#ostrichmonkey

thank you!! i just did a trick so time for a treat!

i am SO excited to play Midnight Muscadines by @pandiongames !!

i just got it and everything i've read of it so far is amazing, the character choices are so fun, and so are the things you can make and the MAPS i love a map!!!

🌈 favorite playbook/class from In The Time Of Monsters

even though she only has 15 HP, the ice witch can create an endless number of arcane wards which grant her the ability to survive billions of points of damage (which is needed in a game that regularly uses exponents)

☔ game idea i dont know i'll ever get around to

game where the rules are explained by an anthropology paper about the weird freaks who invented the game back in the 1920s as part of their cult

🌤️ favorite mechanic from a game i'm workign on

🌤️Share your favorite mechanic from a game you’re working on.

(From a game who's title I cannot reveal muahahahaha)

Shadow Self

When you fall into your Shadow Self - The predator in your bones and flesh tears your mind asunder. Now you are only teeth and claw, pain and blood. Everyone is prey to you, they are all weak and deserving of death.

While you are in your Shadow Self you gain the Question Are you being merciless with your prey?

To escape your Shadow Self - You must ask someone, Am I safe enough to be the weakest version of myself? If they prove it to you and you show true weakness, gain one Bond with them and return to normal.

🌼Share something beautiful from one of your games (name the game, or let me choose). From space pirates! (not the final name of the game, please don't be the final name of the game)

The Sirens’ Call

What the sirens truly are is a mystery, one that tastes of blood and despair. They lurk in the darkest spaces between stars, in the loving embrace of black holes.

The crew of the Blood Rose drifts idly among the tides, unaware of the black hole that will soon form nearby. What is the first sign that something isn’t right?

The Sirens’ Song pierces through the light years, and gravity begins to buckle. What desperate plan does the crew of the Blood Rose form and why is it doomed?

Those with an intimate relationship with death see the black hole first, blooming and pulling all light into it. When the sirens finally reveal themselves, what beautiful but terrifying shape do they take? 

The Blood Rose is pulled into the black hole, and the sirens embrace each doomed crew member. As the ancient ship is torn apart, what do the sirens feast on?

DOCKING ACTION: As we dock one of us catches a glimpse of a wretched specter. A member of The Blood Rose’s crew is now a siren’s echo, twisted by the black hole and stretched across the light years and through the tides. What does their sad song remind you of? ❄️Share a piece of flavour text from a game you’re working on. Honestly, (like many designers) my game design style usually means flavour text is also part of the mechanical text haha but! Here:

From Twilight Throne: The Houses of Ruin!

✨ A game I wish more people were talking about.

I found out about Steel Hearts by Sandro A.D. a couple weeks ago and I’ve been pretty taken with it! I think it’s a really neat edition to the lineup of existing mecha RPGs. I haven’t had the chance to play yet, but it’s given me a ton to think about with regard to design which is something I really value in an RPG and I want to talk about it with more people.

(I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I personally look for in mecha games: I enjoy Lancer’s combat system and Horus mechs but not so much the narrative mechanics or worldbuilding, and I’ve yet to get into Beam Saber, so I’ve really been enjoying going through Steel Hearts.)

🔮 One of my favorite memories playing a game by someone else.

In my second Cyberpunk 2020 campaign (now almost four years ago), one player joined a few sessions in and chose to play a character working for the villain. She tried to infiltrate the group of the other PCs, and the group quickly found her out, kidnapped her, and took her to their warehouse hideout for interrogation.  

However, those characters as a group were extremely dysfunctional, and it led to an extremely comedic scene where mid-interrogation, they got into a fight with each other. So everyone rolled initiative and we did a silly combat scene where a couple of the PCs were beating each other up while the captured PC was using her moves to try to stealthily untie herself from a chair and try to sneak out.

I think of it fondly for a few reasons: one is that Cyberpunk 2020 combat is extremely lethal, so it was fun to have the players trying to figure out how to make their actions work not as well as they could so they didn't accidentally kill each other. I also just love moments where the whole group knows that they are making a fun, ridiculous story choice instead of an optimized or “correct” one, and everyone leaned in hard in that moment. And it was one of the first times this group of relatively-new-to-roleplaying players made that kind of choice! So it felt like a kind of lovely growth moment.

♥ (05) What is the most romantic thing your OC has done for someone else?

