Josh Fox (he/him)'s Avatar

Josh Fox (he/him)

@armadajosh

Game designer, Black Armada Games. I like thinking about and talking about game design. Creator of Ex Tenebris, Lovecraftesque, Last Fleet, Flotsam: Adrift Amongst The Stars. Performer and editor, Black Armada Tales actual play podcast.

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26.07.2023
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Latest posts by Josh Fox (he/him) @armadajosh

Plus I actually prefer AW's implementation of clocks!

10.03.2026 12:35 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Totally.

10.03.2026 12:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Fronts are originally from Apocalypse World so you needn't feel that idea is tainted.

10.03.2026 11:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

My upcoming draft playtest pack for Carnival Tenebris is:

- written
- double checked
- updated for current playtest feedback, and
- sent to @armadajosh.bsky.social for a brutal edit.

time to eat a hot cross bun and get started on some Ex Tenebris editing!

#rpg #ttrpg #circusgothic #indiedesigner

04.03.2026 12:05 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Crusader cover by Matt Emmons
Let Her Be Evil cover by James Fenner

Crusader cover by Matt Emmons Let Her Be Evil cover by James Fenner

Sota Deathmonger cover by Illuminated
Zeta Galaxy Outlaws cover by Kenneth Laster

Sota Deathmonger cover by Illuminated Zeta Galaxy Outlaws cover by Kenneth Laster

Sunken Kingdom cover by Roman Stevens
First Place Losers cover by Max Davenport

Sunken Kingdom cover by Roman Stevens First Place Losers cover by Max Davenport

Ex Tenebris cover by Juan Ochoa
3rd Voice cover by Evan Dahm

Ex Tenebris cover by Juan Ochoa 3rd Voice cover by Evan Dahm

A selection of comics/game covers accompanied by my logos. Artists are credited in the alt text!

06.03.2026 14:23 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My little duet regency romance/heist game!

10.03.2026 11:04 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Just scored 22 at Hanabi, I can die happy.

04.03.2026 23:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Greens won in Manchester, and not by a small margin. In a way it's horrifying that a by-election feels so high-stakes, but it's nice to have some good news. Huzzah.

27.02.2026 08:18 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm looking forward to a possible era of playing in the afternoons (which is what I was doing in my 20s), which may upend all of these assumptions. We'll see - feels tantalisingly close but also might not pan out.

Also, maybe I'll find 5-6 hours is exhausting even in the afternoon. I'm old.

26.02.2026 15:52 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I would like it if I could run 4+ hour sessions, in theory. In practice, my group only plays in the evening when (a) we're all tired, (b) starting no earlier than the kids go to bed, (c) with a hard stop before anyone actually falls asleep.

26.02.2026 15:52 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Character classes
Balance
More than one player
PC stats
Turns
Hit points (or equivalent- sanity etc)
Equipment

22.02.2026 08:15 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

9-and-a-bit hours left!

18.02.2026 22:33 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Cool, thanks for the datapoint. Did you do much promo to get those 40 followers, and the subsequent backers?

18.02.2026 07:05 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Ah yeah, I was thinking more recently. I think our first few Kickstarters had zero pre-launch followers, it just wasn't a particularly important thing to do back then.

But wait, when you say the latter - did you mean one of those was recent?

17.02.2026 21:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

(I should say, it doesn't have to be Kickstarter specifically, I'm interested in any crowdfunding platform.)

17.02.2026 20:14 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Hey, folks who do TTRPG Kickstarters - what's the smallest number of pre-launch followers you've successfully funded with? What was your funding target, and how narrowly did you make it with that number?

17.02.2026 20:12 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

As is only right and proper!

17.02.2026 20:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Photo of Lovecraftesque 2E, showing box, two rules booklets and three sets of supplement card decks.

Photo of Lovecraftesque 2E, showing box, two rules booklets and three sets of supplement card decks.

Interior spread from Lovecraftesque 2E rules booklet, a clean single-column layout using parchment background with 19th century visual details, and inset example card images to illustrate the rules text.

Interior spread from Lovecraftesque 2E rules booklet, a clean single-column layout using parchment background with 19th century visual details, and inset example card images to illustrate the rules text.

Cover of Wonder x Worlds, an image of a person in the foreground facing a fantastic landscape, vertically divided so that the left side is fantasy-coded and the right sci-fi coded. Title reads WONDER x WORLDS - Colin H. Kuhl - A Roleplaying Game Engine for Limitless Adventure, typeset in clean contemporary style.

