#rpgwriter — Public Fediverse posts

Monday Monster: Coychure

For use with the Dragonbane RPG.

Coychure

Description:
Once someone encounters the Coychure, they can’t unsee it. Some have gone so far as to beg Mentalists to erase it from their minds. This nocturnal predator causes other cryptids to flee at the very sight of it.

It is unclear where this creature originated. Some say it is a demon, others say it was hatched in a mad Archmage’s laboratory. Deep research, as best that can be done by scholars at present, suggests that more than one of these beasts indicate they came from a pocket dimension or subplane. One victim driven mad by the Coychure claimed that it came from a strange puzzle box along with other nightmares.

Its most striking feature are its two mouths, one lupine, the other more human. Its eyes are similar to a bee, set farther back on the skull. It has a body of a coyote, wings like a vulture, warped, distorted limbs similar to vulture talons. The Coychure’s tail is almost reptilian, but also similar to a fish. Its body is covered in a mix of fur, feathers, and scales making its actual body very difficult to identify.

One interesting thing about this monster is that its flesh and even bone dissolves when it is slain, making any sort of identification impossible. Once slain the creature turns to a sizzling puddle of goo withing one Stretch. Contact with the goo deals 1d4 acid damage and burns for one Stretch unless neutralized or washed off.

Resistance:
The Coychure is immune to effects requiring a WIL roll such as Fear or mind control. Also immune to acid and poison. Takes half damage from non-magical fire, cold, slashing, and piercing attacks.

Nimble: Coychure Evades attacks at skill level 14.

Wings: The Coychure may take its movement in the air.
Swimming: The Coychure swims at normal movement speed and can hold its breath underwater for a full Stretch.

Aura of Terror: The first time a creature steps within 10 meters of the Coychure it must make a WIL roll. Failure means a roll on the Fear Table. Creatures who have seen the Coychure before have a Boon to this roll.

Ferocity: 2  Size: Medium
Movement: 12  Armor: 3 Natural HP: 22

MONSTER ATTACKS

D6 Attacks:

1. Existential Dread Howl: Anyone within 30 meters must make a WIL roll with a Bane regardless of having seen the creature. Failure means rolling on the Fear Table.
2. Bite-Bite: One target within 2 meters is bitten twice for 2d4 piercing damage.
3. Swooping Talon Rake: One target within 4 meters is hit for 1d8 slashing damage and is knocked prone at the start of their turn.
4. Gibbering Nonsense: All creatures within 8 meters must make a WIL roll to fend off a psychic attack. Failure means becoming Dazed. If already Dazed, the GM may choose another condition.
5. That Tail: The Coychure flies up into the air slapping one character within 4 meters with an attack that does 1d4 piercing damage and injects a Potency 12 Paralyzing Poison. If armor negates the damage, no poison is delivered.
6. Drag-N-Drop: The Coychure attempts to grab one character or creature (Medium or smaller) and carry it into the air 1d12 meters and in a direction of the GM’s choosing before dropping them for an appropriate amount of fall damage and starting the turn prone. An Opposed STR roll vs a 14 may be made to resist being picked up and dropped early.

Monday Monster: Coychure

For use with the Dragonbane RPG.

Coychure

Description:
Once someone encounters the Coychure, they can’t unsee it. Some have gone so far as to beg Mentalists to erase it from their minds. This nocturnal predator causes other cryptids to flee at the very sight of it.

It is unclear where this creature originated. Some say it is a demon, others say it was hatched in a mad Archmage’s laboratory. Deep research, as best that can be done by scholars at present, suggests that more than one of these beasts indicate they came from a pocket dimension or subplane. One victim driven mad by the Coychure claimed that it came from a strange puzzle box along with other nightmares.

Its most striking feature are its two mouths, one lupine, the other more human. Its eyes are similar to a bee, set farther back on the skull. It has a body of a coyote, wings like a vulture, warped, distorted limbs similar to vulture talons. The Coychure’s tail is almost reptilian, but also similar to a fish. Its body is covered in a mix of fur, feathers, and scales making its actual body very difficult to identify.