Nephi would say that the most romantic thing he’s ever done was proposing to Krynna in front of the Well of Dragons, right before their final confrontation with the Cult of the Dragon. Krynna would argue that the most romantic thing he ever did was buying her a full set of plate mail before they even became an item.

The most romantic thing Krynna’s ever done was bear 9 beautiful devil spawn and that’s that

♥ (23) What is your OC’s favorite nice thing to do for themselves?

Bruno has a sweet tooth and his favorite form of self-care is to indulge it a little bit (or a lot, depending on his mood). One of the key things he would do at every population center was try to find a good patisserie/bakery/sweet shop in the area, and then he would spend a lot of money on sweets for himself. His ideal state is sitting at a cafe eating sweets, sipping coffee, while writing in his journal.

I’ll gush about, Hivaxla, my oath of preservation brahvaaschpaladin! her full name with the titles I’ve come up with so far is: Hivaxla the Polyglot Paladin, the Stalwart, the Lexical Linguist, the Book Wyrm, Champion of Cultures.

she’s a linguist, knows six languages, and is always looking to learn more. during down time you’ll find her practicing a new language or with her snout buried in a novel. she’s a huge book nerd, reads a lot of fanfiction, and is all around a huge sweet heart.

she’s got a plasma sword and an energy tower shield. she’s a tanky gal.

I’ve done a sketch of her already and I hope to post the finished drawing sometime soon!

I will do both you suggested because nobody can ever shut me up about my characters, and I’m always in the mood to talk about any of my sad mafia children!

♥ (03) Are there any romantic gestures that your OC loves?

Gifts, definitely.  And not, as you would guess from his personality, necessarily expensive or shiny ones.  Honestly any kind of sign that someone actively thought of him because of a thing and then GOT HIM THAT THING would charm him hands down.  If they specifically MADE HIM A THING, he would be completely floored.  Also: if someone were to prove that they were willing to protect/defend him it gets him.  His upbringing was very ‘help the Flock and the Flock helps you, otherwise you’re on your own’ so he learned not to 100% depend on anyone but himself, even if they say they’ve got your back.

♥ (23) What is your OC’s favorite nice thing to do for themselves?

Get his hands on some good food and find somewhere for some alone time.  ‘Alone time’ ranges anywhere from finding a place to nap, maybe climbing a building so he can people-watch and not be disturbed, to finding a hidden place for…well, you know ;)

Growing up in a house with 14 younger siblings and a busy mom means alone time is a precious commodity.

♥ (24) How does your OC determine that they’re attracted to someone?

Are they male or in some way at least partially male-aligned in regards to their gender identity?  Do they look like they could crush him with their pinkie finger?  (On a much more subconscious note, and for more long-term relationships) have they proven themselves trustworthy and are they willing to have his back when he needs them?

♥ (03) Are there any romantic gestures that your OC loves?

Big gestures, mostly.  Not like having their love for him paraded around on a huge sign or something, but like something that actively takes time and effort.  Fancy nights out to dinner and a movie, a home-cooked meal presented like a fancy dinner out, etc etc.  He’s usually the one doing the grand gestures, so to have someone actively turn things around and do that stuff for him?  Blows him away every time.

♥ (23) What is your OC’s favorite nice thing to do for themselves?

Sleep in, eat out at one of his favorite restaurants, get a beer at his favorite bar, grab lunch from his favorite deli, take a long and luxurious warm bath, buy himself a bottle of the really good fire-whiskey to enjoy…

Stuff that usually is limited by his job or his funds.

♥ (24) How does your OC determine that they’re attracted to someone?

He’s got specific types that he’s attracted to differing based on men or women.  For women, he likes a dame who ain’t afraid to talk back, who ain’t afraid or shy around him, and who could probably kick his ass.  For men, he likes a guy who’s got a friendly and disarming personality, but who is secretly surprisingly strong/good in a fight/dangerous.  Bonus points for each if they’re snappy dressers.  Extra bonus points if they’re on the heavier side.  He likes a bit of meat on his potential partners, a bit of softness to them.  And if they don’t have a bit of pudge?  They probably will very soon because one of the ways he shows love is through food and the cuisine his mom taught him to cook is good ol’ rib-stickin’ hearty fantasy-southern food.  Between the occasional family dinner with his mom, who is absolutely the kind to insist you eat more and take home leftovers, and his own cooking…well…

How I see Reynir: These are my children, and I have to control them.