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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA

@johnhaygood.bsky.social
70 followers 150 following 149 posts

Here for the ttrpg scene Into PbtA with occasional bursts of OSR Alpha playtest dropping any day now! "Land of Myth: Age of Palaces" A Homeric PbtA ttrpg based on Homer's Iliad & Odyssey & Greek mythology🏺 (he/him | medievalist | single dad | 📍Greece)

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Reposted by John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA
lumpley @lumpley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
15 years ago when Apocalypse World was new and people were beginning to understand and work with it, it was seductive to look at "acting under fire" and see, not one basic move of several, but the template underlying all the game's moves. Like @kierongillen.bsky.social 's classic gag:
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Currently occupying the same space... But I made the mistake to look, before I realised what was going on.
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Ben Robbins is launching M2 @lamemage.com · 30/09/2026
In one week I click the button and let slip the dogs of fractal history… Tuesday October 6 www.kickstarter.com/projects/lam...
kickstarter.com
Coming soon: Microscope (2nd Edition)
The fractal game of epic histories
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Reposted by John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA
Ben Robbins is launching M2 @lamemage.com · 01/07/2026
I'm making it official: Microscope second edition is in the works. Crowdfunding in October. I swear on this stack of game books arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/52...
arsludi.lamemage.com
M2
I'm making it official: a new edition of Microscope is in the works. I've looked in my crystal ball, laid out my schedule, and set crowdfunding for October. If you've been following this blog, you ...
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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
4 panel comic

Panel 1:
A post from “kavishj9611” that reads: 

“All the people who are anti-Al or want to slow Al progress, I have one question:
If Al disappeared tomorrow, could you still get through an entire workday without ChatGPT, Claude, or any other
Al tool?
Imagine Al was suddenly banned.
Would you actually be willing to give it up?”

Panel 2:
And Orange Guy and a Pink Guy are standing in a room that has two pipes in it. Both pipes are pumping raw sewage into the room. The characters are waist deep in it.
Orange Guy says smugly “Ok Mr “I don’t want to be in a room that’s filling up with raw sewage” let me ask you this”

Panel 3:
The sewage has reached their chests. Pink Guy is gagging. Orange Guy smugly continues “If all this sewage disappeared right now, could you get through the day without it?”

