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Shawn Tomkin

@shawntomkin.bsky.social

4.4K followers 670 following 960 posts

Creator of the Ironsworn family of TTRPGs. Contributor to The One Ring, Dragonbane, and more. Banner art by Joshua Meehan. Games & Downloads: tomkinpress.com Discord: discord.gg/8bRuZwK DriveThruRPG: bit.ly/tomkin-drivethrurpg Itch: bit.ly/tomkin-itch

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · Oct 17

In honor of Twitter's continued slow-motion implosion, recycling my best Ironsworn meme.

A two-panel image from the television program 30 Rock. In the top panel, Liz Lemon says "What a journey, huh?" In the second panel, her boss, turns to say "Lemon, you've marked 2 progress."

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

Tana Pigeon | Word Mill Games @tanapigeonwmg.bsky.social · 10h

Mythic Magazine #58 is out loose in the wild! It tackles creating conversation for NPCs in solo games, and features a scenario all about chatter where your PC runs a weird, late-night radio talk show. I love anything "weird" :)
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
#ttrpg

Mythic Magazine Volume 58 - Word Mill Games | Mythic Magazine | DriveThruRPG

Mythic Magazine #58 Mythic Magazine is a monthly ezine with tips, rules, and more goodies for the Mythic Role-Playing System, Mythic Game Master Emulator, and Crafter Series from Word Mill Games. This...

www.drivethrurpg.com

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 12h

Yep. My nightmare scenario is a garage full of unwanted books.

Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 13h

Yeah. For sure. I did a reprint as part of a supplement crowdfund, and that worked out well. Also, a great way to gauge demand. But I don't want to go to that well for every print run.

A good problem to have, in some sense. But I am always a quarter behind the curve. 😬

Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 13h

My least favorite bit about self-publishing is figuring out the right time to do a new print run. It costs tens of thousands of dollars, so I can't over-invest in stock, but I inevitably get caught off guard by a sell-through and have long gaps where items are not available at all. I suck at it.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 13h

Thanks so much!

I think I might have an email from you as well? Was just responding.

Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 13h

Thanks for asking. I'm looking into a reprint, though the logistics of that take a while. I'd guess late December or January.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 21h

Sounds like the same path I went with my dice mechanic, and I did look at 2d10 with those success breakpoints. Agree that the extra bit of granularity is really nice, especially if you have a failsafe (using Shadow, in your case).

Congrats on the campaign!

Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

Jade Ravens @jaderavens.itch.io · 3d

Want a #Firefly -themed character sheet for #ironsworn #starforged ? I made a dedicated ship sheet as well, complete with a technobabble oracle for when your crappy compression coil goes bad or the primary buffer panel falls off your ship. Free download: jaderavens.itch.io/starforged-t...

Firefly-themed ship and character sheets for Ironsworn: Starforged

Example ship sheet for Serenity from Firefly

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

Spencer Campbell @gilarpgs.bsky.social · 4d

The spooky season is upon us! I've put my spookiest game, REAP, on sale for the rest of the month.

Grab this excellent solo TTRPG of a wandering necromancer for 25% off. Sale applies to book and PDF versions!

gilarpgs.myshopify.com/products/reap

REAP

The lands of Obron are dying. You are a necromancer, striding between the lands of the living and the dead. Wander this broken world. Seek Horrors, and reap their souls. What Is REAP? REAP is a solo t...

gilarpgs.myshopify.com

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

SoloRPGList @solorpglist.com · 5d

Looking for an amazing solo or duet #TTRPG?
We have over 400 titles listed in our index over at solorpglist.com

#SoloRPG #DuetRPG #TTRPGfolks #GMless #Worldbuilding #Journaling #DungeonCrawl #TabletopRPG

Solo RPG List - Find Solo and Duet TTRPGs

Discover amazing solo and duet tabletop role-playing games that can be played with—or without—dice, tarot cards, playing cards, pen and paper, etc.

solorpglist.com

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 5d

Celebrate spooky seas(on) with Sundered Isles, the epic seafaring expansion for Ironsworn: Starforged. Includes a bounty of random generators for ghost ships, cursed treasures, forsaken isles, and more.

Digital Edition is 33% off via my store, Itch, or DTRPG.

tomkinpress.com/sundered-digital

An illustration of a ghostly ship with tattered sails and a maw-like prow. It is sailing among storm-tossed seas against a gray sky, and emitting a pallid green light.

Art credit: Vyacheslav Milinchuk,

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 6d

Received my backer copy of this, and it's exceptionally lovely and evocative!

Underground Oracle Publishing @undergroundoracle.com · 6d

New from our imprint Unplaytested Presents, No Mercy For Monsters is now live!

