#ttrpgdesign — Public Fediverse posts

Wrote a blog post where I convinced myself that I have too many projects

https://pennylescroche.codeberg.page/posts/status-update-july-2026/

#webcomic #gamedev #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign #blog

Wrote a blog post where I convinced myself that I have too many projects

https://pennylescroche.codeberg.page/posts/status-update-july-2026/

#webcomic #gamedev #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign #blog

Wrote a blog post where I convinced myself that I have too many projects

https://pennylescroche.codeberg.page/posts/status-update-july-2026/

#webcomic #gamedev #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign #blog

Wrote a blog post where I convinced myself that I have too many projects

https://pennylescroche.codeberg.page/posts/status-update-july-2026/

#webcomic #gamedev #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign #blog

Wow, a year and three days before I actually continued this thread. Amazing. (#ADHD 😆 )

So continuing on, here's some actual information about the game, starting with some high-level design features:

Universality: The system is "setting agnostic", and can be used with any setting, existing or created by you.

Creativity: The system includes a large toolset for you to create or adapt your perfect setting, in any genre and any level of detail you desire.

Setting Scalability: SpaceCraft can be used for games that take place in a single neighborhood (or even a large building), or span multiple galactic clusters. Players can play micronized beings to Lovecraftian Outer Gods, larger than planets. Characters can be ordinary people with nothing special about them except their story (during game and/or backstory), or any level up to demi-gods.

Rules Scalability: The rules are designed to work as much the same at any scale as possible. The combat rules for fist-fights are fundamentally the same as hurling black holes at nearby galaxies. The rules for doing parkour through an office building are basically the same as racing a spaceship through an asteroid belt. The rules for perception work the same whether you're looking for clues in a dark apartment, or observing astronomical phenomena in a distant galaxy. This makes the system much easier to learn. Different situations will also have add-on rules that add realism.

Play Style Choice: The Choose-Roll-Calculate (CRC) system gives GMs and Players the flexibility to make quick, arbitrary choices, roll randomly, or calculate outcomes for more realistic and immersive play.

Detail when you want it, speed when it counts: By default the rules tend towards "crunchy" for tools used outside of game time, such as character creation and world building, and speedy for rules used in game, such as combat. But in both cases there are options to speed up the crunchy and flesh out the speedy, depending on your situation and play style.

2/x
#ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Wow, a year and three days before I actually continued this thread. Amazing. (#ADHD 😆 )

So continuing on, here's some actual information about the game, starting with some high-level design features:

Universality: The system is "setting agnostic", and can be used with any setting, existing or created by you.

Creativity: The system includes a large toolset for you to create or adapt your perfect setting, in any genre and any level of detail you desire.

Setting Scalability: SpaceCraft can be used for games that take place in a single neighborhood (or even a large building), or span multiple galactic clusters. Players can play micronized beings to Lovecraftian Outer Gods, larger than planets. Characters can be ordinary people with nothing special about them except their story (during game and/or backstory), or any level up to demi-gods.

Rules Scalability: The rules are designed to work as much the same at any scale as possible. The combat rules for fist-fights are fundamentally the same as hurling black holes at nearby galaxies. The rules for doing parkour through an office building are basically the same as racing a spaceship through an asteroid belt. The rules for perception work the same whether you're looking for clues in a dark apartment, or observing astronomical phenomena in a distant galaxy. This makes the system much easier to learn. Different situations will also have add-on rules that add realism.

Play Style Choice: The Choose-Roll-Calculate (CRC) system gives GMs and Players the flexibility to make quick, arbitrary choices, roll randomly, or calculate outcomes for more realistic and immersive play.

Detail when you want it, speed when it counts: By default the rules tend towards "crunchy" for tools used outside of game time, such as character creation and world building, and speedy for rules used in game, such as combat. But in both cases there are options to speed up the crunchy and flesh out the speedy, depending on your situation and play style.

2/x
#ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Wow, a year and three days before I actually continued this thread. Amazing. (#ADHD 😆 )

So continuing on, here's some actual information about the game, starting with some high-level design features:

Universality: The system is "setting agnostic", and can be used with any setting, existing or created by you.

Creativity: The system includes a large toolset for you to create or adapt your perfect setting, in any genre and any level of detail you desire.

