Theft and bloggery

It's things what I read and liked and remembered recently here we go:

Firstly I'd be remiss not to mention the motherfuckin BLOGGIES are on right now, you can catch up and still vote on some I think, sachagoat hosting this year, click here. I was a finalist last year and I got a little rabbit

Dungeon doll does OSR character creation bloodborne style, really nice design

Gorgon Bones on why RPGs are wargames, I think we all know this here but it's nice to read it written out so clearly

Cool little dungeon by a swamp in space, you can get it as a pocketfold too

Columbary ttrpg interviews Jettila Lewis who did the art for one of the coolest looking Mothership month zines, some other good interviews on the feed too

under-stars making paper minis hell yeah

Excerpt of some cool as hell upcoming non-european sword and sorcery if you just feel like reading a story

One of the most OSR bands out there Castle Rat just crowdfunded their next album and you can still get in on a late pledge

Interview with one of my fave game designers Suda51

see you space cowblog...

ICFTB mini

 Over on Mindstorm Press, Ty posted a whole setting module, with art and cartography and even more updates to come. This is definitely going into my next game of Journeylands.

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about Mythic Bastionland. There’s still time to back!

Scrap has d100 of my new favourite ever character names 

Sean blogged!

Just found out about this upcoming miniatures game with a killer premise - vampires competing to drain the most blood in a night. Maybe I should get back to work on my own miniatures game…

Speaking of, if you’re not following me on bluesky yet you’re missing out on pictures of my badly painted skeletons. dgchapman.bsky.social over there, hmu x

And finally, since it’s Black Friday I’m doing a special sale on my store! Everything is the same price. You need games, I need to eat, it’s a win-win.

Peace ✌️

It Came From The Blogosphere… Again!

 Ok don’t get too used to these. But since the second I posted my last roundup of fun blog stuff I’d been reading, I’ve been finding more and more.

Rey and Grey are in the process of getting BREAK!! made, and Rey did a kind of retrospective video on the game’s long development process here. (Speaking of YouTube, I mentioned the Bastionland broadcast in the last blogosphere post, and then in Chris’s very next video he gave the Graverobber’s Guide a shoutout! Which was nice. So if you’re here from there, hi.)

Here’s To Distant Lands talking about Zelda-style NPCs. TOTK has some really top notch NPC writing, and this post seems like a great way to capture some of that energy - with actual, practical tables and stuff.

Bait’s Terrifying Cuisine is getting a fancy new reprint! Here’s creator Giuliano Roverato talking about how it was made. One of the great adventures, imo.

You know I like words, right? Here’s 100 good words from Throne of Salt.

The Alexandrian categorises dungeons by size. What I really like here is the bit about expedition-style play.

Benign Brown Beast has a system for tracking movement through space, and the example catacomb dungeon makes it even more my jam tbh

The Dododecahedron talks about toolbox design. A nice summary of the kind of gameplay I enjoy too!

Someone on Reddit of all places made an rpg using only 3 (or fewer) letter words. May be fun, can you try it?

Skerples works on their new setting by going over some original, obscure Arthurian texts. Very cool

Nate Treme’s budget banh mi recipe 

And that’s it for this time around!

I may be posting a bit less frequently - WEAPONS TEST 023 is due to come out this month, and Twitter dying slowly means that I’m seeing less cool stuff (also less of all the other stuff, which is a plus).

I also got some pretty dire financial news unfortunately, as my income for this month has disappeared overnight. So we’ll have to see how sustainable blogging and game stuff is going forward.

If anyone is in need of any system/adventure writing, or editing/proofreading services, I’d appreciate the work - email me at graverobbersguide(at)gmail(dot)com. You can also buy my stuff here.

Hopefully I’ll be back on my feet and posting here again soon :)

It Came From The Blogosphere: The Return

 I used to do this more often, sorry! Blog posts I’ve read recently that I liked. Just so happens that a bunch of really good ones have come along in relatively short succession, hence:

Zedeck just posted about how Tone Is Bullshit and I concur! I’ve had questions of tone rattling around in my head lately as I create more Graverobbers stuff, but those always go out the window when it comes to actually writing or playing. Of course art can be funny and scary and sad. That’s life!

