This account is such a jumble of stuff but I think I wanna try chronicling my TTRPG writing here, maybe.

I'm currently working on what was my own little personal OSR game, but which I'm trying to cram a bunch of Forged in the Dark mechanics into, because every time I interact with d20 pass/fail mechanics I'm always left yearning for dice pools and mixed successes. I truly don't know how this'll go and it simultaneously feels a bit stupid but also kind of crazy to me that classic fantasy is relatively rare in the FitD space.

Anywayyyy watch this space I guess?? If I remember to, I'll post updates, to keep myself on track.

We'll see whether or not this becomes a more permanent place for posts and updates to my progress on my tabletop rpgs — in the least I'll try to update here at the same time as on the failing bird site.

Stay tuned for some more updates for Shatterkin, my 'forged in the dark' evolving monster pets rpg.

hello cohost gamers. using this platform remains deeply unnatural for me, but i think i might have an angle on some genuine Posting - would y'all be interested in longform/liveblogging as i read ttrpg books? i've been digging into smaller indies lately (Songbirds 3e, The Mecha Hack) and would gladly share that process if it would be fun to read :>

I really love the playsets from Girl by Moonlight, easily my fave development in FitD tech in the last couple of years. For those unware, Girl by Moonlight eschews the traditional Gang/Squad/Group Playbook structure for Playsets. These fulfill a similar role to the group playbooks of other FitD games, but are explicitly designed to invoke particular subgenres through the nature of both their opposition and progression. I think it's a perfect tool to adapt to Little Wizards, which aims to be a game about catching and caring for magical little creatures. Creature-catching stories exist in a lot of forms, with notable examples like Pokemon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, Golden Sun (arguably), Yokai Watch, Temtem, etc. I want to give players the tools to tell stories in the same space as some of their genre favorites.

The big difference I think with Little Wizards and GBM in this regard is that I envision LW to be presented with a core/universal location in which to tell stories. Traveling and looking at the map are such core aspects of these stories to me that I want to absolutely incorporate that into the gameplay, so it's necessary to provide a basic sandbox for players to explore. (I'd also like to think about how to "import" other settings into the rules of LW for those that want to adapt to more established creature-catching settings.)

At the moment, there are three or four main inspirations I'm drawing from for Little Wizard playsets. They are the following:

1. [isekai] - Lost in a new world, work together to make your way home. (Touchstones include Digimon, the Pagemaster, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.)
2. [miasma] - A great darkness threatens your home, held at bay by the [macguffin]. You and your friends must venture forth to ensure the [macguffin] keeps [verbing] to protect your home. (this is crystal chronicles babey)
3. [the very best] - Travel the land, make new friends, and prove yourself the very best. (this is pokemon through-and-through, whether it be battles or contests or something else)
4. [hidden threat] - A sinister force threatens to exploit the peace and prosperity of your home for nefarious ends. Uncover the truth and throw fascists off of cliffs. (this is also sorta pokemon, but it's mostly Temtem, a game which is much more explicitly anti-colonial and anti-fascist in its storytelling)

I think there's a lot of different ways to go both mechanically and narratively with these sorts of playsets, and I think they really have the potential to help Little Wizards capture the feeling of these beloved stories.