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Grant Howitt

@gshowitt.bsky.social

I make roleplaying games, toy soldiers, and bad decisions. rrdgames.com

1856 Posts9491 Follower 743 Folgt

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 8h ago

slides from an internal pitch session suggesting a (since abandoned) new setting for the Hollows core system

Art from Titanfall. The bit where the giant robot and humans are fighting alongside each other has a big red X over it and says NOT THIS BIT. The bit where a human is firing a pistol point-blank into a fallen robot's face has a big green tick and says THIS BIT

screenshot of the second boss fight in shadow of the colossus but the colossus is saying "bleep bloop"

screenshot from Lost Planet. (2? 3? I dunno.) A big black worm creature is lunging towards the player and saying "*modem noises*"

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 24h ago

Little goober who’s going hunting for space marines with an explosive lance. Frostgrave cultist as a base, who are adaptably grubby-looking

Photo of a mini. Scavenger-looking guy with a yellow coat, grey ragged clothing and a wooden shield. He’s carrying a spear with a bomb and a blast shield mounted on the end.

huck mason @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 3d ago

never thought short form video would be able to capture a type of humor i can only describe as “the far side-esque” but this comes close.

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 4d ago

I’m happy to report that the unique mechanic in the GenCon multi-table Heart game - that players who are playing the same pregens are actually shards of the same reincarnated saint from slightly different realities, and if they meet they instantly glom together into one body - is going well

Screenshot of Zeb’s post on our discord. Photo (next slide) is attached. “This table has two characters at it, this scenario fucking rules”

Better-quality version of the attached picture. The GM is excitedly raising her hands and talking to a group of ten Heart players, who are playing two characters between them. As players glom together they just add their dice pools when they make actions, and gain access to ever-greater powers. Seeing as there’s a maximum occupancy of five players per saint, this indicates two incredibly powerful player characters

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 6d ago

Never got the chance to finish this

NICOLAS CAGE’S BACKOLAS PAGES

Hi, I’m Nicholas Cage. While I’ve spent my life starring in and producing Hollywood films, my real passion is coming up with ideas for one-page roleplaying games. I send some of them to my best friend Grant Howitt, and though he’s yet to use any of them, he said that I could do the back page of a game he assured me was "minimalist brilliance.” But I’m too nervous to pick just one! So here are some ideas I had for one-page roleplaying games. I hope you enjoy them.

GOON IN SIXTY SECONDS.

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · last wk.

Five minutes! Come over and see what's what on our Discord: discord.gg/c3qA6GMA

Join the Rowan, Rook and Decard Discord Server!

Check out the Rowan, Rook and Decard community on Discord - hang out with 7360 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

discord.gg

Minærva McJanda (she/her, zie/zir)@minahoneybat.bsky.social · last wk.

Reminder: This is happening tomorrow! Join us on the RRD discord to see me and @aptshadow.bsky.social chatting about Children, Time, RPGs, and the many and varied questions y'all have submitted *ahead of time* (That time is 10 AM west coast US, 1PM east coast US)

An image showing me (Minærva McJanda, lead designer) and Adrian Tchaikovsky (author of the books, strong eyebrow game). Text reads: Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game – Fireside chat Wed 29th July 6 PM BST, only on the RRD Discord

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · last wk.

Two weeks ago I wrote a game about different bronze-age philosophies put forward by a theoretical civilisation of super-intelligent beehives. It involves making uninterrupted eye contact with a stranger until I tell you to stop. www.patreon.com/gshowitt/pos...

GAMES FOR CRABS DEBRIEF | Grant Howitt

This weekend I wrote a game about different bronze-age philosophies put forward by a theoretical civilisation of superintelligent beehives.

patreon.com

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · last wk.

how's the ADHD going, Grant? Well, put it this way - sometimes, if I really knuckle down, I can listen all the way through a three-and-a-half minute song

Michelle Kelly @michellicopter.bsky.social · last wk.

If beehives achieved sapience and had to communicate with each other, this is the game they would play. We think. Hive Mind, a very serious game I made with Grant @gshowitt.bsky.social and Dave @uncannydice.bsky.social is now available for free as a print-and-play game on itch 🐝

HIVE MIND by Michellicopter

Co-created with Grant Howitt and Dave Winterbottom

michellicopter.itch.io

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · last wk.

Didn’t have any saturnine armour. Had to improvise with planks

Plague marine de-nurgled with some cities of sigmar shields stuck on the shoulders for extra pauldron

Same lad but from the left, showing off the long-barrel wood panelled bolter

Standplaats Kraków could really use some cash!@standplaatskrk.pl · 2w ago

horse (@lincnotfound) on Twitter: "professor x: whats your superpower?
ostrich: i lay big egg
professor x [telepathically to x-men]: i can save us money on breakfast
ostrich [telepathically]: egg no for sale"

Minærva McJanda (she/her, zie/zir)@minahoneybat.bsky.social · 2w ago

We're heading into the midway point for the Children of Time RPG kickstarter! I've talked a little about why I'm excited to make a Children of Time game (see www.kickstarter.com/projects/gsh...) but I thought I might talk a little about why the game's interesting independent of its setting ^^

Composite of sci-fi images. At the top, an ark ship slowing signs of damage is approaching a green-blue planet; on the bottom, a big structure built by uplifted spiders rises out of a forest. It looks like a great bone-white tree, and it has webs coming off it. Several spiders are hanging out in the foreground admiring their work. Central text reads: BUILD SOCIETIES. BUILD CHARACTERS. THROW THEM INTO CHAOS. SEE HOW THEY EVOLVE.

Kenny Logins @kennylogins.bsky.social · 2y ago

tomie soprano @jon_snow_420 • 2019-05-11
i believe in NATURAL IMMUNITY. my kids get dirty, they get sick, they get EXORCISMS EVERY 18 MONTHS
|
tomie soprano @jon_snow_420 • 2019-05-11
my children drink raw milk straight from the neighbour's dog. they are
HEALTHY, HAPPY, MUTE children!
|
tomie soprano @jon_snow_420 • 2019-05-11
i have given birth to twelve babes NATURALLY and one UNNATURALLY (under a car!!) my kids are all named THOMAS and three of them reached the age of SEVEN
|
tomie soprano @jon_snow_420
i do not believe in DOCTORS! i do believe in WITCHES hiding inside my CHILDREN
9:02 AM • 2019-05-11

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 2w ago

“Each more identical than the last!”

Chris Vannini@chrisvannini.com · 2w ago

What's a Futurama line that lives forever in your head? Mine is, "Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm My Own Grandpa."

MegueyB @megueyb.bsky.social · 2w ago

Wow! We're $50 shy of $21K! That's awesome! There's 45 hours left, and two more stretch goals: More Money For Artists at $24k, and More Game For Everyone at $28K. Will we get there?? You can help find out! Back, share, and enjoy the run! #PsiRun2e #ttrpg #PBTA www.kickstarter.com/projects/117...

PsiRun Second Edition

Whoever was holding you captive, you're free, for now. You have superpowers & amnesia. You know they're after you. What could go wrong?

kickstarter.com

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 2w ago

GAMES FOR CRABS debrief, including a three-player game about intimacy, fear and theocratic diplomacy inherent in post-consciousness bronze-age beehive societies Patrons get it a week early here: www.patreon.com/gshowitt/pos...

