Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

nate @grinningrat.itch.io · 12d

Here I am just impressed at having played 101 ttrpgs!

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · 15d

I genuinely cannot wait to tilt people on magic arena today

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Reposted by nate

Exeunt Press 💀 @exeunt.press · 18d

Tumulus 04 includes contributions by @grinningrat.itch.io and @junkfoodgames.bsky.social!

In this issue
Welcome to this issue of TUMULUS 04
Assignment: Lifeboat
Create a game about being lost at sea using a deck of playing cards 05
Flexible inland sea harvesting system (FISH)
A modular rod and reel fishing mini-game by Nate Whittington 16
Maximalist sub hunting
Considering two different approaches for games with the same core concept 21
Ship, captain, and crew
Spend a coin and win a prize box at the Angry Crab with this traditional dice game 27
D6+D6: Unfortunate shipwrecks and found items
Sunken ships, rusty bells, a fish idol, and an odd spyglass to spark your imagination 28
Desperate depths
Dive into the waters and grasp in the darkness for treasures by Junk Food Games 32
Builder: A thousand pirate islands
Create a random, uncharted, mystery pirate island filled with treasure and danger 39
Tracking ocean madness
Exploring linear trackers, narrative, and madness in Deep Regrets 47
The problem of naval games
How wind, weather, and an ocean of hexes make sailing games hard to design 07

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Reposted by nate

Eryk ☭ (but make it Red Scare for Halloween) @peregrinecoast.press · 23d

🚨 Announcing: Rites of Renewal, a neo-pagan folk horror sandbox crowdfunding during Mothership Month.

With words by @jlcable.bsky.social, fully illustrated with lino art by @pickledpennies.bsky.social, and published by Peregrine Coast Press.

The Solstice is Coming. Will you join the festivities?

The Solstice is Coming

From Peregrine Coast Press - The Solstice is Coming

www.backerkit.com

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Reposted by nate

Joshua Kramer @joshua-kramer.itch.io · Sep 9

Pleased to announce my next project, part of MOTHERSHIP MONTH 2025 - introducing GRIM MERCHANTS! Four new vendors aboard Prospero's Dream. Make and spend your credits in new, sometimes fucked-up ways. Follow to learn more! www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Prepare for Grim Merchants - A Suite of Vendors for Mothership RPG

From Joshua Kramer - Prepare for Grim Merchants - A Suite of Vendors for Mothership RPG

www.backerkit.com

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Reposted by nate

Almost Bedtime Theater 🔜Gamehole Con @almostbedtime.bsky.social · 29d

Hip hip hooray, it’s TUMULUS day!

If you’re a fan of the gaming inspiration, design theory, and playable #TTRPG content of @exeunt.press, the Tumulus zine has all that and more, including guest pieces. (@junkfoodgames.bsky.social and @grinningrat.itch.io contributed to this one!)

A copy of the TUMULUS zine, with tentacles on the cover.

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Reposted by nate

Watch Well Games @watchwellgames.com · 29d

Sometimes you meet some quintessentially interesting folk, and create something amazing together. At Watch Well Games we want to make that alacritous collaborative magic so much more common.

The Quintessential Curios vol. 1. Coming Soon.

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Reposted by nate

Watch Well Games @watchwellgames.com · Sep 9

We're looking forward to Nate's Mothership module Certain Fathoms! @grinningrat.itch.io is also the multi-talented game designer doing the layout our zine The Quintessential Curios. Follow him, follow us, and enjoy some keen games. #indiettrpg #ttrpg #mothership

bsky.app/profile/grin...

nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Sep 9

Hi all!

Certain Fathoms is my next big Mothership module. Part of Mothership Month 2025, the module is a depth-crawl through the sunken ruins of an AI research megacorp packed with experimental tech, weird factions, and even weirder secrets.

Give it a follow!

www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

From Grinning Rat Publications - Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

www.backerkit.com

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Sep 9

Hi all!

Certain Fathoms is my next big Mothership module. Part of Mothership Month 2025, the module is a depth-crawl through the sunken ruins of an AI research megacorp packed with experimental tech, weird factions, and even weirder secrets.

Give it a follow!

www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

From Grinning Rat Publications - Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

www.backerkit.com

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Reposted by nate

Kwisatz Chodorek 🇨🇦 @mchodorek.bsky.social · Sep 9

Stoked about this upcoming creation from @grinningrat.itch.io : www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

From Grinning Rat Publications - Descend into Certain Fathoms: a depth-crawl of a long-forgotten artificial intelligence R&D megacomplex.

www.backerkit.com

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Reposted by nate

Watch Well Games @watchwellgames.com · Aug 26

Cover reveal!

The Quintessential Curios is a new #ttrpg zine coming to pdf later this year.

