Update on RPG Crawl. Also... first-world problems

Image by Matthieu/stock.adobe.com

[5 min read]

Being September, 2023 I thought I would check in and give an update on what has been happening over the summer months here in Europe, and what I plan for the rest of the year. 

At the back end of 2022, I was lamenting the time between sessions in my regular D&D 5E campaign, and exposure to tabletop RPG podcasts and Youtubers was opening my mind to other systems. My love of Tolkien's Middle Earth setting had already prompted me to try my hand at The One Ring in solo mode, so I resolved to explore even more, in a project I dubbed the 2023 RPG Crawl. You can read about the genesis of it here.

This exploration was accelerated in the worst way possible by the D&D 5E Open Gaming License debacle in January 2023, giving not just myself, but also the other Dungeon Masters in my group, the impetus to discuss alternative options. I even did some reconnaissance to guide our efforts. After surveying our group, we ultimately we decided to stick to D&D 5E but not before a short dalliance with Pathfinder 2E.

Since then I have found a gaming group locally here in Switzerland that was fortuitously interested in trying out different systems, and with at least three Game Masters (including myself) willing to share the burden of running these. Great fun, and a return to in-person games, no less!

Anyway, enough preamble, let's jump in to what the 2023 RPG Crawl has delivered so far, and what I have planned next.

TTRPGs I've tried so far

• Old School Essentials - a blast of nostalgia, but ultimately not to my tastes
• Pathfinder 2E - too close to D&D and too crunchy to be worth switching for
• Rune - a souls inspired, indie solo RPG that captured Dark Souls well, but felt more like a board game
• Blades in the Dark - super fun, really thematic, rules-light RPG with some novel mechanics
• Dungeon Crawl Classics - crazy gonzo old school fun with heavy metal overtures
• Four Against Darkness - dungeon delving, pen and paper, solo RPG that didn't hold my attention

Image by Goodman Games

TTRPGs I plan to try in the coming months

• Dune RPG - I love the books, movies and IP in general
• The One Ring 2E - have played solo but would love to try in a group
• Alien RPG - my favourite brand of sci-fi - low fidelity horror in space
• The Walking Dead - after a successful Kickstarter, coming in Nov 2024

Image by Modiphius Entertainment

The old faithful

Even while trying out these new systems, I have been playing a lot of D&D 5E! Check out my full list of campaigns. I started DM'ing a one-on-one run through of Curse of Strahd with the player being a long time friend of mine who also rediscovered D&D after decades of absence. Duet D&D is a very different experience - more time for roleplaying, but challenging for the solo player to run two characters, and for the DM to balance encounters. It is going really well though!

Curse of Strahd is proving more fun than the inhabitants of Barovia are letting on
Image by Wizards of the Coast

All of this D&D goodness means putting on hold some other TTRPGs that are very high on my list including Forbidden Lands, Shadow of a Demon Lord, and Ironsworn, but I will still be pursuing them, most likely in 2024...

                   

      

Homage to my favourite IP

Sometime during the year, my wife and I decided to do a minor refresh of the apartment, just to make it a little more homely. Working from home three days a week, I spend a lot of time in our study, and so I wanted to create a 'nerd nook' there that reflected my interests. 

Since I have a beautiful old bookcase which I brought from Australia, I decided to load it up with hardcover novels, RPG guidebooks, and board games that represent the different themes and intellectual property that I tend to gravitate to. Outlined from top left to bottom right, they are:

• Tolkien's Middle Earth (where it all began for me) 
• Science Fiction with horror or religious overtones 
• grim dark fantasy
• post-apocalyptic earth (either nuclear war or zombie plagues) 
• history, especially Greco-Roman
• and ye olde heroic, medieval fantasy, with Dungeons & Dragons

A few more additions to wait for in 2024 to complete the picture

A good problem to have

Choices, choice, choices! With all these amazing books, games, TTRPG products from IP that I love, the biggest problem I have is choosing what to immerse myself in when I do get some free time. 

Sometimes a choice just present itself - like when the new season of The Witcher on Netflix in July, which spurred me to play the board game at the same time. Or my local Swiss RPG group deciding on Dune as a next mini-campaign in August, prompting me to rewatch the 2021 movie and reread the books.

And while at times I do become paralysed with indecision, having these physical artefacts on hand to flip through or set out on the table can provide some inspiration as to which world I would like to lose myself in next. It is a fortunate place to be in. If only there were more hours in the day!

Join me in future articles as I continue to document the second phase of my RPG Crawl...