GAMES FOR CRABS DEBRIEF | Grant Howitt

This weekend I wrote a game about different bronze-age philosophies put forward by a theoretical civilisation of superintelligent beehives.

patreon.com

The Onion @theonion.com · 2w ago

A24’s ‘Elden Ring’ Film Stalled After Red Phantom Named TwinkPunisher Invades Set https://theonion.com/a24s-elden-ring-film-stalled-after-red-phantom-named-twinkpunisher-invades-set/

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 2w ago

Just the worst dice

Rowan Rook and Decard @rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social · 3w ago

It's FREE👏 SHIT👏 FRIDAY!👏 It's my (social media wretch) birthday!🎂🎈🎉🎁 I'm a GIRL. It's my BIRTHDAY. And not even GOD can stop us having a GOOD TIME 🥳 rowanrookanddecard.com/product/happ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOAT GIRL! - Rowan, Rook and Decard

You're a goat girl. It's your birthday. And not even God himself can stop you from having a good time.

rowanrookanddecard.com

more mr. nice guy @juniorhoncho.bsky.social · 3w ago

you crumple to the floor and, though you know you're dying, you feel only calm. clips of your life's happiest moments ease you into the void. a woman in a pantsuit eats a salad. three office guys surround one computer. a meeting is going really well. hey wait this is all stock footage. what the f—

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

I’ve worked out how to make space marines interesting and I regret to inform you that it’s turning templates

Top down photo of my incredibly filthy desk. I’m holding a 90 degree turning template I cut out of foam board above a space marine (actually a stormcast I glued a gun to but shh)

Same thing but the space marine has turned 45 degrees to the right. It’s gonna be fuckin revolutionary lads

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

Bobby Crisps

kim@kimmymonte.bsky.social · 3w ago

your baseball pitcher name is your grandfather’s first name and the last thing you bought i’ll go first mine’s Dominic Sandals

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

Man it's nice to read writers who *get* the Resistance system

E. R. F. Jordan 🏳️‍⚧️ Mooncroft Manor, available now!@erfjordan.bsky.social · 3w ago

In PURGATORY LIMITS, your powers come from forming pacts with Grim: manifestations of human suffering and pain. Some, like WOMB, are more abstract in their horror; others, like BOMB, are exactly as advertised. (Amazing how much difference one letter makes.)

A two-page spread from Purgatory Limits, describing the WOMB character option. The left page is a painted image of a red womb with a black silhouette of something skeletal inside; an umbilical cord runs off the page. The right page describes WOMB's abilities, which revolve around feeding something that grows inside you.

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

"But a GMless game doesn't need a-" Fuck you, we're making two at once, everyone gets to use it

🌱Elaine Lithgow - Back The Children Of Time RPG! 🕷️@elainelithgow.bsky.social · 3w ago

Did you know, for the Children of Time RPG we designed a GM screen that transforms between reference materials for the ark ship and the alien planet side of play? Why? Because I am incapable of making a normal-ass GM screen and @mazistyping.bsky.social keeps enabling my sicko shit.

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

I used to post a free game on r/RPG every month until they started taking them down as self-promotion. And like; it’s free. It’s a free thing. I haven’t offered a way to pay for it, even. Anyway that was in 2021 and I haven’t used the website since

PVincent (Table Cat Games)@tablecatgames.com · 3w ago

It's a fairly interesting post. www.reddit.com/r/rpg/commen...

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

I've been involved with the development of Children of Time since the start and it's been tremendous to watch it take shape. It's a slick, evocative, sci-fi system that feels like being in a writer's room - in the best way. It's brisk and fun and charming and you should take a look!

Rowan Rook and Decard@rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social · 3w ago

🚨Today's the daaaaaaay!🚨 [4pm UK | 8am PT | 11am ET] bit.ly/3R1XMUu

Graphic with the ark ship floating towards a planet drawn by Sam Lamont, with the words Kickstarter Live Today! in glowing text with a big blue lens flare.

jay Dragon is sleepy @jdragsky.bsky.social · 3w ago

SEVEN-PART PACT, my fantastical ornate TTRPG about powerful wizards, asymmetrical board games, and the pressures of masculinity is now launching on kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjg...

