RPG Print News – Free League, Modiphius, Mongoose, and More

Mongoose Traveller gets a cargo bay full of rule and adventure support. Modiphius supports 2d20 games including Achtung! Cthulhu and Star Trek. Dragonbane gets a starter guide, GM screen, and more dice. Dungeons & Dragons 5E is supported with a book on ruined lands with lots of new rules and the G.I. JOE RPG gets Cobra miniatures. Pathfinder Second Edition gets mini adventures and the OSR gets new rules. Finally, there are dice bags for Storytelling games.
Note: RPG Print News covers new RPG releases and some classics, reprints, and sales available from retailers. It does not cover products that are only available directly to customers only through Kickstarter or as print on demand.

The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society - Volume 7 | The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society - Volume 8 by Mongoose Publishing

• SYSTEM: Mongoose Traveller Second Edition
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover digest supplements
• RETAIL PRICE: $24.99 each
• DESCRIPTION: In Volume Seven: two adventures, the alien Ithklur, a beast called the Harlari, new gear: Initial 24 Armaments Go Cases and Initial Arms Energy Weapons, new areas of charted space and new encounters, new ship support: Advanced Lasers and the Golden Dawn Yacht, new patrons, vehicle support with the Iderati Space Defence System, Deepnight Character Creation, and Immigration in the Imperium. In Volume Eight: two adventures, the alien Halkans, beasts (Atichnae, Ynchaeir, and Giant Scuttlefish), gear: the Gauss Rifle's Big Brother and Omicron - The Mythical Weaponsmith. New space and NPC encounters. The Sojourner Light Trader, the Hunter career, a patron, BB-2 Nuclear Powered Bus, and more.

Vive La Resistance | Star Trek: Lower Decks Campaign Guide by Modiphius Entertainment

• SYSTEM: Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20/Star Trek Adventures 2d20
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement/hardcover supplement
• RETAIL PRICE: $30.99/$54.99
• DESCRIPTION: Refuse, Resist, Retaliate. PCs get new Resistance archetypes like Assassin, Saboteur, Propagandist, or Resistance Leader, with new weapons, equipment, and tools to help heroic Resistance movements rise up to counter the hated occupier. Resistance games are thrilling but deadly and the possibility of discovery or betrayal is constant but the struggle for liberation can be an inspirational one. Features: archetypes, backgrounds, characteristics, Dauntless Resistance NPCs and evil Nazi nemeses, weapons, tools, equipment, a demonology spellbook, and tables and charts to create randomly-generated Resistance missions and objectives. For GMs there are also five new Resistance-themed sandbox adventures to run. The Star Trek: Lower Decks Campaign Guide provides detailed advice on creating junior officers with the irreverent tone presented in Star Trek: Lower Decks. PC junior officers may clean holodeck biofilters (yuck), conduct an anomaly consolidation day, participate in a second contact, or enjoy some well-earned Buffer Time. New lifepath options for player characters, including eight new playable species (including Cetaceans, Gorn, Pakleds, and Exocomps). Game statistics and graphics for seven spaceframes, including the California, Obena, and Parliament classes, and game statistics for over 20 ships from Starfleet and other polities (as well as a selection of ground vehicles). New gear, technologies, and creatures, and a complete system for creating creatures. More than 50 NPCs of different species. And finally, a three-part mini-campaign.

Dragonbane Quickstart Guide | Dragonbane GM Screen | Dragonbane Dice Set (6) by Free League

• SYSTEM: Dragonbane RPG
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement/screen/dice
• RETAIL PRICE: $6.99/$24.99/$19.99
• DESCRIPTION: The Dragonbane Quickstart Guide includes condensed rules for mirth and mayhem roleplaying, a complete adventure, and five pre-generated characters. PCs experience magic, mystery, and adventure, room for laughs at the table and even a pinch of silliness while still offering brutal challenges for the adventurers. A GM Screen and a set of Dragonbane Dice are also available. Note: one dice set is already included in the Dragonbane RPG box set listed above. The transparent dice include one each of D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20. The D20 has custom engraved symbols on the 1 and 20 sides, to mark dragon rolls and demon rolls.

