#(really other ttrpgs but that’s my tag)

[operationslipperypuppet]

Can you tell us about the deal your character made with a god, the tags made me curious

Hell yes, but fair warning, this might end up being a long explanation. (This is referring to my tags on this post.)

I promise that most of these details i mention will be important.

To start, I’m playing a game of Blades in the Dark in a slight riff on the town that the game is originally set in, which my group determined in a game of The Quiet Year. During that set up game, we established a character who would try to solve the root of supernatural problems in the city but never quite be successful, and the NPC name generator we used spat out the name “Tip Footman, PI”. When we did character creation for blades, i was a bit stuck, and the GM and other players encouraged me to just play Tip, who’s still a bit of a joke, given his playbook (Quotidian, for which the explanation is “just some guy”.) Tip has two failed marriages and has been a PhD candidate for 17 years, and is attempting to finish a dissertation that maybe just has some formatting issues.

Thus a bit of a meme of me playing Tip at any possibility began.

We flash forward a year or so. We decide to play a game of Fiasco as a one shot, still set in Eelmouth, our beautiful haunted town, a decade or so before the events of A Quiet Year. Fiasco starts with dice rolled and pulling certain dice to determine your character’s relationship with the characters next to you at the table. One of the players next to me got our relationship to be “an informant and an investigator”. Tip is an investigator. I was encouraged to continue playing Tip, and I accepted. The other player next to me and I got our relationship determined to be “twins”. Her character and the one i wasn’t connected to were “a vampire and their thrall”. (This is, unfortunately, important.) The last relationship, between the informant and my sister’s thrall was something like “cult leader and follower”.

The way Fiasco works, as my limited memory recalls it, is that on each of your turns you pull a die and either call for a scene between two characters or start a scene with someone. The color of the die determines whether or not the scene will have a good ending.

Throughout the game, some things become interesting. There are some other mysteries that come up. The cult leader/thrall decided to attempt to create a new god. He failed this task in a way where he was able to create a god, just not the one he wanted. This new god, was the god of failure (someone who existed in the anthology of gods in our blades game already).

The information that Tip received from Nell, his informant, was that the cult leader intended to do a ritual with Mags to unthrall her. Something that could kill her, his beloved twin, who he had already lost when she got turned. He couldn’t have that. But he did try to convince Nell to leave the cult.

So then it’s my turn. And I deliberately pick a die that gives me a poor outcome. And i ask for a scene with this god of failure (who is played by the same player who is playing my sister).

The deal Tip makes is simple. This is a new god, he has no followers. And power comes from followers. So Tip will be his most devoted acolyte. In return for the unthralling failing, he will become the poster child for this god. The person who will, at any turn, fail. This is a man who was newly engaged. Who was starting a program and young with his whole life ahead of him. And he was willing to fail at everything, for however long this god saw fit. As long as the other ritual was also a failure.

And it was. So Tip is, forever, marked by failure. Retroactively justifying a lot of the events of A Quiet Year and our Blades game. He’s trying to get out. He has to believe he will get out one day. And he kept his deal a secret. For decades.

The end of the game went poorly for all of the PCs. The cult guy died. Nell is unable to do her art anymore (it was an art cult). And Mags left town, and is hiding forever in a church, afraid of hurting people once more.

And the best part? We didn’t mean for this game to be canon when we started playing it. And it’s fundamental to how the story works now.

#sorry this required a decent amount of context #but thanks for asking! I’m real proud of this moment it was fun and took everyone by surprise #asks #anon #Alli plays dnd #(really other ttrpgs but that’s my tag)

[deermouth]

***THIS IS A POST ABOUT MY PERSONAL TASTES, NOT ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF CERTAIN CREATIVE OUTPUTS/FORMS/ACTIVITIES/COLLABORATIONS***

Ok. Once again. Pretty much every time I see a cool ttrpg concept I'm like, damn I wish someone developed this into a novel so I could meaningfully engage with it.!

#i honestly don't know the real number but it FEELS LIKE a solid 90% of my friends both irl and online are ttrpg people #and that's great! #but i simply cannot. not just d&d i know there are many other types #i don't like improv or math i don't like many rules. frankly i don't like GAMIFYING narratives i just want to read them or write them mysel #or prose rp them #yeah i make this post every few months or so after 1am sorry #it just kinda sucks to be this type of gay nerd and also ummm not really able to engage with any of this w/o earthshattering anxiety! #i will play scrabble with you or backgammon or standard 52 deck card games. i don't really enjoy most other games! lol #i'm sure you have a game in mind that defies everything i've said here btw but probably it will just give me a panic attack so Don't pls<3 #oh i did 3 more whole posts in the tag really. hi. #txt

[danielnelsen]

am i losing my mind or does the dragon age rpg core rulebook not have DRAGONS in it????

