rootring
rooted in blogs, linked in a ringRise Up Comus
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On the ring since 2026-03-17
Latest activity 20mo ago
288 posts
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In the Lower Ossuary, there is a shrine to the minor Mythric goddess Fortitude. There, merchants catering to adventuring guilds sometimes gather in the light of the...
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In 2023, like many people, I participated in Dungeon 23. The end result was two dungeons - one based on the tarot (for His Majesty the Worm) and one rambling cozy depthcrawl...
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The Worm Jam has crossed the halfway point (and then some)! Even now, before the desperate last sprint towards the finish line, we have some incredible entries. I’m thrilled...
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I love seeing everybody cooking up new kiths, kins, talents, and other player-facing rules for His Majesty the Worm during the Worm Jam.I wanted to offer a few guiding...
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Somewhere in the Underworld, there are cloning machines that endlessly replicate the flesh of a woman born ages ago named Xania. It's all XaniaAt some point, these processes...
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Almost every time I make a new dungeon for His Majesty the Worm, I sit down and open my Knock! magazines. I’ve read them each a hundred times, but every time I find some gem...
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One of the ways I managed to get art into His Majesty the Worm was by a community of generous artists who specifically host Patreons/Comradery accounts for gaming art. These...
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Another technique you can use to defeat the tyrant blank page is to make big lists of cool things.Let’s say that you’re working on a dungeon and you’re hoping to create 20-ish...Linked by the ring
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There is no tyrant as cruel as the blank page.For many people (especially me), being told “Write a story! It can be about anything!” is neither a compelling or welcoming...
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Get the Creator's Kit for free!His Majesty the Worm was designed to be accessible and easily hackable. As such, we've chosen simple language to communicate that you can create...
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Like a mutant who has adapted to nuclear-irradiated wasteland and can't actually survive on water that doesn't make a Geiger-counter go nuts, I still go to Twitter. It's...Linked by the ring
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His Majesty the Worm didn't fall out of a coconut tree. It is a manifestation of the OSR scene. As such, it carries on the long and proud tradition of the Appendix N. One of...
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For the last nine years, I've been writing and playtesting a game called His Majesty the Worm. It is now available in both physical and digital forms. I would love for you to...
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This is a post about three storytelling techniques I've seen in media - and at the RPG table. InitiationIn initiation stories, the audience is brought into some conspiracy or...Linked by the ring
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This is a submission to DIY&Dragon's Summer LEGO RPG Setting Jam.The Induction"And you'll note that the people in Peaksville, Ohio, have to smile. They have to think happy...
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One of the things I like about blogging is that it exorcises the daemons and geniuses that haunt your head. That is, it gets your ideas out of your head and onto paper so they...
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It is well documented in the blogosphere that D&D fantasy produces a shift from fantastic as unique to fantastic as science. For example, in the myths, there is a single...Linked by the ring
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The OSR space has discussed the importance of framing interesting combats. It has not done the same amount of work to provide concrete advice on running interesting social...Linked by the ring
- CATMAIL #2 AMONG CATS AND BOOKS
- The Bloggies Hall of Fame Explorers Design
- Seven-Part Pact: Combat A Knight at the Opera
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To understand this post, I need you to go read this post from False Machine. Ready? OK, let's move on.The Derros are characters with a history before D&D, and Patrick Stuart's...
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I love rival adventuring parties. I half use them to express ideas I have for characters in games I'm GMing. "I wish I could play this." Here are four that might appear in the...
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Dungeon games have a historical bad reputation of being all about kicking down doors and looting treasure. But even games with the most traditional trappings of bash-n-loot...Linked by the ring
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Sometimes, I see the question: "How do I run an RPG like a metroidvania/like Hollow Knight/like Blasphemous?" I'm making this blog post mostly so I have something to link to...
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I swore I'd never let myself get this bad. I swore I'd never write a mutation table.I lied.In general, the mutations have some benefit--but everyone thinks of you as a freak....Linked by the ring
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When Ty of Mindstorm said he was going to do a blog guest tour this year, I raised my hand immediately. I had no idea that it'd go this hard. I am blown away. A His Majesty the...
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On my RPG writing roadmap, I have a capsule game of my own, tentatively called Tormented Hills and Unharvested Seas. (I first mentioned the germ of this idea, here).The...Linked by the ring
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In part I, I tried to define a sub-genre of RPG that my friends and I are calling a "capsule game." To revisit that definition: Capsule games are a genre of RPG where the game...
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This post continues the series of incomparable classes (such as the Truespeaker, the Knight, the Trickster, the Loremaster, and the Jester). As before, I've framed the rules...
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I am obsessed with capsule games. What are capsule games? In short: Capsule games are a genre of RPG where the game is sold as an "encapsulated" experience.The GM is equipped...Linked by the ring
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I have some exciting news to share: I have been brought on board as the editor-in-chief of Knock! magazine moving forward.Eric Nieudan, the once and future editor-in-chief, is...
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Recently, the RPG social media sphere reheated one of the classic controversies du jour: Should RPG critics write a review of an RPG product they have not played?Some insist...