Clay Sheldon
@claysheldon.bsky.social
Writer, DM, Storyteller and a fan of all things fiction.
Represented by the Rights Factory
http://claysheldon.com/
Check out this fantasy murder mystery party game! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/402695/mysteries-of-the-flying-haddock-a-trilogy
Represented by the Rights Factory
http://claysheldon.com/
Check out this fantasy murder mystery party game! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/402695/mysteries-of-the-flying-haddock-a-trilogy
Pinned
Clay Sheldon
@claysheldon.bsky.social
· Aug 22
Mysteries of The Flying Haddock - a trilogy - Enigmatic Events Collective Inc. | DriveThruRPG
Mysteries of the Flying Haddock are a set of threeshort murder mystery roleplaying games inspired by Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition and the Forgotten Realms. It is, however, not a 5th edition adv...
www.drivethrurpg.com
Do you like fantasy? How about murder mystery party games? Good news! The Flying Haddock is open for business! Solve three unique mysteries with friends, before the killer gets you!
And if you're feeling generous, I would greatly appreciate a like and a repost!
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...
And if you're feeling generous, I would greatly appreciate a like and a repost!
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...
Writing Tip:
Keep a list of names on your phone. Sounds strange or creepy, but it's not. When you hear a name out in the world that sounds cool/might be a good fit for a future character, write it down! Not full names though because that actually would be kinda creepy.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Keep a list of names on your phone. Sounds strange or creepy, but it's not. When you hear a name out in the world that sounds cool/might be a good fit for a future character, write it down! Not full names though because that actually would be kinda creepy.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Writing Tip:
Keep a list of names on your phone. Sounds strange or creepy, but it's not. When you hear a name out in the world that sounds cool/might be a good fit for a future character, write it down! Not full names though because that actually would be kinda creepy.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Keep a list of names on your phone. Sounds strange or creepy, but it's not. When you hear a name out in the world that sounds cool/might be a good fit for a future character, write it down! Not full names though because that actually would be kinda creepy.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Writing Tip:
Good writing takes time. Time takes patience. And patience is hard when you've been writing the same thing for ages and just want to finish it. This is one of the reasons that endings get rushed, greatly decreasing the quality. Have patience.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Good writing takes time. Time takes patience. And patience is hard when you've been writing the same thing for ages and just want to finish it. This is one of the reasons that endings get rushed, greatly decreasing the quality. Have patience.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Writing Tip:
Good writing takes time. Time takes patience. And patience is hard when you've been writing the same thing for ages and just want to finish it. This is one of the reasons that endings get rushed, greatly decreasing the quality. Have patience.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Good writing takes time. Time takes patience. And patience is hard when you've been writing the same thing for ages and just want to finish it. This is one of the reasons that endings get rushed, greatly decreasing the quality. Have patience.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
If a player jumps in with an idea to help another player after the first one rolled poorly, don't just say 'oops, too bad, they're screwed'. Encourage that! Some of the best moments I've had RP-ing is when a player at my table volunteers an idea to save another player from disaster.
#D&D #TTRPG
#D&D #TTRPG
January 4, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Writing Tip:
'What if' scenarios are great practice for writers of any skill range. Ask yourself a 'what if' scenario and wargame it out. A popular example is Batman VS Superman, or if Columbo could solve the Kira murders. Wacky fun stuff like that!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
'What if' scenarios are great practice for writers of any skill range. Ask yourself a 'what if' scenario and wargame it out. A popular example is Batman VS Superman, or if Columbo could solve the Kira murders. Wacky fun stuff like that!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Writing Tip:
'What if' scenarios are great practice for writers of any skill range. Ask yourself a 'what if' scenario and wargame it out. A popular example is Batman VS Superman, or if Columbo could solve the Kira murders. Wacky fun stuff like that!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
'What if' scenarios are great practice for writers of any skill range. Ask yourself a 'what if' scenario and wargame it out. A popular example is Batman VS Superman, or if Columbo could solve the Kira murders. Wacky fun stuff like that!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
I don't mind linear RPGs, I don't always need big open worlds, but I hate a game that's just a series of hallways with enemies in them. Give me alternate paths, or fun mobility mechanics. Running from hallway to hallway to fight monsters gets boring real fast.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 4, 2026 at 12:43 PM
There's nothing wrong with silence during a D&D session. As the GM, it is not your responsibility to fill a silence. Sure, if it goes on for too long you might want to prod the players, but that's not necessarily a sign that they're bored. Sometimes, everyone is waiting for someone else.