#the dragons section has dragonling; drake; high dragon; wyvern #............where are the DRAGONS. this is DRAGON age. there are DRAGONS right????????? #dragon age #dragon age rpg #dragon age ttrpg #da rpg #da ttrpg #idk what my tag for this game should be? da rpg i guess? maybe darpg? probably the former #darpg #personal #guys i am getting through this book omg it's 441 pages long i am Struggling #not in a bad way it's just a Lot #my goal is pulling out the info that i really care about which is mostly spells (and other abilities) and creature info #so im deep in the chapter detailing the stats of every creature #AND THEY DONT HAVE D R A G O N S #i need a break rn but counting the pages i seem to be about 2/3 through the adversaries section now that ive finished dragons #so that's a relief. it's interesting but just a lot of info #im putting it all in a fun spreadsheet. im sure someone's done that before but i Must Do It Myself yknow #then i can compare to other games (ALL other games) to make a proper reference for all the creatures and the magic system and.. etc #it's fun it's my jam but sometimes it's a bit overwhelming lmao

[crunchycrystals]

should i turn my dnd tag into a general ttrpg tag

#crunchyposts #dnd #like i dont play any other systems aside from 5e but i really wanna try other ones so maybe one day ill need to change it????? #rn i dont post a lot about any other systems so idk if its super necessary but it feels weird tagging everything as dnd #like the way you play. vampire masquerade idk but its different from playing dnd theyre not the same thing #i dont feel good calling them the same thing since dnd is kind of all people think about when they think of ttrpgs in a similar style #like story in your mind with polyhedral dice #but other systems deserve to be recognized and not just thought of in relation to dnd #thats my thoughts on it but again. i only play 5e lol #would love to play kids on bikes with my group though

[moinsbienquekaworu]

I spent most of my day with friends and now I wish I could put all my friends in the same room and have y'all meet, but that wouldn't work because with the exception of M the rest's english is - well they're french. So that would be funny but also I'm not playing interpreter you know. Also the plane tickets would be something. But I want to have everyone in a room, mattresses on the floor, food and drink and nothing specific to do except hang out :((

#i'm not gonna give names but i want to give some kind of way of knowing who's who #there's my best friend since the first day of highschool K who's getting better at english. but not enough for long conversations #my closest friend M who likes ttrpgs and is really cool and speaks english and also might be seeing this #(if you are hello i love you) #and one of k's friends L who's younger than us a very good artist and a whole vibe #and then the Beloved Mutuals luc and tomas who obviously have other things to do than learn english #but in my head it would be fun putting all of you in a room. that would be neat #THAN LEARN FRENCH I CAN'T SPEAK. WORDS HARD. #wow i have a ramble tag now

[stormtide-leviathan]

My TTRPG characters sorted by how much of a freak they are (relative to the standards of their peers).

Morgan Bailey

Reave

Eel

Isha

Maw

Red

Najeela

Moirara

Vessel? (not sure yet, still getting a feel for her)

My TTRPG characters sorted by how much of a freak they are (relative to the standards of the real world)

Eel

Reave

Maw

Najeela

Isha

Red

Moirara

Vessel

Morgan Bailey

#morgan is so interesting for this #because it's for a system called never going home where magic is very recent #and in the one shot we played it was new as of YESTERDAY #so literally no one knew about it being A Thing #and morgan quickly starts hearing Demonic Whispers and learns he can burn people with his mind and Freaks Everyone Out #when everyone else around you is a normal human That Is Weird #there is ZERO frame of reference for morgan other than myth and that fucked up monster we encountered #but the thing is ALL my characters have magic or an equivalent #so 'normal human with fire magic' #really doesn't stand up against 'glowing transparent cultist woman with lightning powers' or 'tentacle demon who hates you' #or even 'dwarven cleric ex-warlord who is being reincarnated to repent' or 'wizard who embodies the soul of a city' #ttrpg tag

[elecman108]

I got my motivation to draw back!! So I drew something cute!! ...Err, I mean Blaze hallucinating dead people and demon alter-egos whom he kind of turned into a patron of sorts despite his patron being said dead circus stuck in his head?

