Episode 13 - Japan

The World of RPGs

Disclaimer: All links are to the websites or social media presence of RPG publishers, creators, gaming stores, gaming clubs, or actual play channels. I take no responsibility for the content behind those links. I received no compensation for linking to any of these pages.

• The actual play channel I used for the teaser can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/@user-jy6xt7jf8g).
• The gaming café Monodraco has a website (https://www.monodraco.com)
• Andy Kitkowski's translations can be found at Kotodama Heavy Industries (https://kotohi.com), but you can also find the games on DrivethruRPG, i.e. Tenra Bansho Zero (https://drivethrurpg.com/en/product/111713/Tenra-Bansho-Zero-Heaven-and-Earth-Edition), Ryuutama (https://drivethrurpg.com/en/product/151366/Ryuutama--Natural-Fantasy-Roleplay) and Shinobigami (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/297976/shinobigami-modern-ninja-battle-rpg). In the interview he mentions Kabuki theatre (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki) and Utena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Girl_Utena)
• Björn-Ole Kamm's homepage with info on his research and books is here (https://www.b-ok.de). In the interview he mentions Hikikomori (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori) and the light novel Nyaruko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyaruko:_Crawling_with_Love).
• Far East Amusement Research can be found here (https://www.fear.co.jp).
• David recently opened Warstorm Games (https://www.warstormgames.com)
• Another TTRPG translated from Japanese into English is Itadaki Dungeon/ Challenge Dungeon (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/406399/Challenge-DUNGEON-RPG)
• Even Wikipedia has an article on TTRPGs in Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabletop_role-playing_games_in_Japan)
• The Blog Japanese Tabletop RPG has overviews of a lot of classic Japanese TTRPGs, including Sword World (https://japanesetrpg.com)
• An overview of the Japanese translation of D&D with lots of original pictures can be found here (https://mystara.thorfmaps.com/appendix-j/rules-cyclopedia/), which also explains the looks of the kobold
• Masaki Yanagida wrote a short history of D&D in Japan (https://www.tokyodev.com/articles/the-rise-and-fall-of-dnd-in-japan)
• An article by Kamiab Ghorbanpour on Dicebreaker further explores the history of TTRPGs in Japan (https://www.dicebreaker.com/series/sword-world/feature/sword-world-japan-dnd-elden-ring-trpg-group-sne)
• A discussion of the Japanese licensed Star Trek TTRPG can be found here (https://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2023/09/1983-enterprise-role-play-game-in-star.html?fbclid=IwAR3B9TTiLoFpdj1ghzxoYGsWejkn_L553B4i5042cdxYF8xrni91z_VGVdw)
• The Japanese quick start for Call of Cthulhu can be downloaded here (https://product.kadokawa.co.jp/cthulhu/contents/media-download/1116/28d8f4e8669f9557/)

My recommendation is another interview with Andy Kitkowski on the Don't Stop Thinking YouTube Channel, which comes in two parts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmqxjnflwf0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgHhSCrAHhQ&t=1s). Role Play Ukraine can be found here (https://linktr.ee/roleplayua) and the Archeterica crowdfunding campaign here (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theimagocult/archeterica-imago-the-invitation). Finally, The Awards is here (https://theawards.games)

• The music is by Thomas Mutiu, you can find his work here: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/7GmlxnkpjsEMAq1deN5aeR?si=g822wgdISJWrX0_6Sjc-Tw&nd=1
• The logo is by Ayberk Karakaş who you can find here: https://www.instagram.com/ayberkarakas/