Setting Scalability: SpaceCraft can be used for games that take place in a single neighborhood (or even a large building), or span multiple galactic clusters. Players can play micronized beings to Lovecraftian Outer Gods, larger than planets. Characters can be ordinary people with nothing special about them except their story (during game and/or backstory), or any level up to demi-gods.

Rules Scalability: The rules are designed to work as much the same at any scale as possible. The combat rules for fist-fights are fundamentally the same as hurling black holes at nearby galaxies. The rules for doing parkour through an office building are basically the same as racing a spaceship through an asteroid belt. The rules for perception work the same whether you're looking for clues in a dark apartment, or observing astronomical phenomena in a distant galaxy. This makes the system much easier to learn. Different situations will also have add-on rules that add realism.

Play Style Choice: The Choose-Roll-Calculate (CRC) system gives GMs and Players the flexibility to make quick, arbitrary choices, roll randomly, or calculate outcomes for more realistic and immersive play.

Detail when you want it, speed when it counts: By default the rules tend towards "crunchy" for tools used outside of game time, such as character creation and world building, and speedy for rules used in game, such as combat. But in both cases there are options to speed up the crunchy and flesh out the speedy, depending on your situation and play style.

2/x
#ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Wow, a year and three days before I actually continued this thread. Amazing. (#ADHD 😆 )

So continuing on, here's some actual information about the game, starting with some high-level design features:

Universality: The system is "setting agnostic", and can be used with any setting, existing or created by you.

Creativity: The system includes a large toolset for you to create or adapt your perfect setting, in any genre and any level of detail you desire.

Setting Scalability: SpaceCraft can be used for games that take place in a single neighborhood (or even a large building), or span multiple galactic clusters. Players can play micronized beings to Lovecraftian Outer Gods, larger than planets. Characters can be ordinary people with nothing special about them except their story (during game and/or backstory), or any level up to demi-gods.

Rules Scalability: The rules are designed to work as much the same at any scale as possible. The combat rules for fist-fights are fundamentally the same as hurling black holes at nearby galaxies. The rules for doing parkour through an office building are basically the same as racing a spaceship through an asteroid belt. The rules for perception work the same whether you're looking for clues in a dark apartment, or observing astronomical phenomena in a distant galaxy. This makes the system much easier to learn. Different situations will also have add-on rules that add realism.

Play Style Choice: The Choose-Roll-Calculate (CRC) system gives GMs and Players the flexibility to make quick, arbitrary choices, roll randomly, or calculate outcomes for more realistic and immersive play.

Detail when you want it, speed when it counts: By default the rules tend towards "crunchy" for tools used outside of game time, such as character creation and world building, and speedy for rules used in game, such as combat. But in both cases there are options to speed up the crunchy and flesh out the speedy, depending on your situation and play style.

2/x
#ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Wow, a year and three days before I actually continued this thread. Amazing. (#ADHD 😆 )

So continuing on, here's some actual information about the game, starting with some high-level design features:

Universality: The system is "setting agnostic", and can be used with any setting, existing or created by you.

Creativity: The system includes a large toolset for you to create or adapt your perfect setting, in any genre and any level of detail you desire.

Setting Scalability: SpaceCraft can be used for games that take place in a single neighborhood (or even a large building), or span multiple galactic clusters. Players can play micronized beings to Lovecraftian Outer Gods, larger than planets. Characters can be ordinary people with nothing special about them except their story (during game and/or backstory), or any level up to demi-gods.

Rules Scalability: The rules are designed to work as much the same at any scale as possible. The combat rules for fist-fights are fundamentally the same as hurling black holes at nearby galaxies. The rules for doing parkour through an office building are basically the same as racing a spaceship through an asteroid belt. The rules for perception work the same whether you're looking for clues in a dark apartment, or observing astronomical phenomena in a distant galaxy. This makes the system much easier to learn. Different situations will also have add-on rules that add realism.

Play Style Choice: The Choose-Roll-Calculate (CRC) system gives GMs and Players the flexibility to make quick, arbitrary choices, roll randomly, or calculate outcomes for more realistic and immersive play.

Detail when you want it, speed when it counts: By default the rules tend towards "crunchy" for tools used outside of game time, such as character creation and world building, and speedy for rules used in game, such as combat. But in both cases there are options to speed up the crunchy and flesh out the speedy, depending on your situation and play style.

