Tag: OSR

The Weekly Podcast no.337 – The Boy King, Crows Playtest, Heresy Supreme and The Chaos Card Deck

Posted on by upturnedtable

 

Chaosium is reviving the iconic The Great Pendragon Campaign for the 6th edition of the Pendragon tabletop RPG, originally created by Greg Stafford. Known for exploring 80 years of Arthurian legend, the updated campaign will be released in multiple volumes over two years, starting with Pendragon: The Boy King in August 2026. This first entry covers nearly twenty in-game years during King Uther Pendragon’s reign, focusing on a period of chaos and civil war that sets the path for Camelot’s rise. The new version is built upon notes and updates drafted by Stafford before his passing, aiming to integrate his complete vision of Arthurian Britain.

MCDM has launched a free alpha playtest for their upcoming Crows tabletop RPG, a survival horror dungeon crawler set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. The game, influenced by the OSR style, casts players as “Crows” searching for treasure in ancient ruins. Key mechanics emphasize survival and attrition, featuring equipment-driven character design, treasure-based advancement (where experience is gained from bringing loot back to town), and a central slot-based inventory system. Magic is unpredictable and lethal, combat is fast and dangerous, and time in the dungeon is tracked using Dungeon Turns and usage dice for resources. The playtest is centered on the multi-level “Blood Library” adventure, and players are asked to submit feedback before June 29th, 2026.

MÖRK BORG Heresy Supreme, the first video game adaptation of the apocalyptic MÖRK BORG tabletop RPG, is now available in Early Access. This is a side-scrolling action RPG featuring “souls-like” combat that is brutal, slow, and requires careful timing, where death is a constant element. The game’s premise involves a desperate attempt to stall the Apocalypse in a cursed, dark fantasy world. The developers plan to keep the game in Early Access for six months to a year, and they are actively engaging the player community to help shape future features, including voting on the next playable Class.

Venger’s Decks has released the physical edition of The Chaos Card Deck TTRPG, a complete, rules-light, card-based system designed for zero-prep tabletop adventuring. The game’s main appeal is its extreme portability and accessibility, using a single tarot-sized deck to handle mechanics for character creation, session generation, and on-the-fly monster encounters. The Chaos supports both solo and group play through a simple structural loop (The Keep, The Realm, return) that accommodates fluctuating player counts. The physical release, which is intended as a tactile upgrade over the free digital rules, also includes downloadable assets like high-definition battle maps and printable character sheets.

#pendragon #crowsrpg #morkborg #vengerdecks 

Mork Borg: Heresy Supreme:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3216800/MRK_BORG_Heresy_Supreme/

https://www.morbidwaregames.com/

Pendragon Campaign:

https://www.chaosium.com/blogpendragon-the-boy-king-the-epic-ttrpg-campaign-returns/

MCDM Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/mcdm

Chaos Cards:

https://thechaosttrpg.com/products/the-chaos-card-deck-tabletop-roleplaying-game

Demonic Grimoire on Backkit:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/exalted-funeral/old-school-essentials-demonic-grimoire

Hellblaster: Against the Cyberfiend:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/bloodstar-productions/hellblaster-against-the-cyberfiends

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

https://mmf.io/upturned

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

Give us a tip on our livestream:

https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip​

Donate or give us  a tip on Paypal:

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

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:30 — 32.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly Podcast no.332 – D&D Outsourcing, Paizo Printables, Dune Sells Out and LowLife RPG

Posted on by upturnedtable

 

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is signaling a massive strategic shift toward outsourcing the development of official *Dungeons & Dragons* content to third-party publishers, as evidenced by a recent job post for a “TRPG Publishing Lead”. This role is explicitly tasked with overseeing “externally developed D\&D content, including adventures, campaign materials, guides, and artwork”. This change follows internal team restructuring, the adoption of a holistic D&D franchise model, and WotC’s recent decision to actively feature third-party products on D\&D Beyond. Although WotC has previously worked with third-party designers for early D&D 5E supplements like “Hoard of the Dragon Queen” and “Princes of the Apocalypse” The practice was largely abandoned in 2016, making this an important new chapter in the company’s relationship with outside publishers.

Paizo’s Pathfinder launched a new subscription service called Paizo Printables on April 2, offering 3D printable miniature files and accompanying TTRPG content. The service provides two monthly subscription tiers—$4.99 and $9.99—with the higher tier including a welcome pack of 25 minis, a monthly themed pack, and digital rulebooks. Associate publisher Thurston Hillman stated that the primary goal is accessibility, bypassing the delays of physical production, and the new format offers Paizo the freedom to create niche, setting-specific miniatures. Ultimately, Paizo aims to use the platform to introduce exclusive rules content and new ancestries to the game in the future.

A new physical and digital bundle is available for the Dune – Adventures in the Imperium RPG by Modiphius, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The physical bundle includes the *Agents of Dune Deluxe Starter Set*, the Atreides collector’s edition of the *Dune: Core Rulebook*, and an Arrakis-themed dice set. Most of the titles offered in the physical bundle seem to be sold out as of this post.

