DANIEL D. FOX
@zweihanderrpg.bsky.social
Multiple award-winning game designer. ZWEIHANDER RPG. Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR. Countless licensed kids' board games (Pete the Cat, Very Hungry Caterpillar, I SPY, Dog Man, Daniel Tiger). A miserable little pile of secrets. https://sllswrd.games
Pinned
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Three more of my GREEN GLOW pieces for the @iam8bit.com anniversary show! I think there are still prints of all three here: www.iam8bit.com/search?&q=ko...
November 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Three more of my GREEN GLOW pieces for the @iam8bit.com anniversary show! I think there are still prints of all three here: www.iam8bit.com/search?&q=ko...
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
[#FanzineFocus XXXVII] LOWBORN Issue I
A review of the first issue of ‘An Independent Grim Perilous Fanzine for Zweihänder RPG’.
rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2025/04/fanz...
#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #Fanzine #FanzineFocus
A review of the first issue of ‘An Independent Grim Perilous Fanzine for Zweihänder RPG’.
rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2025/04/fanz...
#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #Fanzine #FanzineFocus
[Fanzine Focus XXXVII] LOWBORN Issue I
On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nono...
rlyehreviews.blogspot.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:44 PM
[#FanzineFocus XXXVII] LOWBORN Issue I
A review of the first issue of ‘An Independent Grim Perilous Fanzine for Zweihänder RPG’.
rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2025/04/fanz...
#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #Fanzine #FanzineFocus
A review of the first issue of ‘An Independent Grim Perilous Fanzine for Zweihänder RPG’.
rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2025/04/fanz...
#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #Fanzine #FanzineFocus
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Shipping out more copies of Haunted West today, and it genuinely brightens my whole day. Your support inspires me to keep writing and creating strange, wonderful worlds.
Thank you for riding along with me! 🤠👻💛 #BlackOwnedBusiness #TTRPG
Thank you for riding along with me! 🤠👻💛 #BlackOwnedBusiness #TTRPG
November 19, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Shipping out more copies of Haunted West today, and it genuinely brightens my whole day. Your support inspires me to keep writing and creating strange, wonderful worlds.
Thank you for riding along with me! 🤠👻💛 #BlackOwnedBusiness #TTRPG
Thank you for riding along with me! 🤠👻💛 #BlackOwnedBusiness #TTRPG
I want to share with you a very sobering fact.
In the last 3 years, I have made 12 mass market board games.
Each of those board games took less effort to sell more units individually in the first 3 months than Zweihander RPG did in a year.
25-30k units each by month 3 vs 12k units by year 1.
In the last 3 years, I have made 12 mass market board games.
Each of those board games took less effort to sell more units individually in the first 3 months than Zweihander RPG did in a year.
25-30k units each by month 3 vs 12k units by year 1.
November 19, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I want to share with you a very sobering fact.
In the last 3 years, I have made 12 mass market board games.
Each of those board games took less effort to sell more units individually in the first 3 months than Zweihander RPG did in a year.
25-30k units each by month 3 vs 12k units by year 1.
In the last 3 years, I have made 12 mass market board games.
Each of those board games took less effort to sell more units individually in the first 3 months than Zweihander RPG did in a year.
25-30k units each by month 3 vs 12k units by year 1.
This is such a great insight, esp on regular KS updates.
The desire to make "high art" gets in the way of actually getting the thing done.
Certainly make the games you want, but you also have to be okay with getting it 90% of the quality you desire. That last 10% is what trips people up.
The desire to make "high art" gets in the way of actually getting the thing done.
Certainly make the games you want, but you also have to be okay with getting it 90% of the quality you desire. That last 10% is what trips people up.
After ten years making indie TTRPGs I’ve learned that you don’t have to make *good* games to succeed. It is enough to make *okay* games with humility and regularly scheduled Kickstarter updates.
November 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM
This is such a great insight, esp on regular KS updates.
