#rpg overview

[legionofmyth]

Rifts Dimension Book #14: Thundercloud Galaxy: All the tech you’re NOT allowed!

🚀 Discover the advanced technology of the Thundercloud Galaxy in Rifts Dimension Book #14 by Palladium Books! From powerful spacecraft to innovative gadgets, explore the cutting-edge tech that defines this incredible galaxy. Watch now to delve into the futuristic world of Thundercloud Galaxy! #RiftsRPG #ThundercloudGalaxy #PalladiumBooks #TabletopRPG #SciFiFantasy #RPGTech #RolePlayingGames

Rifts Dimension Book #14: Thundercloud Galaxy Rifts Dimension Book 2: Phase World Explore the advanced and futuristic technology of the Thundercloud Galaxy from Rifts Dimension Book #14 by Palladium Books! 🚀 Discover the cutting-edge tech that powers this incredible dimension. Watch now to unlock the secrets of Thundercloud Galaxy’s technology! In this video, we delve into the sophisticated and…

[morsrattus]

The Big Pent Collection Post: Secret History of the Horse Sun

It has been pointed out to me that I haven't actually ever written a post explaining what the hell Secret History of the Horse Sun is. So, uh, doing that now!

The Fuck's A Glorantha

Glorantha is a TTRPG setting attached to one of several rulesets for the games Runequest, HeroQuest, QuestWorlds or other names which I've probably forgotten. It is a vaguely Bronze Age-ish world focused around religious fantasy and spiritual power rather than traditional medieval stuff, as it was designed by anthropologist and practicing shaman Greg Stafford. I think it's pretty cool! But it is largely focused on an area named Dragon Pass, where a bunch of guys called the Orlanthi live. They're a mix of Vedic, Celtic and Norse ideas thrown into a stewpot, and they're cool and all...but there's other regions, and not all of them are particularly well written.

Like Pent

Pent is a very large steppes plain - somewhat larger than the entire nation of France, maybe five or six times bigger than Dragon Pass - which goes criminally underused by Glorantha. It exists solely as a place for horse nomads to rampage out of and threaten the people the game actually cares about, and as an origin point for historic figure Sheng Seleris, mighty warlord who conquered the Celestial Empire of Kralorela (read: Not China, generally poorly written) and almost destroyed the Lunar Empire (the primary villain nation of mainline Glorantha these days) before the Lunars defeated him and imprisoned him alive in the depths of Tax Hell.

Pent is a grassland steppe vaguely based on Mongolia and Sheng Seleris is vaguely based on Temujin, the Chinggis Khan. This is an area of IRL history and culture that deeply fascinates me and which I love reading and talking about. So I looked at Pent and its generally boring or outright bad writing and decided it needed to be done better.

As such, I started Secret History of the Horse Sun, a total rewrite of Pent as a location and culture. It is heavily based on Mongolian, Tibetan and Central Asian Turkic cultures, backed by my academic research on these areas but very much fictionalized and changed to fit the world of Glorantha and its preexisting mythos. This work is not an accurate representation of real world Mongolia, Tibet, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, ancient Scythia or anywhere else on Earth, though it is my goal to be as respectful of these real world places and peoples as I can be in my portrayal of a fictional culture similar to them.

This post is intended to collect my work on the project into a way that is easy to understand, read, and link to. Below, posts will be divided up into categories based on what they're about. If anything confuses you, please feel free to comment or send an ask or whatever - I love talking about my work and am happy to explain stuff.

The actual work is set shortly before the rise of Sheng Seleris, as I think this is the most interesting time for Pent; it has retconned a number of details to make things more interesting for me, though, like the Winds being gods despite it being pre-Sheng. I will eventually be writing a guide to adventuring before and during Sheng's rise.

Eventually.

The Pentan Gods

The first part of the project was a writeup of the Pentan pantheon, a group collectively known to the Pentans as the First Herd. These are writeups in the HeroQuest 2e/QuestWorlds system, and are mechanically usable in that system, but because the mechanics are highly narrative and descriptive, each writeup is also a description of the god and their cult within Pentan society; in Glorantha, religious cults form much of the bedrock of all societies.

Yu-Kargzant, the Sun Khan, God Above Gods

Basko, the God of the Bad Death, Lord of the Dark Shamans

Dostal, the God of Bow Hunting

DuTukhos and Arcos, the Gods of the Arcos River

East Sting Wind, the God of Bandits and Crime

Erissa, the Goddess of Healing

Eyritha, the Herd Mother, Goddess of Herd Animals That Aren't Horses or Sheep

Galana, the Chooser of Khans, Goddess of Horses

Golden Bow, the God of the Good Death, Lord of the Bright Shamans

Gor Gorma, the Goddess of Terror, the Malign Earth, and Vengeance

Hurfor, the God of Secrets and Law

Hyalor and Gamari, Man and Horse, the Good Ancestors

Issaries, the God of Trade and Mules

Kargzant, the Light Khan

Lozarl, the God of Impure Fires, Mining, Labor and Asses

Manurl, the God of Cats and Trapping

North War Wind, the God of Death

Oria, the Goddess of Earth

Pole Star, the God of Strategy and Warfare

Samnal, the Bad Ancestor, God of What Not To Do

South Rage Wind, the Storm Bull and Chaos Killer

Sirdaryo, Goddess of Wrestling and the River Sirdaryo

Tarhel and Heltar, the Gods of Sheep, Clouds and Weaving

Tepekos, the God of Smiths

Tholm, the God of Falconry

West King Wind, the Storm Khan

Whirlwind Fool, Raven, and other Tricksters

Elyu-Ene, the Emissary of the Winter Gods

Pentan Cultural Overview

This collection of posts was written to try and provide a broader understanding of Pentan culture as it exists without wholly being about the religion. While religion permeates every aspect of Pentan life (and Gloranthan existence in general), there is life outside of the gods, after all.

