iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 6h

I'm partial to "digital homunculus" myself.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 6h

Just an oubliette with no breaking wheel or iron maiden.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 01/10/2026

It swaps between gently ribbing the genre and playing it straight pretty brilliantly.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 30/09/2026

I think we only got a session in before the GM realized we were all very annoyed with him for forcing this game on us.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 30/09/2026

I once played a Christian TTRPG called Seventh Seal. It felt very much like the Christian Rock version of Constantine or X-Files. iirc, there were rules for playing Jewish or Muslim characters, but they were strictly worse than playing a "true believer."

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 30/09/2026

I quite like Dolmenwood's edit to the old TSR D&D saves. It still focuses on the danger rather than the mode of saving, but they feel way more intuitive.

The spread of saves in Dolmenwood: Doom, Ray, Hold, Blast, and Spell.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 24/09/2026

And the wee psychic lad proclaimed "okay boomer" and it was so.

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Yochai Gal @yochaigal.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A few creators I work with went behind my back and main a zine about cities. It's full of system neutral tools, has three adventures for Cairn (including one by Arnold K.???) and new backgrounds. Amazing. www.kickstarter.com/projects/hil...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Fletchwind: Out of the Cities

System-agnostic tools for creating fantasy cities, and three city-based adventures statted for Cairn.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 24/09/2026

We need, like, a reverse net neutrality for "AI" companies. They should absolutely be legally responsible for the output and activity of their digital homunculi.

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Ollie @ordheist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I have some commission slots open now, please hmu if you need a character design for your personal/commercial project!

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 23/09/2026

Also, survival video games often elide how much labor, logistics, and specialized skill go into any useful metal tool. (This is maybe a petty nitpick for fantasy video games, but no one's making a crucible big and hot enough to produce enough steel for a cuirass with random shit in the woods).

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 23/09/2026

I was about to make a joke about the next big million-dollar tabletop Kickstarter being a Valheim worker placement game, but a quick Google reveals that something like that already exists.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 18/09/2026

Wait. I also played OSE at Between Two Cons. So, let's say: -Crows. -Mud+Laser. -OSE. -Mothership.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 18/09/2026

If you include "board games that are actually roleplaying games" then John Company and ARCS: the Blighted Reach would also bump out Laser-Ritter and Lady Blackbird.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 18/09/2026

Oh! I played Mothership somewhere in there too. Probably sooner than I played Laser-Ritter.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 18/09/2026

Last Four rulesets played: -Crows (playtest). -Mud+Laser. -Laser-Ritter. -Lady Blackbird. Those last two farther back than I'd like. I need to play more games.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 17/09/2026

I AM excited for them to get more Game Crafter integration. Like, being able to sell Mausritter-style item token punchouts for Mud+Laser is going to be really convenient.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 17/09/2026

I don't have time to pull exact numbers at the moment, but I've only gotten one actual $$ sale that wasn't part of a site bundle. The d6 bundle got a bunch of sales, but barely made enough for me to break even if I purchased the bundle myself.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 16/09/2026

I think part of it is the idea that we're already in the simulation? Still, pretty incoherent.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 16/09/2026

I think that's already a hair more polite than I'd be.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 16/09/2026

Hell yeah—I didn't memorize two separate keyboard shortcuts for nothing.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 16/09/2026

Every goddamn AI writing "tell" is just a thing people were already doing.

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jeeyon shim 심지연 @jeeyon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I hate to do this again on the heels of his kidney obstruction but Onion got into a dangerous amount of garlic powder and I have to take him to the emergency vet. If you’re able to help us out a little, my Venmo is Jeeyon-Shim, and my PayPal is jeeyon.shim@gmail.com

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 15/09/2026

The Exeter Book 44 Riddle. Answer: A key, you pervert.

A curious thing hangs by a man's thigh,
under the lap of its lord. In its front it is pierced,
it is stiff and hard, it has a good position.
When the man lifts his own garment
above his knee, he intends to greet
with the head of his hanging object that familiar hole
which is the same length, and which he has often filled before.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 15/09/2026

There's a long history of riddles with two answers, one obscene and one mundane, that goes back at least to the Anglo Saxons. So you're participating in an important literary tradition.

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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I keep seeing this (youtu.be/u5kEbkeX_94?...) channel recommended to me on YouTube and it is just so frustrating because its purporting to use history to advise worldbuilders but it is just...off. Relentless autodidact problems where things are misinterpreted or misunderstood.

youtu.be

The Ocean Is Not a Road: Fix Your Fantasy Map

YouTube video by The Grainbound

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Reposted by Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran

warden @cairnrpg.com · 14/09/2026

Coming Soon from Cairn Press! A Sliver of Evidence by @karlyanddd.bsky.social www.kickstarter.com/projects/cai...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: A Sliver of Evidence

A werewolf-inspired adventure for Cairn 2e, written & illustrated by Karly Andersen.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 14/09/2026

If you meet Sam Sorensen on the road, bury him in your pyramid.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 14/09/2026

So, in this context it's "the thing I make is the toy" vs "the thing I make is the (mode of) play."

