As Free League’s second Gen Con release this year, the Crypt of the Mellified Mage adventure module was officially launched today. The book compiles four thrilling dungeons and other adventure locations for the multiple award-winning Forbidden Lands tabletop roleplaying game.
Crypt of the Mellified Mage lets players visit a dungeon of dripping honey, explore a firing pit for magical pottery, stand in awe of the temple of a monkey king, and go on a dizzying tour through the mind of a mad mage.
The beautifully illustrated hardcover book is now available at the Free League webshop, and in digital format at DrivethruRPG. The book will soon also be available in general retail worldwide.
Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this sandbox survival roleplaying game, player characters are not heroes sent on missions dictated by others – instead, they are raiders and rogues bent on making their own mark on a cursed world. They will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands, and if they live long enough, build their own stronghold to defend.
REVIEWS OF FORBIDDEN LANDS:
“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
Winner of four ENnie Awards 2019!
Product of the Year (Silver)
Best Rules (Silver)
Best Cartography (Gold)
Best Production Values (Gold)
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published a range of award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our game range include the alternate ’80s Tales from the Loop (winner of five ENnie Awards 2017, including Best Game), sandbox retro fantasy Forbidden Lands (winner of four ENnie Awards 2019), postapocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero (Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015), space opera Coriolis – The Third Horizon (Judge’s Spotlight Award 2017), dark fantasy Symbaroum, and the official ALIEN RPG.
We have also published the art books Tales from the Loop andThings from the Flood by visual artist Simon Stålenhag, as well as the illustrated edition of the Lovecraft classic The Call of Cthulhu by French artist François Baranger.
The Bitter Reach epic campaign module for the multiple award-winning Forbidden Lands tabletop roleplaying game was officially launched today by Free League Publishing, makers of the official ALIEN RPG. The massive book expands the Forbidden Lands game with a huge map to hexcrawl, new rules, encounters and monsters, and a full campaign to play.
In the southern lands, elders speak of cold storms from the north. Cursed voices borne on the icy winds whisper of secrets from ages past that would plunge realms and kin into ruin if only someone could understand these ancient words. They are the desperate confessions of the lost. They are the legends of the Bitter Reach.
The 312-page beautifully illustrated hardcover book is now available at the Free League webshop, along with the The Bitter Reach Map & Cards Pack, containing a huge double-sided color map of the Bitter Reach (format 720 x 520 mm), a sheet of stickers for adventure sites and gravestones, and custom playing cards for unique mounts and magical artifacts.
Both products will soon be available in general retail worldwide.
Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this sandbox survival roleplaying game, player characters are not heroes sent on missions dictated by others – instead, they are raiders and rogues bent on making their own mark on a cursed world. They will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands, and if they live long enough, build their own stronghold to defend.
REVIEWS OF FORBIDDEN LANDS:
“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
Winner of four ENnie Awards 2019!
Product of the Year (Silver)
Best Rules (Silver)
Best Cartography (Gold)
Best Production Values (Gold)
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published a range of award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our game range include the alternate ’80s Tales from the Loop (winner of five ENnie Awards 2017, including Best Game), sandbox retro fantasy Forbidden Lands (winner of four ENnie Awards 2019), postapocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero (Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015), space opera Coriolis – The Third Horizon (Judge’s Spotlight Award 2017), dark fantasy Symbaroum, and the official ALIEN RPG.
We have also published the art books Tales from the Loop andThings from the Flood by visual artist Simon Stålenhag, as well as the illustrated edition of the Lovecraft classic The Call of Cthulhu by French artist François Baranger.
Get ready for a long, cold winter. The Bitter Reach, a huge expansion to the multiple award-winning sandbox survival retro fantasy roleplaying game Forbidden Lands by Free League Publishing, is now live on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter is also for a second printing of the core Forbidden Lands game box, which is completely sold out everywhere.
Written by RPG veteran Magnus Seter, illustrated by Alvaro Tapia, and with maps by Tobias Tranell and Niklas Brandt, the The Bitter Reach will expand the game world and includes new rules, monsters and encounters, as well as the complete Wake of the Winter King campaign. Beneath the ice and snow in the cursed lands north of Ravenland, an ancient power is stirring…
The second printing will include rules updates and clarifications as well as some new art, and backers can opt to have it shipped shortly after the end of the Kickstarter.
Forbidden Lands, released last December, won four ENnie Awards this year, among them Gold ENnies for Best Production Values and Best Cartography, and Silver ENnies for Best Rules and Product of the Year, and was voted Best RPG at the UK Game Expo.
“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
“Feeling. Excitement. Adventure. Forbidden Lands nails all of it. I can’t describe it easily: just opening the boxed set, perusing the faux-leather rulebooks and checking out the art is enough to make you want to play this game. I don’t know what sort of subliminal messages the designers have embedded in this, it is however mesmerizing.”–RPGNet Review
“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
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published several award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our upcoming games includes the alternate 90s Things from the Flood RPG, the sequel to the award-winning Tales from the Loop RPG and Crusader Kings the Board Game, a medieval soap opera of war, assassination and marriage.
The post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon, was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon. The dark fantasy roleplaying game Symbaroum has earned several nominations and awards, including a Best Game nomination at the Origins Awards 2016. And we are proud to say that our roleplaying game Tales from the Loop RPG based on Simon Stålenhags iconic artbooks made a grand slam at the ENnie Awards 2017, winning five Gold ENnies – among them Best Game. Our latest fantasy RPG is Forbidden Lands, recently named one of the best RPGs of 2018 by Geek & Sundry.
We have also released the critically acclaimed art books Things from the Flood and Tales from the Loopby artist Simon Stålenhag. His third book The Electric State has been released by Free League Publishing exclusively to the backers of the kickstarter campaign.
Adventurers that backed the Forbidden Lands RPG may now enter the cursed world. New explorers have a final chance to make a late pledge and gain entrance.
All backers have received digital access to Free League Publishing’s upcoming fantasy RPGForbidden Lands and may enter the cursed world today. The tabletop-RPG Forbidden Lands is a brand-new take on classic fantasy roleplaying.
New explorers have one last chance to make a late pledge and gain early access to Forbidden Lands. The Pledge Manager closes its gates at September 1st. Backers who make a Late Pledge will receive the game in advance of the retail launch in November.
The open world of Forbidden Landscreated by Free League Publishing allows players to freely explore the dangerous realm and venture into the unknown, while still taking part in the epic campaign to decide the fate of the cursed lands.
In Forbidden Lands, you and your friends will be playing raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend. The unique rules created by Free League for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in Forbidden lands play can also easily be ported to any other game world.
The core boxed game set includes the Player’s Handbook and the Gamemaster’s Guide – two hardcover books with leather and gold covers, totalling over 450 pages – along with a large full-color map, a sheet of map stickers, and a booklet of tables.
Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which the players’ actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of the players’ adventures.
For all backers – venture forward and gain information on Forbidden Lands access here:
If any explorers out there were trapped in the wilderness and never saw the fires lit on high mountain tops and therefore didn’t back the Kickstarter, all hope is not lost. One last chance remains to make a late pledge, gain early access and enter the unknown lands.
New explorers have one last chance to make a late pledge and gain early access to Forbidden Lands, the Pledge Manager will close its gates at September 1. Make a Late Pledge here:
Forbidden Lands was recently named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars from thousands of backers across the world and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.
Forbidden Lands is the forth English tabletop RPG from the Swedish developers Free League. With art by the internationally acclaimed artist Simon Stålenhag and iconic fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers such as Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop.
Free League’s latest RPG Tales from the Loop won no less than five Gold ENnies at Gencon last year, including Best Game and Product of the Year. The post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015 and has been translated into French, Spanish and Portuguese and German. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon 2017.
Free League Publishing is a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. We have published several award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Our first game, the post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zero was awarded a Silver ENnie for Best Rules 2015. The sci-fi adventure Coriolis – The Third Horizon, was awarded a Judge’s Spotlight Award at Gencon. And we are proud to say that our latest roleplaying game Tales from the Loop RPG based onSimon Stålenhags iconic artbooks made a grand slam at the ENnie Awards 2017, winning five Gold ENnies – among them Best Game.
Our upcoming fantasy RPG is Forbidden Lands, with art by critically acclaimed artist Simon Stålenhagand iconic Swedish fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström and game design by the team that created Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop RPG. Forbidden Lands was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017 and was recently named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World.
We have also released the critically acclaimed art books Things from the Flood and Tales from the Loopby artist Simon Stålenhag. His third book The Electric State has been released by Free League Publishing exclusively to the backers of the kickstarter campaign.
With just days left of the Kickstarter, Free League Publishing’s retro fantasy sandbox RPG Forbidden Lands has raised well over a quarter of a million dollars from thousands of backers across the world.