(“But you write for a horror rpg” yes and there is always a cat on the spaceship or an NPC called Kevin Tremendous. Also MoSh doesn’t attempt to scare its players, just their characters, but that’s a discussion for another time sooooooo)

I always enjoy Marcia’s very thorough yet accessible looks at old D&D from a modern context, and this overview of Collapsed Tiers of Play is no different! It’s neat to see how old assumptions in the rules have turned into something more… approachable? through play over time. And I love the whole dungeon/town loop, so good food for thought in this one.

I bounce off “proper, academic” texts like criminal charges off a cop, so it’s a testament to Enziramire’s writing that I was so engrossed by An Empty Africa, a look into Pathfinder’s attempt to do an African fantasy setting. Well argued and researched, and while it’s not something I can speak to directly it helps me think about how I use “real places” when designing game worlds.

Speaking of - one last blog, non-gaming this time! The London Dead is, if you’ve read any of my Graverobbers stuff, clearly going to be a perfect source of inspiration from the name alone. I appreciate David’s insights and stories into how we treat our dead and death in general. (I’m glad the first I learned of the Hardy Tree’s falling was in the recent post about it’s possible regrowth!)

Side note - Chris “Bastionland” McDowall does great live streams over on his YouTube channel, reading through and playing games, giving thoughts and insight. Check out his recent flip-through of BREAK!!, and tune in tonight where he’ll be going through Electric Bastionland’s failed careers - definitely worth a watch!

That’s it for now! Happy reading x

It Came From The Blogosphere!: Valentine’s Special

First, a word from out sponsor... you! You’re the sponsor! Because you’re one of the lovely individuals who’ve backed BUTCHERY on KickStarter as part of ZineQuest 2 (hashtagzinequest2)!

If you’ve yet to check out my monster-hunting ruleset of investigative combat, you’ve still got, hm, like just under 48 hours? And thanks to our generous Heart-Eater backers, you can get the whole-ass zine for just £1!

look, there’s even a link to click right here, what a world

Also, and this is important - once you’re over on KickStarter, you can click my profile to check out all the ZineQuest blogs I’ve backed. I’m in an uncharacteristic period of relative financial stability so I was able to support quite a few, but there are absolutely, undeniably, a whole host of other fantastic projects out there worth your cash money. Please use my “backed projects” list as a springboard and thence go ham. Support the games!!

Now then.

It’s Valentine’s Day! So let’s share the love, shall we? As we prostrate ourselves at the feet of the mannequin of capitalism, propped up in place of the soul-affirming ineffability of human connection - let’s read some blogs!

ah yes,,. the world “wide Web”

Prolific OSR-adjacent visual artist Sam Mameli has some good thoughts on why old-school games are good to play. I agree with the thoughts! You can read the thoughts here.

Anne Hunter over at DIY and Dragons is good people. Her voice is one of those I miss from the little bit of the G+ days I’m old enough to remember. In this post, she draws brilliant connections between video game rogue like design and tabletop RPGs. This article is a resource unto itself - do read it.

A late (shoot me, the messenger - it was written well on time) Christmas gift from Dan D - space combat for the world’s other favourite fantasy RPG Troika!, plus d66 brilliant spaceships! Peruse here. Oh, and have you ever considered writing your own gaming blog but not known where to start? Or started one but run out of ideas for posts? Dan’s Joesky Tax d100 table is d100 good blog posts in the making.

I was unfamiliar with Circas K and their blog Sword of Mass Destruction - until this post made I and many others sit up and pay attention. The thoughts I’ve had on clerics and “religion” in fantasy games, crystallised into not only a well-written article but actual gameable resources(!) by a genuine scholar of religion?! Yes please.

Arnold K at the esteemed Goblin Punch has some things to say about all these Birds.

Dai Shugars does a lovely bit of theory writing here, recrafting 5 guidelines for libraries written by a Tamil librarian in the 30s into 5 guidelines for RPGs. It’s all good stuff!

