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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 15h

Been thumbing through SPINE a bit this week. Been crazy busy but I may have more to say later ^^

For now though... remember House of Leaves? What if that was a free gamebook.

Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social · 1d

SPINE has been released on itch! You can download your PDF or a printable booklet today to start playing!

I'm keeping it FREE through the end of October.

backwards-tabletop.itch.io/spine

Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social · 15d

SPINE is a solo tabletop RPG that looks like a book. It is your anchor to the fictional world, a prop, and a work of art — a keepsake — that you co-create, all in one.

In SPINE, you quite literally embody a researcher who is reading and marking up the physical book in front of you.

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 1d

I even had grand ideas of converting my D&D group by secretly starting the campaign in a pocket dimension of the Ninth World and ending it with "you've saved the world, but the BBEG has escaped to back to her reality..." *plonks Numenera down* "would you like to follow her?"

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 1d

I remember seeing Eclipse Phase by @posthumanstudios.com in a shop around 2010. I couldn't afford it (and regretfully never did buy it) but it awakened something in me.

I think Numenera by @montecookgames.com was my true gateway drug a couple of years later...

Thought Punks 🎲 TTRPGs + Punk 👩‍🎤 @thoughtpunks.com · 2d

For tons of folks, there was that -one- game that blew the doors open and showed what #TTRPGs could be. The one that started the #IndieGame rabbit hole.

What was YOUR "gateway" indie #TTRPG? The first one that made you realize a whole other world was out there?

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 1d

If you ask the guy on the right though, that ass is nothing compared to whatever's going on with her knees.

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Reposted by Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews

Alex T. @iamthehornedone.bsky.social · 1d

If you're in the mood for some good strategy RPG inspired by the classic JRPG videogames, Over War: Monarch Edition is the Deal of the Day on DTRPG! Help me pay my dog's surgery bills and get an awesome game! www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...

Over War: The Night Comes Down - MONARCH EDITION - Blackoath Entertainment | DriveThruRPG

It is the year 1472 Dracos Domini and the land of Ballark is bathed in unrest. The armies of the Over Night have descended from their floating islands to ravage the countryside, leaving disease, famin...

www.drivethrurpg.com

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 3d

I did a thing!

Got Iron Valley by @mkirin.itch.io printed in hardback - it looks so good! And will take a well-earned spot on my bookshelves next to Starforged :)

Front cover of Iron Valley printed in hardback with 3 cutesy characters and vibrant colours

Slightly angled view showing the peach-coloured hardback spine with title in red and author's name in white

Interior page with a dungareed farm worker

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 3d

New review day!

This time delving into the survival horror journaling game Cinderedge by @quasigrant.bsky.social where no matter what you do, you'll eventually die in a fire. It's atmospheric, poignant and very unsettling.

youtu.be/ne30rLtvGSM

Cinderedge | An RPG Preview

YouTube video by Cozy RPG Reviews

youtu.be

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 4d

Do you ever get the feeling you’re probably missing posts from people you'd normally be interested in and want to interact with, but maybe you're just active at different times or something?

Anyway, completely unrelated, but here's a month-old article I really enjoyed just now.

Lhuzie Mummified Phoenix @strigarosa.bsky.social · Sep 4

I sat with awards, what possible niches they may fulfill for TTRPG industry, community and artform. Here are some thoughts about how they end up being such a frustrating experience, as well as their mixed legacy and image.

open.substack.com/pub/splitpar...

What awards do for us?

What are awards in TTRPGs even failing to achieve?

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews

Aaron Voigt @aavoigt.bsky.social · 4d

Evening bump for my new video!

Aaron Voigt @aavoigt.bsky.social · 4d

My latest essay is on @olddog.games's "Deathmatch Island!" I talk about how the game designs its climax around the Prisoner's Dilemma, and how, despite the fact that the game wants you to break that cycle, that initial tension is the best part of the text.

Deathmatch Island, Squid Game, and the Tension of the Prisoner's Dilemma [TTRPG Video Essay]

YouTube video by A.A. Voigt

youtu.be

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Reposted by Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews

Himeutsugi ❦ 🦜🧮 dice roller vtuber @hime.vtubers.social · 4d

I FORGOT TO POST AHHH but I'm playing Drakonym by @crossedpaths.co.uk !! We're wrapping up making my PC and then we're going to dive into the game! Come hang out! twitch.tv/himeutsugi #vtubers #vsky #solottrpg #ttrpg

Himeutsugi - Twitch

it's dragon time!! ❦ DRAKONYM PLAYTEST ❦ !rpg !commands !discord

twitch.tv

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Reposted by Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews

Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social · 5d

I'd be grateful if someone shared this link in the rpg, sole_roleplaying, or rpgpromo Reddits, as permissible. My posts are stuck in a filter, and I've been waiting for Reddit to clear my account for months (no joke).

