brine.dev

Platform-Brain is brutal. It is nearly impossible to escape. The Fediverse itself is an example: let's remake all the platforms... but more ethical? This was a bad move or at the very least, a missed opportunity.

Twitter is both horrible and perfect. Posts the size of a punchline plus the ability to @ anyone is a perfect cocktail for hot takes and dunking. But an "ethical" version of this is just... boring.

But boring is good. Boring is right, boring works. Boring clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. It's platform-brain that convinces us that we need the ethical colosseum, and it has a powerful lobby. One that can only be defeated by giving up reach, the dopamine of "likes," and ultimately, attention itself.

Good luck with that.

While writing discover I was constantly challenging my own platform-brain. No ethical retreads, just look at a problem and find the best way(s) to solve it. And let me tell ya... it was fucking hard.

As its "clever" name reveals: discover is about discovery. How do I find blogs I want to read? And given those blogs, can I build a non-algorithmic feed that takes the place of platform algorithms? The premise itself had me skating perilously close to the open ice of platform-brain.

"Likes" for example. People LOVE likes. And it is trivial to add a script that can track likes on blog posts in the directory. But likes are a keystone of the colosseum. Dopamine that rewards performance. Not evil in and of itself... until they become a measurement. Now you’re pitting the sword of a post about AI against the wood block of a post about 19th-century typography.

So I traded "Likes" for Mentions. If you REALLY like a post, link to it in a response on your own blog; your own platform. If this seems "boring" it's because it requires effort. Friction. It says: I read this, it lives alongside my own thoughts, and I’m willing to host the connection. It's the web's slow drip of dopamine delivered by the enemy of all platforms: RSS.

And my respect for RSS led somewhere completely unexpected.

I made a quiet rule: if a feed doesn't deliver the full post text—no snippets, no "read more," no clickthroughs—I don't add it to discover. Controversial? Maybe. I understand why people do this. All good. It just doesn't fit with how I built discover.

But the really interesting bit is this: writers who DO publish full-text feeds are the ones I really gravitate towards. These are the people writing for themselves and are clearly over themselves. These are my people and I'm curious what they have to say. This is the antithesis of Twitter's punchline economy; the proof that boring and generous include my favorite voices.

Is this... unreasonable?

To paraphrase Mike Watt: I welcome anyone to fork discover and curate to their taste; their rules. It's hilariously harder than it looks. If you do, hit me up. I'll add the ability to share playlists between instances (and also mentions). Federation by fork!

So... I wrote discover. I've been dreading writing this post because I have SO much shit spinning around in my head that I'd rather talk about. But it's adjacent to discover... so I need to start there. Fine.

discover is a curated list of RSS feeds worth following. Feeds from people writing, making and thinking. High quality signal.

See, this is why I didn't wanna write this. I just re-wrote the about page blurb. But here's the deal, it actually addresses the two biggest issues I see with the #OpenWeb: discovery and algorithm.

Another directory? Yes. Kinda. Directories are fine but they often include EVERYBODY. This is an altruistic ideal but drudging through a sea of "my first blog post" feeds is a subpar way to find feeds with high signal.

The epiphany was staring me in the face, literally, daily: playlists. Our platform overlords know this. Playlists are a great way to curate by vibe. It works for music, why not blogs? Slap an evocative title onto feeds that share connective tissue and you've got a compelling story. Throw in search & tags; photos and excerpts, and you're cooking!

But that's the fun tech part. The less fun realization is you have to curate to signal. You have to leave low-signal blogs behind. This was hard. Easier were leaving behind people who just want clickthroughs; viciously truncated feeds with little to no meat on the bone. Gone. Blogs that are social media engagement funnels or link farms? Nope. But if you're over yourself (that's honestly a big one) and doing and curious and sharing and writing and give a shit? I wanna read you.

And no judgements. To each their blog. But let's be clear: if you're thirsty for reach, you belong on a platform.

The algorithm. So the feed section started off as a shopping cart. Add the feeds you like to your "cart" and "checkout" via OPML. But when I was testing it... I started digging it as a legit feed. I did NOT want to build a reader. There's a zillion of 'em and people are very particular about readers. No thanks. But I did build a basic reader into discover to help me curate. And I just enjoyed reading that way. So out went the cart and in came a human-curated algorithm. The feedback I'm getting on it is wildly positive. And I love it too. I love it when a plan comes together.

Now, the other bit that was really bugging me: trackbacks. I originally had Webmentions wired up but it was just too much. Too much fuss; too little adoption. Not it. I struggled with this... but the answer was again, staring me figuratively in the face: I already had a trust layer. ~200 hand-curated feeds, fetched every hour. I bet they were linking to each other? They were! 108 cross-links. Real writers citing each other's real work.

So just surface those cross-links into a mentions feed that an author can subscribe to and see the conversation. Dope. But it's discover as a gatekeeper (which I typically loathe) that makes this possible. Otherwise it's back to the Pingback days but with today's AI bots. We all know where that goes.

So the TL;DR is: I wrote trackbacks with pure RSS. Thank you RSS!

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." ~ Goodhart's Law paraphrased

I'm paraphrasing Charles Goodhart from 1975. He was talking about monetary policy but it it applies to every metric humans have invented; ever. And in 1975 he nailed the truth about today's platforms, as they dole out dopamine in the form of likes, boosts, followers and subscribers.

To be clear, I'm not knocking dopamine. It's delicious. But dopamine is like masturbation: it should be kept private (not looking at you, Louie).

It's amazing how clean the manipulation is. Public metrics turn people into creators and creators into performers. You're not writing anymore, you're feeding the loop. The number is the leash and you hand it to the platforms voluntarily.

But I needs me some dopamine... so I built private analytics. And it's glorious.

There's a person in Ukraine who hits Rando on the regular. I don't know their name. I don't know how or why they use Rando. I just see a flag, a city, a timestamp. And every time I see it I think: I hope they're okay.

That's not a metric. That's a person.

Platforms give us follower counts. The web gives us a person in Ukraine we've never met but somehow feel connected to. One of those things is manipulation cosplaying as community. The other one is just... human.

There are three relationships you can have with audience data:

1. platform metrics: the leash. DANCE MONKEY!
2. private vanity: the masturbation. Harmless. Honestly fine.
3. genuine wonder: someone in Kyiv read your shit. Why? Doesn't matter. Magic.

Platforms only do the first one. They figured out the second and third don't keep you posting.

I see flags from Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Ukraine. Each one is a person who found this thing I made, across the entire internet, and came back. I don't have enough hits to lose track of them. That used to feel like something to apologize for; now I think it's the point.

Web 1.0 was small and wonderful because every connection felt like a miracle. Someone in Finland found your Geocities page. How? Why? Doesn't matter. That's the web. That's what it was always supposed to feel like. Magic. Platforms killed the magic by making it measurable; comparative. Turned wonder into a scorecard.

The flags in my dashboard aren't a growth metric. They're postcards.

I hope you're okay, Ukraine.

#indieweb

For the past week I've been rewriting the software I use to run this blog. Yes... I'm that kind of dummy. The kind that writes their own blog software. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ For years, this blog has been a static website, written in markdown and hosted on Github Pages. Total cost: $0.

Discord's latest enshitification scare—the one where they assume we're all teenagers unless we give them our face/ID—got me peeking around the Fediverse again. Tl;dr: it's still a ghost town and not overly interesting. BUT, maybe the tools are interesting? So I started setting up ActivityPub and Webfinger and .well-known and connecting my little blog to the Fediverse. I got it into a workable state and then discovered something...

Fuck the Fediverse. Why am I busting my butt so people I don't know can like/boost my thoughts? No. Hell no. Rip all that crap outta there. I don't want micro blogging; I want MACRO blogging! I want a blog... and my RSS reader... and my podcast host... and good analytics... all on my own domain, that I control forever.

