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iridusknight.bsky.social
In the West Meadows
@iridusknight.bsky.social
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iridusknight.bsky.social
In the West Meadows @iridusknight.bsky.social · Jan 12
Brand new supplement hitting the DMsGuild: The Oath of Atonement for 5e!

This includes;
The Oath of Atonement subclass for Paladins
A new background; The Marked Outcast
Two new magic items; The Blade of Mercy and the Warrior's Vestments

www.dmsguild.com/product/5085...

Thank you for your support!
Cover: A lizardfolk sits in a meditative pose, with a sword and shield set aside behind them. Title: The Oath of Atonement - A New Paladin Oath for 5e Author: Westley Braswell Subtitle: A brand new Oath for paladins that wish to atone for the sins that they alone cannot wash away Logo: DMs Guild
iridusknight.bsky.social
Before a council of the wise and the enlightened, a young scholar seeks to shake the foundation of the known universe...

My new fantasy narrative flash fiction "Blackstar (A Tale from the Yonder Wylde): is now available for reading on Medium!

medium.com/@rpgmanowar/...
#2: Blackstar (A Tale from the Yonder Wylde)
Her hand-me-down shoes tapped with nervous rhythm against the limestone floor and two fingers danced to the beat on the roughed out cover…
medium.com
July 18, 2025 at 2:55 AM
iridusknight.bsky.social
Okay, back to Bluesky and *back* with GM Narrative Tips! I want to make this a 5/week thing and start a new thread so that it's easier for me to keep track of it!

Starting... NOW!
July 16, 2025 at 3:28 AM
iridusknight.bsky.social
A treacherous climb, a blasted landscape, and a reunion most unexpected carried by the wind...

My new fantasy narrative flash fiction "Mother" is now available for reading on Medium!

medium.com/@rpgmanowar/...
#01: Mother
The ice wind’s howl was fierce and forceful; only broken by the crack of splintered stone as the pick buried itself in the cliff face…
medium.com
July 16, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Reposted by In the West Meadows
rajio.bsky.social
Many of you might be interested in organizing LUNCH at work.

LUNCH is actually a lot easier than you may think. You can in fact do it right now, especially if you find yourself suddenly having fewer coworkers to invite out to LUNCH.

Others who have gone for LUNCH are very happy to advise
February 21, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by In the West Meadows
meghanlynnftw.bsky.social
Since the majority of my #ShitpostTTRPGs just exist as Twitter posts, I'm going to make a thread here with all of them to give them a home off of that hellsite.

So consider this the official landing post of the Siren's Song Shitpost Games megathread.
November 7, 2024 at 5:05 PM
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paeankira.bsky.social
Even in Arcadia

(Sound on pls)

► #ffxiv #gpose #gposers #miqote ◄
May 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
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ownsongkaraoke.bsky.social
The Midnight - "Brooklyn. Friday. Love." (2022)

The Midnight! The Midnight fucking rules, I saw them last year with Chromeo and they were great (way better than Chromeo tbh)

