Mark Casiglio
@markcsigs.bsky.social
He/Him. Retired dad, husband, grandpa. TTRPG fan, forever GM by choice. Occasional blogger. Proud New Englander.
Ask about Schadengard, my online Shadowdark West Marches campaign (campaign banner art Eon Fontes-May YCBN Games)
Ask about Schadengard, my online Shadowdark West Marches campaign (campaign banner art Eon Fontes-May YCBN Games)
Pinned
Mark Casiglio
@markcsigs.bsky.social
· Apr 29
Dear ttrpg community...
PLEASE STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE HAVING FUN WRONG.
Thank you.
PLEASE STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE HAVING FUN WRONG.
Thank you.
I link the Atlantic article I reference in the Substack, but I'll also put it in the second half of the post for easy reference.
Tabletop Gaming and Revisionist History
From someone who was actually there.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I link the Atlantic article I reference in the Substack, but I'll also put it in the second half of the post for easy reference.
Wrote about my ArcaneCon experience on Substack. Spoiler alert: It was awesome!
ArcaneCon - Recap and Review
An amazing weekend of RPGs! Unaffiliated links galore!
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Wrote about my ArcaneCon experience on Substack. Spoiler alert: It was awesome!
I mean, how can you *not* get behind mice and mechs?!?
Mechritter: An Expansion for Mausritter
A modular mech-building simulator and urban adventure setting for Mausritter.
www.backerkit.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:53 AM
I mean, how can you *not* get behind mice and mechs?!?
Chatting with @nightnoon.games reminded me that I never shared my latest write-up here.
Two of my Favorite Shadowdark Adventures
A review of two adventures I've now run multiple times each - part one
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Chatting with @nightnoon.games reminded me that I never shared my latest write-up here.
Recap of the last RPG convention I addended. Four great games!
HBG-Con X Recap
Four of the best game sessions I've ever played!
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Recap of the last RPG convention I addended. Four great games!
Overheard today at the Verizon Store:
Sales Associate: "Can I get your e-mail address?"
Older Customer: "I don't have e-mail."
SA: "Oh, uh ..." starts to mention ways to get past not having an e-mail address.
OC: "I don't have e-mail. But I do have G-mail, will that work?"
Sales Associate: "Can I get your e-mail address?"
Older Customer: "I don't have e-mail."
SA: "Oh, uh ..." starts to mention ways to get past not having an e-mail address.
OC: "I don't have e-mail. But I do have G-mail, will that work?"
October 3, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Overheard today at the Verizon Store:
Sales Associate: "Can I get your e-mail address?"
Older Customer: "I don't have e-mail."
SA: "Oh, uh ..." starts to mention ways to get past not having an e-mail address.
OC: "I don't have e-mail. But I do have G-mail, will that work?"
Sales Associate: "Can I get your e-mail address?"
Older Customer: "I don't have e-mail."
SA: "Oh, uh ..." starts to mention ways to get past not having an e-mail address.
OC: "I don't have e-mail. But I do have G-mail, will that work?"
What if it really was The Rapture yesterday, but just nobody qualified?
September 24, 2025 at 1:07 PM
What if it really was The Rapture yesterday, but just nobody qualified?
Another amusing (I hope) anecdote from my ttrpg playing career.
Tales of Hilarity: Unexpected Guests
Funny RPG Stories? I've got a million of them.
open.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Another amusing (I hope) anecdote from my ttrpg playing career.
Logan’s Run needs a sequel where people who had their food, shelter, clothing, child bearing and parenting, etc. done for them - suddenly getting “freedom” from AI never knowing anything more than recreation and pleasure.
It's a “that happy ending isn’t as happy as you think” kind of film.
It's a “that happy ending isn’t as happy as you think” kind of film.
September 12, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Logan’s Run needs a sequel where people who had their food, shelter, clothing, child bearing and parenting, etc. done for them - suddenly getting “freedom” from AI never knowing anything more than recreation and pleasure.
It's a “that happy ending isn’t as happy as you think” kind of film.
It's a “that happy ending isn’t as happy as you think” kind of film.
Holy shit, it worked! :o
We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk
If the far-right misogynist with a bad haircut wants to villainize independent women, Jezebel is more than happy to be the hag of his nightmares.
www.jezebel.com
September 11, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Holy shit, it worked! :o
This week's Rulings, Not Rules - looking for lessons from a campaign session 37 years in the past.
Looking for Lessons from a Difficult Game Session. From 1988.
A memorable session - but for the right or wrong reasons?
open.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:02 PM
This week's Rulings, Not Rules - looking for lessons from a campaign session 37 years in the past.
Old man shares funny story from the old days.
Tales of Hilarity: The Noxzema Incident
Funny RPG stories? I got a million of them
markcasiglio.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Old man shares funny story from the old days.
My latest column dredges up a tired subject after a positive discussion on Discord gives me hope for better conversation. #RulingsnotRules #Shadowdark
My Orcs Are Going to Be Whatever I Want Them to Be, Thank You Very Much.
