OSR OSR News Roundup

[thirdkingdom]

That is a major concern conidering they’re using that as cover to specifically target LGBTQ+ content by mislabeling it as NSFW. I won’t be buying from itch until that policy is fully reversed and apologies go out.

I might be mistaken here, and this is probably not the thread for it, but my understanding is there is plenty of LGBTQ+ material currently available and indexable on itch, and that it is the creator's responsibility to tag their products NSFW. Additionally, there's been a movement amongst creators who do publish on itch, in response to the new policy, to set itch's share of any proceeds to 0. I'm not sure how widespread this is, but I do know a number of publishers who have done this.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Another great Appendix N Jam mini-adventure site I can see being dropped into lots of campaigns: Thunder Speakers of Buzhou. It's an Asian-coded adventure site where adventurers have to deal with the celestial bureaucracy to get the Celestial Emperor to grant their wish (although toned down so it's not game-breaking). The odds that a campaign wouldn't need something like this seems really unlikely to me.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Welcome to the second News Roundup in August. If you're in the States you're probably looking at the start of school and the winding down of summer. Let's jump right in and check out last week's releases, shall we?

• Perplexing Ruins has published Saint Witold's Bell, an adventure for Shadowdark written for characters of levels 2-4. Perplexing Ruins is a fantastic artist (full disclosure, they've done work for me) and they're trying to make it full time in the rpg field, so can use your support!
• Matt Kelly has released Reputation, a simple system for tracking a character's renown and reputation as they adventure. It's written for Cairn, but should be broadly applicable to other OSR systems.
• I'm glad to see support for the excellent post-apoc game Glowburn and Radscars; Terror Beneath the Sunken City, by bread wizard, is an adventure set in a swamp, featuring a city of the Ancients covered by the muck and water.
• Rat in a Suit released their entry into the one-page rpg jam currently running on itch: The Grand Melee. In this game, each player takes on the roll of a knight in a medieval melee tournament to see who will be the last knight standing!
• I'm not familiar with yanahn, but they've just released a really cool adventure: Enter the Whalefall is an underwater depthcrawl/dungeon inspired by the death of whales and the ecosystem that forms around their bodies at the very bottom of the ocean. It looks really neat.
• YouCanBreatheNow Art just released a bundle of ruin art for use with the Creative Commons License. I'm a big fan of their work, and their recent release is a really nice combination of peaceful landscape and forgotten ruins.
• Zones is a neat looking new game with fantastic art that's now out on Drivethru. It uses the Into the Odd rules system, and is a post-war, post-apoc game inspired by Escape from Tarkov, Twilight 2000, and others.
• Temple of the Cybernetic Cult is a short adventure for Shadowdark that brings some advanced tech to the game.
• I'm always happy to promote the work of a new publisher, and Crookhorns is Muzgrob's second release. It's a kindred for the newly released Dolmenwood game/setting.
• Casey Garske has released Issues One and Zero of Oubliette, a mega-dungeon published in a serial zine format. I really like their use of public domain art.
• Sandbox Casual bills itself as a "small press indie mixtape RPG from a parallel universe where 1979 never ended". It looks pretty interesting, and has some great art.
• Tales from the Skieg River is on Drivethru in both English and Italian (I've linked to the English version). It's a collection of three system-agnostic one-page dungeons written for OSR/NSR-style games.
• Based on the Brindlewood Bay rules engine, Fiendgazer is a game of small-town weirdos and misfits protecting their town from supernatural horror. I stumbled across this because it features the art of Tony Tran, who I really admire and think does great work. I also really like Brindlewood Bay.
• Another Brindlewood inspired project is Serving up Disaster, a game of kitchen nightmares. One player takes on the role of the fiery celebrity chef visiting struggling restaurants, and the other players take on the roles of the staff of said restaurants.
• I've been a big fan of Idle Catulary and their blog -- especially their bathtub reviews -- and I saw that they've just released The Frost-Wreathed Heart, a grim game where the players are trapped in a labyrinth and not everyone will be able to get out alive.
• After four straight years of consistent monthly releases, Populated Hexes Monthly is taking a month off (I needed a break). We'll be back in October with Issue 49, this time beginning an exploration into the oft-mentioned, but as not-yet covered, Scarlet Principalities.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Whalefalls are an amazing event in nature. Great fodder for adventures.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Welcome to the third News Roundup for August. For new readers, this is a compilation of last week's new releases that I found in the OSR and indie RPG fields. I don't promote anything that contains AI assets, and I also make my best effort to promote the works of marginalized creators. If you've got something you would like me to mention please send me an email at thirdkingdomgames at gmail dot com and I'll see what I can do. After the relative calm of releases around GenCon it looks like things have picked up again.

