#Delver-Writing

[rewind-redux]

Reminders - Mortuary Assistant

The light flickered as Raymond worked, the stench of blood and death suffocatingly heavy in the air. His hands were worn down and stained from so many years of working as a mortician, and cold as ever. He typed up the report on the computer, clicking each section of the body that had a wound or imperfection. They had been popping up more and more on his patients recently, a mere coincidence; at least, that’s what he told himself. Perhaps crime was on the rise, or people were just becoming more stupid in Milford, but he just didn’t want to admit the real cause. He sighed as he finished typing up the report and printing it out, the machine interrupting the quiet buzz of the lights with its loud action. He got up and took the paper, walking out of the embalming room to the front office, where the reports were stored near the receptionist's desk. 

The lights went out, causing him to stumble onto the carpet, dropping the paper. He sighed and stood up, his chest tight and heavy. He placed a hand on his chest to steady himself, his heart thundering against his rib cage. The dark was suffocating, the stench of death becoming more potent by the second, as if on his body. A terrible reminder. Death was waiting for him, he knew it, and yet he kept fighting against it just to live on for one more damn day. His hands shook as the images of the people he’d sacrificed to claw his way to tomorrow flashed across his eyes. The weight was too heavy to carry, his head pounding, his chest starting to burn. God, the things he’d do to just last one more day.

‘It was justified.’ He’d tell himself over and over, knowing that was bullshit. Those people didn’t deserve what happened, but it happened, and there was nothing he could do about it now. What if he didn’t kill them? What if Vallery wasn’t locked up in that cellar? What if he gave up? He knows the demons would just move to the next target, their next victim. 

Another bullshit excuse. He wasn’t fighting to keep someone else from being tortured and dragged to hell. This was self-preservation. This was survival. He was doing this for himself, to wake up one more day and feel the cool air sting at his throat, as painful as the days had become. It was still one more day of some warped form of chained freedom, where he could do as he wanted, yet still burdened with tasks to survive. 

He had never meant to bring anyone into this, his receptionist, his assistants… But what else could he do? They'd all died, helping him build his evidence and instructions on how to deal with this threat. On how to keep surviving, no matter how pathetic and dastardly it was.

He collected himself, feeling his way to the front door and stepping outside, walking to the breaker. Thank god he didn’t need electricity for much. He flicked the switch on and off, glancing down at the cellar door. He cursed under his breath as he remembered it was already time to collect his Vallery’s– no– the demon's blood. He pulled the key out of his pocket, shoving the doors to the side as he stepped down into the cellar. It was quiet and musty inside, his calm yet frantic notes scattered about on the desk, along with some cassettes and a camcorder. He stepped past all of it, not bothering to glance at his notes. He knew what was in them; he’d read them obsessively for years. He could recite them all word for word at this point.

He unlocked the thick door to the other room in the cellar; Vallery’s wooden coffin staring at him in the back of the room. He sighed and got the bucket, opening the wrist slot and taking the knife from the table.

“I’m sorry, Vallery.” A mantra he repeated to himself every time he opened that wrist slot, every time he could see a glimpse of her dead body that could still bleed. The cut was quick and deep, with a morticians precision; precise, but not quite surgeon like. The cut slowly turned red and seeped arterial blood, the bucket under the opening clanging softly from each drop. He watched it drip, trying to tune out the demon speaking in Vallery’s voice.

“This is all your fault, Raymond. All those you’ve killed… And yet you won’t act on your desire to make up for it. To be punished for it.” He scowled at the demons words, the voice wearing him down a bit faster this time.

“Staying here and dealing with you is making up for enough. It’s… It’s punishment enough.” His voice was shakier than usual, ‘it must have just been from his earlier episode.’ He told himself. 

“How much further would you go for one more day? How many more will you kill?” He stared down at the blood dripping into the bucket– Vallery’s blood. How far would he go? 

“My assistant has everything she needs to resist you.” It was true, but a pathetic deflection, and the demon knew it.

“And yet you don’t have the courage to tell her yourself. To face her and say what you’ve done. To look her in the eyes while you tell her how you’ve just ruined her life forever, making her run from place to place, making her claw for survival just as you have. You can’t even stand to take the blame this time, can you? Saying that ‘you’ve given her what she needs to resist’. Isn’t that what happened to the others?” He grimaced slightly, and shut the coffin’s opening, stopping the collection of blood.

“I don’t have to justify myself to you, demon.” He picked up the bucket and made his way out, but not before the demon got a last word in.

“You still haven’t justified it to yourself.” He quickly shut the door and locked it, setting the bucket on the table as he took a moment to collect himself.

‘Just make the reagent for yourself and Rebecca. That’s all that’s needed for tonight.’ He got to work making it and bottling it, heading back up and into the mortuary. He paused as he saw the patient report he had dropped what seemed like hours ago. ‘Shit, the body.’ He picked up the paper and filed it away, then carried the reagent to the cupboard of banishing tools. He closed and locked it, then got to work embalming the patient he had forgotten about. 

