Radmad
@radmad.bsky.social
He/Him
TTRPG Designer
All my stuff on Itch & DriveThru - https://radmad.itch.io/
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/16893/radmad-rpgs
TTRPG critique - https://radmad.substack.com/
TTRPG Designer
All my stuff on Itch & DriveThru - https://radmad.itch.io/
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/16893/radmad-rpgs
TTRPG critique - https://radmad.substack.com/
Pinned
Radmad
@radmad.bsky.social
· Oct 2
Well folks, unfortunately we did not hit our goals for the All the World's Prey Kickstarter. But don't worry! All the World's Prey will still be released! It just some more time to fully bloom.
Reposted by Radmad
game of card-collecting world-jumping spell-crafting.
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
February 16, 2026 at 8:24 PM
game of card-collecting world-jumping spell-crafting.
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
Scheduling my next spicy post so I wake up to fan mail
February 17, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Scheduling my next spicy post so I wake up to fan mail
Thinking about how it's apparently more distasteful to name a game in reference to eugenics than to take inspiration from all the already existing games that use eugenics as mechanics.
February 17, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Thinking about how it's apparently more distasteful to name a game in reference to eugenics than to take inspiration from all the already existing games that use eugenics as mechanics.
"if the devil brought the host of hell up here what are you thinking you're going to contribute"
lots of people in the trans community have covered the problems with this viewpoint really well, so I'll defer to them and just comment on the part I feel like I have a place speaking about: If the devil brought the host of hell up here to kill DJT what are you thinking you're going to contribute
So many people I know have gone out of their way to tell me how much they trust/listen to/like/etc this rich shit and I'm just like why would you tell me this. It's like taking the Chinese exchsnge student to the Panda Express. What are you doing.
February 17, 2026 at 2:17 AM
"if the devil brought the host of hell up here what are you thinking you're going to contribute"
Reposted by Radmad
game of card-collecting world-jumping spell-crafting.
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
February 16, 2026 at 8:27 PM
game of card-collecting world-jumping spell-crafting.
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
The Alpha Set, featuring rules for cooperative play, is now available as a Beta!
www.patreon.com/posts/beta-s...
I don't think it's flaws so much as it's "friction." You want a little busywork in your high octane action game so you want to get back to the action. You want stupid randomness in your calculated tactics game so your pull of an incredible comeback against the odds.
I've nomentioned this before, but a friend had a hypothesis that to get lots of engagement it was important that a game have flaws and gaps. People arguing the rules, house-ruling it, "fixing" it, as opposed to a game that Just Works.
It's notably cynical and yet it sticks in my brain for a reason.
It's notably cynical and yet it sticks in my brain for a reason.
You can deliberately create an incomplete game and rely on the group's adherence to the promise of the game to finish it for you (don't do this).
February 17, 2026 at 1:04 AM
I don't think it's flaws so much as it's "friction." You want a little busywork in your high octane action game so you want to get back to the action. You want stupid randomness in your calculated tactics game so your pull of an incredible comeback against the odds.
Every single demo is literally, 110% this
(looking at a video of a robot that is carefully transported and maintained by dozens of guys perform a task that is programmed by dozens of different guys and it still sometimes falls down) hmm wow, is humanity cooked.......
February 16, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Every single demo is literally, 110% this
Reposted by Radmad
Don't want to do fundraising but I dropped my charging cable in the rain last night and only found it once it had been destroyed. Buy a book or toss me a few bucks if you feel so moved to help me replace it, I don't have spare lightnings
$robinvbelle
@shrikerobin venmo
ko-fi.com/shrikepublis...
$robinvbelle
@shrikerobin venmo
ko-fi.com/shrikepublis...
Support Shrike Publishing
Support Shrike Publishing
ko-fi.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Don't want to do fundraising but I dropped my charging cable in the rain last night and only found it once it had been destroyed. Buy a book or toss me a few bucks if you feel so moved to help me replace it, I don't have spare lightnings
$robinvbelle
@shrikerobin venmo
ko-fi.com/shrikepublis...
$robinvbelle
@shrikerobin venmo
ko-fi.com/shrikepublis...
Reposted by Radmad
Everybody else's takes on TTRPGs are wrong except for mine
February 16, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Everybody else's takes on TTRPGs are wrong except for mine
I accepted pretty early that I have no way to force you to read the rules let alone follow them so I consider the kind of structural rules radicalist in the same way I consider the theoretical bigot who plays my game bigotedly which is thanks for the $25.
February 16, 2026 at 12:05 PM
I accepted pretty early that I have no way to force you to read the rules let alone follow them so I consider the kind of structural rules radicalist in the same way I consider the theoretical bigot who plays my game bigotedly which is thanks for the $25.
My next game is blatantly and unapologetically Jewish therefore ours antisemitic to not follow the rules
February 16, 2026 at 11:58 AM
My next game is blatantly and unapologetically Jewish therefore ours antisemitic to not follow the rules
*sizzling up some fresh discourse* design embodies our own biases, even the subconscious ones. So it's no surprise that a game made by a bunch of cis white middle class men favors the class that is defined by "intelligence", academia, and preparation over physical prowess.
February 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
*sizzling up some fresh discourse* design embodies our own biases, even the subconscious ones. So it's no surprise that a game made by a bunch of cis white middle class men favors the class that is defined by "intelligence", academia, and preparation over physical prowess.
*listening to my wife explain Wuthering Heights to me* oh, like JoJo
February 15, 2026 at 8:24 PM
*listening to my wife explain Wuthering Heights to me* oh, like JoJo
Reading this while thinking of the common refrain that people like games that "get out of the way". That, either because of mistrust or urgency or what have you, players come to a game with an idea of what fun they're "supposed" to have ahead of time.
"Players seeking to have fun is bad for many games" is the opening statement of my latest post, where I argue that players should stop playing games trying to have fun, and instead let the game systems take them where they will, and trust that the fun will come.
tangentjoy.blot.im/against-intent
tangentjoy.blot.im/against-intent
Against Intent - Tangent Joy
Players seeking to have fun is bad for many games. I get frustrated, fairly often, with how people play games. It’s not a particularly serious
tangentjoy.blot.im
February 15, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Reading this while thinking of the common refrain that people like games that "get out of the way". That, either because of mistrust or urgency or what have you, players come to a game with an idea of what fun they're "supposed" to have ahead of time.
"you're gonna get in trouble"
"Ok"
Perfectly encapsulates where we are right now
"Ok"
Perfectly encapsulates where we are right now
February 13, 2026 at 11:16 PM
"you're gonna get in trouble"
"Ok"
Perfectly encapsulates where we are right now
"Ok"
Perfectly encapsulates where we are right now
Watching a complete bystander wander into ttrpg discourse minefield
am i weird for thinking wheelchair makes sense in star trek world but not in settings with like healing potions like dnd world
I have a friend who said, of Starfleet Academy, that this took them out of it - that seeing a person in a wheelchair in the 32nd century seemed unrealistic, since medicine in Star Trek "should be able to cure whatever was wrong with them."
That's not the case, for any number of possible reasons.
That's not the case, for any number of possible reasons.
February 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Watching a complete bystander wander into ttrpg discourse minefield
Asking Miyazaki if he feels like releasing monthly DLCs and he throws a stapler at my head
In retrospect, with so many attempts at live-service games flopping, there's something really funny about FromSoftware proving that they had a winning formula for a live-service game with Nightreign, and then refusing to turn it into one. Further still, not even dipping into cosmetic DLC with it.
February 13, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Asking Miyazaki if he feels like releasing monthly DLCs and he throws a stapler at my head
Reposted by Radmad
Want to learn how to play Violet Tangerine, our transbian heist TTRPG? Say no more.
Not only you get an extra Action when you Flash, you also get to use your unique Traits!
cyberneticcoven.itch.io/violet-tange...
Not only you get an extra Action when you Flash, you also get to use your unique Traits!
cyberneticcoven.itch.io/violet-tange...
February 13, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Want to learn how to play Violet Tangerine, our transbian heist TTRPG? Say no more.
Not only you get an extra Action when you Flash, you also get to use your unique Traits!
cyberneticcoven.itch.io/violet-tange...
Not only you get an extra Action when you Flash, you also get to use your unique Traits!
cyberneticcoven.itch.io/violet-tange...
Pokemon is Shadowrun but cooler
There's still an unfilled niche for "adult pokemon" IE a near-future scifi where you can explore the social and political dynamics of a society being rebuilt during the integration of a new type of people.
February 13, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Pokemon is Shadowrun but cooler
Reposted by Radmad
*slams the table* Cover Locus you cowards!!
February 13, 2026 at 7:49 PM
*slams the table* Cover Locus you cowards!!
Reposted by Radmad
Our 2026 Pledge Drive continues and so here's more of our work, now un-paywalled as a gift from our subscribers.
For history week last year, we interviewed Peter Adkison about what it was like to be at the centre of one of the most dramatic events in RPG history.
For history week last year, we interviewed Peter Adkison about what it was like to be at the centre of one of the most dramatic events in RPG history.
The Man Who Bought And Sold D&D
Peter Adkison on the ups and downs of running Wizards of the Coast in the ‘90s.
www.rascal.news
February 13, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Our 2026 Pledge Drive continues and so here's more of our work, now un-paywalled as a gift from our subscribers.
For history week last year, we interviewed Peter Adkison about what it was like to be at the centre of one of the most dramatic events in RPG history.
For history week last year, we interviewed Peter Adkison about what it was like to be at the centre of one of the most dramatic events in RPG history.
With all due respect to the writers at Polygon, maybe covering indie ttrpgs doesn't do numbers like DnD because you're covering "DnD-but-X" and not something new.
February 13, 2026 at 7:23 PM
With all due respect to the writers at Polygon, maybe covering indie ttrpgs doesn't do numbers like DnD because you're covering "DnD-but-X" and not something new.
There's still an unfilled niche for "adult pokemon" IE a near-future scifi where you can explore the social and political dynamics of a society being rebuilt during the integration of a new type of people.
February 13, 2026 at 7:09 PM
There's still an unfilled niche for "adult pokemon" IE a near-future scifi where you can explore the social and political dynamics of a society being rebuilt during the integration of a new type of people.
I mean, whether that matters or not is heavily dependent on whether your audience is gamers or non-gamers
It cannot be overstated how much hobby gamers underestimate how unintuitive and difficult hobby games are to non-gamers.
This is perhaps even more true of professional game designers, publishers and reviewers/pundits, broadly speaking.
This is perhaps even more true of professional game designers, publishers and reviewers/pundits, broadly speaking.
February 13, 2026 at 1:55 PM
I mean, whether that matters or not is heavily dependent on whether your audience is gamers or non-gamers
Reposted by Radmad
Who wants to play a Strange Journey-like where I painted all the enemies?
October 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Who wants to play a Strange Journey-like where I painted all the enemies?