Professional GM, games writer, editor, hiker, and teacher. Particular devotion to the Mirror of Patience, Patron of Workers. Interested in games both Indi...
A Review of Impossible Landscapes for Delta Green that is really a review of the Person I Was when I first read it According to my DriveThruRPG purchase history, I first saw The Sign in April of 2021. My life wasn't in a good place. In the few months of 2020 prior to the lock-down I had systematically set fire to pretty much every aspect of my life--personally, romantically, and professionally. I…
A Forest Crawl for Cairn 2E by J. Carter for the 2026 Appendix N Jam. If you would like to support my work, please check out the paid version on my Itch page! (Link incoming, layout is not yet done) The Four Giants Each of the Four Giants each believe themselves to be the last survivor of their species. In truth, only one is active at a time . Roll 1d4 each morning to determine the currently…
Thanks to Yochai Gal and Josh Domanski, who both let me bother them with inane questions about this topic as I was writing this post So, a couple weeks ago I was in a situation at work where I had to sit quietly at a desk for an extended period of time--not my typical workday. As my mind drifted from the task at hand, I found myself instead pondering a question that has been on my mind for the…
It's been a hell of a year But today--today is a beautiful day. Let me paint you the picture: it's raining right now. I have the window open and a pleasant cool breeze blows across my armchair. That's where I am, by the way. I've got jazz on the radio, my laptop in my lap, and a nice rum and diet Pepsi to my side. I don't work tomorrow, either (I write this on Sunday night--who can say if this is…
How many campaigns have you started that you've never finished? If you're anything like me, your answer to this question is probably "most of them." While I have started more games than I care to count, I can say with certainty how many have ended with a satisfying resolution. But when I specifically think about how many old school open world games have had satisfying tidy endings, that number…
It's that time of year again for me--the semester turnaround. High school teachers reading this know well what that means. Marks are getting wrapped up and finalized. The next semester's classes are being planned. It's basically a mid-year reset, and a reprieve from what is the most stressful time of year--the semester's end. I always find myself filled with optimism at this time of year. This is…
Look--I get that people have their opinions about how things ought to work, yeah? Especially here in the OSR/NSR/POSR space, people like their fancy interior covers with maps and tables. They like their two page spreads that are easy to use at the table. They like their Necrotic Gnomesque bold-text hierarchy. I should know, I'm one of them! But when I watched Ben Milton's most recent video--which…
The other day, I wrote a bit about what I had been up to in 2025. Today, I want to spend some time manifesting my intentions for 2026. I have a laundry list of things I'd like to get done in the game space this year. Will all of this stuff actually happen? I dunno. But it's probably healthy to get them out into the world. New Modules I should probably start with the item I'm working on--a Trophy…
I frequently find myself looking forward. Usually this foresight is a good thing; I pride myself on being a good organiser and planner. That said, I've felt a little burnt out recently--mostly professionally and personally. Whenever this happens, I find it productive to take a break from planning ahead and instead take stock of how we've gotten ourselves here in the first place. In this spirit,…
Yes, I know that 15 days ago I said I would clean my workbench. Yes, I know I haven't even started this. So, let's get this started. First up to be put away from my workbench are three books from Silverarm Press : Desert Moon of Karth by Joel Hines; Secret of the Black Crag by Chance Dudinack, Joel Hines, Sam Sorensen, and Logan Stahl; and The Shrike by Leo Hunt. I'll begin with Desert Moon of…