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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 17h

For day 8 of #ttrpgpromptober ("spirits"), I wrote a faction for Blades in the Dark by John Harper. Heavily inspired by my first BitD group's crew concept, so @mandkips.bsky.social @behnkecodes.bsky.social @lpg.space also share credit for the idea!

link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Screenshot of "The Rekindled Flame", a custom Faction for Blades in the Dark by John Harper, revolving around a secret drug that can keep ghosts from becoming feral

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 1d

Day 7 of #ttrpgpromptober is "secrets", and I had the idea of a heist falling apart at the last minute as secret schemes and betrayals suddenly came to light. It's a little slapdash but I think it could polish up into something fun and snappy!

link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

page 1 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

page 2 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

page 3 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 2d

For my weekly blog post, I wrote about how Hades II is, despite it's many triumphs, far less daring than Supergiant's earlier work. I hope the praise in here doesn't come off as hedging; I really do believe that there's great stuff in Hades II! And yet, I yearn for something more experimental...

Hades II - The Safety of Sequels

thoughtsabout.games

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 2d

this is tears-of-the-kingdom-core imo (complimentary)

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 2d

I've made it to Day 6 of #ttrpgpromptober! This one is honestly very under-informed, but it's a usable foundation for a better-researched game. Inspired by Friends at the Table's Hieron seasons and history-making games like Ben Robbins' Microscope!

link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 2 of a mythic pantheon creation game, in which players take turns introducing deities or adding details to them, their relationships, and their stories. There's a link to the text version in the body of this post.

Page 2 of 2 of a mythic pantheon creation game, in which players take turns introducing deities or adding details to them, their relationships, and their stories. There's a link to the text version in the body of this post.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 3d

For Day 5 of #ttrpgpromptober I'm stretching the theme... "masquerade" implies disguise/misdirection, so I dusted off and expanded a (HxH inspired) 2-player shonen dueling game idea. the escalating one-upsmanship is the masquerade part, to me

link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of "Jajanken Duel", a 2-player storytelling game about shonen duels that's broadly inspired by Hunter x Hunter

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 4d

For #ttrpgpromptober day 4, I made a procedure for modifying a character in a campaign game. As a player, my characters' stories sometimes peter out or change before the campaign concludes. This is one loose idea of how to alter their path!

link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

Page 2 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

Page 3 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 5d

thank you!

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 5d

I won't have several free hours tomorrow, so I'll have to reign things in, but today's #ttrpgpromptober got away from me again... Here's Glade of Solitude, a (very rough) game about collaborative potion-crafting with restricted communication.

Link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

1 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

2 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

3 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

4 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 6d

can't figure out if this is a key term in a rules text somewhere or just part of some slice of gaming culture I've intersected with, but "accoutrements"

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Reposted by paul

satah @posatahchips.gaygothvibes.online · 6d

#ttrpgpromptober sorry that there's maybe nothing funnier to me today than someone illicitly gaining the powers of ROT CLARIFICATION and PROPHECY LUNG and GOSSAMER AMPLIFICATION and CHITIN NULLIFICATION and

a document called "fine, here's the mages' rolodex" with a series of spells, like the ones named in the post, & a simple d10 roll determining whether you learn it or if it's used against you

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 6d

If I keep writing Far Too Much™ I'd better make these actually available in text form, so I'm just gonna publish the notion pages:

day 1: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

day 2: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 6d

I'm afraid that there's a good chance I'm gonna make a whole-ass game for each of these prompts. For day 2 of #ttrpgpromptober, I present to you: WORD WIZARDS

The setup for WORD WIZARDS, in which spelling be contestants accidentally cast an eldritch spell that summons a monster, and must use their newly awakened magic powers to defeat it

The gameplay rules for WORD WIZARDS, in which spelling be contestants accidentally cast an eldritch spell that summons a monster, and must use their newly awakened magic powers to defeat it

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 6d

I'm afraid that there's a good chance I'm gonna make a whole-ass game for each of these prompts. For day 2 of #ttrpgpromptober, I present to you: WORD WIZARDS

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 7d

To start off somewhere I'm already at, I made a quick landmark for Heart: the City Beneath (which I've been running lately) for the first day of #ttrpgpromptober

A landmark for Heart: The City Beneath, describing an enormous bramble with vicious thorns that spills out of a great ravine, attracting divers who delve into its depths

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 7d

I'm terrible at keeping up with these daily-thing-for-a-month challenges but I also chicken out on posting them when I try, so maybe if I share then This Time Will Be Different

Diwata! ÒㅅÓ) @diwatamnl.bsky.social · 8d

#Promptober is here! This time I included two free spaces, for people to make whatever they want (or to even take that day to rest). As usual, please use the #promptober or #ttrpgpromptober tags when you post! please also don't feel shy about tagging me in them so I can reskeet.

promptober list of prompts on a light orange background. here is what it says:

Promptober 2025
Use #promptober or #ttrpgpromptober when you post!