The rest of the night was eerily quiet, giving Raymond nothing but time to think. Time to think about what has happened in the past years, what he’d done– no– what the demon’s had done to his previous assistants, and what he had become. He’d become a monster. If anyone found out what he’d done, he’d be rotting in jail, most likely taken over by the demon by then. He was a murderer, his name would be tarnished and he’d be declared insane. No one believed in demons like this, not even christians. Demons didn’t just pop up from the blue and tear your patients apart, causing you to have to burn them like a dead human sacrifice. Demons were something you had to resist, temptations. They were a concept that was real spiritually, not physically. 

He finished up his work and washed his hands, glancing down at his hands. For a quick second, he saw the blood staining it, and he knew exactly whos it was. He shook the hallucination away and stepped out, locking the mortuary up. God knows he’ll never be rid of these demons, but there was a... twisted comfort in knowing he at least had one other person he knew going through what he was.

[womb-complex]

[britcision]

So like it’s not gonna be soon or consistent but I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again so this is your One Warning Delicious in Dungeon crowd

Magic Lube Thursday may be making a comeback.

We even get the new anime episodes on Thursdays it’s perfect

[kcrossvine-art]

haiiii dungeon delvers! This is a quick one, gratefully both the materials and the dish-type are very close to their real life inspiration :D

As we speak, my favorite catgirl bestfolk is getting introduced to the anime and you haven no idea how much self control its taken to not immediately jump forward to be in sync with her, but theres SO many good recipes before we get there!!!

We will be making a Mandrake and Basilisk Omelet today!

(As always you can find the cooking instructions and full ingredient list under the break-)

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes into a Mandrake and Basilisk Omelet?” YOU MIGHT ASKIts made from the egg of a basilisk, which isnt a large chicken egg but instead a large snake egg. Oblong shape, soft leather texture, and no eggwhites just yolk.

A large daikon

½ lbs fatty bacon

Shallots

Garlic

Chicken eggs

Salt

Pepper

Arugula (for garnishing)

OPTIONAL; ketchup/hot sauce :)

You could try cooking this using actual snake eggs, but theyre hard to come by and reportedly quite bland compared to chicken eggs. I tried getting my hands on an ostrich egg for the pizzaz of it all. The zoo lady was kind in her dismissal.

AND, “what does a Mandrake and Basilisk Omelet taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASKOmelettes are standard fair but here we cook them like a french omelette and wrap it up like a burrito at the end.

Wetter eggs than im used to ( <- american)

Daikon and bacon r very tasty together

They end up having the same texture almost

Intensely savory. Heavy on the tummy

Chopped green onions would bring more levity to the filling

Ketchup pairs well

(but i prefer medium hot sauce)

Dark coffee pairs well

The acidity of the above 3 is what makes them work with this nutrient Dense dish

. In the show, decapitated mandrakes are more bitter than mandrakes left 'whole'. If you want that difference, using sweet/sour sauce on some of the daikon while it cooks will make the non-sauced daikon seem bitter by comparison. . Maybe ferment daikon too? . Adding a small amount of water with the bacon transfers the heat evenly, a small amount as to cook off before the fat/grease renders. Could also try cooking in the oven.

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"Consisting of a fluffy Basilisk egg omelet filled with minced Basilisk bacon and mandrake.If the mandrake used was killed with its 'head' still attached, it will be less bitter and more mellow" This dish is important as it marks the beginning of Senshi and Marcilles bonding, and the lead-up gives us our first glance into the school Falin and Marcille met at. Objectively the recipe is basic but it was challenging to write out.

Omelette making is muscle-memory, so having to learn the french variation and slow down felt like trying to ride a bike side-saddled.

It took about an hour and a half from laying out the ingredients, to eating the finished thing. I had to take a break in the middle of cutting veggies as my wrists are flaring up, so you could probably go faster unimpeded.

What would you rate this recipe out of 10?(with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.) Did you love it, did you hate it? What're your thoughts on what I could do different, and what would you have done instead?

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Ingredients:

1 large daikon, chopped

½ lbs fatty bacon, chopped

2 shallots

3 cloves of garlic

3 Eggs

Salt

Pepper

Some arugula (for garnishing)

OPTIONAL; ketchup/hot sauce :)

Method:

Chop your bacon into roughly ½ inch squares. Cut off the ends of your daikon and cube the rest. Thinly dice your shallots and crush your garlic cloves.

Bring a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Once at temp, carefully add your chopped bacon to the pan with a very small amount of water.

Add your chopped bacon and stir-fry until almost cooked.

Add your shallots and garlic. Cook for about a minute or until the shallots have softened.

Transfer the bacon, shallot, and garlic mix to a bowl. Set aside. Lower the cast iron skillet to medium heat.

Place your daikon cubes in the cast iron skillet, you should still have enough bacon grease. Add salt and cook until lightly browned on each side.

Add roughly 1 tablespoon of water. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Once your daikon are softened, transfer to same bowl containing your bacon, shallots, and garlic.

Crack your eggs into a seperate bowl and whisk for 2 minutes until 'frothy' with no egg whites visible.

Bring the cast iron skillet back up to medium heat. There might not be enough bacon grease left, so feel free to add butter! If the butter browns you've gone too hot.

Pour your eggs into the skillet. Use a spatula to spread the eggs, scraping down the sides of the pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper in, to taste.

Once your eggs are mostly solid, pour the bacon, shallot, garlic, and daikon filling into the center. If it starts to separate- stop touching and let it rest. Gently fold the edges of the omelette overtop the filling.

Lay a few pieces of arugula on a plate, and flip your omelette onto it :) enjoy!

[capacle]

Drawing stars on sticky notes?

What do you get when you combine Progress Clocks, Aspects, Usage Dice, and Insight Rolls?

If you answered “an unholy mess”, well, that’d have been my guess too if someone asked me that. But that didn’t stop me from doing it anyway. And, surprisingly, instead of creating an abomination that shouldn’t see the light of the day, it became the core mechanic of my newest game, one that I’m giddily excited about.

I want to dive deeper into this quirky little mechanic called Sparks, that involves drawing stars on sticky notes. In essence, it is a tool to track progress of any kind. Towards a goal, an event, an effect, whatever. But in a closer look… well, it is more than that.

Escaping the temple

Let’s say you grab an ancient idol from a cursed temple, triggering a self-destruction spell. You need to escape before the temple collapses and traps you inside. You’d grab a sticky note, write “The Temple Collapses,” and place it on the table. Your Spark is now created.

To advance the Spark, you’d add rays to the star when certain fictional or mechanical triggers occur. For example, if you spend too much time in a room while trying to escape, you might add a ray to represent the passage of time. Or say you try to place a heavy rock in place of the idol to stop the spell, and you roll a bad Fate Check (the equivalent of a Yes/No Oracle or a Fortune Roll in other games), you’d add a ray to the Spark. A particularly bad roll (e.g., a 1) might even add two rays.

Up until this point, you might be thinking, “Well, this is just a Progress Clock.” But here’s the fun twist: every time you advance the Spark, you may perform a Spark Check by rolling a D6. If the roll matches a ray on the star, the event happens, and the Spark resolves.

For instance, if you’ve added two rays to your Spark and roll a 1 or 2, the temple collapses. If you don’t hit a ray, the temple holds, and you can keep pushing to escape. This creates what I like to call “controlled unpredictability”. You get a sense of the odds of the event happening, but you can’t predict exactly when it will occur.

If you continue advancing the Spark—for example, by getting lost or failing additional rolls—the likelihood of disaster increases as you add more rays. Let’s say you roll again with four rays and hit a ray. The temple collapses, trapping you. The Spark resolves, and now you must deal with the consequences.

But that’s not all! Let’s say you miss all previous checks and end up filling all five rays of a Spark. Well, you still have to make a Spark Check. But since the Spark has only 5 rays and the die has 6 sides, rolling a 6 after the star is full results in an Overturn.

An Overturn flips the expected outcome. If the event was negative (e.g., the temple collapses), it might turn positive: the collapsing ground reveals a hidden network of ancient tunnels filled with mysterious symbols. What was almost a certain disaster opens up as a new path your adventure can take!

SIDE NOTE: I get it that using stars as a tally marker may not be the most intuitive graphical solution. I honestly chose it to meet the vibes of the game, and give it an air of mysticism, like it is more than just a counter. But I encourage you to use any form of tracking you prefer: tally marks, tokens, numbers, checking boxes and so on.

Flexible and modular

I hope that by now you can see this is more than a tool to count up to 5. If you follow me for a while, you know that I’ve toyed with the same idea in Derelict Delvers with Danger Clocks. In that game, they are restricted to represent monsters and obstacles. In Everspark, they can do all sorts of things.

You can use Sparks to track challenges, such as overcoming obstacles (including combat); the arrival of looming threats; the depletion of meaningful resources; contests between parties vying for the same goal; long-term projects like crafting, studying, or achieving a personal milestone; and conditions affecting characters, enemies, or environments.

Sparks can also track events like a lunar eclipse, the arrival of a king; the use of special power sources like mana or magical items with limited charges. They’re useful for tracking character advancement (including multiclassing), exploration (like a full journey or delving into a dungeon), or even montage scenes where you tackle complex challenges like making plans, setting camp, or preparing for a journey.

You can even create layered challenges to represent more complex or powerful enemies. Say you are fighting an enormous creature, and you want it to be a high-stakes and dramatic encounter. Instead of relying on “HP inflation” and just make, say, a 3-star Spark, you can represent different aspects of the challenge with separate Sparks, like a Spark representing an Arcane Shield that needs to be dealt with before harming it, and another one for its Spiked Tail that causes all sorts of trouble for melee attacks.

Instead of turning the combat in a boring meat grind, you have to approach the encounter as a puzzle. Different characters with unique skill sets can contribute, and the whole scene becomes more dynamic. You can even have environmental Sparks representing dangers or potential opportunities.

And the best thing is: you don’t need to prep that in advance. Crafting Sparks is part of the game. And I encourage you to do it as a collaborative process, if you’re playing in a group. We have a lot of fun brainstorming possible things we can add to a scene to make it even more memorable.

Spark-based scenarios

Picture this: you’re deciding who gets to be the next captain of the ship. It starts with a skill contest. It’s two candidates—you against them—and you are displaying skills to decide who’s going to be the captain. You have a resource Spark, which is the crew support. You can tap into it to gain leverage, but it can go either way—perhaps the crew support goes to your adversary, making it a double-edged resource.

You have to resolve this contest before the serpent god arrives (a threat) and, who knows, eats the loser of the contest. All the while, you’re dealing with the storm of the century (environment), which is battering the ship and tossing the crew around. On top of that, the ship is leaking (escalation)—because why not?

This can be a full session of chaos, crazy ideas, and unpredictable outcomes, with new Sparks being created as a result of complications and bad rolls. Others might be discarded as the situation evolves. It’s a wild, chaotic, and incredibly fun experience.

On top of that, you can bend the rules with “Spark tricks,” which are ways in which you twist and bend the rules of how to advance and resolve Sparks. These include locked rays (which can’t be hit), regenerating rays (that are erased), linked Sparks (where one Spark affects others), resistance (making two spark checks and keeping the worse result), and persistent Sparks (which remain active even after being resolved).

You get a sticky note! And you get a sticky note!

These are just a few ideas. It’s important to note that Sparks are modular, optional and disposable. They can be used for almost anything, but they shouldn’t be used for everything. You can handwave situations, roleplay them, or use just a few rolls to resolve them. But if you want more granularity, want to zoom into the action, or want to give more screen time to certain moments, Sparks can certainly help. And when a Spark is no longer relevant, you can simply discard it, even without resolving it.

It’s amazing all the things you can do with a simple piece of paper

My advice is that you introduce Sparks gradually into your gameplay—the book itself divides Sparks into Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. In my home game, we’re seventeen sessions in, and since all players are already comfortable with the mechanics, it is beautiful to see the proliferation of Sparks: characters are working on new skills, getting rid of curses, and trying to find lost relatives. The city has a creature about to arrive, a gang following them around, and more. All that tracked with Sparks.

Just think of nachos

When I was coming up with a checklist of the things you have to consider when creating a Spark, I had a pleasant surprise. See, you need to create the Name of whatever you’re tracking; decide how and when it Advances; when you need to make a Spark Check; what happens when you Hit a ray, what is a possible Overturn; and if there are any Special rules or conditions.

Hence, the NACHOS template was born.

Obviously, you don’t need to write every detail down for every Spark (or for most Sparks, really), but it is a good way to make sure everyone knows how the Spark behaves and to align expectations. If you want to play around with how a Spark works, just think of Nachos.

Hack it away

I’m super excited to get this in everyone’s hands and see what creative people can do with it by bending its rules and applications. I see it as a tool to inject a layer of tension, suspense and surprise to what could otherwise be just a tally count.

I’m working hard on editing Everspark at the moment (meanwhile, the campaign is on late pledge, so you can jump in if you want). It’s coming out nicely, I must say. The Sparks chapter has nearly 20 different suggested ways of using them, all with examples. And more nuance than I can fit on a post.

I’ve also published a video explaining this concept in even more detail:

Meanwhile, check out the campaign page and join us to keep the Everspark alive! And I’d sincerely appreciate it if you shared this around with people that might like it.

[thedwarrowscholar]

I was wondering what you think about Stout Axes being mariners? many are talking about, it is not lore and should not be happening? how do you feel about this?

Well met!

A very timely question (and answered with some delay - for which my apologies), and one that’s stirred more than a few tankards in the halls of the Lord of the Rings Online community. The somewhat recent addition of the Mariner class in LoTRO (Oct 2024), and the possibility of Dwarves — particularly Stout-axes — taking to the sea, has certainly raised some eyebrows. So let’s take a closer look at what we know, what Tolkien gave us, and what the waters may actually hold.

🌊 Dwarves and the Sea — Canon vs. Custom To begin with, Tolkien was quite clear about the general Dwarvish stance toward the sea. In The Silmarillion, it’s stated that the Dwarves “hated the sound of the sea and feared to look upon it.” That single line has long been the cornerstone of the belief that Dwarves and the sea simply don’t mix.

But it’s important to note that Tolkien’s wording leaves room for interpretation. Was this fear metaphorical? A cultural superstition? Or a literal aversion? And did it apply to all Dwarves, or only to those of the Houses we most often read about?

What is clear is that there’s no widespread tradition of Dwarves as seafarers in Tolkien’s writings. They are folk of the deep earth and stone — their paths carved through mountains and mines, not across open waves.

⚓ So What About the Stout-axes? In the world of LoTRO, the Stout-axes are an offshoot of one of the Seven Houses, specifically shaped by the game’s expanded lore. While not canon in the strictest Tolkien sense, they’re built thoughtfully atop what’s known — and their cultural identity has always leaned into survival, hardship, and adaptability.

Could a few of them find themselves aboard ships out of necessity or circumstance? Perhaps. But mariners by tradition? That’s quite the stretch.

Still, we should also remember that this isn’t the first time Dwarves in LoTRO have taken to the water. The Dourhands of Kheledûl operate a port and maintain ships — a detail which has been present in the game for many years. So, while unusual, it’s not entirely new within the context of the game’s internal consistency.

🌍 A Broader Perspective It’s also worth noting that the idea of Dwarves fearing water (or being unable to swim, for instance) is more strongly rooted in Dungeons & Dragons lore than Tolkien’s writings.

You might also recall that Gimli, son of Glóin, journeyed down the Anduin by boat as part of the Fellowship — and there’s no mention of fear or hesitation on his part. Much like Thorin & Company in their barrel-bound escape, Gimli was more annoyed by discomfort than overcome by dread. Just like Thorin & Company don’t exactly enjoy the barrel escape from Thranduil’s halls — but they’re also not paralyzed with fear either. They’re wet, miserable, and undignified — not phobic. Again, this suggests that Tolkien Dwarves are not inherently water-fearing, at least not to the degree often assumed.

In fact, one could argue that Hobbits show more consistent unease toward water throughout Tolkien’s work than Dwarves do.

And let us not forget Gimli’s final voyage, when he crossed the Great Sea itself to accompany Legolas into the West. Whether granted special permission by the Valar or allowed through the strength of his friendship and character, the very act of a Dwarf setting foot on a ship bound for Valinor is profound. It speaks to heroism, deep loyalty, and a willingness to set aside old fears for something greater.

A few -slightly anxious- Dwarves in a small boat.

🧭 In Conclusion Is it lore-accurate for Stout-axes to be mariners? Not by Tolkien’s hand, no. It goes against the deep-seated image of Dwarves as mountain-folk, delvers of stone, and kin of earth, not sea.

But in the context of LoTRO’s internal lore — particularly with precedent from the Dourhands — it’s not entirely without basis either. Just consider it a rare exception, not the norm.

Ever at your service, The Dwarrow Scholar

[curioussubjects]

been thinking about the critique of the lords of fortune being too sanitized wrt how they handle their loot. i don't disagree that it's rather cute that these pirates are the good guys, promise! BUT i don't think it's a lazy writing cop out meant to evade accusations of being ~problematic (or, well, not entirely anyway).

first thing: that view is largely given to the player by taash, who i think appears to be a bit naive about the entire endeavor. they are, after all, much younger than the rest of the veilguard. and they have a lot of personal reasons to be biased in favor of the lords of fortune.

second thing: it seems datv is taking for granted the worldstate in which isabela comes back to kirkwall with the relic and helps hawke deal with the fallout. that mess being what it was, it makes perfect sense that isabela (as a founding member and leader of the lords of fortune) would try to...not replicate that outcome in the future -- and she implies as much during taash's recruitment task when she says a relic can be worth gold or a war. it's a very pragmatic approach to plunder rather than a completely altruistic one (and flies a little in the face of taash's "we aren't assholes" claim). i mean, the lords straight up charge a finders fee for the important ~cultural relics they find. and rook themselves can call it out as extortion (even if leadership tries to avoid it from being too much extortion lol)

third thing: i think the lords of fortune as they are presented in the game are also a thought experiment. can there be ethical pirates and delvers? and i can't fault the dev team for playing with the concept because that's definitely something fiction is for. whether they did it well or arrived at a satisfactory answer is another matter entirely, but the presence of the attempt isn't inherently a problem.

all that being said, criticism about the dev's settler bias are important here and deeply affect how the lords of fortune are characterized and how well the thought experiment is handled narratively. i'm not, however, qualified to make that analysis properly, so i won't touch on it beyond acknowledging that it matters a lot.

[theresattrpgforthat]

i want to destroy the god king and begin an anarchist uprising. culminating in participating in the aftermath building a new world

You and me both buddy. Let’s get started.

THEME: Destroy God

Dethrone Skeleton God, by emmy verse.

DETHRONE SKELETON GOD. THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO.

In this gmless role playing game you will set out on a journey to find and dethrone the aforementioned god. You will need some d6s, a d12, and some writing materials.

This game pulls a lot of inspiration from some pretty stellar games, including No Stone Unturned, EXTRACAUSAL, Trophy, and Blades in the Dark. You will play racing against three Fallout Tracks, which track the collapse of the material world, the immaterial world, and the Skeleton God’s Power. When all tracks are full, the game is over, and you narrate how the world ends.

If nobody in your group wants the burden/responsibility of running a game, this game is an excellent option as it is both GM-less and lightweight. It’s only 16 pages long and covers creating location elements and exploring them as a group. Everything is collaborative, so if you’re interested in games that let you come up with a story together as you go, you might want to check out this game.

Dead Gods, by Trollish Delver Games.

After the Cataclysm of Heaven it all changed. Murdered gods fell from the sky, sundering the land and casting their sacred relics about the world. From the woodwork crawl Warcults, scavengers of god-relics to further their own twisted gains. The Eternal seek power over death itself. The Order of the Stars seek relics to unlock god-like omniscience. The Pale Druids imbibe relics to acquire power over nature itself. The Black Maw will create a new, hungrier god under their control. 

Pick up a lovingly-designed weird cult and pit them against your friend in a desperate effort to grab a sacred god-relic in this miniatures skirmish game. Each player will control a number of different kinds of war cult members, and there are 4 war cults to embody in the upcoming skirmish. Great for PvP and lovers of combat, but if you want narrative you’ll want to pick up something else or mostly RP it out. You can also check out Unholy Scavengers, for more relics, more scenarios, more models - more more more!

Karanduun - Make God Bleed, by makapatag.(@makapatag)

Karanduun is a modern Filipino Epic RPG about worthless heroes dismantling God, whatever cycle of oppression that must be.  Inspired by modern Filipino folklore and culture. You play as young heroes who must make their legend known and become a legendary Karanduun by making God (whichever oppressive system and tyrant that is) bleed.

Lovers of Kill Six Billion Demons will probably get a big kick out of this game. The god Batala is already dead, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some rebellion of your own. There are demons, corrupt angels, and other Kings of the Earth to defeat, in a post-American world inspired by the Philippines. If you’re looking for some narrative play, this game has got you covered, with rules inspired by Exalted 1e and PbtA. You can check out the physical version of this game on SoulMuppet’s website!

Skorne, by Dreaming Dragonslayer.

You are renegades, part of mankind’s insurrection against SKORNE who is devil prince, commander of demon rulers and their armies, and the darkness that reigns. Overthrow the evil Tyrants. Free chained captives. Fight to the last man.

Part of the NSR movement, Skorne is inspired by media such as Berserk, MORK BORG, and games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. The game itself is only 4 pages long, with a really interesting system for character creation. You roll for your abilities and then use their values to determine your starting kit. The language in the game is also great for putting you into the fiction, such as the instructions found for character name choice:

“In the beginning, give thy renegade a name, though it will not save them.”

You want gritty and dire circumstances? You want to kill demon princes? You wanna play a game with random tyrant generation? This is for you.

Extreme Meatpunks Forever, by Sinister Beard Games.

"In the beginning, there was meat. A decaying chunk of flesh from a dying god, hurtling through the void of space, thousands of miles wide. A million eyes, a billion hands grasping for purchase against nothingness itself.  This is where we live.”

EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER is a tabletop roleplaying game where you’ll play as a gang of queer antifascists in a strange place called Meatworld. Spinning through space on the screaming corpse of a dead god under the glow of an absent sun, the people of Meatworld harvest its flesh to make their technology.

Embody your queer rage and kill fascists in meat-mechs in Extreme Meatpunks Forever. A PbtA game, this option is narrative-heavy and allows you to pick from some pretty metal weapons, including (but not limited to) Excellent Seasoning, A Bit Stick What Has Shrapnel In It, and Deathfucker Cannon. In your downtime, you can kiss your friends and work to heal and deal with your trauma. If you want a game that feels metal and also presents you with extremely punchable enemies, this is your game!

Other Recommendations

If you want some more recommendations you can also check out the Attack and Dethrone God Jam on itch.io, or my Revolution recommendation post.

If you’re interested in what happens after you end the world, then I recommend my Post-Apocalyptic Community Building recommendations!

[forged-in-paper]

I have absolutely been staring at these for too long so howsabout I just pass them along to you and we can call it good, eh? This OSE campaign has been a good excuse to work on the setting again and I've honestly enjoyed getting to tweak it to better fit the kind of storytelling aesthetic I've grown into.

The first species I've got for Delvers is my orcs. These guys are a fun mix of inspirations, so lets dive into it.

If you're using pig-faced orcs then you've probably got one of two influences, those being the AD&D orcs, which were popularly depicted as pig-faced during the late 70's, or the more colorful and cartoony dragon quest orcs which themselves took their inspiration from D&D.

For me it was the latter which led me to the former, and that has been my preference ever since so that was an easy starting point to begin to separate them from the more conventional modern orc from the start. While I was brainstorming ideas for how to make orcs more interesting than simple tusky chads, I remembered a very specific pig from my childhood:

This silly hamhock has been truffle snuffling around in the back of my head for a VERY long time and gave me the idea to give them a hunger/consumption theme which is something I don't think we see nearly enough tbh. I momentarily considered making them more predatory but I thought I'd start out with something a little more tame before going full nightmare fuel with massive, predatory humanoid pig monsters. At that point I'd be a little more understand about people not liking them and that would kind of defeat the point lol.

I'm a bit less confident in the current iteration of this species compared to the other's I've made for the game's alpha prototype, but I think that's just because it veers pretty far in the opposite direction of my usual gaming tastes.

The reason that this species made the cut for the first batch to be cooked up for delvers is because of a design principle I've been trying to incorporate more into my world building and that is deep time. The world isn't new, it has a past and a very long past at that, so efforts need to be made to support that idea in the writing whenever possible. The orcs incorporate this idea, as do the men of iron, as well as giving a loose story thread which a GM can expand on in their own game. Will they make the final cut? Who knows, but I can think of at least a few people that would want to make a character out of this and that's enough to include it for now. The weaknesses and immunities gained from being an automaton will also ideally help differentiate the experience of playing a construct from playing a more generic character because I think they should be very different.

Based on the results of the poll I posted up the other day, my current plan is to make 20 species which I can start with and eventually pare down to a list I'm happy with. I'm sure there is some happy medium to be found where only the best, most interesting, and most mechanically fun make it into the final list of player species, and I intent to find it. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy gaming! - Forge

[psychhound]

first game of the year

happy new year everyone :) last night around 12:40 i played my first ttrpg of 2025!! it was pocket delver by @imsobadatnicknames2 and i had such a good time

it took me about an hour to get through 8 rooms and then horribly beef it and i had a blast. i was really hesitant as i've only done a little bit of dungeon crawling, much less solo, and i was feeling unsure as i read through the rules but i wanted a new experience to start off the year. and it was so worth it!! fell in love with the game quickly, twirling my hair kicking my feet etc

the game really invites you to give it some flavor by asking you to set three goals for the dungeon before you start playing. once youve reached your third goal you've beaten the dungeon. you also get to decide for yourself what the dungeon actually is, and what form the enemies take (but dont really Have to if you just want to roll some dice). i got past my first two goals but lowered the chances i would reach the third one quickly each time because i wanted to keep playing!!

i ended up flavoring mine as playing as one of my npcs from my homegame. this is a nightmare she's having after a big fight, trying to find her partner and the chekovs gun of the game right now while working to escape a nightmare labyrinth version of her family home. she ended up getting killed by three "warriors" in the dream, which worked perfectly, since three mysterious masked figures joined the last fight but ended up running away - the same people who killed her deputy years ago. i thought it was fitting she was taken down by those same three before she startled herself awake. and since both the room she started in and died in were fairly close to each other on the map and had beds in them, i decided these were the nightmare version of her and her sister's bedrooms

the story i laid on top of it wasnt really necessary to enjoy the game at all, but it added some more depth for me!!

[ID: photos of a notebook with writing in it. the first page is the character sheet, showing the character lizzie no, with her hp, mana, stats, inventory, gold, and two completed plot points. the second photo shows the dungeon map, with the goals at the top, and a series of interconnected squares representing rooms. the rooms each have notes in them about what was in the room, and the places where plot points were hit are marked. there are also three enemies written in pencil, showing their hp being depleted. two enemies were killed, and one was on 2hp when the game ended. end ID]

anyway, check it out :)

[yappacadaver]

The Worse it Gets || Chapter 10

“Are you sure this is the place…?”

Yumi’s voice called out behind him as Raymond exited the car and slammed the door shut. Before him stood three stories of splintered graying wood, topped with a roof that might’ve been more bird shit than tile. The whole house seemed to slouch, each floor leaning, propped up unevenly by whatever crooked support the structure below it could provide. Surrounding the building was a small but dense patch of unkempt lawn, the grass so high it would reach up to his belt if Raymond decided to wade through it. Beyond the grasses and wild shrubs grew a forest of young evergreens which completely obscured sight in every direction, save for the outstretched length of gravel road they came in on. Spiderwebs glinted in the afternoon sunlight, bobbing with the fronds that held them in a quiet breeze. The whole place had a certain air about it, like it was holding its breath. 

Raymond checked the crooked mailbox, then the scrap of paper in his hand. Yes, this was the right place— and he told her so.

[womb-complex]

When you understand a character’s fears, you can understand their desires

[inkspottie]

Why my asks gets always eaten what the fuck bro Tumblr let me live.. ANYWAYS Have a Narehate (creature from Made in Abyss) Sadao

Yes the pose is innacurate to his behavior but note to all who don't know, Narehates usually have a sort of dual personnality disorder, having a persona that only cares about money, business and stuff (it is mostly when they have been in the Iruburu village for a while) but they also have their original personnality from before they got cursed to look like that! Sadao and Sebastian both are Narehates and the rest of the gang would be humans (Delvers) I really wanna write about it too.. hyperfixations are thought

Boooo come on tumblr.

And interesting! I think I have seen Made in the Abyss on my list of things to watch. I’m so behind on anime lol

But the design looks really cool! Love the mouth tail~

[forestsofcernutis]

Lone Delver

Also known as Make Your Move second edition

A solo roleplaying game in under 1k words

Core system:

Stats:

Might (strength, agility, combat)

Wits (knowledge, intelligence, skill)

Spirit (empathy, charisma, will)

From 0 to 3.

Roll two dice (2d6) for each one to generate:

6- is 0,

7-9 is 1,

10-11 is 2,

12 is 3.

Hp - 2d6

Write description of character.

If you wish to add more customization, pick two or more backgrounds (like cyber-barbarian or pirate or beastmaster) for your character. They will provide you with bonuses and special abilities in certain situations

Test: 2d6 + stat + bonuses =:

12+: critical success

10-11: full success

7-9: partial success

6-: failure

Combat:

Attack: 2d6 + stat + relevant modifiers.

