This week, Hasbro names the head of Wizards of the Coast, two RPG vendors say no to NFTs, eOne announces the director of the upcoming D&D TV series, and City of Mist goes Cyberpunk.
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Hasbro names Cynthia Williams the new president of Wizards of the Coast.
Indie game vendor, Itch.io has tweeted to condemn NFTs. DriveThruRPG has announced that it has “no use” for NFTs.
Obviously, these announcements are coming off the back of Kickstarter’s pivot.
New & Upcoming
eOne selects Red Notice writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber to write and direct the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons series.
I’ve never seen Red Notice. IMDB reckons that Thurber’s next most notable credit is that he was in Easy A as “Quiznos Guy” (CW: swearing). I can’t say that this choice has given me a lot of confidence in the series, but who knows? (Quiz-nos.) — Amy
The One Ring 2nd Edition will be officially released in March.
Son of Oak announces two new books: cyberpunk-fantasy RPG, Tokyo:Otherworld, and City of Mist supplement, Local Legends.
Bundles & Deals
Bundle of Holding is offering a bundle of Baker Street books, a bundle of Goodman Games books, a bundle of Mindjammer books, and a bundle of two-player RPGs.
DriveThruRPG is running a sale on RPGs by Black creators.
Crowdfunding
ZineMonth
ZineMonth so far has been somewhat more muted in comparison to last year’s ZineQuest. The ZineMonth website currently lists over 140 projects across several funding platforms — some of which have already been funded, and some of which have not yet launched. Check out the website for complete coverage: zinemonth.com
Noteworthy New Projects
Knock! Issue Three: A compendium of OSR content, by Olivier Revenu. So far this project has raised €73,000 ($84,000) from 1,900 backers. Ends March 6th
This issue has eclipsed the first issue in terms of number of backers and still has the best part of a month to overtake the second issue, although the fact that they aren’t offering previous issues as add-ons in this campaign might reduce the total amount it raises. Either way, Knock! is well on its way to becoming an OSR staple.
Treasure Island: A D&D 5e supplement with 3d-printable miniatures & terrain, by Iain Lovecraft (Asian Adventures, Desert Adventures, The Frost). So far this project has raised €60,000 ($67,000) from 1,400 backers. Ends February 18th
Micro Dungeons II & Undead Edition for 5e DnD: Two collections of small dungeons for 5e, by Guillermo Buenfil (Adaptable Encounters for D&D 5E, Micro Dungeons Halloween Edition for DnD, Micro Dungeons Winter Edition for D&D 5e). So far this project has raised MX$111,000 ($5,000) from 1,300 backers. Ends February 16th
I Guess This Is It: A wallet-sized two-player game about saying goodbye, by Jason Tagmire (Unsurmountable, Tussie Mussie, Agropolis: A Solo & Cooperative Farm-Building Game). So far this project has raised $23,000 from 1,100 backers. Ends February 12th
I’m really intrigued by the card laying mechanic at the heart of this game and I’d be intrigued to see how it works in practice. Being super small, the international shipping isn’t too scary either, which is a definite plus! — James
In Other Waters: An ocean-world adventure for Mothership, by Lone Archivist (What We Give To Alien Gods, Primeval_). So far this project has raised $35,000 from 1,100 backers. Ends March 1st
5e
Homebrew and Hacking: A supplement for creating heritages & cultures for the Level Up 5th edition hack, by PJ Coffey — February 16th
Class Cheat Sheets For 5e: A set of cheat sheets for 5e, by Icarus Games (The Icarus Project — A New Sci Fi Skirmish Wargame, Nexus & Alliance Starter Sets From Icarus Miniatures) — March 2nd
Tomb of the Colossus Gods: A dark epic fantasy setting for 5e, by Lion Banner Games — March 3rd
OSR & Retro
Curic’s Cursed Chapbook: A small hexcrawl setting for Mörk Borg, by Philip Reed (Mimics, An Unnecessary Work, for Use With Fantasy RPGs, Tome of Skulls, a third-party work for the Mörk Borg RPG, A Wizard’s Dying Wish and Other Tales, for the Mörk Borg RPG) — February 9th
Rancid Canyons of the Floating Death Sheep: A low-level adventure for 5e, Swords & Wizardry, and Dungeon Crawl Classics, by Glynn Seal (HandyMaps Dungeons, Caves & Strange Locales for Game Masters, Midderzine Issues #6 and #7 — Zines for Old School Games, The Bats of Saint Abbans — An OSR Adventure) — February 9th
