Matt Shay
@ruinandrue.bsky.social
Marxist, avid lover of TTRPGs, currently working on INKWARREN | Header and Avi by HODAGrpg
they/them :)
they/them :)
Pinned
Matt Shay
@ruinandrue.bsky.social
· Oct 18
Hi all! I’m Matt, currently based in ATL and working on a TTRPG called Inkwarren!
Inkwarren is a dark fantasy TTRPG of tarot tactics and woodland folklore. In Inkwarren, you play as a woodlander— a heroic animal denizen of the great, dark woodland of Cairnadal.
Let’s talk about the game below!
Inkwarren is a dark fantasy TTRPG of tarot tactics and woodland folklore. In Inkwarren, you play as a woodlander— a heroic animal denizen of the great, dark woodland of Cairnadal.
Let’s talk about the game below!
Work notepad doodles.
April 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Work notepad doodles.
Used bookstore haul!! :)
April 12, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Used bookstore haul!! :)
I get to play a new TTRPG tomorrow that NONE of you have played >:)) (it’s my friend’s new indie system! First playtest!)
April 10, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I get to play a new TTRPG tomorrow that NONE of you have played >:)) (it’s my friend’s new indie system! First playtest!)
SILKSONG IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025
April 2, 2025 at 4:59 PM
SILKSONG IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025
Reading list lately! :)
April 2, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Reading list lately! :)
Finally bought Heart: The City Beneath and yeah this is EXACTLY my shit
March 21, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Finally bought Heart: The City Beneath and yeah this is EXACTLY my shit
Reposted by Matt Shay
HOLY SHIT I HAVE GREAT NEWS
I just received a call from the clinic, about the blood test results!
After eight months of ozempic, training and eating better?
My cholesterol and liver enzymes are “back within normal parameters,” and I’m no longer pre-diabetic!
I just received a call from the clinic, about the blood test results!
After eight months of ozempic, training and eating better?
My cholesterol and liver enzymes are “back within normal parameters,” and I’m no longer pre-diabetic!
March 17, 2025 at 12:17 PM
HOLY SHIT I HAVE GREAT NEWS
I just received a call from the clinic, about the blood test results!
After eight months of ozempic, training and eating better?
My cholesterol and liver enzymes are “back within normal parameters,” and I’m no longer pre-diabetic!
I just received a call from the clinic, about the blood test results!
After eight months of ozempic, training and eating better?
My cholesterol and liver enzymes are “back within normal parameters,” and I’m no longer pre-diabetic!
Reposted by Matt Shay
Happy Twitter outage to those who celebrate!
March 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Happy Twitter outage to those who celebrate!
One thing I’ve kinda made my peace with in game design is that it’s perfectly okay for your game to say ‘this is the way the rules are intended to work, and if you loophole them to do other shit you’re using them wrong’
January 26, 2025 at 12:39 AM
One thing I’ve kinda made my peace with in game design is that it’s perfectly okay for your game to say ‘this is the way the rules are intended to work, and if you loophole them to do other shit you’re using them wrong’
I’ve taken up drawing daily pictures of little woodlanders on my call sheets at work
January 24, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I’ve taken up drawing daily pictures of little woodlanders on my call sheets at work
Inkwarren won’t be complete without the fishing minigame
January 24, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Inkwarren won’t be complete without the fishing minigame
Started a new pathfinder game and the party vibes are unmatched (art by @chillydoodles.bsky.social)
January 19, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Started a new pathfinder game and the party vibes are unmatched (art by @chillydoodles.bsky.social)
Realllyyy disappointing playtest tonight. Mechanic I’ve been tinkering with for a while that I was excited about completely fell apart in actual play. Cest la vie! This is why we playtest
December 30, 2024 at 4:53 AM
Realllyyy disappointing playtest tonight. Mechanic I’ve been tinkering with for a while that I was excited about completely fell apart in actual play. Cest la vie! This is why we playtest
Ruin & Rue was my first draft title for Inkwarren! :) it stuck around for a WHILE, so I made it my username everywhere
Feel free to either reply or quote, but I want to know: How did you come up with your username? o:
December 26, 2024 at 5:09 PM
Ruin & Rue was my first draft title for Inkwarren! :) it stuck around for a WHILE, so I made it my username everywhere
Reposted by Matt Shay
Hey, @destinythegame.bungie.net, I really think you should consider bringing me on to make an official Destiny TTRPG.
I'd do an incredible job with it.
I'd do an incredible job with it.
December 21, 2024 at 11:49 PM
Hey, @destinythegame.bungie.net, I really think you should consider bringing me on to make an official Destiny TTRPG.
I'd do an incredible job with it.
I'd do an incredible job with it.
