dice (rolling only a single die).
Characters are made quickly and easily. You will select a superheroic archetype (such as Paragon, Gadgeteer, Defender, Mastermind or more), three traits or powers, and write down some basic information and you are ready to play!
Bastion, one of our GallantVerse Iconics! Art by Nicolás Giacondino
If you’re familiar with the TinyD6 ruleset, you’re probably wondering how Power Traits are different than Traits?
Well, Power Traits are new traits that gain better versions of themselves as you take them again and again. Let’s use an example, like Super–Speed (Alan’s favorite power.) Super–Speed has 3 Tiers. The first time a Trait choice is spent to select Super–Speed.
TierOne: Any turn in which you move, you also count as having taken the Evade action.
If a Hero were to select the Super-Speed Power Trait again with a Trait Choice, they’d gain the Tier Two Power:
TierTwo: You can take a move action once per turn, without using up one of your two actions for the turn.
If they repeated it a third time, they’d gain the third and final power:
TierThree: When you take a move action, you can move three times.
All the PowerTraits in Tiny Supers function on a level similar to this. There is a wide swath of powers, making almost any super imaginable!
Darklight, one of our Iconic GallantVerse Villains! Art by Nicolás Giacondino
The GallantVerse is the standard superheroic setting for Tiny Supers! Conceived by Alan Bahr, the GallantVerse is a near-future setting, where superheroes have recently come into being!
The GallantVerse is a setting focused on heroic and exciting heroes, with a slight science fiction bent and a focus on hope and optimistic heroism! All your favorite comic book angles are here, from mystical occultists, to mutants, to paragons of science and technology, and massive cosmic threats! We’re hitting all the notes!
Our core of the setting is the coastal city of Sentry City! A technological hotspot, Sentry City is the birthplace of superheroes and the central piece of the GallantVerse.
As the first cohesive core campaign setting for the TinyD6 line, GallantVerse is being overseen by Alan, with writing by an excellent troupe of freelancers!
The Eagle! One of our GallantVerse Iconics. Art by Nicolás Giacondino
Micro-settings are unique, small universes that exist in alternate dimensions adjacent to theGallantVerse!
They are specifically designed to be used as a tool, resource, or spring-board for your own campaigns.
All of the micro-verses come with some story and some fluff that is designed to be unique to that particular micro-verse.
The core book comes with some very different micro-verses, all of them written by those we selected from our Tiny Supers Open Call!
Further down the page (and revealed as they’re unlocked) are the micro-verses that are included in Tiny Supers! All of them were unlocked by stretch goals, and we’ve compiled them below!
Asher Solomon, the Immortal Magus and GallantVerse Iconic! Art by Nicolás Giacondino
Gallant Knight Games is a indie game company ran by Alan and Erin Bahr. This is our 10th GKG Kickstarter!
Our previous TinyD6 Kickstarters (Tiny Frontiers and Tiny Frontiers: Mecha & Monsters) delivered early to backers (4 months in the case of Tiny Frontiers), and Tiny Dungeon 2e was on time!
Our micro-settings are written by some of the most talented freelancers in the RPG business!
Tiny Supers has been in development since late 2016 and been in play-testing for 12 months! The art is all in, and paid for (with the exception of any stetch goals). The goal of this Kickstarter is to pay for the print run and unlock our stretch goals, making this a truly gorgeous book.
Montebank, an Iconic Occult Villain! Art by Nicolas Giacondino
As we continue along, we’ll be previewing bios of our fantastic freelancers and writers here!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This year I met Alan (Gallant Knight Games) Bahr at Gen Con (it’s nice to put a face with a name). During another campaign, I interviewed Alan Bahr about Tiny Dungeon 2nd Editionhere (Tiny Supers uses the same core mechanic). The system is simple enough that it can be viewed as an all-ages option (which I love), but not so simple there’s no joy in playing it. TinyD6 is a popular system and it spans a variety of genres.
Of the Tiny-verse, only the campaign for Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition has more backers and pledges. Add to this, Fat Goblin Games will be creating “roleplaying game supplements based on the popular TinyD6 Engine” [read the press release here], this is a good time to try TinyD6!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A Terran Trade Authority Handbook. Full color reprint of the original books by Stewart Cowley.
No one would have believed, in the closing years of the 1970’s, that science fiction was to experience a boom that would last through to the present day. The summer blockbuster had only just been invented. There was only one Star Wars movie. The voyage of the Battlestar Galactica had only just begun, and Buck Rogers had yet to conquer television. But between the pages of the Terran Trade Authority handbooks, enthralled readers were discovering a beautiful and brightly-coloured vision of the future, where wondrous spacecraft explored strange planets, navigated shimmering nebulae and fought desperate battles among the stars. Illustrated by some of the world’s greatest science fiction artists and written by Stewart Cowley, the handbooks told the tale of mankind’s expansion into the unknown and the trials and wonders they encountered. Conceived of as a “Jane’s Guide” for the future, the books made use of the stunning artwork produced for the paperback science fiction market at the time, reproducing them in lush colour and on glossy paper. Beginning with Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD in 1978, the Terran Trade Authority series went on to become a cult phenomenon, loved and fondly remembered by all who came across them. The Terran Trade Authority presented a bright vision of the future, optimistic about man’s place in the universe, and featuring a strong undercurrent of mystery, wonder and adventure. In recent years the volumes have become collectors’ items – expensive and rarely found, but never forgotten – and have gone on to influence creators around the globe. The setting has spawned two role-playing games and has been cited as a clear inspiration for the best-selling computer game No Man’s Sky. Within the pages of the books are a veritable who’s who of science fiction art, including such names as Jim Burns, Alan Daniels, Peter Elson, Fred Gambino, Colin Hay, Robin Hiddon, Bob Layzell, Angus McKie, Chris Foss, Chris Moore, Tony Roberts, and Trevor Webb. Now, with your help, we are proud to present a special 40th Anniversary Edition of the first of the TTA handbooks; Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD. It’s time to return to the future!
ACM 113, Fatboy
About Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD
The Terran Trade Authority is an original science-fiction setting first presented in four large-format full-colour illustrated books, published between 1978 and 1980. Each book is presented as an “in-universe” document, detailing the history of the Terran Trade Authority and their spectacular spacecraft. This book covers the events immediately before and after the Proximan War Era, and is presented in the same manner as an aircraft recognition guide, made up entirely of spacecraft descriptions and art accompanied by details of their role and performance in the war, and occasionally their history afterwards.
Nomad Industrial Complex
Foreword to Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD: 40th Anniversary Edition
During the heady days of the Russian-American space race and the globally televised Apollo missions, the world watched enthralled as humans took the first faltering steps beyond gravity’s grip. But as time passed public enthusiasm waned. The value and relevance of space research and its huge costs were questioned In the face of global social, political and economic pressures. But eventually, popular interest in space exploration re-emerged. A major imperative was the growing awareness of Planet Earth’s fragility in the face of the demands we made on it. However successful we were in conserving our world’s resources and developing new forms of energy, the fact remained that we were simply outgrowing our homeworld. The search for Earth-like planets and the technology to travel there became of paramount importance. The post-Apollo drop in popular enthusiasm for space research did not mean that the scientific community relaxed their search for answers. On the contrary, a growing number of major players brought fresh resources to the table. In addition to NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, China, Japan, India, the European Space Agency and even private enterprise grew our knowledge base. Not just in how we would travel in space but where we might go. A major contributor was NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. Launched in 2009 to seek out exoplanets – planets beyond our own solar system – Kepler soon identified over 1000 of them. Only a dozen or so were Earth-like, as to qualify, planets could not be much larger than twice Earth’s size and therefore rocky, in order to increases the probability of surface water. Such planets also had to orbit the ‘habitable zone’ of its sun where the average temperature allowed water to exist in liquid form. Identifying the ‘Where’ brought us to the ‘How’, the greatest challenge of all. Entirely new aspects of astrophysics had to explored and manipulated for interstellar travel to become a reality. The strongest contenders were forms of Warp Drive where the space-time continuum, the actual fabric of space, is distorted. Work by NASA’s Dr. Harold ‘Sonny’ White made significant advances in Warp Drive technology using advanced Quantum Optics to create a space-time bubble around a craft that would enable it to move independently from the rest of space. By compressing space-time in front of the vessel and expanding it behind, faster-than-light speeds became possible. The key point in making interstellar travel a reality came about in 2012 with the founding of the 100 YSS (100 Year Star Ship Project) funded initially by NASA and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). The formation of Icarus Interstellar in 2011 and its Starship Congress of 2013 combined with the introduction of Brane Cosmology took faster-than-light (FTL) research to a new level. The creation of the Terran Trade Authority harnessed global research and made Warp Drive systems and our journey to the stars a reality.
~ CMDR Stewart Cowley Terran Trade Authority
Colonial III, Angus McKie
Add-Ons
RPG Add-on
Terran Trade Authority: The Proxima War. This is the setting book written for the Savage Worlds game system. For an additional $15 you will be able to purchase a PDF of the book, for an additional $25 you will be able to purchase a softcover copy of the book. Shipping to be figured after the end of this kickstarter.
Promotional Opportunity
We know that as midshipmen, it can take forever to qualify for that promotion in the Terran Navy, so why not do what good midshipmen have done for ages, bribe your way up the chain of command. You can just add an amount for which ever rank you request promotion, you will be listed in the back of the book with a dedication to you at that rank. It’s the easiest way to be promoted. Ship assignments, where necessary, will be posted on the order sheet detailed in the back of the book.
+$10 Ensign. While its not a high rank, it does put you in the officers core.
+$15 Lieutenant. It’s a little higher on the chain of command, Captains are still above you, but you get to command Ensigns and midshipmen. You get to look forward to your own ship command one of these days.
+$20 Captain. Here you are, you immediately will be assigned to your own starship, at the assignment of the Admiralty when needed. The Admiralty will randomly assign you a ship (type and name) for your command.
+$25 Rear Admiral. You are in command of a squadron, imagine being in command of a fleet of ships. Its not easy baring that responsibility, but you are pretty sure you have the chops for it. The admiralty will give you a random assignment for your fleet, something like Terran Defense Command or Terran Training Command.
Book Specs
Author and Artist: Stewart Cowley and company (this book will contain all the original artwork)
Size: the print book will be a 8.5 x 11 book, either in softcover or hardcover, depending on your choice.
Layout: New layout will be done by J Gray.
40th Anniversary logo is by Ian Stead
Stretch Goals
$13000 – Terran Trade Authority RPG material for the Starfinder Role Playing Game published by Paizo Publishing in PDF. A POD version will be made available for purchase should we reach this stretch goal.
$15000 – Terran Trade Authority RPG sourcebook for the Cepheus Engine (A current Mongoose Traveller 1e clone) in PDF. A POD version will be made available for purchase should we reach this stretch goal.
SHIPPING THE REWARDS
Shipping is not included in the pledge levels. That’s because for this Kickstarter campaign, we’re going to send out surveys and collect shipping fees through BackerKit once we’re ready to ship out all physical rewards. This not only means all funds raised in the Kickstarter are going towards covering the costs of production (creating an electronic edition from a print is not cheap. The cost of production include licensing fees, layout, and printing) but it gives us plenty of time to source the best and least expensive international shipping options through fulfilment agents in Europe and Asia. Thanks for being understanding! We know that for some it’s much easier just to take care of the total costs all at once upon pledging, but we hope you’ll see that this approach is not only better for the project but affords you the lowest shipping costs when the time comes.
Cyclops, Colin Hay
Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD is (c) 1978 Stewart Cowley. All art is (c) 1978 to the respective artist. All work used herein is used with permission and under license.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is a campaign to reprint the first in a series of books, it has a stretch goal to make it the setting for two RPG systems (Starfinder [a new stretch goal] and the Cepheus Engine), and it will be beautiful. Everyone involved in this has a great deal of love for this series. On the Open Gaming Network, I interviewed Jonathan Thompson about this campaign (here), and it covers so much ground. If you’re on the fence, I recommend that interview.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
“Art of War (relaunch): The Martial Arts Setting in a Fantasy Anime World. Powered by Savage Worlds. Be a Hero. Be a Legend.
Art of Waris an anime inspired setting of over-the-top action. Art of War combines the exciting influences of Heroes of the East mixed with Samurai Champloo. A high-flying martial arts campaign where Players and Game Masters can tell epic stories of Outlaws of the Marshand Forty-Seven Ronin using Savage Worlds.
Welcome to the San Empire…
It is the rise of a new dynasty for the people of the San Empire. After an invasion of an Oni horde, the Three Clans attempt to rebuild a nation with the help of a new Emperor. The proud Kitsune Clan slowly relinquishes territory to the Imperial Court. Members of the Tiger Clan work to restore the peoples faith in the land with the guidance of the Jade Stratagem. The leaders of the Serpent Clan remain silent keeping their plans secret.
Mock up only. Cover arrangement may change.
Art of War introduces new features for Savage Worlds® fans and RPG enthusiasts. It offers unique & updated setting rules inspired by the tropes of Anime, Samurai Sagas, and Wuxia Epics. These include:
Tropes: Adapted from the Iconic Framework character creation rules of Savage Rifts® and the standard archetypes, Tropes offer a chance for a player to choose a starting package and jumping off point of skills and abilities that reflect their role in the story. This is a simple “plug-in” to the core Savage Worlds® character creation process.
Chi System: A streamlined rule set based of the Power system of the core rules allowing for a combination of cinematic game play and martial arts flavor. Designed for ease of use, it syncs with the core philosophy of the Fast, Furious, Fun role-playing you have come except out of a Savage Worlds® game.
Glory & Honor System: For those that want to introduce a more social system, we have created an optional rule designed just for you. The Glory & Honor System is designed to track a Wild Card’s fame, honor, reputation and even notoriety throughout the course of a game in the world of Art of War.
New Races: While humans are the default race across the Empire, we pull from anime and have created the Kemonomimi and Terracotta. Animal spirits that grew by the side of mankind are the Kemonomimi. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but only seven species are prominent. The Terracotta are clay vessels that hold the spirit of those that have passed and have been given a second chance at life.
New Edges: New Combat, Racial, Social, and Weird Edges are introduced to add character background and story hooks for Game Masters.
New Hindrances: The epic folklore and inspiring tales of the past, humanize mythic heroes and make them relatable. It is the same for the stories that we tell in our home games. While not everyone’s favorite part, we introduce new hindrances to add both serious (like the Mute Hindrance) and comedic value (such as Nosebleed) to play.
New Skills: Two new skills are introduced, Acrobatics and Meditation.
Tropes & Races
Declaration of Red Pass ends the war between the Tiger and Kitsune Clans.
A horde of Oni invade from the southern wastelands, slaughtering everything in their path as they move up the coastline to the East.
Tiger and Kitsune launch a combined two year campaign expelling the Oni from the San Empire. Southern Wall is erected to keep the Oni at bay. Once completed, the ruling Emperor, Liu Shan, passes away leaving an empty throne and no heirs.
From the Northern Mountains the Serpent Clan emerges from hiding with a decedent from the First Emperor.
The Serpent Clan, Tiger Clan and the majority of the Kitsune Clan accept Wu Zhang as the new Emperor.
Not the final map.
While welfare and prosperity is on the rise, the San Empire is not entirely stable. Along the eastern coast lies the loose alliance of feudal lands of former clan members who refuse to recognize Emperor Wu Zhang.
Rebellions of the poor and destitute cry for help. Hauntings from the wrongfully dead plague the lands after the sun goes down. Patches of Oni have been sighted north of the Wall. Each clan has internal power struggles as they clamor for favor with the new Emperor.
Players take up the mantle of Heroes in a land of need. Will they fall to the clan politics and internal struggle. Or will they rise to become Legends and carve their names into the scroll of history?
Art Montage 1
Imperial Scribe – Wojciech “Drejk” Gruchala (Contributing Writer): Drejk was born in the country historically marking the border between the West and the East, during the times when communist regime faded to democracy, in a city sporting an actual dragon cave. He was fan of SF and Fantasy since he can remember, having learned to read on a fairy tale book. He also discovered games when he was but a wee hatchling, starting with early computer games and board games, followed by more complex wargames, and then role playing games. Assembling worlds and creating snippets of fictional cosmology, history, culture, and science is his favorite part of role playing games. You can find his work on his blog: Shaper of Worlds
Ukiyo-e – Sasha Turk (Artist and sole Illustrator): Sasha Turk is a freelance concept artist. For three years, she has been published in several Amora Game products. Her most notable character designs appear in Kemonomimi: Moe Races and Xeno Files Issue 5. Sasha lives in Lake Forest, California. You can find her online portfolio here, and see sneak peaks of work for Art of War.
Humble Peasant – Greg LaRose (Creator & Publisher): Greg is the owner and operator of Amora Game, LLC. Art of War has been a labor of love and is happy to see it come to production. You can find Amora Game published works here.
This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.
Art Montage 2
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is a relaunch of this campaign with new additions and a better goal (which it’s already met). For the first iteration, I interviewed Greg here and much of that still applies. I thought this looked strong on the first try and looks strong again here. But, don’t take my word for it, try some samples:
“Power Outage is a kid-friendly, kid-focused Superhero roleplaying game, that focuses on accessibility, learning, teamwork, and fun!
Power Outage is a kid-friendly, kid-focused Supers roleplaying game where it’s all about being the hero, taking down villains, and being accessible to the widest audience as possible.
It started out originally as a personal project to introduce my own children into the world of tabletop gaming. But Power Outage has grown and is now ready to bring a new generation into the world of tabletop role-playing.
A UNIQUE CHARACTER CREATION SYSTEM
Power Outage does not have classes or races. If your kids want to make a Human, a Robot, an Alien, a Ghost, or an 8-foot tall anthropomorphic zebra girl they can. Powers come from a library of effects that kids get to apply their own characteristics.
STREAMLINED CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-ADVENTURES
Power Outage makes use of a CAPE (Combat, Alternative, Puzzle, Exploration) component technique that allows you to easily build your own adventures, or allows you to choose your own path through pre-made modules.
FOCUS ON ACCESSIBILITY
Power Outage offers guidance for gaming with kids of various ages and abilities. Through Differentiation and Accessibility guidance, GMs can make the table fun for everyone.
A COMPLETE PACKAGE
Power Outage contains player instructions, GM guidance, a compendium of villains, and a complete adventure to play with! You supply dice and an imagination, and we will take care of the rest!
Mrs. Robotto
EASY ON RULES, BIG ON COOL
Power Outage focuses on the concept of guidance rather than hard set rules. You take from the book what you need, and build the game as you go. But there is enough guidance built in that you don’t need to question how to play. Free resources are also available for characters, powers, and adventures. The mechanics are easy enough to pick up in a half hour, but not boring or overly simplified. You’ll constantly find yourself rolling and strategizing.
THE POWER TO LEARN
Power Outage is built not only as a game but a potential educational tool. The game slots in perfectly with a gamified classroom, but also works tremendously in counseling as well. Villains also have weaknesses based off of Meta actions that allow your players actions outside of the game to impact the world of Outage.
PLAY THE GAME YOU WANT
5 distinct regions allow you to customize a game you want in this safe and wonderous sandbox world. Do you want to create a fantasy adventure? Try The Overgrowth or The Sink! Looking for your classic Super Hero Beatum Up? Turn to the soaring futuristic heights of Shorai City! Looking for a gritty detective story. Try delving into the murky alleyways of the Atomic Punk ever-night Atomnyy Zavod. The entire mythos is built into this single book.
WHY SO SERIOUS
Well, it’s not. Power Outage is filled with fun adventures, puns, and references that even adults will enjoy. In fact, Power Outage is just as often played by groups of adults as it is by groups of kids. With villains like Break Fast, InstaGator, The Bulshefist, and heroes like SuburbanKnight, Rockin Troll, and Pocket Protector, the adventures are off the wall fun.
