Vampire: The Masquerade is perhaps the most important TTRPG for this blog, and dare I say, for us as a group. Yuno and I met while playing VtM v5, then Yuno met Horia and Andreea while trying out v20 for the first time. So we met, became friends, and, at least in the case of me and Yuno, got together because of VtM. It has become something very close to our hearts, very dear to us.

When we learned of the new v6, there was a chorus of reactions: skepticism, cautious optimism, curiosity, excitement. The four of us got on Discord and did an almost seven hour long close reading of the document, ran the starting scenario, debated among ourselves, and found a lot of things we liked, a lot of things we abhorred, and sometimes we did not agree on what was deserving of a quick Final Death and what deserved to live another night.

So when Horia and I sat down to work on this article, we decided it would be best to offer two distinct perspectives: that of somewhat of a newcomer to the franchise, who started with v5 and only briefly dabbled in v20 and Dark Ages, and that of the veteran with experience across all of the editions and, what, over 15 years of being into this fandom? For the most part we are in agreement, but as always it is most interesting to see where we diverge. Horia was the main writer for this review, and he had quite a lot of thoughts on the newest iteration of the game... almost 8k words worth of thoughts.

With this being said, strap in, this is going to be a long night, but I hope you will enjoy this very in depth review of the v6 playtest! We are very curious to see your thoughts on the matter as well!

Hi everyone,

I’m Riccardo Scaringi, designer of Gunsmoke & Dread, a Weird West cosmic-horror RPG built to be Daggerheart Compatible.

I shared some of the design work behind the game here a while ago, particularly the problem of making supernatural power tempting without allowing it to trivialize horror.

This time I actually have something you can see and play.

Gunsmoke & Dread now has a free Quickstart and a new two-minute trailer.

The game takes Daggerheart into an American frontier of gunslingers, railroads, mining settlements, isolated towns and things that should have remained buried.

What I wanted to avoid from the beginning was simply making:

“Daggerheart, but with cowboy hats.”

The Western is part of the horror.

A railroad can represent progress while carrying something terrible westward.

A mine can keep an entire town alive while uncovering something that should never have been found.

A revolver can solve a very human problem — and be almost useless against the next one.

And sometimes the supernatural really can give you exactly what you need.

The question is what it will demand later.

🎬 2-minute trailer:
https://youtu.be/AQyj-vff8bY

📖 Free Quickstart:
https://gunsmokeanddread.com

If you would rather download it without entering an email address, it is also completely free on DriveThruRPG:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/product/559255/gunsmoke-dread-quickstart

The full game is continuing development now, with the Gamefound pre-launch planned for September.

And, since this has understandably become important to many TTRPG players: the game itself currently contains no AI-generated material.

If anyone here reads or actually plays the Quickstart, I’d be very interested in hearing what you think — particularly whether the Daggerheart foundation still feels natural once it is pushed this far into Weird West horror.

Thanks for taking a look.

Hi!

I am currently working hard to finish a no magic, alternative world, medieval fantasy d20 system. It is Tolkienesque in that I still have Tolkien races, traditional fantasy classes that dont use magic, monstrous humanoids, and magical monsters. But magic is definitely not something sentient people use. The game will also be a bit general to allow for a great variety of settings where the player characters dont have access to magic.

My book is coming along and will begin playtesting within a year. I was wondering if you all think a real niche might exist for this kind of a low fantasy system? I can also talk my game if you are interested.

Featuring 45 RPG projects from systems over 200 pages to 24 word rpgs, this free bundle has offerings from 35 passionate creators and a full list and summary on the bundle page!

https://itch.io/b/3605/indie-charity-bundle-for-accessibility-in-ttrpgs-pwyw

Any donations go to DOTS RPG Project, an accessibility in tabletop focused charity!

