iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

This is the best DungeonTube video I have seen in years, but it should have been titled, "TTRPGs 2035: Four Possible Futures." Baron spoke to dozens of TTRPG insiders, and essentially wrote a white paper on where the industry could be going. Essential viewing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oZF...

youtube.com

Is D&D in Trouble?

YouTube video by Dungeon Masterpiece

480

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

The Wild 90s in TTRPGs! This conversation was a great one! First up today is Wolfgang Baur, a creator and businessperson whose fingerprints are all over the hobby. youtu.be/dYThl7bUzZ0

youtu.be

The Wild 90s in TTRPGs! A conversation with Wolfgang Baur & Satyros Phil Brucato Ep- 86

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

194

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Shamelessly, 30 minutes into this interview with Cam Banks & Fred Hicks, I share leaked D&D sales data. youtu.be/BJsGXTwujA4

1175

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

This week, brilliant Bastionland creator Chris McDowall & Comedy Central veteran Jeremy Bent talk improvisation & art on D&D Outloud! youtu.be/pyxt_y9oV5I

youtu.be

The Ring Knight Honors the Weeping Seer-with Jeremy Bent & Chris McDowall Ep. 71

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

0132

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Does 4E D&D have the best combat? The question leads us to a conversation with two of the game's three lead designers. youtu.be/CZhJBoki3qk

youtu.be

"D&D is Not in the Innovation Biz" A Conversation with Two 4th Ed Designers- Ep 70

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

181

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

My podcast has evolved into a conversation between TTRPG luminaries, and it's awesome. But it needs a new name. Current possibilities: Dungeons & Discussions Tabletop Team-Up The Riggscast/The Ben Riggs Show/Something else with my name in it. OR: Something else. Thoughts?

551

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Jesus Christ! I have 71 pages written and revised on the development of D&D 3.0 that have never seen the light of day? What the hell am I doing here?

090

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

This one’s a banger: D&D designer Steve Winter meets Ben Milton of Questing Beast! Ben Milton is a game designer, YouTube sage, and sorceror-king of the OSR! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRyV...

youtube.com

D&D Designer Meets the Questing Beast! Ep. 61

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

250

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

The American Constitution died in the past six months, so we are going to need a new one. You may say that’s an exaggeration. I would ask then that you look at our constitutional system of checks and balances, ‘cause right now the checks don’t balance.

351

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

I can't believe I got these two on the show together! First, Kevin Crawford is a TTRPG design legend. My favorites from his work are Stars Without Number, youtu.be/HLe3saMZYk4?...

youtu.be

Legendary RPG Designer Breaks Media Silence- Ep. 59

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

1101

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Who saved Dungeons & Dragons? How many people could say that they saved Dungeons & Dragons? Off the top of my head, I would say that the list of people who could say they saved D&D at some point over the course of its 51-year history is less than 20. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OpW...

youtube.com

Did this guy save Dungeons & Dragons? Ep 58

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

370

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

The voice of male Commander Shephard, Mark Meer, conversates with Ravenloft co-creator Bruce Nesmith and Ravenloft author James Lowder. Click here! youtu.be/sEGxpb4iMbA

030

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Are hexcrawls the adventure's final form? We discuss that very question with two of the premier purveyors of the hexcrawl format in the 21st century: Jacob Hurst & WF Smith, aka Prismatic Wasteland.

1100

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

I have interviewed bestselling authors, Ivy League professors, and comic creators whose work has gone on to generate billions at the box office. But as a class, TTRPG professionals seem to be the smartest people I regularly talk to.

160

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Kevin Kulp & Jeff Grubb have, between them, created entire cosmologies and entire timelines. Kulp is the award-winning creator of Timewatch and the investigative fantasy game, Swords of the Serpentine.

131

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

hannon Appelcline is a TTRPG historian par excellence. His Designers & Dragons set a high bar for the field and I cannot recommend it too highly. HIs recent Traveller history, This is Free Trader Beowulf, is similarly excellent.

160

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Ask a round of nerds what the first RPG was, and you'll likely get D&D as your answer. Some might shout out Blackmoor. A few may say Braunstein. But what if the answer was... something else? A long talk with the Thucydides of RPG history, Jon Peterson! Link below:

1113

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

You will not regret spending an hour listening to this conversation between 5th edition designer Mike Mearls and Shadowdark designer Kelsey Dionne. youtu.be/ZRPJ_61QnWs

youtu.be

Mike Mearls + Kelsey Dionne = An Hour of Happy Ep. 50

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

1197

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Pirate Borg designer Luke Stratton is a true polymath. Not only did he make the setting and the rules for his brutal, fast, and fun pirate RPG, but he also did the art! Additionally, he is a famous lighting designer who traveled the world lighting grunge gods, the Smashing Pumpkins! Link below!

