Alexander "SquidLord" Williams
lextenebris.bsky.social
Alexander "SquidLord" Williams
@lextenebris.bsky.social
Journalist, game designer. writer, general ne'er-do-well. Judgment is not just something to pursue, it's something necessary for intellectual survival.
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #LUR

Small enough to fit on a bookmark. Hardy enough to run your favorite characters. It's Lightweight Universal Roleplaying. And our new favorite shifty mech pilot with a secret.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
08 - Lightweight Universal Roleplaying - Grim Tokens
Let's create a character in one of the most lightweight systems, conceived Lightweight Universal Roleplaying. It fits on a bookmark.
grimtokens.garden
January 8, 2026 at 6:04 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #FiveParsecsFromHomePlanetfall

If you were looking for XCOM on the tabletop with all that entails, come and see this story of the worst colony administrator in the Unity.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
07 - Five Parsecs From Home - Planetfall - Grim Tokens
Day 07: Five Parsecs From Home: Planetfall tags: #articles/CharacterCreationChallenge/2026 #game/wargame/five-parsecs-planetfall Character Creation Challenge 2026Character Creation Challenge Image.pn…
grimtokens.garden
January 7, 2026 at 6:14 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #Ensemble

If you're curious about super lightweight, super minimalist, high-speed, low-drag, fiction-forward RPGs, then perhaps Ensemble is worth taking a look at.

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06 - Ensemble - Grim Tokens
Minimalist, extremely loose fiction-forward gaming makes for fast and easy character creation. *Ensemble* knocks it out.
grimtokens.garden
January 6, 2026 at 6:32 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #Palatine

Ever wanted to be a High Lord of Terra or a high-ranking member of the Ecclesiarchy? How about a Mentat assassin, Master of Whispers? All that and more can be yours in Palatine.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
05 - Palatine - Grim Tokens
The mighty powers of an interstellar empire can be yours to command as long as you have the wherewithal, the cunning, and the underhanded smile to make it happen. Today's Character Creation Challenge:...
grimtokens.garden
January 5, 2026 at 7:18 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #Bloodstone

Super lightweight, four-page, Forged in the Dark, Bloodborne adjacent. If you were looking for a Souls-like tabletop RPG for one-shots, I've got your back.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
04 - Bloodstone - Grim Tokens
Do you like Bloodborne and other souls like? Then brother, I have the RPG for you. Bloodstone.
grimtokens.garden
January 4, 2026 at 5:08 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #ColdCity

It's 1950. The Cold War has just begun in earnest. The Allied powers of America, the UK, France, the nascent Germany, and the USSR are stomping out the evils of Nazi science in Berlin. Join me, won't you?

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
03 - Cold City 2e - Grim Tokens
Return to 1950 at the beginning of the Cold War in Berlin, searching for the horrid remnants of Nazi occult science. Welcome to Cold City.
grimtokens.garden
January 3, 2026 at 5:10 AM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #BurningWheel

You wouldn't think that a 20-year-old, highly lauded fantasy indie RPG would require something on the order of 7,000 words to simply go through character generation, and yet here we are. Thanks, Burning Wheel.

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02 - The Burning Wheel - Grim Tokens
A far less than flattering discussion as we wander through the wasteland that is the Burning Wheels character burning system. Eventually we find a way out, hidden behind a dangling participle, and esc...
grimtokens.garden
January 2, 2026 at 3:15 PM
#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #ApocalypseWorld

New Year, New Character Creation Challenge. First up on the chopping block is a new incarnation of a pivotal game: Apocalypse World Burned Over. Yes, it's third edition.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...
01 - Apocalypse World 3rd Ed Preview - Grim Tokens
Brain-sucking apocalyptic nightmares in orbit? I'd never!
grimtokens.garden
January 2, 2026 at 1:21 AM
#TTRPG #design #balance

Sometimes when you talk through an idea, you understand your own thoughts better. I've never had problems with the axiom, "give them a nuke," and it's tied to a lot of things in my history of play.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Giv...
Give Them a Nuke - Grim Tokens
Give them a nuke, keys and all, and see what they do with it.
grimtokens.garden
December 2, 2025 at 4:28 AM
#TTRPG #postapocalyptic #recommend

Just more proof that you never, ever want to ask me for recommendations for games, because not only will I give you a list, I will explain why each of them is on there.

Today's topic: post-apocalyptic!

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Pos...
Post-Apocalyptica 2025 - Grim Tokens
Post-Apocalyptica 2025 tags: #thoughts/tweets The Setup Why You Don't Give Me a Setup Well, starting at the top of the list, if I'm feeling like the post-apocalypse needs some cultivation, I'm going …
grimtokens.garden
November 30, 2025 at 1:16 AM
#TTRPG #ManaProjectStudios #customerService

Did you expect that buying a big box set of an RPG with all of its little add-ons would include the PDF? Perhaps you want to double-check what's included again. You'll never believe the reason why.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Cav...
Caveat Emptor With Mana Project Studio - Grim Tokens
Be ready to double-check your orders with certain publishing studios, because what you think may include a PDF may in fact not.
grimtokens.garden
November 28, 2025 at 4:08 PM
#TTRPG #soloplay #intro

I love it when people ask, how did you get into solo play and how do I get started? Not because I like to talk about myself, but because I think everyone should have it in their stable of play styles.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Get...
Getting Into Solo Play - Grim Tokens
How should one, or might one, get into solo RPGs and why?
grimtokens.garden
November 26, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by Alexander "SquidLord" Williams
t's 1 AM, the central processor is fried, but the monster is awake! The 'Gonna Flay' TTRPG parody tee is here! Grab it for just $15 during our Black Friday countdown!

