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Sam D

@sam.diceexploder.com
2.1K followers 398 following 3.5K posts

TTRPG designer, podcaster, screenwriter. Be your own algorithm. www.diceexploder.com sdunnewold.itch.io

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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 29/09/2026
This week on Dice Exploder Caro Murphy, one of the designers behind Galactic Starcruiser, is back to talk about de-roling. After the game is over, what does it look like to step out of your character, debrief, and reincorporate the experience you just had back into yourself?
diceexploder.com
Transcript: De-Roling with Caro Murphy - Dice Exploder
Listen to this episode here. Further reading Back Tower Runners on Kickstarter! DrachenFest Incantrix Productions Imagi-Ne'er-Do-Wells Socials Caro’s website Sam on Bluesky and itch The Dice Exploder ...
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Yochai Gal @yochaigal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I love seeing stuff like this. And how cool is it that Karly just drew the characters? Just like that!
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 26/09/2026
Nobody fucking @ me about how I said I was leaving Dice Exploder because I was out of things to say about rpgs and then published like three blogposts this week.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 26/09/2026
As promised, here's a set of 4 pregen characters for use with the free version of A Sliver of Evidence (link to that inside the post). This module is great!
diceexploder.com
Pregen Characters for “A Sliver of Evidence” - Dice Exploder
Today I saw a Kickstarter going around for the new adventuring A Sliver of Evidence from Cairn Press. It looks sick, I love that art so much, and I immediately...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 25/09/2026
This looks sick, just read the free version on itch and I'm gonna write pregens for it so hard
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Indie Game Reading Club @indiegamereadingclub.com · 24/09/2026
It's crazy they let these kinds of typos into the wild. (@bullypulpithq.bsky.social 's Nine Space Games is very cool, highest recommendation, a must-have for fans of The Culture and/or make-believe arguments.)
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 24/09/2026
I wrote about some more things I try and do as a player in RPGs to make the games good. Specifically: - have goals - listen to what your other players are telling you they want - reincorporate everything - everyone at the table plays several and/or shares minor characters
diceexploder.com
RPG Table Skills: Goals, Listening, Reincorporation, and Sharing Characters - Dice Exploder
Today I’m continuing my series on RPG Table Skills: skills that’s going to be used primarily at the table rather than during prep and used by many or all people...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 24/09/2026
Two absolutely banger sessions this week, I love rpgs
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 22/09/2026
This week on Dice Exploder it's a one episode revival of last year's series on actual play! @kendomakesfilms.bsky.social's on talking about a specific fictionally-tense moment of play from their series Our Lives in the Wood...
diceexploder.com
Transcript: Our Lives in the Wood with Kendo Smith - Dice Exploder
Listen to this episode here. Further reading Our Lives in the Wood episode 5 This Game Takes Place in Your Home Town Socials Kendo on Bluesky and the web Sam...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 19/09/2026
Thanks to Khee Hoon Chan for letting me and Sera talk about Dice Exploder on Rascal, it was a fun excuse to reflect on making the show.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 18/09/2026
Updated for 2026. We dropped from 176 cards still in the vintage cube from 2012 down to just 144.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 17/09/2026
Just cracked the rules in my fantasy heartbreaker for breeding spells like they're tamagotchi
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 16/09/2026
I live in Minneapolis now
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 15/09/2026
New Dice Exploder today with @jeeyon.bsky.social! We talked about a very specific two page spread in Blades in the Dark called "What Is There to Eat in Duskwall." Jeeyon gets to go off about life layers and we go all over the place, take a listen.
diceexploder.com
Transcript: What Is There to Eat in Duskwall (Blades in the Dark) with Jeeyon Shim - Dice Exploder
Listen to this episode here. Note: the "What Is There to Eat in Duskwall" pages of Blades in the Dark were written by Andrew Shields. Further Reading Blades in the...
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Jason Morningstar @jmstar.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The 2026 Golden Cobra Challenge is live! I'm on the organizing committee and I'd be happy to answer questions and/or cheer you on. It's a cool larp contest and often generates interesting, weird, and sometimes excellent games. www.goldencobra.org
goldencobra.org
Golden Cobra Challenge
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 09/09/2026
I like Blades in the Dark downtime because it's inevitably like - slapstick scene where 2 PCs get paranoid ➡️ drunk and set up Home Alone style traps in the bar they run - 2 NPCs we've never seen on camera make a deal with a satan jr. for superpowers - the crew's favorite contact lost his dog again
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Hendrik is writing an ashcan about nuns @napel.itch.io · 08/09/2026
I've been wondering about the ways we learn how to play RPGs. Many narrative-focused games feature the setting of scenes (and, thus, the cutting of them), but there aren't many that feature principles or procedures to help you actually do it. Sam gives a great primer here 👇
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 08/09/2026
Dice Exploder is back with a new season! This week I talk with @ashthestampede.bsky.social about Duty Stations from Night Witches by @bullypulpithq.bsky.social and how it influenced Ash's work on The Watch (now with a 2e on Kickstarter). Take a listen!
diceexploder.com
Transcript: Duty Stations (Night Witches) with Ash Kreider - Dice Exploder
Listen to this episode here. Further Reading The Watch 2e is on Kickstarter now Night Witches by Jason Morningstar Socials Ash on Bluesky Ash's website, including listings for their games...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 08/09/2026
Starting a blog miniseries about the table skills I've found most helpful as a player of RPGs. Kicking off with how I frame and cut scenes.
diceexploder.com
Developing RPG Table Skills: Framing and Cutting Scenes - Dice Exploder
There’s a lot of advice for GMs out there, but I believe an underserved topic in rpg blogging, writing, and YouTubing is identifying and practicing at-the-table player skills1. I mean...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 06/09/2026
Three movies in a day is such a surreal experience
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 04/09/2026
Ranking movies is dumb but fun. My current ranked list of every new release I've seen in 2026: letterboxd.com/sdunnewold/l...
Letterboxd screenshot. Text at the top reads:

**Misc Superlatives**
Best needle drop: Counting Crows (Camp Miasma)
Biggest drop on second viewing: The Odyssey
Highest variance: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Best actor: Ralph Fiennes (The Bone Temple)
Best plot turn: Coyote vs Acme (spoiler)
Most picture: The Bride!
Best director: Matt Johnson (both his movies are great)

A ranking of 10 movies follows:
1. Homemade Gatorade
2. The Chirstophers
3. Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma
4. The Invite
5. Obsession
6. Tony
7. The Death of Robin hood
8. The Odyssey
9. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
10. Aki
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 03/09/2026
Yeah, I know The Thing. Pretty cool guy, he comes to trivia sometimes. Won't shut up about how I need to watch Pluribus.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 03/09/2026
I also did my homework @newmada.bsky.social
diceexploder.com
Rascal Reading Club homework: Blades in the Dark - Dice Exploder
The Rascal Reading Club is a series Thomas Manuel has been doing breaking down a series of games through the lens of a specific topic. First season was GM advice,...
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Caleb Zane Huett @calebzane.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
we wrote a musical today in Under Hollow Hills and I was the princess who fell in love with the dragon
Caleb discord message of lyrics: He may not be good... it may not be wise...but i hope these scales never fall from my eyes. I'm in love with a lizard. Was I cursed by a wizard? I know there's a prince, but it's been a while since I felt fire like this in my heart! Has my true love been here from the start?
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 01/09/2026
A classic of early era pbta, check out The Watch 2e!
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Jack de Quidt @notquitereal.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
ttrpg jam where the minimum player count is 100 players
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Seraphina Garcia Ramirez 🔜 PaxU @seraphina.diceexploder.com · 31/08/2026
Sam has created something magical with Dice Exploder- it was the impetus for my passion for games blossoming. I'm so thankful for all the work he's put in. I'm stoked to carry the show forward! Great season coming up, and I'm thrilled to show you all what I have brewing for the future of the show
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 31/08/2026
Dice Exploder is back next week, and it's gonna be my last season (at least for now). One more ride, it's been a great time.
diceexploder.com
Transcript: New Episodes Next Week + An Announcement - Dice Exploder
Listen to this announcement here. Hello. It's me, Sam Dunnewold, and I am here with a quick announcement. Next week, Dice Exploder is back with a new season of episodes,...
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 30/08/2026
Trailer for Behemoth! live reaction: - "So is this, like, a worse Tar?" - "Pascal's usually good I guess, whatever, awards bait" - [Tony Gilroy's name appears] "This is my new most anticipated movie of the year" - I ignore the rest of the trailer to quietly talk to my friend about how we love Gilroy
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 29/08/2026
Fanfic is writing with pregens, and that's why I like fanfic
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 27/08/2026
Deciding which of my two script ideas about sentient parasitic slugs to pursue first.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 26/08/2026
Dungeon rooms...
pen sketches of various dungeon rooms including what might be a chapel, recording studio, and wine cellar
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 25/08/2026
Trying to quit games for movies but some days all I can do is sit around and think about games.
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Jack Panic | DNGN CLUB @dngnclub.itch.io · 23/08/2026
Finally, a gatekeeper we can trust!
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 23/08/2026