Tales from the Loop RPG by Free League Publishing won no less than five Gold ENnies at the recently concluded Gencon 2017 convention. The tabletop roleplaying game, based on acclaimed scifi artist Simon Stålenhag’s artbook with the same name, was named Best Game and Product of the Year.
Happy holidays! It’s gift time 2017 and Egg found several Kickstarter rewards under his Christmas tree. I thought I’d shout out and thank a few projects that went the extra mile and got their work out before the egg nog carried them away!
Egg Embry, RPG KS Ph.D. (Charles Schulz would have done this better!)
UPDATED – 2017-12-26 AT 12:19AM EST – This one rolled in during Christmas day.
REVOLUTIONARIES — American War of Independence RPGby Make-Believe Games sent the first installment of their RPG on Christmas day. The game is about a version of the American Revolution and the timing of this piece has a light connection to Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River in that both occurred on Christmas.
“… for your enjoyment is the first installment of the Revolutionaries game, Fires of Liberty. This exclusive PDF sampler is loaded with bonus game content. It includes the Newport, RI setting and your first taste of the secrets behind the Culper Ring.”
With that, I’m at four Kickstarter gifts for Christmas 2017. I also heard that the rest of the Mindjammer KS came in as well as the v0.9 Unity RPG. It’s been a good Christmas!
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UPDATED – 2017-12-26 AT 08:00AM EST – This one came in not two weeks before Christmas day (12/14), it still deserves a mention.
This is a bonus product, but it’s comprise of stuff you’re gonna get in the final product. It’s basically the first half of the final book, all the rules.
It does look exactly like the rules section in the final product (in content and layout.)
This will never contain micro-settings. You’ll get a separate corebook for that (which will have rules + micro-settings.)
This will be going on sale soon-ish (likely after the New Year), so we wanted to give it to you first.
The cover of the book! Design by Robert Denton, Art by Michael Leavenworth
… download the full 186-page Swedish Alpha PDF of Forbidden Lands, under the Swedish title Rov & Ruiner.
… the PDF of the combat cards used for the hidden combo system in close combat, and you can download initiative cards…
The current (Swedish) draft of the character sheet can be downloaded…, and the big map of the game is to be found…(Swedish, same version as has been shared before, English version…).
What makes this a white elephant gift? It’s all (mostly) in Swedish.
“For the international audience – we will complete the English Alpha in the weeks ahead, and we will try to share each chapter as they are completed to get the material to you as soon as humanly possible.”
Seriously, this is by no means a bad gift because it means that we’re well on our way to getting the finished (i.e., English) product. It gives me something to look forward to in 2018!
“Twas the night before the night before Christmas…
…and just after 3am, I sent you all the rulebook!”
This is a superhero RPG where superpowers are derived from emotions. I’m still reading it but so far it’s a good product and I’m looking forward to slinging some dice using it. For my part, I created one of the criminal NPCs, N. T. Edison, aka Unsequence. If the game sounds interesting to you, I’d suggest contacting Thomas Constantine Moore on Twitter about picking up a copy.
* * * * * *
The only physical Kickstarter product I got for under the tree was a comic I’d been eager to check out, GROND Book Three, Oublar’s Revenge. My buddy, Michael Phillips, spread the holiday cheer with two copies of the comic, three prints, three post cards, and three metal cards. His Kickstarter update with the shipping notice had an amusing holiday moment to share:
“I am glad to let you all know that your rewards, including the international orders have been shipped on time. It was interesting standing in line at the post office for 10 mins with only 6 people ahead of me before I got to the counter to start mailing all 55 packages. Minutes later, I looked backed to see that the line had grown to more than 25 people staring angrily at me while the clerk was checking each package one at a time. My wife was with me but soon left to go sit in the car and wait, fearing for her life that someone would go “POSTAL” on me for having so many packages at once. I was determined to get your rewards mailed before Christmas like I promised, so you can get them before the holidays.”
This is not an exhaustive list of what Kickstarters (and RPGs/comics) dropped for Christmas, it’s just what I got. Did you get any Kickstarter products under the tree (or in your inbox)? If so, feel free to comment them below.
I hope your holiday was as full of little pieces of happiness! For my part, I want to thank everyone in my life and all of the warm wishes I received.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:
This week, before we look at some awesome RPGs on Kickstarter, let me point you toward the Gaming To The Rescue – RPG Hurricane Relief Roundup article on EN World. It’s a list of the RPG bundles that you can purchase with the proceeds going to charities that are assisting with the recoveries from the recent hurricanes. After counting down Forbidden Lands, Devil’s Swamp, Metahumans Rising, Warlords of Mordecai, Mini-Dungeon Tome, and Super Powered Legends, I recommend checking out those bundles and helping to improve the world while rewarding your gaming table with new content!
