Monte Lin
@montelin.bsky.social
Managing Editor of Uncanny Magazine. Staff Editor of Angry Hamster Press. Clarion West 2019. Tin House YA Workshop 2022.
(I am available for writing or copy editing for speculative fiction and tabletop roleplaying games. Contact me here!)
(I am available for writing or copy editing for speculative fiction and tabletop roleplaying games. Contact me here!)
Starting @ickbat.bsky.social's Against Time and Death, a duet journalling rpg heavily inspired by This Is How You Lose the Time War. I'm playing Lucent, an agent of Prism, a faction of crystals that manipulate light. My partner is playing Germ of Fungal, a faction from a giant mushroom ecumenopolis
December 7, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Starting @ickbat.bsky.social's Against Time and Death, a duet journalling rpg heavily inspired by This Is How You Lose the Time War. I'm playing Lucent, an agent of Prism, a faction of crystals that manipulate light. My partner is playing Germ of Fungal, a faction from a giant mushroom ecumenopolis
Facilitated and played a game of the Home mapmaking horror rpg. Everyone survived (although my character has a ruined left hand)
September 30, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Facilitated and played a game of the Home mapmaking horror rpg. Everyone survived (although my character has a ruined left hand)
Join me and three other writers talking about these mini-settings we made for @greenroninpub.bsky.social's AGE system in one hour! Join the chat, ask questions, and I'll try to be coherent (it's a no caffeine day for me today 😅)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-AW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-AW...
August 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Join me and three other writers talking about these mini-settings we made for @greenroninpub.bsky.social's AGE system in one hour! Join the chat, ask questions, and I'll try to be coherent (it's a no caffeine day for me today 😅)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-AW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-AW...
Got a chance to run a print-and-play version of _Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall_. Probably should have started with less Family Dice for a one shot. Characters breezed through problems but we had fun with the character interactions
June 30, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Got a chance to run a print-and-play version of _Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall_. Probably should have started with less Family Dice for a one shot. Characters breezed through problems but we had fun with the character interactions
Another round of Slugblaster. The Interrobangs beat BRB’s record in Desnine but was pretty unpopular due to their antics. Let’s see what fallout they’ll endure or if they embrace their new rep
April 13, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Another round of Slugblaster. The Interrobangs beat BRB’s record in Desnine but was pretty unpopular due to their antics. Let’s see what fallout they’ll endure or if they embrace their new rep
Brindlewood Bay on a a rainy Oregon day.
things I need to remember when running this game:
Give Clues right away. No “it’s in another room” or locked in a desk. If they rolled & got a Clue, then they get the Clue. (But Meddling by opening up a locked desk is ok just put the Clue in there!) 1/?
things I need to remember when running this game:
Give Clues right away. No “it’s in another room” or locked in a desk. If they rolled & got a Clue, then they get the Clue. (But Meddling by opening up a locked desk is ok just put the Clue in there!) 1/?
April 6, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Brindlewood Bay on a a rainy Oregon day.
things I need to remember when running this game:
Give Clues right away. No “it’s in another room” or locked in a desk. If they rolled & got a Clue, then they get the Clue. (But Meddling by opening up a locked desk is ok just put the Clue in there!) 1/?
things I need to remember when running this game:
Give Clues right away. No “it’s in another room” or locked in a desk. If they rolled & got a Clue, then they get the Clue. (But Meddling by opening up a locked desk is ok just put the Clue in there!) 1/?
Doin’ some slugblasting later today; or more accurately the downtime phase with teenage issues scenes and _maybe_ a slugblasting run after
March 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Doin’ some slugblasting later today; or more accurately the downtime phase with teenage issues scenes and _maybe_ a slugblasting run after
Getting ready to solve a murder, knit, or meet an eldritch horror, not necessarily in that order
March 16, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Getting ready to solve a murder, knit, or meet an eldritch horror, not necessarily in that order
Gettin’ ready for Slugblaster today…
February 23, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Gettin’ ready for Slugblaster today…
preparing to document the fall of a civilization that once believed in beauty, art, and love, i.e. playing the roleplaying game Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North
February 2, 2025 at 8:51 PM
preparing to document the fall of a civilization that once believed in beauty, art, and love, i.e. playing the roleplaying game Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North
Gave Stewpot: Tales From a Fantasy Tavern a spin today. We didn't even get a full round done 😭 (we had five players, a late start, & picked the more involved mini-games/scenes)
I think we tackled the coziness. This does require more than one session; the mini-games need more time than I expected
I think we tackled the coziness. This does require more than one session; the mini-games need more time than I expected
January 13, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Gave Stewpot: Tales From a Fantasy Tavern a spin today. We didn't even get a full round done 😭 (we had five players, a late start, & picked the more involved mini-games/scenes)
I think we tackled the coziness. This does require more than one session; the mini-games need more time than I expected
I think we tackled the coziness. This does require more than one session; the mini-games need more time than I expected
Doing a 2024 short story eligibility award post! It was a slower year; I had just one publication. "Here in the Glittering Black, There Is Hope" also took a long route to end up at GigaNotoSaurus, like it's protagonists, so I feel I owe it a post
giganotosaurus.org/2024/09/01/h...
giganotosaurus.org/2024/09/01/h...
December 5, 2024 at 9:50 PM
Doing a 2024 short story eligibility award post! It was a slower year; I had just one publication. "Here in the Glittering Black, There Is Hope" also took a long route to end up at GigaNotoSaurus, like it's protagonists, so I feel I owe it a post
giganotosaurus.org/2024/09/01/h...
giganotosaurus.org/2024/09/01/h...
Session 1 of @genesisoflegend.bsky.social's Sig: City of Blades. The PCs decided to stop the Sage Collegium from cursing them in retribution for stealing a book from their library. The score is going well, using their levels of effect to keep their efforts unnoticed/unreported (1/?)
November 30, 2024 at 8:26 PM
Session 1 of @genesisoflegend.bsky.social's Sig: City of Blades. The PCs decided to stop the Sage Collegium from cursing them in retribution for stealing a book from their library. The score is going well, using their levels of effect to keep their efforts unnoticed/unreported (1/?)
My comp copies of Divine Mysteries for @paizo.bsky.social’s Pathfinder ttrpg.
I did the Chapter 5 intro, some of the Demon Lord write ups (although, can you spot the imposter?!), and Erastil, Old Deadeye
I had fun giving Erastil a slightly different spin and adding some aphorisms (/?)
I did the Chapter 5 intro, some of the Demon Lord write ups (although, can you spot the imposter?!), and Erastil, Old Deadeye
I had fun giving Erastil a slightly different spin and adding some aphorisms (/?)
November 27, 2024 at 10:21 PM
My comp copies of Divine Mysteries for @paizo.bsky.social’s Pathfinder ttrpg.
I did the Chapter 5 intro, some of the Demon Lord write ups (although, can you spot the imposter?!), and Erastil, Old Deadeye
I had fun giving Erastil a slightly different spin and adding some aphorisms (/?)
I did the Chapter 5 intro, some of the Demon Lord write ups (although, can you spot the imposter?!), and Erastil, Old Deadeye
I had fun giving Erastil a slightly different spin and adding some aphorisms (/?)
Tried out Jason Morningstar’s Desperation, the Dead House scenario, narrating the thwarted wants and terrible deaths of a small town in an 1880s American prairie facing a deadly winter.
In the photo, there is a pile of cards in the corner; that’s the dead
In the photo, there is a pile of cards in the corner; that’s the dead
November 27, 2024 at 6:02 AM
Tried out Jason Morningstar’s Desperation, the Dead House scenario, narrating the thwarted wants and terrible deaths of a small town in an 1880s American prairie facing a deadly winter.
In the photo, there is a pile of cards in the corner; that’s the dead
In the photo, there is a pile of cards in the corner; that’s the dead
GM’d a session of Dialect ttrpg. We choose the Mars colony scenario researching alien ruins toward transhumanism
“Don’t be a sleaming leaper doing swoksen wasting precious potowers!”
“Don’t be a sleaming leaper doing swoksen wasting precious potowers!”
November 25, 2024 at 5:07 AM
GM’d a session of Dialect ttrpg. We choose the Mars colony scenario researching alien ruins toward transhumanism
“Don’t be a sleaming leaper doing swoksen wasting precious potowers!”
“Don’t be a sleaming leaper doing swoksen wasting precious potowers!”
Gave an oldie rpg a spin tonight. I’m still not 100% sure on how to run a horror rpg. But I think things went well though the pacing might have been slower than I expected. Curious to see what a session might be and if that’s when things get out of control
Character sheets made by miniver.itch.io
Character sheets made by miniver.itch.io
October 21, 2024 at 3:45 AM
Gave an oldie rpg a spin tonight. I’m still not 100% sure on how to run a horror rpg. But I think things went well though the pacing might have been slower than I expected. Curious to see what a session might be and if that’s when things get out of control
Character sheets made by miniver.itch.io
Character sheets made by miniver.itch.io
We are… really bad at puzzle/escape room type board games. I’m not going to even show our final score and time
October 7, 2024 at 5:26 AM
We are… really bad at puzzle/escape room type board games. I’m not going to even show our final score and time
We have a historical model of this kind of "content production," social media games from the 2010s. Through algorithmic analysis, game design started pushing toward satisfying "whales," the industry's term for users who plonked down a lot of money on more content, skins, assets, etc. (1/?)
October 4, 2024 at 6:03 PM
We have a historical model of this kind of "content production," social media games from the 2010s. Through algorithmic analysis, game design started pushing toward satisfying "whales," the industry's term for users who plonked down a lot of money on more content, skins, assets, etc. (1/?)
Ran a session 1/2 for the DIE roleplaying game yesterday. I didn't want to do the one-shot rules and wanted to see how in-depth the setup is
and it very is in-depth, like 2 hours of background setup, one hour for the lead up to the ritual entrance into the game, and an hour of the first fight
and it very is in-depth, like 2 hours of background setup, one hour for the lead up to the ritual entrance into the game, and an hour of the first fight
September 23, 2024 at 6:23 PM
Ran a session 1/2 for the DIE roleplaying game yesterday. I didn't want to do the one-shot rules and wanted to see how in-depth the setup is
and it very is in-depth, like 2 hours of background setup, one hour for the lead up to the ritual entrance into the game, and an hour of the first fight
and it very is in-depth, like 2 hours of background setup, one hour for the lead up to the ritual entrance into the game, and an hour of the first fight
Facilitated a 3-player game of Home: the mapmaking haunted house rpg yesterday. Two players succumbed to the house, but the one who escaped decided they were driven to the insane asylum by the experience
Pro-tip: Home looks like to be one hour per person for the session, so this was three hours
Pro-tip: Home looks like to be one hour per person for the session, so this was three hours
September 23, 2024 at 5:44 AM
Facilitated a 3-player game of Home: the mapmaking haunted house rpg yesterday. Two players succumbed to the house, but the one who escaped decided they were driven to the insane asylum by the experience
Pro-tip: Home looks like to be one hour per person for the session, so this was three hours
Pro-tip: Home looks like to be one hour per person for the session, so this was three hours
Got to adjudicate (it’s only 4 player) a game of _Vale of Eternity_, a monster trainer-themed card management game. All about chaining effects to score points. Very colorful. Pretty fast play although there is a bit of reading of the 70 different cards each with a different effect
September 2, 2024 at 4:50 AM
Got to adjudicate (it’s only 4 player) a game of _Vale of Eternity_, a monster trainer-themed card management game. All about chaining effects to score points. Very colorful. Pretty fast play although there is a bit of reading of the 70 different cards each with a different effect
And it’s physically here! Can’t wait to read through it (although I’ll probably skip my section due to self-cringe, lol)
August 28, 2024 at 9:55 PM
And it’s physically here! Can’t wait to read through it (although I’ll probably skip my section due to self-cringe, lol)
Trying to cool down from a rough day by landing a plane on its wing
Wait…
Wait…
June 20, 2024 at 5:37 AM
Trying to cool down from a rough day by landing a plane on its wing
Wait…
Wait…
Tried out Home, the haunted house rpg. The game gives good prompts for creating flawed characters with issues that may or may not doom them. Wished there were more scenario specific cards (we played Bite of Nature). Our game tended to focus on character issues more with a nature theme on top
June 9, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Tried out Home, the haunted house rpg. The game gives good prompts for creating flawed characters with issues that may or may not doom them. Wished there were more scenario specific cards (we played Bite of Nature). Our game tended to focus on character issues more with a nature theme on top