I'm a longtime fan of Snow (I have in print both the original .dungeon and Blackbirds, and I've been running a campaign of My Body is a Cage for nearly four years) but lately I've really been getting more into her essays on TTRPGs (and other topics). She's a really great writer/creative!
This recent essay by @snow117.bsky.social is one of the best I've read around the seemingly eternal "is the #OSR dead" conversation. Honestly, it puts into words things I've felt for a long time about how #TTRPG categorization has been (and should be) done.
What happens at two likes
Color illustration: two spacers sit atop a lifepod, half-buried in an alien beach. In the background, a flight of bird things erupt from a coral jungle. Beyond that, an enormous starfish creature walks by, a mangrove forests on its back. The text indicates that this is the intro to a database, intended to help the reader survive on the moon of Rill.
GREETINGS USER. PRELIMINARY SCANS INDICATE THAT YOU HAVE ARRIVED ON THE SURFACE OF RILL, THE PRIMARY MOON OF LUYTEN-b, VIA LIFEPOD. THIS DATABASE’S FUNCTIONS ARE TO GATHER INFORMATION ON YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND TO KEEP YOU ALIVE.
LET’S BEGIN.
(a system-neutral campaign setting, coming this summer!)
Not normally the type of thing I repost / talk about on here but I can't pass up on sharing this great article about giving credit (and many other related things)
This section of the Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition is one of the best GM tools for modern gaming on the market (I say this because we created exactly the thing I wanted when starting to run modern horror games)
Generic Maps
Agreed! And yeah, def don't think it was intentional... But it is a fun interpretation that I've been enjoying using
Are OD&D "classes" supposed to actually represent "social class" -- meaning the character's place in society, along with associated expectations? Probably not, but I think it explains away oddities of the ruleset in a satisfying way. Read more: blueshallowsdarkdepths.blogspot.com/2026/01/ODnD...
Me, some horrible combination of 1 and 2: thank god I'm one of the normal ones
GAS STATION SWORD AND SORCERY
A silhouette of a breathless zombie, in front of a wall of text that repeats "Don't scream. Don't Breathe." in red type writer typeface. "breathless" in white glows above the head of the creature.
They don't hunger. They suffocate.
The cover illustration for vermiculture that includes the following: a woman applying lotion, a robot panicking around a wolf skeleton covered in goo, a mutant with a tail climbing out of an air duct, a person hacking into a screen that says "access granted", a wave of people sitting on beach chairs wearing towels, face masks, and cucumbers. Art by Zach Hazard Vaupen.
PLASMODICS: VERMICULTURE is off to @posatahchips.gaygothvibes.online for editing! eight bunker scenarios across nearly 20,000 words in a dense sandboxy mesh. people live underground and they're not normal. cover art by @emo-sludge.com.
I don’t know how to express this more clearly
Every time you do a war I’m against it
I’m against it in all forms
I’m against from All sides
I’m against the careless loss of life
I’ve been mulling this thought over but I think there’s sort of a third wave of indie RPGs outside of the established OSR / Story Game divide…games that I would say take design cues from both schools but are firmly developing their own identity and culture distinct from both.
Remember, “ye olde” megadungeons are now contemporary media… start your OD&D dungeon campaign today! Details below 👇
I am so unbelievably excited for Seven-Part Pact, and each of these articles just makes me even more excited. It seems to me that this game is going to be truly innovative, and I just can't wait to see how it all comes together!
In the first session, the PC was stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out on the pavement while the truck drove away. The second session's player did much better and successfully stole the truck (which he later drove off a cliff for reasons). So, a 50% success rate!
Today I ran two sessions of @discodan.bsky.social's Truck scenario for @lukegearing.bsky.social's Violence ruleset. Each was so different, but both times, players immediately got into the scene and made total messes of themselves. For less than an hour each, they really packed a punch!!
What I love about @lukegearing.bsky.social's Violence is how it seems to encourage these cinematic vignettes of intense, realistic yet otherworldly action-horror. This one cooks, can just picture Mike and the boys stuck in this scenario (see "My Friend Mike").
I haven't posted on my #TTRPG blog in about two years, but I want to get back into it, so I've done some remodeling. Might not be so terrible to look at now. There's only two posts, but if you like games with a so-called "old-school" bend, maybe give it a look.
blueshallowsdarkdepths.blogspot.com
Wow... this looks crazy! I've never heard of a TTRPG system crossover before wtf this is so cool
figure with sword, skull in bell jar, mask hood
Pay a vial of tears shed from the loss of a dear friend, and she will guide your way through the Violet Way. Her Skull of St. Rathis lantern casting its pale green light across the path.
I can’t stop writing for @lukegearing.bsky.social’s Violence! Check this one out. There’s a big man with an axe. discodanlives.itch.io/bunyan-an-in...
New one on the drawing board today
