Category: Role Playing

PRESS RELEASE – The Dungeon – A set of 2 ModularBooks of Battle Mats for RPG launches on Kickstarter 18 April

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The Dungeon – A set of 2 ModularBooks of Battle Mats for RPG launches on Kickstarter 18 April 

Wipe Clean laminated pages of linked Dungeon themed Battle Maps for RPG encounters 

 

Attention Adventurers! An Endless Dungeon awaits! Launching on Kickstarter April 18

The Dungeon, A set of 2 Modular Books of Battle Mats for RPG, is the new modular adventure map book release from Loke BattleMats. A unique product which combines easy storage and portability with up to an epic 2’x2’ playing area and a endless number of map combination options.  

 

The Dungeon is level and flat so it plays just like one large map. Our wire bound format is the closest you can get to a traditional RPG Tabletop mat will all the advantages of a book as well. Just open & Roll! 

Fully Laminated throughout and thus wipe clean, every page bar the front & back covers is a map so you get the maximum dungeon out of the books! No more hastily drawing dungeons or spending hours preparing for games. Just open & roll for initiative! 

Presented as a set, The Dungeon comprises two 12”x 12” Modular Books of Battle Mats designed to either create 12”x12” or 12”x24” maps using one book, or combine two books to form 24”x24” playing areas, 12”x48”, or frankly any other combination you can think of. Designs have standard entry/exit points to allow the adventure to grow and grow. 

The wire bound spine allows the books to lay completely flat or fold completely in half. It also means you can ensure the books are 100% level so your adventure can move seamlessly across the map. 

The Dungeon, a Modular Book of Battle Mats set, features -  

  • Two Book set presented as a set. 
  • Each book is 30 map pages (we will be increasing the page count as stretch goals are hit). 
  • Portable, adaptable, expandable and modular. 
  • Wipe Clean laminated pages of Dungeon themed Battle Maps for RPG encounters 
  • Wire Bound format, 360° spine offers unrivaled flexibility and lays completely flat. 
  • Linked designs & standard entry/exit points throughout to allow play across multiple pages and books seamlessly. 
  • 1 inch grid throughout.

Launching on Kickstarter April 18

For further information or comments please contact tamzin.henderson@lokeltd.co.uk  

PRESS RELEASE – Tri Tac Legacy Releases Bureau 13 Savage Worlds Jumpstart

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#savagethenightfantastic 

 Tri Tac Legacy Releases Bureau 13 Savage Worlds Jumpstart 

Oak Park Michigan: 04.13.2019: Tri Tac Legacy (TTL) revealed their Jumpstart for upcoming Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic Savage Worlds Edition.  

A “Jumpstart”, according the Shane Hensley of Pinnacle Entertainment Group (PEG), creators of the Savage Worlds Adventures Edition (SWADE) table-top role-playing game, is a “showcase the best of [Independent Licensed Publishers’] various worlds we’d share […] with our Kickstarter backers.” Each Jumpstart provides a glimpse into the Savage Worlds project being developed by the dozens of independent studios that have been licensed by PEG. There are currently over fifty “worlds” developing projects for SWADE. Per the rules, each portfolio must come with a fully-playable adventure using the SWADE core book and should represent the vision for the world.   

TTL’s JumpStart includes an introduction to how to become a Bureau 13 “Agent”, stats on the 1970’s Colorado RV that Agents are given, the updated “Thing From Walnut Creek” adventure, six playable Agents, and other bits and pieces. Additionally, the Jumpstart features the full wrap-around cover created by award-winning author and artist Phil Foglio (Girl Genius).  

Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic was created in 1982 by Richard Tucholka and won the 1991 Gamers Choice Award at GenCon. Before his passing, Tucholka produced several revisions to the game, but voiced a desire to take the world back to its “everyday people against the supernatural” roots. The Savage Worlds adaptation was commissioned by Tucholka’s estate and, two years ago, Longshot Productions (LSP) was contracted to oversee the project. The Bureau 13 JumpStart is the first glimpse into TTL’s new vision.  

While a defunded government agency tasked with saving the world might not seem new to most, the LSP’s design team has taken the familiar and added new, modern twists to previously explored monsters, situations and weapons,  demonstrated by the monstrous ManFish (Don’t call them Fishmen!) that travel in packs of “bros” and can be calmed down by appealing to their vanity, or Agent Bill Taggert, a were-chinchilla, whose turn-ons are long hops in the mountains and dust baths (Turn-offs include silver and sudden loud noises.) 

The Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic Savage Worlds Edition Kickstarter begins Friday, September 13, 2019 at 13:13:13 hours MST. Follow Longshot Productions for more information about the launch, reward levels, stretch goals and more as it’s announced at https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/longshot-productions  

To view the Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic Savage Worlds Edition JumpStart, go to http://tritaclegacy.com/savageworlds/jumpstart/         

For more information, interview requests, or business inquiries, please contact Tri Tac Legacy at rpg@tritacgames.com 

For PR inquiries, comments, or info please contact press@longshot-productions.net 

 

#savagingthenightfantastic

PRESS RELEASE – Afterlife: Wandering Souls Launches on Kickstarter 1 May 2019

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Afterlife: Wandering Souls Launches on Kickstarter 1 May 2019

strange | macabre | unique Leiden, the

Netherlands, 15 April 2019. Angry Hamster Publishing is proud to announce the launch of their newest tabletop role playing game Afterlife: Wandering Souls live on Kickstarter on the 1st of May 2019. The fourth official release by Angry Hamster Publishing, this hardcover, full colour book features a unique setting, custom mechanics, and beautifully illustrated images.

Players take on the roles of Wanderers—people who died, but didn’t end up in Heaven, Hell, or any other traditional afterlife. Devoid of any memories of their life before, Wanderers must travel an endless desert searching through different planes of existence attempting to find some semblance of self. Along the way they encounter strange inhabitants, alien cultures, and other humans who’ve lost all hope and are bent on destroying them.

Afterlife: Wandering Souls was created by Elizabeth Chaipraditkul founder of Angry Hamster Publishing. The game explores the themes of hope, self-exploration, and delves into the realm of the strange. Surreal settings mixed with macabre themes elicit a mysterious story players must interact with while dealing with familiar real-world problems.

Find more information on Angry Hamster Publishing’s website: http://angryhamsterpublishing.com/afterlife

Or download the free quickstart through DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/267900/Afterlife-Wandering-Souls-Quickstart

Press Release: John Carter of Mars Month – New video & blog content including a live roleplay stream of the John Carter of Mars RPG.

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John Carter of Mars Month
Modiphius Entertainment is delighted to be announcing a slew of content releases over the next few weeks in celebration of our John Carter of Mars Month as this fantastic range hits retail stores.
John Carter of Mars is a pulp action adventure roleplaying game using a streamlined version of the 2d20 system and set across the wondrous and dangerous world of Barsoom.
The highlight of our releases next week is a live play video of John Carter of Mars being played from Modiphius HQ with our fabulous GM Virginia at the helm.
You can view this on Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/Modiphius/) on Wednesday the 17th of April from 3 PM BST.
Beyond the livestream you can look forward to a wide range of John Carter content releases from Modiphius Entertainment to support the retail release.
Two of the designers behind John Carter of Mars, Jack Norris (Tianxia: Blood, Skill, and Jade, Fantasy AGE, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying) and our in-house designer Benn Gray (Mutant Chronicles, Infinity and Conan) will be writing about their experience of designing John Carter of Mars at www.modiphius.com/john-carter alongside a series of development diaries which will offer you a behind the scenes look at the making of John Carter of Mars.
Expect to see some of the fabulously detailed art from the core John Carter of Mars box in a series of flip through videos. Katya Thomas is our in-house art director for John Carter of Mars and has a diverse team of artists all over the world contributing to the beautiful imagery within the John Carter of Mars books including Bjorn Barends (cover art), Cristi Picu, Daren Bader, Giorgio Baroni, Jeff Porter, Michele Giorgio, Mitchel Malloy, Paolo Puggioni, Rodrigo Toledo, Rolf Mohr, Soren Meding, Steve Stark, Thomas Denmark and Toma Feizo Gas.
For those interested in running John Carter of Mars adventures we will be releasing a video tutorial on how you can use the John Carter of Mars Narrators Toolkit which is an all in one package of both GM screen and narrators guide which will equip you with everything you need to generate and tell action packed pulp adventure stories in the land of Barsoom.
If you want to learn more on how to play as an adventurer in the land of Barsoom we are releasing a tutorial video on how you can best use the yet to be released John Carter of Mars Players Toolkit to build and role play your characters.
To get a feel for what John Carter of Mars: Adventures on the Dying World of Barsoom! is about check out this trailer for the John Carter of Mars Roleplaying Game.
Virginia is Publishing Assistant here at Modiphius and will be running a game of John Carter of Mars on Facebook live at Modiphius HQ from 3 PM BST on Wednesday the 17th of April.
If you’ve never explored the world of John Carter and want to know more watch this video
and she’ll take you through all the races of Barsoom, as well as the cultures and traditions of the planet, so that you can get some ideas about what you want to feature in your own game of John Carter of Mars: Adventures on the Dying World of Barsoom!
In this video Virginia is going to take you through a step-by-step process for creating your own characters for use in John Carter of Mars: Adventures on the Dying World of Barsoom! Find out how easy it is to create a character for the John Carter of Mars RPG.
Take a closer look below at our detailed John Carter of Mars product line.
John Carter Core Book
“My attention was quickly riveted by a large red star close to the distant horizon. As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overpowering fascination—it was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it had always held the power of irresistible enchantment. As I gazed at it on that far-gone night it seemed to call across the unthinkable void, to lure me to it…”
Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter of Mars: Adventures on the Dying World of Barsoom transports you to the Red Planet of Barsoom, an arid, dying land of ancient civilizations and fearsome creatures. Begin your adventures of romance and heroism using a pulp-action inspired variant of the 2d20 System. Take on the role of heroes as you travel, battle, and romance your way across the wondrous and dangerous world of Barsoom. Play as John Carter, Princess Dejah Thoris, the fearsome Thark warrior Tars Tarkas – or create your own heroes from an exciting variety of options.
An overview of Barsoom and its peoples, perfect to introduce new players to the wondrous world of John Carter of Mars.
Detailed chapters on Barsoomian technology, creatures and cultures.
A new talent focused, narrative variation of the 2d20 System including a step-by-step character generation system designed to create heroes from a variety of backgrounds and concepts.
Create a wide variety of characters such as a Dashing Red Martian Duelist, a Brilliant First Born Scientist, a Savage Beastmaster, a Courageous Airship Officer, even Earthborn characters, so players can follow in the bounding footsteps of John Carter himself!
A detailed narrator’s section filled with information on how to run genre-and-setting appropriate campaigns, including information about the great and terrible secrets of Barsoom.
Three eras of play based on the adventures of John Carter himself. Adventure during the Dotar Sojat era, or adventure during the time where Carter became a Prince of Helium and in the years after when he was believed dead, or fight alongside Carter and his allies during the later Jeddak of Jeddaks era.
An introductory adventure, the Mind Merchants of Mars, to get players and narrators started on their adventures and immersed in the world of Barsoom.
Phantoms of Mars
Uncover the nefarious conspiracy of the mysterious organisation known as the Eidolon as you adventure your way across Barsoom to save the people of the dying planet. Phantoms of Mars will take your heroes on a journey full of pulp-action, intrigue and heroism as they race to uncover the Eidolon conspiracy and see just how far it has spread.
  • A 128 page, full colour, landscape hardback book with a complete campaign arc for the John Carter of Mars role-playing game.
  • Detailed narrator’s section with information on key characters, plots and advice on how to run and insert the campaign into existing games.
  • Also includes the Swords of Mars 2d20 Skirmish rules for use with the John Carter of Mars miniature collection.
Narrator’s Screen
Modiphius Entertainment presents the John Carter of Mars Narrator’s Toolkit. The Toolkit includes the official John Carter of Mars narrator screen. The exterior features amazing rendered artwork from the cover of the core rule-book, while the interior features useful rules, tables and charts for narrators. Also included is a booklet with new advice on running campaigns as well as new rules.
  • Full colour, 4-panel narrator screen with artwork on the exterior and reference tables and charts on the interior.
  • 36 page, full colour booklet with advice on running and creating campaigns as well as new additional rules for travel and large-scale combat.
Prince of Helium Notebook
Modiphius Entertainment presents the John Carter of Mars Prince of Helium Notebook. The exterior features amazing rendered artwork from the cover of the core rulebook, while the interior features blank, lined and gridded paper to detail your journey across Barsoom as well as character sheets to keep your heroes’ information all in one place.
  • Fully illustrated cover with elastic closure.
  • 160 page notebook featuring blank, lined and gridded paper.
  • Character sheets built into the notebook for ease of use in play.
We also have a selection of individual miniatures including John Carter and Dejah Thoris in alternative poses, Sola, Ras Tharvas and Gor Hajus, plus monsters of Mars like the White Ape, Apt and Banth, as well as Plant Men and Synthetic Men.
These join the recent John Carter Collector’s Slipcase set, miniature sets featuring the Heroes of Barsoom, Helium and Zodanga Fighting Crews and Thark Warband, plus Helium, Thark and Zodangan dice sets, which are all available as part of the John Carter of Mars Collection on Modiphius.net. You can also buy all the PDFs as part of the John Carter Collection on DriveThruRPG.com. and remember these gorgeous Slipcase and hardback books, Narrators Screen, Dice sets and Notebook are all now available in your friendly local gaming store.
About Modiphius Entertainment
Modiphius Entertainment is a London, England-based entertainment publisher of tabletop games and related hobby merchandise. The company launched its first game, the Achtung! Cthulhu Roleplaying Game, in 2013, followed by the Mutant Chronicles RPG, DUST Adventures RPG based on Paolo Parente’s DUST universe, Infinity The Roleplaying Game based on the best-selling miniatures game, Conan, Adventures in Age Undreamed of, the official roleplaying game of Robert E Howard’s barbaric universe, Matt Leacock’s Thunderbirds, a cooperative board game based on the classic 60’s show and the official Kung Fu Panda Boardgame.
Modiphius Entertainment seeks to inspire with its tales of heroism, adventure and courage. Modiphius also works to combat global child trafficking through raising awareness of and funds for Vision Rescue. For more information, please visit www.modiphius.com.

