#Procedural Content Generation in Games

[masglobalservicesblog]

Unlocking Creativity: The Role of Procedural Content Generation in Games

In the ever-evolving world of game development, creativity and efficiency are key. One powerful technique that has revolutionized how content is created in video games is Procedural Content Generation (PCG). Whether you're exploring endless dungeons, randomly encountering enemies, or navigating an infinite universe, chances are you're witnessing procedural content in action.

What is Procedural Content Generation?

Procedural Content Generation refers to the algorithmic creation of game content with minimal human input. Instead of hand-crafting every element, developers use algorithms to automatically generate levels, maps, textures, quests, items, and more. This approach saves time, reduces costs, and increases replayability.

How Procedural Content Generation is Used in Games

Procedural Content Generation in games is widely adopted across genres—from indie roguelikes to blockbuster open-world adventures. Here are some common applications:

1. Level and Map Design

Games like Minecraft, Spelunky, and No Man's Sky use PCG to create unique environments every time a game is loaded. These dynamic worlds offer players a fresh experience with each playthrough.

2. Enemy and Item Spawning

In many RPGs and action games, PCG is used to create unpredictable encounters and loot systems, enhancing gameplay variety and surprise.

3. Narrative and Quest Generation

Some modern games are experimenting with procedural storytelling, where quests and dialogues adapt based on player choices or are generated on the fly to fit a dynamic world.

4. Terrain and Universe Generation

Titles like No Man's Sky have taken PCG to another level, using it to simulate entire galaxies with millions of planets, each with unique ecosystems, weather, and resources—all generated procedurally.

Benefits of Procedural Content Generation

Endless Replayability: Each session can offer something new, keeping players engaged.

Scalability: Developers can create vast game worlds without manually designing every element.

Cost Efficiency: Reduces the amount of manual labor required, especially for indie developers with limited resources.

Enhanced Player Experience: Adds unpredictability and immersion, especially in sandbox and survival genres.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite its advantages, PCG isn’t without challenges:

Quality Control: Procedurally generated content can feel repetitive or incoherent if not carefully designed.

Balancing Randomness and Structure: A fine balance is required to maintain gameplay fairness and narrative consistency.

Technical Complexity: Creating efficient and intelligent algorithms demands advanced programming skills and testing.

The Future of Procedural Content Generation in Gaming

As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve, Procedural Content Generation in games is set to become even more sophisticated. Developers may soon rely on AI-driven PCG to create more immersive stories, smarter enemies, and even self-evolving game worlds.

Conclusion :

Procedural Content Generation has become a cornerstone of modern game design. By leveraging algorithms to build dynamic, scalable, and engaging content, game developers can deliver unique experiences to players while optimizing production workflows. As technology progresses, the role of PCG in gaming will only grow—pushing the boundaries of what's possible in interactive entertainment.

Visit: https://masglobalservices.com/services/procedural-content-gen/

[fogaminghub]

🚀 Attention, VR gamers! The Phantom of Time update has dropped for The Light Brigade, bringing a new class—the Saboteur—and the eerie Memorial Grounds to explore! 🥷💀 This free update is full of engaging content that enhances your tactical gameplay. 

Are you ready for some stealthy surprises? 🌌 Happy exploring and happy gaming!

[edenspoem]

carpenter!ellie 😩😩

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒. ♱

content: ignoring the fact that this request is a tad old, let me indulge in you some headcanons for her! smut, mdni, reader has a child, dork!ellie content, loser!ellie content, general storyline outline, fingering(r!receiving), oral(r!recerving), dom!ellie, rough-handling, mama petname, hint of breeding kink, fluff intertwined. this took a hot minute, sorry for the wait. (2.4k wc)

𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆:

She was a shiny object of secular occupation. Glinted skin, tinted lips, pools of sweat in plaid, and hair like mahogany. It was eye-catching the first time. Stepping through the wide workshop door, the screeches of saws drowned everything out: the thoughts, the plans, the mental image of those kitchen cabinets you wanted done, but she drew everything back in.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the one that pulled you aside to chat about your renovation project. It took a rustic couple of days of contracting and working out blueprints before she was introduced first and foremost. Woodcraft of Wyoming makes customer-supplier relationships their top priority—and Joel made sure to put in nothing but good words.

“Hey.” She had specks of sawdust dusted across her cheeks, and a voice fit for an angel. Even held out her hand to you. “New girl on Goldpine?” Fallen straight to your knees, you were. Gorgeous girls in labor-intense jobs are the fucking sweethearts, and sweet-looking. Your opening thought was to chuckle—for no reason; there was a nervous weight on your chest. “Yeah..” It was airy and soft in the pit of your throat. “That would be me.”

And neither one of you knew how to continue threading the seam after; secluding hands in pockets, avoiding eye contact. Back then, you were simple strangers, so you had no clue that she was a virgin to regular conversations—with girls like you, at least. She communed with older folk, more often. Girls within her dating range are so damn confusing!

Not to mention, the unmentionables: Are you single? Are you gay too? Do you even like girls like her, big heart and small tits? Round eyes and long tears? Forest eyes, or ocean ones? Greyhounds, or tabbies? Do you hate coffee? Do you like video games? If you could bring one thing to a stranded, desolate island in the sea, what would it be—and why? Have you ever skipped town? Would you, if shit went south? This shit is the standard procedure for a girl heartbroken twice-over!

But you—you are the least confusing, and most wanting.

God, and she smells only of wood.

Woodlands, and processed bodies of wood. Something you expect from a girl of her plaid-wearing, converse-pairing type.

Oh, and has about every off-hand item linked to a sage carabiner in her belt loops. Rejects the idea of a purse or a backpack; pockets and loops are the way to go, apparently.

When she discarded her gloves in front of you for the first time, it was a pleasant discovery. They covered her tattoos: graceful, rebellious little things you are sure procured a lecture from her dad, Joel, who owns the place.

𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄:

So, it came. Day utero, a week later: the day she had to go against the odds in her gut. So, let's say you're the cute girl on the block she wants to buy you a drink in the potential, rather near future? Forget it. You barely know each other and she was there on the clock, not to flirt with the client in her own damn house! She was the one responsible for getting your renovation project off the ground—well, deeper in it. That comes first. She had to accommodate every little need you spoke into the autumn air, every little direction.

Her heart did swing, however. She was in your world, and your voice was there too. She escaped into it, and ended up hours further in eveningtide with multiple cuts on her fingertips from lacking focus; your beauty the edge of a sharp saw. There would be a “Fuck!” or an even stronger “Motherfucker!” from her that pierced through the halls.

Again, and again, and again. The first-aid kit sees her face more than anyone else.

Soft memories of you seeped under the band-aids. Memories you think nobody will remember.

It was tedious work. It wore her and everyone involved thin, so that is exactly where you popped in. Pretty outfits and impossibly prettier artisinal platters in your hands, turning heads over the sounds of sawdust. Sunlight seemed to rain in even harder once you sauntered inside.

On her breaks, a camera would be taken out for recreation. Beyond the surrounding green belt of silence stands the backwoods; a cacophonic mural of birdsongs. Birdwatching opportunites. From the sink window, you could spot her. Each chirp that sounded, she took a polaroid camera to a perfect line of sight and snapped a photo, crinkling up her flecked nostrils. Then, you knew she understood the unspoken language of the woods.

She also never engaged much during them, reading the lips of everyone in the room—lingering on one pair the most. Yeah, yours. All the carpenters aiding you had at least something to start a conversation about: whether it be the area, who lives with you, what job you work. Humdrum things that come without thought or genuine intrigue.

But she watched. When it wasn't birds, it was you. She never meant to lurk on the sides. Sure as hell, she longed to say something—anything, but in the same chorus, not just anything.

She wanted to be the special one out of the bunch.

So, she studied you. Studied herself, next to your existence. Turns out you have more in common—and more chemistry, than a glorified hour of rubbing elbows and licking lips in a bar would provoke or reveal. Thank goodness she chose the route less traveled by.

“You go to museums quite often?” she spoke as she slid up the counter edge, sacrum leaning on the ridge. Convinced your ears were crafting speech from quiet air, you did not notice her. Whatever words she etched into the walls of her throat, practiced in the mirror a ritualistic amount of times, came out too soft. She repeated herself with a nudge, and a satin ribbon on the ends of her last words. Something you notice. “With 'ur son?” It lightened your eyes. “Oh, yeah.” It also lightened the numbed spots in your brain; she is a breath of fresh air. You wore unworn smiles for her. “He loves dinosaurs with his whole damn heart. Well, as he would say—with his whole butt, or whichever weird denominator he uses.” You get her to such an egregious level of delusion, she begins to consider marriage. With anybody, to be clear! Totally isn't limiting her options to you only. She coughs up a laugh. “Tch—he's just got an imaginative word bank. Don't knock'em, mama.” Defending the honor of your capricious son—whose humor is made up entirely of fart jokes—but she slipped in that sly nickname. You assumed she meant no lust, and no love by dropping it, an anxious pause breathing between it, but it sent a shiver right down your spine, and settled in the small of your back. Fucking romanticist.

You already thought she was perfect then.

But somehow, there was a whole lot more packaged perfection sat alone, and unwanted, inside this strange girl with doe eyes. If there was a mountain of boxes to carry in, she wouldn't even let your hands grace the edge of one.

