Joel Russ
joelruss.bsky.social
Joel Russ
@joelruss.bsky.social
Odysseus can lay a claim to being Nobody, but even that was a trick.
November 1, 2025 at 2:01 AM
There are wild game preserves, but game jellies have thus far proved more elusive.
October 16, 2025 at 1:06 PM
I like the idea of events on nearby planes affecting Orden, requiring a quest to solve a major problem there in order to prevent it making things worse in Orden, too.
October 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I'd be really interested to read that post!
September 24, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Alternatively, find the right subset of people to share it with!
September 24, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Interesting dilemma indeed. That demonstrates such a different way of thinking about RPGs (not in what I see as a healthy way), and not one I've encountered myself!
September 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
And while some folks love character creation, others find it a chore so coming in with a choice of archetypal pregens helps.
One friend who seems to learn systems by making characters, so I wouldn't want to take that from him. He's offered them to other folks in games he hasn't even played before!
September 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I've tried to address one of the concerns (getting stuck committing to a system they discover they don't like) by specifying a short duration, something like 3 sessions, where it's long enough to get used to the game but short enough not to worry about it.
September 23, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Yeah, the printing method is the reason for using the term to describe this type of design.
June 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I've seen this described as "lenticular" by Mark Rosewater, using the example of Magic: the Gathering cards that are complex to advanced players but look simpler to beginners. magic.wizards.com/en/news/maki...
Lenticular Design | MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Each year, we have two "Best of" Weeks while we all take a holiday break. For the first week, I always pick what I think is my best design article, and for the second week I pick my best overall artic...
magic.wizards.com
June 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM
My favorite musical!
June 26, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Building a tone shift partway through an encounter to both keep the pressure on and re-engage players with new ways to interact (more transformative than abilities featuring with the "bloodied" condition), was particularly useful. I saw how it could accomplish multiple goals simultaneously.
June 23, 2025 at 3:28 AM
I really liked the Worldbreakers! I think that trying them out and giving feedback was my first foray into playtesting. Reading about the reasons for how the worldbreakers were designed informed how I adjusted and ran combat from then onward.
June 23, 2025 at 3:18 AM