The desire to make "high art" gets in the way of actually getting the thing done.
Certainly make the games you want, but you also have to be okay with getting it 90% of the quality you desire. That last 10% is what trips people up.
The desire to make "high art" gets in the way of actually getting the thing done.
Certainly make the games you want, but you also have to be okay with getting it 90% of the quality you desire. That last 10% is what trips people up.
Fiction isn’t a moral lesson by default.
When you design games, don’t sanitize them. Be bold. Be divisive. Be daring.
Make the things that creatively light you up. The right audience will always find you.
Yes, even for your strange, sharp-edged, gloriously divisive TTRPG.
When you design games, don’t sanitize them. Be bold. Be divisive. Be daring.
Make the things that creatively light you up. The right audience will always find you.
Yes, even for your strange, sharp-edged, gloriously divisive TTRPG.
November 18, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Fiction isn’t a moral lesson by default.
When you design games, don’t sanitize them. Be bold. Be divisive. Be daring.
Make the things that creatively light you up. The right audience will always find you.
Yes, even for your strange, sharp-edged, gloriously divisive TTRPG.
When you design games, don’t sanitize them. Be bold. Be divisive. Be daring.
Make the things that creatively light you up. The right audience will always find you.
Yes, even for your strange, sharp-edged, gloriously divisive TTRPG.
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Michael (also known as @mkemichael.bsky.social), a pal and a big fan of great roleplaying games like Shadowdark and DCC, is almost to his goal for his gauntlet scenario.
Let’s help him cross that finish line!
Let’s help him cross that finish line!
Hirelings to Heroes
0-level funnel/gauntlet adventure for DCC/Shadowdark. Hirelings become heroes who might bring the gods and magic back into the world.
www.kickstarter.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Michael (also known as @mkemichael.bsky.social), a pal and a big fan of great roleplaying games like Shadowdark and DCC, is almost to his goal for his gauntlet scenario.
Let’s help him cross that finish line!
Let’s help him cross that finish line!
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
My trailblazing game industry bad-ass friend Rebecca Heineman has passed away.
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
Rebecca Heineman - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
My trailblazing game industry bad-ass friend Rebecca Heineman has passed away.
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
I blocked out the UX for the Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR character sheet on Sunday.
I am thinking more like a haunted brochure than a trad character sheet: stark lines, wide gutters, tactile slots for Dread, Inner Darkness, and Role abilities.
Form and mood work together.
I am thinking more like a haunted brochure than a trad character sheet: stark lines, wide gutters, tactile slots for Dread, Inner Darkness, and Role abilities.
Form and mood work together.
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I blocked out the UX for the Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR character sheet on Sunday.
I am thinking more like a haunted brochure than a trad character sheet: stark lines, wide gutters, tactile slots for Dread, Inner Darkness, and Role abilities.
Form and mood work together.
I am thinking more like a haunted brochure than a trad character sheet: stark lines, wide gutters, tactile slots for Dread, Inner Darkness, and Role abilities.
Form and mood work together.
Ravenloft in 3rd edition D&D by Sword & Sorcery took the sometimes-goofy Hammer Horror of the setting and matured it in a way yet-unrealized by 5e.
That's why over a year ago I began developing Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR in response. And it's nearly ready for public beta.
That's why over a year ago I began developing Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR in response. And it's nearly ready for public beta.
November 15, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Ravenloft in 3rd edition D&D by Sword & Sorcery took the sometimes-goofy Hammer Horror of the setting and matured it in a way yet-unrealized by 5e.
That's why over a year ago I began developing Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR in response. And it's nearly ready for public beta.
That's why over a year ago I began developing Nocturne Gothic Horror OSR in response. And it's nearly ready for public beta.
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Hell yes
A pair of expansions for the Shadowdark RPG, delving into the infernal recesses of the Dark Realms
Featuring 3 Player Classes (Bloodguard, Diabolist, and Sin Eater), 4 Ancestries, 30 New Spells, 18 Major NPCs, dozens of minions and artifacts, and a book full of adventures in the Inferno!