She has an innate sensualism to her. When she did work, and when you did an admissable nothing, she enveloped the eye of your mind. Those little, lustful pit stains drooping from her shirt everytime she lifted her arms, were attractive. The swipes from the backs of her hands across her forehead, or even the covert decisions to unclothe her skin of those sweat-dried graphic shirts and fashioning them into facecloths and raveling back inside them before anyone could glimpse, made you lustful; sweating from the sight. Sunlight was upon her like a heliograph, yet you were the true bitch in heat.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓:

You only ever got together in the late autumn wrap-up of your project. Every prosaic interaction boiled to a point, and for both reaching, yearning hearts, it became too hot to handle. One had bent under the pressure and paltered for courage you couldn't even pry from stone: Ellie, baby-blue plaid and ripped-jeaned on your doorstep—with a bouquet.

Getting you to come to her place was the be-all and end-all to this relationship, and you are fucking glad it is. Learning more about the girl who already ticked all the boxes on being the perfect hitch to your perfect trailer, is exhilarating. Turns out, the endless commodities of nature fit into the palms of her callused hands, are weld into more than only houses. While a handful of you—including some co-workers who freeload on an average—had your fills of old, Texan-style dishes, Joel brought up punctual beats about his daughter, which she cringed at. Wrinkled faces passed around the room.

“C'mon, Ellie. Why don't you run up there and grab yer' guitar you made? Entertain your guest with a song?” Ellie sneered, silverware in her pinch clattering. “Uh—first off Joel, she's not a guest. She's my—” Though complaining, she could barely writhe her words out. The craven, cringing look on her face suggested this was her first time hosting a special guest ever. The words ghost the press of her lips, and only make it out in quiet mumbles. “Date. She is.. my date.”

All the sentient sound in the room died after. Sure made it easier for Ellie to decide that a family gathering was not her style, regardless if you knew everyone, essentially. She was none the wiser, and wiped her plate clean in record time just to gallop her autumn valentine up to her room with sweet and silken things alike crawling in her mind.

Her whispers are lithe on skin. “Think you're like the best fuckin' thing that's ever happened to me.” She had you kneeling into her love; sat in-between her barely-crossed legs, on the bed, close in a huddle and breathing into your neck. Telling you soft devotionals as if you're a bird born in shrouds that she gets to hold; her fingers trying to tangle with yours so that you may never leave. Capturing the memory like she captures a photograph. You spoke even softer. “Yeah?” The confirmation making her smile stupid in your neck. She replaces her teeth with a single, pulse-point kiss, smushing her nose. Everything is a no-brainer now that she has you to herself, for herself.

Of all trees in the forest: you are her one to carve. Ellie—the buried lover, the Ellie she kept swallowing inside, has crawled out at loathing last. This one is all-loving, eating the empty spaces that cling to your body: under the warming ears, in the pearl-shaped dip of your throat, each word that comes out. She creates little shavings of your body with the blades of her tongue, and is humming at the taste. Cleaning you, wetting your untouched skin, creating excuses for your clothes to come off.

Soon, her body is sweating upon yours; two lovers melting into each other. She drags you roughly into her mouth, arousing the bud of your nipple to stand to her lips. It hits her tongue, again and again, and is left with a wet shine. God, that fucking sight alone makes you cross your legs, and hope she does something about the uncomfortable nectar dripping down there.

She palms you about it.

“Fuck.”

In the most heavenless regions is where she shines. Literally, and figuratively. Shoving her face into the drenched secret of your spread thighs gets her soaked more than you predicted, or pictured. So when she opens her legs and pushes against you, it presses a premature moan out.

But it would not be alone. When her fingers snag and puncture in your hips, and her cunt—thick with an auburn bush—is smushing against yours, litanies of sounds spill out.

“Goddamn babe,” she huffs into a grunt, pouring all the attention solely on you. Her pussy is just lathering yours—pornographic, visual filth and more; the sounds are all you hear. “This is just what you needed, huh?” She hunches over your handled sillhouette, panting and wiping the thin hairs stuck to her lips. Her rosy face is afflcited by warmth, and shine, stare sleepy and soft. “Fuck—you look so pretty right now.” She said that, and it sounded like a revelation. With her lips curling, teeth showing, hips stilling and fingers trailing on you like you are a treasure, above and below the sea. You end up sharing the toothy smile with her. Then, her breath cuddles in closer. “Don't wanna hurt you,” She kisses your sensitive neck with a promise, unfolding the love letters in her heart. Quietly devouring your neck with wet mouthings and hot words that vibrate into your pounding one. She sucks in a sibilant breath before she continues. “But it's fucking hard not to go insane when you're so fuckin—” She stifles, and her lips pinch your skin; her intentions to mark you so obvious. She could finish you with this alone. “Mhh, so pretty babe.” How she handles you makes you feel pretty.

Customer relationships being the priority makes your pleasure her priority—in a determined tussle. When she manhandled you into some debased position; face down, ass up, you never expected her subsequent decision to put herself at a low level, too. She sits behind you, and the hand once so delicate in practice upon your face is pushing your thigh to make room for herself.

You could say she was the one being debased on her own accord. Her tongue took long, starving strokes of you, licking your pussy from behind. It drips off her tongue, down her chin, gets inside her nostrils. She whispers how much she loves it after doing it, chanting it.

Spanking is also a no-brainer. Something about the impulse gets her going. She whacks her palm across and immediately sinks her fingers in until it soothes, laughing like a fucked-out, pussydrunk maniac when your muscles shiver—her favorite part.

Will finger you if it means showing off those spire tattoos; she knows how bad you keel for them.

“God, she's just swallowin' em up.” The heads of her fingers push in, ease in and ease out. She slides out, and paints your entrance with the arousal coating her intricate digits in circles, intending to be as unapologetic as possible with it, and the sounds. She proudly chuckles when you whine. “Yeah, hear that?” “Mhm.” She made you infatuated with them, if anything.

She would give you another child, and compose all the needed furniture from scratch—if she could.

[rubblerousers]

What is RubbleRousers? - New Browser Sim Game!

RubbleRousers is an upcoming survival petsim, where you control a clowder of feral cats in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Inspired by such games as Flight Rising, Lioden, and Urban Dead, RubbleRousers aims to blend the survival and petsim genres into an exciting and fun new browser game.

Our Kickstarter is currently running!

So, what will the game offer?

Clowder

Starting with a single cat, it’s up to you to grow your clowder. Decorate and customize your cats, manage their needs and relationships, and build the most powerful clowder in the city! Don’t forget to defend your territory from other players.

Exploration

Explore a procedurally-generated city. Fight zombies and find new cats to join your clowder. Be careful of what lurks around the corner!

Breeding

Breed kittens using a realistic genetics system. The game will start with two kinds of cats, longhair and shorthair, but more will be released as time goes on!

Customization

Customize your cats to your heart’s content with all sorts of unique apparel items! Equip your cat with items in multiple different apparel slots, making a truly endless customization system! Add custom backgrounds and props as well.

Survival

Learn to survive in the rough land of RubbleRousers. Hunt and gather resources, ensuring that your clowder has enough to live off of. Do you have what it takes to survive in this fallen metropolis?

[ayeforscotland]

You know that Minecraft has ai generated content right?

It has procedurally generated worlds, that's a different thing.

There was a 'Minecraft generated with AI' trend last year, but it wasn't the actual game.

Unless they've introduced something recently I don't know about?

[tenleaguesbeneath]

TTRPGs' strength as a medium is their flexibility. In a video game, every eventuality any player might run into has to be plotted out ahead of time by the developers, or (as in the case of procedurally-generated content) made out of parts that were each plotted out ahead of time, fitting together in ways that were planned ahead of time. This is why you see things like dialogue trees, why plot decisions tend to be narrowly constrained even if the tactical and strategic space is wide open (e.g. side with this faction or that faction, but then the game gives you a number of ways to do it depending on your inventory, abilities, etc., and none of those details impact the plot), why video game characters' that get injured during gameplay tend to make miraculous and instantaneous recoveries before the next plot beat.

In a TTRPG, the "designer" for your campaign is right there at the table with the group, reacting in real time as the players come up with novel solutions, or face setbacks both planned and unplanned.

This makes it sit very weird to me when people recommend adventure paths to novice GMs. Adventure paths that tell the GM what to do must, necessarily, be narrow in the way video games are narrow.

[duckdotcom]

my controversial take which isn't actually controversial but is easily misconstrued is that procedural generation is really cool and people should learn about the neat systems game developers and the like have come up with to do pcg on low end systems or with a pen and paper and some dice and not take infinity hours to produce a cool toy for players. my actually controversial take is that ai is also cool on a foundational programming level but most people don't understand it so they aren't able to filter ai ethics issues from computer programmers playing with a sandbox made of numbers in unrelated contexts so if it says "ai" on the tin then the public is either going to hate it or fear it due to media regardless of it's actual purpose context underlying mechanics or content but that's neither here nor their I mostly just think people should get excited about tile map algorithms and perlin noise

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Been working on this for a bit: Ensam Själ. It's a set of tools and procedures for Mörk Själ, my soulslike hack of Mörk Borg.

In it you will find a 2d10-based Yes/No oracle with a chance for random events, a variety of dark fantasy-themed spark tables, and a set of specific procedures for exploration using these tools.

It takes inspiration from a lot of different solo and GM-less rules, such as Mythic GM Emulator, Conjectural Roleplaying GM Emulator, Game Master’s Apprentice, Solitary Defilement, FORGE, and my very own Pocket Delver (If you've played Pocket Delver, the last set of random tables should look pretty familiar)

As always, licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0, so feel free to poach and steal any bits and pieces you like from it.