And thus, feedi was born. Webring/Blogroll 2.0 that brings back Web 1.0

• my static blog written in markdown
• rip out the #hash routing and use real routes this time
• real routes don't work with static so push to CloudFlare Workers on the edge (sorry for all the broken links)
• an RSS reader built right in: don't tell me what blogs/sites you follow, show me. Now THAT'S discovery
• and since I have real logs, let's have REAL analytics
• functional javascript, TDD, and only ONE dependency (Marked for markdown... I mean, I'm not THAT big of a dummy!)
• treat RSS like the first class citizen it should be
• make use of fed.brid.gy to allow the Fediverse to find/follow me
• total cost: $0; runs on CF's free tier

A week later (and a LOT of swearing) and you're now soaking in it.

Markdown

EVERYTHING I write is in markdown. Plain text, portable, beautiful. There's no other choice. No micropub here... we're good; thanks.

Hash Routing

This was the old #post?s=my_post routing. Great for static sites but the web doesn't play well with it. So yeah, I broke every link I've posted... sorry... but it was time. And now, legit routes /posts/my_post.

RSS Reader

Since google killed Google Reader, I've been using Feedly to read blogs; in dark mode; without ads; with larger, readable fonts. But why not just build that into feedi? Show-don't-tell who I'm following; what I'm reading. Actual discovery right in my own blog... for free.

Analytics

Do I need analytics? Not especially. But I do like to see what people are reading of mine. Keep your likes/boosts/follows... I prefer my dopamine in analytical form. I enjoy seeing the crazy number of people all over the world knocking on my door. And the sheer tonnage of bots. Amazing.

And mine are beautiful and safe. IPs are all hashed. Just who showed up; from where; by what means; and what they read.

RSS As First Class Citizen

RSS is great. Always has been. And it's everywhere. The centralized big boys and podcast hosts hate it, and try to kill it, but it will outlive us all. Blogs, Reddit, Craigslist, Wikipedia, Mastodon, etc... all RSS feeds. And now I can add and read them directly on my site.

In feedi, RSS is the source of truth, HTML is the view and the Fediverse is a mirror

So What?

I ended up writing an IndieWeb tool before I knew what IndieWeb was. Classic. But it makes sense: POSSE (Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) is just how my brain works. It's how it's supposed to work.

feedi is open source so feel free to go build your own chunk of Web 1.0. Fill your feeds with your favorites. Own your words. Own your analytics. Tell the platforms to fuck off. The web isn't dead, it's just been renting.

Wightbred and Brine definitely don't talk about AI, zine page counts, future warfare weapons that make you a wizard, whether Dark Secrets needs a hopeful counterpart and migrating off Discord. They also don't talk about AI some more.

• Wightbred
• Brine
• Unnamed Worlds
• Worlds Without Master
• Dogs in the Vineyard
• Gartner Hype Cycle

I bumped into this thread from Vincent Baker about character sheets. In it, he shows an image of a character and then brilliantly defines the character from the image:

"He's got some immediate evident qualities: his gun, his attention to his surroundings, his energy/adrenaline/capacity for violence/will to action, and it looks like maybe he's done this thing more than once before."

Mr. Baker (I mean, it's Vincent Baker... RESPECT! So yes, Mr.) explains how RPG design should handle three types of character qualities: effectiveness, resource, and positioning. Yes. Cool. But then Mr. Baker fucks up and suggests we translate all that into a character sheet.

False.

The image already contains and communicates everything perfectly. The stance, the tension, the weapon, the context, the whole situation: effectiveness, resource, and positioning unified in a single image. It works perfectly as-is.

Lost in translation

Translating the image to a character sheet reduces it. At best it's a photocopy of the original?

1. Consider an image
2. Break it down into stats and mechanics
3. Build "currency" relationships between those mechanics
4. Try to make the currency produce fiction that resembles the original photo

This is attempting to solve a problem you created in step 2.

Names are Images

My friend Wightbred's game, Named gives us the concept of Names (which I stole for my game OYAB). Characters have Names: Reluctant Captain, Mail Order Medic, Disappointment.

These work exactly the same as the image; just in text form. Which makes them better for conversational games.

Reluctant Captain gives you everything: leadership capability (or perhaps incapability), nautical experience, doesn't want the job, probably inherited it or got stuck with it, crew dynamics, pressure. All right there. Unified. Interpretable.

Names function as images. Reluctant Captain hits your brain the same way that image does: as one thing that means more than its parts, but never everything. Coherent but inviting interpretation.

Not STR 14, Leadership +3, Naval Combat (Expert), Morale Penalty -2. The Name stays whole. When you roll with an applicable Name, you're asking "does this relevant thing about you help in this situation?"

That's it.

Conversation, Not Calculation

Names work for conversation. Reluctant Captain isn't character data, it's a conversation hook. It suggests backstory; it prompts questions. The GM asks "Why don't you want this?" or an NPC says "Captain, the crew's looking to you..." and everyone knows the tension without checking the rules.

OYAB's Totems work the same way. "Blood remembers the blade" isn't a rule, it's an image that sparks conversation about what magic means right now. The table riffs on it together.

Burdens use Tarot. Yeah, requiring a deck is a conversational sin. But it earns its place by doing work. Drawing The Tower doesn't dictate outcomes, it gives the table something to interpret together. What does magical imbalance look like? How can we resolve it? What is the cost for succeeding when the world said no?

Conversational spark? I absolve myself...

The image IS the character sheet.

Wightbred and Brine bring in the new year by talking about why systems are awesome! They then accidentally stress this point by systemizing the podcast itself. No spoilers on who won the podcast. By a lot.

• Wightbred
• Brine
• Apocalypse World
• 50/50
• Dice Exploder

Wightbred and Brine get in the holiday spirit and wrap up 2025 by bashing systems. Coal for every stocking! But also our plea for the new year: unless you need the money, stop trying to fix D&D and instead, make cool stuff we can steal!

• Wightbred
• Brine
• Group Combat
• Named
• Of Yarn and Bone
• Apocalypse World
• Jotnar
• Pluribus

A character was fighting a bunch of wraiths and found my regular combat rules weren't cutting it. I just threw something together for the meantime but later crafted them into this...

GROUP COMBAT

When groups fight, zoom out. Use the following threat levels to track the situation:

1. Fair Fight - you have the tools or positioning to handle this
2. Dangerous - you are outmatched OR outnumbered
3. Deadly - you are outmatched AND outnumbered
4. Overwhelmed - you shouldn't be fighting this

Roll 2d6 (as per OYAB) - high die for success, low die compared to threat level for impact:

• Beats threat: significant impact - eliminate enemies, gain ground
• Matches threat: moderate impact - take down one, hold position
• Below threat: minimal impact - losing ground, threat worsens

Adjust threat level when conditions change:

• Drop: eliminate enemies, gain advantage, secure position
• Raise: reinforcements, lose advantage, environment worsens

Example: Three wraiths attack (Deadly). You roll 2d6 → 6, 3. Success (6), moderate effect (3 vs. Deadly). You destroy one wraith. The situation shifts to Dangerous (two remain).

Wightbred and Brine talk about trust... why real trust at the table isn't about verification or "high trust" frameworks... it's about creating a normal conversational environment where everyone collaborates to tell interesting stories together. We're NOT talking about story games... though we do talk about story games 🤔

• Wightbred
• Brine
• FKR
• Named
• Apocalypse World
• Jotnar
• Night City Actual Play

A gothic fantasy one-shot for Of Yarn and Bone or any system Compatible With Roleplaying

Introduction

Fog chokes Veshra Cemetery. Monuments lean at drunken angles and a half-collapsed chapel marks the cemetery's northern edge. At its center, three excavated graves form a triangle around Lady Veshra's monument.

A robed figure sits on a stool near the monument, dark lantern at his feet. Tea service arranged just so on a headstone. The Steep Mage sips from fine bone china while his gravediggers work, their spades biting into consecrated earth. His shadow looms over the marble, rocking ever so slightly as he mouths a verse over and over.