Over on her goldmine of a scrapheap of a blog A Monster Manual Sewn From Pants, the luminous Scrap Princess provides campaign frames for games that last about 2-4 sessions, and oh boy howdy am I here for it.

And finally, I always enjoy reading Zedeck Siew’s words. Here’s a big crab.



Read the blogs, write the blogs, share the blogs. See you next time, losers x

It Came From The Blogosphere! In 4D!

Every once in a when-I-feel-like-it, I gather up the posts and related RPG ephemera I've been enjoying lately, a fresh punnet of gaming berries for you to pick through like a hungry songthrush, snuck into the grocer's stores whole her back is turned.

Buckle up jabronis, we've a bumper crop this time around!

welcome to internet

First off - the Ennies are tabletop RPGs' (second) biggest award show, and some good games got accolades this year, including Mothership winning gold for Best Game! Of course the real awards season highlight was the Rammies... Check out Ramanan Sivaranjan's personal picks here to see who deserves your pocket money.

High Priestess of the OSR Emmy Allen has a system for creating magic items which, with its focus on seasons, feels very much like something I'd have written and thusly should fit snugly into your game if you use things from this blog like the weather generator or my Witch's List adventure. She's also posted about her brilliantly conceived cult-ridden town generator, as well as a very cogent argument for the use of "diegesis" and its related film theory terms as useful categories when discussing mechanics in RPGs. Read that right here if you want some good theory.

Artpunk maven Patrick Stuart asks whether gnomes can be interesting, and then deftly weaves folklore, game lore and his own inimitable ideas together to prove that... Yes. Yes, they can. I love gnomes now.

Dan occasionally blesses us Throne of Salt readers with a splurge off odds and ends, unfinished ideas and stray concepts that are a ripe boneyard for any graverobbing GMs in need of inspiration for their next Frankenstinian creation. This is post no. 4 in his notebook series, and there are some true gems in there.

Where would we be without Goblin Punch? Nowhere fun, that's for sure. Here's some theory on "dynamism" in games, a truly terrific location for adventures with a Damn Good Gimmick in the Lost City of Nibulum, and an encounter roll system so good I want to base a whole game around it. Oh, and here's a class called the Baboonist.

Speaking of cool classes, here's Ben "Questing Beast" Milton with the Skeleton King for his upcoming Maze Knights game.

Skerples has gifted us with 1d50 missions for medieval mercenaries, including some of the best quest hooks I've ever read.

I've not come across this blog before but these consumable magic items from Pathika certainly won me over - as did the Dungeon Meshi image used in the post.

Chris McDowall has some good things to say about the importance of information and how to use it when running RPGs. I really like "impact" over "consequences" as a descriptor for what player actions cause within the game world.

Prepare for your eyes to turn into covetous anime sparkles - here's a preview of something the BREAK!! team is working on that looks straight up gorgeous. Check it out!

The Alexandrian is legendary among RPG blogs, and I'm sure you don't need me to get you to give it a read - even so, let me implore you to check out this hugely well-informed post on why system... Matters?

And here's Bryce Lynch with a metric fuckton of adventure writing advice tucked into a box the size of a small blog post.

And if all this RPG advice is a bit much, Daniel Sell has words of wisdom for dealing with writing advice as you make your own RPG things.

For those of us who brave the stormy seas of Twitter to discuss RPGs (hit me up! @CustardFaceKid), it's easy to be overwhelmed or sucked into some really toxic discussions. Sean McCoy has made a thoroughly good-hearted and helpful guide to getting better at using Twitter to talk positively about the things we love.

Now then...

Let's get historical, shall we?

Starting a couple of whole-ass centuries ago! Here's Joseph Manola talking about how Walter Scott was a big nerd who basically could've invented D&D if he wasn't so busy writing poems. Seriously. Give it a read. And while you're over at Against the Wicked City, have a gander at these (actual genuine!) urban superstitions from the 1800s, free to repurpose into terrifying realities for your game.

And now to the history of our hobby itself. As a hot-headed Gen Z grognard barely emerged from my chrysalis, I'm always fascinated to learn more and hear new perspectives on the history of tabletop RPGs. For instance...

