Good Monday, Gamer!
“It's like the summer's a natural aphrodisiac”
— DJ.J.Jeff and The Prince of Fresh, The Bards of Bel Aire.
It's shaping up to be a great month of gaming. I've got Flying Circus on the schedule, and later this month, we'll start some Mythic Bastionland where I play the Tome Knight. Mektonfall continues, my mash-up of Mekton and Titanfall by kid request. We've created characters and are currently on a mission to rescue another Mekton pilot from the clutches of the Junta. As soon as we get his mech committed to paper, it’ll be MEKTONFALL time!
I've run the Clash rules for battle in Solo Moria with Hallas and the Sardonic Dwarves vs Mordor Orcs, AP later this week. I'll also start running The One Ring: Moria with Mad-Dice.com, adding user profiles and expanding with some light stat tracking.
I'm working on bringing Invisible Sun to an online series; there's a lot involved! IGRC offers the best coverage of the game, from unboxing to actual play sessions —hmu if you got some tips and magi tricks! I have some player interest—that's what keeps me focused here!
What are you playing or prepping for the summer?
📚 ICYMI
IGRC Invisible Sun - Bestest coverage in the Actuality!
Mythic Bastionland Deep Dive. You know what to do.
The Indie RPG Newsletter Thomas is jobbing from Singapore!
🎙️ Roll for Origin is live — we kick off the Supers TTRPG deep dive with Superhero 2044
⛏️ Hallas and the Dwarves of Moria - A Solo Moria AP.
Free League Summer Sale - A testimonial, not an ad!
Summer’s here—and Free League Publishing is bringing the heat with their Summer Sale, running from July 1st through 17th. Whether you’re a seasoned explorer of The Forbidden Lands or just now clocking into Blade Runner's rain-slicked precincts, there’s something here for every kind of tabletop gamer.
The sale covers core books, starter sets, expansions, and accessories across Free League’s award-winning catalog. It’s a great excuse to start something new—or finally grab that campaign box you’ve been eyeing.
Here’s a rundown of what I know, love, and recommend:
Forbidden Lands
A gritty survival fantasy where you’re not heroes—you’re raiders and rogues chasing treasure through cursed lands. Hex-crawl exploration, base-building, and that sweet, sweet Foundry VTT support. I ran several sessions during my Into the Mad Lands Kickstarter campaign, which featured over 40 players. Would 100% run again.
Dragonbane
A fast, pulpy fantasy RPG revived from Swedish roots. I broke down and finally backed the recent Kickstarter, duckin' ducks and all. Coming to a table near you!
ALIEN RPG
Cinematic horror in deep space. It’s one of the best licensed RPGs out there—period. I've mostly run one-shots, but I'd love to dig into a longer campaign. I’ve got some aspirations of using all three books.
Twilight: 2000
The Cold War apocalypse sandbox survival RPG. Open-world, shifting alliances, hard decisions, and Twinkies as ration! I've run 50+ sessions of this game. Built a con one-shot scenario to showcase the game’s sandbox mechanics. Incredible Foundry support. One of my all-time faves. If you only buy one game!
The One Ring (2e)
Return to Middle-earth in this beautifully written RPG steeped in travel, melancholy, and quiet heroism. I've logged six sessions on Actual Play and am currently running a West Marches-style Moria sandbox. The game never disappoints, even with a table full of Hobbits—one of Free League’s best adaptations. If you can’t pick, get this one!
Blade Runner RPG
Neon noir and memory tests. You're investigating as a Blade Runner, unraveling lives and lies. Haven’t run it yet, but I played a con one-shot and enjoyed the slow burn of discovery. I’d have liked more time.
The Electric State
A surreal journey through a retro-tech American wasteland. Inspired by Simon Stålenhag’s art. I own it. I’ve read it. I saw the movie. It's begging for table time.
Mutant: Year Zero
Where it all began—for Free League and for me. An apocalyptic survival sandbox with mutants, murder monkeys, and mysteries. I ran the wheels off this mutha! I probably owe Free League some money!
Coriolis: The Third Horizon
Often called: Arabian Nights in space. Coriolis blends mysticism, politics, and exploration aboard ancient starships and derelict stations. You play travelers, agents, or mystics navigating faction conflict and divine omens. It’s Firefly meets Dune meets The Expanse—wrapped in incense and prophecy. I’ve run it as a faction-driven mystery in space and as a trading/salvage campaign. I dig the setting and would play again.
Symbaroum
For all this talk about a D&D replacement game, folks have slept on Symbaroum. They ain’t ready. IYKYK.
Oh, that’s not the full catalog—just what I’ve spent time with. Free League has a banger track record. I own and have played no other publisher’s catalog to this extent.
Let me know what your Free League MVP is—especially if it’s one I haven’t touched!
Free League did NOT sponsor this. I'm happy to promote a good portion of their catalog, as they create games I've enjoyed playing and hollering about.
Catch ya next week!
Thanks for reading, thanks for playing, and thanks for backing the strange stuff.
The hobby is big, messy, diverse—and more beautiful for it. And small tables with weird indie games?
That’s still my favorite corner.
No love for Vaesen or Tales From The Loop/Things From The Flood? ;)