Product Information
Power Outage is currently sitting at roughly 160 pages in its rough draft form. That number might change during the edit and design process, which is this Kickstarter is funding. Currently, the plan is to have this printed in Hardcover format at 8.5×11, with options for digital copies in PDF at its outset. As mentioned the game is intended to be GMed by adults, but kids are welcome to try their hand at it. The game can be played with as few as one player and one gm. The core rulebook offers differentiation and accessibility guidance that allows you to play the game with varying abilities.
Power Outage 1.4 Cover
The core rulebook includes the following sections:
Quick Play Instructions – A 4-page primer that gets you playing or demoing a game in only a few minutes
What Is Power Outage – An introductory to Power Outage, Tabletop RPGs, and external resources
Mechanics – Gameplay mechanics for Players or GMs
Heroes – Creating Heroes including Powers, Guidance, and Crafting Unique Experiences, as well a Character Sheet
The World – Information on the history and current standing of Outage, Its five primary regions, adventure hooks, travel information, notable villains and heroes, and region-specific roll tables that add complexities to your adventures
Villain Files – Information, stats and weaknesses for 120 villains, sorted by Region and leading Villain
Gaming with Kids – Guidance for playing with kids at different age ranges (from as early as 4 years old), abilities, and how to manage differentiated game tables where kids have varying degrees of capabilities
Accessibility Accommodations – Guidance for playing with kids that have disabilities, including Pre-Session communication, general guidance, and information pertaining to five accessibility domains (Physical, Communicative/Receptive, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Emotional)
Free Play Guide – A full guide on how to create your own adventures using the resources within the book
Trading Spaces – A level 1 to 4 adventure set in Shorai City against the villain Mrs. Roboto.
RoboTrouper
A majority of the Kickstarter funding is going toward art, design, editing, and some other miscellaneous production costs.
Here is an example of the quality of change that can be achieved. While my design was serviceable, Rosanna Spucces will take the design to the next level. To something that is professional.
Power Outage Character Sheet Redesign
My Designer and Editor will be Rosanna Spucces of https://www.rsdesignsnyc.com/
My Artist is Abhishek Ghimire”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is the second superhero game on here and the second all-ages RPG system. The system, just from a small sampling, looks more rules-heavy than most all-ages games. It’s a bold choice and I’m curious to get the rules details. The art looks great and I’m eager to see how it plays.
Fat Goblin Games Licences TinyD6 from Gallant Knight Games
Fat Goblin Games is pleased to announce a licensing agreement with Gallant Knight Games to create roleplaying game supplements based on the popular TinyD6 Engine.
TinyD6 is a minimalist RPG system published by Gallant Knight Games. With a great assortment of genre books (such as Tiny Dungeons 2nd Edition, Tiny Frontiers, Tiny Wastelands, and Tiny Supers currently on Kickstarter), the TinyD6 Engine is an ever expanding system with a dedicated and growing fanbase. Fat Goblin Games has teamed up with Gallant Knight Games to expand on the amazing TinyD6 genre books with new supplemental material.
“Rick was a huge fan of the TinyD6 games, and I loved seeing his posts about playing with his daughters!” says Alan Bahr, publisher at Gallant Knight Games. “When he asked if we could work together to allow Fat Goblin Games to create products for TinyD6 fans, I was excited to see what they do, and absolutely had to say yes!”
Fat Goblin Games will bring new supplements and expansion material to the TinyD6 Engine as well as several genre books. The first planned release will be Heritage Composer, a complete guide to creating new heritages for your TinyD6 games.
“We are really excited about working with Alan and Gallant Knight Games. I loved Tiny Dungeons 2nd Edition and picked it up to play with my daughters. Wasn’t long before my kids were playing on their own and Alan gifted them a complete set of game books and supplement material. It was an amazing gift to them and made me want to work with him and on TinyD6 games even more! I can’t wait to begin on the first book and believe the fans will love what we do with our supplements,” said Fat Goblin Games owner Rick Hershey.
Gallant Knight Games is a Utah-based roleplaying and publishing company dedicated to heroic, fun and high-quality RPG materials. They are best known for the TinyD6 line, while venturing out into new ideas with the Gallant Pocket Games, Venerable Knight Classics, and other game lines, such as the espionage thriller RPG, Cold Shadows.
Based in South Carolina, USA, Fat Goblin Games was founded in 2011 to create Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible products. With a focus on high quality production values and providing a creative environment for our team of freelancers (TheFat Goblin Hoarde), Fat Goblin Games has quickly become a recognized force in the world of Third Party Publishers of not just the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and 5th Edition Fantasy, but also supporting the vs. M Engine and releasing official products for Castle Falkenstein, originally published by R. Talsorian Games. With hundreds of support books, visual aids, campaign settings, and quality stock art, Fat Goblin Games continues to provide exciting content and fantastic worlds in which gamers can immerse themselves.
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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.
After the success of the trip last year (which you can read about here and here) (you know, none of us killed any of the others after being together non-stop for the better part of 5 days), Lee, Egg Embry, and I took a drive back to the land of corn and at one point Peyton Manning.
This year continued the idea of checking out all the gaming systems we’d never had the opportunity to play previously. In fact, much of the last year or we’ve played a handful of games just to get that different kind of exposure.
DAY 1
Thursday started off with a trip to the Dealers’ Room. I’m not sure if I mentioned it last year, but the room is enormous. Even if you were moving quickly and barely taking any time to look around it would probably be a couple of hours. Throughout the weekend we’d squeeze an hour here or an hour there to try to slowly move through the building and even then it was easier said than done. In addition, you have all the game demos going on, but if you are only in the room on a scattered basis, there is almost no way to fit it in. The best we can figure is MAYBE you set aside Thursday and not do anything but go through the room playing demos and squeezing everything you can out of that room and then basically be done with it.
However, we couldn’t do that, and after a couple of hours, it was on to the first game.
Flash Gordon (Savage Worlds)
While I’d like to claim that I have an in-depth knowledge of the old serials or the cartoons or even the comics, my brush with Flash Gordon is limited to three things:
The Queen Soundtrack
The 80’s Movie
And explaining to people that the Flash and Flash Gordon are two entirely different characters.
Savage Worlds is an interesting system in that the is probably just enough complexity to give those people who really like the more Crunchy systems, but for the most part, it was fairly easy to understand. We were introduced to the “Exploding Dice” mechanic which basically means that if you roll the maximum value on a dice you get to roll again (so a 6 on a d6 would mean a reroll and add it to the first result). I enjoyed the system enough that I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of it at some point.
Given that we were playing in a pulpy game setting with ray guns and short skirts and evil robots, Lee and Egg told me that I had to use my newsreel voice for whatever character I get (to get an idea of what that might sound like, think about the old movies where the news was also played along with the film and how the narrator might have sounded). I chose a Mad Scientist type character and put maximum effort into the voice. I hope that the other players had fun because I had a ball (as goofy as it might have been to say “What’s that dame up to now?” or “This just in, we need to get the hell out of here!”).
