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.

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

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

Note for Americans, the 1 protestor to 5 police is known as the 'floppy to bobby ratio' or 'Peel's Constant'

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-...

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...

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.

"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"

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...

Small dungeon studies to try and zero in on a style for a Cairn 2e adventure

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.

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

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...

I would give my, or at least someone’s left arm to make a DC/Frasier crossover comic where Niles and Frasier are in Gotham visiting their cousin Jonathan

Earlier this week, @sean.tuesdayknightgames.com kindly included my previous two Mothership blogposts in the Orbital Drop mailout, so here's part 3 - how can you link all of those great small modules together, while still having a central goal/tension? pointlessmonument.blot.im/mothership-c...

Instead of penalizing being overencumbered, what if there was a reward to carrying fewer items than your capacity? Would this make encumbrance tracking something players want to do instead of a chore? Read the thought experiment #osr #ttrpg

In retrospect posting this yesterday as the scotus decision was being announced was poor marketing

As I gear up for a second @mothership.bsky.social campaign (vs. the one shots I run fairly often) it's a chance to document the extra elements I'll be including, and whether this gives any insight into the @sean.tuesdayknightgames.com design process. pointlessmonument.blot.im/making-alter...

A 'full indie' meetup this evening as we had the start of a Dune (@modiphius.bsky.social) campaign, @gshowitt.bsky.social Pub Crusade, a 7th(!) session of @riseupcomus.bsky.social His Majesty The Worm and a final playtest of my own module for @sean.tuesdayknightgames.com Mothership

It's the last full week of the Kickstarter for Cosmic Dark, my weird space horror game. We're heading for stretch goals by @gshowitt.bsky.social and @jon.inkle.co , with @planetx.bsky.social and @mytholder.bsky.social coming. Back it before the campaign ends! (And please repost) #ttrpg #kickstarter

This sounds awfully like someone has discovered @n8hps.bsky.social Barrow of the Elf King

Cthulhu Dark remains one of the best games I learnt about via genuine word of mouth rather a blogpost, video etc - I've no doubt @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social will deliver something equally good with this iteration. www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra...

The Spaniel Knight Property: Lead of great pulling, Frantic steed (does not tire) Ability: Steal Shoes Passion: New smells

I am in a hotel restaurant with slow service and the soundtrack is "pop hits of 2013 covered as instrumentals using a saxophone" so far I have identified Katy Perry's Roar and One Republic's Counting Stars Send help

I've avoided Zatu ever since I realised that their cheap prices are achieved via fulfilment/delivery times measured in multiple weeks, but that tracks with the kind of business people are describing in this thread.

Tonight it was @bastionland.bsky.social Electric Bastionland running @n8hps.bsky.social Astral Curse of the Iron Gnomes, coming down to a crucial DEX save. (Off camera, Session 2 of @riseupcomus.bsky.social His Majesty the Worm, alongside 5e and Call of Cthulhu: Order of the Stone)

More dungeon entrances should have: - Graffiti - Barricades - Litter

Ran @norgad.bsky.social Dead Weight this evening - superb module, all new Mothership players (first non-D&D ttrpg for one of them) and they had an absolute blast

Liminal Horror Winter Giveaway Enter to win a bundle of LH goodies by March 2nd Multiple ways to enter: - follow: liminalhorrorrpg.com/deluxe - Bsky: Repost the Giveaway on bsky - Bsky: Quote repost the Giveaway on bsky - Substack: Follow the Goblin Archives Substack goblinarchives.substack.com

Mondale in Succession and Radar in Severance are played by the same dog actor and nobody is talking enough about this.

Blogpost: Three tips from some time doing improv many years ago, and what you can do as a player with the 'spotlight' in your game pointlessmonument.blot.im/stepping-out... #osr #ttrpg

Basic D&D is a game about playing a novice burglar like a cautious career criminal who cares deeply about their own safety. Blades in the Dark is a game about playing a career criminal like a reckless novice burglar who has no regard for their own safety.

Once again Dwiz writes a longer, better version of something I would write. This works particularly well for Cairn or any other OSR/NSR game with Critical Damage save or equivalent. Also a way I have sold/adjusted the game to 5e players, as they will still be invested in the new consequences

My OSE mini campaign continues alongside its 5e equivalent and a Savage Worlds one shot - but what's that hiding in the corner? Why it's @jasoncordova.bsky.social The Between kicking off Season 2 with the Factotum and Explorer returning from Season 1.

If elected, I will invest in Zyan to restore full time jobs rather than precarious downtime work, and Ultan's Door will receive the security upgrade and monorail it needs.

My own Bell Curving Encounter Table (pointlessmonument.blot.im/the-bell-cur...) has been a slow burner, since it's almost a year old now but I've suddenly seen it pop up in a few places (including a WIP LotR hack for Cairn). If you like it, throw it a vote! #osr #ttrpg

First night at the new venue for the East Bristol Adventurers. Kicking off my OSE mini-campaign alongside 5e, Savage Worlds and @davidblandyrpgs.bsky.social ECO MOFOS running @goblinmixtape.bsky.social Into the Antlion's Den

OSR: You are *rolls d100* a failed goatherder Storygame: How does your character feel about goats? Combined: The bell you carry means goats are always drawn to your presence, but you cannot control them.

People continue to say kind things about Fistful of Feathers almost 3 years on. - This was my first release that was > 1 page - It reflects my 'limited' understanding of the Cairn ruleset/OSR Principles at the time - It only uses public domain art (and Wonderdraft) So go make something in 2025!

The main benefit of this is a list of 64 excellent blog posts (Vote for me, most noble and selfless of the nominees, Gameable No.9)

In amongst my prepping and houseruling for Old School Essentials, an actual procedure emerges! Inspired by @prismaticwasteland.com post from the beginning of the year Let's make languages more dynamic pointlessmonument.blot.im/quantum-lang...

#TTRPG games run in 2024 (no. of sessions in brackets) Mothership 1e (12) Cairn 1e/2e (5) Fast Fantasy (4) Cthulhu Dark (2) Electric Bastionland (1) 1400: Quest (1) Black Sword Hack (1) Played: Mythic Bastionland (3+) Savage Worlds (3+) Call of Cthulhu (1) Dread (1) Knave 2e (1) Pathfinder 2e (1)

Dwiz's 3 part series here is well worth reading, but my own personal 'why I don't run 5e anymore (or at least not without significant house rules)' is a pairing of today's piece with one of his from 3 years ago on resting and Gritty Realism: knightattheopera.blogspot.com/2021/10/grit...

Grabbed some of @wuggy.bsky.social cartography assets from itch to make a playtest map. Came together pretty fast in Affinity and avoids the Wonderdraft problem of not quite delivering the resolution I need for eventual publication #osr

Preparing for a January OSE playest for a small Black Wyrm/Ragged Hollow-esque sandbox. Made my own houseruled version of the Basic D&D character sheet, incorporating my Cairn 2e style inventory house rules amongst others (e.g. AAC) #osr