Hello TTRPG fans! It’s Slick Dungeon here. You know how it’s awesome to have a group of friends to game with? Well, it is! But, do you also know how it can be nearly impossible to get a whole group of people together because of scheduling, work, family obligations and the fact that no one can even agree on a game to play sometimes? I’ve got a solution for you. Try one of my favorite solo TTRPGs! These are all available on Drivethrurpg and are worth checking out. Some are games in and of themselves and others are ways to adapt a great game. These are in no particular order and they are just my favorites. Let’s get right into it!
5. Alone in the Dark, Solo Rules for Blades in the Dark
Alone in the Dark
Blades in the Dark is a game where everyone basically plays a rogue. It’s full of heists and scoundrels and infiltrating cults and all the awesome sneaky stuff you love if you love rogues. But did you know you can play this one without a Game Master? All you need is this rulebook for going it alone. It’s $3.99 if you want just the PDF (probably all you need really) but if you want to pay a little more you can get a softcover or a hardcover for $10.99 Check it out here.
4. Dungeons & Dragons
The Wolves of Langston
There are a bunch of different 5E adventures I could put here but The Wolves of Langston is one I have played and enjoyed. It doesn’t take a ton of work upfront as long as you know 5E rules. You basically just make a character and off you go on this adventure. You can get it for $19.99. Check it out here.
3. Call of Cthulhu
Alone Against the Flames
I really can’t recommend this one enough. I love Alone Against the Flames and I’ve played it several times, usually coming to a rather tragic end. It’s fun and it teaches you the rules of Call of Cthulhu so it is perfect for beginners. You can grab this for $12. Check it out here. Plus, if you love this, there are a whole bunch more of the Alone Against series which are really fun to play.
2. Stars Without Number
Stars Without Number Solo
Feeling spacey and want to play in the vast expanse of the universe? Stars Without Number is a great game with a solid rule set but it’s tough to play without a group. Unless, you have the Solo Adventures ruleset for the game. This one is a bargain at $5 for the PDF (probably all you need) or you can splurge and get a hard or soft copy for around double the price. Check it out here.
1. Ironsworn
Ironsworn
There’s a reason Ironsworn is at the top of everyone’s solo rpg list. First, it’s got that full fantasy flavor you want. Second. it’s nice and gritty if you want it to be, or you can scale it back a little to give your hero a bit more of a chance to succeed. Third, it has everything you need to play on your own right there, including rules, setting, character creation and advice on how to play the game in a few different ways. And last but not least, you can get this for the fantastic price of nothing. That’s right! If you get the digital version it won’t cost you a penny. You can, of course, pay more for the print versions if you wish but the entry point here is free. Check it out here.
Well, that’s my list. Now, go out and get yourself something to play when your group falls through and have fun!
Hello fellow tabletop role play gamers! It’s Slick Dungeon here and I wanted to talk about the new play test material Kobold Press has put out for its upcoming fantasy role playing game.
What is Project Black Flag?
Project Black Flag is the super cool name Kobold Press is using for a new 5th edition compatible tabletop game they are working on. This project was in the works well before the whole OGL debacle with Wizards of the Coast but this project got a lot more attention during that time. It’s still early days but this new game has the potential to take TTRPG’s in new and interesting directions. While Kobold has consistently been posting information, including some artwork, and blog posts on Fridays, and telling us the play test material would release in February, they threw us a curveball by releasing their first packet on Monday the 13th of February. The packet is a quick read at only 12 pages and while there is a lot of good information in it, this packet doesn’t quite give us enough to build a full character. However, it does give us some key insights into what to expect. Read on to find out what it is about and how you can get your hands on a copy.
What’s in the Packet?
The packet is a set of rules Kobold would like TTRPG enthusiasts to play test, and then give feedback on. In the packet we get some basic information about what a TTRPG is, what a fantasy role playing game is, what materials you need and who does what at the table. If you’ve ever played a TTRPG, especially Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll have no trouble understanding this section of the packet.
They do give us a few things to let us know what kind of game we have to look forward to. It’s going to be a fantasy world full of heroes going through unique locations fighting against villains and organizations that oppose them. In other words, it’s a fantasy game for heroes. Some people might think this is unoriginal but it does happen to be the kind of game a lot of folks love playing most so I can’t really complain.
Next they give a step by step guide on character creation. If you’re familiar with 5th edition, a lot of this is going to look extremely familiar. You’re guided through coming up with a character concept, choosing a class, proficiencies, levels, hit points, and the standard array of ability scores. The packet does mention that creating a character using their method makes these characters a bit stronger than a 5th edition character but it’s not so out of range you can’t use them in your 5e games. They also go over a few different ways of getting your character stats including rolling for stats, point buy, and standard array. This is where some of the rules start to differ from 5e and start to build a potentially stronger character.
They then go on to introduce Lineages and Heritages. Lineage essentially replaces what was originally termed as Race in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. This is a pretty minimal packet for the moment so we only get Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. Heritages are more about the environment where your character grew up or what groups they associate with. Personally, I think this is great because it allows for a lot of customization so you could have an Elf character who grew up with Dwarves or vice versa and any number of combinations. While you could go with the usual fantasy tropes for each Lineage, you don’t have to.
You also choose a background for your character and the packet gives a couple options to choose from including Scholar and Soldier. This is basically a way to help shape the backstory of your character and gives you some increased abilities and what Kobold terms Talents. Talents seem to be similar to Feats in 5e. I love using Feats so I like that Talents are available right off at 1st level for this system.
I’m not going to go over all the specifics of what is listed in the packet because I haven’t used these in a game yet. I’d like to see a little more of what makes a character so I can build something that works for me at this point but it’s worth reading through the packet and if you can build a character with this, go for it. I feel like there is a good amount of stuff for magic characters here but a bit less for martial classes so far.
While I do see a lot of similarities here with D&D, we haven’t seen much of the overall project yet so there is still room for a lot to be different. I love that it’s easy to pick up if you are familiar with 5th edition because that’s going to make starting the game much easier for a ton of folks.
How Can I get in on the Playtest?
If you want the playtest packet you can get it right from Kobold Press here. You may have to sign up to do it but it won’t cost you anything. Once you have the packet, give it a read, make a character and play a game and then fill out their survey.
If you have the packet, what do you think of it? Have you used any of these rules yet and if so how did it go? Let me know in the comments.
Well, it’s February and love is in the air. Or maybe not. Either way if you love TTRPG’s here are 14 gifts you can give to your favorite Game Master, whether you have romantic feelings toward them or you just want to hang out on the weekend.
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
Fire-Breathing Dragon Coffee Cup
If you want your GM’s coffee cup to stay as hot as dragon’s breath, try this cup out. It’s $17 but well worth the extra XP you are sure to get in appreciation.
DND Cat T-Shirt
I mean, I feel like this every single day. I bet your GM does too. Or anyone at your table. The shirt costs $20 but it’s really cute so probably worth it?
A Bag to HOld Stuff with
To be a good Game Master you have to have a lot of stuff. If you like your stuff to be physical, it’s really nice to have a bag with which to hold your stuff. (I bet there is probably a good name for a bag like that.) This one is pretty nice and your GM will be over the moon for it. It costs $60 so make sure you really do like your GM before you give it to them. Or, maybe get one for yourself.
Let Your GM Be Lazy
The title of this can be misleading. The Lazy DM is one of the best books about running a great game without burning out you can find anywhere. Let’s just say I’ve had some campaigns I would never have survived without the help of Michael E. Shea and his great advice (Looking at you Storm King’s Thunder). It’s a great deal at $12. And if your GM already has this, there is a sequel called Return of the Lazy Dungeon Masterwhich you can get for $20. Worth it’s weight in gold in time saved and headaches avoided for any GM.
Spell Area of Effect Template
It can be tough to judge actual distance of spell effects and depending on the dice roll this can be absolutely critical. Let your GM take the guess work away with this fine template that is transparent and will help everyone at the table see just how many in your party are about to bear the brunt of your wizard’s fireball spell. It’s a good deal at $14.
Keep your GM’s table nice with these coasters
These coasters are great for keeping a gaming table free from rings and water stains. There are 14 of them all with different class symbols so players know exactly where to set their mug of ale. It even comes with a pretty sweet holder to match. It costs $30.
Dice Jail!
Okay this is more of a time out chair than an actual prison. But we all know dice can behave badly and sometimes shaming them is the only way to get them back to rolling those critical successes we all need. Your GM would love one of these. Although, you may want to keep it for yourself because you don’t want Tiamat rolling a 20. The little chair and dunce cap will cost you $20.
Bronze Dragon Journal
Game masters are constantly thinking of, or seeing, things they know would be great to use in their campaigns. But the bad part about that is if you don’t have a place to organize your ideas, they just kind of go poof and disappear. So, give your GM a great place to write this stuff down. Just ask them to make sure it’s not going to be a TPK kind of idea. This journal will cost you $25.
Condition Markers
Another thing that can be very difficult to track during game is who is in what condition. Which player was poisoned again? Is that spell one that uses concentration? If you use minis in your games, these rings are super helpful and will make your Game Master’s life so much easier. These will cost you $40.
Cool Socks
Cool socks. Everyone likes cools socks. Get your GM some cool socks! Or, get some for yourself, assuming you want your feet to feel good and look great. These are $16 right now.
Roll up Dice Mat
Nothing is worse than accidentally scratching up a gaming table. This roll up dice mat does a great job of preventing those scratches. Plus it comes with dice! How could you go wrong? This neat little set costs $16.
Dragon Flame Goblet
It’s a wine goblet and it has a dragon on it. A dragon wine goblet! I mean, you don’t have to drink wine out of it but your GM will sure look like they know what they are doing when they set this thing on the table. This libation holder will run you $22.
A Great GM Screen
Your Game Master may already have a good screen but this one has pockets where they can stuff all there notes and all that good stuff which is super helpful when running a game. It’s good for nearly any kind of fantasy TTRPG. And it looks amazing. You can get this one for $50.
A Whole Bunch of Dice
What’s one thing every Game Master can always use more of? Dice. Lots and lots of dice. Why not just give them a big old pile of math rocks? This set gets you 140 dice for $23 but you can buy smaller sets if that price is too high for you.
In Conclusion
Well, that’s my list of 14 cool things to give to your favorite Game Master (or TTRPG enthusiast) on 2/14 or any other day really. I’m not trying to make the hard sell on any of this stuff. Do you need anything here to be a great Game Master? Not at all. Well, it does help to hav dice. But if you were thinking of giving someone a cool gift and you buy through this post, it really helps the blog out and allows me to keep doing what I do. Whether you buy anything or not, thanks for reading and I hope all your rolls are critical successes!
