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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 9m

Thanks so much to the ALA Games & Gaming Round Table!

We DO offer discounts on MAPPA MUNDI to libraries and education institutions all around the world.

Want to learn more about Mappa Mundi - An Exporation + Ecology RPG? Check www.mappamundirpg.com and email george [at ] threesailsstudios.com!

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 10m

Thanks for the shoutout! We're always happy to support libraries and education wherever we can!

As a note, we're offering discount codes to US libraries, too! We ship US orders from within the US, so no nasty tariff surprises, either.

Interested? Email george [at] threesailsstudios.com!

Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 28m

I said it was going to be a good few months for medieval TTRPG Kickstarters. Gallows Corner next year, Danse Macabre funded already (congrats @stillfleet.bsky.social), and NOW! TODAY! RIGHT NOW!

Thou Shalt Not Suffer the Wycce by @caesar-ink.bsky.social -- I just backed. Get yourself over there!

Caesar Ink 🔜 Thou Shalt Not Suffer The Wycce on Kickstarter! @caesar-ink.bsky.social · 6h

THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER THE WYCCE goes live on Kickstarter at 16:00 UK time! If you want to support Doomsong make sure that you back in the first 24hrs to recieve a fancy bookmark!

Follow (and back) here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/cae...

#TTRPG #Horror #Kickstarter

Coming soon: DOOMSONG: Thou Shalt Not Suffer The Wycce

A horror TTRPG that pits your players against foul heresy. Can you root out Famine before it's too late?

www.kickstarter.com

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Reposted by Three Sails Studios

JC Darcy @jcdarcy.bsky.social · 1d

Tonight. Be there. Support EXCELLENCE.

EUphoria Actual Plays @euphoriaap.bsky.social · 1d

TONIGHT! Its Black History Month, and we're showing off game designer & GM
@chochy.co.uk's new system!

Players @theneoncaster.bsky.social, @daisypowerhour.bsky.social, @thirdvaultyarns.com, and @akingmade.bsky.social explore a world losing its spark...

Sponsored by @threesailsstudios.bsky.social

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Reposted by Three Sails Studios

EUphoria Actual Plays @euphoriaap.bsky.social · 1d

TONIGHT! Its Black History Month, and we're showing off game designer & GM
@chochy.co.uk's new system!

Players @theneoncaster.bsky.social, @daisypowerhour.bsky.social, @thirdvaultyarns.com, and @akingmade.bsky.social explore a world losing its spark...

Sponsored by @threesailsstudios.bsky.social

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 2d

As I said, I'm sorry it left a bad taste, but I really appreciate you giving it a try :)

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 2d

...but build the actual Journey Deck the players journey through during their investigation, based on what they do and don't discover.

Ditto with the monster encounters. It's definitely supposed to be a narrative and investigatory approach, rather than A leads to B, etc.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 2d

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad time with Mappa Mundi!

While I know I can't erase a bad taste left in the mouth, your instinct about the Journey Deck (creating it DURING the investigation) is exactly what the rules are saying to do! You select appropriate cards for the biome before the session...

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks Dan! The link I posted must have errored!

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

GALLOWS CORNER - A PEASANTS' REVOLT RPG launches on Kickstarter February 3rd, 2026. You can go and follow the Prelaunch page right now: www.kickstarter.com/projects/thr...

And you can experience these first two mechanics by downloading the FREE Prerelease Guide: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...

www.kickstarter.com

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

And so the struggle for the soul of England continues. The party gain and lose Influence as they seek to break the power of the crown, church, and nobility.

As they become more famous, the scale of the Point Crawl changes, from Hundreds and Counties to Counties and Regions. Local to national.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

When the table's collective Influence is equal to or greater than the County's Control value, they can trigger a Showdown, an epic, cinematic, in-depth confrontation with the antagonist, seeking to break their power and liberate the County for good.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Over the course of the Point Crawl, the table will seek to liberate Points on the crawl, reducing the Control value of the county. Where they can, they will also seek to reduce the antagonist's personal Control value through confrontation and sabotage.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

In our Point Crawl, each Hundred (a Point on the map) has a Verb associated with it. This Verb shapes the action the table will experience when they visit. Similarly, each County (a collection of Points) is defined by a Verb, one associated with the major antagonist, which shapes the vibe.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

I designed the Point Crawl to allow players to immerse themselves in a living, breathing, changing, and reacting England.

The design was inspired by @bastionland.bsky.social and the hex crawl from Mythic Bastionland, particularly its Omens system.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

In Mappa Mundi, my first major design project, travel and exploration are vital, and facilitated by the Journey Deck system, but actual places are relatively abstracted.

In Gallows Corner, the crown's power (known as Control) is spatially determined. It is linked to places and spaces.

A map of Essex, including its Hundreds, Boroughs, and Liberties. Map drawn by Jog Brozlin. Text by George Francis Bickers.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

But we should move on to the Point Crawl, and the ways Gallows Corner empowers the Narrator to bring England to life and facilitate gameplay at the local level (Hundreds and Counties) and the grander scale (Regions and the Nation).

Until Gallows, I'd never designed a formal crawl of any kind...

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

The latter option, the cinematic option, will cause significant emotional damage to the surviving player character. Their Emotional EXP dice will certainly be downgraded for a while.

And the player loses a Retainer, making their journey harder.

I LOVE THIS MECHANIC.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

When a player character is about to die, the player makes a choice:

LET THE CHARACTER DIE and 'promote' a Retainer to the role of player character. The mantle passes over.

OR, the cinematic choice, have a Retainer jump in the way, sacrificing themselves so the player character can live.

a man with a beard is kissing another man

Alt: a man with a beard is kissing another man

media.tenor.com

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Over time, a character can gain up to five Retainers.

But my favourite part? Character death and the role of Retainers.

In Gallows Corner, you are peasants. Untrained, unarmoured, and under-armed. Death is a reality, and it will happen to your character at least once. Likely more.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Each Retainer brings something new to the player and their character. Additional dice to add to Tests. New Skills to negate the need for rolls. Support in combat through an extra Physical EXP dice.

Each Retainer adds to the character and gives the player new solutions to problems.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Instead, as characters gain Influence -- through taking the fight to the crown, liberating areas of the country, and HELPING people -- they start to attract followers.

If a follower is recruited, they become a RETAINER, who is a full character in their own right, with dice, trade, job, and skills.

A full page black and white illustration from Gallows Corner, showing a range of different working people and nobles.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

But this is not a Retinue.

In Gallows Corner, characters don't 'level up'. Their EXP (Physical, Intellectual, and Emotional) dice can change (for better and worse), and their TRA + JOB dice, but they don't 'get better' like a trad levelling up system implies.

No transformative change takes place.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

Gallows Corner is a love letter to my working class rage, community, and radical history. Its a game that shows that the lowest can change the world IF THEY WORK TOGETHER.

Now, of course, there are the players, a community themselves. A group of peasants/working class outlawed and working together.

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Three Sails Studios @threesailsstudios.bsky.social · 4d

To talk about Retinues, I need to share some of the cultural inspirations for Gallows Corner.

Robin Hood features heavily (both literary and cinematic), as do the works of Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom and Sharpe). Final Fantasy also looms large.

What unites them? A hero supported by a party.

a man with a scarf around his neck is making a funny face and saying `` i truly hope so . ''

Alt: a man with a scarf around his neck is making a funny face and saying `` i truly hope so . ''

media.tenor.com

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