#121: December Vibes + Deck of Kith

I. Dear Reader,

Like last year, December is going to be a bit different for this plucky little newsletter. The issues will be shorter as I try to take a little bit of a break. But there’s lot of links in this edition so there’s no lack of content, I can assure you.

I’m also thinking a little about the future. This newsletter recently hit 2500 subscribers, which is extremely validating! And from 2023, I’ll be running the Yes Indie’d Podcast. I’m really excited to do that but it will also mean a lot more of my time! So much more! There is a modest patreon for the podcast which I might expand to support the newsletter as well but that’s undoubtedly a long journey if my goal is to make all this work sustainable. If I do launch it, I’d appreciate your support!

And before I go, one quick announcement, I recently released the Deck of Kith, a set of 40 NPC cards for Wanderhome. They’re all gorgeously illustrated by immensely talented Uruguayan illustrator, Peti Selvaraz, and was made possible by the Haeth Grant from Possum Creek Games. If you fancy a christmas present, you can get a physical set from DriveThruRPG or a digital set from itch.io.

Yours, slowly getting into the December spirit,

Thomas

II. Media of the Week

• If you speak French, I just stumbled on Coup Critique, a Youtube channel that showcases a lot of indie RPGs.

• Dave Thaumavore reviews Swords of the Serpentine. He points out all the stuff about the game that got me excited too!

III. Links of the Week

Articles

• Judd Karlman talks about his favourite page in World of Dungeons: the name lists.

• Meguey Baker, game designer and textile historian, talks about how you can make cloth central to your worldbuilding

• A gushing review of Lutong Banwa, a game of cooking and cultures, by Sinta Posadas

• A preview of Stealing Stories from the Devil, a supernatural heist game from Monte Cook Games

• The publisher of the experimental adventure module, The Isle, discusses the thought process behind the adventure and the success of the experiment.

News

• Nobel Knight Games has reversed its decision and volountarily recognized its workers’ union. If you sent in a message of support for the union, then you should bask in the moment too! The workers will now start the process of bargaining for better rights with the management and hopefully, it goes well!

• Dicebreaker announced its Tabletop Awards winners. Best Game went to Coyote & Crow, Best Publisher to Free League, Best Designer to Banana Chan, among others.

• Some business-y news:

  • Backerkit is slowly opening out its crowdfunding tools for the public. It’s not fully public yet, but you can apply to run a project here.

  • Role, the VTT, opened up their creator program so you can now sell games there, fully integrated into the VTT, among other things.

  • Malstrom is a new Japanese publisher that is interested in translating indie RPGs to Japanese.

Resources

• I’ve got a handful of apps and generators for you:

  • This is one for Fabula Ultima which lets you generate rewards and track HP for this Ryuutama-like game

  • If you’re playing Swords of the Serpentine, this gives you all the names you could want

  • Mothership launched official apps for android and IOS that let you build characters and more.

IV. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

• Live your best roleplaying holidays in 2023 with ADVENTure Calendar: a 4 sessions 5E adventure, 24 unique miniatures, 6 battle maps… and more! Follow now the Kickstarter campaign.

• Sean F. Smith (Quarrel + Fable, EXUVIAE, et al.) sends you a fresh new fantasy hex description every Sunday. System neutral, oddness high.

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

• A huge bundle of games and supplements for Shadowrun, first and second edition

• Also, a quick bundle of Goodman Games’ fantasy fiction magazine, Tales From The Magician’s Skull

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. I’m half-man, half-beast, half-journalist, half-game designer.

If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend or buy one of my games from my itch store. If you’d like to say something to me, you can reply to this email or click below!

Thanks for subscribing and take care out there!