One of the best resources for Blades in the Dark is Andrew Shields' Heist Deck. It's a print and play collection with obstacles, people, and treasures. When I ran Blades, the deck made it easy to elaborate on a target and generate new jobs for the crew to choose from. 

Since +1 Forward's recently looked at Scum & Villainy, the excellent sci-fi Forged in the Dark rpg, I thought I'd present pieces of a Heist Deck for that genre. This can also be used for other sci-fi games and for some cyberpunk rpgs like The Sprawl and The Veil. This is the first half of the obstacle list. I may work up "treasure" list, but a set of people may be harder as they need to be plugged into the specifics of the setting. 

Hearts of Wulin is now available on DriveThruRPG. We're working on the follow up volume, with stretch goal settings, contributor submissions, and other add-ons. We thought we'd give folks a look at part of one of those settings, a school game heavily influenced by the amazing anime Revolution Girl Utena. This has the alt rules and playbook materials for this campaign. You can also find an online character keeper for this playset here. 

As an added bonus: yes, you can play out a prom using this material. 

ACADEMY OF THE BLADE 
BY ALISON TAM
With additional development by Jamila Nedjadi

Another student disappeared last night.

Her roommate saw her go to bed; in the morning, her side of the room was as empty and pristine as if she had never lived there at all. It didn’t come as a surprise. That’s what happens when you haven’t fought a challenge in months: you go missing. If you don’t duel, you might as well not exist.

At the Academy Passerine, nothing is more important than the duels. Governed by the Academy’s bizarre dream-logic, a single duel can mean the difference between glory and irrelevance. When each fighter enters the arena, they prick their finger with the spindle attached to every student’s uniform belt, their signature weapon forming outward from that single drop of blood, and prepare to attack without restraint. They can’t die in a duel, after all. The Academy doesn’t like letting its children go.

The higher your duelling rank is, the more power you have. If you’re strong enough, you can win yourself a nicer dorm room, a tailored uniform, and the respect or fear that makes freshmen scurry out of your way if you even so much as glance in their direction. There’s a rumor that if the Champion stays undefeated for long enough they can change anything—from the walls of the Academy to their own heart.

Every Champion who stands upon that thorned podium, silver feathers attached like epaulets on their uniform, is granted their heart’s desire for as long as they can keep their throne. Each time a student steps into the arena, they’re shown pale, muddled glimpses of their wishes: watery visions just substantial enough for them to imagine what it’d be like if they won. Common wisdom has it that martial skill isn’t the only thing that matters in a fight. The Academy judges your wish as well, awarding favor to those with the most clarity of purpose.

Most students can only ever dream of being one of the Academy’s elite. They band together in clubs and secret societies for protection. The Academy’s campus reshapes itself to reflect the balance of power between the factions with every duel. For the ordinary students of the Academy Passerine, each day is one where they must battle for survival: against each other, against themselves, and against the Academy itself. 

 Setting Questions

• What are the most powerful clubs and societies in the school? How do they relate to each other?
• How important are classes and academics at the Academy? Why would students enroll? 
• What do the uniforms look like? 
• Do the students’ magical weapons act like ordinary steel, or do they have supernatural powers of their own?

On Factions 
Factions in Academy of the Blade represent the groups, cliques, clubs, and organizations of the school. The most important people belong to several of these, their status allowing them to rise above the rivalries, battles, and competitions between them. During character creation, each player should define one faction they belong to and one other faction present in the school. The GM will add a few other prominent groups. Examples: Chess Club, School Orchestra, Volleyball Team, Young Debutantes, Gardening Club, School Newspaper, Children of Faculty, Snarky Elites who all went to the same grade school, etc.

Style
Academy characters don’t need to name their Style. Instead they simply choose a favored weapon and an Element which they use when fighting. 

PC vs. PC Duels
Since these will be more likely in Academy of the Blade, use the following variant. 

A duel or challenge happens between two PCs: a Challenger and a Challenged. First, decide who is the Challenger. Generally, the aggressor is the Challenger. If it is not obvious, such as when the school itself arranges a duel, roll a die to assign the role of Challenger. The Challenger says what they’ll offer the Challenged if they accept the loss. The Challenger may offer unspent XP, in-fiction in-character action {or inaction),  use of Bonds, changes to Entanglements, letting the other player narrate the moment, or anything in-game which the GM approves. 

The Challenged may accept, reject, or make a counter-offer. If the Challenged accepts, they lose the duel and mark XP. The Challenger must follow through on their offer. If the Challenged rejects the offer, both PCs mark an Element. The duel ends in a draw. If Challenged makes a counter-offer, the Challenger decides to accept or reject with the same consequences. No further counter-offers may be made.  

Gossip
If you want to deepen the political and social aspects of Academy of the Blade, players may wish to add elements from the Courtly Wuxia material, including Influence, The Game of Court, and Faction Management. 

New Move: Confession
If players want a little more of an anime/shoujo feel to their game, consider this optional move.
Confession
When you finally gather yourself together and confess your love, roll. On a 10+, you don't manage to confess, but through a misunderstanding they invite you along with them to some non-romantic event, reinforcing their cluelessness. On a 7-9, your confession's interrupted by something (a duel challenge, fire drill, charging bull, etc). On a 6- choose: they reject you, they don't remember you, they interrupt to ask advice on confessing to someone else.

Inner Conflict Change
The 7-9 result for Inner Conflict is changed to: “On a 7-9, choose: you flee the scene, overreact awkwardly, or mark an Element (choice) to keep yourself steady.”

Academy of the Blade Playbooks 
The Class Clown
Play this character if: Your dearest wish is to be popular.
Player Agenda: Always be the center of attention.

Class Clown Roles
Pick One:
Flirt
You like charming people, making them feel good about themselves and even better about you, but you don’t like it if they try to stick around after it’s no longer fun. Whenever you interact with a new faction, roll. On a Hit you have an ongoing flirtation with one of its members. gain a Bond with that NPC. On a 10+, they are deeply infatuated with you. On a Miss, a faction member is a bitter ex with a grudge.

Sidekick 
You’re not the hero of anyone’s story, and you don’t want to be. It’s far too much risk to stand on your own, and you don’t think you’re that kind of person anyway. It’s better to support your friend’s cause from the sidelines than risk being alone. When you Comfort & Support, on a Hit you may both create a Bond and clear an Element from your target. 

School Idol 
Everyone knows who you are. Whether through artistic or dramatic talent, a sense of humor and wit, or sheer physical good looks, you’ve earned the adulation of the school. You have a fan club that hangs on your every word. When you call on your fans for help, roll. On a Hit they provide warning, escape, or distraction. On a 10+ they overwhelm someone or something, forcing a complete change of their plans. On a Miss you discover a former fan is behind the scenes and are caught off guard.

Class Clown Moves
Pick Two:
New Best Friend (as Come Drink with Me from Bravo); Oh Mitsuru! (as Midnight Orchid from Bravo), Serenade (As Laughing in the Wind from Bravo but you express yourself through heartfelt karaoke. Pick a song appropriate to the situation, sing a few bars, then roll.); Smooth Operator (as Rage and Passion from Student) 

The Straw Millionaire
You know exactly what everyone wants, and what they’ll give to get it. With enough time, you can make a chain of convoluted deals until you eventually get the item you desire. When you initiate a chain of trades, roll. On a 10+ it comes easily to you. Describe offhandedly three of the odd items or services it took to get it. On a 7-9, you’ll get it if you can complete the last link in the chain. Work with the GM to describe what’s required. On a Miss, choose: what you want cannot be gotten or its in the hands of your deepest rival.

My Friend’s Sister’s Classmate Says
You have a network for distributing gossip: a large circle of friends, the school paper, a pirate radio station, etc. When you manipulate stories circulating in the Academy, roll. On a Hit you may ask for a rumor about a person. You may enhance, change, or reduce that rumor (or another you know). On a 10+ you may declare an entirely new rumor which will take on a life of its own. On a Miss, your efforts create salacious gossip about you or an ally. 

Dress Code Violations
You have a wealth of footwear, outerwear, and accessories that make you distinctive even with the uniform. Others may complain, but you’ll never be punished for your sense of style. At any point, you may declare that you’ve stepped away and returned in an entirely new and pristine outfit. Once per scene you may declare you have a useful item hidden among your ruffles and accessories.

Hopeless Romantic
When you rewrite your Romantic Entanglement at the beginning of a session to include a new object of affection, you may clear all of your marked Elements. 

Class Clown Sample Entanglements
Romantic 

• I agreed to help [      ] woo their crush, [      ], but now I find myself falling for them instead.
• I entered into a false relationship with [      ] to make [     ] jealous, but my feelings have swiftly become real.
• I conspired with [       ] to woo [      ] and toy with their emotions, but find myself unexpectedly enamored.

General

• I suspect that [      ], one of the few people I can’t get to like me, and [     ], one of the few people I can’t bring myself to like, might be plotting against me together.
• I’ve made a bet with [      ] that I can train [      ] in popularity and martial arts mastery.
• Both [     ] and [     ], who are the mortal enemies of each other, consider me their closest friend.

The Club Ace
Play this character if: You want to live in service of an overwhelming passion.
Player Agenda: Be the very best, like no one ever was.

Club Ace Roles
Pick One:
Dedicate 
Nothing is more important than your chosen interest. Your ordinary club activities take precedence over duels, life threatening-danger, and the Academy’s various arcane traditions. When you call on your club duties to evade obligations or burdens, roll. On a Hit, you’re allowed time to attend to your training or preparations in peace. On a 10+, gain a Bond with the person who covers for you. On a Miss, you’re unable to slip free and your mentor or club manager will expect you to make up for your absence from club activities.

Club President 
You’ve vowed to lead your club to glory. Your kouhais and peers expect you to train them and lead them to victory. When your club is threatened or in need of resources, you’re the one who has to step into the dueling ring. Though members of your faction will follow your commands without question, they also expect that you’ll clean up after their messes and save them from peril.  

Faust 
You have made a bargain with a shadowy figure of great power who has offered aid in the school’s duels. You want the supposedly supernatural power of that victory and you’re willing to fight anyone or do anything to get it. When you go to your unknown patron for help, roll. On a Hit, they grant your request. On a 7-9, there’s a distinct catch or a cost which must be paid beforehand. On a 6-, they demand that you act counter to your present course. You may not use this move again until you do so or find some way to make it up to them. As a separate benefit, when you would mark an Element, you may choose to have the blow land on a beloved or trusting NPC. 

Club Ace Moves
Pick Two:
All In This Together (as A Hero Born from Loyal) Human Flesh Search Engine (as Tracing Shadow from Bravo, but you consult your club members), Maybe They Have Some Talent After All (as Ashes of Time from Aware), Those Meddling Kids (as Shadow Boxing from Unorthodox, but it’s your club members assisting without your knowledge)  

Clubhouse
Your club has its own headquarters, the only space in the school where you are completely safe. Describe your territory. When not in the middle of a battle, you may retreat to your clubhouse at any time to regroup and plan your next move. Other characters must be invited into your headquarters before they can enter.

Natural Allies
You have +1 Ongoing when interacting with any club that has a similar focus to yours. Athletic clubs will understand each other, the orchestra and drama club have friendly relations, etc.

Talent Show
You’ve trained hard to be the best at what you do, and you’re going to make sure everyone recognizes it. When you gift an audience with a performance, roll Impress. You gain the following additional options to pick from: recruit a cadre to help with your next performance/event; make someone look foolish for challenging you; or draw attention/attendance away from someone else’s party or performance.

Squad Goals
You are often followed by two sycophants with coordinating outfits who echo your every opinion. Name them and give a short description. In between scenes you may describe a moment of closeness between you and your lackeys. If you do so, take one Bond with them. However, be careful: your followers may betray you if you show any lingering weakness or an undeniable flaw.

Club Ace Sample Entanglements
Romantic

• Every person I’ve ever loved has instead fallen for my best friend [      ], including my latest crush [       ].
• I love [       ], but must hide my feelings in order not to hurt [       ].
• My former lover [      ], who I have a tumultuous love-hate relationship with, is flirting with my new crush, [       ].

General

• My sworn enemy, [     ], has now become my school-assigned roommate, displacing my best friend [      ].
• I don’t know if I can trust my ally [      ], especially since it seems like they’ve become close with my enemy [      ].
• I defeated [      ] in an impersonal duel for my faction, but now their faction’s leader, [      ], has come to challenge me in turn.

