While ECAV’s bread ‘n’ butter is all about soaking in the effervescent glow of the television screen, basking in the splendor of the goopfests of Joe D’Amato, the eroto-vampire flicks of Jean Rollin and the twisty and beautiful films of Dario Argento, we also have other interests here. We read, folks! We like to chill to the occasional tune, and we can definitely game with the best of them. So here we go with some additional recommendations of the non-movie variety!

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BOOKS FOR READIN’!

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MUSIC FOR GROOVIN’!

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GAMES FOR PLAYIN’!

**This entire section was written by our illustrious former editor and resident tabletop fiend Scott MacDonald.

It’s once again the holiday season and the staff at EuroCultAV is putting our collective heads together to come up with the best and most fun stuff to give your friends, family, or…. yourself during this holiday season. The last year I’ve played a lot of tabletop games from RPG’s to miniature war games as well as board and card games. I’ve put together a decent size list of some of my newer favorites, as well as a few older titles that readers might find pleasing.

Dungeons and Dragons – 2024 Player’s Guide and Dungeon Master Guide (Wizards of the Coast)

            Let’s start with the elephant in the tabletop RPG-room, Wizards of the Coast has issued new D&D Core Books. In September the 2024 the Player’s Handbook hit and just in the last few weeks the Dungeon Master Guide dropped. I’d like to say that this is akin to 3.5 to 3.0, but it doesn’t feel just like that. It feels like WOTC has listened to fans likes and dislikes about the current core books, and implemented some quality of life fixes. The Dungeon Master guide right now is better organized, and more useful than the 2014 edition. As far as changes, races are now species (which is much better, imo), they’ve included things like Weapon Mastery, and the Bastion system which allows player’s to have their own personal homestead. Reading both books, I couldn’t help, but think as well as fixing editorial concerns into the fixes, they also started implementing elements from BECMI as almost a nod to the sudden spike in OSR play. Both books are great, and they are compatible with the 2014 edition modules.

Shadowdark – Core Book/Cursed Scroll ‘Zine 1-3 (The Arcane Library)

… And speaking OSR play we have Shadowdark. Which has one a good number of awards this year for it’s concise and imaginative version of OSR play. Designed by game designer Kelsey Dionne, and published by the Arcane Library, takes the BX D&D concepts, mixes them with modern play elements from 5E, and gives it darker, gothic sheen. The rules are simple and straight-forward and players could have a party of PC’s ready to hit the table within 10 minutes.

             The book itself doesn’t include a lot of classes for players, in keeping with its OSR roots, to help players who want more options can get those in the series of Cursed Scroll ‘Zines, which include new rules and new options for both GM’s and players. All 3 of these (soon to be 6 if the upcoming Kickstarter is a success), include both a hexcrawl, and an adventure as well. I haven’t GM’d a Shadowdark game, but I’ve played in one, and it was extremely intuitive to myself as a player, and the rules (especially the torch rules) created a really fun, intense experience.

Dragonbane – Core Book/Bestiary/Path of Glory

            Dragonbane is a 2022 fantasy game system released by the always reliably good Free League Publishing. The system is the latest iteration of the Swedish RPG Drakar och Demoner (Demons and Dragons).  The system for Dragonbane is taken from Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying system, which is both skill-based and a roll under system. This usually is implemented using D100 Percentile based, but in both Dragonbane and Pendragon (See below), it is a D20 based roll under system.

            Dragonbane first hit the English market in 2022 with a starter set that includes a good amount of the rules, plus character sheets, and an excellent starter adventure. This was followed up in 2023 with a complete rule book, and bestiary showing off the fantastic and imaginative creatures of this world. Earlier this year the Dragonbane line was added to with a complete long-form campaign Path of Glory, which is a redux of a 1985 3-part campaign updated and cleaned up for the latest edition. Having read it, it seems like an excellent scenario for GM’s ready to jump full-on into the world of Dragonbane.

