The Dungeons & Dragons team drops by FlamesRising.com today with a special announcement for D&D fans. Check it out! Dungeons & Dragons loves the amazing video streams produced by our fans. This community-generated live-play highlights what’s fantastic about D&D—sitting down together with your friends to tell a grand story! To celebrate, we’ve invited a bunch […]

One of the signs that settings can go beyond their original purpose, is the ability to take a world and dive into a new medium The Fae Noir setting is one such property; in addition to the RPG, Justin Bow is funding a comic on Kickstarter. Set in the world of the Fae Noir RPG, […]

FlamesRising.com contributor Crystal Mazur recently sat down with Christopher Mihm to ask him a few questions about his films. Enjoy this fun interview with a B-movie aficionado! Christopher Mihm is the writer, director, and producer of a series of 1950’s B-horror movies that all take place in the “Mihmiverse”. He has won several awards and […]

Always Another Secret

The Chronicles of Darkness stretch back to the beginning of human civilization, and perhaps further. When people fearfully peered into the darkness past their campfires, the Begotten were looking back. When they opened their mouths and spoke, attaching sound to meaning, the Awakened bound those words in power and light. When humanity was forming tribes, werewolves were communing with their totem spirits. When the first cities arose, the undead licked their lips in hunger.

And through it all, forces larger and more dangerous than the whole of humanity worked their dire machinations. Even these forces, though, are subject to the tides of history.

The Clans are not the only vampires that strut, if I might steal from the Bard, upon this great stage of fools. There are the errant Kindred inaccurately collected under the sobriquet of “bloodlines.” While their role in the eternal conflict between the childer of Caine is small, it is often incredibly impactful.

As such, I provide this corollary to my original study. It would be the work of several lifetimes to find and document every tiny aberration or fleeting dead end that constitutes a variation from one of the thirteen. Instead, I have focused on nine that I know for certain have an impact in our little culture war of the dead. From the brain-washed abominations of Tremere magic to vampires twisted by demonic will to the remnants of Clans long thought dead, each of these so-called “bloodlines” have their place in society. There is no larger picture for them — for us — to be a part of. Here on the fringes, each vampire’s experience is unique.

We are free to create our own truths amidst the lies.

Catalyst Game Labs—publisher of the seminal BattleTech and Shadowrun games—is exceptionally excited and honored to publish Dragonfire, a cooperative deckbuilder game based on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

Dragonfire combines the vast lore of the D&D universe with the fast play of a deckbuilding game. Players choose from several classic fantasy races, from dwarf to elf, half-orc to human, and assume one of the quintessential roles of cleric, rogue, fighter, or wizard. Equipped with weapons, spells, and magic items, players begin their adventure along the famed Sword Coast, then journey to other Forgotten Realms locales, such as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter, and Waterdeep, in future expansions. Along the way, they can level up their characters, find additional equipment, learn new feats, and much more

Holmes and Watson are introduced to an impossible crime; a killing by a mythological creature; the dreaded Chimera, part lion, part scorpion, part goat!

But even if the death is some sort of sick hoax, it still means a hideous murder has taken place, which Holmes must solve. However dark forces swirl about the case, and an unsuspecting Holmes, besieged by doubts, has yet to contend directly with the most dramatic of those forces: Professor James Moriarty! A must for any Sherlock Holmes fan’s library collection. Released on newsstands in Australia, this will be the first time it is available outside of the country.

Described by writer Christopher Sequeira as Hammer Horror meets Holmes, the Dark Detective series has received numerous accolades from many Holmesian followers.

Unknown Armies is an occult game about broken people conspiring to fix the world. It’s about humanity, and how those among us who are the most obsessed have the power to alter reality until it aligns with their fevered desires. It’s about getting what you want despite others trying to keep it from you.

Unknown Armies presents magick as it might exist in a world co-created by Tim Powers and James Ellroy, as twisting wrinkles in reality created by greater and greater risk, sacrifice, and obsession. In Unknown Armies we ask, what would you risk to change the world? Your friends? Your family? Your health? Your sanity? Magick finds a way to ask the very most from you, until you achieve what you want or you are left with nothing.

Prince’s Gambit is a casual card game where each player is a vampire called to the court of the vampiric Prince of the city. Players must cooperate to gain the favor of the Prince while deducing who among them are secretly the traitorous Sabbat infiltrators.

Designed by long-time Vampire: the Masquerade tabletop RPG developer Justin Achilli, Prince’s Gambit is a fast-paced social deduction game set within the world of Vampire, but which requires no special knowledge to play. Neophytes and experienced fans of Vampire both can jump right in.

In 2015, the dark fantasy Shadow of the Demon Lord RPG launched on Kickstarter and was an overwhelming success. “In the game, you create and play characters struggling to survive in a land sliding toward oblivion, a place infested by demons, roaming mobs of undead, strange magic, unhinged cultists, and all in the ruins of […]

The Midgard Campaign Setting for 5th Edition and Pathfinder RPG is a 300+ page volume describing the Midgard regions, from the Northlands to the Western Wastes, and from the Southlands to the Crossroads. With detailed locations, cities, rulers, heraldry, plots, and adventure hooks galore, plus full details of the various pantheons, masked gods, and dark gods, there’s enough here to fuel years of adventuring!

