Keith Ammann
@themonstersknow.com
ENNIE-winning author of The Monsters Know What They're Doing and other stuff. Humanist, antifascist, curmudgeon. Teeth on the board. ✶✶✶✶
Home: spyandowl.com
Blog: themonstersknow.com
Newsletter: onefootinfairyland.com
Mastodon: dice.camp/@KeithAmmann
Home: spyandowl.com
Blog: themonstersknow.com
Newsletter: onefootinfairyland.com
Mastodon: dice.camp/@KeithAmmann
Pinned
Keith Ammann
@themonstersknow.com
· Oct 7
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...
Get it at your friendly local game store or through one of these links: spyandowl.com/making...
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Hard agree. The best cities I’ve lived in have been full of all different kinds of people. Places that are overwhelmingly single culture can be nice to visit but I think I’d eventually succumb to utter boredom living there.
I realise I'm just a freak, but living in a multicultural city is the best thing of all time, it's just the best possible human experience and i can not understand why anyone on earth would be like "weve got to destroy this"
January 17, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Hard agree. The best cities I’ve lived in have been full of all different kinds of people. Places that are overwhelmingly single culture can be nice to visit but I think I’d eventually succumb to utter boredom living there.
Apparently, this "special election Dems CANNOT lose" is an 11-way party primary in New Jersey.
So yes, it is in fact literally true that Democrats can't lose it, because it's an election that only Democrats are running in.
This is an insult to the intelligence of everyone who received it.
So yes, it is in fact literally true that Democrats can't lose it, because it's an election that only Democrats are running in.
This is an insult to the intelligence of everyone who received it.
These begspamming texts are getting lazier and lazier.
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
January 15, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Apparently, this "special election Dems CANNOT lose" is an 11-way party primary in New Jersey.
So yes, it is in fact literally true that Democrats can't lose it, because it's an election that only Democrats are running in.
This is an insult to the intelligence of everyone who received it.
So yes, it is in fact literally true that Democrats can't lose it, because it's an election that only Democrats are running in.
This is an insult to the intelligence of everyone who received it.
These begspamming texts are getting lazier and lazier.
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
January 15, 2026 at 10:45 PM
These begspamming texts are getting lazier and lazier.
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
What special election? Where? Am I eligible to vote in it? Who even is Zach Beecher? Never mind all that—just 📢CHIP IN📢
Reposted by Keith Ammann
So with everything happening in Minnesota, I feel like some people need an explanation of what the Insurrection Act is and isn't, along with martial law (which isn't the same and is very nebulous) from someone who knows what they're talking about. Buckle up.
January 15, 2026 at 3:59 PM
So with everything happening in Minnesota, I feel like some people need an explanation of what the Insurrection Act is and isn't, along with martial law (which isn't the same and is very nebulous) from someone who knows what they're talking about. Buckle up.
Good to listen to people who know what they're talking about before plunging into moral panic.
It'd probably be better for all of us if our reaction to apparently awful news were "What? Explain!" instead of "🤬🔥🤬🔥🤬🔥"
It'd probably be better for all of us if our reaction to apparently awful news were "What? Explain!" instead of "🤬🔥🤬🔥🤬🔥"
Sure. AI companies have ALWAYS been training their models on Wikipedia content, which under the free and open access model is available to anyone — including AI companies. Agreements like these require AI companies to limit and offset the strain they place on Wikimedia infrastructure.
Hoping that @molly.wiki can help explain.
January 15, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Good to listen to people who know what they're talking about before plunging into moral panic.
It'd probably be better for all of us if our reaction to apparently awful news were "What? Explain!" instead of "🤬🔥🤬🔥🤬🔥"
It'd probably be better for all of us if our reaction to apparently awful news were "What? Explain!" instead of "🤬🔥🤬🔥🤬🔥"
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Hluboká Castle (Schloss Frauenberg) rests on the remnants of a 13th-century Gothic fortress. The white-walled château changed ownership many times across its long and contentious history.
#ttrpg #writing #dnd #art #writingcommunity #photography
📷️: Alan Brutenic; Joe Vysata; & fotimedronem
#ttrpg #writing #dnd #art #writingcommunity #photography
📷️: Alan Brutenic; Joe Vysata; & fotimedronem
January 14, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Hluboká Castle (Schloss Frauenberg) rests on the remnants of a 13th-century Gothic fortress. The white-walled château changed ownership many times across its long and contentious history.
#ttrpg #writing #dnd #art #writingcommunity #photography
📷️: Alan Brutenic; Joe Vysata; & fotimedronem
#ttrpg #writing #dnd #art #writingcommunity #photography
📷️: Alan Brutenic; Joe Vysata; & fotimedronem
QotN: "So many of these adventures seem to be rescuing the townspeople from sobriety." #DnD #TTRPGQuotes
January 15, 2026 at 3:21 AM
QotN: "So many of these adventures seem to be rescuing the townspeople from sobriety." #DnD #TTRPGQuotes
So from time to time I think about Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist who came up with a pretty good framework for studying moral reasoning but has spent his years since then undermining it to make it more appealing to conservatives.
Anyway, what I think about is the blind spot it had from the start:
Anyway, what I think about is the blind spot it had from the start:
Just to be clear here: I don’t think Haidt is some kind of poisonous hatemonger, wacky as his ideas can be. He’s more like a half-bright guy who does bullshit Science based on anecdotes and I Reckons, and the thing he’s really skilled at is telling important people exactly what they want to hear.
