RPG news is delivered in small bites and press releases throughout the week and, as best I can, I filter through them to focus on the under-reported odds and the ends. From White Wolf to Etsy, from upcoming conventions to legal rulings, this week there’s a lot to talk about.
NEWS BITES
- At Gen Con, I had the opportunity to talk with both White Wolf and Onyx Path. While they White Wolf September as the month for a major Werewolf: The Apocalypse announcement, they preceded it on Facebook with a different revelation, Wraith: The Oblivion 5th Edition is on their agenda. What makes the announcement intriguing is Onyx Path’s Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition (licensed from White Wolf) was Kickstarted and funded in January, 2015 with the PDFs of the core book available as of February, 2018 and the deluxe edition of WtO 20th being printed now. While it’s logical that, with the success of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition White Wolf will move forward with their other major games, it’s aggressive to announce a new one is coming before the current edition has completed its roll out.
NOTE – There are several White Wolf press releases with even more information about Vampire: The Masquerade games linked below.
Status: Coming Soon!
- Conan Properties International LLC has successfully sued artist Richardo Jove Sanchez over his unlicensed Conan miniatures. From Amanda Ottaway with Courthouse News Service, “Cracking down on the unauthorized sale of miniature Conan the Barbarian figurines, a federal judge hit a Spanish artist on Wednesday with a $21,000 copyright judgment.” The key point pulled from this is: “Senior U.S. District Judge Frederic Block called it erroneous Wednesday to treat “characters as separate and distinct copyright subject matter, divorced from the works in which they are embodied.”” While I’m not a lawyer and I may be misreading the tea leaves, this ruling could have consequences for “homage” projects or projects that use characters whose founding works are in the public domain, but whose later works are not.
“Conan Properties entered a screenshot of this post into evidence to support its copyright claims over figurines of its character, Conan the Barbarian.”
Read the full article on Courthouse News Service here.
Status: Case Closed
- On the Open Gaming Network, I spoke to Emily Reinhart about her Kickstarter campaign for Domina Magica.
Status: Funding
- On ENWorld, I share a few freelance RPG and fiction writing jobs. Do you want to write superhero fiction or design anthropromorphic adventures, and get paid? Read it all here.
Status: Hiring
- My review of Bloat Games‘ SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! 2e is out in Knights of the Dinner Table 257 (PDF available here while the print version is available in finer comic book stores everywhere).
- If you want to create games, but not as a freelancer, Steve Jackson’s The Fantasy Trip RPG (Kickstarter ends Fri, August 24 2018 6:05 PM EDT) announced a license to sale original TFT products in 2019 via their online store, Warehouse 23. This early RPG is returning via Kickstarter and, possibly, you. If you’re a fan and want to create original content as you can for D&D via the OGL, this addition to Steve Jackson’s The Fantasy Trip RPG revivial will be an income-expanding option.
Status: Coming Soon From You!
- Can’t wait until 2019 to create a game? Venger Satanis (Kort’thalis Publishing) announced he is “officially opening up my neo-quasi O5Rish rules-light vampire RPG [Blood Dark Thirst] to those interested in licensing that shit for FREE!!! Yes, you can write, publish, and reap all the rewards for your very own Blood Dark Thirst supplement, sourcebook, or scenario from now until January 1st of 2020.” I’ve spoken to at least one creator that is interested in producing a down and dirty product related to BDT. If you’re interested, you can read the full announcement here.
Status: Venger Satanis-ing
- On Esty, OddForge is selling a dice tower that clips to your GM screen and can handle or two dice at a time. It’s a 3D printed product, economically sized and ready for your gaming table or a convention.
Status: I like dice towers
- I’m a part of the CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE – RPG RESOURCES BOOKS Kickstarter. Its creator, Matthew A. Bogdan, gave me a glowing write-up on the fifth update for the campaign. I’m humbled and inspired by his praise. Join the whole wide world and read all about me, me, ME! here.
FEMALE HALFLING ROGUE
Status: I’m proud to be a part of this project!
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EGG’S MUSINGS
- I’ve been reading about the end of the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer license at Dark Horse Comics. It reminded me of Eden Studio’s BtVS and Angel RPGs. It’s interesting that they ceased to be in-print in 2006 but are still available as PDFs at commercial sites. I’ve wondered why this license has not been picked back up, then I see that the original RPG is still available and I wonder, with the BtVS reboot on the horizon, will another company pick up this game?
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CONVENTION NEWS BITES
- Online convention, AetherCon VII, is recruiting publishing companies and GMs for their November 9th to the 11th, 2018 con. It’s online, it’s free, you run games, you *may* win swag.
- On the Tessera Guild, John McGuire covers our annual trip to Gen Con here (part 1) and here (part 2).
- On ENWorld, I Check Out the Scene at Atlanta’s MomoCon 2018, a cosplay/anime/manga/gaming/comics convention with over 30,000 attendees held every year in the capital of Georgia. There’s a heck of a nice picture of Chris Miller there.
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DEAL
- Cubicle 7’s The One Ring – Tolkien done right in an RPG! – is on Humble Bundle for $15 for 20ish books and maps and a coupon. This is an unbelievable deal! Go, get it here!
- The game’s awards include:
- Lucca Games and Comics Fair 2012 – Best in Show
- Golden Geek 2012 – Best Art and Presentation
- Origins Awards 2012 Nomination for Best RPG
- ENnie Awards 2012 – Silver – Best Production Values
- ENnie Awards 2012 – Gold – Best Art
- Golden Geeks 2012 – Best Art and Presentation Nominee
- The game’s awards include:
One does not simply skip this deal.
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- Forbidden Lands Released to all Backers – Last Chance to get Early Access to the Cursed World!
Forbidden Lands uses the Mutant: Year Zero engine as did Tales from the Loop and Coriolis: The Third Horizon - White Wolf Entertainment Made Waves in the Tabletop RPG Community and They’re Just Getting Started
- Geek & Sundry to Host Vampire: The Masquerade – Los Angeles By Night Livestream
Vampire new galore! - L’gat’s Tome of Amazing Creatures – Volume 2 on Kickstarter
D&D 5e monsters - Svilland Saga, Campaign Setting for 5E Coming Soon from Dream Realm Storytellers
D&D 5e setting - MACGYVER™ THE ESCAPE ROOM GAME IN A BOX: NOW AVAILABLE
A MacGyver board game - Free Svilland Saga Demo Booklet (try the setting before the Kickstarter)
Sneak peek and a freebie!
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CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE – RPG RESOURCES BOOKS by Dark by Dezign (DriveThruRPG or Open Gaming Store)
Ends on Fri, September 14 2018 2:00 PM EDT.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here or at the OpenGamingStore here.
You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.
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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.
Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™
Freelancer for EN World, Knights of the Dinner Table, Open Gaming Network, and the Tessera Guild.
Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Want to share news? Press releases? Rumors? Sneak peeks? Deals? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).