It costs $5 USD, but there are 10 community copies available, and I will be adding a new community copy for each sale made. Also, for the next two months it will be available at a discounted price for everyone who already owns the full version of Mörk Själ.

Plus. If community copies run out and you still want a free copy because you can't or just don't feel like paying for it... you can just message me about it, and I'll be more than happy to give you a download code.

Anyway hope y'all enjoy it :)

As a little demonstration of how it works, I will copy the full example of play I included at the end of the document under the cut.

Example of Play

Here is a demonstration of solo play applying the procedures contained in this document.

After randomizing character creation, our chosen undead is Abigeal of Kingfisher Thicket, a Battlemage with a missing foot and vague memories of being betrayed by an old ally.

Abilities: Strength +2, Agility 0, Toughness -1, Presence +2

HP: 5

Inventory: Shortsword, Fur Armor, Lantern, 3 Flasks of oil.

Inventory slots: 4/13

Stamina: 9

Spells: The Fortress, Merciful Sunlight

Her main goal is to track down and punish the old ally who betrayed her, who is...

Roll on NPC spark table: 64 – Arrogant, 16 – Thief

... an arrogant thief by the name of Ciannán the Grinning.

Rolling on the Area spark table (22, 26) we find out that she begins her quest in a flooded prison. I’ve decided that the enemies for this area are: Nuisance: Sewer Rat – Normal: Ghost – Tough: Wraith – Miniboss: Amphibian Shaman – Boss: Giant Sewer Rat.

Let’s generate a room:

Roll for number of exits: 6 - three exits. Roll for cardinal directions: 2 – NE, 4 – SE, 8 – NW. I chose not to roll for exit type for the time being and assume the three of them are horizontal

Roll on room content tables: Encounter: 11 – Nothing. Loot: 8 – Weapon (Roll on weapons table to determine weapon: Femur) . Room feature: 9 – Nothing.

Standing on top of a small ledge, Abigeal looks upon the rest of the flooded room, an abandoned guard post in an ancient, now flooded prison.

Is there a light source in the room? (2d6 on Soul Oracle: 6 – Yes) Luckily, the light that filters from the cracks on the ceiling above is enough to see clearly.

Is the water shallow enough to walk across it? (2d10 on Soul Oracle: 4 – “Yes, and...”) The water is shallow enough to reach all of the doors walking, and barely deep enough to get your feet wet. Due to the Yes, and Response, Doom is increased by 1.

Abigeal ignores the femur floating in the water, instead going to check the coffer beside the old guard table.

Is there anything of value in the coffer? (2d10+1 on Soul Oracle: 12 – No, but...)

There is nothing in the coffer, but when she crouched down to check it she managed to spot something in the water under the table.

Is it a key? (2d10+1 on Soul Oracle: 8 - Yes)

Abigeal grabs the key she spotted under the table, and then finally decides to check the door to the Northeast.

Room generation:

Roll for number of exits: 2 – None, the room has no doors other than the one she came in through.

Roll on room content tables:

Encounter: 16 – 1d3 tough enemies. Loot: 11 – Nothing. Room feature: 12 – Nothing.

Upon entering the flooded guard barracks, Abigeal suddenly finds herself facing a Wraith. As she wasn’t making any particular effort to conceal herself, she’s spotted almost immediately.

Roll for Wraith HP (4d8): 21

Initiative: Test Agility DR12. 19 - Success, Abigeal acts first.

Knowing she can’t defeat the Wraith head-on, Abigeal tries to use her Merciful Sunlight spell to blind it.

Spellcasting: Test Presence DR12. 18 – Success.

Casting Merciful Sunlight and aiming the bright light directly at the wraith’s eyes, Abigeal manages to blind it for 8 combat rounds (There is no set effect for blinding, but I’ve decided the DR to avoid the wraith’s attacks has been reduced to 6)

The wraith tries to hit Abigeal, but she easily avoids its touch and counterattacks with her shortsword, just barely managing to hit its almost incorporeal form. She decides to spend one Stamina to add one damage die to her attack, hitting with 2d4 for 7 damage.

I will omit the full play-by-play narration of the encounter, but Abigeal manages to defeat the wraith after seven rounds of combat, with her HP reduced to 4 and her Stamina Reduced to 3, and earns 250 souls. She rolls her weapon’s Usage Die, but luckily it comes up 3, so her weapon isn’t damaged. However, when rolling her armor’s UD it comes up 1, so her armor receives one level of wear and its UD is reduced from d8 to d6.

After stopping to catch her breath, she recovers 2 Stamina, and decides to examine the room.

Is there any container for guards’ belongings still intact?

(2d10+1 on Soul Oracle: 3 – Yes, And...)

There is not only one, but several barrels and coffers containing the former guards’ belongings. Among them, she finds 2 bombs, a net, 20 ft of rope, and a spear. Due to the Yes, and Response, Doom is increased by 1.

Abigeal takes the spear and the two bombs and adds them to her inventory.

She then heads back to the guard post, now taking the door to the southeast.

Roll for number of exits: 3 – One exit. Roll for cardinal directions: 3 – East. Roll for exit type: 3 – Horizontal.

Roll on room content tables:

Encounter: 11 – Nothing. Loot: 16 – Random scroll. Room feature: 14 – Major obstacle.

Rolling on a spark table to determine what the obstacle is, I decided to roll Verb + Subject

31 – Increase. 16 - Adversity

Towards the center of this room, the water level is much higher respective to the floor, making it impossible to traverse to the other side walking.

Is the scroll on the side of the room Abigeal can reach on foot? (2d10+2 on Soul Oracle: 11 – Random Event)

A random event occurs. Before determining what it is, I resolve the yes/no question by looking at the result of the higher of the two dice. As it’s an even number (8), the answer is yes, the scroll is floating on the side of the room Abigeal can reach on foot.

Roll for event type: 12 – Reveal

Something is revealed to not be what it initially seemed. I decided to roll Adjective + Subject and...

21 – Ancient. 12 – Ally.

Rather serendipitous.

I decided to interpret this as... she suddenly remembers this was an important place for her and Ciannán, back in the old times before the undead curse.

Is this where he betrayed her? (2d10+2 on Soul Oracle: 21 – No, and...)

This doesn’t seem to be the case, quite the opposite, in fact. Due to the No, and Response, Doom is reduced by 1.

Is this where they met? (2d10+1 on Soul Oracle: 10 – Yes, but...)

She recognizes this as the place they met, but she can barely remember anything from that encounter other than the place itself.

I’m going to stop playing here for the time being, closing this example of play on what I think is the most interesting note so far.

[secretly-tword-obsessed]

Informal

Hello Gigglers!

This is going to be last fic in a long time, like a parting gift!

I am about to start a whole new semester of tertiary education that I am super looking forward to - but that also means I won't have time anymore to write tickle fics. Thank you for all of the support Iv'e received on all of my recent Squid Game content and I will keep reading and interacting with all of your stuff. All of your fics bring me so much joy!!! (:

Anyways, as requested, this is another Frontman and Salesman fic. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: The Salesman has been a close friend of In-Ho for years. So why is the Frontman asking him for a pat down as an extra security check?

(This idea came from @lord-of-hyperfix )

Warnings: Mentions of death, pinning, this is a TICKLE FIC

The Salesman scoffed - he loved his formalities. The fact that something as brutal as the Squid Games, where desperate people had to fight to the death, even had procedural formalities was so amusing to him. I mean, if your going to be in charge of dirty criminal activity, you may as well do it politely and follow due process.

"Name?", the gaurd with the triangle mask asked him.

He smirked, lifting his briefcase, "Classified, although my code of entry is G-O-N-G-Y-O-O".

The guard checked the code on his computer, "Welcome".

The Salesman stepped forward. He had a meeting planned with the Frontman - nothing scary, just a general check in on how the recruitment process was going. Although, to the Salesman, he wasn't known as the Front Man but rather as In-Ho. They'd been working together for such a long time, and each of them was thrilled that they had found a fellow man as sadistic and sarcastically heartless as they were. Thus the status of their relationship transformed from employer and employee into two friends - they never agreed on that explicitly, but it was an unspoken fact.

The Salesman knocked on the door of In-Ho's office. In a few seconds, the man opened the door. His dark and brooding expression was immediately replaced with a sly smile at the sight of the Salesman, which the latter delightedly returned.

"You got a new suit", In-Ho remarked, still standing in the doorway.

The Salesman nodded, "One of those broke bastards attacked me and ruined by old one".

The Frotman glanced down, "This one has more pockets I see".

The Salesman nodded, before stepping forward.

"Hey", In-Ho said, blocking him, "How do I know that you aren't storing weapons in those pockets?"

It took a while for the Salesman to process the question. When he did, his expression dropped.

"Why would I have weapons on me, In-Ho".

"You refer to me as the Frontman", In-Ho responded.

The Salesman's heart sunk a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot. He was completely oblivious to to his employer's mischievous tone. Noticing the Salesman's lack of awareness, the Frontman had to try really hard to suppress a grin.

"Er, Okay", the Salesman responded, trying with every ounce of his being to sound unphased and professional. The Salesman's desperate attempts highly amused In-Ho, making this exercise all the more fun.

"Great", he said with a formally polite smile, "Now could you please turn around so that I can give you a pat down".

The Salesman's cheeks went red with somber resignation, and he faced away from his boss as requested.

In-Ho couldn't help but chuckle now, "You forgot to lift your arms up".

The Salesman gulped, embarrassed that he had forgotten such a key part of protocol. He certainly didn't love formalities in this insance.

