Idle Cartulary

  • I Read Knave: Second Edition

    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: Paladin’s Grace

    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

  • Rules Sketch: Treasure

    I had quickly adapted treasure simply to Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, back before it had a fairly comprehensive monster and spell list. It was really a conversion table, keeping things simple: To convert a monster’s “treasure type”, instead assign the appropriate treasure type (with their rough equivalencies):• Leavings for monsters who simply leave a pile of… Continue reading

  • Bathtub Bonanza: Three Keeps on the Borderlands

    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

  • Dice Exploder Guest…me!

    Hey! Dice Exploder is a great podcast full of design interest and people being excited. It’s great stuff! I’m on there repping the DIY elf game scene this week! We talk about Lorn Song of the Bachelor, the Isle, Rumour Tables and random tables more generally! Check it out here! I can’t figure out how… Continue reading

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  • The Curse of Mizzling Grove

    My kickstarter for Zinequest: the Curse of Mizzling Grove is now live! Check it out here! I’m really proud of this one! I’m holding myself back a little compared to all my other projects, and so this is a constrained, 20 room dungeon and its immediate surrounds, laid out clearly with a one location per… Continue reading

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  • Designing an overworld-like megadungon

    I stalled on my in progress no pressure megadungeon project, partially because I’ve been busy, partially because I wrote my Megadungeon as an Overworld post and I want to try that out. I’ve been trying to figure out what a theme for a betwixt could be, and I’ve found a theme: “Theseus’ labyrinth crossed with… Continue reading

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  • Bathtub Review: Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier

    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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  • Diagetic advancement and inventory

    People really seem to have trouble with diagetic advancement in games like Cairn, which is really disappointing in many ways, because I prefer diagetic advancement to mechanical advancement almost universally. Like, it makes more sense, right? I was chatting with Sam on discord about something, honestly, completely different, and I came up with this approach… Continue reading

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  • I Read Mausritter

    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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