Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Prismatic Wasteland

@prismaticwasteland.com

4.3K followers 1.1K following 1.1K posts

3x Ennie-winning TTRPG designer My blog: https://www.prismaticwasteland.com My games in print: https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/shop My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PrismaticWasteland

www.prismaticwasteland.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · Dec 3

I’m W.F. Smith, tabletop RPG designer and blogger at Prismatic Wasteland, best known for Barkeep on the Borderlands, a pubcrawl fantasy adventure.

⬇️ for my top blogposts, my published adventures, and where you can find me other than my blog, prismaticwasteland.com

Prismatic Wasteland

prismaticwasteland.com

1 31 120

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 1d

Playtesting a new TOP SECRET project starting this week. The rules are up on my Patreon. #osr #ttrpg
www.patreon.com/posts/projec...

"Project Wayward" Playtest Document | Prismatic Wasteland

www.patreon.com

1 15

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 19h

Broke: Werewolves
Bespoke: Weregild
#ttrpg #osr (new blogpost)

Moonlight Glitters upon Weregild — Prismatic Wasteland

Lycanthropy is played out. Instead of using another werewolf in your game, try some weregilt.

www.prismaticwasteland.com

2 16 46

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Idle Cartulary @idlecartulary.itch.io · 9h

Today, I read Harvest, the game of creeping folk horror. Is this island a place you want to visit, or should you stay well away? Find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/10/09/i...

I Read Harvest

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

13 33

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Night of the Living Comus @riseupcomus.bsky.social · 15h

Damn, this book deserved every award it ever won. It's so hilarious and inventive.

1 15

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 14h

Aw shucks, thank you!

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 15h

Finally, someone is talking about the sweet baby rays problem with the ennies!

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Clayton @explorersdesign.bsky.social · 16h

Part 3 is here. The deep dive into the Ennies. If you're someone who doesn't know much about the Ennie Awards, you should read parts 1 and 2. But if you like a bit of inside baseball and are interested in award shows in general—this is the article for you.

www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-3/

How are the Ennies designed?

An insider's look into the 2025 Ennie Awards. Part three. How does the structure of the Ennies determine its outcomes? And what does it mean for others?

www.explorersdesign.com

6 46 79

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Binary @binarystar.games · 18h

binary-star-games.itch.io/death-has-co...

Death Has Come to This Town by Binary Star Games

binary-star-games.itch.io

1 11 22

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 19h

Broke: Werewolves
Bespoke: Weregild
#ttrpg #osr (new blogpost)

Moonlight Glitters upon Weregild — Prismatic Wasteland

Lycanthropy is played out. Instead of using another werewolf in your game, try some weregilt.

www.prismaticwasteland.com

2 16 46

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 1d

Playtesting a new TOP SECRET project starting this week. The rules are up on my Patreon. #osr #ttrpg
www.patreon.com/posts/projec...

"Project Wayward" Playtest Document | Prismatic Wasteland

www.patreon.com

1 15

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 1d

Cosign 100% (Except when I need to enlist him, then everyone else needs to find someone else!)

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Night of the Living Comus @riseupcomus.bsky.social · 1d

Ty at Mindstorm Press (@mindstorm.bsky.social) is a great developmental editor for RPGs: collaborative, attentive, intelligent.

If you need someone to help you with your next project, you should hit him up.

3 7 26

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Clayton @explorersdesign.bsky.social · 1d

Alright, the first in-depth article of my awards debrief is live. "How do the Ennies work?" A top-down look at my judging experience from A to Z.

Please share, leave comments, and ask questions. And don't forget to read part 1 if you haven't already.

www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-2/

How do the Ennies work?

An insider's look into the 2025 Ennie Awards. Part two. What is the award process like behind closed doors, and how do the judges select nominees?

www.explorersdesign.com

5 39 68

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 2d

Thanks for letting me know, that’s great!