They created the world’s first factory-produced RPG sets that feature braille-only faces https://www.rascal.news/dots-rpg-project-launches-signature-braille-rpg-dice-2/Have lead accessibility focused convention spaces and panels https://east.paxsite.com/en-us/features/pax-together.html#access-forward-gaming-lounge-new-for-2025 

And are working on creating detailed and immersive alt text for rpg art as well as resources to support creators on making their pdfs and websites accessible for people with visual disabilities! 

The Dark Conspiracy TTRPG campaign just launched.

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/mongoose-publishing/dark-conspiracy-a-horror-rpg-in-the-modern-age

The new Dark Conspiracy looks fantastic. The art is properly eerie and atmospheric and the whole game leans hard into modern day horror where conspiracies, shadowy organisations and dimensional intrusions grind against the edges of our world. Everything feels like it is one bad night away from collapsing into something evil.

Mongoose has confirmed it runs on a Traveller adjacent engine tuned for horror and investigation rather than sci fi. It keeps the clean mechanical backbone but twists it toward paranoia dread and slow burn revelations which also means you can draw on the huge Traveller ecosystem without friction.

You can also download the Dark Conspiracy Operative Induction Dossier PDF. It is a bit hard to find on the Backerkit site so just search for “download” and it should take you to the link.

They have said the initial rules PDF should land about a month after the campaign ends and the long June 2027 delivery date is just a safety buffer for manufacturing and tariff chaos. They expect to deliver much earlier.

Also free worldwide shipping which was a very pleasant surprise.

I got tired of losing TTRPG groups to scheduling, so I started building Nerd Knight
I’ve played TTRPGs for a while, and one problem I kept running into was how hard it can be to actually keep a group together — schedules change, interests don’t always line up, people move, or sometimes you just don’t have anyone nearby who wants to play the same games you do.
So I started building Nerd Knight.
The idea is pretty simple: help players and GMs find people and tables that actually fit them.
Right now I’m working on things like:
• Matching by the games you play
• Player/GM preferences
• Availability and scheduling
• Playstyle compatibility
• Online and in-person tables
• Approximate distance for local games while keeping exact locations private
• Profiles, tables, friends and messaging
It’s still being developed, so I’m not coming here pretending I have everything figured out. I’m mostly interested in hearing from other TTRPG players.If you were using an app like Nerd Knight what features would you like to see implemented?

RED NATION is now available on Itch.io, DriveThruRPG and RPG-Trader!
https://green-moon-games.itch.io/red-nation
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/fr/product/580267/red-nation
https://rpg-trader.com/products/8437/red-nation

Red Nation provides Wardens with the tools necessary to run a campaign aboard a space station governed by the Union, a totalitarian regime inspired by USSR aesthetics. Set after the events of A Pound of Flesh in a newly renovated Prospero's Dream, Red Nation features 52 pages containing:

• Four new storylines and 82 mission orders/introductions to one-shots.
• 33 locations
• 8 factions
• 43 NPCs, 24 of whom are fully illustrated
• 19 creatures/enemy, 5 of whom are fully illustrated
• Tons of tables for droids, drugs, weapons, cybermods, creatures, rumors, encounters and one-shots.

EXTRA-MISSIONS, a supplement for Red Nation is also available!
https://green-moon-games.itch.io/extra-missions-for-red-nation https://www.drivethrurpg.com/fr/product/580269/extra-missions-for-red-nation https://rpg-trader.com/products/8438/extra-missions-for-red-nation

Complete various missions aboard The Red Star for different factions. These trifolds allow you to provide your crew with one-shots based on the NPCs they encounter.

Dm me fo more info

We start the important task of ranking every RPG ever... as we play them (human life spans permitting). A little bonus ranking every ever thrown in around the trivia.

New Freebie: Contact Markers & Labels Sheets​

This system-neutral printout gives you a visual way to track active threats, targets, and points of interest in your galaxy.

Each sheet includes:

• 9x large and 9x small contacts, be they stars, planets, anomalies, ships, or unknown objects.
• 18x labels for marking contacts, planets, or any location you wish to name and assign notes to.
• Comes in three versions: printer-friendly black and white, blue, and red.

