Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd)
@monkeyx.bsky.social
This is my rocket 🚀
This is my gun 🔫
I use this site 🦋
Mostly for fun 😜
https://blog.srazavi.com/
https://poems.prazavi.com/
https://blog.monkeyx.games/
This is my gun 🔫
I use this site 🦋
Mostly for fun 😜
https://blog.srazavi.com/
https://poems.prazavi.com/
https://blog.monkeyx.games/
I ramble about gothic urban horror RPGs (Urban Shadows, Buffy, Liminal, Monster of the Week, Vampire) and why awkward 90s kids like me keep coming back to sad monsters in cities. Part review, part therapy session. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/11/g...
Gothic Feelings, Urban Nightmares: Playing in the Shadows of Buffy, Liminal & Vampire
Like a lot of people who were young adults in the late 90s and early 00s, I spent evenings watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and hanging around with at least one black-lipsticked vampire enthusiast.
blog.monkeyx.games
November 11, 2025 at 11:08 AM
I ramble about gothic urban horror RPGs (Urban Shadows, Buffy, Liminal, Monster of the Week, Vampire) and why awkward 90s kids like me keep coming back to sad monsters in cities. Part review, part therapy session. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/11/g...
Wrote about my Humble Bundle haul (GI Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers) and what it says about licensed RPGs in an age of too many games. Do they shine, or just sink into the pile with my soul? Philosophical rambling within: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/09/m...
More Than Meets the Shelf: Licensed RPGs in the Age of Too Many Games
At some point, I picked up a Humble Bundle of licensed RPGs: G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Power Rangers (all Renegade’s Essence20 line). This was not because I had a burning need to run a Power Rangers...
blog.monkeyx.games
November 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Wrote about my Humble Bundle haul (GI Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers) and what it says about licensed RPGs in an age of too many games. Do they shine, or just sink into the pile with my soul? Philosophical rambling within: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/09/m...
The lengths ChatGPT will go to to lull us into a false sense of security
as a computer scientist, i am BEGGING people to realize that there is no cognition inside of an LLM
no reasoning, no thought process, no self-awareness
I read a lot of arguments (for AND against) LLMs, and both sides seem to think there’s a consciousness or intentionality or even a moral alignment
no reasoning, no thought process, no self-awareness
I read a lot of arguments (for AND against) LLMs, and both sides seem to think there’s a consciousness or intentionality or even a moral alignment
November 8, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The lengths ChatGPT will go to to lull us into a false sense of security
Tried to love 5E Doctor Who. It’s still 5E, just wearing a long scarf. I explain why I flogged the bundle, why Vortex fits better, and, yes, a little grumble about the TV era that cured my urge to run it. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/07/p...
Putting Down the Sonic: Why I Sold Doctors & Daleks
There are books on my shelf that say something noble about my taste and discernment. Then there are the others. Doctors & Daleks belongs to the latter category: the sort of purchase that clearly…
blog.monkeyx.games
November 7, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Tried to love 5E Doctor Who. It’s still 5E, just wearing a long scarf. I explain why I flogged the bundle, why Vortex fits better, and, yes, a little grumble about the TV era that cured my urge to run it. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/07/p...
I've gone on a TTRPG reading splurge. Come to the conclusion: TTRPG hobby in 2025: we don’t have “a game,” we have a backlog. Steam, but for feelings. We run a campaign, think seriously about a second, & own PDFs for about forty-seven more we “might” play when time and friends stop being finite. 1/8
November 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
I've gone on a TTRPG reading splurge. Come to the conclusion: TTRPG hobby in 2025: we don’t have “a game,” we have a backlog. Steam, but for feelings. We run a campaign, think seriously about a second, & own PDFs for about forty-seven more we “might” play when time and friends stop being finite. 1/8
I read After the War through the lens of Apocalypse World & Mutant: Year Zero. It’s all about one fragile settlement, messy relationships, and memetic horror on a refugee world. Fewer beans to count, more people to care about. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/04/a...
After the War – Space Bears and Trauma (Review)
I’ve owned Apocalypse World and Mutant: Year Zero for ages and, like a true GM, never actually run either. I like the idea of post-apocalyptic survival, but when I sit down to prep…
blog.monkeyx.games
November 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I read After the War through the lens of Apocalypse World & Mutant: Year Zero. It’s all about one fragile settlement, messy relationships, and memetic horror on a refugee world. Fewer beans to count, more people to care about. blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/04/a...
