Mike Martens | Clear Keep
@clearkeep.bsky.social
he/him. UX & TTRPG. Visiting weird vistas. ENNIES & IGDN award winner.
Creator: Planet Raygun, Sunken, The Wassailing, Tourist Hole
Contributor: Butter Princess, Dark Designs in Verdigris, Trophy, Public Access, Silt Verses RPG
clearkeep.us
Creator: Planet Raygun, Sunken, The Wassailing, Tourist Hole
Contributor: Butter Princess, Dark Designs in Verdigris, Trophy, Public Access, Silt Verses RPG
clearkeep.us
Pinned
O HEY.
I'm a UX writer and ttrpg designer, with graphic design in my side holster.
If you want a feed about any of those things or their intersections, add me! 👾👾👾
I'm also bad at marketing myself, so this is your chance to follow someone before they're cool.
I'm a UX writer and ttrpg designer, with graphic design in my side holster.
If you want a feed about any of those things or their intersections, add me! 👾👾👾
I'm also bad at marketing myself, so this is your chance to follow someone before they're cool.
Yeah, these little freaks are the real story
🙏CHAPTER SERF🙏
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
I finished it! A Warhammer 40K adventure & TTRPG where you *don't* play Space Marines. Instead you play those little hooded freaks loitering in the background while Space Marines hog the limelight.
PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Mt...
1/
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Yeah, these little freaks are the real story
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Few years ago I did comic adaptation of Karel Čapek sci-fi play R.U.R. ...next month is that comicbook going to be published in Albania, so I have excuse to post some pages here:
November 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Few years ago I did comic adaptation of Karel Čapek sci-fi play R.U.R. ...next month is that comicbook going to be published in Albania, so I have excuse to post some pages here:
Somebody hire me to make a The Magicians ttrpg.
Seriously, wtf are we even doing here.
Seriously, wtf are we even doing here.
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Somebody hire me to make a The Magicians ttrpg.
Seriously, wtf are we even doing here.
Seriously, wtf are we even doing here.
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
"Tourist Hole" just arrived! Thanks @clearkeep.bsky.social and @plusoneexp.bsky.social !
I am not sure how I feel bout cutting our cards from the pages of the booklet, but I'll get over it. 😅🃏
I am not sure how I feel bout cutting our cards from the pages of the booklet, but I'll get over it. 😅🃏
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
"Tourist Hole" just arrived! Thanks @clearkeep.bsky.social and @plusoneexp.bsky.social !
I am not sure how I feel bout cutting our cards from the pages of the booklet, but I'll get over it. 😅🃏
I am not sure how I feel bout cutting our cards from the pages of the booklet, but I'll get over it. 😅🃏
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Writers! Particularly TTRPG writers, but anyone comfortable with fantasy: The Gauntlet Pitch Day is coming December 6th!
Details at the link below.
www.gauntlet-rpg.com/pitch-day.html
Details at the link below.
www.gauntlet-rpg.com/pitch-day.html
Pitch Day
Pitch Day: The Great Forest We’re taking pitches for our upcoming game, The Lands Remaining ! Pitch Day will be December 6th, 2025. There will be three different Zoom calls you can join to make...
www.gauntlet-rpg.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Writers! Particularly TTRPG writers, but anyone comfortable with fantasy: The Gauntlet Pitch Day is coming December 6th!
Details at the link below.
www.gauntlet-rpg.com/pitch-day.html
Details at the link below.
www.gauntlet-rpg.com/pitch-day.html
Was there a law in the 70s that every movie had to have an overlapping dialogue scene?
Who changed the law?
How do we punish them?
Who changed the law?
How do we punish them?
November 21, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Was there a law in the 70s that every movie had to have an overlapping dialogue scene?
Who changed the law?
How do we punish them?
Who changed the law?
How do we punish them?
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Happy Friday! We're getting hyped for an upcoming project, looking to crowdfund physical copies in March 2026! That's right, we're getting MORE (unofficial)TROPHY! In partnership with @jesseross.com and @pemetawe.bsky.social, with a stellar list of writers! #TrophyTTPRG #Trophy #TTRPG
November 21, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Happy Friday! We're getting hyped for an upcoming project, looking to crowdfund physical copies in March 2026! That's right, we're getting MORE (unofficial)TROPHY! In partnership with @jesseross.com and @pemetawe.bsky.social, with a stellar list of writers! #TrophyTTPRG #Trophy #TTRPG
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
![II. Credibility
The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6]
Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.
[FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifpyry2il5toxbr3iejgrsxs6kmnwve75qwnhebfp44ieyjrfpsdu@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
Charlie & Linus are forced to be exchange students to France.
Charlie’s dog (“Snoopy”) is their chaperone.
They all must sleep outside of a mysterious chateau for the entire trip.
They try to solve the mystery of why they are being neglected, with no help from the adults they interact with.
Charlie’s dog (“Snoopy”) is their chaperone.
They all must sleep outside of a mysterious chateau for the entire trip.
