11 years ago I started a fakemon project at school. Five years ago I decided there were still some good ideas there and I should do something with them. Four years ago I Kickstarted a TTRPG Zine called Battle Beasts.
This week I released the Core Zine on itch.io!
Check it out below and stay tuned for more Beast posting!
15 years ago today Fiery Dragon Productions released Creature Collection: A Compendium of 4th Edition Monstrous Foes under license! Now the Creature Collection is available for 5e OGL in POD & PDF via @DriveThruRPG at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304849/Scarred-Lands-Creature-Collection-OGL-5e?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr or at your FLGS! #Scarredlands #OGL
Upcoming Games - Moonstone Island on Nintendo Switch
Prepare to embark on a whimsical journey through the enchanting world of Moonstone Island, a creature-collecting life-sim set to make its console debut on the Nintendo Switch in the spring of 2024. Initially released on PC via Steam in September, this game has garnered attention for its captivating blend of creature collection, alchemy training, and open-world exploration.
Moonstone Island…
As heard on the Daydreaming about Dragons podcast, the Inspiration Goat helps me process media and take parts that are useful for the gaming table.
This isn’t about the hottest new thing or the crowdfunding with the biggest payday; it is just a few geeky things that are inspiring me.
Playful Void reviews Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier.
I’ll start with the thing that initially strikes…
ao3 authors who have no social media are are so mystical. they really be writing and posting some of the most perfectly crafted pieces of media and then disappearing without a trace
Could we have some more Monster AU lore? Literally about anything in the universe, I really love your lore drops.
well if you insist...(jk i love talking about lore and I'm so super happy you guys let me infodump like this!!)
who wants to learn about dragons and hoards?
So a lot of people mistake hoards as the result of a dragon's passing interests but in reality (for the types of dragon that have this hoard instinct) it's an intense and obsessive compulsion.
Dragons pack a lot of firepower into a relatively dense body, and hoards give them an opportunity to put all that energy somewhere by providing for a hoard's 'needs', whatever they are. In the old times, it was most common for dragons to hoard wealth, land or knowledge but as time went on the variety in subject expanded. Now, hoards can range from innocuous/harmless topics like baseball cards to more complex subjects (like literal living beings).
The darker side to hoard instinct is how intense and possessive it is - the desire to monopolise and satisfy the needs of a hoard is all-encompassing, and it's not unheard of for dragons to go too far. Just like dating, dragons typically go through a few hoards in their lifetime (like passing hyper-fixations) before they find the one thing that'll be their hoard until they die. And after they find that one thing, the rest of their life is in some way dedicated to protecting, caring for and 'leaving their mark' on that thing. A big part of maturing for dragons is learning the self restraint required to not let these urges overtake them and turn them senseless.
Of all topics, hoards that center living beings are by far the most complex simply because living beings have agency and can't be entirely controlled. Price's hoard is the 141, and he has learned over time how to respect the lives of his boys. However, right after his and Ghost's final clash with Roba which resulted in life-changing events for both of them, he realised that he'd already subconsciously made Ghost 'hoard' in his mind.
The two of them fell into a co-dependent and borderline toxic relationship during their recovery. For Ghost, it was a combination of trauma-bonding and also a way to deal with his new powers/afflictions as a wraith. For Price, the recent loss of his wing had him falling back on other measures to help cling onto his dragon identity, and he overcompensated by going way too far on what was already a very fresh and concentrated hoard response. Of course there was still sincere affection backing up all of this, but they both ended up spiralling into something together.
It's always tough being THE hoard starter, as whatever it is will get an exorbitant response that lessens the more a hoard grows. It didn't help that Simon was in one of the most vulnerable and complicated moments of his life post-wraith-transformation. The co-dependency and possessiveness got to a point where higher-ups had to re-instate Price earlier than they wanted to and begin sending him out on missions again so that they could have some time apart. On one of those missions, Price met Gaz, and then later on, Soap.
On this day in 2020 we released Creature Collection 5e for Scarred Lands via our partners at DriveThruRPG! https://drivethrurpg.com/product/304849/Scarred-Lands-Creature-Collection-OGL-5e?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr Over 175 monsters for your 5e OGL game from the Scarred Lands setting!
i do think pokemon AUs work for literally anything. you think to yourself "this character needs an elemental beast to be friends with" and every single time you're correct.