Velocitree
@velocitree.bsky.social
Writing at the speed of tree. Blogging about TTRPGs at https://dreamshrike.blogspot.com/
New post! Reviewing my new favorite RPG-adjectent book, trying to identify what makes its gameplay *tick*, and what lessons you can get from it as a Game-Master. Presenting: Nalsco's ZYMO. behindthehelm.bearblog.dev/lessons-from... #osr
Lessons from Zymo - the necessity of a gameplay loop
TW: the game i'm reviewing is about body horror, which i’m not discussing in depth and leaving in the footnotes anyway if you wanna skip them, but be warned~...
behindthehelm.bearblog.dev
My honeybee game is officially The Wax Marches - and is in alpha playtest on itch! tbr.bearblog.dev/honeybees-is...
Honeybees is officially The Wax Marches - Alpha Playtest Live on Itch!
Thrilled to celebrate a year of the TBR blog with a live playtest! Last July I caught the mechanical design bug and today you can role play as a mechanically...
tbr.bearblog.dev
just in time for the App N jam deadline, a deadly retrieval one shot for Pirate Borg… Landsharks, rival pirates, and a bloodsucking island that is not what it seems. Free for the next two weeks, check it out! dreamshrike.itch.io/the-opal-gri...
Download the latest indie games
itch.io is a simple way to find, download and distribute indie games online. Whether you're a developer looking to upload your game or just someone looking for something new to play itch.io has you co...
itch.io
The dragon spawns traps: not mechanical ones, but a terrible hell realm of slime that eats your bones and lamps that cast unliving shadows. 10 nasty traps to use for your TTRPGs
B.U.R.G.L.A.R.s Part 3: 10 Traps
Part 3 of my investigation into "Hobbits have a Roadside Picnic." Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Traps "I don’t exactly understand your t...
riseupcomus.blogspot.com
Which has more tactical options, 5e or Shadowdark or OSE? Tldr: OSE. Why? I posted this week on retainers in OSR and trad game tactical choices: dreamshrike.blogspot.com/2026/07/in-o...
In one round a lifetime: round 2
In many old school games and AD&D, you hire retainers to help you in the dungeon, which can give a player lots of actions (see my last post...
dreamshrike.blogspot.com
Nifty write up of the creator of Crawlspace's experience (thus far) with HIS MAJESTY THE WORM
Crawlspace, and His Majesty the Worm
My release of a new online-play tool for the tabletop RPG His Majesty the Worm, and how I came to discover this game, and my early experiences with it.
fogknife.com
I playtested this system add on, had a blast, and I just backed it. give a look! I am excited to use it at table. www.kickstarter.com/projects/3x5...
Undercrawl
Travel rules for dungeon games in the mythic underworld.
kickstarter.com
Blogpost Preview is up on Patreon. Haven't done one of these in a while. 3300 words on Systems, if they Matter, and also a little bit about that one backerkit campaign everyone's clowning on. Patrons at the $1 level or higher can read it right now. www.patreon.com/FarmerGadda/...
A Matter of Systems | Farmer Gadda
(wrt the above image) You lot, after reading the clickbaity title. You are correct to do so. Pull the trigger, Piglet. Howdy, Farmhands!
patreon.com
NEW BLOG POST!!! A distillation of my deeply held beliefs on elfgame design, evolved from my previous posts on setting design which suffer from early onset linkrot, and confusingly enough ending with me talking about Deathbringer for 2 paragraphs? But not really. Gaze upon my works, ye mortals.
Farmer Gadda's TTRPG Hayloft : A Matter of Systems
Half of you are legally obligated to euthanize me after this
farmergadda.neocities.org
My official Appx. N Jam 2026 submission “The Gladsome Horror” is now available as a FREE demo! The $2 price tag is only there if you want the printer friendly version, and/or access to any future updates to this game #AppxNJam #OSR #Cairn #TTRPG
The Gladsome Horror by ToucantSam
A werewolf inspired murder mystery adventure, written for Cairn
toucantsam.itch.io
Green orcs or blue orcs are apparently the latest front in culture war signaling? Weird, but here are a bunch of colorful orcs (just for patrons now, it’ll be on my blog with time)
Blog Preview: pity the blue orc | Prismatic Wasteland
Blog Preview: pity the blue orc by Prismatic Wasteland on Patreon. Join Prismatic Wasteland's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
Fantasy gaming meets environmentalism and bomb disposal! Ecoheroism is a free #TTRPG supplement exploring the idea that slaying a dragon doesn't make it safe. Each organ is magically hazardous and must be disposed of carefully to avoid environmental disaster. periapt-games.itch.io/ecoheroism
Ecoheroism by Periapt Games
Cleaning up after slaying the dragon
periapt-games.itch.io
Into the Viridian Pit (my Appendix N Jam I wrote for my eventual forthcoming Star Trek Cairn2E hack) is live! Forest crawl on a planet that wants to kill you! Uncover conspiracy! Investigate a secret romance! Star Trek is appendix N...right? #osr #ttrpg weepingstagpress.itch.io/into-the-vir...
