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Richard Jansen-Parkes

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Richard Jansen-Parkes (Winghorn) is part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program.

Jun 25

None of the Warhammer games have ever bothered with much in the way of subtlety and Age of Sigmar - Soulbound follows this fine tradition with a fiery enthusiasm. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Wrath & Glory (Cubicle 7 Re-Release) Review

Jun 11

While it has its quirks and complications, the simple fact that Wrath & Glory works at all is strangely impressive. For the first time, it allows you to play out almost any story you could imagine...

Enemy Within Part One: Enemy in Shadows - A Review

Nov 22

The latest edition of Warhammer Fantasy RPG is built on a charming blend of old-school rules and modern sensibilities, and while Enemy in Shadows certainly does a wonderful job of capturing...

Robotech: The Macross Saga RPG Review

Nov 12

It was hard to know what to expect when opening up a Robotech RPG. Would it be a game about giant robots punching each other through space or 80s pop-star drama? Would it be a campy slice of...

Band of Blades: A Tightly-Woven Military Fantasy

Sep 17

For all the swords, magic and monsters that run through the pages of Band of Blades it stands utterly distinct from traditional fantasy RPGs. Where others dream of shelf-spanning sagas, it instead...

Choose Your Hand: A Review of Cultzilla's Deck of Illusions & Deck of Many Things

Aug 06

Rocking beautiful art and solid quality, Cultzilla’s duo of magical decks are worthwhile investments if you’re hungry for a little more atmosphere at the table, have a party willing to risk a little chaos and don’t mind dropping some extra cash on your game.

Rough Nights & Hard Days: A Review

Jul 05

Built with the aim of rejecting linear adventure writing, this slim collection of tales for Warhammer Fantasy RPG’s fourth edition blends the tangled storytelling of a Shakespearean farce with a generous helping of the blood, darkness and doom that are the setting’s calling-cards.

Things from the Flood: A Review

May 07

Sequels can be a tricky thing to handle, especially when they promise a darker, edgier tone. Despite its much gloomier tone, however, Things from the Flood manages to avoid difficult-second-album syndrome with a game that neatly blends weird sci-fi mysteries and teenage drama, though sometimes it’s hard to tell which aspect is the most dangerous and unsettling.

Bree-Land Region Guide: A Review

Mar 14

In the Lord of the Rings the quaint little town of Bree marked the place where a dangerous journey grew into a true adventure. Now, with the Bree-Land Region Guide it can easily play the same role for the Adventures in Middle-Earth, framing the party’s first few steps from humdrum civilisation into dangerous wilds.

WFRPG Starter Set Review: Nailing the Fundamentals

Feb 06

There are a few fairly simple elements needed to make a solid RPG starter set, and while Warhammer Fantasy RPG 4E’s attempt won’t blow any minds it absolutely nails the fundamentals that new players need to get a game running.

What's the Best Holiday to Game? U.K. Edition

Nov 27

Last week Mike Tresca took an American perspective on the best holidays for dropping fireballs on your friends and family, but how do things fare for those of us living beyond the reach of star-spangled banners and thanksgiving turkeys? Well, here’s the resident Brit to fill you in on how we do it in the land of cinematic fog, hot tea and indecipherable regional accents.

Unmasking Masks of Nyarlathotep

Oct 31

The twisted horrors and blood-crazed cultists of Masks of Nyarlathotep helped define the feel of Lovecraftian roleplaying more than three decades ago, and while this sprawling update weighs heavily on both the wallet and the bookshelf it does an excellent job of adapting the classic campaign for more modern tastes.

"Exploding With Excitement": Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000AD Kickstarter

Sep 26

“When we approached Darren Pearce to write on the core rulebook, he exploded with excitement,” says Russ Morrisey, designer of Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000AD and founder of EN World. “I mean literally. It was messy.”

Delving Beneath the Surface of Runequest: Glorantha

Sep 24

At first glance it would be easy to dismiss Runequest: Glorantha as just another addition to the pile of fantasy RPGs clogging up the shelves of your local store, but if you delve beneath the surface you’ll find a fascinating blend of wild heroism and ruthless simulation that goes to create a game that offers something utterly unique – so long as the players are willing to put in the effort, that is.

Too Angry to Die: Building a Tanky Barbarian

Sep 13

This article is the first in a series of guides to building characters in D&D 5E. The plan is to get into some wackier character concepts further down the line, but we’re going to start with something simple (and, conveniently, right at the front of the Player’s Handbook): creating the most durable barbarian possible.

Welcome to The Witcher RPG

Sep 01

There are plenty of interesting ideas and novel approaches to adapting parts of the videogame to the tabletop, but The Witcher is tough as dragonhide and as intimidating as any wraith. But if you...

Open Up New Worlds Of Gaming With The Open Legend RPG

Jul 13

Many RPGs promise to let us do exactly what we want, but few of them achieve this goal quite as well as Open Legend. With a bit of effort this setting-free system can allow you to build everything from a band of medieval knights to off-brand X-Men, though this comes at the cost of a little more complexity than you'd expect from the average d20-based game.

Getting Dangerous With The Elite: Dangerous Role-Playing Game

May 12

Some RPGs are suited to telling a tight story, and some work best in a sandbox where players can explore and adventure as they please. The Elite: Dangerous RPG definitely falls into the latter category.

Go To Infinity And Beyond With Infinity RPG From Modiphius

Apr 14

There are some role-playing games that aim to strip out complexity wherever possible - in the rules, in character creation, even in the setting itself. And then there are those like the Infinity RPG Core Book which choose to embrace it; to lean into a universe stuffed to the brim with backstory and try to lay down mechanics for everything it throws at you.

Looking At Genesys From Fantasy Flight Games

Mar 02

The quest for a truly universal RPG system has been bubbling away for decades, and while Genesys won't be to everybody's taste it certainly carves out its own niche in the middle-ground between lighter systems and their monolithic, crunch-heavy cousins.