Newsround - Feb 7th to Feb 13th 2021

In the best tradition of John Craven's Newsround here's my rundown of "What I Learned" on the Internet this week.

New Easy to Use VTT - Owlbear Rodeo

If you are ovewhelmed by the likes of Fantasy Grounds or Roll20 then this relative newcomer in the Virtual Table Top (VTT) space might be more your kind of thing.

Owlbear Rodeo is entirely free to use (although Patreon funding is welcome) and browser based promising all the usual map sharing functionality that GMs demand of their online game experiences.

I was very impressed with the feature set as reviewed by WASD Roleplay so if you have tried it out let me know in the comments below what you thought of it.

Alan Tudyk Stars in New Alien Doctor Murder Mystery Comedy - Resident Alien

Resident Alien - Alan Tudyk

Yes, you read it right the inimitable Alan Tudyk (Firefly / Doom Patrol / Dale & Tucker vs Evil / Rogue One) stars in this new SYFY original and they have covered all the genre bases and then some.  Set in a small ex-mining town in the Colorado mountains this show has all the vibes of Due South but instead of a mountie, it's an alien.  

Tudyk of course is a joy to watch and his comedic character acting chops are in full view as the alien on a mission to destroy humanity but having to masquerade as the towns new doctor.  His arch nemesis and the only resident who can see his true form is a 10 year old boy.

Throw in some mysterious paranormal researchers and you've got a recipe for some serious shenanigans.

This is not a laugh out loud (there is no laughter track) joke-a-minute show, more a gentle comedy about messed up people with messed up lives.  Resident Alien is full of pathos interspersed with some fish-out-of water and cultural confusion moments keeps you engaged throughout.

Avatar Gets a New Roleplaying Game

Viacom CBS Consumer Products and Magpie Games have signed a deal for a new roleplaying game based on the popular noughties Nickolodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and the sequel series The Legend of Korra.

Now I for one think this is long overdue and am looking forward to seeing what results.  Magpie are already slated to release a ROOT RPG based on the art of Kyle Ferrin’s in LEDER Games very popular ROOT Boardgame.

No scheduled release date yet but fingers crossed it will happen and happen soon.

Avatar The Last Airbender - Ang

Blacklist Miniatures - Fantasy Series 1 Unboxing & Fantasy Series 2

Those lucky backers who managed to get in on the Fantasy Series 1 Kickstarter way back in May 2020 are about to receive their rewards.  

Flush with success the Kickstarter for Series 2 is expected to launch on 30th March so put that date in your diary and get your wallets ready people.

In the meantime here's an unboxing video from Guerilla Miniature Games to whet your appetite