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Geek Girl Authority
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Summerween Archives
Categories Select Category Games GGA Columns Movies Stuff We Like The Daily Bugle TV & Streaming Get into the Summerween spirit with these five tabletop RPG and board games that feel like you're in a scary summer blockbuster hit.
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Critical Role Announces Their Next Campaign With New Game Master Brennan Lee Mulligan
Worlds will soon collide for fans of tabletop roleplaying games as a major shakeup in the actual play community just hit. Critical Role returns! Albeit with some massive changes. During a live show in Indiana tonight, the cast of Critical Role announced their newest campaign (and fourth overall) will begin airing live on Oct. 2 and will break away from the existing lore of Exandria to introduce a new world. But more shocking is the news that the company's founding member and primary Game Master, Matthew Mercer, won't be leading charge — instead replaced by another beloved player, Dimension 20's Brennan Lee Mulligan. More from Rolling Stone The Best Handheld Gaming Consoles, From Nintendo to Steam Deck 'Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound' Is a Dopamine-Fueled Slice of Eighties-Action Bliss How Labubu Fans Are Using Gaming Tactics to Nab the Summer's Hottest Trend In an accompanying release, Critical Role confirmed that Mulligan will be take on the role of Game Master for the full duration of the campaign (rather than a guest stint), and reiterated that the campaign's new direction with leave the ongoing saga and narrative continuity of Exandria behind for a 'bold evolution for the franchise, ushering in a new era with new legends to be forged in a brand new world.' Critical Role's previous three campaigns (Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein, and Bells Hells) all told independent stories that were connected by a singular universe and shared history. Travis Willingham, a founding member of the TTRPG troupe and CEO of Critical Role Productions, issued a statement saying, 'We've been enormous fans of Brennan's for many years now, and when it came to giving both Matthew Mercer and the world of Exandria a bit of a breather, Brennan felt like the perfect storyteller to take our community somewhere entirely new.' The announcement comes as a time when many fans — and the cast members themselves — have wondered what the future of the actual play show and company looks like. Celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, Critical Role has become a cultural phenomenon and partially helped revitalize the tabletop community in media. The group of voice actors (including Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Liam O'Brien, Ashley Johnson, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, and Matthew Mercer) began livestreaming their Dungeons & Dragons play sessions back in 2015, amassing a huge following on Twitch, that's subsequently grown into an entertainment juggernaut with multiple animated series, digital spin-off shows, comics, novelizations, and more. Teased in conversation with Rolling Stone last year, Critical Role recently confirmed that they've begun work on a video game, in addition to launching their own proprietary tabletop game called Daggerheart, which was used as the framework for the group's latest actual play mini-series, Age of Umbra. At this time, it's unclear if Campaign 4 will utilize the Daggerheart system or if it'll stick to Dungeons & Dragons. The inclusion of Mulligan is huge, but not entirely surprising. A well-established Game Master and comedian, Mulligan created Dimension 20 for streaming service Dropout, which quickly became its own titanic success; Dimension 20 even sold-out Madison Square Garden for a live play one-shot earlier this year. Although he's appeared as a guest on Critical Role's show, Mulligan's lead role in Campaign 4 is akin to an Avengers-level crossover in the tabletop community. Both Critical Role and Dimension 20 have established huge fan bases with parasocial relationships to the casts, stoking fear of what Critical Role's show will look like once its founding members ultimately move on. But the writing has been on the wall for some time, especially for Mercer. Speaking with Rolling Stone previously, the Critical Role CCO suggested that he may eventually movie into a 'Professor X' role as a mentor to the next generation of storytellers rather than remaining the face of the brand in perpetuity. 'It's been a process of introducing friends and new faces into the community. 'Look, we love them. If you like us, we know you'll learn to love them too,'' Mercer said to Rolling Stone. 'It's less about us going away and more about bringing more friends into the fold.' Critical Role's third campaign ended earlier this year, with all episodes currently available on the group's YouTube channel and subscription service Beacon. New episodes of Critical Role can be watched live on Beacon, Twitch, and YouTube when Campaign 4 launches on Oct. 2. Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Magpie Games Announces Partnership With Bestselling Author Naomi Novik