As most of you who read this blog probably know, I really enjoy playing Tabletop Role Playing Games. AKA TTRPG’s. Even if you have never heard the term TTRPG in your life, you know what one is. If you’ve ever heard of Dungeons & Dragons, that is the most famous one. That game is owned by a company called Wizards of the Coast or WotC for short. Even if you’ve never heard of WotC you’ve definitely heard of the company that owns WotC. Hasbro owns WotC. So when people talk about Dungeons & Dragons being a major TTRPG, owned by a big company, owned by an even bigger company, that’s what they are talking about. Hasbro is a very famous brand but they have a bit of a problem. Not everything they make is making as much money as they would like.
One brand of theirs doing well though, is Wizards of the Coast. Not only do they release D&D stuff, they’re also the company that owns Magic: The Gathering. And they are on the verge of launching a bunch of what could be really cool stuff. There is a D&D movie coming out soon starring Chris Pine. There is a Virtual Tabletop (or VTT) coming. There are several video games, books, toys, accessories and other various merchandise about to come out. And, they are about to move to the next iteration of Dungeons & Dragons. Currently they are on the fifth edition of the game. They’re moving to the next version but they are calling it One D&D. As in, we don’t need editions any more we’re just going to say it is D&D. Whether that name and attitude sticks remains to be seen.
With all of this cool stuff on its way it would seem like WotC is in a prime spot to make more money than it ever has. And honestly, as a lover of D&D and TTRPG’s I don’t mind them being successful. We’re talking the chance for them to go Marvel or Star Wars big if they do this right.
But, there has been a major snag, of WotC’s own making in the last month or so.
Usually on this blog, I don’t really delve into current events or news or whatever about TTRPG’s, I just like to talk about the stuff I like. But I honestly can’t keep silent anymore. Everything in this blog post is nothing more than my opinion, none of it is in any way legal insight or advice, and a lot of this ground has been covered by people much more knowledgeable than myself. However, since there are people who read my blog who like TTRPG’s, I kind of feel like I owe it to them to say something even if I have what anyone would consider a small audience. Because, here is the thing, at this moment in time I think Hasbro and WotC are forgetting absolutely everything that makes their own game great in the first place. Yet, I don’t think it is too late for this all to be corrected. If you’re not a TTRPG nerd, this article may not be for you. I promise to get back to movie and book reviews and all the other stuff I do on this blog soon. But if you do play TTRPG’s I hope you’ll read this because I think it’s important that we all as enthusiasts of this hobby realize we are what make TTRPG’s work, whether you make content, play the games at your own home, or just read the books and do nothing else with them.
If you follow the world of TTRPG’s even a little bit you’ve probably heard about the huge dust up between WotC and independent creators over something called the Open Gaming License, or OGL for short. This license, along with the set of rules you can use to play D&D called the System Reference Document or SRD for short is what allows people to make things related to D&D for others to use and then buy those products. For example, if there was a creator like Matt Colville who decided to make a subclass for Rogues, and wanted to sell it for $0.99 he is allowed to do that as long as he acknowledges the OGL.
WotC and Hasbro, or more accurately, their lawyers want to change that. They want to revoke the OGL and put in a new version of the OGL. Whether or not they have the right to do that, and whether or not someone would get sued for making D&D third party content under the new license is really up in the air at this point in time. You see, WotC, sent a bunch of contracts with a new OGL, that would frankly, take away a ton of revenue from almost anyone who makes third party content for D&D. These contracts leaked to the press and there was strong outrage over the terms in there from the TTRPG creator community. I won’t get too specific here but basically it boiled down to this. WotC would almost certainly be able to tell anyone they want that they can no longer use the old OGL, and might have lawyers come after those creators. In addition, if you used the new OGL, you’d have to pay fairly high royalties to WotC. This meant that publishers such as Paizo or Kobold press, who make products that use the OGL, might very well be sued by Hasbro. Worse than that, WotC was saying they could have the rights to any new characters or ideas made using the new OGL, so, say Grogg from Critical Role, might now be a D&D property even though the folks at Critical Role clearly came up with him.
To make a long story short, community creators didn’t like this and there has been a lot of pressure put on WotC to do something about it, or at least acknowledge the problems people were complaining about. In fact, WotC waited so long, Paizo may end up looking like the biggest heroes in the TTRPG space for decades to come. (More about that later in the post.) The pressure seemed like it might have started working as people began to unsubscribe from D&D Beyond, where you can buy lots of virtual stuff for D&D fifth edition. Hasbro has assuredly at this point realized they are losing money. Whether or not they care about that is still unclear in my opinion. WotC released a statement over the whole debacle and there was something in there that just angered and saddened me so much that I had to write this post.
On the one hand, they have delayed the release of the new OGL, probably because they now need to scramble with the wording to make it more palatable for creators, but still basically suck as much money from people as WotC can. It makes sense for them to delay given the context of what is going on. But in their statement, giving what amounted to a non-apology apology, they had a paragraph in there that just blew my mind as to how adversarial and negative the Executives at WotC and Hasbro must think towards their audience.
The quote is below and I’ll talk about why it made me so upset after.
A couple of last thoughts. First, we won’t be able to release the new OGL today, because we need to make sure we get it right, but it is coming. Second, you’re going to hear people say that they won, and we lost because making your voices heard forced us to change our plans. Those people will only be half right. They won—and so did we.