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? City of Great Lunden, BASE, Castles & Cats, and Party Backstory Generator

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For this column, I reach out to crowdfunding creators to ask what projects they’re not in, but are still excited about. I ask each creator separately, so I’m surprised how often a creator recommends another creator’s work in *the same* article. This week, Fire Lizard Games recommended Castles & Cats, all in the same article, and without knowing that they’d appear together. To read their recommendation (as well as these other excellent creators), scroll on!

The City of Great Lunden by MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing (Glynn Seal) 

ENDS: Sun, April 14 2019 8:00 AM EDT.

“A City Setting for Old School RPGs – The Midderlands setting compatible.”

Glynn Seal (MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing) recommends:

“I thought I’d do a bit of digging around on Kickstarter and found the following projects I like the look of:

Creeping Cold
A 5E adventure that promises chills and excitement!

“I always people running campaigns on Kickstarter for their first time. I’m into my third now, and they are a rollercoaster of emotions. Ian and Jayson of Silver Bulette are well-funded and still have 18 days left, so this is good to go.

I love adventures where the environment is an enemy. Also, it has 3D printable terrain files as stretch goals, and Fat Dragon Games are doing awesome models. Now I just need to get a 3D printer. Ha!”

Symbar – Mother of Darkness
Enter the vast forest of Davokar in the next episode of the epic Throne of Thorns campaign for the acclaimed Symbaroum RPG.

“I was blown away by the evocative artwork of Symbaroum. This is the fourth part of an epic adventure chronicle – CHRONICLE OF THE THRONE OF THORNS. I find the forest of Davokar hugely intriguing, and the setting as a whole is an example of how to sell a setting based on its artwork alone – well it’s what did it for me. If you dot have the setting or the other three parts you can pick them all up in the campaign at the ‘master bundle’ level. It’s a steal at the price for all the loot you get, and it’ll keep you gaming for years.”

Party Backstory Generator for 5e and Other Systems by Severed Books (Justin Sirois)

ENDS: Tue, April 30 2019 1:09 PM EDT.

“For GMs and players – 5e, Pathfinder, and more. Create limitless backstory, one-shots, side quests, and more that add to your campaign.”

Justin Sirois (Severed Books) recommends:

“The Ultraviolent Grasslands by Luka Rejec is at the very top. I remember sneaking Heavy Metal Fantasy Magazine into my house when I was 13 — knowing the danger of it — feeling like this weird and sick treasure would change my life both creatively and socially. It did. That’s the feeling I get from this game. I can’t wait to crawl through it, bleeding.

I’m a sucker for a well-designed board game. Life Siphon by Lay Waste Games has the right mix of minimal illustrations and weirdness — dark creatures and a dismal vibe. Also, the stretch goals seem unique enough to justify the expense.”

BASE: a CaRdPG by Fire Lizard Games, LLC

ENDS: Tue, April 16 2019 5:02 PM EDT.

“BASE is a collaborative, setting-agnostic RPG. Roll your own adventures!”

Fire Lizard Games, LLC recommends:

“Two active RPGs we love on Kickstarter:

1. From the Ashes by FG Fantasy: From the Ashes intrigued us because of the interesting concept of starting out as an undead being. There are a lot of very cool stories to be told with that starting point. The artwork looks phenomenal, and the Kickstarter has a modest, attainable goal with affordable tiers!

2. Castles & Cats by Christine Pruett: In a big change of pace from our first recommendation, Castles & Cats is a tabletop RPG designed for Preschool and Elementary-aged children. We thought this was such a cool idea, because not only will it help introduce a whole new generation into the wonderful world of TTRPGs, but the social and emotional skills you can learn while playing tabletop games are most important for children of that age.”

Castles & Cats by Christine Pruett

ENDS: Thu, April 25 2019 8:00 AM EDT.

“Castle & Cats is a Tabletop, Role-Playing Game, for Preschool and Elementary aged children.”

Christine Pruett (Castles & Cats) recommends:

“Brassman’s Adventure Club is the monthly subscription service I have been waiting for! With the busyness of adult life looming around every corner it is hard to take the time to carefully plan out my D&D groups next campaign, I feel my campaigns are half baked the majority of the time. Brassman’s Adventure Club is a full campaign mapped out by seasoned DM’s and comes straight to your door every month. This includes all the core tools needed to run your monthly D&D session with little planning, the illustrations look amazing and they have a price options that fits every budget.

As a mom to a child with Autism, I feel Critical Core can not be praised enough. Role playing games have been shown to build social confidence, cognitive communication and critical processing in young adults on the autism spectrum but the team behind Critical Core has taken it to a whole new level. I am very excited to get my hands on this game and share it with my son.”

PRESS RELEASE – The City of the Steam Sun, steampunk setting for Savage Worlds

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The City of the Steam Sun crowdfunding campaign is coming soon to IndieGoGo!

Mathematically calculated City was to become a new Utopia of the rational age, but the disaster changed everything – the City fell into Limbo, the threshold of Hell. Progress faced ancient magic. The City became a part of Limbo, with no sunlight. The familiar world doesn’t exist anymore. There are other laws and other creatures here – but the scientific method works even in the craziest conditions. People lit their steam Sun here. Every morning it rises over the City on a huge rail. The authorities lead diplomatic negotiations with demons, inventors dream of creation of a conscient automaton, researchers look for traces of ancient civilizations. Scientists and frauds, adventurers and magicians, evil geniuses and brilliant detectives… humans and demons. All of them are in the City of the Steam Sun.

Designed for Savage Worlds, The City of the Steam Sun casts players in the gloomy atmosphere of steampunk Limbo: an explosive mixture of steam technologies and ancient magic. A breathtaking detective story, Victorian mystical horror and adventures in the dim rays of the metal steam sun.

Key features:

  • Two books with a combined volume of about 330 pages with more than 70 full color illustrations.
  • More than 40 new edges.
  • Three new arcane backgrounds with unique game mechanics: Technomages, relying on their equipment, Blessed Ones, who create miracles from their own life force and Dark Mages, who make grim sacrifices to gather power.
  • Flexible rules for creation of inventions, suitable for those who want to dive into creation of a new device and enjoy choosing components and their various combinations; as well as those who prefer to assemble their mechanisms quickly. Create your own fine tuned weapons, transport and even semi-intelligent automatons.
  • Three adventures, one per each genre. Discover the plot behind the robbery of the officer of Expeditionary Force in the “Case of the Winged Statuette”, face horrors of the “House of Forgotten”, and reveal some ancient secrets of Limbo on the “Path of the Pilgrim”.
  • Lots of secret societies.
  • And a wide range of air and steam guns for all fans of steampunk.

The City of the Steam Sun is created by Steam Sun Games, a small pen-and-paper RPG studio from Yekaterinburg, Russia. Now we are finishing the English version. The translation is complete and we’ve decided to crowdfund it to complete editing and layout. Our crowdfunding will go live at April 17, 2019.

IndieGoGo pre-launch page http://igg.me/at/steamsun 
Teaser https://youtu.be/qj6NPhzTjnI
Jumpstart https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/224367/The-City-of-the-Steam-Sun-Introduction

 

UPDATE. IndieGoGo live at:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-city-of-the-steam-sun/x/16852354#/

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? Forbidden Library, Ultimate Spheres of Power, Way of the Wicked Sin, CharCon, and Fauna

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The creators behind a 5e library, a Pathfinder magic system, an RPG zine, a convention, and a comic (from an RPG publisher) share what projects on Kickstarter they’re excited about. Check out the projects the creators of these Kickstarters are following:

 

Ultimate Spheres of Power: The Complete System! (Pathfinder) by Drop Dead Studios

Ends: Sun, April 14 2019 12:01 PM EDT.

“The ultimate edition of Spheres of Power, the 5-star magic system, compiled into a single volume! (For Pathfinder)”

Adam Meyers (Drop Dead Studios) recommends:

“Tabletop gamers are known for collecting way more dice, miniatures, and other materials then they’ll ever be able to use, and we show no signs of stopping. With that in mind, I’m excited for DoubleSix Dice: Generation Two; it’s a new way of rolling the classic six-sided dice, and the fact that it’s on its second generation with no signs of stopping says a lot about how popular their idea is.

Another project I’m looking forward to seeing more of is Party Backstory Generator for 5e and Other Systems. As a GM sometimes you just need a bit of inspiration. As players, sometimes you need something to keep people on track. Either way, a book entirely dedicated to answering ‘how did you meet’ is both useful and fun, and I’m excited to see it getting off to such a great start.”

 

The Way of Wicked Sin #ZineQuest by Advanced Fantasy Roleplaying

Ends: Thu, April 11 2019 10:04 AM EDT.

“Tired of Paladins? Peek behind the black veil! This will be 3 Zines about evil campaigns: Drow, Orcs, and Humans.”

Peter Sotos (Advanced Fantasy Roleplaying) recommends:

“Wyrmkeep Dungeons TZ2: Curse of the Desert Outpost. I really like this campaign. The guy has 4 other modules out via Kickstarter so he is a safe bet for delivery. The art looks professional and has a color cover. The whole campaign is extremely evocative of old school RPGs, but the adventure is created for D&D 5th edition. I went ahead and backed it, and in the package I selected, I am going to get all of his other modules as well.

The Forbidden Library 5E. This looks like one incredible campaign. The art looks absolutely amazing and the concept of a secret library in a school for adventurers is very cool. I love the fact that the libraries books will be detailed out by various authors and grow as the Kickstarter campaign grows. Also, so many big names in the gaming industry involved in it. I had to go ahead and back it myself.”

 

The Forbidden Library 5E by Alligator Alley Entertainment

Ends: Fri, April 19 2019 11:00 PM EDT.

“Adventure & sourcebook for D&D 5th Edition by Gregory A. Wilson, with contributions from many speculative fiction and RPG writers”

Christopher Robin Negelein (Alligator Alley Entertainment) recommends:

“I’m excited about Arcana of the Ancients where Monte Cook Games brings science fantasy and even the Numenera setting to 5e. The Kickstarter gets the band back together with D&D veterans Monte Cook, Bruce Cordell and Sean K Reynolds which covers a lot of gaming history that goes back to even the TSR days.

Their house system, Cypher, has a few neat tricks and I’m curious how some of them will translate into 5e. And of course every GM needs a hefty library of strange items and critters to confound players at the drop of a hat. D&D has had sci-fi in it since the early days and this will let a new generation of 12-year old game masters introduce their group to laser-sword wielding paladins. (You know you did it too and it was awesome to your 12-year old brain! Admit it!)

So my love for sci-fantasy become just as evident with The Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City which puts Oregon Trail games, the Dying Earth genre, heavy metal and psychedelic art into a blender to explore a vast land for the next bit of weirdness.

And if like sandbox style games, you have to love a book that waxes on about how the humans in civilized areas are the masters of their fate within the borders of their little urbane worlds and then simply states, “This story is not their story” before diving into how vast and bonkers the unexplored places are.”

 

Fauna #1 by Shades of Vengeance Comics

Ends: Sun, April 21 2019 4:00 PM EDT.

“When everyone starts mindlessly searching for Quinn’s Empowered alter-ego, it is clear someone will do whatever it takes to find him…”

Ed Jowett (Shades of Vengeance Comics) recommends:

“I deliberately scrolled down to find some campaigns that were interesting that weren’t at the top!

I have always felt that introducing younger players to roleplaying is the best way to build the community for the future. Castles and Cats aims to do this in a way that I wish I had been introduced to it when I was a child.
When I first saw this, I was excited, then I found out that the creator also plans to continue her campaign’s story, so I was completely sold on it as a campaign I wanted to back!

Why AcadeCon? Simple: It’s a games convention that mentions Tabletop RPGs as a priority. Conventions are the lifeblood of the community – it’s the only time you get to have the community together beyond a few people at a time. This is a great one, looking at the video and, although it’s not in a place I’ve ever been it’s established and needs help to continue what it’s doing!”

  • AcadeCon was recommended by Craig Campbell of NerdBurger Games in a prior column.

 

CharCon 2019 – THE West Virginia Gaming Convention by CharCon Game Convention

Ends: Tue, April 9 2019 8:59 PM EDT.

“Charleston WV – July 12-14, 2019. Our theme is Post-Apocalypse! Non-stop Role Playing Games all weekend long! Learn to play events for Board Games, RPGs & Miniatures.”

