After two years without a Fall-In! (one thanks to COVID, one thanks to Historicon being scheduled in its stead), the HMGS fall convention returns to familiar environs, the Lancaster Wyndham Resort (aka THE HOST), November 4th-6th, 2022.
One of advantages for a February #ZineMonth2022 is the ability to discover not only new products and designers, but whole games and systems I've missed over the past year!
The Unquiet Dark is a 1920's prequel campaign supplement for Brindlewood Bay.
First off, for the uninitiated, an intro in Brindlewood Bay:
Brindlewood Bay is a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries. They become increasingly aware that there are supernatural forces that connect the cases they are working on and, in particular, a cult dedicated to the dark, monstrous aspect of the goddess Persephone will come to vex them.
The game is directly inspired by the television show Murder, She Wrote, but also takes inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, “cozy” crime dramas, and American TV shows from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.
Now that we have that awesome concept embedded in my brains, let's look a The Unquiet Dark:
This month's digital copy of Game Trade Magazine #264 can be found here.
Whether we call in #ZineQuest4 or #ZineMonth2022, the very first zine that tickled my fancy and earned my pledge was In Soviet Russia, Spy Are You! by Adventures Await
And like that, a great concept (and personal nightmare) was over.
I should have known better than to flip through Twitter on New Year's Eve. Nothing positive ever comes out of stuff you casually find on social media the day before a holiday.
The 31 Day Character Creation Challenge looked innocent enough when it popped up on my feed. Heck, I've done #RPGaDay in August for years and it's been a positive experience.
My favorites? Veronica Black, Flying Gary, Low-Light, and Thyme DeLay
Characters I didn't get to? I had a Cthulhu Old West character (well before Down Darker Trails) on the to-do list and never got to it. The Classic Traveller one simply fell by the wayside. I had great plans to get the girls to make up Gamma World 4th Edition characters (always a hoot), but basketball season timing was never right. I also had a full write-up planned for one of my painted mouslings, but I misplaced the Savage Worlds rulebook. Funny story, a minute after I completed and scheduled the final post of the challenge (day 30... day 31 got finished early), I moved a few books on my gaming shelf, and my copy of the Explorer's edition magically showed up behind them. I'll get Alphonse posted up if the girls are willing to play a mousling RPG, with all the bells and whistles.
No big surprise, Starfinder was clunky, and GURPS has lost all its nostalgic luster for me. Yet, Hackmaster was like looking at the back of my hand... after a year long coma. There were a few new surprises and good recollections of the those fun and crazy rules.
Am I doing this next year? Heck no,
Kickstarter apparently dropped the ball and failed to promote February as their normal #zinequest month, instead promoting for August to go along with GenCon.
Of course, this wasn't relayed to the Kickstarter creators, as a deluge of A5-sized RPG zine products hit Kickstarter on February 1st.
It appears some of the creators and just going out on their own and launching their campaign, while others are putting in under a general umbrella of Zine Month 2022.
After defeating the dreaded Space God of Lightning
And returning the splinter Red Tribe to
The home of the Yellowbacks,
Three of the greatest Kurabanda ever,
The ex-Warlord Bo'Non'As
The wise Oop'sa,
And Uha'ul, wielder of the Ladle of God-Slayubbg
Have joined forces to head south and
Confront the Space God who has taken
Residence there.
But there is much to be concerned about!
The Space God is rumored to have
Vast control over ghosts and the dead
And no one has travelled beyond
The Great Stream has ever returned....
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| Aish Cnekr, Bounty Hunter and Moth God |
