This week @sharangbiswas.bsky.social hangs up his adventuring gear and settles down into the world of Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern a cozy roleplaying game by Takuma Okada from @evilhat.bsky.social Learn how Stewpot makes cozy more than a vibe tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...

Two years from full draft of Designers & Dragons Origins to crowd-funding announcement? Yep! Here's a bit on what that totally normal hang time resulted from.

an influx of bots on this platform the past few days...

logo variations I thought about when I was getting started

I'm so excited the shop is able to offer this opportunity! We are going to need a lot of help over the coming months... 😅🤐

Absolutely. And, as hard as it is to hear, most people still have no clue what a TTRPG is. In One Way Out (coming soon!) I avoid the words TTRPG and role-playing game altogether:

I have never been more busy in my life. good busy. but whew

It's been a big week for the shop, feels like we are at another level up moment (and it's a big one) Cannot wait to share more of what's coming 🚀

Omg, just seen that French artist Jean Jullien has a big show on at Nanzuka in Shanghai, JUJU’s Castle, that looks INCREDIBLE. basically you get to wander around a fantasy world built from his “memories & experiences”. Someone please send us out there to cover it! More info & link in the replies

wow, D&D is totally getting crushed 😒

Looking for rare tomes at the Ren Faire today

I got an email today from someone thanking me for the shop, how it "opened up a window" back into their younger life and I just... it's a lot 🥹

post a D&D take, get the most views and likes in months

I want be clear, I'm on a fact-finding mission. I'm struggling to understand how a deal like this is good for the creators and publishers involved. Help me understand. www.humblebundle.com/books/roll-b...

I'm so thrilled to get this review series up and running, love to find ways to direct the shop's budget back towards the community. The virtuous cycle continues!

At least for us Alchemy appears to operate on a % cut of sales for any module they develop in house under license. This means there's an incentive at play to focus on ones most likely to produce a worthwhile revenue stream, so no surprise they've picked up working on Blades in the Dark for us.

VTTs are great for players but a huge pain in the ass for publishers/creators. Alchemy seems to understand this (but I'm not sure what they charge). Foundry is great if you have a dedicated plugged-in fanbase. Roll20 doesn't care because... well... I have my suspicions.

Work Sucks is our next game in our skinny zine ttrpg collection. Play as energy vampires and procrastinate installing printers to drain the office of its energy, but don't get caught! Thanks to Katherine Souza for the amazing art 🤩 Check out her work at: www.katherinesouza.art

long weekend = crowdfund slowing down... help us get it moving again! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...

There really is something magical about a book. You imbue this physical object with artwork and possibilities and people will sacrifice something to hold it, to have it, to flip through it. For centuries this has been true!

Kaiya's Indie RPG Folder 096 Firelights by @rpdeshaies.farirpgs.com (fari-rpgs.itch.io/fi...) Downloaded 2/1/23 An artfully dense game, crammed on a single trifold. I was working on the Aspire SRD at around the same time, so of course I approve of the "roll dice against a card value" mechanic.

Have I shared the class/playbook arts for the Midnight Muscadines around here? I rather like how the color palette worked out for this one.

The fans asked for it, and Evil Hat delivers! Deep Cuts, in printed hardcover form. Check out the link below to be notified when it launches.

If you are saying BE COOL things around you are most certainly not cool

Saturday was a good day at the Midwest Gaming Classic, but Sunday was a bust. I had a lot of fun talking up TTRPGs, but given the time -- not to mention the truly terrible experience of loading in and out of the 3rd floor of the Baird Center -- I can't justify bringing the shop back next year. 😞

TTRPG creators, can you help me as a re-evaluate my pricing strategy? Do you have an issue with me (or any retailer for that matter) offering your books a few cents below MSRP, even if it's then lower than the price on your personal website? For example, $19.95 vs $20 MSRP

Pocketopia is a crowdfunding event focusing on pocket-sized tabletop games. Here are five TTRPGs from Pocketopia that I recommend checking out!

One of the secrets of the shop is that I turn my inventory (sell through what's on hand) 12 times per year. The average bookstore does 4-6 turns per year. This keeps the collection dynamic and prices stable (less discounting needed).

Excited to have another opportunity to share the collection and connect in person - stop by and say hi!

What TTRPGs do you think have stellar play examples in them?

Overall GaryCon was a positive experience. Made some connections, found new products for the shop, and got to play some games for the first time. If you are into D&D in any form or iteration, GaryCon is a great option in a nice location (if the March weather is kind).

Thank you to everyone who has given me the chance to bring something creative into the space🙏

We're closing in on the final 48 hours for our first Kickstarter campaign! One Way Out is a dark fantasy quick play TTRPG for 1-2 players, all contained a premium zine Tell a story of trust and betrayal as you escape from a twisted magical dungeon www.kickstarter.com/projects/tab... #ttrpg

Had a killer game of Pirate Borg at GaryCon this morning. Ended as the captain of a demon ship running a lucrative... operation

turns out, some forms of play are not so easily integrated into the wealth extraction machine

Substratum Protocol has been nominated for @igdn-official.bsky.social's Indie Groundbreakers Award for Best Setting! Congrats to the whole team that helped bring Substratum Protocol to life: @nightjargames.bsky.social, @ericlazure.bsky.social, and @rpdeshaies.farirpgs.com! Descend. Learn. Survive.

This book is really cool, so happy I came across it

Anyone else going GaryCon next weekend? If you see a guy in a Tabletop Bookshelf hat or shirt, that's probably me 😉 please chat me up! I want to meet people in meat space!

Monster Truckers is on the horizon! I'm looking forward to getting back to working on it. Follow along on backer kit! www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

My advice to disaffected young men is to get a squire p bass and join a band and your whole women only date rich guys reactionary politics vibe will seem pretty silly when a lady breaks up with her real estate boyfriend to date your broke ass

Gosh so many thoughts on this (I spend a lot of time thinking about the pricing of TTRPGs...) Ultimately it's on creators and publishers to set pricing and the biggest issue I see from the indie creator community is too much reliance on massive discounts and freebies as a substitute for marketing

BTW if you have your work in the shop and want to help out at the booth, I'll have a couple extra vendor badges

Tabletop Bookshelf is an official sponsor and vendor for Gamehole Con 12! Gamehole Con is the largest tabletop gaming convention in the upper Midwest, and we can't wait to share everything we have to offer in the shop, in person, at our booth this October!

We are looking for a part-time fulfillment assistant! If you live in the Milwaukee area, have experience wrapping things up or working in a warehouse, and love TTRPGs, this might be for you! DM this account or @tomg.tabletopbookshelf.com if you are interested or have any questions

A fast-paced, two player game by @tomg.tabletopbookshelf.com about escaping a magical dungeon. I love how its both creative and competitive... only one person is leaving the dungeon alive! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tab...

We have released an English version of a Japanese indie TTRPG. Pray by Letter is an epistolary tabletop role-playing game for 2 players in which you and your penfriend try to forge the future by exchanging letters. now available on itch.io! malstromrpg.itch.io/pray-by-letter

If you've been thinking about starting a youth-focused TTRPG group, make sure to check out Rolling With the Youth by @wranglerofchaos.bsky.social! This guide helps you create a safe and inclusive gaming space for youth players, and is based on Jaclyn's own XP!

If the OMEN campaign reaches $10,000 I'll make solo and duet variants of the game. Just saying. www.kickstarter.com/projects/the...

On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to share my creative work with the world. To most people, I'm just a guy who's had modest success running a small online shop. So let me tell you a bit about myself. A quick 🧵

Pushing the launch button on this in a few hours. www.kickstarter.com/projects/the...