News Digest: Critical Role Leaving Geek & Sundry, Origins Award Winners, Pathfinder 2nd Ed Previews,

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! Critical Role leaving Geek & Sundry, Origins Award Winners, Pathfinder 2^nd Edition previews, multiple charity promotions, and more!

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Critical Role is officially leaving Geek & Sundry to strike out on their own. While the streams will continue on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel and their premium streaming service Alpha (including the spin-off shows Talks Machina and After Dark) for the time being, Critical Role created their own Twitch channel for streaming along with a new YouTube channel to host their content. As part of this move, Marisha Ray has stepped down as creative director for Geek & Sundry in order to take on that role for their own content, which will include the production of the live stream from their own studio space and brand new shows. Critical Role originally premiered on the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel during its launch in 2015, with the Critical Role team retaining the rights to the show and characters. The Dungeons & Dragons actual play stream skyrocketed immediately in popularity, becoming the breakout hit for the channel drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers weekly between the live stream and archived videos.

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The Origins Award Winners were announced this past weekend at the Origins Game Fair. EN World has all the winners at the link above, but the Best Roleplaying Game of the Year was Adventures in Middle-Earth Player’s Handbook from Cubicle 7 with the Fan Favorite award going to Starfinder from Paizo. Best Roleplaying Game Supplement went to Dungeons & Dragons Xanathar’s Guide to Everything from Wizards of the Coast. The awards also included many card, miniature, and board games with Gloomhaven taking Best Board Game, Fan Favorite, and Game of the Year. Designers Eric M. Lang and Ken St. Andre were inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame. Attendance at the Origins Game Fair was up by almost ten percent, with 18,648 unique attendees and turnstile attendance numbers of 70,765 (unique attendees are the number of individuals attending the convention, while turnstiles are the number of people per day, so a person with a four-day pass counts as one unique attendee but as four turnstiles).

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Speaking of awards, the new episode of Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Podcast released yesterday and the Origins Awards (along with the Diana Jones Award nominees) was one of the main topics. Morrus, Peter, and special guest Angus also talked about details for the new Dungeons & Dragons releases of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. There’s also a comedy sketch! You can subscribe via the podcast page on Podbean, through iTunes, or by searching for the title (or just “Morrus”) in your favorite podcasting app. And if you want behind the scenes deleted content, you can support the show on Patreon (I’m still working on this week’s outtakes and it should be up later today, but it will be almost half an hour of additional in-depth gaming discussions, alternate takes of the Polearm Sketch, and a puppy cameo).

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Wizards of the Coast have brought back their limited edition rainbow Dungeons & Dragons shirt for Pride Month. Proceeds from the sales of the rainbow ampersand logo t-shirts, tank tops, and hoodies go to benefit the charity Lambert House, which helps LGBT+ youth through programs, resources, and activities. And of course, the Magic: The Gathering Planeswalker rainbow logo is also back. If you’re looking for more gaming-related shirts benefiting charity, Whipstache Designs has a “Lawful can still be Evil” shirt for sale with all proceeds going toward the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Paizo released more information about the playtest for Pathfinder 2^nd Edition. The Barbarian class got a preview, highlighting changes to the Rage ability and other class features. The Rage ability will no longer be limited to a set number of rounds per day, but will instead last three rounds with one round of fatigue before the barbarian can use rage again. Also, one change highlighted is that multiclassed spellcasting barbarians will be able to use spells in a rage so long as they don’t require concentration and only require somatic components (showing that Paizo is paying close attention to the interaction of different class abilities in development). Totems will also now be a core part of the class, previously only available in sourcebooks starting with the Pathfinder Advanced Player Guide. Monks also got a new preview, with details about the new ki abilities (which are treated the same as spells now) and more options during character creation whether to focus on Strength, Dexterity, or both depending on which options you’d like. Finally, Paizo showed some of how conditions will factor into the new game design, along with details about how different conditions will interact with one another and how things do and don’t stack. As always, you can keep track of all the latest Pathfinder 2^nd Edition news at EN World’s category page. You can pre-order the softcover and hardcover versions of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook now from mass-market outlets, with some having the deluxe hardcover edition as well, and a free PDF will be released along with the books on August 2.