One interesting thing about this monster is that its flesh and even bone dissolves when it is slain, making any sort of identification impossible. Once slain the creature turns to a sizzling puddle of goo withing one Stretch. Contact with the goo deals 1d4 acid damage and burns for one Stretch unless neutralized or washed off.

Resistance:
The Coychure is immune to effects requiring a WIL roll such as Fear or mind control. Also immune to acid and poison. Takes half damage from non-magical fire, cold, slashing, and piercing attacks.

Nimble: Coychure Evades attacks at skill level 14.

Wings: The Coychure may take its movement in the air.
Swimming: The Coychure swims at normal movement speed and can hold its breath underwater for a full Stretch.

Aura of Terror: The first time a creature steps within 10 meters of the Coychure it must make a WIL roll. Failure means a roll on the Fear Table. Creatures who have seen the Coychure before have a Boon to this roll.

Ferocity: 2  Size: Medium
Movement: 12  Armor: 3 Natural HP: 22

MONSTER ATTACKS

D6 Attacks:

1. Existential Dread Howl: Anyone within 30 meters must make a WIL roll with a Bane regardless of having seen the creature. Failure means rolling on the Fear Table.
2. Bite-Bite: One target within 2 meters is bitten twice for 2d4 piercing damage.
3. Swooping Talon Rake: One target within 4 meters is hit for 1d8 slashing damage and is knocked prone at the start of their turn.
4. Gibbering Nonsense: All creatures within 8 meters must make a WIL roll to fend off a psychic attack. Failure means becoming Dazed. If already Dazed, the GM may choose another condition.
5. That Tail: The Coychure flies up into the air slapping one character within 4 meters with an attack that does 1d4 piercing damage and injects a Potency 12 Paralyzing Poison. If armor negates the damage, no poison is delivered.
6. Drag-N-Drop: The Coychure attempts to grab one character or creature (Medium or smaller) and carry it into the air 1d12 meters and in a direction of the GM’s choosing before dropping them for an appropriate amount of fall damage and starting the turn prone. An Opposed STR roll vs a 14 may be made to resist being picked up and dropped early.

That Conversation I Don’t Want To Have.

That conversation I never wanted to freakin have.

I’ve been sitting on this article for months. The first draft was well over 3,000 words, and the second draft wasn’t much shorter. Every time I started writing, I got angry, and every time I got angry, the article got longer. Somewhere along the way I realized I wasn’t really writing about AI anymore. I was writing about frustration, disappointment, and feeling like I had to defend my existence as a creator.

So let’s try this one more time.

Once upon a time, tabletop roleplaying games were built on newsletters, fanzines, pamphlets, and whatever else people could scrape together. Folks typed things up on typewriters, ran them through photocopiers, stapled them together, and shared them with anyone at the wargaming club willing to read them. The hobby wasn’t built by publishing companies; it was built by enthusiastic weirdos with fantastic ideas.

Fantasy art wasn’t readily available, and layout software didn’t exist. Nobody was arguing about AI because most of us were trying to figure out how to get enough copies made before the local copy shop closed or we got kicked out of the public library (Yes, that really happened.) The important thing was the idea; the adventure, the setting, the monster, the game.

Somewhere along the line, things changed.

Today, fantasy art is everywhere, layout software is available to almost anyone with a computer or a phone, and publishing has never been easier. Yet somehow the barriers to entry feel higher than ever. If you release a product today without art, if your cover isn’t eye-catching, or if your layout isn’t polished, people notice. Art has become an expectation.

I listened to a popular DungeonTuber the other day railing against typos and grammatical errors the other day. The same guy regularly doubles down against AI tools. Do you see where this causes me some cognitive dissonance?

That brings me to the problem.

I have quietly come to loggerheads with people I admire over AI art. I’ve watched creators get absolutely roasted for using it. I’ve watched friendships fracture, and I’ve watched communities divide themselves into camps that seem increasingly unwilling to listen to each other. I’ve mostly kept my mouth shut—not because I don’t have opinions (trust me, I do), but because I knew the moment I opened my mouth someone would assume I was attacking artists.

I’m not. Not even a little.

I think artists should be paid, and I think artists deserve respect. I think artists create things I could never create. I also think reality exists, and reality is where this discussion gets complicated.

I’m a small creator. I’m not running million-dollar crowdfunding campaigns, getting convention appearance fees, or selling tens of thousands of copies of products. I’m a guy trying to make third-party Dragonbane supplements at three in the morning while dealing with chronic pain, depression, family obligations, and whatever fresh disaster life has decided to throw at me this week.

Have you seen what professional fantasy art costs these days? Holy shit.

Good artists deserve every penny they earn. The problem isn’t the artist; the problem is that many small creators simply can’t afford those prices. A custom cover can easily cost hundreds of dollars, and interior artwork can climb into the thousands. That’s before layout, editing, promotion, or anything else enters the equation.

People often tell me to use stock art. Okay. Please show me where I can find stock art for a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex with gorilla arms, vulture wings, and a venomous tail. I’ll wait.

If I need a castle, a mountain, or a goat, stock art is wonderful. If I need a bizarre monster that exists only in the twisted recesses of my brain, the options become a lot more limited. That’s where AI entered my workflow; not because I hate artists, want artists to starve, and not because I’m trying to replace anyone. It’s because AI solved a problem that otherwise had no practical solution.

The choice wasn’t AI art versus commissioned art. The choice was AI art versus no art, and that’s a very different conversation.

There’s another aspect of this discussion that gets overlooked constantly: accessibility.

My friend, The OG GM, has dyslexia and other neurological challenges that can make writing and formatting difficult, which is a well-known fact to his friends, family, and strangers on the Internet. AI helps bridge some of those gaps. Sometimes it helps with spelling, sometimes it helps organize thoughts, and sometimes it helps transform rough ideas into something easier to work with. I help when I can, too. For free because that’s what friends do. Sometimes I wish I could help more.

What I’ve discovered is that a lot of neurodivergent people use AI in similar ways. They use it to reduce decision fatigue, organize schedules, draft emails, answer messages, summarize information, and break overwhelming tasks into manageable pieces. AI doesn’t make ADHD, or Autism disappear. It doesn’t magically solve anxiety, depression, dyslexia, or executive dysfunction. What it can do is remove a few obstacles and reduce a little friction, and for some people, that’s a bigger deal than critics seem willing to acknowledge.

Now before anyone starts sharpening pitchforks, let’s address the obvious concerns.

Some artists are losing work, and that’s real. Some companies are absolutely using AI to cut costs, and that’s real too. Some people are flooding storefronts with low-effort junk generated in five minutes. I’ve seen it, and you’ve seen it. Pretending those things aren’t happening would be dishonest. Likewise, concerns about energy usage and infrastructure deserve discussion. Every major technological shift comes with consequences, and none of those concerns are imaginary.

What frustrates me is the lack of nuance. The conversation often feels like it has only two positions: either AI is the greatest thing ever invented, or AI is destroying creativity forever. Reality rarely works that way. Most people end up somewhere in the middle. Most people aren’t trying to destroy art or artists; they’re simply trying to solve problems using the tools available to them.

The thing that concerns me most isn’t the technology; it’s the growing divide inside the TTRPG hobby. Communities are splitting apart, conventions are debating policies, creators are choosing sides, and people who probably agree on ninety percent of everything else suddenly can’t stand each other because of one issue. That’s sad, especially in a hobby built on imagination and collaboration.

The truth is AI isn’t going away. Search engines use it, Microsoft Word uses it, WordPress uses it, customer service departments use it, and my dentist’s office uses it after hours. Most people interact with AI every day whether they realize it or not. Technology changes, people adapt, and nobody is rushing to bring back eight-track tapes or demanding a return to typewriters. The world keeps moving forward.

