RPG Print News – The Arcane Library, Troll Lord Games, and More

Shadowdark, Conan, Cairn, Mörk Borg, OSR, and Shadowrun Sixth Edition all have print products out this week.

Shadowdark (along with back up) has arrived like a tenebrous fissure suddenly opening beneath our feet. Time to fear the dark again. The original tales of Conan are available for inspiration for any sword and sorcery campaign. Cairn gets two connected adventures. Mörk Borg and the OSR get plenty of adventures. Finally, Shadowrun Sixth Edition gets additional support as well.

Note: RPG Print News covers recent RPG releases and some classics, reprints, and sales available from retailers. It does not cover products that are available directly to customers only through Kickstarter or as print on demand.

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Shadowdark | Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 1: Diablerie! | Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 2: Red Sands | Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 3: Midnight Sun by The Arcane Library
  • SYSTEM: like various versions of D&D combined and distilled
  • PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover core rules/zines
  • RETAIL PRICE: $59/$14.99 each
  • OTHER RPG NEWS COVERAGE: Shadowdark: An Interview with Kelsey Dionne Shadowdark review
  • DESCRIPTION: No darkvision, no skills, no feats, no AoO. Plenty of GM support. Shadowdark has all the support a GM needs for dungeon adventures fraught with peril and challenge. The zines include hand drawn maps. Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 1 includes a 1st-level dungeon crawl heavy on exploration and factions, a gloom drenched hex crawl in a misty demon-haunted forest and swamp, three new classes (witch, warlock, and knight of St. Ydris), 36 new spells, 20 character backgrounds, and 14 new monsters like the Willowman. Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 2 has a fourth to sixth level adventure that pits the characters against two warring efreet in a grim iron stronghold, a shimmering desert hex crawl rife with desert sorcerers and lost treasures, three new classes (desert rider, pit fighter, and ras-godai), 14 new monsters including a mad dragon, and rules for pit fighting, riding mounts, poisons, and enduring wounds. In Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 3 are a 0-level gauntlet adventure, mountainous islands ruled by drakes and the enigmatic Old Gods, two new classes: seer and sea wolf, 12 new monsters like the mythical Valkyrie, and rules for new spells, boats, swearing oaths, arctic sea encounters, and a raid into the unsuspecting Wortwick Monastery.
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Conan Weird Tales Collection by Troll Lord Games
  • SYSTEM: any Conan/sword and sorcery RPGs
  • PRODUCT TYPE: three hardcover novels collection
  • RETAIL PRICE: $65
  • DESCRIPTION: Covers the complete Weird Tales collection of Conan stories by Robert E Howard. The Tower of the Elephant is the classic Conan tale of the barbarian infiltrating a perilous tower to steal a fabled gem from an evil sorcerer named Yara. Things don’t go quite as Conan planned. In The Queen of the Black Coast Conan meets arguably the greatest love of his life in the she-pirate, Bêlit. Their torrid and ill-fated romance was one of Conan’s most poignant tales. The Hour of the Dragon was Howard’s only Conan novel and was created by revisiting several scenarios from earlier tales. King Conan is brought low by dark magics of a reincarnated sorcerer from ancient Acheron, and enemy nations unite to overthrow his hard-won kingdom of Aquilonia. This is the hero’s journey in its most elemental form, and the savage Cimmerian must use all of his cunning to win the day.
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Hideous Daylight | Fabien's Atelier by Brad Kerr
  • SYSTEM: Cairn
  • PRODUCT TYPE: softcover adventures
  • RETAIL PRICE: $15/$16
  • DESCRIPTION: In Hideous Daylight the PCs investigate why the sun has stopped setting over the king's favorite garden. They have to navigate a 20-point hex crawl to end the strange curse affecting the land. Includes dangerous new monsters, weird magic items, an unpredictable random encounters table, and two gazebos. Fabien's Atelier is a follow-up to the adventure module Hideous Daylight but may be played without any previous experience. The Wizard Fabien is dead, and the magic in his flying island sputters and fades. The PCs enter the wizard's floating workshop to unravel its mysteries before catastrophic failure sends the island crashing down to earth. I ran both of these using Old-School Essentials and greatly enjoyed both adventures.
