PenAndPaper.Quest

Tag: rpg

Free RPG Day 2026

This past weekend was one of the few events that I look forward to all year. On Saturday, June 27th, Free RPG Day took place at Local Gaming Stores (LGS’s) across the world (except for some locales who had delays in shipments, sorry ya’ll!).

Free RPG Day (FRPGD) is a great reason to visit local game shops and support small businesses (as most LGS’s are). Game publishers of all sizes partner with the organization behind FRPGD to send ruleset quick starts, adventures, game samples, and all sorts of goodies to stores. The goal? Get more people into their LGS, foster a community of like-minded individuals who love tabletop gaming, and get some more games out there for people to try!

This was exactly the kick I needed to visit an LGS that I haven’t been to in quite some time, since it’s now a 40+ minute drive away. I’m glad I made it out, because I had a great time browsing the large offering of board games, TTRPG’s, dice, comics, miniatures and more. I got to read through some of the, new-to-me, Dungeons & Kittens RPG core rulebook, check out physical copies of Dead Letter Society, Librarians Apprentice, Eleventh Beast, and more. Honestly, they had a much larger selection of solo-focused RPG’s than I would have thought!

As is tradition for any in person event, I arrived a little early, and joined the group waiting out front in anticipation. It was nice just listening to some of the conversation going on, with different GM’s discussing their groups antics and various adventures they’ve run through for their parties. Just being around people who share the same hobby can help you feel engaged and more “into” whatever it is – this is the same experience as a pen show for stationery nerds. I took the time waiting to spin up a Cairn 2e character, a cutpurse named Silas, whom I now need to find a suitable engagement for.

The store had their FRPGD goods well organized, and the process was simple. There were some goodies available for anyone who came in, but if you made a purchase in the shop, you could also take with you 3 of the new FRPGD booklets and 1 of the more “premium” items. This includes items such as a Dispel d20, some FRPGD pencils that doubled as a d6 roller, a sampler pack for the Story Engine Lore Masters Deck (a card system to help you generate all sorts of ideas) and some unpainted miniatures. They also threw in some options from their shop, including some full dice sets amongst other items, which was a nice touch considering the highly sought after items go pretty quickly.

I picked up copies of Miru I and Miru II, which I haven’t seen physical copies of and the last time I had looked for them they were sold out everywhere (quite some time ago now). Miru is a solo-focused hexcrawl adventure, in a solarpunk world, where your protagonists goal is to hunt down and kill the God responsible for their brothers death. There’s actually 3 chapters to Miru now, and I’ll have to see about getting the 3rd once I get a chance to run through 1 and 2. Check out the digital versions of all three on Hinokodo’s Itch.IO page.

I picked up a few small additions, including this awesome expansion to Adorablins, which I wrote about previously. I didn’t even know there were expansions to this little mint tin game, but I really enjoy the packaging to it. It’s a great use of the interior flaps of the simple cardboard container to house random tables, and the very inside flaps fold out to a miniature map and locations! Little did I know, this expansion was already part of my tin can version of the game. But it’s OK, I was happy to get this as a reminder to go back and play this game again with my kids (who, like me, are easily distracted when there’s “new shiny things” all the time).

I was early in the line to get inside and when I got to the register to make my purchase, I took a moment to look over my selection options for the “premium” item choice. After giving the options a look-over, I decided on what looked like one of two remaining Dispel d20’s. Right as I was asking to for it, another gentleman at the register said the same thing (it was a classic jinx moment). Turns out, it was actually the last one, and a tricky box placement that made it look like two. So how did we resolve this conflict? Why, a friendly game of ro-sham-bo of course! We stood in front of one another, eyes locked, the rest of the store watching and counted down, “Ro-Sham-Bo“… as my paper covered his rock, I thanked him for a friendly game and got to take home the last Dispel die. The whole interaction was very friendly and good spirited, which was pleasant to see considering some people can get very touchy about limited items.

After that exhilaration, I flipped through several of the FRPGD booklets and chose to take the Pirate Borg Terror in Tortuga quickstart + adventure, the last Root quickstart that I didn’t have from prior years, and the Dungeons & Kittens quickstart + adventure that I thought would be another great game to try with my kids.

Of course, this post is a few days past FRPGD. Since then, I took a jaunt down to another game shop near my office to check out if they had any leftover goodies they were still looking to get rid of. They did, and I picked up a copy of the CBR+PNK pamphlet Kaguya, as well as a copy of the new Level 1 Anthology, a selection of Indie RPG’s with a central theme (this years being Stand Up!).