Cover of Wonder x Worlds, an image of a person in the foreground facing a fantastic landscape, vertically divided so that the left side is fantasy-coded and the right sci-fi coded. Title reads WONDER x WORLDS - Colin H. Kuhl - A Roleplaying Game Engine for Limitless Adventure, typeset in clean contemporary style.

Interior spread from Wonder x Worlds, showing a 2-column layout with in-line infographics and callout box on left page, and full-page flowchart diagram for a "Solo Mode" process on the right page. Layout combines a clean contemporary approach with typography referencing classic sci-fi game manuals, and the color coding for this spread is light and dark blues.

Interior spread from Wonder x Worlds, showing a 2-column layout with in-line infographics and callout box on left page, and full-page flowchart diagram for a "Solo Mode" process on the right page. Layout combines a clean contemporary approach with typography referencing classic sci-fi game manuals, and the color coding for this spread is light and dark blues.

I just updated my portfolio page with some of my fav recent projects - Lovecraftesque 2E from @armadajosh.bsky.social & @beckyannison.bsky.social, and Wonder Γ— Worlds from @colinkahl.bsky.social.

I have time coming up, get in touch if you're looking for layout help!

www.ndpdesign.com/portfolio

17.02.2026 18:43 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Bundle for Two 4 Sweetheart! – er, we mean, adventurer! Just in time for Valentine's Day, this all-new Bundle for Two 4 brings you our fourth fresh-faced assortment of tabletop roleplaying games for two players. Lure ...

36 hours left if you want to get in on this year's Bundle For Two.

It happens to include my game Stealing Your Heart, a regency romance that is also a heist game. One of you wants marriage, the other is a thief. Who will get the upper hand in this game of love?

bundleofholding.com/presents/For...

17.02.2026 20:10 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2

I don't even like pancakes that much, but I continue to pay tribute to their wheaty flatness, lest they rise from the frying pan and lay waste to our world.

But most importantly, I always sing their special hymn:

17.02.2026 08:31 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm off to Tabletop Gaming Live this morning, will be noodling around the trade hall then talking on a panel about making games. Anyone I know gonna be there?

15.02.2026 09:35 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Bundle for Two 4 Sweetheart! – er, we mean, adventurer! Just in time for Valentine's Day, this all-new Bundle for Two 4 brings you our fourth fresh-faced assortment of tabletop roleplaying games for two players. Lure ...

Valentine's Day is coming and we have a bunch of romantic #ttrpgs for you to enjoy.

But first check out the new Bundle of Holding featuring Stealing your Heart by @armadajosh.bsky.social and lots of other amazing duet games like Chiron's Doom by @ickbat.bsky.social

#rpg #ttrpg #valentinesday

11.02.2026 09:38 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Small Folk in Big Coats A simple and chaotic RPG about a group of smallfolk with wildly differing goals.

My Zinequest project is live!

In Small Folk in Big Coats you each play as a little guy in a stack masquerading a single big guy. You're unlikely to get caught, but you’re even less likely to work together.

It’s very silly and easy to get playing. Go Check it out!
tinyurl.com/sfibc

11.02.2026 20:44 πŸ‘ 136 πŸ” 93 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 22

Andriy does amazing logo design work!

11.02.2026 09:47 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image Post image Post image

I've been thinking and these are probably the best logos I've designed so far

09.02.2026 22:20 πŸ‘ 131 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

Ironically, Becky wrote this on the week I'm editing my GM advice chapter, completely rewriting large sections of it.

But it's true, usually I write stuff and - unless playtesting tells me changes are needed - I get it pretty close to final right away.

04.02.2026 10:40 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Coming soon: Il Fantasma del Giallo - An RPG of Violence and Identity Your acting career is a ruin. You're out of options. Every path travelled, every bridge burnt. But there's always work in the Yellow...

Hey folks! The prelaunch for my first solo kickstarter just went up here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/har...

I've been working on this for years, so if you dig it or simply wish me well, please repost or share in discords.

Mailing list here: hardyroachgames.co.uk/il-fantasma-...

12.01.2026 10:52 πŸ‘ 92 πŸ” 59 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 17
Preview
Coming soon: Il Fantasma del Giallo - An RPG of Violence and Identity Your acting career is a ruin. You're out of options. Every path travelled, every bridge burnt. But there's always work in the Yellow...

If you or a contact wants me on a podcast or video to talk about Il Fantasma del Giallo, let me know. I can talk about the philosophy, politics, and influences of my work (and other's) till the cows come home. I'm down to run games as well, time permitting.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/har...

17.01.2026 10:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Carnival Tenebris!

14.01.2026 17:12 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

If anyone *was* thinking about making Spawned From Tenebrium stuff - just reach out to us! We're always happy to talk :)

14.01.2026 17:06 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0