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:
Privateer Press releases Nightmare Empire miniatures for the Iron Kingdoms RPG – After looking at the Iron Kingdoms RPG last week, this upcoming pack of miniatures grabbed my interest:
Privateer Press makes great minis. I’ve long been a big fan of their aesthetic, and I like that they support their RPG with some cool minis beyond what’s available for their core games of Warmachine and Hordes. This is a cool, wee set based on a specific adventure.
Slavdom Studio’s SLAV BORG roleplaying game up on Kickstarter – I like MORK BORG clones and reskins and have looked at several in these posts. This time, it’s the turn of the post-Soviet semi-fantasy game, SLAV BORG:
This book has a distinctive mix of visual styles, incorporating historical, fantasy, and sci-fi-ish elements. The game not only puts a Soviet-esque spin on MORK BORG, but also puts a focus on cars with a dynamic racing mechanic. This looks interesting.
2nd edition update to Requiem for Rome released on the Storytellers Vault – Requiem for Rome and the followup, Fall of the Camarilla, are my favourite supplements for the first edition of Vampire: The Requiem. Now, there’s an update for second edition up on the Storytellers Vault and DriveThruRPG:
The PDF weighs in at 278 pages and promises:
- A complete update and expansion of Requiem for Rome for Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition.
- The Julii, doomed Founders of the All Night Society.
- The wings of the Camarilla, the first blood covenant of the dead.
- The history of the Propinqui and an inside look at the hidden empire they rule away from mortal eyes.
- Supernatural powers and sorceries forgotten in the modern nights.
- Six Dark Eras throughout the ages of the Roman Empire.
- Thirteen horrors from the depths of ancient history and streamlined rules for the Strix.
- Errata for the core Requiem system.
This is a good mix of rules and background. Really, the background is the most important thing for this sort of setting book, so I hope it delivers on this. The inclusion of the Strix will likely be the biggest material difference, as they were a big part of the launch of the second edition of VtR.
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Mythical Vault launches a Kickstarter campaign for their dice boxes – There’s not a huge amount to say here. This is a Kickstarter campaign for some nice, pretty dice boxes:
The boxes are nice, have a good form-factor, and are handily magnetised. These are nice, but they’re not the sort of thing I tend to pick up. I know some folks like to bling their RPG experience, though!
Soccer Fever scenario released for Catan for some reason, I guess – Catan, as a game, is definitely showing its age. It can still be fun, though. I do think that Catan, like Carcassonne, works best on its own, without a ton of expansion-based bells and/or whistles. Enter Soccer Fever:
Yeah, this is dumb. It’s a football-based expansion for the game. It’s dumb. My biggest objection is that you’re going to use the word ‘fever’ in your title, why are you calling the game ‘soccer’ and not ‘football’? Why would you avoid calling the game football to the point where you are passing up the opportunity for a fun, alliterative title. American nonsense, perhaps?
Blog Posts & Articles
The meat of 5 on Friday, the articles are listed in no particular order, so let’s get into some recommendations:
Boltgun Initial Thoughts @ Tales of the Aggronaut – This is a cool rundown of Boltgun, the new 40K-themed Doom-esque boomer shooter! I’m really enjoying this game, so it’s nice to read the thoughts of others who are also playing it. It’s a game I’d really recommend.
Con Report: UK Games Expo 2023 @ LunarShadow Designs – “Amazing, exhausting, expensive“. With those words, a tone is set. I like this post. There’s some small press stuff shown that I’m now curious about. I’d love to go to a show like this, but my working hours aren’t really flexible and I live in a pretty remote place. I can still live vicariously through others, though!
Actual Play Is Rubbish @ Burn After Running – As a headline, the title of this post does grab one’s attention, doesn’t it? I’m not sure I’d go in quite as strong, but the actual points in the post are well-made. I especially agree on being somewhat mystified and confused about the success of Critical Role. Being a big fan of Burn After Reading, I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Unconventional GMs project goes.
Hobgoblin (from Mike Hutchinson) @ Fistful of Wits – This is a nice writeup of a game that looks very interesting to me. For one thing, Hutchinson is a proven designer with the hugely successful Gaslands under his belt. I feel I now need to go and find out more about Hobgoblin. Go read this post as a starting point!
Sydney Slaughter list review @ Plastic Craic – Plastic Craic putting out a very Woehammer-style post, here. Well, actually, not entirely; I’ve never heard Woehammer use the (completely justifiable) term, ‘Order wankers’. Maybe they should. Yeah, some cool lists and good commentary. A good read.
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Since my last 5 on Friday, here’s what’s appeared on NoRerolls:
- Part 3 of our series on RPGs and mental health
- A completed Dragonborn Paladin mini
- A Lankhmar-themed Bundle of Holding
- A completed Ogroid Thaumaturge
- Some completed Discworld-style Wizard miniatures
- A Triple Triad-themed Throwback Thursday
I’ve just finished up some more minis that I’m keen to share next week. I feel I also need to start pressing on with the Genestealer Cults, given how imminent the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 seems to be.
Catch y’all soon!
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