Origin Story

Welcome to the Role Scene newsletter

Hello and welcome to the very first issue of Role Scene. Since we’re all new here, let’s do some quick origin story.

Why another newsletter?

The flood of amazing projects I see each day is staggering. But sadly I forget about so many of them that got me excited, lost to the endless scroll-void. That sucked for me so I started tracking projects that most interested me in one of those hand-dandy notes apps. Well the notes have grown considerably so I figured, what the hell, may as well send this out to anyone else who feels the same.

Secondary to the above but also noteworthy, I think there’s something special about a newsletter that’s publisher agnostic. A source that can cover the whole industry and not be tied to promoting it’s own products.

Will this newsletter cover everything?

I’d like to think it will, but no… no it wont. There’s a lot happening across the thousands of games and creators across the wonderful world, I can’t possibly keep-up with it all… even though I’ll try.

And then there’s that little thing about doing what you love, and what I love are indie TTRPGs. Dungeons And Dragons is great, but with a near-infinite amount of DND content on the internet covering the topic feels redundant.

Have I been playing tabletop role-playing games for long?

I’ve been playing off and on for decades. When I was young I was deep into Heroes Unlimited and the rest of the Palladium universe. I still think Heroes Unlimited is awesome, but I haven’t played it since I was 14 so that could be why.

It wasn’t until 2016 that I started playing Dungeons And Dragons, and it wasn’t until very recently that I took the plunge into the indie creator world.

Have I played a lot of indie RPGs?

No. I haven’t. I wish I had and I hope I do. In some ways this newsletter will become the chronicles of my journey into a limitless world of new mechanics, environments, and stories.

News / Announcements

• Creatures Hairy, Scary & Strange – the Bestiary for Dragonbane by Free League Press is available for pre-order LINK

I don’t know what Free League is doing, but I like all of it. I’m so attached to the art in this book.

Crowdfunding

• Derelict a Death In Space adventure by Christian Eichorn (now thru Oct 28) LINK

• Don’t Play This Game by Charlie Menzies (now thru Nov 2 on Kickstarter) LINK

• Grimtooth's Old-School Traps for 5E and DCC from Goodman Games (Nov 2023 on Backerkit)

• Adventure on the Purple Planet ... And Beyond from Goodman Games (Feb 2024 on Backerkit)

What I’m Playing

I created a DnD equivalent of the video game Rogue Legacy. It’s nearly all combat so I have to be careful not to overplay the game lest my players get bored from the constant turn waiting. But because the story is light, it’s an easy game to keep in the hopper and periodically pull out to run some combat between heavier roleplay games.

What I’m Checking Out

One Breath Left

I don’t typically get excited about solo RPGs but there’s something here that has its hooks in me. I’m anxiously awaiting the reprint planned for later this year. It should be said, I’m a sucker for space exploration. LINK

Creator Corner

In this month’s issue of D12 monthly gaming magazine LINK, Russ proposed a Fear mechanic and now I want to make a Halloween zine based around a Fear meter. What Fear-centered game would you make?

Disclaimer: This newsletter has no paid promotions. Everything included is here because I think it’s cool and/or interesting.