Afraid of Encounters
@isaacisafraid.bsky.social
He/Him, Game Dev (Narrative Designer/Game Writer), Tabletop RPG Designer. I write, roleplay, and roll dice to tell stories.
https://isaacisafraid.itch.io/
https://afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/
Nusantara, Maritime Southeast Asia
https://isaacisafraid.itch.io/
https://afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/
Nusantara, Maritime Southeast Asia
Pinned
The Knight Errant ranked 1st out of 227 entries in the Appendix N Jam 😭 This feels surreal!
Huge thanks to @dankdungeons.bsky.social & @jorphdan.bsky.social for hosting the jam, and to everyone who rated my first OSR adventure!
And congratulations to all the amazing participants and their works!
Huge thanks to @dankdungeons.bsky.social & @jorphdan.bsky.social for hosting the jam, and to everyone who rated my first OSR adventure!
And congratulations to all the amazing participants and their works!
I attended a local video game convention this weekend and I find it amusing that the two video games I'm currently working on have their booths side by side
November 24, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I attended a local video game convention this weekend and I find it amusing that the two video games I'm currently working on have their booths side by side
I need my Mafia Tabletop RPG that isn't mixed with gothic steampunk. I need my Western Tabletop RPG that isn't mixed with Weird Fiction stuff.
I love the genre mashup. Give me all the Golden Girls/Cthulhus and WWII/Draculas you've got.
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
Dare to Play it Straight
The rarest tabletop genre is the simplest one. A call for more anti-mashups.
www.explorersdesign.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I need my Mafia Tabletop RPG that isn't mixed with gothic steampunk. I need my Western Tabletop RPG that isn't mixed with Weird Fiction stuff.
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I love the genre mashup. Give me all the Golden Girls/Cthulhus and WWII/Draculas you've got.
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
Dare to Play it Straight
The rarest tabletop genre is the simplest one. A call for more anti-mashups.
www.explorersdesign.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I love the genre mashup. Give me all the Golden Girls/Cthulhus and WWII/Draculas you've got.
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
#over/under was not one of a kind. I have been playing similar games for the last EIGHT YEARS. Today, I give this medium a name - "Live Text Roleplay" - and help you build a community of your own.
www.valerialoves.com/how-to-repli...
www.valerialoves.com/how-to-repli...
How to Replicate Over/Under
A Guide to Live Text Roleplay
www.valerialoves.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:00 AM
#over/under was not one of a kind. I have been playing similar games for the last EIGHT YEARS. Today, I give this medium a name - "Live Text Roleplay" - and help you build a community of your own.
www.valerialoves.com/how-to-repli...
www.valerialoves.com/how-to-repli...
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I'm surprised how earnest CHAPTER SERF turned out, tbh. I'd thought it would be all jokes and memes.
But why not take it seriously? The peon, the clerk, the mutant, the youth warming a Space Marine's bed---the little people, crushed by grimdark. Why not make a game about them? Subaltern 40K.
3/3
But why not take it seriously? The peon, the clerk, the mutant, the youth warming a Space Marine's bed---the little people, crushed by grimdark. Why not make a game about them? Subaltern 40K.
3/3
November 18, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I'm surprised how earnest CHAPTER SERF turned out, tbh. I'd thought it would be all jokes and memes.
But why not take it seriously? The peon, the clerk, the mutant, the youth warming a Space Marine's bed---the little people, crushed by grimdark. Why not make a game about them? Subaltern 40K.
3/3
But why not take it seriously? The peon, the clerk, the mutant, the youth warming a Space Marine's bed---the little people, crushed by grimdark. Why not make a game about them? Subaltern 40K.
3/3
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Spent the last two weeks working on this, missing deadlines and not answering messages---but this thing was in my mind like a psychic worm; I just had to get it out, you know?
Process notes and extra thoughts here: slowlorispress.com/post/8005714...
2/
Process notes and extra thoughts here: slowlorispress.com/post/8005714...
2/
CHAPTER SERF
CHAPTER SERF is a tabletop roleplaying game and adventure, set in Warhammer 40K, where you play those hooded peasant weirdos you sometimes spot in the backgrounds of the art.
Full PDF downloadable...
slowlorispress.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Spent the last two weeks working on this, missing deadlines and not answering messages---but this thing was in my mind like a psychic worm; I just had to get it out, you know?
Process notes and extra thoughts here: slowlorispress.com/post/8005714...
2/
Process notes and extra thoughts here: slowlorispress.com/post/8005714...
2/
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
🙏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/
What @elmc.at is doing is astounding! I'm looking forward to the final result and his blogpost for this matter. Also, it's nice to know that my blog is somewhere inside 😅
November 18, 2025 at 3:39 PM
What @elmc.at is doing is astounding! I'm looking forward to the final result and his blogpost for this matter. Also, it's nice to know that my blog is somewhere inside 😅
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Added a community detection algorithm to the data and it found five clusters.
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Added a community detection algorithm to the data and it found five clusters.
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
The layout now forms a pentagram unintentionally fitting for this little satanic panic hobby.
Here's a fun scroll through the years
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes
This is a topic I've been dancing around a lot for the past few months. As my observations have accumulated, I've begun to feel that it woul...
forlornencystment.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I decided it would be beneficial to collect my findings over the past few months with regard to AD&D towns & cities into one "master" post. I came up with a list of four themes that characterize these environments which the DM might keep in mind when running adventures there:
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Feeling behind on the latest OSR blogs? Simply read them all at once!
November 12, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Feeling behind on the latest OSR blogs? Simply read them all at once!
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Spent the past week mining my RSS reader to map what I'm calling the "Blogverse"
Still adding data and tuning the graph, but I'll share soon
Early stats: 1027 blogs, 13393 links, 203918 posts - and counting
Still adding data and tuning the graph, but I'll share soon
Early stats: 1027 blogs, 13393 links, 203918 posts - and counting
November 12, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Spent the past week mining my RSS reader to map what I'm calling the "Blogverse"
Still adding data and tuning the graph, but I'll share soon
Early stats: 1027 blogs, 13393 links, 203918 posts - and counting
Still adding data and tuning the graph, but I'll share soon
Early stats: 1027 blogs, 13393 links, 203918 posts - and counting
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
New Blogpost: I’d Rather Be a Mouse Than an Elf
Why sword & whiskers fantasy is more gameable than your standard pseudo-medieval fantasy settings.
#osr #ttrpg #MausritterMonth
Why sword & whiskers fantasy is more gameable than your standard pseudo-medieval fantasy settings.
#osr #ttrpg #MausritterMonth
I’d Rather Be a Mouse Than an Elf — Prismatic Wasteland
I love pretending to be an elf just as much as the next guy, but it pales in comparison to the joys of pretending to be a mouse with a sewing needle sword at my side.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:11 PM
New Blogpost: I’d Rather Be a Mouse Than an Elf
Why sword & whiskers fantasy is more gameable than your standard pseudo-medieval fantasy settings.
#osr #ttrpg #MausritterMonth
Why sword & whiskers fantasy is more gameable than your standard pseudo-medieval fantasy settings.
#osr #ttrpg #MausritterMonth
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Hey, I'm doing an AMA over on r/PbtA, if anybody's interested:
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
From the PBtA community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the PBtA community
www.reddit.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Hey, I'm doing an AMA over on r/PbtA, if anybody's interested:
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
Of the different types of dungeon rooms, "Special" can be one of the hardest to write towards. This list of sub-categories of special rooms has great prompts!
In a🧵 below, I delve into examples from CASTLE AUTOMATIC for each sub-type of special rooms. (Warning: Spoilers for the dungeon!)
In a🧵 below, I delve into examples from CASTLE AUTOMATIC for each sub-type of special rooms. (Warning: Spoilers for the dungeon!)
