This hurts me inside.

The thing that should bother other people more is that it's already raised over $5 million on Kickstarter. It's absolutely a brand grab. Moreover, there's a whole lot of people who are going to sit down to play it and run into a brick wall of what looks like inadequacy of design.

It's not even a board game with miniatures. It's a tabletop role-playing game which leans heavily on dungeon delving within the TTRPG genre. It's already been done better (by Xcrawl) and more explicitly.

Dungeon Crawler Carl May Be Best Left in Space - Grim Tokens I couldn't stay quiet after seeing that disastrous Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG promo, so here is my take on why the game looks like a hot mess and the tabletop alternatives you should play instead.

#TTRPG #DungeonCrawlerCarl

I couldn't stay quiet after seeing that disastrous Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG promo, so here is my take on why the game looks like a hot mess and the tabletop alternatives you should play instead.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Dun...

The Forever GM - Grim Tokens Stop being the "dancing monkey" for your RPG group and discover how GM-less systems and decentralized play can turn a burnt-out Forever GM into a lifelong Player of Games.

#TTRPG #GMing #advice #facilitator #GMless

Stop being the "dancing monkey" for your RPG group and discover how GM-less systems and decentralized play can turn a burnt-out Forever GM into a lifelong Player of Games.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/The...

#TTRPG #Shinobigame #Japan

I finally get to say I'm big in Japan, and I get to talk about a discovery of a game that I haven't picked up yet. Shinobigami looks promising.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/The...

Initiative - Meet the Cast at the Aurora Theatre - Grim Tokens A cynical gamer emerges from his crypt to watch community theater actors stumble through live D&D, only to discover that unscripted audience participation makes tabletop gaming a fine spectator sport.

#TTRPG #play #Initiative #liveplay

Last night I went out to watch my local community theater do a session of D&D live on stage. I have some thoughts, not unpleasant ones.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Ini...

Getting to The Meat of Play - Grim Tokens Traditional roleplaying games treat game masters like defective calculators. Instead of mindlessly marching mortals into tedious meat grinders, I demand we actually ask players what they want before t...

#TTRPG #design

I am all for getting to the meat of play at the table quickly. The problem is that most GMs have no idea why their players came to the table, and if they do, they overdo.

grimtokens.garden/Thoughts/Get...

31 - Alien the RPG Evolved Edition - Grim Tokens In space, everyone can hear you do accounting and illegal research. Sometimes you have to go on the run. Let's make a character.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #AlienRPG

Closing out *Character Creation Challenge 2026* with one of the best game releases of the year. It's *Alien: The RPG - Evolved Edition*. Corporate scientists have all the fun.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

Fellow writers: I am deeply saddened to share that if we want the rewards of having written, we must submit to the mortifying ordeal of writing

30 - Choir of Flesh - Grim Tokens Character creation for Choir of Flesh is fast, easy, and straightforward. It’s also a banger of a setting.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #ChoirOfFlesh

A little bit solo, a little bit group, a little bit Cronenberg nightmare body horror, a little bit alternate historical, 1000 AD France. Choir of Flesh has a lot of things going on.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

29 - Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - The RPG - Grim Tokens A little man in black action at the Mystery Flesh Pit. Everyone loves a nice superorganism.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #MysteryFleshPit

Probably one of the most fun, modern, satirical settings I've had the pleasure of reading, but mechanically, I'm of two minds. Join me in the Mystery Flesh Pit.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

28 - Exalted 3e - Grim Tokens You know what? Exalted 3rd Edition is a real pain to create characters for.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #Exalted3e

Look, we all know how I feel about super crunchy systems, and Exalted 3e is exactly that. So let's get stuck in and put together the worst kind of bureaucrat.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

So pretty much like all social media regarding RPGs, all the way back to the pre-web Usenet days. It's nice to know some things actually never change.

27 - Wushu for Exalted - Grim Tokens Putting together a Twilight caste Necromancer for Wushu for Exalted.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #WushuForExalted

Exalted is a big, beefy, hungus monster of a setting and a game's text. But what if someone used one of the most open, freeform mechanical systems as its spine?