WotC STatement on 1/13/2023. Full statement available on D&D Beyond
Like I said, delaying the release of the new OGL makes perfect sense. I don’t have any issue with that. But the statement in full did not completely address some of the biggest problems with the proposed new OGL. If Wizards of the Coast was smart and could see the writing on the wall, they would have given up and said they would just stick with the old OGL.
There is another alternative WotC could have chosen but we’ll get to that later as well. What they instead chose to do, was to talk about winners and losers. I want you to keep something very basic about D&D in mind as you read the rest of this post because this just shows how little WotC and Hasbro seem to get it right now. There are no winners or losers in D&D. Never have been and never will be. We’re not playing Monopoly here. This is a cooperative game where people are supposed to work together to slay the dragon. WotC and Hasbro don’t seem to realize that at this point, they are the dragon. In my opinion, this whole “people say that they won and we lost because making your voices heard forced us to change our plans.” section absolutely is trying to devalue any opinion long time lovers of this game have. It’s not so much how they phrased that but that they think there should be any us against them at all in the TTRPG community. When D&D does well, other TTRPG’s also do well and vice versa.
In essence Hasbro expects that they can lose a bunch of old timers who have been playing this game since forever and replace them with all the new fans they will get once a shiny new movie and edition come out. They may even be right about that. It’s possible D&D will see more devoted and dedicated players than ever before and they won’t need any of us who have always played this game. But I have my doubts that will work. For one thing, I’ve never heard of a show or movie convincing anyone to actually sit down at a table and play a D&D campaign for hours on end. As successful as Stranger Things is, I don’t think there are very many people who started playing solely because they watched that show.
You know who does get people to start playing D&D? People who already play D&D. Older sisters, younger brothers, friends, cousins, teachers, mothers, fathers, sons, aunts, uncles and anyone else who just really loves the game and wants to share it with others. As much as I love this game, it’s going to be hard to tell someone I want them to play this game, but be warned, the company that makes this game does not care at all about the people who play it. And right now, that’s what I would have to say in order to be honest.
Now, maybe Hasbro actually doesn’t care about the TTRPG known as D&D. Maybe they only care about the movie, video games and VTT that are coming because those are potentially bigger money makers. But a big chunk of their audience is upset and disappointed in the direction this stuff is going. I don’t, nor should anyone, blame people who just so happen to work at WotC or Hasbro and have no influence over this decision. The people I do blame are the ones who don’t seem to understand this game at all, don’t care about the creators, players, older sisters, younger brothers, friends, cousins, teachers, mothers, fathers, sons, aunts, uncles and anyone else who just really loves the game and wants to share it with others. Instead they see us as roadblocks to money. It’s as boldfaced an incident of corporate greed as I have ever seen. And I was willing to hand my $50 over for almost any book WotC printed before. I’m not so willing now.
I had some content coming up this year that was going to feature some 5th edition D&D. I was strongly considering doing a solo D&D 5E play through and writing about it on this blog. I was also considering writing an adventure for D&D this year and releasing it on The Dungeon Master’s Guild website. I still may do so, but it is going to 100% depend on what WotC does next. I would be considered the tiniest of tiny creators but even someone as small as me is having second thoughts. I would encourage anyone reading this to think twice about making anything using the OGL at this point in time because we just don’t know what will happen and it would be a major shame for all that energy and effort to simply put you in a courtroom.
I know I sound negative and like doom and gloom is coming. But there are spots of hope. For one, WotC did delay the release of what would have been an utterly horrendous OGL and that is for one reason and one reason alone. The TTRPG community is a tight-knit, friendly community, who knows how to read and understand rules, and is more than willing to organize. For goodness sakes, most of us devour 500 page books regularly and organize 5-7 people weekly guiding our players through rules that can be very difficult to understand. That’s just to say, we can tell when a company thinks we are too dumb to understand something. That’s exactly what WotC is saying with their statement. It’s been inspiring to see the TTRPG come together and activate so quickly. Now, there are some who seem to blame people who are just doing their jobs at companies like WotC and Hasbro and that should not be the norm here. We’re better than that. Fat cat executives who only care about the price of stock and the lawyers who are more than happy to squeeze every penny out of every person playing D&D are the ones to blame, no question.
The second inspiring thing here comes from one of D&D’s largest competitors (although I don’t actually see them as competition because as I said, TTRPGs all do well when any one of them does well), Paizo. Paizo knew it would be inevitable that at some point, if the new OGL was released, they would end up in court over it. They rolled with advantage on their initiative and announced they would get behind something called the Open Resource Creative License nicknamed the ORC license. Essentially the statement from Paizo did absolutely everything right that WotC did wrong. They got ahead of an issue, even one that wasn’t of their own making, they respected the TTRPG community while doing it, and they offered to bring their lawyers to slay the dragon of Hasbro if needed. Contrast the statement below with the one above and see if you can tell which company is being friendly to their audience.
We believe, as we always have, that open gaming makes games better, improves profitability for all involved, and enriches the community of gamers who participate in this amazing hobby. And so we invite gamers from around the world to join us as we begin the next great chapter of open gaming with the release of a new open, perpetual, and irrevocable Open RPG Creative License (ORC).
