#rpg insights

[legionofmyth]

The Rifter #3 🎶 Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting 🎵 Nightbane

🥋 Unlock new fighting styles and martial arts for Nightbane in The Rifter #3 by Palladium Books, Inc. Enhance your combat strategies and dominate the battlefield with these advanced techniques. 🥷 This overview is a must-watch for every serious RPG player. #TTRPG #Nightbane #PalladiumBooks

The Rifter #3 In this video, we explore the newly unveiled fighting styles and martial arts for Nightbane and other Palladium games from The Rifter #3. These advanced techniques are crucial for survival. Learn how these combat styles can give you an edge in your battles and enrich your character’s abilities. Don’t let this knowledge slip through your fingers; it’s a game-changer. Click on the…

[pownicmania5000]

"You go girl" is an understatement for this holy shit

[beedreamscape]

I'm pretty much the worst person to even weigh in on this topic because I've been partial to Suvi since day one, but in my opinion there wasn't ever a need to explain or justify Suvi's choices/reactions.

Not because she's perfect, never wrong (though in my heart I know...) but because I'm very certain that the people that keep on hammering on her mistakes/shortcomings/tendencies are people that already dislike Suvi (or don't like Aabria very much, I wish this wasn't a topic of consideration but even 30+ eps in there's still people like that around) for whatever reason and gather excuses to justify their bias against her and no amount of explanation will turn their hearts in her favour.

It really feels like a parallel to the way Suvi herself tries to be understood by her friends and yet she fails time and time again.

And people insist on forgetting that Suvi is not the Citadel, she's just one young wizard of the Citadel.

And it's gut-wrenching how much I relate to that feeling of alienation before every corner she tries to fit in: amongst her citadel peers she's othered by her position and privilege, and now by her friendship to a witch and a spirit; between her friends she's the odd-one-out because of her Citadel connections and the nature of her power; and now amongst the witches she stands out by being the face of the "enemy".

I don't blame her for clinging to the little corner of the world that has not made her feel foreign despite the very nature of her presence: in Steel's family whom she's not related to by blood, yet completely by heart.

And it'll never be a fair game. The girls especially are very young and with new-found independence, they're given colossal decisions to make, and that before beings older than three generations of them combined and incomprehensively more powerful and less empathic.

As much as Mirara wants there to be a good witch and bad witch, there's no such thing as black and white, there are decisions and consequences, what one does with the power they're given. There is no right or wrong in a fight filled with so much heart, there was never a world where a fight between Ame and Suvi would be clean.

[sirens-wont-wake-me-up]

I know I study psychology and all that stuff about vicious cycles but I still don't get it how can someone put themselves in a toxic relationship, with evidence of how toxic it is, with people saying how bad it seems, and it's all for a shitty boyfriend? That treats you bad?

[scribeofskyrim]

Loredas, 16th of Frostfall, 4E 201

Thank the Divines for a quiet day!

We're back at the Manor, getting ready for a trip to the Blue Palace tomorrow. It's only mid-afternoon, but we've got a plan for the rest of the day and I don't want to be up half the night writing!

We came out of Rebel's Cairn to a beautiful morning. It was a bit windswept and desolate up there on top of the mountain, but the view was amazing! I could see the road snaking past the river, and I could even make out Dragonsreach in the distance.

We checked the map and saw that Rorikstead looked pretty close, so we headed that way. As luck would have it, the town was practically right there at the base of the mountain, and there was a Khajiit with a stall selling his goods by the road.

Before I could talk to the trader a courier ran up, said he had a top secret message from Falk Firebeard, then handed me a sealed note. Once he ran off, I peeked at it, then called the others in for a huddle.

Falk has more information about that group of cultists who were trying to summon Potema. He wants us to come back to Solitude right away.

I mean, we can't ignore a summons like that, so we sold what we could to K'irava, the trader, before we hit the road back here.

It was a lot faster getting back. Not only did the weather hold most of the way, we were able to travel over relatively flat ground or roads until we got to Morthal. The only delay was when I got chased by two mudcrabs!

We moved as quickly as we could. I wanted to get back and have time to actually rest before going into Solitude tomorrow.

And I really, really need a bath.

The plan: I'll wash up once Erandur's done, then organize the books we picked up along the way. Lydia's offered to prepare food for the trip, along with dinner tonight, so I'll pull out everything we've got on Potema and have it ready for us to flip through while we eat. Valdimar's going to go over our gear and see if any of our enchanted items need charged or armor needs repaired. Erandur wants to sort through the potions and make what he can that we're short on.

