Idle Cartulary

  • 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

  • What’s with “mainly diy elfgames”?

    Y’all have probably heard people say “It’s just an elfgame, don’t take it so seriously” or some such sentiment. It’s always been a soft derogatory term, although some disagree. I think it’s soft derogatory because while elfgames are fun, they’re still, I think, important. At some point, I was chatting to Marcia B of Traverse… Continue reading

  • Bathtub Review: Wet Grandpa

    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. Wet Grandpa… Continue reading

  • Hiss: Play Report #1

    I wanted to playtest Hiss, the zine-length adventure I wrote as a palate cleanser after the huge effort that was writing Bridewell, and also as a way to reinforce some of the lessons learnt in Bridewell without putting so many of the restrictions I placed on myself in writing Bridewell. It’s a 36 page adventure,… Continue reading

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  • I Read Alien: The Roleplaying Game

    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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