iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 29/09/2026

What's a poster you had in your room growing up?

80s rock band Bow Wow Wow sits by a river for the poster featuring art from the cover of their Go Wild In The Country album.

Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 16/09/2026

My Action-Heroes #TTRPG is a queer #RPG. Of the three iconic characters, one is a trans woman who received her enhanced abilities (and her transition) as part of a corporate super-soldier program. Another is a nonbinary person who is a street avenger taking back their neighborhood. They fight crime!

Angel Heart, a trans woman super-hero, drives a motorcycle while The Hood, a mixed race nonbinary person knocks a man trying to follow them from his motorcycle.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 23/08/2026

If you see this, post a blonde. The blonde is Angel Heart, one of the iconic characters from my Action-Heroes #TTRPG, a trans woman super-hero. Art is by Lee Oaks and @shanembailey.com did the color on this version.

Trans super-heroine Angel Heart drives a motorcycle while nonbinary compatriot The Hood deals with two armored men also on motorcycles who try to follow them.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 27/06/2026

No. I mean this. I think that it came from the (lamented) Yogsothoth site. I through that I had written about this back on my blog, years ago, but if I did that post is lost. Maybe I talked about it when I was writing for EN World, but I doubt that I did it for Bleeding Cool.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 03/06/2026

If I pursue something new for HeartQuest, it would likely use the Adventures in the Unknown system, and move from being centered on shoujo anime and also move into things that have become popular since the game originally came out, like paranormal romance fiction.

A hooved extradimensional being being with a femme appearance , a tail and horns, and brownish skin wears a yellow dress. The titles reads "Role-Playing Adventures In The Heart: HeartQuest."

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 03/06/2026

The next step in my publishing plan is publish my "compact games," digest sized games like my existing Adventures In The Unknown in the Unknown #RPG. If you don't know, digest is basically a half-letter page size. They'll be produced less expensively, so I can keep the eventual prices down.

Against an organ background are two illustrations of black when that appear to be being scanned by surveillance computers. One is a full body shot of a Black woman with large natural hair, carrying a sword. The other is a close up for the face of another Black woman. Both images have the words "scanning" over them. The title is Action-Heroes: Street Level

A black man with short 'locs rendering in neon pink and yellow looks at an electronic device. He is against an abstract background of a stack of orange-tinged paper. The title is Christopher Helton's Adventures In The Unknown: Heroic Pulp Role-Playing.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 27/05/2026

I'm working on a PDF only supplement for my Action-Heroes #TTRPG for next month. These LGBTQ+ characters and more will all have full write ups so that you can use them in your Action Heroes games. Some will be heroes, some will be villains and some will be somewhere in between. Coming Soon!

A white woman, a black tansmasc person in a wheelchair and person of unknown gender orientation stand in front of a hallway.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 20/05/2026

There is also Queer representation. One of the iconic characters is a trans woman, another is a nonbinary person. The premiere superteam in the game's world is run by a lesbian couple, and the two of them will be expanded in the Serafin Concordance supplement I'm work on. Have questions? Please ask.

Angel Heart drives a motorcycle with the Hood on the back, and they are evading malcontents chasing them on other motorcycles.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 01/05/2026

I have enjoyed these Teen Titans stories by Garcia and Picolo. They have had such great storytelling. I feel like a good number of comics fans who might have enjoyed them avoided them because of the YA label. I suggested this book to my friend @mandymorbid84.bsky.social because of the EDS plot.

Kami Garcia
Gabriel Picolo

And Illustration of the the DC Comics character as a teenager, looking off of the page. A hand brace protecting her joints is visible, as the character has been revamped as an EDS sufferer. A ball of greenish energy floats above her outstretched hand.

Teeb Tians: Starfire

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 30/04/2026

I've said before, but one of the first steps in my process of making a game is to come up with a cover or poster image. It starts to give me an idea of what I eventually will want the game to look like. This is inspired by old Omni magazine covers, because that was my first exposure to cyberpunk.

TV Sky: Cyberpunk Role-Playing

A femme presenting robot with reddish hair in a sort of bob hairstyle stands with hands on their hips and pointedly looks away from the viewer, with a slight look of disdain or disappointment on their face. They have silvery "skin" that is split into segmented plates.

They are against a plain blue-ish background.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 27/04/2026

If you're looking for games with queer characters, or want to tell queer heroic stories with your RPGs, check out Action-Heroes. Angel Heart, the woman in the front left is a trans woman empowered by a super soldier program. In the background is the mixed race, nonbinary hero The Hood.

