Latest Nibiru Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xanadunibiru/xanadu-a-nibiru-roleplaying-game-expansion
Nibiru is a science fiction tabletop role playing game set in an ominous space station. It’s focused around the themes of memory, nature and artificiality, and features a rich world (inspired by Ancient Mesopotamia) as well as a quick-to-learn system that builds each player’s persona based on the retelling of their pasts. Nibiru is a space station submerged in the ocean of debris orbiting the Star of Fomalhaut. A monstrous, steel-clad vulture feeding off of a collection of unborn planets, Nibiru’s purpose is unknown—at least, for those that reside in it. Near the Core of this skyless world, a group of enclosed city-states harbors the majority of the human population. The characters portrayed by the players are different from the rest of the peoples of Nibiru. They come from strange places called Habitats, each functioning as an archetype that changes not just the backdrop of your memories, but the mechanics of how you recall them. From Dreamlanders—people that only seem to remember the lives of other individuals—to Vagabonds of the Machine—who share the memories prompted by a sentience-inducing computer virus—each of the five habitats holds mysteries of their own, as well as unique mechanics that make them all the more exciting to play. #nibiru #ttprg #federicosohns #modiphius
We talk about the new actual play series, Stuff of Legend, that uses puppets to play out the action of their roleplay session. Is the future of AP felt-based? In the same spirit, we take a look at the Muppetborn race for 5E by BJ Hypes. It is a well made and very charming way to play Kermit the Assassin. Finally, this month will bring us 470 indie zine RPG projects on Kickstarter as part of Zinequest 3. It is a chance for game designers to create a physical version of their projects that may have only been available digitally in the past.
Free League is releasing a starter set for their 2015 RPG Symbaroum. Will this bring new players to this dark nature fantasy setting beautifully illustrated by Martin Grip? The official conversion for Pathfinder to the Savage Worlds system is now available on Kickstarter. We also discuss what D&D 6th edition may look like and the Dungeons and Dragons Singularity prophecized in Tasha’s Cauldron.
We look back at 2020 and all the things that could have been great but had to suffer from our global condition. The Witcher and Tales From the Loop hit TV. Mork Borg and Ironsworn caught our attention as outstanding RPGs. Warcaster: Neo Mechanical by Privateer Press came and went. GenCon 2020 was cancelled along with everything else. The Dead Milkmen released the Lost Tomb of the Bitchin Chimera for 5E. Heroquest was update and released on HasLab. The Quest RPG still has us curious. Cyberpunk Red on the tabletop preceded the unfinished and buggy Cyberpunk 2077 for PC and consoles. This was not the Year of Dune as we previously predicted. Games Workshop releases the 9th edition of Warhammer 40k and really screwed anybody trying to sell their games, but their webstore. Alan Dean Foster was not paid by Disney and thinks Rey should have been a droid. And finally, the KFConsole is the joke that won’t go away.
Cyberpunk Red will have a skirmish miniatures game called Combat Zone produced by Monster Fight Club. This is the same company that produced the miniatures for the Cyberpunk Red tabletop game previously. We review the list of best selling “other” (non-5E) TTPRG titles on DriveThruRPG in 2020. The results may surprise you. Finally, we discuss the baggage of the Cyberpunk genre, more specifically the portrayal of Asian culture and stereotypes. There is also a Cyberpunk by Asians Game Jam currently running on Itch.io that may also bring new perspectives to the genre. “Western cyberpunk media borrows heavily from Asian visuals and fetishizes Asian culture, without the involvement of actual Asians. This game jam is for Asian creators who want to make our own cyberpunk games.”
Free League is releasing the Colonial Marine Operations Manual. Featuring rules for Marines and guidelines for running a whole marine-centric campaign. Plus six missions to run written by Andrew E.C. Gaska and Paul Elliot. Also featuring the excellent artwork of Martin Grip from the core rulebook. The makers of Quest RPG are releasing actual play audio tutorials to help new players get a handle on the game and get up and running even without the physical rulebook. We also discuss the idea of the preciousness of player characters and how with all the investment now possible some players can’t stand to see their characters die.
The Well by Peter Schaefer is an original tabletop roleplaying game currently on Kickstarter. Our conspiracies align as rumors that Hasbro is prepping Wizards of the Coast for sale emerge. We also discuss alignment in TTPRGs and if it is useful and why is it still around. #thewellrpg #wotc #hasbro #alignment