But the cemetery itself betrays him. Sentinel Crows are its eyes; Grief Wraiths its vengeance. Veshra's descendant is here for her inheritance. And breaking Lady Veshra's coffin seal releases the wraiths, who protect the cemetery and the Soulstone from disturbance.

But the Steep Mage is not alone. His murdered wife has returned as a Dybbuk; a desperate spirit who possesses the living. She haunts the chapel, trying to help him succeed. Tonight is their last chance.

Tonight he joins his true love in life or in death.

As the PCs approach the cemetery gate, mercenaries lean against the pillars, passing a flask. One mutters "Where is she?" They are puzzled by your arrival...

Who Are You?

• Possessed: The Dybbuk found one of you first. She slipped inside you like burning ice water, and now you're drawn toward the monument. You still have some control, but she's stronger when you're emotional or tired. She needs you to help him complete the ritual. You feel her grief; her desperation. Sometimes you speak in her voice. Sometimes you can't remember what you just did.
• Veshra's Bastards: You share Vira's blood but not her title or inheritance. The Soulstone should be yours by right of kinship. You arrived early to claim it before your "dear cousin" and her hired thugs. You know the cemetery's layout from childhood visits before the exile. The crows remember you, but you're not sure if that's good or bad.
• Magistrate Flunkies: The magistrate reluctantly sent his "best agents" to assess the situation. Vira came to him with wild accusations of grave desecration and dark magic. He thinks she's batshit crazy but if things go badly, you have the authority to act.
• Grave Tenders: You maintain Veshra Cemetery. You know every name on every headstone. You've felt the cemetery's eye for years. You put flowers on the Paupers' Pit. The cemetery called you here...

After a hiatus, I'm back podcasting about TTRPGs. I'll continue to post actual plays I'm part of, but I've also launched a new series centered around what Whitebred and I refer to as Conversation-First Roleplaying.

"We start with the conversation, then we add rules to the conversation."

And to prove we eat our own dog food, the podcast itself is just a conversation. No scripts! We just said "podcast" and hit record.

What If RPGs Came From Storytelling Instead of Wargaming?

Imagine a world in which roleplaying grew from storytelling. Just a conversation with rules added only when needed. Instead, many games feel like board games or wargames with a little roleplaying pasted on top.

D&D came from wargaming: referees managing units, stats for everything, rules to adjudicate combat. People added roleplay later. That foundation is still there: you check your character sheet for permission, calculate modifiers, then describe what the numbers mean.

We flip it. The conversation comes first. Characters talking, making choices, using the world around them. Rules only show up when they help—when there's risk, when stakes matter, when we need to find out what happens next.

Get the Math Out of the Way

Looking at a character sheet or flipping through rules breaks the flow. You're in the middle of a tense moment and suddenly you're doing arithmetic. It pulls you out of the world.

That's why both our games use Names (epithets) instead of stats.

• In Named, Names describe who the characters are and what they can do
• In Of Yarn and Bone (OYAB), your character is a product of the world, defined by their role, their past, or what people whisper about them

If you're a "Reluctant Captain" or "The Ship Thief," I don't need a number to tell me if you can sail a boat. The conversation tells us. We only roll dice when it's risky or the cost is meaningful.

Someone asked Whitebred recently: "How do you handle flashbacks?" His answer: "We just do them? It's now a month ago." If it makes sense in the fiction, you don't need a rule for it. Don't hunt for costs to charge people.

Mechanics Are Conversation

The best mechanics don't stop the talking; they structure it.

Take Reflections, for example. Instead of calculating XP at the end of a session, we discuss each character in turn. Did the character change? Does the world see them differently? Have their Names changed? Did you earn a new Name? Should we upgrade one? Did you prove you're not actually a pacifist?

Characters emerge naturally through play. You're not adding numbers to a character sheet, you're discovering who they are by what they do.

We do the same thing with magic. In OYAB, there are no mana points or spell slots. A mage "petitions the world for indulgence," asking air, stone, water, fire to do what they naturally want to do. Stones gather. Water reflects. Vines tangle. It's about the relationship between the caster and the world, not a resource economy.

When a spell fails, you can take on a Burden, represented by a tarot card. Not a mechanical cost, but narrative debt. The world will be repaid! The card sparks conversation: what does this mean? How will this come back? That's the magic system. A conversation about consequences.

Just Play

Don't worry about getting it "right." This isn't a manifesto or a movement. It's just how we play.

Steal the ideas you like. Treat your game like a toolkit. Sit down with people who want the same kind of game you do, figure out who you are in the world, and start talking.

Rule Zero from Of Yarn and Bone says it plainly: "By the powers vested in me (which are none), I give you permission to do anything that results in a better game."

If a rule gets in the way of the conversation, kill it. If a mechanic helps structure the conversation, keep it. The game is yours. Play it your way.

This is the first episode in a new series of conversations between myself, Wightbred and whomever else. We talk about Wightbred's new zine, Unnammed Worlds; the magic system in brine's game Of Yarn and Bone; why we like narrative-first, conversation-driven ttrpgs, and a number of other rambling topics.

0. By the powers vested in me (which are none), I give you permission to do anything, change anything or ignore anything that results in a better game for you and your players. Forever.

• Unnamed Worlds
• Named Toolkit
• Of Yarn and Bone
• Rando
• 2400

"I never want to belong to any club that would have me as a member." ~Groucho

The Problem

Communities collapse into groupthink if tied to:

1. Money/product: Financial incentives demand conformity.
2. Personality: Disagreeing with the figurehead feels like betrayal.

In these cases, this is exactly what they want. Groupthink is the desired outcome.

This is why I avoid Discord servers that are essentially products or personalities operating as products. But I've had similar problems with various acronym movements where purism felt like fascism and stabbed the community like so many bioluminescent fungi.

And yet... I yearn for a group. My group... hold the groupthink.

Setup

Establish The World at the table; setting, tone, and stakes

Play Loop

1. Set the Scene
   • build from their last choice (they chose to go to the temple)
   • honor or twist their expectations (ghouls attack as expected OR are friendly?)
   • push character buttons (challenge what they care about)
   • describe using multiple senses
2. WHAT DO YOU DO?
3. Rolls change the situation:
   • Success: Yes, but... goal + opportunity/complication
   • Failure: No, and... fail + escalation/reveal
   • Bargain: succeed IF you accept [cost/risk]
4. Use NPCs: to deliver information, offer opportunities, escalate conflict
5. Fast-forward through the boring stuff; keep it moving

Based on Richard Williams' Unfamiliar and adapted for use with Of Yarn and Bone.

The Broken Bond

Your character was once a mage's familiar but is now a stray living in the wild. The communion between mage and familiar is severed, but the world remembers what you were. You carry that memory like a scar, visible only to those who can see.

Marked

Unfamiliars are marked by magic. They can still cast Promises—small, ephemeral magics the world takes for granted. Anything greater and the world just... tilts its head, uncertain whether to listen.

Other animals sense the mark. Predators hesitate. Prey stare too long before bolting. Unfamiliars are tolerated curiosities, feral things caught between worlds—feared, yet when danger comes, even natural enemies instinctively call upon their marked brethren.

In the World

Magi might see Unfamiliars as living Totems—creatures literally of the magical world who could amplify spells. Or as Walking Burdens, remnants of a broken promise between mage and world. Desperate magi might even attempt to transfer their own Burdens onto an Unfamiliar, using them as unwitting vessels in rituals meant to restore balance. Sanctuary is most likely found with those at the margins—human children, beggars, the lost, the Fae.

These animals travel together out of survival and kinship and an uneasy trust—predator and prey, side by side.

They are feral, marked, tolerated curiosities in a world that isn't quite sure what to do with them.