Now, we need a little bit of caution here. We haven’t seen the final draft of the ORC license but man, I already want to go around saying I have an ORC license. Something else very encouraging here is that Paizo doesn’t actually intend to be the caretaker of this license. They want to give it to a non-profit organization who has expertise in dealing with open source material. If you know anything about software think about Linnux as opposed to say Microsoft. The point is for everyone to use it and everyone to have the same basic building blocks to make stuff with. It will be important that there be some set of rules to go with the ORC license. I’m talking game rules, not law rules, although those are also important. It’s one thing for a company like Paizo to say something like this but it’s something entirely different to hear that a ton of other companies have also said they would adopt the ORC, including Chaosium Inc, Kobold Press and a bunch of other publishers well known in the TTRPG industry. This move is so bold, TTRPG gaming may have just been changed forever. And when people look back at what happened in January 2023, they are going to say Paizo innovated, thought well of their fans, and landed boat loads of good will. It’s possible Paizo’s idea won’t work but they are seriously trying to make it work and it helps that several of the people from Paizo who are working on the ORC also worked on the original OGL. In other words, Paizo had major, major credentials here.
I will admit this to everyone reading. I have never played Pathfinder which Paizo produces. I have played a few sessions of Starfinder and enjoyed it but I’m by no means as well versed with Paizo products as I am with WotC products. But I’m seriously considering the switch. (Also I love Chaosium and they were never in danger from the OGL issues but they’ve also had a good response to the whole debacle so I’ll still be playing their games.)
If you think the OGL issues has no effect on you and you play 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons at all, you’re wrong. There is some rule or mechanic, or situation you have used that came about because of the OGL. And even if you’ve never played any D&D this OGL could still affect you. The video game Knights of the Old Republic uses the same d20 system that D&D does. I don’t think Disney is going to line up to hand over money to WotC any time soon though and there’s no way, any Jedi get to become part of D&D because of this proposed move.
If WotC wanted to maintain good will and bring people back from the brink of walking away with money in their pockets, their smartest move would be to sign on to the ORC. There’s almost zero chance of that happening but if they did, I think a lot of people would come right back to sing the praises of WotC.
At this point, unless we’re major creators, all we can do is wait and see what happens. I will say this though. If you feel strongly about the OGL needing to stay as is, or if you think WotC should sign on to the ORC, the best way to demonstrate that is with money. Or, rather, the withholding of it. If you were considering purchasing a book printed by WotC, wait a little while and see how this resolves. If you have a D&D Beyond subscription, consider cancelling it. Don’t shout at WotC employees online or in real life. Even if they are executives, they won’t hear you, but they will miss your money. And if you just can’t bring yourself to cancel that D&D subscription, I totally get it. D&D is fun! It’s supposed to be fun and giving it up is hard. But, maybe, take that money you were about to spend at WotC and go buy something new from an independent creator. Buy things on Drivethrurpg. Get something from Paizo, or Kobold Press, or Chaosium or Modiphius or any other TTRPG publisher you’ve heard of and always wanted to try. Or heck, try one you’ve never heard of and find out if it’s fun. There’s a good chance it is.
If you decide to cancel your subscription to D&D Beyond or buy a book from another publisher, use the hashtag #OpenDnD to let WotC know you can’t simply be lied to. Let them know you’re not okay with that. As always, be polite about it and thoughtful in your reactions to any news you hear. Spread the word about games you love playing that are not D&D. Or, in the case of some of these publishers who are publishing 5th edition content, such as Kobold Press, buy directly from them and use their books in your games. While D&D is the biggest name out there, they are by far not the only name out there.
To be 1000% clear here, none of the links above are affiliate links, meaning I get absolutely no percentage of anything bought through those. I just think we should all take the time to take a stand against a company who will discard its own best audience. Purchasing something at the links above may help to do that.
I really hope in the end WotC saves face here, stops thinking of people like me and those of you reading this as the enemy, realizes we all can love this game together and if a smaller publisher is profiting because they are producing content for the game you have ownership of under an open license allowing them to do so, everyone benefits. The person selling the content benefits, the person buying benefits, and WotC benefits by spreading the word of this amazing game that has enamored so many of us.
I know this is a long post but I want you to just hang in there with me for a little longer. Before I go, I have to mention some of the people on YouTube who have done much more insightful, thoughtful and compelling pieces on this subject than I ever could. If you haven’t seen anything from these channels, take a look at their videos. I’ve curated what I think are the best of them so far.
Dungeon Dudes
Roll for Combat
The Rules Lawyer
LegalEagle
Sherlock Hulmes
With all of that said, I’m going to sign off here. I don’t know if I’ll ever do another post like this. It was kind of heartbreaking and frustrating to write. I never thought I would ever be in any position where I might want to step away from D&D at all but here I am. I hope I never have to completely walk away but the next move is WotC’s to make. Do they want to lose people like me, move on with their megacorporation plans, and only let in new players who are just here because of what they saw on television or in a movie theater? I am all for new players but I can’t recommend anyone become one at this moment. Hasbro may not care about that. I’m going to keep playing TTRPG’s no matter what.
If things all work out, maybe my next post will be about how awesome it to use horror elements in D&D. If not, well, Call of Cthulhu is pretty damn scary if you want it to be also.