#D&D #TTRPG
#D&D #TTRPG
January 4, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Writing Tip:
Don't worry too much about making characters likable. Trying too hard to make a character likable often has the opposite effect. If they're a well-designed character, then someone will like them. It's as simple as that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Don't worry too much about making characters likable. Trying too hard to make a character likable often has the opposite effect. If they're a well-designed character, then someone will like them. It's as simple as that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Writing Tip:
Don't worry too much about making characters likable. Trying too hard to make a character likable often has the opposite effect. If they're a well-designed character, then someone will like them. It's as simple as that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Don't worry too much about making characters likable. Trying too hard to make a character likable often has the opposite effect. If they're a well-designed character, then someone will like them. It's as simple as that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Writing Tip:
Don't have your characters always explain everything just so that the audience knows things. That's lazy writing. Good writing is having the details be so crisp and clean that the audience can figure out what you're trying to say from the context.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Don't have your characters always explain everything just so that the audience knows things. That's lazy writing. Good writing is having the details be so crisp and clean that the audience can figure out what you're trying to say from the context.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Writing Tip:
Don't have your characters always explain everything just so that the audience knows things. That's lazy writing. Good writing is having the details be so crisp and clean that the audience can figure out what you're trying to say from the context.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Don't have your characters always explain everything just so that the audience knows things. That's lazy writing. Good writing is having the details be so crisp and clean that the audience can figure out what you're trying to say from the context.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Writing Tip:
When a character enters a scene, pause for a minute and ask 'how did they get there'? Is it reasonable for them to enter the scene, or is it physically or chronologically impossible for them to get here? Happens more than you think!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
When a character enters a scene, pause for a minute and ask 'how did they get there'? Is it reasonable for them to enter the scene, or is it physically or chronologically impossible for them to get here? Happens more than you think!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Writing Tip:
When a character enters a scene, pause for a minute and ask 'how did they get there'? Is it reasonable for them to enter the scene, or is it physically or chronologically impossible for them to get here? Happens more than you think!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
When a character enters a scene, pause for a minute and ask 'how did they get there'? Is it reasonable for them to enter the scene, or is it physically or chronologically impossible for them to get here? Happens more than you think!
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
A good GM keeps track of time. Sure, it's perfectly natural to get lost in the session, just like your players, but if you can time the end of a scene to the end of your session, that's SO much better than having a scene with an unintended cliffhanger until next week. Those suuuck.
#D&D #TTRPG
#D&D #TTRPG
January 4, 2026 at 9:32 AM
I love a good counter-mechanic in RPGs. Parries and dodges during turn-based combat is something I've missed a lot recently. #Expedition33 does them REALLY well, and only now do I realize that this is something I dreadfully miss in a lot of RPGs these days.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 4, 2026 at 9:29 AM
I love a good counter-mechanic in RPGs. Parries and dodges during turn-based combat is something I've missed a lot recently. #Expedition33 does them REALLY well, and only now do I realize that this is something I dreadfully miss in a lot of RPGs these days.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
If I had only one gripe early on in #Expedition33, it's that the tutorial pop-ups are a little poor when it comes to teaching us things. Some of them pop up a little too early, before we even have a chance to play around with the system it's supposed to teach us about. But it's good!
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 4, 2026 at 9:27 AM
If I had only one gripe early on in #Expedition33, it's that the tutorial pop-ups are a little poor when it comes to teaching us things. Some of them pop up a little too early, before we even have a chance to play around with the system it's supposed to teach us about. But it's good!
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
Started playing #Expedition33 and so far it's really, really good. Tone-wise, they really nailed the prologue. And for the first time in a while, I actually have no idea what's going to happen in the story. I have theories... but I'll keep those to myself.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 4, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Started playing #Expedition33 and so far it's really, really good. Tone-wise, they really nailed the prologue. And for the first time in a while, I actually have no idea what's going to happen in the story. I have theories... but I'll keep those to myself.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
My favorite moments in #NewVegas are quests where the dialogue and plot are so interesting that I never even fire a shot. Like going undercover to hire a bodyguard so you can figure out for a faction how he's scamming his customers. With the right skills, you got so many options.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 4, 2026 at 6:32 AM
There's a reason that passive perception is different than regular perception. Perception rolls should be used when players are actively looking. Passive perception is for when they aren't looking, like when an assassin is hiding in the room and they don't know it.
