I, the jury, poisoned myself. I remember little of the 7th Sea 2E rules. But since I was told that the people pushing for 3E were fans of 1E that didn't like 2E, I came into reading 3E thinking it was unnecessary, and now find myself disliking it despite not knowing what's actually changed. Oops.

Time is running out before the heat death of our universe, and we don't know how to save ourselves, so we built a simulation in the hope that they'd discover a solution we could implement. But instead, time started running out before the heat death of their universe, so they built a simulation...

There's no salary listed, it doesn't offer health insurance, it's a six-month contract, and at 30 hours/wk, it requires enough time that holding another job would be difficult, but it seems to be remote and there are very few jobs in the TTRPG industry, so maybe the trade-offs are worth it for you.

Oh, right, my marketing plan was to share villain actions. I should, you know, do that. Here's the first villain action for the Hammer Master, a kobold with a comically large hammer. Get them and the rest of the backer kobolds in the Kobold Ancestry! pestopublications.itch.io/kobold-ances...

If you backed on Backerkit, the email with the new version appears not to have gone out. However, if you're logged in, you can download it here: kobold-ancestry.backerkit.com/backer/digit... If it asks you about a survey, ignore that; you already filled it out. Backerkit is weird.

In lieu of having a post-release marketing plan, I'm gonna just post the abilities from kobold leader stat blocks that made me giggle the most. Let's start with the Tool Shed Artificer's third villain action: pestopublications.itch.io/kobold-ances...

I tried two different ways to get Backerkit to send folks the updated file, and thus far it hasn't arrived, at least for the folks in by Discord. I'll reach out to @backerkit.com support now. Sorry, folks.

After months of hard work and many evenings giggling as I turned wacky kobold prompts into stat blocks, I'm thrilled to announce that version 1.0 is ready! If you got it on Itch, you can download the new version from the Itch page. If you got it on Backerkit, a download email should go out soon. 🧵

Aww, crap. It just occurred to me that — now that I no longer have a paid version of Acrobat — I don't know how to fiddle with PDFs. Bookmarks, alt text, machine reading, all that stuff I used to do in Acrobat. Anyone have any alternatives they can recommend? The base document is in Word 2019.

Dear Jira / Atlassian haters: It took me a long time to come around to your position, but with the rollout of their new AI tools, which can't be permanently turned off, I am fully in your corner. Time to see if I can block Rovo the way I have to block Gemini: Ublock Origin element picker.

I love all my backers equally, of course, but I love the backers that gave me silly prompts for their custom content the most.

If you don't occasionally read what you wrote and start giggling, what even is the point of TTRPG design? I'm getting the backer kobolds into layout, and I can't wait for people to read such abilities as Put a Brick on the Gas and Dive, Ponder the Magic Egg Ball, and Accept My Surrender… or Die!

Sue Perkins

Or you default to tests being hard and force the heroes to come up with really clever ideas or utilize their abilities, equipment, and allies to push tests down to medium (or to earn edges.) I'd rather everyone feel they can contribute, but make 'em work hard for their rolls, than limit skills.

I'm close to finishing the backer content for the Kobold Ancestry (it took longer than I anticipated, and I'm terrible about updates; for both of these, I apologize). There are 3 backers that never filled out their surveys and 2 that never paid their pledges. If that's you, check your inbox.

The only thing I don't like about original Blades (and the reason I gravitate towards Scum and Villainy or Court of Blades) is the setting. I'm super curious how much steampunk remains in this new setting, because if the answer is 'not much', this could be right up my alley.

"Happy birthday" to everyone that doesn't provide real information when signing up for stuff online.

MCDM makes enough money to pay: * Good salaries for 11 full time employees * $0.35/word for freelance writers, AFAIK the industry best * Good rates for freelance art, layout, editing, sensitivity, etc. * 5 contract testers + 1 contract community lead, monthly That seems pretty successful to me.

For best results, know what everyone else at the table's heroic resource triggers are, and what you have in your arsenal that feeds those triggers.

The second issue of Ratcatcher is on Backerkit now. Some cool ideas by some familiar names. Check it out!