Vaesen – Core Rulebook/Lost Mountain Saga (Free League)

Want a horror RPG, but tired of all the Lovecraftian horror options out there? Vaesen might be for you. This game sees players as a member of a European secret society that solve mysteries involving fantastic and bizarre creatures throughtout Europe. The game implements Free League’s in-house Year Zero Engine which is a simple, but elegant system that utilizes D6 dice pools, where players fish for sixes to pass various skill tests. The artwork for Vaesen is extremely evocative, and the investigative style of play will not be unfamiliar to those that have cut their teeth on those aforementioned Lovecraftian RPG systems.

            One thing about me personally is that when I dive into a system, I want to make sure it has a decent amount of material to run since I rarely write my own stuff, and Vaesen has one longform campaign the Lost Moutain Saga. This is a campaign written across 5 long chapters, that should take place across the span of an in-game year. The PC’s are tasked with finding a mythical stone, and this follows their adventures to retrieve it. There are optional timing rules included with countdown to various events in each scenario. This creates a tense atmosphere, and also makes the world feel more lived in, and play with such is definitely recommended.

Call of Cthulhu – Arkham/Cthulhu by Gaslight

Call of Cthulhu’s new Arkham sourcebook may be my favorite tabletop RPG book this year. It is the first in the series of re implementations of the Lovecraft Country line of books that Chaosium put out in past decades, and if this is any indication of the series will go, I am on board for all of them.  The book opens with a history of the famed Lovecraftian City, before going location by location in various neighborhoods of the city bringing Arkham to life in a way yet unseen, and giving Keepers of Arcane Lore a lot of seeds to run Arkham-based campaigns.

Cthulhu by Gaslight – Investigator’s Guide

            This is a book I have waited for since I got back into Call of Cthulhu in 2017.  Call of Cthulhu is known for its 1920’s Lovecraft-lifetime setting, but it’s a diverse system that can be played in modern times, the dark ages, and beyond. However, one of my favorite settings is the Gaslight era (late 1800’s), which puts the Cthulhu Mythos in the same time as Jack the Ripper. Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigator’s Guide is basically the 7E based rules for running the game including character creation, skill use, setting background, combat and more. This is the first of what I believe will be 3 books include a Keeper’s Guide and a longform campaign in the setting. This is an absolutely fantastic book, and I cannot wait to get this fully implemented at my table (I guess I should say Discord).

Runequest – Lands of Runequest : Dragon Pass/Cults of Runequest – the Lunar Way

Runequest is Chaosium’s epic bronze-age RPG system. It is most well-known for being set in the extremely detailed and fantastic world of Glorantha. The setting was created by Greg Stafford in the late 60’s and started taking appearances in games starting in the mid-70’s with the board game “White Bear and Red Moon” before becoming the defacto setting in the Runequest game system when it came to life in the late 1970’s.  The last year or two has seen a BOON of new Runequest content most notably the “Cults of Runequest” series, which shines a light on the gods and mythology of the setting. The latest book hit over the summer and tackles the notorious villains of the setting the Lunar. This gives their history and details their gods and magic system.

Lands of Runequest : Dragon Pass is doing for lands what the prior book did for cults. This is basically a breakdown of Dragon Pass, which in many ways could be considered the default location in Glorantha for the game. It features a history of the Dragon Pass itself, followed by a breakdown of various sections of Dragon Pass (Sartar, the Grazelands), gives a small bestiary for the region, and some really neat stuff like maps of Dragon Pass by era.

Pendragon – Core Rulebook/The Grey Knight

Greg Stafford is considered one of the greatest game designers of all-time (Rightfully so), and Pendragon of all the great gaming works he wrote during his lifetime, Pendragon could very well be considered his magnum opus.  The game is centered around the Arthurian legends, where players will play Knights that are adjacent to the round  table. The new Core Rulebook is the latest implementation of the rules, and may be the best version yet. It keeps certain old school elements much like the latest Runequest edition has, while also looking toward a more modern design aesthetic. The Core Rulebook is kind of a blend of Player’s Guide and GM’s book, though a full GM’s guide is forthcoming. This implements the BRP system as a D20 roll under system and like most Chaosium games is pretty straight-forward in usage.