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

25 - Paranoia - Five Clones From Alpha Complex - Grim Tokens How about an uncooperative wargame experience? The world of *Paranoia*, miniatures, and getting a little trigger-happy mix on the tabletop.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #ParanoiaFiveClonesFromAlphaComplex

I may have just experienced my favorite version of the Paranoia RPG rules, and it's not even an RPG. How does adventure wargaming work here? Let's find out.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

24 - We Have That Dungeon Game At Home - Grim Tokens We head out to the dungeon looking for adventure, but mom tells us that We Have That Dungeon Game At Home. Still not going to stop us. We're going to play an illithid!

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #WeHaveThatDungeonGameAtHome

When you tell mom that you want that dungeon game, and she tells you that you have that dungeon game at home, what do you actually have at home? You have this.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

23 - Sweaty and Breathless - Grim Tokens I've discovered the perfect game for tentacle porn. No, I'm not kidding. It's perfect.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #SweatyAndBreathless

It's not often I get to tinker with a game which would be perfect for tentacle porn, but here we are. Your ero game needs have been fulfilled. It's really quite good.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

22 - Cthulhu Unleashed - Grim Tokens Is BRP Lite a good modern interpretation of Cthulhu? Let's ask a detective.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #SongsAndSagas

What does a lightweight BRP look like for a modern Cthulhu game? It looks a lot like *Cthulhu Unleashed.* Let's ask a detective for some help.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

21 - Songs and Sagas - Grim Tokens Extremely lightweight, low fantasy. Potentially sword and sandals, but definitely Viking era fantasy RPG? That is Songs and Sagas.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge #SongsAndSagas

If the system seems familiar, you've been paying attention. Songs and Sagas take us to low magic fantasy Viking territory. Time to go digging through grave mounds.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

19 - Cosmic Dark - Grim Tokens Is it an RPG or is it an experience dressed like an RPG? Cosmic Dark is a little complicated. Let's put together a character.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #CosmicDark

Are you looking for a super lightweight mechanical game which has a very scenario-focused mode of play? Cosmic Dark might be for you, or it might not. Let's poke at it.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

18 - Feet First Into Hell 2e - Grim Tokens When you put together a conscript penal squad for Feet First Into Hell 2nd Edition, things can get weird.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #FeetFirstIntoHell

What if you like your adventure wargaming with a lot more wargaming and just a tiny little bit of character exploration? Well, you can drop Feet First Into Hell and ride with the Hell Patrol.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

Almost every single superheroes RPG has that as a core premise, either implicitly or explicitly for most of their settings.

17 - Bay of Villains - Grim Tokens What happens when you drop me in a kitchen sink superhero setting? Well, about exactly what you think. Let's go see a corporate necromancer about a job.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #BayOfVillains

I think it's time to take up a little superheroics. *Bay of Villains* needs a new crew operating. Something a little corporate.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

16 - Boundless Tides - Grim Tokens Putting together a pirate and a ship on the *Boundless Tides*.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #BoundlessTides

It's time for a trip out to the high seas with our straightforward swashbuckler, Renaud, and another lightweight, zero-cost game, Boundless Tides.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

15 - Fear and Panic - Grim Tokens Fast and easy percentile-based horror system that can be stretched in all kinds of ways. Fear and panic might scratch your itch.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #FearAndPanic

It's time to take on a little fear and maybe a little panic. Fear and Panic is a lightweight percentile-based system for horror gaming. Let's see if it can handle an Alabama.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

13 - Sword Sorcery N 2d6 - Grim Tokens Super lightweight hybrid PBTA / OSR gaming goodness. We could do some more kitchen sink fantasy, sure.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #SwordSorcery2d6

Minimalist OSR-adjacent PBTA-inspired kitchen sink fantasy that you can have for free? It's more likely than you think.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

Dinosaur Erotica: The Role-Playing Game by Z Gosck A game of bizarre romance for two players (or more, if that’s what you’re into)

Oh, I'm pretty sure I have a thing or two around here that might be.

digthezig.itch.io/dinorotica

13 - Sword Sorcery N 2d6 - Grim Tokens Super lightweight hybrid PBTA / OSR gaming goodness. We could do some more kitchen sink fantasy, sure.

#TTRPG #CharacterCreationChallenge2026 #SwordSorcery2d6

Minimalist OSR-adjacent PBTA-inspired kitchen sink fantasy that you can have for free? It's more likely than you think.

grimtokens.garden/Articles/Cha...

You will never be able to design a game that forces tables to engage with its premise.

Design for folks that want your vision. Make that vision clear. "Enforce" (encourage) that vision with in-game incentives.
#ttrpg #gamedesign