“Retro open-world fantasy RPG by the grand masters of Nordic roleplaying, based on the award-winning Mutant: Year Zero game system.
Forbidden Landsis a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. It is an open-world survival tabletop RPG with art by legendary Swedish fantasy artist Nils Gulliksson and the masterful Simon Stålenhag, lore by acclaimed fantasy author and game writer Erik Granström and game design by the Free League team that brought you Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop RPG.
In Forbidden Lands, the player characters are not heroes sent on missions dictated by others – instead, they are raiders and rogues bent on making their own mark on a cursed world. They will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if they live long enough, build their own stronghold to defend.
The glorious boxed set with two books and a large full-color map will give players freedom to hexcrawl the world the way they want while still taking part in an epic campaign that will, in the end, let them decide the fate of the Forbidden Lands. Also, the unique rules for exploration, survival, basebuilding and campaign play can easily be ported to your own favorite game world.
Nils Gulliksson’s art enthralled a generation of Swedish kids in the 1980s. For many, he was – and still is – the fantasy artist. His iconic gritty inked style showed a down-to-earth yet wondrous brand of classic fantasy archetypes. Now, thirty years later, these illustrations will come to life as never before. Forbidden Lands will contain both classic art pieces and new work by Gulliksson.
So, what do we mean by a retro RPG? In Forbidden Lands, you will play raiders and rogues in an unforgiving world, but what you do is up to you. RPGs from the late ’70s and early ‘80s often had this open approach to adventuring. You were free to roam a map and discover its secrets and treasures. This is something we aim to recapture – with the support of modern game mechanics. The sandbox approach to gaming gives the players the freedom to make their mark on the game world however they want – if they can survive long enough to tell the tale.
The aestethics and art style of the game is also influenced by retro gaming and the iconic work of Nils Gulliksson. The books themselves will have a handcrafted, old look like old tomes from the Forbidden Land itself!
Still, Forbidden Lands is a modern game, based on the award winning rules and mechanics from Mutant: Year Zero and Tales from the Loop – and taking them to the next level. In this game, we aim to merge the best of the old and the new to create a fresh, exciting fantasy RPG unlike anything you have seen before.”
Wanna-lancer* Rewards:
“STRETCHGOAL 17: OPEN GAME LICENSE
If we reach this goal, we will create an Open Game Licence document for the Year Zero game rules engine used in the Forbidden Lands as well as in Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis – The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop RPG. Using this, creators and fans will be able to produce their own content, fully compatible with Forbidden Lands. The OGL document will be in PDF format and available for all backers.”
*Wanna-lancer™ – A gamer that’s pursuing freelance RPG work. Some back RPG Kickstarters that offer rewards to create NPCs, spells, items, adventures, etc. in order to build up their resume, make contact with publishers, and learn what’s expected on assignments.
Egg’s Thoughts:
Forbidden Lands uses the Year Zero game engine as does Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis – The Third Horizon, and Tales from the Loop RPG. Is it a good system? Here’s John McGuire’s praise for Tales From the Loop and below are the awards that the engine has earned since 2015. The system is versatile and well-loved and, if the Forbidden Lands Kickstarter reaches 1,800,000 SEK (just north of $220,000) then the Fria Ligan/Free League will create an Open Gaming License and everyone will have the opportunity to create content using their mechanics. That opens up a world of possibilities for fantasy, post apocalyptic, sci-fi, and the growing kids on bikes genre. For me, their pitch, these awards, and the OGL possibilities are all I need!
“Investigate ancient terrors in the heart of the Bridgewater Area during the 1920s. Dare you enter the Hockomock?
The Devil’s Swamp is a Call of Cthulhu adventure book for the classic 1920s era, licensed by Chaosium. The book contains a series of five or more adventures set in the Hockomock swamp in Massachusetts to be used with 7th edition Call of Cthulhu RPG.
This product is produced under license from Chaosium Inc. (www.chaosium.com). Call of Cthulhu is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc., and is used with their permission.www.chaosium.com
The Devil’s Swampincludes adventures that can usually be run in one or two evenings. They can be run as independent one-off adventures or strung together as a mini-campaign using the same characters. All of the stories are set in the Hockomock which literally means ‘the place where spirits live.’
As a member of the Bridgwater Preservation Society, you and your friends investigate the stories people plague the city and area with. The stories the police won’t investigate, or quit on way too easily. Living next to the Hockomock, at the heart of what will later become known as the Bridgewater Triangle, gives you easy access to delve into any of the stories that arise.