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Waeldaeg by Stacking Dice
  • SYSTEM: OSR
  • PRODUCT TYPE: softcover zine
  • RETAIL PRICE: $13
  • DESCRIPTION: Beyond an icy strait left behind by a melted glacier lies a vast and mist-locked sea of strange, wondrous, and horrifying islands. Among these islands, PCs from the Early Middle Ages will find evidence of the presence and reign of the First, an ancient civilization whose artificially-created progeny dot the islands and have built their own civilizations and nations. The First also created great and terrible war-things to guard the ancient places. Uses system neutral stat blocks and procedures.
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Knives Out by Exalted Funeral
  • SYSTEM: Mörk Borg
  • PRODUCT TYPE: softcover supplement
  • RETAIL PRICE: $15
  • DESCRIPTION: Features lots of knives, a side of rapiers and fencing rules, a seedy tavern (called the Rouge Rogue) that's home to an underground enclave of rogues, a handful of jobs that should be done with discretion, a detective class that doesn't believe in luck or fate, and a huge heist to steal the crown of a time-lost mad king. And more.
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Wild Life | Critter Deck by Catalyst Game Labs
  • SYSTEM: Shadowrun Sixth Edition
  • PRODUCT TYPE: hardcover supplement/deck of cards
  • RETAIL PRICE: $49.99/$14.99
  • DESCRIPTION: Wild Life is the core critters that can be found in a range of environments rulebook for Shadowrun, Sixth World. Whether they’re used as corporate security or something the PCs run into in the wild, they can be a tremendous threat. They can also, however, be a source of reagents or wealth if the PCs know how to steer clear of tooth and claw. The Critter Deck contains a herd of critters waiting to make a shadowrunner’s life more difficult and altogether more interesting. Includes dozens of critters from all sorts of environments.
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Stockholm Kartell Pamphlets by Exalted Funeral US
  • SYSTEM: OSR
  • PRODUCT TYPE: special bundle
  • RETAIL PRICE: $22
  • DESCRIPTION: Not a new release but instead a bundle of previously released adventures at a special price. Crypt of the Crocodiles is a network of tombs of forgotten desert royalty that emerges from the sand for just one week every 13 years. It is deadly dangerous but rumor has it that those who survive return with enough riches to retire. It has been sighted and the PCs’ chance is here. The Unliving Court of Graemr is revealed after a collapse reveals a hidden system of tunnels. Few who went in come back, but those few brought back gold and stories of giants still living down there in the deep. The Prison-Crypt of Mu-Ye is found in a marsh through a large gate set in a cliff. Baron Mu-Ye was an ancient warrior, tyrant, and immortal vampire buried with all of his stolen treasures. The PCs have an opportunity to plunder the riches of an ancient evil. In Hell Lost the portal behind the PCs is inactive and cracked. The sky is burning and filled with smoke and ash. The ground is cracked and covered in rocks as sharp as knives. The surrounding walls are carved with dead faces who died in pain. It’s eerily quiet. The PCs are trapped in Hell. Deep into the dark depths, an ancient death cult built The Ommadonian Ossuary from the bones of men and monsters. The cult is gone, but some of the treasures they gathered remain. PCs have the chance to go in, grab some treasure, and get out before getting killed. The Cursed Abbey that belonged to an order of demon-slaying knights has been cut off in the mountains by an unnatural storm for over thirty years. Two months ago, the storm lifted. A few days ago, every single soul in the nearby village of Griert went missing. Local authorities call on the PCs to investigate.
Charlie Dunwoody participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and the Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Noble Knight Games respectively. If you like the articles at EN World please consider supporting the EN World Patreon.
 