They try to solve the mystery of why they are being neglected, with no help from the adults they interact with.
The premise of Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown is beyond absurd.
November 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Charlie & Linus are forced to be exchange students to France.
Charlie’s dog (“Snoopy”) is their chaperone.
They all must sleep outside of a mysterious chateau for the entire trip.
They try to solve the mystery of why they are being neglected, with no help from the adults they interact with.
Charlie’s dog (“Snoopy”) is their chaperone.
They all must sleep outside of a mysterious chateau for the entire trip.
They try to solve the mystery of why they are being neglected, with no help from the adults they interact with.
The premise of Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown is beyond absurd.
November 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
The premise of Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown is beyond absurd.
My goal during every large convention is to burn this place to the ground.
And I will remember if you were here and didn’t help.
And I will remember if you were here and didn’t help.
November 20, 2025 at 1:27 AM
My goal during every large convention is to burn this place to the ground.
And I will remember if you were here and didn’t help.
And I will remember if you were here and didn’t help.
Soooooo … This isn’t necessarily wrong, but let me share some reasons genre bashing manifests (or doesn’t?) in my games.
You love the overlap of art and product?
Here we go 🧵
You love the overlap of art and product?
Here we go 🧵
I love the genre mashup. Give me all the Golden Girls/Cthulhus and WWII/Draculas you've got.
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
Dare to Play it Straight
The rarest tabletop genre is the simplest one. A call for more anti-mashups.
www.explorersdesign.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Soooooo … This isn’t necessarily wrong, but let me share some reasons genre bashing manifests (or doesn’t?) in my games.
You love the overlap of art and product?
Here we go 🧵
You love the overlap of art and product?
Here we go 🧵
The way fine lines are drawn between OSR/NSR/FKR/trad/etc while the rest of ttrpg classification is tossed into "story game" – to be totally frank with you – feels trite and maybe even unserious.
November 19, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The way fine lines are drawn between OSR/NSR/FKR/trad/etc while the rest of ttrpg classification is tossed into "story game" – to be totally frank with you – feels trite and maybe even unserious.
What Sam and @itsquinns.bsky.social bluesky in this episode would be a fantastic framework for a R.E.P.O. ttrpg if anyone doesn’t already have too many projects in their inventory …
This week on Dice Exploder, just in time for Mausritter month, @itsquinns.bsky.social joins me to talk about the Mausritter's inventory system: the only inventory system I've ever liked.
Inventory Tetris (Mausritter) with Quinns — Dice Exploder
Mausritter is an old school dungeon crawling game where instead of playing as elves fighting dragons, you play as mice fleeing from owls. It’s not unlike any number of other old school games like Cair...
www.diceexploder.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
What Sam and @itsquinns.bsky.social bluesky in this episode would be a fantastic framework for a R.E.P.O. ttrpg if anyone doesn’t already have too many projects in their inventory …
What are some other games (or modules) like Bedlam Hall and The Wassailing where the scenario is anchored primarily in the character and not the setting?
Specifically: You’re not navigating new
locations as the scenario progresses as much as you’re navigating new developments in the antagonist.
Specifically: You’re not navigating new
locations as the scenario progresses as much as you’re navigating new developments in the antagonist.
November 18, 2025 at 6:39 PM
What are some other games (or modules) like Bedlam Hall and The Wassailing where the scenario is anchored primarily in the character and not the setting?
Specifically: You’re not navigating new
locations as the scenario progresses as much as you’re navigating new developments in the antagonist.
Specifically: You’re not navigating new
locations as the scenario progresses as much as you’re navigating new developments in the antagonist.
Tourist Hole is a casual, quick-play storygame about getting lost in weird places.
I belieeeeeeeeve it will be at the @plusoneexp.bsky.social booth at PAXU.
If you missed backing it and won't be there, you can also now buy it direct from Plus One EXP.
plusoneexp.com/products/tou...
I belieeeeeeeeve it will be at the @plusoneexp.bsky.social booth at PAXU.
If you missed backing it and won't be there, you can also now buy it direct from Plus One EXP.
plusoneexp.com/products/tou...
Tourist Hole
A game of roadside attractions and existential spookies You've seen signs for it, littering the desert vista for hours. "NO SCIENTIST. NO PHILOSOPHER. DARES EXPLAIN. THE MYSTERIOUS QUESTION POINT." Le...
plusoneexp.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Tourist Hole is a casual, quick-play storygame about getting lost in weird places.
I belieeeeeeeeve it will be at the @plusoneexp.bsky.social booth at PAXU.
If you missed backing it and won't be there, you can also now buy it direct from Plus One EXP.
plusoneexp.com/products/tou...
I belieeeeeeeeve it will be at the @plusoneexp.bsky.social booth at PAXU.
If you missed backing it and won't be there, you can also now buy it direct from Plus One EXP.
plusoneexp.com/products/tou...
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
In 2016, the Apocalypse World 2nd Ed campaign ended at $149,681. We'd like to beat that!
