Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Graham Walmsley

@grahamwalmsley.bsky.social

1.4K followers 370 following 2K posts

I design games, especially tabletop roleplaying games (Cthulhu Dark, Cosmic Dark). I also write books on storytelling (Play Unsafe) and drift into interactive fiction (39 Steps) and LARP (Will That Be All). And I love theatre, art and history.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 5h

We definitely integrated them into our game, yeah

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 6h

We're playing Heart. I played a one-shot and really liked it, so we're doing a little campaign.

3 16

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 1d

Well, it looks like @epidiah.bsky.social got sick of telling people "It's in Worlds Without Master Issue 3".

This is really huge. Swords Without Master is a classic. I'll definitely get this.

Unwritten Earths Symposium @unwrittenearths.bsky.social · 5d

⚔️ The Season of Swords is upon us! Swords Without Master is coming out of the pages of Worlds Without Master Issue 3 into a full, stand-alone release!

🔮 Follow the Kickstarter page to get notified on launch in early 2026

www.kickstarter.com/projects/unw...

Coming soon: Swords Without Master

A ttrpg of strange sorceries, brutal violence and astounding wonder by Epidiah Ravachol.

www.kickstarter.com

1 9

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 1d

Have you seen Hadestown? If not, I think you should see Hadestown before you decide.

1 1

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 2d

I really liked The Brutalist. It has dark moments but I generally found it uplifting.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah exactly this.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 2d

Thinking about puzzle difficulty: I like easy puzzles in games. I'm someone who is delighted to find a red door and later find a red key to open it.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

Save versus spicy

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

Honestly, I've never wanted to write a D&D supplement more than this moment.

1 10

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

Oh I could do this. I like romantasy.

(And I don't think I'm the established RPG industry, am I?)

Wyrd Science Magazine @wyrdscience.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve decided my number 1 wish for 2026 (barring world peace, making some money from this mag etc), is for the Romantasy scene to really embrace mucky choose your own adventure books and then go on and reinvent TTRPGs but totally separate and with little input from the established RPG industry

2 11

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

The GM may decide

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 3d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 3d

"The chancellor approved it"

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

Oh I loved it.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 3d

Waking up, having coffee and still thinking about the Lee Miller exhibition at #tatebritain

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

I went to the Lee Miller exhibition at Tate Britain today, which was pretty mind-blowing honestly. Go if you can.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

Yes, exactly that.

Side thought: when I mentioned the Collective Endeavour, I started by describing it as UK-based, then thought that Scotland-based was probably fairer. Hmm

1 1

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

To be honest, though, I think it's fair to say that most of the examples (e.g. of media and designers) are US-based.

This isn't a huge criticism, you understand, just me jumping off this interview to think about something that's been in my head for a while.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

I've read it and...honestly, I think what I said above is a fair criticism.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

Although I must admit I skimmed the second half of the article, so maybe it says exactly this somewhere

3 4

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

One slight difficulty I have is that, even when we try to remember "forgotten" games and cultures, we often talk mainly about the United States.

I'm personally keen to remember the Collective Endeavour (Scotland and UK) as well as The Forge. And there'll be other movements in other countries too.

Rascal News @rascal.news · 4d

Reshare: Even as TSR and D&D’s early periods receive the gold-standard treatment, there’s much more to the hobby than one game and one company. But are those histories actually important? What is at stake if we forget them?

www.rascal.news/we-cant-let-...

We can’t let the market decide what we remember and forget

Emily Friedman and Evan Torner on why gaming histories matter.

www.rascal.news

2 7 32

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

"Congratulations on your new role and welcome to Extracsa"

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 4d

I've just written this horrible sentence: "Human terraforming is a growth area for Extracsa, which has both medical and cosmetic applications". Yes, I'm proud of myself.

2 10

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 5d

This is how I play Strange Antiquities in short bursts: pick up a few things. Weigh them. Inspect them. Look them up in books. Read the books for a while. Forget what I was trying to do. Start again.

I love it. Maybe I'm deliberately playing slowly to prolong the game.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 6d

Last call for Ex Tenebris.

Josh Fox 🔜 Ex Tenebris coming to Kickstarter @armadajosh.bsky.social · Sep 9

Ex Tenebris is LIVE on Kickstarter! Back now to help us get a strong start.

Play a ragtag team of investigators, walking the stars and hunting indescribable horrors with few resources and no backup.

The Republic Of Stars needs you. Will you answer the call?

www.kickstarter.com/projects/bla...

Ex Tenebris: A gothic space TTRPG

Unravel mysteries, battle horrors, protect the stars

www.kickstarter.com

2 5

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 6d

I've always struggled with Godot. It's wonderful to act in and study. For me, I think it's one of those plays that's more interesting historically than engaging to watch, like Entertaining Mr Sloane.

Graham Walmsley @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social · 8d

I'm playing Strange Antiquities, which I love, but then I loved the predecessor game so it's not surprising

Plus Outer Wilds, which I love parts of, but also find really hard.

1 3