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Jonathan Tweet

@jonathantweet.bsky.social

1.5K followers 1.2K following 950 posts

Grandmother Fish (Macmillan 2016), the first book to teach #evolution to preschoolers, plus science games for kids (www.grandmotherfish.com). Over the Edge, #TTRPG of surreal urban danger (atlas-games.com/overtheedge). D&D 3E, Ars Magica, Everway, etc.

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · Jan 11

Grandmother Fish is the first book to teach evolution to preschoolers. Kids love learning that they are part of the great family of life on Earth, and they love wiggling like Grandmother Fish and hooting like Grandmother Ape. Now in Chinese, Japanese, and Italian.

www.powells.com/book/grandmo...

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 17h

Interesting. Can you tell us more?

13th Age takes rest decisions out of the players' hands, and so does the "freeform OGL oldschool" system that I was working on back in 2010.

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Reposted by Jonathan Tweet

Matt Forbeck @forbeck.com · 19h

Readers! Come on out to The Rogue Bookshop on the evening of October 28 to join Greg Stolze, Chris Fink, Cat Stark, and me to talk books at Beloit's brand-new indie bookstore!

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 18h

Yes, the big problem with balancing D&D has always been that the frequency at which the party rests changes the balance, and it is out of the game designer’s control. It affects spells v melee. It affects monsters v PCs. In play, the balance depends on how often the party rests.

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, it's definitely an old-school vibe. My buddy's 18-YO son can hardly believe how we treat our Magic cards.

The rest of the story is that I sold tons of cards a couple years ago, and these are almost all low-value cards that I didn't bother selling or couldn't sell at all.

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 1d

"Honeymoon League" rules lets you start play with no prep, and you filter your deck as you play. It's the format that I invented to play with my late wife back in the day. 2/2

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 1d

Played Magic instead of RPGs for a change. Got out my old cards for a little nostalgia. Regenerating Drudge Skeletons got you down? Weakness can solve that problem! Plus some new Dominia cards because they're cooler than the original cards. 1/2

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Reposted by Jonathan Tweet

Chaosium @chaosium.bsky.social · 2d

Our friends @hplhs.bsky.social have released a new astonishingly 'proptastic' licensed Call of Cthulhu adventure, The Spark Devil.

The deluxe box set measures 13.5 x 11.75 x 4.5 inches and weighs almost 5 pounds!

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

Someone picked up Grande Temple of Jing, and I'm glad they did! It's something else.

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

haha, yes, or did they?

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

I'm also a fan of the movie and of Ralph Bakshi's work in general. In 1977, this movie was part of the cultural shift in which magic became good and technology evil. One sees the opposite in, for example, The Omega Man (1971). 2/2

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

Here's a solid RPG with a strong premise and competent mechanics (picked up from Pendragon). You're plucky, muscular elves fighting ugly mutants armed with lugers, all in a post-apocalyptic world where magic has returned.

This & more great stuff now on eBay. 1/2

www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_...

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

grr...

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

Haha, sure. Lots of processes made us vertebrates, tetrapods, mammals, and apes. Neoteny in particular seems to have done a lot to separate us from the other apes.

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 3d

Sure, it’s just the evolutionary process that made us human. Not an important word…

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 5d

Yes, and players know how much damage they're taking. They don't necessarily know the monster's attack bonus, so increasing damage has more emotional effect than increasing attack bonuses.

Reposted by Jonathan Tweet

Rodrigo / Rorro @rodrigobb.bsky.social · 5d

Lo he jugado muy poco, infinitamente menos de lo que querria. Pero este JdR me enamoró desde el minuto 1. Ars Magica @BackerKit! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...

Ars Magica Edición Definitiva

La edición definitiva del mejor juego de rol de magos de la historia, en castellano, con un diseño y unas ilustraciones completamente inéditas.

www.backerkit.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Tweet

John Nephew @johnnephew.bsky.social · 7d

SOoooooo exciting! Our friends at Blagdaross (successors of the previous Spanish translators) are crowdfunding a Spanish version of Ars Magica Definitive Edition, and it looks SOOOO GOOOOD: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...

Ars Magica Edición Definitiva

La edición definitiva del mejor juego de rol de magos de la historia, en castellano, con un diseño y unas ilustraciones completamente inéditas.

www.backerkit.com

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

Save progression also needed to be faster because saving throw DCs rose with monster level. I like fast progression because it's dramatic. In 13th Age, I would have been happy with +2/level instead of +1, but players would have thought that was weird. 2/2

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

Yes, we started with the fighter attack progression, which was +1 per level in AD&D. With that as our baseline, we drew other classes' attack progression up to get closer because the system doesn't need as much differentiation. There's no difference in attack progression in 4E or 5E. 1/2

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

Yes, it's going to be something else

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

That's my plan! We can do character creation, world building, and the first adventure in one session.

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

You mean like wizard attack rolls going up +1 per 2 levels?

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

My spin on this: Are they elvish? Ask the player what elves are like in this campaign. Do they have a connection to the Shadowfell? Ask the player what the Shadowfell is like in this campaign. Players are free to invent details that their characters don't know and that drive conflict for their PCs.

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

It’s unpublished, meant never to be published, and due to be released as a fund-raiser for the Kraken @the-kraken.bsky.social

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Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 7d

I'm glad to hear it! Those books should start rolling out soon.

This game is Mighty Ones, a restart of a minimalist RPG I ginned up for my own amusement back in 2010.

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