The original wrap around cover image for the Action-Heroes TTRPG. In the right foreground, Magic Agent punches a many who is hurtling towards the viewer. Behind him is the mixed race nonbinary hero The Hood, who protects the people of their neighborhood. On the let is the trans woman hero Angel Hear, using her superior strength to deal with two bad guys with a single kick. This illustration was inspired by the original "hallway fight" scene from the Netflix Daredevil series.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 26/04/2026

I'm a game designer, but one of the best known super groups in the world of my Action-Heroes #RPG is lead by a married lesbian couple. They are Belladonna and Quirk, and they co-lead the team known as the Action-Heroes within the game. They received their abilities from being descendants of aliens.

A south east Asian woman in camouflage and a medical-like mask, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and tucked under a cap, stands balanced on one leg as she makes a quick. Her codename is Belladonna.

A slender woman with a short, almost military hair cut walks towards the viewer. She is dressed casually in jeans, a slightly cropped long-sleeved shirt and trainers. Her codename is Quirk.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 10/04/2026

I received the proof copy of my Action-Heroes #TTRPG today in the mail, and I need to spend a day or two going through it. But hopefully it will be available in print soon.

Action-Heroes
Adventure Role-Playing

Illustration: In the background a mixed race nonbinary person knocks a man coming in through a doorway, back through it.

I the foreground a middle-aged looking Asian man punches another man, knocking out a tooth and propelling him towards the viewer.

Bottom left corner blurb: “[A]n incredibly thoughtful, sleek system.”

— Joshua Dysart, writer Goodnight Paradise, Unknown Soldier, BPRD: 1946/1947, Harbinger and Imperium.

Back Cover text reads:
Big Damn Heroes Fighting To
Make The World A Better Place

The Action-Heroes: Adventure Role-Playing Game is a cinematic toolkit that gives gaming groups the mechanics to adapt their favorite fictional worlds and explore those worlds through their games and stories. The game encourages heroic action that can inspire the Players to become their own heroes. Action-Heroes builds collaborative play in a group and gives Players the tools to play characters that are larger than life doing action that roots them as the center of their world. Game Masters have the tools to bring their favorite worlds to life, and set loose the players’ characters in them to find wide-screen, cinematic adventures. Playable by groups of three to six people.

Illustration: A blonde trans woman delivers a round house kick that knocks one bad guy into another.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 01/04/2026

I think this will more or less be the cover for the deluxe version of my RPG. I liked the original version a lot and don't see much reason to change. The back will be black, rather than an orange, for this version.

In the top right corner: "The Deluxe Edition"
In The center of the image: "Christopher Helton's Adventures In The Unknown Heroic Pulp Role-Playing"
The background is an abstract pattern of oranges, blacks and yellows from a macro closeup image of sheets of printed paper.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 29/03/2026

I came across this paragraph in the Wikipedia page History of American Comics, and while I have heard references to a Copper Age, it isn't something I've used myself. I'm not sure if including comic strips which were hugely influential on comic books) makes the classification system better or worse.

In A Complete History of American Comic Books, Shirrel Rhoades cites Steve Geppi (the publisher of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and founder of Diamond Comic Distributors, the direct market distribution monopoly between 1997 and 2020) who, taking into account comic strips, divides the history of comics in ages:[11] Victorian (Victorian Age, from 1828 to 1882), of platinum (Platinum Age, from 1882 to 1938), of gold (Golden Age, from 1938 to 1945), atomic (Atom Age, from 1946 to 1956), of silver (Silver Age, from 1956 to 1971), of bronze (Bronze Age, from 1971 to 1985), of copper (Copper Age, from 1986 to 1992), of chrome (Chrome Age, from 1992 to 1999), and modern (Modern Age, 2000 to present). According to Rhoades, consideration of comic strips in the general history of comics has led Geppi to add two periods before the Golden Age: the Victorian Age (from 1828 to 1882) and the Platinum Age (the period of comic strips).

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 08/03/2026

Happy International Women's Day! Two of the iconic characters in my Action-Heroes #TTRPG! Angel Heart (driving the motorcycle) is a transwoman given her powers and abilities (and her transition) by a corporation looking to create super-soldiers. dorkland.itch.io/action-heroes

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 28/02/2026

Yeah, I would love an original pressing, with the unaltered art. I picked this copy up at a flea market.

A post-apocalyptic cityscape painting that is the center spread of the Diamond Dogs album art.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 10/02/2026

IDK the post he's responding to seems to be an even weirder take.

Does anyone really want new #ttrpg rules systems? I don't. I don't even much want the ones I own on paper.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 04/02/2026

The Action-Heroes #TTRPG PDF has been updated at both Itch and DriveThruRPG. If you've previously purchased the game at either place, go ahead and download the new file. If you haven't bought it and you like big damn heroes fighting to make the world a better place, why haven't you picked it up yet?

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 23/01/2026

This is one I have. I've used it for a few RQ games over the years. I'll probably use it for my StormBorn game when I get it finished.

Photo of the Broken Tree Inn Runequest adventure published by Judges Guild decades ago.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 17/10/2025

I picked this up at the comic store today. Another great @definitelyvita.bsky.social comic. I picked up Icon and Rocket recently, so I am slowly pulling together a collection of the new Milestone stuff.

Cover of the Static: Season One collection in the Compact Comic format. Static is throwing blasts of electricity as he flies on an electrified metal disc.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 29/09/2025

I'm starting on layouts for my StormBorn #RPG. I put together the title page while I look through the notes from one of the readers.

A woman of mixed human and troll ancestry in fantasy garb squats, staring at the viewer.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 13/09/2025

I am down to the last couple of copies of the first printing of my Adventures In The Unknown #TTRPG that I made for MomoCon a few months ago. If you're interested, DM me. Obviously this is an offer for people I follow and who follow me.

Photo of the stack of the last copies of the first printing of my Adventures In The Unknown #TTRPG. The cover reads Christopher Helton/Adventures In The Unknown/Heroic Pulp Role-Playing" against an abstract orange background.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 13/09/2025

I think the last week has given me some ideas for the cyberpunk supplement for my Adventures in the Unknown #RPG.

A variety of people and creatures walk through a Japanese street scene in the rain. The title says "+punk: Cyberpunk In The Unknown."

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 15/08/2025

I have a trans super-hero in my Action-Heroes RPG. She went through a super-soldier process and rather than coming out looking like Steve Rogers, she looks like this.

Angel Heart, a blonde woman in a jacket, shorts, tee shirt and trainers drives a motorcycle with the Hood (a mixed race nonbinary person) on the back.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 04/08/2025

Doing some work today. You can buy the current version and get the updated version when I have it finished. dorkland.itch.io/action-heroes

A WIP cover for the Action-Heroes Role-Playing Game. In the foreground, Magic Agent, a middle-aged Asian man punches a man who is falling back towards the viewer. In the background The Hood, a mixed race nonbinary person delivers a kick to an opponent that hurtles him back through an open door. The fight is occurring in a hallway. In the top left corner of the image is the title: Action-Heroes: Adventure Role-Playing Revised Rules. Near the bottom of the page is my name, Christopher Helton.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 01/08/2025

A convention hotel room with a view? That never happens.

A view of the Hillsborough river and some hotels around downtown Tampa.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 31/07/2025

Rereading this. I think this book was my introduction to the art of Jesus Saiz. I always thought this would make a great foundation for the setting of a role-playing game.

A tattooed, muscular man with dark hair and a woman with short cropped blond hair and a gun stand in front of a background of different people made from jigsaw puzzle pieces. The title is 21 Down: The Conduit.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 21/07/2025

Belladonna is a former military intelligence officer who discovered that she had alien ancestry after meeting the hero Quirk, and the two of them falling in love and deciding to create a team of heroes (called The Action-Heroes in the game's setting). She is inspired by the character of Nightshade.

A Southeast Asian woman in pseudo military camouflage garb and an KN95 style face mask executes a roundhouse kick.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 14/07/2025

No. It is time to snub them harder.

OPINION
GUEST ESSAY
Is It lime to Stop Snubbing Your Right-Wing Family?
July 13, 2025, 9:00 a.m. ET

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 29/06/2025

One of the first things I do when I start on a project is to make some images that guide me through what I want to do. Then I'll go back and fill in the blank spaces as I go. This is a cover for what might become a supplement for my Adventures in the Unknown #TTRPG.

A shadowy figure that might be female stands against a desolate, desert like blurry background. The air appears smoky, and everything is in varying shades of blues and greens. The head of the figure is fading, like smoke. In the top right corner is the title: Christopher Helton: Adventures In The Between.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 21/06/2025

I finally got a copy of the comics collection I've wanted for years: the DC Archives: Action Heroes vol. 2. I never really liked the early Captain Atom stories, so vol. 1 was not something I was interested in. I saw this years ago and thought "I'll always be able to get this" so I waited. Oops.

A photograph of a hardcover book published by DC Comics: DC Archive Editions - The Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2 by Steve Ditko. On the cover are images (from left to right) of the Charlton Comics versions of The Question, Blue Beetle and Captain Atom. The art of all of them is by Steve Ditko.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 05/06/2025

Welcome followers, new and old, to my new pinned post! My name is Chris, and I design and publish artisan tabletop role-playing games. I am nonbinary, and I am a big fan of comics and music. In 2003 I started my Dorkland! blog, which is where the name for this account and many others comes from.

