Apparently there's some kind of Story Games/OSR argument on here somewhere? Two funny things about this:
1) The OSR has been dead since at least 2020.
2) Story Games and the OSR are basically the same thing.
They need to hug it out and make up. Deal with the real enemy ... Collectible Card games.
1) The OSR has been dead since at least 2020.
2) Story Games and the OSR are basically the same thing.
They need to hug it out and make up. Deal with the real enemy ... Collectible Card games.
January 5, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Apparently there's some kind of Story Games/OSR argument on here somewhere? Two funny things about this:
1) The OSR has been dead since at least 2020.
2) Story Games and the OSR are basically the same thing.
They need to hug it out and make up. Deal with the real enemy ... Collectible Card games.
1) The OSR has been dead since at least 2020.
2) Story Games and the OSR are basically the same thing.
They need to hug it out and make up. Deal with the real enemy ... Collectible Card games.
I'd argue that Zedeck is being to generous here - the "Heist" as a modern narrative concept is rooted in lionizing risk taking and cleverness as a means of acquiring unearned wealth outside of the structures of law or community. It is derived from the Western's narrative of heroic individualism.
The basic shape of dungeon-delving---ie: the heist---is not essentially colonial.
You can even use it to model, say, anti-colonial resistance actions, as @isaacisafraid.bsky.social 's "robbing the colonial government complex" ( afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/anticolonial... ) demonstrates.
3/
You can even use it to model, say, anti-colonial resistance actions, as @isaacisafraid.bsky.social 's "robbing the colonial government complex" ( afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/anticolonial... ) demonstrates.
3/
Anti-colonial Dungeon
A few days ago, my friend Habeeb, made his first Tabletop RPG blogpost: . We have been talking about Colonialism and Tabletop RPG for a while now ever since ...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev
January 5, 2026 at 1:40 PM
I'd argue that Zedeck is being to generous here - the "Heist" as a modern narrative concept is rooted in lionizing risk taking and cleverness as a means of acquiring unearned wealth outside of the structures of law or community. It is derived from the Western's narrative of heroic individualism.
A thought on RPG location design ... I am so so tired of tombs and ruined castles. The real world in infinitely more inventive. Consider instead the first "modern" observatory in Europe - Uraniborg - a pre-telescope astronomy island, including the "underground observatory" Stjerneborg ...
December 26, 2025 at 10:38 AM
A thought on RPG location design ... I am so so tired of tombs and ruined castles. The real world in infinitely more inventive. Consider instead the first "modern" observatory in Europe - Uraniborg - a pre-telescope astronomy island, including the "underground observatory" Stjerneborg ...
Still illustrating Bones of Bronze - it needs more skeletons.
December 26, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Still illustrating Bones of Bronze - it needs more skeletons.
Welcome to the barrow... Additional Bones of Bronze art - part of why it's taken so long is because it's just a lot of skeletons...
December 25, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Welcome to the barrow... Additional Bones of Bronze art - part of why it's taken so long is because it's just a lot of skeletons...
Another piece of interior art for Bones of Bronze - my upcoming five level dungeon set in the Crystal Frontier's Barrow Fields.
December 22, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Another piece of interior art for Bones of Bronze - my upcoming five level dungeon set in the Crystal Frontier's Barrow Fields.
Leo's a chill creator ... makes good stuff. Don't steal it to sell, but if you must ... credit him. This is not a big ask.
I will just comment briefly to say I’m aware of the republished book. I’d reiterate that Vaults of Vaarn is published under Creative Commons and the book text encourages you to remix, edit, reuse the content.
December 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Leo's a chill creator ... makes good stuff. Don't steal it to sell, but if you must ... credit him. This is not a big ask.
So the plagiarists and grifters are still involved in the Post-OSR space...
Not shocking - it's the same shifty, yelling crew as always.
Silver lining ... they seem to be recruiting very slowly and their work is still bad ... the mirror of the "TrvOSR" chud boys.
Solution? Make good things.
Not shocking - it's the same shifty, yelling crew as always.
Silver lining ... they seem to be recruiting very slowly and their work is still bad ... the mirror of the "TrvOSR" chud boys.
Solution? Make good things.
December 21, 2025 at 11:42 AM
So the plagiarists and grifters are still involved in the Post-OSR space...
Not shocking - it's the same shifty, yelling crew as always.
Silver lining ... they seem to be recruiting very slowly and their work is still bad ... the mirror of the "TrvOSR" chud boys.
Solution? Make good things.
Not shocking - it's the same shifty, yelling crew as always.
Silver lining ... they seem to be recruiting very slowly and their work is still bad ... the mirror of the "TrvOSR" chud boys.
