In my article I broke down the article from Arcadia that I once wrote for Tribe, in a similar way I now show you the breakdown of a series of unbound sets. Leon Barillaro was kind enough to provide me with a copy of this issue for review and review.
In many ways, Unbound is very similar to the Arcadia and unaged series. Lyon even mentions this at the beginning of his Letter from the Editor! However, this collection has another purpose. With the disaster caused by the Dungeons & Dragons OGL, many people started to pay attention to other games, and the people responsible for Infinite Binding also wanted to put other games on the map. As Leon puts it: “This magazine is a collection of articles supporting the systems and genres we like, many of which have nothing to do with heroic medieval fantasy.”
The PDF itself is not indexed, nor does it provide all text for images. Additionally, text cannot be selected as if each page were a complete image. However, its layout is gorgeous, the selection of images is stunning, colorful, and thematic. Additionally, each individual article includes not only the author, but also illustrations, editors, and even the adventure’s playtesters. I really like to see that everyone involved is well represented in each article and that everyone has a full contributors section (except the testers). As a member of BIMPOC and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I also have to highlight these contributors because they are so diverse.
Skip the Pantheon and Build a Tarot Deck
Author: Dana Floberg
Artist: Cecelia Nesti
Editor: Ashton Duncan and Steffy Devine
When we’re building a world we usually start with things like maps, politics, kingdoms or planets, pantheons, etc. What if there’s a better way to get more ideas from all aspects of the world? That’s right !That’s a deck of tarot cards! With this article, Dana takes some time to explain the origins of the tarot cards, what it was created to represent, and how much of an impact it has had on our world. After that, there’s a guide on how to create your own tarot deck for your world and make it impactful in the setting.
I don’t know much about tarot cards. I also had my own set at Big Bad Con because I bought a game that required the set and there was a deck of tarot cards next to it that looked really cool. While reading this article, I had the urge to think of something from Minecraft that would appear in my own personal deck. I definitely recommend this article to get those inspiring gears turning in your head and create a tarot deck that your players can draw from across all your games!
Fourteen Blades
~Resources for Thirsty Sword Lesbians~
Author: Matthew Campbell
Artist: Margarita Bourkova
Editors: Brock Bergum and Leon Barillaro
In this article you will find a collection of 14 different blades for TTRPG Sword Thirsty Lesbians. If there is a connection between them and the tarot cards, I really can’t find it (they are supposed to be inspired by the tarot cards, maybe it has something to do with the minor arcana cards?) However, what was found in this article is fascinating Incredible imagination. This suggests that Matthew is either a sword fan or has done a lot of research into different swords, because half of the types of swords detailed here are ones I’ve never heard of. The Blind Sword Sŏng, the twin blades of justice and truth, Mora’s Shashika, the sword of the good witch possessed by a spirit, are of course my favorites.
Let’s Talk About Boiz!!!!!!!!
~The Adventures of Cy_Borg~
Author: Isla Lader
Artist: David Markiswsky
Editor: Kai Linder and Steffie Devaan
When an artificial intelligence destined to collect information from the fashion of thousands of people and predict its future becomes rebellious and uses a body made of flesh as its means of existence in the world, you have to This does something. I don’t think of this as an adventure, but as a series of imaginative information about SINdy AI, and using it to create a series of stories of your own. SINdy has a connection to tarot cards in that she (or her followers) can empower PCs by drawing cards from the main arcana deck. I haven’t seen The Adventures of Cy_Borg before, but I do own a copy of the game. Now I really want to do a short commercial featuring SINdy, or at least make her a supporting character!
Divined Chaos
~New Game~
Author: Karren Loomer
Artist: David Markiswsky
Editors: Dana Floberg and Leon Barillaro
I was surprised to come across a new game in this issue. I mean, the last one did have a honey heist hack, but this one has no basis for it. This is a very simple game that uses tarot cards and has all players interpret the cards they have drawn. You can use the actual meanings of the tarot cards, or the art within them, to create your story, which means if you have a tarot deck centered around a specific theme (e.g., lovecraft), your story will most likely follow that direction . I like that this makes the game very easy for beginners and there are almost no rules. Here are the 4 steps you need to follow, dealing out the cards in a similar way to how you would do it in a game of fiasco. Simple, but a very cool idea for a boring afternoon or if you are a tarot card enthusiast.
Final Thoughts
I found all of these articles particularly useful. Building a world with the first article and creating my own tarot deck was something I was really interested in trying. While I’ve never played Thirst Sword Lesbians, I plan to do so one day, and I’ve found it easy to adapt the swords from the second post into any other game of my choice, as with love Swords are always cool. Cy_Borg’s article awakened my desire to play the game rather than just look at the art of it, which is always great, I really want to play as SINdy. Finally, for Divine Chaos, while I don’t think it’s a game I’d enjoy playing, I believe it’s simple enough to play with any non-TTRPG player. All in all, a very useful question and a very cool topic!