#D&D #TTRPG
#D&D #TTRPG
January 4, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Writing Tip:
One of the important reasons not to write while you're sick is that, frankly, it won't be any good. Your brain will be in an illness haze and work you think is good then will likely won't hold up to scrutiny. Writing when at 100% is better than forcing it.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
One of the important reasons not to write while you're sick is that, frankly, it won't be any good. Your brain will be in an illness haze and work you think is good then will likely won't hold up to scrutiny. Writing when at 100% is better than forcing it.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Writing Tip:
One of the important reasons not to write while you're sick is that, frankly, it won't be any good. Your brain will be in an illness haze and work you think is good then will likely won't hold up to scrutiny. Writing when at 100% is better than forcing it.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
One of the important reasons not to write while you're sick is that, frankly, it won't be any good. Your brain will be in an illness haze and work you think is good then will likely won't hold up to scrutiny. Writing when at 100% is better than forcing it.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Perception in D&D is one of those tools a GM can use to create whatever pacing you want. What do I mean by that? When you want to give the players a specific detail, have them roll perception. Unless they have a catastrophic fail, you can give them a detail right when you want to.
#D&D #TTRPG
#D&D #TTRPG
January 3, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Writing Tip:
Dialogue might be helpful for conveying information to a reader, but don't make it obvious. If your characters are going on long-winded monologues about info both parties of the conversation would know, then the readers will notice how unreal the convo is.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Dialogue might be helpful for conveying information to a reader, but don't make it obvious. If your characters are going on long-winded monologues about info both parties of the conversation would know, then the readers will notice how unreal the convo is.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 3, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Writing Tip:
Dialogue might be helpful for conveying information to a reader, but don't make it obvious. If your characters are going on long-winded monologues about info both parties of the conversation would know, then the readers will notice how unreal the convo is.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Dialogue might be helpful for conveying information to a reader, but don't make it obvious. If your characters are going on long-winded monologues about info both parties of the conversation would know, then the readers will notice how unreal the convo is.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
One of the reasons that #NewVegas is so beloved is that you get multiple ways you can approach pretty much any quest. Compare the early dungeons of Concord in #Fallout4 to, say, Primm. One is the exact same dungeon every time, while you don't even have to fight anyone in the other.
🎮 #gaming #RPG
🎮 #gaming #RPG
January 3, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Writing Tip:
Know the stakes. Good characters, more often than not, have stakes in a scene, whether they realize it or not. What could they gain? What could they lose? If they don't have stakes... then what are they even doing there? The reader will be asking that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Know the stakes. Good characters, more often than not, have stakes in a scene, whether they realize it or not. What could they gain? What could they lose? If they don't have stakes... then what are they even doing there? The reader will be asking that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 3, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Writing Tip:
Know the stakes. Good characters, more often than not, have stakes in a scene, whether they realize it or not. What could they gain? What could they lose? If they don't have stakes... then what are they even doing there? The reader will be asking that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Know the stakes. Good characters, more often than not, have stakes in a scene, whether they realize it or not. What could they gain? What could they lose? If they don't have stakes... then what are they even doing there? The reader will be asking that.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
Writing Tip:
It's important to master entrances and exits. Figuring out how to get a character in and out of a scene without it feeling forced can be one of the hardest challenges for a writer. It's all in the narrative timing, and that takes a LOT of practice.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
It's important to master entrances and exits. Figuring out how to get a character in and out of a scene without it feeling forced can be one of the hardest challenges for a writer. It's all in the narrative timing, and that takes a LOT of practice.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
January 3, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Writing Tip:
It's important to master entrances and exits. Figuring out how to get a character in and out of a scene without it feeling forced can be one of the hardest challenges for a writer. It's all in the narrative timing, and that takes a LOT of practice.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky
It's important to master entrances and exits. Figuring out how to get a character in and out of a scene without it feeling forced can be one of the hardest challenges for a writer. It's all in the narrative timing, and that takes a LOT of practice.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky