It’s June, and you know what that means: RPG Kickstarters are in full gear! There’s a bunch of games out here fighting for recognition and funding before hitting the convention circuit, and that only means more choice for you, fine readers. This top ten is about half of the campaigns I read through, and there were way more good ones than bad ones. Still, these ten are the ones I think you should take a closer look at.
Tag Archives: Opinion
A Glimpse Into PAX East: Newfoundland Jam
Sometimes you just want a tasty treat, and you’ve got to make it yourself. You’re going to need ingredients, some sort of container, and maybe some utensils to get the job done, though. That might sound simple enough, and even on Newfoundland it should be that simple on paper . . . except the pages of your Recipe Book keep getting torn out by storms, and just when you’ve got the right amount of blueberries one of those goddamn mainlander raccoons shows up and eats some of them. Ah well, you’ll just have to unpack some more groceries. Let’s make some friggin’ jam with Newfoundland Jam, the ‘colourful jam making game with flavourful cuss words’ from Jason Anarchy Games!
The Independents: Heroes All
Superhero stories are at their most interesting when talking about conflicts that aren’t easily knocked down with super-strength or a utility belt of gadgets. The most memorable superheroes across every continuity are those who are both relatable and who must struggle to earn their victories. As our readers have seen with Seamus’s High Impact Heroics Adventure Log, there are newer supers games like Masks which do a great job of emphasizing the human aspects of the superheroic. Cut from a similar cloth is Heroes All, a new game by Brandon Sichling. Heroes All is built around the core conflicts that make or break a superheroic character. By pairing the creation of an antagonist with the player’s protagonist, Heroes All creates an immediate conflict for every player right out of the gate.
Star Wars: Rise of the Separatists Review
“The galaxy is in conflict. After years of growing tension, the worlds of the SEPARATIST ALLIANCE have seceded from the GALACTIC REPUBLIC. Under the leadership of the Jedi Knights, clone troopers fight bravely against the remorseless droid army. Away from the battlefields, Separatist diplomats and agents work to turn additional planes against the Republic, and both sides seeks alliances with neutral systems. Meanwhile, smugglers, scavengers, and pirates find opportunities to profit from the war, which continues with no peace in sight . . .” Such is the opening crawl for Rise of the Separatists, the latest Era Sourcebook from Fantasy Flight Games. The light of the Jedi Order still shines, the Republic still stands, and clones fight the good fight, so let’s go section by section to see what this book has to offer for Star Wars Roleplaying!
Maybe…Don’t Play D&D?
Earlier this year Dungeons and Dragons, and, as a result, the role-playing game as a formal, published form, turned 45. It is one of the youngest mediums in entertainment; as a point of comparison the first video game patent was issued in 1948, making that medium over 70. And like video games did with arcades and Atari, role-playing games are beginning to enjoy mainstream recognition, several decades after their genesis. There’s another similarity between video games, consoles specifically, and role-playing games: the first mainstream video game console outsold every competitor it had more than ten to one, just like the first mainstream role-playing game. In video games that was the Atari 2600, and in role-playing games that’s Dungeons and Dragons.
The Independents: The ORPHEUS Protocol
I duck behind a car for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Silencing the voices in my head is no easy feat, but I need a clear mind if I’m going to make it out of this alive. Check my pistol, three shots left. Check my shoulder, clean exit wound. We expected armed guards, we just didn’t expect them to be lead by a rampaging arch-demon. How did these mercenaries even manage to summon that thing?
Welcome to The ORPHEUS Protocol, a game of cult infiltration, mind-numbing monsters, and spy-thriller action. Have the urge to play a coven of monster-exterminating witches? How about a traveling exorcist and his werewolf companion? Maybe a militant team of cyborgs who are also ghost hunters? Buckle your seatbelts eldritch fans, things are about to get weird.
PAX Independents: … and then we died
Being a ghost is a tough gig, even if you’re ‘lucky’ enough to be hanging around with a bunch of other ghosts. I mean, there you are all definitely deceased but not passing on, and you’ve got no idea how you got there. Passing on to the other side seems like a definite improvement, but you really want to figure out how your life ended first, right? So how does one do that? Well, you and your fellow ghosts will have to tell the story of your demise to one another, plucking fragments of words and memories from the aether and stringing them together. Such is the tale to be told with the storytelling game from Emma Larkins … and then we died. Continue reading PAX Independents: … and then we died
The Independents: Hack the Planet
Forged in the Dark is out of the starting gates. Where Apocalypse World spawned ‘Powered by the Apocalypse’ (PbtA), Blades in the Dark spawned Forged in the Dark, a similar moniker to describe new games which hack and adapt the original game’s ruleset. Now, three years after Blades was first available digitally, there are three Forged in the Dark games at various stages of completion: Scum and Villainy, Band of Blades, and Hack the Planet. Of these, Hack the Planet is the second one released and the one I’ve personally been waiting for. Designed by Fraser Simons, best known for his work on PbtA cyberpunk game The Veil, Hack the Planet means its title literally, and takes place in a dark future where climate change has wrought havoc on the planet. Characters are Glitches, those who eschew the protection (and surveillance) of the corporations from the refugee city Shelter 1 and instead try to make their own way, adapting technology, modifying their bodies, and even fighting the weather to do so. Storm-chasing cyberpunk sound interesting? Read on.
Kickstarter Wonk: May, 2019
Welcome back to Kickstarter Wonk! This month, you guys…oh man. So many games! So. Many. Games. Down-selecting this list from nearly 20 campaigns was difficult. I had help from another Cannibal Halfling author, Jason, who wrote excellent reviews for both Lancer and Sundown. You won’t see those games covered a second time, but definitely read the linked articles and check them out. In the meanwhile, the top ten for this month came through a lot of reading and pondering, but I’m pretty excited by my selections. All of these games have some really original stuff going on and are worth a look.
The Independents: Sundown
Life on the road in Sundown is tough; you have to savor rest when you can get it. I’ve been a guest at the Ruelas homestead for the past week. They’ve treated me to hot meals, a bed, and have promised me a bag of coin if I can help them deal with their bird problem. They’re good folk, fond of the Fiendswatch even on a safe day. But today ain’t safe.
Welcome to Sundown, a game for monster hunters, transhumanist revolutionaries, and everyone in between. Get ready to leave our world behind and explore the beautiful and brutal land where still water flows deep and death waits behind every bend.
Cannibal Halfling Gaming 