Issue 001: And so it begins

The start of a new and exciting journey

Author

Rod Blaxell
26 Mar • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Image created in Midjourney by the author

Welcome to Issue 001 of Valour and Skulduggery, a weekly newsletter where I send out a roundup of RPG news and media that I would like to share with the world. I have been playing and running tabletop roleplaying games for over 40 years now, and I feel I am a fair judge of what makes a good game.

As a kid growing up in the 80s, I lived in my very own Aussie version of Stranger Things (minus the Upside Down). We used to ride our bikes around town looking for trouble and adventure, but it was in Dungeons & Dragons where my friends and I found the place where our teenaged imaginations took flight.

We first cut our teeth on the classic Tom Moldvay Basic Rules (shown here), quickly advancing to Expert Rules and then Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1e).

So many memories forged with friends who I would grow through angsty teen years and on into adulthood with. Three of these boys would become my lifelong best mates, Darren (RIP my dear friend) Rosco and Libe, the dashing bard.

I have since tried a LOT of RPGs over the years. I settled into 5th Edition D&D for a fair while, introducing my (then) teen daughter to the game, where we forged our own set of memories. Our entire family has played D&D now and a plethora of other RPGs.

Like many others, I was dismayed with the recent Wizards of the Coast dramas, and have been exploring a range of other TTRPG systems. There are so many cool new games and Kickstarters out there, and I love seeing people’s passion projects coming to life.

In each weekly issue you will receive my recommendation for things to Play, Read, and Watch. I will also throw in some other nuggets I have come across - for instance this issue also has a thing to Wear and a thing to help you Chuckle.

PLAY

Melsonian Arts Council

It ain’t shite and it ain’t bang average… it’s the dogs bollocks!

Yes, this is a great game… and it is (at the time of publication) going for $1 USD on Drivethru RPG. The Swyvers Quickstart is a preview of the finished game that just finished a successful Kickstarter.

So what is Swyvers? Swyvers is a tabletop RPG set in the grim and chaotic sprawl of ‘The Smoke’. This lightweight yet comprehensive game provides players with the tools and rules needed to navigate the corrupt city's many districts, including the treacherous depths of ‘The Midden’.

In this world of looming war, corrupt officials, and lurking monsters, violence and danger lurk around every corner, with the ever-present smog and rain adding to the atmosphere of despair.

As members of a criminal gang, players will engage in daring heists, navigate through sewers, and confront the filth and danger of ‘The Smoke’, all in pursuit of a few schillings and survival.

WATCH

This week on the Eldritch Lorecast, my favourite RPG podcast in all the realms, regular hosts Ben and James are joined by the Dungeon Dudes to talk about the Daggerheart open Beta, their next 5e Kickstarter Monsters of Drakkenheim, and whether AI creation tools can be used responsibly?

READ

The Alexandrian

In a recent blog post from ‘The Alexandrian’, ENnie Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander discusses the management of long-term NPCs in tabletop RPGs, focusing on his Universal NPC Roleplaying Template.

While initial NPC prep is important, he says recurring characters require ongoing development. “But some NPCs, of course, will become recurring characters, interacting with the PCs again and again, building long-term relationships — whether for weal or woe — that can endure for the entire campaign.” 

For this, he introduces the concept of an ‘activity log’ to track NPC interactions and maintain continuity throughout the campaign. “The quick version is that this is just a place for you to record the NPC’s interactions with the PCs — and possibly the wider campaign world as a whole — so that you can easily reference these events and keep the character’s continuity straight.”

Additionally, he provides tips for organising and auditing these logs to ensure clarity and conciseness. He also emphasises the significance of documenting an NPC's background since their last appearance to deepen character development and enrich the game world.

Finally, he suggests using a cast of characters module to effectively manage a large, rotating cast of NPCs. “A final thing I’ll mention here is that if you’re running a campaign with a big, rotating cast of recurring NPCs, you may find it very useful to maintain a cast of characters module in your campaign status document.”

These strategies empower game masters to create dynamic campaigns filled with memorable characters and meaningful relationships.

CHUCKLE

Zee Bashew proposes the concept of "Quantum inventory," where players can retroactively add items to their characters under certain conditions. I love his quirky animated videos which are always great for a chuckle.

WEAR

I saw this awesome t-shirt on Teepublic from Glassstaff and just had to share it. Who wouldn’t want to show off their ‘death save kidneys’, ‘fail intestines’, or ‘randomisation gland’?

Anatomy of the D20 from Teepublic

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