#022en - may 2023 TTRPG newsletter
#022en - may 2023 TTRPG newsletter
the monthly newsletter from Xapur: D&D, Dark Avengers, Cairn !
Latest articles published on the blog
These posts are in french but a translation widget in the sidebar allows you to read them in your language.
I'm still working on the Dungeon23 challenge, with an article on level 4 and another on level 5! As usual, the whole project can be found on my itch.io page, with a post centralizing the descriptions, manual drawings and plans redone in Dungeondraft - and also a version for playing on an online platform. All free of charge if you want to take advantage...
I wrote a review of the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie (see a little further down in this letter) which was actually a pleasant surprise despite my misgivings.
The Adventures in Middle-earth session reports continue, this time the adventurers explored the old fortress of Cameth Brin, inspired by old MERP!
And finally, the fifth article of the month is about Gozzys.com, a battlemap generator that can be useful when you need a map in a hurry for your game.
What's new at my gaming table?
My Adventures in Phandalin campaign for D&D continues, and this time the adventurers have their hands full with the Elemental Cults threatening to summon each their Prince in the Dessarine Valley. I'm blowing hot and cold here (uh, uh...). These adventures are very loosely inspired by the Princes of the Apocalypse campaign.
I've started preparing a mini-campaign in the world of Greyhawk for the new school year, this time with Obsidian software and not with Notion as usual. The beast isn't easy to tame, but it offers a lot of possibilities. I'll be back soon with an article on this mythical world...
Readings and inspirations
Without really believing in it, I went to the cinema (which doesn't happen to me very often) to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and had a pretty good time. So I posted a quick review on the blog.
The latest issue of the french scifi Bifrost magazine (#110) is focused on Alastair Reynolds, an author I've read very little of. In addition to the big articles logically devoted to him, there's the short story Zima Blue, which inspired an episode of season 1 of Love, Death & Robots. A good story, and there's also Well-loved by Ian R. MacLeod, as chilling as it is successful.
I also read Dark Avengers: The Patriot List, a novel in the Marvel universe featuring Norman Osborn's super-heroes-villains. It's quite nice and reminiscent of the Dark Reign, when the villains were in power (that's also when I picked up the comics again after a long hiatus). As a result, I did a lot of reading of the Thunderbolts comics, the series that preceded this team, in a mini-marathon of twenty+ episodes.
I'm back to reading the Black Company cycle, this time with the first part of Water Sleeps, volume 10 if we're counting 13 (the French breakdown is different from the original) - and the start of volume 4 of the multi-volume set for my friend Onos...
As for TV series, I'm still following the Suits legal series.
Video games
While Solasta is being updated, I'm slowly making my way through Icewind Dale, which reminds me of my youth! The graphics are outdated, but you get used to it pretty quickly. An opportunity to get back into THAC0 and descending AC^^.
Patreon, tips, shop…
Publications of the month
Publications
No less than 3 battlemaps with The Mushroom Cave, The Bandits' Keep and the Thieves' Guild Headquarters, there's something for everyone! I publish them first on Ko-fi, where regular subscribers automatically get them and can also have bonuses (i.e. my first map made in Procreate), and then on DrivethruRPG.
Current projects
I'm behind where I left off in May, but I'm hoping to make good progress in June! I'm taking a break from battlemaps (well...) and finalizing my adventure with a necromancer and a supplement for Phandalin. And of course I'm continuing the mega-dungeon with a mega-level 6!
At the same time, I'm taking part in the Cairn jam on itch.io. One month to write a scenario for the Cairn game, on the theme of A Town, A Forest, a Dungeon, cool, isn’t it? Especially since the talented Raznag has joined me (we're also talking about it on the Discord and I hope we'll be able to test the adventure there).
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That’s it for this issue, see you soon!
And do not hesitate to leave a message or comment below or answer to the email to let me know what you think of this letter.