The next chapter of BattleTech’s titanic resurgence is the Mercenaries Kickstarter campaign and has hit $4.6 million as of this writing. The new campaign introduces more than 50 new designs, including ’Mechs, armored and support vehicles, a VTOL, additional battle armor, and a new aerospace fighter–all to the same high-quality standards and is ready to play right out of the box.

During the recent D&D Direct, Manganiello offered a brief update on the documentary he’s filming for Wizards of the Coast to celebrate Dungeons & Dragons’ 50th Anniversary. Before diving into it, he took a moment to acknowledge how the game had informed his love of stories. Then, Manganiello revealed that it led to his working with Wizards of the Coast on a live-action television adaptation of the Dragonlance novels, which he loves. The Dragonlance novels were initially written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, though many other authors have written stories for the series since.

Free League Publishing today officially released their two new open game licenses for community creators: a Free Tabletop License (FTL) for the Year Zero Engine and a third-party license for their upcoming fantasy RPG Dragonbane. The Year Zero Engine FTL comes with an updated Standard Reference Document (SRD). All three documents are now available for creators to use.

The Terminator 2: Judgment Day sourcebook for the Terminator RPG adds stats for the liquid metal T-1000, as well as allowing players to play as reprogrammed T-800 models on the side of the human resistance – similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heroic android. As in the original Terminator RPG and its campaign book based on the first movie, players can also just play as bog-standard humans faced with the threat of robotic terminators. Those resistance troops now include an elite force of Time Displacement Commandos who hop between the game’s settings of the 1980s, 1990s and the Future War in an attempt to bring down Skynet.

 #balttletech #dragonlance #freeleague #terminatorrpg

BattleTech Mercenaries:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgl/battletech-mercenaries

The YZE FTL can be found here:
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Year-Zero-Engine-License-Agreement.pdf?mc_cid=73ab3ad2dc&mc_eid=311aacd06e

YZE SRD (version 1.0) can be accessed here:

https://freeleaguepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/YZE-Standard-Reference-Document.pdf?mc_cid=73ab3ad2dc&mc_eid=311aacd06e

Terminator RPG T2: Judgement Day:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightfall/the-terminator-rpg-t2-judgement-day?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=terminator

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Free League Publishing is releasing two new game licenses for community creators – a Free Tabletop License (FTL) for the Year Zero Engine and a third-party license for the upcoming Dragonbane fantasy RPG. The Year Zero Engine FTL comes with a massively updated Standard Reference Document (SRD). Feedback can be posted on their forum on all three documents before they are finalized and officially launched.

Did Greg Stafford receive the first ever copy of Dungeons and Dragons directly from Gary Gygax?

Dungeons & Dragons’ 2024 Player’s Handbook won’t contain Ardlings. D&D lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford stated that the Ardlings, a proposed species with celestial origins and animal heads, did not test well in the most recent playtest. “There are a lot of fans of the Ardling, but the Ardlings’ time has not yet come.The Ardling is moving out of the playtest for now and maybe in some future year we will return [to them].”

Celeste Conowitch, Kobold Press’s Senior Game Designer posted on their Design Diary that “ It’s Time for the Monopoly on D&D to End… This is a wildly exciting time to make TTRPGs as we stare down the possibility of an RPG future not ruled by one master game under the control of one master company (The Lord of the Rings taught us this is bad)… This game has meant too much to us for too long to let it remain owned by just one company.”

FreeLeague DRFT Licnese:
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Year-Zero-Engine-License-Agreement-Discussion-Draft.pdf?mc_cid=b763dc8590&mc_eid=5d8af4c50e

Year Zero Engine Revised SRD:

https://freeleaguepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/YZE_Standard_Reference_Document.pdf?mc_cid=b763dc8590&mc_eid=5d8af4c50e

Project Black Flag Design Diary:

https://koboldpress.com/project-black-flag-friday-design-diary-1/

#freeleague #dragonbane #blackflagrpg #gregstafford #ardlings

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Role has been actively adding new games to its catalog of digital offerings focusing on small to mid-sized games. There are popular branded TTRPGs like Dune: Adventures in the Imperium and common favorites like Masks: The Next Generation. Indie darlings like Lancer and Mörk Borg are also fully supported, meaning there are pre-made digital character sheets and game rooms created to help facilitate gameplay. There is also the option to create your own game within the framework, or put your own game up on the site for purchase via Role’s quickly-expanding creator’s program. Role has worked on its own game, Chrome, a cyberpunk RPG based on the Panic Engine, which is fully digital. All of this will be supported on mobile.