The Delinquent
Play this character if: You speak your mind and act without thinking.
Player Agenda: Shirk the rules.

Delinquent Roles
Pick One:
Truant
You’d rather go take a nap on the roof than sit in class. You don’t care for the conventions of the student body, preferring to follow your own capricious whims instead. As a loner, you exist outside the social hierarchy of the school, trading away the security of alliances for the freedom to do as you wish. You have no special relationships with any faction, but any faction that would otherwise be hostile with you sees you as neutral instead.

Boss
Your fellow delinquents look up to you as their leader and the strongest of them all. You rule your social group through a mix of fear, violence, and gruff affection, enlisting misfits who serve you with an almost fanatical devotion to terrorize the rest of the school. Your faction reveres you, but all other factions in the school view you with fear and disdain.

Beast
The other students at the Academy hear rumors that you’re not quite human, that you’ll duel people for looking at you wrong, that you once bit off someone’s ear for no discernable reason. They fall silent when you walk in a room and flee the area when you bare your teeth. As an additional cost to choose from for Duel, Overcome, Inner Conflict, you may choose “frighten a friend.” You create fear and doubt in someone you like. 

Delinquent Moves
Pick Two:
Dirty Fighter (as House of Traps from Outsider), Fists of Fury (as Kid with the Golden Arm from Unorthodox), Lust for Battle (as Fearless Fighters from Unorthodox); Fools Rush In (as His Name is Nobody from Unorthodox)

It’s Not Like I Like You or Anything
When you behave in an aggressive or aggravating way towards the object of your affections, roll. On a Hit, they recognize that your rudeness is the clumsy language of your heart, not a deliberate offense. On a 10+, they see past your facade and convince another NPC to believe in you. On a 7-9+, they suspect your more tender feelings. On a Miss, choose: they flee away in tears, or someone else publicly condemns you.

Hot-Blooded
You’re just so fired up you can’t help yourself. When you Duel a higher Scale enemy without preparation, take +1 Forward.

I’ve Had Worse
Getting roughed up a little is nothing more than a typical Tuesday. Grit your teeth against the pain—if you can stand, you can fight. You have an additional Wounded box and can keep fighting even if grievously injured.

Killing Intent
You can intimidate someone with your mere presence, fixing them with a glare of such rage and malevolence that they feel the pure force of your fury. Take +1 Forward to any Hearts & Minds when you intimidate or threaten another character. 

Delinquent Sample Entanglements
Romantic 

• I love [     ] but only know how to express it through attempting to bully them. Only [    ] knows of my true feelings.
• I love [     ], who I consider my rival and only true match in battle, but they are in a relationship with [      ].
• My heart beats faster every time I see [    ], but my confidant [      ] tells me that I should interpret those feelings as hatred. 

General

• I consider [    ] the only one able to defeat me in a duel, but they’ve just been defeated by [      ].
• I used to bully [     ], but they are now under the protection of their senpai, [      ].
• I offended [      ] with my uncouth ways, and now [     ] is looking to take revenge on me.

The Dropout
Play this character if: You want to be skeptical of the Academy itself. 
Player Agenda: Embrace the ideal and emotional over the practical. 

Dropout Roles
Pick One:
Surrendered
Every morning, you wake disappointed that you haven’t yet disappeared. You’re tired of the endless fighting, the scrabbling to survive. When you lay down your arms and provoke your opponent into responding verbally instead of continuing the fight, roll. On a 10+, your words cut deeper than a blade—ending the conflict. Gain a Bond with them. On a 7-9, this isn’t over. The conflict is delayed but will return soon. On a Miss they lash out at you. Mark an Element and describe something of yours they destroy, injure, or deface. 

Unatoned
You committed a terrible sin in the name of power or love, winning your duel but losing something far more important. You got what you wanted, and it broke you. You are now a shadow of your former self, defined by your greatest regret. When you flash back to an NPC’s secret role in your tragedy, describe it and take +1 Forward in dealing with them. 

When you reveal that secret to them, roll. On a Hit, choose: halt their current action, clear an Element (you or them), make them answer a question, or drive them off. On a 7-9, it is revealed that you manipulated or betrayed them. roll Inner Conflict. On a Miss, they reveal how what you did cut them deeply. They turn fully against you.

Gamebreaker
The Academy broke you, and you’re going to break it back. The rage burning within you cannot be sated by anything less than the Academy’s destruction. Even if you know that your rebellion will lead to your doom, you want to bring as much of the Academy down with you as you can. When you sabotage an institution, activity, or event of the Academy, roll. On a Hit you bring it to a halt or force its closure. On a 10+ choose two; on a 7-9 choose one: the effect is not fleeting; no one knows you did it; you force a change of leadership; or your chosen alternative takes its place. 

Dropout Moves
Pick Two:
Escape Artist (as It Takes a Thief from Bravo); I Work Alone (as Heroes Shed No Tears from Outsider); Slip Out the Back Door (as The Royal Tramp from Outsider); Last Stand (as Legend of the Mountain from Loyal), Wallflower (as The Water Margin from Outsider)

Headphones In 
There’s nothing more conducive to introspection than brooding alone. When you find an appropriately scenic spot (rivers and balconies are ideal), put on some sad music and think about life for a while, take +1 Forward to Study.

Go On Ahead, I’ll Hold Them Off 
When all else fails, you’re willing to sacrifice yourself and take on the enemy alone. Mark Wounded and describe how you seemingly fall. Your allies may escape. You can rejoin the group later, but have to narrate the twist which saved you. 

Silence in the Shadows
After a private conversation between a PC and another character, explain how you were in a place to overhear it and roll. On a 10+, you hear everything and manage to escape without detection. On a 7-9, you hear everything, but one of the involved parties sees you leave or finds evidence of your presence. On a Miss, you hear and see nothing, as an authority figure catches and punishes you. The GM may decide if your presence is reasonable in the fiction.

Secret Passageways
You’ve explored the entire school, enough to have discovered some of its lingering mysteries. Once per session, you declare a secret passageway to the location of your choosing. Mysteriously exiting a seemingly locked location or suddenly appearing somewhere you shouldn’t have been able to is not out of the question. 

Dropout Sample Entanglements
Romantic

• My vow to never love again ended my burgeoning relationship with [     ], but I’m not happy about them moving on with [     ]. 
• [    ] has asked me to help them end their relationship with [      ], whom I secretly love.
• I love [     ], but they are loyal to my enemy, [    ].