Rest easy, we stopped Ming’s latest plot to destroy the Earth, so you can thank me the next time you see me!
Wicked Pacts
I didn’t have any idea what Wicked Pacts might have been, but it was pretty easy to figure out as it plays in the Modern Day (Urban Fantasy, where the supernatural are all too real, and you get to play a magic user of some type). The system combined Tarot cards along with D10s. The DM did a great job, and the players seemed like they were having a good time as well. There were minor things that I wasn’t overly thrilled with in regards to the system, but there was plenty of good as well. I think that if you wanted to play a Dresden Files type of game this would be a good one to check out!
Day 2
Geist
We had it all figured out. A five-hour session playing Geist (a Storyteller/World of Darkness Game). We visited Onyx Press’s booth on Thursday and talked to one of the guys who had worked on the 2nd edition of the game. And promptly got screwed up… on the time and place of our game. He said he was running the demo at 10 AM and that was the time we had set up for our game. But it was actually in the dealers’ room – something none of us had done before. Still, we didn’t think anything of it until the game ended about an hour and a half… it was a five-hour session. At which point Lee double checked the ticket and realized we were in the wrong place!
The game just completed a Kickstarter for the 2nd edition we played. You can check that out here.
As to the game demo itself, I’ve now played Storyteller games a few times in the last year, so the familiarity is now there. I was more concerned with the story. I know nothing of the original 1st edition Geist, but this idea of people who deal with ghosts while dealing with the fact they’d come back to life in another way. Even as a simple short story, it suddenly clicked on how you could do a full campaign with the system and really have some fun with local ghost stories in your area.
Hmmm, research, where I have to visit creepy places in and around Atlanta, may not be the best idea…
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Hope you enjoyed Part 1, Part 2 will be up next week.
Wet Ink Games, LLC has partnered with artist Charles Ferguson-Avery to produce new tabletop roleplaying games based on his setting from the World War Occult art book which was successfully funded on Kickstarter in January of 2018.
World War Occult is a gritty horror setting where an eldritch hellscape flows over the battlefields in a fantasy World War, heavily inspired by the first-person accounts of the Great War.
The first book in the line “Never Coming Home: A World War Occult RPG” will detail the setting and the ongoing war effort, the soldiers caught up in the fight, and the strange magics that have begun coursing through the veins of humanity.
This full-color, 96-128 page book will contain all the rules and material needed to play the game, and will present a new narrative-focused, rules-light system based on Wet Ink Games’ innovative Compass System. It will release at Gen Con 2019, following fulfillment of a planned Q4 2018 Kickstarter.
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See the Kickstarter for the World War Occult Art Bookhere.
Gen Con Reaches New Heights in 2018 with a Year of Firsts
INDIANAPOLIS (August 6, 2018) Gen Con, the largest and longest-running game convention in North America, has announced that its 2018 convention is the most attended ever, propelled by a record number of 4-Day badge sales, a 16% year-over-year increase in Saturday badge holders, and astounding 60% jump in year-over-year growth for both Sunday badge holders and children attending with wristbands.
“By any metric, Gen Con 2018 was an enormous success,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “The combination of a record number of veteran gamers arriving from around the world with an amazing surge in first-year attendees illustrates the bright future of gaming. We were also delighted to welcome many game industry partners back to the convention, including Blizzard, Pokémon, and Magic: The Gathering, which celebrated its 25th birthday at Gen Con. We’re proud that while substantially more than 60,000 unique attendees were on-site over four days, the feedback from customers, sponsors, and exhibitors was that we provided a smoothly-run show and top-notch customer experience.”
Beyond attendance records, Gen Con also set philanthropic high marks in 2018, raising more than $50,000 for its charity partners, The Jack Vasel Memorial Fund and Second Helpings, through multiple on-site events. Since moving to Indy in 2003, Gen Con has now raised more than $300,000 for its charity partners.
In a year of firsts, Gen Con launched convention-long streaming of events on Twitch, the online gaming network, netting more than 300,000 unique viewers of its programming with more than three million minutes of watched footage. The convention also successfully released a successful beta test of its on-site electronic event ticketing system, supporting nearly 10,000 transactions with the intention of expanding that service in future conventions.
Gen Con’s Block Party debuted in 2018, expanding Gen Con’s outdoor, free, unbadged experience spanning Georgia Street, on to South Street, and with placements around the Indianapolis downtown. The 2018 Block Party included 65+ food trucks, two Sun King Beer Gardens, Hot Box Pizza stands, an activation from the Indianapolis Public Library, and a free concert with the bands Local H and Brother O’ Brother.
This year’s convention featured more than 520 game companies, more than 600 new games, 17,000 ticketed events, and a significant increase in programming in Lucas Oil Stadium. The convention plans to continue its development of Lucas Oil Stadium as a new hub of convention growth.
Gen Con will return to Indianapolis August 1-4, 2019.
Quotes about Gen Con 2018 “When Gen Con comes to Indianapolis, everyone leaves a winner,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “This year, a record-setting number of attendees enjoyed a quality convention experience, as well as our city’s world-class restaurants, hotels, entertainment, and amenities — resulting in a local economic impact of more than $70 million. Since 2003, the Indianapolis community has embraced this convention and we are excited to continue to break records and find new and better ways to host the Best Four Days in Gaming.”
“This year’s Gen Con was another epic experience for a record number of attendees and exhibitors, as well as for the city of Indianapolis,” said Leonard Hoops, president and CEO, Visit Indy. “We are proud to have hosted this incredible event for the past 16 years, and we look forward to hosting it more many years to come.”
“Gen Con lived up to its reputation as the Best Four Days in Gaming!” said Scott Gaeta, President, Renegade Game Studios. “Once again, it exceeded our expectations and we can’t wait to return next year!”
“Hot Box Pizza was honored to be the official pizza of Gen Con,” said Gabe Connell, Owner of Hot Box Pizza. “The engagement with tens of thousands of Gen Con attendees is exhilarating! We truly value our partnership with a first-rate organization and phenomenal group of visitors to our great city of Indianapolis.”
About Gen Con LLC
Gen Con LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Founded in 1968 and acquired in 2002 by founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle and takes place each August in Indianapolis.
I’m headed to Gen Con 2018, excited to play games, see friends, and talk to publishers! As I’m headed up the road to Indianapolis, there are a few news items and deals worth mentioning.
