Tag: Luke Gearing

The Weekly LIVE 261 – Super Hero Trademark Defeated, Darktide Card Game, Mythic Dissolves and Mothership Collaboration

Posted on by upturnedtable_sx8obi

 

Marvel and DC Comics have lost their joint trademark for the term “super hero” after decades of holding it. Initially, the trademark was obtained in collaboration with Ben Cooper, Inc., a costume maker who had licensed Marvel and DC characters in the 1960s. After a series of legal disputes involving companies like Mego Corporation, Marvel and DC became joint owners of the “super hero” trademark in 1977, solidifying their control over its use across various media. Over the years, both companies aggressively defended this trademark, opposing various businesses that tried to use the term. However, this year, after Marvel and DC failed to respond to legal challenges, a U.S. court invalidated their trademark, allowing other entities like Superbabies to use the term without restriction.

“Darktide: The Card Game,” a new Warhammer 40,000-themed card game coming in 2025. Meanwhile, Mythic Games, a company plagued by crowdfunding controversies involving delays, miscommunication, and unmet promises, has dissolved, marking the end of its turbulent existence in the tabletop gaming industry.

Mythic Games, a tabletop role-playing and board game company, has filed for liquidation due to a series of controversies and financial difficulties. The company, known for its crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, faced backlash for significant delays in delivering games, poor communication with backers, and unmet promises regarding stretch goals and content quality. Notably, games like Reichbusters: Projekt Vril and Solomon Kane suffered extended delays, while backers of Super Fantasy Brawl and Joan of Arc were disappointed by missing or lower-quality content. Financial mismanagement became a concern as backers speculated that funds from newer campaigns were being used to fulfill older projects, a practice dubbed “Kickstarter juggling.” Rising production costs, shipping challenges, and the global economic climate exacerbated these problems. A lawsuit over the Time of Legends: Joan of Arc campaign and unexpected increases in shipping costs further damaged the company’s reputation.

The indie RPG “Mothership” is back with a new collaborative funding effort on Backerkit, featuring a variety of new projects from different creators. This “collab-funding” initiative seeks to expand the sci-fi horror universe of “Mothership” with new content, including modules that explore bounty hunting and mystery-driven adventures.

#superhero #darktide #mythicgames #mothershiprpg

Unboxing D&D Expert Set:

https://youtu.be/l1Pef7vq-EQ

High School Cthulhu:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/gear-games/high-school-cthulhu-roleplaying-game

Submit to Wharf Rat Games:

https://wharfratgames.com/submissions

Alien 2E Kickstarter Campaign URL: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/alien-rpg-second-edition-and-rapture-protocol

4-Hour Dune RPG Review:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/review-dune-in-106781242

Humble Bundle (affiliate link):

https://www.humblebundle.com/?partner=upturnedtable

Check out our new shirts on Red Bubble:

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/161648028?ref=studio-promote

Try Fantasy Grounds VTT (affiliate link):

http://affiliates.fantasygrounds.com/360148/15958

Outgunned RPG – Action Hero Pledge UNBOXING:

https://youtu.be/IYDyzNvQQKo

Shop at Noble Knight Games (affiliate link)

https://www.nobleknight.com/affiliate/aw.asp?B=3&A=1312&Task=Click

Dragonbane Actual Play Episode One:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC9u841QuXM

Dragonbane Core Set:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/418106/Dragonbane-Core-Set

Dragonbane Free Quickstart:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409397/Dragonbane-Quickstart

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):

https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3

Chris on social media:

https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:

http://www.abusecartoons.com/​​

https://www.twitch.tv/abusecartoons

https://twitter.com/abusecartoons

​​Support Us on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable

Give us a tip on our livestream:

https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip​

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe

https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:43 — 44.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly LIVE 230 – Return to Perinthos, Evil Genius Demise, CMON Exclusivity and Pathfinder Official Soundtracks

Posted on by upturnedtable_sx8obi

 

A group of RPG creators is crowdfunding a physical book for a memorial megadungeon called Return to Perinthos, dedicated to the late D&D designer Jennell Jaquays. The project aims to cover Jaquays’ medical and funeral expenses, featuring nearly 90 interconnected dungeon levels mirroring her classic Caverns of Thracia. The 200-page book, designed by Luke Gearing, includes a fresh setting and a previously unpublished Q&A with Jaquays. The crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfundr, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, allows contributors to use various RPG systems, resulting in an eclectic mix. All proceeds from retail sales will go to Trans Lifeline in honor of Jaquays’ activism. The campaign runs until February 26th, with shipping expected in May.

Evil Genius Games, a tabletop RPG company, experienced a rapid decline from over 20 staff members to just six within a few weeks. The company faced financial troubles despite initial success, with staff working without pay for months. A failed collaboration with Netflix on the Rebel Moon tabletop game, accompanied by a lawsuit and subsequent settlement, contributed to the company’s woes. Internal conflicts arose over the use of controversial Web3 technologies, including AI, blockchain, and NFTs, and disagreements led to resignations and layoffs. Allegations of a toxic work environment, broken promises, and unethical behavior by the CEO were raised by former employees. The company is now seeking to recover with a smaller team and scaled-down ambitions. A crowdfunding campaign for Military Heroes sourcebooks is underway, emphasizing a commitment to avoid using AI or blockchains in their projects.

