RPG Print News – Chaosium, Goodman Games, and More

The 90s are back with both Rifts and Vampire the Masquerade core rulebooks in print. D&D gets all the adventures of course and the most expensive GM screen I’ve ever seen. Call of Cthulhu gets an updated starter set. And Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG gets supplements. Finally, The Expanse Roleplaying Game goes beyond the ring and into whole new worlds of adventure.

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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 through kickstarter or as print on demand.

Rifts (Ultimate Edition) | The Compendium of Modern Weapons (2022 Printing) by Palladium

• SYSTEM: Palladium game system
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover core rules/supplement
• RETAIL PRICE: $34.99/$26.95
• DESCRIPTION: Rifts. Just look at that cover. PCs may bump into a dragon, cyborg, monster, giant robot, alien, vampire, or even a god. PCs enjoy wonder, danger, courage, and endless adventure in a post-apocalyptic Earth setting. Humanity battles for survival against aliens and supernatural invaders from the Rifts. Magic and technology both exist and often clash. PCs options include Dragon Hatchlings, Cyber-Knights, Glitter Boys, Ley Line Walkers, Techno-Wizards, Crazies, and Juicers. Features: cyborgs, robots, power armors, weapons, armor, vehicles, equipment, 140+ magic spells, 90 psionic powers, and a world overview. If you look up the word gonzo in the dictionary don’t be surprised if you see this book cover. The Compendium of Modern Weapons covers 450+ weapons from around the world, listed by country and type. 106 small arms – pistols and revolvers. 92 military grade rifles. 68 submachine-guns. 43 anti-tank weapons. 38 hand grenades & pyrotechnic devices. 28 machine-guns. 25 grenade launchers. 13 shotguns. 17 anti-aircraft, light support, and mortars. 21 armored vehicles. 17 types of body armor. Flamethrowers, EOD (explosive ordinance disposal), and riot control gear. Plus some bayonets, special magazines, scopes, and accessories. Historically and technically accurate. Suitable for most game systems.

Necropolis (5E) | Necropolis (S&W) | Necropolis GM Screen (5E) | Necropolis (5E) (Leatherbound Edition) | Necropolis (S&W) (Leatherbound Edition) by Frog God Games

• SYSTEM: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition or Swords & Wizardry
• PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover supplements/GM screen/leatherbound exclusive hardcovers
• RETAIL PRICE: $55/$60/$200
• DESCRIPTION: Necropolis is designed for a party of six to eight seasoned characters starting between 7th and 9th level and will challenge even the most experienced players. Based on an original work by Gary Gygax, Necropolis is a desert adventure set in the triple Kingdom of Khemit, on the continent of Libynos in the Lost Lands. The GM Screen depicts an epic battle in a continuous full-color image across four landscape panels. The inside has information for DMs to help run the adventure. The leatherbound edition is library-bound and stitched, cased in natural black leather, and available in a limited quantity.

Quests of Doom #1 Volume 1 | Quests of Doom #1 Volume 2 | Quests of Doom #2 by Frog God Games

• SYSTEM: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
• PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover adventures
• RETAIL PRICE: $40.00/$25/$25
• DESCRIPTION: Quests of Doom Volume 1 contains 12 adventures with an AD&D 1E feel. Examples: Emeralds of Highfang by Ed Greenwood (Emeralds of Highfang), Deep in the Vale by Jim Ward, and The Dead from Above by Michael Curtis. Volume 2 contains six adventures such as Dread Dragon Temple by Jim War and The Darkening of Namjan Forest by Michael Curtis. Quests of Doom 2 covers six adventures for 1st to 6th level PCs. This sequel to the two-volume Quests of Doom offers adventures from the weird and terrifying interior of the Spire of Iron and Crystal (depicted on the cover) to the heat-misted Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti.

Call of Cthulhu Starter Set (40th Anniversary) | Cults of Cthulhu by Chaosium

• SYSTEM: Call of Cthulhu
• PRODUCT TYPE: box set
• RETAIL PRICE: $24.99
• DESCRIPTION: Horror RPG with many mysteries, insanity, and mind bending monsters and spells. Inside this box: Book One: introduction and Alone Against The Flames - a solo introductory adventure to teach the basics. Book Two: the basic rules needed for starting play. Book Three: three starter adventures. Also includes five ready-to-play game characters, blank character sheets, six polyhedral dice, and handouts. Cults of Cthulhu delves into the human side of the dark and horrific world of those who worship the dead yet dreaming abominations known as Great Cthulhu. Inside: a history of Cthulhu cults from the Victorian era to Modern-Day. five Cthulhu cults, detailed guidance on designing cults and their leaders including a special “Cults Worksheet”, profiles for a range of cultists, monsters, artifacts, spells, and three scenarios: Gaslight Victorian, Modern-Day, and 1920s.

