Idle Cartulary

  • Bathtub Review: Seven Stars of the Unseen

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique 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. Seven Stars of the… Continue reading

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  • I Read Beecher’s Bibles

    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

  • Writing Dungeons Without Dice

    I have two processes for dungeons: In one, I draw a map, then figure out what’s in it. In the other, I figure out what’s in it, and draw the dungeon to match those ideas. The second is really hard, because I usually only have one or two ideas for a full dungeon level. So,… Continue reading

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  • Fleeing the Dungeon

    When I’m running a draft dungeon, I love giving the player characters a fairly sure escape option if they encounter something that they’re not prepared for. This is how I do it. The players characters entered through the eastern door in room 6, and find the secret door to room 7. Oh no! An ogre!… Continue reading

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  • Bathtub Review: Knowing Revenge of the Grasping Gods

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique 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. Knowing Revenge of the… Continue reading

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  • Dungeons, Regularly

    I just released the second issue of my (potentially) regular zine full of dungeon maps. Dungeons, Regularly #2 contains thirteen maps (mainly dungeons) for you to key yourself and use for personal or commercial use. If you pay a little extra, you get two pages of things to put in those dungeons, if you need… Continue reading

  • Bathtub Review Double Feature: Reign of Guano and the Skeleton Closet

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module design. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited harsh critiques. I’m writing them on my phone in the bath. I normally don’t… Continue reading

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  • Intro to Game Design Carnival

    Over on the Dice Exploder discord, someone was asking about the canon of Game Design, and we all agreed it was pretty fruitless an exercise. So, Sam D suggested we do it personally as a personal canon is more meaningful, I suggested a Blog Carnival, and I proceeded to forget about it until Sam posted… Continue reading

  • Bathtub Review: The Incandescent Grottoes

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

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  • Bathtub Review: Mystery on Big Rock Candy Mountain

    Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique 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. Mystery on Big Rock… Continue reading

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