Creator Spotlight - Plus One Exp
Spotlight is a new series that will help to showcase awesome creators in the tabletop community who we at Quackalope love and want to see succeed just as much as ourselves.
It’s a chance to see the industry from a new perspective and give a virtual hug to some of the wonderful people that also remind us how great board games are, how thrilling roleplaying is, and how exciting the tabletop industry is on a day-to-day basis.
So normally this is where we talk about roleplaying. That’s what we do on Roleplay Friday. But, today, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to highlight Tony Vasinda and the Plus One Exp content that you can find on the website and YouTube channel.
If you’re not familiar with Tony, he’s a content creator in charge of the Plus One Exp engine, which is dedicated to independent tabletop game content. The main focus is independent roleplaying games, but the channel features a mix of actual play content, reviews, game design conversations, and playcraft.
That’s not all, though! Plus One Exp also designs their own TTRPG experiences. And balms and lotions… That’s right, the bearded men of the table are making balms and lotions, inspired by classic tabletop culture and tropes.
YouTube
The YouTube channel just started last November and already boasts more than a dozen videos on RPG gameplay and livestreams.
Jesse, the Quackalope himself, joined Tony for The Santa-Cide Squad but there are other actual plays that you should check out, including a look at CoraQuest from Dan Hughes and his daughter!
If you’re interested in tabletop roleplaying games and want to see more content like what Tony and the bearded men of the table are doing, then make sure to subscribe!
Beards & Beyond
If you didn’t know that you needed this in your life, now you do.
I, for one, can’t grow a beard. Not a real one. Not even one big enough to be a fake one. But for all the bearded men and women out there who have wanted an RPG about their experience—and for all of us who can’t grow beards but are pro-beards at heart—then you can now enjoy this 44-page zine from Plus One Exp that allows you to enter into a hairy fantasy world known as the Whiskerverse.
Marketed as the world's first and only beard-based tabletop roleplaying game, Beards & Beyond tells the tale of “hairy heroes and whiskered warriors who have been pulled from across space and time to adventure in The Whiskerverse!”
It’s an OSR-inspired D6 system (which is the technical terminology for how the gameplay is designed and what dice you’ll use while playing). And it’s created to be a story-forward experience so all the narrative- and theme-loving players out there should have a good time. Characters are built around four main traits—Length, Thickness, Style, and Growth. If you didn’t get the beard-centric approach, you’re not paying attention…
The Podcast
Arriving soon is a podcast that will be published on the Missing Sock network, and the Plus One Exp team will be embarking on a Beards & Beyond actual play series, so if you want to listen to a hairy adventure, this could be your next podcast series to enjoy.
Beard Balms
Not every one can wait four levels to boost their ability scores! Sometimes you need that buff right then and there.
That’s why the Plus One Exp is meeting the demand of better beard care with hilariously-inspired balms.
These products—which I know nothing about because I don’t have the requisite hair—are designed to prevent beard dandruff, to promote beard growth, and to soften and style your hair. There are six custom-blended aromas, but let me be the first to suggest the +1 Constitution blend, which has blood orange, hops, and spice. That’s right up my alley (if I had a beard).
Community Outreach
But one really speciall thing that we here at Quackalope value is giving back to the community. That’s a sentiment that Plus One Exp shares and they showcase their love for the tabletop industry and the people involved with the +1 Forward commitment.
In some tabletop RPGs, when you make certain choices you can be rewarded with a bonus on future rolls. Known as taking +1 Forward, it’s the idea that your roleplaying or decision-making is doing something positive for more than just yourself.
Plus One Exp is taking this idea to heart by putting money back into the community—through Patreon, Kickstarter, and also direct investments—so that independent RPG creators can receive help with funding and other financial barriers in the industry.
So far, two RPGs are being supported by the +1 Forward initiative!
From Laurie O’Connel, Hieronymous is about exploring strange worldscapes.
It’s a Forged in the Dark hexcrawl game inspired by the work of the medieval artist Hieronymous Bosch. The RPG features printable, bookmark-sized playbooks featuring Bosch's art and seven dungeon worldscapes based on Bosch's paintings.
The next project from Cloven Pine Games and Alexi will be Autumn Triduum.
It will be a roleplaying/storytelling game about religious sisters confronting the forces of darkness from All Hallows' Eve to All Souls' Day. The Powered by the Apocalypse engine will lend this game story-forward immersion as players assume the roles of archetypal religious sisters like the Elder, the Novice, the Mystic, the Artist, the Penitent, the Scholar, and the Widow.
Art from Bethany Lee
Quackalope is what it is today because of the awesome tabletop community, but we’re not the only ones here in the space.
So we’re happy to highlight what Tony Vasinda and the Plus One Exp team is doing and we encourage all of you to carry +1 Forward in whatever you’re doing!
What other content creators do you want us to talk about? Let us know in the comments!