🍁 Levi Kornelsen
@levikornelsen.bsky.social
Canadian maker of tabletop RPG bits and assorted weirdness.
Most of my things are at: https://levikornelsen.itch.io/
Most of my things are at: https://levikornelsen.itch.io/
Pinned
Having reached a thousand followers here (!), it's clearly time for me to do a big ol' self-promo thread of "Here's the parts of my TTRPG work I think you should know about!".
So here we go:
#ttrpg
So here we go:
#ttrpg
Running a charm offensive on Trump is intelligent, do-able, and pragmatic, but like, sweet fuck it's got to feel greasy to succeed.
November 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Running a charm offensive on Trump is intelligent, do-able, and pragmatic, but like, sweet fuck it's got to feel greasy to succeed.
One thing a little distance clarifies:
Being angry about a TTRPG you don't play because it's badly made looks IDENTICAL to being mad at a video game you don't play for the same reason - unless you're extremely close to the issue, or the rant is VERY funny, it just looks weird verging on creeper-y.
Being angry about a TTRPG you don't play because it's badly made looks IDENTICAL to being mad at a video game you don't play for the same reason - unless you're extremely close to the issue, or the rant is VERY funny, it just looks weird verging on creeper-y.
I'm getting a LOT of Minecraft time with the kiddo of late, but basically no TTRPG play for the last two (almost three!) months, so if it seems like I'm fading on saying stuff about that, well, yeah.
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
November 21, 2025 at 3:12 AM
One thing a little distance clarifies:
Being angry about a TTRPG you don't play because it's badly made looks IDENTICAL to being mad at a video game you don't play for the same reason - unless you're extremely close to the issue, or the rant is VERY funny, it just looks weird verging on creeper-y.
Being angry about a TTRPG you don't play because it's badly made looks IDENTICAL to being mad at a video game you don't play for the same reason - unless you're extremely close to the issue, or the rant is VERY funny, it just looks weird verging on creeper-y.
I'm getting a LOT of Minecraft time with the kiddo of late, but basically no TTRPG play for the last two (almost three!) months, so if it seems like I'm fading on saying stuff about that, well, yeah.
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I'm getting a LOT of Minecraft time with the kiddo of late, but basically no TTRPG play for the last two (almost three!) months, so if it seems like I'm fading on saying stuff about that, well, yeah.
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
Starting to feel the drift of "I'm not 100% this is a real play thing, or a filtered memory thing".
"If a corporation explicitly says 'We don't use this to train AI!', then they do." is not a clear statement of fact, but damn if it's not getting to feel that way. There's just no cause for trust on this front.
November 20, 2025 at 7:27 PM
"If a corporation explicitly says 'We don't use this to train AI!', then they do." is not a clear statement of fact, but damn if it's not getting to feel that way. There's just no cause for trust on this front.
This *should* go without saying, but still.
when you're doing princess play with a trad system while running an OSR module remember that rules elide for as long as the system matters and only when your players are in a fiction first actor stance
November 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM
This *should* go without saying, but still.
Every so often the universe reminds us that hey, a whole lot of stuff we rely on and treat as certain is actually quite fragile, and the critical question is always "Does that XKCD comic apply to this one?"
November 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Every so often the universe reminds us that hey, a whole lot of stuff we rely on and treat as certain is actually quite fragile, and the critical question is always "Does that XKCD comic apply to this one?"
Reposted by 🍁 Levi Kornelsen
Huh... ".games" is usually a more expensive tld, but now I see there is a ".quest" at similar pricing to ".com"
Some of you might find that useful info
Some of you might find that useful info
November 18, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Huh... ".games" is usually a more expensive tld, but now I see there is a ".quest" at similar pricing to ".com"
Some of you might find that useful info
Some of you might find that useful info
So that works fine, but would have been improved with one of those little cans of V8, more chicken bouillon, maybe some flaked peppers.
Me: I would like some of that good Spanish-Mexican rice.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
November 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
So that works fine, but would have been improved with one of those little cans of V8, more chicken bouillon, maybe some flaked peppers.
Me: I would like some of that good Spanish-Mexican rice.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
November 17, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Me: I would like some of that good Spanish-Mexican rice.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
Also Me: *Dumps brown rice, a can of V8, water, bouillon, cumin, onion and garlic powders, and a can of peas in the rice cooker.*
Still Me: Let's see how that works.
The internet, collectively ticking a box marked "I mean, I guess I won't be deeply annoyed by how the actors look?", and then opening debate on all other matters.
Nintendo announced that 'The Legend of Zelda' movie has officially started filming in New Zealand and released official shots of Link (the guy) and Zelda (not the guy).
www.vooks.net/first-photos...
www.vooks.net/first-photos...
