The Tempest Times - August 2026

Hail to you, whose name is written in the Tempest Tome, and welcome to The Tempest Times, a newsletter from Tempest Tome Games. Check here each month for updates about ongoing projects, new content from our collaborators, and media recommendations from the Tempest Tome partners!

As of this month, you can now join our Launch Party on Backerkit! This is your chance to sign up for updates on Order of the Black Chalice, our upcoming TTRPG of Existential Fantasy. OotBC features lethal and strategic combat and a high-risk, costly magical system, both designed to test Pilgrims’ mettle and determine their worthiness to a destined relic. Early backers can pay just $2 for a special Black Chalice enamel pin. Come support us at the link above!

You can also get an eye-ful (👁️) of some new OotBC art, including another uncanny cover from artist Michael Pisano! Here is depicted our Secret Testament, a 400+ page monster crammed with lore, spells, monsters, and all the instructions Keepers need to run a successful OotBC game. Only the Secret Testament can confirm the secret history of the Order, and the true destiny of those peregrine relics placed under the Order’s care…

And of course, we had a great time at Gen Con in Indianapolis! It was great checking out new games, attending seminars and actual plays, and killing some time down in pinball alley.

What We’ve Enjoyed This Month

Read!

• In Cristina Rivera Garza’s Iliac Crest concerns a nameless doctor working at the edge of the world, where the sickly and inconvenient are disappeared. On a stormy night a strange woman interposes herself into his life, claiming to be the mysterious author Amparo Dávila…

• Ursula K. Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness is another banger, following an interplanetary emissary stationed on a planet whose denizens are both socially and biologically genderfluid. Probing, immersive, harrowing, LHoD showcases everything that made Le Guin one of the greats.

Watch!

• It’s been a great summer for racecars at the movies. Our boi Nimrod had the privilege of watching Takeshi Koike’s adrenaline-maxxing anime feature Redline on the big screen at Denver’s Sie Film Center. Simultaneously, Tempest Tome Tiger Gennaro C got to enjoy the Wachowski Sisters’ cult classic Speed Racer for his local film club.

• If you haven’t seen it yet, Maddie’s Secret by John Early may be one of the most surprising releases of the year. A tribute to Lifetime melodramas more than a send-up, Maddie’s Secret masterfully rides, blurs, and disorients the line between pathos and hilarity.

• Finally, we have to shout out Aniara by Hugo Lilja and Pella Kågerman. A fractured tale spread across years, Aniara follows a spaceship of travelers who find themselves knocked off course, doomed to hurtle through the void of space without ever reaching a place to land…

Listen!

• “Gorguts - Colored Sands has been on repeat lately. One of my favorites from the 2010s. This is a death metal record that is brimming with intent and incredible performances. I love the thoughtful production that still sounds fresh. Desert island tier!” --LC

• Varsity was one of the main bands Mr. Tzarking listened to on the long drive to Indianapolis, and their 2020 album Fine Forever is a favorite: “A soundtrack for the best 80s Rom Com that never was.”

Play!

• We finally picked up a copy of Fatherfog 0e, by Tuesday Knight Games, and we’re very excited to see how it develops into 1e. This new product reimagines the Panic Engine for fairy tale-inspired play, cast in an uncanny fog.

• Magical Athlete is being played on repeat by Maher, his wife Madison, and Gennaro. A gorgeous, quick, chaotic game with an acid-trip wacky racers atmosphere, as well as some of the best components in a tabletop game.