“Shores of Stonebeck” was probably twice as big as we should be doing for a biweekly adventure. “Dance of Death” made Stonebeck look like a throw-away scenario by comparison. “Valley of Wolves” might literally kill me. 💀

A framework we've been developing for writing and thinking about adventures as exercises in making playable fictional worlds.

Three things you should never do unless you’ve decided you’re OK with being the reason a person dies: 1. Point a gun at them 2. Call the police on them (yes, even a wellness check) 3. Get them fired from their job (if they’re a USian who depends on that job for things like health care)

similarly, ChatGPT was not born of some grand conspiracy to destroy the labor power of the tech worker it was a tech demo that took off by accident, fruits of a paper written by researchers at Google five years earlier the modern world is too complex to be designed by conspirators

Outraged by the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell family or friends. The one person he told was a ProPublica reporter. (Published Jan. 2025)

When I was a kid, I almost drowned. Didn’t splash, didn’t cry for help, didn’t make a sound. I couldn’t; it was like my body just shut down. If my mom’s friend hadn’t recognized the signs of drowning (as described in this article) I’d have died that day. Read this article! It could save a life!

“The Dance of Death” is an urban pointcrawl in a plagued city ready to be dropped into any TTRPG system featuring rules for medieval physicians and shaping public opinion. #SelfPromoSaturday www.patreon.com/posts/dance-...

but if all the buses are going in the opposite direction to where you want to be, staying at home is the best option. i don't think this bus metaphor works all too well

If you’re looking for what to run this weekend, “Dance of Death” is ready to drop into just about any TTRPG ruleset at any level. Epic tier D&D, level 1 Pathfinder, bespoke PbtA game, ShadowDark, you name it.

The analysts show how the social posts were quickly gaining traction among white supremacists, who were encouraging each other to sign up as immigration agents. interc.pt/43sPxTK

A friend did the maths on this and noted that in the last 5 years there has been one hostile news article for every ten trans people in the population total.

skill issue. just do the worldbuilding/research and then not put it into the story this is not a joke. thinking out the implications but not explicitly enumerating them allows meaningful consistency without bogging your story down

What if your design environment was the actual product? Real components. Real APIs. Real constraints. No translation layer, no handoff, no “it looked better in Figma.” Twenty Automattic designers tried it. Some of them never looked back. automattic.design/2026/05/21/w...

one of my favorite facts about the US coal industry is that it employs less people than Broadway

If you have been on the fence/not able to get Zephyr yet, this is gonna be a great chance to do so at a discount, and it helps me push the game and get the word out about it :) I really wanna be able to continue making new books for Zephyr so boosts are appreciated <3

The major water basins on the North American continent. Turtle Island’s original organization and structure.

Want to take a tour of Rekken? We'll enter into Norkust, and you choose which district we'll visit next. Each time we enter a new district, I'll roll on the sights, sounds, smells, and encounters table to find out what you run into there. www.patreon.com/posts/dance-...

I've been reading through a near-complete version our next #TTRPG book, GOLD TEETH, and while I am not exactly a neutral commentator I can say that @marshdavies.bsky.social is now operating on another level. Do not miss. You can still secure a late pledge copy: www.kickstarter.com/projects/149...

In an overgrown world, the PCs are wardens of the Aegis, a massive tree that staves off the ferocious beasts that rule Earth. Can they ensure its legacy in a world that has left humanity behind? Find out in Seeds of Hope! Store: undergroundoracle.co... Dthru: www.drivethrurpg.com... #ttrpg

2016 web developer worries: "man, divs really are hard to center!" 2026 web developer worries: "there are 639 compromised npm package versions in tonight’s Mini Shai-Hulud wave"

tbh I’m pretty chuffed that we made RPG mechanics for shifting the Overton window

In the past hour this has escalated from random skeet to concept sketch to being on the release calendar. I’m pretty confident we’ll have our first modern-day adventure all about organizing a union in your workplace on June 30.

We bought a few assets for Stonebeck, but Dance is all public domain art, GIMP, Inkscape, @watabou.bsky.social ‘s medieval city generator, and some good layout (if I say so myself).

Do you make games? Do you study or teach games? Do you create videos or blog about games? -- What theories or ideas help make good games? -- Share your opinion in our 10min online survey w @dooleymurphy.bsky.social & @florencesn.bsky.social res58.itu.dk/limesurvey/I...