Critical success- you deal maximal damage, full success - you deal damage to the opponent; partial success - you deal damage to each other or no damage at all; failure - oponent does damage to you.

Damage = d6 + relevant stat + weapon bonus - armour value. Damage is taken to Hp. Hp is restored after short rest if it didn't drop bellow 0.

Advancement: when you collect 5 character experiences you get to add 1 to any stat or add 4 to Hp.

Weapons: +0/+1/+2/

Armour: +1(shield)/2/4

×××

Oracles:

Yes/No (for general question):

1-3: No

4-6: Yes

Extent:

Roll a d6. Tge higher the roll the bigger extent.

Action (what does it do?):

1. Help

2. Harm

3. Change

4. Reveal

5. Lose

6. Create

Theme (what is it about?):

1. Loved

2. Hated

3. Feared

4. Needed

5. Old

6. New

Random event focus (for spicing things up):

1. Past

2. Future

3. Community

4. Resource

5. Recent events

6. Faction

×××

Campaign generator:

Two main ways of playing Lone Delver are dungeoncrawling and solving mysteries.

Mystery subject:

1. Murder

2. Theft

3. Disappearance

4. Blackmail

5. Fraud

6. Espionage

Dungeon theme:

1. Lived space

2. Military object

3. Temple

4. Research facility

5. Palace

6. Natural location

×××

Magic:

Magic can't be truly generic, so here I describe how do I use it. In my games every person can use medicinal magic with force of will alone. Other forms of magic are also present, but they require physical catalysts to work.

×××

Afterword:

This is a dynamic game. While I used core system without much change for months, I am constantly adjusting oracles. I have given up on waiting to find perfect ones and say that it's up to you to change them if the game doesn't go well. It's only you who is playing, after all, so go wild.

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

Please check out the premise of fic im writing:

All of Fontaine is talking about one thing and one thing only: the arival of the new Duchess Auvergne. Her Grace, we are told, hails from the Chasm, of all places in the world, which begs the question of how this came to be.

Older readers - or younger readers who bother to visit their aged relatives and actually listen to them speak of scandals from days of yore - will recollect the great scandal in which the fifth duke’s brother, the lord Bernard Toulouse, beloved rake, absconded to the Chasm with the duke’s prized artefact - one of rare Lumenstones. This jewel-thieving younger brother had done stint in the military, as second sons are wont to do, especially when they are so obviously unsuited to work at the jurisditional court. Whilst stationed in the Chasm as one of millelith, he happened to fall in love with woman from Adventurer’s guild. It was love so great that he would forsake family, country, even memberships at prestigious clubs.

after extensive sleuthing this author has been able to determine that lord Toulouse estabilished with his wife a group of chasm delvers and spent his days exploring the underground mines, while they raised their daughter, refusing to use his title.

That is, until the fifth duke died without heir, making lord Toulouse next in line. When her Grace Duchess of Auvergne, finally tracked down that jewel-thieving younger brother, it was too late. Unbeknownst to anyone, the dukedom had been passed from one generation to another.

So yes, dear readers, a miner and possibly adventurer from darkest corners of Liyue holds one of the lofties titles in Fontaine. Her arrival is expected anyday and this author is on excellent authority that she is of marrigeable age. Let there be no converstaions about a dull season, for this one is sure to be be most entertaining…

Should I finish it? Would anyone read it?

[amelias-calamity-quintet]

For the chapter asks, I'm curious about "As Below" / "So Above." LOVE chapter titles that flow in succession with one another.

Thank you for the ask @sillylildude!

And thank you! This was a really fun fast paced duo to write. Puzzle shenanigans, high speed railcart fight scene, some romantic tension between some folks definitely not falling in love, the works. This pair is sort of the penultimate moment for the Din's Temple arc of book 1, as the party finally climbs and reaches the summit of Death Mountain where the shrine is waiting. But it's also a big chapter for Zelda, who's currently traveling with the party.

As much as I adore LoZ works that have Link and Zelda traveling together, with MoaH I very much wanted them both to have their own primary plots be focus on their strengths. Link's Courage, so he's the dungeon delver. Zelda's Wisdom, so her plot has been up until this point in the story political intrigue and spy business (something far too intelligent for me to actually write, if we're being honest). But in the Din's Temple arc, Zelda's traveling with Link and his companions to actually see one of the temples, or as close as she can get. And it's finally a moment where she gets to highlight her skill set; as a planner, as a diplomat, as a mage, while also exploring some of her weaknesses (her temper, some adaptability difficulties, etc) to set up how she and Link compliment each other as a team.

And it's this arc where we finally get to see she's not just any wizard, she's a good wizard. She freezes Death Mountain solid all by herself kind of good wizard. The "As Above/So Below" to "As Below/So Above" titles then are mirrored for the direction of the climb up the mountain as to support Zelda moving the plot as well as highlight the absolute divine powerhouse that is Princess Zelda Layranos Hyrule, heir apparent and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.

And thank you again for the ask!