Magpie Games is known for licencnsed games such as Root: The Roleplaying Game and Avatar Legends: ... More The Roleplaying Game as well as original titles like Masks: The Next Generation and Urban Shadows. Today, award-winning tabletop roleplaying game publisher Magpie Games announced its latest licensing partnership with bestselling author Naomi Novik. Magpie is known for innovative games like Masks: A New Generation, Urban Shadows and Rapscallion. It has also produced licensed games such as Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, Root: The Roleplaying Game, and Fallen London. The company is best known for producing Powered By The Apocalypse games though it is also expanding into original systems for upcoming works. Naomi Novik is a New York Times best selling fantasy and speculative fiction author. She is best known as the author of the Temeraire series, which told the story of an alternate history featuring dragons set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. She has won multiple awards for her work such as the British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards. Magpie Games' partnership with Novik will build an experience for fans that continues what they love about Novik's world while also introducing a new audience to the original property. Licensed role playing games offer fans of the licensed setting a chance to experience the world they love in a new way while showing players new to the world what makes the setting unqiue. Further details of their partnership, such as which of Novik's worlds will be the first to be turned into a roleplaying game, will be revealed at Gen Con 2025. 'Naomi Novik is a master storyteller,' said Scott Shannon, President of Random House Worlds.'Whether she's reimagining a familiar fairytale, designing a dangerous magical school, or mashing up real world history with talking dragons, Naomi Novik's intricate worldbuilding always draws readers in and keeps them coming back for more.' This upcoming project uses the Ædana System™, the new game engine from Magpie Games' award-winning design team that has already raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter. The Ædana System features a core dice pool mechanic that focuses on fast, nuanced resolution for challenges. During play, players and GMs can also expand a challenge into one of many intricate conflict systems, diving deeply into full-fledged contests sych as chases, battles, and social clashes with unpredictable outcomes. 'It's incredible to work with a creator like Naomi because she has a laser-focused vision for her world…and she's a gamer!' says Mark Diaz Truman, CEO of Magpie Games. 'The questions she asks are insightful and thoughtful—she knows what it's like to sit down as a player and roll dice, and it's clear she's thinking about how it's going to feel to play a character in one of her stories.' Tickets are still available the Magpie Games Showcase at Gen Con 2025 at 4 pm Eastern on July 31st, 2025 for fans who want to find out first hand which Naomi Novik world will be turned into a role playing game. In 2026, a quickstart will be published to get players excited for a crowdfunding campaign next year to bring the game to life. Magpie Games hopes to bring the full line including supplements, dice, and other accessories to Gen Con 2027.
Geek Girl Authority
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
How Game Nights Became the New Group Therapy for Nerds
With so many distractions from phones and screens these days, people are looking for ways to actually connect with others. Game nights that involve tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, storytelling games, or cooperative board games aren't just about rolling dice or winning points anymore. For many in geek and gaming circles, these gatherings have become a way to hang out, share stories, and even unwind emotionally. Why Structure Matters Unlike casual get-togethers, game nights offer something uniquely grounding: structure. That structure— like a rulebook, a mission, or a character sheet—creates a shared context. It gives everyone at the table a reason to be present, participate, and contribute. In a group setting, this form of structured interaction lowers social barriers. It provides introverts a defined role, extroverts a safe spotlight, and everyone else a reliable rhythm for interaction. This kind of order and predictability can be oddly comforting—much like how some people find routine in everyday habits such as checking the morning weather, scrolling through news headlines, or even taking a moment to check out Keno results online. These small rituals give a sense of control and anticipation, similar to the way structured game nights build shared expectations and engagement among players. Emotional Skills in Play When players assume the roles of characters—complete with backstories, goals, fears, and flaws—they begin to exercise emotional muscles that aren't always used in everyday life. They make decisions based on empathy, develop conflict resolution skills, and explore emotional depth through their characters' arcs. For example, when a player role-plays a character going through grief or making peace with a rival, they may process their own feelings in a safe, fictional context. Game masters often create scenarios that push emotional buttons—intentionally or not—and players react in ways that feel real. This improvisational storytelling builds emotional awareness and promotes a nuanced understanding of others. Healing Game Nights TTRPGs and cooperative board games are increasingly used in both casual and community-building settings. While not therapy in the clinical sense, many participants describe game nights as cathartic, affirming, and restorative. They offer a break from daily responsibilities and an invitation to experience joy, challenge, failure, and success in a welcoming environment. This change has been especially noticeable in geek communities, where shared interests and emotional safety often go hand in hand. Actual-play podcasts and livestreams have helped normalize vulnerability, creativity, and emotional expression at the gaming table. What Your Group Says About You Group chemistry at the table often mirrors real-life, sometimes more closely than expected. Is there a natural leader who takes charge during every mission? A quiet observer who comes through in clutch moments? The class clown who keeps things light? These roles can reflect how friends interact outside the game—and sometimes challenge them to grow. A hesitant speaker might find their voice in-character, while a dominant personality might learn to step back and listen. The game world becomes a space where social roles can be explored, tested, and even rebalanced. The Real Power of Play What starts as a night of fun often becomes something more: a shared ritual. At their best, game nights offer more than entertainment—they create a dependable time and space where players can show up, contribute, and connect. Book Review: STAR TREK ADVENUTRES 2E TECHNICAL MANUAL