2/x
#ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Anyone else taking part in the one page rpg jam (https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2026)? Happy to look through anyone's submission and give feedback or help playtest :)

#ttrpg #ttrpgdesign #onepagerpgjam

Anyone else taking part in the one page rpg jam (https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2026)? Happy to look through anyone's submission and give feedback or help playtest :)

#ttrpg #ttrpgdesign #onepagerpgjam

Hmm, this dungeoneering procedure I've designed is pretty cool, but a bit too complicated.

<introduces further complications>

Ah, much better!
#ttrpgDesign

Hmm, this dungeoneering procedure I've designed is pretty cool, but a bit too complicated.

<introduces further complications>

Ah, much better!
#ttrpgDesign

Hmm, this dungeoneering procedure I've designed is pretty cool, but a bit too complicated.

<introduces further complications>

Ah, much better!
#ttrpgDesign

Hmm, this dungeoneering procedure I've designed is pretty cool, but a bit too complicated.

<introduces further complications>

Ah, much better!
#ttrpgDesign

Hmm, this dungeoneering procedure I've designed is pretty cool, but a bit too complicated.

<introduces further complications>

Ah, much better!
#ttrpgDesign

Spent some time organizing some design ideas I had for example adventures.

Now I have some gaming with friends this evening.

#ttrpgdesign

Spent some time organizing some design ideas I had for example adventures.

Now I have some gaming with friends this evening.

#ttrpgdesign

Spent some time organizing some design ideas I had for example adventures.

Now I have some gaming with friends this evening.

#ttrpgdesign

Spent some time organizing some design ideas I had for example adventures.

Now I have some gaming with friends this evening.

#ttrpgdesign

Spent some time organizing some design ideas I had for example adventures.

Now I have some gaming with friends this evening.

#ttrpgdesign

If you need one or more theme as inspiration for #RPGenesis, don't forget that #RPGaDay2026 is a thing throughout all of August: https://www.autocratik.com/2026/07/announcing-rpgaday2026-in-august.html?m=1

#ttrpg #ttrpgdesign #solottrpg

If you need one or more theme as inspiration for #RPGenesis, don't forget that #RPGaDay2026 is a thing throughout all of August: https://www.autocratik.com/2026/07/announcing-rpgaday2026-in-august.html?m=1

#ttrpg #ttrpgdesign #solottrpg

An iteration over intent.

That has always done more for me than a mere declaration of intent.

That's why "what do you do?" is better than "what do you want?" but it was never meant to be perfect.

#ttrpgdesign #rpgenesis #ttrpg #indiedev

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.

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.

Additional Notes:

A few people commented on some things I forgot to mention. Sorry. I’ll try to be more thorough.

I offer an art-free, text-only document along with all of my PDFs. Don’t like AI art? Just download printer-friendly version.

Also, I’m a big fan of ethical AI use. I never claim something AI did as my own. If it doesn’t have my artist tag that I’ve been using since 1988 on it, It’s probably AI or it’s got the artist credits listed on it. I always disclose AI use on DriveThru because I need to maintain a healthy working relationship with them and the rest of the world.

Last (for now,) I’m not ever advocating for what I would consider AI slop. The people out there who pump out 3-5 supplements per day written and illustrated by AI with little-no editing with no regard for ethics are putting out slop. But one or a few AI illustrations in my 1-3 third-party Dragonbane supplements per year really don’t qualify as slop in my opinion. I do all my own writing, editing, layout, advertising, print-friendly version, and taking all the grief. That’s me.

Thanks to everyone who pointed out those oversights.

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.

I've been on this Ars Magica trip lately. The first edition I ever saw was the 2nd and it opened spaces. The later ones where massive turn offs. The 2nd ed rekindled my curiosity as I read it again lately.

Having gotten and read the supplement "Order of Hermes", even though it's not one of the later humongous and dense ones, I once more felt it was a slog.

It's a game with so much potentail that drowns in bummers as it gets detailed.

#ArsMagica #MindBlown #MythicEurope #ttrpgDesign

I've been on this Ars Magica trip lately. The first edition I ever saw was the 2nd and it opened spaces. The later ones where massive turn offs. The 2nd ed rekindled my curiosity as I read it again lately.

Having gotten and read the supplement "Order of Hermes", even though it's not one of the later humongous and dense ones, I once more felt it was a slog.

It's a game with so much potentail that drowns in bummers as it gets detailed.

#ArsMagica #MindBlown #MythicEurope #ttrpgDesign

I've been on this Ars Magica trip lately. The first edition I ever saw was the 2nd and it opened spaces. The later ones where massive turn offs. The 2nd ed rekindled my curiosity as I read it again lately.