We don't want to go in unprepared, so once we're done with dinner and reading, we'll get our gear ready, then get some shut-eye.

-/-/-/-/-/-

And THIS is why I should never write in this thing until my day is actually over.

At least it didn't go too badly.

I mean, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but it could've been A LOT worse.

I was upstairs, sorting books in the library tower, when I heard a fight break out in the dining room.

I ran to the walkway, and looked down.

Valdimar had Erandur pinned against the wall. His left forearm was across Erandur's shoulders, like he was doing a shield bash, and he had an Ice Spike in his right hand, aimed at Erandur's face.

Lydia had been chopping vegetables at the table. Now, she had the knife pointed at them, and was slowly stepping to put herself between me and them, despite the fact that I was on an upper floor.

Erandur had his face turned to the side and his eyes shut tight, bracing himself for the hit. He wasn't struggling, and from my position I could see thin lines of fire curl around his fingertips, as if by instinct. Then he clenched his fists, snuffing them out.

I told Valdimar to stop, but he still brought his hand back, as though to release the spell, and Erandur just grit his teeth and… Waited.

This made Valdimar pause, and he almost snarled when he said, "You were in the cult of Vaermina?!"

Erandur finally opened his eyes and looked at Valdimar. He took a deep, shuddering breath that I could see from where I was and shouted back, "I was only a child!"

He whispered, "I lost everything," and then his voice cracked, and the tears started. Valdimar's spell vanished, and he let Erandur go. He looked like he'd been slapped. I don't think Lydia even blinked.

Erandur sank to the floor, curled up against the wall, knees up with one hand clenched over his heart and the other gripping his opposite shoulder. He'd actually taken off his scarf earlier, and without it he looked even thinner. Even though he's tall for a Dunmer, he looked tiny compared to Valdimar, who was still standing over him.

I half-tripped down the steps to get to him, and hugged him while he wept. Septim came up and managed to worm his way into Erandur's arms.

I looked over my shoulder to glare at Valdimar, and he mouthed "Sorry" and made a gesture like he didn't know. I turned my attention to Lydia, but by this point she'd lowered her knife and gone back to tending to dinner like one of her teammates wasn't having a breakdown. Then I saw her fill a cup of water and set it at Erandur's place at the table.

Valdimar pulled out Erandur's chair for him, and we carefully got him off the floor and to the table. Once he was there, he managed to pull himself together enough to talk, and it was like a dam broke.

The fancy accent was gone, but some of the proper language remained, and he told us…

He told us everything. Well, almost, but it was more than enough. The way he talked, I'm certain he's never told anyone his story before.

He said he was born in The Pale, in a town called Dunstad Grove. His parents were kind, wonderful people, and what little childhood he had with them was a happy one.

And then there's this… Hole in his mind, he said, like pages ripped out of a book, and the next thing he remembers is his parents' funeral. He knows they died, but not how. He was only eight years old. The other villagers were sad for him, but no one knew what to do with him.

Then a Dunmer lady in purple robes came up to him and asked if he'd like to go with her. He'd never seen another Dunmer before in his life aside from his parents. She knew he was sad, and asked him if he had nightmares. He did, and she told him she could make the nightmares go away. If he went with her, she could even make the sad memories go away forever.

I've heard that one before! Damn Daedric cults. Miss Agrippina always warned us about how they liked to prey on desperate people, especially orphans.

Anyway, Erandur packed up with little he had, including the Dwarven mace his father hid under the floorboards, and went with her.

He said that once they got to Nightcaller Temple, the priests there said he could join them. He would be part of their family, and they would take care of him, but he had to give them something in return.

He started to cry again, but only a little. He had his face in his hands and we could barely hear him when he said, "They took my name."

When Erandur told us this, we all looked at each other in shock.

Now, I'm no expert in Dunmer culture, but even I know how important family and names are to them. The first word I learned in Dunmeri was an Ashlander insult that translates to "No-Name" or "Nameless".

Valdimar said, "By Talos! Who would take a Dunmer's name?"

"A Daedric bitch, that's who," Erandur said. He sounded bitter, and reached past the water that he'd been sipping at to grab a wine bottle off the table.

He uncorked the wine with his dagger in one fluid motion, like an expert, and took a long drink straight from the bottle before he continued with his story.