General

• I vowed never to fight again after humiliating [     ] in a duel, but now their friend [     ] wants to take vengeance on me.
• I have never gotten over my defeat at the hands of [     ], and I feel like [      ] is my best chance to take revenge.
• [     ] has heard of my reputation as a fighter and has begged me to train them for their fight against [     ].

The Student Council Representative
Play this character if: You want to maintain order and elevate your own status.
Player Agenda: Keep up appearances.

Student Council Representative Roles
Pick One:
Teacher’s Pet
You’re an agent of the administration, connected to the forces that run the school—or one of them, at least. Your patron may not tell you all their secrets, but you’re under their protection as long as you have their favor. Once per session, you may ask them for a favor but their assistance always comes with strings attached.

Class President 
There is nothing you want more than to be on top. You present an outward mask of perfection to the world, but every act and word is completely calculated to maintain your reputation as a model student. Styling yourself as a benevolent tyrant, you work to maintain the admiration of the student body. Neutral NPCs are always susceptible to your use of Hearts & Minds.

Goody Two-Shoes 
You thought that your position would gain you the respect of your peers, but instead your authority is all on paper. Being a student council representative is more work than reward, as other students seem to believe you’re there to serve at their pleasure and take on their responsibilities. When you attempt to flatter an enemy NPC into believing you’ll be their lackey, roll. On a Hit, they buy it. On a 10+ they also reveal a secret of an upcoming scheme. On a 6-, you’re sure you’ve got them, but they lead you into a trap. 

Student Council Representative Moves
Pick Two:
The Little Magistrate (as Strife for Mastery from Loyal); Plans within Plans (as Final Master from Aware); Student Handbook (as Blade Heart from Student); Top Student (as Legend of Awakening from Aware)

Face of an Angel
You have +1 Ongoing when interacting with any authority figure. They know you’ve always followed the rules—why would anything change now?

Working Relationship
You’re intimately familiar with the Academy’s web of power and influence. When you first meet the leader of any faction, you may declare a fact about them. You always can spot these leaders and their lieutenants unless they are in disguise. 

Sterling Reputation
Take +1 Forward when you attempt to Impress subordinate NPCs (younger, lower social background, worse grades, etc). 

Event of the Year
When you put on a party, or gathering, roll. On a Hit, absolutely everyone must attend for fear of being left out. Take +1 Forward on a social move you make during the scene. On a 10+, choose: force someone to show up, make someone a celebrity, gain a favor from someone; or humiliate a rival. On a Miss, something goes catastrophically wrong. Choose: a rival puts on a better event at the same time; your theme offends someone important; someone upstages you there; or a wacky accident causes the event to end early.

Student Council Representative Sample Entanglements
Romantic

• I’ve been packing delicious home-cooked lunches for [   ] in an attempt to win their heart, but they’ve been passing them along to their friend [    ] instead.
• I love [    ], but they are beneath me in status, unlike [    ], who everyone thinks suits me better.
• I’m fascinated by [    ], but [     ] has reminded me that because of my duty and position I must deny my own feelings.

General

• My sibling [      ] has fallen under the thrall of [     ], whom I despise.
• [       ] has begged me to counsel their friend [      ] and solve their emotional problems.
• I know that [      ] is on the verge of challenging me to a duel, I need and according to [      ] to help me train.

The Transfer Student 
Play this character if: You want to be drawn into a new and mysterious world you don’t entirely understand.
Player Agenda: Be constantly surprised.

Transfer Student Roles
Pick One:
Ingenue
Before you came to the Academy, you’d never touched a weapon before in your life. You’re sheltered, naïve and innocent in every way... Or at least that’s how you appear. Your perceived weakness makes it easier for others to be vulnerable around you, which gives you +1 Ongoing to Comfort & Support.

Seeker
Someone you once knew and loved dearly disappeared into the halls of the Academy. You’ve spent the last year trying to find them. Now that you’ve finally entered the Academy, you’re almost at your goal. Take +1 Forward when you try to find out where they are, what happened to them, or why they’ve changed. When you Study someone, you may ask “What do they know about (missing loved one)?” without spending hold. 

Mundane
You have no idea why everyone is taking this dueling thing so seriously. Rich people are scary. Where did everyone’s parents go? Isn’t this illegal? Are those real swords? Your perspective is steeped in conventional reality. When you encounter something unearthly or supernatural, take +1 Forward. When you come up with a rational explanation for it, clear an Element or take a Bond with someone stunned by your hardheadedness.

Transfer Student Moves
Pick Two:
Don’t Leave Me Here (as The Promise from Aware); Private Tutoring (as The Proud Youth from Student); Voice of Reason (as Listening Snow Tower from Student); Write A Friend (as Lawless Kingdom from Loyal)

Defeat Means Friendship
When you win a duel against a foe of equal scale with a 10+, you may make an impassioned speech which turns them to your cause (at least for the moment). On a 7-9, in addition to other results, you plant a seed of doubt in their mind about their plans and allegiances.

Nothing Escapes Me
When you or a fellow PC present in a scene roll a Miss on Study, you may use any bond to instead have a 7-9 result. 

Just the New Kid
When you ask someone a pointed question while feigning ignorance, say what you're hoping they'll reveal and roll. On a Hit, they take you at your word and answer the question honestly. On a 10+ choose one: they let slip a big secret or you gain a Bond with them. On a Miss, they see through your façade and learn something vital about you instead.

Sympathy for the Devil
You want everyone to be okay, no matter how they’ve acted towards you before. You have +1 Forward to Comfort & Support used on anyone who has acted cruelly, rudely, or otherwise poorly to you or in your presence. 

Transfer Student Sample Entanglements
Romance

1. I’m crushing on both [      ] and [      ], and now they’ve started dating each other.
2. I’m oblivious to [      ]’s affection to me because I am completely focused on my love for [     ], who doesn’t know that I love them.
3. I made a childhood marriage promise with someone whose name I’ve forgotten, and either [      ] or [      ] could be the one I’m searching for.