Pendragon is most well-known for it’s “Great Pendragon Campaign” which follows the PC’s and their descendents through the time of Uther Pendragon, the Dark Ages, the Time of Arthur and slightly beyond. That is being worked on right now as allegedly a 6 volume version that will create the ultimate experience of that game, in the mean-time Chaosium has dropped “The Grey Knight” a redux of a 1980’s Pendragon campaign originally written by Larry DiTillo, it’s an 86 page campaign, and is a pretty great starter adventure into the world of Pendragon. The true adventure begins during an Easter festival in 517, when  the Grey Knight challenges Arthur’s reign and demands a trial by combat later that same year. The PC’s most find a needed artifact to assist in winning that trial.  This campaign is short and straight-forward, and should give players and GM’s a few months of material to run on depending on their session length.

Achtung Cthulhu – Starter Set (Modiphius)

    The Cthulhu Mythos has seen many iterations in both tabletop and video game form over the last 50 years one of the more recent versions is Modiphius – Achtung Cthulhu, which takes place during the years of World War II, and sees PC’s as secret agents and soldiers fighting an underground secondary war against the Mythos (and in turn Hitler). Achtung Cthulhu started out in the early 2010’s as a game that was available to use for both BRP and Savage World’s. In recent years Modiphius has brought the system fully in-house using their 2D20 system. Though they’ve been doing this for a while, they have finally brought forth a starter set for players new to the system. It includes maps, character sheets, rules, background, and a very fun 3 part campaign.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4E – Tribes and Tribulations/Dwarf Player’s Guide (Cubicle 7)

            Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4E has gotten a lot of support from  Cubicle 7 over the years since it released to the world. It has gotten an excellent starter set, city guides, and an epic and majestic redux of the famed “Enemy Within” campaign. The latter part of 2024 sees 2 new books (though so far only a PDF of the latter) that gives more depth to the Old World. The first is Tribes and Tribulations, which goes into the history of “Greenskins” (Orcs, Goblins, etc) and into detail about the various tribes that make up their species throughout the Old World.  The second book is the Dwarf Player’s Guide which will be the first of 2 books detailing Dwarven play within WFRP 4E. The book includes a history of Dwarf’s in the setting, new careers, naming-conventions, and so much more.

Traveller – Wrath of the Ancients/Traveller Companion 2024 (Mongoose Publishing)

            If there is one thing about my gaming preferences it is I like to run epic-length campaigns. If I’m going to get my players playing a new system with all that entails, I want to make sure we get the most out of it. Mongoose Publishing with their 2^nd implementation of Traveller, has seen that GM’s like myself get what we really want first with the AMAZING and truly epic “Pirates of Drinax” campaign, and then with it’s redux of Secret of The Ancients. Secret of the Ancients (aside from some railroad esque elements) is almost a perfect to start new Traveller’s with, it takes place in the Spinward Marches, which can easily be integrated with some of Mongoose’s starter adventures for the setting. Secrets… is both long and epic, and feels complete itself, however earlier this year they started adding to it. The first with a prequel Mysteries of the Ancients, which fills in some background elements to the Secrets… campaign and finally now with Wrath of the Ancients a conclusion to the whole arc. Wrath… reads reasonably well as a campaign, but theoretically I could see it working better as a sequel to Mysteries (they both have the same author) than as the third part of secrets. Still it’s a fun read, and might make an excellent time at the table, however, you end up using it.

            The other late 2024 Traveller release is the Traveller Companion 2024. Traveller is known as a pretty crunchy game with mini-games and subsections that can be bolted on to your game to make succinct changes that will tailor the play experience to your style. Rules variations include things like putting back in death during character creation (which the game was notorious for in the 80’s), wound locations, and just so much material to make one’s perfect Traveller experience.

