Idle Cartulary

  • I Read Heart

    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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  • Bathtub Review: The Rumbling Forest

    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. The Rumbling Forest is… Continue reading

  • Trick Monsters

    This post is cool, and communicates three principles: This is fun and cool. Think about video game bosses. Pikmin 4 does this well. You could build this into anything: The Wizards of Millinery wear pointed hats from which they gain their powers. They are stunned for a moment when they are knocked off, and cannot… Continue reading

  • Torches and Escaping the Dungeon

    Ok, I’m iterating on my supply chip idea for the megadungeon I’m planning on running. Currently I’m thinking I’ll run this in Cairn, mainly because people understand Cairn and it’s easy to onboard people, and it has a hazard dice. But this got me thinking to how I could reproduce the risk/reward loop of traditional… Continue reading

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  • I Read Fantastic Medieval Campaigns

    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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  • Bathtub Review: Fangwitch’s Falls

    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. Fangwitch’s Falls… Continue reading

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  • Moralising and manipulation in tabletop roleplaying games

    Edit: This post was nominated for a Bloggie Award! Thank you for all your support everyone! My hill to die on this week, is just we need to stop moralising the type of games people play. This overly long post is a summary of the ideas I’ve spoken of the last day or so on… Continue reading

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  • New Release: Hiss!

    Today I hit “publish” on the small module I’ve been playtesting the last few weeks, Hiss! Hiss is a horror module featuring a doomed village for your diy elfgame. It’s short, dense and flexible, and features simmering tensions that could explode over a short two or three sessions, or could become a mysterious feature of… Continue reading

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  • Bathtub Review: In Carmine

    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. In Carmine… Continue reading

  • Hiss: Play Report #2

    Hiss is the zine-length adventure I wrote as a palate cleanser after finishing my gothic horror sandbox Bridewell. It’s a 30 page adventure, inspired by one of my favourite classic modules, Against the Cult of the Reptile God. Previous Play Report here. Ferdrek and Ursaline, played by Sandro of Fail Forward and Marcia of Traverse Fantasy, had made… Continue reading

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