Horses

Age

The Ancestral Peoples of Pent

Food and Daily Life

Fashion

Law

Love and Hatred

Slavery (CW, uh, Slavery)

Sports

Warfare

Non-Pentan Peoples

The Khuruldan

Life from the Pure Horse Perspective

Life from the Kargzanti Perspective

Life from the Four Winds Perspective

The Pentan Tribe Creation Questionnaire

The Children of the Dragon: On the Wildlife of Pent

I decided to write an in character guide to the animals that live within Pent, because I make good decisions.

Part One: Animals, People, and Classification

Hsunchen and Qa Ying

After I finished the above, I decided I needed to properly detail the non-Pentan cultures in and immediately around Pent. The first grouping I began to work on were the Hsunchen of the Shan Shan mountain range east of the Pentan plains. The Hsunchen are a type of person in Glorantha - "beast people," human beings who are able to transform into animals due to their worship of ancestral beast gods and spirits. Within the Pentan area they are not considered to be human, either by themselves or their neighbors, and could broadly be compared to werewolves, werebears, etc. They are largely non-agricultural, often viewing intensive agriculture as a violent assault on the living earth, and have societies roughly based on the animals they consider to be their kin. The Qa Ying are winged people also called the Wind Children, and are potentially descended from literal winds or are possibly eagle Hsunchen, or a mix of both in the past who became one thing.

The Qa Ying

King Violent Wind, God of Rulership and Storms

Merciful Rain Consort, God of Clouds and Water

Inner Wind Sage, Spirit King of the Wind Spirits

Blazing Wings Hunter, God of Hunting and Ancestral Raptor God

The Lo Fak Yak Folk

Lo Fa, Ancestral Yak Goddess of the Lo Fak

Undrung, God of Draconic Mysticism and Seeker of Mystic Truths

Yi Da, Spirit Yak and God of Shamans

The Lo Fak also worship their own version of Storm Bull but I didn't do a full writeup because he's very similar.

The Chen Ga Snow Leopard Folk

Chen Gar, Ancestral Snow Leopard God of the Chen Ga

Freezing Wind, God of Winter

Snow Woman, Goddess of Mountain Peaks

The Hsa Tiger Folk

Hsa Black Stripe, Ancestral Tiger God of the Hsa

Yumaryu, the God of Light and the Sun Spear Man

Gods of the Cat Brothers, Shared by the Hsa and Chen Ga

Bieti, the Mountain Witch and Patron of Shamans

Sakkar Swordtooth, God of Fear and Hunger

The Ri Si Woodpecker Folk

Ri-si, Ancestral Woodpecker Goddess of the Ri Si

Cucul, Cuckoo God of Shamans

The Damali Deer, Antelope and Gazelle Folk

Damal, the Ancestral Deer, Antelope and Gazelle God of the Damali

The Gord-Un Marmot and Gopher Folk

Gord, Ancestral Marmot and Gopher God of the Gord-Un

Spala, Spirit Zokor and Patron of Shamans

The Orathorn

The Orathorn are the only real sorcerous group in Pent - a small order of necromancers led by the immortal sage Orathorn, granted an imitation of immortality by his magic. They seek the conquest of Death, hoping to grant immortality to all humanity, that they might be free to pursue their true power and goals rather than be bound to what the Orathorn see as slavery-in-afterlife to gods in exchange for power within a paltry mortal lifespan. Most Pentans consider them horrible monsters for, among other things, their casual use of undead, their casual blasphemy, and their terrifying power...insofar as most Pentans ever deal with them, anyway. They are still sometimes hired as mercenaries by those Pentans who are less concerned by prohibitions on the use of sorcery, and they believe their selflessness will be vindicated...eventually.

Orathorn Overview

Principles of Sorcery and the Sorcery of the Zaburi

Sorcery of the Talari, Horali and Dromali

[spewagepipe]

The Evolution of RPGs: Little Wars

Ever since toy soldiers have been widely available, a common way of playing with them is to line them up and fire toy projectiles at them. In 1913, science fiction novelist H. G. Wells published Little Wars, a codified set of rules for a wargame based on this toy-soldier-projectile concept. Wells' rules were highly anachronistic in terms of simulation, and were chiefly concerned with keeping the game light and easy for its presumed target audience of young children. Though Little Wars was not the first set of rules for a toy-soldier-projectile wargame, it was the seed from which decades of similar wargames emerged. This lineage of wargames bears significance to the later design culture of RPGs in only one key respect: the wide use of "folk" and DIY rules. The wargamers of this niche did not really play any one consistent or standardized "game" (except, perhaps, in tournament contexts). Rather, they developed a shared pool of common practices and rule-sets from which they would construct new games on an ad-hoc basis. Especially through the 1950's and 60's, it would not have been terribly unusual for a given wargamer club to locally design a completely unique game for every new scenario they wished to play. Wargamers meeting new opponents from outside their local circle might need to do some negotiation to settle on a balanced design before playing. Occasionally, popular clusters of rules would see publication in the enthusiast zines (the typical pre-internet method for communication between isolated gaming groups), and it's through those that we can trace their evolution back to Little Wars – but it's better to understand them as a continuous, collective trend, rather than as a succession of discrete titles.