Some things are cringe but actually they're cool and you should like and do them anyway. But some things are cringe and you should be ostracized from public life if you do them. And I'm the only person who can decide which is which.
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Tabletop Book Club @tabletopbookclub.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
We are once again (and always) looking for recommendations! We are especially looking for short to mid-length games by marginalized designers! The longest games we are typically able to cover with the detail that we like are around 60-70 pages, but we prefer shorter for most months.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 08/03/2024
water is delicious
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 19/08/2026
They should do a season of The Pitt set during the fuck purge.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 15/08/2026
I playtested Nine Space Games a lot and it's one of my favorite games in years. I could go on at length about what I love about it as a game designer. But the layout is maybe my favorite part. Some of the most gorgeous-while-functional layout I've seen in a game. Standing ovation.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 15/08/2026
Had that thing with a script I'm working on where I got an idea that made me feel so disgusted I knew it must be right
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Aaron King @aaronmfking.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
We're finally doing it.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 12/08/2026
The photo on the wikipedia page for "pornographic film" is so spectacularly well chosen. Just straight down the middle "yep, that's porn."
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 12/08/2026
I take so few long rests in Baldur's Gate 3 that most of my party's character plotlines have stopped making sense.
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One Shot Podcast @oneshotpod.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
NEW EPISODE! The ridiculous conclusion of Band-Aids & Bullet Holes featuring some guests from around the Many Sided Network! ft. @superdillin.bsky.social @ktartaglione.bsky.social @brianflaherty.bsky.social @diceexploder.com @kendomakesfilms.bsky.social Links below 🔗⬇️
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One Shot Podcast @oneshotpod.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
NEW EPISODE! Part 2 of Band-Aids & Bullet Holes is out now! One thing is for certain, we GOTTA kill Barf. ft. @superdillin.bsky.social @ktartaglione.bsky.social @brianflaherty.bsky.social @diceexploder.com @kendomakesfilms.bsky.social Links below 🔗⬇️
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 08/08/2026
In the ONE NIGHT ONLY universe, do you think the big bump of kids with birthdays ~9 months later are teased for it?
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 06/08/2026
Anticipating the new Jane Schoenbrun movie by reflecting on how so little of my art is viscerally upsetting enough
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 03/08/2026
I think Star Fleet should have "bleep blorp protocols." Like you walk into a room and say "warning everyone: bleep blorp protocals are in effect" and everyone knows to check if their newfound crush is secretly a Betazoid fever or whatever.
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 30/07/2026
Was writing a blogpost recently that needs more time to cook, but part of the deal was talking about old school murder mystery parties. I have vivid memories of being young and playing a boxed murder mystery party, maybe the second rpg I ever played after D&D. But what was it? Texted my dad and-
A photo from 2002 of me (I'm 12 years old), my grandpa, and my cousin with pamphlets for a game called HOW TO HOST A MURDER at a dining room table
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Sam D @sam.diceexploder.com · 29/07/2026
Played some Ghost Court last weekend with my 9 and 10 year old nieces, and what I learned is that kids love playing pretend almost as much as they love gavels and wielding authority.
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