This week: Twitch’s replacement of the Pogchamp emote with a rolling image leads to harassment; Dungeons & Dragons’ latest adventure anthology is announced; the Scout Association adds a Dungeons & Dragons badge; and also there are some unexpected beans.
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In the latest issue of the d100 Newscast, we talk about the major RPG news & trends from 2020, and we look at the top-selling products at our friendly local game store, Leisure Games. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Industry News
Kotaku looks at Twitch’s removal of the Pogchamp emote, and the wave of harassment against the streamers chosen to replace the emote. The original Pogchamp emote (a popular reaction in Twitch chat) for its connection to Ryan Gutierrez, who has promoted far-right conspiracy theories and called for further insurrectionist violence in the US.
A little tangential to RPGs, but the first streamer to face harassment, Critical Bard, is a prominent figure in the RPG community, especially on the back of his work with Critical Role.
January is New Gamemaster Month! EN World looks at what publishers are doing.
The Scout Association teams up with Dungeons & Dragons for the Scout Entertainer Activity Badge.
The 2021 Origins Games Fair is delayed to late September.
Game Informer looks at their top 20 RPGs in 2020.
RPG History
Former White Wolf writer, Jackie Cassada, has died of complications related to Covid-19. A GoFundMe fundraiser is running to support Cassada’s long-time collaborator and widow, Nicky Rea, and Bundle of Holding has teamed up with Onyx Path to offer a bundle of Changeling the Dreaming books in support.
Jon Peterson looks at the history of player typologies in RPGs, and the history of “Rule Zero“, the idea that rules should be ignored if it is more fun to do so.
Michael O’Brien looks at the dice in early Chaosium box sets.
New & Upcoming
Kickstarter announces ZineQuest 3, the third iteration of its RPG Zine-focused campaign.
Woot!
John Wick writer, Derek Kolstad, is apparently writing a live-action TV series based on Dungeons & Dragons.
There is indeed a new Dragonlance novel coming from Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman.
We guessed that the settled lawsuit between Weis, Hickman & Wizards of the Coast probably meant the book will come out. Now to see what it turns out to be…
Wizards of the Coast announces Candlekeep Mysteries, the next Dungeons & Dragons book: a collection of one-shot adventures. As is traditional, the book’s title was spoiled ahead of time by a third party, with the cover appearing on Penguin Random House.
Onyx Path releases Cult of the Blood Gods for Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition.
Monte Cook Games releases Edge of the Sun for Numenera.
Onyx Path releases jumpstart rules for Trinity Continuum.
Paizo announces Guns & Gears for Pathfinder 2nd Edition.
The cult hit Carly Rae Jepsen-inspired RPG Boy Problems is getting an expansion.
This probably isn’t peak dice but it’s definitely close.
Bundles & Deals
Bundle of Holding is offering a bundle of John Carter of Mars books, a bundle of Changeling 20th Anniversary books, a bundle of Troika! books, and a bundle of Forbidden Lands books.
Peach Garden Games is hosting the Solo But Not Alone bundle of solo games in aid of suicide prevention charity, Jasper’s Game Day.
Humble Bundle is offering a set of 3d-printable miniatures.
Crowdfunding News
Noteworthy New Projects
Dangerous Destinations: A guide to designing locations for fantasy RPGs, by Nord Games (The Ultimate Guide to Alchemy, Crafting & Enchanting for 5E, Ultimate Bestiary, Treacherous Traps). So far this project has raised $133,000 from 3,100 backers. Ends February 11th
Nord Games are carving out a fairly decent reputation for themselves as a publisher of third party FRPG content. This is a popular project considering it is systemless, and it still has almost a month to go (Nord’s previous most popular project, the Ultimate Guide to Alchemy, had 4,560 backers and raised $215,000). — James
Mörk Borg Cult: Heretic: A zine of community content for Mörk Borg, by Johan Nohr (Mörk Borg, Mörk Borg Feretory). So far this project has raised 1 million SEK ($120,000) from 2,200 backers. Ends January 29th
This is the second project with the Mörk Borg Cult banner, the Stockholm Kartell’s programme for publishing curated community-created content (though we saw a lot more third-party Mörk Borg publications last year). The reason a project for a small zine has managed to raise so much is that most backers have supported the top tier which features “Ikhon”, a “mystery box” featuring 4 A6 tracts each focusing on a forgotten god. — James
Alba: A narrative gamebook in a post-apocalyptic world, by Inside the Box Board Games (Sub Terra, Crypt X). So far this project has raised £56,000 ($76,000) from 2,000 backers. Ends February 4th.
This project loses points for putting the bulk of its text in inaccessible graphics files, which I found hard to read despite not being partially-sighted (let alone blind). Still, it’s an interesting new take on the old adventure gamebook format, mixing it with Gloomhaven-style stickers for the character sheet and map. — James
Kibbles’ Compendium of Craft and Creation: A 5e sourcebook on crafting and psionics, by KibblesTasty. So far this project has raised $92,000 from 2,000 backers. Ends February 4th
Epic Legacy Tome of Titans: A collection of big bad monsters for 5e, by 2CGaming (Dragonflight, Epic Legacy Campaign Codex, GrymmWorld). So far this project has raised $76,000 from 1,000 backers. Ends February 15th
5e
Caelum: A Shattered Sky: A 5e campaign setting set in the skies above an uninhabitable world, by Shaw Schiappacasse — January 20th
Mythos Monsters: A collection of Lovecraftian monsters for 5e, by Legendary Games (Ultimate Kingdoms, Aegis of Empires, Pirate Campaign Compendium) — January 21st
Limitless Encounters vol. 3: A collection of random encounters for 5e, by Limitless Adventures (The Blood Queen’s Defiance, 5th Evolution, Limitless Monsters) — January 30th
OSR
Corpsewake Cove: A pirate-themed adventure for Mörk Borg, by Ember + Ash (So You’ve Been Thrown Down A Well, Richter: The Rotting City) — January 29th
Welcome To Eastwood (MCC/DCC RPG): A Dungeon/Mutant Crawl Classics adventure set in an inescapable Wild West-themed town, by C. Aaron Kreader (DungeonCraft: Hero versus Guardian, Midnight Legion: Portal of Life, A Strange Night at the Pint n’ Pony & 101 City Encounters) — February 11th
Other & Generic Fantasy
Land of the Rising Sun: An expansion for Chivalry & Sorcery 5th edition, set in Feudal Japan, by Steve Turner, Brittannia Game Designs (Chivalry & Sorcery — the Medieval Role Playing Game) — January 31st
Out of the Ashes: A fantasy RPG about rebuilding a world devastated by war, by Paul Mitchener (Liminal RPG) — February 10th
Colostle: A solo RPG set inside a castle so massive that it contains mountains, by Nich Angell (Cat and Meringue 1000 Days of Adventure, 7STRING Volume 2 — Ready to Launch) — February 11th
Dungeon Bitches: A game about dungeon-crawling disaster lesbians, by Dying Stylishly Games — February 14th
Given how huge Thirsty Sword Lesbians was last year on Kickstarter, it will be interesting to see how big this campaign eventually gets given that it still has almost a month to go. Despite also being Powered by the Apocalypse it does seem to be very much its own beast however, with an art style that feels reminiscent of the new wave of OSR such as Mörk Borg and Troika. — James
Urban Fantasy/Horror
Svalbard: A roguelike die-and-try-again Lovecraftian horror game, set in the Arctic, by Two Starving Gnolls (Pax Cthuliana) — February 6th
This one is a little different; a horror game inspired by roguelike video games and other media such as the film Edge of Tomorrow. It has an interesting mechanic whereby you can die any number of times, but everything you do costs you precious time to defeat the big bad. — James
Abyss: A game about fighting monsters, while fighting not to become monstrous, by Sanguine Productions LLC (Farflung, Madcap, Usagi) — February 15th
Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk
Space Aces: TNG (The New Guidebook): A sci-fi RPG toolkit including GM-led, GMless and solo rules, by Stephen D — January 29th
Generic
Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS Pyramid Scheme: Three new issues of the GURPS and generic magazine, Pyramid, by Warehouse 23/Steve Jackson Games (Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS 2020 PDF Challenge, The Fantasy Trip Adventures, The Fantasy Trip: Decks of Destiny) — January 26th
Storygames
Babes in the Wood RPG (2nd Edition): A Powered by the Apocalypse RPG about “kids & critters lost in an endless wood on Halloween night”, by Adam Vass (Necronautilus: Science Fantasy TTRPG, A Guide to Casting Phantoms in the Revolution, Tome & Wish You Were Here RPG Zines) — February 6th
Inspired by the fantastic Over the Garden Wall, so I am interested. — Amy
Alcohol (because we have an alcohol section now apparently)
Mystic Libations: Critical Cocktails: A collection of RPG-inspired cocktails, by Trader Brandon — February 6th
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