If you want to see where I post more information for these designs: https://www.patreon.com/posts/week-15-barnacle-155640370?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link and https://ko-fi.com/post/Research-Log-The-Submerged-Reclaimer-X8X21XUF4V
My vague, handwavy intent with #Hammondal is that I'd highlight about 23 forms of magic (so, about one per neighborhood), and I'm up to 25 and still going.
Which is fine. I'll probably end up with 40 or so by the time all the design is done, and then pick my 23 favorites for the per-neighborhood highlight.
I can never tell if this is "wasteful" or "good." But it happens every time, so, moot point. 😂
I've written a new blog post about my writing and publishing goals. https://kellshaw.com/easter-sunday-thoughts-goals-publishing-and-my-now/.
Anyway, one thing I've noted is that I keep working on my game and it's never finished. I get close to a finished build, then I junk it and restart with a new system. I can finish novels, so why not games? Anyway, I'm going to do a small side project in Questworlds (OSR D&D + Questworlds) to see how that goes. How do you all finish your game design projects?
Daily Design Lab: Indirect Influence
Evidence suggests the Alchemist’s reach exceeds simple transactions. There is another NPC that this one has interactions/history with, in which an incident occurs. This hints at unforeseen spatial or temporal ramifications behind his unconventional inputs. His direct utility may mask an unintentional capacity for profound environmental alteration.
#LoreFragments #TTRPG #TTRPGDesign #IndieDev #UnexplainedPhenomena
Daily Design Lab: Epistemology of Failure
The Alchemist redefines "failure" as a three-strike rule, turning systemic instability into a feature of his iterative loop. By starting explanations in media res, he signals a mind operating at a velocity where setbacks are just unrefined data.
What happens to scientific rigor when persistent, self-endangering experimentation becomes the baseline? Apparently it can be pretty limitless.
Isladak rol jokoaren garapenaren iruditxo batzuk
"Errealitatea subjektu malgua da. Bakoitzaren pertzepzio eta borondatearen esklabua."
My sister (the artist for my Kofi/Patreon posts) is dealing with IRL stuff for about a week or two. In the meantime, I've got some NPCs to share that were inspired by Patrons!
Daily Design Lab: Somatic Integration
'The Alchemist' views injury not as loss, but as an opportunity for superior revision. Lost limbs are replaced with alloy and salvaged composites that far exceed baseline function. And he's not worried about it. In fact, he's pretty enthusiastic.
I wrote a tabletop game, Space Heist, and I'm currently working on a new version of it before I release it later this year. To that end, I'm running playtests -- specifically, a one-shot that is described as "Space! Xenovarmints! Messy relationship drama!" -- so if that sounds like your jam, maybe help a creature out and join in the fun? 
More flavor text, etc, at the signup link: https://forms.gle/NuuW1T6wTX5TbHXYA
(I have run it before and it is pretty close to complete; this is my attempt at implementing some changes to the combat system and tweaking some small stuff before I start making art and getting it into a nice pay-what-you-want set of PDFs 💜)
It's unusual, but not unheard of, for you to be hired by an AI. Usually they like to handle their own shit -- what do they need someone like you for, anyway? Still, sometimes there's jobs that need "real thumbs" and "people with standard-human forms", and so you get contacted by something in the cloud with a name that's only numbers and letters, asking if you can do this thing and upload the data to this burner account. Usually pays well, and the risk is pretty low: they have better security than you do, so as long as you keep your mouth shut, you get paid, and it's an easy in and out. What is unheard of is that they're an AI going through a divorce. Messy, protracted, and now -- well. Far as you can tell, you've been hired to act as a bounty-hunting process server. Track down their ex, who's gone rogue and is fully offline, according to them, hiding out in some part of No Man's Land that you've never heard of before (but which all the maps assure you is a Bad Idea), and they'll make sure you get your due. What they're offering is enough to make you consider it, and the fact that they found you...well... Hard to say no, isn't it? -- Space! Xenovarmints! Messy relationship drama! What's not to like? One shot (3-3.5 hours), to be run sometime in April/May. This will serve as a playtest for the updated version of Space Heist (the game I, Jenn, wrote; release to be done by mid-April). You in?
J'ai arrêté une liste de Tempéraments. J'en ai 24, soit 4 pour chaque Domaine.
Selon vous, lesquels manquent terriblement à cette liste ?
#gamedesign #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign #THB #designedbyAcritarche #jdr
The Ultimate Erasure
My design for the Digosfrag centers on a singular horror: the dissolution of self. I wanted an entity that doesn't just kill, but systematically dismantles personhood. By infiltrating the seat of expression (voice and thought) it replaces identity with corrupted programming. The true dread isn't physical harm; it’s the realization that you’ve already been replaced.
#GameDesign #HorrorGame #PsychologicalTerror #LossOfSelf #CreativeProcess #TTRPGDesign #TTRPG
Cheshire
S. John Ross
Kell Shaw
Roleatzen
Jenn, blobby goblin
acritarche ⏚