They named him Casimir. They taught him how to fight, how to use magic, and alchemy. They also taught him how to Sleep. He learned to navigate the Quagmire, the land of nightmares that Vaermina calls home. There, he would steal the memories of sleepers who entered there from our realm, leaving nightmares and terror in his wake.

He grabbed at his heart and said that they also trained him to pick good marks. He learned how to find people's fears and insecurities, and how to use them against them. He mastered the art of manipulation. He used it to persuade or outright seduce people into joining the cult, or to simply follow him; then they'd be kidnapped and used as sacrifices in their rituals.

"I did horrible things," he said, "I'm a monster."

"Not really," I said. "I saw it myself."

He shot me a look, and I came clean.

"It was your memories I saw in the Dreamstride."

After I explained what the Dreamstride and Vaermina's Torpor is, I told everyone about the night years ago in Nightcaller Temple, when the Orcs attacked. I told them how he ran through the fray, scared out of his mind because he didn't want to go back to the Quagmire for who knows how many years.

I explained that the others were driven mad, but he knew the High Priests - Like him and his friends - would probably survive it with their minds intact.

But he didn't want to gamble. He was afraid, and I didn't see what happened after he pulled the chain, but my guess is that he bolted through the door before the Miasma could take him, and escaped into the night. He saw his chance, and he took it.

Erandur just stared at me as I told the others the full story of what happened in the Temple, before he destroyed the Skull. I described how he killed his old friends, and how Vaermina tried to get me to kill him in exchange for the Skull's power.

Erandur was quiet while I talked about Veren and Thorek, and started to tear up again. Valdimar asked how he could cry over them, and Erandur said that he'd never forgiven himself for betraying them and running away.

Killing the other worshipers, the ones who had been driven mad by their Sleep, was a mercy, he explained. Doing so freed their minds from the Quagmire, so they could finally rest. Veren and Thorek, on the other hand, had survived their Sleep, so killing them felt more like murder, even though they struck first.

He said that even though they did terrible things, they weren't completely terrible people. Yes, they tried to kill us, but they were still his family, his brothers, and he loved them. He said that he asks Mara for forgiveness every day; not only for what he did while serving Vaermina, but for betraying his old friends, too.

"At least the nightmares stopped," he said, and he finished off his wine.

Lydia had been chopping up vegetables and tending to the stew she was making while he talked, and at this point it was ready, so she dished some out for us. She grabbed a second wine bottle from Erandur's reach before he could get to it, and set a warm mug of tea in front of him.

"You can't be hungover when you go to the Blue Palace tomorrow," she said, then sat down.

I'll admit, I think that made me relax as much as it did him!

I was afraid that the others wouldn't want him around any more once they found out, and I know he was worried, too. Having Lydia state that he was coming with us (it was very clearly NOT a request) was a relief.

Valdimar was obviously feeling guilty about slamming him into the wall earlier. He'd scooched his chair right up next to Erandur's so he could put his hand on his back or shoulder when he thought Erandur needed it. Erandur had flinched a little the first time Valdimar put his hand on him, but quickly relaxed and ended up almost leaning against his arm.

Erandur smiled and thanked Lydia, and we ate for a bit before Valdimar asked him when he left Nightcaller Temple.

Erandur said it was almost a hundred years ago.

I could tell that Valdimar and Lydia were trying to do the numbers in their heads. I didn't even bother. Finally, Valdimar gave up and asked, "How old are you?"

Erandur thought for a moment. "Two hundred and seven."

Lydia looked up and blurted out that he didn't look much older than Irileth!

Erandur laughed, and Valdimar said that he always suspected that he was around 130. Over 150 was impossible, not to mention 200!

Erandur sipped at his tea and said 130 sounded about right. He explained a bit more about how the Miasma worked. They used it in rituals all the time, and most of them take months to complete. A "big" ritual could be expected to take at least a year. He had been a High Priest, and the Sleep for that is a decade. He did so many he never bothered keeping track. He confessed that he completely missed the Void Nights!

"What did you do after you left the Cult?"

Leave it to Lydia to ask the questions we don't know how to.

Erandur put his spoon back in his bowl and did his nervous laugh before he said, and I quote, "I went a little wild."

Valdimar laughed, and said he couldn't picture him being "wild".

Erandur actually started to look nervous, and said that he used to be quite a different person. The Cult of Vaermina raised him to be harsh and selfish. He said they encouraged his alchemy experiments, and his "creative brutality".

