Roll for Combat: Best of 5E

The Roll for Combat books are among the best for 5E. I have a lot of garbage for 5E, and 90% of it could go, and I would be happier if I did. But these books, plus a generic full-featured 5E implementation, such as Tales of the Valiant?

This is good stuff. These are every bit the equal of a major publisher release, and are on the level of an "official expansion" of any version of the game you play.

Instead of making races as "flavorless dough" options of "say what you are" and shifting a few points around, we get full ancestry classes, feats, and options that improve as you level. Solid design and care are put into these options. They level up, get powers, give you that "full hit" of playing a dragon, fae, or whatever ancestry is in the book, and supply the full experience instead of a watered-down "oh, you are that, too" of the core rules.

Do I want to play any type of dragon and have full rules support for that as I level up?

This is the only place it happens.

And this is written for all ages, and I would be comfortable giving it to a younger audience, saving them from a book with "sex coded" elements and themes. It is innocent, written for all ages, and fun. Not even D&D 2024 can say that, and that is sad. There is an art and discipline to putting together an "all ages book," and the RfC books get it perfectly. ToV also does better in this department, keeping things innocent, clean, and for everybody.

I am not against those themes, but they should be in books where those topics can be discussed and shared fully, not snuck in and hidden like Easter Eggs, as they are ultimately distractions and inappropriate for all audiences. Even topics like demons and devils are treated with care in these books, and they are not as objectionable as the Tiefling ancestry is in most core books (since the game often ignores the infernal aspects and just presents them as innocent cosplay).

It is sort of shocking and stupid that the half-elves and half-orcs are removed from most of the new games, while demon-blooded characters are everywhere. I guess pop culture gotta "pop" someone out of reality and exclude somebody to please somebody else. 5E has so much of this baggage that I tire of the constant war waged on the pages and play other games. I want to escape to a fantasy world, not be reminded of this one.

Which is why innocent, all-ages games appeal to me so strongly. They have a classic, clean, and beautiful innocence untouched by the problems of this world. They are books about playing a dragon or a mimic. They deliver innocent fun, just like a Mario game does.

The Roll for Combat books are on my "best of 5E" list, and they are where I am starting my 5E library rebuild. Tales of the Valiant is my core 5E, just so I don't have to be reminded about the OGL or things like "we can't leave the hobby" remarks. Those are hurtful things, and I don't want to be reminded of them while playing a game for escapist fun.

Helping Out, Times are Tough All Over

A few posts today on some end-of-year troubles from some of the publishers I follow. Roll for Combat is a fantastic company with incredible products, and they go through their problems with Diamond Publishing's bankruptcy in the above video. Now is the time to place orders, support their crowdfunding, and show them some appreciation for being one of the best cross-platform publishers for 5E and Pathfinder 2E.

I am on their latest crowdfunding projects, and I will do my part to help. They are amazing creators who put out top-quality, full-color books that are crowd-pleasers suitable for the whole family.

Every time they share an update on this situation, my heart goes out to them. They are too good to have this happen to them.

And the complete opposite!

James Raggi is facing some steep tax bills and put out a call for help on his store's website. Lamentations is still one of the most original horror games on the market, an OG OSR game, and I support it. If we can support movies like Terrifier, then Raggi's books are nowhere near that level and are actually quite reserved and held back. They are well-written, high-quality, imaginative books, and I would hate to see Lamentations go away.

If you see his works as horror movies punishing Age of Sail colonizers, carrying out unholy retribution for the sins of defiling and exploiting the New World, you will understand them on a deeper level. Yes, there are undertones, but many horror movies go much farther.

The hobby is full of eccentric personalities, and they help make this a crazy, wonderful, and enjoyable place. I would love to review some of these new books, but I can't get through Raggi's spam filter, and there is no way to reach out.

I can't think of two more polar opposites than this, and times are tough for many companies. Everyone is hurting, and this cross-section covers everything on the fringes and in between. If you can help pick up a few things, now is a good time.

Mail Room: Battlezoo Ancestries Dragons 5E

I initially dismissed the Roll for Combat books as not for me or a little too cute for my tastes.

I was wrong; these are very high-quality books. They also fit in any campaign type, especially the ancestries books. In fact, they are doing more to make 5E accessible to a younger audience than even Wizards, but these books can also be played seriously. They have unique, cute art - but they are what you make of them. I can see kids wanting to play a party of dragons, and this book lets that happen.

I am really impressed by their content, quality, and production - and these will make a fine addition to my Open 5E library. Of anything, they are highly creative and well-designed rule frameworks for a more comprehensive ancestry choice where you can level up and power up your dragon.

I like supporting these types of Open 5E books, things that aren't "bog standard" D&D with that human-elf-dragonborn axis of power. Many Wizards settings are "same-y" with the same collection of backgrounds doing the same thing against the same foes. Books like this force me to think outside of my box and dream of new things, other stories I can play, and not the thee-thou pseudo-Renaissance setting they present too many times before.

They expand the focus on 5E, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to the hardcover for this, and it looks exciting.