There's been a cascade of awesome shelfies posted to the community lately.
Love seeing other people's lovingly assembled collections.
May I present my humble contribution to the Shelfie Showcase 😄

For what, you might say? DX Master is a tabletop RPG companion app i've been working on. It's a locally installed app that allows a game master and up to 8 players wireless connect to share encounter information, perform and calculate dice rolls, and manage campaigns. The GM is given a number of abilities to send specific data on enemies and encounters, share a journal so you never forget what you did last week and who you met, and work with private messages sent from players (you know it was from THAT rogue).

Google requires 12 testers install the app and have it over 14 consecutive days before they will entertain your app review. I'm looking for some intrepid young...or old, i'm not partial to either, testers who can put this through it's paces, give me feedback if they're willing, and help me put this app on the store.

I've been doing this for a couple months, but i've been programming in one way or another since i was 12 (43 now). This is an app that my friends wanted to help manage their tabletop games. I figure if it's good enough for my friends, maybe the community at large would be interested. Happy to accept any critiques or feedback you may have. Thanks for reading and considering my request!

DX Master supports Android, iOS, and Windows (MacOS coming soon): https://www.dexxfm.app/dxmaster/
Blog post on the latest version: https://www.dexxfm.app/devlog/dx-master-1-8-0/

Thanks community!

Another week, another chance to tell the largest RPG subreddit about your game!

Come join us and tell us about the cool stuff you've made!

I’m looking for folks interested in play testing a family friendly TTRPG. The gimmick for my game is that all the rules players need is on cards.

The GM can explain anything not on the cards in a few sentences. The rulebook is fairly short and purposeful loosely structured in places to allow young minds to run free.

Check out the website and if you are interested in the project please reach out. Everything is free on the website and printable files are on my Discord.

https://deckboxadventures.com

I’ve been developing a full-featured D&D 5e character sheet plugin for Obsidian for over a year. I've designed it to feel like a proper digital character sheet rather than a spreadsheet.

Built for both 2014 and 2024 rules, it includes:

• Guided character building
• Classes, subclasses, species, backgrounds and feats
• Multiclassing and level progression
• Spells, Actions, Features and Inventory
• Resources, limited uses and rest recovery
• Automatic scaling for class features and damage
• Equipment, containers and ammunition
• Conditions, concentration, death saves and HP tracking
• Dark and light themes
• Powerful manual Properties for homebrew and unusual mechanics
• Automation that builds the mechanics for you, while still allowing everything to be reviewed, corrected and customised

It can also read D&D content directly from configured Obsidian vault folders rather than relying on a small hard-coded catalogue.

The goal:

D&D Beyond-style convenience, with the flexibility and ownership of Obsidian.

My Development is now well into testing, automation refinement and UI polishing.

⚔️ Is this something Obsidian users would be interested in?

If so i am hoping to start BETA testing in Novemeber

https://www.patreon.com/TheDMsCodex/posts/coming-soon-cli-172445313

https://tyberalyx.itch.io/armatures

Hello! We made a mech ttrpg called Armatures! There is a lot of games about mechs on itch about this but hopefully this one nails the grim atmosphere. The pre-release is out now!

We’re releasing it early to help fund more artwork for the game. Its a complete system we’ll keep improving it as we go. Picking up a copy helps us get there, and we’d love to hear how it plays at your table.

Thanks for having a look, and for helping us bring this thing to life! See you in the World of Veyr!

Build your mech. Choose your contracts. Decide who gets a future.

Armatures connects tactical mech battles, dangerous operations on foot, and a campaign shaped by your crew’s decisions.

3 Frames · 184 Parts · 9 regions · 7 factions · Solo & group play

AI disclaimer
AI was used for text editing to help with English grammar and cohesion using Grammarly. No creative output is generated by AI.

A Torch Timer Has Completely Changed My Shadowdark Table

I recently picked up a physical torch timer for Shadowdark from a small independent maker, and I genuinely can't believe how much my table loves this thing.

It starts off glowing white, but every 15 minutes the light changes, going from yellow to red, then darker and darker red. With five minutes remaining, it starts blinking before finally going out.

It's such a simple little device, but the tension it creates is incredible. I thought it would be a dumb gimmick. Instead, it's become one of the most beloved things at our table. I've even had friends go to work and brag about the lamp!

It's also gotten me experimenting with physical accessories for Shadowdark. Not necessarily things you need, but affordable little additions that actually improve the game rather than get in its way.

I've been messing with magnetic cubes, the Professor's Ultimate Terrain concept, and ways of eliminating traditional grid maps altogether.