Travis Reynolds (Executive Director of CharCon) recommends:

“Neither of these are RPGs, I am more of a board game guy.

I am intrigued by the Hammer of the Scots campaign. I was always a fan of the Columbia block games and looking forward to seeing what a deluxe version made with today’s productions standards ends up being.

Also, I am excited to see the Tantrum House Kickstarter do well. I like their content a lot and rely on their regular run down of tabletop KS projects to keep me informed. Plus I love their family vibe both from a CharCon perspective and as a Queen Games rep.”

PRESS RELEASE – A Dreaming Demon Queen Awaits You – Forbidden Lands: The Spire of Quetzel has Released

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Free League Publishing Free League Publishing logotype

A Dreaming Demon Queen Awaits You – Forbidden Lands: The Spire of Quetzel has Released

Free League Publishing – Apr 04, 2019 13:12 BST

Wind dies. Pale grass grows in spirals. Lichen forms blurred iridescent sigils on cracked stone. Black trees curl their trunks and crook their branches as if bowing. The Spire is driven through the skin of the world like a pin through curling paper. With every step toward the tower, it writhes and warps like a hallucination. 

Brave adventurer, Free League Publishing announced that Forbidden Lands: The Spire of Quetzel has released worldwide today. Do you dare to enter the land beyond the mountains in search of the spire?

Rumor has it that you shall encounter a dreaming Demon-Queen, a prison of strange beasts who call themselves a family, a coven of witches who don’t get along, and the strange graveyard of the last thunder lizard to walk this land.

If it will be dangerous? Of course, the Forbidden Lands are more dangerous than ever. But what does it matter, friend? Together we laugh in the face of danger and make our mark on that cursed world. Together, we will survive.

The volume The Spire of Quetzel collects four adventure sites for the critically acclaimed retro-fantasy RPG Forbidden Lands, written by some of the best writers in the field today.

The collection contains:

  • The Spire of Quetzel by Patrick Stuart (Veins of the Earth)
  • The Bright Vault by Chris McDowall (Into the Odd)
  • Hexenwald by Ben Milton (Maze Rats)
  • Graveyard of Thunder by Karl Stjernberg (Rad-Hack)

Read more about Forbidden Lands: The Spire of Quetzel here.

Watch the Forbidden Lands Trailer

Forbidden Lands RPG

Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World

In the sandbox survival roleplaying game Forbidden Lands, you and your friends take on the roles as raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and build your own stronghold to defend.The tabletop RPGForbidden Lands was named one of the best RPGs of 2018 by Geek & Sundry. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.

Review Quotes:

“It’s like somone took hazy childhood memories of a classic D&D game and mixed them with a dash of bleak Scandinavian darkness.”

–Tabletop Magazine

“Superbly packaged, Forbidden Lands is a pleasing combination of Old School nostalgia and fast, simple mechanics with unobtrusive narrative elements designed to bring aspects of the character into play. Its setting offers scope for the player characters to develop not just personally, but also in terms of their place in the world.”

–Reviews from R’lyeh

“This may be the most perfect role-playing game product I’ve ever seen.”

–Plot Points RPG Podcast

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PRESS RELEASE – World Autism Awareness Day with Critical Core

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It’s happening, thanks to you.
When we started on this journey, we wanted be part of changing the narrative around social skills development and autism. Critical Core is designed to be inclusive, respectful, and a celebration of diversity in whichever form it may take. When we celebrate the differences in everyone, no-one is excluded.

We are completely overwhelmed and humbled by your support in sharing this vision and making this project a reality.

April 2nd – World Autism Awareness Day

Because today is world autism awareness day, it is the perfect opportunity to share some of our key thoughts in the hopes that they will resonate with you, and that you might help to spread the positive message of inclusivity and neuro-diversity.

At Critical Core, we prefer to show rather than tell, but today is a day to state our beliefs in no uncertain terms.

Presume Competence

Individuals on the spectrum have incredible capacities, and just because some individuals deal with social situations differently than many neuro-typical people does not make them in any way deficient. We strive to celebrate and understand differences, and presume competence.

Go Beyond Stereotypes

The autism constellation varies so much from person to person that researchers talk about ‘the autisms’ rather than one autism. Just because an individual has a diagnosis of autism does not mean we should make assumptions based on other autistic individuals we may have already known or on representations of autism in media. Everyone is unique and should be treated as individuals.

No One Should be Forced to be “Normal”

Forcing what the neuro-majority considers ‘normal’ on persons with brains that work differently can often be disrespectful and even harmful. We believe that therapeutic support should, at its heart, build sense-of-self, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, allowing the participant to find their own authentic way of engaging and participating in community because they want to and how they want to. This way we can help individuals realize how they want to connect with others—or not—and let them do so on their own terms.

Focus on Relationships

Studies(1) show that love-based, play-based, relationship-based interactions are an effective conduit for growing strengths, skills, and happiness. In our focus on helping autistic individuals build social skills and social capacity, we focus on the complete person, not just on discrete, isolated behaviors.

Let’s Change Perceptions

Recent research(2) demonstrates that the inflexibility of social norms contributes to the ‘disabling’ aspects of the autistic experience. By increasing our acceptance of individual differences, we can improve the long-term outcomes of many autistic individuals. We share this information with those around us so that together we can create a more welcoming and accepting world in which everyone is included.
Critical Core – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gametogrow/critical-core
Wishing you the very best,
Virginia, Adam, and Adam, The Critical Core Team
(1) http://www.icdl.com/research
(2) Sasson, N. J., & Morrison, K. E. (2017). First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers. Autism, 1362361317729526.

NOTE: The crass advertising/ads are mine. The substance of message is Game to Grow’s. I added the links to their game as a thank for all they’re doing to raise awareness about autism, a reality that is never fair from my mind and heart.

PRESS RELEASE – Lunar Games’ Tome of Spirits Kickstarter Coming Soon!

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—Lunar Games has announced the release of the Tome of Spirits, its first major supplement to the Endless Realms tabletop roleplaying game.  In Endless Realms, players take on the role of a character with fantastic abilities and tangible personality traits to play through adventures created and piloted by a Game Master.  The Tome of Spirits adds an array of additional content focused on spirits and the Spirit Realm, including new magic and cursed items, class paths, religions and cults, rules for corruption, stats and lore for spirits themselves, and rules for becoming the champion of a spirit. 

The religions and cults of the Tome of Spirits largely surround the spirits that are also found within the tome’s pages.  These snippets of lore and information provide grounding for these religious organizations, giving Game Masters and players alike plenty of fuel for the motives and stories of characters they introduce in their campaigns. 

Characters become Spirit Champions by earning the trust and respect of a spirit, through worship or service, thereby gaining new abilities in exchange for continued service.  Getting involved with a spirit is no light matter, however; spirits often quarrel over territory, playing an ethereal game of chess with their corporeal pawns to force each other into exile or corruption. 

Corruption is first introduced in the Endless Realms Core Rulebook, and is greatly expanded upon and given actionable mechanics in the Tome of Spirits.  This sickness yields great power, but has dangerous and often fatal effects even for the otherwise immortal inhabitants of the Spirit Realm.  Corruption is a major theme in the game’s overall storyline. 

When asked what she was most excited for players to see in the Tome of Spirits, Kirsty Garbe, CEO of Lunar Games, said “I’m simply excited to show our fans more of our world and give them a better understanding of how to incorporate spirits in their adventures.  They’re part of what makes Endless Realms unique, and there’s a lot of opportunity in the pages of the Tome of Spirits.” 

Lunar Games successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign for the Endless Realms Core Rulebook and Creature Compendium in April 2018, raising just over $40,000 CAD in 35 days.  The funding goal for the Tome of Spirits is to raise $8,400 CAD.  Its campaign will go live on April 23d and will run for 30 days. 

Check out Endless Realms on: 

Kickstarter Preview: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lunargames/35150466?ref=543165&token=dc043e36 

DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12778/Lunar-Games-Inc&affiliate_id=814082 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EndlessRealmsRPG/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lunar_GamesInc 

RPG NEWS – Gamers in the WA State Senate

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From Gen Con’s March 29th, 2019 newsletter (Gen Con at Indianapolis August 1-4, 2019):

 

Gamers in the WA State Senate

This week, Gen Con President David Hoppe joined a select group of industry professionals invited to present at the Washington State Senate’s first-ever work session focused on the tabletop gaming industry.

The work session was designed to inform Senate members about tabletop gaming’s impact on the Washington state economy and included representatives from Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Loan Shark Games, and Green Ronin Publishing. The committee, which included Washington Senators Mark Mullet and Steve Hobbs, heard about each company’s experience in starting and developing their business during a series of panels Tuesday morning on the Capitol’s campus.

The information and experience shared were invaluable in educating the state legislature on the tabletop gaming industry and community in Washington.

Gen Con at Indianapolis August 1-4, 2019

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? Mysthea, Veil of the Void, Humblewood, and STEAM Hack

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What I enjoy about this series is seeing what projects creators recommend over and over again. Through this article, Swordsfall has five recommendations while Critical Core has three. This week, The Seas of Vodari (read their press release here) joins the list of multiple recommendations. I’ve found that those projects with multiple referrals are among the best offered. This week, I asked the creators of these RPG Kickstarters what projects are they most interested in:

 

Mysthea: Legends From the Borderlands by UFO Press

Ends:Thu, April 11 2019 1:00 PM EDT.

“Rebuild a war-torn city and win fame for your guild in this geomantic fantasy tabletop RPG.”

Jay Iles (UFO Press) recommends:

“One Kickstarter I’m particularly interested in is Dangerous Times. It’s a game of investigative reporters dealing with magic and corruption in 1920s New York, and is a complete package in 48 pages of zine.

Swordsfall is extremely exciting, and I love that we have the diversity of systems these days that a system-less setting book like this can do well.

Finally, I’ve been interested in The Veil for a while thanks to Friends at the Table’s campaign of it, and Inheritance looks like it’ll be great at hitting that far-future space opera feel.”

Veil of the Void: A Sci-Fantasy TTRPG by SDG Interactive Publishers 

Ends: Thu, April 4 2019 12:00 PM EDT.

“A custom built D6 system designed with a focus on narrative play, storytelling, and home-brew!”

Trever Archuleta (SDG Interactive Publishers) recommends:

“I’m currently backing two at the moment:

I love supporting new creators, those that I believe will do something with the money I give them. Being an Indie creator myself I know how hard it can be and that we all need to support each other if we believe in their project or their creator. I am personally a huge fan of the idea of a fully pirate themed 5e game as I love pirates, so I will definitely be playing that one. I also find the idea of a new afropunk game to be quite original and something I think definitely deserves attention and as much funding as they have received.”

 

Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e DND by Hit Point Press

Ends: Thu, April 11 2019 10:00 AM EDT.

“Humblewood is a campaign setting for 5e DND that includes new birdfolk player races, new monsters, compelling adventure and more!”

Jordan Richer (Hit Point Press) recommends:

“The Seas of Vodari. Ask any RPG group and you’ll find most of them are pretty pumped to get on a ship and sail the 7 seas, but when it comes to 5e, there is not a lot of support for these kinds of adventures. Seas of Vodari seems to be the kind of sandbox that will help pad out our seafaring stories. We are particularly interested in the social combat so we can engage in some battles of wits!

Witch+Craft. Another area of 5e that has really needed a closer look is rules for crafting items, food and more – and Witch+Craft nails it in a super wholesome way. Your characters get to choose a “Trade Class” that levels up your characters crafting skills as your adventuring skills improve and makes making items, foods, etc a collaborative thing, encouraging a negotiation between players and DM about what materials would be needed, what kind of equipment might be required and so on. It pulls crafting out of the background and puts it right into your character and the story. Can’t wait for the full book to come out!

Additionally both creators, like us, are Canadian, so it’s great to see all this amazing content coming from up here!”

 

STEAM Hack: RPG Zines for STEM Education by STEAM Hack RPGs

Ends: Sat, April 27 2019 5:00 PM EDT.

“A zine with role-playing games (RPGs) to teach engineering and science using actual engineering scenarios.”

Allen White (STEAM Hack RPGs) recommends:

“As a gamer who is trying to use the power of RPGs in education, I have been looking forward to Critical Core by Game to Grow and I’m excited to see it doing well! Roleplaying has been used to help those on the autism spectrum and this looks like a great way to help more parents and educators. The art is engaging and the design looks like it will make the fiddly bits of roleplaying more accessible to a wider audience, which is great for our hobby. I am looking forward to using my copy in classes.

Speaking of engaging art, I am intrigued by The Ultraviolet Grasslands by Exalted Funeral – how can you not love an RPG inspired by “psychedelic heavy metal, the Dying Earth genre, and classic Oregon Trail games.” Luka Rejec’s art is powerful and it looks like his game design for UVG will bring his art to life for the players. I enjoyed the setting and (especially) the premise of Witchburner and I think UVG will show us his imagination on fire.”

PRESS RELEASE – Forbidden Library

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Forbidden Library Kickstarter brings in all-star collaborators for new adventure series

Legendary and professional game designers, writers and artists fill a forbidden library with magic and wonder.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., March 21, 2019 – Alligator Alley Entertainment teams up with Gregory A. Wilson to kickstart Tales and Tomes from the Forbidden Library, which will feature game designers such as Ed Greenwood, Ken Hite, Will Hindmarch, Shawn Merwin, and many others along with great contributing fiction authors like Cat Rambo to make an evocative adventure series and sourcebook filled with poems, art and danger!

