I'm in the process of writing up all the interviews for next month's zine extravaganza, and one thing that has surprised me is the number of projects that are using the new Crowdfundr platform. I'm actually giving it a spin to raise money for the 18th issue of Populated Hexes Monthly. One of the things that interested me about the platform is that it is explicitly set up to allow subscription-type periodical funding, so I'm curious to see how it turns out, both personally and for folks using it for their ZineMonth projects. My ZineMonth pre-sale ends tomorrow (January 31st), so if you're interested in picking up some titles at 25% off there's a couple more days left of the sale.
Obviously, some of the biggest news of the past week has been WoTC's announcement they will leave the original OGL in place and add the entirety of the 5e SRD to Creative Commons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out; I'm also interested in hearing if other third party publishers noticed a large uptick in sales during the past month, and what happens to the numerous other non-D&D OGL projects that are underway.
Last week's interview was with Watt, the author of Cloud Empress, the currently crowdfunding Naussica-themed ecological rpg. There won't be any of the normal Meet the Publisher interviews next month; instead, each day (except for Mondays) will be reserved for interviewed with ZineMonth creators.
*Hit Point Press is raising funds for Constellation Volume 1, a collection of twelve zines into a single book.
*Curse of Camelot is an OSR-inspired game using a d6 system based on a role-swapped Arthurian legend.
*I don't see much stuff published on Lulu these days, but one, entitled Paleolithic Voyages, just popped up on my radar. It uses a custom 2d6 system and is available as a paperback.
*Light at the End is another submission to the We Deal in Lead jam that I had mentioned a few weeks back.
*White Hack is one of the most hacked games out there, and there's a new version out. Blanc Hack, by Elmar Cotote, uses only d6s to play.
*Baremetal started out as a selection of house rules and evolved into a stand-alone minimalist rpg.
*I don't really share that many maps, and I should probably try to do more of that. Frozen Trails is live on Drivethru, and features six illustrated winter maps for DMs to populated.
*Teenage Rebellion and the System Blower Army, by Max Moon Games, is an adventure written for CY-_Borg. Also by Max Moon is the solo game Twelve Years.
*The new hotness in indie rpgs is a game called Fishblade, and there's a new supplement for it called What the Hell is a Fish Blade, using Pirate Borg.
*Knight Owl Publishing has release their two books (Deluge and Aquatic Adventures): Lingomancy is a spell-book supplement designed to be used with the rules in Deluge.
*I'm a huge sucker for the Marvel FASERIP game, and there's a new clone of it just out. FASERIPopedia; Rules Cyclopedia bills itself as a comprehensive clone of the old Marvel system.
*The Cross Stitch is a new adventure written for Mork Borg that looks to have an interesting premise and really nice cover art.
*Beneath the Sunken Catacombs is a new OSR system that combines old school feel with character options.
*Old School Monster Cards, Vol 2, is a collection of 51 tarot-sized cards with monster stats on each, designed to make reference at the table easier for GMs.
*A system-agnostic, winter-themed low-level adventure (that's a lot of hyphens!), The Lost Loot of Sculpin Ann and the Water Devils of Rectangle Pond is written for a party of 3-6 adventurers of levels 1-3.
*Bloat Games has two new titles out: Nightworld, a monster manual zine for DCC, and Overworld, the Adventure Continues, a Zelda-inspired supplement for DCC.
*In addition to being a sucker for Marvel FASERIP, I also really dig on plant-themed monsters and encounters. Plant Life of the Frontiers of Space is a supplement for use with sci-fi games, and is written for Cepheus Engine.
*Finally, I saw this back in the fall when it was being promoted, and the Goblin Market is finally out, a collection of fifty merchants (and even weirder vendors) that can be dropped into an existing setting when the Referee needs a quick store or merchant.
*I've added a number of new titles to the webstore:
Vulgar Display of Magic, by Planet X Games. A grimoire for old-school games inspired by 80's metal and punk.
The BX Advanced Bestiary is available as a smyth-sewn hardcover with velvet page-ribbon. I've also got a limited quantity of them with misprinted covers that I'm selling at a steep discount.