The Hockomock Swamp, named the Devil’s Swamp by the original English settlers, is a known site for paranormal activity. Everything from Bigfoot, aliens, thunder birds, huge snakes, strange lights, Puckwudgies, Native American curses, cultists, mutilated animals and more have been reported in the area. So join me and my team as we help unravel the Mythos tied to the mysteries of the Hockomock.
The Devil’s Swamp is written by Ben Burns, features the artwork of Evgeny Maloshenkov, the cartography of Bryan McWhirter, player handouts by Elizabeth Bakowski and edited by Alex Burns. In other words the entire team that produced TheStar on the Shore. We are the same company, just a change of name.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
At Gen Con 50, John McGuire, Leland Beauchamp, and I had the opportunity to play Call of Cthulhu with Danny O’Neil of Hammerdog Games. Danny brought the atmosphere and horror of that game to life (you can read John’s account of it here). After that session, I’ve been interested in playing more CoC and this Kickstarter is offering just the right product. 1920s swamp with D&D-looking monster. Sold!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“Metahumans Rising is a tabletop role-playing game (RPG) embodying the drama, creativity and action of the superhero genre.
Chimera’s Gifts
The cars on the street quake under the pressure wave as the high flying heroine, Guardian flies past, moments before colliding with a colossal reptilian creature augmented by machines. The shock wave of her blow shatters windows setting off dozens of car alarms. As the dust settles, the draconic beast’s targeting laser locks onto Guardian. From his vantage point, Crossfire ran his hand over his mask, exhaling in anticipation.
“Don’t get cocky down there. Chimera brand piñatas aren’t packed with any treats you want.” A master archer, Crossfire finds his target unleashing a volley of warhead arrows. The targeting array over the beast’s eye explodes an instant before a stream of searing blue-white energy can lance Guardian’s chest. Reeling back, the ground trembles as the creature’s wings billow releasing egg like pods from its flanks. The pods open as blue skinned soldiers emerge ready for battle.
“No commentary Cross, just find help!”
…
Out numbered.
Out gunned.
The world needs heroes.
The world needs you!
Are you ready to join the fight?
What is Metahumans Rising? Remember how you felt the first time Superman lifted a car, Spider-Man battled Green Goblin above the Manhattan skyline, or the Avengers found Captain America? It’s that feeling.
It’s pushing yourself beyond your limits. It’s a game ready to put you in the driver’s seat of your own iconic superhero tales.
Metahumans Rising blends elements of classic and modern role-playing games to create a framework for collaborative storytelling. From the start, Metahumans Rising helps Game Masters and players establish the elements, tones, and themes of your personal story along with character concept and motivations.
Paul imagines the masked archer Crossfire
Character motivations directly impact game play allowing players to influence the story and add additional challenges. The greater the personal struggle the more Willpower characters earn, becoming more capable of overcoming even the greatest threats.
If this sounds like it can shift the direction or focus of a story, it can! Don’t worry GMs, the core book includes guidelines for quickly generating threats ranging from street gangs to giant monsters to a planet killing meteor hurdling towards earth. It’s easy to integrate two fisted action with environmental threats, ramping up the danger and comic book feel.
Guardian – Granddaughter of the World War II hero American Steel, she carries on his legacy.
Bringing it all together, Metahumans Rising not only encourages classic archetypes like the hero torn between everyday life and superhero career, it gives you the tools to help make these stories happen. Create the world you always imagined and explore tales you never thought possible.”
One physical and PDF copy of Metahumans Rising. Exclusive Rewards: Send us your character concept, your ideas will become a full hero included in the core book and collected in out online Hall of Legends with original artwork by Jake Perez + 4 8.5 x 11 glossy images. 2 high resolution desktop background images. Plus all previous rewards.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Why am I covering this game? Because it looks awesome, because you get to play a superhero, because Dave Silva of House Dok Productions did an interview with me [it’ll be up on Thursday], and because you can create an iconic NPC for the universe as a backer reward. The game uses an original engine, features a superhero universe, and looks great, and it was an easy decision to cover it.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“Warlords of Mordecai is a simple, engaging turn-based Role Playing game that is entertaining and accessible to game lovers of all ages
Our mission here at Warlords of Mordecai is to provide a simple, yet engaging turn-based Role Playing game that is entertaining and accessible to game lovers of all ages and experience levels. As our game continues to grow and evolve, we hope to expand our reach into the hearts and homes of those who need a break from an ever consuming digital world.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is an all-ages RPG. Compared to “adult” RPGs, there has not been a ton of all-ages options on Kickstarter this year, yet those we’ve had – Gauntlets & Goblins, TinyDungeon 2e, and this – look fun and perfect for the target audience. These games are a good start toward creating an array of all-ages RPGs and that’s what I want to see, a variety of choices with something for everybody.
