Jonathan Newell
@edweirdian.bsky.social
Weird fiction, fantasy cartography, monsters, roleplaying games. Academic credits include A Century of Weird Fiction, 1832-1937. Games credits include Genial Jack, work on Dolmenwood. He/him.
patreon.com/c/beardeddevil
https://bearded-devil.com/
patreon.com/c/beardeddevil
https://bearded-devil.com/
Pinned
Jonathan Newell
@edweirdian.bsky.social
· Sep 20
Bearded Devil | Patreon
Fantasy roleplaying games and maximalist maps.
www.patreon.com
I have big news! I've launched a Patreon for the Hex setting, including monthly maps, fully-illustrated installments of the Hex Guidebook, a playtest version of The Hex Hack system, and an archive of older high-resolution maps. Subscribe here: www.patreon.com/c/beardeddevil
Toshers and mudlarks huddle around trash-fires to tell tales of the Wastewyrm: a dragon, one of the few left in this region of the world, which, legend says, was hatched from an ancient egg which accidentally slipped into the Radula River and was carried into the sewers...
February 2, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Toshers and mudlarks huddle around trash-fires to tell tales of the Wastewyrm: a dragon, one of the few left in this region of the world, which, legend says, was hatched from an ancient egg which accidentally slipped into the Radula River and was carried into the sewers...
Scissors rasp in the darkness beneath the city. Dull groans issue from the sepulchral gloom. Something is coming...
January 26, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Scissors rasp in the darkness beneath the city. Dull groans issue from the sepulchral gloom. Something is coming...
Standard hydra regrow their heads. The vermihydra regrows in both horrifying directions.
Adventurers admit that the little ones are "kind of cute."
See my Patreon for more free and freaky monsters every Monday.
Adventurers admit that the little ones are "kind of cute."
See my Patreon for more free and freaky monsters every Monday.
January 19, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Standard hydra regrow their heads. The vermihydra regrows in both horrifying directions.
Adventurers admit that the little ones are "kind of cute."
See my Patreon for more free and freaky monsters every Monday.
Adventurers admit that the little ones are "kind of cute."
See my Patreon for more free and freaky monsters every Monday.
Behold, the servoplasm.
January 6, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Behold, the servoplasm.
Have you been good this year? The Sackfather's verminous spies whisper the names of the virtuous and the wicked in his goatish ears.
December 22, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Have you been good this year? The Sackfather's verminous spies whisper the names of the virtuous and the wicked in his goatish ears.
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
"Well, I'm back" he said.
Over the last three months, I've keyed every hex in the bounds of the Shire, including rumors, nested random encounters, and five embedded mini-dungeons. I've collated them into a document, linked on the blog:
Over the last three months, I've keyed every hex in the bounds of the Shire, including rumors, nested random encounters, and five embedded mini-dungeons. I've collated them into a document, linked on the blog:
Middle-earth Hexcrawl Project: The Shire (Complete)
Back in September of this year , I began a daily writing prompt inspired by this year's reread of The Lord of the Rings and Idraluna Archiv...
riseupcomus.blogspot.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:05 PM
"Well, I'm back" he said.
Over the last three months, I've keyed every hex in the bounds of the Shire, including rumors, nested random encounters, and five embedded mini-dungeons. I've collated them into a document, linked on the blog:
Over the last three months, I've keyed every hex in the bounds of the Shire, including rumors, nested random encounters, and five embedded mini-dungeons. I've collated them into a document, linked on the blog:
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
Hell yeah, another #dungeon23 project comes to fruition
After a long hiatus, I'm pleased to announce the continuation of my megadungeon (originally a Dungeon23 project), The Apocalypse Archive!
December 1, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Hell yeah, another #dungeon23 project comes to fruition
After a long hiatus, I'm pleased to announce the continuation of my megadungeon (originally a Dungeon23 project), The Apocalypse Archive!
December 1, 2025 at 6:30 PM
After a long hiatus, I'm pleased to announce the continuation of my megadungeon (originally a Dungeon23 project), The Apocalypse Archive!
Fluxcats are strays who fed on the magical trash and mutants of the Midden, Hex's eldritch trash-heap.
November 18, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Fluxcats are strays who fed on the magical trash and mutants of the Midden, Hex's eldritch trash-heap.
Sigil spinners are dangerous Hexian predators who lust for mage-meat. Capably of draining wizardly knowledge from their prey, they instinctly weave spells into their webs, laying elaborate eldritch traps for future victims.
November 3, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Sigil spinners are dangerous Hexian predators who lust for mage-meat. Capably of draining wizardly knowledge from their prey, they instinctly weave spells into their webs, laying elaborate eldritch traps for future victims.
Happy Halloween everybody!
I've got a new entry in the Hex Guidebook series detailing the necromantic district of Shambleside. Breathe in the reek of embalming fluid and old leather; sip sangwine from Bastien's Blood Bar; bet on the zombie fights in the Rotting Ring. The night beckons...
I've got a new entry in the Hex Guidebook series detailing the necromantic district of Shambleside. Breathe in the reek of embalming fluid and old leather; sip sangwine from Bastien's Blood Bar; bet on the zombie fights in the Rotting Ring. The night beckons...
October 31, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Happy Halloween everybody!
I've got a new entry in the Hex Guidebook series detailing the necromantic district of Shambleside. Breathe in the reek of embalming fluid and old leather; sip sangwine from Bastien's Blood Bar; bet on the zombie fights in the Rotting Ring. The night beckons...
I've got a new entry in the Hex Guidebook series detailing the necromantic district of Shambleside. Breathe in the reek of embalming fluid and old leather; sip sangwine from Bastien's Blood Bar; bet on the zombie fights in the Rotting Ring. The night beckons...
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
I've also created an OD&D hexcrawl.
www.patreon.com/posts/od-d-h...