Overall, I had a great time getting out to a game shop, having a pleasant discussion with one of the staff members about the event, a few RPG systems, and some of the dice selection they had, and getting to play rock paper scissors without one of my kids forcing me to lose.

Have you been out to any local game shops lately? Perhaps attending a Free RPG Day event? If not, find something close by and maybe you’ll find a system or inspiration for your next Pen & Paper Quest!

June 30, 2026
Creative Rut

I have been absent updates for longer than intended. I knew going into this that it wouldn’t be an easy task for me, due to a very busy schedule and “real world” priorities. That said, I do want to try and find more time to post here. What complicates that further? Being in a creative rut.

The end of year / beginning of the year is always a higher stress time for me. With work projects that suddenly have looming “EOY” deadlines, the onset of the dreaded performance review season (which at my work, takes about a month and makes most other things come to a crawl with how involved it is), the it’ll-be-here-before-you-know-it tax season, and the minutiae of day to day life. There’s always a lot going on, and for someone like me, who’s day-to-day workload involves exactly zero creativity, it always pushes me into a creative rut. Fun projects and hobbies get put on the back-burner, and some inevitably sputter out due to other priorities or the fact that I can’t seem to get back into them for months. It has been no different this year, except for even more job-related stress due to uncertainties around employment changes at my office.

It’s a real shame, too! For several years, February has been a highlight month for TTRPG’s, with (and I admit, there’s too many of these to really keep track now) ZineMo, Zine Month, Zine Quest, Zinetopia, and more. It’s essentially a massive crowdfunding period for all sorts of TTRPG tools, titles and supplements. On one hand, great opportunity for folks who have worked hard to get their dreams out there, and communities to help them turn those ideas into physical and/or digital products. On the other hand, great opportunity for big corporations to capitalize on all that hard work (if you didn’t know, every crowdfunding platform takes a cut of your earnings, on top of payment processor fees, cost of ads you run, and any other platforms you may leverage).

I haven’t been nearly as active in crowdfunding this year as I have in years past – which, honestly, is a great thing for my wallet, but I have backed a few things which I’ll briefly touch on below. Note, some of these are either already finished crowdfunding or are nearing the end of their campaigns. I am in no way affiliated with any of these projects, these are simply things I decided to spend my own money on. Also, crowdfunding is not a guarantee – it’s a community believing in something, or wanting to see an idea brought into reality – remember this going into it, and be sure whatever you put into a campaign is something you’re ready to write off as soon as you click the button.

Space Aces: Wreck Runners

The original Space Aces was a rules lite, Sci-Fi RPG that fit on a business card and used a d20+d6 mechanic. It’s super simple, but has all that you need to run some quick space missions, including simple stats and a mission generator that gets you going with the main objective, location, opposition and a snag to add twists to your game. I really like the Stakes as well, which ask you simple questions about what you’re rolling for – and if there’s nothing risky, uncertain or dangerous, why roll at all? This version of the game is PWYW (Pay What You Want), and even comes with a bunch of additional modules that add more options to a great little game.

Space Aces: TNG is a revised and expanded version of Space Aces that combines all the modules into a single zine, and has a ton of tables, oracles, generators, and lots of great art. Check out the creators Itch.IO page for even more Space Aces content!

Space Aces: Wreck Runners is the latest crowdfunding campaign in the series, with a premise of live-streamed exploration of derelict ships in space (i.e.: Wreck Running). There are geomorph tiles to quickly build a starship, with rules to explore it while being live-streamed, to gain loot and glory, and some new mechanics that I’m interested in learning more about once it releases. It promises some wacky, chaotic adventures that I might even be able to convince my kids to play, with the added physical component to build a ship.

These were all made by Stephen D. of T-Rex games.

Space Aces: Wreck Runners

GLIDE: Part Two

GLIDE, from Sasquatch Games (who also made Zones, a fun STALKER inspired RPG), is another Sci-Fi game, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune. It focuses on exploration of a desert planet, where you play a nomad who hopes to help restore the planet back to its original resplendence. I’m a big fan of the simple, effective art pieces throughout the zine, that add to the atmosphere the game sets up. There are a lot of additional expansions for the original game on the Sasquatch Games Itch.IO page as well, such as Relic Hunting and Bounty Hunting.

GLIDE: Part Two is an expansion of the world of Eridoor (where the original game is set), but doesn’t require the original game to play. It promises to add more tools to build emergent stories, a hex travel system, and deeper character generation. It’s a d10+d6 system, and while I’ve skimmed through the preview of the new rules (which seem pretty complete in all honesty!), I haven’t read through them entirely nor have I sat down to actually play. Overall, it looks like it will turn out to be a fantastic product, with even more great artwork!

