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The best versions of Powered By the Apocalypse games are the ones that also serve as useful guides to the genre they are emulating. Even if you never use Monster of the Week, Dungeon World or Urban Shadows they are still chock full of great advice on how to create smart storylines and compelling...

Out of all the members of the MORK BORG family, Vast Grimm stands out for a few reasons. Its distinctive art style continues the fine tradition of grisly images with a color palette that takes it in more of a 90’s video game direction. The game has built a dying universe that gives players a...

We are surrounded by darkness. Our world is a beacon of light in a void. Our stories reflect our fears and desires reflected back on us as monsters. Ex Tenebris, the latest game from Black Armada currently on Kickstarter, aims to take gothic, mythic space mysteries in a whole new direction. We...

It seems like there’s a natural line from the Nordic Black Metal Apocalypse of Mork Borg and the apocalyptic sagas of viking mythology. A jagged, blood encrusted line but a solid line nonetheless. Broken Brain Games laid an early claim to this idea with RaganaBorg: Saga of the Chosen. While...

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I ran City of Mist for my AP crew. While I enjoyed the game, I felt like sometimes the PbtA influences and the Fate influences were pushing against each other. One of them had to go and Otherscape shows that getting rid of moves for the most part is the right call. Reading this reminded me of...

“Old School” fantasy tends to refer to games tinged with elements of sword and sorcery fiction. These are your games with Conan-like vagabonds and dangerous magic. However, time moves every forward, and for many, old school fantasy now refers to films like Willow or Ladyhawke where magic can...

Dungeon crawler games look to expand with new classes, new loot and new stuff for the players to acquire. Heart is no different, with a new expansion full of fresh ideas currently crowdfunding called Ways And Means. I spoke with the head of the project about what fans can expect from the...

The best way to keep an evil or antihero campaign on track is to supply the players with bigger villains to go after. It’s a joy to see the thieves from Leverage or the symbiotes from Marvel use their dastardly knowhow or vicious powers to take on bad guys that deserve the worst. The Sickest...

Exploration is a vital part of many role playing games. It often takes a back seat to other aspects such as the big battle at the end of the dungeon or the tidy profit for a space smuggler crew. Mappa Mundi, from Three Sails Studios, puts exploration front and center in a game where players are...

Ideas for game designs spring from unlikely places. In the case of Raptor Ruckus, the new role playing game crowdfunding in August, it came from a designer being told what not to do. We spoke with Zac Goins of Snapback Studios about what he hopes to build with his dino-centric RPG. “Oddly...

Yes, there are some traditional monsters in the mix.

Characters in dungeon crawls tend to be on the light side. This happens for a variety of reasons, whether you’re talking about developing storylines through or because characters tend to be disposable and easily replaced. There’s a fine line walked by this style of game in thrilling players by...

The SHIVER series from Parable Games takes a broad approach to horror. Each expansion looks at a different subgenre, such as slasher movies or Gothic horror. Their upcoming crowdfunder for SHIVER: Corporate takes on a popular new genre that combines the dread of hunting monsters with knowing...

It’s hard to believe Munchkin, the classic card game from Steve Jackson Games, is old enough to drink (in America). Heck, it’s almost old enough to rent a car. What started out as a lampoon of a certain style of Dungeons & Dragons where gaining loot and breaking the rules wins out over...

There have been a few. I almost did one for an article but then COVID hit. The race car driving school comparison is apt. Plenty of nerds have money to burn on trips like this. There's also one where you can play D&D not just in a castle but Dracula's Castle. A couple of years ago organizers...

Splitting a core book is a calculated risk. What information do the players need? What information is most important to the GM. In the case of Cthulhu By Gaslight Keeper’s Guide, the split focus on things like NPC stats for historical figures, information on Mythos beasties and forbidden tomes...

My full review of the keeper's guide will be forthcoming. For your question, the Keeper book stays focused on London, though it recommends checking out Down Darker Trails for anyone wanting to crossover into the American Wild West.

When I bought my first Call of Cthulhu core book in high school, it contained three eras to set mysteries. The 5th edition had information on the modern day, the classic era of the 1920s and what it called the “Gaslight era” of the 1890s. Each of these time periods made sense in their own way...

I am, admittedly, not without sin here, but I have noticed a slow degradation of those features over the past few years.