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Doc Webb @docwebb.bsky.social · 2d

@prismaticwasteland.com Just reading the newest issue of Wyrd Science, and there’s a nice review of PW, including comparing it favorably to a “one man Knock!” and being “more immediately useable and …more visually engaging” than Speak False Machine. :)

Really well-deserved praise!

A review in print of Prismatic Wasteland.

2 1 15

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

ரமணன் @save.vs.totalpartykill.ca · 2d

The briefest post on reaction rolls, after listening to Between Two Cairns. I need to get back to my habit of just posting short thoughts on places that might not implode.

Save vs. Total Party Kill - Reaction Rolls

A recent episode of Between Two Cairns opened with a discussion on what to do when a reaction role doesn’t jive with the idea you have in your head for the situation. Yochai’s sentiment more or less m...

save.vs.totalpartykill.ca

6 4 29

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Clayton @explorersdesign.bsky.social · 2d

I love award shows. It's no secret. It's why I've spent months writing, refining, and trying to distill my Ennies judging experience.

It's a 4-part series (I know, I know). One article a day. Today's lays out my goals and puts the focus on awards in general.

www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-1/

The Awards Debrief 2025

An in-depth look at the Ennie Awards, its process, design, and role from the perspective of one former judge.

www.explorersdesign.com

5 39 68

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Woefully Encysted Creature @forlornencystment.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote about the prevalence of monster poaching, egg-snatching, and giant beaver slavery in AD&D, why it's even more Evil than it sounds, & why that has kind of fun gameplay implications, plus some musings about how much you might be able to sell a mind flayer brain for.

The Monster Economy of AD&D

AD&D's most endangered creature. We all know that larger towns and cities will usually have a market for dragons . That is, it is generally ...

forlornencystment.blogspot.com

2 7 36

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Idle Cartulary @idlecartulary.itch.io · 2d

This week in the bathtub it’s Manic in the Monastery! Is this module all highs or all lows? Find out! idlecartulary.com/2025/10/06/b... #osr

Bathtub Review: Manic at the Monastery

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

10 34

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

HODAG RPG @hodagrpg.bsky.social · 3d

Psy-yi-yi

Psyduck in a dungeon abt to touch a skeleton head

4 23 70

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

𝖂.𝕯. @icastlight.bsky.social · 4d

75% of my approach to old-school fantasy adventure games

2 21 140

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Serket :3c @serket08.bsky.social · 5d

As part of the fourth annual Minimalist TTRPG Jam, I'm working on the beta for The Serket Hack. In this post, I sketch out the rules for some basic spellcasting using a d88 table. Roll a random spell and let me know what you get!

www.fluoriteguillotine.com/blog/2025/10...

270,336 spells

For the past month through the end of October, Binary is hosting the fourth annual Minimalist TTRPG Jam. As part of my efforts to publish a beta for The Serket Hack by the end of the year, I’ve decide...

www.fluoriteguillotine.com

2 6

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

HODAG RPG @hodagrpg.bsky.social · 6d

Pokémon BX!
Day 3!
Cyndaquill!

2 7 36

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 6d

Barkeep on the Borderlands is in its 2nd printing! It is now perfect bound with a spine and has much more consistent colors in the interior.

To celebrate, the next ~50 orders of Barkeep or the Barkeep Bundle will also come with a random autographed “print proof” page
#osr #rpg

Copies of the new print run on the left, the proof pages of the book (a cutaway map of a pub pictured) below and a few holographic stickers on top

1 34 80

Reposted by Prismatic Wasteland

Prismatic Wasteland @prismaticwasteland.com · 6d

Or get it with all the bells and whistles: the book, a poster map, a bookmark with drink recipes and a drinking game, and 4 coasters www.prismaticwasteland.com/shop/p/barke...

Barkeep Bundle — Prismatic Wasteland

Barkeep on the Borderlands is the ENnie-winning barhopping adventure amidst Mardi Gras-like festivities in fantasy taverns.

www.prismaticwasteland.com

3 15