Wastes of Chaos | Wastes of Chaos (Limited Edition) by Kobold Press

• SYSTEM: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
• PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover supplement
• RETAIL PRICE: $49.99/79.95
• DESCRIPTION: Helps to create adventures in ruined lands, including: chaos magic, corrupted locales, fiendish cults, ancient treasures, four playable races and subraces like automatons and dust goblins, eight subclasses such as the doombringer fighter and the wasteland ranger, four wasteland factions and their followers, 38 new creatures including the eldritch horror and the chaos drake, new spells, magic items, and more. Limited Edition has two-color foil, chaos-flavored endpapers, and a ribbon bookmark.

G.I. Joe RPG Villain Miniatures Set #1 | Cobra/Con Fusion (Free RPG Day 2023) by Renegade Games Studios

• SYSTEM: G.I. JOE RPG
• PRODUCT TYPE: box set of 12 unpainted 28 mm miniatures/softcover adventure
• RETAIL PRICE: $55/$0.01 with another purchase
• DESCRIPTION: The G.I. JOE RPG Villain Miniatures Set #1 includes antagonists or possibly Allies or Player Characters if using the Cobra Codex. Contents: Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander, Destro, Serpentor, Major Bludd, Dr. Mindbender, and more. Cobra/Con Fusion is a crossover scenario (Transformers RPG) with Cobra up to their villainous deeds again, but this time using Cybertronian technology.

Black Pudding #7 | Black Pudding Adventure Journal by Random Order Creations

• SYSTEM: B/X OSR
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplements
• RETAIL PRICE: $6.49 each
• DESCRIPTION: Black Pudding #7 includes a small number of character classes such as the eyeball, as well as a few new monsters, such as the incredibly handsome grave crusader. There is a gazetteer of the world of Yria including the five cities of Yria, many random tables, and small blurbs suggesting other parts of the world. The mythos of twelve deities is also covered. The Black Pudding Adventure Journal has lined pages for recording campaign and adventure notes. The journal is A5 size and has 24 lined pages printed on uncoated 100gsm paper and a 350gsm card cover.

Mini-Dungeon Tome by AAW Games

• SYSTEM: Pathfinder Second Edition
• PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover supplement
• RETAIL PRICE: $59.99
• DESCRIPTION: More than 130 complete and ready-to-run scenarios from the depths of the darkest dungeons to the primal dangers of the untamed wilderness. Themed and organized for convenience, these setting-neutral fantasy adventures work for every party level and size. Reference materials are included in a convenient index.

Vampire the Masquerade Dice Bag | Hunter the Reckoning Dice Bag by Renegade Game Studios

• SYSTEM: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition/Hunter the Reckoning 5th Edition
• PRODUCT TYPE: fabric dice bags
• RETAIL PRICE: $15 each
• DESCRIPTION: Dice bags measure 6.25" x 8.5" when flat and have drawstrings and game symbol.

 

[antiwesley]

I should also point out that retailers of any sort in the State of Wisconsin pay for and are issued a "Reseller Certificate" in order to operate as a business. Regardless of how they acquire it, whether through direct purchase from the company or through the distributor chain, they are resellers.
By using an affiliate link, where you are indeed being paid to sell products for them, it can seriously cast doubt on the authenticity of reviews featured. They may not be directly telling you which products to feature, but that could be influenced by offering a higher rate of kickback to feature one specific product over another.

 

[aramis erak]

Caveat: I was a retailer. Both in the comics and RPG industries. The way that retailers make their money, is by simple math.
By the time it reaches a store purchasers hand, it's gone through at least 3 different hands, with each hand recieving a share of the product cost. For example: I would order 20 copies of "Woeful Comics" number 1, with a cover price of $2.50.

I paid Massive Comics Distributor, $1.25 for each book. A customer buys at cover for 2.50, I have $1.25 in profit. The higher amount I order, the more of a discount I get, and provided they sell, I make a better profit.

