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Joel Russ

@joelruss.bsky.social
79 followers 245 following 70 posts
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I love this kind of thing, shared reinforcement of theme+mechanics. One of my favorite RPGs, 7th Sea, has a version of this where a hero can use a token to get 1 bonus die on their own roll but 3 bonus dice to aid an ally. Heroes are stronger together. All for one, and one for all!
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Rowan Rook and Decard @rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
ONE HOUR before we strap this guy to a rocket and blast him into the stratosphere <3 www.kickstarter.com/projects/gsh...
kickstarter.com
Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game
Create millennia-spanning sci-fi epics in this groundbreaking roleplaying game based on the award winning Children of Time novels.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I just backed Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/sly...
kickstarter.com
Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster
Run great tabletop RPGs by preparing less.
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John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
if you're writing your post-apocalyptic story you have to take into account in your "lost technology" narrative that this guy figured out how to make RAM in his garage. youtu.be/h6GWikWlAQA?...
youtu.be
Making RAM at Home
YouTube video by Dr.Semiconductor
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
One of my friends is raising funds for an environmental education charity. pro.gofundme.com/fundraiser/7... For the next 12 hours (while her boss is matching donations), if you donate $10+, I'll send you all my published products. (Email me your receipt with your personal info redacted).
pro.gofundme.com
2026 Five Boro Bike Tour
{{MetaTags.description}}
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Seamus Blackley @seamus.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The truth is not the average of a fact and a lie.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
I've playtested several of these, it was an absolute pleasure. They're fun to play and see, and funny without being jarring in the game. A friend who tried one of the kobolds in testing immediately wanted to try all the others. His only dilemma was which one to play next.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Want to keep the backer train going? I playtest this game and can't wait to keep running, playing and testing it. Come check it out!
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Eric @rvageek804.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
A Christmas Eve poem for comic strip Calvin and Hobbes
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
The 2 campaigns I've backed that were managed by Sandra Tayler were the best organized and most well communicated I've ever seen, so I'm especially eager to read through this book that just arrived! It's been a good week for receiving crowdfunded campaign rewards.
A photograph of the book "Structuring Life to Support Creativity" by Sandra Tayler.
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Tidal Wave Games | TURTLE TIME 10/23 @tidalwavegames.com · 08/12/2025
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti... RATCATCHER MAGAZINE Issue 02 for @hellomcdm.bsky.social's DRAW STEEL launches in just 10 days. We have an EPIC new level 10 Necromancer Tyrant, a Ghost Ancestry, a new kind of elf, and more!
backerkit.com
Get Ready for Ratcatcher Magazine Issue 02 for DRAW STEEL
From Tidal Wave Games - Get Ready for Ratcatcher Magazine Issue 02 for DRAW STEEL
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
My physical copy of MCDM's Draw Steel arrived! It's gorgeous and also delightful to have the print books of this game I've been having such a great time playtesting.
Draw Steel Ajax Edition box
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 14/11/2025
Car Size xkcd.com/3167/
4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...
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James Introcaso @jamesintrocaso.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Public playtest of the Beastheart for Draw Steel is now available: www.patreon.com/posts/143079...
patreon.com
Public Playtest: Beastheart for Draw Steel | MCDM Productions
Get more from MCDM Productions on Patreon
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Kitty Chandler @mightybattlecat.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
Gina Bellman
@Ginabellman 

I absolutely -definitely- positively was not in Paris Yesterday. #LouvreHeist.

[A photo of Gina Bellman sitting in an ornate restaurant holding a wine glass and wearing a red beret.] 

(The joke here is that one of actress Gina Bellman's most famous roles over the last ten years is as a master thief, doing thievery.)
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
MCDM just released the symbols they use in stat blocks under a free license. mcdm.gg/DrawSteel/Dr... If you've never worked with a CC-BY-SA license, check out the thread for some guidance.
mcdm.gg
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🅳🅴🅰🅳🅻🆈 🅵🆁🅴🅳🅻🆈 @deadlyfredly.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
The three subtypes of Gith: Githzerai, Githyanki, Github.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
It has been 0 days since I've recommended Dr. Corey Olsen's lectures on Bram Stoker's Dracula. mythgard.org/academy/drac...
mythgard.org
Mythgard Academy: Dracula
Join Dr. Corey Olsen (the Tolkien Professor) for an in-depth look at Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel "Dracula."