He was the perfect acolyte, but the Cult controlled every part of his life. Even his haircut wasn't his choice. It got worse as a High Priest. In theory he had all the power and control, but then he had to serve as an example.

When he escaped, getting a job was the last thing he wanted, but he didn't know what to do. So, he did what he knew best: Alchemy.

He wandered around, selling potions on the road like a skooma dealer, and soon ran into some bandits. They tried to kill him, but failed, and he found a note on one of them talking about a smuggling ring up the coast that would buy their goods.

I've had my suspicions about Erandur from the day I met him, but I saw plenty of little clues in the time since that kept telling me I was right. I've only seen one kind of person who can uncork a bottle with their dagger like he can, then re-sheathe it while they take a drink.

"I knew you were on a boat!"

I was SO certain!

Erandur laughed, and said that I was half-right. He found the smuggling ring and offered his services as an alchemist and a healer. He mostly stayed at the hideout, but he did do a bit of sailing and learned a lot from the sailors that he spent his first months of freedom with.

Gangs don't last long (don't I know it!) so he had to move around a lot, and went from group to group. He even confessed that he went by "Kaz" during that time. He was clearly embarrassed by that, and yes, he did spell it for us when Valdimar asked.

I would say something here about being Young and Stupid, but that's me, so…

We started asking him more questions about his life of crime, but he waved us off and promised that he'd tell us more, later. It was getting late, and he was tired.

So, he got up to say his prayers before he went to bed. He said he needed to thank Mara for bringing people like us into his life, who wouldn't judge him for who he used to be.

Valdimar asked if he could speak with him for a minute, so I helped Lydia clear the table while they went into the front room to talk. Lydia explained that Erandur has slipped up while he was chatting with Valdimar earlier. She didn't catch it, but it was enough to alarm Valdimar. She asked me not to be too angry with him. He was only trying to protect me.

I reassured her that I wasn't angry at anyone. I admitted that it was a little scary to see Valdimar like that. Lydia agreed. She'd never seen him so mad! He always reminded her of a big, cuddly bear.

I reminded her that all bears have teeth.

I was cleaning up the broken glass by the alchemy table when the door opened and they rejoined us in the main hall.

I could tell Erandur had been crying again, and I asked if everything was all right.

Erandur nodded, and I really like how he put it so I hope I got it right, "My heart is tired, but it is full."

He left to do his prayers, and Valdimar went back to getting the armor ready for tomorrow while Lydia packed the food. I asked him if Erandur really was all right, and he said that he was. Valdimar wanted to explain himself and apologize in private. Erandur was just so relieved that we honestly didn't hate him that he broke down again.

Lydia mused aloud if priests usually got "that kind of treatment", and explained, when I asked, that since priests are always the ones helping people and healing them and listening and giving counsel, who does it for them? He's always taking care of us; when was the last time anyone actually took care of him?

Like I said, she's a savvy sweetroll.

Anyway, I sat down to write this while they finished getting things ready for tomorrow. They've both gone to bed, and Septim's asleep by the fire, so it's just me and Erandur.

He's getting the potions sorted; he wants to have it done for tomorrow. He tried apologizing for not telling them earlier, but I said that was all right. Honestly, how do you even bring that up? Where do you start? "Oh, by the way, I used to be in an evil cult and I was so good at the evil they made me a high priest!"

That got a real laugh out of him, and he had to say I was right.

I made sure to give him a big hug, too. He hugged me back and thanked me for letting him join us. He said there weren't many people who knew he'd been in Vaermina's cult, but almost all of them pushed him away as soon as they found out.

Considering that most of the people who accepted him did crime for a living, I'm not surprised.

But I'm getting tired, so I'm going to stop here so I can finish this book on the Wolf Queen while I drain my wine, then get my ass to bed.

It's been a hell of a night.

[surrealbill]

The moon! The Moon! THE MOON!

I got this Moon-head Mage from keira.kreations’ Etsy. Ive wanted this miniature since I first saw it on their instagram, so when they opened an Etsy I jumped at the chance to get one.

In my DCCRPG campaign They would be a Loon Priest a mad prophet who worships Zrollgrar The One True moon. They travel across The Far Realms of Xor spreading their “Lunar Insights”, Stargazing and imbibing various psychedelics. Although their ramblings seem nonsensical there may be cosmic truths in their lunacy.

