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alkemion.bsky.social
Alkemion
@alkemion.bsky.social
180 followers 660 following 250 posts
Father and son. Creators of Alkemion Studio, a free creative tool to design, organize, and share your TTRPG worlds and adventures: https://alkemion.com
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alkemion.bsky.social
Alkemion @alkemion.bsky.social · Oct 18
We hear there's an influx of new users. Welcome!

We are a father and son duo of indie developers, and the creators of Alkemion Studio, a free visual brainstorming and writing application for the #TTRPG community.

We hope you'll give it a try on alkemion.com!
#writing #indiedev #dnd #osr
Screenshot of Alkemion Studio featuring the visual board with a module called "The Lost Melodies", set in 19th century Montmartre. Screenshot of Alkemion Studio featuring the visual board and the text editor, with a module called "The Lost Melodies", set in 19th century Montmartre. Screenshot of Alkemion Studio featuring the rich text editor, with a module called "The Lost Melodies", set in 19th century Montmartre. Screenshot of Alkemion Studio featuring the visual board with a module called "The Lost Melodies", set in 19th century Montmartre. Two information windows are open on the board, showing details about content nodes.
alkemion.bsky.social
Control time like an editor controls film. Slow down for dramatic confrontations and meaningful choices. Speed up through travel and preparation.

Players need the moments that test their characters and advance the story. Everything else is a montage.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
"Les dames Goldsmith au bois de Boulogne en 1897 sur une voiturette Peugeot” by Julius LeBlanc Stewart (1901). Two women in elegant 1890s dress sit in an early motorcar with a white dog, pausing during a drive through a misty park landscape. The painting captures a leisurely moment of travel and movement. Overlay text: “Pace is about knowing when to linger in a moment and when to jump three days forward.”
December 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Before the dice roll, paint the picture. Show the players what victory looks like and what defeat costs. Give them a moment to consider the risk.

A roll is only as important as the consequences you attach to it.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“La Partie de Billiard” by Jean Béraud (1885). A late 19th-century billiard hall scene showing men playing pool under hanging lamps. One player leans over the green felt table, carefully lining up his shot while others watch. The painting captures the moment of decision before the cue strikes, when the player knows exactly what he's aiming for and what he risks. Overlay text: “Tell players what success costs and what failure means before rolling the dice.”
December 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Ask players what they want to achieve, not just what they do.

Understanding their intent lets you create better complications and support creative solutions.

Intent drives story better than tactics.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Planning the Grand Tour” by Emil Brack. A 19th-century painting showing a woman in an elegant pink gown and a man studying a map together at a table. The woman points to a location on the map while they discuss their planned journey, focused on their destination rather than the route. Overlay text: 'Stop asking your players What do you do? Start asking What do you want to accomplish?’
November 30, 2025 at 8:23 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Stretch your timeline and let the world catch up to what players did.

Villains adjust their schemes. Friends and enemies react to the party's deeds. Power struggles advance.

Downtime is where actions become consequences and ripples become waves.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Resting Travellers” by Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1671). A 17th-century painting of three travelers resting under a tree at an inn courtyard. One man drinks from a jug while another smokes a pipe, surrounded by their travel gear and belongings. Other travelers rest in the background, suggesting a pause in their journey. Overlay text: “Give the world time to react. Downtime is when consequences grow and enemies adapt.”
November 29, 2025 at 6:21 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Build one location with care, then sketch the rest in broad strokes. Give players a map or a faction list that promises something massive.

They need to feel the scale from the start, but you only need to detail what they can reach today.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Open Landscape at Sunset” by Remigius Adrianus Haanen (c. 1894). A landscape painting at sunset showing a detailed rocky foreground with travelers on a path and a lone tree, while distant mountains and plains fade into a hazy, atmospheric horizon. The foreground is richly rendered with rocks, vegetation, and clear detail, while the background dissolves into soft, suggested forms beneath a golden sky with birds in flight. Overlay text: “Sketch the horizon in broad strokes. Detail the ground beneath their feet. Scale is a feeling, not a document.”
November 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
When you need to raise stakes, start with story, not stats.

Describe reinforcements arriving, alarms triggering, walls collapsing.