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John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
This is the key to understanding our very, very broken economy.
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
The Kobold Ancestry for Draw Steel launches in 24 hours. 96 people have already signed up for a launch alert. Can we get to 100? www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
backerkit.com
Get Ready for The Kobold Ancestry
From Pesto Publications - Get Ready for The Kobold Ancestry
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
There are just 17 hours left to back Ratcatchers. If you were on the fence, now's the time to grab it. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
backerkit.com
Ratcatcher Magazine for DRAW STEEL - Issue 01
A community zine of new content for MCDM's Draw Steel: Mimics, dryads, living traps, map advice, and more!
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Want more Draw Steel? I designed a pair of new ancestries, dryads and flower-folk, featured in this zine along side more contributions by other designers. Check out the previews! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
backerkit.com
Ratcatcher Magazine for DRAW STEEL - Issue 01
A community zine of new content for MCDM's Draw Steel: Mimics, dryads, living traps, map advice, and more!
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Rob Donoghue @rdonoghue.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
One of the most entertaining writing exercises I can remember was when WOTC had their setting contest (which lead to the publishing of Eberron). The heart of it was the constraints - the necessity of framing the essentials of a setting in a single page.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Daggerheart arrived! I got to play this during development, as both game master and player, and I'm excited to get to use it now that it's out.
Daggerheart rulebook and cards in a case on a table along with metal polyhedral dice.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
May the Fourth, a perfect day to play the Star Wars RPG!
Fantasy Flight Games dice and Edge of the Empire rulebook for the Star Wars RPG, and the Star Wars encyclopedia
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 30/04/2025
I could be wrong about this but I really think most Americans do not want to be forced to “do their own research” about food & drug & product safety and would rather that the government agencies that have been sorting that all out for them for decades not be obliterated in the name of “efficiency.”
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Our second session using Edge of the Empire, delighted with the narrative dice and really glad for the extra boosts from @digthebad.bsky.social to avoid falling down this space station ladder!
Star Wars Fantasy Flight Games rpg dice using 1 ability, 1 proficience, 2 challenge, and 2 boost dice.
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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 10/04/2025
No lawmaker in Congress should be able to own, buy, and sell individual stocks. We need to ban congressional stock trading—and I've got a bill for that.
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
I'm making a game! And to market it, I'm releasing an NFT (Non-Functional Tchotchke). Introducing Warhol.jpg from the Profiteering Off of Famous Dead People's Names NFT series! Get it today (for free) to get an alert when the actual game releases (this summer?). pestopublications.itch.io/nft
pestopublications.itch.io
enshittAIfication NFT by Pesto Publications
Give me money!
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Homemade apple pie for pi day!
Pie fresh out of the oven with a golden brown crust.Pie before baking with a "pi" symbol decoration, sprinkled with turbinado sugar, vented with a pattern of 3, 1, 4, 1, and 5 incisions.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
My water turned into a slushy before I finished my run, and this was during the warmest part of the day. It's pretty cold out there.
A water bottle with the lid off showing ice crystal clumps inside.
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AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
In modern medieval European inspired fantasy, the world usually has elves, dwarves, dragons & orcs. But what are the fantastical creatures actual medieval Europeans believed in? We’ve got a legendary response from Steelcan909 on this mystical creature identification!
buff.ly
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James Introcaso @jamesintrocaso.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
As we head into what is an uncertain and scary 2025 for many, I want to remind folks that joy is not a finite thing. You don't take it from others when you have it, and there is no guilt in joy. Experiencing it keeps you in the fight for others and helps others feel happiness.
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James Introcaso @jamesintrocaso.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Well, we're basically putting all of Draw Steel out for a Patreon test today... www.patreon.com/posts/118382...
patreon.com
Draw Steel: Packet 4 (Pretty Much the Whole Game) | MCDM Productions
Get more from MCDM Productions on Patreon
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
There's a spectrum when you're designing for someone else's system. One end is "strict adherence it their design principles/decisions" and the other end is "ignore the design principles/decisions you disagree with and come up with your own solutions". Let's talk about that. And kobolds, of course.