Click here for the index of my Evolution of RPGs posts.

[alacodes]

Midnight Abyss

The matching overview code for the Dark Temptation Lesson Code. It is quite simple with the space for your as well as your AT's face claims, a place to introduce the class, write about the requirements of the course and put down the information about your Owls.

Keep the credits and if you have any queries you can contact me at ala25.

Code: https://pastebin.com/9sWNfh0e

[fogaminghub]

https://www.fogaminghub.com/post/strengthening-bonds-a-fragile-alliance-in-rise-of-the-ronin

🌟 Calling all Rise of the Ronin fans! Dive into our latest blog post about the pivotal mission A Fragile Alliance. Unlock strategies to strengthen your bonds and navigate intense brawls while forging alliances with the Satsuma and Choshu clans! ✊🔥 

[germality]

Empyreal is an upcoming single-player sci-fi third-person action RPG with hand-crafted dungeons that have randomly generated loot and enemies. The game looks pretty cool and you can try the demo right now.

[thydungeongal]

Cairn is very cool. More games should just have sections dedicated to sitting the player down and spelling out how to play the game, not just in a "these are the rules" type of way but also in a "this is what the game expects of you as a player" style.

Not only does it address antisocial play (the sort of stuff that gets valorized in supposedly funny RPG memes) it also makes it clear that the Warden's (the GM in this game) role is not to fuck with their players. It is so cool.

The overview and principles section is well worth a read. Some of it is not applicable to every game because it is heavily opinionated towards the type of game Cairn is, but it's still a good read.

[satoshi-mochida]

Digimon Story: Time Stranger announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC - Gematsu

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Media.Vision have announced Digimon Story: Time Stranger for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2025.

Here is an overview of the game, via Bandai Namco:

About

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is an RPG with monster-taming elements that explores the deep bond between humans and Digimon in an epic story that unravels the mystery of the world’s collapse. Embark on an adventure that spans across the human world and Digital World, collecting and raising a diverse array of Digimon to fight in turn-based battles.

Key Features

An Epic Story of Connection – Take on a mission to uncover the mystery of the world’s collapse, where chance encounters with unique characters will shape your journey across time and parallel worlds—and change fate itself.

Adventure Between Worlds and Time – Journey between the parallel human world and the Digital World: Iliad where Digimon reside. See the Digital World and its intricately detailed realms like never before, with interactive elements and special quests to explore.

Strategic Turn-Based Battles – Enjoy dynamic turn-based combat that combines strategic elements with evolved battle components. An incredible variety of Digimon and deep customization options provide limitless ways to approach the challenges of battle and reveal the strength of the bonds formed with your Digimon.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

English

Japanese

[theresattrpgforthat]

How to Find Cool Games: Newsletters

Plenty of game designers and other folks in the ttrpg space are using newsletters to keep people updated on their work. Newsletters are a great way to talk about what’s fascinating to you, give people snapshots of the things you’re working on, and offer links to freebies or extras for folks who are interested in your work. They also remind folks that you’re out there, making cool things.

I follow a number of different newsletters, and they offer different formats depending on their focus and the platform they use. But here’s what you can generally expect from a newsletter:

Updates on a designer’s work. Designers and small publishers will release updates on what they’re working on, including snapshots of works in progress, updates on crowdfunding initiatives, and pieces of art they may have recently finished or received.

Musings on aspects of design and play. Some game designers and prominent bloggers may release newsletters simply to talk about pieces of games that they’re excited about or ruminating on; how specific mechanics elicited special moments at the table, emotions or themes they’re hoping to invoke in their game projects, or perhaps talking about elements of a game book that make it interesting or enjoyable to read.

Reviews. This might be after playing a game or simply reading it, but interacting with other people’s games isn’t just a fun activity, it often also sparks thoughts about what the author values or doesn’t value in play. These reviews might include a brief overview of a game’s rules, highlight special moments in play, or cover more practical issues, such as the safety tools on offer, or the way the game layout affects their reading experience.

-Talking about the gaming hobby in general. This might include various perspectives in the hobby, like how colonialism affects steampunk games, or common experiences people of colour might have in a gaming space. It might also include safety practices and why the author finds certain practises helpful or unhelpful. There might also be ruminations on the business of game design, such as how to learn layout, how to network with artists, and advice on how to deal with the crowdfunding process.

So, with that in mind, let’s talk about some various newsletters that I’m subscribed to, and what I’ve gotten from them!