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Charles Dunwoody

Charles Dunwoody

One caveat: Shadowdark is not actually an OSR system game -- as in, it does not use or emulate the TSR era of D&D. it is much closer to 5E core mechanic wise, but with many (brilliant IMO) tweaks and trimming to make it feel like we remember old school D&D feeling.

I just wanted to point that out to anyone who might be either put off by it being labelled OSR, or expecting something more like OSE and being disappointed.

Check it our for free in case you're wondering what the differences might be. It's awesome.
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It is the OSR using 5E. Says so right on the label!
 

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You all are get feisty over simple pedantry on my part. I just thought folks should know Shadowdark isn't OSE or Knave.l, system wise -- mostly because I think more people will give it a try if they realize that it has a lot of 5E DNA in it.

But sure, fight pedantry with pedantry.
What? The exclamation mark indicates I'm going along with the banter. I had no idea you were being completely serious. Excessive concern about RPGs doesn't really describe me at all. Neither does touchy or aggressive. It's just table top RPGs and we're all just hanging out talking.
 

Eyes of Nine

Everything's Fine
Whew! Great batch of OSR/NSR stuff this week (call it what you will, it's all just vibes eh?). Shadowdark, Brad Kerr, Stockholm Kartell?!?

I first heard of Brad Kerr on the Between Two Cairns podcast. Which is a really great podcast imo. Might have to pull the trigger on these books
 

Whew! Great batch of OSR/NSR stuff this week (call it what you will, it's all just vibes eh?). Shadowdark, Brad Kerr, Stockholm Kartell?!?

I first heard of Brad Kerr on the Between Two Cairns podcast. Which is a really great podcast imo. Might have to pull the trigger on these books
I have run a couple of Brad Kerr's adventures using OSE. I really enjoyed them. The ideas were great and the maps were clear. Descriptions easy to follow and I liked the challenges the PCs had to face. Going from the hex crawl in the garden up into the flying castle was a great two-part adventure (same one for Cairn above).
 

Has anyone received a copy of TLG's Conan books yet? Curious about the editing and layout. Also....does this mean TLG has some sort of publishing right to Conan now, or are they just taking advantage of the stories being out of copyright?

Shadowdark looks intriguing graphically, but I can't identify what would make it worth buying in a very flooded OSR/NSR market outside of cool presentation and design. Need to search for reviews. Some of its core caveats are turn offs for me (I do not equate OSR with "no skills," probably because I was a newb gamer in 1980 and missed the "70's" era OSR is largely predicated on), so maybe it's just not my thing.
 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
Shadowdark looks intriguing graphically, but I can't identify what would make it worth buying in a very flooded OSR/NSR market outside of cool presentation and design. Need to search for reviews. Some of its core caveats are turn offs for me (I do not equate OSR with "no skills," probably because I was a newb gamer in 1980 and missed the "70's" era OSR is largely predicated on), so maybe it's just not my thing.
So, if you buy games for their new rules or novel ideas, Shadowdark isn't what you're looking for.

What it does, instead, is synthesize together the best old and new ideas together in a package that's meant to be the best dungeoncrawling experience at the table. Extremely fast, easy to learn for both grognards and folks new to the hobby with 5E, and with a book that's incredibly user-friendly.

I have been running it for about a year, and disagree that it has "no skills." The skills are instead de facto skills, based on background, ancestry and class. This avoids silliness like 3E rangers who couldn't swim, but it doesn't allow granular character design choices by players.
 

Zarithar

Adventurer
One caveat: Shadowdark is not actually an OSR system game -- as in, it does not use or emulate the TSR era of D&D. it is much closer to 5E core mechanic wise, but with many (brilliant IMO) tweaks and trimming to make it feel like we remember old school D&D feeling.

I just wanted to point that out to anyone who might be either put off by it being labelled OSR, or expecting something more like OSE and being disappointed.

Check it our for free in case you're wondering what the differences might be. It's awesome.
I would classify it as "OSR Adjacent." I have grabbed a couple of the Shadowdark rules and am using them in my OSE games (namely the death and dying mechanics from SD).
 

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