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Gale Force 9 announced the newest Dungeons & Dragons board game, Vault of Dragons. The game will be for two to four players with a play time of one to one and a half hours. Each player takes on the role of a different faction in Waterdeep searching for a hidden fault of gold, searching for clues and rumors while gaining resources to raid the vault before the other players (or before the City Watch catches you). The game itself features a modular board with double-sided location tiles to increase replayability. There is no release date announced yet, but it is expected to make its debut at Gen Con with a retail price of $50.00.

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The Dungeons, Hordes, & Horrors Humble Bundle is still available for one more week. The bundle includes books from Kobold Press, Troll Lord Games, Frog God Games, Gamehole Publishing, and others, all focusing on 5^th Edition compatible sourcebooks, adventures, and maps. At the highest level of $15, you get $381 worth of books in DRM-free digital format over thirty-five books with two full adventure paths, two tomes of one-shot adventures, a campaign setting, and two map sets plus (for all levels) a 30% off coupon for the full purchase of Kobold Press, Frog God, or Troll Lord Games products. This bundle benefits the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and runs until Wednesday, June 27.

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This is a “hurry hurry hurry” Kickstarter as it has less than two days left. Harvesters is an RPG boxed set that contains everything needed to play as the animals of a farm go on fantastic adventures. The all-ages RPG lets you choose between rabbits, squirrels, badgers, otters, and mice with the classes of fighter, wizard, rogue, “and more” with rules based on the Siege Engine. The digital copy is available for a $10 pledge with the boxed set available for $49. This Kickstarter still has two more stretch goals to unlock before it funds tomorrow, Friday, June 22, at 10:00 PM Central time.

5^th Evolution from Limitless Adventures brings the genres of superhero, World War II, and 1980s horror to the 5^th Edition ruleset. Each of the three books includes a comic to set the tone for the setting, a one-shot adventure with pre-generated characters, and a guide for the monsters, equipment, and special rules required for character creation and adventure design. The books aren’t stand-alone, though, as they require either the Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks or the 5^th Edition SRD to play. The PDF of all three books is available for a $15 pledge, while the print versions are available for a $30 pledge with a special $100 level for all products the company has released in PDF as well. This project is fully funded and runs until Friday, June 29.

That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news by following our Kickstarter news tag, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ll be lamenting my empty wallet following the upcoming Steam Sale, watch me live-stream Dragon Age: Origins on my Twitch channel, follow Gamer’s Tavern on YouTube featuring videos on gaming history and gaming Let’s Plays, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, Humble Bundle, and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.

 

[Jester David]

I guess you and i have just different ideas of what is dark and what is comical, Jester. I disagree with most of your assessments.

Fair enough.
But the original campaign was pretty darn silly at times as well.

And we are at Eps 23 (or even 24, if you watch it live), not 18.

Yes, you are right. Earlier I was commenting that the overarching story didn't really kick in until around that point. The number was rattling in my brain.

But if you enjoy the new show as much or even more than the first, good for you. For me, it's a clear step down in character depth (at the same point in time) and atmosphere.

Maybe. But I would suggest going back and watch some of the old episodes from those early days. I expect nostalgia is also at work.

Speaking for myself, I was waaaay more attached to Vox Machina at this point. But I was also watching like an episode-and-a-half each day as I binged through the series. That has an impact. And it was also the first ongoing streaming show I was watching (compared with Acquisitions Incorporated), so there's that "first love" aspect. Nothing can beat your first time.

The old party just clicked better with me.

It's very much apples and oranges. Comparing PCs and characters that you had spent literally hundreds of hours growing attached to with these new guys, who are functionally taking over. I was never going to like the new characters as much as the old because I hadn't spend literal weeks watching their adventures. I was always going to have to slowly warm up to these new people, who are almost intentionally less likable. They still have the hard edges that need to be worn off.

And, also, the group simply doesn't have the same dynamics at work, the same chemistry and bonds. The friendships and rivalries. After all, when the campaign started they had spent a couple years playing as those characters.
It was always going to take time for the Mighty Nein to grown on people.

