Tessera
Folgen

Andrew Gillis

@andrewgillis.bsky.social

Human bicycle hybrid - Game designer Author of Girl by Moonlight and We Contain Solitudes (they/them)

531 Posts1405 Follower179 Folgt
Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · 3d ago

Layout complete, waiting on cover art, getting some trusted pals to proof read the pdf and catch obvious errors. Went past our August 1st target a little bit, but very happy with how dark ages is coming together.

Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · last wk.

One last thought here, the relationship here is that without the publishers there is no product on a shelf, and without the designers there's no game to begin with. So while I respect and value the work that goes into making the books, and getting them onto shelves and into the mail..

Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · last wk.

Listening to @rascal.news radio hour talking about crediting of designers vs publishers. Really appreciate them talking about power dynamics wrt smaller/newer designers, and credits as a labour issue as much as anything else.

Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · 2w ago

hey quick question from the Dark Ages mines—do y'all ever assume the mantle of the Anointed Heir, get with the MC to figure out if you're blessed by the gods or descended from some ancient queen or what, swear to lead your people to their destined glory, and start doing some absolutely *wild* shit

You unearth a symbol of rulership linked to your birthright (choose 1: a throne grown from a living oak / a stone table carved to show your lands / a tapestry woven from gold and silver thread). Ask the MC what harrowing trial you must endure to claim it, which must end with you Facing Death. Once claimed, tell the MC it is a mirror, and you have the right to call upon it and commune with your kingdom. When you do so, roll Good. On 10+, ask 3 of the following. On 7–9, ask 2. On 6–, ask 1 anyway but be prepared for the worst. I am its soil and stone, underfoot. What unwelcome feet tread heavy upon me? I am its faithful hearthfires. Who is held in high esteem, and who is maligned? I am its rats, in cellar and storeroom. Who has plenty and who goes without? I am its dead, honoured and forgotten. Who has lately joined my ranks? I am its water, for drinking and washing. What sickness flows in me? What corruption do I wash away? I am its wandering winds. What snippets of news do I carry across the border? I am its shadows, in every corner. Who lingers in me that others have overlooked?
Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · 4w ago

if i had a penny for every time I wrote a historical fantasy game that ended up with human sacrifice in it, I'd have two pennies. which isn't much, but it's weird that it keeps happening... (Andrew & I are now writing mantles: world-straining, late-game playbooks. This is from the Heart of Summer)

You have the right to offer up a precious life to the land, spilling the blood of one who loves you without reservation on the thirsty soil. When you do so, roll Season. On 10+, all 3. On 7–9, choose 2. On 3–6, choose 1. - The land is gentle. At Season’s End, when season moves are rolled, each lead character can declare any number between 2 and 12 instead of rolling the dice. - The land is generous. Until winter, childbirth goes easy and without pain, and children grow up beautiful and kind. Each people gains a bounty of milk, honey, and berries. - The land is grateful. There are five seasons this year. Between this season and the next one, there will be a second summer. If you roll two 1s on the dice, the land rages for the death of one it loved. Where they died becomes a desolation. The soil their blood stained becomes a cradle, a sickle, or a vessel. Both hate you, personally, with a tireless, unending malice.
Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · 4w ago

Me when I am the Heart of Summer :)

Katherine Pierce Holding A Knife & Making Devil Horns

Alt: Katherine Pierce Holding A Knife & Making Devil Horns

static.klipy.com

Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · 4w ago

if i had a penny for every time I wrote a historical fantasy game that ended up with human sacrifice in it, I'd have two pennies. which isn't much, but it's weird that it keeps happening... (Andrew & I are now writing mantles: world-straining, late-game playbooks. This is from the Heart of Summer)

You have the right to offer up a precious life to the land, spilling the blood of one who loves you without reservation on the thirsty soil. When you do so, roll Season. On 10+, all 3. On 7–9, choose 2. On 3–6, choose 1. - The land is gentle. At Season’s End, when season moves are rolled, each lead character can declare any number between 2 and 12 instead of rolling the dice. - The land is generous. Until winter, childbirth goes easy and without pain, and children grow up beautiful and kind. Each people gains a bounty of milk, honey, and berries. - The land is grateful. There are five seasons this year. Between this season and the next one, there will be a second summer. If you roll two 1s on the dice, the land rages for the death of one it loved. Where they died becomes a desolation. The soil their blood stained becomes a cradle, a sickle, or a vessel. Both hate you, personally, with a tireless, unending malice.
Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · 4w ago

Me when I am the Heart of Summer :)

Katherine Pierce Holding A Knife & Making Devil Horns

Alt: Katherine Pierce Holding A Knife & Making Devil Horns

static.klipy.com

Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · 4w ago

if i had a penny for every time I wrote a historical fantasy game that ended up with human sacrifice in it, I'd have two pennies. which isn't much, but it's weird that it keeps happening... (Andrew & I are now writing mantles: world-straining, late-game playbooks. This is from the Heart of Summer)

You have the right to offer up a precious life to the land, spilling the blood of one who loves you without reservation on the thirsty soil. When you do so, roll Season. On 10+, all 3. On 7–9, choose 2. On 3–6, choose 1. - The land is gentle. At Season’s End, when season moves are rolled, each lead character can declare any number between 2 and 12 instead of rolling the dice. - The land is generous. Until winter, childbirth goes easy and without pain, and children grow up beautiful and kind. Each people gains a bounty of milk, honey, and berries. - The land is grateful. There are five seasons this year. Between this season and the next one, there will be a second summer. If you roll two 1s on the dice, the land rages for the death of one it loved. Where they died becomes a desolation. The soil their blood stained becomes a cradle, a sickle, or a vessel. Both hate you, personally, with a tireless, unending malice.
Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · last mo.

Andrew & I are locked the fuck in, and y'all are not prepared for what's coming your way when this playtest packet drops. get braced for some fraught, bloody, weird ambitious character and community drama, all you sickos

Something terrible is coming. The Empire of Eagles left us. The eldest among us still remember the shape of imperial rule. Their children, only the garrisons’ backs as they marched away. We knew not where they were headed, and no news ever came. Empty forts fell into decay. Kin serving in distant legions did not return. Imperial faces faded from silver coins. Bridges crumbled, and no engineers arrived to make them whole. Did the Empire burn? Withdraw? Simply crumble? Whatever the cause, we were abandoned to our fate. In its absence, a rupture. Long years of chaos and upheaval, but amongst the ruins, possibility. Now we stand at the precipice of the ungiven future. A resurgence of old ways vies against the advent of new crowns. War hangs in the air like a bloody knife. Dragons stir in the earth, and dream of the world’s breaking. In distant lands, converts kneel to a bloodless corpse-god. This age is a broken thing, ours to make anew—time now for the plunge. Dark Ages is a post-apocalyptic, historical fantasy game of personal ambition, community strife, rights claimed and rights denied.
Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I played 4 ttrpgs in the past 2 days. Very grateful that I have so much more access to the hobby than I did two years ago. One of those games was our ongoing Low Cantrefs game, and my Sapling has become a Problem for their family and friends.

Luke Wildwoods@wildwoodsgames.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Andrew is being characteristically flippant, but it's true - after at this point 12 months of working on this thing we have finally worked out how to distill the game's pitch down to a single, pithy, hopefully-compelling sentence. To celebrate, ask us anything!

Andrew Gillis@andrewgillis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

People are calling Dark Ages a post-apocalyptic, historical fantasy game of rights claimed, rights denied, personal ambition, and community strife. And they couldn't be more right!