A pair of expansions for the Shadowdark RPG, delving into the infernal recesses of the Dark Realms
Featuring 3 Player Classes (Bloodguard, Diabolist, and Sin Eater), 4 Ancestries, 30 New Spells, 18 Major NPCs, dozens of minions and artifacts, and a book full of adventures in the Inferno!
Dark Devilry | for the Shadowdark RPG
A pair of fiendish supplements for Shadowdark and the wider OSR space.
www.kickstarter.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Hell yes
A pair of expansions for the Shadowdark RPG, delving into the infernal recesses of the Dark Realms
Featuring 3 Player Classes (Bloodguard, Diabolist, and Sin Eater), 4 Ancestries, 30 New Spells, 18 Major NPCs, dozens of minions and artifacts, and a book full of adventures in the Inferno!
A pair of expansions for the Shadowdark RPG, delving into the infernal recesses of the Dark Realms
Featuring 3 Player Classes (Bloodguard, Diabolist, and Sin Eater), 4 Ancestries, 30 New Spells, 18 Major NPCs, dozens of minions and artifacts, and a book full of adventures in the Inferno!
Zweihander RPG in a nutshell
November 10, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Zweihander RPG in a nutshell
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Some close-ups of my map!
November 6, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Some close-ups of my map!
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
This year for ttrpg projects I have contributed in some way to:
6 D&D 5e products
4 Shadowdark products
3 OSE products
1 Pirate Borg product
1 Zweihander product
And
7 system neutral products
And I have more in the works.
Hot. Damn. What a year.
6 D&D 5e products
4 Shadowdark products
3 OSE products
1 Pirate Borg product
1 Zweihander product
And
7 system neutral products
And I have more in the works.
Hot. Damn. What a year.
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 PM
This year for ttrpg projects I have contributed in some way to:
6 D&D 5e products
4 Shadowdark products
3 OSE products
1 Pirate Borg product
1 Zweihander product
And
7 system neutral products
And I have more in the works.
Hot. Damn. What a year.
6 D&D 5e products
4 Shadowdark products
3 OSE products
1 Pirate Borg product
1 Zweihander product
And
7 system neutral products
And I have more in the works.
Hot. Damn. What a year.
The more rules you add, the less elastic the possibilities become. You’re not building worlds anymore, you’re building boxes, and people and stories don’t fit in boxes.
. . . unless you’re playing modern D&D, which practically hands you a box and says, "Color inside the lines."
. . . unless you’re playing modern D&D, which practically hands you a box and says, "Color inside the lines."
November 4, 2025 at 5:03 AM
The more rules you add, the less elastic the possibilities become. You’re not building worlds anymore, you’re building boxes, and people and stories don’t fit in boxes.
. . . unless you’re playing modern D&D, which practically hands you a box and says, "Color inside the lines."
. . . unless you’re playing modern D&D, which practically hands you a box and says, "Color inside the lines."
Call me new-fashioned, but I’m done counting grid squares in D&D and tracking every pound of gear like some accountant for encumbrance rules.
Let’s skip the suck and get to the good parts of the adventure, the ones that actually matter.
Let’s skip the suck and get to the good parts of the adventure, the ones that actually matter.
November 4, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Call me new-fashioned, but I’m done counting grid squares in D&D and tracking every pound of gear like some accountant for encumbrance rules.
Let’s skip the suck and get to the good parts of the adventure, the ones that actually matter.
Let’s skip the suck and get to the good parts of the adventure, the ones that actually matter.
Love this, thanks for sharing!
