This week in gaming features new material for solitaire gaming, advice for Game Masters and updated game aids. B/X Essentials is also out in print and Malandros has a free edition.
Bookkeeping Notes: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no extra cost to you. But please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them.
Solo Gaming
Roryb Bracebuckle introduced the new solitaire game aid Impetus (free):
Impetus is essentially a list of universal plot twists combined with a random idea to produce spontaneous events to prod your story along with little fuss and effort.
More about it here.
Scott Malthouse wrote a free OSR micro solo: Ancient Sorceries adventure.
So1um Expanded Edition is now available on DrivethruRPG. Pay What You Want.
Do you wan to learn how to play solo? You can follow Spencer Salyer’s journey here: Rolling Solo – Chapters 4 & 5: Still Learning & Aeryn Reborn.
Game Aids
Roll For Your Party, the free multiplayer online dice roller, got two updates. For example, you can now sort dice and roll custom dice.
David Schirduan made some simple reference sheets for different games. There is something for Numenera, Dungeon World, The Black Hack, etc.
And here you can find tons of random generators: Random Tables by jadetiger.
Resources for thiefy games: Google “Victorian floor plans”.
Game Mastering/Adventure Writing
Erik Tenkar posted about Matt Finch’s Youtube videos about adventure design.
Here is the blurb from the first video:
In any edition of Dungeons & Dragons, whether it’s traditional OSR or 5e, D&D adventure design (or design for any RPG) has one fundamental requirement: the potential for meaningful, informed, player decisions. This video by Matt Finch discusses how and why to focus on this aspect of adventure design.
Good DMing Advice; or, God Loves a Trier by David McGrogan takes a look at Zeb Cook’s advice:
[…] it’s good for starting PCs to have goals. It makes the PC part of the world and gives the player an impetus to drive things along, which helps the DM tremendously.
Structuring Encounter Tables by Nick LS Whelan explains a helpful method. You can listen to it on Blogs on Tape.
Old School Gaming
B/X Essentials: Core Rules - Print Editions Available Now! Softcover standard edition + PDF costs USD $ 7.99, the premium version costs USD $9.99. Here is the official announcement.
The Humble Bundle currently offers a Warhammer 2nd Edition Bundle. Starting at USD $1 you get the core rulebook and two adventure books.
Alex Schroeder has finished his Monster Manual.
Story Games, Indie Games
Check out Tina Trillitzsch’ Weekly Indie RPG & Storygame Review Week 34-36, 2017. I like the 52 Game Mechanisms blog series by Michael Wenman.
There is a free text-only edition of Malandros:
Malandros is a tabletop role-playing game of swindlers and street fighters, of love, hate and community in the last days of imperial Brazil.
Dungeon World
Dungeon World Newsletter Issue # 12 is out.
Numenera
The Spire of the Hunting Sound Quickstart Adventure is available for free at the Monte Cook store:
The Spire of the Hunting Sound is a complete adventure—plus complete quickstart rules—for novice and veteran Numenera players. If you’ve never played Numenera, or don’t even own the game rules, you’ll find everything you need (except dice!) to learn, run, and play the adventure. And experienced players will love the adventure itself. It even comes with a set of five characters, fully pregenerated and formatted to make it easy to learn Numenera.