Reposted by Matt Shay
This feels so simple, but so many of those "rpg horror stories" are a result of people not aligning their expectations. I'll add too that if you have a newer player, give them LOTS of check ins and chances to change what they're playing. New people dont always know what theyll like in the long term.
Hey GMs,
Checking in with your players to see if they are enjoying the game/story/system/etc isn't just ok to do...it's a good thing! Encourage honest communication about what they enjoy, what they struggle with, all of that.
Make sure you are all playing the game you all want to play!
Checking in with your players to see if they are enjoying the game/story/system/etc isn't just ok to do...it's a good thing! Encourage honest communication about what they enjoy, what they struggle with, all of that.
Make sure you are all playing the game you all want to play!
December 13, 2024 at 7:58 PM
This feels so simple, but so many of those "rpg horror stories" are a result of people not aligning their expectations. I'll add too that if you have a newer player, give them LOTS of check ins and chances to change what they're playing. New people dont always know what theyll like in the long term.
Reposted by Matt Shay
"Hey guys i've been playing D&D for a few months now and I have this theory about TTRPGS:" *something I saw posted six years ago.*
December 13, 2024 at 12:30 AM
"Hey guys i've been playing D&D for a few months now and I have this theory about TTRPGS:" *something I saw posted six years ago.*
Reposted by Matt Shay
Menus vs parkour.
there are two kinds of tabletop rpgs:
1) pick three abilities out of the following twenty-page list. most of the text will be preempting various rule abuses
2) choose a word. write it on a piece of paper. this is your character sheet. ponder what it means
1) pick three abilities out of the following twenty-page list. most of the text will be preempting various rule abuses
2) choose a word. write it on a piece of paper. this is your character sheet. ponder what it means
December 11, 2024 at 2:44 PM
Menus vs parkour.
Reposted by Matt Shay
More fantasy factions should have appalachian accents. Not to mark them as dumb or rowdy. Like I want to see Wood Elves talking about their millennia long history and stewardship of the old forests with distinct Holler drawls. I want to hear a dryad say "reckon so" and "if'n"
December 10, 2024 at 2:09 PM
More fantasy factions should have appalachian accents. Not to mark them as dumb or rowdy. Like I want to see Wood Elves talking about their millennia long history and stewardship of the old forests with distinct Holler drawls. I want to hear a dryad say "reckon so" and "if'n"
Reposted by Matt Shay
Remember gamers, no matter what happens at the The Game Awards this year, your favorite game got robbed and you need to be unreasonably angry about it ❤️
December 9, 2024 at 6:13 PM
Remember gamers, no matter what happens at the The Game Awards this year, your favorite game got robbed and you need to be unreasonably angry about it ❤️
Next week the campaign that I’ve been running weekly on Sundays for 3 years ends and I am So Sad
December 9, 2024 at 5:34 AM
Next week the campaign that I’ve been running weekly on Sundays for 3 years ends and I am So Sad
Reposted by Matt Shay
I really HATE floating target numbers up to the GMs desire. It sucks, even as a gm, because it feels so arbitrary. Compared to haveing the number clearly labeled on a sheet that you have to beat or get within. Like why woukd you not give the players the information the players need? Free the gm!
December 5, 2024 at 11:57 PM
I really HATE floating target numbers up to the GMs desire. It sucks, even as a gm, because it feels so arbitrary. Compared to haveing the number clearly labeled on a sheet that you have to beat or get within. Like why woukd you not give the players the information the players need? Free the gm!
Reposted by Matt Shay
Art is communication regardless of how involved in the creation someone is, and in art, there's value to listening to others rather than speaking over them. I don't think it's actually a good thing to place house rules on a pedestal like this, especially coming from someone who designed such
Interesting perspective from one of the original 5e designers. Basically saying House Rules are key to TTRPGs.
December 5, 2024 at 9:56 AM
Art is communication regardless of how involved in the creation someone is, and in art, there's value to listening to others rather than speaking over them. I don't think it's actually a good thing to place house rules on a pedestal like this, especially coming from someone who designed such
Reposted by Matt Shay
bots are becoming a bigger thing on this platform now. not as bad as twitter, but it’s a shame that no matter what, we’re forced into experiencing the internet technological rot that infests online spaces now
December 5, 2024 at 5:17 PM
bots are becoming a bigger thing on this platform now. not as bad as twitter, but it’s a shame that no matter what, we’re forced into experiencing the internet technological rot that infests online spaces now
Reposted by Matt Shay
We joked that 2020 was an exceptionally shitty year but I legit did not expect every year since to be so much worse
December 5, 2024 at 6:36 PM
We joked that 2020 was an exceptionally shitty year but I legit did not expect every year since to be so much worse