The Kickstarter campaign for LOWLIFE: A DUNGEON DEGENERATES ROLE PLAYING GAME, by Sean Äaberg and Goblinko, is currently live and heading toward its funding goal. The project is a major expansion of the Dungeon Degenerates: Hand of Doom board game world, creating a full TTRPG described as “Grand Theft Auto meets Game of Thrones” and focused on “low drama” stories of survival in the dark fantasy continent of Bödengärd. The game utilizes a customized Old School Renaissance (OSR) engine with a d20 roll-low mechanic and features simultaneous, deadly combat. Key mechanics include tracking “Meat & Morale” as a combined resource—where the spirit often breaks before the body—and using “Heat” to track the players’ wanted level with local authorities. Core reward tiers include the *LowLife Core RPG Book*, the Doomed Life expansion (to bridge the RPG and board game), and world guides.

#dnd #paizo #dunerpg #lowliferpg 

Paizo Printables:

https://store.paizo.com/paizoprintables/

Paizo Humble Bundle:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/pathfinder-second-edition-bundle-at-center-world-paizo-inc-books

LowLife RPG:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanaaberg/lowlife-a-dungeon-degenerates-role-playing-game

Dune Bundles:

Physical – https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/1G1KE9

Digital – https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/WO4PBA

Warmachine on MyMiniFactory:

https://mmf.io/upturned

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

Give us a tip on our livestream:

https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip​

Donate or give us  a tip on Paypal:

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

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:15 — 41.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly LIVE 096: RPG Kitchen, Call of Cthulhu 1st Edition 40th Anniversary Reprint, Dungeon Crawl Classics Dying Earth and TSR is Dead

Posted on by upturnedtable

We take a look at RPG Kitchen, a try before you buy online stoerfront for RPGs. Will this help indie developers get more exposure for their projects? Goodman Games is Kick-starting a setting for Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, one of the major influences for early D&D. Three main sourcebooks are being produced as well as 6 adventures in a boxed set. The books and illustrations are full of old school goodness. Chaosium is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Call of Cthulhu by Kick-starting a reprint of the 1st edition in both a 1 inch and 2 inch boxed set. The 1 inch includes the original contents of the game and the 2 inch includes 5 additional early supplements. There is no longer any company named TSR. The publisher of the Top Secret RPG has changed their name to Solarian Games and the controversial most recent interaction of TSR that included Ernie Gygax is now going by name Wonderfilled Inc. We previously questioned whether a new TSR could compete in the current OSR market, but this may just simply be proof that you can’t go home again. #rpgkitchen #tsr #chaosium #callofcthulhu #dcc #dyingearth #goodmangames #keepgamingfantasy

Call of Cthulhu First Edition Reprint:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/call-of-cthulhu-classic

Dying Earth for Dungeon Crawl Classics:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/devillich/dcc-dying-earth

RPG Kitchen:
https://rpg.kitchen/

Chris on Itch.io:
https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​

Chris on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/hyvemynd​​
https://twitter.com/ConanSalaryman​​

NMITY Stories: https://nmitystories.buzzsprout.com/

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:
http://www.abusecartoons.com/​​
https://www.twitch.tv/abusecartoons
​​https://twitter.com/abusecartoons

​​ Support Us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable
https://streamlabs.com/idleredhands/tip​

Intro song is “Chips” by Kokoro No Me
https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:28 — 36.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly 063: Morning Coffee RPG, Bitchin’ Chimera, Adventure Zone Responds to Artists, The Wretched Second Printing and Old School Revival Bundle

Posted on by upturnedtable

Morning Coffee for a New Lover is an RPG by Nathan Black printed on an actual coffee mug. The Dead Milkmen have written a D&D 5E module called Lost Tomb of the Bitchin’ Chimera named for their track Bitchin’ Camaro on Kickstarter. The Wretched RPG by Chris Bissette is also on Kickstarter for its second printing and other stretch goals. Humble Bundle and Frog God Games collaborate to bring you a big sampling of OSR (Old School Revival/Renassaince) starting at only one dollar. Featuring Swords & Wizardry, Castles & Crusades and Borderland Provinces.

#wretchedrpg #deadmilkmen #froggodgames #osr

Morning Coffee for a New Lover:
https://www.sassys86.com/product/morning-coffee-for-a-new-lover

OSR Humble Bundle:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/old-school-revival-dragons-dungeons-mazes

Wretched Second Printing on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/the-wretched-second-printing

Tomb of the Bitchin’ Chimera on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justinsirois/lost-tomb-of-the-bitchin-chimera-dead-milkmen-rpg-module

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:13 — 29.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

Unboxing the ‘I Want It All Box’ for The Fantasy Trip by Steve Jackson Games

Posted on by upturnedtable

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETw_46T7VmY[/embedyt]
We open up the “I Want It All” box from the 2019 Kickstarter of Fantasy Trip RPG by Steve Jackson Games @SJGames . Full of Old School fantasy roleplaying goodness. The game is best described as “one of the lost gems from the dawn of roleplaying”. This is the first reprint since it first appeared in 1980. #thefantasytrip #sjgames #osr #oldschool

If you missed out on the Kickstarter, take look at what you get and then head over to Warehouse23 to order your copy:
The Fantasy Trip: I Want It All Box

An excellent place to start is the FREE PDF for The Fantasy Trip Melee on DTRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/306835/The-Fantasy-Trip-Melee?affiliate_id=2081746

Video: Short Review of Forbidden Lands

Posted on by upturnedtable

A short review to help you decide if the Forbidden Lands RPG by Free League is for you. We discuss the major features and mechanics and also talk about how it differs from other systems and RPGs. We love this game but wanted to present a balanced look at it to help you make your own decision.

BGM – Veil of the Blood Mist by ALVE – Forbidden Lands OST