Trump can create a $1.7B "anti-weaponization” fund to reward Jan. 6 insurrectionists & white supremacists with your tax dollars but Congress won't pass H.R. 40 to even study reparations. This corrupt government doesn't value Black life the way it values white rage. www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...

Public opinion will shape the fate of Rekken for better or worse. Will hate-mongers or corrupt fools sway the public to the ruin of all, or will you be able to convince the people that the only livable future lies in solidarity and mutual aid? In "Dance of Death," you'll have to play to find out.

The FCC wants a giant "OFF" switch for queer characters on TV. Here's how to tell them that's a terrible idea: glaad.org/FCC

In "The Dance of Death," you’ll risk your life to enter a city under quarantine as a deadly disease rages to face environmental injustice and ignorant mobs and ultimately decide if you will restore the land or leave the city to its fate.

Some of the best games I’ve ever played were the direct result of resisting the urge to fudge the dice and follow where the roll was leading me. It seemed like it was “ruining the story” in the moment, but every time it was actually opening the door to a whole different story no one had expected.

I’m really proud of this one. We’re soft launching Ruins & Revolutions with these adventures, and making some really solid adventures while we’re at it.

Soon, well-groomed greens might be just an unseemly token of an outdated and out-of-touch American dream...

Making one of these for my people

If you’re voting today in PA state house district 45, here’s a real good reason not to vote for Pat Catena.

“I can point out that it's dehumanizing or illogical, and it doesn’t matter because it was never referencing anything real in the first place. It’s just a thing you can say to feel superior because it’s the thing that people say to feel superior.” www.patreon.com/posts/158542...

I wrote something in 2 days of processing this experience. I hope it’s useful for folks and I hope we can keep talking more about it: reverierebels.com/talking-abou...

I’m constantly awestruck by what we do when we play RPGs, as an absolute radical but extremely accessible act of shared creation, which cannot exist without the group playing. (Which also accounts for some reticence I feel around solo play. Don’t hate it at all. But it’s not ‘the thing’ for me?)

I might need to make a playlist for this adventure. youtu.be/ceO0NLdkq-U?...

Eat their pizza. And then organize and form a union anyway. 🍕✊ #UnionStrong #WorkersRights #PizzaPartyDay

Two centuries ago, Stonebeck’s prosperity was founded on murder, theft, and lies. Now something has awoken and the scions of those founding families are dying. A haunted mystery ready to drop into almost any fantasy TTTRPG campaign at any level. #selfpromosaturday www.patreon.com/posts/157272...

I’m afraid that too many people don’t understand just how terrible the Biden pandemic response was—and how it contributed to Trump’s return. I also fear that given how much this administration has dismantled public health, the appetite for looking back and identifying points of failure is low.

💛🔥 Save Our Thought Punks Mutual Aid Bundle 🔥💛 Grab this mutual aid bundle for just $10 and get 58 wonderful games from equally wonderful indie game designers - all proceeds go towards our beloved @thoughtpunks.com to help with medical costs and counselling school ✨💖 itch.io/b/3673/save-...

A hint for our next adventure, coming out on Tuesday. youtu.be/mr1CM_yw68c?...

in a way, isn’t causing men to crash out before she’s even done anything just proof that Lupita is perfect for Helen of Troy

If you’ve got a game coming up this weekend and you’re not sure what to run, here’s an idea.

> Two out of three chief executives are buying a tool they cannot evaluate, cutting staff on capability claims they cannot verify and calling the result a strategy. On a conference stage, this is called vision. On a balance sheet, it is called an unfunded liability. www.forbes.com/councils/for...

I've made this argument repeatedly, but I felt the need to try and make it definitively this time. Yes, universal basic income should be universal by even including billionaires like Elon. Here are all the reasons why universality is superior to means testing.

In 2024 piles of rocks were spread out on sites around Pittsburgh that were used for tent encampments. Curious about who was responsible for the displacement tactic, and how officials were talking about such efforts, Jordana Rosenfeld put in a public records request to the city and county.

Let slip the dogs of war, et cetera The public playtest of This Means War is ready for you to download and play #GMless arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/51...

New update, new Stretch Goal! We’re still in denial of how well the campaign is going and we still can’t believe wtf is happening 😂 but thank you all so much for the support, reskeets, etc. Amazing, crazy, this community is why we can do these crazy projects!