An Introductory Breath of Fresh Air
Why I started a new publication, specifically dedicated to role playing.
I would like to officially open the doors to my new Role Playing Review Newsletter. Please find a comfy chair, move (with the help of friends, we don’t want you throwing your back out) to a freshly cleaned table, and get ready to spark your imagination!
I came up with this idea this morning. I wanted a separate space to discuss role playing games, specifically those games that I feel aren’t given enough attention. There are other groups of people out in the world who do talk about these underdogs of games, I can probably find such a group on each major social media platform, and there may in fact be some others right here on SubStack. But I wanted to breathe some life into these games, not just to discuss the mechanical aspects or to give a dry review of the play style of any particular game. I want to have the ability to show each game some personal love. Here, every game that is showcased, I’ve purchased. I’m going to take time out of my day and read about these games, directly from the source rule books, even if it’s only a single paragraph or page at a time. Once I understand the game, I’m going to give a solo adventure a shot. I want to try these games out. I want to feel how crunchy the system is. How does combat flow? Is character creation flexible enough to allow me to create the types of characters I dream of, or are the rules too light and loose for my style?
I feel that the world of role playing is often summarized as Dungeon’s & Dragons. And perhaps even dismissed as all high fantasy. After all, the majority of new players come into the hobby of role playing through D&D. I can’t help but to sometimes feel frustration seeing new and veteran players alike struggle trying to shoehorn a genre or character concept into the lore of D&D. Yes, there is a place for this masterpiece of a game, but also realize that there are more options available to scratch that specific unreachable itch. My goal is to shed light onto these gems, and to allow them to gleam brightly.
Once this publication becomes more established, I hope to open up a virtual table at some point. Let’s try some of these games! Part of the mission of this newsletter is to break down the mechanics and rules of the game. I mean, I purchase these games, I don’t want to feel as though I’ve just wasted my money. It breaks my heart to know that several of the games I’ve been excited to try at one point or another simply sit on my hard drive, collecting dust within the confines of a digital dungeon resting in my pocket. Let’s change that! Besides, I think we can all use some like-minded friends.
But this publication has so much more potential than just something informative. I also wish to host character concepts, with instructions on how to build specific ideas in a variety of different systems. I also plan on having a space for campaign ideas. And if you know anything about me from my other publication, you’ll know that I love to mix and mash things up with crossovers.
One final thing I’m considering is adding a section to act as an archive of actual game sessions. I want to show new players some of the ways that we can role play! Granted, these will be textual descriptions rather than a video you might find on other social media, however, I feel that I can accurately capture the feel of the table top environment with my typing. And besides, we’ll want to spice things up from boring old reviews anyway, right?
I welcome anybody’s critisim and/or critiques that you may have regarding this publication. So, please feel free to leave a comment letting me know how you feel about my endeavor. Thank you!