Demiplane is working on a new set of digital tools to ease the burden of playing tabletop RPGs online that scrubs as much of Dungeons & Dragons’ recent stink off as possible. Called NEXUS, the toolset trades Wizards of the Coast’s name recognition for shining light on independent publishers.

The [Core Fantasy Roleplaying] is backward-compatible with 5th edition and can be used in conjunction with any existing 5E material. Since this document does not include class options— which will start rolling out in Playtest Packet #2—creating a complete character from scratch using the rules found in this packet will require the use of an existing 5E base class.

Broken Weave by Cubicle7 is a 5E post-apocalyptic tragic fantasy. The gods are dead, the world is being reshaped by Decay, and hope is fleeting, though not extinguished. With new mechanics for Hope, Decay, keeping your community up, harvesting monsters, and more, this is the dark side of fantasy.

#playrole #demiplane #blackflagrpg #talesfromtheloop 

Play Role VTT:
https://www.playrole.com/

Black Flag Playtest #1:
https://koboldpress.com/playtest-packet-1-is-here-for-project-black-flag/

Broken Weave on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cubicle-7-games/broken-weave

Free League Publishing Webstore:
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/store/?product_id=7954809749762

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The 30-year Magic: The Gathering anniversary edition box, priced at $999, has been a hot topic in the Magic community. Players and collectors were upset at the price point of non-tournament legal proxy cards, especially with there being very low odds of even cracking a Power Nine card within one of the four booster packs. Even top streamers from outside the MTG community like MoistCr1tikal jumped into the conversation over the weekend, calling the sale “not cool.”

Z2 has announced “Amon Amarth: The Great Heathen Army”, a new graphic novel and board game collaboration celebrating the heavy metal quintet’s last album of the same name. Channeling the thunderous epic poem winding through these nine tracks, the graphic novel dives into the heart of the Viking Age, as oars propel longships to shores awaiting the brutal collision of steel and bone.

Turnip28 is a post-apocalyptic vegetable wargame. Players command Regiments of fantastic miniatures made up of incompetent Snobs, bedraggled Followers and bizarre war machines. You will weep. You will cheer as deranged peasants kick each other to death in the mud. The Forlorn Hope: The Forlorn hope is the FIRST core miniature release for Turnip28. Providing the best set of multi-pose 3D printable infantry miniatures for new, existing and returning players. 

Free League Publishing announced this morning that they would officially release Blade Runner – The Roleplaying Game on December 13th. After having a successful Kickstarter campaign and promoting the game for the majority of 2022, we’re finally getting the Core Rules book, as well as the Starter Set, which comes with a ton of materials for those who really want to get a game rolling with everything you could ever need. More content is set to come out for it in 2023, but for now, these are the basics on which you can get a campaign set up.

#hasbro #mtg #turnip28 #amonamarth #bladerunner #freeleague

Amon Amarth: The Great Heathen Army:
https://z2comics.com/amonamarth

Turnip28: The Forlorn Hope:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/turnip28/turnip28-the-forlorn-hope

Preorder the Bladerunner RPG:
https://www.bladerunner-rpg.com/

Battletech Humble Bundle:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/introduction-to-battletech-catalyst-game-labs-books?partner=idleredhands

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Hasbro said its board has authorized a sale process for the part of its eOne TV and film business not directly supporting its branded entertainment strategy following a review of the business initiated by new CEO Chris Cocks.The company has retained J.P. Morgan and Centerview Partners to move ahead with the sale process for a 6,500+ content library; the non-Hasbro branded film and scripted TV business which produces and finances content like The Woman King, Yellowjackets and The Rookie franchise; Hasbro’s interest in Entertainment One Canada Limited’s Canadian film and TV business; and Hasbro’s unscripted division, which includes the Naked & Afraid franchise.

Card Conjurer was a tool for entering any text and art into a Magic: the Gathering card frame and generate a card image. The site did not have any monetization of any kind, and was not a storefront, just a creative tool. Nothing Card Conjurer did was impossible in something like GIMP or Adobe Photoshop, it was just easier. It was first created several years ago by a then-high-schooler, Kyle Burton, who taught himself to code using the project. Wizards of the Coast recently sent a cease and desist to the creator and the tool is now offline.

