Marx S—
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phophos.bsky.social
Marx S—
@phophos.bsky.social
he/him
ttrpg designer/editor/project lead
@FarHorizonsCoOp.bsky.social community manager
obsessed with the pastoral

pfp: @duamn.bsky.social

https://marx-shepherd.carrd.co/
Pinned
hey so uhh i'm Marx, voted TTRPGs' most horrible goose 2021-22.

i'm a freelance editor, a sometimes designer and writer, community manager for @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social, and the former host of Yes Indie'd Pod.

sometimes i do promo but mostly i post bad jokes and beatles x dnd satire.
turns out that Netrunner is really good actually, sorry to be That Guy. the asymmetry; the action, information, and resource economies; and the complex attack loop makes it really interesting to play.
November 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM
ya get to the point where the BBC have to capitulate to a mad dictator and, fuck, i guess you lost. once the director general and the head of journalism have resigned over it, there's no going back. they have to fully apologise or they'll get sued into oblivion by a narcissistic shitwad.
November 11, 2025 at 11:31 PM
hey BBC don't, y'know, comply in advance, just because some tyrant throws a wobbly it doesn't mean you have to throw your staff under a bus.
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 AM
loser — liar — fucked up phoney — now i'm cursed
November 10, 2025 at 7:41 PM
anyone here played Android: Netrunner? looking to know whether it's my kind of thing. i've played a little bit of MtG and Pokemon TCG about twenty years ago, not really embedded in card games in general, but something about the ideas around Netrunner make me very intrigued.
November 10, 2025 at 2:18 PM
two days left to buy the @bundleofholding.com BUNDLE OF TENTACLES 7, which has amazing stuff by @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social, @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social, @ravengodgames.bsky.social, @armadajosh.bsky.social & @beckyannison.bsky.social, Mind's Vision, and Late Gaming Company. a bargain at $25.04!
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 AM
heck yeah, i wear a white poppy too. in good company with this chap it seems.
If they only knew how to zoom in, they might just be able to make out the red poppy too....
November 9, 2025 at 6:33 PM
it's a wet Sunday here in the south of England. give me a sentence from p38 of the nearest book to you.
November 9, 2025 at 1:56 PM
have you ever really listened to the lyrics of Madness's House of Fun? appears to be about a 16yo going to the chemist to buy condoms.
November 9, 2025 at 1:18 PM
indie ttrpgs people sticker album when
November 7, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Marx S—
Here We GO! Come along, my dearies!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast was a game that arrived at my house about three days before I had to pack up all my games for moving, so I never got to read it, until now.

HOLY GUACAMOLE is this book good. It's a thing of astonishing depth, breadth, and detail. An incredible achievement. Outstandingly.
November 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
this is absolutely crackers. when i or we post a funding goal, it's what we need, not something manufactured. what's wrong is not creator ineptitude but Backer Brain.
If companies must tell €2 million fibs, under guidance by platforms, to make crowdfunding work.

Well, then crowdfunding doesn't work.
Words must mean something
When is a goal not a goal?
www.rascal.news
November 5, 2025 at 11:04 PM
just gonna flag up a slightly separate point, which is that Funko Pops are a more classic consumer good. when you buy 100 cards in booster packs, you're probably going to keep only a handful of them. it's manufactured scarcity of the grossest kind.
I mean, Funko Pops keep selling
November 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
okay so i know it's contentious, but, why is it that people let WotC get away with this absolutely blatant money-grab time after time? all of these MtG sets just look like so much useless and worthless slop. i can't imagine core fans feel like it's worth engaging with this absolute shite.
November 5, 2025 at 6:01 PM
socialist mayor of one of the biggest cities in the world, hell yeah. kapow!
November 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Marx S—
If you ever feel bad about your graphic design, check out what the bozos at NASA put together for the moon landing:
November 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
getting a shout-out from @beckyannison.bsky.social on Black Armada Tales has made my day (even though it came five hours after i started my run). also @armadajosh.bsky.social, oh ye of little faith.
November 4, 2025 at 11:27 AM
lamenting the loss of MySpace today
November 4, 2025 at 10:05 AM
This was a nice chance to chat to someone in the space i respect and admire. Alex is a kind and gracious host, and has insightful questions. I really enjoyed our conversation!
November 4, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Marx S—
I got to talk to @phophos.bsky.social about making games, hosting podcasts, and managing a co-op to cheer others on to making cool games.

PLUS: details on a SALE??

blog.alexrinehart.net/posts/marx-s...
Marx Shepherd: Community Manager
I spoke to Marx Shepherd, community warden, retired podcaster, and community manager at the Far Horizons Co-op. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
blog.alexrinehart.net
November 3, 2025 at 11:46 PM
@helloalexroberts.bsky.social me again, i played For The Queen with my 10yo today (their first time, not mine) and they absolutely loved it, really thrived on the prompts, understood the game, and engaged with a true emerging story. we both had a blast. what a wonderful game you made for us all.
November 2, 2025 at 9:43 PM
it's my birthday today. indulge me by sending me a sentence or paragraph from your nearest book.
November 2, 2025 at 8:32 AM
"… rehashes of Yellow Submarine on repeat…" hohoho, someone's been reading my snarky takes all these years.
...the thought exercise of what it would mean for, say, the music industry if 95% of people only listened to rehashes of Yellow Submarine on repeat. Can you picture the consequences? The closes thing we've seen is probably Harry Potter's grasp on a couple of generations whereby plenty of readers...
November 1, 2025 at 10:00 PM
dunno why i need to even say this in 2025, but a prince "fighting" in the Malvinas War is not a war hero.
November 1, 2025 at 2:18 PM