February 2016 Tabletop Gaming Quick Hits

It is time again, true believers, for another EN World quick hits. For such a short month there has been a lot of big news out there in gaming land, so that means it is time again to give some focus to those smaller pieces of news that people may have missed while Kickstarters are out there making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Let’s take a breath and a drink before the next round of big crowdfunders start up.If you have a news item that you would like to see in a future edition of Quick Hits, contact me via messaging here on EN World, or via social media via my Twitter or Facebook. Submitting an item does not automatically guarantee publication in this column.


Item! The trolls at Troll Lord Games have increased their numbers. Jason Vey, who created the excellent pulp role-playing game Amazing Adventures for Troll Lord Games is now officially on staff. He will continue to develop material for the Amazing Adventures game (which, if you don’t own you really should), D&D 5e material and new games. Congratulations!

Item! As long as we’re talking about Troll Lord Games, I would be remiss in not mentioning that there is a Castles & Crusades bundle going on at the Bundle of Holding until March 8th. If you haven’t checked the game out, this makes for a good entry point (and if you already have them it makes a good gift for the person in your group who might not already have them).


Item! And don’t forget that the Shadows of Esteren bundle (also at the Bundle of Holding site) is in its last few days. If you’re a fantasy fan, and looking for something different, you should check out Shadows of Esteren. It is a European fantasy game that isn’t just another restating of the same old Tolkien/Howard/Lieber tropes, and feels like a mythic land of its own. There is a brooding gothic-ness that might not appeal to everyone, but it might be of interest to fans of writers like Clark Ashton Smith. Plus the art is simply gorgeous. The introductory level of the bundle is pretty cheap, and give a great overview of the game.

Item! Howard Ingham might be best known for his work on various of the White Wolf properties. He has a Kickstarter going on for his new game Chariot. Ingham describes Chariot as “Chariot is a roleplaying game set in an occult-theosophical Atlantis. Players play the Fated, those who know that they will die in the coming catastrophe and have the choice to make one final stand before everything ends. The game focuses on the lives of others, and uses a mechanic based on a deck of Tarot cards.” One of the goals of the campaign is a custom Tarot deck with imagery specific to the game.
Character creation in Chariot is interesting because of the impact of culture and religion on who the character is. I can see the influences of theosophy and the occult traditions of the Victorian era on characters, and the game itself. If you are someone who has an interest in these sorts of games then you should check out Chariot.

You can also find out more about the game at Ingham’s blog devoted to the game.


Item! Tabletop gaming will hit SXSW this year, in the form of a documentary about Dwarven Forge founder Stefan Pokorny. The film is called The Dwarvenaght and follows Pokorny and talks about his life with Dungeons & Dragons. I’m actually waiting on the press kit for this, so hopefully I will have more information soon. I just wanted to get a quick mention in for people who may be attending SXSW and would want to get this onto their schedule.
 

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Can't wait for the dwarvem forge movie. There was another piece that covered him and dwarven forge and it was fascinating.
 


Jason has also done some other AMAZING Stuff with his own company, Elf Lair Games...

Spellcraft & Swordplay is a "what if" OSR style game--using something more akin to Chainmail's combat system, instead of the "alternative" system introduced in OD&D (that became the standard system we all know). It's a ton of fun, one of my fave OSR products (edit- basic version PDF available for free on Drivethru)

Also if you do some searching, he has some great OD&D sourcebooks, including an in-depth explanation unravelling the mysteries of using Chainmail with OD&D, among other things.

Not affiliated, just a fan :)
 
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