SprintingOwlGameDesigns

This June 6th weekend, get three gruesome horror TTRPGs by me for less than 10 dollars.

This horror pack for the squeamish includes:

CHIMERA

A solo journaling RPG of body horror. Document how an alien virus mutates you and changes others as it irrevocably tears apart your life; mind, body and all.

2. THEY DO NOT STOP. YOU MUST NOT FAIL.

A solo classic survival horror RPG inspired by Resident Evil, Dead Space and Silent Hill. Manage your resources and survive an impossible maze against an unrelenting, unstoppable foe hunting you down.

3. Deadlight

Candle-driven survival horror mini-RPG. Don't let the light go out. My oldest game about facing the darkness.

Propaganda

Niklaus Hendrix (Just Roll With It: Riptide):

Niklaus Hendrix was an honorary mention without propaganda.

Bruce Wayne AKA Batman (Batman: Bump In The Night):

What if Batman was the last line of defense between Gotham and the supernatural unknown? What if he did less punching and more paranormal detecting (but still a generous amount of punching)? What if he could exorcize, comfort, or rehome antagonists instead of just throwing them in Arkham?

i want to run an exploration / non-combat focused ttrpg campaign in a sci-fi setting. just a group of players being a crew on a ship either exploring, on the run from the governments or trying to find scrap material to earn enough money to live week to week

One is kind of, play with the players you've got. If you have an established group and you want to keep gaming with them and you want to GM but they don't want to play the thing you want to GM, it's not unreasonable to make a few changes to that thing until it fits the group. This compromises the vision and often means 5e, but finding something that works for everyone usually means some sacrifices.

The other is, create the group you want to run for. If you have a really specific vision, pick a time when you want to run it, reach out to people you think would enjoy it, and ask if they'd like to play that game at that time.

I've GM'd games both ways.

For my regular Sunday group where not everyone shares my tastes, I'll pitch a half dozen things when it's my turn to GM, then adapt the one that people like.

But for other games, I've specifically reached out to folks in different friend groups and said "hey, I think you'd like this thing I'm planning to GM, are you free on Thursdays" and that works too.

If you don't have a lot of ttrpg friends, reach out friends where you don't know if they like ttrpgs and ask if they'd be interested in trying one. And if your circles are limited in general, try on social media. I've had great luck asking folks on bluesky if anyone wants to try a demo game. Some have dropped in for a session, some have been friends for years.

Propaganda

Niklaus Hendrix (Just Roll With It: Riptide):

Niklaus Hendrix was an honorary mention without propaganda.

Bruce Wayne AKA Batman (Batman: Bump In The Night):

What if Batman was the last line of defense between Gotham and the supernatural unknown? What if he did less punching and more paranormal detecting (but still a generous amount of punching)? What if he could exorcize, comfort, or rehome antagonists instead of just throwing them in Arkham?

This is a batman who is constantly running off of five coffees and twelve packs of cigarettes who does in fact look like he is constantly running off of five coffees and twelve packs of cigarettes and is fully out of his depth but is still trying despite that.

This is a batman that was left out in the rain but needs to come in to do some detecting but is going to be at least a little bit awkward about being covered in rainwater the entire time.

Asexual people getting to be open and talk about not wanting sex and never having sex is important in a world that tries constantly to sell sex to us as an inevitable activity

Disabled people fighting for the right to marry is important in a world that holds life-saving benefits hostage and prevents one from marrying

Women fighting for the right to divorce or to never marry is important in a world that pushes women into a subordinate role of "wife"

Ex-Religious people fighting for the right to leave a religion or not be forced to convert to a religion is important in a world that subjects everyone to predatory missionary work

Religious people fighting for the right to practice their religion and do so openly is important in a world that prioritized religions over one another--often Christianity but not always

And you could substitute many more things into this. Young people fight to not be infantilized by authority, but they also in some areas fight to not be adultified. Some people have to fight so hard for a variety of reasons to be able to grow out their hair. Some people have to fight so hard to be able to cut it. Some fight to be allowed to wear coverings, some fight to be allowed to wear nothing. Some fight to be left alone, some fight to get the care they need. Some fight to be able to leave, some fight to be able to stay.

None of these comparable fights are opposed to one another, because the fight isn't about the specific thing, it is all about the same thing: autonomy.

Someone's fight to wear a dress is someone's fight to wear pants is someone's fight to live alone is someone's fight to live with someone is someone's fight to be left alone by medical institutions is someone's fight to be able to medically alter their body.

It is the same fight. People who want the opposite for themselves that I want for me are my siblings. We want the exact same thing: the choice to be who we want, how we want, on our terms.

During the month of May, I'll make each day a character for different games I like.

16/05

Ferginald/Carminia - Reincarnated as the Unlovable Villainess?!

So if you're reading this and you're like me and your first instinct is "well, I'm not directly in danger," that instinct is taken as permission by Visa.

And if you've read the announcement that Kickstarter has made, you know that it is full of ambiguities that would allow anyone with a malicious interpretation of the policy to have any project they like sabotaged mid or post fundraise, with the money it raised held indefinitely by the payment processor.

Also it's kind of a comical policy on just a pure language level. You can't say DILF on Kickstarter anymore. What are we doing here.

With the push to eradicate objectionable content, the goal is not and has never been to eradicate *harmful* content. It is to ban anything that would make the worst person you have ever met upset. The kindest gentlest softest story you've ever read is somebody else's objectionable content and the forest fire is not going to stop in front of your house to ask your permission if it should burn any further.

It sucks to live in the 2020s where all problems are global and nothing feels like you can ever do anything about it at the individual level. But you can, actually. Just the same way as you'd eat an elephant. Bite by bite.

Giving Kickstarter a piece of your mind lets them know this decision sucks.

Calling your credit card company and lodging an objection against censoring storefronts ties up their phones and costs them money, a thing that will factor into their aggression in stuff like this.

And being a little less afraid. Signal boosting creators when you don't have to. It's all something.