You love tabletop RPG zines! I love tabletop RPG zines!
All manner of dramatic, cinematic, and quirky idea in neat package for a quick pick-up-and-go experience with a handful of your close friends, co-workers, interesting strangers, or even yourself. Even if you are knee-deep in an on-going Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Blades in the Dark, or other TTRPG, every now and then your crew can take a break from the grind and be whisked away to another setting entirely!
For myself, when times get puzzling, the mirror of self-reflection gleams, and the plate of inspiration is filled with the crumbs of rejected and half-baked ideas, I enjoy breaking the mold by slinking my way to one of a handful of game shops in my urban vicinity, and uncovering what creations lie in wait for me to pick them up.
One that continues to be a high recommend for its off-the-wall character, colorful cartoonish chaos, and hyper-welcome artsy community is the Odd Mart. I covered this gem of wild-minded makes in Odd Mart Oddities: JP Coovert’s Nintendo-style TTRPG Zines!
Personally, I have a love for a lot of establishments in my community. Tower Games was the place where I ran adventurers league for two years and is a vibrant neighborhood spot. Source Comics and Games has been a long-time large retailer in everything physical game and zine. Fantasy Flight Game Zenter is the play-area connected to the famed game publisher with a large area for tables, but also a sizeable game collection for purchase. There’s a large number of spots to get geeky in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
I digress; what started as a shop-focused wander and previous stroke of inspiration is evolving now to its own zine round-up of items I’ve grabbed off the shelf for my collection!
So, whats in the bag?
I’ve added some wonderful, elegant, compact experiences in a paper-back package, because what better way to publish great game ideas than in a neat booklet for use in an afternoon or evening with quirky creative friends. Granted, I realize one of my grabs is not a game; more of a “prompt” book, but I’m going to cover all of them.
Today, I’m going to look at three in particular that I picked up of my own curiosity:
- Axolotl With a Gun
- Game Genie Apocalypse / Reading the Apocalypse
- Home: MECH x KAIJU map-making RPG
Short and sweet peaks into each of these three for the sake of sharing some fun with the RPG inclined.
By Jonathon Boyle. Art by Bri De Danann
Grab the: Digital PDF | Physical Booklet
Imagine you and your adorable friends are in the midst of a cute fishing trip, or a cozy knitting circle when your group is assailed by a band of robotic horrors. Oh! What ever shall we do? Our peaceful little community is doomed! … says a lesser axolotl! Your school of axolotl has an ace up their sleeves, and by ace, I mean GUNS! Your mission; scrap these robotic fools, save the village, and return in time for tea!
This synthesis of snuggly cute and metal vibes is the perfect roleplaying game for your delightfully weird and kickass group of friends. This is one of your classic d6 two-stat games (think Honey Heist) in which your dual skills double as a resource. Choose cute traits, a gun type, hobbies, and some items to inspire regenerating stats when needed. Build up momentum towards an “ultimate move”. Improve your gun to unlock new abilities. Gather hobby bonuses for fun activities like needle felting, k-pop dances, stamp collecting, and more.
The zine is an elegant 20-page 8.5×5.5 format with the occasional fun, colorful illustration evocative of its light-hearted vibe. Perfect addition to your arsenal of quirky games!
Written and designed by Aaron King
Grab the: Digital PDF (GGA) | Digital PDF (RTA)
Looking to bring a bit of digitalism or literary flair to your games? Or want a zine that is basically a book of non-game gags? Inspired by video game sequences and glitches, and literary entries, this double-sided supplement is an eclectic addition to one of any number of games built on the Powered By the Apocalypse system (Blades in the Dark, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Dungeon World, Root RPG, Monster of the Week, etc).
Not an RPG itself, but a collection of 50+ “moves” inspired by these two sources. They might be a difficult thing to plug into any non-PbtA game, or game that doesn’t have any congruity with either of these themes, but reading it as is has clear entertainment value, and I laughed at a few of them.
I could imagine if you were running a game centered on a digital video game world, or a setting inspired by literary fiction, it vibes. Even if not, a creative and industrious game master could devise their own scenes, encounters, or mini-adventures from these prompts for whatever game they please.
Created by Nick Gralewicz, Deepdark Games
Grab the: Digital PDF | Physical Booklet + PDF
The first Kaiju came without warning. It destroyed cities and ravaged the countryside. After the bomb, the beast was annihilated, but the Rift is still open and the world is in fear of another invasion. Its time for you and your band of mech pilots to defend your Home!
Basically, Pacific Rim if it was a tabletop RPG! … Home is a GM-less experience where everyone controls a pilot, and rolls the fate of their mechs and the world. Its a robust series of crunch-less rules and roleplaying advice for a one-shot zine, encompassing the building of your own maps, creating your own character and home, picking unique archetypes and the controlling your own mech, the kaiju threat and the consequences of failure, and weaving together a MECH x KAIJU saga for the ages!
Want to go toe-to-toe with your foe, and commit to a showdown? Want to flex special moves and abilities while you ensure their ultimate attack? Want to bearhug a kaiju as your mech core explodes? All cinematic explosive action is possible!
Be warned. Mechs will fall. Pilots may die. Progress may falter. Cities may be destroyed. All things to grit ones teeth and to get back into the game for another round of destiny. It’s the kind of game that can be run as a one-shot adventure, or expanded to make it a story-forward campaign arc of rules-lite storytelling!
As it turns out 8.5 x 5 is my favorite size of box to sit inside of! Until it breaks, of course. I really must talk the hooman into getting some more cardboard boxes lying around the house. I digress, dear reader; what do you think? Are you tuned into strange and unusual zines? Are you looking for more TTRPGs for the roundup? Are there any unrelated zines that YOU might suggest?
Reach out and tell us your thoughts. … Go ahead! Ping my brain!
- Leave a comment down below!
- Reach out to me via the CW Contact Me page.
- Share on social media and poke @chaoticanwriter.
Also be sure to check out the Odd Mart!
- Axolotls, Genies, and Kaiju; a Quick TTRPG Zine Roundup #2 - May 19, 2025
- d100 City Encounters and Urban Sidequests - April 26, 2025
- Dirtbags! a Sci-Fi Shooter RPG: Gameplay Review! - March 23, 2025
