Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
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flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
@flamingbraingames.bsky.social
120 followers 250 following 820 posts
Ignem Mittere in Cerebrum

TTRPG Game Designer and Writer
patreon.com/flamingbraingames

WIP: Adirondark: The Weird Wilderness Beyond the Blue Line
A turn of the twentieth century wilderness horror game!

And I make other TTRPG things as well!
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flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games @flamingbraingames.bsky.social · Feb 24
#SelfPromoSunday

Check out our small (but growing!) selection of TTRPG things for sale and join our Patreon to help support us in our designing and publishing endeavors!

patreon.com/FlamingBrain...
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher...
flaming-brain-games.itch.io

#TTRPG #flamingbraingames
Get more from Flaming Brain Games on Patreon
Tabletop Roleplaying Game Materials
patreon.com
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
First sketch of the fish-folk skeletal cursed hierophant...

WIP
January 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
solsroles.bsky.social
Whether you're a player or a GM, active listening is the key to creating a welcoming and inclusive TTRPG space. Listen with an open mind and heart, and let empathy be your guide. #TTRPGMotivation
January 21, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
enthusiamy.bsky.social
“Always treat your collaborators well, but especially when they're doing mission critical work that doesn't come with much credit or visibility.”
^^^

Gold standard advice from Jim Zub (in reference to comics, here, but of course: applicable everywhere)
@jimzub.bsky.social
jimzub.bsky.social Jim Zub @jimzub.bsky.social · 11h
And notice that pattern - Assistant Editors gain experience and become Editors. They remember who they've worked with and how they were treated.

Always treat your collaborators well, but especially when they're doing mission critical work that doesn't come with much credit or visibility.
January 21, 2026 at 4:24 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Bought a sketchbook. Not a journal — got enough of those (wait, do I?) — but a sketchbook for actual sketching and drawing. So... I guess this "creating the art I envision for my TTRPG project" phase is happening...

Please send anti-imposter syndrome vibes.
January 21, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
dairykillsme.bsky.social
Hey you! Are you a TTRPG writer staring at discourse on bluesky??? Would you rather be writing for a game? I want to pay you (at $0.20/word) to write for a zine month project!

I'm seeking folks interested in folk stories and examining power structures in storytelling!
How I Heard It Guest Writer Application
First Pancake Studios is seeking guest writers for our upcoming TTRPG How I Heard it (Free Ashcan Available Here). How I Heard it is a GM-less storytelling game played around a campfire. Players take ...
docs.google.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
slyflourish.com
RPG tip from the archive: Use table tools and notebooks you love and connect you to the joy of the game.

#dnd #ttrpg
January 20, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
ffrancavilla.bsky.social
Remembering visionary Maestro DAVID LYNCH on what would have been his 80th birthday. We miss you so much, David. 🖤🖤🖤
A portrait of David Lynch with a third eye in his forehead
January 20, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
solsroles.bsky.social
Embrace the journey of self-improvement and level up your skills, both in-game and in life. #TTRPGMotivation
January 20, 2026 at 7:29 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
I would also like to return to roleplaying around a table again... I'm lucky enough to have a space in my home, but getting a group of adults together regularly - who all share compatible ideas about roleplaying - is difficult.
January 20, 2026 at 6:44 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Had a realization today about some ideas that make for good, immersive, collaborative roleplaying game experiences. And it starts with a basic question:

Why play TTRPGs?

Joy.

And then I've got some ideas about how a table/group can work together for that goal. Your ideas?

#TTRPGDesign
#TTRPGJoy
January 20, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
gilarpgs.bsky.social
WYRM is here!

WYRM is my fantasy adventure game, and my take on the OSR/NSR style of play, with a Gila twist.

Get the core rules, starting adventure, starter sandbox hexcrawl today.

All PWYW.

This is just the start of WYRM.

gilarpgs.itch.io/wyrm
WYRM by Gila RPGs
OSR style fantasy adventure game
gilarpgs.itch.io
January 20, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
alphastream.bsky.social
Finished Stranger Things and Want to try D&D?