Tales and Tomes is a 5E compatible adventure designed to lead heroes up to level 3 into the Eastern Wing of Hearthglow Academy’s Library, a forbidden place to students and teachers alike. Prominent SFF authors and tabletop gaming professionals bring the library alive with spell grimoires, weaponry manuals, atlases and bestiaries. Among the clues, the heroes will find scraps of lore, stories, paintings – and everything in between. 

Even better, as the Kickstarter grows, additional collaborators will be brought in to create even more of the library’s fantastical catalogue. Still early in the first week of the Kickstarter, the project is almost halfway funded with stretch goals already planned.

Brian Dalrymple, co-founder of Alligator Alley Entertainment, says, “We are thrilled to be working with Gregory and all of the great talent that are ready to fill Hearthglow Academy’s Library with great content a GM can use in both the adventure and their own home campaigns. We want players to be both excited and a little nervous when they see their own GM pull out the Tales and Tomes.”

“I’ve been running this adventure as a live audience event for a couple of years now at the GenCon Writer’s Symposium and my players love it,” says Gregory A Wilson, genre writer and author of theForbidden Library adventure. “This year, we’ll finish the trilogy, and our Kickstarter supporters will be able to follow along and even run the adventure at home. After running Alligator Alley’s Esper Genesis content on my Twitch stream, I can’t wait to see what they come up with to supplement this volume.”

You can find the Kickstarter here and you can contact our media rep., Robert Adducci, here.

Gregory A Wilson:

Premier game master, Twitch TV channel host (ArvanEleron), speculative fiction author, podcaster, and college professor, Wilson has been bringing the world’s favorite RPG to over 5,000 people week after week on Twitch. He also runs popular live RPG events at GenCon’s Writer’s Symposium, all of which serve as the inspiration for the world of Tales and Tomes from the Forbidden Library. In the world of fantasy fiction, Greg’s first fantasy novel, The Third Sign, came out in 2009, followed by the graphic novel, Icarus, in 2016; his third novel, Grayshade (Book One of The Gray Assassin Trilogy), also arrived in 2016 from The Ed Greenwood Group.

 

About Alligator Alley Entertainment (AAE):

Founded by hobby industry veterans Rich Lescouflair, Eric Wiener and Brian Dalrymple, AAE brings a world of imagination to go along with their RPG products. The team’s skill set covers years of game design, retail expertise and print production.  The ENnie-nominated company has created  hits like Esper Genesis: Heroic Sci-Fi Role-playingTM with  5E rules, Witch Hunter: The Invisible World of swashbuckling adventure and horror, and The Demonbane Chronicles, a 5E adventure series set on the shattered continent of Sereth.

PRESS RELEASE – Premiere for Free League’s Symbaroum – Mother of Darkness is live on Kickstarter

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Free League Publishing

Premiere for Free League’s Symbaroum – Mother of Darkness is live on Kickstarter

Free League Publishing – Mar 22, 2019 15:07 GMT

The forests grow darker, as does the streams and the soil. Neither the Queen’s subjects, nor the clanfolk has ever taken the warnings seriously. The desire to pillage the treasures of the forest has always been stronger than the fear and caution, and no desire has ever flamed hotter than the longing to find the place which is called the Mother of all Darkness. Now the time has come to go on the hunt for Symbar, the blackened heart of the empire of Symbaroum.

Explorers, treasure-hunters, adventurers and loyal subjects, listen up – trustworthy directions to the legendary city of Symbar has been uncovered! Pack your bags immediately, sharpen your swords and resupply your stock of healing herbs, for the expedition leaves as soon as the warmth of spring breaths life into the forest of Davokar!

Following the merger of award-winning roleplaying game publishers Free League Publishing (Tales from the Loop, Mutant Year Zero, Forbidden Lands) and Järnringen, it is time for the first major joint venture: Symbar – Mother of Darkness, the next episode in the epic Throne of Thorns campaign for Järnringen’s acclaimed dark fantasy RPG Symbaroum, was launced on Kickstarter today.

About Free League Publishing

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.

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? Swordsfall, CAPERS Noir, Justice Velocity, and Snowhaven

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After so many nice things were said about Welcome to Tikor last week, I reached out to Brandon Dixon to find out what RPG Kickstarters he’s looking forward to. As well as his reviews, there are a number of nice things said about a personal favorite of mine, Critical Core, plus we hear about a convention. Let’s see what RPG Kickstarters these creators are looking forward to:

 

Snowhaven for Fifth Edition by High Level Games

Ends: Sun, March 31 2019 11:56 AM EDT.

“Snowhaven is a Snowpunk Fantasy setting for the 5th Edition of the world’s oldest and most popular roleplaying game system.”

High Level Games recommends:

“Swordsfall is amazing, it’s a project creating an afro-futurist world and the depth of the worldbuilding on display is staggering, in a good way. The project has gone through the roof and I’d love to see this go even higher. The more diverse and deep projects we have out there the better.

Which brings me to my second suggestion, which is Critical Core by Game to Grow. This project presents a game system for autistic youth. As I’m a huge fan of working with kids interested in gaming and helping use games as therapeutic devices this just checks all the boxes for me.”

 

Welcome to Tikor | The Swordsfall RPG Setting and Art Book by Brandon Dixon

Ends: Wed, April 10 2019 11:01 AM EDT.

“An Afropunk Sci-Fantasy world brimming with ancient magic and future tech.”

Brandon Dixon recommends:

“Critical Core looks fantastic. I’m a big fan of products that seek to involve marginalized groups and make them apart of the experience. It has a such a cool story behind it as well. It was created by a father who wanted to help his autistic son get into gaming.

Veil of the Void is doing great work with their game. I have nothing but love for a sci-fi project by another person of color. I really want to see them get funded, they’re a bit over 50% with two weeks to go. I really want to see them win. The art is great and the book direction is amazing.”

 

Justice Velocity: An Action Movie Inspired Tabletop RPG by Polyhedra Games

Ends: Thu, April 4 2019 12:24 PM EDT.

“A D6-based tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the action movie universe”

Clipper Arnold of Polyhedra Games recommends:

“Manifest RPG‘s space western setting looks really unique and interesting. The style of the cover art, especially, looks great. There are major Firefly vibes for sure–and rolling a fist of D20s sounds like a lot of fun.

Prowlers and Paragons Ultimate Edition also looks really great. The art looks really top notch, and I’m a fan of D6 systems. I’ve never played P&P or Champions, but have had a lot of fun with stuff like Mutants & Masterminds. I have high hopes from the team working on this as they all appear to be game design veterans.”

 

CAPERS Noir RPG by NerdBurger Games

Ends: Thu, April 11 2019 9:00 PM EDT.

“An RPG of Criminals, Cops, Mystery, and Monsters…with Super-Powers!”

Craig Campbell of NerdBurger Games recommends:

“I’ve been a guest at AcadeCon the past two years and will be again this year.

AcadeCon is my favorite convention. It’s small and intimate, maybe 500-600 attendees. It’s RPG heavy. It has bunches of great guests from both the RPG design world and the podcast world. The RPG Academy has built a great community around their podcasts and that community shows up for AcadeCon. It’s inviting, friendly, inclusive, and fun. I have never regretted going.”

NOTE: I featured CAPERS Noir before (here) but I added it again after Craig and I talked about AcadeCon and their Kickstarter, and he gave it a glowing recommendation.

 

***

The project selections and opinions expressed by the contributors are solely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Egg Embry or the Tessera Guild.

PRESS RELEASE: Run to the Sun in the New Starfinder Dawn of Flame Adventure Path from Paizo

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RUN TO THE SUN IN THE NEW STARFINDER
DAWN OF FLAME ADVENTURE PATH FROM PAIZO

An alien starship, a psychic disturbance, and a bubble-city in the sun’s atmosphere await heroic players in the first volume, Fire Starters.

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (March 15, 2019): Paizo Inc. has released Fire Starters, the first volume in the Dawn of Flame Adventure Path for the smash hit Starfinder Roleplaying Game. The 64-page volume, written by James L. Sutter, is the first of six adventures in a science fantasy campaign set in the Pact World’s sun. It is available for purchase at paizo.com and retailers worldwide at an MSRP of $22.99 for softcover.

“Dawn of Flame sees the heroes peeling back the layers of a story about a mysterious force operating within the Pact Worlds’ sun while diving through the layers of the star itself. The narrative starts outside the sun, moves into events in a city in the star’s upper atmosphere, and leads to the heroes traveling into the sun’s depths. If flying a starship deep into stellar plasma to explore places few mortals have seen isn’t science fantasy, I don’t know what is,” said Chris Sims, lead developer for the Dawn of Flame Adventure Path.

Sutter shared his thoughts on the adventure: “I also think the adventure has some really fun roleplaying opportunities! My philosophy about writing adventures is that even in the tensest, most serious game, you still need moments of humor to throw the grimmer elements into contrast and get that emotional punch. So, things like dealing with an eccentric chaos-snake, a self-appointed skittermander cop, and an insectile con artist—or even just making the two key NPCs each other’s ex-wives—those character moments are every bit as important as the monsters and combat!”

Fire Starters contains a Starfinder adventure for 1st-level characters. Additional material includes an alien enclave within the star, a look at the sun goddess and her worshippers, an archive of extraplanar threats, deck plans and statistics for a vessel that patrols near the sun, and a look at a beautiful resort planet with ties to the Plane of Water.

The adventures continue with a new volume every month for six months. Soldiers of Brass (Dawn of Flame 2 of 6) will be released in late March. Explore the Starfinder Roleplaying Game at paizo.com/starfinder.

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 in homes, at conventions, at their favorite local game stores, 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 can also find the newest releases, as well as accessories like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, and goblin plush toys, to quickly replenish their adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – Justice Velocity: An Action Movie Inspired Tabletop RPG Launches Kickstarter

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Justice Velocity: The Action Movie Inspired Tabletop RPG is now Live on Kickstarter

March 6th, 2019– Justice Velocity, the action movie inspired tabletop roleplaying game is officially live on Kickstarter. Inspired by pulpy action films like the Fast & Furious franchise, Bad Boys, and more, Justice Velocity puts you in the driver’s seat.

The campaign launched on Tuesday, March 5th, and generated 32% of its $1500 funding goal in its first day. With a goofy and over-the-top promotional video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMAzwkwVZsQ , Justice Velocity promises to deliver on all the action movie tropes–espionage, heists, hijinks, and fast cars are all essential to the blood-pumping action.

The title is independent game designer Clipper Arnold and Polyhedra Games’ first official title, though they have the help of Nathon Paoletta (of World Wide Wrestling and more) doing the final layout design, and punchy visuals from Swedish artist Anders Karlsson.

The game boasts quick character creation, making it ideal for one-shots and short campaigns, octane chips for kicking it into high gear for climactic action sequences, and dynamic vehicle rules for different styles of races and car combat.

In their launch day update, Polyhedra Games announced an upcoming liveplay video from The Grizzled Geek, (as well as the possibility of some stretch goals on the horizon. You can view the campaign here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/polyhedragames/justice-velocity-an-action-movie-inspired-tabletop?ref=557316&token=b3808dec

  • Website – polyhedragames.com
  • Facebook – facebook.com/polyhedragames
  • Instagram – instagram.com/polyhedragames
  • Twitter – twitter.com/polyhedragames
  • Email – polyhedragames@gmail.com

Introducing Justice Velocity

An Action Movie Inspired Tabletop Roleplaying Game

What is the velocity of justice? Many say it’s difficult to quantify– that it even evades common metrics of measurement or full understanding by the rule of law. One thing’s for sure, however: you should be able to gauge it as it comes hurtling towards you. Hands grip steering wheels as rubber grips concrete. Seedy underbellies trade bullets with the law and set moral shades of gray ablaze. Napalm and nitrous are as indispensable as your ability to hack or maneuver cold machinery.

Inspired by action movies like the Fast & Furious franchise, Rush Hour, or Bad Boys, and anime like Initial D– Justice Velocity puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s an exercise in collaborative storytelling that puts the stakes of a race or the fate of deadly computer viruses up to your players’ skills, abilities, and the roll of the dice.

There’s something exhilarating about sending Hot Wheels™ down a track into their doom. There’s something thrilling about unnecessary explosions. There’s something amazing about seeing whether or not a car can jump over the opening of a live volcano. Justice Velocity is an unapologetic, adrenaline-fueled romp which delves into the nature of exergy and machine fetishism. It pushes physics, bodies, and systems to their limits. When justice calls, sometimes it’s the gruff, meat-headed, cargo-pants-donning voice of utilitarianism that picks up the phone. This is a foray into that universe… one in which steel, muscle, and ingenuity can prevail and save the world from certain peril.

Justice Velocity is made by Polyhedra Games. It comes to Kickstarter Tuesday, March 5th. You can pre-screen the promo video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMAzwkwVZsQ , and see a preview of the Kickstarter campaign here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/polyhedragames/justice-velocity-an-action-movie-inspired-tabletop?ref=557316&token=b3808dec . Interviews, beta rules, and other materials are available upon request.

