Spotlight August 2021 | Embark on an Adventure
Roleplaying games are more than just entertainment - they are unique experiences for people to explore themselves and their world, bond with friends on a deeper level, and make new memories through sincerity and laughter. It’s no coincidence that they are often called Adventures.
Every August, we like to reframe our lives as an adventure! Join the adventure with one of our Top 5 Roleplaying Games to add a little adventure to your life.
The Quiet Year
The World has ended, and you and your community have one Quiet Year to rebuild your world and prepare for the arrival of the mysterious Frost Shepherds. Rather than focusing on the stories and arcs of specific characters, you and your friends will instead examine a place and its history. Build a map and draw cards with season-based prompts to tell the story of this place, reflect upon your past, and influence your future by starting and ending projects that will shape and change your map.
The prompts on the cards vary depending on the season. In spring, you will take stock of your current environment and the state of your community. Summer tackles technicalities, with focus shifting to the specifics of survival, from food production to defensive preparations. Fall introduces conflict, and winter introduces narrative twists at every card. However, the game ends abruptly with the arrival of the Frost Shepherds (a group that is meant to be left unexplained) inspiring a focus on living in the present. The rules of The Quiet Year are light and up for interpretation, allowing you to truly explore a world of your own design.
Curse of Strahd Revamped
With the release of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, everyone has Strahd on the mind! The Curse of Strahd Revamped is the ultimate edition to exploring this iconic adventure! This oversized, coffin-shaped box includes a custom Dungeon Master Screen, a Tarokka deck, a double-sided poster map, an oversized Strahd von Zarovich image and stat block, and postcards with which to invite your players! You will, of course, find the original adventure, split into three parts - the Tarokka guidebook, the adventure, and then monster block - for the ease of the Dungeon Master.
Curse of Strahd is a fan favorite. Not only does it explore a complex and horrifying antagonist and his twisted world, it provides a sandbox-y adventure for players and Game Masters to explore at their own pace, wherever their interest leads them. This box adds oomph to any party who dares approach Castle Ravenloft.
Salton Lake
It's been ten years since you graduated from Salton Lake High, and all of your friends have reunited. Something about being back in this small town, watching the moonlight reflect off the waters of Salton Lake, has brought back memories of Alice. It was prom night when she disappeared out of thin air, and it was a on a night very much like tonight...
It's been over ten years since Salton Lake was first debuted as a Twenty Sided Adventure! As a system agnostic adventure, Salton Lake can be easily plugged into existing campaigns, run as a self contained one shot, or used to kick off any story. Set in a modern setting where magic is seamlessly integrated into every day life, Salton Lake is easily accessible to new players who may be intimidated by a high fantasy setting. The adventure focuses on intimate personal relationships and roleplay, and is designed to read like an unfolding mystery!
Thirsty Sword Lesbians
Powered by the Apocalypse games have a reputation for more complex conflict, deeper character relationships, and a focus on story over combat. Thirsty Sword Lesbians may go down as one of the best Powered by the Apocalypse games ever - not only does it put queer characters and queer relationships front and center, it goes a step further by approaching gameplay from the lens of setting intentions for your characters and building a story from this thematic standpoint.
Thirsty Sword Lesbians begins by opening up a dialogue about healthy game behavior, consent and content, and safety tools for play. Each of the playsets (featuring characters like The Nature Witch, The Infamous, The Beast, etc) offers a beautiful platform to celebrate and explore queerness and identity through highly customizable characters. Fans of Masks a New Generation may note some influence and inspiration, from the character creation style to the inclusion of emotional states (or conditions) your character may face.
Dune Adventures in the Imperium
With the new Dune film release on the horizon, Dune Adventures in the Imperium has hit our shelves right on time! This book delves deep into the lore and timeline of the sci-fi classic Dune, allowing you and your friends to find the era and themes that appeal most to you. Using a relatively simple 2d20 (two 20-sided die) system, Adventures in the Imperium doesn’t base rolls off skills alone, but adds mechanics that center around your characters’ drives, maintaining a focus on interpersonal conflict and political intrigue - just like the Dune series.
In Dune Adventures in the Imperium, your character is not defined just by their abilities, but also by their beliefs and personalities, which continually reinforces the themes and tenants of the Dune universe. This book dedicates a significant number of its pages towards worldbuilding, making it perfect for the Game Master who loves to dig in deep to a story's lore. If you’re looking for a game that reflects the depth and complexity of Herbert’s world, Dune Adventures in the Imperium may be for you.
Honorable Mentions
It’s been awhile since we have reviewed roleplaying games, and with so many different kinds of games, we would be remiss if we did not mention a few more of our favorite adventures!
Gobblin’ - The world has ended and goblins have been sent here from their world to wreak havoc! Will you survive? And how in the world will you get along with the other goblins?
Bite Marks - An indie Powered by the Apocalypse about finding your pack! What relationships will you make, and will you keep your clan safe?
Epitaph - A no prep, diceless, Game Master-less game where you and friends explore the life, death, and legacy of someone you all create together. From the silly to the somber, tell the story of a lifetime.
Spiralis - Play as an Investigator, peering deep into the cosmos and combating the horror found there, with this Powered by the Apocalypse game. (Check out all of the games from this indie publisher!)
Justice Velocity - An action packed game with a custom rules-light system, Justice Velocity lets you live out your action hero dreams!
World Wide Wrestling 2nd Edition - This second edition of the popular Powered by the Apocalypse wrestling RPG includes the core rules and the popular International Incident expansion.
Indie Games - Take a peek at the amazing indie RPGs we covered in our June blog!
Written by Johnni Medina