Ben L
@benlaurence.bsky.social
Author of Through Ultan's Door, Downtime in Zyan, and Mazirian's Garden. Creator of the podcast Into the Megadungeon.
Links here: https://linktr.ee/ultansdoor
Patreon: https://patreon.com/ultansdoor
Webstore: https://throughultansdoor.bigcartel.com/
Links here: https://linktr.ee/ultansdoor
Patreon: https://patreon.com/ultansdoor
Webstore: https://throughultansdoor.bigcartel.com/
Reposted by Ben L
could everyone please help my cardinals elect a new space pope. it isn't healthy for them to be stuck in a conclave. they only do this when they are very distressed
i dunno how they're talking about it out on the Dream because i'm sequestered but take it from me: this is all you need to know about the conclave so far #over/under
November 8, 2025 at 5:52 AM
could everyone please help my cardinals elect a new space pope. it isn't healthy for them to be stuck in a conclave. they only do this when they are very distressed
Reposted by Ben L
We are actively in Conclave right now (going exactly as you’d expect and nothing else) and I’m so Cardinal-pilled that I thought “I can’t go on Bluesky, I’m sequestered.” #over/under
November 8, 2025 at 4:31 AM
We are actively in Conclave right now (going exactly as you’d expect and nothing else) and I’m so Cardinal-pilled that I thought “I can’t go on Bluesky, I’m sequestered.” #over/under
Reposted by Ben L
Found this old ink drawing I did in 95 for Monstrous Compendium: Savage Coast, a D&D book. I did not think I had any of those left. I sold most of the art from that book to a collector. #dungeonsanddragons #boardgames #rpgart
November 1, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Found this old ink drawing I did in 95 for Monstrous Compendium: Savage Coast, a D&D book. I did not think I had any of those left. I sold most of the art from that book to a collector. #dungeonsanddragons #boardgames #rpgart
The passage of a real legend
A little drunk, dressed like the Devil, scrolling through #over/under feeds like a fiend before my account deoxygenates. The Vor was one of the greatest roleplaying experiences of my life. What a beautiful, strange, messy thing. Thanks for playing along.
November 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM
The passage of a real legend
Ok I just finished my second reading of Book of the New Sun (phenomenal, better the 2nd time). Before I jump back in with more Wolfe I want a sword and sorcery qpalette cleanser. What should I read next? The original Savage Sword of Conan comics or Karl Wagner's Kane books?
October 31, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Ok I just finished my second reading of Book of the New Sun (phenomenal, better the 2nd time). Before I jump back in with more Wolfe I want a sword and sorcery qpalette cleanser. What should I read next? The original Savage Sword of Conan comics or Karl Wagner's Kane books?
Reposted by Ben L
plenty of my peers and esteemed colleagues in tabletop are in #over/under and have just seen me roleplay out some truly radioactive old man yearning in a public discord thread. I hope i can still be taken seriously after this. But if not, it will have been worth it.
October 30, 2025 at 2:11 AM
plenty of my peers and esteemed colleagues in tabletop are in #over/under and have just seen me roleplay out some truly radioactive old man yearning in a public discord thread. I hope i can still be taken seriously after this. But if not, it will have been worth it.
Do you want to have animal people without choosing between satanic beastmen and furries? Perhaps consider these unsettling human-animal hybrid from 1827 as an alternative.
October 30, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Do you want to have animal people without choosing between satanic beastmen and furries? Perhaps consider these unsettling human-animal hybrid from 1827 as an alternative.
Ktrey turns his formidable table powers to Mothership!
More #over/under Tables: Fine Dining, Coffees, Pastries, and a Jukebox!
October 26, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Ktrey turns his formidable table powers to Mothership!
Reposted by Ben L
ALL ON RED is LIVE! Happy Mothership Month everyone! Make sure to back early and get those dope 48hr bonuses! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/g...
ALL ON RED: a investigative sandbox for Mothership RPG
All On Red is a tense sandbox investigation module set on the perilous mega-station Prospero's Dream. Speeding trains, a vicious gang, a clinic on the brink of failure, and a rebel plot all collide in...
www.backerkit.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:25 PM
ALL ON RED is LIVE! Happy Mothership Month everyone! Make sure to back early and get those dope 48hr bonuses! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/g...