If you're a publisher and reading this, Sabre is looking to expand our selection of indie games at both the retail and wholesale level. I'm trying to start carrying and distributing titles for wholesale. We already handle distribution for a couple of smaller companies, Leyline Press being the main one, and offer fair terms, fast turnaround on shipping, and good customer support. We can also help fund print runs or fulfill Kickstarters, so if you're interested please reach out to the email above.

• The Potato Game Quickstart, by Gnomestones, is now available on itch. It is based on a BX-engine, and is simple and easy to run, and incredibly charming. You play as field gnomes, and it is an absolute whimsical delight. For people who say they need to resort to using AI art in their games, I would urge you to check out The Potato Game to get a sense of what you can do on your own, and how much it adds.
• There must be something in the air about gnomes this week, because I just saw Tomte, a cozy rpg based on Swedish folklore where you play gnomes that care for a farmstead.
• One of our best-selling zines is Transgender Deathmatch, so I was tickled to see Pronoun Throwdown, a one-page wrestling rpg that's got a much lighter tone than TD.
• I'm not familiar with the work of ehronlime, but I saw the other day they've released Ithaca in the Cards: The Second Expedition. It's a game about tragedy and loss on the voyage home from a successful quest, and the art is really stunning.
• Beyond Tell Arn: Kurhan of the Spear is a city supplement for BX-style games, introducing the city of Kurhan. It's written for The Lions of Tell Arn, but should be easy to add to any existing OSR system or campaign.
• Shadowdark is a system that I really haven't delved that much into, although I like a lot of what I see. I was especially intrigued by the new third party zine Shadowstones, which is geared towards solo play using SD.
• Non-Euclidean, 4 Dimensional Aberrant Castle is a collection of two dungeons with system agnostic OSR stat blocks. One of the dungeons is designed as a shifting block puzzle, with printable pieces. The whole product is designed to be easily printed using a home printer, which is really nice.
• Red Ruin Publishing, the folks who have been putting out an amazing amount of free or PWYW content for Dragon Warriors, have just released Island of Fury, in both GNAT and Dragon Warriors flavor. It's a chunky 200+ page playbook for either system.
• On Solar Tides is a short adventure for the Dirtbags! system, and is an adventure where the PCs need to pose as space pirates to eliminate the true threat: even nastier space pirates.
• Heroes and Homebrew has released Beyond the Twisted Portal, vol. 3, a punk, DIY OSR zine with a dash (okay, maybe a bit more than a dash) of weirdness.
• Hoser Mode, by David Okum, is a Mork Borg game about what happens when Canadians get pushed to far and they drop their legendary niceness.
• Kobayashi, the creative force of nature behind Black Sword Hack, Fleaux!, and more, is crowdfunding Fallen Blades/Endless Stars, a zine designed to emulate Star Wars games. Their work is definitely worth checking out.
• What happens when a successful halfling adventurer retires, founds their own Shire, and invites their relatives to stay? Only a group of Expert-level adventurers can answer that, apparently, in the new adventure Hubert's Hole.
• I missed the first issue of Ever and Anon, but the second issue is out (and free!). It's a digital zine (and comes in at 150 pages) seeking to continue the legacy of Alarums and Excursions, and features contributions from a number of creators in the OSR and indie gaming space.
• Grimme Perils is a grim fantasy game with fairy-tale influence that uses a 2d6-based system. It looks pretty interesting, and the author was nice enough to send me a complimentary copy, which I'm hoping to do a review of when I get a chance.
• I've launched the Kickstarter for Populated Hexes Monthly Issue 49. It's going to be releasing in October, and features the town of Junction, at the edge of the Scarlet Principalities, an oft-mentioned city that can serve as a base for the PCs.

 

[Scribe]

Hoser Mode, by David Okum, is a Mork Borg game about what happens when Canadians get pushed to far and they drop their legendary niceness.

It may be my duty to buy this.