Despite reportedly making more money than ever before, MTG fans haven’t been too pleased with the state of the game recently. In recent years, Wizards of the Coast has been releasing more and more products than ever before. Typically this kind of exceptional growth would have fans tremendously excited. MTG players, however, have heavily criticized Hasbro for this approach as they’re being overwhelmed by new content. Even MTG’s original creator recently jumped aboard this bandwagon, decreeing that Hasbro pushed their game down the wrong path. Things have now gone from bad to worse for Hasbro. In a new report, the Bank of America has accused Hasbro of “killing its golden goose,” Magic: the Gathering. Identifying the pressing concerns of MTG players, this report has already caused Hasbro’s stock to dip 5.2%. Unfortunately for Hasbro, according to Analysts, things are only going to get worse in the future. 

Wizards of the Coast has responded to rumors of changes to the Open Game License and System Reference Document as it works on a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. For weeks, rumors have swirled about the future of two documents critical to the publication of third-party material for Dungeons & Dragons. The Open Game License and the accompanying System Reference Document allows third-party publishers (ranging from companies like Paizo or Kobold Press to self-publishing creators) to publish and sell material that uses 5th Edition rules. The Open Game License acts as a public copyright license, while the System Reference Document specifies which rules and game mechanics can be used when making third-party material.

Free League Publishing revealed this week they would be publishing a brand-new tabletop RPG based on The Walking Dead. The official name of the game will be called The Walking Dead Universe, where, as you might have guessed, your characters will be thrown into an unforgiving post-apocalyptic sandbox setting where they will have to bond quickly and learn how to survive and thrive in a world filled with the undead. This is not a game where you just happen to run into famous characters from the series and roll with them, or have them at your disposal. You’ll have to survive as a group of original characters created by the players in a setting created by the GM. The game will launch sometime in the Fall of 2023.

Battletech Humble Bundle! Aspiring MechWarriors, are you looking to jump into the BattleTech tabletop armored combat game? Equip yourself with this bundle of over 20 resources and get started on your journey! This colossal collection features digital rulebooks, field manuals, campaign books, and more—and when you pay $30 or more, you’ll get a physical BattleTech: Beginner Box containing two high-quality miniatures, quick-start rules, a mapsheet, cards, dice, and more from Catalyst Game Labs (US customers only; shipping & handling not included). Plus, your purchase helps support Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society!

#hasbro #mtg #onednd #walkingdead #battletech

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Evil Genius Productions is bring us the spiritual successor to d20 Modern with its Everyday Heroes RPG headed to Kickstarter on May 17th. Jeff Grub, an original co-creator of d20 Modern is also involved. This time the system will be using 5E D&D instead of 3rd edition and will also include licensed IPs with what they are calling Cinematic Adventures. This will included adventures for Highlander; John Carpenter’s Escape from New York; Roland Emmerich’s Universal Soldier; Rambo: First Blood, First Blood Part 2, and Rambo 3; Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall; The Crow; Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim; and Kong: Skull Island. Quite a list of fan favorites! Is now the time to bring back this idea and give 5E the out of the dungeon, car chases and gun play that a fantasy setting lacks? Download the Quickstart and the Lookbook of classes on their website.

Restoration Games is working with 9th Level Games to bring us a tabletop RPG of their Return to Dark Tower revival setting. From the amount of work put into the new edition of the boardgame it makes sense to use that material for something else. The game will be focused on procedurally generated dungeon-crawling and the campaigns will be short. The system will be the Mazes- RPG system that involves rolling d4, d6, d8 or d10 and using the actions Books, Boots, Blades or Bones. The artwork and setting for Return to Dark Tower look amazing so this may be a game worth looking at. It will be hitting Kickstarter soon. Just one question, where the heck is my copy of Return to Dark Tower? Nothing has shown up yet.

The Free League Blade Runner RPG campaign is live in the first 48 hours became a million dollar baby. That really isn’t surprising due to the popularity of the IP but as we mentioned before: was crowdfunding really necessary? The campaign looks similar to the One Ring second edition with a core rulebook and starter set bundle. There is also a limited edition faux leather and holographic cover and stretch goals are unlocking a gamemaster screen and other accessories. The Year Zero Engine is used again with adjustments made to fit the setting and investigation heavy mechanics. Will you be able to hold on to your humanity or realize that those unicorn dreams were just B-roll from the movie Legend? Oh, and that you are a replicant.

