Roleplaying Games!

I really like Roleplaying Games. A lot of people continue to talk about how Roleplaying is dying and becoming a smaller part of the hobby business but I think that in part that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Talking about roleplaying and more importantly playing it with people is what is going to get it to continue. I don’t think it is dying, I think the rest of the hobby is getting stronger and Roleplaying isn’t increasing at the same rate. To that end here are some cool roleplaying games that are out recently or coming soon:

Star Wars Edge of the Empire RPG has been selling strongly since its release.  It uses custom dice like the third edition of Warhammer Fantasy, which gives its system a depth that isn’t as easy to get with more traditional dice systems. We are expecting a restock of the Dice and GM’s Kit and Beginners Box in the next couple of weeks.

FATE Core and FATE Accelerated. These are some of the nicest presented Roleplaying books we have at present and both are an excellent introduction to roleplaying. Both are available on Bits and Mortar so that you can get a free copy of the PDF’s if you buy it in store. They are also available online for pay what you want. FATE is one of the best systems I have come across for modeling fiction and has a Character Generation system that is entertaining enough to be played on its own.

Only War is the most recent Roleplaying release for the Warhammer 40k universe. It features a lot of the rules updates that we are expecting to see in the Beta of 2^nd Edition of Dark Heresy.

The two most interesting Roleplaying releases coming soon are:

13^th Age is a Love letter to Dnd, Written by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathon Tweet, designers of 4^th Ed and 3^rd respectively this game is the best iteration of D20 I have played to date. The book is already available on Bits and Mortar so if you pre order it form a shop they can give you the PDF. Shops should have the physical books in the next couple of weeks. Pelgrane press and Fire Opal media are also working on an Organised play program that will be launching soon. I like this game a lot and it is what I am currently running. If you want more information check out my Blog or the Resources page on the Pelgrane website.

Numenera is the new game and setting from Monte Cook. It had a massive Kickstarter campaign and is being used as the basis of the new Torment Video Game. You can get a free copy of the PDF by emailing a picture of a pre order receipt from you to: preorders@numenera.com

I also really like Shadowrun and there is a new PC game and 5^th edition of the roleplaying game out in PDF with the Physical book out by the end of August. They also have an excellent OP system and the new season of Shadowrun Missions is set in Chicago.

I originally wrote this for a restock list at work and edited it slightly to put it up here.

What is your favorite roleplaying book or system?