No, you have $2.50 of income... and, unless you're running out of someone else's property with no employees, no rent, no licensure fees, and no other expenses, you don't have $1.25 in profit, because profits are, at least as commonly used, after all expenses. So, income tax (a widely variable number nationwide), employees, building expense, electricity, water, potentially also gas for heating. And any other taxes the state and federal government assess

Massive Comics Distributor, however, pays maybe .50 cents a copy for that book. They sell it to me for the $1.25 a copy. .75 cents a copy profit to them. So of that original $2.50, Woeful Comics makes roughly a .25 profit. A mere pittance.

Now, if you ordered direct from Woeful, they'd make $2.25 a book.

Again, no. Because they have costs to cover, as well as the cost of materials. And of physical space (rental, lease, or mortgage, and land and road frontage taxes), and the costs of employees.

Peter would know the rough rates better than I, but he's limited in sharing them due to his employment.

They'd be making about $1.25 more profit than selling it on, but after routine expenses, they're probably profiting in pennies per dollar, almost assuredly under $0.20 per dollar.

I'll note that the novel authors I know all are recieving under $0.05 per novel sold...

Overreduction to ignore the actual profits rather than gross receipts less item warehouser price isn't fair to anyone.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

While I find trolling as amusing as anyone, just to be clear this column lists the retail price (as set by the RPG company) which is the standard cost in the RPG industry. The column doesn't normally cover used books so price fluctuations there do not apply to this column. And while I normally link to Noble Knight (and sometimes DriveThruRPG for the core rules) I do link to other hobby stores on occasion. It is just more difficult with other hobby stores because often times they list old books as new because the copy is new. Then I get yelled at here because the book has been out a few months and isn't "new". Writing in the RPG world is fun!

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

But as long as you get your King's Shilling, you'll happily derp derp away sending them business, when it's better directed at the producers themselves.

I assume these insults are directed at me. You might not be surprised to know that you aren't the first person to insult me online while using a fictious name (yes I'm assuming antiwesley is not your real name). In fact, you aren't even the first person to respond to this column and call me a shill.

In fact, I can't be a shill for Noble Knight because I happily note my working relationship with them with every column I write. Same for DriveThruRPG. And the RPG companies who send me products to write about. I love RPGs, hobby stores, RPG producers, and RPG companies. I enjoy working with any of them who want to be friends and work with me, and I would never hide that information. You called me deceptive and didn't even get it right.

As far as calling my actions foolish and stupid? You have to come up with better insults than that. I believe in you. You can do better. I'm not even going to stoop to respond to that one further.

From my side, you won't see any ill will coming your way. Life is too short to fight with fictious names on the internet about a hobby I love and a craft I'm proud of doing and work I share with other RPG writers and workers. I hope you the very best and that your day is great.

 

[antiwesley]

@Charles Dunwoody You're right, it is an Internet nom de plume. One I've been using for 33 years. It was my character name on a still-extant Multi-User Dungeon called Gateway. (gatewaymud.org FYI)
I was dared to take it because of a shared common hatred of the Wesley Crusher character on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I have been active on the Internet under this nom de plume since. The first iteration of my ignored website, antiwesley.com was in fact called "Uncle Anti's Hometown Death Machine" circa 1993, handcoded on a Tandy 1000 with a 56k modem. I had to travel a half a mile to my BFF's house to see it in actual HTML code on a browser. Since then, not only have I worked at and/or owned my own gaming and comics store..
(Dropbear Comics and Games, owner, Legendary Comics, Lost World of Wonders at all 3 locations, and Galaxy of Books at it's original Zion location) I was a playtester for Tiny Epic Galaxies, Ernie Gygax's "Marmorial Tomb" craziness and much more.

My first KS was Steve Jackson's revitalised Ogre, I'm the 'grandfather' of Dork Stock, the yearly mini-convention for John Kovalic and his works,
I'm purposely not name dropping because I hate people that do that.

And honestly, no, it's not my real name, but there are lots of people who know me by the name and not my RL name.
I started playing D&D in early 80's. My first GenCon was UW Parkside, and I worked as a retailer at the last Milwaukee GenCon.
In between those years, I was frequently found on 3rd shift in the HADES Pro Anime room at GenCon, being a founding member of the group.
(if anyone remembers, I don't know if it was '98 or '99, but I was the person at the end of the Con in the anime room hitting people with thrown posters. )

I'm on the IMDB for the fan videos I worked on, and am still attempting to get things in order to get my Writer's Guild of America member validated, and possibly SAG as well.