A photo of me at my desk, one of my office bookcases behind me with a variety of books, RPGs, comics and toys behind me. I have short blondish hair and a beard that needs trimming up. I am wearing glasses and staring at the camera the person is using to take my photo.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 04/06/2025

I've been working on cleaning the logo for my Action-Heroes game, so it will have its own look from the Outland Entertainment run. Jeremy did great color work on the logo and really made it pop. I just wanted to give it a look that would read my material as "new."

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 23/05/2025

Before my first MomoCon panel of the day I dove into the Hall and managed to get a signature on my Wonder Woman: Historia collection from @geneha.com. I got a JSA vs. Kobra #1 by @erictrautmann.bsky.social signed by him (I love Gene's covers on that mini).

Gene Ha signed and remarqued my Wonder Woman: Historia collection. The quick sketch is the head of an Amazon warrior. The "Ha!" is obviously his signature.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 23/05/2025

My mom is a big Harley Quinn fan, so I got her a book signed by Tini Howard at MomoCon today. Dig that cool @swayart.bsky.social cover!

Harley Quinn, in a version of her classic costume from the Batman cartoon, is coming at a man, her hammer swung behind her and ready to swing down and onto the man. The image is from the perspective of the man, and his hands are raised, trying to protect himself from the blow of the hammer. The cover is signed by writer Tini Howard.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 22/05/2025

Hey! If you're in Atlanta this weekend and attending @momocon.bsky.social, this is my schedule of #TTRPG events at the con. I'll be wandering around randomly at other times, so if see me, come and say hello. I'll be masking, so pretend that my face is partially covered if you're trying to ID me.

Friday, May 23rd
ADAPTING TO EVOLVING TTRPGS 100-2:00PM (PANEL ROOM B403)
STREETS OF ACTION 3.00-5:00PM (RPG HALL - B405/407)
ROLLPLAY AND ROLEPLAY IN TTRPGS 7:00-8:00PA (PANEL ROOM B404)
MONSTER MENU: COOKING YOUR KILLS 8:30-9:30PA (PANEL ROOM B208)

Saturday, May 24th
TTRPG DESIGNING OUTSIDE THE BOX 11:30-12:30PM (PANEL ROOM B207)
MYSTIC HEROES 3.00-5:00PM (RPG HALL - B405/407)

[A picture of me at my desk, looking gorfy]
Special Guest: Christopher Helton

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 03/05/2025

This is an interesting bit of information.

A screen shot of a portion of the Wikipedia article on the Nick Carter character.

"None of the Nick Carter series of books carried author credits, although it is known that several of the earliest volumes were written by Michael Avallone, and that Valerie Moolman and NYT bestselling author Gayle Lynds wrote others, making this the first series of its kind to be written in significant part by women. Bill Crider is another author identified with Nick Carter."

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 25/04/2025

At 11:43 at night the weather app on my phone's home screen thinks it is sunny out.

A screen shot of the home screen on my phone, showing that at 11:43 at night, the Weather Channel app thinks it is sunny out. The image in the background is a cover from a Shade: The Changing Girl comic published by DC Comics and drawn by Becky Cloonan.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 23/04/2025

I started reading the Evangeline comics from the 80s that I picked up recently in earnest. They manage to both be better than expected and worse than expected, sometimes at the same time. You can definitely see the early shape of Chuck Dixon's thoughts in this book.

A bagged copy of the Lodestone Comics Evangeline Special comic. This reprinted the first two issues published by Comico Comics in a single issue. In the foreground is a blonde woman, she is a nun with a prominent cross, and she carries a shotgun. Behind her is an older man, also with a shotgun. Both of them are wearing multiple layers of clothing, and facemasks, because they are on Mars. There is an all terrain vehicle behind Evangeline. They are moving towards the reader in the image.

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 22/04/2025

Art by @rhershey.bsky.social Next in line after StormBorn will be Folklore Fate, a series of PDFs about bringing magic, mythology and strangeness into your Fate #TTRPG campaigns.

In the foreground the head of a person of color floats, their eyes obscured by rags tightly binding them, tight curls of dark hair spilling out over the top of the rags. In the background is a dark and lonely tower with a full moon shining down onto it. At the top of the page are the words "Folklore Fate" (the word Fate is reversed) and at the bottom of the page is the pen name "Christopher Helton."

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Christopher Helton @dorkland.itch.io · 18/04/2025

I had a productive day revising and editing the manuscript for my upcoming StormBorn #TTRPG. I'm not really a huge fan of fantasy, so I don't work in these spaces very often. The game will be self-contained and complete in the core book. Probably a couple more days work and it will go to my Patreon.

A redheaded person holding a blood dripping sword in their hand and wearing inappropriately protective clothing smiles as they look upon the viewer. Their furred cloak whips behind them, moved by a wind. Behind their head are the words "StormBorn: D100 Fantasy Roleplaying."

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