Chanters in the Dark | The Book of Fallen Gods by Goodman Games

• SYSTEM: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplements
• RETAIL PRICE: $10 each
• DESCRIPTION: In Chanters in the Dark, deep below Aereth and stranded on a dark stony beach, the PCs must deal with beast-men, strange growths, and the Caretaker if they wish to escape. The PCs must uncover the Chanters in the Dark secrets if they ever wish to see the sun again. The Book of Fallen Gods introduces seven new with powers ranging from love to destruction.

Vampire the Masquerade (5th Edition, 3rd Printing) by Renegade Games

• SYSTEM: Storyteller
• PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover core rulebook
• RETAIL PRICE: $55
• DESCRIPTION: PCs are creepy predatory vampires. They play a Storytelling game of personal and political horror and remain fearful of the inhuman conspiracies that surround them. As a vampire, PCs suffer the pangs of the Hunger, the relentless and terrible thirst for human blood. If they refuse to deal with it, it will overcome their mind and drive them to terrible acts to slake it. Like drinking too much and getting Taco Bell at midnight. So many regrets. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until recently.

Beyond the Ring by Green Ronin

• SYSTEM: The Expanse Roleplaying Game
• PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement
• RETAIL PRICE: $34.95
• DESCRIPTION: Advances the timeline to the fourth novel in the The Expanse series and details the Ring, a portal centered on an ancient alien station that connects to more than a thousand other portals leading to a thousand different star systems. Includes tools for Game Masters to design their own systems for characters to explore as the unlocking of the ring gates has opened vast frontiers for human settlement and exploration.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Is Quests of Doom new in print? I thought they’d been in print for years now?

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

Is Quests of Doom new in print? I thought they’d been in print for years now?

There are other versions of these in print. These were printed in 2022; not sure if the adventures are all new or not. Frog God Games website doesn't make it clear.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Yeah Quests of Doom are just reprints and not new or revised. Doesn't even look like they upgraded the art?

 

[Teo Twawki]

As a vampire, PCs suffer the pangs of the Hunger, the relentless and terrible thirst for human blood. If they refuse to deal with it, it will overcome their mind and drive them to terrible acts to slake it. Like drinking too much and getting Taco Bell at midnight.

Isn't drinking too much and getting Taco Bell at midnight the perfect bait to kill a vampire?
Vampire lives a thousand years until they chomp a human after midnight at a Taco Bell...

So many regrets.

One final and fatal regret for the neckbiter.

 

[wellis]

How is the Palladium game system doing? I've heard so much of how screwed up the rules are, how Siembieda backseat GMing in the rulebooks was annoying, how silly the Mach numbers in space were, how rigid the metaplot was, and so on it's a wonder they're still in business.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

How is the Palladium game system doing? I've heard so much of how screwed up the rules are, how Siembieda backseat GMing in the rulebooks was annoying, how silly the Mach numbers in space were, how rigid the metaplot was, and so on it's a wonder they're still in business.

Palladium

I don't play their RPGs but they seem to be doing well with a professional website and an active forum. Any rumors online are usually worse than what is actually happening around game tables in many cases I've found.

 

[aramis erak]

How is the Palladium game system doing? I've heard so much of how screwed up the rules are, how Siembieda backseat GMing in the rulebooks was annoying, how silly the Mach numbers in space were, how rigid the metaplot was, and so on it's a wonder they're still in business.

Palladium's games tend to do well with middle-school and high school students.
The combat mechanic is a simple d20 sequential rolls (attack, parry/dodge, roll with impact); simple, fairly quick, but also very wiffy.
The skill mechanic is simple: 1d100 < Skill + mods
All skills advance in lockstep as the character levels.
HP are low gain for all...
The settings are a bit over the top, the mecha combat rife with almost meaningless hit locations and only a few with randomization of location hit. But the settings are also rich, written in an accessible style,, well illustrated...

So, they have a strong fanbase, steady sales, and, thanks to a financial crisis, the Rifts setting ported to Savage Worlds

 

[wellis]

I hear a big issue is the ludicrous amounts of everything requiring megadamage weapons or something?

 

[TerraDave]

Palladium's games tend to do well with middle-school and high school students.
The combat mechanic is a simple d20 sequential rolls (attack, parry/dodge, roll with impact); simple, fairly quick, but also very wiffy.
The skill mechanic is simple: 1d100 < Skill + mods
All skills advance in lockstep as the character levels.
HP are low gain for all...
The settings are a bit over the top, the mecha combat rife with almost meaningless hit locations and only a few with randomization of location hit. But the settings are also rich, written in an accessible style,, well illustrated...

So, they have a strong fanbase, steady sales, and, thanks to a financial crisis, the Rifts setting ported to Savage Worlds

It’s sort of an ultimate fantasy heartbreaker thing. But actually making money, kinda.

And there is a lot creativity across a lot of games.