Monday Musings #68 🤬

Meta thoughts, inking dwarves and magic!

Good Monday, Gamer!

"Magic is just science we haven't found the scrolls for yet." – A.C. Clarke, Warlock.

Inktober, the solo illustrated journaling RPG!

Inktober 1-6

Solo games are typically hit or miss for me. I usually bounce off journaling games because they don't feel "gamey" enough. However, Thousand Year-Old Vampire surprised me, and I even gave copies as gifts to friends I knew would love it. I think I need the journaling element to have more mechanical weight. Five Parsecs From Home is fun, and I’ve also started using the new Through the Doors of Durin solo rules for The One Ring. Somewhere in the chaos of the week, I decided to turn my Inktober into a solo illustrated journal game! Rules are very simple: miss a prompt, and your character dies. Inktober lets me try out all those art supplies I’ve been hoarding. Here’s my progress so far.

Last week was a skip week for Dave’s Dolmenwood, but we’re back tonight for the final session! This group has been fantastic, and I’ll never say no to BX|OSE D&D. Playing Gerg, my Breggle Magician, has been a blast, and tonight's session should wrap up some Faerie shenanigans while delivering consequences for our previous actions. It’s been short, but this run has inspired me to dive into The Valley of Flowers as a potential setting for a longer BX campaign.

While diving into YouTube (as you do), I stumbled across The Tomb of Lime discussing "The Lost Art of Role-Play Reification," which gave me a fresh perspective on rules as code. I’m all for the idea that RPGs can do things no other medium can, and we should lean into that uniqueness. I don't fully agree with his take on dialing down rules talk—it’s not binary—but it’s an interesting conversation. His thoughts on how storytelling is incompatible with role-playing are worth a look, especially if you're into the games-as-games side of the debate. I'm excited to dig further into this channel.

Oh, and I see Ars Magica Ultimate 5th Edition is around the corner—could be a great excuse to dive into some archeological gaming, much like I did with Rolemaster.

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And a Huge Kudos to Thomas Manuel for joining the Rascal crew! Be sure to check out his debut piece.

Catch you next week! 🎲

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Oct:

• RPGKC Monthly - Mothership: The Kuiper Belt Anomalies.

• Burning Wheel Con?! 🤷🏾‍♂️

Nov:

• RPGKC Monthly - Balin’s Moria Expedition.

Dec:

• PAXU!! Lifted: Indomitable

  • Games on Demand

  • RPG Designer Meet & Greet

  • PANELS!!!