Solution? Make good things.
This was a great campaign - very freeform sprawling, but one where so many detail and player initiated goals arose from play. I wish we'd been able to go on a bit longer - as it was ripe to turn into a domain game with dinosaur riding armies clashing in the wastes.
Session 7 of Masters of Carcosa was a lot of fighting Mi-Go. The party encounters their first Space Aliens.
Save vs. Total Party Kill - Masters of Carcosa - Session 7
The caverns the party explore this session were another way I had imagined to get the party out of the region they were in. The Protector of Truths was leading a group of Yellow Men in a war against e...
save.vs.totalpartykill.ca
December 7, 2025 at 5:02 PM
This was a great campaign - very freeform sprawling, but one where so many detail and player initiated goals arose from play. I wish we'd been able to go on a bit longer - as it was ripe to turn into a domain game with dinosaur riding armies clashing in the wastes.
I have no idea what any of this means - maybe "RPG blogging isn't dead"? It sure is cool though.
Spent the last month mapping the blogosphere by its links. The graph is finally ready
Communities clump into a big hex and the whole thing looks like a star map
What are blogs anyway but stars in the sky?
elmc.at/mapping-the-...
To check out the graph directly follow this link:
graph.elmc.at
Communities clump into a big hex and the whole thing looks like a star map
What are blogs anyway but stars in the sky?
elmc.at/mapping-the-...
To check out the graph directly follow this link:
graph.elmc.at
Mapping the Blogosphere
An interactive graph of TTRPG blogs, showing who links to whom, how communities change over time, plus stats and how it all works.
elmc.at
November 27, 2025 at 9:10 AM
I have no idea what any of this means - maybe "RPG blogging isn't dead"? It sure is cool though.
Reposted by Gus L.
Added a community detection algorithm to the data and it found five clusters.
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Added a community detection algorithm to the data and it found five clusters.
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
Reposted by Gus L.
If you ever thought, "Damn I love Fallout", then here is one woman you can thank for that legacy.
November 18, 2025 at 4:41 AM
If you ever thought, "Damn I love Fallout", then here is one woman you can thank for that legacy.
Serwer is obviously someone with a good understanding of D&D. I also agree with his thesis on Musk and co ... but I'd suggest that fantasy rpgs are less reactionary/conservative coded when they allow player ethical decision making - including the choice to be horrible.
Musk and others on the far right are obsessed with things like Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons because they see fantasy worlds as reinforcing their own beliefs about immutable hierarchies of race, gender, and by extension morality www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 17, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Serwer is obviously someone with a good understanding of D&D. I also agree with his thesis on Musk and co ... but I'd suggest that fantasy rpgs are less reactionary/conservative coded when they allow player ethical decision making - including the choice to be horrible.
I blogged yesterday - it's been months. This is just a little thing but I think it could be helpful for folks designing dungeons. It's the result of chatting with @icastlight.bsky.social who was so kind as to post a link yesterday.
Over at ALL DEAD GENERATIONS, Gus (@ratkingrpg.bsky.social) writes about how common obstacles vs. say puzzle rooms are a key part of dungeon design. This is reinforced by how many 1st & 2nd-level MU spells are about getting around these common blocks: alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com/2025/11/dung...
Dungeon Design Note: Obstacles Support Exploration
Less Combat ... More Obstacles I’ve been talking about dungeon crawling as a play style here for years, and I’m not alone among RPG blogger...
alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I blogged yesterday - it's been months. This is just a little thing but I think it could be helpful for folks designing dungeons. It's the result of chatting with @icastlight.bsky.social who was so kind as to post a link yesterday.
Reposted by Gus L.
I love award shows. It's no secret. It's why I've spent months writing, refining, and trying to distill my Ennies judging experience.
It's a 4-part series (I know, I know). One article a day. Today's lays out my goals and puts the focus on awards in general.
www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-1/
It's a 4-part series (I know, I know). One article a day. Today's lays out my goals and puts the focus on awards in general.
www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-1/
The Awards Debrief 2025
An in-depth look at the Ennie Awards, its process, design, and role from the perspective of one former judge.
www.explorersdesign.com
October 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I love award shows. It's no secret. It's why I've spent months writing, refining, and trying to distill my Ennies judging experience.
It's a 4-part series (I know, I know). One article a day. Today's lays out my goals and puts the focus on awards in general.
www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-1/
It's a 4-part series (I know, I know). One article a day. Today's lays out my goals and puts the focus on awards in general.
www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-1/
Some more Bones of Bronze Art - a Mellified Royal - one of the Palace Queens of old Sildvar laid to rest in a sealed coffin of magically puissant honey and revived by the corrupting sorcery of the Iron Barrow.
