Hi Friends! #GroundhogPlay is a new access-focussed ttRPG playtest convention at @plutoq.bsky.social Glasgow, organized by @thirdvaultyarns.com and @floaker.bsky.social. Run your in-dev game, get feedback, learn lessons, and try again. There will also be a creator peer support space. #TTRPGintro

Cannot overemphasise how little I will be buying any fridge like this

1 hour left if anyone missed the memo before

Another great session of Circus Tenebris, or Ex Tent as some wag called it on our discord. Was v interesting to sit on the player side of the Spawned From The Tenebrium system - it is giving me ideas!

New episode of Black Armada Tales is out! In Ex Tenebris, we play a ragtag team of investigators, protecting the Republic of Stars from terrifying supernatural threats. We have stumbled on a horrifying cult and hopefully we are about to break the case wide open. #actualplay #realplay #ttrpg

Don't miss the Tentacles 7 bundle. Your chance to get Lovecraftesque and Cthulhu Dark in the deal ends November 13th.

Reminder this is coming in one week's time - pop on over and set up a reminder, it'll only be open for a fortnight.

Just 48 hours left on the Bundle Of Tentacles, now - get rather a lot of eldritch TTRPG stuff for rather a little of money. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...

two days left to buy the @bundleofholding.com BUNDLE OF TENTACLES 7, which has amazing stuff by @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social, @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social, @ravengodgames.bsky.social, @armadajosh.bsky.social & @beckyannison.bsky.social, Mind's Vision, and Late Gaming Company. a bargain at $25.04!

Just did our first couple of in character scenes of Carnival Tenebris! Overbearing military, worried villagers and a murder, it's busy already. I hope we still get to do our show!

Lovecraftesque 2e is in the current Bundle of Tentacles 7! We are in amazing company with @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social' guide to cults and the book that inspired Lovecraftesque... Stealing Cthuhlu by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social. Total bargain for those books alone #ttrpg #cosmichorror #lovecraft

Just a reminder that, on @bundleofholding.com , you can get Stealing Cthulhu, Fairyland and Cthulhu Dark by me, plus Lovecraftesque by @armadajosh.bsky.social and other brilliant stuff. You should do that now. It is the sensible thing to do. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...

ICYMI, Lovecraftesque is in the Bundle Of Holding! You can get the PDF version of the game, along with Cthulhu Dark, Stealing Cthulhu and lots more, currently for $25.05. This uncanny extension to spooky season lasts until 12 November so grab it while you can. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...

In other discount shopping news, we're taking part in Backerkit's holiday market. It's a chance to grab bundles of our existing products at a discount. Sign up on our launch page to be reminded when the offer goes live! www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Dragonmeet game bookings are open! There's a session of Ex Tenebris available - only one slot left though, so if you fancy giving it a whirl, get your booking in now. (Look for the game title "Too Greedily And Too Deep".) www.tickettailor.com/checkout/vie...

Dragonmeet game bookings are open! There's a session of Ex Tenebris available - only one slot left though, so if you fancy giving it a whirl, get your booking in now. (Look for the game title "Too Greedily And Too Deep".) www.tickettailor.com/checkout/vie...

In other discount shopping news, we're taking part in Backerkit's holiday market. It's a chance to grab bundles of our existing products at a discount. Sign up on our launch page to be reminded when the offer goes live! www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

ICYMI, Lovecraftesque is in the Bundle Of Holding! You can get the PDF version of the game, along with Cthulhu Dark, Stealing Cthulhu and lots more, currently for $25.05. This uncanny extension to spooky season lasts until 12 November so grab it while you can. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...

Seasonal Bundle of Holding! Lots of horror stuff! In terms of stuff I know and dig Stealing Cthulhu, Lovecraftesque and Cthulhu Dark. All enabling a bunch of smart ways to make it work now.

the Far Horizons Guide to Cults is part of the @bundleofholding.com BUNDLE OF TENTACLES 7! find us in the basic tier, where for $6.95 you can get the (excellent) FHC GUIDE TO CULTS, @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social's (really cool) STEALING CTHULHU, and @ravengodgames.bsky.social's (OSR) ELDRITCH TALES.

Breaking dinosaur news from me!

Stealing Cthulhu and Cthulhu Dark are must-haves for anyone running Lovecraftian horror, and Lovecraftesque is a GM-less gem for collaborating on cosmic horror narratives.

Heresy at the zoo! Though AFAIK Sanguinius never tried to seize the throne.