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At EN World, Angus Abranson shares Strange Machine Games announcement that they’re launching a new Robotech RPG. In the 1980s, Harmony Gold licensed three Japanese anime series and bolted them together to create Robotech. This series spawned, among other things, The Robotech Role-Playing Game by Palladium Books (1986 to 1998, and 2008 to 2018). With the lapse of Palladium’s license, Strange Machine Games is picking it up and creating a new game. Which is a win for gamers! However, as Chris Helton (Dorkland Blog) pointed out, Harmony Gold’s Frankenstein-ime… er, license expires on March 14, 2021. [Here’s Karen Ressler’s article about that end here on Anime News Network.] They are hitting the ground running (From their Facebook page: “Hello Robotech Fans! If you want to see a hard copy preview of the Robotech RPG game, visit our booth at GenCon: 2963. We will have 1 or 2 on hand!”) That said, they have two-and-a-half years before the parent company’s license ends and that implies SMG’sRobotech RPG will have a limited run. Which begs the question, how much of the franchise will they be able to cover?
I contacted Strange Machine Games, however, Gen Con prep prevented us for connecting in detail but they are “happy to discuss the project”. Expect an interview/discussion post-con.
Are you a member of an underrepresented group in TTRPGs (Person of Color, Woman, Non-binary, Trans, Queer)?
Among the applicants was DC Comics writer, Route 3 creator, BlackSci-Fi.com EiC, and Tessera Guild member, Robert Jeffrey (Facebook). NAP selected Robert to freelance on their “Post Apotheosis Space Opera RPG”, Orun. As Robert shares below (screenshot from his Facebook page), I, too, am geeked as f&^% about this, NAP made a great choice and Robert is going to bring a lot of good to RPG.
STATUS: Congratulating.
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At Gen Con, on DriveThruRPG, and on Kickstarter there are DEALS to be had!
Ray Machuga of Higher Grounds Publishing is going to be wandering Gen Con. If you find him, take a picture, post it, and he’ll give you a copy of his game. Check out the details here.
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Gary Gygax Day – Zweihänder Grim and Perilous RPG
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Not going to Gen Con but you still want something free from Zweihänder? Introduced on Gary Gygax Day, Grim & Perilous Studios are offering a free Zweihänder Grim and Perilous RPG preview/supplement showcasing “our Henchman profession from the upcoming supplement Main Gauche. We’re also including the Dungeoneer, an expert profession from Zweihänder Grim & Perious RPG.” You can get the Gary Gygax Day – Zweihänder Grim and Perilous RPG as a Pay What You Want (“Suggested Price $0.00”) on DriveThruRPG here.
It’s Gen Con week, and I’m looking at four inclusive games. Since Gen Con is the largest tabletop gaming convention in the world, it feels like it’s the perfect time to look at some games that encompass all groups.
“A complete rpg plus a shared-universe story/poetry anthology about psychic people of color saving the Earth from invisible monsters
The forthcoming book John Silence from Ginger Goat Press is an original RPG and shared universe collection of short stories and poems. Your John Silence game is about people of color who are psychic detectives committed to saving Earth from planar creatures invisible to most humans.
The story is set in the United States between the years 1938 and 1998. This universe is an updated version of the one in Algernon Blackwood’s 1908 novel, John Silence, Physician Extraordinary.
This game is inspired by the mechanics of D&D and various OSR games. However, attacks and combat have been replaced with rhetoric and conversation. You are not rolling to kill the monster. You’re rolling to convince them to do what you tell them. Unlike in most RPGs, violence is not the best way to achieve your goal.
Core concept
The John Silence universe is about black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) psychic detectives. It is set in the United States at some time between 1938 and 1998. TV shows like The Dead Zone and Heartless fit the tone of this game, but we want a more diverse cast of characters.
Genre
John Silence is Weird Fiction or noir, but reinvented to be non-racist, non-sexist, and mostly non-violent. During a game, players are forbidden to use hate speech or slurs. Stories must not contain non-consensual sex or glamorized violence.
Stories might, for example, feature radios, cars, angels, witches, aliens or poltergeists. However, they will not feature smartphones, tablets, giants, or dragons.
GMs and players might want to explore these themes during a John Silence adventure.
Psychic powers are interdimensional. They involve other planes. Psychic monsters are attracted to human psychic activity.
Friendship, kindness, and forethought are heroic virtues.
Humans with psychic powers feel obligated to defend humans without.
The Book
The John Silence book is a complete roleplaying game (no other books needed) designed by Josh T. Jordan and his team. The book is also an anthology of several poems and short stories by writers of color. It will be full-color, 6×9 inches, and an estimated 160 pages long. We plan to make a pdf version, a softcover, and a Kickstarter-Exclusive hardcover version with a unique cover. This hardcover version will only be available to Kickstarter backers.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Looking for a game with an option to talk through situations instead of planning ambushes? Looking for a yesteryear (1938 to 1998) setting where “black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) [are] psychic detectives”? All while using modified D&D and OSR rules? John Silence is trying new mechanics that benefits game design while creating a setting that offers original thoughts.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A game zine re-envisioning masculinity through the eyes of non-cisgender masculine creators.
Behind the Masc is a game zine using historical and cultural archetypes to re-envision masculinity through the eyes of non-cisgender masculine creators. The creators include experienced game designers and illustrators as well as newer people to the game industry. The project hopes to draw attention to indie creators in tabletop games who are still marginalized people, but can fall into the ether when it comes to representation and people campaigning for their work to be seen.
This game zine is a collection of game materials for a variety of systems. It will be available digitally and in print as a short-run booklet with half-letter (US) size pages.
What’s inside, and who is doing it?
Behind the Masc will include a variety of game materials, including a new Monsterhearts skin, a Twine narrative game, and some great illustrations! Illustrations will be half-page (so one page in the zine), black and white, with a brief on the concept. Game materials will fill up to three zine pages and have a brief discussing how their design expresses their concept of masculinity.
For culturally related topics, we’ll have a sensitivity reader review the content before publication. The editor is Brie Sheldon, who is also the curator of the project and a contributor.”
Our logo!
Eli Eaton is a trans-masculine person residing in Ontario Canada. He currently just runs and plays games, but has been dabbling with game design here and there for the past year or so. This is his first publication. His contribution to Behind the Masc will be a character skin for a PbtA game (to be determined) modeled after benign trickster characters from mythology and folk heroes. He does not have an official website, but he does most of his gaming talk on G+ and Facebook.
Patrick Lickman is a writer and designer from Sheffield, UK. They work at a board games cafe, where they run various roleplaying projects in a variety of systems, aimed to be accessible to newcomers to the hobby. They are a Forever GM, only playing their first RPG three years after running one. They will contribute The Demi, a godlike skin for Monsterhearts 2.