Could it be said that the British old school is a different enough strand from the American to warrant its own OSR? Here's the Uncaring Cosmos making a case for just that.

Cecilia D'Anastasio has written a stunning report on a legend most old hats probably know like scripture, and the question behind who really "invented" D&D and the modern role-playing industry... Dive into Blackmoor, and the first ever game of what would be Dungeons and Dragons.

And finally, a glimpse into a brief, shining moment in recent history, and a highlight of play-by-post gaming, as Japan worked wonders with the concept of postcard RPGs. I'm so enamoured with this whole thing that I might have to find some way to do it myself...

In any case, that's all for now! Happy reading, and remember - there's always good stuff on the blogs.

(Got a favourite post from this edition of ICFTB!? Leave a comment on that person's post, letting them know how much you liked it!)

It Came From the Blogosphere! Straight to Video

Back from holiday! Currently in the process of moving out! Too... busy... for... RPGs!

But while there hasn't been time for much writing this month, there's certainly been time for reading. Here's a lil instalment in my ICFTB series.

did you know: you can read "blogs" (birtual logs) from all around the world while On Line?? 

My off-the-cuff ramble about the SWORD DREAM moniker is now the most viewed post on this blog. People really like talking about thinking about games, huh? I prefer making and playing them, so that's likely the last major thing you'll see me write on the topic - but here's some more context for people who want it. I edited the post to include a couple of links too.

If you're still looking for yet more high level meta-commentary, I found this post on how the indie scene fosters an unwelcoming attitude a worthwhile read, and true to my own experiences.

I enjoy learning more about the early days of the hobby, a time during which I was very much Not Born Yet. Here's a fascinating and well-written dive into a lesser-known RPG from that primordial era... and I really do mean "lesser-known".

Jeff Rients is running a FLAILSNAILS game again! If you're on this blog you likely already know about this and why it's a Cool Thing. You may even be taking part! Jeff's games are super fun, inclusive free-for-alls, and I'm definitely going to try and play once I'm more settled. If you don't yet know about FLAILSNAILS, you should check out the play reports Jeff's been posting - like this one - and get stuck in.

Finally: Zedeck wrote a living weapon class and it rocks socks.

Your regularly scheduled (to wit: largely unscheduled and highly irregular) Guide resumes next month!

It Came From The Blogosphere! the Third

Every once in a while I'll round up some good things I've read lately on the so-called "Internet" and yell at you to go and read them too - welcome to It Came From The Blogosphere! Check the tag for earlier instalments.

actual footage of me surfing the Web

This is one of my favourite things about the scene we still tentatively call the OSR - everyone's just sharing their fun ideas and helping folks out and whatnot. All kinds of people, with all kinds of good stuff!

F'rinstance:

Emmy Allen's game about secret agents doing missions in the faltering reality of a dreamworld, Deep Morphean Transmissions, is OUT! I've been hyped for this for a while - read more about it right here and then buy it. Emmy is just so good at what she does, you'll love this and everything else she makes. (There's a heart rate mechanic, you guys.)

This scene is so great in part because of how freely great designers share their process and talk about how and why they do what they do. When Sean McCoy talks about layout design, you'd better listen - and he does so right here.

Ben L at Mazirian's Garden is doing a series about the whys and wherefores of old-school design - some very thoughtful and well-referenced articles from the umbrella perspective of the differences and similarities in OSR and "storygames". The latest one is here, and worth a read no matter what kind of tabletop RPGs you play.

One of the best things about games with PC classes is when you read about a class option and want to play the game immediately just so you can be one of those guys. Zedeck Siew wrote one such class for Robertson Sondoh Jr's game, Metatoy, and I want to play one! 

Joseph Manola's back, baby - and he's diving into Dickens. 

How about some preliminary rules for piloting giant robots in Into the Odd, written by its creator? Here ya go.

I wasn't familiar with the blog before now, but Was It Likely has an idea for a game whose mechanics revolve around items, and it's a game I reckon I'd have a lot of fun playing.