How to get started, learn the rules, pick a starting adventure, find players, and become a DM. (Spoiler footage from the D&D games across the series.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-rO...

#DnD #StrangerThings
The words "Stranger Things, Now Play D&D" appear In the red glowing font used in the Stranger Things TV series.
January 19, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
gilarpgs.bsky.social
24 hours until WYRM
Cover for the WYRM TTRPG. A large stone wall has a glowing doorway. An armored fantasy character carrying a torch is walking through the doorway. At the top of the image is the word " WYRM "
January 19, 2026 at 4:17 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
From an educators' post about inspiring students to write more, but absolutely helps me as a teacher, writer, and TTRPG designer.

#TTRPGDesign
#Writing
#C.S.Lewis
January 19, 2026 at 4:47 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Chili was delicious, looking forward to tomorrow!
January 19, 2026 at 3:44 AM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
I have always loved cooking.

And as I am growing more into my hobbit lifestyle I am looking to start a sourdough starter again... with semolina and some other non-standard-to-American flours to get hearty and delicious breads.

Wish me luck...
January 18, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
tabletopoptimist.bsky.social
This is a good rule and one I feel like people stress over forgetting this rule. #ttrpg #daggerheart
The Golden Rule The most important rule of Daggerheart is to make the game your own. The rules included in this book are designed to help you enjoy the experience at the table, but everyone has a different approach to interpreting rules and telling stories. The rules should never get in the way of the story you want to tell, the characters you want to play, or the adventures you want to have. As long as your group agrees, everything can be adjusted to fit your play style. If there’s a rule you’d rather ignore or modify, feel free to implement any change with your table’s consent.
January 18, 2026 at 8:13 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
I don't have Paramount and have been itching to watch the newest Star Trek series (Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Picard) but Starfleet Academy might be a good one to watch with my teen kids... any thoughts?
January 18, 2026 at 7:25 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Need some quick additions to your game world? Check out Silkroots, Goblin Hamlet or The Ancient Apiary of Mauri Mandiri!
January 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
shawnmerwin.bsky.social
It's an incredibly positive sign for the future of #dnd that Wizards of the Coast hired @jamesjhaeck.bsky.social @barilleon.com and @nirele.bsky.social to the team. Looking forward to great stuff in 2026 and beyond.
January 18, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
I'm sorry. As a technology writer, I'm supposed to be telling you that this bet will some day pay off, because one day we will have shoveled so many words into the word-guessing program that it wakes up and learns how to actually do the jobs it is failing spectacularly at today. This is a proposition akin to the idea that if we keep breeding horses to run faster and faster, one of them will give birth to a locomotive. Humans possess intelligence, and machines do not. The difference between a human and a word-guessing program isn't how many words the human knows. I'm sorry. I know that when we talk about "digital sovereignty," we're obliged to talk about how we can build more data-centres that we can fill up with money-losing chips from American silicon monopolists in the hopes of destroying as many jobs as possible while blowing through our clean energy goals and enshittifying as much of our potable water as possible.
January 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Making a fritatta for breakfast, chili for dinner, and my youngest requested steak and all the fixings for his birthday dinner coming up...
January 18, 2026 at 4:46 PM
flamingbraingames.bsky.social
Going shopping with my youngest kid for chili fixings and to get stuff for his birthday dinner...
January 18, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
slyflourish.com
RPG tip from the archive: Think about the situation of a location. What would happen there if the characters didn't show up?

#dnd #ttrpg
January 17, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Matt Whelehan // Flaming Brain Games
exeunt.press
It might say MÖRK BORG, but the MÖRKTOBER Creator Kit works great for any OSR and/or dark fantasy setting. If you need ideas and inspiration for the upcoming WYRM Jam, you should check it out.

Free community copies available: exeuntpress.itch.io/morktober-kit

#OSR #TTRPG #WYRM
January 17, 2026 at 9:59 PM