Having gotten and read the supplement "Order of Hermes", even though it's not one of the later humongous and dense ones, I once more felt it was a slog.

It's a game with so much potentail that drowns in bummers as it gets detailed.

#ArsMagica #MindBlown #MythicEurope #ttrpgDesign

I've been on this Ars Magica trip lately. The first edition I ever saw was the 2nd and it opened spaces. The later ones where massive turn offs. The 2nd ed rekindled my curiosity as I read it again lately.

Having gotten and read the supplement "Order of Hermes", even though it's not one of the later humongous and dense ones, I once more felt it was a slog.

It's a game with so much potentail that drowns in bummers as it gets detailed.

#ArsMagica #MindBlown #MythicEurope #ttrpgDesign

I've been on this Ars Magica trip lately. The first edition I ever saw was the 2nd and it opened spaces. The later ones where massive turn offs. The 2nd ed rekindled my curiosity as I read it again lately.

Having gotten and read the supplement "Order of Hermes", even though it's not one of the later humongous and dense ones, I once more felt it was a slog.

It's a game with so much potentail that drowns in bummers as it gets detailed.

#ArsMagica #MindBlown #MythicEurope #ttrpgDesign

Port Leviathan Out Now On DriveThruRPG.

*Any additional purchases made through the Affiliate Link give me a small commission which goes to support the blog, YouTube, and my own meager content creation efforts.

Port Leviathan is a completely unique fantasy setting compatible with most d20 systems created by our good friend and Boss, The OG GM. There are goblins, pirates, and oh so much zombie goodness among other things. Please go give it a look today.

I’m probably going to run it using Ruttigers Almanac, since it’s d20 compatible.

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!

A lot has been done on Edict RPG lately.

The character progression systems are pretty unique now instead of a standard leveling system.

The list of monster origins (categories) has been updated to be extremely flavourful.

One of the actions on the action sheet got replaced with something far cooler.

There are some interesting things you can gain from deals made with a fae.

I need to finish adding rituals and then I'll run another playtest.

#ttrpg #edict #ttrpgdesign

A lot has been done on Edict RPG lately.

The character progression systems are pretty unique now instead of a standard leveling system.

The list of monster origins (categories) has been updated to be extremely flavourful.

One of the actions on the action sheet got replaced with something far cooler.

There are some interesting things you can gain from deals made with a fae.

I need to finish adding rituals and then I'll run another playtest.

#ttrpg #edict #ttrpgdesign

A lot has been done on Edict RPG lately.

The character progression systems are pretty unique now instead of a standard leveling system.

The list of monster origins (categories) has been updated to be extremely flavourful.

One of the actions on the action sheet got replaced with something far cooler.

There are some interesting things you can gain from deals made with a fae.

I need to finish adding rituals and then I'll run another playtest.

#ttrpg #edict #ttrpgdesign

A lot has been done on Edict RPG lately.

The character progression systems are pretty unique now instead of a standard leveling system.

The list of monster origins (categories) has been updated to be extremely flavourful.

One of the actions on the action sheet got replaced with something far cooler.

There are some interesting things you can gain from deals made with a fae.

I need to finish adding rituals and then I'll run another playtest.

#ttrpg #edict #ttrpgdesign

A lot has been done on Edict RPG lately.

The character progression systems are pretty unique now instead of a standard leveling system.

The list of monster origins (categories) has been updated to be extremely flavourful.

One of the actions on the action sheet got replaced with something far cooler.

There are some interesting things you can gain from deals made with a fae.

I need to finish adding rituals and then I'll run another playtest.

#ttrpg #edict #ttrpgdesign

Behind the Screen: Balance In TTRPGs.

Balance in a tabletop roleplaying game takes many forms.

The Law of Balance in and of itself is a statement of true neutrality. If light, so there must be darkness. If right, then so there must be left. Duality and separation are constantly in a state of flux with one evening out the other somewhere down the line. Without getting deep into spiritual symmetry, Taoism, Zen, or anything else where the forces of the Universe are constantly tugging on one another, let’s talk games.

The dungeon gets combative.

The first thing most of us gamers young and old think of when the term “balance” comes up is combat. This comes from the early days of wargaming where hypothetically both sides had the same number of points from which to draw their armies. Unless, of course, you were playing in a wargame that was historical reenactment where things rarely balance that well on a real battlefield. Or maybe a game like old Dungeons & Dragons where the PCs were occasionally expected to run from the fight or not start one at all.