h/t @somerandacct.bsky.social
May 3, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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shadowtodd.bsky.social
The rise of the cheapo bullshit PR-in-disguise documentary is a scourge onto streaming networks
zachschonfeld.bsky.social Zach Schonfeld @zachschonfeld.bsky.social · May 9
Good morning. I wrote an essay for The Guardian about Netflix's cancellation of a 9-hour Prince documentary and the depressing state of the celeb documentary complex. I argue that sanitized celebrity docs are now indistinguishable from high-end brand management: www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...
Headline says: "From Prince to Michael Jackson: why are the most controversial documentary getting canned." Byline says: "Zach Schonfeld."
May 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
iridusknight.bsky.social
START, DAMNIT! I don't care if you're an outliner or a discovery writer, please just start and do a little every day.
sarahmargs.bsky.social sarah margaret 🍂 @sarahmargs.bsky.social · Jun 26
if u see this, quote-post with your tips for writers that no one gives anymore because they seem obvious (even though they're not)
February 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
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maxfolkman.bsky.social
Some great stuff in this 2010 interview with Alex Garland after working on his (so far) only video game (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West)
"It's not important for everyone to understand storytelling, but it's important for them to respect it."
web.archive.org/web/20101007...
Interviewer: There’s also often one writer, Marc Laidlaw, who drives the story. Is that sufficient, do you think, or should all developers learn to become good storytellers to a degree? Garland: That’s a really, really big question. The first thing I’d say, and I want to make this really clear, is that I was not the writer on Enslaved in the way that Marc is the writer on Half-Life. I was very emphatically a co-writer. When I arrived at that project, the levels and the characters pre-existed. Not only that, but much of the required scenes between the characters already existed as well. So, in the way I conceptualise a writer, in that he begins with a blank sheet of paper, I was not the writer. With regard to narrative, I think what I’d say is that it’s not important for everyone to understand storytelling, but it’s important for them to respect it. If you’re going to have a narrative within a game, you have to see it as being as valid as the gameplay. That’s what it boils down to. So here [gestures towards the door] is a film production company, and lots of different people are working on Judge Dredd behind us right now. Some of them will have narrative uppermost in their minds, and some of them won’t; some of them will be thinking: ‘How do I design this gun?’ And the design will have some narrative components. It’s got to have a display that tells you what kind of ammo you’re using, stuff like that. But they’re not really thinking about the overall narrative picture and they don’t have to, but they’re also not going to do stuff that contradicts it, and if they do then someone else will correct it. Garland: I guess if I were to make a criticism it would relate to character and consistency. Making sure characters are true to themselves, and true to some kind of larger truth, which relates to the recipients of the narrative. That is to say, the player. Us. For example, I think the first serious discussion we had about the narrative was on the very first day that I, Tameem and the level designers all sat down together. We got to a section where Monkey was walking down a walkway, and he sees an escaping slave trying to pull himself up to the walkway. And instead of helping the guy up, Monkey kicked him in the face and sent him to his death. They thought that projected the idea that Monkey was a badass. Whereas, to me, it projected the idea that Monkey was a bit of a cunt. I think that highlighted a difference in our approach to character. This is a generalisation, and I know there are plenty of exceptions to the rule, but game design has a tendency to be fast and loose with character, whereas in film and books, character is handled with kid gloves. Ultimately, if you want to be serious about narrative, you have to be serious about character too. Garland: That said, I wouldn’t want to let games off the hook. Games can and will be high art. I don’t think Rez is Hamlet, but I think Hamlet will one day exist in games. Other people might not like Hamlet and prefer Rez instead. That’s fine. What I do think, though, is that the games industry has some very serious problems to address. It seems to me that what’s happened is that in its organic development, it has leapfrogged some key stages and has jumped straight to bloated Hollywood megabucks, mega-resources-type products. That’s really dangerous. I say that from the point of view of someone who has an agenda, because I work in the film industry and struggle constantly with the consequences of these things within film - how you get finance, how you actually make a film while dealing with an industry that, in some ways, is only seriously interested in big franchise movies. Dredd we’re going to try to make for $30 million. Studios don’t want to make films for $30 million, they want to make them for $200 million for all sorts of reasons. Interviewer: Do gamers - fans - ultimately need to evolve as much as games do themselves? Garland: Fans are dangerous - and I say that as a fan. What happens as a fan is that you start to define what you want that thing to be. And, broadly speaking, the people who are doing what they’re doing should do it in a vacuum. They should not really be listening to anybody. They should be closing out as many voices as possible. Closing out the voices that say this film or game should have a love interest; closing out the fans that say they like this gun from the first game, and that if this gun’s not in it, they’ll hate the second one. They should do what they feel is the right thing to do, and people like me at the other end - the receivers - can then make their own minds up.
February 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by In the West Meadows
chanda.blacksky.app
Ok, I'm doing a version of this thread for 🧪 who are new to political conditions where info security is a safety issue:

1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance
2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion
3. Don't live post resistance meetings
chanda.blacksky.app Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Feb 18
This is my “daughter of a Black Panther breakfast program volunteer” coming out but anyone who tells you that you have to be public about all your resistance activity should immediately be under suspicion for being an op, or being under the influence of an op
February 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
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katrafiy.bsky.social
I am rapidly closing in on the end of my financial rope. I have been unemployed since September and I have been struggling to get interviews for jobs in my field of 16 years (Cyber Threat Research).

Even trying to apply for barbacking jobs at local restaurants hasn't worked out.
February 21, 2025 at 12:47 PM
iridusknight.bsky.social
Man did not want this to be my first post back on BlueSky but damn I am having a rough go of existentialism these past few days.
February 21, 2025 at 4:26 AM
iridusknight.bsky.social
GM Narrative Tip #5: Use a fronts sheet to outline your sandbox campaign villains

If you have 4 villains in your sandbox world, their ultimate goal should be a 4-step plan. Each time your party defeats a villain, advance the remaining to the next step