At the Table

• Unfamiliars should have at least one Name echoing their familiar life: Once Called Nighthawk, Shadow of the Covenant, Bound to the Thornwood, Remembers the Words
• Animals retain their natural skills but are not human: they don't carry things in pouches; they don't have rations or gear in the traditional sense. A crow has its beak and talons. A cat has claws and grace. Play them as the animals they are.
• Casting with Totems means bargaining with a world that isn't sure it should listen. Spells may be less effective and will require a more feral approach to Totems: being bitten by a graveyard snake, rolling in ash from a burned church, carrying a dead thing in your mouth, clawing symbols into bark.
• Unfamiliars can speak to one another and understand human speech, but this understanding is one-sided. The world of men can be cruel to animals; you will need to watch each other’s backs.

Of Yarn and Bone is a conversation-first game of identity with stakes, magic with awe, and play with trust.

WHO IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?

Your character is a product of the world; they start with three Names that describe their place in it. Names are epithets that might be a role they fill, an identity or something whispered about them. They are actionable, used in play, and may change or be awarded (up to six total).

1. Create three Names that define your character; here are some prompts to help:

• What role does your character have in the world? eg. Reluctant Captain, Aging Herbalist, The Fixer
• Anything from their past? eg. Orphaned Princess, Butcher's Daughter, Owes a Blood Debt
• What trait describes them? eg. Ruthless, Haunted, Unshakeable
• Do they have a strong relationship? eg. Widow's Son, The Last of My Line, Sworn to Protect Her
• Are they known for something? eg. The Witness, Ship Thief, Speaks With Stones
• Do they own something of note? eg. The Good Ship Revenge, My Father's Blade, The Broken Crown
• Do they have a strong belief? eg. The Land Remembers, No Gods No Masters, The Way of the Snail

2. Write down three words that describe your character's look, features or vibe
3. Name your character

Your character has typical gear based on their Names. Consider making extravagant gear a Name.

The GM represents the world. When uncertain, talk it through.

I'm updating my magic system, including the original post that describes the system narratively (sorry if this annoys). I thought I'd also walk through it a bit in this post...

The goal is a magic system that feels magical; no easy task. I took elements from my favorite magic systems: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and A Wizard of Earthsea. Magic is like music: some can, some can't; some read, some intuit. Magic is of the world... a mage asks favors of it and/or does favors for it.

• ask a stone to gather its brethren and create a road
• ask the air to withhold itself from a creature until it is unconscious
• ask a still lake to reflect a scene its been witness to
• ask the moon to hold back the tide
• help tell the story of a misdeed that a forest or church or statue cannot alone

Totems can also spark a player's creativity for spells for their mage:

• bark from a hanging tree
• a stone from an enemies castle
• any manner of items found in an apothecary
• a king's slipper
• a coin from a beggar's cup

Burdens are ballance in the magical world (Earthsea). Representing them with tarot is part GM/Player support and part... well... mysticism? They're an oracle for storytelling, and give consequences a symbolic, narrative hook instead of being just a penalty.

Promises are like cantrips. Any mage worth his socks should be able to cast these simple, ephemeral spells. Substantial magic requires Rituals that can take days, weeks or even months. And then Summoning is the crazy train of opening yourself up to the whims of the Fey. Eg. only they can bring life back to the dead?

I try to provide just enough structure and support, while leaving it open to interpretation and creativity at the table. It certainly won't be for everyone... and perhaps not even anyone but me :D

The Southern Coast, despite its rugged terrain, enjoys a mild climate shaped by soft sea breezes and rolling coastal fog. Passage to the northern kingdoms is best conducted by sea; circumventing the Sorrow Mountains and the West Marshes. This land once served as a sacred druidic sanctuary until the Northern Kings, seeking an isolated location for their most notorious criminals, ordered the construction of a prison; or as one King coldly declared, "a place to throw our trash." To contain their prisoners through mystical means, they recruited the celebrated magi Naz Yagul and Uma Fane. The crown also funded missionaries, ostensibly to support the prison's operations while attempting to convert the resident druids.

With these foundations of civilization in place, the Southern Coast draws settlers eager to carve out new lives in this frontier.

WHAT IS THIS?

The Southern Coast is a system-neutral, regional setting designed for sandbox exploration and adventure. Details are intentionally left vague to seamlessly integrate with YOUR campaign. The setting provides enough flavor to spark imagination while remaining flexible enough to use as-is. GMs are encouraged to modify or ignore content to best suit their table.

SITUATIONS

2. Loggers in the Starwoods have been attacked by a creature they claim is a wendigo. They've sent a desperate plea to the Monastery for aid. Boss Bartok’s crew [#1405] is barricaded in camp after losing two men and a third wounded.
3. The ghosts in Greever's Lighthouse [#0209] summon The Crown's Fury with their beacon. The ship rises and falls with the tide, captain and crew bound to its deck while Ida remains trapped ashore. They signal desperately across the water. The treasure is real, but protected by ghost pirates. A bargain might free them both if struck before the tide turns.
4. A local herbalist seeks brave adventurers to retrieve herbs that grow deep within the West Marshes, promising silver and potent potions as reward. He discreetly supplies the followers of both "The River" and the Lost Druid; knowledge that would please neither party.
5. Dakota Lancaster (Ranger, King's Hound, The Chain), an infamous game hunter and friend to the Northern Kings, will pay handsomely for help capturing a live wendigo... though a freshly-bitten logger would work just as well; easier transport north.
6. A Duke's son found a treasure map leading to the Isle of Wights and has not been heard from for a week. His last letter mentioned white berries that heal any wound. The Duke offers silver for his return, dead or alive.
7. One of The River's followers [#0502] has broken a Fae contract. She wears a magical mask that shows observers what they least wish to see. Lord Ebonchain's (Fae Lord, Debt Collector, Calculating Gaze) caravan hunts her, but even Fae eyes slide away.
8. The Prison of Mon is quietly investigating why their binding runes are weakening. They suspect the Hag Kalg but it's actually the Lost Druid syphoning their power.
9. Meric Blackwood (Assassin, The Rope, Calculating) arrives at Yagul Fane posing as a royal messenger, hunting a King's bastard hidden among the Dustfolk since infancy. The child is marked with the King's sigil. Magistra Elden Korr (Enchanter, Northern Accent, Inquisitor) is eager to help, hiring the party to assist in rounding up Dustfolk for "inspection". By dawn, the first to resist is found hanging; a royal seal pinned through his tongue.
10. Maude's bees [#1004] are dying and Harlan's famous hops [#0904] are the likely cause. Both businesses are crucial to the Monastery's beer production. Druidic sabotage is the real culprit; poison masked as natural blight, targeting the monastery's economic power.
11. Jailers report Hag Kalg [#0305] whispering in an unknown language; prisoners in adjacent cells complain about dreams of a dark dragon. Through these dreams she's building a network. Dreamers wake weary and their shadows not quite their own.
12. The Hollow Sister [#1403] plots her return to the Starwoods. She requires the ashes of her rotting tree [#1505] returned to her; a favor owed in return. A Lamp Boy leads the party to the Border Lands [#0307] where she waits to make her offer. Burning that cursed ground will announce them to every root and raven in the forest.

RUMORS

2. The Isle of Wights is aptly named. It's overrun with wights looking to add to their number. Nobody comes back from that wretched place.
3. Some crazy druid up in the mountains has got himself a harem and is performing miracles!
4. Yagul Fane's original towers got swallowed by the sand. The new ones stand atop but shrink a bit each year. "Some of my people still know the way down. Wouldn't go myself... but valuable things down there, they say."
5. Have you ever known purveyors of magic and religion to get along? There's tension between Yagul Fane and the monastery... count on it.
6. "Laugh. Go on. I've been in that tower. You know how many poor girls have jumped from those rocks?" She looks you dead in the eye. "And they always get the blood off them stones by morning. Them ghosts light that beacon; call that wretched ship right up from the depths".
7. "The mists are their breath. The Lost Druid says they'll return once their food source is replenished. Dragons! Can you believe it?" He says it like it's good news. "I came to see it happen."
8. "Council's looking to put friendlier faces on the Fae Court... if you get my meaning." He refills your cup without being asked. "My employer finds this... very interesting... and so do I."
9. "Oh, Maude's honey? Ones with the mushroom jars? Monastery pays triple for those." Leans in. "Say it helps 'em see more clearly." Laughs. "Fucking Monks!"
10. "The Abbess? She rides up that mountain more than God requires. Warden's a handsome man, I'll give him that."
11. "Watch for runes in the dunes. Nomads call them twilight portals. But careful! You might end up leagues away... or worse".
12. "Stones? That Bone Cairn's hiding dragon eggs! That's why they fidget at night. And they're gonna hatch!"

A vengeful dybuk haunts the town that burned her at the stake. She flits unseen among the inhabitants, gleaning their darkest secrets, hidden weaknesses, and prized possessions. Periodically, she possesses unwitting townsfolk, compelling them to deliver letters to visiting adventurers; each a step towards her retribution. The possessed victims, once released, retain no memory of their actions.

She delivers such a letter to the PCs...

Sincerely,
A Friend

an actual play using Named Toolkit

Amongst the jukebox joints and DJ dives, there are only four lounges left in downtown Night City where a band can get a regular gig. At least, one that will keep the landlord at bay for another month.

Tension is building in the flea hotels and flophouses where local musicians count their pennies and try to sleep out the days, and the Gracie Mathews’ Experience should be watching their back. To add to the insult, they even stole your old drummer Dennis “the Rat” Rushmore - he was a piece of human flotsom, but he could actually play.

• Valerie Weiss (Yulia): Runaway, Physical, Disappointment
• Shakes (Mechanought): Fanboy, Synth, Blabby
• Kai Hames (brine): Wordsmith, Fork Lift Operator, Talker
• Wightbred - your friendly Game Maestro

The World of Brine Podcast is available on all your favorite podcast apps

From the memoirs of Rown Varkana - Mage, Council of Six @Yagul Fane...

I have no skill with quill or ink, but my wife insists I write. "Who should know of you if you don't?", she says. "I am a mage on the Council of Six", I reply! I neglect to tell her I've spent the better part of an hour trying to get this quill to abide my commands and write for me. Alas, and more time still cleaning up the mess. This empty page vexes me.

I suppose the place to start is at the beginning. Fine. What is magic? It's quite simple really: the world is full of magic and a mage communes with the world. Air, tree, stone, ocean, star; all allies of the mage. With proper knowledge, a mage may petition the world for indulgence; favors if you like. Given their relationship is in good standing, the world is likely to comply.

Magi are born with this gift but it requires development. Some learn spells from tomes and scrolls while others may intuit them. But this development takes time. The Fae, with their long lives, are the most knowledgeable in magic. They enjoy the deepest bonds with the world. If their magic has boundaries, they are unknown to me but with long life comes madness. Pity the mage that must bargain with a Fae; it's like treading on shifting sands.

The world has a mind of its own, and so too does magic. One rolls the dice when casting a spell [2d6 or 3d6 for circumstance or legendary skill]. A mage may tip the scales, so to speak, but at a cost. Balance will be restored one way or another. A mage feeling a spell failing may accept a Burden [represented by a tarot card] and have it succeed instead. How the Burden is satisfied is anyone’s guess, but rest assured, it will call on the mage in time. Particularly poor castings can invoke failure and a Burden [rolling snake eyes]. A mage can endure only three before being lost in the world.

Promises--the simplest spells--wield significant potential in the hands of a cunning mage. Often dismissed as "cheap tricks," their ephemeral quality leaves no lasting impression on the world. Yet, they signify an unspoken agreement; a remnant from the bond between mage and world.

More advanced spells demand a Totem—something physical of the world and a representation of the intended outcome. While a totem should ideally resonate with the desired effect, substitutions are possible. Salt is renowned for its ability to ward off malevolent energies. However, alternatives like chalk or even ground coffee may serve adequately.

Furthermore, Enhancement Spells, cast in tandem with a primary spell, can amplify potency, duration, or scope. They enhance a spell's efficacy but take time [ie. an extra turn] and compound the risks of casting—an additional Burden for the mage who pushes both.

Rituals are the pinnacle of magical prowess. They yield unparalleled power but demand patience and dedication. Alternatively, one might venture into the perilous realm of Summoning. But bargaining with a Fae comes with great risk and success is far from guaranteed.

~ R

Welcome aboard the Delta Queen, your ticket to cosmic extravagance and discovery! This interstellar marvel stands as one of only two remaining Halo Class Cosmos Cruisers in the galaxy, promising a journey unlike any other. Glide through the stars in unparalleled style and grace, surrounded by timeless elegance at every turn. And when hunger strikes, prepare your taste buds for a culinary odyssey courtesy of the legendary Chef Xanathor, whose creations will leave you starry-eyed with delight. So come, embark on the adventure of a lifetime aboard the Delta Queen, where each voyage is a cosmic escapade into the great unknown of space!

• Wightbred - GM
• brine - Cypress Shaw Reluctant Captain, Butcher, Disappointment
• Paulo - "Chief" Monday Lewis Navy Engineer, By the book, Correspondence Course Medic

This is session 0 for a new Traveller/Named game. If you were ever curious about "how the sausage gets made", you're in luck! And that's TWO Ls.

• Wightbred - GM
• brine - Cypress Shaw Reluctant Captain, Butcher, Disappointment
• Paulo - "Chief" Monday Lewis Navy Engineer, By the book, Correspondence Course Medic

At any one time, there are exactly 42 Incarnates in the world; give or take 9 months. I suppose it depends if being in the womb is considered in the world. I've been in a womb 100 times; I say it counts.

Birth for an Incarnate--a silly moniker we begrudgingly accept--is really no different than mortal birth: pain and crying. But also love; a lot of it. I've had 100 mothers, most of which loved me. Given time, I can remember many of their names and some of their faces. These memories--or lack thereof--are an indication of their impact upon me or maybe just how long it's been. The past and present can be such a blur.

All of us go mad from time to time. I have; in only my 3rd life. Other times too but madness, like memory, fades.

Work keeps me going and by work I mean whatever idea takes hold in the little brain I currently occupy. Some of this "work" takes multiple lives to complete. I once spent 4 lives just to ensure the marriage of two bloodlines. One of those lost lives was by my own hand but that's a story for another time; perhaps another lifetime.

In truth, death is rarely that interesting. More often it's actually funny; hilarious even. Swapping death stories is a big hit among my brethren and sistren. But birth; now that is a wild fucking ride. See, in the womb, we're like little beacons, calling out to one of our own. With each Incarnate birth, one of us is summoned--for lack of a better word. A nagging feeling insisting you be in a specific location, at a specific time--about nine months. You just... feel it. It can be quite comforting in a way; knowing something with such certainty. You can live 100 lifetimes and not know anything for certain. Sorry, Incarnate humor.

And sometimes, because reasons, the summoned one fails to arrive and little baby Incarnate is on their own. This has happened to me more than once. It sucks. Because until we can talk--and more specifically, perform magic--we are vulnerable.

Lucky for me, on this, on the auspicious occasion of my 100th life, Amara was summoned. I hadn't seen her for a number of lifetimes. She hadn't change a bit--sorry, more Incarnate humor.

~ Eldar (currently Gareth Summerfield)

Kurt Vonnegut is my fav author. I've been re-reading all his books including his workshops on writing. It occurred to me that his advice for creative writing was hilariously inline with rpg writing; which makes sense but still; interesting.

