Greetings, Gamers!
I’m going to go a little longer in this section this week to answer a question that I’ve received more than a handful of times now from subscribers as well as related to emails I get from subscribers letting me know about new products. The question (in various forms) relates to Dungeons & Dragons 5e content… asking why I don’t cover all the new releases or offering me links to new 5e adventures/accessories. While I appreciate the suggestions and the questions, I figure it’s about time I address it… so here goes.
I began playing 5e in 2014. I enjoyed it. I ran many games as GM and even played a few as a player. But just before COVID hit and shut down game stores and regular meetings, I was already losing interest. I won’t get into all the reasons I walked away from D&D 5e, but most of them related to simply how bloated the game began to feel - new classes, new spells, new feats, new races, new variants… I just couldn’t keep up with it all in a public game at a FLGS where anyone could come in and sit down and expect to play some character that I (as DM) had no information about. What I wanted was a return to the D&D I played as a kid (mid-1980s), and I rediscovered it with games like Old-School Essentials and Shadowdark.
So, why don’t I cover 5e stuff in the newsletter? Or new D&D 2024 (what are they calling it, btw?)? The answer is easy. When I began this newsletter over a year ago (almost two!?), my goal was to share stuff that I find interesting in my gaming hobby and in my gaming circles. Notice the emphasis - stuff that I find interesting. The newsletter is my collection of weekly discoveries that grab my attention. And 5e is not really on my radar. And probably won’t be. I’m not knocking D&D 5e/2024. If you play it, I really hope you enjoy it. I hope you have a great gaming group. But D&D 5e/2024 isn’t something I play. All the Kickstarters, new adventures, new splat books, new accessories (licensed and unlicensed)… I’m glad to know that D&D is thriving. It doesn’t need any help from me, so I focus on what I like and I write about it and share it with you. If you have a newsletter of gaming stuff that interests you, let me know! I love to discover friends and fellow gamers and what THEY LOVE to play. There are plenty of game news outlets out there that cast a wide net. This newsletter isn’t one of them. My hope is that subscribers enjoy my weekly dose of gaming stuff because I might catch things they miss. And I know I miss a lot of stuff. But a LOT LOT LOT of stuff drops into my lap (emails, FB ads, etc.) that doesn’t make it into the newsletter because it doesn’t interest me. That’s not to say this stuff is bad… it just isn’t my thing.
So, there… long explanation for really what comes down to this — the newsletter is a glimpse into the things that I find of interest and that I hope other gamers might also… or not.
And, if you’ve made it this far… thanks for being a subscribers! Now, on to the fun stuff!
RPGs
So… you may or may not have heard, but the new Cosmere Roleplaying Game just hit $13M… that’s million in fundraising on Kickstarter. By the time you’re reading this, the KS will be over and I suspect it may cross the $15M mark. The game is scheduled to release next September (I’ll believe it when I see it - it’s a Kickstarter so... you know…) and is based on fantasy novels from Brandon Sanderson. I know he’s popular, although I’ve not read them, so I suspect a LOT of players are looking at jumping into his universe/sandbox and I think this is JUST what our hobby needs. A big name RPG with a big name WRITER behind it. Apparently there are a LOT of expansions being planned for 2026, so if this is true, we could be seeing a new RPG gaining a foothold along with games like Shadowdark and MCDM and those from Kobold Press and other indie publishers. I suspect the KS will have late backer support, so point your web browser here and take a look if you’re interested. Do I have concerns? Yes. The biggest two are as follows:
No game licenses since it’s Sanderson’s sandbox and the FAQ says they don’t want 3rd party products for it.
The cost. $95 for just two of the hardcover rulebooks (and most of them are under 150 pages). (And that’s a KS price, so I suspect prices will be much higher in retail.) $50+ for a rulebook and there will be SIX books released initially! Right now, about 50,000 folks have backed it, but I’ll be very curious to see how retail goes and whether the player base will exceed 100,000 or even a million.
WARGAMING
For anyone looking for a new (VERY new) wargame that involves larger number of minis than standard skirmish battles, a new wargame rulebook called Hostile Actions has just released. It looks like it would be perfect for 15mm as well as the standard 28/32mm miniatures. It’s a d20 based wargame, and uses cards that come with standard units and you can create your own mix. I’d be very curious to hear from anyone who has played this game. More info here.
I just got my copy of Violent Dark from Black Site Studios… and after two reads of the rules, I’m VERY anxious to get to playing this. (Think of a small crew being brought out of hypersleep to investigate or solve a problem and you’ve got the basic idea.) It uses a dice mechanic for combat that involves shifting your roll die up or down (like Space Weirdos, for example) and there’s a Stress variable that allows you to do more stuff but will eventually catch up to you and force a random roll on a table you don’t want to roll on. The game runs on a 2’x2’ play area which means you’re in the action right from the start. I’ve played one test game and I had a blast. You roll for the mission, the enemies you’ll face, and a good mix of other elements that will factor into the gameplay. I’ll have a gameplay video up on this soon over at The Tabletop Engineer Plays. More info here.
