Idle Cartulary
@idlecartulary.itch.io
Nova (she/her). Ennie and Bloggie nominated author of world-famous Bathtub Reviews. Writes modules and elfgames. Links at https://msha.ke/idlecartulary.
Pinned
Idle Cartulary
@idlecartulary.itch.io
· Dec 12
Playful Void
mainly about diy elfgames
idlecartulary.com
Hi I'm Nova, also known as Idle Cartulary. I write mainly about DIY elfgames, also known as DIY D&D, OSR and NSR games, as well as write games and modules. I'm best known for Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, and my world-famous Bathtub Reviews.
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
This week in the bathtub, it’s Oubliette (n)! Is this budding megadungeon verbose or adjectival? let’s find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/24/b... #osr
Bathtub Review: Oubliette (n.) 0 & 1
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This week in the bathtub, it’s Oubliette (n)! Is this budding megadungeon verbose or adjectival? let’s find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/24/b... #osr
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
In 2025 I will begin publishing Cairn supplements for third parties, under the moniker Cairn Press.
If you're a writer and want help with editing, layout, or printing I should be able to hook you up with the right people.
My goal is to make more Cairn content and get people paid for their work.
If you're a writer and want help with editing, layout, or printing I should be able to hook you up with the right people.
My goal is to make more Cairn content and get people paid for their work.
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
In 2025 I will begin publishing Cairn supplements for third parties, under the moniker Cairn Press.
If you're a writer and want help with editing, layout, or printing I should be able to hook you up with the right people.
My goal is to make more Cairn content and get people paid for their work.
If you're a writer and want help with editing, layout, or printing I should be able to hook you up with the right people.
My goal is to make more Cairn content and get people paid for their work.
This week in the bathtub, it’s Oubliette (n)! Is this budding megadungeon verbose or adjectival? let’s find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/24/b... #osr
Bathtub Review: Oubliette (n.) 0 & 1
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This week in the bathtub, it’s Oubliette (n)! Is this budding megadungeon verbose or adjectival? let’s find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/24/b... #osr
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
It's super fun to use that Inventory System. One thing we had a blast with was just raiding the "Junk Drawer" for miscellaneous things to make up the Gear:
November 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
It's super fun to use that Inventory System. One thing we had a blast with was just raiding the "Junk Drawer" for miscellaneous things to make up the Gear:
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
It takes some real skill to dive into your draft like that and navigate it, managing constant rewrites and revisions and adjustments over a period of time, without just getting lost and giving it all up.
Fascinating post, thanks Nova !
(further thoughts : 👇)
Fascinating post, thanks Nova !
(further thoughts : 👇)
Today I finished transcribing something across into a post - the live module write I did a few months ago. Check out How To Write A Module here! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/19/h... #osr
How to Write a Module: An Incoherent Play-by-Play
A few months ago I decided to write a module live on Bluesky, from woe to go, to show my process and why I keep insisting it’s not hard. A few people asked me to immortalise it here, so I’m reprodu…
idlecartulary.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It takes some real skill to dive into your draft like that and navigate it, managing constant rewrites and revisions and adjustments over a period of time, without just getting lost and giving it all up.
Fascinating post, thanks Nova !
(further thoughts : 👇)
Fascinating post, thanks Nova !
(further thoughts : 👇)
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
Today I finished transcribing something across into a post - the live module write I did a few months ago. Check out How To Write A Module here! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/19/h... #osr
How to Write a Module: An Incoherent Play-by-Play
A few months ago I decided to write a module live on Bluesky, from woe to go, to show my process and why I keep insisting it’s not hard. A few people asked me to immortalise it here, so I’m reprodu…
idlecartulary.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Today I finished transcribing something across into a post - the live module write I did a few months ago. Check out How To Write A Module here! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/19/h... #osr
Today I finished transcribing something across into a post - the live module write I did a few months ago. Check out How To Write A Module here! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/19/h... #osr
How to Write a Module: An Incoherent Play-by-Play
A few months ago I decided to write a module live on Bluesky, from woe to go, to show my process and why I keep insisting it’s not hard. A few people asked me to immortalise it here, so I’m reprodu…
idlecartulary.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Today I finished transcribing something across into a post - the live module write I did a few months ago. Check out How To Write A Module here! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/19/h... #osr
So, last night at 3am, I woke up, wrote down this idea for a module that I thought was excellent, and now I’m wondering what it means at what the conflict at the heart of this module will be. Team, what is the Anthaumic Spring and why are we adventuring there?
November 19, 2025 at 1:32 AM
So, last night at 3am, I woke up, wrote down this idea for a module that I thought was excellent, and now I’m wondering what it means at what the conflict at the heart of this module will be. Team, what is the Anthaumic Spring and why are we adventuring there?
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
Here's a big list of the dungeon's "interesting tricks and traps". Every dungeon should have magic mouths, a wind corridor, a room of mysterious pools, & a room of doors!
November 18, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Here's a big list of the dungeon's "interesting tricks and traps". Every dungeon should have magic mouths, a wind corridor, a room of mysterious pools, & a room of doors!
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
🙏CHAPTER SERF🙏
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
November 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
🙏CHAPTER SERF🙏
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
This week in the Bathtub, it’s Rakehell: The Rift of Mar-Milloir! Is it wicked or blessed? Find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/17/b... #osr
Bathtub Review: Rakehell: The Rift of Mar-Milloir
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
This week in the Bathtub, it’s Rakehell: The Rift of Mar-Milloir! Is it wicked or blessed? Find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/17/b... #osr
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
"Japanese characters tend to have more curves, which often gives them a softer impression. ... We wanted something with the aggression of a spiked flail."
And that's exactly what we got.
Read more in this interview with @montro.bsky.social about localizing MÖRK BORG to Japanese.
And that's exactly what we got.
Read more in this interview with @montro.bsky.social about localizing MÖRK BORG to Japanese.
An interview with @montro.bsky.social, who led the Japanese-language localization of MÖRK BORG by @nohr.se and Stockholm Kartell, talking about all the the ways you can push design to translate graphically and grammatically.
Localizing MÖRK BORG required a deft hand and a dedication to the details
An interview with Malstrom’s Montro on translation, new fonts, and how to create an aesthetic.
www.rascal.news
November 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"Japanese characters tend to have more curves, which often gives them a softer impression. ... We wanted something with the aggression of a spiked flail."
And that's exactly what we got.
Read more in this interview with @montro.bsky.social about localizing MÖRK BORG to Japanese.
And that's exactly what we got.
Read more in this interview with @montro.bsky.social about localizing MÖRK BORG to Japanese.
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
IT IS DONE.
MZ1 The Sibayan Cenobium, first of a six-part megazungeon. 56 full-color pages of maps, monsters, and magic to whet your appetite for adventure!
majcher.itch.io/veins-of-cor...
#zungeon #shadowdark
MZ1 The Sibayan Cenobium, first of a six-part megazungeon. 56 full-color pages of maps, monsters, and magic to whet your appetite for adventure!
majcher.itch.io/veins-of-cor...
#zungeon #shadowdark
Veins of Corruption by Majcher Arcana
A system-neutral megazungeon
majcher.itch.io
November 3, 2025 at 2:12 AM
IT IS DONE.
MZ1 The Sibayan Cenobium, first of a six-part megazungeon. 56 full-color pages of maps, monsters, and magic to whet your appetite for adventure!
majcher.itch.io/veins-of-cor...
#zungeon #shadowdark
MZ1 The Sibayan Cenobium, first of a six-part megazungeon. 56 full-color pages of maps, monsters, and magic to whet your appetite for adventure!
majcher.itch.io/veins-of-cor...
#zungeon #shadowdark
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
published an NSR #zungeon with a built-in system for running it: Get to the Escape Pod!
domjordan.itch.io/get-to-the-e...
pretty happy with this, if you give it a try i'd love to hear your thoughts!
domjordan.itch.io/get-to-the-e...
pretty happy with this, if you give it a try i'd love to hear your thoughts!
Get to the Escape Pod by domjordan
A rules-lite sci-fi panic zungeon
domjordan.itch.io
November 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
published an NSR #zungeon with a built-in system for running it: Get to the Escape Pod!
domjordan.itch.io/get-to-the-e...
pretty happy with this, if you give it a try i'd love to hear your thoughts!
domjordan.itch.io/get-to-the-e...
pretty happy with this, if you give it a try i'd love to hear your thoughts!
Feast for a Sphinx is the gorgeous new module from the team that brought us Goblin Mail. Is it a wonder or a curse? Find out, this week in the bathtub! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/10/b... #osr
Bathtub Review: Feast for a Sphinx
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Feast for a Sphinx is the gorgeous new module from the team that brought us Goblin Mail. Is it a wonder or a curse? Find out, this week in the bathtub! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/10/b... #osr
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
This week in the Bathtub, it’s the Rolling Coast! Does this amusement park setting for Mausritter a funhouse ride, or is it a tower of terror? find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/03/b...
