elmcat
banner
elmc.at
elmcat
@elmc.at
Blogging about TTRPGs among other things.
Pinned
elmcat @elmc.at · Nov 26
Spent the last month mapping the blogosphere by its links. The graph is finally ready

Communities clump into a big hex and the whole thing looks like a star map

What are blogs anyway but stars in the sky?

elmc.at/mapping-the-...

To check out the graph directly follow this link:

graph.elmc.at
Mapping the Blogosphere
An interactive graph of TTRPG blogs, showing who links to whom, how communities change over time, plus stats and how it all works.
elmc.at
18/31
My daily Bloggies picks (18):

We all love seeing design process. @yochaigal.bsky.social shows how to use the tables he made for Cairn 2e to build a forest adventure, and then he went and published it. very cool!

newschoolrevolution.com/lets-make-a-...
Let's Make a Forest
In the coming months I plan to publish a few more adventures in the . I thought it might be interesting for folks to see my process. The following is a "Des...
newschoolrevolution.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Why is my adventure bad? is a fantastic prompt, and @ratkingrpg.bsky.social turns it into a set of smart questions and a practical approach to adventure design

alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com/2025/03/most...
Most Adventures are Bad - An Adventure Writing Process
This is an odd post, it’s adventure design advice, specifically dungeon/location based adventure design, but it’s not about specifics, just ...
alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM
@bommyknocker.bsky.social turns a deck of cards into a universal encounter table (just use bears-style) and gives you 14 plug-and-play Cairn stat blocks

bommyknocker.bearblog.dev/universal-en...
Universal Encounter Table
A random encounter table that always uses the same 12 statblocks, plus a card draw mechanic to pick from it.
bommyknocker.bearblog.dev
January 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM
My daily Bloggies picks (18):

We all love seeing design process. @yochaigal.bsky.social shows how to use the tables he made for Cairn 2e to build a forest adventure, and then he went and published it. very cool!

newschoolrevolution.com/lets-make-a-...
Let's Make a Forest
In the coming months I plan to publish a few more adventures in the . I thought it might be interesting for folks to see my process. The following is a "Des...
newschoolrevolution.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Oh yea I enjoy the blog!
January 18, 2026 at 10:24 AM
17/31
My daily Bloggies picks (17):

I'm biased because I agree with a lot of it, but @dodo-decahedron.bsky.social has a really good what I hate about your adventure post

dododecahedron.blog/2024/12/17/1...
10 Things I Hate About Your Adventure
Not your adventure, specifically. Sorry.
dododecahedron.blog
January 17, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Beardmancer Bungalow wrote a great piece on prepping for improvisation. I borrowed a few bits for my Mythic Bastionland campaigns and they worked beautifully

beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/one-method-t...
One Method to Prep for Improvisation - Beardmancer Bungalow
I’ve been fine-tuning and honing a process for prep geared towards improvisation. I’ve been practicing it over the past couple of years. It was
beardmancerbungalow.blot.im
January 17, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Matthew does an amazing job comparing the layout of a typical Paizo adventure vs. a Necrotic Gnome one. what works, what doesn't, and why. it goes into real detail. very interesting read

matthewkjandre.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-pr...
Comparing helpful and harmful layouts in TTRPGs - Paizo vs Necrotic Gnome
'A Cosmic Birthday' for Starfinder 2nd Edition Playtest VS 'The Hole in the Oak' for Old-School Essentials Can you guess from the covers whi...
matthewkjandre.blogspot.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:43 PM
My daily Bloggies picks (17):

I'm biased because I agree with a lot of it, but @dodo-decahedron.bsky.social has a really good what I hate about your adventure post

dododecahedron.blog/2024/12/17/1...
10 Things I Hate About Your Adventure
Not your adventure, specifically. Sorry.
dododecahedron.blog
January 17, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by elmcat
i'm working on a new little project on the side while seven part pact continues to churn along, where im going to take a bunch of OSR blogposts and cut them up to stitch together a franken-game for my personal enjoyment. im calling it THREE HOLE PUNCH
www.patreon.com/posts/three-...
THREE HOLE PUNCH (The Starting List) | Jay Dragon (& Friends)
Get more from Jay Dragon (& Friends) on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by elmcat
my friend alex wrote about how to preserve the spirit of zines as what he calls “democratic media”:

📝 cheap to make
🖨️ easy to print at home
👯‍♀️ free to reproduce

this #ZiMo, why not participate in the DIY spirit? an open literary culture benefits all of us!

