rpg Archives

This edition was never published and disappeared under questions of proper licensing. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning Battlefield Press, Inc.  You can find him on Twitter at @dorkland and[...]

100% of the money for these auctions will go to the charities of Human Rights Watch, the Women's Learning Partnership and Child's Play. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning Battlefield Press, Inc.  You[...]

The previous Horror-themed issue is available at the above link as well (which, in the interest of disclosure features a Swords & Sorcery setting created by me), and issue three is supposed to come out later this year. Be warned that this issue is mature themed, and not for all audiences. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster[...]

Laws' DramaSystem, the rules at the heart of Hillfolk are "an elegant and clever take on group storytelling that puts gameplay and competition on an equal footing with structured narrative and individual creativity." Paizo Publishing, a publishing company run by Lisa Stevens (publishers of the Pathfinder RPG). Paizo Publishing is best know as the publisher of the wildly successful Pathfinder RPG as[...]

Considering how some publishers have been in the past about fan material, this is definitely a step in the right direction for how game publishers treat their fanbases. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher[...]

By Sage Ashford Since Kickstarter began, both veteran and newbie developers alike have been making proposals in an attempt to get gamers to fund their dream project.  Some are incredible success stories, others…not so much.   Likewise, fan reception has had an equally polarizing range.  There are those who have been elated to learn their favorite developer[...]

Once you've written it down and once its somewhere you have ownership of it. You just, kind of, shepherd it. Dark Harvest: Legacy of Frankenstein is a free download at RPG.Net, and the Resistance supplement is still available for purchase You can also follow Dark Harvest on Facebook and Twitter. Next year Dark Harvest: Legacy of Frankenstein will[...]

Probably one of the earliest fantasy RPGs to eschew the standard tropes of tabletop gaming (dungeon crawling, killing monsters for advancement and etc.) Pendragon has long been a favorite of gamers and designers for its integration of culture and religion into the game and the rules for playing The importance of religion and culture  have[...]

Once the book hits the streets I will be sure to share my thoughts and opinions on it here at Bleeding Cool. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning Battlefield[...]

I have the first two issues of a science fantasy 'zine, a supplement for social mechanics for your D&D and other old school fantasy games, and a megadungeon. You may know Tim Callahan from his days writing for Comic Book Resources, or his book about Grant Morrison, or his crawl through the old D&D Appendix N[...]

Heck, I loved the Thieves World RPG boxed set from Chaosium in the late 80's exactly because it had stats for the same characters in many different systems. It's very doable from a design perspective The more common limitation tends to be whether players want to explore new mechanics. Steve Winter: Some rules systems try to keep[...]

The whole point of a tabletop game is the interaction between the players and that is why people sit around a table. Yes, computer games are really good, I play them myself, I enjoy them but its not like interacting with a group of people, round a table and screwing each other over as much as[...]

And, with any Bundle of Holding, this bundle gives you everything that you would need for years of gaming at a low price. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning[...]

I wonder how long it will be until there is a print version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons to augment the free PDF? It looks like gamers are already clamoring for it. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog[...]

Could the fact that this was mentioned to retailers mean that there will be some sort of distribution of this free PDF through brick and mortar stores? Let's hope so. There is also a good interview with Wolfgang Bauer and Steve Winter over at the ENworld gaming site. There will be more to come. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster[...]

This is more common in collectible card games, as the Legends of the Five Rings CCG tournaments would impact the direction of the story in the card game and the RPG The D&D Epics events for the Adventure League will focus on these big, story-changing events and will take place at large conventions like Gen[...]

And with only a few months lead up to the release of the Starter Set, the first product in the new D&D line, it makes you wonder how they are planning on selling this to the masses. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery[...]

This is only a gut feeling, based on whispers and rumors, but I think that the biggest fallout that we will see won't be coming from Wizards of the Coast, but when Paizo announces the new edition of Pathfinder at some point next year. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks[...]

By Christopher Helton Much like how every fan of Doctor Who has "their" Doctor, so does every fan of fantasy tabletop RPGs have "their" version of D&D One of the things that releasing the game's rules into the wild with D&D Third Edition's Open Gaming License was that it opened the gates for everyone to create[...]

By Etienne Dubuc In need of some more Marvel Universe? You've read every comics issue possible, seen every movie, played every video game? There is still

Designer Ken Hite is probably one of the best horror designers in tabletop RPGs, and certainly one of the best versed in Lovecraft and his writings. One interesting approach for Trail of Cthulhu is how it makes the character's drive to investigate the weird and terrifying world an important part of the game For me, this[...]

As we've shown in the RPG since 1996, the stories are endless. CH:  Will there be any tie-in with the game to the series? SH: Absolutely, though of course it will be a while before we reveal any details And we also have to get the series past the pilot and into production We're hopeful, but we[...]

Today I am going to talk about the DC Adventures RPG, Green Ronin's adaptation of the pre-New 52 DC Universe to the Mutants & Masterminds rules The next article in this series will deal with the licensed setting based upon the Wildcards novels edited by George R.R Martin. The fact that this game line adapts the[...]

By Christopher Helton For one week only you can reach into the Bundle of Holding for a treasure trove of indie RPGs that run a gamut of play styles and genres As always, a portion of the money raised by the Bundle of Holding will go to the charities of Heifer International and War Child International. For[...]

Today blogs and publishing sites like Lulu.com and RPGNow.com take the place of the photocopies and office supply raids of the self-publishers of old In this, hopefully reoccurring, series I will explore the realms of self-publishing authors and the books that they have put out that you aren't going to see in your friendly local[...]

From now until April 21st (at 11am EST), Green Ronin Publishing's Mutants & Masterminds RPG is available from the Bundle of Holding site, with 10% of the proceeds going to the Center for Justice & Accountability and FareStart At the time of this writing, the Bundle had earned over $11,000, with $1,100 of that going[...]

The Bundle has expanded, with a closing date of Wednesday, April 9th.]   Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning Battlefield Press, Inc.  You can find him on Twitter at[...]

According to the urban legends of gaming, the impetus behind creating the Shatterzone game was to give a home to ideas and concepts that had been created for West End Games' Star Wars RPG, but had been rejected by Lucasfilm I'm not sure if the evidence really gives credence to those rumors, but it is[...]

The blog of a Carbondale, IL game store reported that Trampier had suffered a stroke and, due to the cab company he was working for shutting down, was once again pursuing art to cover his expenses. Dave Trampier was 59 years old. Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and[...]

[audio:http://nerdyshow.com/podcast/pods/nerdyshow170.mp3] Special Bleeding Cool guest The Nerdy Show rolls forward through RPG month with this special podcast featuring the RPG enthusiasm of comic creators of the Image Comics series Rat Queens: Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch. They say: RPG Month continues! Roleplaying is both a game and an exercise in creativity.  Those of us who roll the dice know,[...]