One thing we've discovered is that a room really only needs three or four meaningful objects or points of interest. Instead of tracking exact squares and distances, we position enemies around those objects. The chest, the doorway, the altar, the overturned table. You know where everyone is in relation to those things, and suddenly decisions become incredibly fast.

We've even managed encounters with 10+ monsters this way, because I don't need to track every square. I just need to know what they're near and what the players can interact with.

We've also been experimenting with using something as simple as the span of your hand (roughly six inches) for movement on abstract terrain.

The whole philosophy I'm exploring is how physical accessories can speed up play instead of slowing it down. Give players clear choices, make those choices meaningful, and get out of the way.

We've managed ten rooms in just a couple of hours, partly because that damn torch was making everyone nervous! It's funny how a physical timer made me appreciate Shadowdark's one-hour torch mechanic even more.

And now I'm wondering why we don't have more things like this!

I'd absolutely love to see an official Shadowdark torch timer someday. Maybe a little black-and-white torch you could hold in your hand, set on the table, recharge with USB, and watch slowly die. I'd happily spend $50 on something like that. I'm actually working on a way to turn my current lamp into a handheld torch that can also stand about a foot tall.

I've been talking with some local gaming shops and convention folks, and they've loved the timer too. It's made me wonder if there's a real market for these sorts of accessories.

I'm going to share more of the physical things we're experimenting with, including what actually works and what just gets in the way.

I've played tabletop games for years, and I don't think I've ever bought such a simple accessory that had this much impact on the experience.

Shadowdark has really made me rethink how we use physical things at the table. Sometimes our VTTs, elaborate maps, and endless accessories can actually slow down the very thing we're trying to enjoy. But finding something that makes the game faster, more tense, and more exciting? That's something special.

And there's just something wonderful about being able to pass this game between different GMs and keep everything moving so organically.

I'm curious what everyone else has discovered. What physical accessories have genuinely improved your Shadowdark games? Not just cool-looking stuff, but things that actually make the game better, faster, or more exciting. I'd love to hear what other tables are doing.

Hello!

My name is Dr. Megan Condis and I'm an associate professor at Texas Tech University. My research focuses primarily on gender and gaming culture.

I am currently recruiting women who have experience playing Dungeons & Dragons for a study. This study will help us learn how people express their gender identity through tabletop roleplaying games. 

In this study, you will be interviewed about your experiences in tabletop roleplaying games. You will also be observed as you create a role-playing game character using the Dungeons & Dragons system. This interview will be video recorded. We are asking for around 90 minutes of your time.

Participants will be given a $15 Amazon gift card in exchange for their help with this study. You will receive this gift card via email within one week of completing the interview.

Your participation in the study will remain private. Your name will not be linked to any material in reports, publications or presentations. No one other than the researchers associated with this project will have access to the raw data. All related documentation will be stored in the researcher’s locked office and on a password protected computer. To protect your confidentiality identifiers will be removed from the data.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the onboarding form here!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJIoZooyBVXezgBYdHHJ1Nzvtxe5tX4atAWq5PGxL3S68Tqg/viewform?usp=dialog

Draw! The Western TTRPG is live on DrivethruRPG! Check it out!

The Headless Horseman is more than just an undead rider with a flaming pumpkin for a head. He's a vengeful spirit bound to the mortal world by an ancient curse, with his steed, armored body, and spectral jack-o'-lantern forming a single, inseparable entity.

Legends tell of a fallen soldier, executioner, or knight who was beheaded for his crimes and returned under a cursed harvest moon. Some believe his spirit is connected to Samhain, when the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin enough for restless spirits to cross.

Wherever he rides, crops rot, animals panic, and the air fills with the smell of smoke and freshly dug earth. And simply defeating him isn't enough. Unless a specific funerary ritual is performed, the Horseman eventually rises again to continue his hunt.

Mechanically, the Headless Horseman is a CR 14 undead built around mobility, relentless pursuit, and devastating attacks. His Fiery Greataxe deals slashing and fire damage, with additional necrotic damage against frightened enemies, while Laughing Skull allows him to hurl his flaming pumpkin head at enemies, unleashing a fiery explosion that deals 10d6 fire damage.

His Ghostride ability lets him pass through solid objects, while his legendary actions allow him to charge across the battlefield, stun enemies with Glare of Embers, or mark a target with Harvest Mark, making that creature especially vulnerable to his attacks.

I've also included four optional traits to customize the encounter, from leaving burning hoofprints behind to relentlessly tracking creatures that try to escape him.

The Headless Horseman is from Undead & Undead: The Ultimate Undead Handbook, available for 5E and the 2024 Edition on DriveThruRPG!

