*~* ~*~*

ttrpgs, solo rpg play, and other nerdy things (she/her, over 21)

[teaboot]

Layering my Short Skirt, Long Jacket (CAKE) over my White Tee (CORPSE) and Blue Jeans (Lana Del Ray) Knee Socks (Arctic Monkeys) and Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis) and then putting on my Raspberry Beret (Prince) before I head out to the Bard Olympics where I am disqualified for performance-enhancing power buffs. On my way home I am cast as a sassy but cute side character in an early 2010's Disney Channel original series. I look fresh as hell

[vintagerpg]

Vaesen is a game about investigating the living folklore in Northern Europe. It’s a horror game, but also a mystery game with a…conservationist’s bent? Not only do trolls and faeries and such exist, but they are a necessary part of the topography (physical and emotional, really), and the increasing encroachment of humans into the wild places during the industrial era causes concerns for all creatures, mundane and fantastic. Puzzling out a new borderland for coexistence is often the theme of the game.

I feel like there are two other places where there exist similar tensions between the mythical landscape and the mundane one. This is a sourcebook for one of them: Mythic Britain & Ireland (2022). And it’s written by Graeme Davis, who was instrumental in early Warhammer fantasy and writer of one of my favorite Fighting Fantasy books, Midnight Rogue. In his introduction, he writes how he had always wanted to pen a book like this that married British folklore and gaming; his reverence for his subject matter shines through.

Britain, littered with neolithic site and haunted by fae folk, is such a good fit for this treatment. The first 40 pages is a general sourcebook, listing real world places and pairing them with their most interesting folkloric elements, always with an eye toward the tension between the conqueror (the English) and the (sort of) conquered (the Scots, Welsh and Irish). Elegant and thought-provoking, I could read another 200 pages of this. Davis then presents us with the Society, which is dedicated to investigating supernatural manifestations in the UK. Following this is a long section of new monsters (Black dogs! The Nuckelavee! Knockers! Pooka!). 

The book wraps up with three scenarios. The first is a delicious bit of folk horror that sees the obvious awakening of an unnatural force (a powerful hag) that becomes more dangerous because the people who could stop it initially muck about trying to find reasonable explanations for what’s going on. The second is a reverse, where a local vicar causes problems by trying to purge the mine of its knockers. The final scenario brings the action to the extremely mundane city of London and an artist’s colony with an extraordinary leader.

It’s a fantastic expansion for the game and ripe with possibility.   

Now do Malaysia.

[dicenerd69]

i want it i want it i want it

[zangoonse]

a party of adventurers that are all equally convinced that they are in completely different forms of media

[zangoonse]

the mage keeps giving smug glances in the direction they assume a camera is in. the fighter keeps getting indignant about missing attacks because of "bad dice rolls." the rogue is doubtful that a villain is gone for good because "nobody ever stays dead in comics." the paladin attributes fortune to "good rng." none of them have even considered that "tumblr post" was an option

[prokopetz]

Predictions for Dungeons & Dragons under Hasbro's management in the coming years:

Uma Musume style horsegirls introduced to the Forgotten Realms; setting's lore revised so that they've always been there.

Advancement rules now stipulate per-session XP bonus based on lifetime D&D Beyond purchase history.

Compendium of exclusive feat trees for specific gender and sexual identities. Bisexuality receives no feats of its own, being mechanically implemented as "half gay"; the resulting synergies are disgusting.

Editorial error in revised Dungeon Master's Guide accidentally refers to Dungeon Masters as Hasbro's employees.

"Noble savage" coding of barbarian class walked back, refocused on European folkloric touchstones such as the Ulster Cycle; all barbarian characters become Irish stereotypes.

AI-based DM service trained exclusively on work of Ed Greenwood launched; withdrawn a week later citing "guiderail issues".

Expanded discussion of navigating player expectations frames "not showing up at all" as a valid playstyle.

Dragon-blooded sorcerer subclass revised to state that one of the character's ancestors was "very good friends" with a dragon.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Making a Noir Detective in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

You may have already seen it but we are starting to try to make some videos to help on-board people who might be intimidated by the Eureka rulebook. These videos won't be a replacement for the Eureka rulebook, you still really really need to read at least certain sections of that, but they should be helpful primers for getting started.

Here’s the first one, where I walk step-by-step through the character creation process. It’s a little rough around the edges but hey, we’ve never done this before and this was basically the trial run. Expect more like this in the coming weeks and months.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

[monstersovka]

✷ 🐚 ➰

[targetedknowledge]

[modlich-303]

[zephyrbug]

Eldritch siren 🫧🩻👁️

I wanted to do a little something for mermay with a little monster design! She’s lightly inspired by my OC Ekānta and a very old mermaid piece I did in 2019! All around was a fun idea to revisit!

Back to regular scheduled art pile to share, then it’s artfight prep time!

[banchie]

i've been phasing the phrase 'google it' out of my vocabulary and going back to 'look it up'. fuck you youve lost your generic trademark privileges

[anim-ttrpgs]

you must read the rulebook

[j-richmond]

It is ASTOUNDING to me how often this is the answer to any RPG rules question. For any game. It makes me feel like I'm in customer service again. "Did you read the rulebook?" No. of course not.

[zinesbycee]

(nods sagely) (nods basily) (nods rosemarily) (nods saltly) (nods star anisely)

[ghirahimbo]

"Idiots," I say, referring to the characters I have spent hundreds of my real life hours contemplating.

[dicenerd69]

been keeping session logs of my solo dnd playthrough and for about half a second I contemplated posting them somewhere and then remembered that I am the most verbose person ever and have spent 6 hours and written 11.5k words about playing through literally just the first 4 pages of the adventure (haven't even made it through the first combat area yet) and had to come to terms with the fact that absolutely nobody ever is reading all that

[mzmzmzmz-deactivated20260529]

[local-lesbian-tree-demon]

they should invent a body that feels normal to be inside of

[thecollectibles]

Layered cliffs under clear sky by qing ying