The Gaming Shelf Spotlights Gauntlet Publishing, New Releases, More

Another fortnight, one other slew of recent video games and releases which have made their manner onto my radar. In between PAX East, the Gayming Awards, and the primary D&D Direct, lots has occurred. I’ve already lined Role’s new digital launch Chrome, the Spelljammer announcement, and the brand new Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, however we’re right here to dive into some indie tabletop role-playing video games. And we’re beginning out with a brand new sport from a improbable writer (and a private pal!): Jason Cordova.

Creator Spotlight: Gauntlet Publishing 

Gauntlet Publishing is a large neighborhood of TTRPG gamers that hosts a large calendar of on-line video games that anybody can be part of, produces each precise play and nonfiction gaming podcasts, and helps unbiased publishing tasks. They additionally publish Codex, a month-to-month gaming journal that yours actually was revealed in again in 2020, and (within the spirit of full disclosure) I’ve beforehand freelanced for the journal up to now as its copy and improvement editor. Their final crowdfunding outings embrace a Codex compendium, Trophy, and Hearts of Wulin. And now? Brindlewood Bay has simply launched and has already surpassed its crowdfunding objective 4 occasions over!

From the core rulebook, “Brindlewood Bay is a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries. They become increasingly aware that there are supernatural forces that connect the cases they are working on and, in particular, a cult dedicated to the dark, monstrous aspect of the goddess Persephone will come to vex them.”

Cordova’s work on Brindlewood Bay encompasses years of TTRPG expertise, leading to a sport that’s mechanically compelling and makes use of a variety of sitcom tropes to their fullest extent. The Brindlewood Bay system (which reads like a closely modified Powered by the Apocalypse) is completely designed for mystery-solving, clue-gathering, and supernatural meddling. One of Cordova’s signatures—a information on find out how to simply write your personal thriller, together with setup, NPCs, and a simplified sport construction—is current on this sport, which embodies Cordova’s ethos of accessibility and inclusion.

New Releases: Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells, Wrongwood, Warlords of Mars 

So, not simply because I’m nonetheless on a Spelljammer kick, I’m highlighting Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells by Diogo Old Skull. This is a rules-light house sorcery sport with pulpy sci-fi roots; the extremely detailed ebook is 450 pages of illustrations, journey seeds, merchandise and NPC tables, and adventures! The precise guidelines are a comparative 150 pages, which feels proper for a galaxy-spanning ebook about leaping by stars on residing meteors.

Welcome to Wrongwood by David Blandy is a brief map-crawl filled with mycelium touring and rotting forest. It’s obtained a variety of trippy hallucinogenic taste and gives an amazing base for a microsetting in any type of system. It’s simply moveable, well-written, and an amazing little addition to any marketing campaign.

A Fiasco playset, Warlords of Mars is a couple of lone human attempting to cease a warfare on the Red Planet. It’s pulpy and filled with callbacks to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, that means that it’s obtained romance, an unavoidable local weather change plot, and an entire lot of motion.

Crowdfunding: Emerald Templars, To Change, Pitcrawler

Emerald Templars by DeAngelo Murillo: “In a world under the constant threat of chaos magic, only one faction stands between order and destruction: You are the Emerald Templars. Brave souls from all walks of life, sworn to use your might and magic against unimaginable dangers. Embark on harrowing quests to investigate and stop the occult. Encounter otherworldly enemies who command terrible power in depths of forsaken lands. All the while risking not just your body, but your mind and soul.”

To Change by Ulysses “Duck” Duckler and Ewen Albright: “To Change is a rules-light TTRPG where players will find themselves faced with a shared experience of a transformation in the body and mind. Whether the change is something terrible to be avoided or something wonderful to be pursued, whether it is something enigmatic or anticipated, the possibilities are limitless. The system is setting agnostic, with adventures that span a wide range of genres to cover themes of body horror and lost humanity, as well as self discovery and the joy of taking on a new form.”

Pitcrawler: “Designed by Jonathan Sims (The Magnus Archives, Thirteen Storeys) and Sasha Sienna (Himbo Treasure Hunt, Doctor Who: Redacted), Pitcrawler is a two-player TTRPG inspired by classic adventure gamebook series like Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and Sonic the Hedgehog (seriously, there were six of them and they were awesome), with one player taking the role of the adventurer and the other taking the GM role by playing the book.”

In Other News:

• The 2022 Gayming Award ceremony occurred on April 25, and celebrated a ton of geeky queer gamer goodness together with prime honors for Life is Strange: True Colors (Best Game) and Tanya DePas (Gayming Icon)
• Debuting at PAX East, AlchemyRPG confirmed off a powerful set of digital tabletop (VTT) instruments for D&D, geared toward streamers and worldbuilders.
• Castles in the Sky, a “spacial puzzle” board sport, has efficiently crowdfunded.
• Following CY_BORG’s profitable Kickstarter, Kyle Tam launched Idols of Flesh and Blood, an unofficial, entertainer-focused complement for the sport.

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