At $149,682, we'll get with the original authors and update three classic playbooks:
• The Faceless by Bret Gillan
• The News by Josh Savoie
• The Show by Elliot Baker
At $149,682, we'll get with the original authors and update three classic playbooks:
• The Faceless by Bret Gillan
• The News by Josh Savoie
• The Show by Elliot Baker
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
In 2016, the Apocalypse World 2nd Ed campaign ended at $149,681. We'd like to beat that!
At $149,682, we'll get with the original authors and update three classic playbooks:
• The Faceless by Bret Gillan
• The News by Josh Savoie
• The Show by Elliot Baker
At $149,682, we'll get with the original authors and update three classic playbooks:
• The Faceless by Bret Gillan
• The News by Josh Savoie
• The Show by Elliot Baker
Name that film …
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Name that film …
I don't know if there's a formal term for it, but what's developing as my style of book design seems to be a pseudo-diegesis …
These books aren't trying to be artifacts of the narrative world, but they're also not untouched by that reality.
These books aren't trying to be artifacts of the narrative world, but they're also not untouched by that reality.
an orange and white cat is reading a book called the lore
Alt: an orange and white cat is reading a book called the lore
media.tenor.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I don't know if there's a formal term for it, but what's developing as my style of book design seems to be a pseudo-diegesis …
These books aren't trying to be artifacts of the narrative world, but they're also not untouched by that reality.
These books aren't trying to be artifacts of the narrative world, but they're also not untouched by that reality.
More sick d6 sets, please.
🚨 EAT THE REICH DICE🚨
The edging is over because these bad boys from @dispeldice.bsky.social are coming THURSDAY!
Each dice has a vibrant insert covered in @chamonkee.bsky.social art, with a sharp wrapping that's easy to read when you're fang deep 🫀
Get ready here: buff.ly/10yNPQenotif...
The edging is over because these bad boys from @dispeldice.bsky.social are coming THURSDAY!
Each dice has a vibrant insert covered in @chamonkee.bsky.social art, with a sharp wrapping that's easy to read when you're fang deep 🫀
Get ready here: buff.ly/10yNPQenotif...
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
More sick d6 sets, please.
I came up in marketing when brands like Coca-Cola were intensely specific about things like this. It would have been: “It’s not the Coca-Cola delivery truck if the logo isn’t X feet long and there aren’t Y pounds of snow on the cab.”
It is surreal to me how much its standards have dropped.
It is surreal to me how much its standards have dropped.
November 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I came up in marketing when brands like Coca-Cola were intensely specific about things like this. It would have been: “It’s not the Coca-Cola delivery truck if the logo isn’t X feet long and there aren’t Y pounds of snow on the cab.”
It is surreal to me how much its standards have dropped.
It is surreal to me how much its standards have dropped.
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Another new #paxunplugged release: CANNIBAL COOK-OFF is a roleplaying party game where two teams go head to head with human heads, a cooking competition show with body parts in an 8-page zine. FREE with purchase at my booth 3953. Featuring practical gore creations by swedishmadetoys !
November 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Another new #paxunplugged release: CANNIBAL COOK-OFF is a roleplaying party game where two teams go head to head with human heads, a cooking competition show with body parts in an 8-page zine. FREE with purchase at my booth 3953. Featuring practical gore creations by swedishmadetoys !
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Growing up in a time when “selling out” was the most shameful thing you could do and then being forced to live through the 2020s feels like being kicked in the head by a horse every day
November 13, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Growing up in a time when “selling out” was the most shameful thing you could do and then being forced to live through the 2020s feels like being kicked in the head by a horse every day
Reposted by Mike Martens | Clear Keep
Festive season is coming, and of course I'm excited to make it a little spooky...
So happy to be writing for this wonderful game, alongside such talented writers. Thank you @clearkeep.bsky.social for asking me to contribute!
🎄❄️🩵
So happy to be writing for this wonderful game, alongside such talented writers. Thank you @clearkeep.bsky.social for asking me to contribute!
🎄❄️🩵
2025's Wassailing holiday annual includes a whole new stable of contributors (and @signalstation.bsky.social sidling his way in again).
@sassylich.bsky.social! @xanderbimski.bsky.social! @iknowadamseats.bsky.social! @iamatrex.com! @loremistress93.bsky.social!
… and still more to be revealed.
@sassylich.bsky.social! @xanderbimski.bsky.social! @iknowadamseats.bsky.social! @iamatrex.com! @loremistress93.bsky.social!
… and still more to be revealed.
November 13, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Festive season is coming, and of course I'm excited to make it a little spooky...
So happy to be writing for this wonderful game, alongside such talented writers. Thank you @clearkeep.bsky.social for asking me to contribute!
🎄❄️🩵
So happy to be writing for this wonderful game, alongside such talented writers. Thank you @clearkeep.bsky.social for asking me to contribute!
🎄❄️🩵
Adobe Fresco Just Added Magic (and It’s NOT AI)
YouTube video by Chris Piascik
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 10:17 PM