2019 - Year of the Rogue

Happy New Year Rogues!

Hopefully, you've all recovered from the antics of New Year's Eve?

(I have left this entry fairly late in the day for this very reason)

In line with our new weekly blogs backed up by increased Social Media interactivity, this marks our first blog of 2019!

So, looking forward, what can you expect from Roguelike Games this year?

The short answer is "quite a lot", but that's a bit of a dull answer if we're all being honest with one another. Let's delve into a bit more detail, shall we?

WEBSITE UPDATES

If you're coming here via a link from social media, there is a good chance you haven't come through the front portal of the web-page.

If that's the case SHAME ON YOU! (Nah, just kidding. Put that hand-bell and flogging whip away!)

The front-page has been slightly re-tweaked to represent the extension of the Roguelike Games repertoire to include content outside of the Moralinth Campaign Setting.

There is a new "Products" drop-down menu which branches into the current product lines (being Moralinth and Rapscallion Journals until more are added), as well as a brand new "Forum" area that was recently set up. The Forum is brand-new and therefore not overly full of content, but that will change - and we welcome your contributions to it!

Over the coming months there will be other tweaks and improvements, but nothing so dramatic or jarring as to make the site complex or annoying to navigate.

There is a Suggestions category in the Forum, so feel free to put any comments about the website there (or anything else!)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Back when RoguelikeGames.tk was launched in September 2018, we also premiered the Roguelike Games Facebook Page the same day.

Though this page has kept in the loop those who were contacted, it could do with expanding the audience considerably. We want to reach more table-top gamers and tell them about our upcoming games, we know they're out there and are well aware that some of our future fans and followers could be slipping through the net.

To that end, we're going to taking a triple-step into the future, and we could do with your help:

1. TWITTER:

Soon (probably within the next 7 days) Roguelike Games will be coming to Twitter. Making use of Social Media in this day-and-age is a no-brainer, and it seems logical that Twitter as a mobile, summarised format makes for a perfect partner along with Facebook. It allows us to send out no-nonsense bulletins and updates without any of the fluff that might come with it. Once that's up and running there will be an announcement on the site. You're all welcome to come and join the 280-character revolution! (hell, bring your friends too!)

2. FACEBOOK:

Moving the blogs back to once per week gives more time to step up the drive on Facebook, with posts on a daily or bi-daily basis. Chances are they'll end up being the slightly more in-depth version of what is sent out on Twitter, though there may be more off-the-cuff / non-update posts coming through Facebook as well.

Once things start really taking off, Roguelike Games will be looking for someone to assist with organising the RLG Facebook Page, but that's a little way down the line just yet.

3. YOU GUYS!

Keeping Facebook and Twitter updated is all well-and-good, but these mediums can only accomplish so much.

Good old 'Word of Mouth' is just as powerful as it ever was and to that end we'd like to call upon the help of you, dear readers, to help spread the word. We're a small operation wanting to bring you the best products at rock-bottom prices (we're talking cost of resources plus barely anything here), and without any major financial backing, our best chance of success as an independent role-playing developer is through a loyal follower base.

So please: spread posts, tell people, tell people to tell people. Get people coming to our site, visiting our social media hubs, writing in our forums.

We whole-heartedly appreciate any help you can spare.

WEEKLY BLOGS

Toward the end of last year, we announced that we were going to drop back on blogs from twice a week (Tuesdays & Thursdays) to once a week (Tuesdays).

The reasons for this were many, but the main one was that the time spent compiling these blogs slowed down time writing the actual RPG's. As previously mentioned we're a small operation with limited time and resources to hand, and we just felt our time could be better spent writing content and instead of compressing all the weeks' information into a single blog post.

This doesn't mean that you'll get fewer content updates of course (in fact quite the opposite), just that they will come in smaller, bite-sized chunks over Facebook and Twitter, with one big blog each Tuesday.

THE FIRST OF THE RAPSCALLION JOURNALS:

"PLOT WHOLE"

In previous blogs, we unveiled the Rapscallion Journals, smaller publications designed as Gamesmaster add-ons to games that wouldn't break the bank.

When we announced these we also lifted the cover on the first of these journals entitled "Plot Whole" (you can read all about it here).

Plot Whole is just a little over half-finished and on schedule to be released in Q1 of 2019 (not sure on the exact date but sometime before the end of March). When it's ready there will, of course, be an announcement here on the site (as well as Facebook and Twitter), and it will go live on Drivethrurpg.com.

Plans have already begun to take shape on the next journal, and we'll give you information on that as soon as it is more finalised. All we can really say for now is that RLGRJ002 will be for a different game system than D&D 5e.

MORALINTH UPDATES

The Gothic-Horror Campaign Setting of Moralinth is still coming along nicely and is going through final art and polish for the Cypher Edition. That version of the game is completely playable and has gone through numerous play-tests.

The Dungeons & Dragons 5e version of the game continues to be converted, bringing new races, classes, rules and content to the Wizards of the Coast system. One major development of note, however, is that this conversion has moved away from alteration of the source material to match the vanilla system to the longer but ultimately more satisfying adaption of the 5e ruleset to the Moralinth world.

What does that mean exactly? well, when work began on converting Moralinth: 5e we considered 'how would that class fit into Moralinth?' or 'That beast doesn't seem to fit...how could we adjust the game world to allow for it?'.

After careful deliberation, we've decided to instead create brand new content using the 5e framework to fit into the narrative of Moralinth, rather than trying to find a compromise or "best fit".

It's going to take longer, but it means we don't need to sacrifice the thematic flavour or style to fit inside the PHB.

MYSTERIES!

Wait, you didn't really think we were going to tell you everything, did you? Where exactly is the fun in that?

There are plenty of extra surprises coming this year - some with warning and some completely out of left field to catch you all off-guard!

In all seriousness though, keep an eye on the blogs, Facebook and Twitter for new information coming throughout the year as we fully intend to make 2019 a bit of a belter!

That rounds off our first blog of the new year, nothing too heady or long-winded, perfect for those heads that might be recovering from too much alcohol!

As recorded previously the blogs are now moving to weekly, so the next one will be on 8th January. In the meantime, though the Facebook Page and upcoming Twitter feed will churn out smaller but no less important updates on a regular basis.

Happy Gaming!

- Adam