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Message: <blockquote data-quote="thirdkingdom" data-source="post: 9470440" data-attributes="member: 78442">Welcome to the News Roundup for September 30th, the last day (and Monday) of the month. We've had nothing but rain here for the last two weeks, it seems, and I hope that everyone reading this in North Carolina is safe. I'm sure long-time readers may be aware that one of my goals with this newsletter is to promote the works of new and/or marginalized creators, especially those of BIPOC and/or LGBTQ communities. There are creators who, because of their views or the content of their creations, I do not mention here. I bring this up now, specifically, because I had gone back and forth about whether or not to include mention of a product, and ultimately decided to, which you can find below, along with some rationalization of why I did so.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'm always on the lookout for a good mecha game, and I stumbled across the newly released <a href="https://selkie.itch.io/celestial-bodies" target="_blank">Celestial Bodies: Titan Edition</a>, by Binary Star Games. They've been releasing CB in increasingly longer editions, and it looks like they're getting ready to launch a crowdfunding campaign for a final version soon.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sarahcarapace/violet-core" target="_blank">Violet Core</a> is another mecha game funding on Kickstarter, billing itself as a high-speed sapphic mecha rpg. The art has a wonderful neon-90's punk aesthetic.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Gauntlet is raising funds on Backerkit for <a href="https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/the-gauntlet/the-between" target="_blank">The Between</a>, a game of monster hunters in Victorian England. It runs on the same system that powers one of my favorites in recent years, Brindlewood Bay.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://serialprizes.itch.io/ikezu-ishi" target="_blank">Ikezu-Ishi </a>is a feudal Japan-inspired game that hacks Cairn, Into the Odd, and Block, Dodge, Parry. It's still in playtest form, and will no doubt be updated as things get refined.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Liminal Horror is a great little system that is getting more (deserved) attention, and I just happened to see <a href="https://jack-edward.itch.io/the-roaring-age" target="_blank">The Roaring Age</a>, a hack of LH set in the 1920s for that classic Call of Cthulhu feel but with newer, stream-lined rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://idle-doodler.itch.io/the-caverns-of-arcane-silk" target="_blank">The Caverns of Arcane Silk</a> is an introductory adventure written and published by Idle Doodler as a dungeon they created and ran some players through. I think this is a great little project, and look forward to seeing more of what they release. It is a good way to get some spell scrolls into the hands of lower level adventurers.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I've mentioned before that one of my favorite things to do is promote the work of first-time publishers: this week we've got two by a new author: Cloud Press. They've released <a href="https://cloud-press-publishing.itch.io/turn-it-off" target="_blank">Turn it Off</a>, an adventure for Knave 2e, in which a lighthouse meets Lovecraft, and <a href="https://cloud-press-publishing.itch.io/the-cult-of-mr-jingles" target="_blank">The Cult of Mr. Jingles</a>, a horror-filled adventure written for Mausritter. They may be a new publisher, but the use of public domain art and the layout is top-notch.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Solo games sell so well at Sabre that we've got a rack that displays the two dozen or so different games we stock, and I was stoked to see the <a href="https://silvernightingale.itch.io/ultimate-one-page-rpg-toolkit" target="_blank">Ultimate One-Page Solo RPG Toolkit</a>, a collection of tables for use with solo gaming.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I always like seeing short encounters or adventures that can be easily slotted into an existing game, and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496800/tales-by-the-fire-vol-1?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">Tales by the Fire, Vol. 1</a> promises that for your Shadowdark game with a collection of short adventures and encounters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I know Andy Duvall through his OSE adventure the Dessicated Temple of Locha as well as some maps he's done for me, and he's just released <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496795/what-lies-sweeping?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">What Lies Sweeping</a>, a system-agnostic sci-fispace adventure. He produces some quality products.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'm sure I'm not alone in that the Fight On! Fanzine was a crucial resource when I was first discovering the OSR community and playstyle, and right now there's <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496595/bundle-fight-on-original-series-complete-1-14-bundle?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">a bundle deal </a>on the first fourteen issues over on Drivethru. I'm not sure how long the bundle deal will last. I will also provide a caveat that these issues contain works by some contributors who, because of some of their views and opinions, I have chosen not to feature in this Roundup. I still think this is a great resource and am important look at the early days of the OSR movement, so I decided to include it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I've mentioned the wonderful Tales of Argosa before, and the publisher has just released a new adventure for it: the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496006/adventure-framework-69-crypt-of-kursaba?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">Crypt of Kursaba</a>, a short undead-themed adventure.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The prolific Philip Reed has released <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496703/blacken-burn-rumors-of-a-dying-world-for-moerk-borg?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">Blacken & Burn, Rumors of a Dying World</a>, a collection of rumors for Mork Borg and other similar grim fantasy settings.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'm shocked that <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496367/fungi-of-the-far-realms?affiliate_id=253473" target="_blank">Fungi of the Far Realms </a>is only now just showing up on Drivethrurpg, but I guess that is the cae. It's an awesome book, a pictoral guide to weird and wild mushrooms and other fungi for you to plop down into your setting. I'm hoping it gets a reprint, soon, because it is one of those books we just could not keep on the shelf when we did have it in stock.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I've got a couple projects in the works. Right now I'm raising funds for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdkingdom/2025-hexcrawl-daily-workbook/description" target="_blank">2025 Hexcrawl Workbook</a>, a daily planner-style notebook with a blank hex page for each day. I'm most excited that it is available in a spiral-bound version, to make it really easy to use. Also, I've had a compilation of <a href="https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/d5e32fc3-1573-4ec3-8b9a-0fb22a65afdc/landing" target="_blank">all the player options I've written </a>over the years laid out and ready to crowdfund, and I've decided to give Backerkit a whirl with that project. I've been using KS to fund over two dozen projects, but when I saw Games Omnivorous post about switching over to BK I thought I'd give it a try; the book is already written and compiled, and I've just been waiting for a chance to slot it into the schedule. I'm hoping to write up a blog post in the next month or two about the two different platforms; I can already see ways in which Backerkit is superior, at least from a "setting it up" perspective.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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