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

[rings bell] theoryslop! theoryslop! come get yer theoryslop while it's still hot!

one page. header reads "RPG DESIGNER THEORYSLOP ALIGNMENT CHARTS & SHEET." gray text under the header reads "You have 20 points to assign to each stat array, Pendragon-style. For tri- or otherwise multi-polar arrays, express the stats as ranges, e.g. “Gamist 1–7 / Dramatist 8–9 / Simulationist 10–20.”
subheaders followed by lines for writing read: "Designer: / Project: / Link:"
subheader reads "Binary Traits," followed by a list of silly game studies paired descriptors and space to write stats: "Ludologist / Narratologist // Game-as-Activity / Game-as-Object // Proceduralist / Anti-Proceduralist // Diegetic / Endogenous // Suitsian / Non-Suitsian // Closed Lusory Goal / Open Lusory Goal // Toy-Game / Meta-Game // Character-Locked / Authorial // Problem-Solving / Story-Telling // Rulebooks / Adventures."
subheader reads "Special Twinned Binary Traits (the Bartle Zone)," followed by gray text reading "Assign 20 points to each axis, but make a single roll when testing the combined traits." following is a two-axis chart, north-south reading "Social / Non-Social" and west-east reading "Aggressive / Passive."
in the second column, a subheader reads "Multi-Polar Traits" followed by shapes with stats at their corners: triangle, "Dramatist / Gamist / Simulationist"; square, "Agon / Alea / Mimicry / Ilinx"; hexagon, "Classic / OSR / Trad / Nordic larp / Neotrad / Storygames"; square, "Gamer / Actor / Socialite / Immersive."
a subheader reads "Skills," followed by a big list of 32 skills, with space for stats next to each: Academia, Acting, Art Direction, Blog, Cartography, Copyediting, Credit Rating, Day Jon, Game Studies, Graphic Design, Illustration, Layout, Line Editing, Livestream, Marketing, Networking, Operations, Organizing, Podcast, Printing, Production, Proofreading, Shitpost, Shortform Video, Social Media, Thirst Trap, Video Essay, Web Dev, Writ. (Adventure), Writing (Lore), Writing (Rules), Other: "
gray text reads "Sam Sorensen, September 2026"

same theoryslop designer sheet as before, this time filled out in handwritten green, for me, Sam. I skew towards problem-solving, goal-driven play, as well as towards adventures, imaginary worlds, and simulationism. the notable inclusions in my skills lists are a +6 in game studies, a +4 in academic, blog, layout, line editing, and adventure-writing, and a +2 in "museum," my "other" skill

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 14/09/2026

I'm not quite sure I understand Toy vs Meta.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 12/09/2026

I think this is mostly not going to be news to people already into TTRPGs, and it mainly focuses on the 5E/Actual Play world. But it's interesting to see our hobby get covered thoughtfully by folks with a broader audience. youtu.be/6tE3cqhUAjg?...

youtu.be

how D&D accidentally broke capitalism

YouTube video by Answer in Progress

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 11/09/2026

"The patient is being boxed up" is not something I would want to read about someone coming out of surgery.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 09/09/2026

It's like all setting and mood until character creation on page 21. Rules rules start on page 28. But it is, like, pared down The Black Hack, but it's d20 + mod roll over instead of d20 roll under.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 09/09/2026

Have you tried the bare bones edition? It's the same text as the yellow graphic design monstrosity, but without all the . . . yellow graphic design monstrosity. jnohr.itch.io/mrk-borg-free

jnohr.itch.io

MÖRK BORG BARE BONES EDITION + ROTBLACK SLUDGE by Johan Nohr

The free, plain text version of the world's loudest roleplaying game. A bit more sensible. Just as miserable.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 04/09/2026

I've played it mostly on my 8BitDo controller. Occasionally grab the mouse for fine positioning.

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Tabletop Minions @tabletopminions.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

New video: The Most "Gateway Game" EVER! - Sun Rot youtu.be/jtwJAmVtVAY

youtu.be

The Most "Gateway Game" EVER! - Sun Rot

YouTube video by Tabletop Minions

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 03/09/2026

Huh. I don't think that I knew Richard Garfield made King of Tokyo.

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RPG Trader @rpgtrader.com · 03/09/2026

⚠️ Accessories are here! RPG Trader just got a big upgrade. Creators can now offer print-on-demand physical accessories for their games - alongside digital downloads & print books. Cards. Dice. Maps. GM screens. Tiles. Character sheets. Game boxes. And it all happens directly through RPG Trader.

Screenshot showing the 7 accessories now available - Screen, Tear-off pad, Sheet, Cards Hex Tiles, Dice and Game box

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 03/09/2026

This is fantastic! Any chance of getting tokens added to the repertoire? I know Game Crafter can do them. It'd be great for those of us muddling in the Mausritter adjacent space.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 02/09/2026

This makes it insulated from modernity. It's run by crafts guilds, defended by the last landsknecht company, fencing schools are a big deal. And it's also very important to Empire and Capital as the only medium of transkosmic trade. And, geographically, if The Great War breaks out, it's fucked.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 02/09/2026

The principal city of the setting is Morgenkirk, which is positioned kind of similarly to Luxembourg, and also exists in like a blister on the skin of the universe that makes it very hard to get to if you're not guided by a sorcerer, and gives it unique access to the dream.

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Bad Quail Games // G. Michael Truran @bad-quail.itch.io · 02/09/2026

The current version I'm noodling on off and on features an ersatz American railroad company building a transkosmic railway through the world of dreams.

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