I first used the Internet, well, ARPANet in 1987 at UW Parkside, and helped maintain the HUGE Corvus mainframe on campus.

I first really started on the USENET in alt.drwho.creative, and at one point, had my own group, alt.fan.antiwesley.

You can Google 'antiwesley' and find me.

I'm not hiding, you're just not looking. And in reality, I don't bare any ill will towards you either, I do appreciate the work you do, my intital intent was to generate support for buying from the creators of the product, and not a reseller. The afilliate linking process is just another newer for of kickbacks to the afilliate, and can easily be construed as payola. I may sound like I'm accusing you of that, but that's what the program exists for. Regardless of who pays and for what, you are recieving money by using the affiliate links to promote one business over the other.
DriveThruRPG works, because you're essentially buying from the producer, albeit with a loss for payment to OBS for their services.

The strongest case I present here above all else is that there is not a common price guide, essentially, for the secondary market like there are for many other collectibles. (Comics and Funko Pops are two good examples) By essentially providing free advertising for a third party reseller, who I guarantee knowingly gouge on prices for items in the secondary market, and yes, I should know having been one myself in the past, leads to market dominance and cuts out the smaller businesses. First and foremost, as players, GMs and afficiandos, we should be promoting the Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) as a place to get the items. By using affilate links, you directly bypass both the FLGS and the OCP (Original Content Producer) as this is where the people get hooked.
They walk in to their local FLGS, find a game they like, and then proceed to give their business to your affiliate links, denying the FLGS much needed income to stay open. Also, the affillate links do, as it is pointed out, put money in your pocket for the recommendation and eventual purchase. And that brings us back to Payola, or the pay for play scheme.
Even unintentionally, to someone like me, who is a consumer, has been a retailer, and thus, someone with the knowledge of how product is bought and sold, makes your 'reviews' suspect. Because, in a roundabout way, you're being 'paid' to advertise the services of the affilated store in the first place.

That's why I think it better to remove the afilliate links, use links to the creators themselves, and barring anything else, then use the afilliate links. I've missed out on tons of material just because I followed an affilate link, and not going to the OCP to see what else they have.
This, in roundabout way, denies further sales to anyone because it's the only product being advertised, and the sale is diverted to the afilliate, and not the local FLGS or OCP.

So my reference to the "King's Shilling" means that when you accepted that affilate process, it invoked your unspoken alliegance to the allifated store, as you're getting paid to push their website, regardless of what it is. It's payola all over again.

I hope this rambling makes sense to you. I would certainly be glad to help find OCP links for you to make the task easier. I'm a stay at home Dad with nothing better to do.

Some links for me below. I don't hide online.

Links:
IMDB
Soundcloud
Google for "Antiwesley"

 

[Divine2021]

Gosh this is embarrassing.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

@antiwesley I hope you the very best and that your day is great.

 

[talien]

So my reference to the "King's Shilling" means that when you accepted that affilate process, it invoked your unspoken alliegance to the allifated store, as you're getting paid to push their website, regardless of what it is. It's payola all over again.

Charlie's being quite classy about this. Calling what he does payola is doubling down on being rude. Reported.

 

[Umbran]

You can Google 'antiwesley' and find me.

Mod Note:

Credentials are not a free pass to the expectations of the site. Please don't insult people while you are here. Thank you.

 

[antiwesley]

I'm more insulted by people posting that I make them feel like my posts have touched them in a bad place. I'm a polymath with poor social skills. Goes with the territory. Charles wanted to know who I was. I felt it necessary to point it out. I'm insulted by the allowance of the payola schemes that are allowed to run here. And no, I'm not saying that Charles is TOLD what to post, but that he recieves monetary consideration for posting a link to where people can BUY the product that bypasses the businesses that need the income more. If that's not payola, I don't know what is.

And if you're so hurt by the bad man using the word "Payola", why don't you actually learn about what it is. It wasn't just 'pay for play' it was a flat out market manipulation by the record industry to promote THEIR businesses over anyone elses. That certainly sounds like a broken afilliation scheme to me.