 

 

 

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? CAPERS Noir, Dino Wrangers, Manifest, and Absconding

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I backed into this column in which I ask RPG Kickstarter creators what games they’re excited about on Kickstarter/Indiegogo, but I’ve grown to really enjoy getting other creator’s feedback. It lets creators share what they are looking at and helps shine the spotlight on quality games. Some of the RPGs listed below are collecting multiple recommendations, all genuine votes for their quality. This week there are recommendations from:

CAPERS Noir RPG by NerdBurger Games

Ends: Thu, April 11 2019 9:00 PM EDT.

“An RPG of Criminals, Cops, Mystery, and Monsters…with Super-Powers!”

Craig Campbell of NerdBurger Games recommends:

“I’m digging Hair Metal Horror: Glam Metal Horror RPG Zines. Being a child of the 80s and a huge horror movie fan, this one really speaks to me. Plenty of 80s horror movies had rocking soundtracks, and the mash up of glam metal and horror is just too good to pass up. Mash ups like these just go to prove, if you can think of an RPG idea, there’s a game for it. The description makes it look incredibly fun with plenty of horrific elements, but dotted through with glam rock and humor.

Also on my radar is Dino Wranglers – Zine Quest. A family RPG, it’s about wrangling dinosaurs but with a thoughtfulness that can be missing from some games. Specifically, the characters are “tending to the safety and wellbeing of the creatures in their charge.” The game uses a token system that younger players will easily grasp. It’s designed by a parent who found they were having a hard time enjoying playing RPGs with their kids. So they made a game that would do what those other games didn’t. And that’s very much in the spirit of indie game design.”

Dino Wranglers – Zine Quest by Rachelle Dube

Ends: Thu, March 28 2019 11:08 AM EDT.

“A pick-up-and-play narrative RPG for families about overcoming obstacles as a dinosaur wrangler.”

Rachelle Dube recommends:

“With Kickstarter’s Zine Quest and several game designer friends putting out bigger projects, 2019 has been absolutely brutal. My wallet only goes so far! I’ll limit myself to three I pulled out of a virtual hat.

First: Escape from Dino Island by the Sams—Sam Roberts and Sam Tung. We’re all about dinosaurs in our house! The fact that it is designed for one- or two-shots makes it perfect for those random nights friends pop by or plague hits our usual gaming groups. If Sam Tung wasn’t doing, you know, his own Kickstarter, I would have loved to have his art in Dino Wranglers! This game checks a lot of boxes for me, and I can’t wait to get it!

Second: Mythsea: Legends of the Borderlands by Jay Iles. She describes it as emulating, “Final Fantasy 12 crossed with Steven Universe. You’re crystal-powered heroes sent to a conquered territory to make it useful for your masters, but as you play (and grow invested in the territory) you’ll develop new loyalties and see your homeland in a whole new light.” I’m probably one of two people that haven’t ever played any Final Fantasy games, but it’s beautiful and engaging, so I’m interested anyway!

Third: Swordsfall: An Afropunk Sci Fantasy Setting by Brandon Dixon, AKA Tikal. I’ve been following him for a while on Twitter, and I’ve been following this project for a while now. I love everything about the setting and art, I can’t wait to get it on my table. Full disclosure, Tikal will write a scenario for my game, Dino Wranglers, if it hits the $2100 stretch goal.“

NOTES:

Manifest the RPG by Waypoint Game Designs

Ends: Mon, April 1 2019 3:00 PM EDT.

“An exciting and immersive Sci-Fi Western tabletop roleplaying game”

Waypoint Game Designs recommends:

“Here at Waypoint Game Designs we’re really intrigued by Grey Cells. We’re big fans of the crime genre. And the exclusion of an charisma stat is an interesting way to equalize the player’s opportunity to “break the case.”

The other live Kickstarter we’re fans of is Justice Velocity by Polyhedra Games. Their fast and loose, adrenaline filled RP experience seems like it will be a lot of fun to play at any table.

We are totally in love with Swordsfall: An Afropunk Sci Fantasy Setting. We missed it on our first pass because it looks like a setting guide, not a complete game. But on closer inspection it looks like there’s so much to love, we’ve already backed it and the people who make it are kind of amazing. And we can’t wait to get our hands on it!!”

NOTES:

Absconding: Indie RPG zine for 5E by Joshua Rivera

Ends: Thu, March 28 2019 8:45 AM EDT.

“Absconding is one part literary/fantasy/sci-fi journal, one part ephemeral art magazine, and one part fifth edition game material.”

Joshua Rivera recommends:

“I backed these projects, and I want to give them a highlight.

CHTHONIC CORNBELT by Lee Barber is a weird little zine that’s pulpy and resembles advertising print design from the 1980s. It’s implied world reminds me of what an 80s baby would dream up in their notebook margins between boring math lectures and a substitute teacher day. The little pieces of ephemera on display will surely be a springboard for some fantastic ideas.

Be Witching is an RPG from Anna Anthropy, whose work in indie games I’ve followed for over a decade now. This is an adorably designed, inclusive game where players are even encouraged to draw their characters, which should be a very nice twist the first time I’ll run this. Also, this ostensibly being a game simulating prom night interviews, this is likely to get very passionate.

Yugika appears to be a zine full of RPG miscellany from Joesph Reid and friends. Each copy will also be painstakingly hand-bound with string, which is just fascinating to me. Yugika seems to be having trouble making it’s goal, so I really hope people decide to check this out and help bring it to fruition.“

PRESS RELEASE – Emerge as a Warrior of Legend in Dragon and Warrior RPG

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Emerge as a Warrior of Legend in Dragon and Warrior – A Tabletop Roleplaying Game

Game Launch Now Underway as a Part of Kickstarter’s RPG-Inspired Zine Quest

March 13, 2019 – Olympia, WA—The Warrior stands before the king who tells them that they are the next in a long line of warriors of legend tasked with fighting off an evil tyrant. That is how every game begins, but from then on the players shape the setting, scenery, and the story itself through gameplay.

Four roles craft the narrative: the Warrior, the Villain, the Ally, and Treasure. The Warrior controls the actions of the story’s protagonist. The Villain invents conflicts, monsters, and characters who stand in the Warrior’s way. The Ally steers the townsfolk, shopkeepers, and the Warrior’s friends—all whom aid the Warrior’s journey and send them on quests. Lastly, Treasure describes the world itself, breathing life into setting and scenery, as well as whatever items the Warrior finds on their journey. Players are encouraged to ask provocative questions about the parts of the story the other players’ roles control, allowing everyone to push the story towards what piques their curiosity.  Players frequently switch roles during the game, giving everyone a chance to say what the Warrior does next. Questions serve a double purpose of useful prompts to jumpstart one another’s imaginations.

Drawing is a meaningful part of the gameplay as well. Depending on their role, players might draw maps of towns and dungeons they explore, or sketch the monsters and challenges that lie in wait for the Warrior. When the players switch roles, so do the drawings they were working on, allowing other players to fill in details, or introduce characters and settings based on someone else’s art.

There are just enough stats and strategy to give Dragon and Warrior the feel of a turn-based RPG video game battle without having so many rules that they hinder player creativity. Conflict is quick and exciting—a back and forth card game of attacking, blocking, and maneuvering for the right opening. Characters can be built to focus on powerful strikes, quick agility, or magic spells, and they will slowly grow in power throughout the campaign—as will their enemies.

Dragon and Warrior is available for purchase through Kickstarter in two formats (a $5 PDF file or an $8 zine in single-color ink). The hand-drawn art and beautiful layout were designed by Michael Wight in the style of Akira Toriyama of Dragon Quest and Dragon Ball fame. The Kickstarter ends on Sat, March 30th.

Created by game designer Orion Canning, Dragon and Warrior is based on old school JRPG video games, combining strategic turn-based battles with the play-to-find-out style of indie RPGs. Though Dragon and Warrior is Canning’s first game release, his work can be enjoyed in Fall of Magic, Legend of the Elements, and Monsterhearts Second Skins. Fully funded within nine days of its release, Dragon and Warrior looks to be Canning’s first successful launch.

Number of Players: 2-6

Time Required: 2-4 hours for a single session, many sessions for a full campaign

Kickstarter Page:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/890157708/dragon-and-warrior

 

Press Release: John Carter of Mars Mega Miniature and Book Release

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Modiphius announces array of new John Carter of Mars book and miniature releases
Greetings {First Name}!
Today we’re pleased to announce the release of a raft of new John Carter products including the core book in print, first campaign book Phantoms of Mars in print and PDF, the Narrator’s Screen, Prince of Helium Notebook plus individual resin miniatures like John Carter and Dejah Thoris in alt poses to power your adventures of heroism and romance on the dying red planet!
These join the recent John Carter Collector’s Slipcase set, miniature sets featuring the Heroes of Barsoom, Helium and Zodanga Fighting Crews and Thark Warband, plus Helium, Thark and Zodangan dice sets, which are all available as part of the John Carter of Mars Collection on Modiphius.net. You can also buy all the PDFs as part of the John Carter Collection on DriveThruRPG.com.
John Carter Core Book
“My attention was quickly riveted by a large red star close to the distant horizon. As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overpowering fascination—it was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it had always held the power of irresistible enchantment. As I gazed at it on that far-gone night it seemed to call across the unthinkable void, to lure me to it…”
Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter of Mars: Adventures on the Dying World of Barsoom transports you to the Red Planet of Barsoom, an arid, dying land of ancient civilizations and fearsome creatures. Begin your adventures of romance and heroism using a pulp-action inspired variant of the 2d20 System. Take on the role of heroes as you travel, battle, and romance your way across the wondrous and dangerous world of Barsoom. Play as John Carter, Princess Dejah Thoris, the fearsome Thark warrior Tars Tarkas – or create your own heroes from an exciting variety of options.
An overview of Barsoom and its peoples, perfect to introduce new players to the wondrous world of John Carter of Mars.
Detailed chapters on Barsoomian technology, creatures and cultures.
A new talent focused, narrative variation of the 2d20 System including a step-by-step character generation system designed to create heroes from a variety of backgrounds and concepts.
Create a wide variety of characters such as a Dashing Red Martian Duelist, a Brilliant First Born Scientist, a Savage Beastmaster, a Courageous Airship Officer, even Earthborn characters, so players can follow in the bounding footsteps of John Carter himself!
A detailed narrator’s section filled with information on how to run genre-and-setting appropriate campaigns, including information about the great and terrible secrets of Barsoom.
Three eras of play based on the adventures of John Carter himself. Adventure during the Dotar Sojat era, or adventure during the time where Carter became a Prince of Helium and in the years after when he was believed dead, or fight alongside Carter and his allies during the later Jeddak of Jeddaks era.
An introductory adventure, the Mind Merchants of Mars, to get players and narrators started on their adventures and immersed in the world of Barsoom.
Phantoms of Mars
Uncover the nefarious conspiracy of the mysterious organisation known as the Eidolon as you adventure your way across Barsoom to save the people of the dying planet. Phantoms of Mars will take your heroes on a journey full of pulp-action, intrigue and heroism as they race to uncover the Eidolon conspiracy and see just how far it has spread.
  • A 128 page, full colour, landscape hardback book with a complete campaign arc for the John Carter of Mars role-playing game.
  • Detailed narrator’s section with information on key characters, plots and advice on how to run and insert the campaign into existing games.
  • Also includes the Swords of Mars 2d20 Skirmish rules for use with the John Carter of Mars miniature collection.
Narrator’s Screen
Modiphius Entertainment presents the John Carter of Mars Narrator’s Toolkit. The Toolkit includes the official John Carter of Mars narrator screen. The exterior features amazing rendered artwork from the cover of the core rule-book, while the interior features useful rules, tables and charts for narrators. Also included is a booklet with new advice on running campaigns as well as new rules.
  • Full colour, 4-panel narrator screen with artwork on the exterior and reference tables and charts on the interior.
  • 36 page, full colour booklet with advice on running and creating campaigns as well as new additional rules for travel and large-scale combat.
Prince of Helium Notebook
Modiphius Entertainment presents the John Carter of Mars Prince of Helium Notebook. The exterior features amazing rendered artwork from the cover of the core rulebook, while the interior features blank, lined and gridded paper to detail your journey across Barsoom as well as character sheets to keep your heroes’ information all in one place.
  • Fully illustrated cover with elastic closure.
  • 160 page notebook featuring blank, lined and gridded paper.
  • Character sheets built into the notebook for ease of use in play.
We also have a selection of individual miniatures including John Carter and Dejah Thoris in alternative poses, Sola, Ras Tharvas and Gor Hajus, plus monsters of Mars like the White Ape, Apt and Banth, as well as Plant Men and Synthetic Men.
We hope you enjoy this round of John Carter books, minis and accessories and look out for more great releases coming soon,
Best wishes,
Modiphius Entertainment
About Modiphius Entertainment
Modiphius Entertainment is a London, England-based entertainment publisher of tabletop games and related hobby merchandise. The company launched its first game, the Achtung! Cthulhu Roleplaying Game, in 2013, followed by the Mutant Chronicles RPG, DUST Adventures RPG based on Paolo Parente’s DUST universe, Infinity The Roleplaying Game based on the best-selling miniatures game, Conan, Adventures in Age Undreamed of, the official roleplaying game of Robert E Howard’s barbaric universe, Matt Leacock’s Thunderbirds, a cooperative board game based on the classic 60’s show and the official Kung Fu Panda Boardgame.
Modiphius Entertainment seeks to inspire with its tales of heroism, adventure and courage. Modiphius also works to combat global child trafficking through raising awareness of and funds for Vision Rescue. For more information, please visit www.modiphius.com.
GAMES • SHOP • FORUM • CONTACT • ABOUT

PRESS RELEASE – NerdBurger Games Presents CAPERS Noir!