Let players feel the danger through your words first. The mechanical difficulty will follow naturally and feel earned.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Collision of Moorish Horsemen” by Eugène Delacroix (1843-1844). A dramatic 19th-century painting showing two mounted warriors in fierce combat, their horses rearing as they clash with weapons raised. The scene captures a moment of intense action, with fallen warriors and additional combatants visible in the background under a stormy sky. Overlay text: “Escalate the fiction before you escalate the mechanics. Make the danger feel real first, then back it up with rules.”
November 27, 2025 at 6:07 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
A pressure system is simple: factions with opposing goals, a ticking clock, and consequences that compound.

No predetermined outcomes. Just forces in collision.

Players enter, make choices, and the system reacts. Plot emerges from pressure.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Boats on the Beach near Naples” by Johan Christian Dahl (1821). A painting showing Mount Vesuvius erupting in the distance, with red lava and dark smoke billowing from its peak, while sailing boats rest on the shore of the Bay of Naples in the foreground. The scene captures natural forces building to eruption while daily life continues below. Overlay text: "Stop writing plots. Start building pressure systems.”
November 26, 2025 at 6:27 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Campaign prep is the world. Session prep is the game.
The campaign layer holds factions, tensions and forces. The session layer holds immediate scenes.

When you blur them together, you get overwhelmed.
Keep them separate, and each becomes easier.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“A Scholar in his Study” by Thomas Wijck (c. 1660s). A 17th-century scholar in a cap sits reading in a cluttered study filled with books, scrolls, papers, a globe, and scientific instruments scattered across multiple tables. Arched windows let in natural light while a blue curtain hangs overhead. The layered workspace shows different scales of scholarly work. Overlay text: “Campaign prep is the world in motion. Session prep is tomorrow's problem. Keep them separate.”
November 25, 2025 at 6:13 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Tavern scenes shouldn't always be about social checks.

Build problems around skills that never gets used instead. Magical pests. Arcane symbols. Rare plants. Give them their moment.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Merrymaking in a Tavern” by Jan Steen (c. 1674). A 17th-century Dutch painting of a lively tavern interior showing diverse activities: a musician perched high on a ledge playing violin, patrons dancing and drinking at tables, a woman nursing a child in the foreground, a small dog near the entrance, and hanging vines decorating the arched ceiling. The busy scene captures many simultaneous moments of tavern life. Overlay text: "Planning a tavern scene? Find the skills your players never use and build problems that need them.”
November 24, 2025 at 7:28 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Dynamic battlefields transform combat into living scenes. Fire spreads, bridges collapse, water rises, reinforcements arrive.

When the environment evolves round by round, players adapt and improvise. Every round becomes a new tactical puzzle.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle” by Charles Philippe Larivière (1839). A dramatic medieval battle scene showing a commander on a white horse rallying troops amid intense combat. Soldiers in armor clash with raised banners, while fallen warriors lie scattered across the battlefield. In the background, a fortified castle sits atop a hill, and distant forces can be seen approaching. The painting captures a moment of chaos and movement, with smoke, multiple combatants, and shifting lines of battle. Overlay text: "A battlefield should never stay the same from round one to round ten. Ask yourself what breaks, burns, or arrives during the chaos.”
November 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Truth only matters when it's hard to reach. Build a world where information is messy, contradictory, and scattered among people who have better things to do than help adventurers.

Let the world's indifference be the friction that makes discovery feel real.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #rpg
"The Alchemist” by Mattheus van Helmont (17th century). An elderly alchemist in a red robe sits at a cluttered table in a dim workshop, surrounded by scattered papers, books, glass vessels, and instruments. He studies a manuscript with his hand to his face in deep contemplation, while assistants work in the shadowy background. The chaotic workspace suggests long hours spent searching for answers among incomplete knowledge. Overlay text: “Players don't need you to lead them to truth. They need a world indifferent enough to make truth worth finding.”
November 22, 2025 at 6:09 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
A faction trying to achieve a goal can appear in multiple scenes. A ticking clock creates pressure wherever players go. An NPC pursuing their own agenda adapts to any encounter.