General

• [      ] has tricked me into offending [      ], who now considers me a sworn enemy.
• [      ] also transferred here and has spread rumors about my history, rumors which threaten my friendship with [        ].
• I managed to offend [      ] on my first day here and they have ordered [      ] to stay away from me. ​

6. Greenscape
A Spanish-language setting book for Savage Worlds. In it humanity abuses the Earth, triggering a response from Mother Nature. It reacts with plagues, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. This forces the the survivors to descend into hiding holes for many years. When they come out the world has been turned into a lush, verdant, and deadly green environment.

It’s a cool concept—more action-oriented than Summerland which shares some features with it. HT Publishers, the Spanish licensees for Savage Worlds, have supported this setting with a couple of supplements: Sevilla Verde, a location sourcebook and Donde Viven los Dioses, a mini-campaign.
 
7. Homeka
A French-language game of yet another colony world isolated from the rest of stellar society by an event. After "The Rupture" the planet Zephyr suffered environmental collapse, turning into a desolate land. This happened both because of corporate exploitation as well as being severed from trade and support.

The twist for this game is a pretty cool one I haven’t seen elsewhere. In Homeka the PCs are the crew of a massive Meka (mecha) moving around the world. The Meka’s your home, how you make money to survive, your means of transport, and more. The Mekanoids once served as war machines but have now become tools for exploration and survival. It’s a great concept (and one adaptable to a bunch of genres and settings).
​
Homeka uses its own resolution system, ASPEX. That uses all the die types, but I don’t know more beyond that. The company, JdR Editions, released the core book, a GM screen, two campaign books, and some other accessories.
 
8. Into the Death of Civilisation
A card-based cooperative storytelling post-apocalypse game. It comes from Cakebread & Walton the company behind the OneDice system, Clockwork & Chivalry, Abney Park’s Airship Pirates, and more. It has a pretty dark and grim aesthetic and reminds me of Hope Inhumanity. I’ve hunted around for more details or even reviews but haven’t found anything.​

25. Miscellaneous: Sourcebooks+
2099 Wasteland: An alternate timeline for the Hypercorps 2099 setting. This splits in the mid 20th Century and adds a post-apocalyptic wasteland to this already over-stuffed setting.
Death is the New Pink: A fully developed PA setting for Into the Odd. Mike Evans does a striking job creating a flavorful OSR setting.
Godless: A new PA setting for Shadow of the Demon Lord. Strong emphasis on Road Warrior-esque vehicular mayhem with some fantasy trappings.
Hellscapes: A post-apocalyptic toolkit and setting for use with D&D 5e.
Hope Inhumanity: I covered this card-based rpg on my 2015 list. This year saw the release of a second edition, tweaked and refined. Lost Cause Games also released an expansion set this year, Martial Law which added 80+ new cards to the game. It’s a neat format for a game and I’d love to see more like this.
Into the Outside: Multiversal location sourcebook for Numenera.
Jade Colossus: Ruins of the Prior Worlds: A single detailed ruin location for Numenera
The Killing Game: A rules sourcebook and campaign adventure for DEGENESIS.
Magic & Techno-Sorcery (Second Edition) & The Zombie Plagues Expanded Edition: Two sourcebooks for APOCalypse 2500. The first adds new magic options and the latter digs into zombies.
Ninth World Bestiary 2: As you might guess from the name, a new bestiary for Numenera. You might be saying, “Lowell, sometimes you put Numenera stuff together into its own entry above. Why are these here?” First, look how freaking long this list is already. I mean technically 2099 Wasteland, Godless, and Hellspaces ought to have a larger entry above, but c’mon. Also I’m making more new arbitrary cut-off 3 or more items, 4+ or more if one of them’s just a bestiary.
Valley of the Misery Machine: The final regional sourcebook for Dystopia Rising. I have to say that’s one of the most evocative titles I’ve seen. Makes me want to check it out despite not digging DR. ​

​Adversaries
Adversaries in the Paragon system -- any character or environmental challenge that the characters might engage in a contest -- are represented by two or more dice. To determine the difficult level of a contest, the GM rolls these dice, taking the highest value and adding the strife level. Strife level is 4, 5, or 6 -- an essentially arbitrary number defining how bad things are. 

Agon suggests that the dice assigned to an adversary reflect different aspects of it. The king’s royal guard captain, for example, may have trained (d10) and loyal (d8). On the surface, this gives the GM a nice way of representing the scale of different threats. On the other hand, there isn’t any guidance for GMs on how to assign dice to these descriptors. 

The Agon book offers numerous examples, but the assignments are at the discretion of the GM. Ultimately, the dice produce a result somewhere in the 9 to 15 range, which makes me wonder why the GM doesn’t just pick one of these values. Perhaps there’s something exciting about rolling for difficulty. Some mechanics allow the GM to add another die to their pool, representing some disadvantage faced by the characters, or some ill-tempered god.

In the play set that I designed -- Rising Tide, about ecoactivists seeking climate justice in a post-collapse world -- players have the option of letting the GM add a die to their pool. This die represents the character’s flaw or complication. In exchange, the character gets some bonus experience points. In play this worked really well, because it allowed players to activate their characters flaws in the fiction.

Earlier I mentioned that the Agon core book describes each island in 3 pages. The island and contest descriptions are evocative, but sparse, and depend on the table elaborating the setting and environment, the adversaries and NPCs, and the actions of the characters. The playsets for Paragon -- Chamber, Storm Furies, and Surge Protectors specifically -- offer even less guidance. Ultimately, the Paragon system tests the ability of the GM to draw fiction out of the players around the table.

Using just the text on the pages would make for short sessions and make the game seem very mechanical. Paragon depends a lot on improvisation and collaborative storytelling, perhaps even more than a run-of-the-mill Powered by the Apocalypse game. Even though PbtA games don’t have much in the way of setting or adversary descriptions, the moves provide leverage for improvisation. In PbtA games, however, the dice rolls resolve the narrative at the action level. In Paragon, the dice rolls resolve the action at the scene level.

Scene Resolution
The limited detail in the island descriptions and on the character sheets can make it difficult to get the improvisation engine going. Unfortunately the dice rolls don’t offer much help. Instead of rolls providing useful levers to provoke improvisation, the dice rolls simply indicate whether a character beats a difficulty score or not. I described the results of the dice pool as success vs. not success, but this isn’t quite right.

The Agon book describes rolling under the difficulty number as “suffering.” I’ve interpreted this to mean that the character “fails forward” or “succeeds with a cost” to use the parlance of collaborative storytelling games. Some contests have mechanical consequences, forcing characters to mark off Pathos (stress) or lose some other currency. The rules are not clear on how much discretion the GM has in doling out these penalties. Personally, I avoid them as the players are afforded minimal opportunities to affect their dice pool as it is. Taking these away from them limits what little control they do have.

Building the dice pool is really the main mechanical thing players need to do. The characters get certain dice based on three key elements of the character sheet. In Agon, these are the character’s Name, their Epithet, and the Domain. If the Epithet isn’t relevant to the character’s action, they do not include that die. The GM determines the Domain. With the first set of dice out of the way, the player has some choices to make, largely whether they are spending currency (in Agon these are divine favors or bonds with other characters) or marking tracks (usually Pathos) to add more dice. 

As many times as I’ve walked players through this process, it always strikes me as a little disjointed. Even players who have been through the process several times struggle to remember it. It’s quirky. Some currencies you spend and some you mark off. One currency adds d4s and one adds other dice. The lack of parallel internal structures means determining the contents of the pool isn’t straightforward. 

And yet despite all the machinations in the procedure, the player’s dice pool usually ends up with the same 4-6 dice. Early in the campaign these are mostly d6s with a d8 or two and a d4. Because of this, it can sometimes feel like the players’ choices -- really the only ones they can make mechanically -- don’t have a lot of bearing on the outcome.

The result of the d4 gets added to the total of the highest two dice. That d4 can make all the difference. Since you’re trying to beat a score of around 10-12 , it’s difficult to get to that on two dice, even if one of them is a d8. That d4 pushes you over the edge. In Agon it represents divine favor, and it fits nicely. That last little bit of success you owe to some higher power (or luck, if you prefer).

​Competition and Advancement
One aspect new players note right away is that there is a competitive element. In resolving a contest, the player who roles highest is considered the ultimate winner. They literally get all the Glory -- the points distributed at the end of contests. If the roll isn’t the highest but still exceeds the difficulty, they get half the Glory. Even if the character suffers, they get one Glory. There’s still some reward for emerging from the contest, even if you didn’t win.

Glory is one of two experience tracks. As characters complete contests, they earn Glory. As characters suffer Pathos, they also earn Fate. As they earn Glory, the characters start their dice pool with better dice. As they earn Fate, they grow ever closer to “retirement.” I like that these two concepts are disconnected from each other, but neither is particularly relevant for short games. Players need to earn 80 Glory before they can increase their name die to a d8. Since they only accumulate Glory at about 10-15 points per contest, it takes at least two islands before getting there. 

Earning Fate happens a lot faster, and designated spaces on the Fate track trigger an advance. Since most one-shots won’t get players past one advance, I’ve started suggesting that characters take an advance at the start of the game and, if necessary, between missions.

The player who rolls best gets some other advantages in different kinds of contests. During the series of rolls constituting the final battle, the player who rolls best can set the stakes for the adversary or earn an advantage die for a later roll. The other main benefit in regular contests is that the player who rolls highest narrates last. The rationale for this should be clear: If we’re watching a show about Greek heroes, we save the most dramatic action for last.

This competitive aspect is discouraging, especially if your players are used to intensely collaborative fiction. In fact, I didn’t even include this part in the game I ran with my home group, knowing full well that the uneven distribution of Glory would make people dislike the game. On the other hand, I used it when running games on the Gauntlet and it was virtually a non-issue. I even ran Surge Protectors (the Transformers playset) with my kids’ group and they barely noticed. I mean, when you get to play giant transforming robots, everybody wins.

The ranked outcomes of the dice rolls gives the narration a structure, which is a welcome change from other roleplaying game systems. Consider most tables, where the GM is responsible for ensuring everyone has equal time in the spotlight. For me as a GM this is one of the most stressful parts of the job: I want everyone to have the same screen time. In the Paragon system, we are compelled to go around the table to describe the outcome of the scene. We even know what order to go in. 

Characters Helping Characters
All this talk of competition might make you wonder whether characters should help each other. It’s a good time to point out that the characters aren’t really competing with each other: their goals are driven by the fiction and they generally have the same goals. (Some of my games involved some interesting tension between the characters, but they were largely supporting each other.) I suppose in the fiction the “winner” of the roll is the one whose actions are most notable, who people will be talking about the next day.

Because of this ambiguity, I’ve heard that some players aren’t sure whether to help each other or not. That is, the competition of the mechanics worms its way into the fiction. This makes sense: why bother helping someone if all your reward is minimal? The Paragon system has a mechanism for characters to help each other. A player can opt out of the contest and instead give their Domain die to another character in exchange for a point of Glory and a Bond. I dunno. I may be missing something but this doesn’t seem like a fair trade. Perhaps this strategy makes sense if you think you cannot beat the difficulty number with the resources you have available.

On the other hand, having such a mechanic in vignette-style play doesn’t make sense to me. Everyone is playing a role in the scene. A character’s role might be supportive, but they are still participating in the contest in their own way. Some of the most creative storytelling my groups have done involve the characters coming at the problem from different angles and relying on each other in different ways. In short, after trying the support mechanic twice I decided to instead encourage players to find creative ways to participate in the contest. Hanging back? Creating a distraction? Opening an opportunity for another? That’s still participating in the contest. Let’s roll to see how you do.

​A Love Letter to Paragon
And this is the main impression I want to leave with you. Despite the quirky design choices, Paragon draws the table in. Everyone has a stake in every scene. Everyone has a role to play in dealing with the contest. From the first contest on a new island or new mission, or the building climax of the final battle, everyone has a chance to elaborate and embellish the narrative. Those mechanical quirks are some of the same things that make this game engaging and enjoyable: they draw the entire table in. More than anything else, this is my goal as a GM, to ensure that everyone is fully present even when they’re not speaking.