Not every hex is keyed, but major locations are included, treasure is pre-rolled, and some emergent factions and quests are ready to go.
www.patreon.com/posts/od-d-h...
Not every hex is keyed, but major locations are included, treasure is pre-rolled, and some emergent factions and quests are ready to go.
October 24, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I've also created an OD&D hexcrawl.
www.patreon.com/posts/od-d-h...
Not every hex is keyed, but major locations are included, treasure is pre-rolled, and some emergent factions and quests are ready to go.
www.patreon.com/posts/od-d-h...
Not every hex is keyed, but major locations are included, treasure is pre-rolled, and some emergent factions and quests are ready to go.
Like a water weird, but smaller, meaner, and heavily polluted by alchemical runoff. Introducing the puddleweird.
October 21, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Like a water weird, but smaller, meaner, and heavily polluted by alchemical runoff. Introducing the puddleweird.
Everyone's heard of owlbears. But what about leechbears?
October 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Everyone's heard of owlbears. But what about leechbears?
For today's Monstrous Monday: the ideologeist, a ghost with unfinished political business, haunting the body politic.
September 29, 2025 at 7:57 PM
For today's Monstrous Monday: the ideologeist, a ghost with unfinished political business, haunting the body politic.
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
A great review by Tim for Wargamer about The Grim and the Dark, a documentary about the #Inq28 scene, Blacheitsu, etc. Looking forward to watching it. It also sounds like a great introduction to the scene.
Napoleon Dynamite's Warhammer documentary is a glorious guide to grimdark gaming
In 'The Grim and The Dark', Napoleon Dynamite actor Jon Heder journeys into the grimdark indie scene beyond the border of regular Warhammer 40,000
www.wargamer.com
September 18, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A great review by Tim for Wargamer about The Grim and the Dark, a documentary about the #Inq28 scene, Blacheitsu, etc. Looking forward to watching it. It also sounds like a great introduction to the scene.
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
Queue the Pacific Rim soundtrack: MAC ATTACK is out. (As a PDF, anyway.)
September 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Queue the Pacific Rim soundtrack: MAC ATTACK is out. (As a PDF, anyway.)
I have a new free post up on my blog and the Bearded Devil Patreon, the first in a series of Monstrous Mondays. This entry describes the clever little necromantic assassin-bugs known as earwights. My plan is to eventually build up posts like this for a bestiary book.
September 22, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I have a new free post up on my blog and the Bearded Devil Patreon, the first in a series of Monstrous Mondays. This entry describes the clever little necromantic assassin-bugs known as earwights. My plan is to eventually build up posts like this for a bestiary book.
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
My hundredth one-page roleplaying game is HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOAT GIRL.
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
September 16, 2025 at 1:54 PM
My hundredth one-page roleplaying game is HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOAT GIRL.
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
The best RPG has been made, we can all go home and rest now.
My hundredth one-page roleplaying game is HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOAT GIRL.
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
You are a goat girl, most beautiful and dangerous creature, and it is always your birthday.
Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/posts/138800...
September 21, 2025 at 5:01 AM
The best RPG has been made, we can all go home and rest now.
I have big news! I've launched a Patreon for the Hex setting, including monthly maps, fully-illustrated installments of the Hex Guidebook, a playtest version of The Hex Hack system, and an archive of older high-resolution maps. Subscribe here: www.patreon.com/c/beardeddevil
Bearded Devil | Patreon
Fantasy roleplaying games and maximalist maps.
www.patreon.com
September 20, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I have big news! I've launched a Patreon for the Hex setting, including monthly maps, fully-illustrated installments of the Hex Guidebook, a playtest version of The Hex Hack system, and an archive of older high-resolution maps. Subscribe here: www.patreon.com/c/beardeddevil
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
We need to stop calling the four humors thing "pseudoscience." There's too much evidence for it in culture, it's real.
September 6, 2025 at 4:12 PM
We need to stop calling the four humors thing "pseudoscience." There's too much evidence for it in culture, it's real.
Minitower, wake and bake, acid-washed, contact trace,
Patient zero, thirtysomething, beta-amyloid.
Yuppie flu, guanciale, steampunk punditocracy,
Pravastatin, lovastatin, off-label lipo.
Patient zero, thirtysomething, beta-amyloid.
Yuppie flu, guanciale, steampunk punditocracy,
Pravastatin, lovastatin, off-label lipo.
MW's Words First Used In Print in your birth year is your personal We Didn't Start The Fire:
commoditize compact disc
core inflation de-stress
closed-captioned
first world problem
female genital mutiliation
laser disc laser printer
hip-hop space elevator
...
www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
commoditize compact disc
core inflation de-stress
closed-captioned
first world problem
female genital mutiliation
laser disc laser printer
hip-hop space elevator
...
www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
Time Traveler by Merriam-Webster: Words from 1979
See which words were first recorded in 1979. Or search for other words by the year when they were first used.
www.merriam-webster.com
September 2, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Minitower, wake and bake, acid-washed, contact trace,
Patient zero, thirtysomething, beta-amyloid.
Yuppie flu, guanciale, steampunk punditocracy,
Pravastatin, lovastatin, off-label lipo.
Patient zero, thirtysomething, beta-amyloid.
Yuppie flu, guanciale, steampunk punditocracy,
Pravastatin, lovastatin, off-label lipo.
Reposted by Jonathan Newell
I made a couple of little videos for the Pergamino Barocco kickstarter. Have a look at the Red Prototype as it... unfolds?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/los...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/los...
Pergamino Barocco - the Red Prototype
YouTube video by Lost Pages Books
www.youtube.com
August 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I made a couple of little videos for the Pergamino Barocco kickstarter. Have a look at the Red Prototype as it... unfolds?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/los...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/los...