Hey all,
So, I haven't posted here since about the tail end of 2014. I haven't run a campaign or played in one in over five years. A lot took place in that time, but suffice it to say there was a lot of other stuff that happened; sold off my game books, put my dice and dice tower in a drawer, and didn't give any time to gaming that entire time. There was a time where I had a gaming blog, did tons of gaming reviews, was in on all the trends and new games, and I find coming back it's like I've been in a tomb the last few years. Hard to explain everything that has happened, but there it is.
So, what have I missed? I've heard rumblings of the uber-PC trends in everything, but have no idea what the big games (or little games of note) that have come out in that time.
-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
-What's the OSR been up to?
-What are the best trends in tabletop gaming?
-What are the worst trends in tabletop gaming?
-What cool accessories or dice should I be aware of?
-Where are we buying our PDFs and books these days?
How much are you willing to pay for this occult knowledge.
For my money, the best new thing you might not hear about immediately from 100 other posters is the Legacy Edition of The Fantasy Trip. It is a very lightly revised and very heavily produced new edition of the ca. 1980 roleplaying game by Metagaming, based on their light boardgames of gladiatorial combat, Melee and Wizard. The new product line includes fresh editions of all the core materials — Melee, Wizard and the roleplaying version, In The Labyrinth — and a shit ton of supporting play materials (cards of many sorts; numerous and various tiles and markers for laying out scenarios on the table top; special dice; something like 2 dozen adventures including several solos; a great city setting book; a great horror supplement and setting book; other stuff that would take too long to list). The game is both freshly produced and likely should be classified as part of the OSR, at least in spirit, as its rules are barely changed from the original edition, which was itself part of the first wave of reactions to D+D (so, similar vintage to Tunnels and Trolls, Runequest and Chivalry and Sorcery). It is marked by highly tactical but fast playing rules for combat and related situations, and by extreme speed and flexibility in character creation and advancement. A reasonable comparison would be like thinking of the game as the love child of a threesome involving GURPS, Moldvay D+D and a hex and chit war game.
The boom area is (unsurprisingly given the prevailing social/medical conditions) Solo adventure gaming, both as dedicated purpose built games and as "expansions" for other traditional rpg games. Lots of fan produced stuff as well as some very professionally produced material.
Best game is highly subjective, but I find it hard to see anything better than "Forbidden Lands" and "Ironsworn"
As for trends, more solo/co-op play game options is good, while the deluge of dreadful streamed "live play rpg sessions" is most certainly not.
Honestly, nothing of outstanding significance has happened in RPGs in the last five years. If you extrapolate the trends from five years ago, you are more or less here. Same systems, movements and trends, but slightly different wrappings.
Quote from: Melan on February 05, 2021, 02:16:56 PM
Honestly, nothing of outstanding significance has happened in RPGs in the last five years. If you extrapolate the trends from five years ago, you are more or less here. Same systems, movements and trends, but slightly different wrappings.
That's comforting, I think.
Let me ask this: did we lose anyone? Any notable companies go under/cease operation, or designers pass away?
Outside the remaining vestiges of the Free World, we're all in Lockdown and if we're still playing it's 5e D&D on Roll20.
Quote-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
That's highly subjective - to answer I'd prefer to know your taste in gaming.
Quote-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
D&D continues slow publishing shedule of 5e, and well it will probably make 5e real metusaleh of D&D edition. They went bit wokish here and there, throwing snippet to SJW, but AFAIK nothing outrageous. Pathfinder left being 3,5 clone to become it's own edition of D&D and it was met with lukewarm reception, fans of tactical combat praised it, but they lost more market overall. I guess if you build 12 years of publishing line as 3,5 clone, it may be bit too late to re-brand.
Nevertheless they are publishing Society and APs as usual.
Quote-What's the OSR been up to?
Nothing revolutionary I suppose.
Quote-What are the best trends in tabletop gaming?
-What are the worst trends in tabletop gaming?
Well worst is clearly more and more wokism all around.
Best - well for me really it was probably rise of PbtA and FitD - because while overall they are bit too unsimulationistic for me, they gave me a lot of ideas to use with more simulationist projects.
There's also certain revival of explorationist fantasy not limited to OSR - vide Forbidden Lands.
Quote-What cool accessories or dice should I be aware of?
Well only wonky dice I've heard about are dice made by Thrice Accursed Adam Koebel The Robot-Rapist for one of his games - which have ridiculous numbers of walls like d34 or smth.
Quote
That's highly subjective - to answer I'd prefer to know your taste in gaming.
Makes sense. A bit of everything, depending on my mood. Last campaigns I ran or planned included Castles & Crusades, RuneQuest, StarCluster, Mongoose Traveller (1e), and Rolemaster Classic. Shorter one-offs used stuff like Barebones Fantasy or some of the OSR stuff.
QuoteBest - well for me really it was probably rise of PbtA and FitD - because while overall they are bit too unsimulationistic for me, they gave me a lot of ideas to use with more simulationist projects.
There's also certain revival of explorationist fantasy not limited to OSR - vide Forbidden Lands.
Sorry--is PbtA "Powered by the Apocalypse"? What is FitD?
QuoteSorry--is PbtA "Powered by the Apocalypse"? What is FitD?
FitD is Forged in the Dark.
As PBTA games take their nickname from Apocalypse World, FiTD takes it from Blades in the Dark - it's a dark-fantasy city gang roleplaying game, with game structure based on relation between scores and aftermatches/heat caused by them. Takes a lot from the same philosophy as AW - for instance 3 types of resolutions, but it's moves for instance are much more close to classical skills - compared to unique and wonky Apocalypse ones, resolution is based on d6 rolls (1-3 fail, 4-5 consequence, 6 clear success). New games were made based on those two - like Monster of the Week on PBTA, Band of Blades on FiTD (about legion of soldiers escaping some Dark Lord after great failure), and others.
Not exactly my game, but I take inspirations from those (definitely natural way of giving more resolutions than hit/miss is something I really dig).
QuoteMakes sense. A bit of everything, depending on my mood. Last campaigns I ran or planned included Castles & Crusades, RuneQuest, StarCluster, Mongoose Traveller (1e), and Rolemaster Classic. Shorter one-offs used stuff like Barebones Fantasy or some of the OSR stuff.
Hmmm... There was some new Runequest or Mythras as it's called now editions, but not sure if after 2015. In terms of D&D retroclones the ones that are quite new, though again I'm not exactly sure are White Hack, Black Hack, there's 5 edition mixed with OSR game - Five Torches Deep. And totally not D&D quite praised game (I have a chance to play it - and I have to say it's quite, quite good) - Forbidden Lands on Year Zero Engine,
Welcome back Zachary!
-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
If you run horror RPGs, Kevin Crawford wrote an amazing supplement / game. Even if you never use the game system, the non-system stuff - especially tables - is truly excellent.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145769/Silent-Legions
Personally, I've encountered FAR more interesting boardgames in the past 5 years than new RPGs that catch my interest.
-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
Retarded.
-What's the OSR been up to?
We're happily ensconced in the 1970s.
-What are the best trends in tabletop gaming?
I've not seen any trend I'd label as positive.
-What are the worst trends in tabletop gaming?
Anything involving Twatter.
Palladium's big event of the last 5 years was the epic fuckup of their Robotech Kickstarter. The level of crazy was pushed to 11. Terrible shame and I doubt PB will recover. Such as sad end to a wonderful hopeful story too.
-What cool accessories or dice should I be aware of?
Kickstarter is your friend, especially if 3D printing is your thing. It's the defacto "here's something new" zone and you can wander through old Kickstarters to see what became products.
Also, Palladium allowed Rifts Savage Worlds to be licensed. Reviews are mixed.
-Where are we buying our PDFs and books these days?
I prefer Kickstarter and Amazon. I only support FLGS if they offer game tables, game clubs, etc.
Quote from: Zachary The First on February 05, 2021, 11:47:20 AM
-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
Paizo released two big new games in the last five years:
Pathfinder 2e and
Starfinder
Quote from: Spinachcat on February 05, 2021, 07:21:11 PM
Welcome back Zachary!
-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
If you run horror RPGs, Kevin Crawford wrote an amazing supplement / game. Even if you never use the game system, the non-system stuff - especially tables - is truly excellent.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145769/Silent-Legions
Thanks! Glad to see a familiar face still here! Hope you are doing well! Thanks for the recc.
Quote
Palladium's big event of the last 5 years was the epic fuckup of their Robotech Kickstarter. The level of crazy was pushed to 11. Terrible shame and I doubt PB will recover. Such as sad end to a wonderful hopeful story too.
Holy cow, just read up on this. Tragic all-around.
This will be a lost cultural decade, as they tend to start mid-decade (usually around 4~6 in the ones place). Typically the 80/20 rule prevails i.e. most stuff is shit. But of the past 5+ years it is closer to 95/5 throughout all facets of culture and RPGs are no different. Outside of some standouts most of everything is worse than before and utterly worth forgetting. The recent tabletop indie explosion had an implosion in most spheres and ttrpg too has been glutted with widget & deconstructivist thrown spaghetti. I don't expect this to change until 2024~2026. 8)
This is a mostly forgettable decade.
Quote from: Zachary The First on February 05, 2021, 11:47:20 AM
-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
-What's the OSR been up to?
-What are the best trends in tabletop gaming?
-What are the worst trends in tabletop gaming?
-What cool accessories or dice should I be aware of?
-Where are we buying our PDFs and books these days?
Best Games: I am not the best guy to answer this question. There are better people here for this one. Highest popularity is 5e D&D, Pathfinder 2, Cthulu, Starfinder, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun 6e, Star Wars, Alien.
State of D&D and PF: D&D is fucking HUGE. Like huger than huge. Possibly huger than it's ever been, including the heyday of 1e. Let by the popularity of a video steam of a game called Critical Role, masses of new people have flocked to playing it such that the average age of players is now in the mid-20s.
Pathfinder came out with a new edition, and it seems to have split their user base. So far, it's not clear if PF2 is a success. But, at least Paizo came out with another game called Starfinder, and that's making up some of the difference in their sales I think.
OSR - Seems to be going very strong.
Trends - Playing online. The pandemic has forced a lot of people to play on online platforms like Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, Owlbear Rodeo (which is the newest free one) and that sort of thing. In addition, there are a lot of streamed live D&D games making advertising money these days, like the previously mentioned Critical Role, and they seem very popular.
As for bad trends, I'd say the increase of political correctness is a negative trend these days. It's not nearly as prevalent as the folks here like to claim it is (it's genuinely not noticeable to the overwhelming majority of players of D&D and PF) but it is a nuisance.
Accessories: I do quite like the Roll20 online playing playform, and DND Beyond is a great digital platform for D&D where you can have all the books and character creation and that sort of thing. Lots of 3D printed dice out there these days some of which are cool.
PDFs: DMsGuild, which is a place WOTC built for third party writers to publish D&D stuff under a very lenient license, including opening up some WOTC campaign settings for anyone to write stuff for like Forgotten Realms.
Quote from: Zachary The First on February 05, 2021, 11:47:20 AM
Hey all,
So, I haven't posted here since about the tail end of 2014. I haven't run a campaign or played in one in over five years. A lot took place in that time, but suffice it to say there was a lot of other stuff that happened; sold off my game books, put my dice and dice tower in a drawer, and didn't give any time to gaming that entire time. There was a time where I had a gaming blog, did tons of gaming reviews, was in on all the trends and new games, and I find coming back it's like I've been in a tomb the last few years. Hard to explain everything that has happened, but there it is.
So, what have I missed? I've heard rumblings of the uber-PC trends in everything, but have no idea what the big games (or little games of note) that have come out in that time.
-What are the best games of the past 5-6 years?
-What is the state of D&D and Pathfinder?
-What's the OSR been up to?
-What are the best trends in tabletop gaming?
-What are the worst trends in tabletop gaming?
-What cool accessories or dice should I be aware of?
-Where are we buying our PDFs and books these days?
Woah, how is everything going? Good to see you here! Haven't been keeping track of what's going in gaming, especially the politics, because I have been too busy gaming the last three or four years.