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

Be concise and obvious in writing. Maybe don't have umpteen pages of lore or walls of text or a "what is a RPG" section or purple prose or run-on sentences. "Have the guts to cut" (another Kurtism). Anything not necessary for running the game gets the axe; be ruthless! Get the reader into the action asap or risk losing them. Kurt's advice seems also to imply: keep the reader reading.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

As the reader of RPGs is a GM, this is essential, and perhaps better stated as: Give the GM one character they are dying to play. In a broader sense, give the GM things that make them REALLY want to run your shite for their table.

I just sat here for a minute thinking back and yes, it's usually an NPC that sucks me in. My mind immediately goes to Gus L's Prison of the Hated Pretender. I wanted to play the Pretender SO bad!

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

Core RPG advice. Every NPC needs a want - it's the hook that makes them real and gives GMs friction to work with. When I built Rando, I initially ditched wants for three epithets (à la Named). Mistake. Epithets give flavor, but wants give purpose. Now I add wants that connect to the other moving pieces in the fiction. Want drives everything. It's what makes NPCs more than cardboard.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

In addition to character, I would broaden this to include setting or world. Bake setting into EVERY. THING. In fact, don't bake it in... mash it in there till setting oozes out of every word!

This also implies revisioning but of course you DO revise, yes? Honestly, I revise too much. It's a sickness and slows me down SOOOO much. Like Vonnegut, I am a "Basher": going one sentence at a time, getting it exactly right before they go on to the next one. It's awful. I envy "Swoopers": write a story quickly, higgledy-piggledy, crinkum-crankum, any which way. Then they go over it again painstakingly, fixing everything.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

This is both part of #1, and good game-running advice: get the PCs in the action asap. I actually suck at this. I've caught myself having my PCs lollygagging around, walking to a door, relating pointless information along the way. DUMB. This is easy to catch in writing tho; especially when play-testing. Don't start them in the town and bate them to the thing... BOOM, you're at the thing!

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

I'm guilty of this one too. I mean, I am OUT on adventures that have MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER. But I find myself over-correcting sometimes and going a little light on my players. This is also easier to spot in writing/play-testing. To quote Tom Waits: "There's always some killing you've got to do around the farm"... so it goes.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

I struggle with this one. I don't write for one person. Kurt wrote for his sister... to my knowledge I don't write for any specific person. Maybe I do and I don't know it? I def write for me. I'm writing this post for me. I'm forcing myself to really think these through; which for my brain means I need to write them down. Obviously, when writing RPGs, we write for GMs, but that GM is also me.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

This is more classic RPG advice perhaps most famously from Chris McDowall's post Expose Your Prep. But for all I know, Chris stole it from Vonnegut :D

I love me some random generators but mine were showing my neglect and kinda all over the place. My friend Wightbred turned me onto GM's Apprentice Cards, which inspired me to refactor and extend my own generators into a single web app. Thus, Rando was born.

Thanks to feedback from Wightbred and others, I've been able to turn Rando into a surprisingly useful tool. I was able to incorporate all the things I use for my games. I now find myself using it for everything: prep, GM & Player prompts and even prompts to feed ChatGPT. And while I do not solo [new verb] myself, I am told that it works well for Solo Play too.

Give it a spin!

With 2023 in the rear-view, I began to reflect on the year from a gaming perspective. It turns out there are a number of things worthy of a shout-out!

1. Playing Games

I am a forever GM. I have run way more games than I've played. In 2023 that changed and I found myself playing a LOT more. It really opened my mind to various games and play-styles, and helped hone what I want in a game. This was definitely the biggest revelation and the reason for the rest of the list. If I was going to list a new year's resolution, it would have to be to just play more games. Here's hoping!

2. New Games

The game toolset of the year for me was Named. I'm a big fan of playing into a character and thus, I gravitate towards tag-based character builds. Named uses epithets called--strangely enough--Names. While similar to tags, for my money, they add more juice. I see them as things people call your character... or whisper behind their back. This is a small but important distinction; YMMV.

More interesting still is how Named handles advancement through Reflections. At the end of a session, the table talks about what each character did in the game. Did they earn a new Name? Did a name not fit or need changing? It's easily the best advancement system I've ever seen... and now it's mine; MINE! :D

I was fortunate to get the full hat-trick with Named. I played it, podcasted it and contributed to a setting for it: Skypirates of Jotnaar (that is REALLY cool if I do say so myself).

Honorable mention for Dr. Paul's Palaeolithic Voyages. You can keep your +1 swords; just gimme a good rock and some flint! I really wanna play more of this system.

3. New Genre

I played my first game of Delta Green. For whatever reason, I'm not drawn to Cthulhu games but I dig Delta Green. It comes down to the twist: characters are not trying to solve a mystery; they are trying to stop/contain/suppress/clean up a problem. More MIB or X-Files than straight Lovecraftian cosmic horror. Really fun game.

I look forward to reflecting on 2024!

an actual play using Named toolset

The final chapter in our Stamford Bridge adventure. Does Jens make it aboard one of twenty four ships that returned to Norway? NO SPOILERS!

• Paulo- GM
• brine as Jens Aaberg Swordsman, Guide, Insightful

an actual play using Named toolset

Jens awakes on the banks of the river Derwent. The Battle of Stamford Bridge is over. It was a battle of Harolds and Jens' Harold has fallen. What now?

• Paulo- GM
• brine as Jens Aaberg Swordsman, Guide, Insightful

An actual play using Of Yarn and Bone; recorded live on the Play Worlds Discord server.

In our final episode of The Southern Coast, Hergest leaves the Prison of Mon and finds not one, but two familiar faces... or is it three?

map

• brine - GM
• Paulo as Hergest the Healer Herbalist Well-traveled, Old

Skypirates of Jotnaar is an actual play using Named toolset.

The final session of Skypirates of Jotnaar... NO SPOILERS!!!1!

• Wightbred - GM
• Paulo as Nathaniel Rainsborough: Captain, Chartsman, Talker, +Respected
• 7th Outpost as Lily Windchaser: Night Witch, Dashing Rogue, Precise, +Panache
• brine as Daltanious "Dalt" Quadrille: Quartermaster, Fiddler, Devoted, +Lynchpin

Map of Jontaar

Skypirates of Jotnaar is an actual play using Named toolset.

The captains head to Last Drinks to concoct Rainsborough's "simple" plan. Logistics consume everyone's time until news comes over the skwawkbox...

• Wightbred - GM
• Paulo as Nathaniel Rainsborough: Captain, Chartsman, Talker, +Respected
• 7th Outpost as Lily Windchaser: Night Witch, Dashing Rogue, Precise, +Panache
• brine as Daltanious "Dalt" Quadrille: Quartermaster, Fiddler, Devoted, +Lynchpin

Map of Jontaar

an actual play using Of Yarn and Bone

Hergest travels alone to The Prison of Mon to find help with a fell beast. He hopes The Hag Kalg--a prisoner there--might provide some answers. Two comrades remain at the logger's camp; infected with an insatiable hunger. Using magic, Hergest has taken on part of their burden.

Note: due to audio issues, session 2 has been lost

map

• brine - GM
• Paulo as Hergest the Healer Herbalist Well-traveled, Old

an actual play using Named toolset.

Dalt buys lacy shirts for all three captains as they plot against Hexspire.

Remember, remember, the 30th of November, Hexspire, treason and plot.

• Wightbred - GM
• Paulo as Nathaniel Rainsborough: Captain, Chartsman, Talker, +Respected
• 7th Outpost as Lily Windchaser: Night Witch, Dashing Rogue, Precise, +Panache
• brine as Daltanious "Dalt" Quadrille: Quartermaster, Fiddler, Devoted, +Lynchpin

Map of Jontaar

an actual play using Of Yarn and Bone

Hergest travels to Fellstead Monastery on the Southern Coast. He's asked to check in on a Logger's Camp in need of healing. He is accompanied by Sir Ealdred, and Brother Estabar, and on their way, they meet The Mad Monk...

map

• brine - GM
• Paulo as Hergest the Healer Herbalist Well-traveled, Old

The crew returns to Hag's Knife full of helium and two captured ships. During the ensuing celebration, Captain "Lacy" Rainsborough wakes grasping a map... to a treasure of dark secrets.