Bathtub Review: Rolling Coast
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:49 AM
This week in the Bathtub, it’s the Rolling Coast! Does this amusement park setting for Mausritter a funhouse ride, or is it a tower of terror? find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/03/b...
Snow posted further down a list of links that she feels were great writing; they’re an education (especially if you ignore the article of mine that crept in there 😅) bsky.app/profile/snow...
My hot take: there's a lot of great writing about tabletop roleplaying games, its just not taken seriously unless you're an academic or a video games journalist. we have a rich history and most of it is treated as drivel.
November 3, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Snow posted further down a list of links that she feels were great writing; they’re an education (especially if you ignore the article of mine that crept in there 😅) bsky.app/profile/snow...
This week in the Bathtub, it’s the Rolling Coast! Does this amusement park setting for Mausritter a funhouse ride, or is it a tower of terror? find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/03/b...
Bathtub Review: Rolling Coast
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module de…
idlecartulary.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:49 AM
This week in the Bathtub, it’s the Rolling Coast! Does this amusement park setting for Mausritter a funhouse ride, or is it a tower of terror? find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/11/03/b...
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
My hot take: there's a lot of great writing about tabletop roleplaying games, its just not taken seriously unless you're an academic or a video games journalist. we have a rich history and most of it is treated as drivel.
November 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
My hot take: there's a lot of great writing about tabletop roleplaying games, its just not taken seriously unless you're an academic or a video games journalist. we have a rich history and most of it is treated as drivel.
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
It’s that time of month again: Idle Digest time! This newsletter is for people who don’t follow blogs, but still want to keep up with my work and what I’m interested in! open.substack.com/pub/idlecart...
The Idle Digest #12
Idle Cartulary's Digest for October 2025
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:10 PM
It’s that time of month again: Idle Digest time! This newsletter is for people who don’t follow blogs, but still want to keep up with my work and what I’m interested in! open.substack.com/pub/idlecart...
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
Suuuuuuper wanna play this soon to wrap up spooky season!
Spine is probably the best TTRPG I've read or played all year, and — unbelievably — it's a solo TTRPG. Find out how this remarkable piece of work changed me, even as I changed it! idlecartulary.com/2025/10/30/i...
I Read Spine
I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually…
idlecartulary.com
November 1, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Suuuuuuper wanna play this soon to wrap up spooky season!
It’s that time of month again: Idle Digest time! This newsletter is for people who don’t follow blogs, but still want to keep up with my work and what I’m interested in! open.substack.com/pub/idlecart...
The Idle Digest #12
Idle Cartulary's Digest for October 2025
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:10 PM
It’s that time of month again: Idle Digest time! This newsletter is for people who don’t follow blogs, but still want to keep up with my work and what I’m interested in! open.substack.com/pub/idlecart...
Reposted by Idle Cartulary
A friend woke me with “I’m salty you dropped a good review the same day Gillen started discourse.” But, looks to me that Gillen just said “the osr sucks” and OSR ppl said “we dont suck” and yall should simply read Spine, the most innovative game of the year so far. idlecartulary.com/2025/10/30/i...
I Read Spine
I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually…
idlecartulary.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
A friend woke me with “I’m salty you dropped a good review the same day Gillen started discourse.” But, looks to me that Gillen just said “the osr sucks” and OSR ppl said “we dont suck” and yall should simply read Spine, the most innovative game of the year so far. idlecartulary.com/2025/10/30/i...
A friend woke me with “I’m salty you dropped a good review the same day Gillen started discourse.” But, looks to me that Gillen just said “the osr sucks” and OSR ppl said “we dont suck” and yall should simply read Spine, the most innovative game of the year so far. idlecartulary.com/2025/10/30/i...
I Read Spine
I Read Games reviews are me reading games when I have nothing better to do, like read a module or write or play a game. I don’t seriously believe that I can judge a game without playing it, usually…
idlecartulary.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
A friend woke me with “I’m salty you dropped a good review the same day Gillen started discourse.” But, looks to me that Gillen just said “the osr sucks” and OSR ppl said “we dont suck” and yall should simply read Spine, the most innovative game of the year so far. idlecartulary.com/2025/10/30/i...