Arrgggh! A packed starter set is available for Pirate Borg, an adventure for Delta Green RPG, and a supplement for Colonial Gothic. Dungeons & Dragons also gets a massive box set, and the solo RPG Twelve Years goes nautical. HeroQuest RPG gets updated and is back as QuestWorlds. Finally, a new RPG with plenty of supplements arrives that is a mash-up of magic and mutations in a post-apocalyptic ruined world.
Note: RPG Print News covers recent RPG releases and some classics, reprints, and sales available from retailers. It does not cover products that are available directly to customers only as print on demand.
Pirate Borg - Starter Set by Limithron
SYSTEM: rules from Mork Borg
PRODUCT TYPE: boxed starter set
RETAIL PRICE: $49.99
DESCRIPTION: Includes character creation, rules, an adventure, 12 resin dice, 58 tokens, 22 reference cards, five double-sided poster maps, 25 character sheets, six character worksheets, and two dry-erase markers. Free League was kind enough to send me a review copy, please see my thoughts* at the end of this week’s article. The nice thing about the starter rules is character creation is included along with the rules. Players get to make characters not just play pre-gens. The included adventure, Trapped in the Tropics, is designed to introduce the system and includes GM tips, directions, and a well laid out adventure.
Owlshead Mountain by Arc Dream Publishing
SYSTEM: Delta Green RPG
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover adventure
RETAIL PRICE: $19.99
DESCRIPTION: The body of that murderous old moonshiner, Cooter McGee, was never found. Every time a hiker or a partying college student goes missing on Owlshead Mountain, people say Cooter McGee did it and they laugh when they say it. But never too loudly. In addition, two surveyors disappeared and floods have killed over a dozen searchers. Now two more people have vanished while preparing to blast and build a set of world-class ski slopes. Delta Green sends the PC Agents to deal with the threat hiding in the Vermont woods of Owlshead Mountain once and for all.
A Heart in a Jar by Rogue Games
SYSTEM: Colonial Gothic Fourth Edition
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement
RETAIL PRICE: $12.99
DESCRIPTION: In Philadelphia, 1775 the PCs investigate the Palmer House. In the spring of 1769, Tobias Palmer simply didn’t come home, and his wife Evelyn left for New Orleans. His brother Lawrence inherited the house. In By 1773 it was rented to Wallace Shifter. By 1774, Shifter, blood-soaked and shaking, fled in the middle of the night. His note: There is something in that house. And it answers to the Devil. Now Lawrence Palmer is desperate enough to hire anyone willing to step through those doors, even the PCs. The house stands silent, waiting, while something moves behind the walls. Something that hungers.
QuestWorlds by Chaosium
SYSTEM: unique narrative system:
PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover core rulebook
RETAIL PRICE: $49.99
DESCRIPTION: A self-contained rules-light system based on the previous HeroQuest RPG. A simple core mechanic: d20 opposed with varying levels of results. Focuses on resolving in-play conflicts quickly and easily. Optional rules allowing a GM to customize the game to his or her setting. Fast character creation rules get PCs ready right away.
Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide (hardcover) by Fractured Brain Studios
Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide (softcover)
Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide (hardcover)
Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide (softcover)
SYSTEM: unique d20 roll low
PRODUCT TYPE: core rulebooks hardcovers or softcovers
RETAIL PRICE: $50 or $40 each
DESCRIPTION: I have to admit, the Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide looks intriguing like something from the late 80s/early 90s shambling forth into modern times complete with hardcovers that sound like a mash-up between D&D and Gamma World. In two weeks more coverage on this system: lots of adventures and setting support already available. Players choose to play a barbarian, druid, engineer, mutant, scoundrel, or wizard. What a great gonzo combination. The world ended in death and radioactive decay. Centuries passed. From the ashes rose the PCs: a new breed of survivors exploring the wastelands. Of course there are both magic and psionics. The world lore covers six territories with three provinces each. Supplements available now provide more detail on these territories. The Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide includes expanded rules and tables for combat including fumbles and crits, reaction tables, random encounter tables for all terrain types & weather, magic backlash rules, creatures, rules for mutating creatures, four adventures, and GM advice.
Twelve Years at Sea by Max Moon Games
Twelve Years at Sea - Campaign Journal & Quick Reference Poster
SYSTEM: Twelve Years
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement/journal and poster combo
RETAIL PRICE: $20/$10
DESCRIPTION: Twelve Years at Sea is a seafaring expansion drawing inspiration from the weird fiction masters, ancient mythology, and the monster-filled spectacles of Ray Harryhausen's legendary films. Every twelve years, the moon swells to gargantuan size and catastrophic floods drown the highest peaks and drain the deepest ocean floors. The PC faces dangers brought about because of the grief of a sorcerer whose love was lost to the nameless winds of the far seas. As part of a crew, the solo PC will help battle krakens beneath new stars, explore strange islands, and face the danger of uncharted waters. A journal with a quick reference poster is also available.
