Martin Orchard
@orchardmartin.bsky.social
Organises an East Bristol, UK RPG Meetup group (DM for details)
Pointless Monument TTRPG game stuff at: pointlessmonument.itch.io
Very occasional blog at: pointlessmonument.blot.im
Pointless Monument TTRPG game stuff at: pointlessmonument.itch.io
Very occasional blog at: pointlessmonument.blot.im
Blogpost: In appreciation of the humble stimpak - how can we make each one unique and reflect the vast array of competition in the corporate medical marketplace? pointlessmonument.blot.im/so-you-ve-de... #mothershipmonth
So, You’ve Decided to take a Stimpak - Pointless Monument
Is there a more widely used item than the humble stimpak in the Mothership universe? No matter the anti-canon, literal cannon or obstacle at hand,
pointlessmonument.blot.im
November 10, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Blogpost: In appreciation of the humble stimpak - how can we make each one unique and reflect the vast array of competition in the corporate medical marketplace? pointlessmonument.blot.im/so-you-ve-de... #mothershipmonth
Was thinking about how rail locomotive wheel arrangement Whyte notation (0-6-0, 2-8-2 etc) resembles a character/creature statblock.
And then part of my brain went "or it could be a fully narrative system"
And then part of my brain went "or it could be a fully narrative system"
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Was thinking about how rail locomotive wheel arrangement Whyte notation (0-6-0, 2-8-2 etc) resembles a character/creature statblock.
And then part of my brain went "or it could be a fully narrative system"
And then part of my brain went "or it could be a fully narrative system"
Backed Apocalypse World: Burned Over www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Backed Apocalypse World: Burned Over www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Finally making progress on the Cairn puzzle dungeon, hopefully out by the end of the year
November 3, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Finally making progress on the Cairn puzzle dungeon, hopefully out by the end of the year
Good to see Alasdair getting on board with #MothershipMonth
Today's sketch: now on YouTube! See if you can spot the very subtle continuity error when the airlock opens.
youtu.be/NWoEWDJr6tA
youtu.be/NWoEWDJr6tA
Let Me Tell You a Story (Before the Ship Explodes)
YouTube video by Alasdair Beckett-King
youtu.be
October 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Good to see Alasdair getting on board with #MothershipMonth
Blogpost: Bastion Station Mall - Alternate Mothership Starting Equipment Loadouts
What is a TTRPG starting equipment table for? And why might you want an alternative option for Mothership? Inspired by @bastionland.bsky.social Into the Odd and its hacks.
pointlessmonument.blot.im/bastion-stat...
What is a TTRPG starting equipment table for? And why might you want an alternative option for Mothership? Inspired by @bastionland.bsky.social Into the Odd and its hacks.
pointlessmonument.blot.im/bastion-stat...
Bastion Station Mall: Alternate Mothership Starting
Equipment Loadouts - Pointless Monument
The Mothership starting equipment loadout tables are an excellent piece of game design, but can they be taken in a different direction? And is there
pointlessmonument.blot.im
October 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Blogpost: Bastion Station Mall - Alternate Mothership Starting Equipment Loadouts
What is a TTRPG starting equipment table for? And why might you want an alternative option for Mothership? Inspired by @bastionland.bsky.social Into the Odd and its hacks.
pointlessmonument.blot.im/bastion-stat...
What is a TTRPG starting equipment table for? And why might you want an alternative option for Mothership? Inspired by @bastionland.bsky.social Into the Odd and its hacks.
pointlessmonument.blot.im/bastion-stat...
New monster manual and adventure module appeared in our little library yesterday
October 13, 2025 at 10:49 AM
New monster manual and adventure module appeared in our little library yesterday
I was one of the playtesters for this and it's very good - Amanda's NPC are some of the strongest the OSR/NSR has to offer.
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 1:06 PM
I was one of the playtesters for this and it's very good - Amanda's NPC are some of the strongest the OSR/NSR has to offer.
Writing a Cthulhu by Gaslight scenario for playtesting next week, in advance of taking it to the @apocalypseplayers.bsky.social mini-convention in early October.
Adapting real world places to horror scenarios is always an entertaining way to approach design.
Adapting real world places to horror scenarios is always an entertaining way to approach design.
September 11, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Writing a Cthulhu by Gaslight scenario for playtesting next week, in advance of taking it to the @apocalypseplayers.bsky.social mini-convention in early October.
Adapting real world places to horror scenarios is always an entertaining way to approach design.
Adapting real world places to horror scenarios is always an entertaining way to approach design.
Reposted by Martin Orchard
For the appendix N blog bandwagon, I talk about smashing together disparate inspirations as a method for coming up with new ideas for your games #osr #ttrpg
Pick Two Inspirations and Combine Them — Prismatic Wasteland
I present a cheat code for breaking through writer’s block and coming up with a gameable idea from all the cultural detritus that has built up inside your brain.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
September 8, 2025 at 2:15 PM
In which we look through an Appendix N of the various videogames that have inspired me when I'm running/making TTRPG material, and focus on one level of one game in particular.
Blogpost: Appendix N: The OSR of the First Level of Deus Ex
Blogpost: Appendix N: The OSR of the First Level of Deus Ex
Appendix N: The OSR of the first level of Deus Ex - Pointless Monument
25 years ago a videogame introduced me to sandbox level design. Spoilers ahead. Deus Ex (2000) is a game that sits within a lineage which extends
pointlessmonument.blot.im
September 8, 2025 at 1:38 PM
In which we look through an Appendix N of the various videogames that have inspired me when I'm running/making TTRPG material, and focus on one level of one game in particular.
Blogpost: Appendix N: The OSR of the First Level of Deus Ex
Blogpost: Appendix N: The OSR of the First Level of Deus Ex
Note for Americans, the 1 protestor to 5 police is known as the 'floppy to bobby ratio' or 'Peel's Constant'
This gets progressively funnier with every use of the term "floppy".
![One of Britain’s most senior police officers has launched an angry tirade against Extinction Rebellion protesters going “all floppy” when they get arrested.
Sir Stephen House, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the tactic of going limp was a “flipping nuisance” as it required extra officers to drag protesters away.
House told a London assembly police and crime committee hearing: “We have asked them to stop being floppy. And that might seem like a silly thing to say, but when we arrest them and pick them up, they go all floppy, which is why you see four or five officers carrying them away. It’s a complete waste of officers’ time, and a complete pain in the neck.”
Extinction Rebellion: how successful were the latest protests?
Read more
House also expressed annoyance at how the tactic made the police look heavy-handed. He said: “The problem with them going floppy and four offices carrying them away [is that it] looks to the general public like police are overreacting here. We’re not making them go floppy. They’re just sort of being a nuisance.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7uvcqt45oqlutlrtgx7bpodq/bafkreie7yqxb4cj2t4gxftiqsno5wgk2kczb5vbtj7wh2b2u5sjtqtdrku@jpeg)
September 6, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Note for Americans, the 1 protestor to 5 police is known as the 'floppy to bobby ratio' or 'Peel's Constant'
Enringification
I'm trying to buy a rubber ring right now, and the closest match I can find online only lists inner diameter. Not outer, not thickness. I dont even know if rubber hardness is a factor or not, but its never listed.
I miss Radio Shack from 30 years ago.
I miss Radio Shack from 30 years ago.
i wish brands would include more technical information in their product descriptions. i don't need to know this was inspired by timeless italian men summering in nantucket who could dress up or down. i want to know the fabric weight, leather tanning method, seam construction, etc.
September 2, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Enringification
Some traditional OSR blogging for Labor Day...
Blogpost: How to make hunting tough monsters an interesting challenge for your players, with multiple paths to success
pointlessmonument.blot.im/how-to-make-...
Blogpost: How to make hunting tough monsters an interesting challenge for your players, with multiple paths to success
pointlessmonument.blot.im/how-to-make-...
How to Make Huntable Monsters - Pointless Monument
There are many ways to defeat a monster. Here is a list so you can enthusiastically support any mad idea your players want to try. Note: I’ve used
pointlessmonument.blot.im
September 1, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Some traditional OSR blogging for Labor Day...
Blogpost: How to make hunting tough monsters an interesting challenge for your players, with multiple paths to success
pointlessmonument.blot.im/how-to-make-...
Blogpost: How to make hunting tough monsters an interesting challenge for your players, with multiple paths to success
pointlessmonument.blot.im/how-to-make-...
Note that you can create a pleasing 3 x 3 grid of words by combining this with @diyanddragons.bsky.social Landmark, Hidden, Secret and @dicegoblin.blog Time, Gear, Skill
diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/land...
dicegoblin.blog/time-gear-sk...
diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/land...
dicegoblin.blog/time-gear-sk...
I want to print this blogpost out and tape it to my bathroom mirror to recite like an affirmation each morning. There's a million ways to have fun with games but this pithily sums up what I personally enjoy most in playing or running an RPG.
@bastionland.bsky.social
@bastionland.bsky.social
The ICI Doctrine: Information, Choice, Impact
Doctrine might be a bit strong. Still, I'm trying to keep these three words in my head whenever I'm planning or running a game. They're th...
www.bastionland.com
August 30, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Note that you can create a pleasing 3 x 3 grid of words by combining this with @diyanddragons.bsky.social Landmark, Hidden, Secret and @dicegoblin.blog Time, Gear, Skill
diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/land...
dicegoblin.blog/time-gear-sk...
diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/land...
dicegoblin.blog/time-gear-sk...
Both the artist name and cover art for my debut album
August 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Both the artist name and cover art for my debut album
Snail Fancy, by @feralcharlie.bsky.social and @alexcoggon.bsky.social is a perfect interactive one shot for your OSR/NSR system of choice. The PCs spiraled from shoplifting hats to feeding someone to a giant snail and unleashing an ecological catastrophe on the local borough.
