Gateway to a World of Darkness - Hunter: the Reckoning 5th Edition Review

Full disclosure: I have been a paid contractor for Renegade Game studios working as a Test Reader on World of Darkness books that have included Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition products. I did not work on the corebook or any of the other products covered specifically in this review, nor was I paid for this review. This review is my personal opinion. That said, I am writing this review to help promote some upcoming Storyteller's Vault material I will be publishing for Hunter, so it is not entirely without Crassly Commercial motives. You can find my full list of RPG credits here.

TL;DR

I think Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition is a great introduction for new and returning players to the 5th Edition World of Darkness. It works well for both one-shots and longer chronicles, the rules are easy to explain and on the balance its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. I would recommend it to any Gamemaster or group interested in a modern day horror RPG focused on hunting the supernatural.

That Familiar Holiday Spirit

 

A one page RPG about throwing a holiday party for vampires...

You are the familiar of an ancient Vampire, your vampiric master lives with a small group of other vampires for comfort & community. Your master promised that in exchange for years of loyal service they will make you a vampire too, albeit someday... Unfortunately, today, instead of becoming a powerful member of the undead community, you’re running errands to prepare for a Vampiric Yule Festival. The sun is just about to set & you have just six hours until the Midnight Celebration begins...

Last year I quickly wrote up a one-page RPG in the style of John Harper's classic Lasers & Feelings to run for one of my in-person gaming groups & this year I decided to give it a quick revision to polish it and published it as a 'Pay What You Want' game on itch.io. 

It's a silly game about being the servant of a vampire during the holiday season & you can download a pdf of it on my new itch.io page for free or name your own price.

State of the Blog - November 2025

Dusting the cobwebs off this old blog as I prepare to do more RPG writing and development... It's been a while hasn't it?

The Dustballs, Evie (top) and Nadja (bottom), holding down the fort.

Another DM's Guild product from Thomas and I, Heroes of the Icy North is packed with new options...

Heroes of the Icy North 

 Three new Race Options: Ice Genasi, Furchin Halfling and Glacier Dwarf.

• Eight Class Archetypes:
  • Path of the Beast-Shirt Barbarian
  • College of the Cold Hearts Bard
  • Hearth Domain Cleric
  • Way of Elemental Ice Monk
  • Oath of Honor’s Command Paladin
  • Conclave of Recovery Ranger
  • Aurora Soul Sorcerer
  • School of Necryomancy Wizard.
• Eighteen Spells providing new options for using ice and surviving frigid climes.
• Nine Magic Items providing new treasures to be found in the north.
• Other supporting options for the hardy adventurers of the north.

The Path of the Beast-Shirt Barbarian is inspired by the old Vikings Sourcebook, just like Runecasters of the North.

This is the DM's Guild product to get if you want to have a Log of Snoring or a Yeti Hood Cloak... 

Runecasters of the North - Long Time, No Blog

 Long time, no blog... I've been busy running two to four games a week, plus playing in another one to two a week, dealing with life and then this global pandemic, but I recently did a thing! I wrote a 5th Edition D&D supplement for the DM's Guild called "Runecasters of the North" with an assist from Thomas. 

Runecasters of the North

After the Giant empire of Ostoria fell in the war with dragons, Annam All Father went off to discover new weapons to bolster the might of the giants. After a thousand years, Annam returned, having discovered the secret of rune casting. Since that time a select few adventures in the North have wrested the mysteries of runes from the giants and unlocked their power. This supplement provides:

• Rules to integrating Rune Magic into your game.
• 3 class archetypes: The Path of the Rune Carver Barbarian, College of the Rune Skald Bard and Pact of the Rune Scribe Warlock
• 3 feats for characters to unlock and improve their rune magic.
• 24 runes for rune casting characters to master. 
• 3 creature and NPC options for Dungeon Masters looking to add rune casting allies and adversaries to their games.

The product was heavily inspired by my days in middle school reading and re-reading the old AD&D Viking Campaign Sourcebook and I hope that others will get some enjoyment out of playing a Runecaster in 5th Edition D&D. We're hoping to have a joint packet out soon that will be stuffed with even more arctic themed 5e options for the new Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden adventure and I will post when that is completed and on the DM's Guild.