Static prep gets used once. Dynamic prep keeps working.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“The Watchmaker” by Hermann Kern (1905). An elderly watchmaker in dark clothing and spectacles sits at his workbench, closely examining a pocket watch he holds in both hands. His workspace is filled with various timepieces and clockmaking tools scattered across the wooden table. Natural light streams through a large window behind him, illuminating the workshop. Multiple clocks of different sizes are visible throughout the scene, each marking time independently. Overlay text: “Prep the forces in motion, not the path players walk. Motion is reusable.”
November 21, 2025 at 6:32 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Don't drop a puzzle into your world without asking who put it there and why.

A riddle carved by ancient monks testing their students feels right. A riddle that exists just to block the hallway feels wrong. When your challenges have history, players believe in them.

#dnd #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“The Cemetery Entrance” by Caspar David Friedrich (c. 1825). A misty cemetery gate with two weathered stone pillars topped with urns stands open, revealing gravestones and trees shrouded in fog beyond. A solitary figure in dark clothing stands beside one pillar, gazing through the entrance. A wreath hangs on the iron gate. Overlay text: "Give your obstacles a story. Every locked door was locked by someone for a reason.”
November 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
The instinct is often to pick a monster and build a room around it.

Try the opposite.

Look at your players' abilities and ask what situations would make them matter. Build encounters that let your players use what makes their characters special.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Tight-Rope Walker” by Jean-Louis Forain (c. 1885). A 19th-century painting of a tightrope walker performing high above a crowd at night. The performer, wearing a red top and white tutu, balances on a rope with a long pole while spectators watch from below. The dark background and dim lighting create a dramatic atmosphere, emphasizing the skill and danger of the performance. Overlay text: “Build your adventure's blueprint from what makes each character unique. The monsters can come later.”
November 19, 2025 at 5:23 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
You think in arcs. Players live in moments.

Design street-level scenes that feel real and immediate, even while building toward something larger.

Details create belief. Vision creates meaning.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Place des Pyramides” by Giuseppe de Nittis (1875). A busy Paris street scene at the end of the nineteenth century, with crowds, horses, and carriages moving past a large building covered in wooden scaffolding during reconstruction. A statue of a mounted figure holding a flag stands in the square as people hurry along the wet pavement. Overlay text: “Players experience your world at street level while you're building monuments above them. Design for both perspectives.”
November 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
When an NPC reacts, you're giving players information. The merchant's fear.

The soldier's pride. The thief's greed. Make it obvious. Let the NPC say "I don't trust you" or "I'm too scared". Show players what they're working with.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
Painting “Ambassador David Jayne Hill” by Anders Zorn (1911). Portrait of a distinguished elderly gentleman with gray hair and beard, seated at a green desk in a dark study. He wears a formal dark suit with a white collar and small red lapel pin. His right hand holds a pen over papers while his left hand rests on the desk. An ornate gold inkwell sits on the desk beside the papers. Behind him are bookshelves filled with volumes, suggesting a scholarly or professional setting. Overlay text: "Don't make players guess why an NPC refuses. Show them the fear, the pride, the greed so they can make smart choices.”
November 17, 2025 at 6:19 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
When you write prep notes, you're calm and focused. When you read them at the table, players are waiting and the scene is moving.

Format everything so a quick glance gets you what you need. Your future self will thank you when the game is flowing.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“An alchemist in his laboratory”, a 17th century oil painting by a follower of David Teniers the Younger. An elderly man in a dim room bends over a stack of papers, reading by warm light. He wears layered robes and a wrapped head cloth. In front of him sit bottles, jars, an hourglass, and an armillary sphere. In the background, three people talk quietly near a wall lined with tools. Overlay text: “Design your prep notes to be scanned in seconds. Your eyes will be looking for answers, not paragraphs.”
November 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Every adventure has a phase where nothing connects. The villain feels weak, the locations seem random, and you doubt the whole thing.

Don't quit. Keep building. Keep connecting pieces. The clarity comes later, after you've put in the work.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“La statue de la Liberté de Bartholdi dans l'atelier du fondeur Gayet, rue de Chazelles” by Paul-Joseph-Victor Dargaud (c. 1884). 19th-century painting of a Parisian street scene showing the Statue of Liberty under construction, surrounded by wooden scaffolding. The partially built statue towers over surrounding buildings including shops and apartments. People in period dress walk along the cobblestone street below. Overlay text: “Half-finished adventures always look worse than they are. Trust the process and keep working through the chaos.”
November 15, 2025 at 8:13 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Players love to strategize. When you present a clear challenge with all the necessary details, they'll devise solutions you never imagined.

