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Bob Irving

@birv2.bsky.social
242 followers 390 following 313 posts

Recently retired CS teacher, lover of making cool stuff with code. Now exploring TTRRG's; Shadowdark is my current fave. Love DMing for young people and enabling their fun and creativity!

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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Love the drawing! As someone who is just starting drawing maps (and can't draw to save my life) for my solo rpging, I find your non-hexed drawing inspiring. It's really more of a pointcrawl, right?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
So you mean a pointcrawl, yes?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Awesome.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Where are you?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
I love that chart as it helps to focus on what you and your players want exactly. I have never run Dolmenwood, though my players loved Winter's Daughter, and it made me want to do more in that setting. Upending the tropes helped, as it helped move them off 5e OPness and attachment to weird classes.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Get well soon, my man!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Another DM who runs for middle schoolers! W00t w00t!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
LOVED this post, as I'm a teacher who also runs games for middle schoolers (see my blog here: bobirving.bearblog.dev/when-is-a-do...). I run #Shadowdark but am interested in Cairn. I've found SD to be great on-ramp for my 5E kids, but your suggestion about dumping DnD tropes hits home. Dolmenwood?
bobirving.bearblog.dev
When is a door not a door?
As a DM for middle schoolers, there is no shortage of distractions and hilarity. They were playing the Waking of Willowby Hall, and I was explaining/drawing ...
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Oh yeah.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Got this, and it's awesome! #shadowdark #solorpg
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Terre-Strial @terre-strial.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
“When the very rich so controlled the means of communication that it would be almost impossible for ordinary people to make informed decisions and so democracy would then be broken…” - attributed to Albert Einstein We have been here before, and we know what to do. RESIST!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Got it. Looks pretty amazing.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Just discovered #lonelog. Amazing. Can't wait to implement it. #solorpg
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Looking for a good #solorpg discord server. Any recos and invite links?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Woohoo!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Does #loner dungeoneer require another book to run? #solorpg
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Thanks!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Anyone ever play Wolves Upon the Coast solo? Just got the Bundle of Holding and it looks very awesome. #osr
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
What adventure are you running? And how experienced are your players in old school playing, ie: realizing they're not super heroes, being cautious, using their wits, and even being willing to run away. Not assuming you aren't doing this, but I also think the lethality of Shadowdark is overstated.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I think megadungeons must be an acquired taste.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
I just backed Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/sha... Late to the party, I know.... but wow.
kickstarter.com
Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting
Drive back the darkness in a perilous land of cursed forests, haunted deserts, and brooding jungles. Your legend awaits!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
That's what I think too. However, I did get the recent Arden Vul Bundle and will read it for inspiration. Can't imagine running it. Having said that, the 3D6DTL folks did a really entertaining playthrough. And I'm not a fan of AP's.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Seriously great art here! I bought it right away and you should too.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Is is the Arden Vul or the Shadowdark port that is causing the problems for you?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Just downloaded these and they are FANTASTIC! Thanks for making them and putting them out there. I did pay for them, as they're so worth it.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
I run Shadowdark for middle schoolers, but they're a bit older than your age group. Hard to say, but I've been thinking that if I ran something for that age group, I'd want to try Land of Eem.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
We sometimes need some hilarity in these times. Here's a true story from my middle school RPG group: bobirving.bearblog.dev/when-is-a-do...
bobirving.bearblog.dev
When is a door not a door?
As a DM for middle schoolers, there is no shortage of distractions and hilarity. They were playing the Waking of Willowby Hall, and I was explaining/drawing ...
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Reposted by Bob Irving
TTRPG Fanatics @ttrpgfanatics.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
"Shadowdark: The Western Reaches" has officially hit $3 million in funding on Kickstarter. We look at what this means for the game and the TTRPG community as a whole. ttrpgfans.com/shadowdark-t... #shadowdark #shadowdarkrpg #arcanelibrary #ttrpg #TTRPGCommunity #TabletopRPG #RPG
ttrpgfans.com
Shadowdark Western Reaches Kickstarter Hits $3 Million Mark
"Shadowdark: The Western Reaches" has officially hit $3 million in funding on Kickstarter. We look at what this means for the game and the TTRPG community.
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Scott Clement @sfcpoll.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Liam @ GamingOnLinux @gamingonlinux.com · 22/12/2025
Linux Mint 22.3 gets a Beta release with lots of new features #Linux #LinuxMint #OpenSource
gamingonlinux.com
Linux Mint 22.3 gets a Beta release with lots of new features
Linux Mint 22.3 is set to be the next long-term supported release and a Beta is now here you can test, with a surprising amount of new features.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Doing my last deep dive in #ironsworn and hoping it sticks this time. Reading Delve and "envisioning" how things might develop. Open for tips, as I'm coming from a very OSR-like mindset. But I do love writing and literature, so I think Fiction First might somehow work for me.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
True. But there are other (free) sync solutions. Publish not so much. But it's hard to argue with the cost of the base app.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
It's free, right?
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Torsten Kathke @kathke.com · 25/11/2025
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Just turned off "smart" stuff on #gmail. Whew. So tired of AI intrusions on everything. Glad I'm on #linuxmint.
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Steve TF @stevetf.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
If you own older computer hardware and Win10 is telling you to buy a new computer or go to hell, I strongly suggest you dump Microsoft. Linux Mint is very easy to install, especially on non-current or somewhat older hardware. There are free apps to do pretty much everything you need.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
This is why I love Obsidian!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Got mine!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Sounds cool. Hope you get it out there sometime!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Thanks! Would love to hear more about your rule set.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Just becoming enamored of #mazerats and wondering if anyone has run it solo? What worked, what didn't? I'm thinking of using #mythicgme for the oracle. Trying to wrap my head around the lite rules. Loving what I see, though I'm tempted to run #shadowdark as my system because that's my jam. #solorpg
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Wow! Good on you for starting them young.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
What age(s) are your kiddos? Asking because I run games for middle schoolers.
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Social Security Works @socialsecurityworks.org · 22/10/2025
Ezra Levin: A hallmark of authoritarianism is it makes you feel like shit on a daily basis. That's what it does. And so in that environment, during this authoritarian breakthrough moment, celebrating success is an act of defiance. #NoKings @indivisibleguide.bsky.social
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
I'm attending No Kings's event, “Mass Call: What's Next After No Kings?” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
mobilize.us
Mass Call: What's Next After No Kings? · No Kings
No Kings will be massive, powerful, and meaningful - but it won’t be the end of our work. Join movement leaders and fellow local activists after the big day to come together, celebrate what we accompl...
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Reposted by Bob Irving
Scott Parsloe @scottparsloe.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
I've also been warning folk about the increasing stranglehold Big Tech are having on users' everyday life and why it's only a matter of time before you own nothing and rent everything — including your own data. It's time to decentralise and diversify. Oh, and #SaveYourself #InstallLinux 😉👍
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
I’m looking every day in my mailbox!
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
May I ask where you are?
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Congratulations! Checking every day for my copy, though I'm not in the credts.
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Bob Irving @birv2.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
I think itch was having some issues last night. Thanks for the reply!
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