Zrollgrar The One True Moon. God of Moons, Magic, Truth, Knowledge, Insight, madness, Observing and being Observed. A god worshipped by scholars, wizards, Dreamers and Lunatics all those who seek knowledge whatever the cost. The Lunar Insights he offers can be great truths and revelations that can shatter the minds of those who gaze upon his face. The Moon you see in the sky above is not Zrollgrar it is simply one of his many faces watching and learning.

[supernova-rsrcs]

Venía a querer presumir mi firma nueva aquí también porque la verdad me emociona la nueva aesthetic que planeo para Ileana

also que dejé easter eggs de lo que ha sucedido en su ausencia, como de lo que se avecina

i'm just saying there slightly might o might not be some kind of patricide... but not exactly that... but something like it

P.D.: supe que no podía abandonar kaelkoth templo máximo del folliroleo y la depravación con tendencias a volverse secta, en especial viendo su actualización de nuevo sistema de juego

@kaelkoth tu humilde servidora vuelve de rodillas por su flagelación, y en su defecto que la imparta el puto de ezekiel @bei-xxx

[delightfuldevin]

Been seein some rather cold takes about Daisy lately…

I’ve seen some people say that she has no personality outside of fanon, but that’s just not true. There is a very very common misconception among the fandom (at least that I’ve noticed) that if a character doesn’t appear in a “mainline” game, then they have no personality. But I’d argue that the spinoffs actually offer waaaaay more in terms of looking into character personalities. And no, I’m not talking about the RPGs ala M&L and Paper Mario as those are obviously full of personality (and Daisy isn’t in those). I’m talking about the Party, Kart, Tennis, and other sports games.

Yes, Daisy hasn’t appeared in any mainline game since her debut, but she’s been in nearly every sports game and her traits, stats, abilities, victory/loss animations, and various other tiny details add up to her personality. The fact that she’s nearly always yelling or just speaking really loud in general (noticeably more than any other character), the fact that she constantly feels a need to say her name and make herself known, how she loves flowers and considers even a small patch of flowers worth protecting, how she’s easily bored by tasks that don’t excite her and isn’t so reliable for them. She tends to jump around a lot, and spin and dance around when she’s excited! She’s apparently a rather fast runner and that is considered her specialty! These are all traits that are displayed in the spinoffs, and there’s probably soooo many more that I just can’t remember right now.

Now, I do think her tomboyish nature is probably fanon, as I don’t really remember seeing anything to show that she acts that way in the games. I think people probably think she’s tomboyish due to how loud and energetic she is. But hey, there’s plenty of fanon for just about any character from any fandom out there. And what’s so wrong with that? Isn’t the whole point of making fanworks to expand on the framework already provided by canon? If we want to stick to what’s actually “canon” then nearly everything the fandom has created would have to be tossed, because there really isn’t much to work with. Fanworks and fandoms thrive on what fans can create based on the canon work, not just sticking to it perfectly.

It’s fine if you think the “fanon” Daisy outshines the “canon” Daisy and you dislike that. But to say that she has no personality aside from fanon interpretations just tells me that you have a very narrow idea of what counts as “canon” in an already rather simplistic world. The Mario games are very simple and straightforward without much consistent lore that actually makes sense cohesively, but the characters are what keep everything tied together despite that. The characters are nearly always consistent, and that includes Daisy. Even when the setting is completely different and some random new villain shows up with some random new power source to steal or species to torment, our same well-known lovable characters will be the center of the story and that’s what makes it fun!

[checkpoint-diaries]

Hogwarts Legacy: A Magical Journey Through Keeper’s Trials and Side Quests

Dive into the magical world of Hogwarts Legacy with our detailed review. Explore the Keeper’s Trials, side quests like the thrilling dragon mission, and why this RPG is a must-play for fans of the Wizarding World.