todistantlands.github.io/2026/01/15/h...
How to Not Do Zines Wrong
I’m not the first to remark that a lot of what we’re calling “zines” aren’t really zines. They’re fine, glossy magazines, or beautifully crafted books. While these products may share zines’ craft etho...
todistantlands.github.io
January 16, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Reposted by elmcat
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells
Where hammers fell like ringing bells

My rules for making items and carving them with runes of power. Maybe they can be your rules, too!
Forging and Artifice
Schwew. OK. This turned into a long one.  Break!! has the best crafting rules for an OSR game that I've ever seen. Originally, I was trying ...
riseupcomus.blogspot.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:18 PM
16/31
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Another banger from @jdragsky.bsky.social "does Super Mario have rules?" highly recommend. also: read The Rule Book (2024) she cites! it'll level up your game discourse

possumcreek.medium.com/does-super-m...
Does Super Mario Bros. (1985) Have Rules?
Yes! No? Maybe? Why do you care? Why does it matter?
possumcreek.medium.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Phlox wrote a really neat treasure-hunt adventure series for Dolmenwood on their blog. it's super cool, and it even includes a full dungeon!

whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The Great Dolmenwood Treasure Hunt, part 1: Overview
Jack Edward has pointed out that it would be cool to have more treasure hunt modules for existing hexcrawls, and one would be especially ...
whosemeasure.blogspot.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 PM
My daily Bloggies picks (16):

@behindthehelm.bsky.social has a slick weather-tracking mechanic that changes gradually and is dead simple to track. love this!

behindthehelm.bearblog.dev/weather/
Weather
Weather is tracked on three axes, each on a 1-to-6 scale: Clouds, Wind, and Heat. At the beginning of the game (or every time the players enter a new regi...
behindthehelm.bearblog.dev
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by elmcat
Just so you all know this (overly) linear map is also from a Jennell Jaquays' product... Loops are good, but are neither necessary or sufficient for good map design.
January 15, 2026 at 2:21 PM
That's cool but that's not me 😅
January 15, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by elmcat
January issue of Carouse just dropped!

If you like indie TTRPGs check out this collaborative newsletter from a diverse group of indie creators.

www.carouse.blog/january-2026...
January 2026 - The Carousies
Happy New Year! This issue is a little different; in place of our usual columns and gameable goodness we're handing out some awards! Plus, you'll find a thoughtful review by Sprinting Owl of a unique ...
www.carouse.blog
January 15, 2026 at 1:25 PM
15/31
January 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
If your mothership campaign is a string of small community modules, @orchardmartin.bsky.social shows how downtime can be the glue. a couple smart additions and you've got a real campaign framework

pointlessmonument.blot.im/mothership-c...
Mothership Campaign Framework: The Anti-Carousing Table - Pointless Monument
I have many pamphlets but I must campaign: A Mothership table story Mothership one-shots are a lot of fun! (enough to make me write a blog post
pointlessmonument.blot.im
January 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
@lukegearing.bsky.social made a slick little mechanic for tracking favours. love it for the debt-economy vibe

lukegearing.blot.im/contacts-and...
Contacts and Favours - Luke Gearing
Player Characters can call on their contacts for help. Often this is just information, but it might be muscle, gear or setting up a meeting with
lukegearing.blot.im
January 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
My daily Bloggies picks (15):

I love downtime, and @benlaurence.bsky.social dropped a fantastic new mothership android downtime action about trying to become more human

maziriansgarden.blogspot.com/2025/02/beco...
Becoming "Human" (Mothership Downtime)
Mothership has a wonderful character creation process, where a few random “flavor” rolls both convey a lot about the setting, as well as ta...
maziriansgarden.blogspot.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by elmcat
My first session of Mythic Bastionland was today. I was a little nervous, as I hadn't ran anything in over a year! (The last game I ran was the Mothership module Another Bug Hunt.) This was a quiet session, but fun all the same. Sometimes that's how the dice go. Some thoughts on my blog.
Save vs. Total Party Kill - My First Mythic Bastionland Session
I spent a little bit of time over the last two days getting ready to play Mythic Bastionland. I made a map over the holidays, but didn’t finish filling it with stuff at the time. I was writing down NP...
save.vs.totalpartykill.ca
January 15, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by elmcat
I hate LA so much lol
January 13, 2026 at 4:23 PM