The Gaming Shelf Is a Furious, Godkilling Cocaine Owlbear
We’re switching formats! As I am incapable of saying no, this is an overstuffed edition. Soon I will start saying no. Or i’ll go weekly with this. One or the other.
A few announcements! I’m going to Gen Con! I’m on a ton of panels, one about the OGL, another about the Critical Media Journalism, and another where I’m hosting a conversation between Grant Howitt and Kieron Gillen. I’m also up for a couple awards: the Diana Jones and an ENNIE! So that’s all very cool. If you’re going to Gen Con let me know! In lieu of being embarrassed by all this attention, here’s this week’s Gaming Shelf!
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New Releases: Curios: Albrecht Manor, Cocaine Owlbear, Carbon City, Godkiller, I Am Furious (Pink), Stranded in Space, Eco Mofos, Going Rogue
“Curios: Albrecht Manor is an epistolary horror mystery experience. A haunting story told over a series of letters and ephemera.”
Using Grant Howitt’s Honey Heist system, Cocaine Owlbear asks: “What if magical cocaine gave you—a creature of the enchanted woodland—sentience, and you needed to get more cocaine or risk losing that sentience?”
“Carbon City is a superhero/cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game... The system is rules-light and fast-paced, with an extremely easy and intuitive character creation system.”
“Godkiller: First Blood is an original holypunk Powered by the Apocalypse duet game for one player, the Godkiller, and one GM, God. Together, the two of you will weave a mythic, violent, and transformative tale about the only mortal in existence with the power to slay a god, rising against the challenges of the divine. Which gods will you kill to shape the realm—and which gods will you spare?”
“I Am Furious (Pink) is a dramatic storytelling game where you play through the events of one terrible day, dealing with the worst that your opposition can throw at you, and then—reborn with the power of a goddess—retrace your path to unleash supernatural vengeance or bestow mercy on those who did you wrong.”
“Stranded in Space is simple RPG designed to be played in a single session with a group of 2-4 players. It’s perfect for nights when someone in the group can’t make it, when you’re between games, or as an intro to a larger campaign. The game uses a 2d6, player-facing roll-under system that’s easy to pick up. Characters can be recorded on an index card, and the Ship HUD takes as little as a single sheet of paper. Building your ship and creating your crew can take as few as five minutes, then you’re off to the races!”
“One Night at the Shelterwood Inn is an official collaborative adventure from the creative teams behind Liminal Horror and Triangle Agency, playable in both game systems. With Liminal Horror, take the role of unfortunate souls stranded in a lonely hotel with something sinister hiding beneath the surface.”
“Eco Mofos is a mid-future ecopunk ruin-delving survival game, as player characters (PCs or Punks) seek a safe homestead to start a new community. Play a group of misfits who have found each other in the wastes and ruins of the fallen world. The past is just a hazy legend, the story scattered over thousands of usb sticks and servers, but the future is there to be written.” This book is also being crowdfunded for a physical release.
“Those who dream of a better world know one simple, terrible fact: not everyone who helps build it will be blessed with the opportunity to live in it. those who put their lives on the line to transmute dreams of rebellion into reality know the grim truth that to see this transformation occur, they may one day have to give their lives as catalyst. going rogue 2e is a GM-less tabletop roleplaying game for 2-5 players that tells the story of that sacrifice.”
Currently Crowdfunding: Hellborn, Witches of Midnight, The Librarian’s Apprentice, Astra Fauna, Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age, Sprinkles Is Missing, Barbaric! 2E, Qadida, Border Riding, What Is It That Lies Beyond The Immenseness of the Dark?
“Hellborn is a rules-medium Tabletop Role Playing Game set in a futuristic, technologically ascended version of Hell, where players take on the role of demonic mercenaries trying to survive and amass wealth, fame, and power through their daring feats and the jobs they undertake.”
“Midnight is a bustling metropolis shrouded in a permanent enchantment of darkness. A crossroads between realms and a beacon to witches the world over... Witches of Midnight was built using the Forged in the Dark system (based on Blades in the Dark by John Harper).”