I hope you’ve gotten something out of this post. If you get nothing else out of it, just take this with you. People who play this game, even the smallest of us, deserve to be heard. We deserve to be respected and we can tell when a corporation thinks of us as walking wallets. It’s not okay to treat people that way and not okay to have an us vs. them mentality when it comes to your own customers. It’s just not. WotC needs to hear this. And while there’s pretty much zero chance they will read this, maybe some of you will. If you do, feel free to share this post, reply back to me, tell me what you think in the comments (politely) and keep playing TTRPG’s. I think no matter what happens this community of people is smart enough and kind enough to keep this hobby thriving with or without big companies trying to stop us. I hope to be talking about something more positive the next time I write but until then, do what you can to help others in this community.
Basic Role Playing: The Chaosium Roleplaying System
Hey TTRPG fans, Slick Dungeon here. If you are at all involved in the TTRPG community, you’ve probably heard about the whole Wizards of the Coast Open Gaming License debacle. I’m no lawyer and really can’t give anyone advice on what to do about that situation but I will try to sum it up real quickly here before I give you an alternative.
Basically, there is currently an Open Gaming License known as the OGL 1.0a which allows content creators to make stuff for Dungeons & Dragons. It’s worked really well for a long time but Wizards of the Coast is making changes to it and not to get too into the weeds here but creators are going to potentially see much less profit and maybe not be able to produce content without handing over a ton of rights and royalties and whatnot to Hasbro. As I said, I can’t give anyone advice on that. But, I do have a suggestion for everyone and it comes from one of the biggest competitors to D&D, Chaosium Inc.
Chaosium makes some outstanding products with lots of fun games to choose from. As a horror fan, my favorite is their Call of Cthulhu 7th edition game but they have several others including RuneQuest, StormBringer, Superworld, Pendragon, and Rivers of London.
Well guess what? Those games use a rule system as well. And Chaosium actually wants people to make cool stuff with their system! Again, I am 100% not a lawyer so before you make anything with Chaosium’s BRP system, do your due diligence and make sure what you are making complies and all that good stuff.
Still, I get the distinct impression Chaosium, Inc. would really kinda like it if we all made some cool stuff because they are practically giving away their rule system right now. This system allows you to make derivative work using the BRP rules. That’s a fancy way of saying you can make stuff, including full on TTRPG’s using this system. Again consult a lawyer because if your idea is to, make Call of Cthulhu again, that’s not gonna work but there are tons of things you can do here and it’s a great rules system.
Anyway, why do I think Chaosium Inc. really would like us to make some cool stuff? You can get the BRP on drivethrurpg.com for $0.99 instead of the normal $21.95 it usually sells for. I got my own copy already but I definitely want to see other people make more games, supplements, scenarios, and generally fun stuff we can all get into so get your own copy!
And, if you want to help out this blog just a bit, buy it through my affiliate links in the image or right here. I’ll get a small commission for it but honestly I don’t care how you get it because I just want to see more people make more cool stuff for TTRPG’s.
Non-lawyeringly yours,
Slick Dungeon
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon, here and I wanted to talk about the top 5 roleplaying games I think you should play this year. Just a note, this list is designed for people who have some experience with role playing games so if you are a new player or game master there’s a chance these games may not be for you. For those players I recommend checking out my post from last year linked here. But you never know, maybe you’ll find something here you want to try!
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
Without any further ado let’s get on with the list!
5. Cyberpunk Red
Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit
The video game Cyberpunk 2077 had an absolute disaster of a launch, although I hear it’s overall playable now. CyberpunkRed, however, had no such trouble and delivers an excellent immersive experience if you want to get your hands dirty in a world where huge megacorporations have been shattered and everyone is scrambling to live their lives, make a living, seize opportunities, or plot some revenge. It’s a fun and fast paced game and if you like movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix series this one should be right up your neon lit alley.
With this one I recommend starting with the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit. This comes with a book of lore and adventures that take place in the setting and a book of rules to use for gameplay. You also get six pregenerated characters making getting started much faster. There are also some maps and standees here to use. Fair warning you may need to read the rules a couple of times to get the full feel for it as not everything is 100% clear on the first read.
The Jumpstart Kitretails for $29.99 on drivethrurpg but right at this moment you can get it for $4.99 which is a steal. To get the Jumpstart Kit click here or on the image above.
If you’re convinced and want to just go all in on Cyberpunk Red you can get the core book for $30.00 but it is on sale for $22.50 right now. Not quite as good of a deal as the Jumpsart Kitbut it’s a savings and this will have the full rules, a lot more lore, and ten unique Roles for you to play. To get the core book just click here.
4. Kids on Brooms
Kids on Brooms
I’ve talked before about Kids on Bikes which is an extremely fun role playing game. It lets you take on the kinds of stories you think of when you think about all the stories about kids who ride bikes in movies and TV shows. Think E.T. and Stranger Things. There will be a second edition of this game coming out in 2023 but we don’t have it yet. While we are waiting, did you know there is a magical school version of this game called Kids on Brooms that uses the same rule system?
This is rules light and narrative focused so you are not bogged down by tons of math and figuring out stat blocks and stuff like that. If you ever wanted to play in a Harry Potter style setting but not be restrained by what is actually in that setting, this one is absolutely perfect for you. And the way dice rolls can explode into bigger and bigger results is really fun here.
Kids on Broomssells for $12.99 on drithrurpg normally but is on sale for $9.74 right now. To get it, click on the image above or click here.
