New podcast episode and lots of news
ZiMo Update
The beginning of the year has been bursting with tabletop RPG activity: first the Dungeon23 challenge sparked by Sean McCoy, then Zine Month/Zine Quest and dozens of new games and zines being published or crowdfunded.
In this newsletter I will highlight some projects that have caught my attention (the list is far from being exhaustive, there’s so much happening), and update you about The Lost Bay Studio activity. Forgive the bullet-pointy style, but there’s so much to cover.
Mixed-Media
The solo journaling game Anamnesis by Sam Leigh has been adapted into an audiodrama by Mark Gallie. The game designer herself has a small role in it. Get the sound here. FYI Anamnesis is know to be my absolute fave journaling game.
Crafty games
The Scissors and Glue TTRPG jam deadline has been postponed, a bit, again, and that’s for the best, because amazingly creative entries are pouring in like Plant Journal by Onion, a solo game about growing and doodling a plant. Isn’t that cute?
Cloud Empress
I had the chance to interview watt designer of the Science Fantasy game Cloud Empress. It’s crowdfunding on Kickstarter, go back it, then come back and finish reading this newsletter. The game is influenced by works like Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind, Dune or Full Metal Alchemist. Cloud Empress is both a hack and a campaign setting for the Sci-Fi horror TTRPG Mothership. In this interview watt details the design strategies behind the game. I’m gonna be honest with you, this has been a really influential talk for me, it’s going to change the way I design games. I recommend it if you are designing/publishing games or are planning to do so. Listen to it here:
And you have 24hours left to back the game, go get it here.
Starting adventures
Speaking of game design, Josh Domanski has written an extensive blog post about Starting Adventures, and by that they mean adventures that are “included in the core text of the game and designed as an onboarding experience for both the players and the GM”. The post both frames design best practices and lists example adventures. I’d recommend reading it not only if you are designing a full game, but also if your are prepping an extensive campaign, or building the foundations of a new world. Read the Starting Adventure Primer.
Zine Month/Zine quest
There are soo many cool projects crowdfunding this month, here are a few projects that I find particularly exciting:
Bio-Drones & Cryo-Clones, Mothership module by ChrisAir, where to overcome dangers player characters will have to become mutants themselves.
Strictly Between Us, a LARP for gamers and dancers! by Eli Seitz (designer behind the super cool Thursday)
A Butterfly Dies, a “Primal Quest zine inspired by Mexican myth and the Mexican Muralist Movement” by Marco Serrano aka Marco Spicytuna author of several Mothership zines.
Check this thread if you want to spot more cool zines crowdfunding this month.
The FEAR BUNDLE
Pre-orders for the FEAR BUNDLE, collection of 11 modern horror RPGs, are still open, get it, only on The Lost Bay Studio store, at 15% OFF, until the end of pre-orders! It’s filled with kaiju, zombies, corporate or suburban horror, all you need for weeks of spooky games.
Bundle Contents:
Metroskate Bloodbath, roller-skating chaos, pamphlet
Sodastone, music horror adventure, gatefold pamphlet
Unit DH-23, suburban horror minidungeon, A5 mini-zine
The Vanished, corporate horror dungeon, A3 foldable map/dungeon
Liminal Colossus, kaiju-infested setting, A5 concertina
Inventory Card System, A5 cards and character sheets
Click Clack + Gushing Graveler, wicked NPCs, card
The True Church, evil cult generator, A5 leaflet
It adapts to your breathing, doppelgänger horror adventure, pamphlet
Breathless, zombie survival rules-lite game, bifold
Exclusion Zone Botanist, vegetal horror solo drawing game, pamphlet
Liminal Horror, contemporary cosmic horror game, PDF only
That’s all for today folks. I’m editing a new podcast episode, got to get back to it! Happy ZiMo to you all!