A truly eclectic week this time around, with some AWE-driven urban fantasy, superheroic kids gaming, the insanity of Unknown Armies returned, user-created content for 7th Sea, and a webcomics bundle featuring a bunch of gamer-friendly stuff. Go ahead, dive in, and discover something new in every direction!
URBAN SHADOWS: DARK STREETS
While the Apocalypse World Engine continues to escape me personally, I recognize that there are a lot of people who adore the system, and anything from Mark Diaz Truman is pretty much guaranteed to be magic right from the get-go for AWE fans. This is the first supplement for Urban Shadows, which I know is a happy-making moment for many of you.
THE DARKNESS RISES. WILL YOU JOIN IT?
The hum of the city is an ever-present friend, a reminder that no place is safe from the politics of the concrete jungle. Will you rise to meet the wolves at the door? Or try to find some place safe to ride out the coming storm?
The choice is yours.
Dark Streets is the first supplement for Urban Shadows, an urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and monsters vie for control of a modern-day city. This supplement details new rules and settings for Urban Shadows, including:
Urban Shadows makes use of the same rules-light engine as Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts, and Dungeon World—while drawing on fiction as diverse as The Wire, The Dresden Files, and The Shield—to create a game of urban politics and supernatural drama. Dark Streets expands on the game’s original vision to offer new choices, new settings, and new mechanics that will engage experienced and new players alike.
The streets are waiting for you. What will you make of their promises and lies?
SUPER KIDS
The Hero Kids line is arguably the most popular and successful line of RPG products developed for the youngest players in our culture. Bringing kids into gaming is a laudable goal, and now someone’s taken the step towards providing supers gaming for this beloved game.
Superhero Gaming for Hero Kids.
Capital City needs superheroes. The police are kept busy dealing with all sorts of problems. Criminals, monsters, aliens, and super villains pose constant threats. This is a city that can use all the help it can get. That’s where super kids come in!
Super kids have awesome powers. They can call down lightning on their adversaries, fly over the battlefield, summon minions to do their bidding, shapeshift into powerful creatures, pick up and toss enemies, and more. Some are as tall as giants, others have wings, horns, and tails, and still others equip themselves with gadgets like water cannons and snowball bazookas.
This expansion allows you to introduce your young players to superhero roleplaying games using the Hero Kids’ rule system. It provides details on the setting, inventory and skills, and 14 ready-made Super Kids characters. Super Kids can be set in any time or place. Other Hero Kids’ material can be adapted by Game Masters to suit your Super Kids gaming.
UNKNOWN ARMIES
Those who know me know I am not a horror fan from any angle, but there is no denying the importance of the genre (and its many iterations), and among horror-themed games, Unknown Armies is considered a masterpiece that bends the genre into some really intriguing shapes. Featuring a huge all-star cast of writers and designers – Cam Banks, Shoshana Kessock, Ryan Macklin, Chad Underkoffler, Monica Valentinelli, Filamena Young, and twisted (and very cool) creator Greg Stolze among them – this is the first book in the revised presentation, the one that gets you into playing. Check below for links to the other two.
An occult game about broken people conspiring to fix the world.
It’s about getting what you want.
Unknown Armies presents magick as it might exist in a world informed by crime fiction and secret histories, as twisting wrinkles in reality created by greater and greater risk, sacrifice, and obsession. As a player, you are confronted by the consequences of your character’s actions, and challenged by the implicit threat of a world shaped by the will of those who want something more than you do.
It’s about being relentlessly, hopelessly human.
Book One: Play is the book for players. It details:
Created by Greg Stolze and John Tynes, Unknown Armies presents an entirely original yet disturbingly familiar approach to mystery, horror, and action in roleplaying games.
This digital product includes PDF, ePUB, and MOBI files.
