Updates: October 2023
News from Big Bad Con, recent releases, current bundles, crowdfunding campaigns, and projects on the horizon
Hi everyone! I’d planned for these updates to appear at the start of the next post but as I was writing them, I realised there were too many to fit in a small section. These updates will now be self–contained and the TTRPG industry topic posts will stand as independent resources.
Big Bad Con
I am back from Big Bad Con! It was my second year attending and I’m grateful to have returned to the POC Meet & Greet as a person of colour seeking opportunities and as an industry professional. I met some fantastic people who are making amazing games and I’m excited to help bring them to life.
If you are a POC and we missed each other or you weren’t able to attend the con, I’d love to hear from you! I can help with pitching to publishers, playtesting, and freelancing best practises. Please use the contact form on my website to get in touch.
I also stopped by the Small Press Showcase to pick up these goodies. Please check out the creators and buy their games!
Owlbear Plush by Baby Bestiary
Memory Hunter by Rae Nedjadi (Sword Queen Games)
O Captain by Leon Barillaro and Scott Bullock
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants by Makenzie De Armas, Dan Dillion, Ben Petrisor, Jason Tondro, and James Wyatt (Wizards of the Coast)
Delivered by Kari Jo “Kage” Freudigmann (Rage Kage Games)
Anamnesis by Sam Leigh (Blinking Birch Games)
Knowing Revenge of the Grasping Gods by Kyle Tam
Zine Club Passport by Plus One Exp
Into the Riverlands by Josh Hittie (Ostrich Monkey Games)
Down We Go by Markus Linderum
Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh (Gay Speceship Games)
Improv for Gamers by Karen Twelves (Evil Hat Productions)
Project Ecco by Elliot Davis
The Magus by momatoes
CARZ by Adira Slattery
I Have the High Ground by Jess Levine (Jumpgate Games)
New releases
Fool’s Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds (Hit Point Press) is out in digital form! This was the very first project I worked on when I joined Hit Point Press back in 2022 and it is dear to my heart. It’s an unhinged, hilarious campaign and setting book based on the popular web series by Dingo Doodles. I designed stat blocks and jungle hazards, added funky lil guys NPC tables and created a load of area quest hooks. The book also contains my absolute favourite 5e spell ever! It’s called Wizardly’s arcane override, available to sorcerers, wizards, and splicer warlocks. The book is worth it for this spell alone.
The recipients of the Luminary Grant for Q3 were announced! I’m the grant coordinator and I’m delighted to financially support indie game designers who are making cool games. New recipients are announced every quarter.
The Constellation RPG Zine Anthology (Hit Point Press) is now available on Indie Press Revolution! If you buy it from them, you can get the print book and the PDF bundled together!
Bundles
Three of my games on itch.io are in separate bundles this month!
VAMP CAMP! is in the TTRPG Halloween Spooktacular 2023 bundle, curated by Cat Elm! VAMP CAMP! a small, whimsical game about coming to terms with your new life as a vampire.
CROSSROADS is in the Your Best Game bundle, organized by SprintingOwl! CROSSROADS is the first original game I ever designed. It uses a deck of cards and a mapmaking mechanic to explore grief.
CORPUS is in the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle 2023 — $10 Treat Edition and the $60 Fright Edition, run by tofurocks. It’s an unofficial supplement for Rowan, Rook and Decard’s horror game Heart: The City Beneath. CORPUS includes a faction of people whose organs grow on the outsides of their bodies, a cursed art gallery, a galaxy-sized cake, and a tableau where nothing is wrong at all.
Crowdfunding
The Fablemaker’s Deck of Many Things (Hit Point Press) is on Kickstarter now! It’s an oracle deck based on the eponymous magic item and illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani. I designed alternate effects for the deck of many things and I wrote for the oracle guidebook. This deck contains my favourite mechanic I’ve ever written for 5e and the art is absolutely gorgeous.
Vynestra: An Ancient Rome-Themed 5th Edition World & City Setting (Vynestra) is also crowdfunding now! It’s a 5e setting inspired by ancient Rome and Venice where players can be demigods. I was an LGBT+ sensitivity consultant for this fantastic book.
Coming soon
Paizo is hosting a Lost Omens Showcase Stream on their twitch channel on Friday, October 13, starting at 19:00 EST. Tune in to learn more about their Tian Xia products—and stay for a special announcement at the end of the hour!
I know I keep referring to myself as a “former journalist,” but I still write occasionally. I don’t do hard news reporting anymore; this time, I’m working with the team at CBC Life to publish two new articles about card games! One is about the best games to play with a big group, and the other is about the best games to play with just two people. I’ll share them when they’re out!
That’s all for now!
Oh wow... you sure did get a ton of stuff from the con as well! Those all seem to be amazing games!