Some tips to help you GM Paragon, with references to the Agon rule book:

• Embrace the vignette- or scene-driven approach. Focus on completing about two or three scenes per three-hour session.
• And then embrace the episodic nature of the game. Give yourself ample time to do the three-contest final battle.
• Indulge in session zero discussion. Ask about character backgrounds. Delve into their bonds. Imagine their base of operations.
• Take your time setting up the scene (page 68). Ask players to contribute details.
• Don’t forget about Advantage dice (page 57) -- this is a mechanical way for you to reward contest success or just great roleplaying.
• Be patient in helping players assemble their dice pools (page 29). Take it step-by-step and try to do it the same way every time: first the basic dice (name, epithet, domain) and then the currencies to add dice.
• Let the final battle draw out (page 32). Use each of the three contests to build to a climax, starting with how the characters gain an advantage.
• Switch up the contest types (page 25), so that players aren’t relying on the same domain again and again.
• Consider dropping the competitive aspect, such that every player beating the difficulty earns the full Glory and every player missing gets half. It’s better to play than to turn people off because of one rule.

Dan is a regular player and GM on the Gauntlet Gaming Community. By day he runs a boutique UX design firm and by all his other free time, an amateur game designer. Follow him on Twitter @brownorama. Follow his game design work at cosmicbeagle.itch.io.

Thanks to Alun for the nudge to write this.
Thanks to Matthew, Darin, and Joe for slogging through two months of Paragon with me.

SOMETHING IN THE AIR
So 2016—I wonder why folks would have been thinking about post-apocalyptic games? What could have been in the air? What kind of terrible unmasking of national experience could have occurred that tore the mask away for some and made others hide their eyes.

​Let’s check in with some media arriving in 2016

• TV Shows: 3%, Aftermath, Colony, Containment, The Shannara Chronicles, Travelers (tangentially), Van Helsing
• Films: The 5th Wave, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Bad Batch, Cell, Daylight’s End, Dead Rising: Endgame, Diverge, The Girl with All the Gifts, Here Alone, I Am a Hero, The Northlander, Pandemic, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Seoul Station, Train to Busan, The Worthy, X-Men Apocalypse
• Video Games: Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault, Attack on Titan, Dead Rising 4, Dying Light: the Following, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Fallout Shelter, Gears of War 4, Grim Dawn, Sheltered, Shin Megami Tensai IV: Apocalypse, This War of Mine: The Little Ones, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Toukiden 2, Umbrella Corps, The Walking Dead: Michonne.
• Board Games: 51st State, Aeons End, Armageddon, Bloodborne: The Card Game, Dawn of the Zeds, Dead of Winter: The Long Night, Defenders of the Last Stand, The Others, Saltlands, Salvation Road, Unknown, The Walking Dead: All Out War​

3. Apocalypse World 2nd Edition
This makes me feel old. I remember when AW first came out and some designers (who would later buy into the mechanics) complained about the tone and voice of the rules. But then other games began to adapt, rework, and rethink mechanics from it to create PbtA games—with a new approach to hacking given the lack of SRD or even agreed upon principles.

AW2 coming out just seems like a year or two ago, not five years as of this writing. Any revised edition had a lot to live up to but the Baker’s focused on tuning making Apocalypse World better, rather than trying to adapt other innovations back into the game. So the second edition is tighter in some ways, makes changes to better fit with how the game actually plays at the table, and messes with the economy. It’s also a more straight-forward presentation—it still has a strong, aggressive voice but does a stronger job of showing how the game works.

All the changes to the mechanics feel like fine tuning. The biggest come in the reworking of combat moves—personal, group, and vehicular. It adds a single new playbook, The Maestro’d. The Operator playbook gets cut. There’s changes to harm and the economy of lifestyle has undergone some shifts. The reception to 2e was strongly positive. At least in our circles, GMs moved over to it quickly.

The Bakers would follow up the 2nd edition with two supplements worth noting. The first is Burned Over, which presents a deep reworking of AW. It’s intended to offer a game playable by more age groups and appeal to a general audience. From the blurb copy, “No sex moves, a more reigned-in take on violence, less adult horror in the grotesquerie. In many ways, if we were to create Apocalypse World today, Burned Over is the game we’d create.” The other is the Extended Refbook which collects extra playbooks and more discussion of fronts.

4. Antychrist
This French game takes place in a world which has rebelled against humanity. The earth itself strikes back at them with plagues and disasters, forcing humanity to flee to flying cities powered by divine magic. The setting mixes faith, mysticism, and cybernetic tech together, a return to the kitchen sink apocalyptic settings of years past. Overall fairly crunchy, though the demo rules and two small supplements are short.

5. Belly of the Beast
In this setting, the world was destroyed by a massive skyrock centuries ago. People survived in the wake of that. Then three generations ago, that rock split open and from it emerged a massive, land crushing worm which swallowed nations, cities, fortresses, and civilizations. Think Midgard Serpent or the Stone Thief from 13th Age. It devastated the land.

But some survived inside the maw and inside the belly. You play descendants of those who survived the Devouring. You’re a scavenger living out a wet, gruesome, and dark existence. You will be hunting through the organs and fleshways to recover artifacts from these lost societies and survive.

Belly of the Beast is the first rpg I remember X-Carding when we played it. The GM suggested the currency at play within the beast would be teeth and I noped right out of that. It’s an interesting idea for a game--Mad Max feel inside the belly of a whale. It’s a little too dark for me, but could appeal to others.
​
Belly of the Beast is designed by Ben Dutter and this uses the same Ethos Engine mechanics which power Vow of Honor and Hunt the Wicked. If you know those games, picking up this one should be easy.

9. Metamorphosis Alpha
There’s an interesting publishing split that I’m going lump together in this entry. So Metamorphosis Alpha is arguably the first sci-fi rpg, launched in 1976. It has the players on a generational ship where systems have collapsed and things have gone terribly wrong. You can see some of its influence on the latter Gamma World, but they’re distinctly different games. In 1994 TSR released Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega as a setting for their Amazing Engine Game. In 2002 Fast Forward Entertainment released a 25th Anniversary edition. In 2006 Mudpuppy Games released another version, expanding and changing the first edition with a 176 page hardcover. In 2014 Goodman Games released a Deluxe Collector’s Edition of the original game alongside a handful of modules and supplements.

In 2016 Goodman Games released Epsilon City a massive boxed set detailing a major city aboard the MA spaceship. This was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the game. It included a huge sourcebook, three maps, and two smaller supplements with cyborg rules and adventures. This was an officially approved product from James Ward and used the rules from the first edition.

But also in 2016 we saw another version of Metamorphosis Alpha from another company, Signal Fire Games. When Epsilon City keeps the weird gonzo colors and looks of the original, lovingly translated by Goodman. This (5th?) edition core rulebook goes for a sleeker, more modern look. The game was originally Kickstarted in 2012 and only released publicly this year.

