Stepping out of the shadow of Dungeons & Dragons is a challenge for even the most innovative tabletop publishers. But while the industry’s 800-pound gorilla has made unnecessary mistakes in recent years, Free League Publishing just keeps making people happy.
For the second year in a row and the fourth time in the last five years, the Swedish publisher took home the coveted Ennie Award Publisher of the Year prize – the only award voted for directly by fans. For CEO Tomas Härenstam, this is just further proof that his ambitious company is heading in the right direction.
“I’m just overwhelmed,” Härenstam said in an interview at the Gen Con tabletop gaming convention in Indianapolis. “It was a really awe-inspiring and amazing evening.”
Founded in 2011, Free League has built up an extensive catalog of tabletop roleplaying games. From reimagined legacy series like The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, Dragonbane and Mutant: Year Zero to exceptional licensed products like Alien, Blade Runner and The Walking Dead to novel new series like Vaesen and Mörk Borg, the hits keep coming. But instead of expanding the business even further, Härenstam says it’s time to make an effort and support the many series that already exist.
“Over the last month or even year, we’ve shifted our focus a little bit from looking for new franchises and new properties to supporting what we have,” Härenstam said. “Because we have a lot of them! More than a dozen, and they all need to be supported. We don’t want to give any of them away.”
Task number one, says Härenstam, is to refresh the popular Alien The Roleplaying Game Gamewhose development began more than seven years ago.
“We’re particularly discussing introducing a solo mode,” said Härenstam. “It opens up a whole new way of interacting with a game without having to bring people to the table. While that’s a lot of fun, it might not always be possible.”
Also on the agenda is support for playing the game with miniatures. This includes full-color maps of spaceships and planets, as well as a new set of alien miniatures. However, don’t expect a full, standalone skirmish game à la Mutant: Year Zero – Zone WarsInstead, the TTRPG itself – the core rulebook and supplementary materials – contains everything players need to conduct thematic skirmish battles as part of a broader role-playing experience.
But what about the other The crown jewel of Free League is the much-vaunted partnership with AMC for The Walking Dead: Roleplaying Game and an accompanying, high-profile play? It turns out that the ball is currently in the media company’s court.
“As far as I know, it’s taking a little longer than we originally planned, but as far as I know, it’s still happening,” said Härenstam. “I don’t know exactly when and how. The live game is actually AMC’s business. We’re doing it together, but it’s going through them. I don’t have full control over the calendar in that regard, but we certainly hope it will become a reality.”