September 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Some more Bones of Bronze Art - a Mellified Royal - one of the Palace Queens of old Sildvar laid to rest in a sealed coffin of magically puissant honey and revived by the corrupting sorcery of the Iron Barrow.
This is good. I wish I had more to say on it, but it's just good sense.
"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-...
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
September 24, 2025 at 8:59 AM
This is good. I wish I had more to say on it, but it's just good sense.
Deep in the red rock beneath the Iron Barrow, the bronze bulls still haunt the catacombs - automations maintained by deathless smiths at a forge of cold fire.
September 23, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Deep in the red rock beneath the Iron Barrow, the bronze bulls still haunt the catacombs - automations maintained by deathless smiths at a forge of cold fire.
Still drawing away slowly on the art for Bones of Bronze, which is now through its final edits.
September 17, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Still drawing away slowly on the art for Bones of Bronze, which is now through its final edits.
I've said elsewhere that while I am fond of Jay and Jay's thought is good, I don't entirely degree with this manifesto. That also means I largely agree with it. An RPG is best when player desire is in conflict with some of the rules, and when the game questions itself. You can find this playing B2.
good morning, i wrote a manifesto about a new direction for game design / play
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
The Expressionist Games Manifesto
“Work! Intoxication! Brain-racking! Chewing, eating, gorging, rooting up! Rapturous birth pangs! Jabbing of the brush, preferably right…
possumcreek.medium.com
September 11, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I've said elsewhere that while I am fond of Jay and Jay's thought is good, I don't entirely degree with this manifesto. That also means I largely agree with it. An RPG is best when player desire is in conflict with some of the rules, and when the game questions itself. You can find this playing B2.
I haven't played miniature based games since the mid 90's, but I still follow Casey's work. He's chill and amusing but also thinks hard about his rulesets and is never weighed done by that fussy gravitas that seems endemic in the wargames space (sorry mini's peeps - you have a few tedious people).
Any review that notices how funny I am is a good review.
August 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I haven't played miniature based games since the mid 90's, but I still follow Casey's work. He's chill and amusing but also thinks hard about his rulesets and is never weighed done by that fussy gravitas that seems endemic in the wargames space (sorry mini's peeps - you have a few tedious people).
Reposted by Gus L.
I have three dark fantasy print bundles left here:
mana-meltdown.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Last chance to grab one before next print run
mana-meltdown.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Last chance to grab one before next print run
August 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM
I have three dark fantasy print bundles left here:
mana-meltdown.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Last chance to grab one before next print run
mana-meltdown.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Last chance to grab one before next print run
Reposted by Gus L.
Hey that's my game.
Using your D&D dice for wargames is objectively 46% better than just using six siders.
Using your D&D dice for wargames is objectively 46% better than just using six siders.
VOIDFIGHTER: bit.ly/44g3WnP
🔹 Perform maneuvers including barrel rolls & Immelmann turns
🔹 Use simple ship characteristics based on differing die types
🔹 Add rules for celestial phenomena & terrain
🔹 Play a variety of scenarios & a campaign system
// PRE-ORDER //
🔹 Perform maneuvers including barrel rolls & Immelmann turns
🔹 Use simple ship characteristics based on differing die types
🔹 Add rules for celestial phenomena & terrain
🔹 Play a variety of scenarios & a campaign system
// PRE-ORDER //
August 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hey that's my game.
Using your D&D dice for wargames is objectively 46% better than just using six siders.
Using your D&D dice for wargames is objectively 46% better than just using six siders.
WD put this together to be small but allow exploration - a hard task and while space constraints are always limiting I think he succeeded and has included some weird wizardly touches that don't feel "gonzo" but manage to feel very Appendix N fantasy.
Put up a blog post today explaining a little more of the thought process around designing my entry for the 2025 #appendixnjam #appxn: icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/08/taba...
August 4, 2025 at 1:29 PM
WD put this together to be small but allow exploration - a hard task and while space constraints are always limiting I think he succeeded and has included some weird wizardly touches that don't feel "gonzo" but manage to feel very Appendix N fantasy.
Reposted by Gus L.
part 2! regardless of whether or not we know which author contributed which passages, can we poke major tendencies and axes of difference across od&d? and do the poles of such axes correlate?
traversefantasy.blogspot.com/2025/08/od-h...
traversefantasy.blogspot.com/2025/08/od-h...
August 3, 2025 at 12:44 PM
part 2! regardless of whether or not we know which author contributed which passages, can we poke major tendencies and axes of difference across od&d? and do the poles of such axes correlate?
traversefantasy.blogspot.com/2025/08/od-h...
traversefantasy.blogspot.com/2025/08/od-h...