MINIATURES
Blacklist Games really dropped the ball with its last Kickstarter — it was offering MORE minis in its incredible Fantasy series and a new wargame called Lasting Tales. (I actually played Lasting Tales - the company did manage to get the PDF ruleset out — and it was actually a pretty solid game.) I’ve just wrapped up painting almost all of the Fantasy 1 series (131 in all!) and I’ve used them with Frostgrave and Deth Wizards and other fantasy minis games. It’s not looking good for the KS (over 18,000 comments and growing… most of them quite negative) and for delivery, so I’ve grabbed an extra set of Fantasy 1 before it becomes forever unavailable. If you’re looking for an amazing set of minis (5 each of the standard 28mm ones and a bunch of GIGANTIC minis - see image below) I’d suggest grabbing a box if you can find it because I think Blacklist Games is disappearing.
TERRAIN
I’m currently in search mode for some good starship terrain for creating the interior hallways and rooms found in a ship. I’m going back and forth between looking for some good 3D files and some pre-existing stuff like the Sci-Fi Starter Set from Archon Studio. The Archon set is $56 and comes with enough flooring and walls to create the first image seen below… but that’s not even a complete ship. I also like the Dungeon Block set for creating a starship BUT… my printer will need to run for a month or two, 24/7 to create all the various blocks I'd need. So, I’m going to put this to my subscribers… do you have a recommendation for a 3D printed file set or commercial tile set for a starship that you personally use? I’d love to hear from you — jimsworkshop@fastmail.com - thanks in advance!
And speaking of 3D tile terrain, I’m not 100% sold, but I am curious about this new CoyoTerra product. I like the idea of using nubs to keep tiles from slipping and moving, but I’m not sure how secure the walls and doors are in this setup… they look like they could easily be knocked down with a brush of your hand. That said, I’m going to keep an open mind and wait to see more videos and information when the product goes to crowdfunding. You can find basic info here and sign up to get notified.
CROWDSOURCING
I’m hearing good things about Plunderlust, a new card game that offers up solo play. I don’t know about the launch date, but I suspect it won’t be long. I don’t know much about the gameplay but I absolutely LOVE the artwork. You can sign up to get notified when it launches here. The premise sounds fun.
From the site: Plunderlust is a versatile card game about tormented raiders scraping by in a dying universe! To play, you’ll want one or more decks along with your favorite set of polyhedral dice for RPG-inspired dungeon crawling, and counters to track your health, battery, and infections. Each turn, you’ll make risky decisions about whether to fight or flee, which dangerous location to explore, and how to spend your limited creds. In solo play, you can delve into a pre-made adventure or build a custom deck to tell your own story. In versus play, you’ll choose how to explore, but your opponent will torment you with monsters to aid in your inevitable demise.
GASLANDS VEHICLE OF THE WEEK
This week’s amazing toy car conversion for Gaslands is from Ben Nathan. Flying cars are part of Gaslands, but you don’t see a lot of them. I like the resin bits used to make it.
YOUTUBE
I love 3D printing… and I’m an engineer. Engineers LOVE to make things. Mostly. We also tend to share our craziness with others. Take Emily the Engineer… she wanted to make a large Benchy boat. So she did. I love every second of this video AND I endorse this project. I expect to see a LOT of oversized printing of things in the very near future. Some from me… some from my subscribers. Get to it.
PATREON
I’m quite pleased with the month of August and my video uploads for my Patrons. I tried to get at least two videos per weekday released, and I was pretty close… even got 3 on some days. Some of the videos go to my public The Tabletop Engineer Plays channel, but many are Patreon-only. I also managed to get in two LIVE chats at the end of August for my $2 tier Patrons and my $5 tier Patrons. In the next week or two, I’ll be incorporating a LIVE mini-painting session, and I’ll be trying to maintain that every other week. I welcome you to join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tteworkshop
The image below is how I track the videos I shoot and track when they are uploaded and scheduled. I use a Green highlight to indicate the video has been uploaded and scheduled. August was great.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Fall is nearing, and that means spending more time in my workshop than normal because it’ll be cooler. My workshop isn’t hot, per se, but it only has one AC vent to cover the entire thing so it can be stuffy. Once it starts cooling down (but before it gets downright frigid), I’ll be firing up some crafting videos and launching some new playthrough campaigns for a few new games I’ve been itching to play.
School is in full swing, and the next big break is Thanksgiving, so I find I’m getting a LOT done while my boys are in school. Summers are nice to have them around, but I’m not as productive as I am when school is in session. I’ve got to try and get a few Kickstarters launched before the end of the year, too… so Q4 is gonna be busy. That said, I love that I get to do so many things in my job that are also hobby related. If any of you are considering launching a side hustle — maybe a zine or a YouTube channel — reach out to me if you have questions. I’m all about paying it forward and helping others, so I am making myself available. Have a great week, everyone!
Jim
TO MY SUBSCRIBERS
If you know of a local and/or independent gaming convention, email me at jimsworkshop@fastmail.com to get it listed.
You can find my zines and laser-cut terrain at thetabletopengineer.bigcartel.com - 10% off to newsletter readers with code RPGWGNEWS.
Digital copies of all my zines can be found on DrivethruRPG.
My game play-through videos can be found here.
The YouTube Channel name is The Tabletop Engineer Plays
I’m in the same place as you are re 5e. And I couldn’t agree more about writing about what interests you. Going to check out Violent Dark!