Happy gaming! x

It Came From The Blogosphere! #2

There's always good stuff on the blogs - here are some things I've read and enjoyed lately.

buckle up Kids,, we;re going "ON LINE"

Emmy Allen, back at it again with a new setting idea: Sharne, a post-capitalist hellscape plane for your fantasy games. Characteristically brilliant - if this is the next Ynn/Stygian Library, I'm all for it.

Speaking of setting concepts, this one from Arnold K is delicious. The Exile is a mountain that got told to fuck off into space, but made a deal with an evil sorcerer to stay in the sky a little longer. Now the sorcerer is dead, and the players are his mind-wiped slaves, waking up on an island that hurtles further from the ground. I mean... right?!

Or, just generate your own apocalypse by rolling your whole dice set at once, with these very nicely thought out tables of Eschatologies from Necropraxis.

Basic Red is excited for BREAK!!, and I am too. As should we all be!

And here's Dan D with the core themes of his Mother Stole Fire setting. As well as enjoying the article, Dan encourages aping its style - which he himself cribbed from the Bogeyman's Cave post linked within. I'll likely be doing something similar for my next post, or at least taking some inspiration.

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Further Effluvia:
- I have witnessed the finished pdf for Troika!'s Numinous Edition... yea, I hath seen the light... and it is GLORIOUS. You need this game.
- If you have stomach enough for Twitter, you should absolutely join in with the RPG conversations going on over there. Since G+ began its death rattles, the quality of insight and conversation has gotten much better. Start by following Dungeons and Possums (@dungeonspossums), who regularly links and shares other worthy peeps and is a very nice marsupial in general.

Keep sharing the cool RPG stuff you find! Be a fan, let yourself get excited, and spread the good word 🙌

"It Came from the Blogosphere!" #1

(I'm still on holiday, I promise!)

I'm reading RPG blogs, as always. There's always good stuff on the blogs.

cowboy bebop at his computer

I think that, what with G+ going under, it's worthwhile sharing things I'm enjoying around like this, so I'm considering continuing to do so next year in monthly-or-thereabouts installments.

To that end...

Artpunk RPG juggernaut Patrick Stuart has his already-well-beyond-funded Kickstarter for Silent Titans running right now. Back it.

Meanwhile over on his blog, my heart has been captured by an adventure he's been writing in pieces this year called The Stolen Skin of Sun. It's a mystery of fairytale manners with Rossetti nods throughout, and I've been longing to run it since I first set eyes on it. Part one is here, it's tagged so you can peruse the rest and devour the whole thing like I did.

Everyone's raving about Mothership, and rightly so. I found Zedeck Siew's review/read-through particularly good, informative and as knowledgeable and insightful as one can expect the man to be. So check that out here. (Look at those layouts! Dang.)

Dan D continues his prolific output with some adaptations of SCP creatures, those weird short sci-fi creepypasta things, into monsters or items for Emmy Allen's Esoteric Enterprises. Something in there for everyone, whether you're doing fantasy or modern weirdness. The Interdimensional Vending Machine is so very much my thing that I feel, as the kids say, attacked.

Speaking of OSR luminary Emmy Allen (she's basically a figurehead for all this in my mind, at this point, her shit is Top Tier), her new game project is a pseudoscience secret-agent OSR thing with a whole system based on your heart rate and I love it. Check out the player-facing information here and tell me you don't want to play right now. This is the Hot New Game for me, 100%, I'll be following it all with eager anticipation.

I was unaware of this blog before now, but gosh darn if I don't love me some food. Here's Dunkey Halton's Brigade de Cuisine, like a mountain-sized food court directed by Miyazaki or Watanabe or both somehow. The chef in me appreciates the restaranteur detail and the whole thing has a very effective sense of atmosphere, plus my favourite kind of adventuring - exploring nice, weird places and interacting with nice, weird people. There's a link in there to a food generator too for some D&D menu items.

Ben Milton and Brendan S's OSR survey got a pretty decent level of response, and Brendan continues to analyse the findings in a hugely professional manner on his blog. Useful insights, suspicions confirmed, all that.

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That's that then. I'll be back after the season's festivities with... geez, a whole bunch of stuff(?!?!).

Here's to next year.