And finally, further proof that Games Workshop has completely abandoned Japan. This time it is undeniable. Big mistake. Guess the Japanese Yen just isn’t strong enough for them to care.
#darktower #bladerunner #freeleague #everydayheroes #d20Modern

Evil Genius website Everyday Heroes Free Stuff:
https://www.evilgeniusgames.com/free-stuff

Blade Runner RPG:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/blade-runner-the-roleplaying-game/

Kutulu in Swedish on DTRPG (afilliate link):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/382400?affiliate_id=2081746

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Beyond the Gates of Antares created by Tim and Rick Priestley and published by Warlord Games is being discontinued. The miniatures will continue to be produced by Skytrex. The game will get a free second edition from the original creators and a new website to support the game separate from Warlord. So players of the game are not being abandoned and thankfully the games remains in the hands of its creators.

Hasbro buys D&D Beyond from Fandom for almost $150 million. This will create more of an ecosystem for Wizards of the Coast to offer digital materials for the game and also collect valuable data from its players. Both the president of Hasbro and Wizards are former Microsoft executives, so this first major purchase of a digital platform is not surprising. D&D Beyond will retain its original management and continue as usual with the only change being the oversight of Hasbro. The only missing piece of the puzzle is a virtual tabletop. Will Roll20 be next?

A quick side note. We missed the news a few weeks back that Paizo will be converting one of their Pathfinder Adventure Paths, Abomination Vaults, for Dungeons and Dragons 5E. Is this just an attempt by Paizo to reach a wider audience and boost the sales of their adventures or does this mean the beginning of the end for Pathfinder? According to Roll20 session data Pathfinder has slipped considerably in recent years with D&D accounting more than 50% of online game sessions.

Fearsome Wilderness is an RPG using the Year Zero Engine about a prison ship that crashes on a densely wooded planet inhabited by unnatural fearsome critters of American lumberjack folklore. The horror is compounded by the fact that waking up from such an extended period of hibernation can do strange things to the mind. A free trial version of the game is available on DriveThruRPG.

Tainted Grail, the boardgame by Awaken Realms, is getting a sequel called Kings of Ruin. The sequel will be crowdfunded on Gamefound, their tabletop funding platform that launched earlier this year. The original game that was released in 2018 the biggest Kickstarter of that year, raising over $6.4 million and is now getting a second edition as part of this release. The new edition of the game promises more refined mechanics and gameplay with additional storylines. Hopefully this will help them establish Gamefound as a legitimate alternative to Kickstarter.

And finally, Games Workshop is partnering with Moon Pig to bring us licensed Warhammer 40k custom birthday cards. Emperor Preserve Us!

Gates of Antares 2nd Edition website:
http://antaresnexus.com/

Fearsome Wilderness RPG Free Trial:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391627

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Another Unboxing! This time the fourth edition of Twilight 2000 by Free League Games. This is the deluxe edition in the metal box and also includes the gamemaster’s screen.

Order it here:
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/store/?collection_id=270655783061

The previous editions of Twilight 2000 available at DriveThruRPG (affiliate link):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?keywords=twilight?affiliate_id=2081746

A classic roleplaying game returns. The new retro-apocalypotic edition of Twilight: 2000, published in partnership with Game Designers’ Workshop, goes back to the roots of the franchise with a boxed set for sandbox roleplaying in the devastation of World War III. The new edition will be the fourth in the series, the first being released by GDW in 1984. Just like the original version, the new edition is set in a year 2000 devastated by war – now in an alternate timeline where the Moscow Coup of 1991 succeeded and the Soviet Union never collapsed.
#twilight2000 #freeleague #frialigan #ww3

After twelve years of working together, Gale Force Nine is suing Wizards of the Coast for non-payment. WotC is stating dissatisfaction with the translation work done for TRPG Club for Korean translation and Black Book Editions for the French translation. ROLE is calling itself a dating app for roleplaying players and groups. They will open their early access to not only Kickstarter backers, but anyone interested in trying the platform. We also talk about failing forward in tabletop game systems like Powered by the Apocalypse, Year Zero Engine, 2d20 and Gumshoe.

#galeforcenine #rolevtt #failingforward #theweekly

 

Free League launches a new Kickstarter for Vaesen, a Nordic horror roleplaying game based on the work of Johan Egerkrans and written by Nils Hintze. Physical copies of the Alien RPG are on the way. Aeldari are gettting assembled. Powers and Perils to be Unearthed soon on the channel. Business Card Jam on Itch.io. Nononovember microfiction month.

Vaesen by Free League on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/vaesen-nordic-horror-roleplaying

Business Card Jam on Itch.io:
https://itch.io/jam/business-card-jam

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

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Idle Red Hands on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/idleredhands

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