Would be hard pressed to have a more wonderful set of post through the letterbox (ok maybe @wyrdscience.bsky.social would be the cherry on top)! @jdhoare.bsky.social @stoutstoat.co.uk #secretpassages

...and we'll be at Govan Old next Saturday (18 July) for @govanstones.bsky.social's Viking Games and Archaeological Open Day! For those who like a challenge, one version of our scavenger hunt will be ENTIRELY in ogham - do you think you could solve it? (4/4) thegovanstones.org.uk/lecture-on-t...

It's the International Day of Ogham today. The (former) OG(H)AM project are happy to announce the recipients of this year's Certificate of Achievement for Ogham Excellence, the team behind the creation of "Carved in Stone. A Storyteller's Guide to Pictland". More: carvedinstone.scot #IntDayofOgham

For every lovely repost or review, there are five more filled with personal grudges, death threats or motivated by bigoted hate. It's intimidating to create anything because the internet can feel like such a vitriolic cesspit. It's even harder to wade through it when without a team behind you.

More than this, even. Facts don't come out of nowhere; they are made, and the work of making robust facts is very hard. Historians don't just get primary sources and write down what they say; they have to interpret them. This is where historical facts come from.

Last day! Grab some actually genuinely bonkers deals while you can! (I gotta stop getting older because 31% is actually quite large, as it turns out).

I bought this even faster than I bought Stonetop. Can’t wait to put it to use!

Now also with a 31% discount till July 3rd! £50 down to £34.50! Use code BIRTHDAY2026 at the checkout. Alternatively, in the spirit of Pictish economics I will consider barter offers or equivalent weight in hacksilver

In the annual tradition, I'm putting on a sale for my birthday! Get 31% off of EVERYTHING in my store with the code "BIRTHDAY2026", running from today through to July 3rd :) www.stoutstoat.co.uk/discount/BIR...

Check your bank transaction history, and keep your notifications on! In the space of ten minutes I had a flurry of random transactions come through, first for O2, then increasingly for more expensive charges to Fefizzessen (google says a Euro-Russian bank). Locked my Monzo card down immediately.

Bills up. Wages too low. Record profits for Oil & Gas. 50 richest families with more wealth than 50% of population. Shit in our rivers. Pensioners jailed for protesting. Migrants thrown under the bus. Supporting a Genocide. That's Starmer's legacy.

Celebrating my wife’s birthday with a lovely evening of storytelling around a few rounds of Border Riding, from @stoutstoat.co.uk

"AI is a force multiplier for the worst aspects of our industry, and that's where my worry is." Fantastic quotes in this article. Too long to easily quote in a bluesky post, but all sensitively presented.

"My book came out, and they were talking about this false naive style of drawing. There was nothing false about the naivety of my style. I couldn't draw better. This is it." What a star Marjane was...

Seems reasonable to me the-decoder.com/landmark-ger...

I'm at @cymerafestival.co.uk in Edinburgh at the Pleasance till 5pm! Come say hi!

My recent trip to Polish/Czech mountains reminded me of working on this series of illustrations for the Carved in Stone book 🖤

Reminder that Klingons say TRANS RIGHTS BRING HONOR TO YOUR HOUSE

🦭 New volunteering opportunity: Deputy Organiser 🦭 As we approach our third year, the Selkie Awards are looking to recruit one or more volunteer Deputy Organisers to contribute to our long-term success. If you're interested, please check out our website for more info: selkieawards.org/volunteer

This summary of different early medieval literature is still one of my favourite things on the internet. #medievalsky

I've joined over 300 artists, arts organisations, academics, think tanks and campaigners who have signed this open letter. Add your name. Tell Scotland's political parties and cultural institutions to deliver a basic income for artists:

Salient thread.

The Quindrie Comic Fund is open for submissions until 31st July 5pm! UK-based comic creators can apply for up to £1000 to put towards a comic project or goal. Read more details on eligibilty and how to apply here: quindriepress.com/fund 🐉

Only one week left to apply to TAGS Fest 2026! This year TAGS Fest is on 17th October at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, just off Leith Walk. You have until May 15th to apply! 🏷️ tagsfest.co.uk#applications

Quinns really knows how to sell a 1,200 page megalith of a project. A wonderful listen!

‼️💿 We are looking for gamedevs to be part of our R&D 💿 division to make experimental nonphysical books with controller support. DIAMOND DISK UNIT You can read more about it here peow.studio/blog/join-di...