Stock full of timeless rpg content from some great indie authors, this collation of quality content will arouse your curiosity and provoke your creativity.

The cover of the zine ‘The Quintessential Curios’
A skeleton sits on a globe with a crown on his head. In front him, various ways of dying are laid out. Daggers, poisons, guns. Nothing can kill him.

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Aug 22

If you've been waiting to check out Tumulus, this issue I provided a contribution in the form of a pretty cool mini game.

Consider subscribing to "sea" what it's all about 😏

Exeunt Press 💀 @exeunt.press · Aug 21

Ahoy and behold the Tumulus 04. "Return to the sea" issue cover! 🐙🎣🏴‍☠️☠️🏝️

Shipping in September with contributions by @grinningrat.itch.io and @junkfoodgames.bsky.social.

The special problem of naval games. Flexible inland and sea harvesting. Maximalist submarine hunting. Diving the desperate depths in search of treasure. Creating islands to explore with RUMPIG. Ship, captain, and crew. Things dredged out of the bay. Unfortunate shipwrecks. Ocean madness. Tumulus is a production of Exeunt Press.

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Aug 2

Just read it and I want to read it again. Brilliant stuff. This is exactly what I'm looking for in a solo game I've been picking at.

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Aug 2

a man in a suit is sitting on an airplane with a comedy central logo in the corner

ALT: a man in a suit is sitting on an airplane with a comedy central logo in the corner

media.tenor.com

Reposted by nate

Hugh Bongo @hughbongo.bsky.social · Aug 2

@grinningrat.itch.io — yo, read your anti-frictionless memo on the Rat, and was already thinking about language because of some new characters to my game.

they rolled in with 5 languages and all I could think was I GOTTA ATTACK THAT.

so I wrote this:
drive.google.com/file/d/1Ec5n...

Language of Corrheo.pdf

drive.google.com

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Reposted by nate

Elizabeth Little @liz-shrikestudio.bsky.social · Jun 16

Did you know that you can fit ~40 standard sized playing cards, five dice, and a rules sheet printed on the back of a J-card inside a cassette case without posts? Do something with this knowledge.

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Jun 3

Today on the blog, I wrote a review for Wolves Upon the Coast by @lukegearing.bsky.social - give it a read if you're interested in checking out what I think is the best hexcrawl campaign in the biz.

grinningrat.substack.com/p/review-wol...

Wolf Eats Wizard: A Review of Wolves Upon the Coast

The Great Tool of Creation is the Knife

grinningrat.substack.com

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · May 20

Going on a fall trip up north in Michigan and playing @lukegearing.bsky.social 's Wolves Upon the Coast around a fire. No GM screen, no table, barely even rolled dice. Felt transported!

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Reposted by nate

Watch Well Games @watchwellgames.com · May 20

#ttrpg #indiettrpg #rpg #dnd #gamedesigners #actualplay

What's that timeless TTRPG memory you always think of when asked why you play games?

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · May 5

This week, we’re talking about equipment! 🎒

For most players, equipment is just that step in character creation where you pick some random things that might be useful at some point in your campaign. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

grinningrat.substack.com/p/equipment

Mirrors and Rope and Poles

Oh my!

grinningrat.substack.com

nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Apr 6

am I crazy, or has itch.io's payout process been extraordinarily slow the past month or two?

Download the latest indie games

itch.io is a simple way to find, download and distribute indie games online. Whether you're a developer looking to upload your game or just someone looking for something new to play itch.io has you co...

itch.io

nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Apr 1

Think back to the last time you had to sit down and create a dungeon for a game. Map it, key it, everything.

What if you could do that in minutes? What if you could do that every time and practically guarantee that each map would be different, without even trying?

Enter: The Tetromino Dungeon.

Building Dungeons (the Tetris Way)

A cool way to build quick dungeons

grinningrat.substack.com

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nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Feb 24

whats up gamers

I've got some open slots for layout/design work if you're interested. I work within your budget (I've worked for $5K+ in exchange for literal jars of honey and everything in between).

more tabletop stuff exists on my itch page (link in bio)

natewhittington.design

drop me a line!

Nate Whittington

Designer and Developer

natewhittington.design

nate @grinningrat.itch.io · Feb 21

A new monthly update for Adamiir is live on itch! 🌖

grinningrat.itch.io/shattered-is...

If you download before α edition (alpha edition) releases later this year, you get all future updates for free.

Now’s the time to give it a look, even if you don't plan on playing it till full release!

Monthly Update: February

By the end of 2025, I plan to release Adamiir in its ‘α edition (alpha edition)’. This will encompass the system rules and the first major part of the setting, the Mistlands. Each month I will be...

grinningrat.itch.io