That doesn’t mean every technological change is good, but it does mean some of them become permanent. Sewing machines still exist, but they don’t closely resemble the ones from a hundred years ago.

My position is pretty simple.

Creators who want to make everything by hand should absolutely do so. Creators who want to hire artists should absolutely do so. Customers should absolutely support the creators they believe in. I have no interest in telling anyone what tools they should use; I just want the same courtesy in return.

I’ve been in this hobby for decades. I’ve written for small publications, and I’ve watched entire eras of gaming come and go. The one thing I’ve always loved about tabletop roleplaying games is that anyone could create something. Anyone could write an adventure, build a world, invent a monster, and contribute. That spirit is worth protecting.

You don’t have to agree with my choices. You don’t have to like AI, and you don’t have to use it. But I do believe people should be free to create using the tools available to them, especially when those tools help overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from creating at all.

At the end of the day, I’d rather spend my time creating worlds than fighting culture wars. The hobby is big enough for all of us, or at least I’d like to believe it is.

That Conversation I Don’t Want To Have.

That conversation I never wanted to freakin have.

I’ve been sitting on this article for months. The first draft was well over 3,000 words, and the second draft wasn’t much shorter. Every time I started writing, I got angry, and every time I got angry, the article got longer. Somewhere along the way I realized I wasn’t really writing about AI anymore. I was writing about frustration, disappointment, and feeling like I had to defend my existence as a creator.

So let’s try this one more time.

Once upon a time, tabletop roleplaying games were built on newsletters, fanzines, pamphlets, and whatever else people could scrape together. Folks typed things up on typewriters, ran them through photocopiers, stapled them together, and shared them with anyone at the wargaming club willing to read them. The hobby wasn’t built by publishing companies; it was built by enthusiastic weirdos with fantastic ideas.

Fantasy art wasn’t readily available, and layout software didn’t exist. Nobody was arguing about AI because most of us were trying to figure out how to get enough copies made before the local copy shop closed or we got kicked out of the public library (Yes, that really happened.) The important thing was the idea; the adventure, the setting, the monster, the game.

Somewhere along the line, things changed.

Today, fantasy art is everywhere, layout software is available to almost anyone with a computer or a phone, and publishing has never been easier. Yet somehow the barriers to entry feel higher than ever. If you release a product today without art, if your cover isn’t eye-catching, or if your layout isn’t polished, people notice. Art has become an expectation.

I listened to a popular DungeonTuber the other day railing against typos and grammatical errors the other day. The same guy regularly doubles down against AI tools. Do you see where this causes me some cognitive dissonance?

That brings me to the problem.

I have quietly come to loggerheads with people I admire over AI art. I’ve watched creators get absolutely roasted for using it. I’ve watched friendships fracture, and I’ve watched communities divide themselves into camps that seem increasingly unwilling to listen to each other. I’ve mostly kept my mouth shut—not because I don’t have opinions (trust me, I do), but because I knew the moment I opened my mouth someone would assume I was attacking artists.

I’m not. Not even a little.

I think artists should be paid, and I think artists deserve respect. I think artists create things I could never create. I also think reality exists, and reality is where this discussion gets complicated.

I’m a small creator. I’m not running million-dollar crowdfunding campaigns, getting convention appearance fees, or selling tens of thousands of copies of products. I’m a guy trying to make third-party Dragonbane supplements at three in the morning while dealing with chronic pain, depression, family obligations, and whatever fresh disaster life has decided to throw at me this week.

Have you seen what professional fantasy art costs these days? Holy shit.

Good artists deserve every penny they earn. The problem isn’t the artist; the problem is that many small creators simply can’t afford those prices. A custom cover can easily cost hundreds of dollars, and interior artwork can climb into the thousands. That’s before layout, editing, promotion, or anything else enters the equation.

