Keith Ammann
@themonstersknow.com
ENNIE-winning author of The Monsters Know What They're Doing and other stuff. Humanist, antifascist, curmudgeon. Teeth on the board. ✶✶✶✶
Home: spyandowl.com
Blog: themonstersknow.com
Newsletter: onefootinfairyland.com
Mastodon: dice.camp/@KeithAmmann
Home: spyandowl.com
Blog: themonstersknow.com
Newsletter: onefootinfairyland.com
Mastodon: dice.camp/@KeithAmmann
Pinned
Keith Ammann
@themonstersknow.com
· Oct 7
TODAY'S THE DAY! Making Enemies: Monster Design Inspiration for Tabletop Roleplaying Games, with cover illustration by @kroovv.bsky.social and interior illos by @jencmars.bsky.social, is now on shelves!
Get it at your friendly local game store or through one of these links: spyandowl.com/making...
Get it at your friendly local game store or through one of these links: spyandowl.com/making...
Wow
WOW
WOW
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Wow
WOW
WOW
Reposted by Keith Ammann
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
January 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
Reposted by Keith Ammann
I will reiterate that if you are an independent journo/hobbyist I will happily set up your ghost install and host it for a few quid above cost price.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
If there is one resolution I want for journalists this year: it is to get off S*bstack and use Ghost or any other indy publishing platform that does not fund literal nazis instead.
January 5, 2026 at 11:43 AM
I will reiterate that if you are an independent journo/hobbyist I will happily set up your ghost install and host it for a few quid above cost price.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, describes what a "radically truthful" journalism would look like. www.stopthepresses.news/p/how-to-bui...
How to build a radically truthful news outlet
The old ways don’t work. Time to declare war on the liars.
www.stopthepresses.news
January 12, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, describes what a "radically truthful" journalism would look like. www.stopthepresses.news/p/how-to-bui...
Got an unsolicited text message this morning from @marypeltola.com. Reported it as spam, replied STOP and blocked the number, as is my custom.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
January 12, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Got an unsolicited text message this morning from @marypeltola.com. Reported it as spam, replied STOP and blocked the number, as is my custom.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
New RPGTuber on the scene, coming in hot.
What if session 0 was good actually
YouTube video by FEYPOP
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:39 PM
New RPGTuber on the scene, coming in hot.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
January 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
Reposted by Keith Ammann
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
January 12, 2026 at 3:47 PM
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
"Kristi Noem revealed more than she thought when she gave a press conference behind a placard that read ONE OF OURS, ALL OF YOURS. … The brazen nature of Noem's slogan immediately conceals the fact that Ross is living and Good is not. ICE never lost 'one of ours,' not once."
We are far past the stage of permissiveness with white-supremacist violence inside DHS. We are witnessing ICE transition into a death squad.
This cannot be reformed. The only question is who will fight to abolish it, and who will accommodate it instead.
This cannot be reformed. The only question is who will fight to abolish it, and who will accommodate it instead.
Either ICE Is Abolished or It Will Kill Many More Renee Goods
Minnesota is just the beginning of ICE's transformation into a right-wing death squad. But it can be the end
www.forever-wars.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:20 PM
"Kristi Noem revealed more than she thought when she gave a press conference behind a placard that read ONE OF OURS, ALL OF YOURS. … The brazen nature of Noem's slogan immediately conceals the fact that Ross is living and Good is not. ICE never lost 'one of ours,' not once."
Alas for the Disappointing Sea
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Slightly diminish a game:
Pathlooker
Pathlooker
Slightly diminish a game:
Tomb Finder
Tomb Finder
January 12, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Alas for the Disappointing Sea
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Reposted by Keith Ammann
#DnD advice: Be sure to review your character sheet for features you aren't using that might come in handy later! For instance, apparently, my rogue can do extra damage through something called a Sneak Attack?
January 10, 2026 at 5:32 PM
#DnD advice: Be sure to review your character sheet for features you aren't using that might come in handy later! For instance, apparently, my rogue can do extra damage through something called a Sneak Attack?
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Things I love in TTRPGs #125:
Waypoints that aren't inns or taverns along major thoroughfares where you can stop for the night. Roadside shrines, little crofter's lean-tos, maintained and marked campsites with dry firewood. Places that show signs of habitation. People already there seeking shelter.
Waypoints that aren't inns or taverns along major thoroughfares where you can stop for the night. Roadside shrines, little crofter's lean-tos, maintained and marked campsites with dry firewood. Places that show signs of habitation. People already there seeking shelter.
January 10, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Things I love in TTRPGs #125:
Waypoints that aren't inns or taverns along major thoroughfares where you can stop for the night. Roadside shrines, little crofter's lean-tos, maintained and marked campsites with dry firewood. Places that show signs of habitation. People already there seeking shelter.
Waypoints that aren't inns or taverns along major thoroughfares where you can stop for the night. Roadside shrines, little crofter's lean-tos, maintained and marked campsites with dry firewood. Places that show signs of habitation. People already there seeking shelter.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Instead of occupying Venezuela and terrorizing Americans with ICE and CBP, we need to be investing in housing, education, and healthcare.
IL-09 needs someone ready to fight for these priorities, not endless war, in Congress.
Join me tomorrow, 1/10, in solidarity to protest this state-led violence.
IL-09 needs someone ready to fight for these priorities, not endless war, in Congress.
Join me tomorrow, 1/10, in solidarity to protest this state-led violence.
January 10, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Instead of occupying Venezuela and terrorizing Americans with ICE and CBP, we need to be investing in housing, education, and healthcare.
IL-09 needs someone ready to fight for these priorities, not endless war, in Congress.
Join me tomorrow, 1/10, in solidarity to protest this state-led violence.