If you’re interested in less magic but still want a fun game with the same set of rules, you can’t go wrong with the original Kids on Bikes. You can get this one for $9.99 on drivethrurpg normally but it is on sale right now for $7.49. To get it, just click here.
Either game is a great deal for hours of narrative storytelling fun.
3. ThirstY Sword Lesbians
Thirsty Sword Lesbians
If you’re looking for an RPG that acknowledges and celebrates the existence of queer people and you like playing in games where a deadly duel can suddenly result in passionate love, this is the game for you. It may not be a perfect game but there are simply not enough TTRPG’s that have queer folks as a central focus and most of those tend not to acknowledge queer relationships outside of a quick mention of a partner. This game flips that over and makes the dueling and the romance the central point. And, it’s fun to play!
There’s lots of advice here on running a safe game for everyone at the table and respecting everyone’s boundaries. It’s a great romp of a swashbuckler and as a CIS, hetero male, let me just reassure everyone reading here that, no, you do not have to be a lesbian, or even queer to enjoy this game. It’s not for everyone and if you are looking to just bash monsters and not have any romance or passion in your game, maybe don’t buy this one. But, this is a really refreshing change from a lot of TTRPG’s out there and it was developed by a diverse group of people with a variety of identities and they ended up with a pretty fun game. If you like shows like The L Word or Our Flag Means Death, you’ll have a good time with this one.
Thirsty Sword Lesbians sells for $15.00 on drivethrurpg but right now you can get it for $11.25. To get it, click the image above or click here.
2. Mutants & Masterminds
Mutants & Masterminds Third Edition
While I love fantasy role playing games, there’s just something super fun about playing in a superhero universe. Later this year Marvel will be coming out with its own version of a TTRPG, the first they have done in a while. But in order for that game to do well, it is going to have to be better than Mutants & Masterminds and that is no small feat. I will say the character creation can take a bit of time here but the rules allow you to be just about any superhero you’ve heard of and to invent ones you’ve never heard of but always wanted to see. Characters don’t tend to end up dead quite as easily as in some other TTRPG’s because, like in the comics, heroes are meant to endure. You pretty much just need a D20 and the core rulebook to get started on this one.
If you love Marvel, Image, DC, Valiant or basically any superhero comics and want to play in a world like those, this is the game for you. It’s tons of fun and full of action. It’s narrative heavy but it does take some work in the character development phase. After all, you want a good origin story if you’re a hero don’t you?
You can get the core rulebook known as The Mutants & Masterminds Deluxe Hero’s HandbookPDF for $20.00 on drivethrurpg. Unfortunately, unlike most of the titles on this list, this one is not on sale right now. And while there is a Mutants & Masterminds Basic Hero’s Handbook for a little cheaper at $16.95 normally but on sale for $12.71 right now, I really don’t recommend it. For this one, the Deluxe book really is the way to go as it gives you everything you need, including a quickstart character generator and two premade adventures. To get the core rulebook click the image above or click here.
1. Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG
Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG Starter Kit
I love fantasy, I love horror, I love TTRPG’s so I can’t go wrong with the Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG Starter Kit. This kit gives a great intro into Zweihander and their Grim & Perilous games. It’s kind of like Dungeons & Dragons but it leans toward more horror and a lot more death. It’s sort of like Call of Cthulhu rules meeting up with the D&D setting but there’s enough here to make it completely original. It has a grim and gritty feel to it where actions have consequences and there is danger lurking around every corner.
For this one I highly recommend using the Starter Kit. You can get it on drivethrurpg as a PDF for $6.66 normally but it’s on sale for $5.00 right now. I will warn you that on driethrurpg it is only the PDF so you don’t get the cool box but you do get a rule book for making characters, a rulebook for running the game, and printable versions of stuff like the GM screen, the maps and the cards. If you’re okay with printing this stuff drivethrurpg is a good deal and you can get it by clicking the image above or by clicking here.
If you just gotta have that cool box and the stuff already printed (and I can’t blame you if you do!) then you’ll want to either visit your local friendly gaming store, or buy through Amazon. On Amazon it’s going to cost you $29.99 plus shipping and all that good stuff. If you want to buy that version, just click here.
In Conclusion
Well, that’s the list. What games are you looking forward to playing in the coming year? If you have any good recommendations drop them in the comments below!
I think you’ll have fun playing any of these games but that’s just my opinion and games certainly up to people’s tastes and preferences. I hope you got some good recommendations here but either way make 2023 a year for gaming!
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here. At the start of 2022 I created some challenges for reading, movies and TTRPG fun. 2022 is over so now it’s time to see how I did on all of these challenges. Also, heads up I will be posting new challenges for 2023 sometime in January so keep an eye out if you want to follow along!
If you did any of these challenges I would also love to hear how you did. Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Reading Challenge
Slick Dungeon’s 2022 Book Challenge! Click the image to download your own copy!
I re-read the first book I remember reading, Cat in the Hat. Still a good book. I actually read a few books longer than 500 pages long. I read some books with magic in it but I’m not sure it was a complicated magic system so I think I have to give myself a partial checkmark on that one. I did not read a book where the main character dies. I also missed the read a book you were assigned in school but didn’t read. I also missed on a book written by a famous author that I have never read. I did read several books less than 500 pages long and I absolutely read independently published books. I really didn’t read any non-fiction this year so I didn’t complete the non-fiction book about a subject I don’t know much about challenge. I read books on best seller lists so that one is covered. I also read more than one series with a large cast of characters and most of those books didn’t take place on earth so I got that one as well.