Draw Steel is a gonzo game. Heroes are hardier, more mobile, and can yeet foes easier than in 5e. That informs what players look for in maps. Bare minimum, if you put an object on the map, it has to hurt when folks slam into it. But you should really go further. Lean into dynamic terrain objects.

Pizza Friends Carl Who the heck is Carl?

Chances are that if you're following me, you already know about my friend Sam's Draw Steel project, but if you don't, go check it out: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...

A thesaurus is an incredibly powerful tool in a designer's arsenal. Especially in places where the word count is extremely limited, such as ability names, the right word can transform something from functional to really cool. The time you spend searching for the right word almost always pays off.

Want.

The volume of an Ajax edition is approximately 1.62 Blåhaj³. I have no idea what you're going to do with that information, but another tester shared a photo with a Blåhaj for scale, so I did the math, and it felt wrong not to share.

This has been my position on Facebook since Cambridge Analytica. I've got a lot of practice.

✨1.7k Followers Art Raffle!✨ Thank you all for following, let’s do this again!! 💚 Rules: -Follow + Like + Repost -Comment your OC references -Tag your friends! (Optional) -No giveaway accounts Two random winners will receive one portrait in this style! Ends: December 28th !

📝 <incomprehensible excited kobold noises>

Hooked on Crafting, a Draw Steel supplement designed to make it easier for Directors to incorporate crafting into their games, is funding through Itch. It's already close to its goal! (Yours truly will be contributing a small part of it.) Check it out: thedicesociety.itch.io/hooked-on-cr...

Our crowdfunder for Boggits of Kingsmire: A Swampy Supplement for Draw Steel will soon end! Consider backing if you still haven't, and help us have the strongest possible finish and unlock some stretch goals! Spread the word and repost for visiblity! Thank you all! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...

This meeting could've been a Draw Steel montage.

Boy, I sure am glad I live in a society led by people that view art purely as a fungible commodity...

If you deliberately misspell a word you know a lot of people have muted so that you can get your hot take in front of those people, you are a bad person. It doesn't matter what the take is. You are saying your need to be heard is more important than the safeguards other people set for themselves.

ChatGPT can rip my em dashes from my cold dead hands

Fwogs! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...

MCDM just released the symbols they use in stat blocks under a free license. mcdm.gg/DrawSteel/Dr... If you've never worked with a CC-BY-SA license, check out the thread for some guidance.

Haven is 90% off on Steam. It's one of those games where - if you judge it by its individual components - nothing really stands out. 7/10 art. 7/10 gameplay. 8/10 writing. 9/10 soundtrack. Etcetera. And then you finish it and put it down and somehow it's one of the best games you've ever played.

So many people wouldn't have art for their projects if not for Dean's reasonably priced stock art and holiday free giveaways.

Whomever at @backerkit.com came up with overtime mode is a genius.

Scum and Villainy. Every time I've run it, it's just been the best, most chaotic time. (Note that I run FitD games without position and effect rules. YRMV.) Triangle Agency is rapidly reaching that point too, but it has a lot more acclaim.

Itch has finally paid me.

Kobold Ancestry mini-update: @jeffstevensgames.bsky.social just sent the cross-collab weapons to everyone that backed both campaigns (except for four folks whose payments failed.) Later this week, I'll send the PDF out to everyone that filled out their survey. If you haven't done so yet, please do!

Due to a typo during prep, the heroes will be journeying to the Kingdom of the Elvis.

One of my goals for 2026 is to build time into my schedule to read what other people are designing and shout out the stuff I find cool. Not just people that are already my friends, or clients, but everyone and anyone. I'd love to hear advice from people that are already making that effort.

24 Hours Remain www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...

@hellomcdm.bsky.social 's new TTRPG Draw Steel will be live on stage @paxaus.bsky.social in Naarm/Melbourne! Join us as @romanpenna.bsky.social Directs our Heroes through a (Panel length) adventure of the Fall of Black Bottom, live on stage for the first time this October in the Owlbear theatre!

For context, two decades ago Jimbo had the ability to override any decision the community made. He bungled that so often that the community stripped that away piece by piece and functionally shooed him off the project. It took years. Temu Elon Musk has very little power over Wikipedia anymore.

There are just three days left to back the Kobold Ancestry. Want a custom-made legendary treasure or stat block for Draw Steel? Those are available pledge tiers. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...