A million questions were running through his head - why was In-Ho doing this? Why had In-Ho changed his mind about their relationship? Were they even really friends in the first place, or had that all been wishful thinking on his part? I mean, being the character he was, it was pretty hard to find any friends, and if the Frontman were his buddy than he would have been his only one.....

The man's thoughts were interrupted by a rather stiff poke in his side, making him squeal and slap his arms down. Since when were pat-downs this rough?

"Excuse me?", he snapped at the Frontman. There was silence for a few seconds, before the Salesman remembered his current situation. Not only had he just lost his shit during a regular pat down, he had taken it out on the man who was simply performing his duty. He was humiliated at how unprofessional he had been.

Meanwhile, In-Ho scoffed, which the Salesman couldn't see as he had as back to him.

The Salesman coughed - "Sincerest apologies boss".

In-Ho put on his best stern tone, "Just make sure that it doesn't happen again".

The Salesman gulped. He lifted his arms, bracing himself. If the pat-down was going to be a bit rougher than usual, surely he could handle it.

As soon as he felt those hands return to his sides, he whimpered, and quickly bit his lip to prevent any further sound from coming out. The Frontman was firmly pressing up and down his sides, his fingers digging in slightly, causing shivers to run up his spine. This feeling was so alien to him, he couldn't quite place it. All he knew was that it was uncomfortable.

The Frontman than moved those wicked hands to his legs, and the Salesman felt his whole body jolt forward with a chuckle when his knee was squeezed. That was when it hit him. Shit, I'm still ticklish aren't I?

The Frontman smirked, "What was that?"

"Nothing", the Salesman responded, keeping his cool, "You probably just came into contact with one of my injuries by accident". Nice save, I'm thinking on my toes.

The Frontman, knowing this was bullshit, nevertheless decided to have fun with his employee for a little longer, "Okay, I apologize. It's almost done".

The Frontman than started patting his arms - first his shoulders, than under them, and than-

The Salesman felt a finger poke at his armpit, and squealed once again, jumping away from the touch.

In-Ho chortled, "What was that? Another injury?" Now his teasing tone was obvious.

All of a sudden, the Salesman realized what was going on. At first he was relieved - he did have a friend after all. But than he was overcome with borderline fury.

"Fuck you", he muttered menacingly, turning around, "That was not funny".

The Frontman laughed out loud, smacking the other's shoulder, "Aww, too bad, well I'm hoping that this will get a laugh out of you at least-"

Before the Salesman could process his words, In-Ho had grabbed his shirt collar, pinned him against his office door and immediately started digging into his sides.

The Salesman convulsed with a snort, before doubling over with loud, free laughter.

It was funny, his laughter was so innocent and adorable - it definitely didn't match his conniving and psychotic personality.

"Hehehehe, *snort*, fhuhuck ohohoff!"

The laughter was both high pitched and loud, an incredibly endearing combination - endearing for his attacker at least.

"Aww, is my recruiter a little sensitive on his sides?"

With that remark, the Frontman switched spots, pinching at his belly, "Is this any better?"

The Salesman screamed, thrusting his tummy forward in a futile attempt at resistance. The Frontman just chuckled evilly and pushed his stomach against the wall with the elbow of one arm, using the hand of the other arm to scribble and poke all around the Salesman's navel. The thin suit he wore provided minimal protection.

"Plehehease! I cahahan't!", the Salesman cried, his knees buckling beneath him, the Frontman having to hold him up to prevent him from collapsing.

"Hold on, this doesn't make any sense", In-Ho remarked in a matter-of-fact tone, delighting in how poking a particular spot just above his victim's navel made said victim squeak, "How could the man that I hired to recruit people for my deadly games have such a silly little weakness?"

The Salesman's face went pale - as it did when he was embarrassed. His version of blushing was all the blood rushing from his face, not to it. Another one of those quirks that made him all the more menacing - although it certainly wasn't the slightest bit menacing in this circumstnace.

That was when the Frontman had a wicked idea, (if he wasn't being an absolute asshole already). He lifted the Salesman into the air with his instructible muscles, and slowly laid him down on the ground.

It all happened too fast for the Salesman to think, but than the Frontman sat on his legs, straddling him, and giving him an evil smirk that said I'm about to tickle the shit out of you.

"Wh-what the fuck is your problem", the Salesman spat out, trying to repress the anticipatory giggles rising in his chest.

As previously mentioned, the Frontman was the Salesman's only friend. In fact, he was the only friend he'd had in his entire life. He'd never really developed the ability to empathize with anyone else. And because of that, he had never been tickled by anyone his age before. He had only ever been tickled by his parents, when he was a little kid, but that wasn't the same as being playfully attacked by someone your own age, as knowing that a person who had no instinctual reason to care for you actually sought out your joyous giggles...

The Frontman couldn't help but melt, just a little bit.

"Oh come on", he said in mock offence, "I'm just having a little fun. Iv'e actually been planning this moment for a while now..."

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, you heard me. Remember when you called me a few weeks ago on my birthday, and than you just informed me that you'd spotted 456 on your morning walk".

Oh yeah, the Salesman remembered that. He was trying to mess with In-Ho by making him think he'd forgotten his birthday. He did wish him happy birthday at the end of the call though. Still, he'd managed to pluck up the courage to take his desire for cruelty out on his boss, convinced that they were now close enough for it to be playful. It was playful.

The Frontman continued - "Well, you had a laugh at my expense. So than I thought, how can I get you back for this?". The Frontman tapped his chin, as if reliving the moment. "And than I remembered what I used to do to my little brother when he was making mischief, and was wondering if it would also work on you-"

The Frontman than tweaked the Salesman's sides, making him jolt with a giggle.

The Frontman beamed, "And I'm so glad it did".

For a moment the two just looked at each other.

And than that moment carried on for a few more moments.

So...when was he getting tickled?

"You know", the Salesman said, breaking the silence, "I thought that merely hearing 456's player number would be enough of a birthday gift, considering of how obsessed with him you are-"

Silence.

Than, scoffing, the Frontman raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? So your trying to provoke me into tickling you again, huh?"

The Salesman sputtered, "I-"

"Well, it worked".

And the room was once again filled with bubbly - informal - laughter.

Ahhhh I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this out! I am already drowning in work ):

I really hope you enjoyed it!!

Your appreciation of my work means the world to me and I legitimately think you are all so awesome!!

[rockspider556]

Instruction Pamphlet: Special Containment Protocol – Lecter & Graham

Welcome, Orderly. If you’re reading this, you were either very unlucky or deeply hated by whoever scheduled this shift. If you value your safety, your sanity, and your internal organs, read this carefully. Welcome to the worst job you’ll ever have.

SUBJECTS:

Hannibal Lecter (Subject A) – Former psychiatrist, part-time cannibal, full-time smug bastard. Will make you feel stupid in at least three languages.

Will Graham (Subject B) – Former FBI profiler, dangerously unpredictable and arguably worse than Subject A. Less likely to eat you, but not by much.

GENERAL RULES:

Never separate them: We tried separating them. Once. The hospital was a bloodbath for three days. Keeping them together is not for their benefit—it’s for ours. If they are too busy being obsessed with each other, they are too busy to turn their full attention to escaping or, worse, you. They are now kept in separate cells, facing each other.

Respect their marriage: They are married. Do not call them “friends,” “associates,” or “accomplices.” If you do, they will correct you, at length. Address Subject B as Mr. Graham-Lecter if you value your peace. Subject A will be smug about it. Accept this.

No eye contact for more than three seconds: If Subject A smiles at you, start praying. If Subject B smiles at you, you’re already dead.

Do not discuss murder, cannibalism, or therapy: You may think you’re having a normal conversation. You are not. You are being analyzed, dissected, and possibly recruited without realizing it.

Avoid metaphors: Subject A weaponizes them. Subject B drowns in them. You will get lost in a conversation and emerge three days later, having unknowingly confessed your deepest sins.

MEALTIME PROCEDURES:

Subject A receives a standard, pre-packaged, nutritionally balanced meal: No exceptions. If he makes a comment about the seasoning, ignore it.

Feed Subject B first: Not “at the same time.” Not “shortly after.” First. If Subject B does not eat first, Subject A becomes… difficult

CONVERSATIONAL RED FLAGS:

If you hear any of the following, report immediately and request backup.

"You’re not as rude as the others." (You are in danger.)

“You know, we’re not so different, you and I.” (Yes, you are. Leave.)

“Would you rather be eaten or psychologically dismantled?” (Why are you answering? Stop answering.)

“He belongs to me.” (Oh, fantastic. They’re being weird about it again.)

EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS:

If they are sitting completely still, eyes unfocused, breathing slow, DO NOT INTERFERE: They are not sedated. They are not dissociating. They are having sex. This occurs inside their memory palaces, which they have merged. Do not ask what that means. If Subject B shudders and exhales deeply, congratulations. You just witnessed the most repressed orgasm in recorded history. Give them five minutes before interacting again. DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

If Subject B starts laughing, seemingly at nothing, evacuate the area: Subject A has said something only he understands, and it is never something you want to hear.

If Subject A is humming a classical tune, especially Bach, request additional security: This is a precursor to something deeply unpleasant.

CONJUGAL VISITS:

Yes, they’re legally married. No, we don’t know how. Yes, we have to allow this. No, we don’t like it either.

Visits are allowed once a month: Any less, and Subject A starts reciting poetry in a way that makes staff cry. Any more, and Subject B becomes insufferably smug.