GLIDE: Part Two

SPACECAT Sci-Fi Adventure RPG

This looked like an interesting game + comic combo when I stumbled across it. It reminded me of Mausritter (another anthropomorphic animal game that has a vast amount of content out there) and No Mans Sky (the video game) when I first saw it. After reading the 2 sentence blurb at the top of the campaign, I figured I would have to back it.

A scifi adventure game inspired by Cairn, Into the Odd, and Mausritter. Discover bizarre worlds, fantastical alien creatures, ancient spacecraft, space pirates, and the depths of the unknown.

The premise is nothing new, you’re a spacefaring animal (OK, maybe that part isn’t too common) who is in major debt and you generate your stories/quests to determine how you’ll pay that debt off (or will you?). It’s a 3-stat system (Strength, Dexterity, Hope), and I’m interested in seeing what sort of tools it incorporates to keep the world expanding and your adventure continuing.

Depending on the tier you back, it also includes a comic, which looks like it’s based on a long-running webcomic from the creator. I have only looked at the first page posted on Substack, as I want to see the full comic when I receive it post-campaign, but I already enjoy the art style and I’m a sucker for space stories, so I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

SPACECAT

There are a lot of great looking projects out there, and most, if not all, of the ones that have been funding this month will be available at least digitally (which is great considering the shipping costs of some of the projects, and ongoing concerns around tariffs and imports/exports). A lot of creators have Itch.IO pages, or their own web shops, for you to go explore as well!

Hopefully everyone else is have more creative inspiration than I have been, and if you haven’t checked out any new games lately, go see what else is out there for your next Pen and Paper Quest!

P.S.: If you ever back a crowdfunded campaign that doesn’t fulfill, remember there are real people behind those projects. It’s frustrating, sure, but be kind. Those people are probably also disappointed and going through their own challenges. I’ve backed my fair share of projects, and I can count on two hands the number of campaigns that never fulfilled, and on one hand the number that ended up being actual scams. It’s a small number in the grand scheme of things and not worth the wasted energy.

February 25, 2026
Korg – Simple, Solo, Dungeon Crawling

If you recall from my last post, one of the items in my EDC RPG kit is a credit-card sized game called “Korg”. This is a quick, easy, dungeon crawling game in a portable format that allows you to play a quick RPG on the go. Originally Kickstarted by Caleb Engelke (also known as Dungeon Havoc) back in December of 2022, the campaign raised over $17,000 dollars (!) for the first iteration of Korg.

The primary goal of the game is to collect a set amount of “GP” (gold pieces), by defeating monsters in a dungeon. Once you reach that goal, you get to retire! The gameplay loop is also simple, making it easy to pickup and play wherever you are. You just roll a d6 (6-sided die), the number corresponds to what you encounter in the dungeon, then roll over that foes target number. If you win you get GP, if you lose you take damage. Lose all your health, and you have to start over. There are additional cards with a Shop, which lets you buy your choice of several items to help heal you, reduce damage you take, and more.

The simplicity of the game also lends to its ability to be expanded on. If you wanted to create an in depth character with a complete backstory, and place the dungeon in a world you start building, you can do that! Maybe you want to add a few new rules, while keeping the same core loop, that’s also possible!

Korg did well enough that Caleb eventually created a new crowdfunding campaign to fund Korg Slayer, new expansion cards to add additional locations and foes to fight, in the world of Korg. These include the Putrid Bog, Dragon’s Lair, and Tyrant’s Keep – and of course, new shop items to help you along the way as well.

Since then, there have been other additions to the Korg lineup as well, with CY//Korg, Scars of Silvos, and Classic Korg v.1 (a remastering of this original Korg, with some new locations and quests). I still enjoy my copy of the original Korg and Slayer expansions, because none of the new ones have been printed in a durable format like these ones (though that didn’t stop me from backing all the other campaigns…).

My main draw to this game, when I first saw it, was the format. A durable, portable game that could be played whenever I had downtime, and would last longer than something I print out myself. I pair it with a small dice spinner (effectively a ball bearing with a bunch of number rings to indicate different die types – d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20), which is usually with me all the time anyway, and it makes it pretty easy to pull out and play a few quick rounds.

This is also a game that I can take out and play with my kids. It’s actually a great introduction to RPG’s, but it’s also a great reinforcement for my sons math classes, where he’s learning addition and subtraction. He also has to learn about making choices – when to spend that hard earned GP on a potion to heal (or risk death on the next dungeon roll), or even some upgrades like armor, to absorb some of the damage he might take. We can also come up with stories about the encounters we roll, change the monsters (a Skeleton might become a Goblin or a Wolf), and try to figure out why we’re trying to collect all that gold in the first place!