Also look for these Unknown Armies digital editions:
Unknown Armies Book Two: Run and Unknown Armies Book Three: Reveal
Slightly different that the typical Pick, today I am pointing out both a source of added material for your 7th Sea game and a way for you to share your own crafted content (and even get paid!). Today, John Wick Presents launches their 7th Sea Explorer’s Society, which is much akin to the other such programs DriveThruRPG has worked with publishers to implement (including WotC, Monte Cook Games, and Mongoose. These are ways for those of you with game designer dreams and creative instincts to officially share your ideas, perhaps even with a chance to make some money doing so.
Welcome to the 7th Sea Explorer’s Society!
Are you a 7th Sea GM in search of new adventures on the high seas? A player looking for heroic inspiration? A gaming group excited to hack the core rules?
The Explorer’s Society is a digital platform for creating self-published content for 7th Sea: 2nd Edition—like adventures, homebrew rules, characters, and more. As a creator, you can share your content free of charge, set a price that feels right for you, or choose a pay-what-you-want option.
What kind of content can I find here?
You can expect to find adventures, rules hacks, heroes and villains for jumpstarting your campaigns, and any number of new traits, backgrounds, advantages, and skills. Looking for new dueling moves? How about forbidden sorceries and secret societies? You can find those here, too!
For a complete list of what is and isn’t allowed in the Explorer’s Society, review our content guidelines here.
How do I start publishing content?
You’ll want to start by reading over the Explorer’s Society Content Guidelines. Then, check out our creator resources. We’ve made layout templates and artwork available to make creating easier for you, and to ensure all Explorer’s Society meets our specifications.
After creating your title, visit the account page and look in the “My Content” section. There you will find the link “Add a new title”. You must agree to the Community Content Agreement in order to upload a new title.
After publication, all Explorer’s Society content is available here. Here you can check sales history, view reviews and fan discussions of your work, and book royalties through PayPal. We’ve created a helpful guide for sharing your work with the world, which includes advice on creating eye-catching titles and finding publicity on social media.
Revenue for Explorer’s Society content is split between you, OneBookShelf (the company that manages DriveThruRPG), and John Wick Presents. We’ll split the revenues with you 50/50, after OneBookShelf takes their share for running the site.
THE HERO INITIATIVE WEBCOMIC BUNDLE
A little something different today, friends. There’s plenty of gamer geek humor found among many of the webcomic collections in this bundle (Dork Covenant, Goblins, Pewfell, Weregeek), so it’s definitely a good Pick for RPG folks. More importantly, a portion of the proceeds go to the Hero Initiative, a most excellent resource for comic creators in need of help.
The bundle includes:
So there's the Week, folks! Lots of good stuff, some old, some brand new, and all fun for gamers.
Speaking of "fun for gamers," I've got my usual plethora of cool gaming stuff planned. Tonight, we regather the Storm Wardens in preparation for re-launching my Modern Gods setting for Prowlers & Paragons: Ultimate Edition. Though you've seen a lot of discussion from me about my Freedom Squadron project, Modern Gods is the other major property I am developing this year outside of my Savage Rifts work. You'll start seeing more of that popping up on my Patreon in the coming weeks.
Tomorrow, I am joining my good friend and new roommate, Donavin, as we journey into the Galaxy Far, Far Away and play some Star Wars.
Sunday is a day for getting caught up on a lot of things, including a major meeting of interested parties to discuss the future of Freedom Squadron and VENOM Assault. I also have a meeting with P&P creator Leonard Pimentel to work out more plans for the new version and the aforementioned Modern Gods. Exciting stuff!
Here's hoping you have a grand weekend of excitement and fun!
The Adventure Continues...
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
URBAN SHADOWS: DARK STREETS
While the Apocalypse World Engine continues to escape me personally, I recognize that there are a lot of people who adore the system, and anything from Mark Diaz Truman is pretty much guaranteed to be magic right from the get-go for AWE fans. This is the first supplement for Urban Shadows, which I know is a happy-making moment for many of you.
THE DARKNESS RISES. WILL YOU JOIN IT?
The hum of the city is an ever-present friend, a reminder that no place is safe from the politics of the concrete jungle. Will you rise to meet the wolves at the door? Or try to find some place safe to ride out the coming storm?
