Michael Prescott (Trilemma)
@fuseboy.bsky.social
RPG writer/illustrator of Ennie award-winning two-page dungeons. He/him.
The picture this all leaves me with is that Krull is more like a far-future Westworld than an inhabited planet. What's happened is the dynasty who owns GLAIVE, Inc. took their fortune and settled down somewhere nice for a few dozen generations of LARPing.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The picture this all leaves me with is that Krull is more like a far-future Westworld than an inhabited planet. What's happened is the dynasty who owns GLAIVE, Inc. took their fortune and settled down somewhere nice for a few dozen generations of LARPing.
The other thing is the Beast himself. Okay, he's an alien overlord with an army of lobsters with rayguns, but his real motives are clear—he's here to get with Lyssa. He'll call off the whole invasion if she'll role-play with him.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The other thing is the Beast himself. Okay, he's an alien overlord with an army of lobsters with rayguns, but his real motives are clear—he's here to get with Lyssa. He'll call off the whole invasion if she'll role-play with him.
In fact, it seems everybody is magical on Krull. Forget the glaive, when you get married, the power of love gives you a personal flamethrower spell.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
In fact, it seems everybody is magical on Krull. Forget the glaive, when you get married, the power of love gives you a personal flamethrower spell.
This was supposed to be the film's E.T. + flying bikes moment, but it's such a mundanely accessible option that it raises more questions than triumphant emotions.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This was supposed to be the film's E.T. + flying bikes moment, but it's such a mundanely accessible option that it raises more questions than triumphant emotions.
Thieves are clearly magical in Krull. Knights can't get from one castle to another without being wiped out by random encounters on a trip to the next castle over, but when the party needs to cross the planet, the thieves are all, "Well, what about flying horses?" "Oh yeah, good idea."
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Thieves are clearly magical in Krull. Knights can't get from one castle to another without being wiped out by random encounters on a trip to the next castle over, but when the party needs to cross the planet, the thieves are all, "Well, what about flying horses?" "Oh yeah, good idea."
This is all so unlikely that the obvious explanation is that Summon Spouse is a level three Thief spell, but Kegan rolled a 1, causing a magical mishap. The Beast tweaks the result and makes the spell turn out badly, just like he did when the emerald seer tried to scry on him.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This is all so unlikely that the obvious explanation is that Summon Spouse is a level three Thief spell, but Kegan rolled a 1, causing a magical mishap. The Beast tweaks the result and makes the spell turn out badly, just like he did when the emerald seer tried to scry on him.
There's a strange moment where the party runs out of food in the middle of nowhere, so the bandit leader suggests another bandit call on his "wife". She shows up half an hour later with food for twenty people, and a cute friend who is a changeling assassin working for the Beast.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
There's a strange moment where the party runs out of food in the middle of nowhere, so the bandit leader suggests another bandit call on his "wife". She shows up half an hour later with food for twenty people, and a cute friend who is a changeling assassin working for the Beast.
Okay, so the other weird thing about Krull is that the population of the planet seems to be about 150. Sure, there's a castle full of "knights", but there's no town, no farmland, no villages, and nobody visiting from those places. There are kings, but no subjects. Bandits, but no travelers.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Okay, so the other weird thing about Krull is that the population of the planet seems to be about 150. Sure, there's a castle full of "knights", but there's no town, no farmland, no villages, and nobody visiting from those places. There are kings, but no subjects. Bandits, but no travelers.
2. Ergo's only other magical ability is, well, changing shape. Guess who else does that?
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
2. Ergo's only other magical ability is, well, changing shape. Guess who else does that?
I'll indulge a fan theory here: Ergo the Magnificent is a changeling, originally a servant of the Beast. Here's the evidence:
1. He flies in like a flare. The only other time we see anything like this is when the Beast's castle explodes and flare rain down from the upper levels.
1. He flies in like a flare. The only other time we see anything like this is when the Beast's castle explodes and flare rain down from the upper levels.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I'll indulge a fan theory here: Ergo the Magnificent is a changeling, originally a servant of the Beast. Here's the evidence:
1. He flies in like a flare. The only other time we see anything like this is when the Beast's castle explodes and flare rain down from the upper levels.
1. He flies in like a flare. The only other time we see anything like this is when the Beast's castle explodes and flare rain down from the upper levels.
There is something really interesting happening with up and down. When the Beast dies, the pieces of his fortress fall ~up~ into space, which is such a fun choice. But when any of his minions dies, their body is immediately sucked into the ground. I love both of these, no idea if it makes any sense.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
There is something really interesting happening with up and down. When the Beast dies, the pieces of his fortress fall ~up~ into space, which is such a fun choice. But when any of his minions dies, their body is immediately sucked into the ground. I love both of these, no idea if it makes any sense.
Wise old Ynir tells the hero, "He'll know when to use it," which is apparently NOT to even the odds against alien troops with energy weapons, tough luck there. Nope, the legendary death frisbee is just to cut through walls and smash brickwork. For all the fanfare, this is basically holy C4.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Wise old Ynir tells the hero, "He'll know when to use it," which is apparently NOT to even the odds against alien troops with energy weapons, tough luck there. Nope, the legendary death frisbee is just to cut through walls and smash brickwork. For all the fanfare, this is basically holy C4.
Also, the humans have "the glaive", which is interesting because of how little screen time it gets. There's a big show of retrieving it from a mountaintop spa where it's stored in hot glycerine (to stop it rusting?), but then the wise mentor tells the hero NOT to practice with it.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Also, the humans have "the glaive", which is interesting because of how little screen time it gets. There's a big show of retrieving it from a mountaintop spa where it's stored in hot glycerine (to stop it rusting?), but then the wise mentor tells the hero NOT to practice with it.