Complicated shit, my guy. He’s cute so therefore it’s cute logic in full force rn.

Nice! You clicked on the cut! Here’s the alternate version without it being haunted.

Still effectively is the same thing, just no face lol.

I think any Genasi with element-based hair (eg. Blaze’s fire hair, Tempest’s fog hair) would be affected by their environment/mood. Like Blaze here I picture as having just come out of the shower/bath, so his fire hair is down to embers. Tempest, however...

...It’s a barbarian rage thing, I think. His parents are an Air Genasi and Fire Genasi, and his older sister was a Fire Genasi, so when she died and became his ‘patron’ of sorts, he can get Pissed and look like a Fire Genasi to some degree. Or at least that’s the logic.

What’s with me and fucked up characters? Blaze is haunted by ghosts, Tempest’s got PTSD, Axel’s traumatized with so many mental health conditions... lmao? I guess? I like depth and this is how I made depth with three of my favourites.

#the disappointment speaks #drawings by me #OCs #D&D #screams in no motivation station yo. #fun fact! Its story time in the tags btw so buckle up fucker!! #I lost motivation bc I'd draw for myself for the most part but share with my good friends right? #so I would draw something and share it with them #periodically I'd get a ''wow cool'' or a reaction on a thing I posted. but for like five-plus months I posted and got NOTHING #so midway through February I gave up on drawing all together #yeah my work has me currently on 9 days this week soon to be 10 or 12 but yknow I have ways to keep myself sane (I hope) #but I just completely lost motivation!! #my new coworker thought it was cool I did digital art which was nice but other than that I got dick-ass-all #so the other day out of nowhere one friend wanted a ref for a ttrpg character I finished in early Jan #I reluctantly dug up my inspo files and sketched up some basic shit for her to send back #and while sending it back I remarked I hadnt drawn anything in over a month and sent a quick half-doodle from feb 14th #it was tempest using blaze as a bludgeoning weapon. it wasnt good. it wasnt anything to write home about. it was my last attempt at drawing #but one other friend commented after I shared that that they burst out laughing and really liked it??? #and the two of my friends were commenting that I was v good at drawing and they liked the funny???? #and idk feeling validated for what you do as a hobby or job really helps to boost morale. as a healthcare worker I knew that #so I got my motivation (mojo? austin powers lol) back and made this yesterday to de-stress after having a slight breakdown at work #so <3 to my friends who like my art! you really keep me going at times and validate what is a fruitless endeavour and hobby #I do it 99% of the time just for myself so its nice to know other people enjoy my doodles now and again <3 #I post them on tumblr and twitter for my friends beyond my discord groups tho #and for you fuckers who wanna see my dumb drawings I guess? anyhow-- #the tags have gone on long enough I cut them off here lol. #enjoy me ranting in the tags about motivation and shit. I will never do commissions either so fuck y'all <3 #genuinely dont want to monetize my love for doodling dumb shit. that's all. no one's asked but I wont offer it ever.

[necromosss]

Just curious of OC artists motivations!

#OC #original character #poll #questions

[prokopetz]

Hi, Mr Prokopetz, I'm a big fan. Apologies if you've answered this before, but I was wondering what software you use to create the pdf and epub layouts of your ttrpgs, and whether you'd recommend it to a hobbyist who wants to try putting together something more professional than a gdoc for their own ttrpg?

My workflow is unfortunately not terribly accessible unless you have a fair amount of technical know-how.

In brief, I write all of my games in Notepad++ as HTML documents, taking care to use only the subset of HTML5 tags which are supported by most popular EPUB readers. I then use Calibre (or, more, precisely, the command-line utility that comes with Calibre, though you can get mostly the same results via the GUI) to bundle the HTML document as an EPUB3 file. I typically distribute both the HTML and EPUB versions (the former in a zipfile with all of the fonts and images and such) because web browsers tend to have much better screen-reader support than EPUB apps do.

The PDF, meanwhile, is generated from the same master HTML document using CSS paged media extensions – the layout is all generated automatically based on rules specified in a big, gnarly CSS file, and is never touched by human hands. There are a number of software packages which can do this sort of CSS-driven HTML-to-PDF conversion, some of them free or open source; I use a commercial product called Prince because, to the best of my knowledge, it's the only such software which has out-of-the-box support for PDF/UA semantic tagging (i.e., the stuff you need to do in order to make your PDFs screen-reader friendly), but you have more options if you're willing to tag your PDFs manually. (I am not.)