Here's how my career in games has went:
1) Made a weirdo version of WFRP in OSR fashion
2) Talked about it a_lot_online
3) Had my friends playtest for 2 years
4) Spent $12k for art
5) Planned the heck out of marketing
6) Ran a Kickstarter 2017 hoping to raise $1k
Here's how my career in games has went:
1) Made a weirdo version of WFRP in OSR fashion
2) Talked about it a_lot_online
3) Had my friends playtest for 2 years
4) Spent $12k for art
5) Planned the heck out of marketing
6) Ran a Kickstarter 2017 hoping to raise $1k
Ok, @lumpley.bsky.social & I have been very up-front over the years on our sales data & etc, so here's a thing, & thanks Will, for bringing it up. Starting a career in #ttrpgs means making games. it means writing in a goggle doc or notebook, trying mechanics with a friend, finding 3 folks to play.
I don't really see any false vision of success — virtually anybody who talks about it is very up front, and people who ask about "starting a career in games" get told very plainly that the only way to have money while working in RPGs is to start with money.
November 3, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Love this, thanks for sharing!
Here's how my career in games has went:
1) Made a weirdo version of WFRP in OSR fashion
2) Talked about it a_lot_online
3) Had my friends playtest for 2 years
4) Spent $12k for art
5) Planned the heck out of marketing
6) Ran a Kickstarter 2017 hoping to raise $1k
Here's how my career in games has went:
1) Made a weirdo version of WFRP in OSR fashion
2) Talked about it a_lot_online
3) Had my friends playtest for 2 years
4) Spent $12k for art
5) Planned the heck out of marketing
6) Ran a Kickstarter 2017 hoping to raise $1k
Halloween whispers,
Children dance in rot and flies.
Tooth decay begins.
Children dance in rot and flies.
Tooth decay begins.
October 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Halloween whispers,
Children dance in rot and flies.
Tooth decay begins.
Children dance in rot and flies.
Tooth decay begins.
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Mecenas de #MainGauche los emisarios han partido esta mañana bien temprano con las alforjas llenas de conocimiento del Abismo 😈. Revisad vuestras bandejas de entrada y cuentas de DTRPG, porque las copias digitales ya deberían haber llegado. #ZweihanderRPG #lodelrol 🎲
October 20, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Mecenas de #MainGauche los emisarios han partido esta mañana bien temprano con las alforjas llenas de conocimiento del Abismo 😈. Revisad vuestras bandejas de entrada y cuentas de DTRPG, porque las copias digitales ya deberían haber llegado. #ZweihanderRPG #lodelrol 🎲
The best mail day is MÖRK BORG Mail Day from John Baltisberger @kaijupoet.bsky.social ! 🤘🏻
October 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
The best mail day is MÖRK BORG Mail Day from John Baltisberger @kaijupoet.bsky.social ! 🤘🏻
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Tomorrow we launch Designers & Dragons: Origins.
This massive 4-volume set covers each and every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1e.
It's a detailed look at some of the hobby's most iconic adventures.
Sign up now to get notified when we go live:
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
This massive 4-volume set covers each and every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1e.
It's a detailed look at some of the hobby's most iconic adventures.
Sign up now to get notified when we go live:
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
October 20, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Tomorrow we launch Designers & Dragons: Origins.
This massive 4-volume set covers each and every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1e.
It's a detailed look at some of the hobby's most iconic adventures.
Sign up now to get notified when we go live:
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
This massive 4-volume set covers each and every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1e.
It's a detailed look at some of the hobby's most iconic adventures.
Sign up now to get notified when we go live:
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
Reposted by DANIEL D. FOX
Hey I got to illustrate chapter 2 of the D&D Dragon Delves book! Written by
@justiceraminarman.bsky.social, it was such a perfect thematic and tonal pair that I still can't believe it's real.
@justiceraminarman.bsky.social, it was such a perfect thematic and tonal pair that I still can't believe it's real.
September 15, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Hey I got to illustrate chapter 2 of the D&D Dragon Delves book! Written by
@justiceraminarman.bsky.social, it was such a perfect thematic and tonal pair that I still can't believe it's real.
@justiceraminarman.bsky.social, it was such a perfect thematic and tonal pair that I still can't believe it's real.