Hogwarts Legacy is shaping up to be a spellbinding experience for fans of the Wizarding World and gamers alike. With a captivating narrative, detailed gameplay, and moments of humor, the game immerses players in a magical realm teeming with adventure and intrigue. Among its standout features, the Keeper’s Trials and a thrilling dragon mission showcase the developers’ exceptional creativity and…

[legionofmyth]

The Rifter #3 - The Xiticix

🦟 Explore the latest official Rifts information on The Xiticix in The Rifter #3 by Palladium Books, Inc. Delve into new lore and game mechanics that will transform your campaigns. 👁️ Don't miss this vital update for any Rifts enthusiast! #RiftsRPG #TTRPG #PalladiumBooks

The Rifter #3 Embark on a perilous journey as we uncover the latest official Rifts information about The Xiticix in The Rifter #3 by Palladium Books. This issue provides invaluable lore and game mechanics that are essential for any adventurer facing these formidable foes. Discover the secrets of the hive and enhance your strategies for dealing with these relentless enemies. Stay ahead of the…

[fogaminghub]

🌟  Step into the world of Visions of Mana in Chapter 5: We're Alm in This Together! 🎮 Our latest blog post breaks down everything you need to find Aesh, the head curator. 🗝️💫  From tips on travel to crucial insights to defeat Daelophos, we’ve got you covered!  

[prokopetz]

Sometimes reading a new indie RPG gives you an insight into the principles of game design you'd have never arrived at on your own.

Sometimes reading a new indie RPG gives you a sum-of-2dX lookup table with its entries in alphabetical order.

[insertdisc5]

📚 A List Of Useful Websites When Making An RPG 📚

My timeloop RPG In Stars and Time is done! Which means I can clear all my ISAT gamedev related bookmarks. But I figured I would show them here, in case they can be useful to someone. These range from "useful to write a story/characters/world" to "these are SUPER rpgmaker focused and will help with the terrible math that comes with making a game".

This is what I used to make my RPG game, but it could be useful for writers, game devs of all genres, DMs, artists, what have you. YIPPEE

Writing (Names)

Behind The Name - Why don't you have this bookmarked already. Search for names and their meanings from all over the world!

Medieval Names Archive - Medieval names. Useful. For ME

City and Town Name Generator - Create "fake" names for cities, generated from datasets from any country you desire! I used those for the couple city names in ISAT. I say "fake" in quotes because some of them do end up being actual city names, especially for french generated ones. Don't forget to double check you're not 1. just taking a real city name or 2. using a word that's like, Very Bad, especially if you don't know the country you're taking inspiration from! Don't want to end up with Poopaville, USA

Writing (Words)

Onym - A website full of websites that are full of words. And by that I mean dictionaries, thesauruses, translators, glossaries, ways to mix up words, and way more. HIGHLY recommend checking this website out!!!

Moby Thesaurus - My thesaurus of choice!

Rhyme Zone - Find words that rhyme with others. Perfect for poets, lyricists, punmasters.

In Different Languages - Search for a word, have it translated in MANY different languages in one page.

ASSETS

In general, I will say: just look up what you want on itch.io. There are SO MANY assets for you to buy on itch.io. You want a font? You want a background? You want a sound effect? You want a plugin? A pixel base? An attack animation? A cool UI?!?!?! JUST GO ON ITCH.IO!!!!!!

Visual Assets (General)

Creative Market - Shop for all kinds of assets, from fonts to mockups to templates to brushes to WHATEVER YOU WANT

Velvetyne - Cool and weird fonts

Chevy Ray's Pixel Fonts - They're good fonts.

Contrast Checker - Stop making your text white when your background is lime green no one can read that shit babe!!!!!!

Visual Assets (Game Focused)

Interface In Game - Screenshots of UI (User Interfaces) from SO MANY GAMES. Shows you everything and you can just look at what every single menu in a game looks like. You can also sort them by game genre! GREAT reference!

Game UI Database - Same as above!

Sound Assets

Zapsplat, Freesound - There are many sound effect websites out there but those are the ones I saved. Royalty free!

Shapeforms - Paid packs for music and sounds and stuff.

Other

CloudConvert - Convert files into other files. MAKE THAT .AVI A .MOV

EZGifs - Make those gifs bigger. Smaller. Optimize them. Take a video and make it a gif. The Sky Is The Limit

Marketing

Press Kitty - Did not end up needing this- this will help with creating a press kit! Useful for ANY indie dev. Yes, even if you're making a tiny game, you should have a press kit. You never know!!!

presskit() - Same as above, but a different one.

Itch.io Page Image Guide and Templates - Make your project pages on itch.io look nice.

MOOMANiBE's IGF post - If you're making indie games, you might wanna try and submit your game to the Independent Game Festival at some point. Here are some tips on how, and why you should.

Game Design (General)

An insightful thread where game developers discuss hidden mechanics designed to make games feel more interesting - Title says it all. Check those comments too.

Game Design (RPGs)

Yanfly "Let's Make a Game" Comics - INCREDIBLY useful tips on how to make RPGs, going from dungeons to towns to enemy stats!!!!