Like this post and share the great news!
Funny Mind Flayer Shirt | 'Gonna Flay' TTRPG Parody Tee by contextmerch
The players gonna play, play, play... and the flayer's gonna flay! This cute psychic horror just wants to shake it off (and maybe eat your brain). A hilarious pop-music mashup for your next dungeon cr...
www.teepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:17 AM
#TTRPG #LonerRPG #tools #writing

The new Loner Assistant 2.0 is an incredibly useful piece of software which is free to use, and not just to people who want to play the Loner RPG, but anyone looking for inspiration in their game.

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Loner Assistant Assists With New Inspiration - Grim Tokens
Loner Assistant for the Loner RPG just came out and it can provide some serious inspiration.
grimtokens.garden
November 25, 2025 at 7:59 AM
#TTRPG #Ravenloft #CurseOfStrahd #DnD

My filthy story-gamer soul has one objection to @ChubbyFunsterGC's Curse of Strahd finale:

Death is a dull, lazy threat. Give me corruption. Give me consequences.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Cas...
Castle Ravenloft - A Cleanup - Grim Tokens
Castle Ravenloft: A Cleanup tags: #thoughts/youtube Well, @ChubbyFunsterGC has finally finished his cycle of analyses of The Curse of Strahd adventure module for D&D. If you followed any of my X comm…
grimtokens.garden
November 17, 2025 at 11:49 PM
#TTRPG #writing #evil #CurseOfStrahd

For some reason, I've been thinking about evil a lot today.

Okay, it's not entirely my fault. I was inspired.

Two entries. Totally worth reading.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Cur...

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/The...
Curse of Strahd and the Decline of Depicted Evil - Grim Tokens
What is at the core of Curse of Strahd's failure to depict evil? It's fear.
grimtokens.garden
November 14, 2025 at 6:32 AM
#TTRPG #Ironsworn #SunlessFane #soloRPG

What was a lovely stroll up a riverbank reaches the end in a fight against the red worm, which ends more horrifically than expected.

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004 - Grim Tokens
Brynn finishes his trip up the riverbank with horrific results.
grimtokens.garden
November 13, 2025 at 8:38 PM
#TTRPG #publishing #reviews

Every single RPG reviewer should have at least one thing that they do well, and that thing is: love to play.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Rev...
November 7, 2025 at 8:51 PM
#TTRPG #publishing

Why does anything go out of print anymore? In fact, why has any RPG gone out of purchasable circulation in the last two decades?

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Pet...
Pet Peeve - Unpurchaseable Historical RPGs - Grim Tokens
No RPG should ever go out of circulation if it has ever existed in PDF form, and yet here we are.
grimtokens.garden
November 3, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Reposted by Alexander "SquidLord" Williams
Boundless Tides, my free pirate soulslike TTRPG using the Boundless system was ported to the latest version of the engine with Attribute as health and all that good stuff.

Download for free on itch at farirpgs.itch.io/boundless-ti...
Boundless Tides by Fari RPGs
Soulslike dark fantasy pirate RPG
farirpgs.itch.io
October 29, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Alexander "SquidLord" Williams
I’d highly recommend picking out a lightweight TTRPG and seeing where it takes you. These books are full of great starting points that act as a jumping point flesh out your own stories rather than relying on a more rigid world to steer you. I’m definitely going to try digging deeper myself. 3/2
October 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
#TTRPG #Ironsworn #SunlessFane #solo

Ironsworn: SoloFane continues as the lovable con man Brynn meets tight lips and takes a short stroll up a long river to find "something nasty."

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003 - Grim Tokens
Brynn takes a lovely walk up the river north of Stagkirk with Masias and discovers something nasty.
grimtokens.garden
October 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM
#TTRPG #Ironsworn #SunlessFane #solo

Session two of Ironsworn: SoloFane, where Brynn encounters a certain problem in that, despite being a really good conman, no one seems to believe the lie he tells—just the one they want to believe.

grimtokens.garden/Game+Play/Th...
002 - Grim Tokens
Brynn tries his con one more time to no success, swears a vow, and gets a task, but not the one he expected.
grimtokens.garden
October 29, 2025 at 6:25 AM
#TTRPG #Ironsworn #SunlessFane #solo

Having met Bryn, the best con man in all of the Ironlands, it's time to get him on his way to Stagkirk. On the way, he runs into some rustlers, some farmers, and a club. It's an awkward meeting.

grimtokens.garden/Game+Play/Th...
001 - Grim Tokens
001 - You Can't Fool All the People Rustling.jpg And so, we step forward through a few setup situations to finalize a few more from 000 - Explanation and Setup. Before things go hot, we need to defin…
grimtokens.garden
October 23, 2025 at 10:51 PM
#TTRPG #Ironsworn #SunlessFane #solo

I went through the trouble of doing the basic porting, so I might as well actually set up to play the thing. Actual play of the Sunless Fane in Ironsworn, or at least the Session 0.

grimtokens.garden/Game+Play/Th...
000 - Grim Tokens
Session 0 of the solo Ironsworn conversion of the Sunless Fane, a scenario for ShadowDark.
grimtokens.garden
October 18, 2025 at 7:48 PM