I. Dear friends!
The dog days of Summer are here. With so many great products, games, and events to look forward to, I’ve packed this one issue with a glittering trove of dungeon treasure!
“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”
Might I say, the best things to be interested in are those topics which teach you a thousand things. Tabletop RPGs are an ever-dungeonous delve into storytelling, environmental logic, history, anthropology, mathematics, design principles, and plain fun with friends! … This is why I work and toil to bring you a semi-regular digest of interesting trinkets from my treasure trove of experiences, and across the interweb.
From my last-week wanderings, I come bearing a bag of baubles and sundry items which tell tales of interest.
Highlights from FREE RPG DAY!
Two weekends ago, publishers doled out their free materials digitally and in-store to promote their projects. I took a tour across the game store circuit and picked up a bunch of things I’d love to talk about, plus some adjacent highlights.
Perfect! I needed a fancy print version to prep for GenCon 2026. Return to the Sablewood and investigate the dying flame of the mysterious spire in this thrilling five-act Daggerheart adventure from Darrington Press! Expect a digital release in the coming weeks.
A complete, two-player haunted house experience. A hold-over from last years ritual, but a fun addition to the pile. A map building role playing game by Doug Levandowski and Yeonsoo Julian Kim.
Son of Oak’s Legend in the Mist is a narrative RPG thats big on presentation! Not only does the Demo Game provide character sheets in 11×17 posters, but there is a solo learn-to-play comic book adventure! Ingenious design. … Full game arriving in stores July 15th!
A triple threat of neon nasties across three different sci-fi Mork Borg hacks, all with glitch-happy art and design, and digital resources to play each! Tons of cyber suspense in one zine. Check out creaturecuration.com for more info.
Pirate Borg is a swashbuckling apocalyptic dance with death on the high seas. Terror in Tortuga throws you into a pirate pickle fit for one-to-two sessions of Dark Caribbean fun, and a bunch of resources to get started! Grab yours here!
Of course, I cant just stop at the free stuff. There’s other stuff worth adding to the stuff pile!
Goblins on the mind! Goblins all the time! … Two completely separate products by two separate creators. Goblin Errands is a zany no-prep TTRPG helping a community thrive despite sticky situations. Wizard Trash Goblin Treasure is a (Cairn-friendly) system neutral adventure where you apprehend goblins who got their hands on high-tech gadgets and a wizards personal trash. Different tones, different directions, tons of fun!
Stumbled upon Jon Boyle at Source Comics and Games! Picked up their newest game, Tipsy Whispers, about a mystical speakeasy hiding in the walls of your house! … 1+ players, 60-90 minutes of boozy delight!
Of course, Uncle Matt needs a strategy. His nieces, ages 5 and 7, will soon be old enough to kick off their own TTRPG journey. Time to prepare! … And as an experienced game master, I need something robust, capable for light play, and something colorful and inspiring!
Dia has been digging into Hilde, the TV show, and Cece has an appreciation for unicorns. Not to mention, something that employs colorful and cartoonish illustration that inspire. Land of Eem hits that vibe perfectly!
Some have suggested its best played for ages 10 and up, but I think I’m capable to handle the difficult parts myself, and simplify things for the table. Besides. They may emerge to become super geniuses at basic math!
The wonderful JP Coovert has reviewed Land of Eem with an air of genuine excitement!
Appendix N Jam
Paying homage to retro pulp fantasy, the Appendix N Jam is a game jam event which provides its participants a random book title, and asks them to theme an adventure module around the concept (the book itself doesnt matter. the title is the inspiration!
This is my first year participating in this jam! Though I’ve joined late, I’m already percolating with notes and ideas, and hope to deliver YOU an entry of my own creation.
My assigned book title: Revenge of the Calloused Lord
What could it mean? Who is this ‘lord’? Why are they calloused? For what are they seeking revenge? … Find out in an exciting future issue of Dungeon Delve!
II. The Sage is Soaking Up The Sun!
Each week, I list 3-5 vocabulary terms within the category of TTRPGs, game mastering, or world-building. Its a fun section where I get to slowly-but-surely build the Odd Fair Press TTRPG Glossary and the Worldbuilding/Writing Glossary. Of course, there’s no rush. Even those old bones of the sages need some rest.
III. The Treasure Chest
«««»»» This Weeks FREE Resource - DOUBLE FEATURE!! «««»»»
Today, I’m showing a couple of interesting resource makers on itch that are designed for video game design, but might have interesting implications for your campaign, especially if you like homebrewing or creating digital handouts. Play around, and get creative. They might inspire something amazing!