A fresh take on an old argument? Probably not.
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 8:54 PM
My latest column dredges up a tired subject after a positive discussion on Discord gives me hope for better conversation. #RulingsnotRules #Shadowdark
NPC meant to throw a PC into a hot spring filled with dangerous creatures. He got advantage on the check. This was his roll.
September 1, 2025 at 9:46 PM
NPC meant to throw a PC into a hot spring filled with dangerous creatures. He got advantage on the check. This was his roll.
Going to be honest, I backed #1 with a "Whatever. It's not expensive, why not?" approach. But it really blew me away! Definitely an "under the radar" Shadowdark zine.
Very much looking forward to #2.
Very much looking forward to #2.
Witch-Lords of Skull Mountain #2: Malkova Wilds #Zinequest
Issue #2 of the sword & sorcery hexcrawl #zinequest for Shadowdark, DCC RPG, and OSR games
www.kickstarter.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Going to be honest, I backed #1 with a "Whatever. It's not expensive, why not?" approach. But it really blew me away! Definitely an "under the radar" Shadowdark zine.
Very much looking forward to #2.
Very much looking forward to #2.
Big, big fan of YCBN adventures. AND art.
I love these little #osr adventures and always keep copies in stock at the Phantom Mill distro shop (along with the rest of Eon's zines)! ninepinpress.com/products/tal...
August 27, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Big, big fan of YCBN adventures. AND art.
Latest installment of Rulings, Not Rules gets into extended travel in a West Marches campaign.
Abstracting Travel in my West Marches Campaign
An abstract system for my Schadengard campaign (Shadowdark) to get us into the dungeon crawl as quickly as possible.
open.substack.com
August 27, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Latest installment of Rulings, Not Rules gets into extended travel in a West Marches campaign.
I've got no issue with Critical Role or D&D 5e. But regardless, this was maybe the best and most intense AP I've ever watched. (And shorter than a season of CR).
Instead of being pissed about a big AP playing D&D, maybe give a smaller—but still excellent—AP a chance? Start here: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
The Between - YouTube
An actual play of The Between by Jason Cordova, in association with The Gauntlet. Featuring Jess Jewell as Dr. Eveline Mortimer, The Mother Michelle Kelly as...
youtube.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I've got no issue with Critical Role or D&D 5e. But regardless, this was maybe the best and most intense AP I've ever watched. (And shorter than a season of CR).
My wife: "Not everything they say on my crafting shows is a double-entendre!"
Woman on crafting show: "I prefer 10" in the front, and 12" in the rear."
Woman on crafting show: "I prefer 10" in the front, and 12" in the rear."
August 21, 2025 at 4:05 PM
My wife: "Not everything they say on my crafting shows is a double-entendre!"
Woman on crafting show: "I prefer 10" in the front, and 12" in the rear."
Woman on crafting show: "I prefer 10" in the front, and 12" in the rear."
Rulings, Not Rules - Thinking about what makes a TTRPG complex or not.
Complexity is a Grid, Not a Line
An inelegant article about TTRPG complexity
open.substack.com
August 19, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Rulings, Not Rules - Thinking about what makes a TTRPG complex or not.
Rulings, Not Rules today discussing game mechanics supporting role play, and not role play that supports game mechanics.
I Prefer Mechanics that Reflect Role Play
Not the other way around - an anecdote about a minor epiphany about my preferred gaming style
open.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Rulings, Not Rules today discussing game mechanics supporting role play, and not role play that supports game mechanics.
New Rulings, Not Rules column takes on one of my favorite classes in one of my favorite games. #rulingsnotrules #shadowdark
Thieves, Traps, and Tells in Shadowdark
Retraining my brain to eliminate perception checks
open.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 9:25 PM
New Rulings, Not Rules column takes on one of my favorite classes in one of my favorite games. #rulingsnotrules #shadowdark
I'm convinced there's an annual conference where all the people in charge of writing up start-player rules for boardgames, and all the designers responsible for renaming the GM in every new ttrpg get together to plan out how they're going to re-reinvent the wheel for the coming year.
August 8, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I'm convinced there's an annual conference where all the people in charge of writing up start-player rules for boardgames, and all the designers responsible for renaming the GM in every new ttrpg get together to plan out how they're going to re-reinvent the wheel for the coming year.
I don't pretend to offer much in the way of insight or analysis. Frankly it's just a bunch of paragraphs about how much I really want to play these games.
Care to join me?
Care to join me?
2025 Ennie Winners - My Thoughts
All about Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!
open.substack.com
August 2, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I don't pretend to offer much in the way of insight or analysis. Frankly it's just a bunch of paragraphs about how much I really want to play these games.
Care to join me?
Care to join me?
This is a pretty big announcement! I'm curious if the Arcane Library crew @nightnoon.games knew this was coming or was it a surprise?
The Announcement
YouTube video by The Glass Cannon Network
youtu.be
August 1, 2025 at 12:43 PM
This is a pretty big announcement! I'm curious if the Arcane Library crew @nightnoon.games knew this was coming or was it a surprise?