Attack Patterns - A nice post on enemy attack patterns, and what attacks you should give your enemies to make them challenging (but not TOO challenging!) A very good starting point.

How To Balance An RPG - Twitter thread on how to balance player stats VS enemy stats.

Nobody Cares About It But It’s The Only Thing That Matters: Pacing And Level Design In JRPGs - a Good Post.

Game Design (Visual Novels)

Feniks Renpy Tutorials - They're good tutorials.

I played over 100 visual novels in one month and here’s my advice to devs. - General VN advice. Also highly recommend this whole blog for help on marketing your games.

I hope that was useful! If it was. Maybe. You'd like to buy me a coffee. Or maybe you could check out my comics and games. Or just my new critically acclaimed game In Stars and Time. If you want. Ok bye

[clouds-of-wings]

Leaked footage of me shopping at Netto.

[theresattrpgforthat]

How to Find Cool Games: Newsletters

Plenty of game designers and other folks in the ttrpg space are using newsletters to keep people updated on their work. Newsletters are a great way to talk about what’s fascinating to you, give people snapshots of the things you’re working on, and offer links to freebies or extras for folks who are interested in your work. They also remind folks that you’re out there, making cool things.

I follow a number of different newsletters, and they offer different formats depending on their focus and the platform they use. But here’s what you can generally expect from a newsletter:

Updates on a designer’s work. Designers and small publishers will release updates on what they’re working on, including snapshots of works in progress, updates on crowdfunding initiatives, and pieces of art they may have recently finished or received.

Musings on aspects of design and play. Some game designers and prominent bloggers may release newsletters simply to talk about pieces of games that they’re excited about or ruminating on; how specific mechanics elicited special moments at the table, emotions or themes they’re hoping to invoke in their game projects, or perhaps talking about elements of a game book that make it interesting or enjoyable to read.

Reviews. This might be after playing a game or simply reading it, but interacting with other people’s games isn’t just a fun activity, it often also sparks thoughts about what the author values or doesn’t value in play. These reviews might include a brief overview of a game’s rules, highlight special moments in play, or cover more practical issues, such as the safety tools on offer, or the way the game layout affects their reading experience.

-Talking about the gaming hobby in general. This might include various perspectives in the hobby, like how colonialism affects steampunk games, or common experiences people of colour might have in a gaming space. It might also include safety practices and why the author finds certain practises helpful or unhelpful. There might also be ruminations on the business of game design, such as how to learn layout, how to network with artists, and advice on how to deal with the crowdfunding process.

So, with that in mind, let’s talk about some various newsletters that I’m subscribed to, and what I’ve gotten from them!

The Indie RPG Newsletter. @indierpgnewsletter

The Indie RPG Newsletter is the current project under the pen of Thomas Manuel, who’s also the host of the Yes Indie’d Podcast, as well as a writer for Rascal News (which we’ll get back to later). Thomas uses this as a place to talk about what’s getting him excited in the indie scene, as well as provide links to other people talking about cool game things; every newsletter has a section called Links of the Week . This section points you to some fun conversations happening in various ttrpg spaces. I think The Indie RPG Newsletter is a great jumping off point if you want to see what else is going on in a number of different spheres, and Thomas also has some really lovely insights into various mechanics that he’s interacting with as he tries out a slew of games at his table.

Rascal News.

The newsletter for Rascal News isn’t really a standalone thing - it’s an arm of the website of the same name, an independent team of journalists focused on news related to the world of TTRPGs.You need to create a free membership with the website in order to get these newsletters, but it’s a nice little window into not just the hottest news off of the press - various newsletters also carry links to their Announcements section, which is for the most part free to read, and contains a lot of updates about new and exciting ttrpg projects - including crowdfunding campaigns, podcast announcements, awards ceremonies, and special sales or bundles on offer. Currently the Rascal Team consists of Rowan Zeoli, Chase Carter, Caelyn Ellis - and, as previously mentioned, Thomas Manuel!

More Seats at the Table

More Seats a the Table is an email newsletter dedicated to highlighting games made by game designers of marginalized genders. It includes not just roleplaying games, but occasionally board-games as well, and each issue contains links to current crowdfunding initiatives, as well as advertisements that have been submitted to the newsletter through their submission form. This newsletter is straightforward and to-the-point, showing you a few games with quick blurbs - no more, no less. If you want news about games without a lot of fluff, you might be interested in More Seats at the Table.