Your job is to provide enough context that their planning feels meaningful and their choices have weight.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Important Meeting” by Josef Kinzel. 19th-century painting showing two men in a modest interior room studying a map or document spread on a table. One man sits relaxed in a chair wearing a top hat, while the other stands leaning over the table, pointing at the document. Sunlight streams through a window with potted plants, and the walls are decorated with framed pictures and a clock. Overlay text: “Your players will plan better than you can script. Give them the information they need, then step back and watch.”
November 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Great adventures can end with escape rather than triumph. Sometimes players limp home scarred and grateful just to have survived.

When you build challenges too big to overcome cleanly, you teach them that survival has its own dignity.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“The Death of Willem Barents” by Christiaan Julius Lodewijk Portman (1836). A group of exhausted sailors gather around a dying man on a frozen shoreline, surrounded by broken gear, furs, weapons, and a small sailboat trapped in ice. towering ice cliffs rise behind them as the men watch, mourn, or stand guard in the bitter cold. Overlay text: “Not every quest ends in triumph. Sometimes survival is the only victory.”
November 13, 2025 at 5:19 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Every player connects differently. Some speak, some listen, some plan quietly.

A player’s tone, timing or reactions can reveal how they connect to the game.

Observe first, ask second, and refine the next session around what you find.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
"Interior with children playing cards" by Hugo Salmson (c. 1894). A group of children sit around a wooden table in soft daylight, playing cards with quiet focus. Two girls in the foreground lean forward in concentration while the others watch or hold their cards thoughtfully. Sunlight from a nearby window highlights their faces and the gentle atmosphere of shared play. Overlay text: “Every player shows engagement differently. Listen to how they react before you adjust your approach.”
November 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Treat NPCs as living stories. Let time, choices, and consequences reshape them.

When old faces return changed, the world feels like it kept turning even when the players looked away.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“The Wedding Feast” by Léon Herbo (c. 1879). A crowded wedding banquet scene set in a late-19th-century dining room. Guests in formal dress eat, drink, and converse around a long table covered with food and champagne bottles. The mood is lively and chaotic: some laugh and toast, others argue or slump from exhaustion. A waiter bends to wipe the floor while another watches nearby, and a small girl in a blue dress stands beside him. Overlay text: “Recurring NPCs are the heartbeat of a campaign. Bring them back with new goals and new scars.”
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Uncertainty keeps players alert. When they face what they can’t fully explain, they start imagining possibilities, and imagination is where real tension grows.

Hint at danger, leave gaps, and curiosity will do the rest.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Isle of the Dead” by Arnold Böcklin (1880). A small rowboat carrying a standing figure in white approaches a dark, rocky island surrounded by calm water. Tall cypress trees rise over tomb-like structures built into the cliffs, while the sky above is dim and overcast, creating a mood of mystery and foreboding. Overlay text: “Give your players something to fear and something they don’t yet understand. Mystery and menace make every plot better.”
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
A clear premise gives imagination something solid to build on.

Start your campaign with a few lines that express its theme, tone, and main tension. Those sentences act as a compass, helping you and your players know where the story begins.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Scholar Sharpening His Quill” by Salomon Koninck (c. 1639). An elderly scholar in dark robes and a cap leans over a large open book, carefully sharpening his quill pen by candlelight. The dim room and warm tones of the painting suggest quiet focus and the beginning of intellectual work. Overlay text: “Write your campaign premise so imagination can find its first solid ground.”
November 9, 2025 at 8:47 PM
alkemion.bsky.social
Players instinctively know how to navigate a dungeon. Doors and corridors create a rhythm of discovery and risk. Every forward step feels earned.

That simple loop of choice and progress is what makes this structure timeless.

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #fantasy #rpg
“Doorway in Meissen” by Caspar David Friedrich (1827). A dimly lit stone passage opens toward a small arched doorway. Light from a barred window spills across worn steps and rough walls, suggesting the entrance to an old dungeon or cellar. Overlay text: “The dungeon structure is rhythm. It works because movement equals progress, and players always know what to do next.”
November 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM