If I still played an instrument, I'd probably be learning how to play "Bella Ciao". Just seems to be a popular song right now. Those Italians make good music.

I don't usually watch TTRPG APs, but I'm gonna give this one a shot.

Disney fired and unfired Jimmy Kimmel the right way. by Ezra Klein

I genuinely don't think a TTRPG out there has ever made me *more* confused the more I read about it and try to run it as Forged in the Dark.

We’re protesting outside the Broadview ICE facility and an agent came out to tell us to go away. We said we’re exercising our First Amendment rights so he shot the ground with pepper balls and said, “Your First Amendment rights are on the sidewalk.”

PDFs of The Between are out. I contributed some writing for this, and overjoyed to see it now in the world. What will be your favorite room of Hargrave House?

Backers get it now. Preorders open next week www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...

I'm reading a book that has a scene where a subjugated village's leader capitulates to a tyrannical overseer because their baby was being threatened. So they give in, despite everyone telling them what would happen, which is... The baby is killed anyways. And the village is burned to the ground.

Well the good news is that there's other weird west settings out there, and certainly more to come. Not like it's a novel idea these days. Anyways, have you heard of Ghosts of El Paso?

Something I've been stealing from a game I've never played: Fight With Spirit. In winning team bouts, you ask the other players how they "set up" the final player's narration to win. It feels like it risks stealing the spotlight, but highlights the collaborative nature of the story being told.

This is one of the most insane, incredible communities of fan-made works, that never fails to impress.

I normally don't get into book series(es). I'll read the first and call it good (even if I enjoyed the book!) But man, twice in as many years now I've gone wholly into a book series, and the magic of long-form storytelling is something I guess I am (sometimes?) sentimental towards.

Pro dialogue tip. When someone says they're having a tough time with something, telling them "it's easy" can be a really, really bad idea. What you think you're saying is, "You can do it!" but what they're hearing is, "You're struggling with something that's easy. How pathetic are you."

Here's my hot, probably dumb take on combat in TTRPGs. If it's crunchy on the mechanics, it should be light on the narrative. Let the dice tell the story, embellish only where needed. If your system is light on mechanics, it's on the players to fill the gap with cool narration. 1/x

"You think I'm crazy? Yes, I am. Revolution is not for the sane." [...] "We're the rhydo, kid; we're the fuel. We're the thing that explodes when there's too much friction in the air." Every now and then I remember when Star Wars had no permission to go that hard, and went there anyways.

Working on something new for Public Access, something I don't think anyone's done before: a Lost Transmission (side mystery) where you play as cats. Here's a li'l preview:

Nephews in Peril is Deal of the Day on @drivethrurpg.com! This is the Brindlewood Bay supplement that includes 30+ new mysteries, including the new Sweeps Week-style mysteries, plus lots of extra advice for running and playing the game. 50% off! www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...

Make games for yourself and for your friends. Make things because they don't exist and you want to see them in the world, because you have an itch you need to scratch. Art made with love and passion and quirkiness will find an audience who appreciates that love and passion and quirkiness.

I'll step up and admit that I never foresaw TWs/CWs as potential tools for censorship. I couldn't have predicted Itch or, god forbid, Steam from taking the steps they have this past week. But yeah, I'm gonna be more careful about this going forward.

S&K is hosting an online writing retreat August 11-17 for folks interested in Carved from Brindlewood and Trophy game writing/design! Workshops by @jasoncordova.bsky.social, @jesseross.com, @clearkeep.bsky.social, @premeemohamed.com, @signalstation.bsky.social and more! sprigsandkindling.com

Having a hard time reconciling exactly what these policies will mean for game designers who sell on itch.io in any capacity. So many games "contain" these themes and topics without having them as part of the narrative... the line isn't in the sand, it's somewhere underwater and constantly moving.

I have very few people who I genuinely considered heroic for the creative fields, but Kevin MacLeod was one of them. To learn that the "free varied music for whatever you want it for" guy stopped composing and started prompt engineering AI slop for almost a year is the most depressing twist.

Elder Royal Griffon. Sketchbook sketch of 2023 #sketchbook #art #ink #griffon #gryphon #moleskin #fantasy #DnD

There's a direct line from "no kink at Pride" and "no sex in movies and books unless it Serves The Plot" to payment processors feeling completely empowered to censor art globally

the world needs to understand we have NEEDS and those needs aren't work. The needs are dramatic, horrific, horny TTRPG encounters.

This isn’t the female gaze. This is the male gaze. It’s men who are obsessed with the physicality of other men. Women, in the main, would much rather see a man who looks like he’d make himself a stack of buttered toast and let you steal a slice

I will forever respect this commitment to the bit.

Just reading about this game (and reading the doc) and hearing about the playtest tells me that this is going to be one of the most cathartic gaming experiences of this generation.

The Bad Spot’s run of The Between is the best actual play you probably don’t know about. More people should watch it—it’s criminally under-appreciated.

It's amazing to see such talent, some of it from first-time writers. Y'all there's cool stuff happening in TTRPG space at The Gauntlet right now. youtu.be/qHyRZQYe5wU?...

If you knew the sweat, blood, and sleep that has been shed creating new things because someone told me they liked a sentence I wrote …

"The price of eggs" will be our version of "at least the trains ran on time."

What do ttrpg players actually want? According to my research of the primary sources on social media, the most requested features include "anything that brings back the light in my eyes" and "torture implements", one not excluding the other.

Please don't use Cthulhu Dark or the Dark mechanics for any projects that use AI art or text. I'd really like you to support a creator instead or, at least, use public domain art. If you're having trouble with this on your budget, I can probably give you some advice! Get in touch.

Today I am thankful for the people who have recommended me books and/or authors. I think it says something about your relationship when you can say to another human "I think you might like this." How dare you be so presumptive as to think you know me. And yet, dare more.

how about no

Here’s my first draft of how I’d write it up: After combat or other intense action, or if accomplishing the Set Goal requires it, or after the players look to you for what happens next, open up a path to a new Set and describe (or ask the players to describe) the transition there.

Check the clip that launched a thousand human x monster pairings...

As a constitutional originalist, I do not think that judges should be allowed to issue nationwide injunctions against executive orders orders. But when we have a Democratic president again, I will probably change my mind about all of this.

Happy Free TTRPG Day! Sprigs & Kindling is free everyday, so check it out, but also support your FLGS and buy something from them today! :D (I'm going to be at @pemetawe.bsky.social spending $ and running Trophy this evening!) sprigsandkindling.com

Sad news: We are canceling the Tomb Raider RPG project. Due to creative differences we couldn’t get our vision to gel with the licensor’s, so we've chosen to part ways. The stellar team designing this game put their hearts into making this an exciting, dynamic RPG of adventure and exploration. 1/2

Actually, you're not a game designer if you aren't from the Game Designer region of France. Otherwise you're just a sparkling GM.

I played Assassin's Creed Unity about 6 months ago (for the first time!). I was astounded at how..."empty" the world felt. All these "social challenges" for a community that doesn't exist--in some cases, the servers are just gone. Can't help but feel I got just a tiny taste of the 'net graveyard.

Not me doing more research on car history for a TTRPG. How does this keep happening to me; I am not a car person! I am one of the least car people out there! At least this time it's for a player character. Did you know Bugatti was effectively shuttered from the mid-50s to 1992? I didn't!

Because there’s a horrifying monoculture of D&D and then the pathway “beyond”/out is primarily discussed in terms of D20 systems & then of GM-led systems, we don’t have a way to imagine what it can be for folks who don’t enter by that door, or that folks don’t have to.

I don't know of any other West Marches Actual Plays out there, so I have nothing to compare to, but if you have never seen one and want to, you should look at The Company of Salt and Iron. It's doing really neat things with ttrpg storytelling. youtube.com/playlist?lis...

You should pick this up. It's free. And it's amazing. 200+ pages of content.

If you use GenAI, you’re not welcome here #NoAI