Woefully Encysted Creature
@forlornencystment.bsky.social
West Philadelphia. TTRPG blogger at forlornencystment.blogspot.com.
pine nuts on top. very jiggy.
pine nuts on top. very jiggy.
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
something i’ve always found somewhat whimsical about od&d is that due to how the encounter tables are set up, there is basically always a minimum 12.5% chance you run into a werewolf (well, lycanthropes generally).
November 14, 2025 at 7:41 PM
something i’ve always found somewhat whimsical about od&d is that due to how the encounter tables are set up, there is basically always a minimum 12.5% chance you run into a werewolf (well, lycanthropes generally).
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
Okay, this is a rad article. Last time I ran a campaign, I presented the main city as a big, nasty, Lankhmar-type place, but (mostly) ended up playing it as pretty safe and reasonable. This gives me some stuff to think about.
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes
This is a topic I've been dancing around a lot for the past few months. As my observations have accumulated, I've begun to feel that it woul...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Okay, this is a rad article. Last time I ran a campaign, I presented the main city as a big, nasty, Lankhmar-type place, but (mostly) ended up playing it as pretty safe and reasonable. This gives me some stuff to think about.
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
This is a very thoughtful analysis of towns in AD&D, but applicable to just about any rpg.
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes
This is a topic I've been dancing around a lot for the past few months. As my observations have accumulated, I've begun to feel that it woul...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:11 PM
This is a very thoughtful analysis of towns in AD&D, but applicable to just about any rpg.
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes
This is a topic I've been dancing around a lot for the past few months. As my observations have accumulated, I've begun to feel that it woul...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
I dug through AD&D to find out: where are all the high-level NPCs? I talk about why it's an important question to ask & do some number crunching using an average AD&D city & some demographic figures I made up. It's better than nothing!
Where are AD&D's High-Level NPCs?
This is a question I've pondered quite a bit in my exploration of AD&D. Theoretically, my assumption would be that there's nothing to restri...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I dug through AD&D to find out: where are all the high-level NPCs? I talk about why it's an important question to ask & do some number crunching using an average AD&D city & some demographic figures I made up. It's better than nothing!
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
New Carouse, Carouse!
This time featuring, among other things, me writing about Over/Under, AI in games (not like that) from Patchwork Paladin, a review of Gorman's Larder by @giantrobottackler.bsky.social and a selection of blog posts, as always!
www.carouse.blog/november-202...
This time featuring, among other things, me writing about Over/Under, AI in games (not like that) from Patchwork Paladin, a review of Gorman's Larder by @giantrobottackler.bsky.social and a selection of blog posts, as always!
www.carouse.blog/november-202...
November 2025 - Jacked In
We're approaching the end of the year, and the northern hemisphere is getting properly gray and wet now (the perfect weather to stay in and play RPGs). Perhaps the southern contingent will play outsid...
www.carouse.blog
November 1, 2025 at 12:26 PM
New Carouse, Carouse!
This time featuring, among other things, me writing about Over/Under, AI in games (not like that) from Patchwork Paladin, a review of Gorman's Larder by @giantrobottackler.bsky.social and a selection of blog posts, as always!
www.carouse.blog/november-202...
This time featuring, among other things, me writing about Over/Under, AI in games (not like that) from Patchwork Paladin, a review of Gorman's Larder by @giantrobottackler.bsky.social and a selection of blog posts, as always!
www.carouse.blog/november-202...
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
I enjoy Halloween! I blog about it somewhat frequently so have eight (8) blogposts that are appropriately spooky for you to enjoy on this Hallows Eve. I shall collect them here for you #osr
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
Do the Monster Mashup — Prismatic Wasteland
I mashup several classic Halloween monsters to create ten new spooky monsters, and discuss how I would use them in games.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I enjoy Halloween! I blog about it somewhat frequently so have eight (8) blogposts that are appropriately spooky for you to enjoy on this Hallows Eve. I shall collect them here for you #osr
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
An unsophisticated collection of Special Rooms for your #osr #dungeons.
foreignplanets.blogspot.com/2025/10/thin...
foreignplanets.blogspot.com/2025/10/thin...
Thinking about Special Rooms (Notes made during Meetings)
A rough and ready palimpsest of Special dungeon rooms for OSR games.
foreignplanets.blogspot.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:43 PM
An unsophisticated collection of Special Rooms for your #osr #dungeons.
foreignplanets.blogspot.com/2025/10/thin...
foreignplanets.blogspot.com/2025/10/thin...