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NerdBurger Games Presents CAPERS Noir!

It’s the 1940s in the United States. World War 2 has wrought such destruction that the veil between this world and the world of the dead has thinned. Monsters have crept in. You are a criminal or a cop in a noir landscape of crime, corruption, red eyes in the shadows, and bumps in the night…and you have super-powers!

Kickstarter

PRESS RELEASE – The Seas of Vodari – Swashbuckling & Sorcery for 5E

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The Seas of Vodari – Swashbuckling & Sorcery for 5E

The Seas of Vodari Kickstarter campaign will be launching on Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 at 2pm EDT and will run for 30 days.

The Seas of Vodari is a full color book that we are offering in hardcover and PDF. This book provides 200+ pages of material for gamemasters to run exciting seafaring campaigns for 5th Edition. Your players will get tons of options for creating characters and you’ll get support to run a world full of swashbuckling action and magical adventure.

The World of Vodari

Long ago, a vast continent was annihilated and all but the outer edge of the continent sank to the bottom of the sea. The devastation left only a scattered few to start rebuilding their civilization on a ring of islands…

The Seas of Vodari campaign setting contains all of the iconic things you’d expect in a fantasy setting, but in a world with more water than land, much of the familiar becomes surprising and new.

  • Dungeons can be found deep below the surface of the sea in the form of shipwrecks and lost cities.
  • The most dangerous monsters are found below the waves, such as sea dragons, megalodons and krakens.
  • Nature becomes as deadly as the most powerful monsters with furious hurricanes, catastrophic tsunamis, and fiery volcanoes.

Islands are modular by nature and the book was designed for you to use as a detailed setting or to pick and choose what you like for your own game world.

The Seas of Vodari campaign setting was created to support seafaring adventures that focus on the crew of a ship hunting sea monsters, exploring mysterious uncharted islands, visiting bustling port cities, following maps to find buried treasure, and battling cutthroat pirates. The setting is also well suited to running campaigns in its large port cities, with swashbuckling heroes getting mixed up with fierce rivals, notorious crime syndicates, feuding nobles, and scheming politicians.

What’s In the Book?

The Seas of Vodari will provide you with tons of material to run an entire seafaring campaign or just a single adventure…

Player Options
New races and subraces, classes and subclasses, backgrounds, and feats for your players to create seafaring adventurers.

  • Gunslinger class with three subclasses (Arcane Gunmaster, Pistolero, and Musketeer)
  • Swashbuckling and sorcery inspired options for all 12 classes to fit a seafaring world
  • A full pantheon for clerics and paladins

Weapons, Armor & Equipment
New weapon, armor and equipment options to offer your players. You’ll find flintlock pistols and rifles, cutlasses and sabres, compasses, spyglasses, and more.

Magical Relics & Spells
New spells, magic items, and powerful ancient relics with a focus on sailing, naval combat, and underwater exploration.

A World of Islands to Explore
Explore countless islands, with details for over thirty islands, a dozen cities, wilderness encounters, ruins, and more.

Rules for Swashbuckling Adventures
Run swashbuckling adventures with advice and rules for duels, social combat, naval chases, plunder tables, and the code of the sea.

Adventures to Run
‘Island with No Name’ starter adventure for levels 1 to 3. Quick run scenarios including a haunted ship, sunken shipwreck, treasure hunt, and more.

Ships to Sail
Sloops, brigatines, galleons, gnomish submersibles, dwarven ironsides, elven swan ships, ships of the damned, and more. Plus, we didn’t forget to add lots of cannons.

Allies & Adversaries
NPCs for your players to befriend or face as adversaries. Stats, motivations, illustrations, and more will be provided for each.

Monsters to Fight
Monsters to challenge, amuse, and terrify your players including sea dragons, windsurfing goblins, sirens, technofish, megalodons, and sea titans.

The learn more about The Seas of Vodari or to back this Kickstarter visit http://www.seasofvodari.com.

About Tribality

Tribality Publishing already has numerous best-selling PDFs under its belt. We self-funded those PDFs, but we wanted go big with for Seas of Vodari. We have secured a solid team of professionals on both the writing and production side. We are now moving into the final development stage of filling out the world with more player options, locations, magic, and monsters.

https://www.tribality.com

What Kickstarters Excite Creators? The Veil: Inheritance, Comrades, Tavern Encounters, and The Fan Favorite

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I am always curious what Kickstarters inspire other tabletop RPG designers. Last week, I asked several friends what they were backing and enjoyed seeing the answers, the overlaps, and the interest they have in games. This week, I reached out to another set of RPG Kickstarter creators to find out what they’re excited to see in Kickstarter. What projects excite the creators of:

The Fan Favorite: A Masks RPG Zine by Linda H. Codega

Ends: Thu, March 14 2019 10:51 AM EDT.

“An old-school fan-made, DIY collaborative RPG Zine is a fandom supplement anthology for Masks: A New Generation by Magpie Games. We are paying all our contributors a fair and competitive rate, and are including a plurality of voices, all supported by an amazing system of fans and networks. As the editor and organizer of this zine, I’m immensely proud of this community of designers and writers who have dedicated their time and expertise to this zine.”

Linda H. Codega recommends:

“Zine Quest is winding down, but there are still a few RPG Zines I’m psyched about. If you’re looking for a last minute zine to support I recommend:

The Tomb of Black Sand: A more traditional OSR supplement full of fantastic and incredible art that is system neutral and an easy in for GMs. These creators make beautiful work, and sometimes it’s nice to do a traditional swords and sorcery gambit with a lot of leeway on the world you can create and system you can use.

Comrades: Fight the power, support anarchist ideals, fund indie artists, and bring down the corrupt government with your friends. This PbtA [Powered by the Apocalypse] game looks like it’s going to be fantastic, has multiple settings in the book, and includes playbooks that speak to traditional agitator roles and can also be used for both futuristic and ancient story narratives.”

Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG by W.M. Akers

Ends: Fri, March 15 2019 10:32 AM EDT.

“A tabletop roleplaying game about life in the revolutionary underground, where a roll of the dice can change the world.”

W.M. Akers recommends:

“I am extremely excited about Rosenstrasse, an “elegiac RPG” about romance across the boundary of religion in Berlin, 1933. I recommended it to the backers of Comrades because I felt like history-minded players who hate fascism—which is exactly the sort of person who likes my game—would enjoy this beautiful-looking RPG.

I’m also really intrigued by Grey Cells, a mystery RPG inspired by Agatha Christie’s Poirot. I write mystery novels—I’ve got one coming out in May—and I’m interested to see how they approach the difficulty of providing a satisfying mystery in a format that necessarily requires so much improvisation.”

The Veil: Inheritance, a biopunk tabletop roleplaying game by Samjoko Publishing (Fraser Simons)

Ends: Sun, March 31 2019 8:00 PM EDT.

“Bioengineered bounty hunters take on challenges in newly colonized space. Part Cowboy Bebop, part Blade Runner.”

Fraser Simons recommends:

“Obachan Panic! has a unique premise and stretch goals for hacking the concept into various OSR settings. Neurotic aunties who save the world. I’m down!

Manifest RPG is a sci-fi western game. While I’m not usually into westerns, the concept and explicit direction toward inclusion makes me hope that it’ll take all the interesting parts and discard the problematic things that tend to dog the genre.”

Tavern Encounters: The Heroes’ Feast by Storm Bunny Studios (Jaye Sonia) 

Ends: Sun, April 7 2019 10:00 PM EDT.

“Tavern Encounters: The Heroes’ Feast is a gaming book designed to enhance your favorite tabletop roleplaying game experience!” 

Jaye Sonia recommends:  

“I’ve backed over sixty Kickstarters, so the things I look for in a KS may vary wildly. I tend to back a lot of my friends’ Kickstarters, especially when those friends worked on something. I’m not sure when they’re launching, but I have several friends working on the Starfinder Kickstarter for Grimmerspace; I’m excited to see it, especially since my friends Ben McFarland, Lou Agresta, and Erik Frankhouse are working on it. 

Mind you, two of the Kickstarters (outside of stuff I’m directly working on) right now aren’t live any long, but look incredibly cool nonetheless. I backed Into the Wyrd and Wild (which raised nearly 60k) because it looked breath-taking. A system-neutral bestiary, this book gave backers over 100 locations designed to keep your games weird and different. I can’t wait to get it.

I’m also gingerly flipping through my digital copy of The Expanse (which has some beautiful maps in it) and I can’t be happier with what I’ve seen so far. My hat goes off to Chris Pramas and the game design team over at Green Ronin.” 

PRESS RELEASE – PATHFINDER SECOND EDITION UNVEILED!

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PATHFINDER SECOND EDITION UNVEILED! 

Preorder the trove of new releases at your favorite local game store or PathfinderSecondEdition.com.

 

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (March 6, 2019): After years of development and feedback from more than 125,000 players, Paizo Inc. has announced the August 1 launch of the second edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!

PathfinderSecondEdition.com showcases the full slate of launch titles, including the Core Rulebook, Bestiary, Lost Omens World Guide, the standalone adventure The Fall of Plaguestone, and the first of the new-six volume Age of Ashes Pathfinder Adventure Path: Hellknight Hill. It also presents the all-new Pathfinder Flip-Mat: The Fall of Plaguestone, Character Sheet Pack, GM Screen, Combat Pad, and Condition Card Deck Pathfinder accessories.

Paizo Publisher Erik Mona said, “The launch slate provides everything you need to set out on a world of limitless fantasy adventure. With more than 20 years of active development and playtest feedback from more than 125,000 gamers, the new Pathfinder rules are easy to learn and exciting to master. We can’t wait to see the diverse and deeply customized characters the RPG community will create!”

 

Product Details:

Pathfinder Core Rulebook

By Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, and Mark Seifter

Hardcover: $59.99

Deluxe Hardcover: $79.99

 

Pathfinder Bestiary

By Paizo Staff

Hardcover: $49.99

Deluxe Hardcover: $69.99

 

Pathfinder Lost Omens World Guide

By Tanya DePass, James Jacobs, Lyz Liddell, Ron Lundeen, Liane Merciel, Erik Mona, Mark Seifter, and James L. Sutter

Hardcover: $36.99

 

Pathfinder Adventure Path: Hellknight Hill (Age of Ashes 1 of 6)

By Amanda Hamon

Softcover: $24.99

 

Pathfinder Adventure: The Fall of Plaguestone

By Jason Bulmahn

Softcover: $22.99

 

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: The Fall of Plaguestone

By Jason A. Engle and Jason Bulmahn

$14.99

Pathfinder: Character Sheet Pack

By Sarah Robinson and Logan Bonner

$14.99

 

Pathfinder: GM Screen

By Ekaterina Burmak and Paizo Staff

Widescreen Edition: $19.99

By Wayne Reynolds and Paizo Staff

Portrait Edition: $19.99 (paizo.com exclusive)

 

Pathfinder: Combat Pad

By Paizo Staff

$24.99

 

Pathfinder: Condition Card Deck

By Paizo Staff

$22.99

 

A full description of all Pathfinder Second Edition launch products can be found at PathfinderSecondEdition.com. Paizo will reveal the September lineup in a few weeks, so make sure to bookmark the site. Follow their live Twitch streams at twitch.tv/officialpaizo.com for the latest news.

 

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 stores, 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 can also find the newest releases, as well as accessories like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, and goblin plush toys, to quickly replenish their adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – Fallout® tabletop RPG by Modiphius!

