High summer links for your internet interest. For more, see the previous list found here or on the weekly r/OSR blogroll or check the RPG Blog Carnival. Originally inspired by weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links.
Prismatic Wasteland writes on AI and Empty Art
The Flesh Resists shares It's always the butler
MixUpPixels on itch.io gives us GREEN CORRIDOR
Goblin Punch shares A Dungeon of Your Own
Revivify Games gives us The Overachiever’s Guide to Lazy Hexcrawl Building.
Cat Bussell at WarGamer writes Daggerheart may be all the rage, but don't sleep on this fantasy masterpiece
Crow’s Corner gives us Table-Tested Review of Vaesen’s "Seasons of Mystery"
Francesco Cacciatore on Polygon writes Critical Role's 'West Marches-style' Campaign 4 will be the most interesting yet
25 August 2025
23 August 2025
Don't Tell Me It's Raining
Bearer of the RPG Blog Carnival torch Scott Newbury themselves gives us this months prompt Good Morning, Dave on ways that you’re using AI in your gaming. Below my view on AI as it is pitched to us today, and its fitness-for-purpose for TTRPGs to the limit of my patience since I deal with it professionally too. The super short version, I am no AI zealot either way but AI is not yet pulling its weight for me and my DM-ing workflow and the 'outsource my braining' aspect of it does not appeal.
Experience so far
On the basis of lived experience I think my over all view can be summed up in that I gave using AI tools a shot back in ~2020-2021 and was generally dissatisfied with what they could give me so I chucked it. I had a go at LLMs to boost encounter tables across the pandemic - mostly attempting to increase lists - so very well 'prompted' and the effort required for setting it up and cleaning up the output was not worth it. See examples of villanous escapes, night events, living doors and mythic shoreline encounters.
Experience so far
On the basis of lived experience I think my over all view can be summed up in that I gave using AI tools a shot back in ~2020-2021 and was generally dissatisfied with what they could give me so I chucked it. I had a go at LLMs to boost encounter tables across the pandemic - mostly attempting to increase lists - so very well 'prompted' and the effort required for setting it up and cleaning up the output was not worth it. See examples of villanous escapes, night events, living doors and mythic shoreline encounters.
20 August 2025
2d12 Debutante Ball Encounters (GLÅUGUST 2025 #4)
Taking on The Nothic's Eye GLÅUGUST 2025, challenge #4 is from a list by Gokun - "Debutante ball encounter table".
Below a list of folk present at a debutante ball - could be another noble event - in standard fairy-tale high fantasy. Lifted straight from current events of my menagerie-world campaign. The below is light on the obvious villains because those will be specific to your game/campaign - the encounter list below gives you all the plausible background folk to make the world feel real, weighted for 2d12 probability curve.
Also - avoid my mistake - if there is someone who you need the players to meet then do not put them on the random encounter table, no matter how probable the placing. Decide a trigger and have them turn up otherwise you could end up with your players rolling like demons and getting everything except the one encounter you need. This is a variant of 'don't gate the vital clues behind a skill roll'. In particular because these are social encounters, there is a risk of time running away as people interact with these NPCs - which may be something you are happy to have happen, just be aware of it.
2d12 Attendees of the Ball
2. Very old 'elf' holding court, font of lore, arbiter of etiquette, has slightly strange bunch of hangers-on - very conservative in mannerisms but an otherwise diverse group, very pale, no reflection.