The 10 types of special rooms
"A Special is anything not exactly a trap, but placed for special reasons." Moldvay Basic pg. B52 Traps, monsters, secret doors, and treas...
traipse.hexarcana.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Of the different types of dungeon rooms, "Special" can be one of the hardest to write towards. This list of sub-categories of special rooms has great prompts!
In a🧵 below, I delve into examples from CASTLE AUTOMATIC for each sub-type of special rooms. (Warning: Spoilers for the dungeon!)
In a🧵 below, I delve into examples from CASTLE AUTOMATIC for each sub-type of special rooms. (Warning: Spoilers for the dungeon!)
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I made a "barebones" version of Cairn. Sort of. It's the 2e rules but with swingy and random character generation (no tables, no implied setting). I'm still tweaking it a lot so expect some changes.
It's SRD only now, but here you go I guess.
cairnrpg.com/barebones/
It's SRD only now, but here you go I guess.
cairnrpg.com/barebones/
Barebones
cairnrpg.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:25 AM
I made a "barebones" version of Cairn. Sort of. It's the 2e rules but with swingy and random character generation (no tables, no implied setting). I'm still tweaking it a lot so expect some changes.
It's SRD only now, but here you go I guess.
cairnrpg.com/barebones/
It's SRD only now, but here you go I guess.
cairnrpg.com/barebones/
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I also ought to repost this crowdfunding campaign. It's at 50%!
If you have the means, help me pay for my college tuition fees! It would mean the world to me
ko-fi.com/goobernuts/g...
If you have the means, help me pay for my college tuition fees! It would mean the world to me
ko-fi.com/goobernuts/g...
Buy goobernuts a Coffee
Become a supporter of goobernuts today!
ko-fi.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I also ought to repost this crowdfunding campaign. It's at 50%!
If you have the means, help me pay for my college tuition fees! It would mean the world to me
ko-fi.com/goobernuts/g...
If you have the means, help me pay for my college tuition fees! It would mean the world to me
ko-fi.com/goobernuts/g...
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
🚨And we are live!🚨 Time to sail away.
🚨NEW WEIRD GAME KLAXXON🚨
ECO MOFOS sets sail!!
Windwaker meets Waterworld in this rules light procedure-heavy TTRPG for solo and group play. Smash Corpo Schemes while discovering Monsters and Mecha lurking beneath the waves, guzzling ambergris to learn new spells.
tinyurl.com/yfryeat8
ECO MOFOS sets sail!!
Windwaker meets Waterworld in this rules light procedure-heavy TTRPG for solo and group play. Smash Corpo Schemes while discovering Monsters and Mecha lurking beneath the waves, guzzling ambergris to learn new spells.
tinyurl.com/yfryeat8
November 4, 2025 at 2:41 PM
🚨And we are live!🚨 Time to sail away.
A blogpost that I made out of pettiness. Gamemasters are Game Designers!
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/gamemasters-...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/gamemasters-...
Gamemasters are Game Designers!
Yes. Tabletop RPG Gamemasters are Players as well. But they are also Game Designers.
What made me to make this blogpost? Pettiness. Someone said that one ...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev
November 4, 2025 at 7:09 AM
A blogpost that I made out of pettiness. Gamemasters are Game Designers!
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/gamemasters-...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/gamemasters-...
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
As a game-maker it's a gift to hear of folks playing something you wrote; to see how they react to the situations you designed; to be surprised at the decisions they make.
Love this so much. The adaptations @isaacisafraid.bsky.social made to fit Jakarta; the fact that the adventure felt true.
Love this so much. The adaptations @isaacisafraid.bsky.social made to fit Jakarta; the fact that the adventure felt true.
Happy Halloween! For this special occasion, I've posted a play report for first and second session of @zedecksiew.bsky.social's A Perfect Wife that I've run from September - October. Hope you folks enjoy reading it!
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
Afraid of Play Reports - A Perfect Wife (Session 1 & 2)
<i>Afraid of Play Reports is a series of blogposts where I write play reports of the campaign that I have finished or currently running. I name it that way b...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev
October 31, 2025 at 4:04 PM
As a game-maker it's a gift to hear of folks playing something you wrote; to see how they react to the situations you designed; to be surprised at the decisions they make.