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MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT TO DEVELOP OFFICIAL
FALLOUT® TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING GAMES
Under License by Bethesda Softworks
Wastelanders, we have some incredible news!
Modiphius Entertainment announced today we are developing two unique tabletop roleplaying game products based on the Fallout® videogame franchise.
Modiphius will develop and publish two tabletop RPG titles: the first expanding on the narrative wargame experience of Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, their licensed tabletop miniatures game, while a second more traditional tabletop RPG will follow using the company’s 2d20 System.
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare game designer James Sheahan is developing a roleplaying game expansion for the miniatures game which will include new rules for character creation, creating adventures in the wasteland, and more.
Long-time fan, and head of roleplaying game development at Modiphius Entertainment, Sam Webb (Star Trek Adventures) will lead development of the 2d20 System version for a more in-depth tabletop roleplaying game experience.
The Fallout: Wasteland Warfare roleplaying game will be available Summer 2019, with the 2d20 System version following in 2020.
For more information read below or head over to:www.modiphius.com/fallout-roleplaying
MORE INFORMATION ON THE FIRST RELEASE:
FALLOUT: WASTELAND WARFARE –
TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING IN THE WASTELAND!
Designed for 1 Gamemaster and up to 6 players, aged 14 and up.
Build your crew from a wide range of factions, allies and iconic characters from the Fallout series, or even create your own, and play in apocalyptic roleplaying adventures across the wasteland.
The Roleplaying Game Expansion will let players take the popular narrative experience of the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures game even further, by expanding their collection. Alternatively, it can be played as a standalone product using free downloadable cards and a set of theFallout: Wasteland Warfare dice available from all good gaming stores.
Players explore the desolate wasteland of the Fallout universe, fight terrifying mutated creatures and encounter the denizens who make the wasteland their home. Delve into abandoned Vaults, ruined cities, strange facilities, and antiquated military bases.
Encounter Super Mutants, Raiders, Survivors, Vault Dwellers, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Institute and the Enclave, and many more! Will you roam wide and far, or build up and protect your settlement? For those who want to create their own unique characters, use the faction based Archetype cards to start your own hero and see them grow from adventure to adventure.
Includes:
  • Complete rules for tabletop roleplaying in the wasteland, based on the popularFallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures game.
  • Full rules for character creation, archetypes and original player ideas alongside existing characters from the Fallout universe.
  • Packed with lots of full colour photographic scenes of the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare range to inspire your adventures!
  • Interact with familiar characters and creatures drawn from the world of Fallout.
  • Background on the locations and factions that players can encounter.
  • Three free adventures in a linked campaign or for use as one-shot missions to support Gamemasters.
  • Guidance for players to build their settlement as a base of operations.
  • Advice and tools to help gamemasters create and run exciting new adventures in the Fallout universe.
Watch out for the blue and gold Vault Tec Collector’s Edition or the standard Sole Survivor Edition!
Every copy of the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Roleplaying Game will come with a code to get you a set of free downloadable files:
  • PDF copy of the rulebook
  • Character cards from Fallout: Wasteland Warfare
  • Weapon cards from Fallout: Wasteland Warfare
  • Character Archetype cards
  • Character Playmat
This is designed as an expansion for the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Two Player Starter Box however a complete stand-alone boxed set will be available for Christmas including cards, dice, and rulebook for those who prefer everything in one package!
For more information and to sign up for more news, visit:
Best wishes,
Modiphius Entertainment
About Modiphius Entertainment
Modiphius Entertainment is a London, England-based entertainment publisher of tabletop games and related hobby merchandise. The company launched its first game, the Achtung! Cthulhu Roleplaying Game, in 2013, followed by the Mutant Chronicles RPG, DUST Adventures RPG based on Paolo Parente’s DUST universe, Infinity The Roleplaying Game based on the best-selling miniatures game, Conan, Adventures in Age Undreamed of, the official roleplaying game of Robert E Howard’s barbaric universe, Matt Leacock’s Thunderbirds, a cooperative board game based on the classic 60’s show and the official Kung Fu Panda Boardgame.
Modiphius Entertainment seeks to inspire with its tales of heroism, adventure and courage. Modiphius also works to combat global child trafficking through raising awareness of and funds for Vision Rescue. For more information, please visit www.modiphius.com.
About ZeniMax Media Inc.
ZeniMax Media is a privately owned media organization headquartered outside Washington DC with international publishing offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Eindhoven, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney and Moscow. Through its subsidiaries, ZeniMax Media creates and publishes original interactive entertainment content for consoles, PCs, and handheld/wireless devices. ZeniMax Media divisions include Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios, ZeniMax Europe Ltd., ZeniMax Asia K.K., ZeniMax Asia Pacific Limited, and ZeniMax Australia Pty Ltd. For more information on ZeniMax Media, visit www.zenimax.com.
About Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. family of companies, is a worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment software. Titles featured under the Bethesda label include such blockbuster franchises as The Elder Scrolls®, Fallout®, DOOM®, QUAKE®, Wolfenstein®, Dishonored®, The Evil Within™, Prey® and RAGE®. For more information on Bethesda Softworks’ products, visit www.bethsoft.com.
About Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda Game Studios is the award-winning development team known around the world for its ground-breaking work on The Elder Scrolls series and the Fallout series. Creators of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion®, the 2006 ‘Game of the Year’; Fallout® 3, the 2008 ‘Game of the Year’; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim®, the 2011 ‘Game of the Year’; Fallout® 4, the winner of more than 200 “Best Of” awards including the 2016 BAFTA and 2016 D.I.C.E. Game of the Year; and Fallout Shelter™, the award-winning mobile game with more than 100 million users. Bethesda Game Studios has earned its reputation as one of the industry’s most respected and accomplished game development studios. For more information on Bethesda Game Studios, visit www.bethesdagamestudios.com.

Kickstarter’s Zine Quest and Some Great Zines!

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In November 2018, Kickstarter announced their upcoming [at the time] February initiative, Zine Quest. Since then, life has been about maintaining my schedule while preparing and running two RPG zines for the initiative, POWERED by the DREAMR and Love’s Labour’s Liberated for 5e (with John McGuire and Leland Beauchamp). While PbtD has funded, LLL continues until this Saturday. As a wrap up to my first two Kickstarters, I decided to reach out to some of my fellow Zine Questers to ask what RPG zines on Kickstarter that they’re interested in reading/playing? What follows are their responses.

NOTE One: I asked each contributor separately, so they didn’t know that they’d be together in the article. Thus, when they praise each other’s games, it’s genuine.

NOTE Two: I specifically asked each commenter to avoid “anything lame like false praise of my KS project. While I’d take a shout out, I want your honest recommendation(s).” I say this because some of these knuckleheads recommended my project and, while I’m flattered, I don’t want it to seem like it’s nepotism (it’s more like inept-ism… or maybe they genuinely like them).

D.I.R.G.Ezine by Sean Hillman, Amanda Makepeace, Andrea Fornero, Rachel Quinlan, Nadia Heller, Dawn Gilreath, Paige Leitman, Erica Frank, and Christos Floratos

Ends: Sun, March 3 2019 10:04 AM EST.

“An RPG-zine based on encouraging diverse ideas and diverse creators. The focus will be on world building, design, and art.”

Sean Hillman recommends:

“Okay, Love’s Labour’s Liberated, for reals. I think the approach is exactly the kind of mechanics that support rich RP campaigns.

synthesis. Just the premise seems incredible and a zine full of mini-rpgs is perfect for my own indie tastes.

And finally, Girl Underground. I mean, what?! The premise of this zine seems fantastic, something my little girl could play. I am also curious about how it will meet expectations after doing so darn well.” [NOTE: Girl Underground has over 1,100 backers and over $12,000 as of this writing with 4 days to go.]

Harrowings From The Rime! by Drew Cochran

Ends: Sun, March 3 2019 2:19 PM EST.

“An RPG Zine to steal your soul!”

Drew Cochran recommends:

“Hey! I am the creator of The Epic of Dreams RPG, and the ringleader for the Harrowings From the Rime OSR Zine. There are so many legit projects happening in this movement, it’s a lot to take in. Three zines I’m really hyped about are What Happened at Wyvern Rock?, POWERED by the DREAMR, and Other Magic.

What Happened at Wyvern Rock has a great premise. The aliens and 50’s era superstitions mixed with the medieval setting has so many possibilities. The best part about this zine to me, so far, is simply the execution and art style. The specific way they’re tackling this fusion wets my hunger like nothing else. And it’s going to be 64 PAGES! They’re mad, and I love it. Can’t wait.

POWERED By The DREAMR is being made by my friend, Egg! I have been able to participate in a handful of PbtA games, and I love the overall design. DREAMR is great because it fuels poetic collaboration in roleplaying, which is one of the major themes in my own game, The Epic of Dreams. Anything that is able to elicit those inspired moments in roleplay automatically gets my support. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the class abilities turn out! Dream sorcery for DAYS!

Other Magic hits me in those same places. I have come to abhor the understanding of what magic is inside of mainstream gaming- buttons of power, on demand and without cost. Much of The Epic of Dreams tackles bringing the spirit of mysticism back into tabletop gaming, and Other Magic’s approach makes me truly excited! I can’t wait to see what traditions and sources they use for their rituals, and how they translate those into the OSR!”

RPG Zine Challenge: The Compleat Beastman by Jacob DC Ross / Thunderegg Productions

Ends: Wed, March 6 2019 3:26 PM EST.

“A OSR-themed RPG zine with stats for centaurs, minotaurs and all of the beastmen you’ll ever want. Includes minis for play!”

Jacob DC Ross recommends:

“I actually really am looking forward to your zines, especially POWERED by the DREAMR. I adore hacks of Powered by the Apocalypse.

For POWERED by the DREAMR, it looks like the perfect system to portray a delve into the most mysterious parts of the psyche. I really can’t wait to see what stories I can tell with it.

The other zine I really want to play is Girl Underground: I have a unique fondness for Alice in Wonderland. Girl Underground looks to be the ideal intersection of Lewis Carroll and roleplaying.”

Cade’s Big Book o’ Booze by Justin Ryan Isaac

Ends: Fri, March 8 2019 3:28 PM EST.

“An alcohol related zine for use with 5th edition fantasy”

Justin Ryan Isaac recommends:

“This was a rough one considering I’ve backed or am backing 18 Zine Quest participants… That being said, these are the two I’m most excited to run/read/play.

Dino Wranglers. I love that Dino Wranglers is an easily accessible and inclusive in design, but still looks really rad and epic. I want a game I can teach to the kids at my library.

Draugr & Draculas. Josh is putting the bite back in vampires and giving stats to both Dracula and Elizabeth Bathory. To top it off the book is going to discuss making deals with the Devil and includes undead vikings!”

synthesis. by Riley Rethal

Ends: Wed, March 13 2019 2:34 PM EST.

“a #zinequest full of mini-rpgs about metatextuality, perspective, and creating new meanings.”

Riley Rethal recommends:

“I’m very excited for my friend Erika Shepherd’s zine, Exodus, a game about trans angels on a road trip that uses the Belonging Outside Belonging system. The campaign will have just ended by the time this article goes up, but you can still get the pdf at fadingroots.itch.io/exodus!

As for campaigns that are still going, I just backed Dino Wranglers, another token economy game written specifically with kids and neurodiversity in mind, which is perfect for me because I work as the ttrpg specialist at a summer camp where a lot of the campers are neurodivergent.”

  • Exodus ended by the time this article went live.
  • Dino Wranglers ends Thu, March 28 2019 11:08 AM EST.

The Isle of The Amazons – RPG Zine for #ZineQuest by Eric Bloat / Bloat Games

Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 8:00 PM EST.

“2 issue Setting for Untold Adventure and other White Box based OSR RPGs.”

Eric Bloat recommends:

“Casket Land: This occult/weird west zine is a full game packed into the pages of a zine. The game is engine is Powered by the Apocalypse, which I’m not a huge fan of, but the writing, layout and killer high-contrast black and white art were enough to get me to back it. Just check out the example pages on the it’s campaign page and you’ll see that this zine is just dripping with flavor and style.

Cade’s Big Book o’ Booze is an alcohol related zine for use with any 5th edition fantasy, which I’ll convert it’s content to OSR for games, but I’m really looking forward to this one. There’s going to be rules for the condition: intoxicated, new weapons and equipment, magic spells and magic items, maybe just maybe I’ll get to make that Jackie Chan Drunken Master Monk I’ve always wanted to play!

A Pound of Flesh is a zine module for the Sci-Fi Horror OSR RPG Mothership, which itself was also a zine. Mothership was a modern marvel of modern layout and game design and so I was really excited to see what all A Pound of Flesh would bring to the table. Plus, it’s being written by Chance Phillips, a rising star in the ranks of the OSR, who’s done some really great stuff for Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

Love’s Labour’s Liberated – Cavaliers, Enchanters and Magic Items for 5e fills a void that is quite overlooked in roleplaying games, romance. A significant portion of fantasy fiction is dedicated to this genre but it’s definitely overlooked in the gaming materials.

Dead Halt is the perfect project for the Kickstarter Zine Quest initiative. You take a young, talented and energetic creative, a unique, wacky way-out-there concept, and mix with a retro-sci-fi setting/scenario and have the perfect kind of material to create an rpg related zine. I was onboard from very early in the campaign and I’m telling you the stuff this group is coming just continues to impress me more and more. Plus, I just love the word: ClunkPunk. ‘Nough Said.”

Love’s Labour’s Liberated for 5e by John McGuire, Leland Beauchamp, and Egg Embry

Ends: Sun, March 3 2019 1:33 AM EST

“Cavaliers, Enchanters, Magic Items, the ideals of Chivalry, the power of Enchantment, and the magic of love deserve a place in your 5th Edition fantasy campaign.”

POWERED by the DREAMR, a PbtA RPG #ZineQuest by Egg Embry

NOTE: POWERED by the DREAMR (a Powered by the Apocalypse zine) by Egg Embry is available through the Love’s Labour’s Liberated for 5e Kickstarter campaign.

“Dreamrs, we are such stuff as dreams are *Powered* on, and our little life is rounded *by the Apocalypse*. Complete PbtA RPG in a zine.”

Egg Embry recommends:

“My friends.

Eric Bloat is expanding his OSR horizons again. This time, you get to play Amazons. The art is perfect, the concept is the right amount of bringing classical stories forward, it’s OSR, something Eric (literally) wrote several books on, and it’s waiting for you – The Isle of The Amazons – RPG Zine for #ZineQuest.

Drew Cochran’s Harrowings From The Rime! is an arctic setting that will make every OSR a colder place to play in. I’m eager to play in the frozen lands where the enemies and elements compete to see which is deadlier!

