RolePlaying

Image: Jeeyon ShimAs we enter the spookiest of seasons, I’m delighted to offer you at least a couple horror games to sink your teeth into. A lot of indie designers are recovering from the busy season and already preparing for the next round of conventions (looking at you, PAX Unplugged!). Today we’ve got some experimental song generators, a tarot-based character creation system, and a campaign to support one of the best, longest running actual play shows. Let’s get to that tavern!I’ve been aware of Jeeyon Shim’s work…

Image: Dungeons & Dragons“Spelljams features a double LP’s worth of tracks from artists all produced by Chris Funk, guitarist from the Decemberists, who plays D&D with many folks in the music scene in Portland, Oregon. Chris Perkins, story architect at D&D and lead designer of Spelljammer, worked with Funk to bring the Flash Gordon-esque soundtrack to life. ‘You know what they like on the Rock of Bral?’ asked Perkins, referring to a location in Spelljammer. ‘Rock music! The brilliant Chris Funk has assembled a…

Just before the Gaming Shelf takes an extended break (we’ll be back July 12!) I’m thrilled to be able to spotlight some tabletop games and creators who have been working hard over the past months to bring us some great pieces. We’ve got indie studio Possible Worlds Games as well as a bit of a new direction for the Shelf, a book about text games currently crowdfunding. Creator Spotlight: Tyler Crumrine Also known as the founder and publisher of Possible Worlds Games, Tyler Crumrine has produced some incredible work since…

“Welcome to Athletics, a fantasy magazine for fabulous adventurers. Every issue features the buffest orcs, strongest elves, and muscular humans we could find every month. Whether they’re telling you how they climbed the Mountain Of Doom, swam through the currents of the Infinite Waterfall, or wrestled naked with demigods, the authors of Athletics will regale you with all sorts of tales of triumph!” (A roleplaying game about fantasy muscle mags on the down low) —Riverhouse Games “Welcome to Athletics, a fantasy magazine…

Image: momatoesAs we careen into summer, it seems like the entire tabletop world is recovering from PAX only to prepare for GenCon. But games are still coming out, and this week we’ve got a fantastically introspective collaborative meditation, some incredibly exciting subway-inspired layouts, and even an RPG source book that doubles as a coloring book. Creator Spotlight: momatoesBianca Canoza, also known by her pen name, momatoes, is an RPG designer I’ve admired for years. She’s a constant champion of the RPG Southeast…

After encountering numerous delays and seeing a change of developers mid-development, Digimon Survive is finally coming out this year. The upcoming role-playing game tells its story in visual novel-like chapters, while combat plays out in turn-based strategy battles.As we approach Summer Game Fest and all the Not-E3 summer events, there's a chance we learn even more about developer Hyde and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment's new game. But, for now, this is everything we know about Digimon Survive.…