So if you need a simple game to take with you on the go, or want to find something that you can teach to younger children, take a look at the Korg games for your next Pen & Paper Quest!

P.S.: I am unaffiliated with any of the platforms or folks mentioned in this post, I’m just sharing them so that others can find out more about them.

While I don’t think you can get this copy of the original Korg any longer, Korg Classic v.1 is the same content (and more!), just printed as standard playing cards (definitely sleeve them!). You can find them on the Dungeon Havoc Ko-Fi page.

November 22, 2025
Stationery & RPG EDC
What do you do when you’re out and about, and have a sudden desire to play a game? Or maybe you just find yourself with 10 minutes before your next meeting or before you have to run your next errand.

Sure, it’s easy to pull out a phone (something I am still guilty of), but I stare at enough screens all day that I feel like I need a break most of the time. So, I started carrying around a handful of different things that could get me into an analogue mood.

While the items within my kit may change, or rotate in and out, generally speaking it’s still the same. Sometimes it will have a fountain pen, other times it may have an extra “pocket game”, or if I’m really into a particular ruleset, it may cater to that particular game I’m playing. Now let’s dive into the details!

Nock Co Hightower case in coffee brown

Nock Co Hightower case interior in amethyst purple

My kit is contained within a Nock Co Hightower case in Coffee and Amethyst. Sadly, this is a product no longer available (RIP Nock Co), and I only managed to get this one through sheer luck many years ago. It has a 3-slot pen case on the left, with a flap to cover them, and a single pocket on the right.

Three pen pockets, easily fits 6 narrow pens.

If you use narrower pens, as I mostly do, you can usually double-pack the pen pockets and fit up to 6 writing instruments, or similar size and shaped items.

As it is today, I have the following items in the pen pockets:
- Staedtler 925, 0.5mm mechanical pencil in midnight blue, currently filled with standard Staedtler Mars Carbon HB lead
- Pentel Multi 8 (PH802), 2mm multi-coloured lead holder
- Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.5mm (LH-20C5-L), a blue gel ink pen with a needle-point tip
- Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.5mm (LH-20C5-R), same as above, but this one is red
- Sakura Pigma Micron 03 (0.35mm) fineliner
There are other options for mechanical pencils, but I find this is the one that always ends up staying in my EDC. I do worry about bending/breaking the lead sleeve, though, as I am by no means gentle with this kit, and it often gets thrown about in my jacket, stepped on, or even dropped.

The Pentel Multi 8 is hit-and-miss. I find the leads aren’t the best fit for me, and they’re just a bit too easy to break inside the holder. That said, this is a great utilitarian piece, as it can hold up to 8 different colors of lead. If you color code your writing in your games, want to add some color to your sketches, or have kids who may suddenly want to draw, it does come in handy.

I find the 0.5mm Hi-Tec-C is better to carry around than the narrower 0.3mm or 0.4mm, as this is also the pen I will use to sign things, or even give to my kids if they would like to draw or play a game. The smaller tips take a little more care to write well, though they do let you take more notes in a smaller space.

I’m a big fan of the Sakura Pigma Micron fineliners. You can use narrower pens for fine details or space-saving writing, and the larger line widths can help block borders or delineate text space in notes.

The, currently vacant, 6th space is usually either filled with a fountain pen, such as the ensso Bolt, or another size Sakura Pigma Micron fineliner. Can never have too many fineliner sizes in your kit!

Mini-zines!

Game and art cards.

Index cards fit perfectly inside the B7 notebook as well.

Ready to go hex map for on-the-go gaming.

The deeper pocket on the Hightower can fit more than just a notebook. Here’s the current inventory I have tucked away:
- Nakabayashi Logical Swing B7 notebook
- 7 index cards
- 6, 8-page mini-zine booklets
- Korg + all expansions, a solo, credit-card sized dungeon-crawling game by Dungeon Havoc that just requires a d6 (or a wooden pencil with 6 sides)
- Advance Quest: Among I, The Fungi, a short adventure game that needs a d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12
- Bookmark No HP RPG, and Dracula’s Get, a small “sourcebookmark” for the same system. A quick, simple system to get you gaming fast by Lester Smith, that requires a d4, d6, d8 and d10
- 4-5 various art trading cards, for inspiration and mood setting
- Random map printout with hex grid overlay
- A small Fresnel lens, not necessary for gaming, but comes in handy if you need a little zoom to read, or write, small text
I have a local Daiso store where I spend way too much money on stationery items. That includes these Nakabayashi Logical Swing notebooks. I quite like the Nakabayashi lineup of notebooks, including their Logical Prime series. They’re not always the most fountain pen friendly, but most of my EDC kit is exempt from that anyway. I wish I could find more of these B7 size, because they haven’t been stocked in quite some time, but it’s not like I don’t have a stash of them… This notebook can track your stories, take notes on your games, jot down quick lists, whatever you need them for really.