“The Librarian’s Apprentice is an all-ages solo journaling TTRPG that takes place in an infinite library. Players take on the role of the titular apprentice and, together with their familiar, journey through the Great Library in search of documents requested by their Librarian.”
“Astra Fauna: Expeditions is a story-filled artbook that follows six alien scientists as they explore the wonders of a creature-filled universe.” It includes original fiction stories, system neutral stats, and original art.
“Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age, is a tabletop RPG of cosmic horror, swords, and sorcery in a savage lost epoch, where you play out the birth of the gods of ancient myth.”
“In Sprinkles Is Missing, an all-ages, kid-focused game, characters are students at a magical elementary school on the edge of an enchanted forest. The school mascot, a unicorn named Sprinkles, has gone missing, and the characters have decided to go on a search and rescue mission into the Forest.”
“Barbaric! 2E is a lightweight, fast-play, beer & pretzels tabletop role-playing game focused on the sword & sorcery and sword & planet genres. Using only two six-sided dice, some writing supplies, and your active imagination, you can embark on thrilling adventures of might and witchcraft, without the rules getting in your way. The system is skill-based and permits easy character customization, without being limited to specific classes. Simple rules for factions are also provided.”
“Qadida takes Stillfleet and the Grit System that powers it into a world of espionage, assassination, and warfare that is quiet, cold, and high-stakes for the entire network of worlds exploited by the Worshipful Company of Stillfleeters. Fans of Blades in the Dark and Spire looking for similar flavors in other settings and systems will find plenty to love in Qadida.”
“Border Riding is a game about maps, boundaries, borders, and the way we use rituals to maintain and shape our community. Its touchstones include Avery Alder’s The Quiet Year, Everest Pipkin’s zine-game The Ground Itself, and Iman Tajik’s project Bordered Miles.”
“What Is It That Lies Beyond The Immenseness of the Dark? is a collaborative storytelling card game for two or more players in which you use cards and a coin to create a Horror inhabiting the area you are playing in in the real world.”
In Other News
The Game Master’s Book of Astonishing Random Tables is now available from Amazon.
Free League announced two new supplements for the Blade Runner RPG: Fiery Angels and Replicant Rebellion, expected to release late in 2024.
According to a press release, Paizo and Mirrorscape announced a VR/AR partnership to make Pathfinder and Starfinder (among other titles) available on Mirrorscape’s augmented reality tabletop gaming platform.
Dreams and Machines Starter Set is available for pre-order and will be available at Gen Con and in stores globally in August.
“Wacky Puppies, crowdfunding now, is a strategic and weirdly fun card game for everyone that loves strategy, dog puns, surprise comebacks, hilarious artwork, and wacky challenges.”
Wizards of the Coast revealed details for Commander Masters, the very first Masters set dedicated to the Commander Format. Debut and previews begin July 11 and the set will be available August 4.
Modiphius Entertainment announced a new Star Trek roleplaying game: the Captain’s Log Solo Roleplaying Game. Write your own captain’s logs as you, your ship, and your crew venture into the final frontier.
“TTRPGkids is an ENNIE-nominated website resource for parents, teachers, caregivers, creators, and everyone in between who are looking for tabletop RPGs that are accessible to kids! This Crowdfundr is to cover basic costs for TTRPGkids so it can be sustainable, fund convention expenses, and support physical prints for one of the games to facilitate long term income.”
“Free League Publishing is publishing two new expansions for the open-world survival RPG, Forbidden Lands, including Book of Beasts, a playable bestiary and The Bloodmarch, a campaign book expanding the game world with a full adventure written by fantasy author Erik Granström.”
Triangle Agency, where you take the role of Field Agents straddling the line between containing a paranormal phenomenon and maintaining a cover, has been fully funded.
The GM’s Toolbox by Kabouter Games is a system-neutral TTRPG reference currently crowdfunding.
Skybound Tabletop has announced three new board games; Mr. Lovenstein Presents No Context (May 31); Trial by Trolley Vacation Expansion (June 28); and Kiss the Goblin (July 21).
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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