Into the Viridian Pit by weepingstagpress
A Sci-fi Forestcrawl for the 2026 Appendix N Jam
weepingstagpress.itch.io
EN World has banned discussion of Deathbringer, the TTRPG they supposedly voted as their "Most Anticipated of 2026". Masterful gambit, Dan "Professor DM" DeFazio and co.
The deathbringer demo crowd was all 30-50 yo white men. Chanting, laughing—prof DM really puts on a show. Deathbringer’s art shows you what they find funny. Women are funny. Enemies that look like black people are funny. I am Red Box D&D old. And I thought we ALL had grown up more than this.
Alas, to be an indie RPG designer is to wear many hats, including marketer. I've talked a lot about ENNIES voting this week. I make no apologies for shilling! But, if I must advertise, I should at least be funny. That's why I put together the... CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVERTISEMENT (CYOA)
Designing Dungeons CYOA
1. It's pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a g̷̫͍͓͙͔̒̅̈́́̇̏̑͂͗̽̿͝r̷̟̬͛̓͌̐͆̈͛͐̽̓̚̚͝͝u̵̗̭̗̤̭̤͖̱̹̠̙͎̝̲̼͈̩̿̇̒̐̌̌̃̄̏̍́̀͋̅̋͘͝ẻ̶̡̧̱̜͚̲̗̞̘̩̼͎̬̘̲͔̽͑̀͋͑͗̓̒. - You cautiously grope through the darkness. ...
docs.google.com
You can find the full list at Explorers Design. It's like other people's lists with a few sites I think are woefully overlooked. I also omit some of the usual suspects because I think they're more trouble than they're worth—like Getty and Pixel's "public domain" galleries. Try these instead 👇
Public Domain Art Resources
Where to get public domain art and how to use it.
explorersdesign.com
From the brilliant mind of Magnolia Keep comes a high-octane look at some kinda gross stuff! Deathbringer is ENWorld's most-anticipated RPG of 2026, it's currently raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, and also the marketing is kinda full of misogyny. magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...
The Thoughtlessness of Deathbringer's Marketing
As I write this, Deathbringer , the self-proclaimed most anticipated RPG of 2026, is entering day two of its Backerkit campaign and h...
magnoliakeep.blogspot.com
I was asked by @jdragsky.bsky.social to make the post about Seven Part Pact on my Patreon free to access for the duration of the Kickstarter. I thought that was more than fair, so here she is! Welcome to wizard club www.patreon.com/qquest/posts...
Fan Club “Blog” #18: I played The Seven-Part Pact | Quinns Quest
I played one hell of a TTRPG this month. This game is called The Seven-Part Pact. It’s enormous. It’s labyrinthine. Apparently some folks ha
patreon.com
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
THE MIDDLE-EARTH HEXCRAWL IS BACK, BABY. I have not been idle with this daily writing exercise. Come visit these troll-haunted lands. Gaze on the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Rhudaur, fight bandits allied with the Necromancer's forces, and explore the still-standing watchtowers for treasure.
The Angle - Middle-earth Hexcrawl
An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. Art by Goran Gli...
riseupcomus.blogspot.com
I review a bestiary, ostensibly for dungeon world but let's be real these can and should be stolen for whatever fantasy system you may use #osr #ttrpg
Review: A Book of Beasts — Prismatic Wasteland
A bestiary of 56 or so monsters, written initially for Dungeon World but useful for any fantasy game, reviewed.
prismaticwasteland.com
Traditional RPGs like 5e let players do lots of actions, and OSR games do not. Or DO they? dreamshrike.blogspot.com/2026/07/in-o...
In one round a lifetime
How many things can one do in a round, and how does it change the feel of the game? I am playing OD&D this week, running through Thracia w...
dreamshrike.blogspot.com
the seven-part pact kickstarter launches TOMORROW! here's the Arcane Edition (mockup, images not final) ! it features a faux leather bound grimoire, hardcover codices, a plastic pull tab on the box, and beautiful art by @teanwitch.bsky.social
theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/l... Here's everything I learned from the past 18 months of kicking my own ass to draw better!
Learning to Draw and Not Feeling Like Crap About It
This article contains artistic nudity At the start of 2025, I set out a simple goal for myself: get good enough at drawing that I can draw art of my TTRPG characters. Some of the factors that spawn…
theweepingstag.wordpress.com
Your hexcrawl is too realistic. Why most travel procedures fail to be interesting, and how you can fix that. valerialoves.com/people-walk-...
People Walk Too Fast
Horizon Design in Hexcrawls
valerialoves.com
I've been chewing on an idea for a little while, I hope this resonates with some people! tbr.bearblog.dev/object-orien...
Object-Oriented Conversations
Last year I wrote a couple of essays wrestling with the concept of Narrative in tabletop RPGs. In the first, I waddled through the delineation of diegetic an...
tbr.bearblog.dev
Thought I would share something for other fantasy-loving parents, and the young at heart: dreamshrike.blogspot.com/2026/06/my-c...
My Children's Appendix N: a fantasy book list
I just spent a lovely, hectic summer week chasing fulltime after my kids. They have grown so much, and I wanted to share a small part of ...
dreamshrike.blogspot.com