As for whether I'd recommend doing it this way? Like I said, unless you're a proper gearhead, not really; it's super efficient once you get it all set up – the only version of the game I actually maintain is the master HTML document, and generating updated versions of all the other formats is a one-click affair – but it's really only feasible for me because I already knew how to all that workflow automation stuff for unrelated reasons. I can't imagine teaching yourself all that from scratch just to write elfgames!

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #game design #computers #technology

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you have any recommendations for games in the western genre? Or western fantasy/sci-fi? Absolutely can’t get enough of the combination of cowboys and six shooters, steampunk, and magic fantasy. I’m considering writing my own setting for DnD5E that combines these elements.

Theme: Fantastic Westerns

Friend, I think I've collected a real tight bunch of winners here, so I'm confident you'll find something that really scratches that itch you've got!

Wicked West, by Finch Edmund.

Wicked West is a PbtA game by Finch Edmund (they/them) about paranormal cowboys. It combines classic monsters with the backdrop of the old west and is meant to be played with at least two players with one player taking the role of Game Master. Wicked West is made to tell stories similar to the westerns of the 1940s-1960s about small towns and the struggles of life with a horror twist.

If you like combining monsters with your westerns, this is the game for you. It looks like you combine a couple of different options to make your character playbook, which is something I’m personally pretty jazzed about when it comes to creating characters. One interesting thing about Wicked West is the relationship your cowboy has with their horse: a vampire might feed off of their steed, while a witch can cast spells on their horse to run faster. If you don't mind a bit of a horror flavor to your Western, this might be the game for you.

Wizards of the Wild West, by ckellyrpg.

Wizards of the Wild West is an action-oriented TTRPG that combines fantasy magic with classic Wild West themes. It is powered by the LUMEN system, and takes heavy inspiration from looter-shooter games such as Destiny.

LUMEN is still a game that I’m excited to try out, so seeing it tagged onto a western game about wizards made me take a second look. This is a game for a raucous good time; you’ll be pulling off sweet character combos, with easy-to-understand breakdowns of each character class. Right now the game is still in development, but it’s still considered playable, so if you get it now it might have more content for you down the road!

We Deal in Lead, by Odin’s Beard.

You look to those closest to you, fellow gunslingers of the Order of the King. The arduous trek across the bleached desert is over and now you stand before a slip door. Though tested, the fellowship of your Order stands true.

You grasp the worn sandalwood grip of your artefact gun and twist open the door. You gasp as the sharp sea air hits your lungs. Gulls caw and the foam sprays your face like a baptism. You step through to another reality.

After all, there are other worlds than these.

We Deal In Lead comes highly recommended to me by folks who like the OSR scene. It’s based off of Cairn, a well-beloved fantasy system, and if you got the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida bundle, you already have a copy!

The setting is meant to be somewhat post-apocalyptic, but the barriers between your world and others are thin, causing threats (and allies) from other dimension to have a chance to enter your world. The game focuses on combat, exploration and survival, and it’s almost completely compatible with anything released for Cairn.

If you like what you see so far with this game, you might also want to check out Omega City, a weird west city setting, still in ashcan form.

Vampire Cowboys, by Maddy Searle.

You are a gang of outlaws in the Wild West. You have a lot to contend with: enemy gangs, law enforcement, wild animals, and… did I mention? You’re also vampires. You must figure out how to survive in this harsh land, where “justice” is often swift and violent. Will you blend in with the crowd, and hide your vampiric side in an attempt to live as a gun-toting cowboy? Or will you give in to your monstrous urges and use your supernatural powers, making yourself known as a vampire? It’s entirely up to you. 

This game premise is simple and easy to describe: you are vampires who are also cowboys. You live in a world where everything wants you dead, and you’re constantly fighting the parts of you that make you monstrous. The mechanics are very familiar if you’ve every come across a Lasers & Feelings game: a couple pages to read and you’re off to the races, ready to play.

Reboot Hill, by Groovy Dad Games.

REBOOT HILL is a sci-fi Western TTRPG set in the "Future West" of the far flung Hill-Ceballos System. When a war back on Earth results in a cyber-attack that frees all of the bots in the Hill-Ceballos, things go bad for the humans right quick. In the aftermath, bots have got to rely on their shooting irons and their processors to make their way in this new, post-human frontier. 