August 19, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Snail Fancy, by @feralcharlie.bsky.social and @alexcoggon.bsky.social is a perfect interactive one shot for your OSR/NSR system of choice. The PCs spiraled from shoplifting hats to feeding someone to a giant snail and unleashing an ecological catastrophe on the local borough.
"What's the matter Mr. Policeman? Unable to solve my riddles with your feeble mind?"
...
"Oh, they're in a little *game* for you, simply visit the URL in my *cryptic note*"
...
"Actually I think $5 is a perfectly reasonable price"
...
"I'm not comfortable giving community copies to law enforcement"
...
"Oh, they're in a little *game* for you, simply visit the URL in my *cryptic note*"
...
"Actually I think $5 is a perfectly reasonable price"
...
"I'm not comfortable giving community copies to law enforcement"
August 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
"What's the matter Mr. Policeman? Unable to solve my riddles with your feeble mind?"
...
"Oh, they're in a little *game* for you, simply visit the URL in my *cryptic note*"
...
"Actually I think $5 is a perfectly reasonable price"
...
"I'm not comfortable giving community copies to law enforcement"
...
"Oh, they're in a little *game* for you, simply visit the URL in my *cryptic note*"
...
"Actually I think $5 is a perfectly reasonable price"
...
"I'm not comfortable giving community copies to law enforcement"
My first ever review, and it's for the @norgad.bsky.social Mothership module I ran a couple of weeks ago
pointlessmonument.blot.im/i-ran-bracki...
pointlessmonument.blot.im/i-ran-bracki...
I Ran: Brackish (Using Mothership) - Pointless Monument
Watery graves, inspiration from an iconic indie videogame *and* an accurate representation of water pumps? Read on to find out what I thought of
pointlessmonument.blot.im
August 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM
My first ever review, and it's for the @norgad.bsky.social Mothership module I ran a couple of weeks ago
pointlessmonument.blot.im/i-ran-bracki...
pointlessmonument.blot.im/i-ran-bracki...
Small dungeon studies to try and zero in on a style for a Cairn 2e adventure
August 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Small dungeon studies to try and zero in on a style for a Cairn 2e adventure
Reposted by Martin Orchard
Fuck the Ennies! No hype, no fanfare, no award shows, no spell checking, no nothing. I didn't even grab pictures for this post yet. Just the Ramanan Sivaranjan Awards for Excellence in Gaming 2025.
Save vs. Total Party Kill - Ramanan Sivaranjan Awards for Excellence in Gaming 2025
My friend Warren messaged me a few days ago. “Ram,” he said, “reminder to write the Rammies, Ennies are in 2 days.”Wait, what? The year zooms by and I’m always caught on the back foot. Even with the w...
save.vs.totalpartykill.ca
August 2, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Fuck the Ennies! No hype, no fanfare, no award shows, no spell checking, no nothing. I didn't even grab pictures for this post yet. Just the Ramanan Sivaranjan Awards for Excellence in Gaming 2025.
My copy of this turned up from @peregrinecoast.press last week and I can confirm the pleasing papery physicality.
July 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
My copy of this turned up from @peregrinecoast.press last week and I can confirm the pleasing papery physicality.
Reposted by Martin Orchard
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 12:58 PM
Reposted by Martin Orchard
For the latest blog bandwagon, I wrote about an extradimensional tavern that can be entered via specially made portable holes, a passwall spell, and the usual planes-traversing spells - a literal hole in the wall, and what manner of strange patrons one might encounter therein.
The Hole in the Wall Lounge
The blogosphere is celebrating Stanley Yelnats's birthday by posting about holes . It's a blog bandwagon! A holewagon. The following post is...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
July 16, 2025 at 12:18 PM
For the latest blog bandwagon, I wrote about an extradimensional tavern that can be entered via specially made portable holes, a passwall spell, and the usual planes-traversing spells - a literal hole in the wall, and what manner of strange patrons one might encounter therein.
Blogpost: The case for why your dungeon entrances should be pitcher plants rather than mere doors or simple holes
(Part of the @prismaticwasteland.com blogomatic universe 'holes' day) #osr
pointlessmonument.blot.im/tumbling-dow...
(Part of the @prismaticwasteland.com blogomatic universe 'holes' day) #osr
pointlessmonument.blot.im/tumbling-dow...
Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole: The Case for Pitcher
Plant Dungeon Entrances - Pointless Monument
Back in February, a call went out via Prismatic Wasteland for hole blogs: blogs about holes. This post is one that I’ve had in the back of my mind
pointlessmonument.blot.im
July 16, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Blogpost: The case for why your dungeon entrances should be pitcher plants rather than mere doors or simple holes
(Part of the @prismaticwasteland.com blogomatic universe 'holes' day) #osr
pointlessmonument.blot.im/tumbling-dow...
(Part of the @prismaticwasteland.com blogomatic universe 'holes' day) #osr
pointlessmonument.blot.im/tumbling-dow...