Some are suggesting you deliberately write inaccurate or confusing alt text, because they say this confuses AI scrapers that are analyzing images. The purpose of alt text is to help people who cannot see the image. Deliberately misrepresenting the image is a gross misuse of alt text. Don't do it.

NHK World just released a fascinating documentary about the 50 year history of Comiket. Definitely give it a watch before it is taken down on May 3rd. www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/... My favorite part has to be the moment where they show a guy selling doujinshi about baseball umpires. Love that guy.

Having to go through my Google Workspace admin and turn of Gemini AGAIN, for what feels like the third time in 12-month period. No, I do not want to "share Gems" or allow this monstrosity to cross-reference files within my drive. I just want to write docs and share files. Is that so goddamned hard?

I heard this one's quite good

If you’re looking for a copy of One Breath Left, the ENNIE-winning solo sci-fi/horror survival RPG from myself and Stout Stoat, I’ve got a handful of copies on my website for US sales only! leafydragongames.wpcomstaging.com/product/one-...

Spring Clearance Mini-Stock Sale! I'm clearing out my stock cupboards and using up spare bits, so there's a limited number of One Breath Left and Border Riding available at stoutstoat.co.uk 📚

Just want to say how much more accessible reading random scottish history books has become to me after reading this. What's a byre? No longer is my mind going to check wiki for a five word summary i won't retain, now the gorgeous illustration from this book comes to mind. Same for other words. ❤️

This week on Dice Exploder it's four mini episodes in one! @gigantic-spider.bsky.social and I talk about The Awards, the niche indie rpg awards show they facilitate. We get into why ranking things is dumb but fun, and then some of our favorite mechanics from the last The Awards' winners.

It’s official - Carved in Stone is finally available in the USA, through the one and only @ipr.bsky.social ! You can order your copy directly from them (alongside a host of other beautiful books and games!) www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Carved...

So glad that people in the US can now also get a physical copy of this amazing book. Still on the fence? Then check out my video about it!

It’s official - Carved in Stone is finally available in the USA, through the one and only @ipr.bsky.social ! You can order your copy directly from them (alongside a host of other beautiful books and games!) www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Carved...

Delightful arrival in today's mail: Carved in Stone by @stoutstoat.co.uk. Absolutely gorgeous book, thoroughly researched and reviewed, and crammed with everything you never knew you needed to know about the Picts. Not a game stat in sight, but plenty of prompts for your game design needs.

New Episode! We review SCURRY by @stoutstoat.co.uk, a ttrpg where tiny beasts embark on fast paced heists with all-or-nothing stakes through the Scottish underbrush! watch here 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpBi...

Ingenuitive as always

Border Riding is a game about boundaries, exploring how arbitrary borders can create long-lasting divisions between communities. Lavishly illustrated and printed on Ordnance Map material meaning it’ll survive through anything. Get yours @ peregrinecoast.press/products/bor...

When uncovering traces of people from the past, evidence comes in all sizes, can be found everywhere and might not look like what we expect 🤔 Confused? Don't be! Learn more about how archaeologists uncover these stories and how you can get involved: www.digitscotland.com/what-is-arch...

Oh hey, we're live to review SCURRY from @stoutstoat.co.uk, is a ttrpg where tiny beasts embark on fast paced heists with all-or-nothing stakes through the Scottish underbrush! watch here 👇 www.twitch.tv/theweeklyscroll

More Apwthecaria! More-wthecaria? If you're hankering for potion brewing, wandering the Scottish wilds on four legs, and gathering trinkets from the birds and beasts your help, this is the solo-rpg for you.

I try not to say "this is required reading" because that gets old really quick, but I genuinely think this is great advice that will help make you an absolute gem to work with. You'll get better layout, timelines, and collaboration by following this advice. Give it a read if you can.

I'm not quite back, but thinking about it! Slowly creaking my rusty hinges and shedding dust.

Some notes about how I write TTRPG adventures: My texts tend to be terse. A location described in two lines; a single spoken sentence to describe a character. The aim is *not* to be laconic, but to mirror the pace of natural dialogue; a TTRPG is a conversation between players, after all! 1/

I'm taking a break till January 5th! I won't be checking work social media, work email, or discord until then. See youse in the new year :)

Rian Johnson's latest Knives Out is by no means subtle but sometimes it is wonderful to be beaten in the face repeatedly with the narrative and its (barely) subtext. I enjoyed it, even though I personally feel like I am not *necessarily* the target audience 😉