#Role-Playing Games

[thatsbelievable]

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Dan Bress and Ed Konstant - The Book of Sorcery - Little Soldier Games - 1977 (illustration by Bob Charrette)

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

RPGs get a reputation for being all about fighting. How does that work if the RPG is solarpunk? Or utopian even? What is an RPG, in the first place? What is the usefulness of a solarpunk RPG? Join us as we discuss these questions and more.

Art from the Fully Automated website used in episode cover is by Sean Bodley as well as a few other artists and this will get updated to credit them when we track them down :)

Links:

You can find Fully Automated at https://fullyautomatedrpg.com/ The Sogorea Te Land Trust: https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/ Solarpunk 2050: http://solarpunk2050.de/ Solarpunk Pioneers Fund: http://solarpunk-pioneers.org/ Coyote & Crow: https://coyoteandcrow.net/ Lunar Echos: https://affinity-games.itch.io/ Neon Black: https://notwriting.itch.io/ Legacy: Life Among the Ruins: https://ufopress.co.uk/legacy-life-among-the-ruins/ Fighting for the Future: https://www.android-press.com/product-page/fighting-for-the-future-ebook “Murder in the Tool Library” by AE Marling: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-the-tool-library-a-e-marling/1144354144 “Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto” by Aaron Bastani: https://www.versobooks.com/products/476-fully-automated-luxury-communism “Four Futures: Life After Capitalism” by Peter Fraise: https://www.versobooks.com/products/59-four-futures

[lsengler]

IGNIS SCIENTIA | LILIANA VESS | "The Kiss," after Gustav Klimt

(Redbubble)

I started this piece all the way back in April one morning during Chicago's C2E2 and have been diligently and slowly picking away at it until just now, when I'm finally declaring it finished and unleashing it onto the world. A crossover ship from Fandom High , a Dreamwidth-based role-playing game where I play obsessively, we have Ignis Scientia and Liliana Vess caught in a tender embrace inspired by Gustav Klimt's iconic piece "The Kiss."

The time and devotion I put into this piece still astounds me, and I honestly think it may be one of my greatest creations yet, with a big shout out to the person behind our Liliana Vess (I myself am playing Ignis), for all the time and devotion that she's poured into this amazing ship that gives me so much inspiration and joy every single day.

[shelandsorcery]

The Ghost Houses of Phylinecra is a system agnostic tabletop role-playing game adventure that pits the players against The Goddess, in a dungeon beset by ethereal predators.

The print and play version of this adventure is available on my gum road shop, linked below.

[stepawayfromthedungeon]

31-Day Character Creation Challenge, Day 2 - Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good

The West End Games Ghostbusters RPG has long been a favorite of mine. It was the first RPG to ever use dice pools (yes, seriously), and it exists as a precursor to WEG's popular D6 system.

It's been out of print for ages, but if you really need to perform some spectral shenanigans, current "retro clones" include Spooktacular and Paranormal Investigators and Eliminators (PIE). There's also the subreddit /r/ghostbusters_rpg with information on other games and systems involving ghosts and the busting thereof.

With that out of the way, here's today's character for the 2025 Character Creation Challenge.

Joe Gaither is pursuing a doctorate in metaphysics. His vast knowledge of esoterica caused him to get recruited by Ghostbusters Midwest, a multi-state operation who serve as backup to more localized franchises. At any point in time, he can be "on loan" to whichever locale needs him.

His life in higher academia has given him the ability to schmooze quite well. You don't get to where he is without learning a bit of glad-handing and telling people what they want to hear. He's become so good at reading people, sometimes not even he knows if he's being sincere or not.

He's not much a fighter, though. When things get physical, he's much better at getting the hell out of the way.

When he needs to get aggressive, he prefers to let his feet do the work. After all, he needs his hands to write a thesis! Whether it's a storm grate, the pedal for a ghost trap, or a misbehaving piece of electronics, he's wonderful at stomping on things.

More than anything, Joe wants notoriety in his field. He wants that book deal. He wants the guest spot on the talk shows, which he can parlay into a show of his own. He wants the radio show and the advice column in the morning paper. This Ghostbuster thing might just be how to get it.

Joe Gaither

Brains 4 / Metaphysics 7

Cool 4 / Schmooze 7

Moves 2 / Dodge 5

Muscle 2 / Stomp on Things 5

Goal: Fame

[julietstmoon]

Stray Thoughts on George Kamitani and Women in Vanillaware Games

I'm not getting into it yet because I want to play more and do more research on their games, but I think there might be something to discuss about George Kamitani's feelings on women, besides the tired "he's a sexist objectifying freak!" stuff that gets lobbed at him all the time.