Reposted by Ben L
Not every day you get to topple a fictional evil corporation as a big evil Nosferatu man and throw fictional executives out of fictional windows. #over/under
October 24, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Not every day you get to topple a fictional evil corporation as a big evil Nosferatu man and throw fictional executives out of fictional windows. #over/under
Reposted by Ben L
this week in #over/under when we decided on the Solarian holidays and I said Flare (today) was the day for big impacts and dramatic displays I was truly given the gift of prophecy by Invictus Sol. having our fireworks festival interrupted by a sudden Dream-wide catastrophe was perfect drama
October 25, 2025 at 12:21 AM
this week in #over/under when we decided on the Solarian holidays and I said Flare (today) was the day for big impacts and dramatic displays I was truly given the gift of prophecy by Invictus Sol. having our fireworks festival interrupted by a sudden Dream-wide catastrophe was perfect drama
Reposted by Ben L
Some people say that #over/under isn’t Mothership. But the amount of Stress and Panic I’ve seen in the game is *extremely* Mothership.
October 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Some people say that #over/under isn’t Mothership. But the amount of Stress and Panic I’ve seen in the game is *extremely* Mothership.
i know you're all sick of hearing about #over/under but I find I'm having a strange emotional response. For every high (and there are a lot!), there are lows like fomo, feeling disoriented by the tech (I'm almost 50 irl), feeling inadequate at the game, etc. It's stirring up a lot of old feelings.
October 25, 2025 at 6:34 PM
i know you're all sick of hearing about #over/under but I find I'm having a strange emotional response. For every high (and there are a lot!), there are lows like fomo, feeling disoriented by the tech (I'm almost 50 irl), feeling inadequate at the game, etc. It's stirring up a lot of old feelings.
"for religious reasons". THIS is the church I know and love. #over/under
does anyone know... how to download a video from tumblr. i need the video that accompanies this post about my twenty-third birthday party for religious reasons in #over/under
October 24, 2025 at 9:24 PM
"for religious reasons". THIS is the church I know and love. #over/under
I learned tonight that there's some place called Sem's Bar that failed an inspection. Someone has been appointed inspector by the teamsters to examine health and safety regulations for non-existent establishments. Let that sink in
wandered into a room today and people were improving a whole little dungeon crawl in the walls, totally unplanned, other players just stepping in on the fly to GM. They were drawing MAPS
October 22, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I learned tonight that there's some place called Sem's Bar that failed an inspection. Someone has been appointed inspector by the teamsters to examine health and safety regulations for non-existent establishments. Let that sink in
Enjoying the episodes reading through Gene Wolf's Shadow of the Torturer on Alzabo Soup! I'm just finishing my second read of the Book of the New Sun. If you want to understand more on the 1st read thru I rec using the Lexicon Urthus and this podcast as a supplement. open.spotify.com/episode/2tTV...
Introduction and Chapter 1 - Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer
open.spotify.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Enjoying the episodes reading through Gene Wolf's Shadow of the Torturer on Alzabo Soup! I'm just finishing my second read of the Book of the New Sun. If you want to understand more on the 1st read thru I rec using the Lexicon Urthus and this podcast as a supplement. open.spotify.com/episode/2tTV...
Reposted by Ben L
So now in #OVER/UNDER I'm making and curating a virtual museum and art gallery in Unreal, to show off some of the amazing things people are creating (and hopefully end up as some kind of artefact of the inevitable chaos to come)
I've somehow got to find time for so many things!
I've somehow got to find time for so many things!
October 19, 2025 at 10:48 AM
So now in #OVER/UNDER I'm making and curating a virtual museum and art gallery in Unreal, to show off some of the amazing things people are creating (and hopefully end up as some kind of artefact of the inevitable chaos to come)
I've somehow got to find time for so many things!
I've somehow got to find time for so many things!