People often tell me to use stock art. Okay. Please show me where I can find stock art for a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex with gorilla arms, vulture wings, and a venomous tail. I’ll wait.

If I need a castle, a mountain, or a goat, stock art is wonderful. If I need a bizarre monster that exists only in the twisted recesses of my brain, the options become a lot more limited. That’s where AI entered my workflow; not because I hate artists, want artists to starve, and not because I’m trying to replace anyone. It’s because AI solved a problem that otherwise had no practical solution.

The choice wasn’t AI art versus commissioned art. The choice was AI art versus no art, and that’s a very different conversation.

There’s another aspect of this discussion that gets overlooked constantly: accessibility.

My friend, The OG GM, has dyslexia and other neurological challenges that can make writing and formatting difficult, which is a well-known fact to his friends, family, and strangers on the Internet. AI helps bridge some of those gaps. Sometimes it helps with spelling, sometimes it helps organize thoughts, and sometimes it helps transform rough ideas into something easier to work with. I help when I can, too. For free because that’s what friends do. Sometimes I wish I could help more.

What I’ve discovered is that a lot of neurodivergent people use AI in similar ways. They use it to reduce decision fatigue, organize schedules, draft emails, answer messages, summarize information, and break overwhelming tasks into manageable pieces. AI doesn’t make ADHD, or Autism disappear. It doesn’t magically solve anxiety, depression, dyslexia, or executive dysfunction. What it can do is remove a few obstacles and reduce a little friction, and for some people, that’s a bigger deal than critics seem willing to acknowledge.

Now before anyone starts sharpening pitchforks, let’s address the obvious concerns.

Some artists are losing work, and that’s real. Some companies are absolutely using AI to cut costs, and that’s real too. Some people are flooding storefronts with low-effort junk generated in five minutes. I’ve seen it, and you’ve seen it. Pretending those things aren’t happening would be dishonest. Likewise, concerns about energy usage and infrastructure deserve discussion. Every major technological shift comes with consequences, and none of those concerns are imaginary.

What frustrates me is the lack of nuance. The conversation often feels like it has only two positions: either AI is the greatest thing ever invented, or AI is destroying creativity forever. Reality rarely works that way. Most people end up somewhere in the middle. Most people aren’t trying to destroy art or artists; they’re simply trying to solve problems using the tools available to them.

The thing that concerns me most isn’t the technology; it’s the growing divide inside the TTRPG hobby. Communities are splitting apart, conventions are debating policies, creators are choosing sides, and people who probably agree on ninety percent of everything else suddenly can’t stand each other because of one issue. That’s sad, especially in a hobby built on imagination and collaboration.

The truth is AI isn’t going away. Search engines use it, Microsoft Word uses it, WordPress uses it, customer service departments use it, and my dentist’s office uses it after hours. Most people interact with AI every day whether they realize it or not. Technology changes, people adapt, and nobody is rushing to bring back eight-track tapes or demanding a return to typewriters. The world keeps moving forward.

That doesn’t mean every technological change is good, but it does mean some of them become permanent. Sewing machines still exist, but they don’t closely resemble the ones from a hundred years ago.

My position is pretty simple.

Creators who want to make everything by hand should absolutely do so. Creators who want to hire artists should absolutely do so. Customers should absolutely support the creators they believe in. I have no interest in telling anyone what tools they should use; I just want the same courtesy in return.

I’ve been in this hobby for decades. I’ve written for small publications, and I’ve watched entire eras of gaming come and go. The one thing I’ve always loved about tabletop roleplaying games is that anyone could create something. Anyone could write an adventure, build a world, invent a monster, and contribute. That spirit is worth protecting.

You don’t have to agree with my choices. You don’t have to like AI, and you don’t have to use it. But I do believe people should be free to create using the tools available to them, especially when those tools help overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from creating at all.

At the end of the day, I’d rather spend my time creating worlds than fighting culture wars. The hobby is big enough for all of us, or at least I’d like to believe it is.

