I sat down with the folks over on Roleplay Rescue. We chatted about open tables, my current work, future plans for the Alexandrian, and all things RPGs.

I know I said that Season 10 had come to an end after 22 episodes but when opportunity strikes it’s best to grasp it with both hands. Besides, episode 23 also has a nice, mystic ring to it. My guest today is the single biggest influence on this podcast, a huge inspiration to me as a gamer and Game Master, and just about the best source of roleplaying wisdom I have come across on the internet. When he suggested he’d be open to doing an interview, well, I was thrilled. How could I say no?

You can check out the podcast here:

Roleplay Rescue @ Acast
Roleplay Rescue @ Apple Podcasts
Roleplay Rescue @ Spotify

Goodman Games is proud to present Original Adventures Reincarnated #7: Dark Tower, updated and expanded from the 1979 classic for both 5E and DCC rule sets! Ranked as one of the Top 30 adventure modules of all time by Dungeon Magazine, Dark Tower is considered by many to be the first published mega-dungeon. It was one of the first modules to utilize the newly released (at that time) Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks, which author Jennell Jaquays incorporated into the original design.

Two editions will be published: one using 5E rules, and one using the DCC RPG rules. Packaged in a handsome slipcase, each edition will be published as three hardcover books. Volume one is a reprint of the classic adventure, with introductory essays by gaming luminaries, including John Rateliff, Eric Mona, Justin Alexander, James Maliszewski, Jon “Taco” Hershberger, Stephen Newton, and others.. Volume two is a conversion of Dark Tower to new rules. Volume three is The Chosen Suns of Set, an all-new adventure and sourcebook expanding on concepts presented in the original 1979 adventure.

Goodman Games says that I’m a gaming luminary!

If you’d like to see a revamped version of Xandering the Dungeon which has been specially adapted for this deluxe release of the classic Dark Tower adventure… well, you’ll need to buy this deluxe release of the classic Dark Tower adventure!

You can read more about the Dark Tower on the Alexandrian over here.

ON KICKSTARTER NOW!

Magical Kitties Save the Day, the RPG I co-designed with Matthew Hanson (the game’s creator) and Michelle Nephew, has been nominated as the Best Family Game for the 2021 ENNIES Awards!

The nominations are juried, but the final awards are based on a people’s vote! That means we need YOU to vote for the game by August 27th!

A few things to know about voting in the ENNIES:

• You should only vote once.
• There are several different categories. You’ll vote in each category by selecting it. Magical Kitties is nominated in the Best Family Game category.
• You vote by ranking the nominees from 1 to 5. The best rank is 1 (that’s what you want to select for Magical Kitties). You can also select “No Vote” if it’s a game or book you’re unfamiliar with or don’t think deserves an award.
• Make sure you hit the “Vote!” button at the bottom of the page to register you vote for Best Family Game.
• You don’t need to vote in all categories. You also don’t have to vote in all categories at the same time! So if you want to wait to vote for Best Adventure until you’ve had a chance to check them out, you don’t have to wait to record your vote for Best Family Game.

Also take the opportunity to check out all the other great games, supplements, and books that have been nominated! There’s a lot of cool stuff to discover!

VOTE NOW!

YOU ARE CUTE! YOU ARE CUNNING! YOU ARE FIERCE!

In Magical Kitties Save the Day! every kitty has human, even human has a problem, and the kitties must use their magical powers to solve those problem! To make matters worse, kitties and their humans live in hometowns which are ALSO filled with problems! Problems like alien invasions, velociraptors, fairy queens, and enchanted blizzards! These problems make the humans’ problems worse, so the magical kitties have to deal with them, too!

Originally designed by Matthew J. Hanson, I worked with Matthew and Michelle Nephew to design the second edition of the game. That included designing the River City hometown and The Big Adventure graphic novel solo adventure that you’ll find in the boxed set:

The boxed set includes the rulebook, River City (including an amazing poster map by Jason Bradley Thompson!), and The Big Adventure, along with dice, tokens, character sheets, and everything you need to start playing!

Pictured here is the Deluxe Edition, which also includes the Alien Invasion and The Wild Ones hometowns; fully illustrated cards for Powers, Flaws, and Talents; and upgraded dice and tokens. The box is practically bursting at the seams with amazing kitty goodness for just $60!

Right now (and for the next week) we are running the Magical Kitties Level Up! Kickstarter, which — with your help! — will fund the creation of:

Magical Kitties Power-Up! a new sourcebook by Matthew J. Hanson which will double the number of magical powers for your kitties, give you the tools to venture forth on epic adventures, and power up your existing magic to all-new levels!

Series Workbooks, featuring an Our Hometown workbook for the GM and a bundle of My Kitty workbooks for your players! These deluxe portfolios give players old and new alike cool tools for exploring their Magical Kitties Save the Day adventures in all-new ways.

Fantastica, a new hometown by Clio Yun-Su Davis, featuring the Nine Kingdoms of Fantastica, each based on your favorite fairy tales and ruled by a Princess or Prince. In the land of the Fantastica, magical kitties don’t have to hide their magical powers, completely transforming the way you play the game!

(This is actually something I’ve emphasized in developing all of the Magical Kitty hometowns: We want each one to present a unique spin on the game, not just in terms of flavor, but also structure. So in Fantastica you can use your powers openly and save kingdoms rather than humans. In Mars Colony you help build the colony’s tech tree. In The Wild Ones there are no humans and kitties instead have obligations to wild clans. In Alien Invasion, node-based scenario design is used to literally take the adventure to a whole new level, at which point the tables are turned and the kitties have to CREATE problems for the aliens instead of the other way around!)

Truth be told, the Kickstarter has already been a huge success. (As I write this, we are at 1000% funded!) But this will be your last chance to grab the Deluxe Edition for just $60. (If you wait, the price will be going up to $75, while supplies will be limited.) And if you want to jump in to Magical Kitties for the first time, the All the Kitty Toys! pledge level will get you absolutely everything! If you just want to sniff the catnip, the standard edition of the game is just $25.

Become a backer today!

FURTHER READING
System Cheat Sheet
Design Notes: Kitty Power!
Character Creation in 7 Sentences: Magical Kitties

I’ve created an Alexandrian Discord server!

If you’re a patron of the Alexandrian and your Patreon account is linked to Discord… well, apparently that apparently automatically adds you to the server (much to my surprise), so you’re already there. But with your account linked you get access to the Patron-only chat channel(s)!

But everybody is welcome to come hang out! Which you can do by going here.