𝖂.𝕯.
@icastlight.bsky.social
Pinned
𝖂.𝕯.
@icastlight.bsky.social
· Sep 23
WHY MEGADUNGEONS? A Campaign Structure for Modern Lives
Why Megadungeons? Over on the Prismatic Wasteland Discord, a member asked essentially, "Why megadungeons?" This is a good perennial questi...
icastlight.blogspot.com
"Why megadungeons?" My pitch is that they are a campaign format that concentrates ideas, maximizes novelty, uses familiarity to advantage, and can be run in 2-4 hour sessions. Plus, between Silk Song and Delicious in Dungeon- everyone knows what they are! icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/09/why-...
DM'd my 1st session of 𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖐 𝕬𝖇𝖇𝖊𝖞 2026- Winter months saw a woman from Zenopolis seeking Ambrose the Easterner, bearing him 3 things: an omen, a warning, & a prophetic dream of a queen with gold hair; 3 days hence Ambrose was dragged toward the Abbey by something bearing a crown & golden hair
January 5, 2026 at 2:32 AM
DM'd my 1st session of 𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖐 𝕬𝖇𝖇𝖊𝖞 2026- Winter months saw a woman from Zenopolis seeking Ambrose the Easterner, bearing him 3 things: an omen, a warning, & a prophetic dream of a queen with gold hair; 3 days hence Ambrose was dragged toward the Abbey by something bearing a crown & golden hair
Seriously! Blog!
2026 is the year of *your* blog.
2026 is the year of *your* blog.
January 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Seriously! Blog!
2026 is the year of *your* blog.
2026 is the year of *your* blog.
𝐈 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! Reflections on 2025 & what I’m looking forward to in 2026 : icastlight.blogspot.com/2026/01/i-ca...
I CAST LIGHT ON 2025: Reflections on the Year Behind & Ahead
OLD BUSINESS How did I do on my 2025 goals ? Well, let's see: Post more "good enough" adventures 😃 Finish Serpent Psalms to complement Ser...
icastlight.blogspot.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:51 PM
𝐈 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! Reflections on 2025 & what I’m looking forward to in 2026 : icastlight.blogspot.com/2026/01/i-ca...
Love a good reskin and love the BREAK!! team is showing that off!
To peel back the curtain a bit here, the constructs here exist to show off what you can do just by re-skinning adversaries: they are variants of the Skelemen found in the core rulebook.
START - Tutorial adventure site for BREAK!! RPG
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bre...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bre...
January 2, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Love a good reskin and love the BREAK!! team is showing that off!
Already some good contenders!
Alright, I've seen other people doing it so I want to highlight some of my favorite posts from bloggers this year! In no particular order:
The Bloggies 2026 submissions are now open!
Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st!
Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month.
www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/
Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st!
Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month.
www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/
January 2, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Already some good contenders!
The Bloggies are happening again in 2026! So look back at 2025 and see what you think were some fantastic posts that should be entered-- its always tough!
The Bloggies 2026 submissions are now open!
Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st!
Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month.
www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/
Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st!
Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month.
www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/
The Bloggies 2026
A yearly celebration of blogging in tabletop roleplaying games.
www.explorersdesign.com
January 1, 2026 at 9:37 PM
The Bloggies are happening again in 2026! So look back at 2025 and see what you think were some fantastic posts that should be entered-- its always tough!
"Its not a dollhouse," I say, putting tiny corkboard shingles on my ruined Tutor-style building, "its wargaming terrain!"
December 31, 2025 at 10:19 PM
"Its not a dollhouse," I say, putting tiny corkboard shingles on my ruined Tutor-style building, "its wargaming terrain!"
An amazing and fantastic effort by @elmc.at to provide a more comprehensive view of the fantasy adventure game blog-o-sphere 🔮
Scrambled to get a 2025 review post out. Instead of talking about me, I dug into my blog dataset and made a bunch of graphs.
elmc.at/2025-in-blog...
elmc.at/2025-in-blog...
2025 in Blog Data
Blogging isn't dead: a 2025 year-in-review of the blogosphere map dataset—posts per month, survival rates, and publishing patterns.
elmc.at
December 31, 2025 at 12:40 AM
An amazing and fantastic effort by @elmc.at to provide a more comprehensive view of the fantasy adventure game blog-o-sphere 🔮
My 2025 gaming (roll 1d6):
01 BX
02 BX
03 BX
04 BX
05 Roll another d6: 1-3 ShadowDark 4-6 *Borg
06 CoC
01 BX
02 BX
03 BX
04 BX
05 Roll another d6: 1-3 ShadowDark 4-6 *Borg
06 CoC
December 30, 2025 at 11:26 PM
My 2025 gaming (roll 1d6):
01 BX
02 BX
03 BX
04 BX
05 Roll another d6: 1-3 ShadowDark 4-6 *Borg
06 CoC
01 BX
02 BX
03 BX
04 BX
05 Roll another d6: 1-3 ShadowDark 4-6 *Borg
06 CoC
A good read, but this rolls in my head today:
"...the release of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons failed to rebuild the network of clubs and specialist game stores that existed as recently as the early 2000s... "
tasker.land/2025/11/13/o...
"...the release of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons failed to rebuild the network of clubs and specialist game stores that existed as recently as the early 2000s... "
tasker.land/2025/11/13/o...
On Criticism and TTRPGs
After some amount of reflection, I have decided to stop reviewing RPGs. At least for the foreseeable future. There are a number of motivators behind this decision but the first and foremost is that…
tasker.land
December 29, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A good read, but this rolls in my head today:
"...the release of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons failed to rebuild the network of clubs and specialist game stores that existed as recently as the early 2000s... "
tasker.land/2025/11/13/o...
"...the release of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons failed to rebuild the network of clubs and specialist game stores that existed as recently as the early 2000s... "
tasker.land/2025/11/13/o...
Reposted by 𝖂.𝕯.
It's time for a new pinned post with some of my recent work.
Hi! I'm Anya! I draw fantasy illustrations like these. I am open for work and also accept private commissions.
📩: anya.chalina.illustrations@gmail.com
prints: www.inprnt.com/gallery/anya...
portfolio: anyachalina.myportfolio.com
Hi! I'm Anya! I draw fantasy illustrations like these. I am open for work and also accept private commissions.
📩: anya.chalina.illustrations@gmail.com
prints: www.inprnt.com/gallery/anya...
portfolio: anyachalina.myportfolio.com
May 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
It's time for a new pinned post with some of my recent work.
Hi! I'm Anya! I draw fantasy illustrations like these. I am open for work and also accept private commissions.
📩: anya.chalina.illustrations@gmail.com
prints: www.inprnt.com/gallery/anya...
portfolio: anyachalina.myportfolio.com
Hi! I'm Anya! I draw fantasy illustrations like these. I am open for work and also accept private commissions.
📩: anya.chalina.illustrations@gmail.com
prints: www.inprnt.com/gallery/anya...
portfolio: anyachalina.myportfolio.com
I had a great chat with @directsun.bsky.social about Nightwick Abbey, goblins that sell noses, toes, & teeth, spiders with top hats, thematic alignment of dungeon elements and how I think the puzzle should either be dungeon navigation or a single "thing"
Got to chat with Warren D of I Cast Light about dungeons both "mega" and "puzzle."
Puzzle Dungeon Workshop continues with feedback for Forgotten Shrin 01 by David Garrett.
youtu.be/irtxnbHC_4g?...
Puzzle Dungeon Workshop continues with feedback for Forgotten Shrin 01 by David Garrett.
youtu.be/irtxnbHC_4g?...
Warren D helps me give feedback on Forgotten Shrine 01 by David Garrett
YouTube video by Direct Sun
youtu.be
December 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I had a great chat with @directsun.bsky.social about Nightwick Abbey, goblins that sell noses, toes, & teeth, spiders with top hats, thematic alignment of dungeon elements and how I think the puzzle should either be dungeon navigation or a single "thing"
Daaang this HeroQuest game ended in a classic swords & sorcery show down!
December 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Daaang this HeroQuest game ended in a classic swords & sorcery show down!
This was a fun quick read. And an great title for dungeon crawl 🌖 🕷️
December 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
This was a fun quick read. And an great title for dungeon crawl 🌖 🕷️
Reposted by 𝖂.𝕯.
Really enjoy the practical advice Ram summarizes here born out of mistakes and holes he wished he had known about.
If you are thinking about running a hexcrawl OR just want to know how much you should fleshout in a region-- look no further!
If you are thinking about running a hexcrawl OR just want to know how much you should fleshout in a region-- look no further!
This was a long time coming: Advice for Running a Hexcrawl, a Decade Too Late.
