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Alyssa Visscher (she/they)

@alyssavisscher.bsky.social

1.4K followers 530 following 1.3K posts

Passionate about D&D, TTRPGs, embracing messy middles, faith, and the power of story. Impressively terrible at small talk. 🏳️‍🌈 AuDHD ♿ Parent of 4 🇨🇦 Freelance writer. alyssavisscher.com/about-me/

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · Oct 18

Hey new followers! I'm thrilled to meet you here!

I'm an ADHD, Autistic, queer disabled writer and designer. I consulted on D&D's 2024 DMG, with a focus on making it friendly for new and neurodivergent DMs. I also write adventures, and the occasional article for D&D Beyond.

A selfie of Alyssa, a white woman with medium length dark brown hair, and glasses. They are wearing a white T-shirt and red lipstick.

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Krista D. Ball: Canada's Snarky Potato @kristadb1.bsky.social · 4d

Since I have a lot of rural Alberta folks who follow me: the Edmonton police are looking for anyone with property with an old well north of Edmonton to contact them (more details in the video). It's for a cold case.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRo...

Cold case: Edmonton police searching for remains of Ruth Clarke who has been missing since 1990

YouTube video by CTV News

www.youtube.com

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 5d

One of my kiddos has a complete meltdown this morning because... Their roblux background was set to dark instead of light...

Clearly we're dealing with week 3 of the teachers' strike SO WELL 🫠😂

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 10d

The other day I saw a tiktok that acknowledged scrolling social media for the continual drip-dripping hits of dopamine is a perfectly acceptable form of self-medicating pain-relief for those of us with chronic pain and illnesses, and let me tell you, I have not been able to stop thinking about it.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 11d

See?! And this is why, despite its many flaws, I love reddit.

Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 11d

Apparently the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 4 colour because it's a nice gel and, among other reasons, it comes with ten colour options for you to pick from.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 11d

I have PLENTY of the other type of experience on reddit too, I promise!!

Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 11d

Reddit is such a fun place because you'll be on the Critical Role subreddit and someone will post a picture of Liam taking notes with a multicolour pen (the classic BIC) and some [probably autistic] person will go "excuse me, I know of a better multi-pen", because OF COURSE and now I need this pen.

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Lynne M. Meyer | coffee-fueled, autistic, witchy, spoonie @lynnemeyer.bsky.social · 11d

In the years between my higher ed job and Paizo, I was getting by as a freelancer, which is HARD. More than once mutual aid kept me housed and fed. Folks turned up for me when I needed it most.

Let's do the same for @oregonthedm.bsky.social ! Please boost and, if you have a bit to give, please do.

Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 12d

Look I've been holding off from months asking this on Bluesky because of my pride but I need help.

My car needs brakes, my rent is past due and my step kid needs shoes.

I hate having to ask this

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 11d

Oh I missed this reply the other day! I did recognize your general intent, and knew it appeared in one of her books. I couldn't remember the specifics of the quote or it's exact context though! So it's just a good bet that sometimes I did whatever it was, because it's such a Canadian prairie thing!

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 24d

The "AI" responses that Google gives about me and my work are consistently error-prone, which I know because I am me. If I know Google's "AI" responses give incorrect answers about things I know about, I can't trust it to give correct answers about things I don't know. So, no, I don't use it.

John Gordon 🇨🇦🇩🇰 @johngordon.bsky.social · 24d

I’m surprised you don’t use ai answer engines in research you currently do with Google

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 13d

Gosh I forgot how cold fingers get in -1 weather. I need new mittens.

Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 14d

I think we got a start by upping their CR from 1 to 3-4. Then there would be more room to give them some more chonk.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 14d

Look, I just think D&D's Giant Octopus stat block should better reflect their, like, independent tentacle brains.

I don't know HOW, I just know that it SHOULD.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 16d

I mean probably. Literally played in the dirt all summer. Made a lot of mud pies. Had to hose off with the garden hose before coming inside.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 16d

Every so often I'm hit with the very firm reminder that I grew up in a very rural Canadian prairie.

Today, it's a scene in a contemporary romance where the man takes the woman on a date at the "skating rink" and I reread eight pages three times, confused until I remember rinks without ice do exist.

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Seanan McGuire @seananmcguire.bsky.social · 17d

We are one week closer to the release of OMENS OF CHAOS, and the glorious return of Magic the Gathering long-form fiction!

A book cover against a blue background reading COMING FEBRUARY 17, 2026. The book cover shows a blonde-haired human New Capenna shield mage in the robes of a first year Strixhaven mage-scholar, casting a domed shield around herself. The school is behind her. The text on the cover reads "STRIXHAVEN | OMENS OF CHAOS | SEANAN MCGUIRE | New York Times Bestselling Author."

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 17d

Yeah.... I have definitely surpassed the "shriveled into an antisocial raisen" stage.

Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 17d

Every time I think I've clawed my way back off burnout'd ledge, something happens to throw me right back in. And it's been so long since I've been able to DM a good campaign—those games fuel me, and I'm keenly feeling their absence. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about what we came up with today.

Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 17d

I spent my miraculous 2 work hours today writing a scathing letter to everyone responsible for the Albertan teachers strike (ie all the government officials), and brainstorming a new D&D campaign. The latter might not sound like a good use of time, but it's my first joyful creative spark in months.

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 17d

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 17d

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

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Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 19d

Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.

A post by Rebecca Johnson:
“I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.”

A tumblr respond from mightymur:
“The final, brilliant word on passive voice.
"She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive
"Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”

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Keithulhu Fhtammann 🔜 PAXU @themonstersknow.com · 19d

TODAY'S THE DAY! Making Enemies: Monster Design Inspiration for Tabletop Roleplaying Games, with cover illustration by @kroovv.bsky.social and interior illos by @jencmars.bsky.social, is now on shelves!

Get it at your friendly local game store or through one of these links: spyandowl.com/making...

A hardbound copy of Making Enemies on a wooden dining table. On the cover, a huge, pearlescent arthropod bursts out of a subterranean crevice and drives one of its large barbed claws through a dwarf fighter's abdomen, while another dwarf cowers in fear. The book is surrounded by blue and red polyhedral dice.

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Keithulhu Fhtammann 🔜 PAXU @themonstersknow.com · 19d

"It’s a beast. A monster. A behemoth. But it’s a behemoth of the very best kind. It’s a CR 30 epic boss of a book with a treasure hoard of inspiration. I don’t know what you expected from Keith Ammann, but it was probably this."

Read the @scrollforinit.bsky.social review: scrollforinitiative....

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 19d

Random thought: I really wish all video games had an accessibility setting to turn scrolling/unfolding text into instant-appearing text because wowow the unfolding text makes my eyes hurt and my head dizzy.

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Alyssa Visscher (she/they) @alyssavisscher.bsky.social · 19d

As quick example: this section outlines things to think about when designing a forest creature, and then gives specific applications for the aforementioned systems. So this book is HIGHLY flexible and really useful for way more than just D&D.

It's a chonky book (complimentary!) and very practical.

Keith's new book is opened to a page that describes using forests, then gives specific examples in the multiple systems listed in the previous post.

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