Surveillance technically required, but no one watches: The last person who did requested a transfer and won’t talk about it.

Post-visit: Subject A is smug, Subject B is suspiciously content, and staff report generalized dread for 24 hours.

FINAL NOTES:

You are not special.

You are not their friend.

You are not an equal participant in this narrative.

You are background noise in their endless psycho-sexual mind games.

For the love of God—if either of them ever tells you to “think about it,” DON’T.

[masglobalservicesblog]

Unlocking Creativity: The Role of Procedural Content Generation in Games

Discover how Procedural Content Generation is transforming game design. Explore its impact and benefits in Procedural Content Generation in Games.

Visit: https://masglobalservices.com/services/procedural-content-gen/

[blacktabbygames]

Hello, after enjoying Slay the Princess and checking out your other game, I absolutely fell in love with Scarlet Hollow. It is such a beautiful game with such a comfy yet horrifying atmosphere, it’s so unique and it is undoubtedly my favorite narrative of any game I’ve played, I eagerly await your continued efforts. 

With The Roads Untraveled and Chapter 5 next in your sights I had a couple questions regarding that state and current features of the game. 

“With new routes being made and narrative alterations happening for the currently released chapters, what will be the status of current saves and will they be able to be continued when Chapter 5 is released?” I intend on continuing my first save when any new chapter releases so my very first ‘complete’ playthrough will be seeing all the content blind. But if you go back to change material previously implemented, I am curious on what will be the procedure if existing saves contain decisions that have been changed. 

“Will hardcore mode be expanded to new chapters, and if so will it remain available from the beginning going forward or will we have to clear a chapter normally to unlock its hard mode?” 

“Hardcore mode allows for the choice of 3 traits rather than 2 when Scarlet Hollow is clearly designed around having 2 with the different synergies and certain choices that use both. Is there any chance that hardcore combination will be added that use 3 traits?”

“In general, is there any intention to expand hardcore mode?” Hardcore mode is my personal favorite as I really enjoy difficult decisions in games and not being able to always have a perfect option. For a game with ‘You can’t save everyone’ on all the marketing, the trait get out of jail free cards always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. So an option to disable those and get an extra trait meaning more dialogue and character strengths had no downside to me. I am curious if there are any plans for differences between a hardcore route and a normal one in regard to story or otherwise, seeing as a hardcore world is one with every sacrifice made. 

You have made an amazing game and I have been hard at work spreading your gospel among my friends and family. 

Hi! Thank you for being a hardcore mode superfan. I think it's pretty neat and that everyone should do a hardcore playthrough at some point for maximum pain. :) Answers in bold: “With new routes being made and narrative alterations happening for the currently released chapters, what will be the status of current saves and will they be able to be continued when Chapter 5 is released?” We never make any narrative changes to the game that invalidate pre-existing saves.

“Will hardcore mode be expanded to new chapters, and if so will it remain available from the beginning going forward or will we have to clear a chapter normally to unlock its hard mode?” Once you unlock hardcore mode, you unlock hardcore mode, but as more episodes release in the future, its initial unlock will continue to move to the end of the most recent episode. (So if you haven't unlocked it yet, you'll have to finish Episode 5 to unlock it after that release, and then when 6 and 7 release as a pair, you'll need to finish the game. But if you already have it unlocked you'll retain access.) Hardcore mode is very much a supplementary way to enjoy the story, so placing it at the end of the game feels right.

“Hardcore mode allows for the choice of 3 traits rather than 2 when Scarlet Hollow is clearly designed around having 2 with the different synergies and certain choices that use both. Is there any chance that hardcore combination will be added that use 3 traits?” No. It's a lot of extra work for a supplementary game-mode. There will probably be some instance where tree logic means you effectively get something like this, however. (i.e. situation X requires traits a and b to reach based on earlier decisions, we forget this while writing, and add a menu option for trait c.)

“In general, is there any intention to expand hardcore mode?” Hardcore mode is my personal favorite as I really enjoy difficult decisions in games and not being able to always have a perfect option. For a game with ‘You can’t save everyone’ on all the marketing, the trait get out of jail free cards always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Yes and no. Hardcore mode was designed to offer a rich alternative to the base game primarily through emergent narrative. So while we're not consciously adding something specific to hardcore mode, there will likely be dialogue combinations and scenes that are only attainable through a combination of things that can happen over the course of a hardcore playthrough. These are interactions that would have been written regardless (because we're as thorough about fringe worldstates as possible) but may not have been accessible (or would be very difficult to access from the main playthrough.)

From a labor perspective, we built hardcore mode because it offered a whole new way to play the game in exchange for very little development effort — I think it took about a day to set things up and rework the logic around major decisions. Putting a bunch of extra development time into it defeats the purpose of that efficiency, especially when the game is complicated enough as is. We do have more projects we'd like to get to after Scarlet Hollow is done, which does require it being done at some point ;)

[theresattrpgforthat]

i want to go treasure hunting with maps n traps. any recs?

THEME: Maps, Traps & Treasure.

Hello friend, you seem to be in the market for a dungeon game. I have good news for you: there are many dungeon games!

For most OSR games, the book might come with some rules on how to make your own dungeon, rather than coming with pre-written maps. If you don’t want to create your own dungeon, there are oodles of pre-written dungeons that should be pretty easily convertible for whatever OSR game you choose to play. I’ll list a few below!

Dungeoneering, by Grinning Rat.

DUNGEONEERING is a quick-and-dirty tabletop role-playing game where players explore dungeons, gather treasure, and fight monsters. Game Masters are encouraged to use the sample dungeon within, or generate their own with the creation tools, to facilitate these dangerous delves.

Dungeoneering feels like a quick one-shot type experience about gathering as much loot as you can inside a dungeon run. The amount of treasure you gather is also a measure of how well you did - a “score”, if you will. The game states that it is best built for exactly 4 players, each with a different character class and skill-set. For the dungeon master, the game has instructions on how to build a dungeon, complete with roll-tables for dungeon types and layout. You’ll probably do well enough with a grid map and some markers, although the creators of the game have a few supplements available: Catalysts, which expands character options and Wanderers which not only provide two new roles, but also gives you more dungeon options and loot.

Errant, by Kill Jester.

You have no home. You have no job. You have no friends. You have no family. You have no prospects.

What you do have are a handful of pennies, a blithe disregard for your own life, and a particular set of skills. The kind of skills that make respectable folks avoid you. 

Out there, beyond civilization, lies danger: monsters and magic and  ancient ruins pregnant with treasure. Death is likely, but what did you  have to live for anyway? At least out there is the chance to make  something of yourself, and maybe even get back at those who wronged you. This is no life for decent folk, but you’re not decent folk. You are an Errant.

What is Errant? Errant is a classic fantasy role-playing game in the vein of the first few editions of that role-playing game and its many imitators and descendants such as Knave, Into the Odd, and The Black Hack. It is freely compatible with material for all those games as well as the newest edition of that role-playing game, with conversion guides provided within.

With over 200 pages of rules, Errant provides detailed instructions for all kinds of things that could happen in play: travel, magic retainers, exploration, combat, and more. The players will create a map as they play, filling it in according to what they understand - and importantly, not necessarily accurately. The GM’s map may have many more secrets or truths that the characters will likely have to work to discover.

Errant happens over the course of different kinds of turns, which have a different procedure depending on what is happening in the game. There is a process for Exploration, for Combat, and for Downtime, which might provide you with the structure to move from one part of the story to the next… but it also might be a bit slower than the kind of game you’re looking for.

If you want content for Errant, it’s certainly out there! Kill Jester has an adventure called Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier, as well as a module called The Curse of the Ganshogger, to get you started.

Crowns, by Ward Against Evil.

Humanity hides in sheltered villages. Monsters prowl the wilderness.  You are the few foolish enough to leave safety. Find your fortunes in the dungeon. And try not to die.

Crowns is a simple enough dungeon system with advancement tied to the amount of gold you acquire - so I think it meets the treasure requirement for sure! There are very specific rules for line of sight, doors, lighting, and creating your own openings in the cracks and nooks of the dungeon, which can help make the dungeon feel alive and exciting - although definitely not safe.

As is typical in the OSR style, you won’t find a fully fleshed out dungeon in the rules, although you will find rules on how to make your own. If you want some extra bits to play with, Crowns does have some interesting supplements, such as Season of Crows, a war-based expansion event, and Armies of Man, a bestiary that looks like it works rather well with Season of Crows.

Crawlr: Basic, by BLK Feather Press.

From the Black Sludge seeping from the lip of the Primordial Cauldron crawls the descendants of dead men. YOU are born from that sludge, and when you die, you shall return to the sludge.

CRAWLR is a table-top role-playing game where you and your friends take on the role of adventurers, cutthroats, profiteers, and even heroes all in the collective imagination of your minds. All you need is pen, paper, and 2d6.

Crawlr: Basic is rather lightweight, but it has rules for changing the dungeon as you go, and a neat little mechanic for timing how long a torch lasts, which might heighten the danger of the dungeon. It also has a table for creatures’ reactions upon stumbling upon you, and a d66 table for useful items that you might pick up. When it comes to traps, I think you might have to get ideas from other modules, but the creator looks like they might be releasing an “Advanced” version in the future.

You can also get blank monster cards and character sheets for free!

.dungeon remastered, by snow.

Welcome to the ruins of Annwn. The once populated hills of this massively multiplayer online game are now void. They call it a Dead MMO. A polygonal mess of PS1-era graphics, empty plains, and dungeons that grow and grow and grow from the inside of the planet's wounds. Up above, the eye of the sad god glares its chromatic light down upon the remaining players, while its tormented hand contorts into magical shapes, rarely crossing paths in their messy orbit. When they do, the shadow magic that powers the game explodes with its ancient might.