Fast forward 28-ish years or so to 2000 when D&D 3rd Edition gave us this neato mosquito way to adjust the number and size of the monsters with the party’s number and levels of characters. I think I’m one of the few DMs on Earth who actually crunched all the math and tried to use this balancing mechanic. I mean, it usually bombed outright in the party’s favor, but worth a try.

Fast forward past 3.5 and 4th Edition to 2014. Imagine my disappointment when the 5th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide was void of such tables. What they gave us for combat balancing was lackluster and weak sauce on a good day. Later on we found out that’s not even the same system they were using in-house at Wizards of the Coast. I actually feel embarrassed for the designers at this point.

But why even bother?

Before all the Old School keyboard warriors get up in arms about all this, I get it. We never used to try to balance encounters. If you ran into an adult Red Dragon or some gnarly demon your group wouldn’t be able to handle, the idea was to have them run away. Did they? Most often not. Then we went back to character creation.

It was fun. I guess? Personally I get a little peeved if I have to return to character creation after getting to Level 7 or even 13 and then end up a stain on some dragon’s floor. On the other hand, maybe we should have disengaged as soon as things started to fall apart, so maybe it was our own faults.

I’m astonished even now in games such as Dragonbane where death can be horrible and instantaneous that more groups don’t break and run when things get ugly. There’s not a ton of healing magic available, or magic of any kind for that matter. There are no unbeatable combos or broken characters in Dragonbane. If one of my monsters or even something out of the book that the players might recognize pops up, there could easily be a TPK. The group has to be careful.

Mechanical game balance is a myth.

Is there ever a “fair” fight in TTRPGs? Most often the PCs are the ones who triumph, which is ultimately the goal of most games. If players just go in and watch their characters get butchered every week, what’s the point of showing up? Personally, I wouldn’t show past week two or three if my characters kept getting splatted. I think the end goal of a “balanced encounter” is one where the characters expend a significant amount of resources and still come out ahead.

The group has to stop and think once they are running out of spells, ammo, and hit points. That’s not to say stop immediately and run out of the dungeon to recover, but to think carefully before engaging in more combat shenanigans. Suddenly stealth, negotiations, and maybe some creative magic casting might be better options than running in headlong into another gory fight.

Then there’s the second kind of balance.

I don’t talk much about story gaming these days. In fact I rarely walk into a game with the agenda of following a specific plot these days. Sure, I throw lots of plot hooks or adventure seeds out there to see what sticks. Most days I wait to see what the group is going to take interest in before going ahead with anything resembling a plan.

This aspect of gaming is where I’m also going to say good old Session Zero plays a hand in things. Some expectations need to be established before the game starts and probably before characters are even created. What is the world like? What kind of mood is the GM trying to establish. Obviously if the world is supposed to be grimdark and somber, making a purely comedy relief Halfling Bard is probably not the best way to go. Gallows humor in a one-off line by the Fighter might be more appropriate.

It boils down to the GM setting basic expectations for the overall mood of the game with the players. If we’re playing a beer-and-pretzels, gonzo, anything goes dungeon romp, then I don’t care if someone shows up with a screwball character that has an even more absurd name. But if we’re doing survival horror, that same goofball character will have to be packed away in a folder and a new character should replace him. Basically, don’t show up to a hockey game wearing baseball gear. The opposite is true as well. Don’t show up to a screwball comedy affair with an uber-serious character.

Truthfully, I think most fantasy games land somewhere in the middle. It’s like watching an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess where there are a few laughs and some serious moments as well. Sometimes we even get a moral of the story at the end of an episode or game session. I don’t often plan for such things as a GM or try to force them. However, if they come up through the natural course of play, I try to find some way to reward it. Always reward the good, fun stuff. Never punish the PCs for the worse stuff. Consequences should at least appear natural.

Roleplaying GMs can often be like doctors. We offer an illusion of control. The doctor knows that a surgery is necessary but still has to present it as a choice to the patient. The patient then sees the operation is in their best interest and agrees to it. The reality is there was never really a choice, but it sure looked like one.

The same goes for a TTRPG group. All we can do is drop hints, clues, and obstacles in the group’s path, but the end goal stays the same. I’m not necessarily advocating for a quantum ogre, but in a roundabout way, it could happen.