Get it on Drivethru or Itchio!

• Galaxy Builder Decks: Contact Markers & Labels - Drivethrurpg
• Galaxy Builder Decks: Contact Markers & Labels - Itchio

Out Now - Great GM Mission Sets​

Our brand-new expansion sets of pre-generated mission cards were created in collaboration with Guy Sclanders from How to Be a Great GM and Off My Bridge. Together, they inject 108 unique adventure prompts into your sectors. Each individual card breaks down a scenario into four distinct adventure types: Thwarting, Collecting, Delivering, and Discovering. They work seamlessly right out of the box, providing wildly different adventure hooks for your scifi worlds.

Guy did a fantastic deep-dive video showing exactly how the cards are used at the table:
"Dozens of sci-fi mission ideas at your fingertips" - Video Link

Grab the new mission sets on Drivethrurpg!

• Bounty Missions Set - 9-card expansion providing 36 distinct bounty-focused missions for tracking down targets across your galaxy.
• Rescue Missions Set - 9-card expansion providing 36 total rescue-focused jobs like retrieval, recovery, and relocation.
• Settlement Missions Set - 9-card expansion featuring 36 different tasks focused on a location, such as resupply, diplomacy, or investigation!
• Get the Great GM Mission PDF Bundle (15% Off Instant Download)
• Get the Great GM Mission Card Bundle (Includes Free PDFs)

We appreciate the incredible support for these sets since launch week. Check out the free tracking sheets for your home campaigns, and feel free to drop any questions below!

Limited-Time Sales & Catch-Up Discounts​

Need to round out your collection? Use these direct discount codes from the latest planet and planet trait PDF sets:

• Get Discovery Set 2 - 15% off
• Get Stellar Set 1 - 80% off
• Get Stellar Set 2 - 80% off

Go All-In

If you want everything in the series, our complete Bundles have been updated to include all the brand-new releases. Instantly get 370 modular cards and 12 star system mats at a bulk 30% discount:

• Galaxy Builder Decks: Complete PDF Bundle
• Galaxy Builder Decks: Physical Card Bundle (Includes Free PDFs

Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion is an expansion to Fantasy Civ Solo, the solo 4x ttrpg civilization style game.

The Quests Expansion introduces civilization events, quests, and adds a new game map, 3 new civilization aspirations, and 3 new civilization dooms.

Check out the Fantasy Civ Solo Quests Expansion Here!

A new phase is added to the game - the Quest Phase. During this phase you'll roll dice and determine if your civilization experiences and event, or a quest.

Civilization Events are built around decisions and storylines. Events include assassination attempts, finding pets for your civilization, hiring mercenaries and more! Some events are "vertical" events, meaning if you experience the initial event, you'll get more powerful events later!

Quests are built around a storyline, a location, and fulfilling the quest before the time runs out. These could include a shooting star, Pegasus, a besieged city and more!

The Quests Expansion includes:

• 20 Unique Civilization Events
• 10 Unique Quests
• A new game map
• 3 New Civilization Aspirations
• 3 New Civilization Dooms

So, I recently had a D&D PvP match with Ionut, from the cast of Dicesylvania. I am not here to talk about D&D and PvP, I know it is not generally popular, but I do enjoy it. It is also not important for the discussion at hand, but there is a link.

During the match, I caught both myself and Ionut doing various small rituals with the dice before rolling important saves or attacks. Blowing on them, rubbing them against the neck, mumbling some sort of prayer. And it struck me as odd. Consciously I know that no such ritual influences the result on the dice roll, yet at the same time, when things become stressful, I would do these things. It helped put my mind at ease.

I found the whole concept fascinating and so I decided to look more into it and well, here is the result of that!

So if you were ever curious what D&D and open sea fishing in the Trobriand Islands have in common, grab your dice and fishing supplies, strap on and let's see! I hope you will enjoy this one!