In .dungeon, you play through character creation as if it was a game of its own, with each step formatted like the room of a dungeon. You generate the world using dice rolls, while the game itself is played using a hex map. You can run an adventure like a hex crawl, which generates interesting encounters and scenery every time your characters move to a new hex. You can use elements from the book to generate a hex crawl, but it looks like there’s also a “tutorial” level that your characters will encounter directly after character creation.

.dungeon is also fantasy-ish: it takes place in a video game, so your adventurers are likely to run into a few places or things that have something a bit more sci-fi in nature. I think that overall, the layout of this book makes the game easier for the group to learn how to all play at the same time, which might be good for a GM who wants to spread the responsibility of game knowledge a bit more evenly. I’m not entirely sure how a hex-crawl would map onto a dungeon, but I think that a lot of the vibes carry across.

Slash Hex, by Danielaurence

Slash Hex is an adventure role-playing game in which players will use their creativity and imaginations to explore a wild and dangerous world, hunting for treasure, defeating monsters, and engaging in other mostly heroic exploits.

This game is heavily inspired by giants that have come before, most notably in name by the /X side of the original B/X books, but also Basic Fantasy, Knave, White Box, and The Black Hack.

While it is inspired by the aforementioned games, Slash Hex has morphed into something that has a footprint of its own, while still remaining largely compatible with classic modules.

What I think Slash/Hex has going for it is the list of fantasy monsters - typical monsters, but there’s a lot of them - as well as the well-detailed list of magic items that you can pick up and use while exploring a dungeon. Most of the focus of this game is on character abilities, so if you want a more unique character, you might like this game. The downside is that the game as it is has little to no advice on how to create a dungeon; I’m thinking that perhaps the creator is relying on you to find other established dungeon modules and use their rules to run through those.

Dungeon Crawl Classics, by Goodman Games.

You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. 

Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game. Adventure as 1974 intended, with modern rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you: turn the page…

DCC RPG is a fast-paced, open-feeling rules set allowing for epic game experiences without unnecessary tethers. It uses modern game-play while paying homage to the origins of role-playing and the fun that it inspired.

Dungeon Crawl Classics is one of the largest, most popular OSR titles, with more than just fantasy up its sleeve. You can find the same rule-set in its sister products, such as Mutant Crawl Classics (post-apocalyptic), or X Crawl Classics (dystopian fantasy). There’s also oodles of content built for this rule-set, which will give you a story or adventure ready to run right out of the box. This is traditional dungeon-crawling, complete with treasure as a reward, and plenty of puzzles and traps to work through.

You can get the free Quickstart rules here, and I’ve heard that the fanbase and creative community is also very supportive!

Some dungeon modules to consider include:

White Scales, by 1pagedungeons, which introduces a low-level dragon.

The Valley of Flowers, by Phantom Mill, which was Ennie-nominated this year!

Trouble in the Gladden Brook Reservoir, by AoSmiles, a short tri-fold adventure about a body of water that refines crude magic.

Candleberry Jam by GLASS/CUTTER, a murder mystery on a sleepy island!

Other Notes….

You might also like Cairn, by Yochai Gal, which has a 1st and a 2nd edition, both of which are free. There are many many supplements for this game, and it often matches well with Into the Odd adventures as well.

I’ve also talked about Sojourn in the past, as a dungeon-crawling game with some solid high-ranking reviews.

You can also give me a tip by donating to my Ko-fi!

[existentialterror]

ARG notes: ZampanioSim, part 2

Hey guys. catfishAnabasis (Light) here, continuing my… uh, ZampanioSim Let’s Play? That’s dumb. My investigation into the Homestuck/Magnus Archives/House of Leaves-inspired alternate reality game ZampanioSim. Read Part 1 first.

Now we have the bare minimum on Zampanio Sim’s format. Actually, we don’t know much and it’s constantly changing, but we at least have an idea of what we’re in for. Cool.

What is the story unfolding within Zampanio Sim?

So we know from the Classpect Menu game, the one that “is” ZampanioSim, that this was an effort to simulate a now-deleted game from the 1970s called Zampanio, based on a now-lost* FAQ on how to play it. At some point, possibly just search engines, I have learned that Eyedol Games is the company that makes Zampanio. Let’s take that going in.

*dubious

A lot of the “routes” off the house at the start of ZampanioSim – see the diagram – are procedurally generated places to explore or are otherwise collections of content. But other have a more directly obvious narrative to them. I have marked these places here.

Let’s go. We'll start... Uh...

…

(Okay, so there’s a recurring meme in ZampanioSim about whether personality-typing you based on whether you traverse labyrinths clockwise or counterclockwise.

But I’m confused about which one that means – like if I’m looking at a drawing of a labyrinth top-down, and I go from the entrance to the right passage, I guess I’m going counterclockwise. But if I were standing in a physical maze, the clockways framing wouldn’t occur to me – I mean, they’re both chiral processes, but like, the hand of a clock moves to the right, so which reference am I taking?

Maybe I’m not cut out for labyrinths. When I’m caving in minecraft I go to the right, so if I’m coming back into the house through the north door, then... I guess:)

We’ll start with the non-existent West Route (accessible by clicking on the west side of the house, where you’d expect a door to be.)

AdventureSimWest

AdventureSimWest is an audience-participation adventure game that, like Problem Sleuth or Early Homestuck, takes suggested commands from an audience that guide a character, and the author tells a story around it. This one has been running for quite some time, so there’s a lot of backlogged material!

AdventureSimWest gives us a lot of info right away. It’s about a character named Peewee, who is hired by Eyedol Games. Peewee and the staff of Eyedol Games are trapped inside a Space Loop. A Space Loop is like a Time Loop except that once you die, physical space (within the loop) and many of the circumstances reset, but its point in time is… not fixed. Peewee is a snakelike alien called a lamia. He first appeared in a different SBURBlike game on FarragoFiction.com called Farragnarok, which he remembers but which I don’t know anything about. He is a COOL GAMER who has lived various other lives including through the destruction of his home planet, Segundia. Keep in mind that he is from a SBURBlike.

Oh, hey, according to an offhand exchange in AdventureSimWest, solving mazes by following the righthand wall means you’re going counterclockwise. Everyone jot that down. We can bootstrap this. We can do this.

I read up through the “JR Rambles about Spoilers” interlude. And it was fun! It’s Peewee’s quirky, haphazard series of adventures in a quirky, sharp universe. The style is fun, self-aware and whimsical. I don’t know how much about the AdventureSimWest lore applies to mainstream Zampanio, especially given the multilayered narrative Zampanio serves up to us like a delicious but concerningly non-Euclidean cake, but some of the characters and concepts appear in other places, and so the worldbuilding might too. Here are some things we learn about the world of AdventureSimWest:

Peewee arrived here from his old universe by jumping into a giant, spiky, magical wall of flesh called an Echidna. He’s actually one of the set of gods who created this universe, but seems to be the only one left.

People central to the space loop remember the space loop exists.

Eyedol Games may have caused or be causing the space loop, but does not appear to be completely in control of it.

The space loop started in 1971 and is spiraling towards the end of the world in 2022.

Eyedol has other employees, including:

Wanda, the “CEBro” and “Lord of Space” (homestuck classpect). She’s tremendously rad and maybe a shapeshifter.

The Intern, a college-aged dude from Ohio, who Wanda is always trying to find and who seems unexpectedly critical to the existence of Eyedol Games. (I might apply a little homestuck logic and guess that he’s the “Muse of Time”, but this is my own speculation.)

The Closer, an aggressive businesslady in a suit and cape

Someone called the Eye Killer, who, like, lives in Eyedol’s basement and kills people.

Flower Chick, some kind of identity-stealing fae, who keeps a copy of Peewee’s skull on her desk.

Quotidians, which are another alien species – these ones are shapeshifting crows and are a hivemind. Many of them are named Tom.

Parker, a “waste”, who has made his business out of learning glitches, hacking, etc, in reality itself.

There are also just two other teams of people who don’t work at Eyedol Games, who both got ejected into some kind of infinite labyrinth around the same time. They have kind of SCP energy. I don’t know what their deal is. Yet.

What about that FAQ?

The mysterious lost ZampanioFAQ actually exists, more or less.

When I found it, it felt like natural game progression: I beat the Classpect Menu game, then there got a link to the official Discord. Then buried in one of the Discord channels, one of the pinned links goes to – yes – THE Zampanio FAQ.

But then it turned out the thing I’d found a link to was a fan-made transcript (by @verbosebabbler) of a different “official” ZampanioFAQ PDF. And through various link-hopping, most of which I now forget, I also found the original PDF on a different website by JR. So I don’t know if I got there the way I was “supposed to” or where else I might otherwise have found the FAQ. But we’re here now!

(The official discord, by the way, does not have talk permissions open in any channel. They are all frozen conversations from years ago, with only a spare few used threads acting as the actual usable channels. So the discord is its own labyrinth too. ITS A-MAZE-ING)

Okay. The ZampanioFAQ. In the frontnote to the FAQ, JR describes this finding a printout of fic they'd read long ago, and sharing it as evidence that they did not invent Zampanio – that this is a sburbsim/glitchFAQ (we’ll get to that, hang tight) crossover fanfic by someone else that they read once, lost, and recently re-found - and that it has a couple indications that it’s referencing Zampanio.

Mostly, contentwise, this FAQ is sort of a interuniversal document about how to play SBURB (the universe-creation game that the characters in Homestuck play), written by a group of players. The Zampanio FAQ has, unfortunately, been heavily redacted by interdimensional forces, perhaps SBURB itself.

It’s like it’s written by a new set of characters who are playing their own game of Sburb. They’re learning about it as they experience it! Haha, that’s a cute gimmick.

Oh, the skull? Yeah, don’t worry about that. Hah, no, I get how it looks. But it's actually totally fine.

The redacted words in the ZampanioFAQ seem mostly to do with certain details of SBURB itself, like SBURB is trying to keep its players from spoilers.

Drawing from VerboseBabbler’s transcript and partial de-redaction of the FAQ, I gave my hand at making what sense I could out of the original PDF.

Excerpt. You may not like it, but this is peak ARG performance: multiple collaborative layers of nested PDF annotation.

--------------

Trying to fill in these blanks made me appreciate the potential of the fan-ARG.

Homestuck is a story that both rewards a lot of knowledge about its worldbuilding and also often doesn't explain itself – I think that’s why it has such intense fanwork, because it implies so much but leaves you to fill in the gaps.

Like, okay, classpects, alright? Fans make a big deal about classpecting and it’s cool but it’s also kind of nothing, like, we get some gestures about what it means but not much. (Quick, what does a mage do?) There’s so much fanon trying to make sense of it that even the wiki explanation is based on fanon. But fanon can be dope and people have done some really, really neat stuff bouncing off of the gaps in canon.

ZampanioSim is about nested realities and missing information, and it's heavily based on specific fanworks of homestuck. And filling in missing information on this document, I could use my knowledge of Homestuck to make inferences about this related-but-separate storyline and worldbuilding. That’s so cool!

In the same way that the best fanfiction draws from and interacts repeatedly with canon, the fan-ARG can act as a commentary on or a dialogue with its sources - a story made stronger by connection to another.

There have been other fan ARGs and this is really my first experience with the genre (well - does EverymanHYBRID count as a fanwork? discuss), but like, holy shit, I get it now.

-----------------

Okay, let’s regroup. So the FAQ is a bunch of advice written collaboratively by a group of people playing SBURB. The FAQ is about a kind of SBURB that is very similar to the one in Homestuck – but it’s even more similar to another game on the FarragoFiction website, SBURBsim, which is “is a fanmade browser simulation” of SBURB.

In SBURBsim, you can throw in a randomly-generated or customized set of characters into their own session, and SBURBsim will invent plotlines, fights, character progression, romance, alchemy, time travel shenanigans, and more, eventually telling you a story about how that session might go. It is mind-bogglingly ornate and cool, check it out.

Okay, anyway, so the game described in the FAQ is mostly Sburb-y but has some clear Farrago/SburbSIM elements in the form of the fan-classes – wastes, graces, smiths, and more. But it has some stuff that feels more Homestuck-classic-SBURB, like in the FAQ [EDIT: SBURBsim] there’s a convention where all the randomly generated player-usernames have the same initials as their classpects, so like the session’s Bard of Time might have the username belugaTrainer or belligerentTriangle or whatever, which isn’t a thing in Homestuck nor in the FAQ. It also adds a few elements all its own, like that there’s a recognized pantheon of gods who have sway over the rules of the universe, with their own usernames and classpects.

(Hey, synthesizing that with some background Homestuck knowledge + what we’ve learned from AdventureSimWest, I think the ‘gods’ are the players whose Sburb session created the ones that the FAQ authors were born into. Elegant!)

Oh yeah, as JR mentions, the Zampanio FAQ also takes heavy and pseudo-explicit inspiration from a fanfiction called the Sburb Glitch FAQ, a sprawling fanwork I haven’t read that’s sort of a game guide and technical manual to SBURB. Maybe more of this is references to that, I don’t know.

(Sidenote, Rose’s GameFAQ was one of my favorite plot points in Homestuck. I’m only sorry it wasn’t used more. So I’m delighted to see all these fanworks that took inspiration from it.)

So okay whether the FAQ players are more playing OG-SBURB, or SBURBsim, or a game that has aspects of both – well, they’re all pretty similar, I don’t’ think we need to split hairs. This document is an in-universe survival guide for a SBURBlike.

You know what it’s not particularly like? ZampanioSim, the game it supposedly inspired!

This is so fun to me. SBURBsim existed long before ZampanioSim. If you were going to make a simulator game based on the Zampanio FAQ, that game would be SBURBsim. But SBURBsim was already a thing! JR knows this – they worked on SBURBsim! Their sburbsona is on the about page!

They mention this in the introduction to the “found scanned printout” of the FAQ - they initially read it deeply to figure out, through the redaction, if it was a fanwork for their own project (SBURBsim). They write:

this is obvs JUST the faq, not any of the like, description or author name or all that shit that eventually lead me down the rabbit hole. like, you could find the missing sections in this weird ...not arg? I don't THINK? and they started talking about things like the achievement system and shit, stuff that stuck with me a lot more if what i chose to focus on in zampaniosim is any indication. still. having a record of the START of this branch is better than nothing

So, okay, the FAQ itself is not explicitly Zampanio. We’re missing the description and whatever else that’s supposedly out there somewhere, as lost media. I tried to find some reason to think the fic was supposedly out of time, like that it would have been from before SBURBsim was made, but there isn't any - everything lines up with what JR said in the forward.

So I think maybe reading so far into the FAQ without that other supposed metadata was a great time and, yes, sold me on a new art form, but it wasn’t that productive in terms of the broader Zampanio story.

... Or was it?

I've connected the dots

There was a reference somewhere – I think in the South route, though I can’t swear to it – that was pretty outright something like “JR added Magnus Archives elements to Zampanio because of an at-the-time obsession with the Spiral from TMA.” Now, some stuff like the south route is less in-character than in other places, so I don’t want to necessarily say that everything like that will “carry through” to the rest of canon, if that makes sense. But it helps put those pieces together, so here’s my running theory:

In the story, Zampanio is a memeplex that moves and spreads between dimensions - very diverse multiple dimensions, including different fictional worlds. (Think the Big Bad in There Is No Antimemetics Division - effecting "universes which embed ours as fiction".) Sort of a psychic prion that goes around twisting orderly systems and punching its way between meta-layers. The core of it stays similar between - it has a predilection for spirals, mazes, meta bullshit, and games - but some of the specifics change from instance to instance.

Zampanio probably spread rampant among this constellation of Sburb universes, perhaps because Zampanio is affiliated with games and Sburb universe is a game. (Or at least uses a game to reproduce.) It’s a great carrier. From there, Zampanio rode into our universe on the back of the FAQ. (Game FAQs being a known way to throw information between Sburb dimensions, in Homestuck.)

JR took the seed that came with the FAQ and instantiated Zampanio in this universe, and added their own compatible TMA-spiral flavoring to it.

(This also lines up with another cool aspect of Zampanio, which is that if you make your own fan-work or fan-story about Zampanio, that’s canon too. It is impossible to gamejack this. Thus far I’m focusing on JR’s ZampanioSim canon, but there are other people out there putting their own spins on it, which are also canon.)

Questions I have now, if that theory is true:

What other aspects of ZampanioSim carry on between versions?

Is Eyedol necessarily associated with the Zampanio memeplex? Does or did it actually create ZampanioSim in some causal way?

Does the Space Loop that occurs in AdventureSimWest have ramifications or equivalents in other instances of Zampanio?

Why does Zampanio like games so much? (Is it because interactive games are a convenient way to punch through from one dimension to the fictional dimension within it?)

There are comments about someone, maybe Eyedol, trying to scrub the ZampanioFAQ from the internet (in our dimension). Why would they want that?

What’s the other missing metadata that would have associated the ZampanioFAQ with Zampanio?

Who wrote the ZampanioFAQ? Was it written (...IC) as a fanwork of SBURBsim or did it “come from a SBURB universe”? Who censored it?

Aw man. And there's still so much I haven't even gotten into.

Like, okay, do you guys know gopher? It’s an early alternative to HTTP as a way of organizing the internet that was mostly sidelined, but a few servers are still around.

Apparently there’s a bunch more Zampanio stuff only accessible via Gopher and I’m going to have to figure out how to use it.

Thanks, JR, YOU MAD SORCERER.

So, that's where I'm at vis a vis ZampanioSim. I gotta get back to my own stuff for right now, but thank you ZampanioSim discord for helping blaze trails and mostly to JR for weaving such a wonderful weird mystery.

If you have questions or comments you want me to talk about in a future one of these, my ask box is open.* Also, if you get into ZampanioSim yourself, feel free to say hi on the discord.**

*(okay I know people have been involved in this for years and I’m still mostly trying to formulate my own opinions about what’s going on, so if you know something that’s like “an actual answer” and want to share, then consider phrasing it as an ominous clue instead of telling me outright – but I’m under the strong impression that this is an ARG where there’s not gonna be like a canonical underlying “answer” to a lot of things so, you know, do what brings you joy.)

**Your first challenge is to find the discord. I wanna be cryptic too!

[mythauragame]

Development Update - February 2025

Hello everyone! Miyazaki here with February's development update for Mythaura. We covered a lot of ground this month—it is probably the single biggest month for us in terms of development. We're excited to tell you about some of the things that we've finished up and look forward to sharing even more features with you in the future.

Note: Last month we'd said that we'd be posting about Wolfwasps...that's postponed until next month. We will be posting Wolfwasp lore as well as hosting a ✨radiant✨ giveaway.