The manual includes 90+ undead statblocks, each with optional traits and variants, alongside an undead lair system, 50+ magic items, customizable templates, necromantic rituals, campaign tools, and VTT resources. It's designed to give DMs plenty of options for building undead encounters, from minor restless spirits to powerful necromantic horrors.

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 2024 is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or right here on r/JonnyDM!

What happens to a fantasy setting when all the trained heroes disappear? In Icuci, the people left behind become the Accidentals: ordinary people trying to keep their world together.

Disclosure: I am Renato from Senshi Consulting, working on the campaign marketing with Revel Tales. A Shipwreck of Fools is a Dragonbane setting expansion with four regions and four adventures, new professions and kins, and magic schools built around food, insults and superstition.

One adventure begins with a ship returning after being lost in a storm of violet lightning. Someone has to step aboard, and the people available are hardly legendary heroes.

You need the Dragonbane core rules, but not the first Accidental Heroes volume. The campaign page links a free quickstart introducing the setting through material based on the first volume. The new book is in English.

Campaign and full contents: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reveltales/dragonbane-accidental-heroes-2-a-shipwreck-of-fools

The campaign remains open until October 30. Happy to help with questions about the available editions and campaign.

I finished the first version of my new solo-journaling, romance dungeon crawler game, “Love in a Place Like This?”!

It’s still in the very early stages, but I’d really appreciate it if someone could give it a look, or even try to play it since its solo, though I know that's asking a lot. I'm less focused on how I wrote things compared to design right now, but if I messed up the writing a bunch feel free to tell me.

It’s based on he/she loves me, he/she loves me not. That’s the simple game where you take a flower and alternate he loves me, he loves me not, as you rip of petals, the phrase you say as you rip the last petal off telling you the result.

If you prefer you can skip right to how to play, but here’s an overview:

To play, you make a journal from a note book or folded stack of papers.

Write prompts with options telling you to “pull” a specific number of petals on the early pages, along with a few visual aids like a mood tracker. 

Next prepare the latter pages so they are partially cut into strips to blindly tear or fold over by touch, representing the petals.

Once the notebook is prepared, you can take it and a pencil anywhere, and play anytime you want with ease!

You encounter prompts as you turn the pages, make choices, and “pull petals” accordingly.

If you end on they love me the relationship improves, and if you end on they love me not it worsens.

Whether a number to pull is even or odd can tell you what the result of a choice will be, but the option to tailor your response to what will improve a relationship is an important part of romance games! 

Plus with randomly ordered prompts with options that limit whether you can improve a relationship or at what cost, and the end of pages or pre-folded page breaks stopping pulls early making them an apparent 50/50, things aren’t always predictable or safe.

Theres some more nuance to it, but we’ll get into it later.

I hope that sounds interesting to some of you! Heres step by step set of instructions on how to play.

How to play.

Preparing the notebook:

1.     Create 2 characters and a scenario.

I made a bold, inexperienced cadet fresh out of the academy in some sort of military as my player character, and their experienced but uptight and slightly snarky superior officer as their love interest.

Its good to make characters that can be at odds at first, starting with a bit of tension. Feel free to consider yourself the narrator instead of focusing on one of the two characters’ perspectives. 

For the scenario what type of “dungeon” the characters are forced to escape or explore and why they are there is important. 

Mine were on a mission to scout an abandoned space station when the ship they were crew of suddenly left without them. 

Because the prompts I wrote are designed around the idea of scifi exploration, if you come up with your own scenario it should fit with that. It should also be an isolated environment with escape and survival being uncertain, but the rest is up to you. You could have the two characters wake up from cryostasis to find everyone else on the ship dead, or the ship they came in on destroyed, the stars are the limit!

2.     Create the mood trackers.

Draw five expressions on the front page of the notebook or booklet made out of a folded stack of papers, from angry to blushing/in love. 

Add two dots next the each face. 

If you want, add a phrase or two based on how you think the love interest would react to situations and choices based on the relationship/mood level.

Circle the lower dot next to whichever face represents their relationship starting out. I selected the second lowest face.

Also write down whatever version of the phrase they love me, they love me not, applies to your characters so you can mark which phrase to start with next. 

(Something like this!)

3.     Create or select prompts

For now use the provided prompts. You can decide to use all 15, or only 10 or 5 and pick the ones you like.

Write the ones you select into the next pages of the journal, or at least their title and the corresponding options. You can find the example prompts after the preparing the journal section is finished. 

Alternatively, if you plan to have a device open while you play, you can use the prompts on the provided list without writing them down in the journal. This step is just for if you want a fully portable experience.

4.     Number pages with prompts

Now that you know what prompts you are going to use, you need a way to randomly encounter them. If you are using a phone or computer alongside the journal rather than writing in prompts, you can just use a random number generator each time you turn a page/finish an entry to see what number prompt to use. 

But, if you are using only pencil and paper the way I suggest handling randomization is randomly numbering both the pages of the journal and the prompts. That way when you turn a page a new number presents itself and it corresponds to a prompt. This can be a bit hard to keep track of or do in a way you don’t remember, so heres some tips. 

a.     Write down a list of numbers somewhere, one by one, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… untill you reach the number of prompts you are going to use.

b.     Next write x down on whatever page you intend to start journaling, the one after the prompt list ends. This is where you will write the inro.

c.     Turn the page or the next page so that you can no longer see the x you wrote down, then randomly write one of the numbers from your list. Cross it off on the list.

d.     Repeat this till all of the numbers have been used, then randomly number the prompts you wrote down with the same set of numbers, or use the order they are in already as numbers when journaling.

(Here the number four is visible on the left page, but there is none visible on the right, if you turn the right page you will se another random number, not 5)

5.     Transcribe banes and boons.

Sometimes a prompt will provide an additional benefit or consequence for a they love me or they love me not result. These are called banes and boons. 

Write them in the journal on the last page. (Again, this step is unnecessary if you plan to use this document as a reference while journaling). 

6.     Create petals. 

Starting with the second to last page of the journal, make cuts along the right edge of the page so that foldable paper strips appear. They can be short cuts, its fine if the majority of the page is still connected. 

Don’t track how many cuts you are making, but about ten provides a good set. There will hopefully be pages with an even number of cuts as well as odd but not a fully equal amount of each, leave it up to fate as much as you can.

Finally, at a few pages randomly rip out or pre fold over a petal, making a page break before the page ends.

(It should look something like this. In this cases pages with pre-folded petals are next to each other, try to avoid doing that all the time. On the right page you can see a particularly thick petal near the end, varying size can make where the page ends a biiiiiit harder to tell)

I’m not totally sure how many pages should be cut per number of prompt, but I did 15 prompts and cut 6, which was a bit generous. Try 5 for 15, 3 for 10, 2 for 5 maybe. Whether you select prompts that have a benefit for hitting a page end effects things as well.

With that you have fully prepared the journal and can begin play, or wait and begin at a later time. The next section will cover actually playing the game, first… 

Here are the example prompts and boons.

Prompts: prompts feature choices, each with a number of petals to pull. Even ones keep the mood going, generally resulting in whatever result the last one did, positive or negative, while odd ones switch up the vibe and often yield the opposite. The higher the number, the more risky or draining in term of resources, mental and physical state, or just luck the choice will be. 

Sometimes prompts will have special rewards or conditions, especially if you hit a page break. In general though, you move the mood tracker one up or down one circle if you do not hit a page break, and two circles, thus a full face, if you do. More on that later.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Flood: As you reach about halfway across the seamless walled room, it begins to rapidly flood with liquid.

Try to run or float across it before it floods completely 5 petals. If page break hit they love you not does not decrease relationship.

Find a safe place to wait it out, huddled together for warmth 4 petals. It might be a raised platform or air pocket in a full flood. If page break hit relationship goes up a single dot in addition to any other change.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Feeble: You encounter a lone, weak creature or robot. It doesn’t seeeeeem threatening. 

Move past it, sneaking by or killing it 2 petals.

Try to tame it, 5 petals. If you hit a page break, it is tamed successfully on they love me, gain a boon. On they love me not taming fails and it is hostile. If you do not hit a page break you can decide taming success or base it on the result as you wish, it has no mechanical effect. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The fiendish: A group of dark, rapidly moving, sharp edged… things appears before you. Maybe they haven’t spotted you yet.

Try to find a way through or around them peacefully/stealthily 3 petals.

Fight for your life while you still can 6 petals.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The observatory: you enter a room with strange and captivating apparatus, a giant telescope, vast windows with touch screen displays, or powerful radar that you can almost feel.

Move on 0 petals. Nothing occurs.

Spend time observing or investigating 3 petals. If you hit a page break, you gain knowledge that brings hope or despair, enlightenment or insanity, bane or boon in line with result.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The nightmare: The two of you take a chance to rest, finding safety or simply overwhelming exhaustion. In your dreams, it finds you.

Let terror overtake you 0 petals. Decrease the relationship by a single dot.

Search for yourself within, or be swept up by, a deeper darkness. Pull petals till you hit a page break and gain a bain if they love you not. Results are otherwise normal for a full stop. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The chasm: A great gash of rended mettle and sparking wires, void peaking through, lies between you and the path forward. Weightless, you must use tethers to cross.