Sean Hillman is bringing new voices into gaming through D.I.R.G.Ezine. This one is exciting because I game with Sean (he lives in metro Atlanta) and it includes work from Dawn Gilreath, another gamer in our group, and the Tessera Guild’s own award winning artist, Amanda Makepeace. It’s going to shine!

Justin Ryan Isaac is one of the newest, smartest creators starting in OSR. He’s doing a 5e zine about booze and, as his first project, it’s more than finding its audience! Cade’s Big Book o’ Booze is humorous and useful (cause Drink & Dragons is real) so this zine will be what he’s known for until his “big” work arrives.

Riley Rethal and I have talked a bit since I found synthesis. We discussed her ambitions to do a long-form RPG using a favorite property, and the cliff note ideas she shares are the perfect tone for the project. The excitement around that work, the zine, and RPG in general, is infectious and I know it will make synthesis a win! For the zine, the concept, multiple succinct RPGs, speaks to me as it gives you a variety of options to play and, I feel, it will open up new avenues of design through sheer originality.

Jacob DC Ross is adding beastmen and miniatures to your OSR game, and, if you’re a publisher, stock art to your library. I love books/zines of monsters, so that’s a win. Adding the minis makes it even better. But, as an individual with two zines coming out, RPG Zine Challenge: The Compleat Beastman is an excellent return on my investment as a publisher. Looking at the sample art, I’m excited about this!

From OSR to 5e to eclectic to diverse, these are some of the zines I’m eager to dive into!”

PRESS RELEASE – POWERED by the DREAMR (PbtA) and Love’s Labour’s Liberated (5e) at Kickstarter’s Zine Quest

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Love’s Labour’s Liberated introduces the theme of February, love, into your 5e campaign. Part of Kickstarter’s RPG Zine Quest, this publication focuses on a romanticized view of Cavaliers, Enchanters, Magic Items, and more for the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Each component is designed to be a hook that draws the player into the game utilizing character motivations. This zine will enhance the roleplaying flavor of the classes while offering chances for characters to buy-in to the setting and its challenges.

Focusing on a new version of the fighter archetype, the Cavalier of Love, a 5e-realized Enchanter, and Magic Items with lovely story hooks, these rules expansions ramp up the quiet moments between combat. Each chapter will lead with a stanza of poetry by Leland Beauchamp. These pieces can standalone or be combined as an adventure hook. Through this zine, you’ll experience the creator’s love of roleplaying and 5e, and be able to share it with your table.

Developed by longtime friends, novelist, John McGuire of The Dark That Follows, Hollow Empire, and the graphic novel, The Gilded Age, poet and gamer, Leland Beauchamp, and RPG journalist, Egg Embry of EN World, Knights of the Dinner Table, Open Gaming Network, and the Tessera Guild, this book is the culmination of years of their experiences with ROLE-playing over ROLL-playing. Available to backers as a $5 PDF or $12 print zine including the PDF, the campaign offers bonuses like the option to declare your love in the zine, create love-based magic items, or even handwritten poems. The romanticized virtues of chivalry, the mystical nature of enchantment, magic love potions, and the passion of poetry all await you in Love’s Labour’s Liberated:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/737521052/loves-labours-liberated-a-5e-rpg-zine

Love’s Labour’s Liberated for 5e by John McGuire, Leland Beauchamp, and Egg Embry. An RPG zine focusing on romance and love in fantasy is available during Kickstarter’s Zine Quest.

Read John McGuire’s thoughts on  here – http://tesseraguild.com/kickstart-the-game-loves-labours-liberated/

#LoveAtTheGamingTable #D&D #5e #ZineQuest #Kickstarter

 

***

POWERED by the DREAMR is a full Powered by the Apocalypse tabletop roleplaying game in a zine, and it’s live on Kickstarter. In POWERED by the DREAMR, you are a Dreamr who possesses limitless powers within other’s dreams. Until you wake, you travel between the subconscious of sleepers, living out their dreams, searching out their secrets, or battling nightmares. Set in a dream state you and your friends collaborate on, this game maximizes the narrative rules to give each dream a surreal quality. As you navigate an ever-evolving universe of dream logic, your Moves will lead to success, reveal hidden truths, result in laughter, or unleash your character’s nightmares.

Using a variant of the Powered by the Apocalypse phenomenon (originally seen in Apocalypse World as well as Monsterhearts 2, Dungeon World, and more), this game keeps dreams vibrant and varied via random questions that alter the fantasy or reveal a characters personal demons. You decide the dream objectives you must complete before the sleeper wakes. Will you combat a supernatural killer? Steal secrets? Defend the sleeper from dream thieves? Inspire a life altering dream epiphany? Live out your fantasy life? Or something wholly original?

As part of Kickstarter’s February initiative, Zine Quest, this project is the solo debut tabletop roleplaying game by RPG journalist, Egg Embry (Knights of the Dinner Table, EN World, Open Gaming Network, Tessera Guild). Available to backers as a PDF for just $5 or $12 for the print zine and PDF. Making an RPG via Kickstarter is his dream manifest and you can share in that fantasy by checking out the POWERED by the DREAMR Kickstarter at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eggembry/powered-by-the-dreamr-a-pbta-rpg-zinequest

POWERED by the DREAMR by Egg Embry uses a variant of the Powered by the Apocalypse system. A full RPG in a zine that lets you live out other’s dreams or combat nightmares, it’s available through Kickstarter’s Zine Quest.

#WhatsYourDream #PoweredByTheDreamr #PbtA #ZineQuest #Kickstarter

 

***

Kickstarter’s Zine Quest is live in February. This initiative recalls the nostalgia of the early days of RPGs and their zine culture. Focusing on tabletop roleplaying zines, single-color publications printed 5.5” x 8.5” (folded sheets of 8.5” x 11”). These DIY projects focus on everything RPG-related from adventures, maps, monsters to articles, RPG comics, and interviews. So far, the response has been overwhelming with over twenty projects launched and many more to come. They touch on gaming engines like 5e, Powered by the Apocalypse, The Fantasy Trip, original systems, and more. Zine Quest projects are coming from first time creators to established publishers like Steve Jackson Games, and Adventure-A-Week Games. These high-energy, passion projects await you on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/zine-quest?ref=section-homepage-promo-zine-quest

Kickstart the Game – Love’s Labour’s Liberated

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Check out Leland Beauchamp’s, Egg Embry’s, and John McGuire’s 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Zine!

You just never know how something is going to be received. How something may or may not connect with someone else. Or even whether or not the right people will see the thing that you’ve created.

The first part of it is in the creation… the idea. Then you have to do the work and get it out there. And then you have to try and spread the word as best (or better) you can.

And then, when it is all said and done, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.

***

So I am a part of a new Kickstarter:

Love’s Labour’s Liberated.

You can check it out here.

We launched this past Friday and through the weekend were a quarter of the way to our goal.

Launching a Kickstarter means that I get to relive that month of periodically checking to see if anyone else had pledged anything in the last five minutes since the last time I checked the page. 🙂

This project is apart of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest that they are promoting. Basically, they are harkening back to a time where you ordered newsletters from the backs of magazines in an effort to connect with other people, get news that no one else would know, or maybe even new games that someone had created in their basement. You were in a little community.

Of course, in today’s internet world, pretty much any information you’d ever want is right at your fingertips. Do you want to know how to cook a particular dish? No going to the cookbook, just go to Youtube and watch someone walk you through it. Need to know who else was with the Spartans when they held the Hot Gates against Xerses? Just a click away.

This Kickstarter is much more do it yourself. It’s black and white. Approximately 36 pages. And it will be focused on something Egg Embry, Leland Beauchamp, and myself are all interested in: roleplaying the things that happen in between you blowing up things with your fireball spells.

***

Throughout the various roleplaying games that I’ve taken part of, the moments that stick out the most are when the characters really come to life. Normally that isn’t because they killed a bunch of goblins. No, it was because they connected to something within the story. They connected to the characters the Game Master had created in order to try to ground the players to the world. At the core of it all is this connection to Love.

It could be as simple as saving your lost love from the clutches of the evil wizard. Or seeing the loss of a character and wanting to make things better. It’s not about saving the world but instead becomes saving someone’s heart.

***

Image by Rick Hershey. Modified by Egg Embry.

And then there is Chivalry. I like the idea of someone who stands for something bigger than themselves. They have an honor they hold up to show others. It isn’t easy in the games either. A good Game Master is going to put you to the test to see whether you break some truth you claim to have.

The knights of the story books. The ones who go on quests for king and country. Who do their best to make the world around them a little bit better by defending those who can’t defend themselves.

***

Leland had a character in one of our campaigns in college that was maddening in how he played her. Aurora was an Enchantress who almost never cast any spells. She never needed to. He’d have them prepared, just in case, but time and time again situations would come up and he’d find a way around using his powers. After a while I think it became a little mini-game of his to see if he could get through a session without casting magic.

That’s the type of wizard I want to play, someone who is looking at all the angles and making sure they have exhausted every other option before falling back on their abilities.

That’s the type of wizard we want to introduce in the Zine.

***

You never know who is going to potentially read your work. But you hope that someone might read through our Zine and get a little idea here or there to introduce into their own games. Maybe they see a potential angle they never really explored before.

I hope you take the opportunity to check out the Kickstarter.

***

John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. The Trade paperback collecting the first 4 issues is finally back from the printers! If you would like to purchase a copy, go here!

Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?

Click here to join John’s mailing list.

His other prose appears in The Dark That Follows, Hollow Empire, Beyond the Gate, and Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows.

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com

PRESS RELEASE – The space saga Coriolis: Emissary Lost released today – It will change the universe forever

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Free League Publishing

The space saga Coriolis: Emissary Lost released today – It will change the universe forever

Free League Publishing –

Mystics are found dead or disappears without a trace. Who is hunting the mystics of Coriolis? And why? When someone close to you disappears, it becomes personal. Can you solve the mystery before it is too late?

Prepare to be thrown into a vast conspiracy that threatens the stability of Coriolis. It is time for you to learn what The Third Horizon really means. Free League Publishing today announced that the epic space saga Coriolis: Emissary Lost has released. The expansion to the multiple award-winning tabletop Coriolis – The Third Horizon RPG will change the universe forever.

Watch the Coriolis: Emissary Lost trailer

Read more about Coriolis: Emissary Lost

Coriolis – The Third Horizon RPG

“The game’s authors describe it as ‘Arabian Nights in space’ and it fulfills that brief marvelously. Style 5/5, Substance 5/5.” – RPG NET Review

Coriolis – The Third Horizon is a multiple award-winning science fiction role playing game set in a remote cluster of star systems. Crew a space ship and travel the Horizon. Explore the ancient ruins, undertake missions for the powerful factions and partake in the game of political intrigue on Coriolis space station. The Horizon is yours to explore. Whatever your calling is, you will make your own fate.

Coriolis – The Third Horizon was awarded the ENnies Judges’ Spotlight 2017 and is created by Free League Publishing, the makers of critically acclaimed tabletop RPGs Forbidden Lands, Mutant: Year Zero and Tales from the Loop.

Free League Publishing
www.freeleaguepublishing.com

Resource links

Coriolis Emissary Lost trailer   Coriolis Emissary Lost product page

PRESS RELEASE – DRAGONS AND THINGS OFFICIALLY PARTNERS WITH PAIZO

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DRAGONS AND THINGS OFFICIALLY PARTNERS WITH PAIZO
REDMOND, WASHINGTON (January 29, 2019): Paizo Inc. has welcomed Two Kings Entertainment LLC into its international fold of licensed partners, where the team will continue to produce epic fantasy tales on their actual play live stream, Dragons and Things, now in its second season. They can now expand their schedule with new and innovative content using the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games.
“We were drawn to Dragons and Things because it embodies the core of what tabletop gaming is all about: good friends, wild stories, and high-fantasy adventure. We look forward to working with them as they bring Pathfinder and Starfinder to life through vibrant characters and officially licensed RPG hijinks,” said Jim Butler, Vice President of Marketing & Licensing at Paizo.
“Jim Rodehaver and I have always loved creating epic fantasy stories both at the tabletop and on the screen. What started years ago with his dad as GM has now grown into a tabletop experience that includes friends and loved ones, and extends to fans across the world every Friday night on Twitch. We’re beyond excited to be partnering with Paizo on the next part of our adventure and very fortunate that they share our love of fun, memorable, and sometimes loud storytelling involving dragons and things. The team is looking forward to making 2019 just the beginning,” said founder and CEO of Two Kings Entertainment, Adam Rady.
 
Dragons and Things isn’t just about rolling dice while the internet watches. The cast chats with the audience live every week. Fans influence the game itself in a dynamic story that leaves even the GM guessing what might happen next. It’s a community experience that keeps old fans coming back and welcomes new fans with open arms.
 
Dragons and Things streams every Friday night at 6 p.m. (PST). Find it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon with the @datdragonshow handle.
About Two Kings Entertainment LLC
Two Kings Entertainment has been streaming live every Friday night since January of 2018 on twitch.tv/datdragonshow with its flagship show, Dragons and Things. It is also responsible for Bedlam and Discord, and is set to release a brand new podcast to Patreon supporters this year. Get access to this exclusive content and more on patreon.com/datdragonshow and stay up to date on all the latest from the Krag Krew @datdragonshow on Twitter and Instagram.
About Paizo Inc.
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 stores, 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 can also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish their adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.