Co-op Demo

Players will be able to explore the world of Mythaura—both overworld locations like Talon's Rest as well as the procedurally generated Wild Areas—in groups of up to three players. If there are only two players, you can add an additional Beast to the party lineup.

Players can no longer be added to a Party if they cannot access the Party Leader’s location (e.g., if the area is not yet unlocked in their game).

When a player joins a Party, they will automatically move to the Party Leader’s location. Any location change must be agreed upon by all Party members.

By default, only friends can invite you to a group. However, we are exploring options for players who may want to allow invites more freely or block them entirely.

If a player disconnects, they can freely reconnect and will be placed back in the same location.

Forums

The Forums are the heartbeat of Mythaura's social scene. Whether you're looking to share your most recent PVP builds, recruit people to join your adventuring party in the Waspwood, or talk about how excited you are for Patch 8 of BG3 to come out (not that anyone's excitedly waiting for that, of course), the Forums will have a place to house your discussion.

Mythaura's Forums feature a Reddit-style posting system, with the ability to create nested replies.

Forums will feature:

Trending threads: What are the most popular recent threads? This feature will showcase threads that are receiving the most engagement at the time.

Tags: Players will have the ability to tag their content, helping other players find and sort through relevant content.

Thread following: Keep updated on threads that caught your interest. We know you're waiting for your favorite artist to release the baby Basilisk Glamour they've been teasing for a while.

Markdown styling to customize your posts exactly how you'd like them

Bug Bounties

During our Closed Beta window, the Bug Reports category will be special in that it will function as an issue tracker. Each thread can be marked as a duplicate of another and have a status & severity tied to it, allowing users to follow a bug, reply to indicate they have also encountered a bug, and see what status a specific bug has.

Bug Statuses

New: The default status

Confirmed: A programmer has been able to replicate the bug and confirm its real

Duplicate: This is a duplicate of an already-existing bug

Fixed: It’s been fixed!

Closed: Closed without fixing, such as if this turned out to be user error.

Severities

Low: Typos, minor visual glitches, asset issues, and browser-specific issues that do not impact gameplay.

Moderate: Functional bugs that cause inconvenience but do not break core mechanics.

High: Major bugs that significantly impact gameplay, progression, or player experience.

Critical: Urgent security vulnerabilities, game-breaking exploits, data loss, or anything that could severely affect the integrity of the game or its economy.

To encourage thorough testing and reporting, players who discover and report new bugs will receive a Shard reward once a programmer has confirmed the issue. Rewards scale based on the severity of the bug. Only the first player to report a bug is eligible for a bounty—duplicate reports will not receive rewards. Players who provide exceptionally detailed reports, including steps to replicate the bug, may receive bonus Shards at the discretion of the development team. If a bug is found to be abused before being reported, the player may not be eligible for a bounty and could face consequences.

User Profiles

Beasts are at the very core of Mythaura gameplay, so we want to ensure that you have several ways that you can show off your cast of characters with the rest of the site.

Featured Beast Groups

The Featured tab allows players to showcase collections of their favorite Beasts in a slider. Players can group beasts into customizable folders with a name and background. Up to 5 groups can be featured on your profile. Show of your favorite beast collections!

Abode

The Abode contains all of a user's Beasts. The two-toned background on each of the Beasts is based on their combination of Elements.

Gallery

Galleries are collections of items users would like to showcase.

Galleries are a separate inventory, so an item in a Gallery cannot be added to the satchel or sold until removed from the Gallery.

Stats

The Stats page will showcase a player's statistics across the Gameplay, PVP, and Forums categories.

Dossiers

A literal blank canvas! Enter your custom HTML and CSS to make pages that are uniquely yours.

Winter 2024 Rewards Reveal

Winter 2024 Glamour: Shire Unicorn

Winter 2024 Companion: Ornaboros

Winter 2024 Solid Gold Glamour: Quetzal (Young)

Year of the Snake Companion

Happy Year of the Wood Snake, everyone! It seems that with the arrival of the New Year, a colorful companion has slithered its way into Mythaura.

For the remainder of the Ko-fi shop being open (through the end of 2025), the Auspicious Ophidia will be available for purchase in both its non-radiant and radiant forms. Sponsors of ALL levels may purchase these companions.

Kirin Expressions

This month, the expressions team—the ever-talented Luci, Sour, and Koa—finished all expressions for the adult and young Kirin. (I'd like to give a personal shoutout to Luci for making the "sad baby"/fourth expression so pitiful...what did they do to deserve feeling like that 😭)

Osstelids

Sponsored by: Lomon

Our final sponsored Companion comes from Lomon, who came to us with a wonderful design for a fairy + ferret creature. Thank you for sharing your vision with us and letting us implement it into the game!

Reminder: NPC Design Contest

As we begin to populate Talon's Rest, we'll need plenty of NPC designs—and that's where you come in!

We've created a Google Form for you to submit up to three Beast designs for consideration. Please be sure to include the Beast Creator code or else your entry will not be considered.

In addition to their design being used for a shopkeeper, winners will receive a bundle of useful items for their adventures through the local Wild Area, the Waspwood Forest.

The winners will receive*:

1x Soulshift Coin (breed-changing item) of your choice

1x Godspeed Potion

3x Lockpicks

3x Crude Torch

3x Travel Rations

3x Small Energy Potion

3x Small Health Potion

1x Beta Key

NOTE: * These rewards will not show up in your rewards lookup tool since that tool only looks up Ko-fi rewards, but they will be applied to your account directly!

Writing Updates

Main story three-act outline completed

Main story greenlit

Intro quest currently being storyboarded; script to follow

Mythaura v0.35

Co-op Gameplay: Players can now form and manage co-op groups. Integrated co-op battles and overworld interactions and adjusted co-op parties to allow global co-op in any location.

Forums Buildout: Built out functionality for forums such as categories, likes, replies, thread collapsing, tags, locking & pinning recent/popular threads, following and forum search.

Social Features: Introduced a friends list, online/offline status, and user search.

User Profiles: Profiles now include additional customization and feature a nice design.

User Settings UI: Initial build-out of the account settings screen.

Beast Grid Redesign: Overhauled the Abode Beast grid design.

Beast Groups: Beasts can be added into groups freely created by users and then features on their profile.

Battle UI Improvments: Cleanup of battle UI and implementation of informative ability tooltips.

Battle Running Mechanic: When running from a battle, the enemies now have a free round of attacks. Only one beast needs to initiate the run sequence.

Battle State Retrieval: When you close your window while in a battle, you will just load right back into your battle when you return. Multiplayer & PvP battles that are completed while away are excluded.

Class & Species-Specific Overworld Abilities: Introduced unique abilities based on class and whether the species flies.

Stealth Mechanics: Sneaking now limits elite enemy aggro range and encounter rates.

Elite Enemy Detection: Added elite enemy detection, idle behavior adjustments, and footstep sounds for improved immersion.

Boss Encounters: Introduced bosses in towns and wild areas.

Fishing Minigame: Added 28 unique fish, catchable in an interactive minigame.

User & Beast Dossiers: Introduced an initial version of the dossier system.

Settable Pronouns: Beasts can now have pronouns set that NPCs will use in dialog. By default, this is linked to your beast's gender, but can be changed. Users can also set pronouns, which will display in their profile and forum header in the future.

In-Game Currency Display: Shards and gold are now visible in the UI when shopping or viewing inventory.

Added Time-Based Passive Effects: Which will allow us to add time-based effects, such as using a torch and having Illumination for 5m.

Cipher Buildout: Began build of Cipher features.

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord.

[thydungeongal]

Hi do you have recommendations for someone wanting to play a fallout tabletop? Are there systems you’d recommend? If it makes any difference i’d be setting it in my hometown, not in an established location that the series has covered.

I've answered a similar ask a few times but as always Tumblr's search function is dogshit. Anyway, there is an official Fallout RPG based on Modiphius's 2d20 system which is a good workhorse system, but I am not otherwise familiar with it. But here's some alternatives:

After the Bomb by @aaronsrpgs is a rules light post-apocalyptic RPG that takes heavy inspiration from Fallout. If you want to get playing with minimal fuss, I highly recommend this one!

Other Dust is another good one, but it lacks some of the weirdness of Fallout. The system is a very serviceable old-school D&D based hack, but the real selling point here is the multitude of tables and procedures for generating content to populate the world with. However, the D&D DNA is a bit strong, and I feel the D&Dness of the system might not exactly service the goals of a Fallout inspired game.

Atomic Highway is not a bad one. It's free and I have played in a game of it that was modeled after Fallout, set in our hometown. As far as the system goes it's not my favorite one, but there's a lot of worse games out there and as stated it's entirely free.

Now, all of those are pretty traditional adventure type of games, where you can expect a party of post-apocalyptic freaks doing quests and stuff. If that's what you want, then those are some good options. But if you want something like. A prestige TV drama with an ensemble cast set in a post-apocalyptic world, I would recommend checking out Apocalypse World. It's what spawned the whole "Powered by the Apocalypse" framework and I feel the original still does a lot of things right in a way most games that utilize the framework just fail to capture. This one will require some readjustment from players if you're coming from a trad adventure game direction where games are expected to be like "a party" doing quests and so on. Apocalypse World is good if you want to basically play out a character-driven drama set in a post-apocalyptic setting. And it's quite good. The implied setting of AW is however quite different from Fallout's, so if you want to play something that is explicitly set in the Fallout universe then this one's not a great fit.