You pass over the chasm 1 at a time 5 petals. If you hit a page break, and they love you not, instead of moving relationship down: Pull petals till the next full stop, spending a page. If they love you not again, the love interest is lost in space. They can communicate through coms for the rest of the dungeon, as they drift further and further out into space, doomed. If the relationship is full and you complete all prompts, there may be a way to save them… up to you.

Walk together, tethered to each other 3 petals. If you hit a page break, and they love you not, instead of moving relationship down: Pull petals till the next full stop spending a page, if they love you not again, you are both lost in space. See ending, all petals used.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The garden: you find yourselves in a lucious garden, strange fruits and creatures you’ve never seen or the familiar, nostalgic sight of the flora of your home world(s). 

Enjoy and move on, 0 petals. The relationship goes up one circle.

Spend time foraging, pull petals till a page break. If he loves me gain a boon as well as usual result, if they love you not, the relationship remains the same.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The escape pods: the pods are functional, but there is no navigation system to aid their path, they will simply travel in a straight line in space till they run out of fuel. life support fades.

Move on, pull two petals. Your hopes are dashed. For now.

Use them, all the remaining petals in the journal, ending your journey. Each time you reach a page break, record the result and continue. If two thirds are they love me, you both reach safety or are discovered before life support runs out, otherwise you both meet your end. Can pick this option after this room has been encountered, but if there are not at least 3 page breaks when it is used, it auto fails, your luck has already been spent.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The crew: The room is filled with barely functional suspended animation units, some of them have occupants, injured or on the edge of life and death some… just not right.

Try and save them 6 petals. If page break hit boon or bane accordingly. Some may be so changed from the experience they attack, no one can be saved for long either way, (it is always just you and your love interest against the world) but you may be able to give some of them closure or learn something valuable.

Move on, or shut of life support and let them end, 1 petal pulled.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The dragon, how!? Scales gleaming, eyes burning, talons rending at metal and air, breath hot and foul enough to turn flesh fetid, what should not be is.

Your only chance is to run 2 petals. If page break hit, pull another page. If you get they love me twice, you are stopped but you miraculously slay the beast, gain two boons. If the result is mixed you barely escape with your lives. If you get they love me not twice it overcomes you, see end all petals spent.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Genetic alterations lab: a room full of glowing displays and blinking buttons, and two tubes of pulsing liquid, quivering almost in time with the beating of your heart. 

Run last programmed experiment 5 petals. What monstrosity or miracle is created? What was this lab, maybe even this station, for? Boon or bane according to result.

Try to program a new experiment 3 petals. On they love you, you may choose to do The feeble prompt as well, even if you have done it before.

Move on 0 petals. Nothing happens, after a look around the area you leave it, learning and gaining little.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Robo tea party: you encounter a group of robots, gathered around a table, raising delicate cups to face plates and trickling, tea? In and over themselves. A gesture or word of invitation. 

Join 3 petals. Decide whether it goes well or poorly, the petals tell you how that impacts the relationship.

Decline 2 petals. If this results in they love you not, even due to a full stop, a fight breaks out, pull two additional petals after the result.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Leviathan song: Creatures resembling whales pass by, swimming through space, creating a beautiful song where there should be no sound.

Stay a while and listen 0 petals. Relationship improves one dot.

Hunt them for their power 5 petals. Perhaps out of foreknowledge of their usefulness, or legends, or out of fear or desperation to use anything you can to save yourselves, you find a way to hunt the peaceful beasts. Whether you get they love you or they love you not, gain a boon, any one you like, even ones that you normally couldn’t. Relationship is effect as normal.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Message in a bottle: drifting through space, something catches your eye. A glass jar with a paper in it?

Move on, 0 petals. Do not decide what is in the bottle, you will never know.

Try to obtain and open it 5 petals. Decide/discover what is in the bottle perhaps based on the result from the petals. Does it bring a message of good tidings or ill? Perhaps something more than just a message, something dangerous. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dopplegangers: you encounter two figures, indistinguishable from you and your partner. They are not friendly. This prompt is a mess, but was quite fun to use.

Face yourself, 4 petals. By mind, tongue, or arms you prevail. A result of they love you functions as normal. On they love you not however, you lose track of what happens to your partner. On a result of they love you not, circle the current mood before you decrease it. Continue play as normal. If you would get a bain, instead it is revealed that your partner was replaced! Reset mood to where it was circled and lose a page (of petals) dealing with the doppleganger/finding your partner. If you would get a boon first, instead you find proof your partner is the real one, move relationship up a full level. If you encounter neither, and reach the end of the game with full romance, the doppleganger is revealed, reset the mood to where it was circled and either reunite with your partner… or decide to escape with the doppleganger, having learned to rely on them and giving your relationship with it a chance. If you reach the end without full romance… you may never know the truth… or perhaps your character learns in the future far, far too late to stop what is coming.