Reposted by Ben L
So @lukegearing.bsky.social as .beefstink has re-invented NFTs in the far future and is attempting to scam Syndicate shareholders with them. This made me laugh so hard I woke my partner up. #over/under
October 19, 2025 at 1:59 PM
So @lukegearing.bsky.social as .beefstink has re-invented NFTs in the far future and is attempting to scam Syndicate shareholders with them. This made me laugh so hard I woke my partner up. #over/under
It's interesting how this hit everyone at the same time. Yesterday I had to step away for a long while for balance. I saw people leave. There was a lot of "What am I doing?" discourse. Just ask yourself, "How good does the game have to be to be having this effect on people?"
increasingly working on in-character ways to encourage real life self care bc my constitution simply cannot handle seeing people laughing off not getting enough sleep, food, or water because of #OVER/UNDER i'm running intel ops to COME TO YOUR IRL HOUSE IRL & TELL YOU TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF IRL
October 19, 2025 at 1:51 PM
It's interesting how this hit everyone at the same time. Yesterday I had to step away for a long while for balance. I saw people leave. There was a lot of "What am I doing?" discourse. Just ask yourself, "How good does the game have to be to be having this effect on people?"
Reposted by Ben L
I wrote another adventure. It's free. It's a forestcrawl. Get it!
The next module in the Cairn Adventure Series is now available! And it's free! The text, art, and layout is all CC-BY-SA as well.
Have fun!
yochaigal.itch.io/the-feast-of...
Have fun!
yochaigal.itch.io/the-feast-of...
CAS-3: The Feast of Tegny Wood by Yochai Gal
yochaigal.itch.io
October 18, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I wrote another adventure. It's free. It's a forestcrawl. Get it!
Reposted by Ben L
currently watching d100 Weird Space Plants roll into the thread & FEELING IT ALL........ someone included what appears to be block carved prints with their entry?? ugh i'm in love with the vibe
Been playing Over/Under as Pontiff Kuutar, boss of the Solarian Church. I'm recruiting by running google+ style big crowdsourced threads, where the faithful are writing a zine together one d100 table at a time. It will be the only Mothership zine actually made on Prospero's Dream! #over/under
October 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
currently watching d100 Weird Space Plants roll into the thread & FEELING IT ALL........ someone included what appears to be block carved prints with their entry?? ugh i'm in love with the vibe
Reposted by Ben L
I wrote my thesis on magic in Middle-earth. This line from Fellowship is one of the fullest pictures of the "mechanics" of magic that we get.
1) There are many spells to accomplish similar things
2) Magic requires time to do properly
3) Counter-spells reverse or stop magic
+🧵
1) There are many spells to accomplish similar things
2) Magic requires time to do properly
3) Counter-spells reverse or stop magic
+🧵
October 18, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I wrote my thesis on magic in Middle-earth. This line from Fellowship is one of the fullest pictures of the "mechanics" of magic that we get.
1) There are many spells to accomplish similar things
2) Magic requires time to do properly
3) Counter-spells reverse or stop magic
+🧵
1) There are many spells to accomplish similar things
2) Magic requires time to do properly
3) Counter-spells reverse or stop magic
+🧵
Reposted by Ben L
day three & my most-used discord emojis have already been possibly irrevocably altered #OVER/UNDER
October 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM
day three & my most-used discord emojis have already been possibly irrevocably altered #OVER/UNDER
Been playing Over/Under as Pontiff Kuutar, boss of the Solarian Church. I'm recruiting by running google+ style big crowdsourced threads, where the faithful are writing a zine together one d100 table at a time. It will be the only Mothership zine actually made on Prospero's Dream! #over/under
October 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Been playing Over/Under as Pontiff Kuutar, boss of the Solarian Church. I'm recruiting by running google+ style big crowdsourced threads, where the faithful are writing a zine together one d100 table at a time. It will be the only Mothership zine actually made on Prospero's Dream! #over/under
Reposted by Ben L
Something so cool about #OVER/UNDER is how faction asymmetry leads to players leading totally different lives. Today, I heard about folks preparing powerpoints for their boss, the church is organizing art grants, the union is holding internal elections, and the hackers are shitposting.
October 16, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Something so cool about #OVER/UNDER is how faction asymmetry leads to players leading totally different lives. Today, I heard about folks preparing powerpoints for their boss, the church is organizing art grants, the union is holding internal elections, and the hackers are shitposting.