January 14, 2026 at 1:32 PM
So from time to time I think about Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist who came up with a pretty good framework for studying moral reasoning but has spent his years since then undermining it to make it more appealing to conservatives.
Anyway, what I think about is the blind spot it had from the start:
Anyway, what I think about is the blind spot it had from the start:
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Your regular reminder to put your RPG character in a hat. No. A BIGGER hat.
January 14, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Your regular reminder to put your RPG character in a hat. No. A BIGGER hat.
I got a FOURTH begspamming text from @marypeltola.com. In two days.
January 14, 2026 at 1:56 AM
I got a FOURTH begspamming text from @marypeltola.com. In two days.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
This is a good question. Let's talk about it!
Why do civil servants resign in protest? Couldn't they have done more good on the inside? 🧵
Why do civil servants resign in protest? Couldn't they have done more good on the inside? 🧵
Sincerely wanting to understand why is honest people resigning, being considered an act of bravery or somehow fruitful. It’s one thing if the admin felt embarrassed by the resignations & rectified course. But that’s not happening, so now our institutions are just left with fewer people of integrity.
Breaking: NYT now says *six* federal prosecutors in Minnesota have just resigned over the Justice Department's push to investigate the widow of Renee Good and the department's reluctance to investigate the ICE agent who shot Good, according to people with knowledge of their decision.
January 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM
This is a good question. Let's talk about it!
Why do civil servants resign in protest? Couldn't they have done more good on the inside? 🧵
Why do civil servants resign in protest? Couldn't they have done more good on the inside? 🧵
Got an unsolicited text message this morning from @marypeltola.com. Reported it as spam, replied STOP and blocked the number, as is my custom.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
January 13, 2026 at 10:10 PM
One way or another, I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha: Azorius NPC tactics from the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica. #DnD
Azorius NPC Tactics - The Monsters Know What They’re Doing
The lowest-level Azorius stat block is the soldier, but this stat block isn’t specific to Azorius: Boros and Selesnya make use of it as well.
www.themonstersknow.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:23 PM
One way or another, I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha: Azorius NPC tactics from the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica. #DnD
Reposted by Keith Ammann
I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
January 13, 2026 at 6:06 PM
I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
Wow
WOW
WOW
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Wow
WOW
WOW
Reposted by Keith Ammann
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
January 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
Reposted by Keith Ammann
I will reiterate that if you are an independent journo/hobbyist I will happily set up your ghost install and host it for a few quid above cost price.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
If there is one resolution I want for journalists this year: it is to get off S*bstack and use Ghost or any other indy publishing platform that does not fund literal nazis instead.
January 5, 2026 at 11:43 AM
I will reiterate that if you are an independent journo/hobbyist I will happily set up your ghost install and host it for a few quid above cost price.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
You set up your own stripe and mailgun accounts, and you get to keep ALL your revenue.
And post migration from wordpress/substack is pretty easy.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, describes what a "radically truthful" journalism would look like. www.stopthepresses.news/p/how-to-bui...
How to build a radically truthful news outlet
The old ways don’t work. Time to declare war on the liars.
www.stopthepresses.news
January 12, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, describes what a "radically truthful" journalism would look like. www.stopthepresses.news/p/how-to-bui...
Got an unsolicited text message this morning from @marypeltola.com. Reported it as spam, replied STOP and blocked the number, as is my custom.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
January 12, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Got an unsolicited text message this morning from @marypeltola.com. Reported it as spam, replied STOP and blocked the number, as is my custom.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
A couple of minutes ago got ANOTHER unsolicited text message from Mary Peltola, from a different number.
I DON'T LIVE IN ALASKA.
New RPGTuber on the scene, coming in hot.
What if session 0 was good actually
YouTube video by FEYPOP
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:39 PM
New RPGTuber on the scene, coming in hot.
Reposted by Keith Ammann
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
January 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
Reposted by Keith Ammann
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
January 12, 2026 at 3:47 PM
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
"Kristi Noem revealed more than she thought when she gave a press conference behind a placard that read ONE OF OURS, ALL OF YOURS. … The brazen nature of Noem's slogan immediately conceals the fact that Ross is living and Good is not. ICE never lost 'one of ours,' not once."
We are far past the stage of permissiveness with white-supremacist violence inside DHS. We are witnessing ICE transition into a death squad.
This cannot be reformed. The only question is who will fight to abolish it, and who will accommodate it instead.
This cannot be reformed. The only question is who will fight to abolish it, and who will accommodate it instead.
Either ICE Is Abolished or It Will Kill Many More Renee Goods
Minnesota is just the beginning of ICE's transformation into a right-wing death squad. But it can be the end
www.forever-wars.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:20 PM
"Kristi Noem revealed more than she thought when she gave a press conference behind a placard that read ONE OF OURS, ALL OF YOURS. … The brazen nature of Noem's slogan immediately conceals the fact that Ross is living and Good is not. ICE never lost 'one of ours,' not once."
Alas for the Disappointing Sea
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Slightly diminish a game:
Pathlooker
Pathlooker
Slightly diminish a game:
Tomb Finder
Tomb Finder
January 12, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Alas for the Disappointing Sea
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles
Strongly Discouraged Lands
9½ Candles