Planar Compass Issue 3: An OSR zine focused on the plane of Law & Time, by Planar Compass — February 15th
Axian Library: An anthology of Old-School Essentials zines, by Giuseppe Rotondo (Lands of Legends) — February 18th
7 Aboard the Schackel: A Mörk Borg prison-crawl adventure set on a prison ship, by BiteSizedGaming (Den of Assassins 5e, Siege: Pocket Warfare, Scrap Rats RPG) — February 20th
Bestiary: A book of monsters for Mörk Borg, by Jake Milner — February 24th
The Last War: A stand-alone miniatures game and RPG setting compatible with Mörk Borg and Forbidden Psalm, by Kevin Rahman (Forbidden Psalm, In the footsteps of the Mad Wizard: Forbidden Psalm Expansion) — March 3rd
Other & Generic Fantasy
Aberrant Reflections: A system-neutral, mirror-themed dungeon adventure inspired by Zelda and Metroidvania games, by directsun (Puzzle Dungeon: The Seers Sanctum) — February 15th
Fairyland: A psychedelic microsetting zine, by Max Moon (Abyss of Hallucinations Vol. 1 — A Mörk Borg setting, 12 Years) — February 15th
9 Lives to Valhalla: “A frenetic tabletop RPG about death metal viking cats earning their place in the drinking halls of Valhalla”, by Gem Room Games — March 1st
The Skaldwood Blight: A 1st-20th level adventure path for Pathfinder 2e, Ron Lundeen, by Owen Stephens (The Genius Guide to The Talented Bestiary for Pathfinder RPG, Starfinder Legacy Bestiary, Starfarer Species Reforged, a Starfinder-Compatible Project) — March 3rd
Fléaux! A brutal baroque fantasy RPG, by Kobayashi — March 3rd
Master of the Onyx Tower: A Sword-and-Sorcery-inspired dungeon-delve adventure for Marching Order, by Crumbling Keep (Marching Order — A Solo or Co-op Dark Dungeon Delving Zine) — March 3rd
Investigation
The Unquiet Dark: A jazz-age prequel campaign supplement for Brindlewood Bay, by Alicia Furness (Paranormal Inc.) — February 24th
Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk
Thousand Empty Light: A solo adventure for Mothership, by Valley of Alfred (Lay On Hands, a solo dexterity-based RPG) — February 15th
Time After Time: A time-travel adventure for Mothership, by Sam Sorensen (Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches, Lowlife, Seas of Sand) — February 15th
The Bloodfields At Blackstar Station: A battle-royale hexcrawl adventure and space-station setting for Mothership, by Christian Sorrell — February 16th
Knights of Lazarus: A faction and puzzle-focused dungeon for Mothership, by Marco Serrano (Constant Downpour, a Retro Sci-Fi RPG Zine) — February 17th
Orbital Debris: A hexcrawl on an ancient moon for Mothership, by Terry Herc (Professor Humbert Drumsley: 5e RPG Adventure Codex) — February 18th
Field Guide: Liminal Space: A collection of organisations for Lancer, by Diamond Recreational Studios — February 27th
Space Aces — Voyages In Infinite Space Galactic Sandbox TTRPG: A family-friendly sci-fi comedy setting, by Stephen D. (Space Aces: TNG (The New Guidebook)) — February 27th
The Gaia Complex — Hardware 2119: A black market sourcebook for The Gaia Complex, by Chris ‘Shep’ Shepperson (Package!? — An abstract tabletop game, The Gaia Complex — A Game of Flesh and Wires) — March 2nd
Dive: Rules for aquatic horror games based on Mothership, by Jeremy Childrey (Gordinaak) — March 3rd
A lot of Mothership projects — some of which are listed as ZineMonth and some of which I presume were planned for ZineQuest before Kickstarter pulled the rug beneath them. It’s definitely been the most popular system this year so far, following the success of its boxed second edition project. — James
Do we need to start giving Mothership its own section? — Amy
Storygames & Experimental
Lichdom: A solo roleplaying game about boundless ambition and the perilous journey towards immortality, by Adrian L. Sanjuan (Deck of Heroes — 5e RPG Supplement, Glimpses of a Dying World — A zine for Mörk Borg) — February 15th
Nothing terribly original here, but it’s definitely my sort of thing! — James
This update was made possible by Keenan Collett, Robert Carnel, and the rest of our Patreon supporters.
I vote that if a setting gets 5+ new projects for 3 consecutive weeks then you can give it its own (sub)section on the list.