The Indie RPG Newsletter. @indierpgnewsletter

The Indie RPG Newsletter is the current project under the pen of Thomas Manuel, who’s also the host of the Yes Indie’d Podcast, as well as a writer for Rascal News (which we’ll get back to later). Thomas uses this as a place to talk about what’s getting him excited in the indie scene, as well as provide links to other people talking about cool game things; every newsletter has a section called Links of the Week . This section points you to some fun conversations happening in various ttrpg spaces. I think The Indie RPG Newsletter is a great jumping off point if you want to see what else is going on in a number of different spheres, and Thomas also has some really lovely insights into various mechanics that he’s interacting with as he tries out a slew of games at his table.

Rascal News.

The newsletter for Rascal News isn’t really a standalone thing - it’s an arm of the website of the same name, an independent team of journalists focused on news related to the world of TTRPGs.You need to create a free membership with the website in order to get these newsletters, but it’s a nice little window into not just the hottest news off of the press - various newsletters also carry links to their Announcements section, which is for the most part free to read, and contains a lot of updates about new and exciting ttrpg projects - including crowdfunding campaigns, podcast announcements, awards ceremonies, and special sales or bundles on offer. Currently the Rascal Team consists of Rowan Zeoli, Chase Carter, Caelyn Ellis - and, as previously mentioned, Thomas Manuel!

More Seats at the Table

More Seats a the Table is an email newsletter dedicated to highlighting games made by game designers of marginalized genders. It includes not just roleplaying games, but occasionally board-games as well, and each issue contains links to current crowdfunding initiatives, as well as advertisements that have been submitted to the newsletter through their submission form. This newsletter is straightforward and to-the-point, showing you a few games with quick blurbs - no more, no less. If you want news about games without a lot of fluff, you might be interested in More Seats at the Table.

Indie Press Revolution. @indiepressrevolution

Indie Press Revolution calls themselves a “network of quality creator-publishers”, and works to make people’s games available both through their online website and at various conventions. They also partner with retailers in acting as a distributor, bringing indie ttrpgs closer to your hometown! However, IPR also has its’ own newsletter, the IPR Revolutionary, which includes featured products, news related to various tabletop events, pricing updates, pdf updates, new stores added to the network, and links to oodles and oodles of crowdfunding projects. If you want to know what you can get in on right now, this monthly list of projects is a great collection.

5. Individual Designers: a short list.

If you’re a big OSR fan, you might find something in the Questing Beast newsletter, which is fairly regular and includes links to sales, reviews, and ads for games from various sponsors.

The Jar of Eyes Game Gazette has some really really good advice for game designers in their archive. I haven’t seen a lot of recent updates, but if the author starts sending out letters again, I think my eyes will be glued to the page.

Watt, the designer of Cloud Empress, has a regular Cloud Empress Newsletter that’s mostly focused around Watt’s work - but in the tradition of various popular OSR games, the exciting thing about these kinds of games is that there’s consistently new stuff. Watt includes little freebies in each newsletter, from roll tables, to small expansions, and little pieces of art. On top of that, Watt is quite happy to showcase work by other designers, especially projects that they have small parts in, as well as highlighting things that are currently giving them inspiration, such as movies, video games - and tabletop roleplaying games.

Asked Questions by Hendrik ten Napel, dives into specific games and game experiences that are making the author reflect on how the games direct his play. Some of his recent letters include an examination of Under Hollow Hills, how to create dramatic triangles between characters, and a loving review of Old Morris Cave, written by Tim Hutchings.

Dinoberry Press, a collaboration between Nevyn Holmes and Julie-Anne Muńoz, has a newsletter that gives you updates on what the designers are up to, how their games are coming along, and highlights projects that they’re excited about. Yes, it’s a form of marketing, but marketing is how you get info about new games! I followed them specifically because I am interested in their latest game, Little Wolves. You can sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of their website.

You’ve probably heard of Dave Thaumvore if you’re looking at ttrpg content on Youtube, and his attached newsletter has various subscription tiers - but I just subscribe to the free one. He does publish some content related to D&D, but he also sits down for interviews with designers; you’re likely to find high-end games from bigger companies being featured here. The most recent newsletter features a review with the designer of the upcoming game Flux Fantasy.

Christian Sorrell’s Missives of the Meatcastle is a little infrequent, but his updates are professional, thoughtful, and full of goodies. He includes little freebies for subscribers, alongside updates about his own work - both his passion projects and the projects of others that he writes for. His most recent update, titled "In Defense of Fiction", was a really insightful look into the ways prose can make a game more readable, and therefore more enjoyable to anyone reading a game book.

Cloven Pine Games has a newsletter that is fairly infrequent, but occasionally sends out updates on things that they have a hand in making, as well as news about game-adjacent events that they are involved in - such as awards shows, or game conventions. Their latest issue takes about Root and The Between, which are two projects that they had a hand in designing.

CJ Tucker has a newsletter for @crackerjackalopegames, which includes a regular roundup of “Things I Liked This Month”, as well as various musings about the connections they’re making across games and various media. Some of their newsletters that stand out to me include a review of NASA’s TTRPG adventure, using Breath of the Wild as inspiration for world building, and the concept of a house as a character (which led to the design of their game, ABODE.)