Monday Monster: Gorvult

Compatible with Dragonbane RPG.

Description: A large, black, hairy beast that glides seamlessly between the trees and lands on prey from above. It is the terror of the night in deep forest/jungle areas.

Ferocity: 2             Size: Large
Movement: 12 (Flying) Armor: 2 (Natural)            HP: 36

Has wings, can fly. When flying at night is treated as having 14 Sneaking.

Gorvult Attacks:

D6 Attacks:

1: Big, Big Bite: Inflicts 2d8 piercing damage on one target within 2 meters.

2: Big, Big Crunch: The Gorvult leaps high into the air and comes down with all of its weight on one target inflicting 2d6 bludgeoning damage and knocking the opponent prone on their turn.

3: How Good Is Your Armor? The Gorvult makes excited noises and jumps up and down on one target within 4 meters 1d6 times inflicting 1d6 bludgeoning damage each time. Each bounce counts as a separate attack when parrying. A successful EVADE avoids the attack entirely. One successful bounce leaves the character prone on the start of their turn.

4: Big Wallop! The Gorvult swings both fists together striking up to 2 adjacent characters within 2 meters for 1d8 bludgeoning damage each. Characters struck by the attack are knocked prone until the start of their turn.

5: Thump Thump: Gorvult grabs one character within 2 meters by the ankle and slamming them against the ground 1d4 times for 1d6 bludgeoning damage each time. Armor bonuses do not apply. After the first slam, the character can make a free attempt to wriggle out of the creature’s grasp with an opposed STR roll. (Gorvult has a 16 for purposes of this check.) Characters hit with this attack also suffer the Dazed condition.

6: Snatch and Drop: Gorvult grabs one character within 2 meters with its talons and soars skyward 45 meters before dropping them. Standard falling damage applies.

Monday Monster: Gorvult

Compatible with Dragonbane RPG.

Description: A large, black, hairy beast that glides seamlessly between the trees and lands on prey from above. It is the terror of the night in deep forest/jungle areas.

Ferocity: 2             Size: Large
Movement: 12 (Flying) Armor: 2 (Natural)            HP: 36

Has wings, can fly. When flying at night is treated as having 14 Sneaking.

Gorvult Attacks:

D6 Attacks:

1: Big, Big Bite: Inflicts 2d8 piercing damage on one target within 2 meters.

2: Big, Big Crunch: The Gorvult leaps high into the air and comes down with all of its weight on one target inflicting 2d6 bludgeoning damage and knocking the opponent prone on their turn.

3: How Good Is Your Armor? The Gorvult makes excited noises and jumps up and down on one target within 4 meters 1d6 times inflicting 1d6 bludgeoning damage each time. Each bounce counts as a separate attack when parrying. A successful EVADE avoids the attack entirely. One successful bounce leaves the character prone on the start of their turn.

4: Big Wallop! The Gorvult swings both fists together striking up to 2 adjacent characters within 2 meters for 1d8 bludgeoning damage each. Characters struck by the attack are knocked prone until the start of their turn.

5: Thump Thump: Gorvult grabs one character within 2 meters by the ankle and slamming them against the ground 1d4 times for 1d6 bludgeoning damage each time. Armor bonuses do not apply. After the first slam, the character can make a free attempt to wriggle out of the creature’s grasp with an opposed STR roll. (Gorvult has a 16 for purposes of this check.) Characters hit with this attack also suffer the Dazed condition.

6: Snatch and Drop: Gorvult grabs one character within 2 meters with its talons and soars skyward 45 meters before dropping them. Standard falling damage applies.

Gates of Krystalia: Last Deux Expansion.

Opening Vibe / First Impressions

I’m really thrilled and excited that someone made a Game Master book almost right out of the gate so to speak. For those who might not know, Deux is the term for GM in Gates of Krystalia. It’s also a term to describe the gods of the in-game world as well. This will come into play further on in the book.

What Makes Last Deux Stand Out?