I'm in a Bundle of Holding! You can get Stealing Cthulhu, Cthulhu Dark and Fairyland by @sdorward.bsky.social here, along with Lovecraftesque by @armadajosh.bsky.social and other stuff. Please repost this and appease the nameless gods. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...

Lovecraftesque with Marn was my first episode, and it fully sold me on the power of this show Party of One makes good on the potential of one-shot games, showing you a brand-new world in a couple of hours, inviting you to explore a concentrated dose of incredible RPG play

Did you know that Happy Jacks does not accept ad money or sponsorships of any kind? Happy Jacks is completely sustained by our Patreon supporters! Find out more below! #ttrpg #ActualPlay www.patreon.com/happ...#ttrpg#ActualPlay

Go give Gaz some good suggestions, SF TTRPG fans.

Earlier this week I (finally) posted my first Designer Diary for Carnival Tenebris on Patreon (and for the higher-tier patrons I slammed up all my current rough working drafts) Since writing the entry the Untitled Circus Game at least has a title now :) #ttrpg #gamedesign

I'm not sure it's common knowledge but there are literally thousands and thousands of people employed in India working 9-5 to train LLMs to be "smart" and "safe". Tech bros laud it as a technological achievement but it's the same old story - just another way of hiding the real labor of people.

I covered this in one of my blogs. There is no one definitive answer. It varies depending on the game. But broadly: start with some kind of overview. Dive into what's novel/important. Follow with functional underpinnings and supplementary info. silverbranch.co.uk/2025/03/stru...

🔥

Good morning! Let me (and indeed the entire internet) know what you like in a TTRPG book structure-wise, in this handy poll.

I give you The Humble Tape Measure, which is apparently ‘a small case from which an extendable measuring tape can be deployed by hand.’

There are many ways to structure a TTRPG book with pros and cons. Put character creation first: engaging for players but lacks context. Setting first: immersive but delays the "how do you play" bit. Rules first: dry but helps you understand the rest. TIME FOR A VOTE! Like the reply you prefer. ⤵️

I'm interested in Ex Tenebris. It's a TTRPG by Black Armada, and they made the excellent Lovecraftesque and Bite Marks. It's like Warhammer 40k and the inquisitors of Dark Heresy, in terms of the appeal, and that sounds delightful. Would love a new take on it! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

There’s only a few hours left on this investigative science fiction game set on the bones of old empires. It felt like what I wanted Dark Heresy to be, with tricky moral choices, strange horrors, weird locations and a nice camaraderie between under-resourced protagonists.

I love the idea of the Menace Track which @armadajosh.bsky.social talks about in this blog post. I can see lots of potential for this kind of device in games blackarmada.com/events-bring...

Last four hours, if gothic space investigative horror is up your street, take a look!

Last chance to jump in on this Kickstarter! Want to try before you buy? Well, we've got a punchy AP with the creators all ready for you - check it out! youtu.be/aHiHuFXNFqg?...

8 hours left... then I sleep.

If you have enjoyed this lecture in statistical mathematics, please check out the full paper, in which I explore probability curves by designing a gothic space investigation game. www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

Yasssssss!!! 🤘

Good morning! I have had a couple of people tell me Ex Ten shouldn't use 2d10 because it breaks the PBTA probability curve. They could not be more wrong and I am going explain why, because it's the end of my campaign and I need something to keep me sane, ok? Strap in. ⤵️

Final 24 hours (ish!) for Ex Tenebris 😱 Help us finish strong! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

And yet people have strong opinions about both dice, and car colour. The issue is people care about die for the *wrong reasons*. No-one is developing a probability heuristic based on the dice system (which is what designers are doing). They just like certain clicky-clacks. Red car go fast.

By the way, my real hot take is, die choice doesn't really matter. It's a tiny, unimportant part of game design that gets massively overfocused on. Calling a game "2d6 based" or whatever is like saying a car is "red paint job based".

Good morning! I have had a couple of people tell me Ex Ten shouldn't use 2d10 because it breaks the PBTA probability curve. They could not be more wrong and I am going explain why, because it's the end of my campaign and I need something to keep me sane, ok? Strap in. ⤵️

Final 24 hours (ish!) for Ex Tenebris 😱 Help us finish strong! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

There's 48 hours (ish) left on the Ex Tenebris Kickstarter - if you're on the fence and have questions, now's the time to ask them! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

If the latest run of Black Armada Tales is anything to go by, then Ex Tenebris is gonna be lit! Do yourself a favour and check it out!