Alex Schroeder

588 Followers
411 Following
385 Posts
I play older versions of D&D, variant retro clones, some indie games, some wargames; I write software to support my gaming.
Blog@blog
Main@alex
German@alex
Contacthttps://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/Contact

@kensanata @randomwizard @lkh @FrankBlack78 I'm not sure how much OSM etc. pre-render into their tiles and/or how easy it is to render your own without that.

I do know that some people are using the (quite complex, IMHO) GIS tools like QGIS for mapping, e.g. this one https://idraluna-archives.bearblog.dev/a-tutorial-for-making-hexcrawl-maps-in-qgis/

(They also made a few real-world maps including a high-res version of Antarctica: https://idraluna-archives.itch.io )

A Tutorial for Making Hexcrawl Maps in QGIS

Note from 10-2-2025: Parts of this tutorial are a bit outdated, due both to QGIS updates and an improve understanding of what people want out of their hexmap...

Idraluna Archives
@randomwizard @lkh @mhd @FrankBlack78 I wonder if there's a way to configure Open Street Map (e.g. via OsmAnd) such that it produces a map without streets, without buildings, etc.

If you study role-playing games, larp, board games or other forms of analog games, you should submit your work to the Ropecon 2026 Academic Seminar!

The theme is "Dreams", but we welcome also work on other aspects of analog games.

https://ropecon.fi/academic-seminar-cfp/

#TTRPG #GameStudies #Ropecon #Ropecon2026

Academic Seminar Call for Papers « Ropecon 2026

24.–26.7.2026

@phf @wandererbill @lkh I think that’s why it’s good to move to a small instance if you have a big list of people you already follow. In that case, discovering more people to follow is easier. Or keep an alt on a popular instance to find people.
@yora I was a huge fan of it!

@yora I think it was just a promo for their site. No matter what you answered, you got a URL that was right for you.

Personally, I have changed my default search engine to be https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite?q=%s and that has worked very well for me.

%s at DuckDuckGo

@yora Here in Switzerland the people even vote against tax increases for the rich. 😓
If you've ever wanted a more relaxed, contemplative place to talk about TTRPGs, Alarums & Excursions' legacy continues with https://everanon.org/ _Ever and Anon_ -- a free collective/collated fanzine (also known as an APA), compiled once a month! We've been getting a lot of OSR new contributors over the last month, but APA hacking isn't really about nostalgia; it's a different flow and approach to conversation and creation, and I'd love to see more people trying it! #ttrpg #apa #rpg
Ever & Anon APA

Ever & Anon is a digital monthly Amateur Press Association (APA) about roleplaying games.

@Sandra As far as I understand this Magic the Gathering lesson 13, I disagree with it. It is absolutely the task of the players to find joy in the collaborative activity of playing the game. I am not the only entertainer at the table, I am the referee and we hopefully entertain each other. If the players want to discuss philosophy with patrons at the guest house I might speak a few sentences in direct speech, then summarise a point or two as far as it relates to the game at hand, and then I might ask directly: Where do you want to go from here? There is no more game-related information to be had, they told you all they know. At that point I'm refusing to make something fun that isn't part of the game, from my point of view. It is the player's job to pick a course of action that is the right kind of challenging. If they go to level 3 of the dungeon with their level 10 characters, it's interesting for a session or two but then I might ask them: Are you sure? This is probably not interesting anymore. Let's leave this to expeditions with low-level characters. To me, being able to make these choices, and sometimes make the wrong choice, is all part of the freedom of action that I enjoy. I suspect that Magic the Gathering lesson 13 is for game designers, not referees. If D&D is about combat, for example, D&D combat should be fun, I agree with that. But I doubt the lesson applies to me running adventure games.

@mhd The reason I say all that is that I generally dislike scenarios where I think I'm playing in a sandbox and it turns out the referee sets up so many threats and timers that we as the players don't actually have a choice. Today we need to find Baba Garo because otherwise the dragon destroys the guest house. Tomorrow we have to fight the baboons otherwise the druid kills the halfling. Then we need to go and talk to the beast men queen otherwise the Set cultists will smash them. It might feel exhilarating but it also removes agency.

Sure, in theory, we could just drop it and emigrate. At the table, that's not how it works. There's an implicit agreement regarding the current campaign, I'm sure.
@Sandra