• Wightbred - GM
• Paulo as Nathaniel Rainsborough: Captain, Chartsman, Talker, +Respected
• 7th Outpost as Lily Windchaser: Night Witch, Dashing Rogue, Precise, +Panache
• brine as Daltanious "Dalt" Quadrille: Quartermaster, Fiddler, Devoted, +Lynchpin

Map of Jontaar

an actual play using Wightbred's Named toolset.

In this, the inaugural episode, Captain "Lacy" Rainsborough gets the answer to the penultimate question: are we warriors or worriers? (SPOILER: it's not 42)

• Wightbred - GM
• Paulo as Nathaniel Rainsborough: Captain, Chartsman, Talker
• 7th Outpost as Lily Windchaser: Night Witch, Dashing Rogue, Precise
• brine as Daltanious "Dalt" Quadrille: Quartermaster, Fiddler, Devoted

Map of Jontaar

We are exploring different approaches to TTRPGs. Through play we have come to value:

• A shared understanding of a world over rules
• Table trust over systems
• Immersion over character sheets
• Conversation and negotiation over procedures

That is, while there is value in the elements on the right, we value the elements on the left more.

v1.4

Hexcrawls are awesome! They changed my game forever. But I found existing rules complex and/or included needless abstraction. Thus, I wrote my own. I also published a pdf

PROCEEDURES

Morning

1. Roll weather
2. Consume food/water
3. Break or sustain camp
4. Choose a travel direction and pace
5. Roll navigation

Day

1. GM describes points of interest (POIs)/changing weather/terrain/landmarks...
2. Roll random encounters once per hex (more if it makes sense)
3. Roll navigation on direction change
4. Exploring or hunting takes 1/2 day travel time
5. Foraging can be done en route when not on roads but requires a slowed pace

Night

1. Make camp
2. Consume food/water
3. Stand watch
4. Roll encounter

TRAVEL

Hexes are 6 miles. PCs can travel 3 hexes per day at a normal pace; 4 if moving quickly or mounted. Mountains or swamps slow the party to 1 hex per day. Pushing further risks fatigue.

FKR (Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying) is an approach to playing tabletop roleplaying games. Its popular catchphrase, "play worlds not rules" , is as reasonable as any catchphrase. Play requires the following:

1. A shared understanding of a world.
2. A Game Maestro trusted to represent "the world", and adjudicate player actions and their consequences.
3. One or more players who control a character and play the world set before them.
4. Play is a conversation. The GM describes a situation; the player describes what their character does. Outcomes are negotiated together and add to the emerging narrative.

That's it. Everything else is a preference for accomplishing these requirements. Some considerations:

• Rules tend to be lite but there is no "correct" amount. Rules should effectively be "invisible" and not hinder play.
• Roll dice when it makes sense or not at all.
• There are no FKR systems. Any system might be used in an FKR game. No system; a mashup of multiple systems; a coin flip... this is up to you and your table.

I PUNCH IT!

While ascending the Frost Spire, the crew come upon a roadblock knight in non-shining armor. As Wrath would tell you, returning from the dead is easy compared to climbing an ice tower in full plate. But the crew ties a rope around him and schleps him along (lest be stuck waiting for his slow-ass). Revenants--come to find out--like throwing rocks and punching things... who knew :shrug:

The Frost Spire

Long ago, when the world was new an elf king was banished and tossed into the sea. His hatred was so great, and so cold, that it froze the water into a spire of ice and he was cursed to drift forever, bringing winter to the world.

But sometimes, he hungers for the blood of bad children...

The Frost Spire by Jacob Hurst

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the 1420 ruleset.

Cast

• Cool Shade Beneath Midday Sun (Shade) - Stealthy, Expert Survivalist, Perceptive
• The Fox - Deadly, Stealthy, Perceptive, Allusive
• The Fighter - Tough, Deadly, Fighter
• Checkers Obmih - Healer, Tough, Fighter, Strong
• Wrath - Deadly, Penitent, Strong, Fighter
• Brine - your friendly Game Maestro

Oh no! He's hot!

A frozen sea is no place for a himbo... I mean, if there is nobody around to gaze lovingly into the eyes; strong jawline and moonstruck mustache of a handsome man... is he really handsome? Oh, and there's some wolves or something... whatever. Now MOVE! You're blocking his moonlight.

The Frost Spire

Long ago, when the world was new an elf king was banished and tossed into the sea. His hatred was so great, and so cold, that it froze the water into a spire of ice and he was cursed to drift forever, bringing winter to the world.

But sometimes, he hungers for the blood of bad children...

The Frost Spire by Jacob Hurst

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the 1420 ruleset.

Cast

• Cool Shade Beneath Midday Sun (Shade) - Stealthy, Expert Survivalist, Perceptive
• The Fox - Deadly, Stealthy, Perceptive, Allusive
• The Fighter - Tough, Deadly, Fighter
• Checkers Obmih - Healer, Tough, Fighter, Strong
• Brine - your friendly Game Maestro

I PUNCH IT!

It's PCs vs Polar Bear... my money is on the bed. Don't lose your hand!

The Frost Spire

Long ago, when the world was new an elf king was banished and tossed into the sea. His hatred was so great, and so cold, that it froze the water into a spire of ice and he was cursed to drift forever, bringing winter to the world.

But sometimes, he hungers for the blood of bad children...

The Frost Spire by Jacob Hurst

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the 1420 ruleset.

Cast

• Cool Shade Beneath Midday Sun (Shade) - Stealthy, Expert Survivalist, Perceptive
• The Fighter - Tough, Deadly, Fighter
• Checkers Obmih - Healer, Tough, Fighter, Strong
• Wrath - Deadly, Penitent, Strong, Fighter
• Brine - your friendly Game Maestro

The Arson Crew™ find themselves in the middle of an old fey tale. "The Ice Prince" is legend. A prince lives who travels the seas in a castle of ice; his wives feasting on children who misbehave.

The Frost Spire

Long ago, when the world was new an elf king was banished and tossed into the sea. His hatred was so great, and so cold, that it froze the water into a spire of ice and he was cursed to drift forever, bringing winter to the world.

But sometimes, he hungers for the blood of bad children...

The Frost Spire by Jacob Hurst

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the 1420 ruleset.

Cast

• Cool Shade Beneath Midday Sun (Shade) - Stealthy, Expert Survivalist, Perceptive
• The Fox - Deadly, Stealthy, Perceptive, Allusive
• The Fighter - Tough, Deadly, Fighter
• Brine - your friendly Game Maestro

My game has been unintentionally molting toward FKR. It started before ever hearing the term. It just kinda happened and I continue to enjoy its inherent permission for further mutations.

During a hiatus from D&D 5E, I found myself reading other game systems; exploring their rules (or lack thereof) and ideas. Honestly, I hadn't put together that I wanted to run another system. I was just being curious. Bits and pieces of various systems started to click; most notably, Dungeon World.

Hilariously, I've never run Dungeon World; nor do I have interest in doing so. I don't find it to be a particularly compelling game, but rather a fantastic GM reference! Just reading it changed the way I run games. It also illuminated my want of a different ruleset: something simpler; more inclusive. I didn't need to look very far (even if I did)... DW lead me right to World of Dungeons (WoDu).

There are a number of things in WoDu that changed my game forever (2d6 & Die of Fate come to mind) but in terms of FKR, it was the holes. What do these Skills do? How do rituals work? Decipher? The old GM in me would have thought: "okay, I need to figure out all this shit before we play". But thanks to my exploration of other rulesets, I was able to give myself permission to put these questions to my group. My players really took to this inclusive approach to rule creation. It's very likely why we've been playing for so long (going on 3 years)! Lighter rules also lead to less character sheet-gazing and more creativity. I was hooked!