The choice is yours.
Dark Streets is the first supplement for Urban Shadows, an urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and monsters vie for control of a modern-day city. This supplement details new rules and settings for Urban Shadows, including:
- Four new character Archetypes, each pushing the boundaries of Urban Shadows’ themes and mechanics: The Hallowed, The Revenant, The Scholar, and The Vessel.
- Essays from the game’s creators — Andrew Medeiros and Mark Diaz Truman — on running campaigns in historical eras and creating your own custom playbooks.
- Six city guides set in diverse urban centers like Los Angeles, Bangalore, and London, each designed to flesh out your game with exciting and involving fiction.
- A detailed look at New York City, a unique setting guide that features Threats, custom moves, and NPCs across the sprawling metropolis of the five boroughs!
Urban Shadows makes use of the same rules-light engine as Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts, and Dungeon World—while drawing on fiction as diverse as The Wire, The Dresden Files, and The Shield—to create a game of urban politics and supernatural drama. Dark Streets expands on the game’s original vision to offer new choices, new settings, and new mechanics that will engage experienced and new players alike.
The streets are waiting for you. What will you make of their promises and lies?
SUPER KIDS
The Hero Kids line is arguably the most popular and successful line of RPG products developed for the youngest players in our culture. Bringing kids into gaming is a laudable goal, and now someone’s taken the step towards providing supers gaming for this beloved game.
Superhero Gaming for Hero Kids.
Capital City needs superheroes. The police are kept busy dealing with all sorts of problems. Criminals, monsters, aliens, and super villains pose constant threats. This is a city that can use all the help it can get. That’s where super kids come in!
Super kids have awesome powers. They can call down lightning on their adversaries, fly over the battlefield, summon minions to do their bidding, shapeshift into powerful creatures, pick up and toss enemies, and more. Some are as tall as giants, others have wings, horns, and tails, and still others equip themselves with gadgets like water cannons and snowball bazookas.
This expansion allows you to introduce your young players to superhero roleplaying games using the Hero Kids’ rule system. It provides details on the setting, inventory and skills, and 14 ready-made Super Kids characters. Super Kids can be set in any time or place. Other Hero Kids’ material can be adapted by Game Masters to suit your Super Kids gaming.
UNKNOWN ARMIES
Those who know me know I am not a horror fan from any angle, but there is no denying the importance of the genre (and its many iterations), and among horror-themed games, Unknown Armies is considered a masterpiece that bends the genre into some really intriguing shapes. Featuring a huge all-star cast of writers and designers – Cam Banks, Shoshana Kessock, Ryan Macklin, Chad Underkoffler, Monica Valentinelli, Filamena Young, and twisted (and very cool) creator Greg Stolze among them – this is the first book in the revised presentation, the one that gets you into playing. Check below for links to the other two.
An occult game about broken people conspiring to fix the world.
It’s about getting what you want.
Unknown Armies presents magick as it might exist in a world informed by crime fiction and secret histories, as twisting wrinkles in reality created by greater and greater risk, sacrifice, and obsession. As a player, you are confronted by the consequences of your character’s actions, and challenged by the implicit threat of a world shaped by the will of those who want something more than you do.
It’s about being relentlessly, hopelessly human.
Book One: Play is the book for players. It details:
- Obsession and identity.
- All of the rules for resolving actions.
- The central shock gauge mechanic.
- How to avoid fights, and how to deal with them when you’re dragged into them anyway.
- The magick of adepts and avatars.
- Gorgeous full-color art and layout.
Created by Greg Stolze and John Tynes, Unknown Armies presents an entirely original yet disturbingly familiar approach to mystery, horror, and action in roleplaying games.
This digital product includes PDF, ePUB, and MOBI files.
Also look for these Unknown Armies digital editions:
Unknown Armies Book Two: Run and Unknown Armies Book Three: Reveal
Slightly different that the typical Pick, today I am pointing out both a source of added material for your 7th Sea game and a way for you to share your own crafted content (and even get paid!). Today, John Wick Presents launches their 7th Sea Explorer’s Society, which is much akin to the other such programs DriveThruRPG has worked with publishers to implement (including WotC, Monte Cook Games, and Mongoose. These are ways for those of you with game designer dreams and creative instincts to officially share your ideas, perhaps even with a chance to make some money doing so.
