Idle Cartulary

  • Chekhov’s Toolbox: Complexity and intratextuality

    The projects I write tend to spiral out of control. Whenever I find a glimmer that gets me excited, I add in a note that says something to the effect of: Who else in the world cares about this? It looks like this. I’m writing about a small frontier city, and there’s a town square.… Continue reading

  • The Three C’s of Challenges

    In a recent Dungeon Regular episode, Hirward’s Task, I found a neat framework for challenge design that I’ve never seen before. This post will be an exploration of whether or not it has legs. Basically, and perhaps unintentionally, this module had three clear, built in solutions to its primary challenge, and they were clearly geared… Continue reading

  • I Read Daisy Chainsaw

    I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually a lot, so I don’t take these very seriously. But I can talk about its choices… Continue reading

  • Appendix Nova: The Blacktongue Thief

    Appendix Nova is me, reviewing stuff that isn’t games. I just thought it might be fun. But, I as with everything I do, I always use these things to give me game ideas, and so I’ll loop it back around to that eventually. So honestly, this is a little bit just me taking notes, so… Continue reading

  • Bathtub Review: Largshire

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module design. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited critiques. I’m writing them on my phone in the bath.… Continue reading

  • Omens

    I am inspired by this post. A 2d6 table, wordpress just won’t let me start at 2. Best used in a game with a world that acts independently of the players. Omens directly affect the world for 1d6 + 1 days. The omen applies whether or not you detect it. Any chance who is superstitious… Continue reading

  • I Read Armour Astir: Advent

    I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually a lot, so I don’t take these very seriously. But I can talk about its choices… Continue reading

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  • Problem Stacking

    I saw a TikTok (which thereafter disappeared into the algorithm) that talked about problem stacking in story writing and I was like This Needs To Be Said about module writing and home brewing adventure scenarios: Don’t give the player characters one problem. Give them many possible problems. We do this in a bunch of ways:… Continue reading

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  • Bathtub Review: Beyond Corny Groń

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module design. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited critiques. I’m writing them on my phone in the bath.… Continue reading

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  • I Read Mountain Home

    I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually a lot, so I don’t take these very seriously. But I can talk about its choices… Continue reading

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