Back to writing some campaign blogs by catching up on our Dragonbane campaign we started in September: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/03/d...
Dragonbane - The Secret of the Dragon Emperor #1
The Dragon Emperor is dead. In the Misty Vale, a forgotten corner of a broken realm, ancient powers begin to shift. Ruins groan in the earth. Shadows move in the pine-thick forests.
blog.monkeyx.games
November 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Back to writing some campaign blogs by catching up on our Dragonbane campaign we started in September: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/03/d...
FiveEvil – A Quick Review, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Fear 5E Again
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/02/f...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/02/f...
FiveEvil - A Quick Review, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Fear 5E Again
Every so often I am reminded that Past Me cannot be trusted with a Kickstarter account. At some point he apparently thought, “You know what you need, as a person who has deliberately drifted away from...
blog.monkeyx.games
November 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
FiveEvil – A Quick Review, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Fear 5E Again
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/02/f...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/11/02/f...
A quick review of Monolith's new Conan the Hyborean RPG with comparisons to the usual suspects
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/31/c...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/31/c...
Conan the Hyborean Age - Quick Review
My take on Conan: The Hyborian Age (Monolith 2025), read alongside the old Modiphius Conan 2d20 and your usual S&S suspects (Barbarians of Lemuria, Crypts & Things, Swords Against the Shroud…
blog.monkeyx.games
October 31, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A quick review of Monolith's new Conan the Hyborean RPG with comparisons to the usual suspects
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/31/c...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/31/c...
I read the Warhammer Old World RPG books over the weekend. Here is my quick review: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/27/w...
Warhammer: The Old World Roleplaying Game - Quick Review
Here’s my “first-impressions” review of Warhammer: The Old World Roleplaying Game, taking it on its own terms and then comparing it to my current fantasy standbys. The engine is clean and decisive…
blog.monkeyx.games
October 27, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I read the Warhammer Old World RPG books over the weekend. Here is my quick review: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/27/w...
My copy of the ALIEN: Evolved rulebook arrived yesterday. I did a review of it on my blog with an end note comparison with Mothership.
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/24/a...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/24/a...
ALIEN: Evolved Edition - Quick Review
My take on ALIEN RPG: Evolved Edition (having enjoyed 1e’s cinematic one-shots but bounced off it in preference for Mothership). The engine is familiar with nicer knobs. It’s still Year Zero: d6 pools...
blog.monkeyx.games
October 24, 2025 at 8:48 AM
My copy of the ALIEN: Evolved rulebook arrived yesterday. I did a review of it on my blog with an end note comparison with Mothership.
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/24/a...
blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/24/a...
Reposted by Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd)
That joy must not be sold. It must not be "privatised," made into another privilege for the privileged. A public library is a public trust. And that freedom must not be compromised. It must be available to all who need it, and that's everyone, when they need it, and that's always. — Ursula K Le Guin
October 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
That joy must not be sold. It must not be "privatised," made into another privilege for the privileged. A public library is a public trust. And that freedom must not be compromised. It must be available to all who need it, and that's everyone, when they need it, and that's always. — Ursula K Le Guin
Don't mean to be mean but can we stop with the M*Borg clones / tribute games?
Enough is enough already. Get a new thing.
Enough is enough already. Get a new thing.
October 23, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Don't mean to be mean but can we stop with the M*Borg clones / tribute games?
Enough is enough already. Get a new thing.
Enough is enough already. Get a new thing.
Early autumn is the most beautiful time of the year
October 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Early autumn is the most beautiful time of the year
Cold City (2e): first impressions after a quick read.
Rules-light chassis with a GM dice economy for pacing:
d10 opposed pools, 1950 Berlin pressure cooker, Trust & Hidden Agendas fuel classy spy-betrayal, and fallout is tracked as Consequences.
Here’s what jumped out at me: (1/14)
Rules-light chassis with a GM dice economy for pacing:
d10 opposed pools, 1950 Berlin pressure cooker, Trust & Hidden Agendas fuel classy spy-betrayal, and fallout is tracked as Consequences.
Here’s what jumped out at me: (1/14)
October 22, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Cold City (2e): first impressions after a quick read.