Board game company CMON LTD and crowdfunding platform Gamefound have entered into an exclusivity deal for tabletop crowdfunding and pledge management. CMON will now host its crowdfunding and preorder campaigns exclusively on Gamefound, marking a significant shift from its previous use of Kickstarter. The move is driven by Gamefound’s features and a desire to enhance the consumer experience. CMON’s current A Song of Ice & Fire: Tactics campaign on Gamefound has already raised over $1 million. Meanwhile, Backerkit, a crowdfunding platform, is gaining traction in tabletop gaming by attracting disenchanted Kickstarter users. Backerkit aims to offer a more intimate and sustainable relationship between backers and creators. The platform has experienced success with tabletop campaigns, managing projects that account for a significant percentage of Kickstarter funds. Backerkit’s CEO, Maxwell Salzberg, envisions crowdfunding as a way for creators to turn their unique projects into a long-term career. 

Pathfinder RPG has partnered with Michael Ghelfi Studios to produce official soundtracks for upcoming Adventure Path releases. Paizo, the studio behind Pathfinder, will collaborate with Michael Ghelfi Studios to create full-length soundtracks for Adventure Paths, enhancing the ambiance of tabletop RPG sessions. The partnership aims to provide players with memorable music associated with key themes, characters, and story beats from their campaigns. The soundtracks will be available for download alongside the Adventure Path volumes and can be streamed on various platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, and Bandcamp. Paizo plans to list the music on popular virtual tabletop programs for online RPG sessions.

Return to Perinthos: A Memorial Book for Jennell Jaquays:
https://crowdfundr.com/perinthos?ref=ab_8XXPrtYbtpi8XXPrtYbtpi

Osprey Games February Flash Sale:
https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/discover/sale/osprey-games-february-sale-24/

Shop at Noble Knight Games (affiliate link)
https://www.nobleknight.com/affiliate/aw.asp?B=3&A=1312&Task=Click

10% off First Purchase from Modiphius:
http://r.sloyalty.com/r/vhbUPnHm6tIp

Dragonbane Actual Play Episode One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC9u841QuXM

Dragonbane Core Set:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/418106/Dragonbane-Core-Set

Dragonbane Free Quickstart:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409397/Dragonbane-Quickstart

Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson

Chris on social media:
https://hyvemynd.itch.io/​​
https://twitter.com/hyvemynd​​
https://twitter.com/ConanSalaryman​​

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:
http://www.abusecartoons.com/​​
https://www.twitch.tv/abusecartoons
https://twitter.com/abusecartoons

​​Support Us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable

Give us a tip on our livestream:
https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip​

Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe
https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:58 — 48.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More

The Weekly LIVE 148 – Roll20 and OneBookShelf Joint Venture, The Big Squirm for Troika!, 2d20 Summer of Gaming and Mork Borg: Barebones Edition

Posted on by upturnedtable_sx8obi

Roll20 and OneBookShelf have announced a joint venture that will involve some management shuffling and give you access to all PDFs in the Roll20 VTT… eventually. Not as earth-chattering as some people are making it out to be. It feels more like an excuse to bully smaller publishers that want access to customers and tart yourself up for your eventual buyout by Wizards of the Coast. Good luck with that. This adds convenience but at what cost to the employees, designers and customers of these games. Oh, and did I mention it will also kill the now redundant Astral VTT? It’s just the beginning of a much bigger mess. Roll20 took 10 years to add basic quality of life features to their platform and OBS has the worst backend of any online sales platform. A match made in heaven.

The latest official adventure for Troika! is now on Kickstarter. The Big Squirm is a hard-boiled mystery about speculative worm trading. Players are private detectives and in an open sandbox adventure with a series of clues to uncover by any means necessary. Written by Luke Gearing, previously of Acid Death Fantasy, it will be a 100-page hardcover book with over 40 pieces of art by Andrew Walter and of course published by the Melsonion Arts Council.

Miss White Boy Summer? Well now we have the Summer of 2d20. Modiphius is promoting the release of their 2d20 SRD with a sale of all of their published 2d20 systems in both physical and digital form. The sale is 20% off and includes games like Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, Star Trek Adventures, Fallout the Roleplaying Game, Dishonored, Infinity, Conan, John Carter of Mars, Mutant Chronicles, and Achtung! It runs for 48 hours starting July 20th which they have officially named 2d20 Day. In addition to all that, there will a collaboration with Mōdiphiüs xStartplaying.Games, the group finding platform for VTTs All participating Gamemasters who run a 2d20 game with at least two verified players during this period will be entered into a random draw to win one prize of $1,000 USD to spend on the Modiphius webstore, and three players can win one of three $100 USD Did you notice the theme with the number twenty in all that? Marketing!

And finally, proof that Stockholm Kartell’s hit TTPRG isn’t just and art project that escaped to your tabletop. Mork Borg: Barebones Edition is now available for FREE. It is all the text of the original yellow book with the art and much of the graphic design removed. The PDF is available on Johan Nohr’s Itch.io page as Pay what you want. Hopefully, he had the task of dismantling his beautiful doom metal art masterpiece himself so that it maintained some of the wonderful feel of the full volume edition.
#troika #morkborg #modiphius #2d20 #onebookshelf #roll20

The Big Squirm on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melsonia/the-big-squirm

Mork Borg Barebones Edition:
https://jnohr.itch.io/mrk-borg-free

OneBookShelf FAQ:
https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7752903305235

Shopping on DTRPG (affiliate link):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:17 — 31.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe to Upturned Table RSS | More