Keep the clock ticking and the stakes raising
February 1, 2025 at 3:48 PM
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evilhat.bsky.social
Leviathan blood is out, electroplasmic fusion is in!
Blades '68 takes Doskvol and turns the clock ahead 100 years in this official new supplement for Blades in the Dark by @olddog.games
Now open for playtesting.
More information here: evilhat.com/blades-68-pl...
Apply here: evilh.at/68-playtest
A mockup of a pamphlet titled "Blades '68 Playtest Draft" featuring an illustration in tones of brown, black and red of a man in a suitcoat and tie falling headfirst from a skyscraper. One arm is sprawled out but the other is firing a gun upward out of frame as he speeds toward the ground. The pamphlet is set atop a map of Doskvol drawn in blue and red. On the left, a caption: Blades '68. Playtest sign-ups now open!
January 30, 2025 at 5:07 PM
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osaka.zone
"Facism is the act of self-deception in service of making your own life more painful, solely for the payoff of making life more painful for people you dislike."
User dratsab huffman asks the question: To amuse myself i researched revacholian nationalism as well as measure head's race theories etc etc and focused my character on "traditionalism". Anyway, ive noticed that if i ever click dialogue options that are in tune with my character's political compass, i lose morale. Whats the point of having this as a mechanic if its going to be so detrimental and feels like the character doesnt believe he actually is this or something... is there anyway to overcome that kind of morale loss? Recalcitrant Jester replies: Being a fascist is a deeply demoralizing experience. You have to not only radically alter your worldview to make reality fit into your unhinged schema, but that worldview is predicated on the notion that the weakest, most unworthy degenerate worms on the planet are somehow overpowering and humiliating you on a moment-by-moment basis. In mechanical terms too, the lowered morale also reduces your volition score—the more you indulge in your delusions, the less you are able to exercise self-control and self-awareness. The point of fascism being mechanically detrimental—the ludonarrative theme—is that fascism is an unequivocally self-destructive ideology, the practice of which only serves to nurture that self-destructive urge and turn it outward. It's not like Dark Side points in KotOR where you can access cool new abilities and get to enjoy being such a nasty lil rascal; you are not supposed to enjoy being a fascist in Disco Elysium. Fascism is the act of self-deception in service of making your own life more painful, solely for the payoff of making life more painful for people you dislike.
November 15, 2024 at 3:37 PM
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annabower.bsky.social
I’m sad to learn that my law school classmate, Kiah Duggins, died in the DC plane crash last night.

Kiah was an exceptionally talented civil rights lawyer and aspiring legal scholar.

I hope you’ll read about her work and the causes she cared about, some of which I’ll 🧵 below.

What an immense loss
A professional headshot of a woman in a navy suit with long black hair.
January 31, 2025 at 4:12 AM
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theleonamaple.bsky.social
Seeking support of fellow South Asians only, please:

Recently my entire family has been obsessed with my kundli(birth chart). Now I'm being asked to do things to fix my kundli and I'm pretty upset about this. I could use someone who Gets It to DM with or someone who can explain it to me?

Pls boost
January 31, 2025 at 5:26 AM
iridusknight.bsky.social
GM Narrative Tip #4: Player backstories can be a gold mine of adventure hooks and plot ideas.

If you find yourself stuck on what to do next, revisit what they put down and see what inspires you.
January 31, 2025 at 5:15 AM
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fellhound.bsky.social
Theres a new game out that reminds me a lot of Dragons Dogma, Jade Empire and Kingdoms of Amalur! Also sword lady? Ladies?? Helmed by a Dragon Age vet? Very stoked to check it out.
January 31, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by In the West Meadows
mikelaidlaw.bsky.social
We're a small indie studio with a small indie studio's marketing budget, basically.

We've been very lucky with coverage (thank you, various sites/youtubers/twitch streamers), but word of mouth will be the big driver. Tell your friends!
sulik2.bsky.social Dan @sulik2.bsky.social · Jan 30
#EternalStrands @mikelaidlaw.bsky.social Yo this game is super cool. It's like a combination of Dragons Dogma and Phoenix rising. The first time I accidentally climbed the dragon and started stabbing it I was hooked. How have I heard nothing about this game before it hit gamepass?
January 30, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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diegoarguello.bsky.social
i spent 230 cycles in citizen sleeper 2 for polygon. days later, i’m still thinking about those who tagged alongside me, how strategizing around stress and starvation made for a bigger impact of the game’s themes, and the importance of sticking together. my review:

www.polygon.com/review/51584...
Friendship is survival in Citizen Sleeper 2
It achieves a Cowboy Bebop-like sense of friendship and community
www.polygon.com
January 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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marykgames.com
Four easy ways to catch a block from me post- game industry layoffs:
1. Insisting they go start an indie studio (with what funding, my dude?)
2. Trumpeting that you saw it coming (ok who cares)
3. Reminding everyone you didn’t like their last game
4. Obviously, being a dick
January 30, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Reposted by In the West Meadows
darkestdungeon.bsky.social
"Go with grace into the great beyond..."

We at Red Hook are heartbroken to confirm the passing of our beloved voice actor, Wayne June.
An image of the faces of The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon, and The Academic from Darkest Dungeon II. A torch glows between their two faces. The images reads: "Ancestor, Academic, Artist & friend. Wayne June. Twelve years ago, Tyler and I reached out to Wayne, humbly asking him to narrate our indie game’s trailer. Since those magical moments when we first paired his reading with the footage, it has been an incredible and fulfilling collaboration. Wayne’s singular baritone and masterful cadence elevated everything he read. He was a consummate professional, and his love of his craft was an inspiration. His inimitable work is woven into the very fabric of our industry in a way that cannot be forgotten. It is one of my life’s greatest honors to have written for him this past decade. Though I never got to shake his hand, I knew him to be a friend. Thank you, Wayne. -Chris Bourassa, for Tyler Sigman and the Red Hook team"
January 30, 2025 at 7:12 PM