Paranoia – All New Shiny Edition Core Rulebook/Citizens in Name Only (Mongoose Publishing)

            Paranoia is known as the ultimate one-shot sci-fi RPG. It was a game that wore it’s 1984/Brave New World-esque influences on it’s sleeve, and then shoved it all into a satiric blender. Mongoose Publishing has held on to the Paranoia license for what seems like decades. The latest edition of Paranoia prior to this one was considered controversial for it’s use of cards in play among other things. This edition removes the use of cards, and tightens up some issues with the prior edition creating a fun experience for players new and veteran. It is still using the same D6 Dice Pool system from recent editions which keeps the play stream-lined. Citizens in Name Only is a short module for the new edition. This is a bizarre short mission that takes 2 factions of Troubleshooters who are working against each other in Alpha Complex, only the players are using both teams and fighting against one another. This is a real fun mission, and is a great introduction to thie new edition.

Cyberpunk Red – Edgerunners Mission Kit/Tales of the Red – Hope Reborn (R. Talsorian Games)

            When I started playing tabletop RPG’s over 30 years ago, Cyberpunk (the game) was a little known game, that played as one of the edgiest games in an era of edgy games. It definitely had it’s audience, which has continued playing it over the decades going from the famed “Cyberpunk 2020” (basically the 2^nd edition) to the new edition Cyberpunk Red . However, in the last few years 2 things have happened CD Projekt Red the video game company behind the Witcher series put out Cyberpunk 2077, a sandbox style video game set in Mike Pondsmith’s Night City, and an anime by Studio Trigger called “Cyberpunk Edgerunners” which was set in the 2077 era. This box is basically a starter set for the 2077 era. The rules between it and Cyberpunk 2077 are largely the same using the latest version of Pondsmith’s famed interlock system (roll a d10 and add your stat and skill to the result, compare it to the Difficulty Value), but adds things from the anime and game including updated technology that advances the 30 year gap in the setting, and includes things like “Quick Hacks” from the 2077 game. It includes a background booklet on Night City including it’s history, and the current feel of the city, character sheets, rules, and a short campaign called “The Jacket”.

The other Cyberpunk book to come out recently is Tales of the Red – Hope Reborn. This is a  six chapter campaign set around the famed bar “The Forlorn Hope”. It is a diverse campaign that is completely interconnected, but works with a different variety of play styles each chapter having a slightly different tone. I just wrapped a year-long Cyberpunk Red campaign using the Tales of the Red – Street Stories book as the basis for the adventure, but those stories were mostly distinct and separate from one another. This new one (which I will definitely be using) is one continued story, and is great for GM’s like me who want a true longform experience.

Shadow Scar – Starter Set

            Shadow Scar is the newest and first fully original game from designer Cody Pondsmith. This is an anime and video game inspired game that takes it’s influence from both the world of secret agents and ninja to create a delightfully frantic and stream-lined gaming experience. Rather than using R. Talsorian’s Interlock System, this game has a newly created “Mosaic” system which uses d6 dice pools, with successes on 3+ and 6’s counting as 2 successes. The box contains enough rules to get off the ground, and a nicely designed campaign module which would be used as a sequel to the quick start rules. This is a thick-heavy box, with great artwork throughout, and promises a fun time.

Arcs (Leder Games)

            I have been a fan of Leder Games work since I sat down to play Root a few years ago, and have been addicted since. They have since put out games as massive and fun as Oath, and Ahoy, but what we have this year might be Leder Games masterpiece, Arcs. Arcs could be considered a 4X game in the same vein as Twilight Imperium or Eclipse, with a subtle sense of humor that give me vibes of Cosmic Encounter. In this game you are collecting resources, and taxes, getting into intense combat, and conquering sections of space in order to achieve your ultimate goals. It also uniquely blends in trick-taking elements creating a unique experience from other similar games. The game includes enough to get player’s up and running, but there is an small box expansion Leaders and Lores, which give players distinct rules and powers that seem like a necessary and fun addition once players get the base game down.

Wyrmspan (Stonemaier Games)

Wingspan the Elizabeth Hargrave designed game published by Stonemaier Games has been a certifiable smash-hit since it’s release a few years back. The game has sold over a million copies, and can actually be found in stores like Walmart or Target. Wyrmspan, a new 2024 release from Stonemaier applies the Wingspan concept, but applies it to Dragons. In this game you are trying to get dragons to stay in your caves, to do this you have to excavate the land, and entice them to say. Exploring is a similar mechanic to activating powers in Wingspan. While from a surface perspective, you might feel inclined to suggest that this is a reskin of Wingspan, but this is a game that ups the complexity of the experience, while still staying in the realm of casual game play, and offers new experiences not offered in the original.