180

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Ed Greenwood may be the most successful Canadian fantasist of all time. His work has been translated into novels, comic books, games, movies, and (hopefully) a Netflix TV series. Come and learn the secrets of world-building from the creator of the Forgotten Realms! Link below! youtu.be/jKywei6KqKE

youtu.be

How to Design a World with Ed Greenwood- Ep 41

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

2142

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Let’s imagine the next American Constitution! I would still start with the classics, although somewhat updated: “We, the People of the United States of America, hold these truths to be self-evident, that everyone is created equal, that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights...

230

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

The American Republic of 1787 is dead/dying. "...it is vital that they see the important truth that there is no going back to the old status quo. President Trump and Elon Musk really have altered the structure of things.

140

Reposted by Ben Riggs

Alex Kammer @alexkammer.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

We remain in the year of 1979 in our tour of each and every D&D/TSR release from the shelves of The Gamehole. Up today is another rare, the module, Lost Tomoachan. It was released at Origins with only 300 numbered copies in 1979. Here are my 4 copies.

4273

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Today, we continue our discussion about "Wish" in with 5E co-lead designer, Mike Mearls! And once that discussion is complete, I ask Mike a question that has fueled endless internet speculation since 2019: Why did Mike leave D&D? youtu.be/4VUnNkOoasA

youtu.be

Why Mike Mearls Left D&D Ep- 39

YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud

1183

Reposted by Ben Riggs

Erin M. Evans @erinmevans.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

UA lore feels like a prank

5243

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

I ran I6: Ravenloft using SHADOWDARK three times in the autumn of 2024. The system and the adventure made beautiful music together. It was fast, dangerous, chaotic, brooding, mysterious and fun as hell.

3181

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

I make bright yellow omelets on cold dark days.

050

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

My buddy Pete is the most consistently funny person I have ever met in my life.

140

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Unless Robin Laws, who wrote a whole book on the topic, disagrees, the three most significant people in the history of Gen Con are Gary Gygax, Lorraine Williams, and Peter Adkison. Peter stepping down from his role is the shifting of a continental plate beneath our feet. Press release follows:

1110

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Are you aware of the “Harlot Table” from the 1st edition Dungeon Masters’ Guide? Apparently, Gary Gygax just wanted to let everyone know precisely what kind of prostitutes one might encounter in D&D. No wonder D&D had trouble attracting female players for so long!

6140

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Ever notice how Lolth, the chaotic evil queen of the spiders, goddess to the all-evil “black” elves, looks African-American on the cover of 1986’s Queen of the Spiders? Again, D&D links dark skin/African features to evil. So the changes in 2024 D&D were very much needed.

5221

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Yesterday in Polygon, Charlie Hall wrote about the remarkably thin release schedule for D&D in the next year, and the opportunity this represents for indie games. He is absolutely right, and there is historical evidence for it.

194

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Here's the Drow entry in the 1st ed Monster Manual: “Drow: The “Black Elves,” or drow, are only legend. They purportedly dwell deep beneath the surface in a strange subterranean realm. The drow are said to be as dark as faeries are bright and as evil as the latter are good..”

1121

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

D&D is popular and important because it lets us tell stories to make meaning in our lives. It's good to remove racist/sexist tropes from D&D to make everyone welcome at the table. So I generally support the changes 2024 D&D made to this end.

3180

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I want to make sure I'm understanding the 2024 rules correctly. Ability bonuses in character creation have moved from species/race to background, so a Charlatan would get to improve their DEX, CON, and CHA. I am understanding this correctly, right?

350

Reposted by Ben Riggs

EN World | D&D/TTRPG News & Reviews @enworldrpg.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

ICYMI: Home Builds A Haunted House Card By Card: Tell some spooky haunted house stories with friends without any dice. #ttrpg #dnd

dlvr.it

Home Builds A Haunted House Card By Card

Tell some spooky haunted house stories with friends without any dice.

012

Reposted by Ben Riggs

Matt Forbeck @forbeck.com · 01/01/2025

This edition of the Satanic Panic is even more laughable than the last.

7708

Reposted by Ben Riggs

Matt Forbeck @forbeck.com · 24/12/2024

Gamers! Some of these auctions from my collection are ending tomorrow night. Check them out and share them around. Thanks! www.ebay.com/usr/mforbeck

ebay.com

Security MeasureeBay Home

155

Reposted by Ben Riggs

Shannon Appelcline @shannonappelcline.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Garry Snow and I recorded our yearly look at the roleplaying industry last Friday, and it's already out. What's up with Wizards? What classic games made their return? What were the triumphs of the OSR & creative content? It's all here.

youtube.com

2024 Year in Review in the TTRPG World

YouTube video by Dieku Games

1177

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

They climbed over the pews to dance in front of the casket at Shane MacGowan's funeral. That's one helluva a way to bury a man. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s8l...

youtube.com

'Fairytale of New York' played at Shane MacGowan's funeral

YouTube video by RTÉ News

0102

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Were non-weapon proficiencies designed in 2nd ed AD&D or was there a precursor somewhere in 1st edition?

410

Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Any recommendations for a 2nd level SHADOWDARK adventure playable in 4 hours?

101