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The internet, collectively ticking a box marked "I mean, I guess I won't be deeply annoyed by how the actors look?", and then opening debate on all other matters.
Reposted by 🍁 Levi Kornelsen
I think a lot about “default” expectations in our time — how often they are of very recent construction. (We have dates for when umpires were introduced to kriegsspiel)
If I do my job right, my students don’t assume roleplaying games have a “master” — any more than that games have a win condition.
If I do my job right, my students don’t assume roleplaying games have a “master” — any more than that games have a win condition.
Generations of game designers tried their best but the only word they could muster was “GMless”
November 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I think a lot about “default” expectations in our time — how often they are of very recent construction. (We have dates for when umpires were introduced to kriegsspiel)
If I do my job right, my students don’t assume roleplaying games have a “master” — any more than that games have a win condition.
If I do my job right, my students don’t assume roleplaying games have a “master” — any more than that games have a win condition.
Top 9:
Abalone
Santorini
Onitama
Congo (Chess Variant)
King's Valley
Amazons
Love Letter
Boss Monster
Roborally
And probably Catan?
After that, it's a lot of pyramid / icehouse stuff and other weirdass chess variants, then Descent, Warhammer Quest, and then a lot of popular stuff.
Abalone
Santorini
Onitama
Congo (Chess Variant)
King's Valley
Amazons
Love Letter
Boss Monster
Roborally
And probably Catan?
After that, it's a lot of pyramid / icehouse stuff and other weirdass chess variants, then Descent, Warhammer Quest, and then a lot of popular stuff.
board game enthusiasts of bluesky, what are your top 10 board games of all time
November 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Top 9:
Abalone
Santorini
Onitama
Congo (Chess Variant)
King's Valley
Amazons
Love Letter
Boss Monster
Roborally
And probably Catan?
After that, it's a lot of pyramid / icehouse stuff and other weirdass chess variants, then Descent, Warhammer Quest, and then a lot of popular stuff.
Abalone
Santorini
Onitama
Congo (Chess Variant)
King's Valley
Amazons
Love Letter
Boss Monster
Roborally
And probably Catan?
After that, it's a lot of pyramid / icehouse stuff and other weirdass chess variants, then Descent, Warhammer Quest, and then a lot of popular stuff.
Playing Travian: Kingdoms, as usual hoping for a good war story, and it has begun to deliver.
So here's the situation:
So here's the situation:
November 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Playing Travian: Kingdoms, as usual hoping for a good war story, and it has begun to deliver.
So here's the situation:
So here's the situation:
You don't end at the tip of your nose. You are your family, those you're in community with, our species, this world, and all their futures. These are part of you. You are vast, and stretch out into the future. You are already immortal.
"Being progressive" is just... acting like it.
"Being progressive" is just... acting like it.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 5:39 PM
You don't end at the tip of your nose. You are your family, those you're in community with, our species, this world, and all their futures. These are part of you. You are vast, and stretch out into the future. You are already immortal.
"Being progressive" is just... acting like it.
"Being progressive" is just... acting like it.
Watching reviewers try to figure out how powerful the Steam Cube will be is a fun exercise in "Okay, so, basically these parts, which is a weakass gaming PC (but still a gaming PC), but without Windows shitting the system up the whole time, but not as close to perfect resource use as a PS5, but"
November 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Watching reviewers try to figure out how powerful the Steam Cube will be is a fun exercise in "Okay, so, basically these parts, which is a weakass gaming PC (but still a gaming PC), but without Windows shitting the system up the whole time, but not as close to perfect resource use as a PS5, but"
Reposted by 🍁 Levi Kornelsen
JAY DRAGON WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN
November 14, 2025 at 12:45 AM
JAY DRAGON WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN
Look, if Steam wants to sell everyone a Linux PC pretending to be a Sexy Gamecube, I'm not going to argue.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKr...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKr...
Steam Hardware Announcement
YouTube video by Valve
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Look, if Steam wants to sell everyone a Linux PC pretending to be a Sexy Gamecube, I'm not going to argue.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKr...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKr...
I don't exactly predict, but do want, a giant surge of Sociological Fantasy (as in, "Let's explore and expand on this imaginary culture") in both fiction and TTRPGs, and I think there's a real market for it.
November 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I don't exactly predict, but do want, a giant surge of Sociological Fantasy (as in, "Let's explore and expand on this imaginary culture") in both fiction and TTRPGs, and I think there's a real market for it.
As someone who has worn out the binding on GURPS Celtic Myth twice now over the years, and made one of my better game things (Witchery) for a campaign with strong Celtic vibes, my interest is... high.