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
For this year’s spooky season post, I dig up the background of Skeletons, how they’ve been historically depicted in media (including D&D) and my favorite way to include them in my games
#osr #ttrpg
#osr #ttrpg
Bare Bones Survey of Skeletons — Prismatic Wasteland
Embracing the silly origins of skeletons and why it makes them one of the more refreshing undead horrors to use in your games.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I wrote about the weird "Establishing the Character" example from the AD&D PHB & the presumption that adventurers are strangers to the campaign play area with families back home:
Strangers in a Strange Land
From the AD&D PHB, page 34: In AD&D, it is presumed that "in all likelihood", the player character is unfamiliar with the campaign setting. ...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I wrote about the weird "Establishing the Character" example from the AD&D PHB & the presumption that adventurers are strangers to the campaign play area with families back home:
My contribution to the proud tradition of trying to understand alignment languages. I discuss why speaking alignment languages in AD&D is socially taboo, how then they are meant to be used to identify creatures with a common ethos, & what this suggests about what alignment language actually is:
Alignment Languages are Socially Repulsive
In my last post on languages in AD&D , I teased that alignment languages were a topic worthy of their own post. Was I right? Let's find out....
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:14 PM
My contribution to the proud tradition of trying to understand alignment languages. I discuss why speaking alignment languages in AD&D is socially taboo, how then they are meant to be used to identify creatures with a common ethos, & what this suggests about what alignment language actually is:
I wrote about the huge number of languages in AD&D, how every demihuman & humanoid is a linguist, capturing monsters to learn their languages, all the ways to speak languages you don't know, & whether any of this is fun game design:
Speak with Monsters: The Languages of AD&D and the Adventurous Linguist
Language is a hot topic in D&D. You can refer back to my post from early last year , which also serves as a sort of bibliography of the many...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I wrote about the huge number of languages in AD&D, how every demihuman & humanoid is a linguist, capturing monsters to learn their languages, all the ways to speak languages you don't know, & whether any of this is fun game design:
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
Put your feet up & skive your way through what remains of the working week with the Wyrd Science Gazetteer!
This week @emielboven.itch.io's DURF puts on some weight + loads of interesting stuff to check out, from Warhammer themed model railways through to a look at AD&D's horrific baby beaver trade
This week @emielboven.itch.io's DURF puts on some weight + loads of interesting stuff to check out, from Warhammer themed model railways through to a look at AD&D's horrific baby beaver trade
Slay To Find Out
In this week's Gazetteer, one of our favourite post-OSR games, DURF, gets expanded, Frogs cast a spell on you and what is better than Warhammer? Warhammer and model railways, obviously.
wyrd.science
October 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Put your feet up & skive your way through what remains of the working week with the Wyrd Science Gazetteer!
This week @emielboven.itch.io's DURF puts on some weight + loads of interesting stuff to check out, from Warhammer themed model railways through to a look at AD&D's horrific baby beaver trade
This week @emielboven.itch.io's DURF puts on some weight + loads of interesting stuff to check out, from Warhammer themed model railways through to a look at AD&D's horrific baby beaver trade
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
Banger post alert!
Also I now want an AD&D style bestiary in a Pokémon RPG
Also I now want an AD&D style bestiary in a Pokémon RPG
I wrote about the prevalence of monster poaching, egg-snatching, and giant beaver slavery in AD&D, why it's even more Evil than it sounds, & why that has kind of fun gameplay implications, plus some musings about how much you might be able to sell a mind flayer brain for.
The Monster Economy of AD&D
AD&D's most endangered creature. We all know that larger towns and cities will usually have a market for dragons . That is, it is generally ...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Banger post alert!
Also I now want an AD&D style bestiary in a Pokémon RPG
Also I now want an AD&D style bestiary in a Pokémon RPG
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
All those scattered "Monster Parts" throughout the MM definitely informed our games. Inspired me to whip up some tables on the topic as well:
blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100... and blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100...
blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100... and blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100...
d100 - Monster Parts for Magical Reagents & Research
C onfession Time: I’ve always found myself to be very fond of Spell Components, even though tracking such things is often a bit too fiddly...
blog.d4caltrops.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:07 PM
All those scattered "Monster Parts" throughout the MM definitely informed our games. Inspired me to whip up some tables on the topic as well:
blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100... and blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100...
blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100... and blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/d100...
I wrote about the prevalence of monster poaching, egg-snatching, and giant beaver slavery in AD&D, why it's even more Evil than it sounds, & why that has kind of fun gameplay implications, plus some musings about how much you might be able to sell a mind flayer brain for.
The Monster Economy of AD&D
AD&D's most endangered creature. We all know that larger towns and cities will usually have a market for dragons . That is, it is generally ...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I wrote about the prevalence of monster poaching, egg-snatching, and giant beaver slavery in AD&D, why it's even more Evil than it sounds, & why that has kind of fun gameplay implications, plus some musings about how much you might be able to sell a mind flayer brain for.
