Lysus
@lysus.bsky.social
Posting about roleplaying games, history, and politics. Wisconsinite.
My blog - table46.bearblog.dev
My blog - table46.bearblog.dev
Another great look at the interesting (and odd) implications of the rules in the 1st Edition DMG.
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 6:39 PM
Another great look at the interesting (and odd) implications of the rules in the 1st Edition DMG.
I've been enjoying the snippets of the Great Antarctic Hexcrawl as they're released. I'm looking forward to when the anthology is released!
October 28, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I've been enjoying the snippets of the Great Antarctic Hexcrawl as they're released. I'm looking forward to when the anthology is released!
Reposted by Lysus
Describe a character in Greek mythology the way someone trying to defend a politician would. I’ll start.
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
October 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Describe a character in Greek mythology the way someone trying to defend a politician would. I’ll start.
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
It's true. All of it.
October 21, 2025 at 6:55 PM
It's true. All of it.
I'm a big fan of Forlorn Encystment's exegesis of AD&D 1e. This is another great entry!
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 6:02 PM
I'm a big fan of Forlorn Encystment's exegesis of AD&D 1e. This is another great entry!
I wrote up some basic retreat rules for my WIP dungeon crawler last night, loosely inspired by Veins in the Earth's climbing mechanics -
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
#nsr #osr #rpg
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
#nsr #osr #rpg
Jewelsea RPG - Retreat
It's been a hot minute, but I've still been working on the Jewelsea RPG despite not posting about it much here. I've gone through a few iterations since the ...
table46.bearblog.dev
October 14, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I wrote up some basic retreat rules for my WIP dungeon crawler last night, loosely inspired by Veins in the Earth's climbing mechanics -
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
#nsr #osr #rpg
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
#nsr #osr #rpg
It saddens me to hear about this. I didn't know Rob well, but I've talked and played with him on several occasions and he seemed like a great guy.
I am absolutely gutted to hear of the death of Rob Wieland, literally one of the greatest tabletop reviewers and commentators we had. Tirelessly tracked industry news, omnipresent in our collective circles and communities. I am so sad for his young family. These are dark days, friends.
October 13, 2025 at 3:45 PM
It saddens me to hear about this. I didn't know Rob well, but I've talked and played with him on several occasions and he seemed like a great guy.
I'm a big fan of footnotes in general, but I think they can work well in roleplaying games despite the challenges. They're a great addition where they're used in Burning Wheel.
October 9, 2025 at 5:23 AM
I'm a big fan of footnotes in general, but I think they can work well in roleplaying games despite the challenges. They're a great addition where they're used in Burning Wheel.
Reposted by Lysus
"This Whole Thing Smacks Of Gondor," i holler as i overturn my uncle's funeral pyre and turn the 4th Age of Man into the 4th Age of Shit
October 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
"This Whole Thing Smacks Of Gondor," i holler as i overturn my uncle's funeral pyre and turn the 4th Age of Man into the 4th Age of Shit
Nova is one of the community's most valuable reviewers and I think this is a great look at what a review means.
I wrote a little about criticism today. idlecartulary.com/2025/09/25/w...
What do critics owe us?
A few things recently happened in the discourse that raised the question, “what do critics owe us?”, in various forums across the TTRPG space. I have a response, but to understand it we must meande…
idlecartulary.com
September 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Nova is one of the community's most valuable reviewers and I think this is a great look at what a review means.
I haven't read this one yet, but Amanda's work is great so you should check it out!
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 3:25 PM
I haven't read this one yet, but Amanda's work is great so you should check it out!
I always appreciate the roundup posts for the bandwagons -they let me see how many of the posts I missed. I felt overwhelmed by the inspirations last week and I missed at least a third of these!
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 3:32 PM
I always appreciate the roundup posts for the bandwagons -they let me see how many of the posts I missed. I felt overwhelmed by the inspirations last week and I missed at least a third of these!
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.
I wrote up some of my inspirations for the Jewelsea setting that I've been working on as part of @traversefantasy.itch.io and @prismaticwasteland.com's Appendicitis N Blog Bandwagon!