FINAL SCORE: 7 1/2 out of 12.
Movie Challenge
Slick Dungeon’s 2022 Movie Challenge! Click the image to download your own copy!
I watched The Princess Bride which is definitely about love and an amazing movie. It’s always been one of my favorites. I sawDon’t Look Up which is more of an allegory about climate change than a movie about climate change but I am still counting it for the second challenge. I watched Drive My Car which I had never heard of. I’m really glad I did but boy it sure is a long movie! I ended up watching Violent Night which I would consider a horror/comedy. There’s definitely enough gore to count as horror and they were obviously trying to be funny. I’m not sure I would recommend it to just anyone but if you ever wondered what a cross between Die Hard and Home Alone would look like if the Bruce Willis character was the real Santa Claus, that is hands down the movie for you. Power of the Dogwas all character driven and really doesn’t have any action to speak of and I watched that. The best picture for the year I was born happens to be one of the best films ever made, Godfather II, and it also counts for a sequel that is better than the original. (In my opinion anyway) I definitely watched that one. The first movie I watched in a movie theater was The Great Muppet Caper and I watched that on Disney+ this year. I actually watched several movies with great musical scores but I think the one I thought was most impressive this year was Dune. I’m looking forward to the next entry in the series. We Need to Do Something is a pretty interesting horror flick and it takes place in pretty close to a single location. I wouldn’t say I completely loved it but it was an interesting watch for sure. I watched It’s a Wonderful Life around Christmas and that was made in 1946 so I got that one in as well. As far as a Razzie award winner I don’t think I watched one this year but I did watch several movies that might end up winning a Razzie. I’m not going to give myself the point but if one of the ones I watched wins, I’ll update that score.
FINAL SCORE: 11 out of 12
Read, Watch, Play Challenge
Slick Dungeon’s 2022 Read, Watch, Play challenge! Click the image above to download your own copy!
I started reading a book set in Ravenloft from Dungeons & Dragons but I did not finish it so I can’t quite count that one. I watched Stranger Things season 4 so I will count that as a movie where the characters play D&D. I definitely played the first role playing game I ever played, which would, of course, be Dungeons & Dragons. I didn’t actually come across a book where the characters play a role playing game which is a little surprising because for the last few years there’s always ended up being at least one book I read where that happened. As mentioned above I watched The Princess Bride and that has rodents of unusual size so that counts as a fantasy creature so I get that one. Recently I played Star Wars: Force and Destiny and had a blast doing it. It counts for two of these challenges. It was a tabletop roleplaying game I had never played. It was also a sci-fi tabletop role playing game. I read the rulebook for the Marvel Multiverse Role Playing game which is fully launching later this year. At some point I will do a review for that on this blog but I need to take a few more notes first. Would we consider Westley to be on a quest to rescue Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride? I think the answer is yes so I am counting that. I definitely read books with magic in them. I also watched several Star Wars movies because I do that without fail every year and we wouldn’t have Star Wars: Force and Destiny without it so I am covered there. I did not, however, play a one page TTRPG this year. It can be hard to get a group together sometimes.
FINAL SCORE: 9 out of 12
In Conclusion
2022 was a busy year for me both on the blog and personally. I had a lot of fun trying to do these challenges and I’m honestly kinda surprised I ended up with as good of a score as I did. I’m looking forward to throwing the gauntlet down for next year and seeing how everyone does. If you took my challenges and want to tell me about it, don’t forget to comment below.
Challengingly yours,
Slick Dungeon
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Hello internet and Happy New Year! Slick Dungeon here back to welcome you into the year 2023. Today I thought I would do a more casual post wrapping up a bit of last year and letting you all know what to expect in the dungeon for this year.
Above you can see some of my posts from last year so if you haven’t checked those out please do.
2022 was a great year for this blog. I had an increase of views of 116% from 2021, an increase of visitors of 140%, an increase of likes of 77% and an increase of comments of 127%. If any of you reading this contributed to that increase, thank you! It’s genuinely appreciated and I hope you’ll stick around.
Here are links to the top 5 most popular posts on this blog for 2022. These go from least viewed to most viewed.
Going down this list above, Zamil Akhtar will be publishing new books this year and I fully plan to review them, so look forward to that. I will be posting a top 5 list of tabletop RPG’s to play in 2023 so keep an eye out for that. I will also continue my How to play Call of Cthulhu series. And I am sure I will have more top 5 lists related to Call of Cthulhu and Dungeons & Dragons this year.
I’m hoping to have an even better year in 2023 but of course that depends on you and it depends on what kind of content I deliver.
Here are a few of the things you can expect this year.
More movie reviews
More book reviews
More Marvel reviews
More TTRPG content
More short fiction written by me
A new challenge list for books, movies, and TTRPG’s
Reviews of Star Wars content
Announcements of upcoming projects
Surveys about what direction to take this blog
Random stuff that comes up I just want to talk about
There will be more coming which you have not seen yet but I’m not quite ready to talk about but I will keep you updated throughout the year.
I’m really excited about all of these things coming up and I hope you’ll follow along with me. Also, I am always looking for fellow blog writers to follow so if you have a blog that might line up with some of what you see here, let me know in the comments. I only follow those who have similar interests to mine but I would love to see what everyone is up to in 2023.
Slick Dungeon's Dusty Tomes and Terrible Films 