Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
banner
grahamwalmsley.bsky.social
Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
@grahamwalmsley.bsky.social
I design games, especially tabletop roleplaying games (Cthulhu Dark, Cosmic Dark). I also write books on storytelling (Play Unsafe) and drift into interactive fiction (39 Steps) and LARP (Will That Be All).

And I love theatre, art and history.
We're at Dragonmeet, on stall E15! It's just behind Chaosium (or in front depending on which way you approach).

If you buy something, I'll either sign it for you or not, as you prefer!
November 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
I don't actually *know* that my late great-uncle worked at Bletchley. But the available evidence suggests he did. Here's what I know.

I inherited a few things when he died - not in his will, but just collected from his attic. One of these is significant, and linked.
We don't know. What we do know is the wiring diagram works. We built it, virtually, in @godotengine.org. We fed it scans of the books we found.

And the books are very, very strange. The "game" that resulted is also strange.

We're hoping people can make sense of it for us.
TR-49 on Steam
Narrative deduction meets audio drama, from the creators of Heaven’s Vault, Overboard! and A Highland Song.
store.steampowered.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Mongoose publish different sorts of games than the ones I usually like, but - judging from a job advert I saw recently! - they seem to support their employees and that's nice.

Anyway, their Kickstarter is in the last 24 hours. www.kickstarter.com/projects/mon...
The Pioneer RPG: Explore the Solar System
Pioneer – a new RPG set 10–20 years into the future as humanity explores the Solar System, based on the popular Traveller rules.
www.kickstarter.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:33 PM
We're off to Dragonmeet! It's tomorrow, before you start panicking, I'm just off to set up the stall with @irny.bsky.social .

This is where we are. Come and say hello! And then buy something obvs
November 28, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Finding wonderful things from Dragonmeet stalls past: Disco World (history of disco), This Is Where You Are (one of the best things I've written) and a genius sales strategy.
November 27, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
The Darkness is coming
November 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Cosmic Dark is printed, along with Cthulhu Dark, Stealing Cthulhu and all the printed things from the Kickstarter!

It's all looking beautiful and I miiiiight have upgraded the printing.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra...
Update 12: Cosmic Dark is printed · Cosmic Dark
Cosmic Dark is back from the printer, along with Cthulhu Dark, Stealing Cthulhu and all the printed rewards!If you're outside the United States, your books and other rewards are with the distributor. ...
www.kickstarter.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:06 PM
There are four days until Dragonmeet and I'm getting excited, if by excited you mean "Wondering if I've forgotten anything".

I'm on booth E15, just behind Chaosium. Come and say hello. Here's an amazing map of where I am by @jogbrogzin.bsky.social.
November 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM
We don't talk much about the "feel" of TTRPG mechanics, so I thought I'd do that.

Imagine two sets of mechanics for finding clues in a mystery.
November 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This is where I am at Dragonmeet, sharing a stall with @patchworkfez.bsky.social .

Come and say hello! And, you know, buy things, that'd be good too.
November 24, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I'm reading Abir Mukherjee's A Rising Man, a murder mystery set in the Raj period. It's reminding me how powerful murder mysteries can be for exploring a setting or period of history. It's a criminally underrated genre.
November 23, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
Tomorrow, I get to share one of my favorite scenarios from Cthulhu Dark by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social. The Screams of the Children. 1850 East London. Mystery, class horror, and themes galore. See you in chat.
twitch.tv/thirdfloorwa... N
thirdfloorwars Schedule - Twitch
Check out thirdfloorwars stream schedule, and set reminders so you don’t miss out!
twitch.tv
November 23, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Game: "Adjust the slider so you can barely see the logo"

Me: Adjusts the slider so I can clearly see everything because I don't want to be squinting at the game for hours
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Here's me talking about storytelling on @symphonyhorror.bsky.social with some brilliant people.https://youtu.be/m9T9GpVUy0w?si=uxvQ_92gcd_kQ7xv
November 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I'm running The Cinnamon Bakery today, my cozy larp about a running a business in a happy little town.

One player, who's playing the baker, has baked this cake! It's incredible.
November 21, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
We don't know. What we do know is the wiring diagram works. We built it, virtually, in @godotengine.org. We fed it scans of the books we found.

And the books are very, very strange. The "game" that resulted is also strange.

We're hoping people can make sense of it for us.
TR-49 on Steam
Narrative deduction meets audio drama, from the creators of Heaven’s Vault, Overboard! and A Highland Song.
store.steampowered.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
If you're at Dragonmeet next week, I have a booth! Here I am, next to scrappy newcomers Chaosium.

I'm sharing with the incredible @patchworkfez.bsky.social (buy their stuff it's great). And I'll let you know later about what I'll have to sell: I'm waiting on one last delivery.
November 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
Cold City Second Edition is out now, with 100% 5 star ratings and some amazing reviews.

www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5... #coldcity #ttrpg
November 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I love this article. Once you know this, it's easy to spot the connection: Aliya, the protagonist of Heaven's Vault, is very different from the Doctor, but she definitely wanders around ancient sites, monologuing to herself until she understands exactly what happened.
How Inkle's Heaven's Vault started life as a Doctor Who game, before it was exterminated www.eurogamer.net/how-inkles-h...
November 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
Tonight, I and @bschoner.bsky.social play brothers in the zombie apocalypse. We are on opposite sides of a closed door. One of us is infected. I've been wanting to get this game by @moreblueberries.bsky.social to the channel. Their digital play PDFs make it easy. Watch live or later. #ttrpg
November 17, 2025 at 8:26 PM
I like this!
"he is wearing a long green coat that has pockets, with black sleeves and a cool hat"

vs

"Looking out suspiciously from under his hat, he pushes up his black sleeves and rustles around in the empty pocket of his long green coat"

it's just easier to remember when we code items to an emotion!
November 16, 2025 at 10:03 PM
When you're writing a tabletop roleplaying game, the mechanics should evoke the atmosphere you want in your story.

A simple example: we're writing a cozy woodland mystery game. What are the combat mechanics like? Well, clearly there aren't any. Combat isn't part of our cozy woodland story.

But...
November 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
We played Dino Island! @savagespiel.bsky.social brought little dinosaurs.
November 15, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I just backed Gravity: A Roleplaying Game on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Graham Walmsley ⏩ Dragonmeet
I've already fallen off the self-promotion train!

I'd just sort of assumed that £2k was a low enough goal that I could just coast over the line without much effort, and... no. 😓
Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM