Free RPG Day 2025 Was A Blast!
Also, hey, I'm gonna be on Jeopardy! July 11th!
Hello, friends! I’m getting a head start on this newsletter because I have so much to cover, with tons of exciting news!
First, Free RPG Day 2025 was an absolute blast. Game Kastle College Park had it set up as a mini con, so not only did I get a ton of RPG loot, I also got to try out some new-to-me RPGs in genres I don’t ordinarily get to dabble in. For free!!! I decided to be good and refrain from buying an entire set of RPG books that I was convinced I would never read, much less play — I bought some Magic the Gathering: Bloomburrow packs instead to support the store, in addition to the drinks and snacks my plus one purchased from them — but woke up the next morning in the unusual position of regretting my sense of economy. So I’ll definitely be going back to buy those books that I’m still thinking about, SoonTM.
While I attended Free RPG Day by myself last year, I brought my gaming newbie friend Felipe to come try out tabletop role playing games in a group setting for the first time. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to snag a ticket for the Fabula Ultima JRPG, but we did get to play together at the Shadows Of Esteren table. That latter group was great — one of the other players brought homemade kombucha for us all to try! — but the experience reminded me why I tend not to play horror RPGs. Doesn’t matter how fun and cool the people you’re playing with are when the story has you feeling powerless on purpose, IMO. I’m really more a fan of bold adventure and heroic action than being confused and overpowered by eldritch forces that you can’t really fight back against, which is pretty much every session for me in a group horror RPG system.
Fortunately, there was plenty of bold adventure and heroic action to be had at the earlier Fabula Ultima table! I had very little idea of what to expect from a system billed as a JRPG, so didn’t have high expectations of it at all going in. I’m now completely obsessed with the game and with its combat initiative system in particular. It’s so smart, y’all! I love that you decide as a group who goes when so that you can enact strategy and maximize combos together. Support characters no longer have to feel frustrated at rolling a high initiative and having to pretty much skip their entire turn while waiting to be useful! I was also super impressed with how the game really brought that Final Fantasy feel to the table, too. It probably helped that the players and DM were honestly all so great. Even Felipe felt immersed in the story and action despite “only” sitting in.
I really need to go back and buy all of the Fabula Ultima books, as I’ve been raving about the game to all my RPG friends ever since. I’m actually going to inflict a trial version of the combat initiative system on my Ghosts Of Saltmarsh players: if they hate it, we never have to do it again, but I have a strong feeling that they’ll love how much better it makes combat.
I also came away with so much loot, y’all:
While I was a little bummed that I didn’t get any free material related to Fabula Ultima or Shadows of Esteren — I love being able to dig deeper into games that I’ve played before splurging on the whole set — I was BEYOND excited to get quickstarts for Star Trek Adventures and The Expanse, never mind the fact that I rarely play space games. I was also thrilled that Marvel Multiverse RPG gave out an actual adventure this year instead of just a backgrounder on X-Force that I’m still mad about for Comic Book Guy reasons (it’s me! I’m the Comic Book Guy!)
My favorite non-book freebie was the mind-blowing sample pack from the Deck Of Worlds. Y’all, that thing is legit. The sample pack was only 35 cards out of the base set of 240 but it was already so rich in its world-building capabilities. I’m gonna do a full review of this thing over at The Frumious Consortium (SoonTM) but even a quick play-through created a unique, intriguing location with plot hooks and details perfect for slipping into my GoS campaign. While invaluable for Game Masters, it would also be amazing for all you fantasy writers out there looking for inspiration!
Speaking of writers, I was super psyched to see the Designed In The DMV booklet available at the store. Some of my fellow local designers even held a cool and very well-attended seminar on creating games during Free RPG Day. I have been too brain dead lately to contribute, much less create any games, and I can finally explain that that’s been partially due to taping Jeopardy!
This newsletter is already running long but I will say that I flew out with my sister to California in early May to stay with our brother and tape Jeopardy! in nearby Culver City. We had a blast, not only from sibling bonding over the week, but also from the studio experience. As I’ve stated previously in this newsletter, I strongly recommend that you try out if trivia is your thing.
My air date and watch party are Friday, July 11 (yep, 7/11!) If you know me IRL and are not connected with me on social media, please hit me up for details of that latter. I’m still ironing out the where, but it’ll be a super fun experience with everyone from all my different friend groups invited! If you can’t attend, you can look up where to watch at the Jeopardy! website. I’ll include pictures and more details (feel free to AMA, tho there are tons of things I can’t yet reveal) in next week’s newsletter.
Reading-wise, the latest book in Michael Spradlin’s historical middle grade series The Web Of The Spider continues to be painfully relevant today. The action in Threat Of The Spider is narrated by Ansel, the bold and outspoken best friend of the first book’s protagonist. Ansel’s dad is a journalist in 1930s Germany who has been outspoken in his opposition to the Nazis. Ahead of the planned visit of Heinrich Himmler to their small town of Heroldsberg, Ansel’s dad abruptly disappears. Using the skills learned from his beloved detective novels, will Ansel and his friends be able to figure out what happened and bring his dad home?
I also breezed through Kelsey Cox’s Party Of Liars this past week. The tale revolves around a Texan teenager’s lavish Sweet Sixteen party in the dream house renovated by her parents, who have subsequently divorced. Rumor has it that the house is haunted by the ghost of a former inhabitant known as The Mother. When tragedy strikes during the party, is it because of a supernatural force or all-too-human emotion? I loved how this novel neatly sidestepped the easy out of having an outsider be the bad guy when the call was clearly (metaphorically) coming from inside the house. I did think that the Betty Broderick reference was a bit too much foreshadowing, tho I also pegged the big bad early on.
Alright, time for me to get back to work even tho I would love nothing more than a big midday nap rn. See you in seven, friends!
Currently Playing (Music): Beethoven’s Symphony #2 in D Major; Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite; my Declan Rice and 2025 Energy playlists; Chappel Roan’s Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess; Stela Cole’s I Die Where You Begin.
Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale, The Wild Beyond The Witchlight, Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs, Learned League trivia, NYT Connections, Your Friend In Witchcraft by Kay Marlow Allen; The Wolves Of Langston by Obvious Mimic.
Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Ghosts Of Saltmarsh.
Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide To Murder by Lynn Cahoon; Saltwater by Katy Hays; Threat Of The Spider by Michael Spradlin; Party Of Liars by Kelsey Cox; Love Languages by James Albon.