Save vs. Total Party Kill - Advice for Running a Hexcrawl, A Decade Too Late
Masters of Carcosa is the longest campaign I have run. My friends and I played 23 sessions, starting at the end of 2014, ending near the start of 2016. The game began after Brendan took a break from r...
save.vs.totalpartykill.ca
December 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Really enjoy the practical advice Ram summarizes here born out of mistakes and holes he wished he had known about.
If you are thinking about running a hexcrawl OR just want to know how much you should fleshout in a region-- look no further!
If you are thinking about running a hexcrawl OR just want to know how much you should fleshout in a region-- look no further!
I never quite tired of tombs/castles, but I do think its always fun to apply the powers of the mythic underword to IRL structures and dungeonize them-- e.g. The Crystal Palace
What would 1d6 reskined monsters, treasures, & traps of this place would be? What would be something to talk to here?
What would 1d6 reskined monsters, treasures, & traps of this place would be? What would be something to talk to here?
December 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I never quite tired of tombs/castles, but I do think its always fun to apply the powers of the mythic underword to IRL structures and dungeonize them-- e.g. The Crystal Palace
What would 1d6 reskined monsters, treasures, & traps of this place would be? What would be something to talk to here?
What would 1d6 reskined monsters, treasures, & traps of this place would be? What would be something to talk to here?
My 2025 Secret Santicorn🎄🦄, which is too good not to share. Thank you Anon!
Here are some fantastic titles for 4️⃣-level PCs and how to get them: icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025...
Here are some fantastic titles for 4️⃣-level PCs and how to get them: icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025...
2025 SECRET SANTICORN: Fourth Level Titles & How To Get Them
Merry Christmas an d Happy Holidays! In my last post , I blogged about what I gave for the 2025 Secret Santicorn. On this day of gift-g...
icastlight.blogspot.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
My 2025 Secret Santicorn🎄🦄, which is too good not to share. Thank you Anon!
Here are some fantastic titles for 4️⃣-level PCs and how to get them: icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025...
Here are some fantastic titles for 4️⃣-level PCs and how to get them: icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025...
Certainly adopting a more German Expressionism style of video game design as opposed to continual driving of 1:1 fidelity with real life is my prefered way to go; also loved Vagrant Story
When you consider that this beauty runs on 25 year old hardware, the possibilities for us are still endless.
December 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Certainly adopting a more German Expressionism style of video game design as opposed to continual driving of 1:1 fidelity with real life is my prefered way to go; also loved Vagrant Story
Reposted by 𝖂.𝕯.
Merry Solstice! Today marks the shortest day and longest night so I thought it would be the perfect day to share my finished Mari Lwyd mask. I’m over the moon with how she turned out. 🔔
December 21, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Merry Solstice! Today marks the shortest day and longest night so I thought it would be the perfect day to share my finished Mari Lwyd mask. I’m over the moon with how she turned out. 🔔
2025 Secret Santicorn prompt was great so I wrote about a: cursed knight, a seer that binds people to war, a monster charmer who can't get rid of them, a wizard who forgot themselves, an almost-hero, & a terrible unicorn with good intentions: tinyurl.com/26sbsjwf
NEVER MEET YOUR HEROS: Encountering Infamous Adventurers (2025 Secret Santicorn)
The Nightwatch by Rembrandt An amazing work which is huge! I participated in the “Purple OSR”’s 2025 Secret Santicorn and received the prom...
tinyurl.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
2025 Secret Santicorn prompt was great so I wrote about a: cursed knight, a seer that binds people to war, a monster charmer who can't get rid of them, a wizard who forgot themselves, an almost-hero, & a terrible unicorn with good intentions: tinyurl.com/26sbsjwf
Reposted by 𝖂.𝕯.
December 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I need a CoC game that aesthetically is everything on the left there
December 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I need a CoC game that aesthetically is everything on the left there
These two names are amazing. I like "weartiger" especially because humans being really weird can be very unnerving/luring to players (see also: Splicers)
More Dragon Quest bestiary creatures, from IV and V. In DQ, the "Beast" family includes bipedal, clothèd creatures with animal attributes; you have to be fairly human to be in the "Humanoid" family. I created the "Beastman" family to separate animal-people from more conventional animals.
December 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
These two names are amazing. I like "weartiger" especially because humans being really weird can be very unnerving/luring to players (see also: Splicers)