REBOOT HILL is a card-driven tabletop role-playing game in which players portray "Aces"--bots with advanced AI that find themselves on the right or wrong side of the law. 

Finally, a space western! Here’s a card-based game with a plethora of character options, including mechanical upgrades, as well as weapons and vehicles. You’re mainly going to be bounty hunters, chasing after varmints and villains so that you can scrape together a living. If you want a game whose game mechanics make you feel liked you’re sitting at a poker table, you should check out Reboot Hill.

Clink, by Technical Grimoire.

Clink is a tabletop RPG about drifters, the creeds that bring them together, and the history that drives them apart. This game uses coins to tell a story inspired by spaghetti westerns, ronin tales, and shows like Firefly or Supernatural.

Characters begin as rough sketches of the shifty sort you’d see in an old Western or Noir film. They all start as blank slates, their histories unknown. Tell stories about their past and create your character as you play.

I’m a big fan of Technical Grimoire, especially their expertly-designed Troika setting, Bones Deep. Clink isn’t Troika - it uses coins as a storytelling mechanic - but it’s very setting-flexible, as seen in the variety of the starting scenarios provided.

The game is also non-linear: throughout play your characters will experience flashbacks, which will help flesh out who they are as you play, and tell us something about who they used to be. You’ll start the game with two coins, which you can spend to gain a flashback, but you can also flip them to try and succeed at various tasks. As you play, you’ll also gain coins using a mechanic called a Trigger - bad habits that get them into trouble.

If you want a fresh set of rules to play around with in a flexible setting that stays true to the woes of outlaws and other Western tropes, I heavily recommend Clink.

Boondock Cartomancy, by Hookline & Sinker.

The consequences of westward expansion rear their head. Desolate, inhospitable, and unpredictable - the Outbacks are a ravaged desert, a wild tundra, an ancient tomb. Host to a plethora of unknown variables and formed from the corpses of failure, it’s a hotbed for the lawless, the corrupt, and the lost. Conditions for growing a corporate empire couldn’t be more ideal.

BOONDOCK CARTOMANCY is a tabletop roleplaying game about personal growth in a cruel and inhospitable wasteland, backlit with Western cowboys wielding powerful and unpredictable magic. It’s a game about reflecting upon the world and systems of exploitation we live in, and using ancient spells to blow up a caravan of criminals in a climactic shootout. It’s a game about interfacing with the human condition, and feeling cool as shit while doing it.

This game looks so cool! You are brokers, going on dangerous jobs in a hostile frontier, giving your characters objectives to complete while also exploring the way colonialism forces so many folks to act as simply cogs in a larger, uncaring machine. The game also gives you a fantasy to explore, by granting your characters card-based magic skills, and replacing their hit points with a luck meter. The game itself also has a really clever layout, presenting itself like an old-fashioned newspaper, with pieces of advertisements sprinkled throughout to give you bits of lore about the world. All in all, definitely worth checking out.

Former Rec Posts to Check Out

Rootin’, Tootin’ and Shootin.

Space Westerns.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #western games

[rotten-pup]

18 + Only, minors will be blocked, you are not welcome here

☆About Me☆

You can call me Rot. I'm 21, he/they, transmasc and this is my horny blog! This will be my general horny content blog where I'll post/reblog the stuff I like however I will separate some of my interests and kinks onto other blogs. I am pre-t and pre-op. Generally just queer but I like people of any gender however I do lean more t4t

My asks are open for anything! Send me stuff!!

My dms are openish. At this time I'm not looking to sext and heavily flirt. I'm going through a lot and will be slow to respond most times. I really only have the brainpower to hold conversations about my special interests or if someone infodumps to me and I get to ask questions.

I'm comfortable with most masculine or feminine terms when referring to the parts of my body, I don't usually have a preference. I'll update this when I find something I don't like! I should probably add on that I'm a switch/vers in theory, mostly a sub/bottom in practice as I'm not confident enough to fully dom/top quite yet.

(rest of this post is a work in progress, bear with me please)

Without any further ado; list of content/kinks I like that you may find here(list incomplete):

Absolutely Yes: Petplay, Degradation, Praise (giving) Bondage, Impact play, Breeding, Somno, Edging, Overstim, Oviposition, Humiliation, Primal Play, Intox, Light CNC, Mommy kink??

Sometimes/Maybe: Choking (receiving), Praise (receiving)

Hard Limits: Scat, Death/Slob Feedism, Inflation, Raceplay, Feet

Kinks that will be mostly likely on a separate blog that I still like: Hypno, Knife play, Heavy CNC

Outside of all that, I'm going to list my sideblogs and tags down below and any other information I see fit so this intro isn't too long! (ps: if you know me from my previously deleted blog, feel free to say hi, I'd love to talk to y'all again, I was going through a really rough patch and honestly I'm so sorry I just disappeared)

My tags:

- rotposts: original content

- rotbarks: answering asks

- rotspeaks: non horny, rambles, or unrelated content

My sideblogs:

- @barkandbarkandbark : vent blog, rambles, literally anything just me talking to the digital void

Just a little more about me:

- @boymommy-brainrot : Mommy kink blog, a mostly gentle softer vibe, pics of me will also be on here

*Mommy is mostly a title, I like taking care of people and being gentle with them and just making them happy through acts of service. My kink is in no way an incest thing and as much I may use certain terms/words it is also not a ddlg thing either

Major theatre nerd, musicals, plays, plays with music, don't matter I love them all! I've acted in a few local shows, I've ran lights, I've staged managed, done a few other things. I'm really into dungeons and dragons and other ttrpgs and board games, and card games like magic the gathering. I love to draw and I love my silly little ocs I've made. If you upload your ocs or your fursona on your blog, there's a chance I might draw them, I like making art for others when I have the time.

Uhhhh, idk what else. I'm currently playing palword, this war of mine, overcooked 2, lethal company, escape the backrooms. However I do have many other games and if you ever wanted to play, just dm me, I'm down to find sometimes as long as we've talked a bit first and we vibe! I have major brainrot for Dead by Daylight right now so so badly

Oh yeah I fucking love robots I absolutely love robots and puppets I'm surprised I'm not like into fnaf more but man I just want to scream they're so cool.

I'll probably think of some other things to put here idk lol

#rotposts #rotbarks #rotspeaks

[thydungeongal]

Hi there, I got started with ttrpgs after dnd 5e came out so I don't have any personal experience or strong opinions about 4e. Would you be willing to share some of the things that were different in that version that you enjoyed?

So okay with the caveat that there isn't a single edition of D&D I don't enjoy to some extent, this isn't really a "list of reasons why D&D 4e is objectively better than any edition of D&D ever," but more like "list of features of D&D 4e where I feel it distinguishes itself from other editions":

As much as D&D has always been a combat-focused game, where characters usually have to at some point rely on violence, D&D 4e is the one edition where combat has felt the most tactically engaging and where there are sometimes genuinely tough tactical decisions to be made. Part of the beauty of D&D 4e's combat is down to a very simple fact: combat isn't quite as swingy as in other editions, where a couple of lucky rounds can either make or break the combat in the characters' favor. If you lose in D&D 4e it's usually not the result of a single bad turn, but multiple turns' worth of bad decision-making and bad luck. There's nearly always a way for players to turn around a combat that's going badly. While I also enjoy the extremely lethal and swingy editions of old on the macro level, combat in them isn't as tactically satisfying as in 4e to me (but on the flipside, combat being very quick and dirty is definitely a benefit of those systems).

I genuinely feel that it does class balance better than any other edition of D&D. Class balance has always been tough in D&D: you've either had artificial balancing like "start Magic-Users weak and have them advance slower, but once they survive to higher levels they become extremely strong," or just poorly thought out "I guess one of the Druid's class features is having an extra character that's a bear and almost as strong as a Fighter, and the Druid can summon more bears while turned into a bear." That isn't to say that it's perfect: some classes had their growing pains (Warlocks weren't great to begin with, Avengers were good but not great) and some classes did outshine others (I'm not sure if this was ever the consensus, but I always got the vibe from discussions that Fighters were probably the best Defender), but it was very hard to build a character who could overwhelm an entire party or play rocket tag while everyone else was still playing D&D.

Many of the additions and changes to the lore and cosmology of D&D were welcome to me. I liked reframing the cosmic conflict as gods vs elemental primordials, as it felt like a return to the Law vs Chaos conflict of old. I liked the idea of devils as corrupted angels, punished for deicide, which also made them a great mirror to demons that in 4e were technically corrupted elementals! It basically turned the Blood War into a dark reflection of the ongoing conflict between order and chaos (as represented by the gods and the primordials)

The Warlord is such an amazing class. It is genuinely my favorite thing to come out of 4e, and the fact that it was never brought into 5e is actually the worst thing the designers of 5e ever did, even though they explicitly promised the return of every class that had ever been featured in the first PHB of the game.

Of all the WotC D&Ds it had the simplest and most intuitive action economy. Standard, Move, Minor. You get one of each. Standard action can be traded in for a Move or Minor action. Move action can be turned in for a Minor action. It's hilarious to me how simple it is and how 5e in trying to simplify it further by making movement something you have every turn by default and making bonus actions a separate thing ended up making the action economy more complex with its various if: then statements about when you're allowed to use a specific bonus action and how sometimes a bonus action you've used can limit the actions you can take.

#thydungeongal answers

[temporalhiccup]

If you've been meaning to buy an indie TTRPG on itchio, today's the day! Creator Days come up every so often and are a great way to give creators just that little extra boost in sales. On top of buying a game (or in lieu of it because finances are tight!), here are some more ways you can support indie ttrpg creators on itch:

⭐ Leave a 5 star rating! Ratings help dramatically increase a game's visibility on itchio. And believe me, we need all the help we can get in that department. 📝 Leave a comment! This is such a great pick me up for a creator, but it also helps folks checking out the game.

🗣️ Talk about the game! Word of mouth is incredibly effective, folks are more likely to check a game out if someone they know and trust talks it up. So get on discord, bring it up at the next game night, talk about it on dying social media platforms, etc.

🎲 Play the game! Talk to the creator about it! I promise this will do so much to help a designer keep going. Designing ttrpgs can happen in this weird lonely bubble, and knowing someone played a game you made is one of the best gifts of confidence.

🖥️ If you record or stream playing the game, share the link with the creator! Itchio lets us drop in a video link and this can really help snazzy up a game page and show actual play!

These are just some ideas that have helped folks like myself. If you have any other ideas please drop them in the comments, reblogs, and tags!

If you want to check out my games may I suggest the cozy creepy game of ghosts in Our Haunt, the supernatural cyberpunk game based on Filipino folklore in BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home, or the game I made when I listened to Florence + The Machine on repeat for several days while depressed, Heaven is Here (If You Want It).

#indie ttrpgs #support indie creators #ttrpg

[utilitycaster]

To expand that point about queerphobia (also, to an extent, gender equality) from the tags on someone else's post and sort of tying it back to my post yesterday about wanting to see characters work through similar experiences: I think it makes a lot of sense in the case of Exandria and Hale to build a world that does not have queerphobia and to allow people to choose to insert it if that is something their table wishes to explore. It's very much a case of wanting to build a diverse but non-utopian world that is welcoming to a wide variety of players.

I think it's a very understandable urge to want to see characters deal with the same challenges we face, and I think there are TTRPG settings that have done a good job depicting homophobia or transphobia; it's present though not common in Fantasy High, and The Unsleeping City is very close to the modern-day real world and has, well, period-typical attitudes.

The reason I get frustrated when it comes up in discussion of Exandria, and now Hale is that it's almost always used for one of two reasons: explaining why people (either specifically or generally) don't like a character; or even more frequently, explaining hesitancy between two characters in a ship. It's a convenient way to say "this person is oppressed or afraid for reasons that are objectively in no way their fault and which make the people who dislike them objectively bigoted and wrong". The problem is, while that's a valid story to tell it's often really not the story the cast is telling with these characters. Even more frustratingly, it often is used to steamroll other stories that may place those characters in just as innocent a position.

Some good examples in which this has happened in the fandom are Jester and Dorian. Jester lives on the Menagerie Coast, which is referred to a pretty wide variety of materials as being a place that is especially trans friendly (in a world where trans and nb characters already frequently occupy prominent positions and are not depicted as experiencing pushback). Her mother, a courtesan, indicates that she takes clients of varying genders. The biggest influences on her life are her mother and an otherworldly fey entity who famously can shapeshift. There is absolutely no canonical evidence that Jester would be unaware of the broad range of genders and sexualities in the world nor that she would feel obligated to embrace one that she is not; in fact there is quite strong evidence to the contrary. But if you claim that she's experiencing compulsive heterosexuality, it excuses you from having to consider that Jester is genuinely not interested in Beau, or at the very least is genuinely interested in Fjord.