3. Lady in black, immaculate gown subtly dripping with jewelled embroidery, excellent listener, delighted to share gossip, only slightest hint of sulphur trailing them hints at infernal origin, here watching over investments
4. Uncomfortable looking outdoorsy type, fine but obviously unfamiliar outfit highlights astonishing physique, here as a reward for monster-slaying, wishing they got gold instead
5. Starry eyed youth, dazzled and delighted, here as reward for assassinating particularly nasty cult leader by infiltrating their fortress
6. Ancient court wizard, here from long tradition, has met or is aware of most people, here so their glamoured-up entourage can play at high society for a night
7. Distant arch-fey relative of the Duchess, patroness of one of the debutantes, here to make a big splash of granting her blessing
8. Proper, slightly stuffy monster-slayer heir to major noble house, here out of duty, wants to be out on the hunt earning a name of his own. Taciturn, unless about monsters and killing them
9. Scion of the smiths guildmaster, already an established reputation as a fashion setter, patron of crafts and advocate for trade. Bulldozer direct wrapped in perfect manners
10. Trailing end of the current generation of the ruling house, knows everyone, dislikes the spotlight, jittery because they are aware of the dangers here but not very dangerous themselves
11. Minor nobility in from the country, more people in this room than settlements she grew up in, overwhelmed, completely focussed on not causing a mess
12. Trade guild minor scion, has been to many of these for his siblings, excited to see long-absent cousins, viewing it all as a big family get-together
13. Scion of an old pre-conquest minor house, social butterfly, knows everyone including most servants, her people have lived here since time immemorial, this room was her families once
14. First generation of newly established mage-house, excellent student of magic, uncomfortable in crowds, trying to be what his parents hope
15. Almost too-old member of a ruined minor house recently restored to the Duchess favour and sponsored by her. Perfectly mannered, aware she is a single slip from social abyss
16. Bored younger sibling, thinks whole thing a waste of their time, they have a whole year until they do it themselves, mostly interested in brashly chasing pretty folk, adeptly avoids increasingly frustrated guardians
17. Last years debutante, returning to support sibling with charming spouse on their arm, judgemental of anything non traditional, keen to soak up the experience without the stress of being its focus
18. Sibling of the Duke, recently back from border skirmishes, renowned war-hero, very interested in potential useable talent, trailed by grim looking body-guard, long-suffering spouse
19. Duchess, graciously hosting, full fey-ancestry glamours on display, seeking a perfectly pleasant and orderly introduction to society for everyone, standards up-held and all, entourage of secretary, ladies in waiting, favoured companions
20. Perfectly dressed if understated thief, polite and mannerly, happy to take invitations to dance, excellent listener, all to prolong time scouting nice jewels
21. Immaculately turned out, suave seducer- seeking a romantic tryst they can lever to their advantage, quickly moves on from bad prospects
22. Somewhat battered but appropriately attired avenger, wary and watchful, seeks one who has wronged them, ready for violence
23. Ambassador from afar, smooth, like an excellent butler, will be fascinated with PCs stories, happy to direct them towards folk that might help
24. Duke master of spies, formally dressed as member of minor nobility, older society members get quiet around them, mostly watching for threats
Combine this table of people with my previous d20 Odd events at a nobles ball if you just want a handful of things to spice up a ball where you know the main 'plot' already or add the Masquerade as social depth-crawl structure to both of those to make it a whole thing in and of itself.
Below a list of folk present at a debutante ball - could be another noble event - in standard fairy-tale high fantasy. Lifted straight from current events of my menagerie-world campaign. The below is light on the obvious villains because those will be specific to your game/campaign - the encounter list below gives you all the plausible background folk to make the world feel real, weighted for 2d12 probability curve.
Also - avoid my mistake - if there is someone who you need the players to meet then do not put them on the random encounter table, no matter how probable the placing. Decide a trigger and have them turn up otherwise you could end up with your players rolling like demons and getting everything except the one encounter you need. This is a variant of 'don't gate the vital clues behind a skill roll'. In particular because these are social encounters, there is a risk of time running away as people interact with these NPCs - which may be something you are happy to have happen, just be aware of it.
2d12 Attendees of the Ball
2. Very old 'elf' holding court, font of lore, arbiter of etiquette, has slightly strange bunch of hangers-on - very conservative in mannerisms but an otherwise diverse group, very pale, no reflection.
3. Lady in black, immaculate gown subtly dripping with jewelled embroidery, excellent listener, delighted to share gossip, only slightest hint of sulphur trailing them hints at infernal origin, here watching over investments
4. Uncomfortable looking outdoorsy type, fine but obviously unfamiliar outfit highlights astonishing physique, here as a reward for monster-slaying, wishing they got gold instead
5. Starry eyed youth, dazzled and delighted, here as reward for assassinating particularly nasty cult leader by infiltrating their fortress
6. Ancient court wizard, here from long tradition, has met or is aware of most people, here so their glamoured-up entourage can play at high society for a night
7. Distant arch-fey relative of the Duchess, patroness of one of the debutantes, here to make a big splash of granting her blessing
