@supernalclarity
Dreaming about games. Sometimes writing poetry. You can buy my work here: https://supernalclarity.itch.io/conjur cover photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/shroom.enough.for.both.of.us/ (we're brothers <3)
wrote an essay about encoding, decoding, 'you missed the point by idolizing them' and anton chigurh—but most of all about designing tabletop roleplaying games: medium.com/@rosequarter...
Ahh, this must be some of that world-class lore writing Morrowind is beloved for 😌
This whole thread is delightful. Please do yourself a favor & look at some of these amazing book covers!
I spoke too soon—this thread is *full* of killer covers! Lovely stuff. Thank you for sharing!
Wow. If this isn’t a real winner! Fantastic, fantastic cover. ✨
“shoulder-mounted decoy moths” is so ☢️ and 100% being borrowed for my weird-sci-fi Apocalypse World campaign!
I was dying of thirst when you gave me water, yet it was not the water alone that saved me. It was the strength of the hands that gave it.
In addition to being an important read, this article has reminded me to grab my Wanderhome Sonic playbook from Twitter and preserve it here.
Incredible
Very very cool. Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow! I love the sound of that!
Do you play the same characters between arcs/villages, or might you pick up a new character linked to a Doom already in progress?
Well! If there’s one thing I think games desperately need more of, it’s definitely poetry—so I’d love to just see what they even look like!
But it also sounds like they change the direction of campaign play, and I’m curious about that! Does someone choose the poem(s) & how do they shape the game?
In that context, such a pure reminder of what we create together—the laughter, yes; & the care, the encouragement, the invitation: to say something silly, to build on each other's ideas, to be bold, to be honest, to be extravagant & to be ourselves—well, it felt more precious than any fairy coin. ✨
Honestly, it was the perfect pick to end 2025. It had been a rocky year; I'm sure that's no surprise—and those last days of December were the one time my older brother & his partner had been able to make it to our part of the country. I'd missed them, dearly.
I'm simply floored that this game can produce so much joy & excitement with so little effort! Right out the gate we were, all of us, having a great time. 💛
The 🙄 every time Bayou Billy passes himself off as fairy nobility & someone buys it! (To C.W. he's just a human in a cheap fairy costume, obvs.) The laughter when Cummerbund comes sniffing for treats & Pin Pin *can't* put him off—he *did* sneak her out of the monstrous Giant's castle, after all... 😅
And the players are having such an easy time of it, too! The bindings at character creation get you right in the proper spirit right away.
It's a delight to play the River King as the most cartoonish & un-self-critical guy you know! It's a delight to put on my worst mediaeval peasant accent for William Pepperflakes, country fairy; or to mime quivering in my boots as Mr. Troutsworth, Esq., the over-extended fish-valet of the palace.
What still surprises me? MCing this game is always *such* a delight because it somehow captures the magic of creating & performing like when you were a child & not so damned self-conscious about it all!
The problem, you see: the Wolf King of Winter's runaway daughter came here seeking refuge. The River King, thinking himself in love (ha!), has played the over-gracious host: showered her in compliments, lavished her with gifts... done all to make it IMPOLITE for her to leave & take winter with her!
The occasion is: the circus was booked to perform for the festival of blossoms at the River King's Palace. But when they show, it isn't the first flush of spring—deep winter's set in & hasn't left! The palace is all snowed-in & the country fairies are hungry, cold, & desperate!
(with popcorn & mid-show refreshments provided by the "fairy noble" incognito known as "Bayou Billy," whose presence we kindly thank you not to comment on)
We did a very special one-night-only performance of THE BREAKING OF THE ICE, starring: Pin Pin (née Bones-for-Dirt), songstress extraordinaire & fan favorite; Cummerbund the Bear, a clown like no other; and Calliope Willow Spider (aka "Cee Dubs"), ringmaster!
To send off the old year, we played the incomparable #UnderHollowHills by @megueyb.bsky.social & @lumpley.bsky.social, and... wow! Every time I come back to this game, I am blown away by how absolutely charming it is!
Can I ask about "Doom poems"??
Luke, I'm really disappointed I haven't gotten to play one of your games at my own table yet, because any time I catch a preview of something you're working on it absolutely kills. 💛
De-mystifying the GM role, democratizing the GM role—doing whatever the hell it takes to break down the "trad GM" & build something better in its place—isn't just about making the GM's job easier: it's about unlocking the full potential of the game for EVERYONE at the table.
Learning that, actually, you have to choose? That soured more of my play experiences than it should have.
But I guess at least I was aware enough to see my choice. How many players have been inducted under these structures & never really seen the other parts of the game they could be delighting in?
When I was a player, yeah, of course I wanted to embody my cool original character & play in their unique perspective. I *also* wanted to engage with some of the dozen other elements of imaginative play & collaborative storytelling that I find incredibly delightful!
In doling out *so much* of what constitutes the game to a single person, you carve away all the joy of interacting with those parts of the game from the rest of the table.