Another type of balance to come up in fantasy games especially is loot.

I know everyone wants that one crazy cool magic item on their character that will make them stand out in a truly unique way. In the books maybe only one hobbit carries The One Ring. Only one warrior wields Stormbringer. The group’s cleric of Thor finds themselves worthy of a hammer that looks a lot like Mjolnir. Only one rogue is gifted the Cloak and Boots of Elvenkind. I think almost every player wants that special item, and I try to give everyone that chance if the game goes long enough.

That’s why in the magic item book I’m currently writing I’m trying to come up with one artifact to appeal to every play style, every type of character, and at least one member of every party. I’m not saying every item is perfect, but hopefully the GM can find something for any given character to aspire to. Maybe they get a hint about a staff, a piece of armor, or even a potion that does something truly incredible for the group to quest for. I’m trying to include a little something special for everyone.

That having been said, the third and often hidden balance issue usually comes in the form of magic items and/or spells. An early Gary Gygax D&D session once pointed out the perils of giving a character a Ring of Teleportation that had line of sight range. Suddenly the character was teleporting from one mountain to the next and then another landmark until the DM ran out of map and had to start winging it.

Wish or reality bending magic is often another source of many GMs’ frustrations. Death suddenly becomes no big deal. Money is no longer an obstacle. There’s nowhere the group can’t go and nothing they can’t do. How can anyone put that genie back in its bottle?

Magic is often the thing that makes the game amazing and fun or a complete nightmare for the person running the game. Entire campaigns have been ruined because some wily player came up with a combo of magic items, spells, and actions that left the rest of the group standing on the sidelines asking, “Why us?”

At that point the campaign usually ends through player attrition or downright outrage. A player’s purpose should never be strictly to watch the poor GM rip his or her hair out. Nor should the GM’s purpose be to compete against the players outright, determined to win at his/her own game. Just play the darn game and have fun with it.

There is no right or wrong way to balance gameplay as long as the group is cool with it overall. Sometimes the hardest part is making sure all of the players share the spotlight equally, that they all have something they’ve earned for their character that is special to them. It doesn’t have to be all at once. As long as everyone is relatively assured (through the illusion of control) that their turn will come as long as they continue playing their role.

I think the main point here is communication is key. GMs, please talk to your players fairly regularly and listen to their concerns. Take note of their feedback and implement what you can. This also applies to homebrew situations as pointed out in the previous article.

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!

My #ttrpgDesign process is about 85% staring at a half-filled random table until I suddenly get an idea for a mechanic that will work with it.

My #ttrpgDesign process is about 85% staring at a half-filled random table until I suddenly get an idea for a mechanic that will work with it.

My #ttrpgDesign process is about 85% staring at a half-filled random table until I suddenly get an idea for a mechanic that will work with it.

My #ttrpgDesign process is about 85% staring at a half-filled random table until I suddenly get an idea for a mechanic that will work with it.

My #ttrpgDesign process is about 85% staring at a half-filled random table until I suddenly get an idea for a mechanic that will work with it.

I'm running this! Won't you join me? #dungeonsAndDragons #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Join Old‑School Greyhawk, New‑School Thrills: A 5E Workshop - Roll20 - Game Master Workshop | StartPlaying Games

https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmpv9bfz800gnk104s37dadgz?ref=cmlb0t8zr01jzl204qycasly3

I'm running this! Won't you join me? #dungeonsAndDragons #ttrpg #ttrpgDesign

Join Old‑School Greyhawk, New‑School Thrills: A 5E Workshop - Roll20 - Game Master Workshop | StartPlaying Games

https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmpv9bfz800gnk104s37dadgz?ref=cmlb0t8zr01jzl204qycasly3

RE: https://dice.camp/@AdamMakesTTRPG/116681555799835956

If you'd like to have statblocks for existing D&D monsters at new levels of play, check out this supplement!

I am on of the writers on this project 📝 A couple of the monsters I designed include an aboleth egg and a corrupted decaton! 🤖 #ttrpgDesign #DnD #ttrpg

RE: https://dice.camp/@AdamMakesTTRPG/116681555799835956

If you'd like to have statblocks for existing D&D monsters at new levels of play, check out this supplement!

I am on of the writers on this project 📝 A couple of the monsters I designed include an aboleth egg and a corrupted decaton! 🤖 #ttrpgDesign #DnD #ttrpg