IL-09 needs someone ready to fight for these priorities, not endless war, in Congress.
Join me tomorrow, 1/10, in solidarity to protest this state-led violence.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
When Renee Good said "I'm not mad at you" what the ICE goon heard was "I'm not scared of you."
That's what enraged him. The populace wasn't fully terrorized and cowed into submission yet, so he acted to make that happen.
That's what enraged him. The populace wasn't fully terrorized and cowed into submission yet, so he acted to make that happen.
January 9, 2026 at 9:49 PM
When Renee Good said "I'm not mad at you" what the ICE goon heard was "I'm not scared of you."
That's what enraged him. The populace wasn't fully terrorized and cowed into submission yet, so he acted to make that happen.
That's what enraged him. The populace wasn't fully terrorized and cowed into submission yet, so he acted to make that happen.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
All the lies they're telling about Renee Good are in service of an even bigger lie: that individual human lives have no intrinsic worth and are therefore theirs to dispose of. publiccomment.blog/p/the-poison...
The Poison Always Drips Through
On Renee Good and George Floyd
publiccomment.blog
January 9, 2026 at 9:34 PM
All the lies they're telling about Renee Good are in service of an even bigger lie: that individual human lives have no intrinsic worth and are therefore theirs to dispose of. publiccomment.blog/p/the-poison...
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Happy 13th birthday to the most essential artwork of the current era, @kcg.bsky.social ‘s “This is fine,” to all those who celebrate.
January 9, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Happy 13th birthday to the most essential artwork of the current era, @kcg.bsky.social ‘s “This is fine,” to all those who celebrate.
The primary function of any law enforcement agency, its role in due process, is to deliver people suspected of having committed crimes to the court system for trial.
Not to convict.
Not to sentence.
Not to administer the death penalty.
And absolutely not to do all three in a matter of seconds.
Not to convict.
Not to sentence.
Not to administer the death penalty.
And absolutely not to do all three in a matter of seconds.
January 8, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The primary function of any law enforcement agency, its role in due process, is to deliver people suspected of having committed crimes to the court system for trial.
Not to convict.
Not to sentence.
Not to administer the death penalty.
And absolutely not to do all three in a matter of seconds.
Not to convict.
Not to sentence.
Not to administer the death penalty.
And absolutely not to do all three in a matter of seconds.
QotN:
"I've gone most of my life without having my head ripped off … "
"You want to … TRY that?"
#DnD #TTRPGQuotes
"I've gone most of my life without having my head ripped off … "
"You want to … TRY that?"
#DnD #TTRPGQuotes
January 8, 2026 at 3:45 AM
QotN:
"I've gone most of my life without having my head ripped off … "
"You want to … TRY that?"
#DnD #TTRPGQuotes
"I've gone most of my life without having my head ripped off … "
"You want to … TRY that?"
#DnD #TTRPGQuotes
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Now, justice on the doers!
January 7, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Now, justice on the doers!
Paying estimated taxes feels particularly repulsive today.
Any federal workers or recipients of federally funded grants or welfare out there, please know that I'm doing this for YOU.
Any federal workers or recipients of federally funded grants or welfare out there, please know that I'm doing this for YOU.
January 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Paying estimated taxes feels particularly repulsive today.
Any federal workers or recipients of federally funded grants or welfare out there, please know that I'm doing this for YOU.
Any federal workers or recipients of federally funded grants or welfare out there, please know that I'm doing this for YOU.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
I love that EFF knows their base well enough to lead with "we understand you probably already have a lot of polyhedral dice sets..."
Sure, maybe you don't need more dice. But these ones help protect free speech and privacy online 🎲 shop.eff.org/products/li...
Liquid Core EFF Dice
These bright red resin dice are sharp-edged, featuring a stunning liquid-core glitter interior and white numbering. The metal clear-view EFF display tin contains a set of sharp-edge dice including 7 pieces: a D20 featuring the EFF logo, D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D% dice. Perfect for tabletop games! Warning: These are s
shop.eff.org
January 5, 2026 at 11:06 PM
I love that EFF knows their base well enough to lead with "we understand you probably already have a lot of polyhedral dice sets..."
Looks like the blog will be continuing in more or less its current form, with the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica up next.
The Monsters Have Gained Some Clarity - The Monsters Know What They’re Doing
Hello again! I’d wish you all a happy 2026, except that it seems more like we didn’t do a good enough job of making sure 2025 was properly dead and buried. Get [whack!] back [whack!] in [whack!] there...
www.themonstersknow.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Looks like the blog will be continuing in more or less its current form, with the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica up next.
☐ E-mail my agent
☐ Review blog comments
☐ Plow through accumulated e-mail
☐ Touch base with local RPGers
☑︎ Call elected reps about impeaching the criminal thugs in control of our government, warn them that this isn't about oil, it's about IMPUNITY, and in 6 months they'll be abducting JB Pritzker
☐ Review blog comments
☐ Plow through accumulated e-mail
☐ Touch base with local RPGers
☑︎ Call elected reps about impeaching the criminal thugs in control of our government, warn them that this isn't about oil, it's about IMPUNITY, and in 6 months they'll be abducting JB Pritzker
January 5, 2026 at 2:54 PM
☐ E-mail my agent
☐ Review blog comments
☐ Plow through accumulated e-mail
☐ Touch base with local RPGers
☑︎ Call elected reps about impeaching the criminal thugs in control of our government, warn them that this isn't about oil, it's about IMPUNITY, and in 6 months they'll be abducting JB Pritzker
☐ Review blog comments
☐ Plow through accumulated e-mail
☐ Touch base with local RPGers
☑︎ Call elected reps about impeaching the criminal thugs in control of our government, warn them that this isn't about oil, it's about IMPUNITY, and in 6 months they'll be abducting JB Pritzker