Cities (Devir Games)

    Cities is the latest game by acclaimed desingers Phil Walker-Harding and Steve Finn. Cities is a worker placement game that takes place over 8 rounds as players try to revitalize a neighborhood in a city to do this they assign workers including placing tiles, and adding stuff to existing tiles like parks. The rules here are simple, but feature a lot of depth, the art is cute, and the 3D buildings really add some fun decorative fun to the experience.

Cockroach Poker/Cheating Moths (Devir Games)

Cockroach Poker is a minor casual gaming classic at this point. This time of year as we run into the holidays I can’t help but look for casual experiences to play with family over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Cockroach Poker is one that sees a good bit of play. The game is simple you have a deck of cards with 8 suits represented by gross, but amusing bug types. You pass a card face down, and either have to say what it is or lie about it. If they’re right you get the card, and begin your path to losing, otherwise they join in, and more cards are added until 1 player gets 4 cards in front of them and becomes the sole loser. Cheating Moths is a similar design aesthetic with a different type of casual game, where you are trying to get a better card then the current one on the table. To do this you can play, draw, or cheat depending on the situation. The game is fun, because it encourages cheating in a world where that isn’t considered a way to do things, but does it in a fun, amusing, and strategic way.

Compile (Greater Than Games)

Speaking of great small box games, Greater than Games Compile might be the greatest small box game to come out this year. The game is high-tech and has a metallic sheen to its design and apperance, which immediately attracted me to the game. It is a 2 player competitive game as both players take an 18 card deck that features 3 individual protocols, and try to lay down cards that will eventually equal or exceed 10, The cards have distinct powers that break the game in distinct ways, and play at different times depending on their order on the card. The first player to compile all 3 of their protocols wins. This game reminded me of a more technical version of Lost Cities, since I love that game, and I love tech, this was an easy sell and easy to recommend.

Skyrise (Roxley Games)

2 city builders on one list, what am I THINKING? Well, I think both games are ridiculous amounts of fun, and offer a different enough experience to suggest both. Skyrise is also a simple to understand games, but this one is about area control and auctioning as players take a series of terrain boards equal to the number of players and go about controlling their piece of an island in the sky (I was thinking of Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky everytime I looked to play  this, not the same aesthetic mind you, but the thought was there). The goal of the game is to build the most sites, while accomplishing objectives. Players do this by playing cards, and competing for land in auctions using 3 dimensional building pieces. The game is simple, but with tons of depth, and is honestly is so visually stunning, I could basically just recommend it based on that.

Ironwood (Mindclash Games)

            …And speaking of games that remind me of Hayao Miyazaki films, we have the latest game from Mindclash, Ironwood. Ironwood is a 2 player wargame that sees players get into a conflict between the nature based forest-dwelling Woodwalkers, and the industrial Ironclad. This is a premium game from Mindclash so you get actual wood and metal pieces representating each faction, and giving the game an imaginative sheen that definitely reminded me of Princess Mononoke. This game is one of the deeper 2 player exclusive experiences I have ever gotten to my table, and I appreciate all the work that went into creating something so thoughtful, intense, and fun for smaller play counts.

Anachrony – Essential Edition (Mindclash Games)

            Mindclash Games are pretty notorious for creating heavy and intelligent games that have wonderfully imaginative themes. After getting my hands on Ironwood, I couldn’t help but think of my favorite game of theirs that I have played Anachrony. This game is an up to 4 player experience that still works at lower player counts. Players in Anachrony are in the setting of 26^th century post-apocalyptic Earth. There is a 2^nd apocalypse event coming, and each faction in the game is trying to stop it. The game is a heavy as hell worker placement game that sees players trying to accomplish goals with workers and sometimes having to put said workers into exosuits to accomplish harder taskes. Beyond that the game has a time travel mechanic that helps player make use of their very limited time to complete their objectives. This game is heavy, but super fun, and so very easy to recommend.