Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
@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
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 🔜 PAXU
Long ago on the hell site I made long list of historically interesting things to use in dnd ttrpgs and I'll start dragging them over here starting with
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
November 13, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Long ago on the hell site I made long list of historically interesting things to use in dnd ttrpgs and I'll start dragging them over here starting with
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
Thanks to everyone who watched our stream and everyone who donated. We raised a total of $890 for our various organizations, but it needn't stop there—our donation links will remain live indefinitely.
bit.ly/icirr-towe (CHI)
bit.ly/chirla-towe (LA)
bit.ly/irco-towe (PDX)
bit.ly/carecen-towe (DC)
bit.ly/icirr-towe (CHI)
bit.ly/chirla-towe (LA)
bit.ly/irco-towe (PDX)
bit.ly/carecen-towe (DC)
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 16, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Thanks to everyone who watched our stream and everyone who donated. We raised a total of $890 for our various organizations, but it needn't stop there—our donation links will remain live indefinitely.
bit.ly/icirr-towe (CHI)
bit.ly/chirla-towe (LA)
bit.ly/irco-towe (PDX)
bit.ly/carecen-towe (DC)
bit.ly/icirr-towe (CHI)
bit.ly/chirla-towe (LA)
bit.ly/irco-towe (PDX)
bit.ly/carecen-towe (DC)
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
Going live at the top of the hour!
Join us!
Join us!
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 15, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Going live at the top of the hour!
Join us!
Join us!
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
dystopian ass weather report
Chicago may experience less tear gas use as Operation Midway Blitz winds down. Cold and wet weather reduce effectiveness, while wind adds unpredictability.
Wind, cold temps can change the impact of tear gas and pepper balls, experts say
chicago.suntimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM
dystopian ass weather report
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
"Agents have been involved in eight car chases and used force in at least 76 incidents"
Impressive analysis of the ICE/CBP use of force in Chicago in recent months from @chicago.suntimes.com & @wbez.org:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
Impressive analysis of the ICE/CBP use of force in Chicago in recent months from @chicago.suntimes.com & @wbez.org:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
Tear gas, car crashes, chokeholds: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’
Law enforcement experts say federal agents have displayed a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:20 PM
"Agents have been involved in eight car chases and used force in at least 76 incidents"
Impressive analysis of the ICE/CBP use of force in Chicago in recent months from @chicago.suntimes.com & @wbez.org:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
Impressive analysis of the ICE/CBP use of force in Chicago in recent months from @chicago.suntimes.com & @wbez.org:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 14, 2025 at 4:57 PM
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us tomorrow, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us this Saturday, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us this Saturday, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 13, 2025 at 10:34 PM
When one of us is attacked, we all roll initiative!
Join us this Saturday, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Join us this Saturday, Nov. 15, for a charity D&D stream to raise funds for immigrant/refugee organizations in CHI, PDX, LA and DC, in support of our neighbors who are being harassed, assaulted and abducted in the name of immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
A number of local Chicago reporters/journalists have truly distinguished themselves over the past few weeks and I am so very grateful. It also shows that reporting is a public service when done well. Thank you all.
November 13, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A number of local Chicago reporters/journalists have truly distinguished themselves over the past few weeks and I am so very grateful. It also shows that reporting is a public service when done well. Thank you all.
T minus 1 week to #PAXUnplugged! I'll be around all day Fri–Sat, 11/21–22. You can catch me signing books in the Autographing Area on Friday from noon to 3 PM; I'll have Making Enemies available for sale.
I'm also looking for new things to work on. HMU if you want to talk about that.
I'm also looking for new things to work on. HMU if you want to talk about that.
November 13, 2025 at 5:26 PM
T minus 1 week to #PAXUnplugged! I'll be around all day Fri–Sat, 11/21–22. You can catch me signing books in the Autographing Area on Friday from noon to 3 PM; I'll have Making Enemies available for sale.
I'm also looking for new things to work on. HMU if you want to talk about that.
I'm also looking for new things to work on. HMU if you want to talk about that.
Some of the choices get very tough toward the end. dacompanionsorter.neocities.org
November 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Some of the choices get very tough toward the end. dacompanionsorter.neocities.org
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
Reminder: A lot of great books published this year during absolutely bonkers news & world event times. That squashes people talking about them. Keep buying books please, keep borrowing them from libraries, and for the love of all that's good, talk about them. Post about them. 📚
November 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reminder: A lot of great books published this year during absolutely bonkers news & world event times. That squashes people talking about them. Keep buying books please, keep borrowing them from libraries, and for the love of all that's good, talk about them. Post about them. 📚
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
*Bond movie font*
"Sylvester will return in… The Ones Who Endure"
It's been a while since my sassy little bard's been on an adventure and I'm looking forward to being at the virtual table with these fine folks!
Now, I just need to learn how to play D&D by Saturday. It'll be fine, right? 💖
"Sylvester will return in… The Ones Who Endure"
It's been a while since my sassy little bard's been on an adventure and I'm looking forward to being at the virtual table with these fine folks!
Now, I just need to learn how to play D&D by Saturday. It'll be fine, right? 💖
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 12, 2025 at 8:20 PM
*Bond movie font*
"Sylvester will return in… The Ones Who Endure"
It's been a while since my sassy little bard's been on an adventure and I'm looking forward to being at the virtual table with these fine folks!
