Nerds&Games

[fatmagic]

[bruneburg]

beastly reminder

[bruneburg]

Almost. Years ago my computer suddenly stopped working and lost everything on it. Fortunately a relatively recent backup still existed bc of my family, a recent parts switch, and dumb luck. But last year a friend of mine got hacked and lost close to everything he had done creatively in the last 17-ish years. Art. Novels in progress. Entire conlangs. DnD character Sheets. Music he had made. All gone. He never backed any of it up. Few months later I started this habit (or ritual, almost) of drawing a reminder beast any time I would make a full complete backup. In hopes that seeing these things might remind others and myself. (Another factor here is that I am an animator and some of the stuff on my computer took literal years to make. And the film university I go to urges us to take this stuff seriously, too.)

[nerdycityinc]

We lost a lot of crucial edits to a bricked computer and a failed cloud save. Back up your files for real, friends.

[radracerlifted]

Retro Arcade

[cabbageheadgames]

Taiga's Eviction TTRPG Bundle

Taiga is a queer disabled creative and they are getting evicted at the end of August.

So to cover moving costs, several incredible ttrpg designers have contributed some awesome projects to a bundle that you can nab for just $12 to support their moving costs!

The bundle is running for the next full month and features 14 different ttrpg designers (including me!).

For just $12, you can get 30 games to play and share. :) You can also help by sharing this post around.

GET THE BUNDLE HERE.

[liminalmindcore]

[takataapui]

a game about transitions, journeys, and potential

Whakawhitinga is a worldbuilding game for 2-5 players, which uses the framework of an indigenous Te Ao Māori (Māori culture) creation history.

Players will create a new world over 5 rounds, through asking and answering questions.

Whakawhitinga is designed to be able to be played by those both familiar and unfamiliar with Māori culture, so give it a go even if it's all new to you!

The 36 pages of content include illustrations, a custom written karakia (plus an audio link), prompts for whakawhanaungatanga (connection building), guidance for playing the game, and the game content itself.

Gather some friends, and create a world using an indigenous lense -- starting from Te Kore, the void; moving to Te Pō, the eternal night; then finally, into Te Ao Marama, the world of light and life.

Grab your very own copy of whakawhitinga here, for only $5 USD:

whakawhitinga by takataapui

A Te Ao Māori informed world-building game through questions.

[prokopetz]

I find the "rules are toys" framing of tabletop RPG design useful for several reasons:

The idea that system matters is reducible to recognising that toys have affordances; while there is of course no "wrong" way to play with a toy, no amount of open-mindedness will readily fit a bicycle through a basketball hoop.

It puts a line under one of the main objections to the "why not just freeform it?" thing; if folks are discussing how to make or modify a toy to achieve a particular set of affordances, blundering into the conversation going "why bother with toys when you can Use Your Imagination?" is unlikely to be well received!

Sometimes it's helpful to take a step back from a critique of a particular system and ask yourself: is this set of game mechanics really broken or incomplete, or have I mistaken a bicycle for a basketball?

[prokopetz]

(I also find that this framing can be a useful way to think about player safety tools. I don't disagree that many games could stand to pay more attention to their players' emotional safety than they do, but I do disagree that the need for external safety tools is a failure mode. Some systems are skateboards; the changes that would be needed to entirely remove the risk of wiping out and cracking your head open on the pavement would also remove the affordances that render them fit for purpose. Sometimes you need to accept the risk and put on the damn helmet!)

[nerdycityinc]

This is both a helpful framing in general and also REALLY on the nose for a number of our games; everything in the Radical Shadows series (Commandroids, Holomatixx, yet to come Midkyria and Wasteoids) is based partly on toy lines. So we’ve tried to keep how people play with those toys, and their various special features, as part of the game system itself. Very cool to read.

[with-no-box]

Gallerie TTRPG: Queer Stories of Beauty, Horror, and Hope

A queer-focused TTRPG that employs art and dream elements to paint narratives about finding yourself and fighting your demons. Community, co

"A queer-focused TTRPG that employs art and dream elements to paint narratives about finding yourself and fighting your demons. Community, cooperation, rampant self-love, nightmarish enemies, and the beauty of embracing what you've been taught to ignore."

