To your Stations

a game about transitions, journeys, and potential

Whakawhitinga is a worldbuilding game for 2-5 players, which uses the framework of an indigenous Te Ao Māori (Māori culture) creation history.

Players will create a new world over 5 rounds, through asking and answering questions.

Whakawhitinga is designed to be able to be played by those both familiar and unfamiliar with Māori culture, so give it a go even if it's all new to you!

The 36 pages of content include illustrations, a custom written karakia (plus an audio link), prompts for whakawhanaungatanga (connection building), guidance for playing the game, and the game content itself.

Gather some friends, and create a world using an indigenous lense -- starting from Te Kore, the void; moving to Te Pō, the eternal night; then finally, into Te Ao Marama, the world of light and life.

Grab your very own copy of whakawhitinga here, for only $5 USD:

if you are doing any creative project with someone else in which money will be involved, make a contract. Doesn't need to be super formal. Get something laid out in writing that very clearly indicates what the person you are asking to do something is responsible for, the timeline in which they're expected to complete it, and the compensation they'll get for doing so.

"oh but we've been best friends since eighth grade" make a fucking contract.

"oh but this probably won't make much money anyway" make a fucking contract.

"oh but I don't know all that legalese" there are tons of pretty accessible templates available online if you research, just make sure it's one that suits your needs and you understand what's in it (it can be written in normal language without legalese, as long as it's clear), and make a fucking contract.

Some thoughts posted on our bsky yesterday that I think are relevant to share here as well. Please talk about the things you like!

If you've got a reddit account talk about games you like on r/rpg. They hate self promo over there but love hearing about new games.

Also QRT self promo posts with your own opinions / pitch.

Hello friends.

For the past 3 & 1/2 years, I've been providing weekly ttrpg recommendations for folks, and I've been happy to do so! However, I've found myself in a new stage of life recently that has dramatically reduced my free time. Ultimately, this is a good thing, but it also means that right now, I need to re-focus what little free time I have towards personal projects and time spent with friends.

I really enjoy providing recommendations for folks, and I hope to do so in the future - in fact, if everything goes as I expect, I should be flipping through my archives again in September later this year. But until then, There's A TTRPG For That will be put on a reduced posting schedule.

What this means:

I'm not accepting any recommendation requests or review requests for the duration of my hiatus.

I will be re-posting old recommendation posts for the duration of my hiatus.

I have a Library Masterpost for the curious

There are one or two things that I may still release in the next 5 months or so, either because I agreed to them before going on hiatus or because I had the time & motivation to write about something.

I just realized why I always find playing clerics (and to a lesser extent, paladins) less fulfilling than it feels like it’s going to be at the start of a campaign. It’s because what appeals to me about the concept of being a cleric (and other people can have totally different, equally good reasons) is the relationship between a cleric and their god.

There’s a real foundation of loyalty and devotion to the god’s ideals, but at the same time, gods are embodiments of abstract principles and clerics aren’t, so there are going to be times when the cleric and the god want different things. And they need to negotiate that over the weird medium of prayers and powers and dice rolls and so forth. It’s an intensely personal relationship with a being you basically never interact with directly. And, not being a religious person IRL, it’s not the sort of thing I can get outside of games.

These are times of trouble: the days are numbered. Legends told us about them. We have names for them in our sacred scriptures: the Ragnarök, the War of Gods, the Apocalypse, the Arrival of Avatars, the Eternal Night, the Infinite Void.

The end of days.

But we are not alone, we are not powerless: the gods are walking among us. They are here to guide us, to save the world as we know it – or to help us reach the land of the Dead.

If we pray faithfully enough and prove our worthiness, perhaps we can be spared. In Godsend, each player embodies two characters - one is a God who has achieved a presence in their domain during the End of Days. The other is an avatar - but (and this is critical here) not your own God’s avatar. You play as the avatar of someone else’s God. Your avatars have the option to follow their deity’s wishes, or to forge their own path, although going their own way will certainly have consequences. That being said, depending on the choices you make, your Avatar might ascend into godhood themselves, thus changing the dynamic of the pantheon as this age ends and another world rises from the ashes.

Godsend is diceless, which is what sets it apart from the other games in its Legacy system family. I think this is meant to represent how when it comes to beings with this level of power, chance has nothing to do with it. Instead, the game is about when you decide to act, and how much you’re willing to commit to your actions in order to ensure what you want comes to pass.

i made a minigame once for talking to your god in larger games! You could also play it by itself as a contained experience. It's called communion by candlelight and it uses real fire

Do you need layout, branding, or marketing design work for you game/book/project? I am in the market to pick up some more freelance this year.

I've been doing layout and marketing design for 15+ years in both corporate and creative spheres. You can view my full portfolio and rates on my website!

Realis is live : )