Grab this Wretched & Alone #ttrpg of familial oaths, dark obsessions, and the toxic bond shared between mortal rivals below.

Site: undergroundoracle.co...
Itch: unplaytested-present...
Dthru: www.drivethrurpg.com...

No Mercy For Monsters title card from Unplaytested Presents.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 6d

The only potential use case for me thus far was setting up an unstyled TOC just for PDF bookmarks, but if you hide those pages it doesn't include the bookmarks when exporting.

Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 7d

Ugh. Fingers crossed they aren't following the usual path on this. I purchased the full suite a few months ago, hoping to replace Adobe once my current subscription runs out.

Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

MegueyB @megueyb.bsky.social · 7d

We’re lining up all the things for the launch, and it’s going to be cool. Also hard and sharp and agro and weird.

MegueyB @megueyb.bsky.social · Aug 30

Alright, my dearies. Here we go. Join us for the ride?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...

Coming soon: Apocalypse World: Burned Over

The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.

www.kickstarter.com

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 7d

Dwellers under the High Grave, a folkloric Starforged/Sundered Isles expansion by @mendercap.bsky.social, just got another major content update. It features evocative lore, some great random tables, and gorgeous illustrations. Check it out!

mendercap.itch.io/dwellers-und...

Dwellers Under the High Grave by Mendercap

A Sundered Isles setting expansion

mendercap.itch.io

Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 8d

Excited to have Ironsworn: Starforged available at @tabletopbookshelf.com. They offer an amazing selection of indie TTRPGs. Check them out!

Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Gamehole @tabletopbookshelf.com · 9d

NEW ARRIVAL: In Ironsworn: Starforged from @shawntomkin.bsky.social @modiphius.bsky.social you are a spaceborne hero sworn to undertake perilous quests. Explore uncharted space, unravel the secrets of a mysterious galaxy, and build bonds with those you meet 🚀
tabletopbookshelf.com/products/iro...

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 9d

This has been a really fun mini-series!

Errant Adventures @errantadventurespod.com · 9d

Time once again for another journey to the Sundered Isles. This month I'm joined by the awesome @fkth.bsky.social as we explore another setting Truth through actual play. Join us for a distant island, an occult ritual, and a journey through the dark night of the soul.

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

RP @rpdeshaies.farirpgs.com · 11d

Folks I need help to make sure this thing is as solid as possible.

If you want a good sci-fi horror game for Halloween, consider checking it out and help me playtest it !

RP @rpdeshaies.farirpgs.com · 12d

Looking for playtesters for an upcoming sci-fi horror game kind of like shadowdark meets ten candles meets mothership.

If you want to test it with your group, send me a DM on Bluesky and I’ll send you a free copy.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 11d

Hummingbird grabbing an early breakfast.

A photograph of a hummingbird at a feeder. The hummingbird is silhouetted against an orange sunrise. In the background, Mount Rainier dominates the landscape.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 12d

Quality meme'ing!

I hope tomorrow is vastly better for you.

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

Jozef Frajkor @gorgonhead.bsky.social · 12d

I don't know about you but I've had a long and difficult day. So I unwinded by making some #Ironsworn memes. If your day was difficult as well, they might help you cheer up. Sometimes we need to do something unproductive.

Meme Mom in pool with kids, mom labeled My character, the kid she is holding is labeled Cool delve site I found, the struggling kid is labeled My Quest starter vow. Under that, a skeleton is labeled My background vow.

There is Your planet is now marked for death meme, two characters asking why, and being told "Because that guy over there rolled a Miss with a match on their Fulfill your vow roll.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 12d

Yeppers. Over-communication has always been my approach. Hasn't failed me yet.

And I sorta' regret my grumbly post because I prefer to keep it positive (apart from screaming into the wind at the state of the world), but 90% of grumbles are prevented by clear communication.

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Shawn Tomkin @shawntomkin.bsky.social · 12d

Ugh. Yeah, I cringe every time I see a TTRPG kickstarter with a slipcover or boxed set these days, hoping that the creators are planning for the potential tariff burdens.

And it's just chaos, so you can't be certain of classification or enforcement.

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Reposted by Shawn Tomkin

Susan Beneville @sbeneville.bsky.social · 13d

In this episode of Red Crag, Tamsin learns an unwelcome truth about her brother Coryn. Did he conspire to kill Gilli?

This ongoing fantasy serial is based on my Ironsworn solo RPG campaign.

open.substack.com/pub/susanben...

An Unwelcome Truth

Red Crag - 6.1: Tamsin gets an earful from her foster-mother, Moll Stillhand, and learns a damning secret about her brother, Coryn

open.substack.com

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