This week: Critical Role’s The Legend of Vox Machina reveals its all-star cast; D&D teases coming changes in Monsters of the Multiverse; and an RPG about a pivotal moment in queer history.
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EN World makes its predictions for 2022 trends.
WIRED looks at accessibility concerns in the design of RPG books.
TOR remembers the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.
New & Upcoming
Critical Role drops a trailer and reveals its cast in advance of the premiere of The Legend of Vox Machina this Friday.
The cast video got me very hyped for the show, but I was also weirdly inspired by Stephanie Beatriz on playing Kima: “Playing a badass is an internal thing. It is about the space that you’ve decided that you take up.” Words to take into the week. — Amy
Forbes looks at D&D’s upcoming Monsters of the Multiverse (arriving in the Rules Expansion Gift Set this week, and as a standalone book in May). The book promises to update a lot of the game’s rules, paving the way towards D&D’s next… do we call it an edition? Gizmodo talks with Jeremy Crawford about the way that player races are evolving.
20-year old MMORPG, RuneScape, is getting a tabletop RPG adaptation.
A board game adaptation of alt-80s RPG, Tales from the Loop, will launch next month.
Bundles & Deals
Bundle of Holding is offering a bundle of Mörk Borg-compatible books, two bundles of Palladium books, and a bundle of One-Roll Engine books.
A bundle of solo games on Itch.io is raising funds for suicide prevention charity, Jasper’s Game Day.
Humbe Bundle is offering three different bundles of 3D-printable miniatures and terrain.
Crowdfunding
ZineQuest Postponed to August
Kickstarter has postponed its annual ZineQuest promotion of zine-sized RPGs until August. The news comes soon after (and we don’t doubt, because of) recent controversy surrounding the platform’s promises to move to the blockchain. A new independent promotion, ZineMonth, promises to promote zines released or funding in February.
Noteworthy New Products
Tome of Beasts 3: The third volume in a series of monsters for 5e, by Kobold Press. So far this project has raised $250,000 from 3,000 backers. Ends February 24th
I think the most fantastical thing I can find about this project is the implication that this is the “final” monster manual that Kobold Press will be publishing for 5e. — James
Ah, but the next one will be for 5.5! — Amy
Mimics, An Unnecessary Work: A book of ideas for mimics in D&D and similar games, by Philip Reed (Strange Citizens of the City, a Third-Party Mörk Borg Book, The Book of Collected Rumors, for use with Fantasy RPGs). So far this project has raised $26,000 from 1,400 backers. Ends January 27th
Across a Thousand Dead Worlds: A horror space exploration game, by Alex T. So far this project has raised €55,000 ($63,000) from 1,200 backers. Ends January 31st
Sci-Fi horror has definitely been seeing a boost recently, sparked by the success of Mothership. This project is certainly ambitious, purporting to support all game styles, from solitaire play to more traditional group role-play. Time will tell how successful it will be in doing so. — James
Lore of the Traditions: An expansion for Tradition Mages in Mage 20th Anniversary Edition, by Onyx Path. So far this project has raised $93,000) from 1,00 backers. Ends February 17th
Adorabilis: A pocket-sized storytelling game about goblins, by Tim Devine. So far this project has raised $25,000 from 1,000 backers. Ends February 4th
An interesting attempt to produce a family-friendly story game that blurs the lines between card-game and RPG. Seems like a pretty focused project, and cute. — James
5e
Ida’s Guide to Worlds Beyond our Own: Drakul’s Game!: An occult-themed campaign and a set of player options, by Balatro — January 27th
Orrinyath’s Guide to Dragons: A zine-sized guide to fighting against and playing as dragons, by Chamomile Has A Project (Harlequin’s Guide to Cities and Poison, Kessler’s Guide to Dungeons, Cora’s Guide to Dinosaurs) — February 1st
Apocalypse in a Box: Undead Unicorn Invasion: A zine supplement about a zombie unicorn apocalypse, by Evil Pigeon Games (The Night Market, The Flotsam Fair, The City Attractions Package) — February 5th
Cheap Thrills: A set of 5 Penny Dreadful-ish mini-adventures, by Luna Publishing (Memento Mori: D&D 5E Victorian Gothic Campaign Setting, The Dollmaker | Adventure Module for D&D 5E) — February 8th
Soulmist: A dark fantasy setting for 5e, by Black Lantern Productions — February 9th
OSR & Retro
Using Dead Things — Birthing Living Things: Crafting and animal husbandry rules for Mörk Borg, by Tyler Lindsey — January 28th
Forbidden Psalm — Regicide: A third-party campaign for the Forbidden Psalm wargame, inspired by Mörk Borg, by Rinaldo Agostini (Grave Matters, a new skeletal expansion for Mörk Borg) — February 5th
Pamphlet Islands: A collection of hex-crawl islands for OSR games, available in English and Italian, by Danilo Moretti — February 6th
The Folio: Retro Classics, Ice on the Water Trilogy: A retro adventure for AD&D and 5e, by Scott Taylor (The Complete Folio Black Label, The Complete Curse of Roslof Keep Campaign, Folio #28 The Howling Dungeon Gaming Adventure!) — February 9th
Apocrypha, A collection of new rules for Mörk Borg, by Christian Eichhorn (The Temple of the Kraken God | A Mörk Borg Adventure, Purgatory | A Mörk Borg Supplement, Bone Heart Crusaders) — February 12th
Given that they’re using the head of a pig in the marketing of this project, it is unforgivable to me that they didn’t call it Aporkrypha. — James
Mörk Borg Compatible Core Reference Cards: A collection of item reference cards for Mörk Borg, by newyear Studios (The Box of Shadows: A Mörk Borg scenario set in Grift) — February 14th
Nativity in Black: A black-metal anti-nativity story for Mörk Borg, by Josh Dunham — February 17th
Other & Generic Fantasy
Vulcania — Beyond the Storm TTRPG: A supplement and setting for the Vulcania steampunk RPG, by GearGames (Vulcania — a Steampunk Role-playing Game) — February 3rd
Storygames & Experimental
Stonewall 1969 — A war story RPG: A single-session RPG about the Stonewall Riot, by Asterisco Edizioni — February 17th
In a week absolutely dominated by D&D and OSR, this project stands out quite prominently. I’ve heard from friends who have been involved in playtesting, that this game has been in development for years, and there seems to be genuine excitement about it finally getting a crowdfunding project. It also seems like a genuinely novel approach to exploring a difficult subject. Unquestionably the project of the week for me. — James
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