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
Jewelsea RPG - Inspirational and Educational Reading
It's time for another Blog Bandwagon - this time we're talking about our own personal Appendix N. For those who might not be aware, Appendix N was the 14th a...
table46.bearblog.dev
September 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
I wrote up some of my inspirations for the Jewelsea setting that I've been working on as part of @traversefantasy.itch.io and @prismaticwasteland.com's Appendicitis N Blog Bandwagon!
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
table46.bearblog.dev/jewelsea-rpg...
Reposted by Lysus
Bluesky is dying cause not enough people are sharing one of the best videos ever made.
August 9, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Bluesky is dying cause not enough people are sharing one of the best videos ever made.
Using the International Date Line as the cutoff -
N - Dublin
E - Maastricht
S - Golfito, Costa Rica
W - Los Angeles
N - Dublin
E - Maastricht
S - Golfito, Costa Rica
W - Los Angeles
Using the international dateline as the cutoff between east and west:
N: Denali
E: Tokyo
S: Qatar
W: Also Denali
N: Denali
E: Tokyo
S: Qatar
W: Also Denali
Furthest I’ve been
N: Geiranger, Norway
E: Auckland
S: Cape Town
W: Honolulu
(This kind of depends how you measure things. The furthest I’ve gone in an eastern direction of travel is Vienna, and the furthest I’ve traveled west is Singapore.)
N: Geiranger, Norway
E: Auckland
S: Cape Town
W: Honolulu
(This kind of depends how you measure things. The furthest I’ve gone in an eastern direction of travel is Vienna, and the furthest I’ve traveled west is Singapore.)
August 7, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Using the International Date Line as the cutoff -
N - Dublin
E - Maastricht
S - Golfito, Costa Rica
W - Los Angeles
N - Dublin
E - Maastricht
S - Golfito, Costa Rica
W - Los Angeles
I got one more week of conlanging in before I'm off to Gen Con! This time, I'm wrapping up time words and moving on to place names.
table46.bearblog.dev/conlang-year...
#conlang #conlangyear
table46.bearblog.dev/conlang-year...
#conlang #conlangyear
Conlang Year: Week 24
I'm back for one more round before Gen Con! This is a week I've been looking forward to as I start to dive into naming. The entire reason I came to be intere...
table46.bearblog.dev
July 30, 2025 at 5:13 AM
I got one more week of conlanging in before I'm off to Gen Con! This time, I'm wrapping up time words and moving on to place names.
table46.bearblog.dev/conlang-year...
#conlang #conlangyear
table46.bearblog.dev/conlang-year...
#conlang #conlangyear
Looking forward to this one!
What up, bloggers. A new blog bandwagon approaches. Read about it, then write about it and I’ll round up all the posts.
Sharing appreciated because I feel like every time I do one of these, someone says “ah jeez I didn’t realize this was happening!”
#osr #ttrpg
Sharing appreciated because I feel like every time I do one of these, someone says “ah jeez I didn’t realize this was happening!”
#osr #ttrpg
Blogwagon Announcement: Appendicitis N
If you have a blog, blog about what influences your design on September 8
prismaticweekly.substack.com
July 29, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Looking forward to this one!
I wrote a bit about combat in RPGs and the struggles I've had as I try to come up with a system that fits what I'm trying to do with my work in progress.
table46.bearblog.dev/my-problems-...
#nsr #osr #rpg
table46.bearblog.dev/my-problems-...
#nsr #osr #rpg
My problems with combat
Combat systems are something that feature in the vast majority of mainstream RPGs and in the OSR space as well. I've had great fun over the years using many ...
table46.bearblog.dev
July 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I wrote a bit about combat in RPGs and the struggles I've had as I try to come up with a system that fits what I'm trying to do with my work in progress.
table46.bearblog.dev/my-problems-...
#nsr #osr #rpg
table46.bearblog.dev/my-problems-...
#nsr #osr #rpg
1. First played: D&D 4e (I was an observer for Star Wars 2E first)
2. First run: Savage Worlds
3. Played most: D&D 5e, alas
4. Run most: 13th Age
5. Favorite: Torchbearer,
6. Most recently played: Warhammer 40K: Wrath & Glory
7. Most recently run: Fear the Dark/Jewelsea RPG, my WiP
2. First run: Savage Worlds
3. Played most: D&D 5e, alas
4. Run most: 13th Age
5. Favorite: Torchbearer,
6. Most recently played: Warhammer 40K: Wrath & Glory
7. Most recently run: Fear the Dark/Jewelsea RPG, my WiP
1. First played: AD&D (after years as GMing)
2. First run: GURPS, taught self from book.
3. Played most: Probably AD&D?
4. Run most: It's D&D 3.x or Schema, dunno?
5. Favorite: Today? Pasion De Las Pasiones.
6. Most recently played: Bluebeard's Bride
7. Most recently run: Saints of the Empty Throne.
2. First run: GURPS, taught self from book.
3. Played most: Probably AD&D?
4. Run most: It's D&D 3.x or Schema, dunno?
5. Favorite: Today? Pasion De Las Pasiones.
6. Most recently played: Bluebeard's Bride
7. Most recently run: Saints of the Empty Throne.
1. First #TTRPG played: D&D red box basic
2. First ever ran: WEG Star Wars 2e
3. Played most: D&D 3.x
4. Run most: WEG SWRPG 2e, #ShadowlightAndPersonaeRPG
5. Favorite: 3-way-tie between Adventure!, Fate Core & Dungeon World
6. Most recently played: Omega Horizon
7. Most recently run: Daggerheart
2. First ever ran: WEG Star Wars 2e
3. Played most: D&D 3.x
4. Run most: WEG SWRPG 2e, #ShadowlightAndPersonaeRPG
5. Favorite: 3-way-tie between Adventure!, Fate Core & Dungeon World
6. Most recently played: Omega Horizon
7. Most recently run: Daggerheart
July 19, 2025 at 6:34 AM
1. First played: D&D 4e (I was an observer for Star Wars 2E first)
2. First run: Savage Worlds
3. Played most: D&D 5e, alas
4. Run most: 13th Age
5. Favorite: Torchbearer,
6. Most recently played: Warhammer 40K: Wrath & Glory
7. Most recently run: Fear the Dark/Jewelsea RPG, my WiP
2. First run: Savage Worlds
3. Played most: D&D 5e, alas
4. Run most: 13th Age
5. Favorite: Torchbearer,
6. Most recently played: Warhammer 40K: Wrath & Glory
7. Most recently run: Fear the Dark/Jewelsea RPG, my WiP
Lots of great hole posting in this one, folks, in addition to what I boosted yesterday.
You saw a bunch of blogs on Wednesday posting on many different subjects all tangentially related to the theme of “holes”. I roundup and summarize the 30+ posts on the topic for your convenience
#osr #ttrpg
#osr #ttrpg
Roundup: Hole Lot of Posts
Dig into over 30 blogposts that are loosely related to a strange prompt, including several adventures!
prismaticweekly.substack.com
July 18, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Lots of great hole posting in this one, folks, in addition to what I boosted yesterday.
We could all do with a bit more thinking of the mood we're trying to invoke when it comes to the underground/underworld spaces of dungeon games.
Sallying out of Magnolia Keep, it's Holes Day on the blogosphere! I decided to take the time to write about how some of my favorite books, comics, and roleplaying game thinkers have dealt with the terror of dying in enclosed spaces underground.
magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/07/fear...
magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2025/07/fear...
Fear of Holes (With Due Apologies to Jacob Geller)
My dad is a fan of horror movies. From the cerebral horror of something like The VVitch to low-budget trash like Mourning Wood or Zombea...
magnoliakeep.blogspot.com
July 17, 2025 at 6:34 PM
We could all do with a bit more thinking of the mood we're trying to invoke when it comes to the underground/underworld spaces of dungeon games.