Currently running three online campaigns, two bi-monthly 0D&D campaigns and a similar Original Edition Traveller campaign, all online using Roll20 and Discord. I'm a volunteer at GaryCon and get badged to help run the show up in Lake Geneva, Let me know if you'd like to join us for some Old school gaming where it all started as I have to drive through Indy on my way up. Should also be helping with GenCon when they are up and running again as well, and of course am running virtual games for both, as well as for virtual GameHoleCon. And also been running games at CincyCon three out of the last five years in 2019 they held their Con the same weekend as GaryCon and they cancelled their annual March show this year already.
The State of Gaming as viewed from my Imgur Page...
https://gamedaddy7175.imgur.com/all
Crom! Glad you escaped the Crypt!(https://i.imgur.com/wN0PEne.png)
A lot has happened in the last 5 years of gaming. As a publisher, I'm approaching this from an industry perspective, at least the slice of industry I deal with.
1. D&D: Paizo released a second edition of Pathfinder but failed to find an audience, even against their own first edition, which did more to cement Hasbro's market dominance of D&D than anything else.
2. The Darling: Powered by the Apocolypse is undeniably the go-to indie title, but moreso in a beguiling number of off-shoots. It, and Forged in the Dark, are filling the role that Fate did 10 years ago. It's a "darling" at the moment.
3. Power of the Platform: Kickstarter has continued to gain power in its role as a pre-order model for every major publisher less than Hasbro and Paizo.
4. Movie-Book-RPG: Modiphius has risen to dominate the lisenced market, acquiring just about everything from your childhood bookshelf, including Dune, John Carter, Conan, and more. They are part of a fashion-forward movement (as in, put all money into the art budget, the system is incidental.) Licenced games in general, including those from Free League, are more of a thing now than they were 5 years ago, with games released about Alien, the Expanse, the Witcher, and even a sweedish artist's robot pictures called Tales from the Loop. (When was the last repurposing lisence bubble? Mid-90s?)
5. Indie Rise: Usually when there's a lisence bubble it diminishes grassroots games, but this has not been the case. There has been a rise in "zine" like RPGs, like Trokia!, Mork Borg, and others that are considerably shorter (only upwards of 100 pages), their focus seems to also be on art and "style over substance".
6. Print Format Shift: As an extension of that, the 6x9" trade paperback format is now more welcomed by distributors, where once the 8.5x11" was a requirement for national distribution through companies like Alliance, now the market is opening up to stranger sizes. I have yet to see any data indicating that the sales are following, however. Consumer resistence to anything less than letter-sized has always been the distributor's concern over smaller sized RPG books, but since the fiction market (and the presses) have long been pushing a trade paperback or digest size (in part because the printers are all set for it already, and in part for the better marketup) the RPG publishing industry seems to be catching up. We'll have to see if sales follow.
7. Rules Repurpose: Like in the D&D 3e days, it seems every indie publisher wants to rerelease their system as 5e, just as a side market on their own game.
8. Boom & Bust: Over the last 5 years all the publishers were reporting better and better margins year after year. In 2019 you had to call that the industry was in a boom, both in terms of mainstream D&D, and in terms of a successful grassroots publishing industry. (There's some debate about how much the influence of youtube series' played a role in the rise in popularity, but what's most important is that it did translate into increased sales.) Then COVID hit. Now distributors are falling, FLGS sales have flatlined, and people's reliance on online marketplaces is even greater. Things still look kind of okay in terms of how many people are suspected to be playing, but sales are bad and many smaller publishers are dropping, and continue to drop.
9. Going Solo: During COVID, as can be expected, there is a huge rise in solo-RPGs, and a huge rise in subscription-based online gaming platforms. Honestly if you don't want to make any money with a RPG and all you want to do is a trumped-up Choose Your Own Adventure, this is the golden time.
10. Obituary: Perhaps you'll find it relevant, perhaps not, but it was an important point to me: Greg Stafford, author of King Arthur Pendragon, died. A new edition of Pendragon is supposed to be coming at some point.
That's a slice of the pie, anyway.
//Panjumanju
Since 2015 I've produced 108 RPG products.