Distancing from the Frontier Myth (Them Deeper Bones design diary 12)The Frontier Myth is strong in the traditional Fantasy TTRPG paradigm, but my personal cultural touchstones are different…Mar 22, 2022Mar 22, 2022
On the First Year (Them Deeper Bones design diary 11)Them Deeper Bones is my retro adventure fantasy role-playing game that can be found over on https://themdeeperbones.com/ (as of writing…Dec 26, 2021Dec 26, 2021
On Ability Scores (Them Deeper Bones design diary 10)Them Deeper Bones RPG does some significant changes to how Ability Scores work from a lot of other OSR games that draw on the legacy of D&DOct 27, 2021Oct 27, 2021
On Perks (Them Deeper Bones design diary 9)In Them Deeper Bones, the Perks are not really superpowers, but actually a tool to gauge where you want to put an extra safety net in…Sep 17, 2021Sep 17, 2021
On the retro adventure game mentality (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 8)Writing about the difference between the OSR and the Retro Adventure TTRPG that Them Deeper Bones is.Sep 9, 2021Sep 9, 2021
On Worldbuilding (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 7)Building a world to a retro adventure game of post-post-apocalyptic fantasy, and some thoughts on the ways I cheated while doing itAug 10, 2021Aug 10, 2021
On Initiative (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 6)Thinking about TTRPG initiative through the lens of the OODA loop decision making process.Jul 8, 2021Jul 8, 2021
On the undead (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 5)I found out I have an issue with the way I had written the zombies and the skeletons in Them Deeper Bones, my OSR TTRPG..May 12, 20211May 12, 20211
On the Frames (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 4)Them Deeper Bones, the OSR-adjacent adventure tabletop RPG, is, since version a.8.0, been built on the idea of four Gameplay Frames…May 9, 20211May 9, 20211
On Combat (Them Deeper Bones, design diary 3)3rd design diary on Them Deeper Bones OSR-like TTRPG. I take a look at combat and why I’ve built it without the HP grind. Also…May 1, 2021May 1, 2021