5 on Friday 23/02/24

It’s Friday, and here on No Rerolls that means it’s time for an all-new 5 on Friday. We’re going to start with 5 exciting releases for this week before moving on to our usual digest of some of our favourite articles from the past week. Of course, we’re slow readers, so don’t be surprised if there are some articles that are a little older – these are just some of the great articles we happen to have actually read in the past week.

Releases & Previews

Every week there are many games, books, and miniatures released. This will probably be a mix of previews, preorders, and releases, and with release dates being the way they are in this industry, it’s always pretty approximate. Excuses out of the way, here are 5 of the releases that caught our attention this week:

Mongoose Publishing releases 404 Compendium for Paranoia – I’ve still not read the new edition of Paranoia. It looks interesting, and I was given a copy that I keep telling myself I am going to read it. I will read it. Hey! I will.

There’s a ton of content in this new supplement. We’ve got a collection of NPCs, plot points and tasks for players, secret society flyers, and a wee minigame for character creation. Whilst I like meaty, focused supplements, modular ones like this can also be a lot of fun, with many bite-sized pieces of content that can be dropped into games.

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DriveThruRPG (PDF)

Wyrd releases She of Two Skins for Malifaux – The Cult of December is a really cool (hah!) part of the Malifaux setting, with Rasputina being a consistently popular master ever since first edition. I’m always excited to see more December miniatures:

Taking a peak at the cards, these looks like some pretty interesting minis:

I love the shapeshifting! Such a cool, thematic approach and one that fits so firmly into the brutal Cult of December. Also, you know… lovely minis. That’s great, too.

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Wayland Games

Free League releases Mutant Year Zero: Ad Astra – I really like Mutant: Year Zero, and have gathered each of the core book released thus far. Now, quite a while after the last one, Free League are putting out another:

This ia MYZ, in space! Space is, after all, the one place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism…

Thanks, Tim!

Yeah, I love MYZ, I love Free League, and I love space. This is a must-buy for me.

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Wayland Games
DriveThruRPG (PDF)

Corvus Belli releases Ariadna Action pack for Infinity – Infinity is a great game with a really cool setting. It’s also got some of the nicest miniatures currently being produced. They’re of a very distinct style, too. I really like this new Ariadna pack:

Ariadna isn’t my favourite army, but Corvus Belli rarey makes miniatures that are not stunningly beautiful. These have come on a lot in the past few years as well, becoming a lot more dynamic. I like their William Wallace, but they’ve really gone all-in on the Mel Gibson look. As a Scot, I can only say meh to this, even though the mini is right braw.

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Wayland Games

Renegade Game Studios releases Blood Sigils supplement for Vampire: the Masquerade – I’ve kind of lost faith in most of the folk involved in the current incarnation of the World of Darkness. New White Wolf seems to make mistake after mistake, and appointing Renegade Game Studios as the publisher might be one of them. They’re such an inconsistent publisher who has some real gems in their catalog, but also seem to just throw any old crap at the wall to see what sticks. I don’t feel that VtM has been well-managed, which is a pity because the core of this edition is actually pretty solid. I really wish they’re led Onyx Path just lash at it, as I feel they’re the only folk who seem to really get WoD at this point. Oh well… here’s a new book, I guess:

As a fan of the Tremere, I like that this book expands on blood magic. That’s exciting to me. Thin-Blood Alchemy, another big plus for me, is also featured. Fantastic! There’s a load more content in here, but if that’s the meat, at least it’s interesting and useful to me.

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Blog Posts & Articles

The meat of 5 on Friday, the articles are listed in no particular order, so let’s get into some recommendations:

King Brodd’s Ladies @ Plastic Craic – Cara consistently puts out absolutely stunning armies. I especially loved her Vampirates. Plastic Craic uses this post to share her Gargants and they really do not disappoint. Amazing work!

Five Generations: A Look at Oath @ Space-Biff – I was looking to buy some new board games the other day and Oath is one that I kept coming back to. I really enjoyed this review, as it not only covered the game as a one-off experience, but also in the context of a campaign. Really useful.

Tabletop Game Review: Aristeia @ Sequential Planet – Aristeia has been on my shelf for a good while. I’m trying to work out if I want to ditch some games and it’s potentially on the chopping block. This review does make me want to crack it out, though…

More Ruins @ J’ai Un Planning Chargé – This is just some nice, beautifully-painted terrain. The Warcry terrain sets are really excellent, so it’s cool to see them treated well! I’ve got a lot of these pieces, but have only really used one in a conversion.

Beastmen, and Beastwomen? @ Andreea Rosu – This digital conversion turned out really well! I’ve seen some others in my usual Discords doing some of this, too. I need to give it a go, because this post makes it seem a lot more accessible and achieveable than I previously thought.

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There have been a few posts since my last 5 on Friday: