• Herbalism in TTRPGs: A Symptom of Yearning For More in a World of Deprivations

    In the chaotic and alienated world of late-stage capitalism, the desire to unplug and return to a simple (if romanticized) lifestyle is commonplace. It should hardly be surprising that medieval fantasy games are also seen as an outlet, as their common tropes emphasize each distinct component: the simplicity of per-industrial times, exploration in nature, and…

  • What’s in a word? Spell Memorization

    To memorize something is a mundane task we have all done at some point, and for me it conjures up the drudgery of flash cards and play rehearsals. That the memorization is typically done from books further cements this association in my mind.

  • Review: Whitehack 3rd Edition

    Our psychological framework for concepts is not simply knowledge of what something is, but also perhaps more importantly what it is not. Giving the players Freedom of Concept also establishes the limits of who or what they are. Knowing what the character Is NOT provides powerful natural boundaries that prevent the game from devolving into…

  • Burning Saturn Part V

    This was one of the major barriers I came across when working on the Saturniids. I have no popular metatext to pull from, and thus anything that stands out in the lifepaths is actively creating a new textual material readers will experience for the first time. Without originality I am left with something that feels…

  • Burning Saturn Part IV

    This post was originally going to cover lifepaths, however after my last post I received some interesting feedback from friends and online community members. Today I’ll be exploring a few of the topics that came up – mostly in relation to Synchronicity and the Steel attribute.

  • Burning Saturn Part III

    I am left wondering if perhaps someone at Burning Wheel HQ tried to enter my dreams to prevent the horror that will surely result from a novice writing an Emotional Attribute.

  • Burning Saturn Part II

    In my last post I established the core concept for the Stock – Saturniids, who are essentially moth people. Today I’ll be solidifying ideas into Traits, and figuring out what precisely will be our standard issue collection of Common Traits all Saturniids possess.

  • Burning Saturn Part I

    Materially my concept is an absent-minded species of mothfolk. Thematically they explore cognition including the nature of memory, self, and the importance of mutual aid. All of my choices in designing the Stock should realize the synthesis of the material and thematic.

  • Review: Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monster Inhabitation (Public Edition)

    The Short Version: This book has more in common with a yearbook than a game manual. It is an archive of brief responses to a creative writing exercise on social media. These responses are of varying quality resulting in no clear vision or theme. The result can be summarized as novelty for the sake of…

  • TACT, Deadly or Otherwise

    I found myself in a Dungeon Crawl Classics session with a player anxious about character deaths, and a GM who struggled to process the actions of a dozen player characters simultaneously. I was asked to create something that would make the game more accessible to the group. Something that gives more control over death without…

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