Love this so much. The adaptations @isaacisafraid.bsky.social made to fit Jakarta; the fact that the adventure felt true.
Love this so much. The adaptations @isaacisafraid.bsky.social made to fit Jakarta; the fact that the adventure felt true.
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
I enjoy Halloween! I blog about it somewhat frequently so have eight (8) blogposts that are appropriately spooky for you to enjoy on this Hallows Eve. I shall collect them here for you #osr
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
Do the Monster Mashup — Prismatic Wasteland
I mashup several classic Halloween monsters to create ten new spooky monsters, and discuss how I would use them in games.
www.prismaticwasteland.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I enjoy Halloween! I blog about it somewhat frequently so have eight (8) blogposts that are appropriately spooky for you to enjoy on this Hallows Eve. I shall collect them here for you #osr
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
1/8: Do the Monster Mashup! Combining different classic monsters to make new, weirder monsters
Happy Halloween! For this special occasion, I've posted a play report for first and second session of @zedecksiew.bsky.social's A Perfect Wife that I've run from September - October. Hope you folks enjoy reading it!
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
Afraid of Play Reports - A Perfect Wife (Session 1 & 2)
<i>Afraid of Play Reports is a series of blogposts where I write play reports of the campaign that I have finished or currently running. I name it that way b...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev
October 31, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Happy Halloween! For this special occasion, I've posted a play report for first and second session of @zedecksiew.bsky.social's A Perfect Wife that I've run from September - October. Hope you folks enjoy reading it!
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
afraidofencounters.bearblog.dev/afraid-of-pl...
When I was in Bangkok last weekend, people thought that I was either Thai or Filipino. I guess I have strong Southeast Asian genes 💪
a blue flag with a red circle with the letter x in it
ALT: a blue flag with a red circle with the letter x in it
media.tenor.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM
When I was in Bangkok last weekend, people thought that I was either Thai or Filipino. I guess I have strong Southeast Asian genes 💪
Reposted by Afraid of Encounters
🚨MAJOR NEO-ELFGAME ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
@zedecksiew.bsky.social will not only be Editor of Islands of Weirdhope, he’s writing a whole new adventure, expanding on To Put Away A Sword. Yes, Mecha are in the sea, too.
We have 3 other contributors, which we’ll announce over the next 3 days. I’m so excited.
@zedecksiew.bsky.social will not only be Editor of Islands of Weirdhope, he’s writing a whole new adventure, expanding on To Put Away A Sword. Yes, Mecha are in the sea, too.
We have 3 other contributors, which we’ll announce over the next 3 days. I’m so excited.
🚨NEW WEIRD GAME KLAXXON🚨
ECO MOFOS sets sail!!
Windwaker meets Waterworld in this rules light procedure-heavy TTRPG for solo and group play. Smash Corpo Schemes while discovering Monsters and Mecha lurking beneath the waves, guzzling ambergris to learn new spells.
tinyurl.com/yfryeat8
ECO MOFOS sets sail!!
Windwaker meets Waterworld in this rules light procedure-heavy TTRPG for solo and group play. Smash Corpo Schemes while discovering Monsters and Mecha lurking beneath the waves, guzzling ambergris to learn new spells.
tinyurl.com/yfryeat8
October 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
🚨MAJOR NEO-ELFGAME ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
@zedecksiew.bsky.social will not only be Editor of Islands of Weirdhope, he’s writing a whole new adventure, expanding on To Put Away A Sword. Yes, Mecha are in the sea, too.
We have 3 other contributors, which we’ll announce over the next 3 days. I’m so excited.
@zedecksiew.bsky.social will not only be Editor of Islands of Weirdhope, he’s writing a whole new adventure, expanding on To Put Away A Sword. Yes, Mecha are in the sea, too.
We have 3 other contributors, which we’ll announce over the next 3 days. I’m so excited.