Tim Hutchings Makes Games is a newsletter by the author of Thousand Year Old Vampire, a solo game about a vampire who has lived so long that they can’t hold on to all of their memories. His newsletters consist of updates on things he’s working on, and events that he’s participating in. I think these kinds of newsletters can be great for other designers to follow, because it’s kind of a sneak peek into all of the various ways you can get involved in the scene, as well as provide snapshots of the kinds of considerations you might need to make as you try to promote your game. You can sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the website.

Also...

A number of ttrpg creators also have free Patreon tiers which come with newsletters, including Possum Creek Games, Goblincow (@goblincow), and Penflower Ink. Not all of these posts will be public, but the ones that are will get sent to your email. (And of course, if you pay into their Patreons, you get all the posts.)

Honorable Mentions

9th Level Games

The Twenty Sided Newsletter, a partner newsletter for My First Dungeon.

Monte Cooke Games

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Trans made TTRPGs

Due to… recent events that I would rather not talk about, today's post is a highlight of different tabletop games made by trans peeps! These games are fantastic in their own right, of course, but you can also know that they were made by incredibly cool and attractive people

(Also, these are flyover descs of the game, they'll get more in-depth singular posts later, this is because I am lazy)

Perfect Draw is a phenomenal card game TTRPG that was funded in less than a day on backerkit, it's incredibly fun and has simple to learn hard to master rules for creating custom cards, go check it out!

Songs for the dusk is fucking good, pardon my language, but it's a damn good post apocalyptic game about building community in a post-capitalist-post-apocalypse-post-whatever world. do yourself a favor and if you only check out one game in this list, check this one out, its a beautiful game.

Flying Circus is set in a WW1 inspired fantasy setting full of witches, weird eldritch fish people (who are chill as hell), cults, dead nobility, and other such things. It's inspired by Porco Rosso primarily but it has other touchstones.

Wanderhome is a game about being cute little guys going on a silly adventure and growing as the seasons change, its GMless and very fun

https://weregazelle.itch.io/armour-astir Armour Astir has been featured in here before but its so damn good I had to post it twice. AA demonstrates a fundamental knowledge of the themes of mech shows in a way that very few other games show, its awesome

Kitchen Knightmares is… more of a LARP but its still really dang cool, its about being a knight serving people in a restaurant, its played using discord so its incredibly accessible

https://grimogre.itch.io/michtim Michtim is a game about being small critters protecting their forest from nasty people who wish to harm it, not via brutal violence (sadly) but via friendship and understanding (which is a good substitute to violence)

ok this technically doesn't count but I'm putting it here anyways cuz its like one of my favorite ttrpgs of all time TSL is a game about baring your heart and dueling away with people who you'll probably kiss 10 minutes later, its very very fanfic-ey and inspired by queer narratives. I put it here because its made by a team, and the expansion has a setting specifically meant to be a trans "allegory", so I'll say it counts, honestly just go check it out its good shit

https://willuhl.itch.io/mystic-lilies

Mystic Lillies is a game inspired by ZUN's Touhou Project about witches dueling powerful foes, each other, and themselves. Mystic Lillies features rapid character creation and a unique diceless form of rolling which instead uses a standard playing card deck.

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/141424/nobilis-the-game-of-sovereign-powers-2002-edition I… want to do a more general overview on Jenna K as an important figure in indie RPG design, but for now just know that Nobilis is good

https://temporalhiccup.itch.io/apocalypse-keys Apocalypse Keys is a game inspired by Doom Patrol, Hellboy, X-men, and other comics about monstrousness being an allegory for disenfranchisement. Apocalypse Keys is also here because its published by Evilhat so its very cleaned up and fancy but I love how the second you check out the dev's other stuff you can tell they are a lot more experimental with their stuff, this is not a critique, it is in fact a compliment

Fellowship! I've posted about this game before, but it is again here. Fellowship has a fun concept that it uses very well mostly, its a game about defining your character's culture, and I think that's really really cool

Voidheart Symphony is a really cool game about psychic rebellion in a city that really does not like you, the more you discover for yourself the better

Panic at the Dojo is a phenomenal ttrpg based on what the Brazilian would call "Pancadaria", which basically means, fucking other's people shit up. Character Creation is incredibly open and free, meaning that many character concepts are available

Legacy 2e is a game about controlling an entire faction's choices across time, its very fun

remember to be kind to a trans person today! oh also don't even try to be transphobic in the reblogs or replies, you will be blocked so fast your head will spin

[anim-ttrpgs]

as someone too poor to buy rpg rule booklets, I was looking into your game since it appears to be free to play. Was that correct, or did I misread it. (I think its pay what you want)

I was wondering if there was a good place to learn the basic rules. Like a youtube channel that might explain the difference between stats, and when they are applicable. I have never played a tabletop rpg, so the entire concept feels a little overwhelming.

I was also wondering how easy can the game be made. My only potential gaming group at the moment is one that finds monopoly overwhelming. Which means I probably need to look into playing online, or find a way to play single-player.

I know you’ve already had these questions answered by joining our discord server but I wanted to give it a public answer anyway for the sake of anyone else in the same boat.

First of all, yes, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is free if you want it to be free. The beta is pay-what-you-want, which includes $0 if that’s all you can afford.

As for a YouTube video explaining the rules, the best we can do for that is direct you to the Tiny Table podcast. They do get a couple of rules wrong while they play(as most people do the first time they play any particular RPG), but the rules overview will give you the basics. Those basics won’t be enough to start playing from scratch, but they will at least prime you for what you’re about to read in the rulebook.

The only real way to learn to play any RPG is to just read the rulebook, and then play it, continuing to reference the rulebook as-needed while you play.

This may sound intimidating, but it’s really not. Most RPG rulebooks are not massive unreadable tomes, and the ones that look like they are, like Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, are really not as intimidating as they look. Yes, the page count says 700 pages, but only about 200 of that is super important to read before you start playing the game, and, since we use big font and have a bunch of pictures taking up space, as far as word count goes that’s really closer to about 120 pages of actual text, then about 40 more of combat rules. The rest is optional rules, homebrew guidelines, additional character options, and lists and tables and stuff. It’s easy, just go through a few pages at a time.

I actually think that Eureka, despite being a dense and crunchy game, is a very, very good starting point for first-time players of TTRPGs, because it not only tells you the rules, it tells you how you’re supposed to approach the rules, what the rules mean and what their purpose is, and it even breaks down a lot of the math for you. Most games just tell you the rules, but don’t actually tell you how to apply them. Many shorter games will tell you even less, which is why I think it’s not a good idea to start people off on one-page RPGs.

Finally, the best place on the Internet right now to get online TTRPG groups that are safe, respectful, and compatible is the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club.

There’s nominations and we vote regularly on a game for everyone to read together and then play, with groups put together based on schedule compatibility, but there’s also a section for just putting together any game at any time, and it gets a lot of use. I know you already know this because you’re in it by now, but to anyone else reading this who has the same question, here’s an invite link.

[legionofmyth]

The Rifter #11: Hidden Answers That Could Boost Your Gameplay

Could the Q&A in The Rifter #11 be the key to unlocking new adventures in your Palladium RPGs? 🔑 Find out how these insights can impact your games today! Don't stay in the dark when answers are at your fingertips. Watch now! #TheRifter #PalladiumBooks #RPG

The Rifter #11 Rifts Ultimate Edition Unlock invaluable insights with our analysis of The Rifter #11’s Q&A section and discover how it impacts your Palladium Books games today! Join us as we reveal answers to burning questions that could enhance your gameplay and storytelling. In this enlightening video, we delve into the Q&A section of The Rifter #11, uncovering clarifications and expert advice…

[morsrattus]

Secret History of the Horse Sun: The Children of the Dragon

An excerpt from the work of Ganerdem the Beastwatcher, Geche monk of the Monastery of the Loving Scribe, in service to Hurfor the Kargzant and Buseryan the Scribe. Written in the Year of the Red Dog, corresponding to 1289 ST by the Theyalan reckoning and Godunya-165 by the Kralori reckoning. Translated from the Pentan written language into Kralori in 1444 ST/Sheng-2 for spread throughout the Celestial Empire.

I write this text in honor of the great and glorious Yu-Kargzant, by whose light all things strive. I call upon the great Hurfor to spread the light of knowledge, which grows brighter, and the wise Buseryan to preserve and protect my words, that they not be forgotten.

I invoke the Archivist's Prayer and instruct the reader to purify themself and show respect for the Reading, and I beg Buseryan to lay his curse against those who read without respect and purity. To those who read my work stained by blood, I implore mercy in the case of need, for they may seek wisdom against the beasts of the steppes, and so request only that the Strained Head Curse be laid should they stain my pages with blood. Against those who read my work while in the impurity of sexual congress or contact with the dead, I implore the gods that the Curse of Nightmares be visited upon them. May those who read my words without permission by struck blind.

Archivist's note: this is a variation on the standard Pentan introductory prayer found in most written texts. In the era known as the Anticipation of Sheng, it was common practice among the monks of Hurfor to invoke curses against improper readers, a practice which only grew stronger during the Celestial Empire, albeit tempered by a desire to translate the text into languages readable by non-Pentans. This text is relatively merciful, as the author intended it to be useful to hunters and those who would fight monsters, and so invokes a lesser curse against readers rendered impure by contact with blood. The Archivist's Prayer, of course, includes its own set of curses for readers who cause the text to be stained by various fluids.

This text concerns itself with the Children of the Dragon, as we may formally refer to animals: those creatures which descend primarily from the Beast Dragon, sometimes called Universe Dragon, whom the Beast Peoples known as Korgatsu. Further, it specifically deals with those animals which have not become people.

The Beast Peoples are considered by the Law of Yu-Kargzant to be beasts, not men. This classification is correct, but does not mean that all beasts are not people. Therefore we must first define our terms and distinguish that which makes a man and a beast, and then further clarify our purpose. The scholarship of the foreign empire known to us as the Jrusteli is useful here, and the reader is instructed to consider the formal definition of the Man Rune, described better elsewhere. However, we determine that a man is a creature of the Man Rune, a shape primarily of two arms, two legs and one head, modified by the addition of further runes. Some sages have questioned if this definition is sufficient given the existence of creatures such as the harpy or the Fish People, and such argument is beyond the scope of this text. Rather, we turn instead to the spiritual nature of the Man Rune, which is formally the power of the ancestors. We define as men those beings which are governed by their ancestors, the Ancestral Men which can be found in the histories of all such peoples. All Men may draw their lineage back to a fundamental ancestor. Who this ancestor is differs, but all bear certain traits of mortality and nature.

We distinguish then that animals bear instead the Beast Rune, which may be perceived through their instinctive action, but does not refer to a specific shape. The animals may also trace their lineages back to ancestral figures, and in no way are these figures the same as the Ancestral Men by which the beings we call Men are known. In discussion with Beast Peoples we have determined instead that these ancestors were beasts, progenitors of both unspeaking creatures and the Beast Peoples. They near universally claim descent from the Dragon Korgatsu, whom we term therefore the Beast Dragon.

But we must, for the purposes of this work, further distinguish between the animals and the Beast Peoples. Beast Peoples are a subset of animals which we will not be discussing further. The sages of the Way of Hurfor have developed what we refer to as the Test of Wisdom, by which we may determine if a creature should be treated as a mere beast or as a Beast Person. Legally this distinction bears little weight, but none may deny its importance in determining sentience, that is, the quality of being a being with culture and wisdom.

Thus, we ask first: is every creature of this kind fully intelligent? The phenomenon of animals becoming intelligent and able to speak is known, but rare. A fox may achieve enlightened status and become able to reason and even speak, but foxes as a whole have not. By comparison, every Lo Fak may think and reason, even though other breeds of yak do not. Should we answer this question 'no,' the creature is not a person, and may well be an animal. (We consider, as always, the whole of the kind, rather than the individual, in this judgment. The talking individual may well be a person.)

Second, we ask: can members of this kind or species learn and develop themselves? We have seen little evidence that, for example, animated stone figures learn, change or grow, despite the fact that some are intelligent and able to speak. Therefore, at this time, we classify these things as not being people, though they also are not animals. Similarly, if we consider a kind of creature and answer this question 'no,' the creature is likely not a person, though it may also not be an animal.

Third, we ask: do members of this kind or species work cooperatively? We believe that it is fundamental to the nature of personhood that it is not singular, but societal. A beast may live alone, or may work cooperatively as part of a herd or group. A person cannot exist singularly, but always exists as part of a society or group. Even a hermit shaman is a member of the greater whole of Pent, even if they reject tribe or family. Even we, the monks of Hurfor, are Pentan, though we forswear tribal lineage. Therefore we determine: a singular being, no matter how intelligent or able to learn, cannot be determined a person in and of itself if it does not exist in the context of a society. For this reason the unicorn cannot be considered a person, though they are quite intelligent and wise, for they do not organize themselves in any manner and each exists as a being in itself, with no relation to other unicorns. Similarly, if we consider another kind of creature and answer this question 'no,' the creature is not a person, though it may also not be an animal. However, if we answer 'yes,' this does not have bearing on if the creature is or is not an animal - the deer lives in a herd, after all.

Fourth, we ask: do multiple specialized tasks, occupations, or jobs exist within the creature's society? A creature may exist in a society - but all deer are deer. They all perform the same functions within the herd, and do not pursue interest or specialized skill. This is never the case for beings which are people, and so if we answer 'no' to this question, the creature is certainly not a person. However, if we answer 'yes' it may still be an animal, for we observe that bees perform specialized functions within the hive and so develop what may be considered occupations.

Fifth, we ask: does the creature use magic? Magical rituals are universal to the beings we consider people, though we have not yet fully catalogued nor understood all or even a large sample of them. A creature which cannot perform magic, as a class, is not a person. Individuals being unable to perform magic are known, but no type of person is wholly unable to perform any magic. Therefore, any creature about which this question is answered 'no' is likely to be an animal - though it must be considered as a species, not individually, for this purpose. If we answer 'yes' this does not rule out animals, however, as some animals are innately capable of magical acts.

Lastly, we ask: is this creature a mortal, physical being which can reproduce? We do not consider spirits to be animals for our purposes here, and neither do we consider that which is singular, unable to die or reproduce. An animal is not an individual, but a member of a kind. As before, we ask this question of the kind as a whole; an individual being unable to reproduce is not disqualifying.

Through consideration of these six questions and through properly understanding the answers, we are able to divide Beast People and other forms of non-Man people from simple beasts.

Having done so, let us now consider the simple beasts that make their homes in the blessed land of Pent. We will apply the Pentan classification schema to them, approaching them through divisions of spiritual purity. Readers will note its similarity to the Dara Happan classification system known as the Anaxial classification; however, the Anaxial system erroneously classifies a number of beasts. For example, Anaxial falsely considered horses to be of the same sort as other land animals, when they should be considered beings of spiritual purity on par with birds; it is baffling how this mistake should be made, for my readings of the Dara Happan text Roster of Anaxial does correctly note the lineage of horses as deriving from the sky. We also note the Ocronian names of creatures where possible, according to the classification system of the Jrusteli sage Ocron Everseer. I do not subscribe to this classification system, which purports to be based on deductive observation of physical traits first and foresmost, but find it useful in specifying species, even when I disagree with the lineal divisions Ocron made. For this reason, in each description of beast, I shall give both its common anme and its Ocronian name, for example: the golden eagle (Ocronian: aquila chrysaetos).

The Anaxial system attempts to classify spiritual beings and those of the realms outside our human world, such as spirits or the inhabitants of the Sky Realm. This is beyond the scope of this text, save where such creatures may be considered animals and may be considered to also be indigenous to Pent. We will not attempt to classify such beings here otherwise.

Such preambles being complete, I pray once more for the wisdom of Hurfor to guide my words. In the way of Hurfor, the reader shall begin weakest, in ignorance, and by completion of the text will arrive in the fullness of knowledge, the greatest strength. However, we will not contemplate the creatures in this order, for to do so would be to rob the most sacred of beings of primacy of place.

Therefore, we will begin with the most pure and sacred of beings as the first classification we consider: the Beasts of Above, those which fly, and in so doing are blessed by the Sun and the Air, untouched in their common lives by the impurities of the Earth save when they come to rest.

[project-lumen]

》》 The LUMEN M-AHA-sterpost 《《

It was a-BAM time.

Hi hello there, fellow Life Series enjoyers! Arto, Pinkish and Kori here, live from our Game-Making Void bringing to you our comprehensive list of resources in one post for easier access and navigation!

Here you'll find our current status, some important links to other posts, as well as an overview of our tags and a handy F.A.Q. section :3

Without further ado, thank you so much, all info is under the cut!

》Status《

Date Format: [DD/MM/YY]

Current mission: APPLICATION ROUND 2 OVER AND DONE! CONTINUING TO WORK ON THIRD LIFE DEMO.

》Other Socials《

Bluesky

Youtube Channel

Our public Discord!

A Secret :3

》Links《

First announcement: Applications

Meet the team!

Second announcement: Our official art guide

Essential info

Arto's lore scraps

》Tags!《

#projectLUMENasks : For every single one of the questions we have answered so far!

》F.A.Q.《

What is this?

Project LUMEN is an effort to bring the Life Series to life in a brand new way, in videogame form! A RPG of sorts with battle mechanics, interaction with npcs, our own unique spin in Watcher Lore, changing art styles and multiple endings with a bunch of mechanics we need to keep secret for now but we know you all will enjoy, at least we hope so.

Cool, how can I contribute?

We want LUMEN to be a game by the community for the community, a tribute to all the wonderful artists, writers and creatives of all kinds. And it is a HUGE project, as such, all help is appreciated. We plan to open applications from time to time to recruit people as passionate as us into our little team. But everyone can lend a hand if they so desire, all ideas, all likes, all reblogs, all comments, all art, is truly, genuinely appreciated. Project LUMEN is completely non-profit, a passion project turned group effort that we are willing to pour our heart into, and we want to be as transparent as possible with it.

How will development of the game itself go?

As for specifications, Kori is the one in charge of the coding department, we are going to use Unity and C# to program everything, Arto will manage music and Pinkish will be in charge of the Martyn and Ren section. But once we review our first batch of applications, we will contact our chosen ones with more details, either for character sprites, script or any other miscellaneous things. We will all be working together as a team, each contributing as much as they so desire.

We will then take to developing our early alpha build including our very first couple of chapters, and release it for playtesting, then we will take all the feedback and make the pertinent changes. We will improve the game and continue developing until we have an almost finished beta build that we will then publish for testing. Take all the criticism again to finally reveal our finished product. Releasing first on itch io and then hopefully ported into Newgrounds for mobile compatibility.

Is there a release date?

As of now, we'd rather not promise anything. But we are actively working on development, and we hope to, at the very least, have a playable alpha demo at the end of this year.

[fogaminghub]

🌟 Visions of Mana Adventurers! 🌟 

Chapter 5 is here and the stakes are high! Learn how to defeat the Benevodon of Earth and empower your heroes with the Lumina Lantern! Dive into our comprehensive guide to survival against Garethe. Your quest to protect the Mana Goddess starts now! 🌍✊

[adarkrainbow]

Terri Windling was VERY productive when it came to modern fairytales and fairytale retellings - in fact, she is considered the main "godmother" of the "fairy revival" of English-speaking literature in the 70s to 90s. Outside of the two series I already made posts about, you can also find her handiwork within books such as these:

Outside of her "Snow White, Blood Red" anthology series and the "Fairy Tale Series" of novels, Windling also created alongside Ellen Datlow the "Retold Fairy Tales" trilogy:

And a tad bit away from fairytales proper, but still very interesting - Windlong and Datlow also produced a "Mythic Fiction" quadrilogy...

... While Windling collaborated with Wendy Froud for the Old Oak Wood trilogy:

Also, as a bonus for French folks, Terri Windling collaborated to two of the best and most referential overviews of "merveilleux" literature and fantasy literature as a whole - "Fées, elfes, dragons et autres créatures des royaumes de féerie" (which despite its title is NOT a fairy encyclopedia but an overview of the fantasy and marvelous, and fairies and magic, in literature from Arthuriana to 2010s RPGs) ; and the "Panorama illustré de la fantasy et du merveilleux".