Now, I just need to learn how to play D&D by Saturday. It'll be fine, right? 💖
"Sylvester will return in… The Ones Who Endure"
It's been a while since my sassy little bard's been on an adventure and I'm looking forward to being at the virtual table with these fine folks!
Now, I just need to learn how to play D&D by Saturday. It'll be fine, right? 💖
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 12, 2025 at 8:17 PM
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
Who will map the Retreat from Chicago as Minard mapped Napoleon's retreat from wintry Moscow?
November 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Who will map the Retreat from Chicago as Minard mapped Napoleon's retreat from wintry Moscow?
The Analects of Confucius. First "religious" book I ever read that truly resonated with me. It's not religious at all, of course, but for me that's the point. When you recognize the kinship of all people, you don't need cosmic rewards and punishments to choose selflessness as a guiding principle.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The Analects of Confucius. First "religious" book I ever read that truly resonated with me. It's not religious at all, of course, but for me that's the point. When you recognize the kinship of all people, you don't need cosmic rewards and punishments to choose selflessness as a guiding principle.
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 11, 2025 at 11:09 PM
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
What’s the difference between compromise and capitulation? Compromise trades concessions. Capitulation pays ransom to stop deliberate suffering, and teaches your opponent that coercion works. There are effective responses to coercive bargaining. What we saw was not one of them.
The Compassion Trap: How the Shutdown Weaponized Democratic Values Against Democracy Itself
When Opposition Parties Stop Fighting Because the Cruelty Becomes Unbearable. And Why They Shouldn't.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:26 PM
What’s the difference between compromise and capitulation? Compromise trades concessions. Capitulation pays ransom to stop deliberate suffering, and teaches your opponent that coercion works. There are effective responses to coercive bargaining. What we saw was not one of them.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
Still thinking about Frankenstein, filmmaking, and how I only want to make art with people who recognize art as the most quintessentially human thing we create, therefore only want to create it with human beings.
November 11, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Still thinking about Frankenstein, filmmaking, and how I only want to make art with people who recognize art as the most quintessentially human thing we create, therefore only want to create it with human beings.
No lies detected.
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
No lies detected.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
In Italy labor unions helped start a network of left-leaning news/music radio stations that have become some of the staples of public information in much of the country. They now run on a donation / ads model, but initial investment was from labor. I think about this often.
The AFL-CIO should start throwing some money towards labor journalism. If it was done right (i.e. with them accepting that journalists must have full editorial control over what’s published, whether or not union leaders like what they have to say) it could really have such a hugely positive impact
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
In Italy labor unions helped start a network of left-leaning news/music radio stations that have become some of the staples of public information in much of the country. They now run on a donation / ads model, but initial investment was from labor. I think about this often.
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 11, 2025 at 1:24 AM
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
Come join me and @urbanbohemian.com, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @blackgirlmage.bsky.social as we play #DnD with @themonstersknow.com this Saturday.
For anti-🧊 charity!
For anti-🧊 charity!
November 11, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Come join me and @urbanbohemian.com, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @blackgirlmage.bsky.social as we play #DnD with @themonstersknow.com this Saturday.
For anti-🧊 charity!
For anti-🧊 charity!
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
our neighbors deserve autonomy, dignity, and fair treatment-- this one shot is going to benefit anti-ICE charities and issues local to each of us.
let's game for good!
let's game for good!
This Saturday, 11/15, join me and @blackgirlmage.bsky.social, @dreamwisp.bsky.social, @themightyjerd.bsky.social and @urbanbohemian.com as we play D&D and raise funds in support of our neighbors who are being threatened with harassment, assault and kidnapping in the name of immigration enforcement.
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
our neighbors deserve autonomy, dignity, and fair treatment-- this one shot is going to benefit anti-ICE charities and issues local to each of us.
let's game for good!
let's game for good!
Reposted by Keith Ammann 🔜 PAXU
A stream? On a Monday? In the kitchen!? Yep!
Going live on #Twitch as I attempt to make some chili for the week (and then some).
Feel free to hang out as I follow instructions, chop and prep and do a little casual fundraising for @feedingamerica.org! 💖
twitch.tv/urbanbohemian
Going live on #Twitch as I attempt to make some chili for the week (and then some).
Feel free to hang out as I follow instructions, chop and prep and do a little casual fundraising for @feedingamerica.org! 💖
twitch.tv/urbanbohemian
urbanbohemian - Twitch
In the Kitchen! It's Chili and Fundraising for Feeding America | !donate !clip | @urbanbohemian 💖 🏳🌈 | !pronouns [CC]
twitch.tv
November 10, 2025 at 9:00 PM
A stream? On a Monday? In the kitchen!? Yep!
Going live on #Twitch as I attempt to make some chili for the week (and then some).
Feel free to hang out as I follow instructions, chop and prep and do a little casual fundraising for @feedingamerica.org! 💖
twitch.tv/urbanbohemian
Going live on #Twitch as I attempt to make some chili for the week (and then some).
Feel free to hang out as I follow instructions, chop and prep and do a little casual fundraising for @feedingamerica.org! 💖
twitch.tv/urbanbohemian