At the same time, this isn't all one-sided. The one-eyed Cyclops people are known to be from from another planet. But topping everything is the prophecy that the protagonists' foretold son is going to rule the.. galaxy. Not the three duchies, not the known world, but the whole ~galaxy~?!
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
At the same time, this isn't all one-sided. The one-eyed Cyclops people are known to be from from another planet. But topping everything is the prophecy that the protagonists' foretold son is going to rule the.. galaxy. Not the three duchies, not the known world, but the whole ~galaxy~?!
This bonkers culture clash is done more or less straight up. The invading army has energy weapons, power armor, and can fly just like Harkonnen soldiers! They're deployed from a fortress that can be anywhere. The enslaved worlds of course never had a chance.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This bonkers culture clash is done more or less straight up. The invading army has energy weapons, power armor, and can fly just like Harkonnen soldiers! They're deployed from a fortress that can be anywhere. The enslaved worlds of course never had a chance.
First of all, the pastoral fantasy world in the movie is part of an interstellar fabric of worlds. The Beast isn't (just) a demon, he's a literal alien in a teleporting space fortress made of anti-gravity stones. But what's interesting is that this isn't a WTF moment for everyone involved.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
First of all, the pastoral fantasy world in the movie is part of an interstellar fabric of worlds. The Beast isn't (just) a demon, he's a literal alien in a teleporting space fortress made of anti-gravity stones. But what's interesting is that this isn't a WTF moment for everyone involved.
Watched Krull (1983) last night, and it's interesting to treat its rather odd worldbuilding as ~incompletely revealed~ rather than slapdash. There are some really interesting things about it.
November 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Watched Krull (1983) last night, and it's interesting to treat its rather odd worldbuilding as ~incompletely revealed~ rather than slapdash. There are some really interesting things about it.
Trilemma Adventures Compendium is the DTRPG deal of the day! This 2x ENnie award-winning book has 55 two-page adventure sites that you can immediately drop into your fantasy setting, or use as part of the embedded campaign setting. All for a measly nine bucks?!
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2...
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2...
November 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Trilemma Adventures Compendium is the DTRPG deal of the day! This 2x ENnie award-winning book has 55 two-page adventure sites that you can immediately drop into your fantasy setting, or use as part of the embedded campaign setting. All for a measly nine bucks?!
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2...
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2...
The whole Balrog-fighting thing was just an act of frustration, Gandalf had no idea he was going to pull it off, but his 381st try through Moria was the first time he'd saved all four hobbits and he wasn't going to lose them now. The Valar were so surprised it worked, they gave him a save point.
November 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The whole Balrog-fighting thing was just an act of frustration, Gandalf had no idea he was going to pull it off, but his 381st try through Moria was the first time he'd saved all four hobbits and he wasn't going to lose them now. The Valar were so surprised it worked, they gave him a save point.
But this gave me a fun idea: Lord of the Rings, but done like Edge of Tomorrow. Gandalf is tasked with defeating Sauron, has no idea how to go about it, but every time he fails the he gets ~sent back~ to try again.
November 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
But this gave me a fun idea: Lord of the Rings, but done like Edge of Tomorrow. Gandalf is tasked with defeating Sauron, has no idea how to go about it, but every time he fails the he gets ~sent back~ to try again.
Someone on FB asked, 'Why didn't the Fellowship simply take a boat to Mordor'?; the first reply is that meeting Nazgul at sea would suck. That's a great image, Gandalf trying to fend them off with magic light while the fell beasts slowly rip bits off the mast.. 🧵
November 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Someone on FB asked, 'Why didn't the Fellowship simply take a boat to Mordor'?; the first reply is that meeting Nazgul at sea would suck. That's a great image, Gandalf trying to fend them off with magic light while the fell beasts slowly rip bits off the mast.. 🧵
Accidental cosplay at the optometrist. She gave me these crazy steampunk lens holders, they looked so odd I had to take a selfie. But with the mask I was already wearing, I looked like a tusken raider!
August 28, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Accidental cosplay at the optometrist. She gave me these crazy steampunk lens holders, they looked so odd I had to take a selfie. But with the mask I was already wearing, I looked like a tusken raider!
"Van Horn" setups feel smalltime, relevant only to those stuck in the same tidal pool. Trapped in mediocrity for lack of a ticket out. "Nathan" setups feel like the isolation is a temporary containment of powerful forces that could explode onto the scene and affect everything.
August 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM
"Van Horn" setups feel smalltime, relevant only to those stuck in the same tidal pool. Trapped in mediocrity for lack of a ticket out. "Nathan" setups feel like the isolation is a temporary containment of powerful forces that could explode onto the scene and affect everything.
I'm watching Alien: Earth, and reflecting on how some "isolated eccentric" setups are really tense, others drag. 🧵
August 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I'm watching Alien: Earth, and reflecting on how some "isolated eccentric" setups are really tense, others drag. 🧵
For a while I've had this idea that I could simplify Epic: Armageddon a little bit with some custom dice, but I've never tried making some. It's apparently pretty straight forward with blank dice and iron-on transfer paper. Well.. 🧵
August 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
For a while I've had this idea that I could simplify Epic: Armageddon a little bit with some custom dice, but I've never tried making some. It's apparently pretty straight forward with blank dice and iron-on transfer paper. Well.. 🧵