Sandy Petersen is possibly the most prolific game designer that most people wouldn’t recognize by name. However, his legacy resides more in the games he’s been a part of rather than in his name recognition. You know Sandy Petersen games whether you’ve played them or not. Indeed, even if you don’t like them, you know Sandy Petersen games. He helped develop Doom, Civilization, Quake, Age of Empires, and even Halo Wars to name some video games. Regarding the tabletop, Sandy Petersen’s résumé includes Cthulhu Wars, Hyperspace, Orcs Must Die, and the quintessential Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game ..read more

The Vermin by R.G. WoodThe Vermin Writer(s): R.G. Wood Publisher: DMs Guild Cost: $1.99 Product Length: 11 pages Available Format(s): PDF R.G. Wood is back with another monograph with The Vermin. Something that’s at once good and bad about these monographs is the brevity. With an earlier work, The Enchanted, I felt its brevity diminished the product some. The Vermin is a longer product but it’s mostly due to the dungeon by Dyson Logos and what lurks in it. However short this product is, it feels more complete than its predecessor did. The ratfolk are interesting people that ..read more

For a book that was written around 2,500 years ago, The Art of War gets a lot of mileage. Most authors would kill for staying power like that even though Stephen King lamented hearing from fans that The Stand was probably his best work. What is it about The Art of War that makes it so ubiquitous? It’s on military leadership reading lists. The business world has coopted the book in the endless drive to increase the bottom line. Then, in 2019, M.T. Black published his take of the treatise by applying the concepts to Dungeons & Dragons. The Art of War for D&D Players is available on ..read more

Shipwrecked! by Blaise WigglesworthShipwrecked! Writer(s): Blaise Wigglesworth Publisher: DMs Guild Cost: $1.99 Product Length: 24 pages Available Format(s): PDF Despite a special thanks from the creator, I had nothing to do with the creation of Shipwrecked! Blaise reached out to me prior to writing this solo adventure for advice and I was able to point him towards some examples of solo D&D resources I consider to be iconic (from authors Paul Bimler and Ashley Warren). Blaise passed along a copy of this solo adventure to me not as a request for review, but as a token of gratitude ..read more

My first experience with Coup by Indie Boards and Cards was during a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina where I met up with an old friend and his wife. The friend and I ended up hanging out at his acquaintance’s apartment where we also played Wiz-War. Wiz-War is a fine game but that’s a topic for another time. The thing I noticed immediately about playing Coup with my friend is how good he is at it but not for the reasons you may think. Coup is a social deduction card game full of bluffing, second-guessing, and outright lying. It’s reasonable to assume one needs an excellent poker ..read more

SWAT: Special Wizards and Tactics by Oz MillsSWAT: Special Wizards and Tactics Writer(s): Oz Mills Publisher: Oz Mills (via DriveThruRPG) Cost: $2.00 Product Length: 12 pages (v. 1.2) Available Format(s): PDF For better or for worse, many people like dressing up their stuff with military, paramilitary, or law enforcement accouterments. I get it. The assumption is that it’s generally stripped of redundant nonsense (those making that assumption have never been in a brigade run I bet) or distilled down to its most basic, and effective, traits. There is also the presumption of quality (ever j ..read more

The Price of a Soul by Pyromaniac PressThe Price of a Soul Writer(s): Micah Watt Publisher: DMs Guild Cost: $4.99 Product Length: 42 pages Available Format(s): PDF Ever since Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus was published last September, roleplaying in Hell has been gaining more and more souls. And why not? Hell has a lot going for it: apocalyptic landscapes, scheming devils, tortured inhabitants. I guess that doesn’t sound all that unlike some places on earth. But, nonetheless, traipsing through Hell can be a lot of fun and Micah Watt of Pyromaniac Press wants to lead you th ..read more

The Complete Armorer’s Handbook by heavyarmsThe Complete Armorer’s Handbook Writer(s): heavyarms Publisher: DMs Guild Cost: $9.95 Product Length: 27 pages (version 1.8, high-res) Available Format(s): PDF I’ve written several times about my affinity for magic items (if treasure isn’t one of the rewards I get in playing, why play?). I’ve reviewed compendiums of fascinating magic items as well as collections of only “useful(ish)” ones. But what’s been missing so far is a means to customize mundane items into magic ones, or even just mechanically upgraded ones. Enter heavyarms and The Co ..read more

101 Useful (ish) Magical Items 5e by Tal Woodblaze101 Useful (ish) Magical Items 5e Writer(s): Tal Woodblaze Publisher: DMs Guild Cost: $1.01 Product Length: 16 pages Available Format(s): PDF Useful(ish) covers everything you see here. 101 Useful(ish) Items is a pretty straightforward supplement. It covers most imaginable items from armor to weapons. What is unclear to this reader is whether the intent was for a tongue-in-cheek collection of magic items or a serious curation of magic items that lie somewhere on the spectrum in between desirable/useful items and cursed items (some are curs ..read more

Graeme Fraser-Bell of Accentuate Games Ltd. My name is Dr. Graeme Fraser-Bell, I was born on The Wirral, lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Oxford, Wirral, Johannesburg and Oregon USA. I’m married to Daphne who is from The Bahamas. She amazingly decided to come and live in the UK with me. I love travel, fine dining, fine wines and wish I didn’t have beer money for champagne tastes. What got you into tabletop gaming? I retired from corporate life in 2012 and was hosting a dinner party at my house for family and friends. Messing about with accents and quotes, I asked my sister, Fiona, to repeat a quo ..read more