Terror from the UnderDeep by Goodman Games
SYSTEM: Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
PRODUCT TYPE: box set
RETAIL PRICE: $79.99
DESCRIPTION: Giants and the Underdark combined in a massive box set. Hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud and storm giant clans have allied to collect electrum. Their tracks lead to an abandoned city of the UnderDeep. PCs of levels eight to 16 go in to stop them. (Wow, that is quite the range of levels.) In the lightless caverns, the PCs face off sinister cultists who give the giants’ offerings to a misshapen kraken lord. Includes: four books, three poster maps, and cardboard tokens.
*Quick review of Pirate Borg - Starter Set. When I reviewed the Soulbound Starter Set I noted it was packed with content. The Pirate Borg - Starter Set raises the bar in starter sets by another magnitude. Full character creation supported with six dry erase character creation cards and a pad of character sheets. Plus, rules along with a starter adventure for the GM. Plenty of poster maps, tokens, dice, and even two dry erase markers for character creation.
A GM can actually start a game of Pirate Borg with this starter set before buying the core rulebook. And the game is meant to be played. The GM can show the PCs a map of the Dark Caribbean and not one but two battlemaps of ships they can command and sail. The adventure walks both the GM and players through the game rules while presenting an exciting challenge as well. Art is amazing. Maps usable, detailed, and well made. Layout is game table friendly but much easier to read and parse than Mork Borg. Everything is high quality and designed to be used at an actual game table. The best starter set I’ve seen yet with the full character creation rules and components like dice, maps, tokens, and character creation cards usable well after the included adventure is run.
The first two stories by Charlie featuring the questing soldier Hart and his biomechanical partner Hollow now available for Kindle on Amazon. Please leave a review! Charlie is a participant in the Noble Knight Affiliate Program and the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, both of which are affiliate programs that provide a means for participants to earn money by advertising and linking to Noble Knight Games and DriveThruRPG respectively. Charlie on Facebook. Posts and articles posted here by others do not reflect the views of Charlie Dunwoody. If you like the articles at EN World please consider supporting the Patreon.
Note: RPG Print News covers recent RPG releases and some classics, reprints, and sales available from retailers. It does not cover products that are available directly to customers only as print on demand.
Pirate Borg - Starter Set by Limithron
SYSTEM: rules from Mork Borg
PRODUCT TYPE: boxed starter set
RETAIL PRICE: $49.99
DESCRIPTION: Includes character creation, rules, an adventure, 12 resin dice, 58 tokens, 22 reference cards, five double-sided poster maps, 25 character sheets, six character worksheets, and two dry-erase markers. Free League was kind enough to send me a review copy, please see my thoughts* at the end of this week’s article. The nice thing about the starter rules is character creation is included along with the rules. Players get to make characters not just play pre-gens. The included adventure, Trapped in the Tropics, is designed to introduce the system and includes GM tips, directions, and a well laid out adventure.
Owlshead Mountain by Arc Dream Publishing
SYSTEM: Delta Green RPG
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover adventure
RETAIL PRICE: $19.99
DESCRIPTION: The body of that murderous old moonshiner, Cooter McGee, was never found. Every time a hiker or a partying college student goes missing on Owlshead Mountain, people say Cooter McGee did it and they laugh when they say it. But never too loudly. In addition, two surveyors disappeared and floods have killed over a dozen searchers. Now two more people have vanished while preparing to blast and build a set of world-class ski slopes. Delta Green sends the PC Agents to deal with the threat hiding in the Vermont woods of Owlshead Mountain once and for all.
A Heart in a Jar by Rogue Games
SYSTEM: Colonial Gothic Fourth Edition
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement
RETAIL PRICE: $12.99
DESCRIPTION: In Philadelphia, 1775 the PCs investigate the Palmer House. In the spring of 1769, Tobias Palmer simply didn’t come home, and his wife Evelyn left for New Orleans. His brother Lawrence inherited the house. In By 1773 it was rented to Wallace Shifter. By 1774, Shifter, blood-soaked and shaking, fled in the middle of the night. His note: There is something in that house. And it answers to the Devil. Now Lawrence Palmer is desperate enough to hire anyone willing to step through those doors, even the PCs. The house stands silent, waiting, while something moves behind the walls. Something that hungers.
QuestWorlds by Chaosium
SYSTEM: unique narrative system:
PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover core rulebook
RETAIL PRICE: $49.99
DESCRIPTION: A self-contained rules-light system based on the previous HeroQuest RPG. A simple core mechanic: d20 opposed with varying levels of results. Focuses on resolving in-play conflicts quickly and easily. Optional rules allowing a GM to customize the game to his or her setting. Fast character creation rules get PCs ready right away.
Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide (hardcover) by Fractured Brain Studios
Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide (softcover)
Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide (hardcover)
Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide (softcover)
SYSTEM: unique d20 roll low
PRODUCT TYPE: core rulebooks hardcovers or softcovers
RETAIL PRICE: $50 or $40 each
DESCRIPTION: I have to admit, the Dystopian Dawn - Player's Guide looks intriguing like something from the late 80s/early 90s shambling forth into modern times complete with hardcovers that sound like a mash-up between D&D and Gamma World. In two weeks more coverage on this system: lots of adventures and setting support already available. Players choose to play a barbarian, druid, engineer, mutant, scoundrel, or wizard. What a great gonzo combination. The world ended in death and radioactive decay. Centuries passed. From the ashes rose the PCs: a new breed of survivors exploring the wastelands. Of course there are both magic and psionics. The world lore covers six territories with three provinces each. Supplements available now provide more detail on these territories. The Dystopian Dawn - Game Master's Guide includes expanded rules and tables for combat including fumbles and crits, reaction tables, random encounter tables for all terrain types & weather, magic backlash rules, creatures, rules for mutating creatures, four adventures, and GM advice.
Twelve Years at Sea by Max Moon Games
Twelve Years at Sea - Campaign Journal & Quick Reference Poster
SYSTEM: Twelve Years
PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement/journal and poster combo
RETAIL PRICE: $20/$10
DESCRIPTION: Twelve Years at Sea is a seafaring expansion drawing inspiration from the weird fiction masters, ancient mythology, and the monster-filled spectacles of Ray Harryhausen's legendary films. Every twelve years, the moon swells to gargantuan size and catastrophic floods drown the highest peaks and drain the deepest ocean floors. The PC faces dangers brought about because of the grief of a sorcerer whose love was lost to the nameless winds of the far seas. As part of a crew, the solo PC will help battle krakens beneath new stars, explore strange islands, and face the danger of uncharted waters. A journal with a quick reference poster is also available.
Terror from the UnderDeep by Goodman Games
SYSTEM: Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
PRODUCT TYPE: box set
RETAIL PRICE: $79.99
DESCRIPTION: Giants and the Underdark combined in a massive box set. Hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud and storm giant clans have allied to collect electrum. Their tracks lead to an abandoned city of the UnderDeep. PCs of levels eight to 16 go in to stop them. (Wow, that is quite the range of levels.) In the lightless caverns, the PCs face off sinister cultists who give the giants’ offerings to a misshapen kraken lord. Includes: four books, three poster maps, and cardboard tokens.
*Quick review of Pirate Borg - Starter Set. When I reviewed the Soulbound Starter Set I noted it was packed with content. The Pirate Borg - Starter Set raises the bar in starter sets by another magnitude. Full character creation supported with six dry erase character creation cards and a pad of character sheets. Plus, rules along with a starter adventure for the GM. Plenty of poster maps, tokens, dice, and even two dry erase markers for character creation.
A GM can actually start a game of Pirate Borg with this starter set before buying the core rulebook. And the game is meant to be played. The GM can show the PCs a map of the Dark Caribbean and not one but two battlemaps of ships they can command and sail. The adventure walks both the GM and players through the game rules while presenting an exciting challenge as well. Art is amazing. Maps usable, detailed, and well made. Layout is game table friendly but much easier to read and parse than Mork Borg. Everything is high quality and designed to be used at an actual game table. The best starter set I’ve seen yet with the full character creation rules and components like dice, maps, tokens, and character creation cards usable well after the included adventure is run.
The first two stories by Charlie featuring the questing soldier Hart and his biomechanical partner Hollow now available for Kindle on Amazon. Please leave a review! Charlie is a participant in the Noble Knight Affiliate Program and the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, both of which are affiliate programs that provide a means for participants to earn money by advertising and linking to Noble Knight Games and DriveThruRPG respectively. Charlie on Facebook. Posts and articles posted here by others do not reflect the views of Charlie Dunwoody. If you like the articles at EN World please consider supporting the Patreon.
