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Johnny O’Neal

@johnnyoneal.bsky.social

Brotherwise Games Co-Founder. Geeky dad. Game designer, art director, and chief Cosmere officer. Trying to make the world a more positive & joyful place through games.

618 Posts1679 Follower497 Folgt
Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 5d ago

Stormlight: War for Roshar is an asymmetric war game based on Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series. The Kickstarter isn't until October 13, so what you're seeing here is just a prototype. But it's pretty incredible! If you like games like War of the Ring or Star Wars Rebellion, this is for you.

Brotherwise Games president Johnny O’Neal playing a prototype copy of War for Roshar in the Cosmere room at Gen ConThe War for Roshar game board is so large that the prototype is printed on two boards. It shows the map of Roshar, covered in tokens and cards.
GamingTrend@feed.gamingtrend.com.ap.brid.gy · 6d ago

Earthborne Games bring new settings to Plotweaver!

Plotweaver RPG announces new partnerships and setting contest

The Plotweaver system, which is the backbone of the Cosmere RPG, is getting new settings: > Brotherwise Games kicked off Gen Con in full swing with a slate of new Plotweaver announcements made during Gen Con’s Opening Ceremonies. Johnny O’Neal and Jillian Schumacher from Brotherwise went onstage this morning to show off their Gen Con releases and teased upcoming games, such as _Stormlight: War for Roshar_. However, their biggest reveals during the Opening Ceremony were for the upcoming Plotweaver RPG System. > > Plotweaver, the underlying system for the Cosmere RPG, is positioned as “the game designer’s RPG,” with an open source system that encourages independent creators to freely publish and monetize their work. Brotherwise will provide free online rules, guidance on designing with the Plotweaver system, and templates for developers. The Plotweaver System Reference Document (SRD) will be revealed ahead of a Plotweaver crowdfunding campaign in Q2 2027. > Brotherwise announced the first partners outside of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere for the Plotweaver system. The first partner they revealed was Earthborne Games, the makers of _Earthborne Rangers_ and _Hubworld: Aidalon_. Earthborne Games will be using the Plotweaver system to make a RPG set in their original solarpunk setting. The Earthborne Campaign Setting will be available to pre-order during the Plotweaver crowdfunding campaign in 2027. > > “Our fans have been asking for an Earthborne Rangers roleplaying game since day one, so we’re incredibly excited to finally make it happen,” said Earthborne's Founder & Creative Director, Andrew Navaro. “And to do it in partnership with another independent publisher as accomplished and beloved as Brotherwise is such a tremendous opportunity, we couldn’t be more grateful.” > The second partner revealed was Twogether Studios, led by Keith Baker and Jenn Ellis. The duo will be creating an entirely new property, I _nfinite_. This genre-hopping RPG will take full advantage of the Plotweaver system’s ability to adapt any heroic action story, from sci-fi to fantasy. > > "_Infinite_ is a truly unique setting; the experience at the table will change with every session," said Keith Baker, co-owner of Twogether Studios. "Jenn and I believe that Plotweaver is the perfect system to deliver this experience, and we can't wait to share it." > In addition to these partnerships, Brotherwise is conducting the Plotweaver Setting Search contest, where RPG designers can submit their setting ideas to get featured as an official release from Brotherwise Games. Keith Baker will be a part of the judging panel, 24 years after his own setting, Eberron, won the Fantasy Setting Search sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. More details on the Plotweaver Setting Search will be available later this year, but interested designers should be ready to submit their settings in early 2027. > For those interested in trying out the Plotweaver system, the Open Alpha begins in a few days on August 5th with an original fantasy setting, _Erstwild_. The _Splinterlight_ and _Hexbeat_ settings will follow in September and October, with an open Beta set for early 2027.

gamingtrend.com

Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · last wk.

All packed and ready for Gen Con! Spent a lot of this weekend prepping our "State of Games in the Cosmere" presentation, printing out character sheets for RPG demos, and punching out tokens! So many tokens.

Photo of printed paper tokens in reusable plastic coin holders, our usual method for con demos of unreleased adventures. In the background, pages and pages of punched out circles give a silent testament to the hours that Johnny spent making these little tokens.
Lyla @ GenCon!@lyla.bsky.social · 3w ago

@systemmastery.bsky.social did Jukebox! Jon played the game at Big Bad ( @harkmorper.bsky.social's Hearts Take Flight playset). The great in-depth breakdown includes playlists, opening number world building and cues. Plus nerding out about musicals: systemmasterypodcast.com/2026/06/12/s...

