5 on Friday 22/12/23

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:

Black Library releases a special edition of Brutel Kunnin – Some people say to never judge a book by its cover. Those people are wrong. This is why we have cover art. This is how we often choose new books that jump out at us at the book shop. Of course we judge books by their covers. Based on cover alone, this one should be held in high esteem!

I love the cool, simple, zine-like style of this special edition cover. It reminds me a lot of the RPG, Orc Borg, actually. That’s high praise, by the way! The book itself is one of the few Black Library books not told from a human perspective. Instead, it’s really Orky. I imagine this could get a bit old if it relies really heavily on Ork-speak.

Affiliate Links:

Element Games (standard paperback edition)

Cubicle 7 releases a Collector’s Edition of their Doctors and Daleks RPG – It’s cool to see Cubicle 7 having fun with their various licenses. The Doctor Who one is a particularly interesting license, and they’ve put out some good content for that game line in the past. Now, though, we have Doctors and Daleks:

This game looks good, and it’s very well presented… but does it need to be 5E? Does everything need to be 5E-based? The homogeny is getting to me a bit. Once I’m over that, though, this set is still pretty tempting. The system does work, I trust Cubicle 7, and this is a gorgeous core set to get you going with the game!

Affiliate Links:

Element Games (Collector’s Edition)
Element Games (Players’ Guide)
DriveThruRPG (Players’ Guide, PDF edition)

Bez Shahriari launches a Kickstarter campaign for Drawn Together – I’m never sure the Bez’s games are really for me. The thing is, they’re always interesting, and I’ve found Bez to be such a pleasant and positive presence at events like Dyslexia Scotland, that I’m always willing to have a look at what she’s been up to. This time, it’s Drawn Together:

This game, a colouring-in game, looks really fun. It looks both interesting and accessible, and this might well become the first of Bez’s games that I pick up!

Evil Hat releases Girl by Moonlight – Ah Evil Hat, my beloved… Evil Hat remains one of my favourite publishers and I love their style. I also really love their smaller form-factor rulebooks. This new offering, Girl by Moonlight, appeared on my DTRPG feed and grabbed my interest. I flag it again today, because it’s now also making its way into UK physical retail channels. That’s a book, for clarity. I worded that in such an obtuse way…

Based on Blades in the Dark, this game is all about… well, lots of things. Self-actualisation seems to be a big element. I like the settings that are included in the book, too. These include:

At The Brink of The Abyss. Heroic magical girls fight to reclaim a corrupted world. It’s inspired by Sailor Moon and Steven Universe.
On A Sea of Stars features mecha pilots struggling against extinction at the hands of the Leviathans and is inspired by Diebuster and The Vision of Escaflowne.
Beneath A Rotting Sky deals with tragedy and betrayal where magical girls are doomed to an inevitable fate. It’s inspired by Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
In A Maze of Dreams draws on both Paprika and Serial Experiments. Its central themes are desire, mass culture, and ideas developing a life of their own.

I don’t think it’s one that I’m going to pick up, but it’s interesting. One can always count on Evil Hat for that.

Affiliate Links:

DriveThruRPG (PDF edition)

Games Workshop releases the Tauros Venator for Necromunda’s Palanite Enforcers – I’ve still not really gotten into Necromunda. It’s one of these things that just seems to be perennially on the to-do list. And of course, if I’ve not even gotten some gangers done, I’ve definitely not looked at vehicles yet! This is a cool one, though!

A badass little buggy for your Enforcers? Fantastic! It’s the sort of thing that would also make a really cool alternative model for the Genestealer Cults, or it could see use in a Gorkamorka-style game.

Affiliate Links:

Element Games

Blog Posts & Articles

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

KeeperFX keeps Dungeon Keeper alive by making it actually playable @ Encircle News – Just sharing this to really highlight that KeeperFX is out and it’s fantastic. Go read this writeup and then grab the mod to breathe new life into one of the best games ever created.

Gazette Trucker @ Space-Biff – I really liked the Kickstarter campaign for this game, but ended up not backing it. Reading posts like this one, I regret that! I’m thinking this might be one that I will try to pick up at retail at some point.

Grail Games and Nifty Picks: Why You Should Be Thrifting for Board Games @ Board Games On a Budget – We all have our own grail games that we would love to find out in the wild. Posts like this make me so jealous, as I just don’t live somewhere where finding any decent games in charity shops is remotely likely. I always look, though!

Volturnos, High King of the Deep @ Bring Me My Broadsword – Gorgeous! The Deepkin are not really my cup of tea, aesthetically, but credit where it’s due; this is stunning. Thanks for sharing!

Chaos List 12-12-23 @ Fun With Warhammer Age of Sigmar – I’ve been enjoying this blog. I can respect the intent, of self-improvement within the hobby and the game. The list is interesting. It’s not one I would likely field, but it gives some food for thought. I’d also recommend the same author’s analysis of different allies to pair with his Chaos armies.

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