The Picts were always more than their blue-painted, bloodthirsty depictions. Carved in Stone, a new setting guide from @stoutstoat.co.uk and archaeologist Heather Christie, invites players to explore their incomplete but beautiful history.
Carved in Stone is both a history book and an eye-catching RPG
Publisher Brian Tyrrell and archeologist Heather Christie paint a pretty Pict-ure.
www.rascal.news
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 PM
As someone who has worn out the binding on GURPS Celtic Myth twice now over the years, and made one of my better game things (Witchery) for a campaign with strong Celtic vibes, my interest is... high.
Yes to the whole thread.
1/ In terms of comparative examples, when anybody brings up the "man of his time" defense of Gygax, I always think of Palladium and the infamous early insanity table.
For those unaware, Palladium took an outdated version of the DSM as inspiration and included "homosexuality" as an insanity.
For those unaware, Palladium took an outdated version of the DSM as inspiration and included "homosexuality" as an insanity.
November 11, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Yes to the whole thread.
Any attempt to accurately and simply describe what goes in in TTRPGs will result in discovering someone's weird pet issues, but if you keep at it long enough, you'll also discover your own weird pet issues.
November 11, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Any attempt to accurately and simply describe what goes in in TTRPGs will result in discovering someone's weird pet issues, but if you keep at it long enough, you'll also discover your own weird pet issues.
Copyright protection is supposed to serve the good of the artist, with exemption where it causes no harm and is in the public interest.
Current AI platforms, uh, do not clear the bar of "Acting in the public interest".
I don't love modern copyright law, but cases of "working as intended" are nice.
Current AI platforms, uh, do not clear the bar of "Acting in the public interest".
I don't love modern copyright law, but cases of "working as intended" are nice.
Australia rejects proposal that would have exempted AI training from copyright laws - Music Business Worldwide
The country is instead planning to move forward with a licensing regime for AI developers and rightsholders.
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Copyright protection is supposed to serve the good of the artist, with exemption where it causes no harm and is in the public interest.
Current AI platforms, uh, do not clear the bar of "Acting in the public interest".
I don't love modern copyright law, but cases of "working as intended" are nice.
Current AI platforms, uh, do not clear the bar of "Acting in the public interest".
I don't love modern copyright law, but cases of "working as intended" are nice.
Had a conversation that, from my viewpoint, was:
Me: What you do is, you convey information by talking.
Them: That's dull; let's talk about how it is conveyed by imagination.
Me: That... No? What?
Them: What is the medium of daydreams?
Me: *Block*
(I am WAY biased, of course, but Jesus fuck.)
Me: What you do is, you convey information by talking.
Them: That's dull; let's talk about how it is conveyed by imagination.
Me: That... No? What?
Them: What is the medium of daydreams?
Me: *Block*
(I am WAY biased, of course, but Jesus fuck.)
November 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Had a conversation that, from my viewpoint, was:
Me: What you do is, you convey information by talking.
Them: That's dull; let's talk about how it is conveyed by imagination.
Me: That... No? What?
Them: What is the medium of daydreams?
Me: *Block*
(I am WAY biased, of course, but Jesus fuck.)
Me: What you do is, you convey information by talking.
Them: That's dull; let's talk about how it is conveyed by imagination.
Me: That... No? What?
Them: What is the medium of daydreams?
Me: *Block*
(I am WAY biased, of course, but Jesus fuck.)
To my eye:
The basic medium of TTRPG play is conversational speech, *as modified* by traditions, group choices, and rules (especially authority structure rules like "This is the GM").
But sometimes it's writing, and sometimes the basic media is mixed with visual, miniature, or abstract depictions!
The basic medium of TTRPG play is conversational speech, *as modified* by traditions, group choices, and rules (especially authority structure rules like "This is the GM").
But sometimes it's writing, and sometimes the basic media is mixed with visual, miniature, or abstract depictions!
November 10, 2025 at 11:03 PM
To my eye:
The basic medium of TTRPG play is conversational speech, *as modified* by traditions, group choices, and rules (especially authority structure rules like "This is the GM").
But sometimes it's writing, and sometimes the basic media is mixed with visual, miniature, or abstract depictions!
The basic medium of TTRPG play is conversational speech, *as modified* by traditions, group choices, and rules (especially authority structure rules like "This is the GM").
But sometimes it's writing, and sometimes the basic media is mixed with visual, miniature, or abstract depictions!
Having one of those moments where I'm like "It seems like people use this word in a way I don't parse?", which is always good for a headache.
November 10, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Having one of those moments where I'm like "It seems like people use this word in a way I don't parse?", which is always good for a headache.