Index cards are great for keeping as a character sheet, taking notes, or handing to your kids to draw on. If only the Nock Co DotDash cards were still around, they were some of the best index cards available!

This probably deserves a post on its own, but I am obsessed with the 8-page mini-zine format. There’s a great page here (and I’ve seen several others out there as well), that explains how to fold a letter-size sheet of paper (with one simple cut) into this format. It’s perfect to keep in your pocket, you can keep notes on them, write down rules for your favorite RPG, create your own character sheets, and so much more! I almost always have one or two of these on me, and have had so many ideas for mini-zine content (I’ve never shared any though… maybe someday). In the image above, you can see one of these that I turned into a small character sheet for the Zones RPG, a system I’ve been trying to find time to play.

Korg, Advance Quest and Bookmark No HP RPG are all “pocket size” games that can be easily played while out and about, and require pretty minimal material to get going. You can keep notes on your game, or track your character(s), on a mini-zine or index card. There’s no wrong way to do it, and you only need to write things down if you want to. There are a lot of other, great, pocket games out there which could easily be switched out. Check out some of these Itch.IO pages dedicated to small, portable games. The Bookmark No HP RPG system has a bunch of additional material to cover different genre’s of games, and there are other Advance Quest games as well. Caleb, at Dungeon Havoc, has a bunch of other content for Korg, but I really like the original format which is easy to carry with me – I’ve given away several copies of this game to people, simply because it was easy for me to carry an extra Korg card with me.

I have cards from Darrell K Sweet and John Berkey in my EDC kit, but I have full (or nearly full) sets from a variety of other artists, including Borris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta, and Tim Hildebrandt. These are from the days when trading cards were really booming, and it wasn’t just for sports. Artist trading cards can give you inspiration for different settings, such as Borris and Berkey’s sci-fi scenes. If you want something to pull you out of the hustle and bustle of daily life, into a high fantasy or science fiction setting, find a couple cards that you really enjoy and carry them around. You can usually find them for under $1 apiece.

Quite some time ago I wanted a map to use for a game I was playing, and I ended up using Open Street Maps to pull up random locations till I found something I liked. Then I overlaid a simple hexagonal pattern to create a quick-and-dirty hex crawl map. I carry it with me all the time now, just in case I need a quick setting location.

But wait, you’re thinking how do you play those games without any dice!? They all require some form of polyhedral math rock, you even said so!

Dice spinners mean less worry about losing pockets full of dice.

Outside of my EDC case, I also usually have one of these on me. It’s a dice spinner, so you don’t have to carry a full bag of dice to play your favorite games (though don’t get me wrong, I’ve definitely done that too).

Each spinner has several concentric rings, and each corresponds to a different polyhedral die, from D4 up to D% (aka: rolling 2d10 or d100). You spin the “die” section, then use your finger as a brake to stop it. There’s an indicator to point where it “landed”, and that’s the number you “rolled”. Is it truly random? No, you could definitely work the system to get the numbers you wanted. But if what you want is to simply have fun? Then it doesn’t really matter anyway, you’re only cheating yourself!

A small, but mighty, case.

The Hightower case is deceptive in what it can hold. It seems like a simple 3-pen, 1-notebook case, but it can actually hold way more than that! It can wind up a little chonky, but mine usually lives in a jacket pocket where it doesn’t actually bother me. This is usually more prominent if I include other items, such as a Paper Apps game, which are also great little games to play on-the-go.

That’s the basics of my EDC kit, that’s usually with me whenever I’m out of the house. If I know I’m going somewhere where I might have more downtime, such as a day-trip, I’ll usually take something a bit bigger, that gives me more options and allows me to carry a full size book. Perhaps I’ll cover that in a future post!

Even if you don’t have your own EDC game kit, rather than pulling out a phone, just take a look around you. Take in the sights, sounds, and sensations of wherever you are. Maybe you’ll even find something that inspires a new storyline for your next Pen & Paper Quest.

P.S.: Don’t start a blog while moving!
October 19, 2025