8. Proper, slightly stuffy monster-slayer heir to major noble house, here out of duty, wants to be out on the hunt earning a name of his own. Taciturn, unless about monsters and killing them
9. Scion of the smiths guildmaster, already an established reputation as a fashion setter, patron of crafts and advocate for trade. Bulldozer direct wrapped in perfect manners
10. Trailing end of the current generation of the ruling house, knows everyone, dislikes the spotlight, jittery because they are aware of the dangers here but not very dangerous themselves
11. Minor nobility in from the country, more people in this room than settlements she grew up in, overwhelmed, completely focussed on not causing a mess
12. Trade guild minor scion, has been to many of these for his siblings, excited to see long-absent cousins, viewing it all as a big family get-together
13. Scion of an old pre-conquest minor house, social butterfly, knows everyone including most servants, her people have lived here since time immemorial, this room was her families once
14. First generation of newly established mage-house, excellent student of magic, uncomfortable in crowds, trying to be what his parents hope
15. Almost too-old member of a ruined minor house recently restored to the Duchess favour and sponsored by her. Perfectly mannered, aware she is a single slip from social abyss
16. Bored younger sibling, thinks whole thing a waste of their time, they have a whole year until they do it themselves, mostly interested in brashly chasing pretty folk, adeptly avoids increasingly frustrated guardians
17. Last years debutante, returning to support sibling with charming spouse on their arm, judgemental of anything non traditional, keen to soak up the experience without the stress of being its focus
18. Sibling of the Duke, recently back from border skirmishes, renowned war-hero, very interested in potential useable talent, trailed by grim looking body-guard, long-suffering spouse
19. Duchess, graciously hosting, full fey-ancestry glamours on display, seeking a perfectly pleasant and orderly introduction to society for everyone, standards up-held and all, entourage of secretary, ladies in waiting, favoured companions
20. Perfectly dressed if understated thief, polite and mannerly, happy to take invitations to dance, excellent listener, all to prolong time scouting nice jewels
21. Immaculately turned out, suave seducer- seeking a romantic tryst they can lever to their advantage, quickly moves on from bad prospects
22. Somewhat battered but appropriately attired avenger, wary and watchful, seeks one who has wronged them, ready for violence
23. Ambassador from afar, smooth, like an excellent butler, will be fascinated with PCs stories, happy to direct them towards folk that might help
24. Duke master of spies, formally dressed as member of minor nobility, older society members get quiet around them, mostly watching for threats
Combine this table of people with my previous d20 Odd events at a nobles ball if you just want a handful of things to spice up a ball where you know the main 'plot' already or add the Masquerade as social depth-crawl structure to both of those to make it a whole thing in and of itself.
18 August 2025
Shiny TTRPG links #238
High summer links for your internet interest. For more, see the previous list found here or on the weekly r/OSR blogroll or check the RPG Blog Carnival. Originally inspired by weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links.
Crow’s Corner shares a Table-Tested Review of Raiders of the Serpent Sea
Blog of Forlorn Encystment writes Dealing with NPCs Should Be Expensive and Irritating
Meg Zone gives us The lords of rock and river: a tiny regional hexcrawl
Veritas Tabletop shares Coins and Currency: Adding Flavor to Your Coins
Busy Wyvern gives us Making it Real (or, how to make your players squirm a bit)
Valeria Loves shares Promises - a Mythic Bastionland House Rule
Vaults of Zin writes GM's Glossary Part 6: Everything you can do with your Stats
Bommyknocker Press gives us Writing Encounters in Pairs
Graeme Davis shares Lost Warhammer: Heroes for Hire
GROGNARDIA writes The Dream-Quest of the Old School Renaissance
Swords & Stitchery gives us Designing Martian Adventures In The Warriors of the Red Planet Rpg - Edgar Rice Burroughs The Mastermind of Mars
Playful Void writes Bathtub Review: A Perfect Wife
Crow’s Corner shares a Table-Tested Review of Raiders of the Serpent Sea
Blog of Forlorn Encystment writes Dealing with NPCs Should Be Expensive and Irritating
Meg Zone gives us The lords of rock and river: a tiny regional hexcrawl
Veritas Tabletop shares Coins and Currency: Adding Flavor to Your Coins
Busy Wyvern gives us Making it Real (or, how to make your players squirm a bit)
Valeria Loves shares Promises - a Mythic Bastionland House Rule
Vaults of Zin writes GM's Glossary Part 6: Everything you can do with your Stats
Bommyknocker Press gives us Writing Encounters in Pairs
Graeme Davis shares Lost Warhammer: Heroes for Hire
GROGNARDIA writes The Dream-Quest of the Old School Renaissance
Swords & Stitchery gives us Designing Martian Adventures In The Warriors of the Red Planet Rpg - Edgar Rice Burroughs The Mastermind of Mars
Playful Void writes Bathtub Review: A Perfect Wife
16 August 2025
God-whale refinery (GLÅUGUST 2025 #3)
Taking on The Nothic's Eye GLÅUGUST 2025, challenge #3 is from a list by Vayra - "wizard tower dungeon (must have a gimmick)"
This is a wizards tower in a giant, animated hermit-crab-like nautilus shell. Stands on what looks like too-few legs above a miasma of crackling haze, more legs go in than it stands upon below. The surroundings are lit by irregular flares of burning discharge running down the shell. A dreadful smell of grease and offal surrounds it. Within a cabal of mid-tier wizards boot-strapping their artificer expertise and elbow grease to take down their old master.
All rooms are stages of a process and extraction chain for god-flesh wrenched from an colossal extradimensional being captured in some of the towers claws that protrude beyond sight. Everything shakes and shudders in its death-throes.