But, the thing is, I don't need to be my favourite to enjoy it. I don't even need to compare and decide which is better. They're different campaigns. Literally different things. I can like them both for different reasons and enjoying the second campaign doesn't mean I didn't like the first campaign. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Shasarak]

He was active during Gamergate: So he has a different political view? What a crime!

Has been known to harass women and members of the LGBT community: I can only guess that to make such empty claims about anyone you dislike is fair game nowadays.

This is the CNN of RPG Websites so yes that sounds correct.

 

[Eilathen]

But, the thing is, I don't need to be my favourite to enjoy it. I don't even need to compare and decide which is better. They're different campaigns. Literally different things. I can like them both for different reasons and enjoying the second campaign doesn't mean I didn't like the first campaign. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Oh, absolutely. I agree with this. Maybe i have come off a bit too strong?!
As i said (i checked ^^ ), it's not as if i do not enjoy the new show. It's still up there with the best of AP streams that i know.

I do compare them, though. It's just what we humans do. And i am not sure the apples and oranges idea applies here. But ymmv etc. .

BUT you might be right that some nostalgia plays a part. And let us be honest here, VM was a very good group composition, hard to beat (not impossible, but campaign 2 certainly didn't succeed imo).
It will indeed be very interesting to see how good a chemistry we will get with TMN after, let us say, 50 eps or even 75.
Now that they have their own channel and all and talk about new shows as well, let us see what they are coming up with. I wonder if the second campaign will have as much focus and heart's blood poured into it as the first one had (with their bigger "program" now).

 

[Jester David]

Oh, absolutely. I agree with this. Maybe i have come off a bit too strong?!
As i said (i checked ^^ ), it's not as if i do not enjoy the new show. It's still up there with the best of AP streams that i know.

I do compare them, though. It's just what we humans do. And i am not sure the apples and oranges idea applies here. But ymmv etc. .

BUT you might be right that some nostalgia plays a part. And let us be honest here, VM was a very good group composition, hard to beat (not impossible, but campaign 2 certainly didn't succeed imo).
It will indeed be very interesting to see how good a chemistry we will get with TMN after, let us say, 50 eps or even 75.
Now that they have their own channel and all and talk about new shows as well, let us see what they are coming up with. I wonder if the second campaign will have as much focus and heart's blood poured into it as the first one had (with their bigger "program" now).

I knew going in there was no way the new campaign was going to grab me like the first. I think they did as well, which was why there was such a long gap and they didn't just jump right in. There needed to be a buffer.
(I also wonder if this didn't inspire Sam to swap characters early on. To let people get used to the idea of the cast playing new characters. Taryon is a great example because he wasn't Scanlan. He wasn't as well loved. And I think a lot of people really, really hated him for a long time. But he's still enjoyable in his own way, and his short character arc was lovely. )

So I set my expectations a little lower and trusted the cast. And having seen what they're doing it really seems like they're playing a long game and taking their time. They're trusting the audience to stick around and let the group find its footing and letting things work organically rather than doing something with mass appeal that's forced. Heck, the group just did their first real noble act and heroic deed this past week.

 

[Gradine]

What would you consider proof? Keep in mind that witness & victim statements ARE proof.

Sexism is not a different political view. It's just sexism.

I have seen him do so. I have seen him being a trolling jerk. Are you calling me a liar?

I followed Angry on Twitter for a long time and read his blog, and found that he was not someone I liked as an individual, being bitter and mean. The more I saw the more I did not like. And he is definitely not someone I want to support financially.

He has cultivated his reputation as an overly angry, mean individual and now he has to live with it.

It's a shame too because a lot of his earlier articles had some really great advice, even if the content-to-obnoxious-shtick ratio was never all that great. I used to consider his advice on encounter building required reading for new DMs, and his take on the Aesthetics of Play helped me understand not only my players so much better but also solved basically every edition/system war ever (and that those articles seemed so anti-"Angry" that for a long time I thought the worst parts of the shtick were just an act and that he was actually an incredibly reasonable person). The shtick has only gotten more grating over time and the actual-content ratio cratered and his toxic behavior on Twitter was kind of the last straw