For its part, Warlords of Mordecai offers something unique, it’s a RPG/card game targeting the youth market. I’m interested in seeing how it plays since it’s not just one game type or the other.
“Easy grab-and-go mini-adventures! These beautiful hardcovers include 120+ short adventures for 5th Edition or Pathfinder RPG.
Over 120 adventures for 5th Edition & Pathfinder RPG!
Mini-Dungeons are two-page adventures for 5th Edition or Pathfinder RPG which are setting agnostic and are easily inserted anywhere in your campaign. These grab-and-go adventures are great when you need something in a pinch! This tome contains 120+ adventures spanning over 240 pages (more with stretch goals)!
Our goal with this project is to consolidate all our published Mini-Dungeons into a complete hardcover volume published as one book for 5th Edition and one book for Pathfinder RPG.
The layout will be completely redone from the ground up and new stationary backgrounds, graphic effects, and artwork incorporated. Finally, pending stretch goals–we’ll add more content and wrap this all into a single, easy to use volume with reference tables, monster glossary, and more. With additional stretch goals we hope to add special guest authors, new artwork, and a gorgeous cover to this hardback book.
We’re starting this project with 100 adventures and 200 pages; each Mini-Dungeon Stretch Goal increases the book by 2 pages, so let’s get rolling and see just how big we can make theMini-Dungeon Tome!
Update! Thanks to our backers and unlocked stretch goals this tome will span over 250 pages with 120+ adventures!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Are you an Adventure-A-Week fan? Do you want a quick grab-and-go adventure? If so, this Kickstarter is the one stop shop for all of their published mini-dungeons and it’s worth checking out. But, if you’re not familiar with their work, they have a number of free samples on DriveThruRPG to test out here.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“A full-color M&M sourcebook bringing the heroes, villains, and locations of Jacob Blackmon’s “Super Powered Legends” world to you!
Welcome to the world of Super Powered Legends!
In 2015, rpg artist and writer Jacob E. Blackmon began to create a super-heroic universe featuring iconic characters for use with the 3rd Edition Mutants & Masterminds rpg by Green Ronin Publishing. Over the last two years, there have been over 100 PDFs produced featuring over 180 heroes and villains to fill this world of wonder.
And now, Rogue Genius Games is collecting these PDFs into one massive tome: The Super Powered Legends Sourcebook!
At its base funding level, the Sourcebook will feature all heroes and villains from every Super Powered Legends product — including the Disaster Day! adventure — up to date. In addition, the Sourcebook will feature information about using each character as a hero or villain respectively.
As stretch goals are reached, the Sourcebook will expand to include additional information about different locations within the Super Powered Legends universe. This includes familiar countries like the United Kingdom, Romania, and China; and how these nations have changed to accommodate the existence of super-powered beings in their borders. Other locations include hidden worlds on Earth, such as the sunken nation of Atlantis and the mysterious City of Monsters: Agartha. Beyond Earth, exists interstellar beings of cosmic power and high adventure. These alien worlds will also be expanded upon with additional stretch goal funding.
Included in all of these expanded areas will be new art by Jacob Blackmon.
Sign up today to get the Super Powered Legends Sourcebook for M&M! Because sometimes you a need characters everyone knows, even if they’re meeting them for the first time.”
Cover art by Jacob Blackmon
Egg’s Thoughts:
Let me try and sale this in a different way. Rogue Genius Games is Owen “Starfinder Design Lead” Stephens’ company. What’s the hottest game of 2017? Starfinder, Owen’s game. This is an individual with a keen eye for good game design. Because I believe in him, it’s easy to believe in the product he’s pushing. In this Kickstarter, he’s sharing Jacob E. Blackmon’s The Super Powered Legends Sourcebook, a collection of heroes and villains for the 3rd Edition Mutants & Masterminds RPG by Green Ronin Publishing. This is an instance where if Owen likes it, it must be good and if you play M&M, this is a safe bet.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
Why signal boost this? Because Alan Bahr was nice enough to do an interview with me here, and the game is all-ages, and I have the privilege of gaming with Alan.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
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Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:
