Chris Maheu II
LightNews LightNews
banner
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Chris Maheu II
@tyrzaphir.bsky.social
770 followers 1.9K following 92 posts
Send me your TTRPG lore
Posts Replies Media Videos
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the same room as Brennan Lee Mulligan, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, and the entire cast of Critical Role all at the same time! It was a blast!
Chris Perkins, Jeremy Crawford, and Matt Mercer standing behind a GM screen on a stage with a tree behind them, from which hangs lanterns. The other members of Critical Role sit on each side of them.
August 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Why do we live in a society where I feel the need to clarify this at the top of my setting introduction document for a new #TTRPG campaign I am starting?
A screenshot of a google doc page states the following: “Eochora is full of a variety of species. Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and more have rich histories and cultures dating back centuries. In modern day, all societies have come to the understanding that despite clear physical differences, all species have equal capacity for both kindness and cruelty, regardless of origin. Even angels and devils (called infused in modern day) have the same moral ranges and capabilities as humans. In D&D terms, any creature can be any alignment. People of Eochora would be confused if you judged a creature to be good or evil based on anything other than its actions. This also holds true for all colors of dragons, “cursed” individuals like vampires and werewolves, and even many types of undead.”
February 25, 2025 at 2:41 PM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
My copy of It’s Only Magic just came in from @montecookgames.com and I’m not the only one excited for the package that arrived! The box is the perfect size for my foster cat Dory #itsonlymagic #cyphersystem
An orange cat sitting in a cardboard box next to a copy of It’s Only Magic by Monte Cook Games.
February 24, 2025 at 6:35 PM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Another day, another spreadsheet of probability calculations to continue to fine-tune the math of my #TTRPG. Have you ever tried calculating probabilities of something in a TTRPG? Did the math teach you anything about the game?
A spreadsheet shows lots of data that represents a battle with four heroes. Each hero has a column that includes health, stamina, armor, damage, highest level attacking talent, average advantages, chance to hit and not crit, chance to crit, average damage, auto damage, one-time damage, and threat. Below is a table of NPC levels and their health, damage, danger dice, group threat, individual threat, and boss threat. On the right is a breakdown of a combat between the heroes and some NPCs, showing each character’s health on each turn.
January 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Finally set up my TTRPG shelf after moving back into my house following some flood damage repairs. Most of my collection is digital so I’m hoping to get more books for display with all the new games coming out next year #ttrpg #dnd #numenera #wanderhome #mcdm #pathfinder
A shelf of TTRPG books next to a desktop computer. The books on the shelf include Flee Mortals, the MCDM Monster Book, Pathfinder Player Fore, Wanderhome by Jay Dragon, the Fantasy World Core Book, two decks of cards labelled Sidequest Decks: Political & Urban Fantasy and Sidequest Decks: Arcane Academy, the Ninth World Guidebook by Monte Cook and Shanna Germain, Numenera Discovery by Monte Cook Games, Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide, Dungeons & Dragons Storm King’s Thunder, Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, Kingdoms & Warfare by MCDM, The Gamemaster’s Book of Non-Player Characters, The Gamemaster’s Book of Random Encounters, and The Gamemaster’s Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons.
December 25, 2024 at 12:01 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Imagine a TTRPG where once you reach maximum level, you can reduce your level by 1 to use an ultimate ability that shapes the fabric of reality or devastates an opponent in a dramatic way.
A screenshot of a TTRPG webpage that lists several level 5 features. Acid Rain says “Reduce your Poison Manipulation level to 4. All characters you choose in the area Far from you or closer suffer all Enhanced Maladies.” Divine Intervention says “After you or another Hero makes a roll in alignment with your divine power's desire, regardless of the result, you can reduce your Prayer level to 4 to change the result to a Critical Success with no Complications.” K. O. says “When you hit with an unarmed Attack, you can reduce your Pugilism level to 4 to deal additional damage equal to your Constitution minus your current Health. If you are Desperate, double the bonus damage.” Eureka Moment says “When you or another Hero uses Recall, you can reduce your Scholar level to learn 10 details about the subject.” Eternal Night says “The sun sets immediately. It doesn't rise again until you choose to allow it to or you are killed, at which point your Shadow Manipulation Level is reduced to 4.” A screenshot of a TTRPG webpage that lists several level 5 features. Identity Flood says “Reduce your Telepathy level to 4 and choose a Talent you have. Every Hero Mindlinked to you gains that Talent at the same level as you, or level 3 if it is higher than level 3, and then gains your Flaw.” Demiplane says “Reduce your Teleportation level to 4 to create a permanent Demiplane. It is an enclosed space in another dimension no bigger than a Far distance from any end to any other end. You can fill it with whatever common objects or architecture you want when you create it. It has a teleportation anchor in it that you are automatically attuned to.” Fastball Special says “Reduce your Throwing level to 4 to throw a Close Hero close to you up to a Far distance, and then that Hero can immediately roll an attack against a Close target with three Advantages. Add your Throwing level to the damage that attack inflicts.” Time Travel says “Reduce your Time Manipulation level to 4 and consume an immense source of magical energy to transport yourself and up to 9 other willing near characters to the same location at any point in time. The farther away the time, the larger amount of magical energy required.”
December 19, 2024 at 3:55 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Imagine a TTRPG with no predefined species, but instead a list of Hereditary Features that you can mix and match to create any species your custom setting needs.
A screenshot of a TTRPG webpage shows a list of Hereditary Features. The Constriction feature says “When you succeed on any physical roll against a Close character, including an Attack, you can choose to start Grabbing them.” The Dragon Breath feature says “You can breathe a harmful substance, such as fire, ice, lightning, or acid. Make a roll using 1d6 as the Talent die, and on success, deal 1 damage to all Near characters in a cone in front of you, and 2 damage to Group NPCs in the cone.” The Element Infused feature says “When you would suffer a harmful Complication related to your element, you can reduce any damage you would receive by 2 and ignore any other harmful effects of the Complication.” The Hard to Kill feature says “While Desperate, you have +2 Armor.” The Harmful Skin feature says “When another character touches your skin, they take 1 damage. When you perform a Primary Action with a character touching your skin, they take 1 damage.”
December 19, 2024 at 3:37 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Imagine a TTRPG that provides the Narrator with a list of story moments to give each Hero chances to showcase their unique abilities and character traits.
A screenshot of a TTRPG website shows a scene titled “Terraforming Station” in a story called “Escape the Orange Wind.” There is a character named “Wisteria Hringdottir” with a list of opportunities: This Hero has a chance to make progress towards their Destiny: Uncover a world-changing secret and share it with everyone. A Hostile NPC flees behind cover as a result of this Hero's actions. An NPC asks this Hero a question, and then makes use of the answer. The Heroes come across a secret of an NPC. The Heroes come across an NPC more knowledgable on a relevant subject than they are. The Heroes encounter an NPC who starts Far from them.
December 19, 2024 at 3:30 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Imagine a TTRPG where every NPC gets a specific personality, each one detailing a desire of that NPC and ways their personality can create challenges and obstacles for the heroes.
A screenshot of a webpage lists several NPC personalities with descriptions. Artistic says “This NPC practices a form of art such as painting, dancing, singing, sculpture, or fashion. More than just a hobby or mode of income, this NPC’s passion is to create truly unique and moving artwork that has a deep impact on any who witness it.” Braggart says “This NPC needs to believe that they are the best version of themself. It’s all about presentation of perfection, especially when they can prove that they are better than those around them.” Careless says “This NPC makes mistakes all the time, but that’s just part of life. The are more interested in enjoying the moment and having a good time than getting everything perfectly right all the time.” Competitive says “Winning isn't everything... it's the only thing. This NPC will do anything to hide their failures because they need to be the best at everything they do.” A screenshot of a popup on a webpage shows details of the Artistic personality. The description is “This NPC practices a form of art such as painting, dancing, singing, sculpture, or fashion. More than just a hobby or mode of income, this NPC’s passion is to create truly unique and moving artwork that has a deep impact on any who witness it.” The desire is “Create a masterwork.” There are two Complications: “This NPC produce an impressive and distracting display. Characters that view it don’t act for a round.” and “This NPC makes excessive demands or wastes resources to pursue their artistic interests.”
December 19, 2024 at 3:14 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Imagine a TTRPG where you earn experience for roleplaying your unique Talents and using your unique Features
A screenshot of a TTRPG character sheet webpage that shows two Talents and several methods of gaining experience for each one. The Scholar Talent earns experience when one of these conditions occur: A character makes use of an answer you provided to a question that they asked you. You had a conversation with a character on a topic in which they are more knowledgeable than you are. You used the Multidisciplined Feature for some benefit. You used the Book Learning Feature for some benefit. The Marksman Talent earns experience when one of these conditions occur: You defeated an enemy that wasn't Close to you or your allies. You forced a Hostile NPC to flee behind cover. A screenshot of a TTRPG character sheet webpage that shows two several methods of gaining experience. This character earns experience when they fulfill one of these conditions: You made an Untalented roll, using a d4 Talent Die, and you didn't Reroll it or get Aid from another Hero. You made some progress towards your Destiny: Uncover a world-changing secret and share it with everyone. You Recalled and learned no details. You asked an NPC a question that they refuse to answer for any reason.
December 19, 2024 at 2:57 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
Take me to the cherry blossom dimension
A red circular light fixture on the ceiling of a Japanese restaurant has fake cherry blossom branches coming out of it, appearing like a portal to a cherry blossom dimension.
December 9, 2024 at 2:17 AM
tyrzaphir.bsky.social
If you are looking for art commissions or just a great artist to follow I highly recommend @chmdraws.bsky.social! They've done the art for my Pathfinder 2e character as well as all the art on volitionrpg.com. Great prices, quick turnaround, very flexible, and a pleasure to work with.
A soldier shooting a machine gun from a helicopter at a dragon flying towards them, with mountains and clouds in the background
November 29, 2024 at 7:55 PM