Every good TTRPG needs a solid Game Master section, a whole book being preferable. Last Deux delivers in spades along with great art, monster creation guidelines, and lots of setting lore. Gates of Krystalia is a very rich setting that covers a lot of subgenres in anime/manga. As a bonus, they included solo rules in this tome as well.

Features That Hit Me Right Away:

There are a lot of really nice sections of Last Deux. I think the two that jump out the most are the various worlds because they had me at “Mecha.” The other thing I really liked is the basic how-to-run-the-game section in the first chapter. The setting is rich and the whole book is perfect for TTJRPG Game Masters just starting out. Also, did I mention Mecha?

Who This Supplement Is For:

Obviously, this one is aimed at players in the Deux role for Gates of Krystalia Honestly, I’d recommend this for fantasy GMs, TTRPG GMs, and anyone new to Game Mastering regardless of the system. GMs with a strong anime/manga background would really benefit from this book. Also, someone coming from RIFTS would benefit from giving this book a look.

Closing Thoughts:

I really love this supplement. Much like the rest of GoK, even if I don’t use it for the game it’s written for. Great advice. Lots of good setting construction. I’ll have more on this book at a later date. Please give Gates of Krystalia: Last Deux a look if you get a chance. My DTRPG Affiliate Link for this book.

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Gates of Krystalia: Last Deux Expansion.

Opening Vibe / First Impressions

I’m really thrilled and excited that someone made a Game Master book almost right out of the gate so to speak. For those who might not know, Deux is the term for GM in Gates of Krystalia. It’s also a term to describe the gods of the in-game world as well. This will come into play further on in the book.

What Makes Last Deux Stand Out?

Every good TTRPG needs a solid Game Master section, a whole book being preferable. Last Deux delivers in spades along with great art, monster creation guidelines, and lots of setting lore. Gates of Krystalia is a very rich setting that covers a lot of subgenres in anime/manga. As a bonus, they included solo rules in this tome as well.

Features That Hit Me Right Away:

There are a lot of really nice sections of Last Deux. I think the two that jump out the most are the various worlds because they had me at “Mecha.” The other thing I really liked is the basic how-to-run-the-game section in the first chapter. The setting is rich and the whole book is perfect for TTJRPG Game Masters just starting out. Also, did I mention Mecha?

Who This Supplement Is For:

Obviously, this one is aimed at players in the Deux role for Gates of Krystalia Honestly, I’d recommend this for fantasy GMs, TTRPG GMs, and anyone new to Game Mastering regardless of the system. GMs with a strong anime/manga background would really benefit from this book. Also, someone coming from RIFTS would benefit from giving this book a look.

Closing Thoughts:

I really love this supplement. Much like the rest of GoK, even if I don’t use it for the game it’s written for. Great advice. Lots of good setting construction. I’ll have more on this book at a later date. Please give Gates of Krystalia: Last Deux a look if you get a chance. My DTRPG Affiliate Link for this book.

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Friday Flap: DungeonTubers and New GMs. https://jeffsgamebox.blog/2026/01/30/friday-flap-dungeontubers-and-new-gms/ ##dnd, ##DungeonTube, ##DungeonTuber, ##DungeonTubers, ##rpg, ##rpgblog, ##rpgblogger, ##rpgwriter, ##ttrpg, ##TTRPGblog, ##TTRPGblogger, ##ttrpgwriter, #GameMasterAdvice, #TTRPGInfluencer, #TTRPGYouTubeCreator

Friday Flap: DungeonTubers and New GMs. https://jeffsgamebox.blog/2026/01/30/friday-flap-dungeontubers-and-new-gms/ ##dnd, ##DungeonTube, ##DungeonTuber, ##DungeonTubers, ##rpg, ##rpgblog, ##rpgblogger, ##rpgwriter, ##ttrpg, ##TTRPGblog, ##TTRPGblogger, ##ttrpgwriter, #GameMasterAdvice, #TTRPGInfluencer, #TTRPGYouTubeCreator