My hot take has always been that there’s no reason the “genre” can’t be “the natural world” and that a *well-written* Skill system is just finely sliced Moves. “When you try to open a lock without a key, roll lock picking. On a success, it opens, on a failure it does not.”

to my mind, the core of pbta is not "2d6+stat with mixed successes", it's the system of "when x trigger happens in the fiction, apply y specific mechanic". Codified, genre specific moves are its main innovation. If you think pbta is just 2d6+stat with varied levels of success, you missed the point

Me in my blue sky bubble.

Wait… here me out: Marat/Sade 2. (This is a joke only a certain kind of theatre nerd will get).

I’ll rant about games I don’t like in person for free but I charge by word online (see my Patreon).

The biggest problem with self-publishing is not being able to fire the one responsible for bad decisions.

James is my go-to guy when I want to play dark detective stuff. bloodthornradio.com/@PeopleIPlay...

youtu.be/ZMkSb0II3kU We got interviewed by the Round Table TTRPG Podcast! This was a great interview, and we got to talk a lot about game design as a skill with intent behind it, why Eureka is the way it is, challenge some deeply entrenched “wisdom” of TTRPGs in general, etc #ttrpg #indiettrpg #rpg

Every time I see someone saying they’re going to read The Name of the Rose after playing Pentiment…

Drop a film with a single word title. Franklyn

Do you like D&D but don't have the patience for recorded play? Do you still want the absolute joy of hearing other people having a good time? Try listening to Recaps and Revelries. It's a couple of friends of mine's fan show about their own D&D game. It's a delight. open.spotify.com/show/04mgpXe...

Night's Master by Tanith Lee.

12 Angry Men.

Work has been stressful, so it's been a slow year. But I think: Stars Without Number Among The Men In Dreaming Avalon Estimated Prophet

When you describe stream-of-consciousness journalgaming and bleed to someone at a zine/comics fest and they say, "Interesting. Thanks for being here," it means they think you're insane.

"...buts its the common point of reference." Ya, for gamers or people into fandom - sure...but for folks into mythology, fantasy literature, old pulp and paperbacks - it feels either condescending or like the reviewer needs to expand their horizons.

For the evening crowd.

Important RPGs shouldnt be hidden away - if there is something fucked, put a disclaimer on it and make it free for educational purposes. Hiding it away is cowardly. Own up to it, dont profit off it, use it to teach. TRPG shouldnt have to rely on piracy for preservation.

Today's episode is about the second arc of the Sorcerer game I featured in the prior season. Jeff's character kind of asked, "What if the Hulk was an eco-warrior?" bloodthornradio.com/@PeopleIPlay...

A Cure For Wellness. I took one look at the trailer and knew it was made for exactly one person: me. And I was right. I made a point of seeing it opening week because I knew it would bomb out fast.

Behind Andor, The Acolyte and The Last Jedi are the two best Star Wars pieces.

Picked up tickets to this at the end of the month. I usually ignore things like this because they give off P.T. Barnum vibes but it’s functionally just down the street, so I figured “eh, why not?” www.edgarallanpoebar.com

This reminds me of all the profiles that said something like “real men don’t have cats.” My cat was my wingman. Women came to see me, they stayed for the cat. 😆

Slightly diminish a book Fan of the Opera

Most of my games are either set in the real world or some approximate vibes based history of the real world. You want the lore? Look outside or visit your favorite wing of your local museum.

It’s three in the morning but I have designed a monster fighting RPG where the characters can not fight the monster.

Sometimes, I think my standards are too high for making "Top X" lists. You see, despite my rep as kind of a snob, I like quite a lot of things. That's actually one of the reasons I'm a snob, because I will find something to enjoy about nearly anything. I'm too easily pleased and I know it.

Post a character that starts with the letter R (first or last). Robert.

This was actually harder to do than I thought.

I am in a bizarre game of cat and mouse with Afters over a particular flavor of ice cream. Each time I have gone to order it, a new obstacle has been erected to block the process I used the time before. But each time, I have found a new way around these obstacle. I will not be denied my ice cream.

Transforming an underwhelming game into a great one takes insight and inspiration and human spirit. Turning a loved game into one hated by its former adherents can be done with a single spiritless change.

The Riddle of Steel's Sorcery rules are slept upon. Like, holy shit - what a sorcerer can do is terrifying. You can *see why* character's would be afraid or in awe of any whiff of magic. TRoS reaches *back to pre-fandom folklore and fantasy* for its vibe and setting in a way few games do.

Heading into a screening of Metropoli.

I always see those memes that are, like, What’s a film you’ve seen X times and X is always some high number like 6 or 10. And I’m like, “People watch movies that many times?!” Like my top favorite films top out at like 3 MAYBE 4 views. Anything I’ve seen more than that was against my will.

Video Game company focusEd on interactive dramatic narrative using emotion and goal driven NPCs that did NOT rely on LLM/neural net technology for “content”.

I'm kind of curious about this since 7th Guest always felt like someone wrote a story around a puzzle book they found in a thrift store.

Emotionally responsive dialogue trees in interactive fiction characters.

In this episode I talk to Kyle Wolfe about playing social manipulator characters. (Includes brief guest poetry performance by @bre-z.itch.io) bloodthornradio.com/@PeopleIPlay...

L&O has its own little sub-hobby of Actor Spotting embedded in it.

Damn, it's a tie. (Also, I'm a damaged human being).

That last one bothers me in particular. Like, what do you think, "Say what your prep demands" is referring to?

Some days I hate being an only child… and others I am grateful for it.

Poltergeist. The first one. When I was 5. In the theater.

Found a bar called “The Wicked Wolf” that doubles as a coffee and tea house during the day. They have a writers meetup on Saturday mornings too.

On the one hand, I’m glad the developers of Foundry VTT aren’t afraid of making breaking changes and deprecating things. On the other hand, if you’ve built anything custom it’s tough to keep up especially if it’s been a few versions.

What? What?!

I am making a real effort to get an open roleplaying night going at some public space. Its going to about playing games and discovery. Not self-promotion, playtesting or *scene building*. Most free venues have policies against doing any of that, which aligns with my personal ethics on this matter.

I finally got to play this. I enjoyed it! I'd like to play it again now that I have better handle on how it works.

The owners of my last company saw Tron: Legacy and Sucker Punch too close in time together and the resulting video game we made no one spoke of except in hushed whispers, eyes diverted in shame.