Tag: Battletech (RPG)

The Weekly Podcast no.349 – $1 Million Crowdfunders, John Blanche Tribute, Malegothica Miniaturesand Crows: Fortune or Death

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The TTRPG industry has seen a notable shift in how crowdfunding campaigns reach the million-dollar milestone, moving away from simple book sales toward becoming “pop-up merchandising storefronts.” Campaigns like Deathbringer illustrate this strategy, where high-ticket add-ons such as custom dice, playmats, statuettes, and even denim jackets significantly boost the average pledge level. While these massive funding totals capture attention, experts note that profitability often relies on these high-margin items to offset the costs of advertising and production, while raising questions about the logistical challenges of fulfilling such complex pledges.

A tribute to the late legendary artist John Blanche. Organized by Secret Passages, this initiative invites artists and writers to contribute to a standalone 40+ page zine that celebrates Blanche’s five-decade career. This collection of original essays, interviews, and artwork aims to capture the spirit of his influence on the gaming community and will be available alongside the upcoming Secret Passages Issue 4 in Autumn 2026.

Magnagothica: Maleghast, a collaboration between Tom Bloom and Taiga Miniatures. This campaign focuses on bringing the heavy metal-inspired wargame to life with official 30mm miniatures. With a goal of US$6,666, the project has already seen significant success, raising over US$78,000 by late August 2026. The campaign offers a range of options, including physical resin models and STL files for at-home printing, targeting an early 2027 delivery for backers.

MCDM Productions is promoting Crows: Fortune or Death, a new survival horror RPG that emphasizes high-stakes dungeon crawling and resource management. Built for challenging gameplay where players must survive on wits rather than stats, the game features mechanics like “Dungeon Turns” and robust inventory management via cards. The campaign also introduces a town-building aspect, where players invest loot to improve their home base, creating a lasting legacy for future adventurers while offering backers various tiers that include starter sets, rulebooks, and specialized equipment decks.

#johnblanche #malegothicamaleghast #OSE2026 #crowsrpg

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/mugen-gaming/sword-world/pre-launch

Batteltech PRG Bundle Encore:

https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/9VBLr4

Secret Passage Zine John Blanche Tribute Page:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jdhoare/secret-passages-4-an-old-school-rpg-and-oldhammer-magazine

Magnagothica: Maleghast – STL & physical resin miniatures Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/taigaminiatures/magnagothica-maleghast-miniatures

Crows: Fortune or Death:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/mcdm-productions/crows-fortune-or-death

Playtest here: https://mcdm.gg/crowsplaytest

Mantic Companion App:

https://companion.manticgames.com/

Use our Referral code: MCTXEE

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3

Chris on social media:

https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​

Jeremy’s Links:

http://www.abusecartoons.com/​​
http://www.rcharvey.com

​​Support Us on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable

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https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/2754JZFW2QZU4

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

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Episode 87: Warriors: Flying Aces

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“Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever, forever, forever?”
– “Forever Young”, Alphaville

Assail your opponent from behind, only fire at close range, and always, always keep the sun behind you. In this installment of Warriors, we talk about l’as, the star-turn, der uberkanonen, the flying ace.

Episode 86: Generalization vs. Specialization

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“More choices, more problems.”
– game designer

In this episode, we look at whether it’s best to play a jack-of-all-trades or a master of one. We also compare how to build generalists in different systems: level, point buy, and life path.

Episode 82: Warriors: Condottieri

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Because our listeners demanded it: condottieri! Actually, it was only was one listener, and he really just casually mentioned it.

In this edition of Warriors, we talk about mercenaries and free companies. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure buys everything else worth having. Live free and die hard.

Episode 75: Locales: Ships

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The month of series debuts continues with Locales, a look at how to use different settings in your games. In this episode, we also look at ships, from submarines to starships (not the band, although Lyal does talk about the band), with the added bonus of how to use them as antagonists and protagonists.

Also, Chris talks about the virtues of booth babes, Wayne talks about the benefits of emphasizing the monotony in games, and Lyal talks about how drowning and suffocation aren’t so bad. Oh, and we had some opinions that weren’t completely wrong as well.

Episode 47: Christmas Wish List

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Lyal knew a guy who gave his girlfriend a picture of himself for Christmas. In that spirit, here’s our gift to you: an episode of us talking about what we want for Christmas. We discuss what games we’d like to receive, what games we’d like to see made and what games we’d like to actually play next. So, listen to find out what RPGs and board games you need to get this Christmas.

Merry Christmas! (We had to talk Chris out of dropping the t.)

Correction: The new expansion for the Privateer Press miniatures game Hordes is “Hordes: Domination“, not Dominion as incorrectly stated by Wayne. Let’s hope Santa puts the correct thing under his tree anyway.

Episode 35: Secrets and Lies

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In this episode, we talk about how to best use lying and secrecy in your games.

The secrets of this episode:

  • Wayne’s d100 joke was originally Lyal’s. It was also originally funny.
  • Wayne has never seen Goodfellas, and Lyal has never seen Family Guy. This actually won’t seem like much of a secret after you listen to the episode.
  • Chris initially had a joke where he said the episode was about fantasy. Get it? It was a lie. It’s no secret why this “joke” never made it in.

Episode 6: Intro to Gaming

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Everything you always wanted to know about pen-and-paper role-playing games but were afraid (or couldn’t be bothered) to ask.

The Idle Red Hands are blessed with some great friends who, despite having no clue about RPGs, listen to our podcast. One recommended that we record an episode that explains some of the basic concepts to help him follow along, so we did. This is for him and all those who have ever wondered why some people choose to spend their Saturday nights rolling dice.

If you’re an experienced gamer, have a listen to see if you agree with our descriptions, definitions, and recommendations.

To start a lifetime of adventure, download these free rules for GURPS 4th Edition from the good people at Steve Jackson Games (or visit your local army recruiting center).

Special note: We debut our new microphone this episode.

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