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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are now available free

Posted on February 26, 2025 by faz_business

Ah, the Epic Games Store. You come for the exclusive titles, but stay for the free games. Just like its desktop application, the Epic Games Store mobile app is a bit of a mess. However, it does offer a rotating catalog of free games for your phone if you need a reason to check it out. For instance, through Mar. 20, you can pick up the mobile versions of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its 2004 sequel for free. All you need to claim these titles is a valid Epic Games Store account and the mobile app, available for iOS or Android.

Set roughly four millennia prior to the events of A New Hope, the KOTOR saga is one of the better Star Wars storylines penned in the post-prequel era. Both titles are considered classics of the CRPG genre, and are also responsible for developing the morality and companion systems that later rose to prominence in the Mass Effect franchise.

While KOTOR 1 & 2 first became available on mobile devices in 2013, I’m still baffled that a pair of games that I originally played by shuffling around four, count’ em, four CDs on my desktop can now be called down from the ether of the internet for free, and played on the same device I use to order Mexican food.

The Ultimate RPG Humble Bundle has a trove of GM skills for under $20

Posted on December 19, 2024 by faz_business

For Humble Bundle’s Very Humble Holiday, Adams Media is having a flash bundle sale that will give you all the skills and knowledge you need to be a great dungeon master. Raising money for Worldreader, the bundle includes 22 books collected from the Ultimate RPG series, Teri Litorco’s Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming, the Düngeonmeister food and drink recipe books, and a collection of mythology books to inspire your worldbuilding.

One of the only major publishers to venture into tabletop roleplaying games, Simon & Schuster imprint Adams media began publishing books about tabletop games in 2016, with Litorco’s guide that included 100 gaming etiquette rules “every gamer must live by.” In 2018, it published the Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide by James D’Amato, Polygon contributor and founder of the One Shot actual play network. The book offers prompts and exercises to flesh out player character backstories, creating a more fully fleshed persona for players to embody once they sat down at the table.

The success of D’Amato’s guide launched the line of guides featured in this bundle. Other books by D’Amato in this series include the Ultimate RPG Game Masters Worldbuilding Guide, the Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide, and The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book, which includes 40 rules-lite tabletop games.

Other books in the series include the Ultimate Random Encounters Book by Travis Wheeler (which offers hundreds of encounters to incorporate into any fantasy game of your choice) and The Everything Tabletop Games Book by Bebo. The latter promises to introduce the uninitiated into the world of tabletop, explaining different genres of games while teaching strategies for winning them. Also included in the bundle are three books by Jef Aldrich and Jon Taylor: the A Dragon Walks Into A Bar joke book, the Düngeonmeister Drink Master’s Guide cocktail recipe book, and the Düngeonmeister Cookbook, which has 75 RPG-inspired recipes geared toward game-night snacks.

The final genre of books in this bundle are less specific to tabletop gaming, but are meant to provide a wealth of inspiration for dungeonmasters to pull from. That includes mythology anthologies covering specific creatures like mermaids, fairies, unicorns, dragons, vampires, and wizards, as well as culture-specific lore from Viking, Celtic, and Greek mythology. One book, by Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy, focuses specifically on the role of women in mythology around the world. To round it out, the final book in this bundle is A Dictionary of Made-Up Languages by Stephen D. Rogers — which is exactly what it says on the tin, and covers Klingon, Elvish, and other conlangs.

Until Dec. 19, all of that is available for less than $20. A portion of the proceeds raised from this bundle go to Worldreader, a global nonprofit organization that has donated millions of digital books to children in more than 100 countries.

Save 70% on Yakuza’s complete Kazuma Kiryu series on PC

Posted on September 9, 2024 by faz_business

There’s still time to immerse yourself into the wild and whimsical world of Sega’s Yakuza at a steep discount. GOG is offering a on PC, where you can pick up a seven-game collection that includes the best versions of Yakuza 0 through Yakuza 6: The Song Life for less than $34, saving 70% off the total price. This bundle includes the “Kiwami” remakes of the first two Yakuza games as well as the remastered editions of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5. But time is of the essence, as the sale expires Sept. 10 at 3 a.m. EDT/12 a.m. PDT.

Each game featured in this collection can be purchased individually and are also on sale between 45% and 70% off their standard $19.99 price:

Note that this bundle focuses on the mainline, Kiryu-centric Yakuza games. That means neither turn-based game from the more recent Ichiban Kasuga era is included (e.g. no Like a Dragon or Infinite Wealth). The collection also doesn’t include any Yakuza spinoffs such as Like a Dragon: Ishin!, The Man Who Erased His Name, or the delightfully bizarre Yakuza: Dead Souls. That said, Ichiban Kasuga’s debut game, 2020’s excellent Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is from GOG for $11.99 (was $19.99).

There is no franchise quite like Yakuza. It’s an epic story about the criminal underworld centered around the stoic and virtuous Kazuma Kiryu, a.k.a. the Dragon of Dojima, that has a strong dash of surreal and comical substories. If you need any more convincing as to why Yakuza is one of the best — and certainly one of the strangest — franchises this side of Kamurocho, check out this great essay from Super Eyepatch Wolf (caution: some series spoilers):

… And also this image that I randomly found in the Polygon image database. No, I will not be explaining — you’ll just have to play the games and find out for yourself.

Dungeons & Dragons books discounted at Amazon

Posted on May 7, 2024 by faz_business

Amazon is currently discounting a handsome collection of core curriculum and supplementary adventures for Dungeons & Dragons. Whether you’re trying to rope your friends into your next tabletop session or need an ample supply of one-shot adventures to kill time while we all wait for D&D’s revised fifth edition, you’ll want to check out this modest selection of discounted tomes.

For instance, if you or a small band of adventurers are looking to test the waters of Dungeons & Dragons, the D&D Essentials Kit is currently discounted to $20.31 (was $24.99). However, if you need a more substantial introduction to the world of D&D, you can also find the Player’s Handbook on sale for $37.21, and the Monster Manual discounted to $28.86.

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit

Prices taken at time of publishing.

An abridged rulebook, modestly-sized one-shot adventure, six character sheets, 11 dice, and a wealth of supplementary material round out the D&D Essentials Kit.

Dungeons & Dragons: Player’s Handbook

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The essential rulebook for playing Dungeons & Dragons 5e. Includes rules and errata for players to create their own characters and also features references for spells, equipment, and other items.

Dungeons & Dragons: Monster Manual

Prices taken at time of publishing.

A guide detailing D&D monsters from Aarakocra to Zombie. The essential Monster Manual for D&D 5e includes over 150 creatures, complete with lore, illustrations, and stat blocks to populate your next campaign.

Amazon also has discounts on an impressive selection of one-shot adventures and campaign settings to spice up your next tabletop session. Become a space pirate with the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space bundle for just $34.99 (was $69.99). Or, perhaps you’d like to mull over a collection of 17 mystery-themed adventures in one of our personal favorites, Candlekeep Mysteries, which is on sale for $26.10 (was $49.95).

Regardless of your level of experience with the legendary tabletop franchise, you’re bound to find at least one tome that would make a fine addition to your armory of D&D texts.