Raiden Otto is eager to be working on Behind the Masc. He is a nonbinary masc that uses he/him/his pronouns. While he is new to the video game design scene, for years he has been making art available on Instagram, Tumblr, ArtStation, and his portfolio sites. For this project, he will be creating a character concept sheet for an FtM man based in the Ming Dynasty of China with the use of Paint Tool SAI.
Adrian Heise is a writer and generalist/narrative game designer from British Columbia, Canada. He has contributed in the past to games such as Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, The Long Dark, and the cancelled Visceral Star Wars project. For Behind the Masc, he is producing a short interactive Twine narrative exploring the role of the “protector” as it applies to masculine-identifying queer people.
Lemmo’s contribution is the Harlequin, presented in illustration. Here’s an ink draft of the work!
Lemmo Pew (him/he, pan/fluid/non-binary) is an artist, illustrator and game designer from Minneapolis, MN. Lem’s art spans the indie gamut from self-publishing comic books and anthologies, to illustrations for independently published games and gaming websites, stretching from ’99 to the present. His most current web presence is the online streaming channel, HotSoup.TV, and can be found on Twitter at @Lemmo.
Alex McConnaughey (@variant_games) likes to design games that make your heart race, that make you laugh or shout or cry. They think games can be a great tool for learning and growth, but they mostly just try to engage the players around the table in an experience as quickly and deeply as possible. They have designed games for contests, including their first game, As We Know It, a Golden Cobra honorable mention, but last year they broke into formal (paid) design with The Imposters anthology. They’re designing a Minotaur Skin for Monsterhearts, for the obvious maze metaphor of understanding their gender and trying to navigate masculinity, as well as the role of existing solely as a challenge for someone else to conquer.
Lawrence Gullo (He/Him) is an Illustrator, comic writer, and playwright currently developing an exorcism dating sim. He enjoys larps that generate empathy and doing D&D homebrew. He’s spoken on trans and queer topics at cons for years, including Gen Con and Flame Con. He explores the spectrum of masculine experience in the sect of male Bacchae he’s designing for Behind the Masc, serving as a spiritual origin or location in an RPG setting. Find him @hismajesty on Twitter and bashback on Tumblr.
Brie Sheldon is a queer game designer, journalist, and editor and is a genderfluid nonbinary-masculine person. They are the creator of Script Change, Let Me Take a Selfie, and a number of other small products, and have worked on larger professional projects like Firefly Smuggler’s Guide to the Rim and Bubblegumshoe. They have managed the Thoughty Blogfor over 5 years and do interviews, create free games released through their Patreon, and also created Leading with Class, a leadership show teaching through games. Their passions are asking questions, selfies, and exploring exciting ideas in games. For this project, Brie is creating question pages, curating materials, doing layout and design, and filling in spaces where needed.
Tracy Barnett is a genderqueer (they/them) game designer (School Daze, Iron Edda Accelerated) and podcast producer (TheOtherCast). By working with other publishers and producing their own content, they hope to make game design and podcasting their full-time work. For Behind the Masc, Tracy will be exploring masculine physical presentation and non-traditional masculine behaviors through a D&D 5e Sorcerer you can use in your home games.
Egg’s Thoughts:
Let’s list this project’s positives:
It’s a zine (I love them)
It has an interesting theme that may prove eye-opening (“re-envision masculinity through the eyes of non-cisgender masculine creators”… Being dead-level-honest here, I don’t know what that means, but I’m interested to read about it as it relates to gaming because I feel I’ll gain a great deal from it)
What inspires me the most, though, is it lets some of the most innovative creators out there create the content that they’re passionate about. For as little as $5 (the “Behind the Masc PDF” pledge level), we’ll get content from Eli Eaton, Patrick Lickman, Raiden Otto, Adrian Heise, Lemmo Pew, Alex McConnaughey, Lawrence Gullo, Brie Sheldon, and Tracy Barnett for D&D 5e, Powered by the Apocalypse, Monsterhearts 2, and more.
It’s a lot of good creators doing their thing with a low cost of entry and I’m eager to see it happen!
“A variety of layered Pride themed polyhedral dice sets for board games & RPG games.
Hello, we’re HeartBeat Dice and with your help we’d like to help bring your Pride to the gaming table with these 6 Pride Sets!
After the overwhelming success of HD’s Rainbow Dice Set we decided to expand our range of colors so that everyone could have a set to call their own but with a unique twist. In lieu of the 20 on the d20 we’ve made it a heart, because love always crits!
This first Kickstarter project will be very simple and straightforward. Below are the 6 sets we’ll be offering for this campaign and yes, Lesbian Dice are going to be included in this roster. The final design will be shared once our prototypes are in-hand.
Rainbow Pride Set
11pc set
Transgender Pride Dice
11pc set
Pansexual Pride Set
11pc set
Asexual Pride Set
11pc set (As an additonal note the purple will be darker in the final design)
Bisexual Pride Set
11pc set
Lesbian Pride Set
11pc set
With your help and support we can continue to expand our line of dice to include more Pride Flags and other themed sets in the future.
UPDATE** As a thank you to everyone who has backed our project we’d like to also announce every order of dice will include a free HeartBeat Dice Bag!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
These dice look perfect for any game, and they’re inspiring. I appreciate the set including 4d6. For gaming, that’s what I want to see in every dice set! I am glad to see this project receiving so much attention (it’ll exceed $100,000 easily).
“A PbtA Tabletop RPG about traveling to other worlds, the bonds we have with other people, and how we’re stronger for them.
Interstitial: Our Hearts Intertwined is a tabletop RPG about our connections with other people, the power we draw from those connections, and traveling to different worlds.
For those that don’t know, a Powered by the Apocalypse Engine game is a roleplaying game that utilizes playbooks for characters, rolls using 2d6 plus your stat, and is generally a more narrative then crunchy roleplaying game. See Monster of the Week, Monsterhearts, or The Sprawl for other examples.
In Interstitial, you will travel through the barriers between Worlds with your party. You’ll meet new friends, enemies, teachers and learn about yourself. You will also be able to visit and partake in events in your favorite intellectual properties or your own worlds ala Kingdom Hearts. In short; Take two worlds that don’t fit each other, smash them together, wipe away the dust and find out how they do.
Think of this game as a vehicle for you to play out Fanfiction. You control the story, either with your self-insert or another canon character from a different property just smashed into this other one.
The stories this game tells are invoking the tone and emotions of Kingdom Hearts, Super Smash Bros Brawl’s Subspace Emmisary, and Comic Crossovers/Events.
The Link System is the load-bearing mechanic of this game. It is used to represent the connections we have with others, and it boils them down into four different categories: Light, Dark, Mastery, and Heart.
A Light link is all about positive relationships we have with others. They’re our friendships, our loves, some of our families, and anyone who helps lift you up in times of need. An example of this would be Luke and Leia.