Everything here is hazardous, the crew/workers will freak out at people acting dangerously but are mostly too occupied with not dying themselves to actually care if people are moving through, as long as they are authorised. Authorisation checks can be as limited as a glance to confirm appropriate protective oil-skins and a purposeful walk.
Locations
This is a wizards tower in a giant, animated hermit-crab-like nautilus shell. Stands on what looks like too-few legs above a miasma of crackling haze, more legs go in than it stands upon below. The surroundings are lit by irregular flares of burning discharge running down the shell. A dreadful smell of grease and offal surrounds it. Within a cabal of mid-tier wizards boot-strapping their artificer expertise and elbow grease to take down their old master.
All rooms are stages of a process and extraction chain for god-flesh wrenched from an colossal extradimensional being captured in some of the towers claws that protrude beyond sight. Everything shakes and shudders in its death-throes.
Everything here is hazardous, the crew/workers will freak out at people acting dangerously but are mostly too occupied with not dying themselves to actually care if people are moving through, as long as they are authorised. Authorisation checks can be as limited as a glance to confirm appropriate protective oil-skins and a purposeful walk.
Locations
13 August 2025
State of the Blog (post #800)
Was a bit of a grind these last dozen or so posts getting a bunch pre-written so I could travel but as we hit this milestone number I am somewhat happier to continue blogging and am a touch more optimistic about the general health of the blog-o-sphere at the moment. Long may it last.
On Traffic
It remains hard to tell is the trend in traffic growth across this place real people or bots. Even accepting that a large fraction (~50%) of internet traffic is bots, that fraction has been stable over the past could of years so the slow up-ward trend in visitors might be real folk. Comments suggest people real people do turn up here (welcome!) and mention made elsewhere of the shiny weekly links posts - and some very welcome direct email appreciation - suggests people find those useful.
So all in all - probably more of you stopping by than before but very, very hard to say anything more definite than that.
The restart of the r/OSR blogroll is having a small impact. Although it has come back as a shadow of its former self - roughly half the participants despite the same amount of upvotes as the latter days - there are flickering signs of growth as the weeks progress. Dare I say another subtle sign of blog-o-sphere health?
Gratitude must also be expressed at this point to u/Leicester68 of Leicester's Ramble for generously taking over blogroll duties these past four weeks while I was travelling - it is not important who posts it, just that it gets posted regularly!
On Traffic
It remains hard to tell is the trend in traffic growth across this place real people or bots. Even accepting that a large fraction (~50%) of internet traffic is bots, that fraction has been stable over the past could of years so the slow up-ward trend in visitors might be real folk. Comments suggest people real people do turn up here (welcome!) and mention made elsewhere of the shiny weekly links posts - and some very welcome direct email appreciation - suggests people find those useful.
So all in all - probably more of you stopping by than before but very, very hard to say anything more definite than that.
The restart of the r/OSR blogroll is having a small impact. Although it has come back as a shadow of its former self - roughly half the participants despite the same amount of upvotes as the latter days - there are flickering signs of growth as the weeks progress. Dare I say another subtle sign of blog-o-sphere health?
Gratitude must also be expressed at this point to u/Leicester68 of Leicester's Ramble for generously taking over blogroll duties these past four weeks while I was travelling - it is not important who posts it, just that it gets posted regularly!
11 August 2025
Shiny TTRPG links #237
Briefly back on desk with a fresh fistful of shiny links! For more, see the previous list found here or on the weekly r/OSR blogroll or check the RPG Blog Carnival. Originally inspired by weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links.
Blogging bandwagons for you to jump on which sprang into being while I was off:
* Prismatic Weekly has a Blogwagon Announcement: Appendicitis N
* TTRPGSupreme on itch.io starts Mythic Bastionland TTRPG Jam #1
* Traverse Fantasy is Inaugurating the Icon0clasm Ball!
* AUTOCRATIK once again gives us #RPGaDAY2025 in August
Trick's Tales shares Some lessons from an indie TTRPG zine fundraiser
All Dead Generations writes Dungeon Design Note: Defining Interactivity
I Cast Light! wrote PSYCHOLOGICAL WEIGHT IN SLOT-BASED ENCUMBRANCE: The burden of magic & sin
Blogging bandwagons for you to jump on which sprang into being while I was off:
* Prismatic Weekly has a Blogwagon Announcement: Appendicitis N
* TTRPGSupreme on itch.io starts Mythic Bastionland TTRPG Jam #1
* Traverse Fantasy is Inaugurating the Icon0clasm Ball!
* AUTOCRATIK once again gives us #RPGaDAY2025 in August
Trick's Tales shares Some lessons from an indie TTRPG zine fundraiser
All Dead Generations writes Dungeon Design Note: Defining Interactivity
I Cast Light! wrote PSYCHOLOGICAL WEIGHT IN SLOT-BASED ENCUMBRANCE: The burden of magic & sin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)