Issue #6 A Second Guess Game: The Winter Guard
Issue #6 A Second Guess Game: The Winter Guard
My voice; a beacon in the night.
Have we all checked out for the year? I can’t be the only one.
Let’s break up the inevitable mid-December fugue state that we all find ourselves in with a frosty new issue of Unplaytested Presents!
In this long-awaited sixth issue, I finally provide some promised non-D&D content with a dip into the Second Guess solo ttrpg system, shout out some of the wonderful folks in our TTRPG community, and sling some of the latest Underground Oracle Publishing news your way.
Let’s do it to it.
In the last issue of Ryan K Lindsay’s newsletter, he mentioned a little solo/journaling ttrpg system called the Second Guess System. After reading what he had to say about it I followed the link to the SRD page and dug in. And it actually made for very easy digging, because it’s a single-page SRD that has been streamlined specifically for the creation of one-page solo ttrpgs. I was instantly smitten and showed it to Keith, which got our own internal gears working on how these are not only magnificent creative writing tools, but would actually make for dynamic ways to flesh out characters for whatever your ttrpg of choice may be (observant readers are probably pretty well aware of ours by now.)
I had several ideas to pursue, but eventually, settled on one that seemed to fit the season (it’s cold here) and lent itself to the system pretty well. In The Winter Guard, you assume the role of a warrior tasked to guard an unknown prisoner. Isolated in a frozen landscape, your goal is to make it to spring when your shift ends without releasing The Prisoner.
The Winter Guard straddles the line between horror (what is The Prisoner? What would happen if I fail my people?) and romance (What if The Prisoner is smoochable?). There’s enough flexibility for the player to apply their own tone to the journey.
The Winter Guard
You have known since birth that one day your shift would come. Each season, a guard to keep it bound. Each guard, to ensure the door never opened. You were excited to test yourself and knew to heed your elders’ warnings. Do not listen to its honeyed words. Do not speak lest you reveal your own weakness. But the winter is long and dark and you are so alone. And the voice from behind the door almost feels like home…
Download For Free
Despite its one-page structure, this one would be a little trickier than my previous content to include in its entirety. So I’m posting the pdf of The Winter Guard in our Ko-fi store and Drivethru store as PWYW for those who’d like to check it out.
Just click the links above to be taken directly to the store download of your choice.
Community Coolness
Our community is just so damned cool. But you don't have to take my word for it…🌈
This also came quickly with the realization that a game of such narrow scope really only needed to be a single page. Thus, the system would have to be short and tight as well…
I would be beyond remiss if I didn’t bring attention to Gamenomicon—also known as Will Lentz—the creator of the Second Guess SRD that I used for The Winter Guard. Even if this little piece of awesome was his only contribution, I’d still be lining up to provide him with a windmill high-five, but Gamenomicon has an itch (and Drivethru) page full of fantastic ttrpg materials. Including the very seasonably appropriate Warmer in the Winter, a Powered by the Apocalypse game “inspired by Hallmark and Lifetime style holiday romances such as The Spirit of Christmas, Let It Snow, and A Royal Christmas…”.
RPG Crossing is a 40,000+ member online community that focuses on play by post role playing games (PBP RPG) and features such systems as Dungeons and Dragons (2e, 3e, 3.5e, 4e, 5e), Pathfinder, GURPS, d20 Modern, Serenity, Star Wars, Storytelling (World of Darkness) and many more.
RPG Crossing is doing another charity drive to support the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Until Thursday, Dec 31, they’ll be donating portions of their membership fees to the BBRF in addition to providing a massive bundle of TTRPG supplements to anyone who donates $10 or more—including (but not limited to) a PDF copy of both the Fragged Empire Core Rules and Fragged Seas from FraggedEmpire.com, $10 credit voucher at AAWGames.com, and a big ol’ 20 title bundle of 5e supplements from Underground Oracle Publishing. Read more about the details here.
…an exciting monthly full colour magazine available in digital and print made for the fifth edition of the world’s greatest tabletop roleplaying game!
Taking our cues from the magazines of the past, but putting in our own modern twists, each issue will contain over 80 pages ram packed with unique game ready content for the whole table!
Crucible Magazine is a new 5e-centric magazine hitting the scene and launching on KS in January. Each issue promises to deliver over 80 pages of high-quality game options for GMs and players, as well as interviews, comics, and more. Keith and I have contributed a very rad archetype (the Dungeon Strider ranger) and three backgrounds to their launch issue, which you can grab right now for free by signing up to their newsletter. You also get entered to win a full year of issues when you sign up now, so it’s a win-win situation.
Down in The Underground
As usual, we’ve got loads happening in the Underground Oracle Publishing world.
The biggest new development on our end as of this writing is the launch of our Ko-fi memberships. The tiers are complete mirrors of our Patreon offerings, but we decided to branch out for those folks who may prefer a different platform. You can check out the tiers (starting at $1.50/month) here.
Small Bites:
Buy Stuff: Our last release was the first Unplaytested Presents feature to make its official debut into our published canon, Sorcerous Origin: Riot Born. This polished and playtested version of the archetype includes fresh lore and 2 new metamagic options. My dearest Unplaytested Presents subs can snag this archetype for 50% off with these links:
Sneak Peek: Our next release will be one that Keith teased during our very first holiday season as publishers, The Book of Celestial Gifts. It will contain new holy archetypes, spells, a new wondrous gift, and more. Sign up at the $3/month tier now on our Ko-fi or Patreon and get it the moment it drops.
Underground Events: As is our holiday tradition, we’re giving away free copies of our 5e supplements to all of the members of our discord server every Friday during December. Jump on our server and grab your free supplements here.
And that’s Issue #6, folks. Let me know in the comments what you think of The Winter Guard and PLEASE tag me on Twitter if you use it to do something cool. And as always, shares with others are always greatly appreciated. <3