In this newsletter | Moar Blood | Playtest Material issue 2 | Sci-Fi Terrain, IKEA style | Murder by Mummy |
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| We're doing something we've never done before at Solarian. We're making a crazy, over-the-top skirmish game, minis and terrain and a new dice system and everything. It's called Moar Blood. You play contestants in a violent game show set in a gonzo future, sending out clones to battle to the finish in front of a bloodthirsty audience, vying for points based on not just defeating opponents, but doing it in the most crowd-pleasing way possible. You can even win on points by dying, if your death is spectacular enough and gets the audience on their feet cheering. |  | It started out with game from the 1990s that we loved. At first, we kicked around the idea of doing a new version, but the deeper we got, the more we realized we wanted to make something new of our own. Peter already had a system he'd been developing that was a good candidate. So he started tearing it apart, rebuilding, and that became the game engine for Moar Blood that we're calling Razer. More about that in a future newsletter, but basically it lets you use literally any dice you have sitting around because it just looks at odds and evens in a die pool to determine success. From the start, we had a pretty clear idea what we wanted Moar Blood to be. It needed to be fast. It needed to be easy to learn. And it needed enough going on under the hood that there were real strategies to discover once you got into playing it. We wanted social combat. Smack talking needed a mechanic. Showboating needed to matter. Doing something spectacular instead of the safe, sensible option needed to be rewarded. This is an arena sport, the crowd wants a show! |  | We've been running Moar Blood at conventions for quite a while now. We've run one-on-one matches, massive free-for-alls, and team games. At one point we had three teams of five players each beating the hell out of each other at the same time. People found things we never expected, they broke rules, exposed slow spots, and came up with strategies we hadn't expected. The final rules are a result of lots of real-world playtesting and great ideas from the people who have played. |  | Peter's an engineer, so he designed his own 3D terrain. It's a modular system that clicks together quickly, stays together while you're playing, and lets you build countless combinations for different arenas.
The terrain will be available from us, or you can just get the digital files and print it yourself if you have a 3D printer. It's expandable, so you can add new pieces in the future as we design them.
You can use any dice you want since it's all about odds & evens, but what the hell, we also made our own custom dice that you can see in the picture above. Making a custom shape for dice requires a big order, though, so those will be a stretch goal if we get enough backers to make the dice cheap enough for everyone. There's going to be a full-color rulebook, a cloth battlemat to go underneath the terrain, and minis that you can buy from us or print for yourself. You can play the game with paper, pens, and some wooden blocks if you like; or you can go all-out and get the fancy stuff we're making for it.
Follow us on Kickstarter where we'll be updating everyone with the behind the scenes process as we go along, getting the book laid out, all the pieces sourced, and everything set up so it's finished and ready to make before the campaign starts, and all we need are the backers to bring it to life. Join us on the journey! | | | Stillfleet StudioPlaytest Material Issue 2: Histories |  | Hey y’all, this is Wythe Marschall from Stillfleet with a quick announcement. I’m proud to be serving as guest editor of the second issue of Playtest Material, the new journal of TTRPG studies aimed at both practitioners (gamers) as well as scholars/professional critics. The lead editor, Laurie O’Connel, is a brilliant game designer whom Christopher Pickett and I have interviewed on Why We Roll. The first issue, “An RPG is Like,” releases October 1 and features some true bangers—a few of which are previewed on the site right now. Submissions to the second issue, “Histories,” open September 15 and close October 15. We’re looking for a variety of articles, reviews, and conversations of different lengths analyzing intellectual, material, and labor histories of the RPG industry alongside articles diving into the uses of fictional histories. Future issues will examine other themes, so if you’re interested in the wider dialogue about RPGs, bookmark PlaytestMaterial.org, consider subscribing to the quarterly print edition, and keep your eyes peeled for calls to come. For now, if you have an idea for “Histories,” read the call for submissions and drop a line. Happy gaming, and happy writing! | | | Friends of Analog Union: 9d10 GamesSci-Fi Tabletop Terrain, IKEA flatpack style |  | My friend Ilya has a Kickstarter going that I've backed, and for totally selfish reasons I want to see it succeed. Selfish as in, I have backed this and I want it to work so I can use this terrain in my own games, haha.
Ilya makes these flat-pack MDF gaming sets that you can arrange in an endless number of combinations. His last two were for fantasy games, and now he's made a sci-fi version called Facility 404. You can lay it all out flat to make rooms and corridors, or use the clips, supports and girders to build the whole thing up into a three-dimensional set. And when you're done, it all packs flat again instead of taking over a closet.
I think it's wicked cool. We've got our own sci-fi skirmish game coming out soon, Moar Blood, and I'm 100% going to be using this for my home game. That is, if the Kickstarter funds. It's damn close right now, maybe you'll be the one who pushes it over the finish line. So take a look. If you think it's as cool as I do, maybe throw a few bucks at it. And if you know somebody else who'd be into this, send it their way.
Thanks for reading! -Jayson | | | Saltheart RPG LLCBURN 2d6 is back with a new adventure! |  | Murder by Mummy is an adventure for the BURN 2d6 Pulp Era setting contained in the BURN 2d6 Core Rules book. Written by Andrew Hind, the adventure is a thrilling callback to the best of the pulp era. While set in fictional Harbor City, the adventure can be easily adapted to fit any urban setting.
In this adventure, the Player Characters must rescue a friend from a sinister cult and unravel a plot that could spell doom for the world.
“…Rebecca is a pretty, young woman with strawberry blonde hair, freckles on her nose and cheeks, and a lithe build. She is an intelligent and headstrong woman, and a cheerful companion. As the Characters enter the hall, they spot her standing by one of many sarcophagi that stand upright along the perimeter of the room. Rebecca spots them and waves them over with an uncharacteristically worried look.
Suddenly, the sarcophagus swings open, and a greying man dressed in a suit and wielding a pistol reaches out to grab Rebecca…”
|  | Will your players figure out a way to save her? | | |
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Analog Union Join the Analog Union subreddit |  | The Analog Union subreddit has launched, and it’s starting to grow! Join us in our new community where you can tell us what you really think of all these shenanigans we’re getting up to. We listen, and we care. And I really want to see what you’re up to in your gaming world.
It’s easy to find; it’s literally r/AnalogUnion.
Get in now so you can say “I was there before it was cool.” (Spoiler alert: we’ll never be cool) | |
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ShireCon North Canaan, CT – September 25th & 26th |
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ShireCon is celebrating its 8th year! Two days of role-playing and board games in the Berkshires! Come for a day and a half of OSR and modern gaming. Visit our vendors selling old and new games and enjoy the local fare in North Canaan, CT |
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Under The Dice Fest Enfield, CT – October 2nd, 3rd & 4th |
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Under The Dice Fest returns this October 2nd- 4th!
UTDFest is focused on independent tabletop gaming, with a focus on miniatures and wargames! The New England Mordheim Open returns, along with roleplaying games, game tournaments, workshops, live music, and more! You don’t want to miss it! |
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ArcaneCon Northampton, MA – October 16th & 17th |
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ArcaneCon is returning October 16th & 17th, 2026. Join us in a celebration of indie, old school, and old school-inspired RPGs, miniature games, board games, and more! ArcaneCon is Western Massachusetts's premiere tabletop hobby convention! Game submissions are open now!!! See more information at Tabletop Events. |
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Keep on emailing us at hello@analogunion.com to let us know what you’d like to see more of/less of and to share ideas. If you enjoy the Analog Union newsletter, please tell your friends to sign up at AnalogUnion.com. Until next time! —J |
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