Wow, there is so much good going on in gaming right now. D&D 5th edition is still going strong – a rising tide lifts all boats, folks – and that means that there is a ton of design and development work being done in the corners and nooks of the hobby. New talent is being brought to the fore and creating new games, new settings, new systems, and adding to our hobby in the best way possible. A multitude of other games and gaming products are hitting the market and so 2019 looks to be a good year to be a gamer.
I intend to spend as much time playing & running RPGs as humanly possible, along with playing as many boardgames as my wife and I can stand, and blogging and podcasting every step of the way. Given that, this looks to be a stellar year coming up!
Some things I am looking forward to? The next FFG Star Wars Era Book – Rise of the Separatists – is at the top of the list for me. Encoded Designs recently announced a 5th edition D&D mega-city product, Streets of Avalon, that I am looking forward to checking out (KS ends on January 17th) – Waterdeep Dragon Heist has whet my appetite for city-based games again, and I am anticipating something great from this product. I am also eagerly awaiting the new Bunnies & Burrows that was recently kickstarted by Frog God Games. The Thousand Year Old Vampire is a new RPG by Tim Hutchings and Silent Titans is an old school adventure by Patrick Stuart (KS ends on the 5th of January) – both of which I am extremely excited to check out! I am especially awaiting Barrowmaze: Highfell since I have been nothing but pleased with Greg Gillespie’s other Barrowmaze-style work. A few new movies about gaming have been kickstarted as well – Secrets of Blackmoor, The Dreams in Gary’s Basement, and Eye of the Beholder – and I am eager to see what they do with these pieces of the story of our hobby.
Lest you think I have suddenly become a shill for Kickstarter projects only, there are also several RPG related items that I have recently acquired and cannot wait to talk about, even though some of them have been out for a while. I’ll be talking about those this year as well. Honestly, just because a book is a couple of years old doesn’t mean it loses its usefulness! Some examples: Night Witches by Jason Morningstar, Harlem Unbound by Chris Spivey, Eyes of the Stone Thief, a 13th Age mega-dungeon by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Demonplague by James Introcaso and Johnn Four, and Beyond the Rim, an Edge of the Empire scenario I am in the middle of running for my group. There is just so much to talk about – I can’t possibly list it all here!
There are about 10-15 other products I am extremely excited about and that I plan to write about this year. There is so much out there to see, to read, to use in our games… My focus with the blog this year will be on helping you, dear reader, use this information – new products, books, artifacts of pop culture, and media – to enrich your gaming experience.
My wish for you all is to have a safe and spirited New Year, and to be healthy, productive, and happy in the coming year!
And as always, until next time, I wish you good gaming!
~DMSamuel