Similarly, it was, at least prior to the reveals of early Campaign 3, common to headcanon that Dorian had run away from his parents because he was trans and they were transphobic. A trans reading of Dorian is still obviously entirely valid, but he left because his parents were suffocating and overbearing and often pit him against his brother. Dorian is still absolutely the victim in this! It's a valuable thing to relate to for people who have experienced parental abuse and impossible expectations. But it does still force you to think about Dorian's parents as complex people who came to this conclusion of childrearing (even if they are still in the wrong) and not just mindless bigots to be disregarded. And I think the former is nearly always a better story than the latter.

What also frustrates me is that this rarely works through the ramifications. The systemic queerphobia that would be required to put compulsory heterosexuality in place still exists once someone overcomes that and comes out; but that never comes into play when people are talking about the ship, because it's only ever used to explain why the ship hasn't happened yet, never as a significant part of the world that would affect the characters throughout their entire lives.

These are only two examples; there are countless others, some particularly egregious (*cough* Essek comes from a society that explicitly believes in reincarnation across bodies of varying genders and the queen for eternal life is in a lesbian relationship, I promise you his fraught relationships with his parents are way more complicated than simple homophobia or transphobia) but all of which seek to incorporate bigotry not as the destructive and deadly phenomenon it is, to be explored in the safe space of fiction, but as an incredibly lazy shortcut to be discarded as a continuity error once it's served its purpose.

#cr tag #cr discourse #i am going to be for obvious reasons VERY judicious with the block button on this one.

[canonkiller]

the essentials

✨ fresh art only tag

Canon

25

he/they 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

♿ quite disabled in the vision and mobility sense (sorry, I can't do alt text properly most days)

main blog is / interacts from @androdragynous

Drawing mostly: my characters and friend's characters (the bulk of it), ttrpg, anthro/furry, dragons, fan art of 19th century fairy tale King Lindworm. Not really currently "in" any fandoms, but everything's tagged.

SFW; Occasional jokes or artistic nudity are tagged

Asks, replies, comments + tag comments all welcome! I love seeing reactions :3

All of my info (including commissions, bases and designs I sell, 18+ account info, and other sites I'm at) is always available on my website, canonkiller dot com !

Tag Directory:

#my art - new art posts

#not art - my text posts

#not (my) art - reblogs of other people's art

#self reblog - look at my posts boy

#victory lap - look at my posts boy, personal favs edition

#my ocs - my own characters (also tagged with their names)

#my art #about #wanted a new pinned and got bored before writing everything in but this is better i think #also unintentionally wrote the header really pretty? whats up with that

[misslazarus]

TANGLED BLESSINGS GAME JAM

Solo TTRPG posting again for my fellow solo game enjoyers/the solo game curious!

I’ve posted before about Tangled Blessings by @cassimothwin , a project I was so thrilled to back and play (and find in the wild a couple of times 👀). It’s a really engaging solo/duet rpg about being a student at a spooky magical school, and facing off against your rival. Also very cool to know, Tangled Blessings is a hack of the iconic game Anamnesis by @goblinmixtape (a game I mean to post about here one day if I feel I actually have anything interesting to add other than “I love it” lol).

In extremely cool news for amateur/fledgling game writers and those who never find time to participate in NaNoWriMo [meeee], Cassi Mothwin opened up a Tangled Blessings game jam on itch.io !! The game jam is for expansions to /projects inspired by Tangled Blessings. The jam is running until February 29th (leap day swag btw). I think this is such a cool idea to explore a really fun game, and I’m planning on submitting something! If you want to participate and don’t already own it, Cassi has a free preview to get you started!

DISCLAIMER: I am not posting this in any capacity other than as a big fan of Cassi’s work— and to alert my buddies on here who are into this kind of thing and to whom I’ve spoken about Tangled Blessings and solo rpgs in general.

I’ve linked the jam below for the rules and info. I also linked Tangled Blessings and Anamnesis itch.io pages so I hope all the links don’t nerf this post in the tags.

Happy writing y’all!

#k’s solo rpg adventures #solo ttrpgs #indie solo ttrpgs #solo RPGs #indie RPGs #indie ttrpgs #hmm starting to think I should make a general blog for rpg posting #this is my main/general blog and I don’t wanna bug creators!! or my friends for whom this is Not Their Scene lol