To celebrate GameHole Con’s 10-year anniversary, I opted to run a collaborative DnD 5E scenario. I ran the scenario four times, and by the fourth time I ran it–thanks to over 20 players’ feedback–it turned into something that I’m proud to share with you to celebrate Halloween. The conceit behind The Cursed Citadel is simple: […]

If you’re a tarot or Kickstarter enthusiast, you’ve probably heard about The Alleyman’s Tarot. To date, it’s the most well-funded and backed tarot card set on Kickstarter. As one of the original backers, I thought I’d review the set and the guidebook after drawing and reading cards for some time. The size of The Alleyman’s […]

The 2023 nominees for the ENnie Awards have just been announced, and I’m proud to mention I’m a finalist for the 2022 Level 1 Anthology from 9th Level Games along with a slate of fantastic folks! The full contributor list for the ENnie Award-nominated 2022 Level 1 Anthology is: Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Evlyn Moreau, Dustin Winter, […]

Did you know I’m writing a cinematic adventure set in the world of Pacific Rim for Evil Genius Games? One of the reasons why I love Pacific Rim is because, at its core, it sends a strong message that in order to defeat a mysterious and world-ending threat, human beings need to overcome our differences […]

Designed by Amí Naeily, the Spoopy Tarot is a kawaii-style tarot deck with a “spoopy” theme–a haunted house filled with candy, ghosts, bats, eyeballs, potions, and so much more. Popularized by Marie Lenormand, modern tarot card readings range from the esoteric to the pragmatic. In the Spoopy Tarot, the Major Arcana is accurately described as […]

The Tarot of the Divine is a rare treasure illustrated and designed by California-based artist Yoshi Yoshitani. Each card is illustrated in vibrant colors and line art to depict scenes from fairy tales, folklore, and myths found all over the world. Vasilisa the Beautiful inspired the Nine of Wands, for example, and its illustration is […]

Hello, Flames Rising readers! On Saturday, January 7th, I’ll be teaching a new class called Emotional Self-Care for Creatives. Also in January, I’ve got an essay about the witch hysteria in Apex Magazine along with a new project I’ll announce via BooksOfM on Patreon. This year, I taught a lot of gaming-related classes through the […]

One Night in the Catacombs is a party game for three or more Guests (or players). The game begins with your invitation to a fancy party that takes place in Naples, Italy. You and your friends are influencers invited to explore a newly-discovered section of the Catacombe di San Gennaro at midnight. You are all […]

In Hunter: The Vigil, you choose between three tiers of gameplay. At tier one, your characters will fight monsters with little to no support. They may find allies along the way, but they’re on their own. At tier two, you play hunters backed by a compact that typically operates on a regional level. Your hunters have more guns and gear to fight the darkness. At tier three, you play cogs in a global conspiracy that has plenty of resources — and politics to boot. Conspiracies have more information about the supernatural than they let on, but even then…it’s unclear if the lore they’ve acquired is accurate or not.

Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition is now available for pre-order on BackerKit, and is nearing its debut. As fans review the text one section that has gotten a lot of questions is the Native compact, SWORN. Fans wanted to know whether or not that was written by an indigenous designer, and the answer is “Yes.” […]

On September 14th, Universal Orlando will re-release Midnight Syndicate’s Music of Halloween Horror Nights. This limited-edition run of 1000 copies features new artwork and is pressed on golden orange vinyl. The album will be sold in the Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store as well as on the Universal Orlando Online Merchandise Store for a limited […]

In the opening section of Eyes of Spiragos, my new Scarred Lands adventure for the Slarecian Vault, I explained that: “Eyes of Spiragos is an adventure for optimized 3rd level characters as a follow-up to Gauntlet of Spiragos. The events in Eyes of Spiragos are designed to occur before the second adventure in this series, […]

The future of award-winning Valiant Entertainment‘s slate of comics will fully embrace the potential that its shared universe of compelling characters has to offer, and Rob Levin has joined the team as Executive Editor to help move this vision forward. While 2021’s hit titles SHADOWMAN, NINJAK, and the upcoming series THE HARBINGER (on sale 10/27) […]

Apotheosis Studios launched and funded SIRENS: Battle of the Bards on Kickstarter, a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign setting set in the city of Salvata where a rebellion is brewing. In addition to the story and setting, the campaign includes new magic items, Bard subclasses, and themed adventures. “The bohemian City of Salvata encroaches […]

Earlier this month, author Monica Valentinelli announced she’s drawing on her anxiety and personal fears to write poetry every day in February. In her #28DaysofPoetry challenge, she’ll post a poem each day for her patrons on Patreon. Patrons can back this project, dubbed Into Shadow: An Exploration of Personal Fears, for $2. They’ll get exclusive […]

Did you know the elements of campaign planning are rooted in narrative design? In this workshop, gaming veteran Monica Valentinelli introduces her “Spiderweb Method” for campaign planning and walks you through how to use it for longer story arcs. Also included is a list of tips and tricks to help manage your players to avoid […]

Paizo Inc. has launched the Pathfinder Beginner Box for Pathfinder Second Edition! This hefty box contains everything a new player needs to begin a lifetime of fantasy adventures, serving as an entry point for players new to roleplaying games, experienced gamers new to Pathfinder Second Edition, and Pathfinder veterans looking to teach friends and family […]

Death is not the end. You learned that firsthand when you died. In that darkness, you made a deal that brought you back — with something else. Now, bound inextricably to a geist — a shade, a monster, a tragic, broken soul — you stand between the world of the living and the world of […]

Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition was developed by industry veteran Monica Valentinelli for Onyx Path Publishing. To celebrate the release of the Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition Kickstarter, Monica reached out to members of her team for a series of in-depth interviews. Today, Monica chats with Cassandra Khaw, who wrote the fiction and designed monsters […]

Hiya, do you love playing games? Ever want to write your own or for someone else? In this class, join industry veteran Monica Valentinelli for insight on how to write your own game or for your favorite type of game. Monica has worked on mobile games, IF games, card games, tabletop games, and more! Questions […]