Oh dang, this gets at what I love about system theory. Lacking direct access to reality, we run constant speculative/ideological simulations of it in our heads and iterate each time it proves us wrong. Sims are fun because the ways they fail are our only direct contact with reality.
shock! awe! bedlam! mayhem! it's the latest episode of DEAD LETTERS, about Magpie Games' AVATAR LEGENDS: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME! we discuss the challenges of licensed adaptations, expectations of play, product lines, and contrived anti-bender prisons. come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/650n...
"What's that?" I hear you ask. "Why," I say, "it's the new DEAD LETTERS about Jay Dragon's EXPRESSIONIST GAME MANIFESTO!" we discuss 20th C. art movements, struggle, rejecting rules, ~Metaphor for the Queer Experience~, subversion paradoxes, and more! come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/68SY...
I'm collecting data on how weird we are.
forms.gle/ric62Zm5gwKL...
new DEAD LETTERS episode! this time, it's the vast, legendary, landmark WOLVES UPON THE COAST, written by that one bald guy! we talk about the Adventure Writing Trust Horizon, reading, horses with unhinged jaws, poetic monster manuals, legwork, and the GM as medium! open.spotify.com/episode/2Z1e...
Now that the discourse has died down, and my birding has lessened, I want to talk about lists in rpgs.
I like what both sides of the debate make. So, like everything else, "good" isn't about which side you choose but how you execute the idea. If you choose to use lists, use them well.
Exciting new project from @mekhami.bsky.social for making a searchable tagged database of TTRPGs. Mekhami's own words are tagged below, but consider adding your own games (or your favorites) if you have time!
www.rpgbase.net
there's another episode of DEAD LETTERS out today! this one is about the GLOG, the Goblin Laws of Gaming, the biggest, weirdest, and coolest branch of the OSR. we cover blogging, 3.5, bizarro skill systems, Delta templates, and more. give it a listen! open.spotify.com/episode/60GT...
Can I request a category for running or playing in a wholly homebrew system? I got the same effect by just writing in 'GLOG', but there have to be a few people doing that in the blogosphere.
I want to see how different the TTRPG blogosphere is from DungeonTube.
Three questions:
- What games are you running?
- What games are you playing in?
- What game do you most want to play next?
If y...