I've been talking about this with some people, and I really think this might happen, and I'm going to do my part as well to make it so. 2026 the year of anthologies and magazines and building communities through making things together. I'm starting early with eraserflag: ehronlime.itch.io/eraserflag

Stealing the Throne turns five next year, and it still pops up, which always makes my day. Big thanks here to @inkslinger1.bsky.social for shouting it out! Honestly, who wouldn’t want to steal a giant thousand-year-old robot?

It’s happening — Against Time and Death is making its way out into the world! Delighted to see photos as zines start arriving. How good is @spookshow71.bsky.social’s art?! 🔴🔵

Woohoo! Thanks @ickbat.bsky.social Looks marvellous! 🙂

Aaaand very nearly got seriously screwed by the tariff situation. Fortunately, I’ll only get mildly screwed instead. I did my due diligence, right up to sending test packages to the US. And still, despite no new tariff announcements, the ground shifted anyway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

#Dragonmeet2025! It’s happening! I’m special guest in the Black Armada Games stall today — come by, pick up some cool games, say hi to me, @beckyannison.bsky.social and @armadajosh.bsky.social!

Come and find Black Armada Games and special guest @ickbat.bsky.social at #Dragonmeet2025 tomorrow! Seen Quinns review of Lovecraftesque and want to see inside the guts of the boxed set... then swing by stall F1&2 and check it out. Huge thanks to @jogbrogzin.bsky.social for the beautiful mapwork.

Hey Against Time and Death backers, you might want to check your emails. The Time War has begun! And if you’re not a backer yet, there’s still time… against-time-and-death.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...

Hey Against Time and Death backers, you might want to check your emails. The Time War has begun! And if you’re not a backer yet, there’s still time… against-time-and-death.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...

Flashback to when that takeaway restaurant thought my name was Nike Bape. Fair play to them, from a certain angle that’s pretty much my accent.

Me! Black Armada Games! Dragonmeet! It’s happening!

youtu.be/yHpy7lBsBCk?... Video about solo journalling games that hit 96k views thanks to the whims of lord algorithm. Comments are great, people discovering then for the first time. @ickbat.bsky.social, you're on here.

Pale Dot arrived today and now gets to join my growing collection of physical ttrpg books I did art for.

Huh. It’s mid-October and I’ve read just six RPGs this year. All interesting designs, which is ace: 1. Gravity, Chris Longhurst 2. Last Train to Bremen, Caro Asercion 3. Autoloader, Calum Grace 4. Blades ‘68, Tim Denee 5. Ex Tenebris, Josh Fox 6. Wickies, Lari Assmuth What should I read next?

Mark 1xp if you successfully finished a race, or 2xp if it was epic.

You! 🫵 You want to play a gothic sci-fi investigation game, right? I mean, why wouldn’t you? Uncover conspiracies, fight demons, be space Mulder and space Scully… Back Ex Tenebris! Only 20 hours left! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

Hot damn, it’s good to be thinking about Forged in the Dark design again.

I’m a pretty earnest and enthusiastic guy, particularly in emails, and I’m starting to worry people will think my words were written by an AI.

Huge thanks to @ickbat.bsky.social for creating Against Time and Death. Currently somewhere around the middle of a multi-month game (admittedly, we're playing slowly) and having a delightful time with it.

It’s been a little while since I asked… Which Forged in the Dark game(s) are you most excited about right now? What’s your current state of the art?

Geez, Girl by Moonlight is good. But I feel like I don’t hear about it so much these days. Are people playing it?

Family, Speed Daemons playtesting is going so good. Mech racing, yo. Recommended.

Read this, #ttrpg folks!

Team, help me out by dreaming up cool conceptual opposites for Against Time and Death! I'm after paired concepts that define opposing factions in the Time War. Both should sound intriguing, and neither should be unambiguously bad. Bonus points if they're a lyrical rather than literal. 🔴 🔵

Can't overstate this! It feels wonderful to know that someone had a good time with your game. It's not just that they appreciate your work. Someone's day, maybe a day with their friends, got better because of something you put into the world. It's a special feeling.

It's real strange re-watching Babylon 5 at this moment in time.

Indie ttrpg folks, where did we come down on GPSR now that the dust has settled a bit? Any leads on good value EU Responsible Persons?

Today is my birthday! I treated myself to covid & flu vaccines this morning and now I'm doing high level edits on all the writing I've been doing all week. If you want to help me celebrate 46 years around the sun then please share the Ex Tenebris kickstarter!

Indie ttrpg folks, where did we come down on GPSR now that the dust has settled a bit? Any leads on good value EU Responsible Persons?

I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of this table for helping players in Against Time and Death decide when to set their scenes. It was fun figuring out what sorts of things define each of the six eras I chose. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ick...

It me… … in our current campaign of Ex Tenebris which you can hear on the Black Armada Tales actual play podcast!

It’s still happening. I still don’t know why.

Really wish I knew what was driving this extra traffic to Chiron's Doom over the last week! Most of the referrals are coming from YouTube... ickbat.itch.io/chirons-doom

And we are back at it! Team TBD are in the middle of a race against Fortuna. The team's Reliquary has just taken over control of the mech from the team's Daemontech - a smooth transfer from one speed daemon to the next - and we're ready for the second clash! It's good to be back...

Just 15 minutes from re-launching our latest Speed Daemons playtest and I am so ready.

NEW EPISODE: AGAINST TIME AND DEATH (@ickbat.bsky.social) Feat. MICHAEL TURRENTINE (World Gone Wrong podcast) You'll dig this episode if you like: This Is How You Lose The Time War, Doctor Who, Forbidden Relationships, witnessing someone falling in love with TTRPGs for the first time

Is somebody somewhere talking about Chiron’s Doom? There’s been a noticeable bump in sales over the last week or so and I don’t know why!

Playing tabletop roleplaying games with your friends is the best.

Folks! I haven’t had a chance to talk about Ex Tenebris yet! Short version: you should back it, like now. I’ve been playtesting, and this game is extremely good, yo. Gothic sci-fi is my jam, and @armadajosh.bsky.social made some really fabulous innovations on emergent mystery mechanics.

There's 24 hours left on early bird reward so I guess I should talk about that! We're creating a gorgeous foiled slipcase, designed by @ndpdesign.com, containing the core rulebook, campaign book, and a beautiful illustrated map by @jogbrogzin.bsky.social www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla... 1/

I am beyond excited to announce that Yoon Ha Lee is going to be writing for Ex Tenebris! Ninefox Gambit, and the Machineries of Empire novels, were an inspiration for Ex Tenebris. We've loved Yoon's books for a long time so it's a treat to work with him. www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

I do not play 40k. I *particularly* do not play competitive 40k. But sometimes I read 40k articles for the juicy names, like fascinating context-free pick lists. I mean, look at this: Lions of the Emperor, Awakened Dynasty, Final Day, Grand Coven, Wrath of the Rock, Infernal Lance, Solar Spearhead…

I feel like every newsletter should have a small-print section that explains who the heck the newsletter is from, and maybe how I ended up subscribed to it. I get so many newsletters, and half the time I have no idea who the sender is or what they make. RPG? Comic? Novel? Who can say!

Fucken generative AI.

Ex Tenebris is coming to kickstarter in September - check out our actual play to get a taste of the action or sign up to be notified on launch! Preferably both though ;) #ttrpg #kickstarter #spacehorror

I am playing in my third game of Ex Tenebris now, and it is officially an extremely good time. Gothic space mysteries are the best mysteries! Go sign up for the forthcoming Kickstarter now…

Getting spicy about miniatures games over here.

As something of a Fantastic Four fan (as much as I really can be, given my conflicted relationship with superhero comics), I just want to say that I am here for Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards.

I was going to post about some terribly written rules text, but the example I was going to use is a single run-on sentence with more than 300 characters. 😐

I have a (slightly spicy) draft blog post entitled ‘Nick’s Blades in the Dark Best Practices’, and number one is ‘Players, you need to learn some rules’. (The quoted post is about Seven-Part Pact, but still!)