Rules-light chassis with a GM dice economy for pacing:
d10 opposed pools, 1950 Berlin pressure cooker, Trust & Hidden Agendas fuel classy spy-betrayal, and fallout is tracked as Consequences.
Here’s what jumped out at me: (1/14)
Rules-light chassis with a GM dice economy for pacing:
d10 opposed pools, 1950 Berlin pressure cooker, Trust & Hidden Agendas fuel classy spy-betrayal, and fallout is tracked as Consequences.
Here’s what jumped out at me: (1/14)
Reposted by Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd)
A near future short story I wrote about love and relationships in a world where AI is a routine part of our lives.
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
The Shape of Us
They both woke before their alarms. In London the light had that soft late-spring thinness that makes the skyline look like it’s been pencilled in, and Layla lay there with the phone face down on the ...
blog.srazavi.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:54 PM
A near future short story I wrote about love and relationships in a world where AI is a routine part of our lives.
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
A near future short story I wrote about love and relationships in a world where AI is a routine part of our lives.
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
The Shape of Us
They both woke before their alarms. In London the light had that soft late-spring thinness that makes the skyline look like it’s been pencilled in, and Layla lay there with the phone face down on the ...
blog.srazavi.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:54 PM
A near future short story I wrote about love and relationships in a world where AI is a routine part of our lives.
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
blog.srazavi.com/stories/2025...
Reposted by Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd)
A quick read of the Invincible quick start and keen to get a group together to play the scenario included. Superhero throw-downs that feel like comic panels getting ripped off the page mid-punch. 1/
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
A quick read of the Invincible quick start and keen to get a group together to play the scenario included. Superhero throw-downs that feel like comic panels getting ripped off the page mid-punch. 1/
Rob's done a cool report on the event here: youtu.be/zM3e4it0rWg?...
October 13, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Rob's done a cool report on the event here: youtu.be/zM3e4it0rWg?...
Over the weekend I read @modiphius.bsky.social's new Discworld RPG core rulebook. It's a love letter to Pratchett: fast, funny, and relentlessly story-first. Ankh-Morpork pops off the page, and the book keeps the satire without drowning you in crunch. (1/8)
October 13, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Over the weekend I read @modiphius.bsky.social's new Discworld RPG core rulebook. It's a love letter to Pratchett: fast, funny, and relentlessly story-first. Ankh-Morpork pops off the page, and the book keeps the satire without drowning you in crunch. (1/8)
First time playing me Dark Elves at an event! Nice to get the army out to play.
Round 1 into Bretonnians playing the lovely Lewis who organised the Saffron Slam tournaments and it went as expected with a 17-3 win to the baguette lovers.
Will have to remember to take more photos!
Round 1 into Bretonnians playing the lovely Lewis who organised the Saffron Slam tournaments and it went as expected with a 17-3 win to the baguette lovers.
Will have to remember to take more photos!
October 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM
First time playing me Dark Elves at an event! Nice to get the army out to play.
Round 1 into Bretonnians playing the lovely Lewis who organised the Saffron Slam tournaments and it went as expected with a 17-3 win to the baguette lovers.
Will have to remember to take more photos!
Round 1 into Bretonnians playing the lovely Lewis who organised the Saffron Slam tournaments and it went as expected with a 17-3 win to the baguette lovers.
Will have to remember to take more photos!
The winners of the War in the Old World VII
Overall - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Good - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Evil - Tom Mann
Best Sport - Danny Paines
Coolest Army - Andy O'Reilly
New dice - Mathew Lang
Overall - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Good - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Evil - Tom Mann
Best Sport - Danny Paines
Coolest Army - Andy O'Reilly
New dice - Mathew Lang
October 4, 2025 at 6:38 PM
The winners of the War in the Old World VII
Overall - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Good - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Evil - Tom Mann
Best Sport - Danny Paines
Coolest Army - Andy O'Reilly
New dice - Mathew Lang
Overall - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Good - Malik Amin Rubio
Best General of Evil - Tom Mann
Best Sport - Danny Paines
Coolest Army - Andy O'Reilly
New dice - Mathew Lang
Round 3 - Encirclement
October 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Round 3 - Encirclement
Round 2 - A Chance Encounter
October 4, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Round 2 - A Chance Encounter