I’d love for people to be able to claim the game while it’s still free!

Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social · 15d

SPINE is in beta, and it will be free for a limited time on @itch.io

The beta will be released on itch on October 14th and will include digital versions as well as a printable booklet. A physical beta will go on sale at the end of October.

backwards-tabletop.itch.io/spine

A dark solo ttrpg about losing yourself in a book. Free for a limited time. Art: Cover preview of SPINE, featuring a spine in the shape of a vortext.

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 6d

Very cool little addition to the cozier side of Midnight Muscadines!

Something I love about this setting: Today we get a supplement about teashops and coffeehouses. Next month someone might write a Dark Souls inspired adventure about chained gods and eldritch entities from the sea of stars.

Eric Lazure @ericlazure.bsky.social · 6d

I just published my first project on itch: a supplement for Midnight Muscadines!
ericlazure.itch.io/wining-and-d...

Wining and Dining Under the Beacons by Eric Lazure

A supplement for Midnight Muscadines

ericlazure.itch.io

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 7d

Massive congrats to @roosterema.bsky.social and @needgames.bsky.social

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 7d

Stoked to see Fabula Ultima doing so well. A single-designer indie TTRPG going toe-to-toe in the same arena with Draw Steel, Daggerheart and Cosmere is awesome.

At what point is it reasonable to say Fabula is one of "the big four"?

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ndg...

Fabula Ultima TTJRPG Celebration Edition + Bestiary Vol. I

The ENNIE-winning JRPG-inspired tabletop role-playing game levels up with hardback and collector's editions, and the new Bestiary Vol.I

www.kickstarter.com

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 9d

Awesome! Lego is therapeutic :)

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Reposted by Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews

Mythworks ➡️ PAXU @mythworks.bsky.social · 9d

🐞PREORDERS for Pico are closing soon! Hop on board at the BackerKit before we go to print....! 🐞
https://pico-tiny-bugs-big-world.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
#love #BUG

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 9d

Tried to send that post with one hand, but dropped the phone and scared him :(

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 9d

Welp. I was trying to play Midnight Muscadines when this little guy jumped into my arms and immediately fell asleep.

My tuxedo cat Drift asleep in my arms. Laptop, card deck and character sheet visible in the background.

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 10d

I got >yet another< email today asking me to review a game full of genAI images. It raised a scary amount of money from more than 900 backers. That's a lot of people happy to pay for AI art (and potentially AI text).

I guess they'll be fine asking an LLM to play for them too. Why not?

🎃Gore By Night🎃 @lorebynightvtm.bsky.social · 10d

4th and final video this week and it's not as upbeat/positive as the others as I, yet again, rant about Generative AI. Apparently, we are now using it to run and play our TTRPGs. I don't have the answers, but I have a lot to say on the matter on YouTube.
youtu.be/_UDy65F9nBY

TTRPGs Are Cooked

YouTube video by Lore By Night

youtu.be

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

That was a pretty fun way of touring the map!

Caesar Ink 🔜 Thou Shalt Not Suffer The Wycce on Kickstarter! @caesar-ink.bsky.social · 11d

A small look at the map of Cocytus; the region wyccefinders will be scouring for heresy in Thou Shalt Not Sufer The Wycce!

Find out more about the Doomsong TTRPG: www.kickstarter.com/projects/cae...

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

Absolutely! There are:
2 genders: men and political
2 skin colours: white and political
2 sexualities: straight and political

Here's one of my favourite lists that is unintentionally honest about what it considers political

Hilariously the creator claims to want more diversity in the TTRPG scene

Heroes. These are companies that keep real world politics and leftist garbage out of their games as well as keeping their employees under control... We recommend supporting these companies. Image: angry white bearded man

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

If I ever found myself listed in that category I'd be trying to get downgraded to "politics in gaming" as soon as possible.

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

It's possibly more of an issue in the OSR scene, where I'm wary of certain games and creators because they're considered "apolitical" and therefore virtuous by some not so cool folks.

Being added to one of those "non-woke creators" documents as "apolitical" is not a good thing...

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

My dad used to tell me "no politics or religion in the pub". I never took that advice, and never regretted it!

In the TTRPG space, I want the sense that a creator's values has at least informed their work. And sometimes not addressing it at all can be suspicious...

🖤🐦‍⬛⚫𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆⚫🐦‍⬛🖤 @fsohns.bsky.social · 11d

People taking an all-encompassing anti-discourse stance in the TTRPG space are all too often doing a poorly veiled version of "no politics in gaming" BS. It's very easy to disregard discourse when you're comfily couched in a play culture that caters to your own political bedrot. It isn't so for...

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Robin J | Cozy RPG Reviews @cozyrpgreviews.bsky.social · 11d

Awesome! It's a very nice box. I've been using the cards for other games too.

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