Dark links are representative of rivals, enemies, and relationships that are overall negative. People who approach you in an antagonistic way, bullies, some of our families. They try to drag you down to their level. An example of this would be Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.
Mastery links paint the picture of teacher-student relationships. Anyone trying to teach or learn has Mastery Links. Students, journeymen, cruel witches, and henchmen are all examples of those in a mastery link relationship. Mr. Miyagi and Daniel would have a Mastery Link.
Finally, Heart links are the most complicated of all. They are how we view ourselves and things we decide about our own being by watching other people. If you looked at someone’s failure and said “I won’t make that same mistake.”, that’s a Heart link. If someone came to you in a time when you were faltering and watching them made you make the right decision, then that’s a Heart Link. Bucky has a Heart link with Captain America.
Art by Shannon Manor for The Mystic, Minit.
You gain links in play by rolling the Make a Link move, and adding the stat that you want to classify the link as. So if you met an NPC and after a first impression the two of you are bickering, you’d roll a Dark link.
These links don’t need to be the same in both directions, relationships are complicated things, and not everyone sees them in the same way. They can change over time, sometimes grow stronger and sometimes fade away entirely. But while we have a link with another person, we can draw power from it.
In game, you can spend Links to activate moves, gain advantage on rolls, and all in all mimic how you and other players know each other and react to each other. Each individual playbook also has a Link Move, so every time you successfully make a Link, your Link Move goes off, and effects the game in some way.
The game comes with 9 Playbooks to start. Each playbook will have playbook specific moves and their Link move.
This is a WIP shot of the Playtest materials. It does NOT SHOW THE FINISHED PRODUCT
The Playbooks are all dramatically different yet can work together in any combination you put them in. Interstitial comes with the following nine unique playbooks:
The Chosen: The class that is your base form “protagonist”. The mechanics of this book help you assist your friends in big set pieces and fights.
The Connected: This represents the allies you’d gain from world to world, and allows you to change your character in each new world, should you choose to.
The Dark: Every party needs a dark force looming over them, and sometimes you want to play that force. If manipulation is your game, or if maybe you are a three-stage boss fight, this is the book for you.
The Discarded: If there’s a chosen, there’s someone who feels like they were looked over for the role. They take that disappointment, that resentment, and channel it into their combat.
The Displaced: As worlds sink into the darkness, people get taken and removed from their homes. These people end up somewhere different, and are trying to get their wits about them.
The Friend: Just like every story needs a hero and a villain, it needs a friend. Someone to be there and help strengthen the party in times of stress and help them overcome their fears.
The Light: The Light is all about creating Heart links with others and leveraging those. They anchor people down and help them find their way home in the darkness.
The Mystic: You know what’s best for everyone, even if they don’t quite know it themselves. The Mystic is all about keeping secrets, saving people, and sometimes making the hard choices no one else wants to make.
The Other: You aren’t the original one, you aren’t the first. People discount you and don’t believe in you and push you to the sidelines. This playbook comes with a feature that gives you a Counterpart that is the real you.”
Character Art for the Dark by Shannon Manor, Auxiliary Concern.
Egg’s Thoughts:
This game is open to everyone, it’s fueled by interpersonal relationships using the Powered by the Apocalypse system. There’s a lot of potential to create unique worlds and situations without the stress of ensuring your characters are high enough level to dish out the violence. This is adventures over brawls. As with the other products on this list, this game allows everyone to play and have a good time.
Bloat Games is excited to announce Tales From Vigilante City!
Tales From Vigilante City is an all new street level super hero short fiction anthology which is to be a companion piece to Bloat Games recent successful Kickstarter SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City which is an RPG heavily influenced by the 90s cartoons Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, Spider-man and TMNT.
Tales From Vigilante City will be compiled and edited by Eric Bloat (from Bloat Games, Creator of the SURVIVE THIS!! Game Series & Vigilante City) and by ENnie and Origin Award winning author James M. Spahn (from Barrel Rider Games, Creator of The Hero’s Journey & White Star RPGs).
Bloat Games is currently accepting super hero short fiction in the genres of Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Horror, Sci-Fi & Young Adult. We are chiefly interested in stories that feature “normal” human vigilantes but also are accepting stories about Anthropomorphs (think TMNT), Mutants (think X-Men), or low power level metahumans, mystics, psions, etc.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
· Accepting 2.5K-16K word count.
· Pay is $0.01 per word
· Payment made via Paypal only.
· Payment grants Bloat Games Non-exclusive rights to publish the story. Writer retains all other rights and Intellectual IP and can resell the story to other publishers.
· All submissions and inquiries should be sent via email to ericbloat@yahoo.com with the subject line: TFVC Submissions.
· Deadline will be announced later, based on response.
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Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links.
Gen Con to Sell Out of 4-Day Badges this Week Saturday Badges Also Expected to Sell Out Prior to Convention
INDIANAPOLIS (July 23, 2018) Gen Con has announced that it expects to sell out of 4-Day badges as soon as this week, setting a new record for the number of 4-Day badge holders. The convention also anticipates that Saturday badges will reach a sellout prior to the convention opening next week. Gen Con will alert attendees of any badge sellouts via Facebook, Twitter, and email newsletter. Those interested in attending all four days of the convention or on Saturday can purchase badges at gencon.com while limited supplies remain.
“So far in 2018 we’ve already sold more 4-Day badges than ever before in Gen Con’s 51-year history,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “The team has honed our operations and event planning to allow for increased attendance while still maintaining the same level of comfort for everyone as they move about the convention. We want to allow the maximum number of attendees to experience Gen Con without diminishing the event’s quality one iota.”
This year, more than 80% of badges sold for Gen Con 2018 will be 4-Day badges. In addition to online sales, Gen Con plans to sell limited quantities of the remaining single day badges (Thursday, Friday, and Sunday) at the Indiana Convention Center, beginning at noon on Wednesday, August 1.
Gen Con returns to the Indiana Convention Center from Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5. This year, Gen Con’s Sunday badges cost $15 and children 10-and-under may attend any day of the convention for free with a child wristband. All badges and child wristbands may be pre-ordered at gencon.com for Will Call pick-up at the convention while supplies last.
Last year, Visit Indy estimated that Gen Con provided $73 million in economic value for Central Indiana, and this year, the convention plans that number to rise. Gen Con’s sponsorship growth for 2018 has increased more than 24% year-over-year with partners including Lyft, Blizzard Entertainment, Square Enix, Pokemon, and Magic: The Gathering, which will celebrate its 25th year at the convention.
About Gen Con LLC Gen Con LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Founded in 1968 and acquired in 2002 by founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle and takes place each August in Indianapolis.
Power Up Gamer (PUG) is proud to announce the launching of its 
Status: Recruiting
Status: Funding
Status: Funding
Status: Creating
“We are really excited about working with Alan and 