Create a pitch for a game, design a mini-module, draw a quick map-- anything ttrpg related, according to the prompts!

1. Free space (do whatever)
2. spells
3. potions
4. Dark woods
5. masquerade
6. myths
7. secrets
8. spirits
9. thriller
10. moon
11. Thalassophobia/thalassophilia
12. Liminal space
13. Abandoned locations
14. stars
15. Free space (do whatever)
16. hauntings
17. blood
18. sorcery
19. Wizard’s tower
20. Lost book/lost knowledge
21. Sword in the forest
22. Summoning circles
23. aliens
24. Colossal beast
25. cryptid
26. Trail cams/found footage
27. Dreams/nightmares
28. Gods/goddesses
29. flowers
30. harvest
31. halloween

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Reposted by paul

Jennifer/Aster Unkle 🏳️‍⚧️ 🔪 @spookycutewitch.bsky.social · 10d

Tell your favorite artists you love their work

Murlin @murlin.bsky.social · 10d

From bravewave.net/interviews/t...

Mo: Do you remember the first time you met someone who said they loved your work on Mega Man 2?

Tateishi: You’re the first, in 2013. No one else has.

Mo: Wow. I’m surprised. I don’t even have a follow-up question… how could no one come up and say something.

Tateishi: …

Mo: Now that you know how big Mega Man 2 is outside of Japan, do you look fondly back at the soundtrack?

Tateishi: Yeah, my thoughts have changed since I met you and became more aware of how people felt. But even when I was at Konami, I didn’t even bother telling anyone I did Mega Man 2. So the fact you came all the way to Japan to tell me these things makes me very happy I worked on the game all those years ago.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 9d

A couple weeks ago I shared a one-shot TTRPG called Dump Stat, a silly game about playing RPGs while trying to figure out what your stats/skills even are. Today, I broke down some of my design intentions. It's a little meandering and longer than I anticipated, but hopefully still pretty interesting!

Designer Commentary - Dump Stat

thoughtsabout.games

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 16d

this week, I made a meandering attempt to wring something fruitful out of a truly rotten topic: the Difficulty Discourse TM. I do this through the lens of its latest subject, Silksong (which I continue to avoid actual spoilers for, in case that matters to ya)

An Ill-Advised Dip in the Poison Swamp

thoughtsabout.games

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 17d

I've been looking for the right opportunity to bring it to a table for so long!! Even just *reading* it was so enriching for me as a designer (as you mention in your thread), not to mention super enjoyable!

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Reposted by paul

natalie watson @nataliewatson.bsky.social · 18d

i actually love it when i lose my 500 rosaries. i am freed from the burden of devotion and can now roam pharloom with the serenity of the faithless

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 23d

Last week I got to introduce some friends to tabletop RPGs, and I did so using one of my favorite nothing-like-D&D one shot games: Fiasco

thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/d...

On Introducing TTRPGs

thoughtsabout.games

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27d

At the end, they can reveal what they chose!

It's a bit of a send-up of traditional RPG skill checks and arbitrary pools of skills. It'll be easiest for experienced GMs and players, but I think it'd work for anyone familiar with the concept of skill checks. If you try it, please tell me about it!

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27d

Players give themselves simple roles like "team captain" or "new hire" depending on the scenario, and then through an improvised micro-adventure, the players can probe at their stats and try to understand just what the hell their NOUN, VERB, and ADJECTIVE are based on how the GM calls for dice rolls

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27d

The players will provide the GM a pool of words to secretly choose from, and then they'll haphazardly assign scores to their NOUN, VERB, and ADJECTIVE stats (they don't know which word the GM chose for each category). Then, the GM pitches a scenario to play out together

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27d

You know how sometimes you have to roll some dice and you and the GM wonder "hmm... is this more of a Perception check or an Investigation check?"

This is a game based on the arbitrary nature of skill checks and the fun of deliberating on which one an action corresponds to

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