Two years later, I published some of these house rules as Beasts & Barrows. But shortly thereafter, even BnB started feeling heavy to me. So with an inspiring nudge from 2400, I took another step and revamped them into their new, unfinished form: 1420 Beasts & Barrows. The most notable differences being the lack of stats and d6 dice pool skills. This new ruleset is currently peculating with my regular crew.

For the record, I have no desire to debate what is/isn't FKR. I am not an authority; nor do I wish to be. I purposely refrained from explaining it or linking it to anything here. I prefer its definition to remain elusive and open. I find my game jives with the idea of FKR more than other rpg philosophies (for lack of a better term). YMMV.

I've been playing around with spark tables; a concept taken from Chris McDowall. The concept is quite simple: given two numbered tables/lists of evocative words, roll on both, and use the words together to spark an idea.

This is lovely... but I wanted to create tables specific to my games/worlds, and was struggling to come up with evocative words. THUS, a spark table to generate spark tables was born!

I like adventure modules. I especially like the newer ones... that are actually modular. Short, open-ended adventures that are trivial to drop into any campaign. Scanable; easy to grok. This is thankfully becoming the norm; fighting against the epic walls-of-text, and endless lore from modules of yore. This is what I want and what I want to write.

When writing my magic system for Beasts & Barrows, I had two goals: keep it simple and somewhat logical. Towards simplicity, I reused the existing game mechanics: 2d6, attributes and level. I also considered using Necropraxis' fabulous spell dice but simplicity won out.

Making the system logical took a lot more thought.

Several people describe my magic system as Vancian (ie. spells must be prepared daily; have a fixed purpose and finite usage). I did not set out to make my system specifically non-Vancian. This is good because when I think about it, it really is quite Vancian... but with twists.

I didn't set out to write a system... I swear. It just happened.

Here's how it goes:

1. run a oneshot to play around with World of Dungeons
2. the players; the system; the characters... they all click and it's fun
3. a campaign begins!
4. during your campaign, start hacking bits of the system to the tastes of yourself and your players

by brine - v 1.0

Beasts & Barrows is an uncomplicated fantasy role-playing game (RPG) for 2-5 players + Game Maestro (GM). It steals blatantly from John Harper's World of Dungeons and shares the same PbtA core mechanic (2d6). YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO HACK THIS!

Beasts & Barrows (B&B) values:

• role-play: rules and mechanics emphasize and encourage role-play
• simplicity: less math; less rules; more fun
• show, don't tell: don't tell me your alignment... show me your alignment; don't tell me you attack; describe your attack
• flexibility: running existing adventures from any system is trivial

v 1.3

In World of Dungeons, Skills and Special Abilities help define a character's class. They map directly to the classic classes: Cleric, Fighter, Mage, Ranger & Thief; but they can also be bent to accommodate custom classes... like Alchemist or Road Agent. The following details how these rules have evolved in my games.

I like to weave pre-written modules into my campaigns (parts of them, anyway). The different tones and ideas keep my players guessing and oftentimes end up becoming part of our lore. Case in point: when I threw Prison of the Hated Pretender into my longrunning campaign. I had previously run it as a one-shot when one of my players was unavailable. It ended in a TPK 🙄.

v 1.6

The door to magic is closed for most; some few may find it ajar; fewer still may pick the door's lock altogether. Aptitude for the craft is is not unusual but is often misinterpreted. Great magic requires constant practice. The best magi are not always the most gifted; just persistent.

Magic is dangerous; spells go poorly and the consequences can be... severe.

THE SEASON 1 FINALE IS HERE! No spoilers but Death returns... good luck, crew!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Are three McMuffins better than one? We find out in this episode! Also, what's with the bowl of fish? Yulia meets The Lady of Light and gets the answers to her heart's desires.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The Scooby crew break into The Temple of the Lady of Light. McMuffin concocts a cunning plan to dress up as delivery men, while Yulia battles an evil broom closet!

Sidebar: we tweaked the audio in this episode... should be a bit better :shrug:

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Gorath and Yulia walk into a mirror... but are instead whisked away by a rift in time. They meet a nice man inside a salt circle... nothing to see here.

This episode was part side quest; part DLT (McMuffin's aunt) origin story; and part one-shot via LotFP's Tower of the Stargazer.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Watch out, you might get what you're after
cool Birdy, that lighter's getting lighter
this voodoo... looks a lot like me
burning down the house

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

We all have skeletons in our closets...

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

This color guard has teeth! The Crew face off with Louie Bluie and his colorful friends... honestly the cat statue may have given them more of a problem 🤔

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The crew execute their cunning plan and snoop around the The Temple of the Lady of Light. And they would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for that pesky cat statue.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Our heroes navigate the mirror plane back to Malik Maxwell's (aka _The Tanpire). They rest up; have some funky dreams; do a little snooping; ask all the questions; and formulate a plan!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Gorath visits the little orc's room and then he crew travels through the mirror plane, looking for Malik's house. They meet some shiny ravens...

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Welcome to the Mirror Plane! The crew meet a shiny spider...

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Naven Mag returns! The crew find themselves back in The Time Wizard's tower. More delicious tea; more complicated. They also fine out that they can mirrorwalk!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Malik and the crew take on a Black Dog... then go for a swim in the Infinity Fountain.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The crew visit the home of Malik Maxwell: noted, local business man and borrower of magic books and expensive booze collector. And they tell him every. thing..

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

In this episode we learn about orc mating rituals when Gorath presents a dead dog to Yulia :shrug:. They meet with Sister Malora, the Hight Priestess of the Lady of Light. And they tell here every. thing.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The crew lands in Cloud City! Gorath is being followed by a Black Dog; they run into Little Baby Drekel; and they learn about a murder mystery...

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The Toucan crew is back on the board with Santo but but make an emergency landing. Not for more beer (though :thinking:) but because of a storm. They build a fire right by an Owl Bear nest and McMuffin realizes he has a musket and he's not afraid to use it!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The crew fly through a stitch in time and find themselves... well... dead... again. We are also introduced to delicious Breakfast Donuts!

This is a one-ish shot that I wrote for the 2020 One Page Dungeon Contest and slipped it into our campaign (so sneaky). It's called a Debt for the Dead. It turned out to be a ton of fun, and marked the entire campaign FOREVAH! Looking at it today, I can see why it wasn't well received by the judges :) I really hate doing print work and it shows. Still... fun stuff!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

In order to save his parents, our reluctant sailor, McMuffin dies and bargains with Death!

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

The crew travel by balloon to McMufin's home town of Hissy Fit Hsifilet.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM

In this first episode of Season 1, we meet McMuffin's pet toucan, Birdie; which has somehow always been sitting on his shoulder? Whatever. We are also introduced to Santo Regulus Dumont; a professional drinker and aeronaut hobbyist.

World of Brine is an actual play, rpg, podcast, using the World of Dungeons (WoDu) ruleset.

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM

Today on GorathCast...

Season 0 ends with the party selling some loot and makes the transition to... season 1!

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM

Death becomes us! The 3rd floor puzzles the party and the 4th... well... it's complected.

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM

The players make it to the 2nd floor of the tower and [SPOILER] go ham on... well... the A-Team and make delicious slumgullion.

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM

This was the very first session of what was supposed to be just a oneshot... but would become a full campaign. Tower of the Time Wizard is a fun, one-page, dungeon, written by Andrew Harshman. In this 3 part podcast, we run Andrew's one-pager using the World of Dungeons ruleset.

This was my first time running WoDu, and so we take a good amount of time talking about characters and rules.

Also, apologies for the excessive echo in this session... we fixed this in subsequent sessions. WOOPS!

Cast

• Yulia - human cleric
• Gorath - orc fighter
• McMuffin - human reluctant sailor
• Brine - your friendly GM