This is a project by a trans friend of mine that deserves so much attention and support! Please check out the page and send some donations her way if you can!

[by-ilmater]

YOU'RE A REGULAR WRITER! YOU CAN CRAFT A COMPLETE SENTENCE! YOU'RE A REGULAR WRITER! YOU USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF COMMAS! YOU'RE A REGULAR WRITER! YOUR PROSE IS GOOD AND RIGHT! YOU'RE A REGULAR WRITER! EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS YOUR VISION!

[glitzyglee]

ngl, Amazon announcing a live action Jem and the Holograms series right after announcing a bunch of generative ai projects leaves me quite wary...

[glitzyglee]

The ONLY ai I want in Jem and the Holograms is Synergy!

[ladytabletop]

Greetings! A monastery has been secluded from the outside world for over a century. Could you provide a d10 of what books the monks may have in their library? Thank you kindly.

A Treatise on Tinctures of Lemongrass

Lady Dechene's Book of Rhymes

Gospels and Hymns of Ancient Retigius for Daily Use

Wyndolynne's Dreams of Desire

Rescipes and Instruktions for Cooking Monastically

The Care and Keeping of Domestic Beasts

Alchemical Majicks for the Discerning Hermit

Sacred Stones: Do's and Don't's

The Titration and Filtration of Various Chemicals

The Complete Illustrated History of the World

all d10 lists

[solrin]

We tried to warn you about the "adult content" bans. Now Kickstarter is starting that shit

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

"It must have serious value!"

Staight up sounds like obscenity law/Miller Test-type crap.

[asaflowerblossoms]

"Fetishized imagery intended to arouse" well it's a good thing oppressed and vulnerable communities are never fetishized.

[solrin]

I know many of you have already liked and reblogged this post, but I'm going to attach a couple of links for resources on how to contact payment processors and whatnot. Hopefully they can get spread around a bit. It includes how to contact the payment processors, scripts, and various links to other (at the time ongoing, these websites haven't been updated in about 8 months and 1 year respectively) petitions and forms that might be useful to you.

Protect Queer Creators and Sex Workers - Tell Payment Processors to STOP

TELL VISA, MASTERCARD, STRIPE, and PayPal to STOP

I'd also like to ask people to be willing to bring this conversation into spaces where things like "politics" aren't welcome and more forcefully draw attention to the ever growing issue of censorship. Some of you may only have those communities to draw on but we've long since run out of peaceful/polite/non-disruptive options.

[nerdycityinc]

Already one of our games would no longer be crowdfundable under these rules, and they’re oh so likely to expand.

[389]

[fawnpalmer]

quarterly reminder that if i reblog something ai-generated it is 110% and always an accident and for the love of god please tell me so i can delete it from my blog

[probablybadrpgideas]

Think a nice thing about your GM.

It's quick, it's easy and it's free!

[indiepressrevolution]

Now at IPR: Extra Ordinary

Extra Ordinary gives us beat-up canvas backpacks and dirty, duct-taped sneakers, kids holding bloody hands grasped a little too tight, strange and dangerous powers, chasing dark forces, people who can't or just won't understand, and an endless journey on the side of a winding highway asking, "What do you do next?" Extra Ordinary is a roleplaying game where you play kids with extraordinary powers on the run from danger in the ordinary world. It is a game of Belonging Outside Belonging, a dice-less and GM-full game system that uses tokens and the players' imagination to create a narrative-focused and roleplay-heavy story. The game is built for 3-6 players and intended for longform play, but alternate rules for GM-ed or one-shot play are included in the book.

Inspired by Maximum Ride, Percy Jackson, and Animorphs, this game tackles themes of homelessness, child endangerment and abuse, bigotry, young kids with grand destinies, and what it means to be something other than ordinary—in more ways than one.

https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Extra-Ordinary-Print-PDF.html

[hollisbrownthornton]

VHS - permanent marker on paper, 8 x 10 inches, 2015