Most recent posts {{ posts | limit:5 }} Subscribe to my blog {{ email_signup }}...
About a month ago I launched a beta version of Ravenskull . It turns a bunch of Markdown files into a website and is free for the TTRPG community. I reached out to about 10 folks asking for feedback and two were kind enough share it. Broadly, I got two pieces of feedback that I didn't expect. What is it for? "Oh you know, it's for whatever you want to do with it!" Well, it turns out people aren't…
My start into TTRPG making was weird. I decided that I need to think about this as a business I need to scale - and quickly. I bought a Marketing 101 for ttRPG Creators course , I bought a domain, made a logo, setup Canva with “Brand fonts and colours”, started learning Affinity Publisher, read a bunch of "Everything I know about crowdfunding" posts from other creators. I tried WordPress, made a…
I’m no longer sure I know what I am. More so, I think that knowing exactly what you are is an unachievable perfectionist dream. I always enjoyed setting strict boundaries and defining what I am as a person. A software engineer, a TTRPG writer, a husband, a straight white male. This provided a very rigid framework to hang myself onto during trying times. A personality protection system that carried…
I don’t really know how people engage with new RPGs these days. What kind of emotions go through the head of a new Blades in the Dark player as they turn the pages? I know what I feel though. I feel intense, all-consuming fear. Fear that somebody did a good thing. Because the fact that it wasn’t me who did it means that I’m an incompetent, worthless piece of shit. I scramble in panic and start to…
I have been thinking a lot about what the second edition of Oswor could look like. I think one of the biggest mistakes I made with the current version is the choice of the system. I love Into the Odd, but I also feel like it's a poor fit for a story-focused game. Now I'm on the lookout for a story-focused system and we are spoiled for choice these days. Blades in the Dark is an obvious contender,…
Or, at the very least, I don't think it solves the core problem. Late stage capitalism sucks. It sucks especially hard for folks who try to make a living through art. By "art" I mean any of its forms—painting, writing, making indie RPGs. As far as I'm aware, there are two mainstream ways to earn money in art: Sell unique pieces to people who can afford "fine art". This relies on people who are…
💡 This is an in-progress adventure module for FIST RPG . Introduction What is Zvezdochka? Zvezdochka (Russian for "little star") is a geo-artillery platform. It digs the lunar substrate and forms massive artificial asteroids to launch at Earth. It is actually quite precise, all things considered. Massive metal spikes are inserted into each artificial asteroid. Five enormous railguns drive the…
This was my first time running an OSR dungeon. It was a lot of fun! I ran standard Shadowdark with pre-generated characters from the quickstart edition. For the dungeon itself I used The Incandescent Grottoes . Stuff I enjoyed Shadowdark is a very well-written book, it doesn't feel 300+ pages at all. All the concepts seem familiar and use the same language as other RPGs. Content is split into…
I don't particularly like the concept of stats in role-playing games. You play a person, not a mechanical robot with a bunch of technical characteristics that describe you. A single person is too diverse of a specimen to describe with "charisma +5". Did they take their meds? Well, maybe charisma their is +10 now. Did their friend pass away recently? I doubt they will be able to give an inspiring…
Photo by Leila Boujnane / Unsplash This is an entry to a Merry Hexmas blogwagon by Prismatic Wasteland. DM me on Bluesky if your hex links to mine and I will update the list below! A huge mechanical baboon visits the town of Borsk. Baboon is two stories tall, made of polished brass and has a small hut on its back. A dashing salesperson accompanies the baboon. “Only one copper for a beautiful…