It uses the System 26 system (which is awkward to say) but I don’t think those mechanics appear in any other games. Reviews seem to be meh about this one, that it lacks the spark of the original game. In trying to update to a more modern approach the wildness of the original went away. It isn’t helped by having few illustrations and bad organization. Signal Fire didn’t release anything else for the game.
 
10. Polaris
Polaris is a flooded world setting where humanity has been driven underwater by a cataclysm long forgotten. They've survived and grown into potent factions built on advanced technology and genetic engineering. This is third edition and publisher Black Book Éditions’ second bite at the apple after 2008’s Polaris. The original game came out almost two decades ago in 1997.

This version of Polaris takes huge strides forward in presentation. The base game’s a two volume set in a striking slipcover case. The art’s fantastic, lush, and consistent throughout. The company has supported it with a few supplements, but it hasn’t blown up despite how great it looks.

I actually got a copy of this in a chain of generosity a couple of years ago. I knew I was in trouble when the copy arrived with two laminated pages of dense rules summary. I tried several times to read through this but the trad density of mechanics meant I bounced off. That’s too bad because the setting’s interesting, especially the themes of technological decay and the overall mysteries in play. It offers a level of wild fantastic beyond that of its closest watery sci-fi rival, Blue Planet. Polaris is a more cyberpunk, biopunk wild sci-fi game. It would be cool to see someone hack it into a story game system.
 
11. Pugmire
So I went back and forth on including this on the list. On the surface Pugmire’s a fairly trad fantasy game with canine folk. And it mostly is that. But it’s also a world where thousands of years have passed since the fall of humanity and the evolution of animal folk. We have a world of distant future where both the people and the apocalypse have almost totally been forgotten.

The game has a few interactions with that history. Some folks are guided by the edicts of the Code of Man. Relics and knowledge of the old world are treasures to be sought out. But for the greater part that apocalyptic backstory is stage dressing for the coolness of having an armored schnauzer swinging a magic axe.

15. We Are Abandoned
A freeform game about characters caught up in a city which is falling apart. The book mentions 28 Days Later and Escape from New York as touchstones, but there’s also a strong echo of the video game This War of Mine. The game has a light resolution system—d10 with some specific actions spelled out like moves. There’s a play sheet for tracking the group and the book contains premade characters and locations. At first glance this might seem like a thin game, but there’s surprisingly deep material here worth checking out.
 
16. Miscellaneous: Zombies

• Ancalia: the Broken Towers: A kingdom sourcebook for Godbound. Multiple Night Roads have opened here spilling out the undead to overwhelm the land. The kingdom has been cut off from neighbors and only a few cities survive. 
• Dead Reign Sourcebook 6: Hell Followed: The second to last of these sourcebooks for Palladium’s zombie rpg (2008). This one adds a cornucopia of loosely connected material, including new zombies, new classes, disasters, conspiracy theories, government enclaves, and more.
• Morts: A World of Adventure for Fate Core. After a zombie apocalypse, jobbers—called Morticians—get the unpleasant task of keeping things secure and dealing with internal incidents. Has a "worklife" comedy edge, but then veers into lots of material for magic and running supernatural creatures as PCs.
• No Way Out: An Italian scenario book for playing zombie games with Fate Accelerated.
• Survive This!! Zombies! Collected Edition: Pulls together the Survivor Guide, Zombie Master’s Guide, and Zombie Manual for this fairly trad, low budget zombie rpg. Also release a few other supplements for it that same year. In 2018 they would release a second edition.

​17. Miscellaneous: Other Sourcebooks

• Antagonist and Protagonist Archives: Character and NPC resources for Fragged Empire (2015).
• Apocalypse In Your Hometown: So there’s apparently a Stay Alive! modern survival rpg variant of Tunnels & Trolls 7th Edition. This is a collection of scenarios for that, set all over the globe. The collection includes Stay Alive! Lite’s 33 pages of rules.
• Asteroid Cybele: The American Wasteland and Asteroid Cybele: Lords of London: It remains a shock to me that people still play and publish stuff for a game which was legendarily complicated in my youth. These two volumes are part of a four book series focusing on an apocalypse kicked off by an asteroid strike. The American Wasteland covers Miami and beyond with the framing device of a race from Miami to Seattle. Lords of London provides a setting book for the city.
• Il Culto della Torre: (The Cult of the Tower) A sourcebook for the Italian rpg Nameless Land (2013). It seems to be both an adventure and a sourcebook with a diary as the framing device. Takes PCs to what used to be South America.
• In Thy Blood: A campaign setting and adventure for the DEGENESIS rpg (2014). Original German version came out the previous year.
• Into the Deep: This was a weirdly light year for Numenera (2013). This is the only hardcover released for the line, this covering all things in the oceans. That was supplemented by the short volume The Octopi of the Ninth World. They also release a Numenera Artifact Deck.
• Overgrowth of the Undying: Our yearly Dystopia Rising (2011) sourcebook. This one covers the titular Overgrowth region and the Nuclear Family Faith.
• Post-Cthulhu: Ah, another lovely piece of shovelware from Starbright. As always, has the complete Fate Core rules, and then material for running an after the Mythos rises campaign.
• Shangri LA: A regional sourcebook for the hybrid rpg/miniatures skirmish game Wreck Age (2013). The company added a couple of other smaller releases this year as well. 

History of Universal RPGs
History of Steampunk & Victoriana RPGs
History of Cyberpunk RPGs
History of Superhero RPGs
History of Horror RPGs
History of Wild West RPGs
​History of Licensed RPGs
Samurai RPGs
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part One: 1976-1984)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Two: 1985-1987)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Three: 1988-1990)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Four: 1991-1993)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Five: 1994-1996)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Six: 1997-1999)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Seven: 2002-2002)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Eight: 2003)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Nine: 2004-2005)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Ten: 2006)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Eleven: 2007)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Twelve: 2008)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 13: 2009)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 14: 2010)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 15: 2011)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 16: 2012)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 17: 2013)
The Year in Post-Apocalyptic RPGs 2014
The Year in Post Apocalyptic RPGs 2015: Part One 
The Year in Post Apocalyptic RPGs 2015: Part Two
​History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 20: 2016)
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 21: 2017)
​History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 22: 2018)