IV. Markings on the Wall
—> SUPPORT DUNGEON DELVE! Check out our BOOKSTORE! <—
We’ve opened a store on Bookstore-org and filled it with a ton of great books by many fantastic authors of TTRPG and worldbuilding content which I personally recommend checking out. Every purchase on our bookstore helps cover time and expenses for Dungeon Delve, the budding Odd Fair Press site, and for Chaotican Writer.
Check out the amazing selection of items here!
Hot TTRPG Sales and Bundles!
Free League Publishing’s SUMMER SALE with up to 40% on RPG books, starter sets, and board games. Also, up to 80% on select items.
Oldskull Generators provides seven D1000 master tables perfect for campaign and adventure building!
$115$18Vast Grimm is a space opera horror based on Mork Borg, and its digital bundle features Skeleton Crew rules, and adventure bundles!
$70$10Evil Hat Production’s Rae Nedjadi Recovery Bundle provides 98% of proceeds to aid the beloved designer in their medical recovery.
$285$25Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Bundle provides 19 books including the core game and adventure modules. $202 $19
Indie charity bundle for Accessibility in TTRPGS is a community driven 1000-item collection for the good of accessibility. PWYW
Heroic Maps Anniversary Sale is a celebration of 13 years with tons of digital titles for your TTRPG map needs!
NEW Crowdfunding Projects
ENNIES Emporium - With the awards ceremony coming up soon during Gen Con 2026, the nominees from 2025 are coming together to celebrate the last years festivities with ready-to-ship products featuring their nominated projects! LOTS of Backerkit campaigns to check out, and support!
The Deck of Fates - Give me more oracles!! This deck-based storytelling tool is a magical artifact of inspiration. Whether you wield it for writing purposed, game master campaign building, or your own spiritual or personal insight, each card is like a shimmering window into your imagination!
Game Master Advice From Across the Web!
I’ve always been intrigued by social intrigue in RPGs. Hell, I’ve run plenty a scene where dialogue is a puzzle with multiple ways of solving. However, I understand the struggle getting players prepared for the grand masquerade. In the post Playing the Social Game, Patchwork Paladin approaches this in a simple, clean way by defining the game loop, using leverage, and building a little black book. In fact, they created a downloadable PDF of such a resource!
If you’re deep into roleplaying, no doubt capturing the voice of your character is important. But different situations and encounters yield different emotions. Campaign Mastery has a guide breaking down three tips (in detail) on how you can make your voice more dynamic and responsive in-game
RPG News and Finds
The nominees for the 2026 ENNIE Awards for tabletop RPGs have been announced, and there are some amazing entries this year. Its a good opportunity to tune in and see what games, adventures, and resources are making flames this year.
Game Jams are the lifeblood of the indie game dev scene. Community events where budding designers are challenged to create and share something new! Skeleton Code Machine rants about how much they love them! … Speaking of which, here are some active jams you can join right now!
[ends Aug 1st] Appendix N Game Jam - A community favorite!
[ends Aug 1st] D20 Zine Jam 2026 - For fans of Dimension 20!
[ends Aug 3rd] Free Zine Week 2026 - Indie take on FREERPGDAY!
[ends Aug 16th] One Page RPG Jam - ENNIE Award winning jam!
[ends Aug 31st] New Edition Game Jam - Remix something familiar!
[ends Aug 31st] Choose a Song Jam 2026 - Get musical!
[ends Aug 31st] Disabled Designers Game Jam - For any disability!
[ends Aug 31st] The Queer Wrongs Jam 2026 - For queer rights!
Crowdfunding site Gamefound has just announced their picks for their upcoming RPG Party 2026 event. With projects from Free League, Modiphius, Darrington Press, Magpie Games and more!
With a super successful launch, the community welcomes a new platform for digital sales of products. I covered it before, but can’t stop raving about RPG Trader! … Jason Volk at TTRPG Fanatics covers its meteoric rise in just the past month!
Wizards of the Coast’s dreadful OGL crisis of three years ago may still be fresh on many of our minds, but RPG Gazette does the duty of ensuring that history is not forgotten by looking back and reflecting on the impact of the infamous corporate rug-pull in their post Who Owns the Rules? The OGL Crisis and the Return of the Author.
[Reddit Post of the Week]- Anyone have a recommendation for a Magical Girl ttrpg?
An epic article from about 3 years ago at Storybrewers Roleplaying gathers together a treasure trove of insights across multiple developers across the industry. Haley Gordon writes the piece Where 50 Game Designers Got Their Ideas!
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