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Keith Ammann 🔜 Gamehole Con @themonstersknow.com · 11/12/2024
I keep having thoughts about #TTRPG stuff that are too long for social media and don't belong on The Monsters Know What They're Doing. So guess what? I'm starting a newsletter! Here's the first of a series of three posts on the topic of carrying PCs from one TTRPG system into others.
onefootinfairyland.com
Crossing Borders, Part 1
I’ve been contemplating starting a new blog or newsletter for a while now, and recently I got the impetus I needed when Diana “of the Rose” Fay, a popular TikToker who once said something nice about m...
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Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
One of the 5e products I worked on is *one* sale shy of earning an Electrum medal (it's at 250 and needs 251). Anyone need some magic items? www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...
drivethrurpg.com
Dragonlance Trinkets & Treasures - Dungeon Masters Guild | DriveThruRPG
Pick up this and other titles in the Trinkets &amp; Treasures Collection Bundle! Dragonlance Trinkets &amp; Treasures is a collection of trinkets and magic items inspired by several of the original D...
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John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
Hey new folks on Bluesky, please remember that artists and writers are still getting established here, and promoting them in your feed to others is a big part of the participation here. Never hesitate to push someone else’s post about their work!
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James Wyatt @aquela.com · 30/10/2024
In tonight’s #dnd game, I went on a discourse about how Giant not only has singular, dual, and plural word forms, but has a plural-dual (for two distinct creatures) and a singular-dual (for ettins and other two-headed creatures). “Is this official lore?” another player asks. Only if you use it. 😃
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 30/10/2024
In our DnD game tonight, Roll20 might be better named Roll1. I can only hope we at least revert to the mean before combat ends.
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TTRPG Rising Tide @risingtide.bsky.social · 01/10/2024
Not sure how to approach playtesting your TTRPG? Join us 10/21/24 at 7:00 PM ET for a chat with Spencer Hibnick, head contract tester of MCDM, as he discusses the whys and hows of playtesting. Drop in and have your questions answered live! discord.gg/9SMWdMQ4z... #ttrpg
Ad card for TTRPG Rising Tide. It reads Spencer Hibnick Talks Playtesting Your TTRPG. Join Mat and Spencer as they highlight the importance of playtesting and how it might look for your TTRPG.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 17/09/2024
This month my supplement "A Nothic's Guide to Improved Material Spell Components" made copper best seller on the DMs Guild! To celebrate, you can get it for 20% off through the end of September. Try upgraded spells via special components (+ quests to earn them) now! www.dmsguild.com/product/3403...
Cover art for the DMs Guild spell supplement "A Nothic's Guide to Improved Material Spell Components" featuring the Dungeons and Dragons nothic monster.
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Sandra Tayler @sandratayler.bsky.social · 18/07/2024
Last few hours! This project closes at Noon Pacific today! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
backerkit.com
Structuring Life to Support Creativity
A resource book to help writers, artists, and other creatives make more art with less burnout.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 21/06/2024
My copy of @koboldpress.com's Tales of the Valiant Player's Handbook, Monster Vault, and GM Screen arrived today!
Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Screen next to Player's Guide and Monster Vault books together in a slipcase.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 20/03/2024
We're about to create a rufter to put on a cockatrice. I can't wait to try affixing a hood on this monster. I love DnD.
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 18/03/2024
I'm going to see this as corp-dyceps now.
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James Introcaso @jamesintrocaso.bsky.social · 07/12/2023
THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN FOR THE MCDM RPG IS LIVE! mcdm.gg/RPG
A group of heroes battle a band of hobgoblins in a beautiful illustration
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Joel Russ @joelruss.bsky.social · 27/11/2023
My RPG supplements are on sale for Cyber Monday! Pick up Expanded Environments for new location and monster options, the Nothic's Guide for thematic spell upgrades and component quests, and an adventure, The Question of the Sphinx. All 20% to 40% off. www.drivethrurpg.com/product/4548...
drivethrurpg.com
DriveThruRPG
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