Welcome to the 7th Sea Explorer’s Society!
Are you a 7th Sea GM in search of new adventures on the high seas? A player looking for heroic inspiration? A gaming group excited to hack the core rules?
The Explorer’s Society is a digital platform for creating self-published content for 7th Sea: 2nd Edition—like adventures, homebrew rules, characters, and more. As a creator, you can share your content free of charge, set a price that feels right for you, or choose a pay-what-you-want option.
What kind of content can I find here?
You can expect to find adventures, rules hacks, heroes and villains for jumpstarting your campaigns, and any number of new traits, backgrounds, advantages, and skills. Looking for new dueling moves? How about forbidden sorceries and secret societies? You can find those here, too!
For a complete list of what is and isn’t allowed in the Explorer’s Society, review our content guidelines here.
How do I start publishing content?
You’ll want to start by reading over the Explorer’s Society Content Guidelines. Then, check out our creator resources. We’ve made layout templates and artwork available to make creating easier for you, and to ensure all Explorer’s Society meets our specifications.
After creating your title, visit the account page and look in the “My Content” section. There you will find the link “Add a new title”. You must agree to the Community Content Agreement in order to upload a new title.
After publication, all Explorer’s Society content is available here. Here you can check sales history, view reviews and fan discussions of your work, and book royalties through PayPal. We’ve created a helpful guide for sharing your work with the world, which includes advice on creating eye-catching titles and finding publicity on social media.
Revenue for Explorer’s Society content is split between you, OneBookShelf (the company that manages DriveThruRPG), and John Wick Presents. We’ll split the revenues with you 50/50, after OneBookShelf takes their share for running the site.
THE HERO INITIATIVE WEBCOMIC BUNDLE
A little something different today, friends. There’s plenty of gamer geek humor found among many of the webcomic collections in this bundle (Dork Covenant, Goblins, Pewfell, Weregeek), so it’s definitely a good Pick for RPG folks. More importantly, a portion of the proceeds go to the Hero Initiative, a most excellent resource for comic creators in need of help.
The bundle includes:
- Boston Metaphysical Society – Chapter One
- Dork Covenant
- Evil Inc.: Annual Report Vol. 1
- Girl Genius Volume One (Color Edition)
- Goblins – The Book One Package
- God Child #1
- Makeshift Miracle Book 1: The Girl from Nowhere
- Pewfell in Welcome to Spirekassle
- Serenity Rose Vol. 1
- Sword & Sarcasm: The Complete Series
- The Birds Comic Collection Vol 1
- The Devil’s Panties Vol 1
- Tribute Waters: Vol 1
- We’re Gonna Need a BIGGER Plunger!
- Weregeek: Vol 1
So there's the Week, folks! Lots of good stuff, some old, some brand new, and all fun for gamers.
Speaking of "fun for gamers," I've got my usual plethora of cool gaming stuff planned. Tonight, we regather the Storm Wardens in preparation for re-launching my Modern Gods setting for Prowlers & Paragons: Ultimate Edition. Though you've seen a lot of discussion from me about my Freedom Squadron project, Modern Gods is the other major property I am developing this year outside of my Savage Rifts work. You'll start seeing more of that popping up on my Patreon in the coming weeks.
Tomorrow, I am joining my good friend and new roommate, Donavin, as we journey into the Galaxy Far, Far Away and play some Star Wars.
Sunday is a day for getting caught up on a lot of things, including a major meeting of interested parties to discuss the future of Freedom Squadron and VENOM Assault. I also have a meeting with P&P creator Leonard Pimentel to work out more plans for the new version and the aforementioned Modern Gods. Exciting stuff!
Here's hoping you have a grand weekend of excitement and fun!
The Adventure Continues...
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