Face your partner, 4 petals. Gain two banes on he loves you not. (Yeah… figured the other one was so complicated I wouldn’t work to hard on this one, it sort of incentives risking the doppleganger though. That’s neat).

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Boons and banes: some prompts provide additional benefits and consequences, most you can only select once. There is one of each however, that can be selected as often as you get a boon or bane, but only once you’ve used all other options. You can also get a boon by increasing your relationship when it is maxed or a bane by decreasing it when it is at minimum.

List Boons:

Skip a prompt when you want, repeatable, can only select if all other boons are gone.

Advance the relationship two dots.

Every time relationship increases by two dots, increase it by an additional dot.

Your next choice on a prompt takes 2 less petals.

Switch loves me/loves me not tracker once.

List Banes:

You must pull all the petals on a page, repeatable, do not select unless all other banes are gone. 

Lower relationship by two dots.

Every time the relationship decreases by two dots, decrease it by an additional dot

Rip three petals.

You must tear double the petals on your next choice

You are ready to begin play

1.     Intro

On the page marked x, Journal whatever you like about… your characters… how the adventure starts for them… the gist of their relationship… how they arrive in the “dungeon” they must try to explore or escape… and what it first appears like.

Its not a bad idea to have a mystery in mind, something you’ll decide the truth of based on better prompts. In the intro my characters arrived on the station, had a little back and forth, and then were shocked to see their ship leave without them. Neither trying to make contact or wait worked so they were forced to explore the station for something to help them. I did not know why the ship left starting out just like the characters, but decided the answer based on prompts that resonated. 

2.     Find out what the first prompt is and begin journaling. 

Turn to the first numbered page or digitally generate a number. Check back to the prompt page and find the one that corresponds. Make your choice. 

You can base it off of factors such as petal cost or the result its likely to have based on being odd or even, or just run with what you think your character(s) would do.

Begin journaling. Writing what the room looks like, your characters reactions based on personality and how they feel about each other, and how the decision on how to proceed occurs. 

It might be a unanimous decision, one reached after an argument, or one character rushing forward despite the others objection. Keep their current relationship level and personalities in mind.

3.     Pull the petals (you can do this before journaling at all if that helps you think of an entry better).

Reach a hand to the back of the journal, feel the last page and fold over or rip of a petal (strip of paper), then say or think they love me or they love me not depending on what you think is appropriate for them. 

Pull another with the opposite phrase that you said last time if your are supposed to pull more than one, and continue until you have pulled the required number of petals. 

If you end with the phrase they love me, draw a circle around the next highest dot on the mood tracker. If you end on they love me not circle down one. Erase the original circle, leaving only the new one. 

On the same page as the mood tracker the phrases they love me they love me not should be present. Circle the opposite one to what you ended on, you will start with that phrase the next time you pull petals.

If you run out of petals to pull in the process of this, either reaching the end of a page, or a pre-folded petal, end the pulling early and use the phrase that you last pulled a petal with. This may change the even or odd value of petals pulled and thus the result, move the relationship tracker up or down two dots instead of one.

You can choose to tear more petals than the prompt requires as long as you do it in sets of two to keep the even/odd value. If you hit a page break this gives you a chance to get boost in relationship where you otherwise wouldn’t, and can impact some prompts more than others.

Prompts may have additional effects such as boons or banes, especially if you reach a page break, something you can choose to do by pulling extra petals, so read each one carefully. Some can even end the game early.

4.     Journal the result of the choice.

Now that you know the effect the choice will have on the relationship, you can continue journaling. The stage is already set, you’ve described the problem, and how your characters are choosing to address it, now its just a matter of what happens when they do.

In some cases, particularly where boons and banes are involved, the petals may tell you how well the action goes as well as the emotional impact. Most of the time you can decide success or failure for yourself. An action might work, but still drive a wedge between the partners based on the petals, or fail but bring them closer together, even when one of the characters didn’t support the action in the first place.

Keep the characters, the before and after state of their relationship, the petal number representing risk or resource costs, and what you think would be a cool result of the prompt in mind when journaling. 

In testing I did silly things like make the message in a bottle just an ad for a casino, an “out of the box”, marketing attempt. Also more serious things like tie the genetic experiment room to the dopple-gangers, and them to the reason the ship left without the characters, for me at least things seemed to come together quickly!

5.     Next prompt, continue

Repeat steps 2-4 but on the next numbered page, using the marked phrase as your starting point. Think about if there are any elements of the last prompt you want to incorporate into the next ones. Are supplies running low or an injury a lasting threat? Did someone find a useful object or learn something about the station? What does it all mean for this encounter?

Continue until you run out of prompts or petals.

6.     Ending the game.

The game ends if a prompt says it does, you run out of petals, or arrive at the last prompt and resolve it. 

If you reach the last prompt, ignore the number of petals and tear until the next full stop, or use all that remain in the journal without stopping. The prompt, including its effect on the relationship, resolves as normal, making the state the relationship ends in one last 50/50. If you use a boon to skip the last prompt, this final 50/50 does not take place. 

7.     Resolving a out of petals ending.

If you ran out of petals, the party of two fails to escape the dungeon before disaster strikes, running out of food, air, or being critically harmed by a threat from the prompt you ran out of petals on. 

Write a final journal entry to describe their last moments or how everything ends. You may focus on the prompt or gloss over a resolution or escape, focusing on how things take a turn after it. Take losses caused by previous prompts and the relationship level into account. Do they die in each others arms? Go their separate ways and die alone? Strike each other down in a rage?

If the relationship is at full when you run out of petals, a special option exists. One of the characters can sacrifice themselves to allow the other to escape. How this plays out in the story is up to you, but to give an example given the provided prompts, the characters could return to the escape pod room with a promise to take their chances together. Instead one stays behind in the control room, having figured out to access the stations computers over the journey, and locks the other in an escape pod as they launch it and guide it to safety from the station.

8.     Resolving a out of prompts ending.

If you reach the last prompt and resolve it, the players find a way to escape, potentially related to the prompts featured throughout the journey. Once they are free from the station it has a huge impact on the relationship, represented by the last 50/50. It may bring them closer together once they can have safety and space from the other, or drive them apart.

Write an epilogue for them based on their relationship level, if it is at its highest they might immediately start a committed relationship for real, second highest, slowly find true love between each other over time, middle neither avoid nor seek each other out while the ghost of what could have been hangs over every awkward meeting, second lowest resolve never to meet the other unless forced, lowest, part sworn enemies.

For my run, the love interest was replaced with a doppelganger, but that left the relationship frozen at full, while the doppelganger appeared to lower it. They were soon revealed, and the characters reunited, they discovered the doppelgangers had been created in experiments in the genetic experiment room, and eventually figured out that the captain had been replaced by a doppelganger, getting through to their ship with a stronger communication array on the station and explaining the imposter situation, allowing the ship to return for their rescue.

Cut to an epilogue of them vacationing on the casino planet they found an ad for, the uptight love interest in a Hawaiian shirt sipping a drink. Together they realize they may have left their pet slime back on the station (cause I forgot about it completely during later prompts, oops), and the love interest smirked and suggested they return to find it, much more cavalier than they had been before the dungeon.

Heres a few optional rules that might be useful. 

Feeling for petals alone can be pretty tough sometimes too, as the next pages can be felt behind the folded petals of the one you are on making things tough. Maybe try alternated cut pages and full blank pages when preparing the journal (a waste of space but oh well), or tear chunks off of full pages instead of folding precut strips, a page break happening when the right edge is completely gone. Your subconscious can influence the results that way too.

You can give a number from 1-6 for what kind of prompt the love interest might like, depending on how daring (more petals) or conservative vs eccentric they are (even vs odd). If you select a prompt that matches that number, you can change the result to they love me even if it shouldn’t be. This sets the starting phrase to they love me not for the next prompt as usual. I forgot to test this rule when playing so it might not work so well.

Hi everyone, I always put background audio to my sessions by having multiple Winamp instances open on my laptop, each playing a different track on repeat (like "forest" + "rain" + "ominous music"). Very immersive for our table, and it worked well enough because I could layer ambience tracks and music. But it was complicated and a hassle.

Fast forward to today: I built my own TTRPG audio app that replaces all that winamp hassle: a desktop application for windows and Mac. It fades everything in and out seamlessly and it's very easy to use. It works so well that I decided to make it available for anyone to download:

It's called GM Audio Mixer, it's adless and completely free forever, and I made it specifically for TTRPGs. No account needed: it's a free download and in the tool you simply point it to any folder on your device that has your sounds and music, and then easily mix it all together. I made it as user friendly and as I possibly could, and it supports music (and playlists), ambience tracks, and sound boards - all looping and cross-fading and mixing into a convincing sound stage for your story. The app makes it easy to combine sounds to create a soundscape (like saving multiple sounds labelled 'tavern', 'forest', 'cave' etc) and to layer situational music on top of that. And then you save those sound stages as a place or scene. And with a single click you then change between those soundscapes.

TL;DR I really enjoy putting background audio to my sessions. So I built an application for windows and Mac that I want to share with whoever finds this useful. It's free and adless forever because it's just something I built for fun and my own campaign. You point it to your local audio folder, categorize sound files as music, background ambience, or sound effect for your sound board, and easily mix it all together. It all fades and crossfades, no matter what sounds you use. And I really hope others will enjoy using it :)

A coastal adventure deserves creatures that feel as strange as the water they come from. Fishmongers brings 18 unique miniature designs together with 5e material for taking them from the painting desk to the game table.

Disclosure: I am Renato from Senshi Consulting, supporting the campaign. Fishmongers is by Mudskipper Studios, founded by character and creature artist J. Curtis Parker. The campaign offers physical miniatures and STL options, with a bestiary and a one-shot adventure for 5e.

If your group is heading into a seaside settlement, under the waves, or towards something unpleasant washed ashore, the project page is a good place to see whether these creatures fit your next session. Check the selected reward carefully for which physical and digital items it includes.

The campaign is currently open until October 23 (October 22 in some time zones). All designs, reward options and shipping information are here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mudskipperstudios/fishmongers-miniatures-and-bestiary

Happy to help with campaign questions or point you towards the creator for technical miniature details.

I have finished the demo and a testing system and published on itch io, RPGTrader, DriveThruRPG, Wargame Vault, and Buy Me a Coffee pages!

It feels so good to have it ready. 5 Cities each with its own fun mission ideas.

The cover was such a pain to decide on. After asking Reddit threads for opinions, I decided to go with a very simple look. And it came out with the vibe I wanted.

Now, this is still a work in progress, but I am at a point I can share it. It will have minor changes and updates as time goes. For instance, I will add the link to the Google My Maps for the whole thing. And I will update the page of the map as more and more cities are added.

I am extremely proud I completed this and did not use AI in the art. Which I believe would have made this go faster. Much faster. But I want this to be something I created on my own. The art could definitely be better, but it is good enough for my look at it and say I am proud of it.

If you are interested in trying it out and want to give me some feedback, you can find it on the platforms listed above. Just look for the Smash List. (Yep I am going to keep the title).

Please note my wife did find some errors which will be corrected in the next update. But if you find some please do not hesitate to let me know.

This is the first time I have done anything like this and I know there are some things I missed.

Next Phase and Expansion Plans

Next phase is something I am working on right now and fingers crossed hope I can get all of them done before the end of the year.

I am adding more missions to each city already on the campaign. And most importantly I am adding more cities in the campaign to choose from.

I just finished drafting the ideas for the rest of Fort Worth and it came to 8 missions in total. I need to get the playtesting and art done on these. And just so everyone knows I use a mix of Forgotten West, Zombicide, and Tombstone for my testing.

The goal is to add 6 new cities, and about 100 more missions to choose from.  

Also I wanted to get the interactive map on Google My Maps done before the end of the month.

For the future releases, I am planning on grouping them by states. So you get the state book and use that essentially as an add-on.

I hope you all enjoy using the system as much as I do!

Thank you again!!

P.S. I didn't add links as I am not sure it is allowed. If you can't find it feel free to DM and I will send it your way. It is a pdf.

AIRTIGHT is a Traveller setting idea I came up with about a hundred years ago in 1998 or so. This was when I was lapping up sci-fi like Outland, 2010: The Year We Make Contact and Silent Running. These days we have more content like The Expanse, The Martian, Europa Report and of course the world is a little more busy with the recent release of The Expanse RPG, the excellent work being done with StarCluster.

Its available under the TAS so if you're interested in doing some co-development, get in touch or pop along to the development forum on the RPGPUB (or join my Discord). Always happy to talk geek.

AIRTIGHT starts with the idea that we've expanded into the solar system but for the most part we are alone. The first adventure, 12K of ICE, explores the first discovery of life within the solar system. The second, Perihelion, inspired by Oamuamua, explores an ancient wanderer which enters our solar system before exiting again for thousands of years.

12K OF ICE on DTRPG: $2

PERIHELION: $3 (but here's a discount code dropping that to 50c! )

A third and fourth adventure (Small Mercy and Deeper Dark) will be released before the end of the year will investigate the consequences of using space as a wild west for medical research and the discovery of a megastructure on the very edge of the solar system, in trans-neptunian space. We will be releasing more about Airtight, including a setting guide, as we build out this world.

You can of course get our Classic Traveller PWYW stuff for absolutely nothing. Our sales go to funding art.

Storm-Shelter-2.0

Simple Vector Combat

Passage for Thirty-Two

Bright Cargo

Traveller Technobabble