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
A (not yet final) full TTRPG (top secret project) is available only for my Patrons (even those just throwing a single dollar at me monthly), along with some cover art for another project I'm slowly working on. Consider joining for this and MORE!
www.patreon.com/posts/rough-...
www.patreon.com/posts/rough-...
Rough Draft of Into the Odd(ish) and New Cover Art | Prismatic Wasteland
Get more from Prismatic Wasteland on Patreon
www.patreon.com
September 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
A (not yet final) full TTRPG (top secret project) is available only for my Patrons (even those just throwing a single dollar at me monthly), along with some cover art for another project I'm slowly working on. Consider joining for this and MORE!
www.patreon.com/posts/rough-...
www.patreon.com/posts/rough-...
I wrote about the ubiquity of guilds of thieves and assassins in AD&D, why they might declare war on outsiders or each other, and how you can (& why you should) get the player characters mixed up in the middle! #AD&D #OSR
Warring Guilds and Rogue Assassins Plague the Streets of AD&D
Thieves guilds and assassins guilds are ubiquitous in AD&D cities and towns. Both assassins and thieves are found on the DMG's city/town enc...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
A review of one of the earliest official 5e adventures (but one you’ve never heard of) which also explores the 5e play culture of the time and whether you can “fix” an adventure with lots of fun aspects without subverting the intended play culture
#dnd #rpg #osr
#dnd #rpg #osr
Review: Outlaws of the Iron Route — Prismatic Wasteland
Reviewing one of the earliest adventures for 5th Edition D&D: how I would improve player agency and how my proposed fixes grind up against the play culture of 5e.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM
I wrote about the disease & parasitic infection, the under-discussed save or die effect which lurks not just in dungeons & the bites of monsters, but in cities, aboard ships, in the food adventurers eat, the water they drink, & the very air they breathe:
Advanced Diseases and Diagnoses
Adventuring is dangerous business. Dungeons are filled with monsters, tricks, and traps. The wilderness is littered with small armies of orc...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I wrote about the disease & parasitic infection, the under-discussed save or die effect which lurks not just in dungeons & the bites of monsters, but in cities, aboard ships, in the food adventurers eat, the water they drink, & the very air they breathe:
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
Today my new adventure Orestruck is officially released! Return to the Tannic Forest to confront monstrosities, both magical and mundane.
Itch weirdwonder.itch.io/orestruck
DrivethruRPG www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
@spacepenguinink.bsky.social spacepenguin.ink/collections/...
Itch weirdwonder.itch.io/orestruck
DrivethruRPG www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
@spacepenguinink.bsky.social spacepenguin.ink/collections/...
September 17, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Today my new adventure Orestruck is officially released! Return to the Tannic Forest to confront monstrosities, both magical and mundane.
Itch weirdwonder.itch.io/orestruck
DrivethruRPG www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
@spacepenguinink.bsky.social spacepenguin.ink/collections/...
Itch weirdwonder.itch.io/orestruck
DrivethruRPG www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
@spacepenguinink.bsky.social spacepenguin.ink/collections/...
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
From the brilliant mind of Magnolia Keep homes a high-octane blogpost about monster rights abuses! @forlornencystment.bsky.social spoke about how adventurers built their own dungeons, and now I take that to its endpoint.
https://magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-dungeon-as-abandoned-zoo.html
https://magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-dungeon-as-abandoned-zoo.html
The Dungeon as Abandoned Zoo
Very handsome man and much better blogger than me Forlorn Encystment recently put out Adventurers Long For The Dungeon , which features the...
magnoliakeep.blogspot.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:57 PM
From the brilliant mind of Magnolia Keep homes a high-octane blogpost about monster rights abuses! @forlornencystment.bsky.social spoke about how adventurers built their own dungeons, and now I take that to its endpoint.
https://magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-dungeon-as-abandoned-zoo.html
https://magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-dungeon-as-abandoned-zoo.html
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
A roundup of the biggest blog bandwagon ever: over 69 different bloggers wrote about their Appendices N and I collected and categorized them all for you
#osr #ttrpg
#osr #ttrpg
Bandwagon Roundup: The Appendices Ns
Over 69 (!) bloggers came together for the largest bandwagon of the year and I round them all up for your perusal
prismaticweekly.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Woefully Encysted Creature
I've really been enjoying Forlorn Encystment's look through the AD&D DMG and this is another interesting analysis.
I wrote about the challenges posed by treasure in AD&D, Gygax's weird insurance guy actuarial accounting of items, & why it was important to him & to the game to make dealing with treasure such a hassle:
It Did Not End with a Mere Slaying of Ogres: Treasure as a Source of Challenge in D&D
It's easy to think of treasure as purely reward - the player characters have overcome the challenges of the dungeon or wilderness and have s...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I've really been enjoying Forlorn Encystment's look through the AD&D DMG and this is another interesting analysis.