Seven-Part Pact

A fantastical, ornate TTRPG from Possum Creek about the might and folly of powerful wizards bound by a venerable Pact.

kickstarter.com

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

Rowan Rook and Decard@rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social · 3w ago

🚨Today's the daaaaaaay!🚨 [4pm UK | 8am PT | 11am ET] bit.ly/3R1XMUu

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

A blog about writing and running 30-player, 6-GM games, why it's difficult, and why I refuse to learn from my previous mistakes: www.patreon.com/gshowitt/pos...

TO DIE WOULD BE A GREAT (MEANING LARGE OR IMMENSE) ADVENTURE
I have the DIE RPG to thank for this.

Kieron Gillen, author of same, came with us to GenCon 2024 and had an idea for a big game of DIE that needed thirty people to work correctly, and we did what we could to facilitate that. It was the sort of metatextual onanism that Kieron loves as much as overwrought puns and 90’s alt-pop: he, the noble and valiant indie comic book author Kieron Gillen, was magicked into a roleplaying game by his evil alter-ego, also confusingly called Kieron Gillen, but this one wore a leather jacket so you knew he was a bad guy right from the get-go. He played both.

The thirty players were divided up into six tables of five, each of whom played through the same scenario which involved rescuing their GM from an evil GM, I think? A microcosm of the broader plot, anyway, and - spoilers, I guess - each one of them unlocked one sixth of the magic word needed to defeat the malevolent Leather Gillen.

ON WRITING DIFFERENT THINGS
I get a bit caught up in this stuff, myself. Once I start writing - if things are going well - I get too many ideas, and I want to use them all. I want good bits in everyone’s game. I want to prove to them that I’m a great designer, and not only a game designer, I can design adventures too! I promise! Look!

And: the relationship between what I write and what a player experiences is, perhaps, never more tenuous or brittle. You write a scenario, and you have to communicate it to a prospective GM in such a way that they can remember it, but not feel limited by it, but still definitely run it in a recognisable way. And then they communicate that to the players, who have their own agency, and there’s five of the buggers running around in different directions at any one time. And then we’ve got fucking dice to worry about, so there’s never a sure thing.

That’s just a normal game - now, you do all that six times and have them cross over, and suddenly the GMs are sifting through your notes written four months previously trying to find a way to connect them to this hot afternoon instant in Indianapolis where half the tables have finished early and the other half are nowhere near the end.

But the best thing, bar none, the highlight of my GenCon and most likely my year, was calling together all thirty players in a rousing chant of “DOOM! DOOM! DOOM!” (Doom is an important concept in Orc Borg, being as it is their deliverance to heaven, and as such people started slamming the tables and bellowing it with very little provocation.)

I had uncovered the secret to running a good multi-table game: synchronised yelling.

And why not? It works at football matches! It works in churches! And protest marches, and the military, and concerts, and the bit in Battlestar Galactica where they bark so say we all and you get a bit tingly about the scalp, and groups of people eight beers in outside my flat at 2am, and when you think about it, a solid portion of all human interaction after we worked out how to make noises with our mouths.

Player characters are all shards of five reincarnated saints, or hallows, who’ve been called to the cathedral to defend it against the onslaught of flesh that the Heart is sending in to disrupt the summoning ritual (a ritual which ought to involve some yelling). We’ve got six different Seven Samurai-style defend the town adventures lined up, and all of them have something special going on.

[DISCORD SCREENSHOT, message from Grant] "light update to the Heart scenario on the drive as Sillion has corrected me: the severed angel wings are now only used to power the red nightmare defence robot, not the magical escape moon train as originally intended"

Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

I’ve fucking made it lads. Osprey sent me some frostgrave kits because I asked them nicely. I have made them into some trench dorks with the addition of some ww1 helmets

Three frostgrave cultist bodies with Wargames Atlantic British ww1 heads and arms. And little ponchos. Two of them have rifles and the one in the middle has a pike and shield off the cultists kit

Chorister made out of a frostgrave wizard and a kingdom death knife. I squished some wire flat to emulate the runes pouring out of the neck in the art. I’m not sure about the head and will probably change it to a less healthy-looking one