Five years have passed since the original release and now Kobold Press is updating the Midgard Campaign Setting, with even more magic, monsters, and expanded content! Wolfgang Baur is here today with a guest post about this ambitious project.

Dark Eras: Doubting Souls (Hunter: the Vigil)

Although the most acute judges of the witches and even the witches themselves, were convinced of the guilt of witchery, the guilt nevertheless was non-existent. It is thus with all guilt.
—Friedrich Nietzsche

Immigrants and tribes struggled to co-exist on the Eastern Seaboard in the ever-expanding Colonies. Violent clashes, supernatural beliefs, and demonic influences spelled disaster for Salem Village and its surrounding towns, while others fought werewolves and vampires on the frontier. With so much at risk, only god-fearing men and women were deemed innocent — and those were few indeed.

This is a single chapter from the larger work, Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras. Now available on its own in PDF and Softcover formats.

AN ANCIENT EVIL RISES…BURNS…KILLS…

After a fire consumes the Heller Home for Children, the residents of Morganville, North Carolina thought they knew evil…

They were wrong.

Unaware of the turmoil in their new hometown, the Littles–David, Kate, and seven-year-old Becca–are moving from New York City to Morganville in hopes of repairing their own lives, which were recently shattered by an act of sexual violence.

Before long, David realizes that his family’s troubles are worse than he could ever have imagined.

An ancient demon lurks beneath the town of Morganville, an unholy creature conjured into existence by the Heller Home tragedy.

What hope has a humble adventurer when faced with a fight against Cthulhu himself? No matter; the true swordsperson cares only for the bite of steel against flesh, whether that flesh be eldritch or more conventional.

So, grab your khukuri knife, your iklwa spear, or a legendary blade and journey with us from ancient Rome to feudal Japan, from the Dreamlands to lands there are no names for in any of the tongues of men.

If you have any doubts, inside this tome you can consult some of Lovecraftiana’s hottest voices, be they seasoned veterans or hot-blooded new recruits… Hope be damned. Glory awaits!

Volo’s Guide to Monsters is a rich, story-based supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.

To celebrate the release of Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Wizards of the Coast commissioned an introductory developed by Shawn Merwin called “In Volo’s Wake” for the D&D Adventurer’s League.

This series of adventures, written by Rich Lescouflair, Shawn Merwin, and Monica Valentinelli, explores the town of Phandalin, missing townsfolk, and a whole lot more. The adventures kick off at Level One–perfect for starting players!

Writing Inclusive Games: Creating RPGs Sans Fail teaches game writers crucial skills and industry knowledge to facilitate better representation. Instructors Monica Valentinelli, from FlamesRising.com, and K. Tempest Bradford will cover Stereotypes and Tropes related to Race and Ethnicity, Disability, Gender and Sexuality, Religion, Class, and more, plus strategies for building characters and worlds while avoiding engaging in stereotypes or cultural appropriation. The course covers tips and tricks to addressing problems on your team, how to better facilitate conversation with your game developer, and sample art notes that are occasionally asked of writers.

The class is appropriate for all game writers from all backgrounds and any skill level.

White Wolf partners with Focus Home Interactive for a video game adaptation of the World of Darkness Storyteller game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse.

White Wolf is pleased to announce its partnership with Paris-based video game publisher Focus Home Interactive for a licensed PC and console game set in the World of Darkness.

The partnership between Focus Home Interactive and White Wolf Publishing concerns the adaptation of a video game based on the acclaimed Werewolf: The Apocalypse. The game will be developed by the game development studio Cyanide (Styx: Master of Shadows, Blood Bowl, Call of Cthulhu…). In the game you will become a Garou, a rage-fuelled Werewolf warrior opposed to urban civilization and the destruction it brings. The Garou are born to fight the corruption of The Wyrm, a powerful supernatural force leading us towards an inevitable Apocalypse.

Sure, you can do what you want, feed from the locals, and go back to hiding in your lair when you’re done.
You may think you’re safe there, it sure feels safe.
But, you aren’t the only thing connected to the Primordial Dream, and no lair is safe from what lurks beyond.
Don’t fool yourself. — Naomi Walker, Ugalla

A Night Horrors Sourcebook for the Beast: The Primordial RPG

There are many iconic adventures and stories in the 43-year history (!) of Dungeons & Dragons that current fans may not have ever experienced. If you just got into D&D in the past few years, you likely haven’t braved the Tomb of Horrors or climbed White Plume Mountain or fought Against the Giants. Even longtime fans haven’t been able to fully explore the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan or the Sunless Citadel with stats and monsters updated for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

History isn’t written by the victors. It’s written by the people with the time machines.

In the TimeWatch RPG, your band of TimeWatch agents defend the timestream from radioactive cockroaches, psychic velociraptors, and human meddlers. Go back in time to help yourself in a fight, thwart your foes by targeting their ancestors, or gain a vital clue by checking a scroll out from the Library of Alexandria. But watch out for paradoxes that may erase you from existence… or worse.

If you’ve ever dreamed of going on world-changing adventures from the age of the dinosaurs to the end of the universe, the TimeWatch RPG is for you!