# blade dark (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover blade dark. Page: Feed: --- ## [A raven, a skull and pondering the bits](https://coppershaman.com/a-raven-a-skull-and-pondering-the-bits/) _2026-08-03 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Starting from the wrong end](https://coppershaman.com/starting-from-the-wrong-end/) _2026-07-16 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Self-identity is a lie](https://coppershaman.com/self-identity-is-a-lie/) _2026-07-07 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Outperform the source or die](https://coppershaman.com/outperform-the-source-or-die/) _2026-07-02 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Four and a half inspirations](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/four-and-a-half-inspirations/) _2026-06-21 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ Grass & Rubble was once named Automatic Wasteland and it came out of a playtest right at the height of 2020 covid. The concept changed over the years but the core persisted. My goal isn't to create a original lore, my goal is to capture the tones from some of my favourite media and try to create a game that let's me explore it further. The setting of Grass & Rubble has four and a half major… ## [The world of Grass & Rubble in broad strokes](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/the-world-of-grass-rubble-in-broad-strokes/) _2026-06-20 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ In the beginning Grass & Rubble was named Automatic Wasteland and it came out of a ruleset playtest right at the height of 2020 covid. The concept changed over the years but the core persisted. My goal isn't to create a original lore, my goal is to capture the tones from some of my favourite media and try to create a game that let's me explore it further. Let's get to the point. Grass & Rubble is… ## [This game has really cool crafting mechanics, I swear!](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/this-game-has-really-cool-crafting-mechanics-i-swear/) _2026-06-15 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ Probably not, but at least I try! Crafting mechanics mostly suck. To be honest, I have very limited experience with them and as soon as I read them I don't care about them. Even in Blades in the Dark I found free-form crafting as a downtime project to be boring. The only time I find crafting interesting is when it comes as improvisational, diegetic and with minimal mechanics: The Chemist… ## [Harm in G&R - 1HP is all you need](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/harm-in-gr-1hp/) _2026-06-14 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ I'm obsessed with HP (or the lack of it) for a while now. I know from my experience with Blades in the Dark, Trophy and Slugblaster that I prefer harm to be narrative and that I don't want it to be its own sub-system. Don't get me wrong, I do play games with numerical HP and it's not always bothering me, but I never love it. But getting rid of it is suprisingly difficult. My favourite example of… ## [Existential Dread - A fun resource](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/existential-dread-a-fun-resource/) _2026-06-14 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ At its core Grass & Rubble is a horror game. To be more specific, I see it as a exploration focused cosmic horror game. When it comes to stress mechanics, I want my system to support high player agency but still push players to explore their characters personal abysses. I like Stress (see Blades in the Dark), I like Ruin (see Trophy), I like Fallout (Liminal Horror) and I like Panic (see… ## [Play report: Spire](https://coppershaman.com/play-report-spire/) _2026-02-10 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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,… ## [Realtime AI Arbitrage Terminal (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/OYydYDUzrXT7) _2026-02-10 · **Sponsored**_ Realtime auto-trading across exchanges with scored setups, backtesting, and risk controls. ## [Selling RPGs doesn't work](https://coppershaman.com/selling-rpgs-doesnt-work/) _2025-12-31 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Zvezdochka: Lunar Geo-Artillery Platform](https://coppershaman.com/zvezdochka-lunar-geo-artillery-platform/) _2025-12-27 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 💡 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… ## [Play report: Shadowdark](https://coppershaman.com/play-report-shadowdark/) _2025-12-26 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Emotions instead of Stats](https://coppershaman.com/emotions-instead-of-stats/) _2025-12-04 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Merry Hexmas: Babbling Baboon](https://coppershaman.com/merry-hexmas-babbling-baboon/) _2025-12-03 · coppershaman · Copper Shaman_ 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… ## [Action and Risk: Core resolution in Grass & Rubble](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/action-and-risk/) _2025-03-03 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ With my core resolution mechanics in Grass & Rubble , I have two main goals: I want actions and their impact to be firmly based in the fiction. I want to minimize negotiation between players and the GM. You can read about my game in a previous article . Similar to Into the Odd , Ghost/Echo , and 24XX , actions in Grass & Rubble aren't directly resolved by a roll. Instead, you roll only when… ## [A story of Grass & Rubble](https://grassandrubble.bearblog.dev/a-story-of-grass-rubble/) _2025-03-02 · grassandrubble · wordswords_ Grass & Rubble is a lo-fi cosmic horror game about desperate fortune-seekers risking their lives on incursions into the reality-warped Exclusion Zone of the Flicker. Their personal Drives compel them ever deeper into the Zone to complete illegal jobs or recover valuable artifacts. They return to the Belt, just outside the heavily protected border, to recover, carouse, and advance their personal…