Indie Press Revolution. @indiepressrevolution

Indie Press Revolution calls themselves a “network of quality creator-publishers”, and works to make people’s games available both through their online website and at various conventions. They also partner with retailers in acting as a distributor, bringing indie ttrpgs closer to your hometown! However, IPR also has its’ own newsletter, the IPR Revolutionary, which includes featured products, news related to various tabletop events, pricing updates, pdf updates, new stores added to the network, and links to oodles and oodles of crowdfunding projects. If you want to know what you can get in on right now, this monthly list of projects is a great collection.

5. Individual Designers: a short list.

If you’re a big OSR fan, you might find something in the Questing Beast newsletter, which is fairly regular and includes links to sales, reviews, and ads for games from various sponsors.

The Jar of Eyes Game Gazette has some really really good advice for game designers in their archive. I haven’t seen a lot of recent updates, but if the author starts sending out letters again, I think my eyes will be glued to the page.

Watt, the designer of Cloud Empress, has a regular Cloud Empress Newsletter that’s mostly focused around Watt’s work - but in the tradition of various popular OSR games, the exciting thing about these kinds of games is that there’s consistently new stuff. Watt includes little freebies in each newsletter, from roll tables, to small expansions, and little pieces of art. On top of that, Watt is quite happy to showcase work by other designers, especially projects that they have small parts in, as well as highlighting things that are currently giving them inspiration, such as movies, video games - and tabletop roleplaying games.

Asked Questions by Hendrik ten Napel, dives into specific games and game experiences that are making the author reflect on how the games direct his play. Some of his recent letters include an examination of Under Hollow Hills, how to create dramatic triangles between characters, and a loving review of Old Morris Cave, written by Tim Hutchings.

Dinoberry Press, a collaboration between Nevyn Holmes and Julie-Anne Muńoz, has a newsletter that gives you updates on what the designers are up to, how their games are coming along, and highlights projects that they’re excited about. Yes, it’s a form of marketing, but marketing is how you get info about new games! I followed them specifically because I am interested in their latest game, Little Wolves. You can sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of their website.

You’ve probably heard of Dave Thaumvore if you’re looking at ttrpg content on Youtube, and his attached newsletter has various subscription tiers - but I just subscribe to the free one. He does publish some content related to D&D, but he also sits down for interviews with designers; you’re likely to find high-end games from bigger companies being featured here. The most recent newsletter features a review with the designer of the upcoming game Flux Fantasy.

Christian Sorrell’s Missives of the Meatcastle is a little infrequent, but his updates are professional, thoughtful, and full of goodies. He includes little freebies for subscribers, alongside updates about his own work - both his passion projects and the projects of others that he writes for. His most recent update, titled "In Defense of Fiction", was a really insightful look into the ways prose can make a game more readable, and therefore more enjoyable to anyone reading a game book.

Cloven Pine Games has a newsletter that is fairly infrequent, but occasionally sends out updates on things that they have a hand in making, as well as news about game-adjacent events that they are involved in - such as awards shows, or game conventions. Their latest issue takes about Root and The Between, which are two projects that they had a hand in designing.

CJ Tucker has a newsletter for @crackerjackalopegames, which includes a regular roundup of “Things I Liked This Month”, as well as various musings about the connections they’re making across games and various media. Some of their newsletters that stand out to me include a review of NASA’s TTRPG adventure, using Breath of the Wild as inspiration for world building, and the concept of a house as a character (which led to the design of their game, ABODE.)

Tim Hutchings Makes Games is a newsletter by the author of Thousand Year Old Vampire, a solo game about a vampire who has lived so long that they can’t hold on to all of their memories. His newsletters consist of updates on things he’s working on, and events that he’s participating in. I think these kinds of newsletters can be great for other designers to follow, because it’s kind of a sneak peek into all of the various ways you can get involved in the scene, as well as provide snapshots of the kinds of considerations you might need to make as you try to promote your game. You can sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the website.

Also...

A number of ttrpg creators also have free Patreon tiers which come with newsletters, including Possum Creek Games, Goblincow (@goblincow), and Penflower Ink. Not all of these posts will be public, but the ones that are will get sent to your email. (And of course, if you pay into their Patreons, you get all the posts.)

Honorable Mentions

9th Level Games

The Twenty Sided Newsletter, a partner newsletter for My First Dungeon.

Monte Cooke Games