RPG & WARGAME NEWSLETTER #109
May 12, 2025
Greetings, Gamers!
In a previous career, I was a technical writer. I wrote over 35 books in 10 years, and that was enough for me. While I love writing, I got burned out on trying to keep up with the never-ending advanced of technology and decided to make a change. My laser business has been great, but I started to miss that itch of writing a few years back so I started writing game zines (my Delver and Runes zines are the two primary ones, but I have others). The zines are dedicated to RPGs, so I also occasionally try my hand at creating custom scenarios for the various wargames I play. Lately, I’ve really been enjoying playing a sci-fi campaign I created called Ashes of Galatar for the Stargrave skirmish wargame. It’s 20 scenarios (chapters) and it’s telling the story that revolves around the planet called Galatar Prime. I’m also 8 chapters into a Frostgrave scenario I’m creating called Trancend that follows a wizard searching for the secrets of transcendence. I tell you this because I want to encourage my fellow wargamers to try out creating custom scenarios for their own games. You know what you enjoy in a game, and creating your own scenario allows you to focus on what you like and take away what you do not. In some upcoming newsletters, I’m going to put in a section on custom scenarios, so if you’ve got one you’d like to share, reach out to me at jimsworkshop@fastmail.com with details.
Now, let’s get to the fun stuff.
WARGAMING
I played Star Wars Legion quite a few years back… but only for a short time. At the time, there weren’t a lot of opponents here locally, but the community has since grown quite a bit. I’m not going to be getting into the game again (I sold off most of my minis) and dice and stuff) but if I REALLY wanted to get into the game again, Atomic Mass Games just announced The Rebel Alliance Starter Set. I can only assume at some point they’ll offer The Empire Starter Set. The Rebel set is pretty impressive and comes with a TON of minis that took me a while to actually collect. Just a Fall 2025 release date for now.
I just got my print copy of Forgotten Ruin from Modiphius (based on the Five Leagues/Parsecs rules/mechanics). Woo! I have a number of videos almost ready to release for my YouTube Channel (these will be for my Members -click the JOIN button) — a campaign in this game is 13 games, with the modern-warfare platoon working its way across a fantasy world filled with orcs, necromancers and even dragons. More info here.
For those of you who are getting into the new Trench Crusade wargame, you’ll be happy to know there doesn’t appear to be any shortage of suitable 3D printable terrain for it. Warscream Forge just launched its new Kickstarter for the Grandiose Grimdark Terrain that includes two different sets… $30 each or $45 for both collections. More info here. Fulfills in June 2025.
Fat Dragon Games has released a new expansion for Battlefront Valkyrie that includes “five 'B' series expansion cards for the Terran fleet ships included in the Battlefront Valkyrie Starter Set (The ships in the Starter Set are 'A' series versions). These new build cards feature different point values/ship systems to give you more options when assembling your fleet.” Get it here. And if you’re not familiar with the game, grab the free rulebook here.
RPGs
I’ve really been enjoying playing through Four Against Darkness again, but I’m also looking at tossing in some stand-alone adventures created by 4AD’s creator, Andrea Sfiligoi. He’s recently released a new stand-alone adventure called The Worms Beneath. It can be run with any level adventurers (using the HCL - Highest Character Level - mechanic) and comes with new monsters and spells. I’ll be running it very shortly in my 4AD campaign on YouTube, so keep an eye out. It’s only available in PDF at the moment, but printed option is coming according to Ganesha Games. Get it here.
If you’re a fan of 2D6 Dungeon like I am, you might find this little web app of use. It tracks combat and generates the room sizes for you. It does (currently) lack the ability to roll for random number of exits and door type, but I suspect that may come later.
You can check out the tool here - it’s free.
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CARD GAMES
A few weekends ago I was fortunate to participate in a three-table, 11-player game of Marvel Champions in which all players joined together to fight Thanos. It was a going-away celebration for a friend who was leaving Atlanta (and who also happened to be the core of our group). In a nutshell, 11 heroes (I played War Machine in Aggression aspect) took on the Mad Titan, with his starting health and threat multiplied by 11. We tracked his health and threat with a laptop, with each table (4/4/3 players) contributing their damage and thwarting at the end of each Hero round. There was one special Action that all players could take called “On Your Left” which allowed another table to call for help - the first player at the table needing help had to draw another Encounter card, but a player at another table could contribute some Fight or Thwart or other special ability against a minion or other need. It was totally cool. My youngest son joined us (he played Maria Hill’s new deck) and after 3.5 hours, we finally managed to defeat Thanos. There were some close calls, but no heroes were defeated. 100% fun and we’re hoping to do it again in the near future. If you’re in Atlanta-area and would like to join us sometime, let me know in the comments.
YOUTUBE
I have done my share of gluing down foam bricks over the years, but Craft of the Yeti has won the contest, hands down! This is a great video with an interesting idea — using sheet metal to create an entire magnetic play area for games like Frostgrave. Video is here (and below). With the magnets, terrain can be put in place (and minis) and the board stored away for later use or return to an unfinished game.
LOVECRAFT/MYTHOS
Fantasy Flight Games has released a new scenario for the Mansions of Madness game that ties into the new Arkham Horror Card Game expansion called The Drowned City. It’s called Turn of a Page and it’s an in-app purchase using the MoM app that controls the game. More info here.
Based on the image showing all the items this KS will deliver, I’ve gotta think the price is going to be high, but man… this thing sounds awesome. An immersive novel with props all focused on a Lovecraft-themed story. It’s called Abyss Echo: The Forbidden Rite, and you can sign up here to get notified when it launches.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I probably should ask more often, but I’m always looking to learn more about the RPGs and wargames that you play and that I might not know about. Reach out to me at jimsworkshop@fastmail.com and let me know what wargames you are playing and enjoying. Feel free to send along a photo or two of your play tables as well as a small writeup about the game/scenario… I always enjoy sharing photos like this with my subscribers, so you may find your game photo in an upcoming newsletter.
See you next week!
Jim, The Tabletop Engineer
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’ve said before and going to say it again, I LOVE your newsletter! 😍😍
Looking forward to Forgotten Ruin, I started watching your channel with the Five Parsecs playthrough -- still your best. --Visby