System Mastery 329 – Jukebox

System Mastery 329 – Jukebox Hey how about we let Jon pick a game, that’s what I said. And then of course the moment I said okay we get a game with a karaoke mechanic.

systemmasterypodcast.com

Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 4w ago

My friend Susan is a retired librarian, and one of our Michigan summer traditions is that "Aunt Sus" comes over every day and reads to the kids. This summer she has read our youngest son stories by Terry Pratchet, James Thurber, and Douglas Adams.

A boy (and his dog) sitting attentively as a woman reads him short stories by James Thurber
Brotherwise Games@brotherwisegames.bsky.social · 4w ago

Shelfy is REAL! Introducing Shelfy, the new collectible for gamers to show off their favorite board games in miniature 🤩 These wooden miniatures fit perfectly in the miniature shelf included in the Starter Set! Be sure to swing by Booth 339 to Treat yo’ Shelf to a Shelfy ✨🎲

Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I'm headed to Origins Game Fair and looking forward to playing some games! I'll have a copy of Shards of Creation in my backpack, so hit me up if you want to play a quick game. Anybody else headed to Columbus?

Shards of Creation card game on display on a table
Brotherwise Games@brotherwisegames.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The Concept Art for Plotweaver so far has been incredible to go through! We can’t wait to see what our Lead Artist will do with these settings too! The Artist Search is still on, so don’t forget to share your portfolio with us! 🤩 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

Plotweaver RPG@plotweaver.bsky.social · 3mo ago

As we quickly approach the start of Closed Alpha Testing for the Folio setting, we figured we’d share some Spirit World Concept art! The Spirit World is intrinsically tied to the mortal world. Energy flows back and forth in a symbiotic relationship, feeding the land and helping life flourish. ✨

Sketch style drawings of fantasy locations: waterfalls, rivers of light, monuments made of natural plant life.
Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 4mo ago

In "All the World's a Stage," Shakespeare describes the different roles a person plays over the course of their life, until we reach the inevitable end. Reading it, I couldn't help but think about role playing games the different characters we play. So I ended up writing this... 😁

All the world's a game table, And those around it merely players; They have their critical hits and misses; And one group in their time tells many tales, Though more remain untold. The first character Chosen at a whim, paper-thin and doomed, Steps aside for a proper heroine; Brimming with backstory, ablaze with Potential; but her campaign is cut short. The player, alone, seeks solace in rules; Builds someone unstoppable, optimal, Unplayed. This mighty adventurer lives And dies in the player's dreams, character sheet Pristine, never used in a single scene. But then, a call: there's a new game to play. Five friends gather together fortnightly. A new hero lives and loves and levels; Wise and dextrous, strong and bright. At last The campaign ends in glory! What comes next? A long rest, a fresh start. Then the friends try New journeys, a new party, for a time: A princess, a warlock, a paladin, A bard. But scheduling is hard. Game nights Slain by the deadliest of dragons: Time. It demands one last sacrifice, a toll; Someone to run every role, every roll. A servant served up on the altar of fun; The master of games, but player of none.
Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Today I have a really specific deliverable with a really clear end-of-day deadline and I've blocked off my calendar for the whole day to work on it. So of course I've spent the past two hours writing a poem that absolutely no one asked for.

Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I recently had the chance to join a panel with some RPG industry all-stars, and I felt lucky to be onstage with such smart, talented, driven people. But I felt even luckier to be with such nice, thoughtful, *good* people. How cool to be in an industry that encourages kind, joyful professionalism.

A panel of tabletop RPG industry professionals including Johnny O'Neal, Anais Morgan, Else Rezendes, Spenser Starke, and Ross Thompson
Johnny O’Neal@johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Yesterday, Brotherwise Games announced our Plotweaver Artist Search. We'll be hiring dozens of artists for our new RPG, including a Lead Artist whose role will kick off with a $10,000 commission package. If you're an artist or TTRPG fan, learn more about this awesome project at PlotweaverRPG.com!

This illustration by Wiktor Kozyra shows two adventurers traveling between fantasy and sci-fi worlds. As the composition moves from left to right, it fades from rough grayscale sketches to to finished linework.