Princess Crown prominently stars a lady, and is set in a kingdom that's a matriarchy.

Odin Sphere, from what I've played so far, has quite a bit about gender roles and the horror of women losing their agency. If a Valkyrie commits treason, she's stripped of her rank, put to sleep, and made someone's wife, and it's treated as the most horrible thing that can befall a woman of that status.

And while I dislike how Muramasa treats Momohime (note: have not played the true ending yet), that also has themes of women losing their agency.

And I think that's super interesting, especially from an auteur who more popularly gets seen as the sexist coomer bait dev because of Dragon's Crown.

[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…

[concoctionboy]

So I'm currently at Gen Con, which if you don't know is a big game convention in Indianapolis. (Which is why I may not be posting much for the rest of this week.) If you're surprised that Gen Con would allow a slime made of living potion to attend the convention, the fact is that they do not; it's a humans only thing, or at least a people that can pass for human, which… I really can't. I mean, I spend most of my waking time human-shaped, but I'm still… green and translucent, which as far as I know are things that humans pretty much never are. But it turns out the convention hall has a pretty extensive ventilation system, and it's not hard to listen in on the panels from there, and as for the exhibit hall, well, I can come in through the vents and look at stuff after it's closed. I mean, sure, it's not the same as being able to fully participate and ask questions, and I can't really interact with anyone except the other creatures hiding in the vents (of which there are a lot more than I would have expected), but I mean I guess I can still sort of count it as attending.

Anyway, I "attended" one panel put on by Jared Sorensen (of Memento Mori Theatricks) and Sam Roberts (of the Ludological Alchemy podcast) called "You Can't Do That in RPG Design" where participants designed their own quick role-playing games and then kind of briefly playtest each other's games. And I couldn't have anyone playtest my game because, again, I was hiding in a vent, but I'm actually kind of happy with the game I came up with. Which was of course about slimes.

But I do think it needs a lot of playtesting. So anyway, if anyone might be interested in playtesting an RPG about slimes, let me know. It won't be right away, because I mean the version I have was conceived and written in about twenty minutes and I need to polish and expand it before I'd want to send it out (okay, sure, during the panel it was the quick unpolished versions of the games that were tested, but I mean that was just the nature of that panel), but when I have it in a slightly more presentable form it could definitely use some playtesting.

[ryunneldred]

Clearing the Western Ramparts | Dragon Age: Inquisition Pt. 43

[sexerxes]

Hot take: The original game design mentality behind Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms is almost more "wild west" than fantasy. It's a heavily Americanized interpretation of the fantasy tradition laid down by Tolkien and a unique application of mythology and medieval life. This is less visible now than in 1st ed but it carries over. The idea of "a group of adventurers facing increasing threats for increasing loot" took over the mainstream organically.

And because of that, there's a great reward in breaking habits and trying to de-Westernize (as in de-Wild Westify) your fantasy world in any way. Maybe none of you characters care about adventure. Maybe there's no loot to be gained and no levels to be increased. Maybe that tribe of native goblins isn't evil by nature. It's a game of imagination!

Don't let D&D define role-playing for you!

[whimseysthrone]

Worldbuilding: a swashbuckling campaign

I reviewed The Three Musketeers: D’artagnan recently, but I only realized I hadn’t yet reviewed it because I was deep in the process of creating a T3M inspired setting for an RPG. I knew I wanted the intrigue, the swordplay, the ambition, and the thrill of being small players discovering a much larger political game. So I hunted for and pulled out the themes that felt crucial to T3M’s fun, trying…

[silentwisher-feed]

Introducing Two Brand-New Tools: Character Sheet Generator and Military Roleplay Shipping Manifest Generator

Hello, everyone! Hot on the heels of my recent announcement about the new suite of tools, I’m back again with some exciting news. I’m thrilled to present two more additions to my toolbox: the Character Sheet Generator and the Military Roleplay Shipping Manifest Generator. Character Sheet Generator: The first tool I’d like to introduce is my Character Sheet Generator. This tool is a game-changer…

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Right now, I am continuing my adventures in Earthbound over on my Twitch channel.

Please be warned that this game does contain flashing imagery. If you have a history of epilepsy/seizures and/or photosensitive, viewer discretion is advised.