RPGnet Newsletter #140

RPGnet Newsletter #140 June 26, 2018 New Columns Two weeks means two more Fuzzy Thinking comics from Christopher Cecil: [The Armor Munchkin]( and [Set Phasers to ..."]( Two new RPGnet Interviews also presented themselves. First, Jacob DC Ross interviewed [James Shields]( about his then-ongoing, now recently-completed Kickstarter campaign, [Choose Your Own Sci-Fi Stock Art.]( Then, Jonathan Hicks interviewed [Maxim Krylov]( about the war-torn, magic-fuelled dieselpunk RPG Interbellum. For his 100th column on the topic, Lloyd Brown reflected on [11 Years of The Business of Gaming Retail.]( Kirk Johnson-Weider, the Lawful GM, discussed ways to use [Revolutions]( in your RPG campaign. Thomas Robbins continued his examination of Character Class with a discussion of how to talk to your gaming group in [Winning the Metagame Part 1: Succeeding on Your Diplomacy Roll.]( And, Fred Furtado of Superseeds continued his look at a supers-focused urban setting in [Supercity, Part Three.]( New Reviews Antonios S kicked things off with reviews of a pair of Call of Cthulhu 7e supplements. First was [Down Darker Trails,]( which establishes an Old West setting for the game in both crunch and fluff. [Alone Against the Dark]( is a solo scenario - one player, no GM - that is both demanding and entertaining. Antonios also looked at four supplements in Modiphius's Conan line: - [Conan the Thief]( has a good mix of crunch and fluff and will prove to be indispensable for those wishing to endeavor into campaigns of trickery and deceit; - [Conan the Barbarian]( does a fantastic job setting out the northern lands of the Hyborian Age; - [Conan the Mercenary]( is decent, but comes off poorly in comparison to the other supplements in terms of useful information; and, - the [Conan Player's Guide,]( which reproduces almost verbatim the player-related rules of the core book. Antonios also reviewed [A Game Of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood Of The Watch,]( which is a solid variant on a classic game. Antonios then continued his look at the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective game line with reviews of two additional supplements. [Carlton House & Queen's Park]( has some editing issues, but is the best value-for-dollar supplement in the line. [The Thames Murders & Other Cases]( provides short, entertaining stories to get the players hooked. Kevin A Swartz, MD reviewed the Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure [Greenwood of the Fey Sovereign,]( which is well written and contains many story hooks for further adventures. Endzeitgeist reviewed [The Prison of Meneptah,]( the fourth installment in the OSRIC Advanced Adventures series, and found it to be unfair and sloppily designed. Endzeitgeist also reviewed two issues of the Burgs & Bailiffs OSR 'zine. [Hunger, Disease, & The Law]( contains a nice collection of articles to make games feel more medieval. [Warfare Too]( provides resources for making medieval warfare quick, dirty, and deadly. Antonios S returned with a look at a few products in the Faith sci-fi RPG line. - First, the [core book,]( which establishes a well-written setting and interesting card-based system; - [Tiantang]( provides some setting information, but its overly broad scope prevents it from providing much depth; and - the [various FAITH decks]( are well-crafted accessories sporting cool visuals to help spice up your game. Antonios also reviewed the double-war-game [Hannibal & Hamilcar,]( which provides high-quality components and great gameplay, but is plagued by confusing rules presentation, poorly considered game accessories, and a very high price. Antonios wrapped up his contribution for the last two weeks with a look at [several sets of Warmachine faction dice,]( which are some of the best-designed dice sets on the market. Things wrapped up, as they usually do, with some more OSR product reviews from Endzeitgeist. The first issue of OSR 'zine [The Undercroft]( provides excellent content in a very plain presentation. And, the charmingly-titled [A Thousand Dead Babies]( is a solid, dual-format NGR/OSR adventure; the title serves as a good means to decide whether you'd be able to stomach the adventure. Threads You Might Have Missed Most every GM has probably wondered about [How to get competent at less prep GMimg]( at some point. Stop by the thread for some advice. Speaking of solving age-old RPG problems, check out some solutions here for the old conundrum: [GM: "Make a perception roll." Player: "I'm now at full defensive mode!"]( I don't have much to say about this, but having seen it, I feel compelled to include it. ["The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot" starring Sam Elliot. Coming Soon.]( Sign Off Have a good week, everyone. - Iustum Newsletter Editor --------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email for {NAME} @ RPGnet ({EMAIL}). 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