Panel 4:
The sewage is almost up to their eyeballs. Orange Guys says “Look at that shit floating past your face. Are you willing to give that up?”
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And they're here! All the way from Canada to Greece! #pbta #ttrpg
Package and contents of my order of the PbtA games: The Quiet Year, Dream Askew Dream Apart, and Monsterhearts
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I'm gutted. I was literally a day's work away from completing the alpha playtest pdf and I f*ed up and lost the file. And apparently on an apple it's irrecoverable. I have a backup but it's few days old and I'd done so much good work yesterday... Deeeep breaths...
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Cute Monster Props @cutemonster.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A week ago at Dragoncon I met Richard Garriott at a panel about his new Ultima game. Long story short he wants to use AI. He already has for concept art and ChatGPT generated fantasy language. I wrote an account with the hope that this could spread to the right people. Please pass this along.
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Phil Szostak @philszostak.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
“Tony [Gilroy] finally turned to me, and he said, ‘Hey, you just got to stop pitching plot. Plot is bullshit. Plot is what happens when you get the behavior right. Pitch me a line of dialogue, pitch me atmosphere, pitch me something visual. Stop pitching stuff that happens.’” 1/2
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Rerun or sequel? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on end times fascism How nationalists, religious fundamentalists and tech titans turned their backs on a shared future by Naomi Klein | 17 min read | Sep 5, 2026 smry.ai/https://www....
smry.ai
Read in smry
Open an article in smry.
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Reposted by John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA
Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 02/09/2026
Trade xkcd.com/3290/
Comic. [Person standing holding hammer above raised knee.] PERSON: Listen up, leg. I’ve been sending you rich, oxygenated blood for years, while you send me worthless used-up blood with no oxygen. Time to teach you a lesson about not ripping me off! [caption] Tariffs
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Brilliant!! #PbtA #ttrpg
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I'm all for MCDM and congrats for yet another successful crowdfunding. What I don't understand is, does Crows actually cover a gap in the market that I don't understand (given how many osr dungeon crawlers are out there) or is it base loyalty that drives the numbers?
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Reposted by John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA
Avery Alder, Buried Without Ceremony @lackingceremony.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Do you love any of the games that I have created? Whether it's Monsterhearts, Dream Askew, The Quiet Year, Going For Broke, or a deeper cut, now would be a great time to hit quote-tweet and tell your friends about it! It's been a slow month. 💕✨ store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
Buried Without Ceremony
My name is Avery Alder, and for the past eighteen years I’ve been designing tabletop roleplaying games. These are games about community, relationships, doubt, queerness, and the collapse of civilizati...
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
We just watched Nolan's Odyssey & I have thoughts. So buckle up. First of all, I know I'm one more nobody expressing opinions in the void, but I live in Greece & I've spent the last 10yrs of my life studying Homer & the Mycenaean period for the ttrpg I'm designing. So it's personal. 1/🧵 Spoilers!
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Because I grew up with ad&d2e I would _never_ run anything RAW. But, when I really moved away from d20 games I realized that often you find well-thought & well desighned games that you ought to run RAW cause there's real intention in the rules.
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Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The question was never what YOU can do. The question is when will THEY pay.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I can imagine a world where the EU gets its act together and instead of becoming a bureaucratic Orwellian dystopia, it focused on real human-centric development. Then joining Canada, South Korea, Japan Aussies, NZ, Singapore, etc, we created a new trade and defense organisation, abandoning..
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Support if you can. There's a discount running on the annual subscription.
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(Self) Regulators, mount up! @bankuei.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I'm playing in two games, running one, and organizing to run another. The game I'm running is 4 years and going. One of the games I'm in is like 3 years and going. I will repeat the advice that allowed me to make this situation happen, and hopefully will help others.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I've concluded that this is a taxonomy used mostly within the trad gaming circles more than anywhere else. For me it's more about what these rules do: Do they resolve actions (usually with binary success vs. failure)? Or do they facilitate the narrative? Cause either could be rules heavy or light.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
So incredibly close to completing the Alpha Playtest!! Land of Myth: Age of Palaces is a Homeric PbtA ttrpg based on Homer's Iliad & Odyssey and Greek mythology. It's a labour of love, that I've been working on for exactly a decade. Begun as 5e compatible, shifted to OSR/d20, finally PbtA...
Land of Myth logo, white font on black background.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I see a lot of people saying they don't understand PbtA or it never clicked with them. If you're genuinely interested to understand it I highly recommend the podcasts Discern Realities by The Gauntlet hosted by @jasoncordova.bsky.social It is brilliant and it's what unlocked PbtA games for me.
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Kalum 🔜 GrogLaw 2027 @rolistespod.itch.io · 02/08/2026
Pre-orders are open for ROSEWOOD ABBEY's upcoming limited reprint. Order now and get it by September 2026. therolistes.bigcartel.com/product/rose... Investigate monastic mysteries like William of Baskerville or Cadfael of Shrewbury with Rosewood Abbey. 🥀 #TTRPG #CarvedFromBrindlewood
Promotional visual for Rosewood Abbey. Pre-orders $25 via The Rolistes Big Cartel store.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It's here at last!!! #Stonetop #PbtA #ttrpg
The tomes of ttrpg Stonetope in their sleeve.Sticker saying 'Thy bountiful equipment of tomes awaits within'
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Yes, yes there are... And I'm about to add one more tree to the PbtA forest...
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I've been working my pants off to get this Alpha playtest ready... I can't believe the amount of time I've spent on layout, on chasing after older iterations of the rules that have sneaked in, re-writing whole sections to make them more concise in order to fit in the layout... #homeric #pbta #ttrpg
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
So, I was part of this episode!!!! We spoke with Eric Molinsky for my (under development) PbtA ttrpg 'Land of Myth' and then we actually played a quick session! I huge thank you to Eric for the opportunity!!
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Imaginary Worlds @emolinsky.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
You’re on a quest for fortune and glory, facing creatures with battle mechanics, leveling up and increasing your abilities. That's the story of The Odyssey but it could also be your D&D campaign. This week, we explore whether Homer set the template for tabletop role-playing games.
imaginaryworldspodcast.org
Episode 307: Choose Your Own Odyssey — Imaginary Worlds
Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey is part of a long line of film adaptations, but Homer’s epic poem has quietly shaped another medium: role-playing games. The structure of The Odyssey is practicall...
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
On the (slow) boat to Sikinos island, re-reading 'The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters' by Adam Nicolson. A book I discovered a few years ago when I came across this wonderful discussion/book presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhXT... If you're looking for something to 1/3
youtube.com
Why Homer Matters
YouTube video by Hay Festival
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
My daughter just started referring to herself in third person. Is this another preadolescence thing???
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Nothing pushes a project forward like a deadline about to hit you like a train. I had absolutely promised myself that I'll have an Alfa playtest for my Homeric PbtA ttrpg ready to drop with Nolan's Odyssey movie. I'm working my pants off to hit that deadline. > Huge boost: being interviewed by
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Spent the long weekend on the mountain with my daughter. But instead of warm spring weather in the Peloponnese, we got 3°C, frozen winds, rain, hail and fog. It was very beautiful but it certainly wasn't what we'd been hoping for. We did light the fireplace though and played a hell lot of Uno!
A cloud coming up the mountain side and rolling into the plateau, engulfing an oak tree that sits by the cliff side. Location : Korinthia, Peloponnese, Greece
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Film you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, Marvel, Disney, or Ghibli.
media.tenor.com
a close up of a woman 's face with red lips
Alt: Big trouble in little China
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Plus One Exp @ 🔜 Metatopia @plusoneexp.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Good editors are worth their weight in valuable fantasy metal* If you are looking for one I recommend @rrookstudio.bsky.social @willjobst.bsky.social @bookrealmrevisions.bsky.social @meatcastlegameware.com @samsorensen.bsky.social Jert from @spacepenguinink.bsky.social *punch this up later 1/2
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
#LandOfMyth #Homeric #Pbta It's as if a couple of weeks ago someone finally wired my brain circuit to fit the PbtA move-writing schematic and at last I'm writing moves that truly feel, read & work like decent PbtA moves *while also carrying* the Homeric themes & mood I've been struggling for! 1/2
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
#NewPipe is back!! www.apkmirror.com/apk/team-new...
apkmirror.com
NewPipe (github version) 0.28.2 APK Download by Team NewPipe - APKMirror
NewPipe (github version) 0.28.2 APK Download by Team NewPipe - APKMirror Free and safe Android APK downloads
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
A childhood friend's coming over for acupuncture treatment and then we'll head out for a pint. And I joked about "'Beers & Needles' a new ttrpg"! We laughed, and now it's stuck in my head...
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
And what I didn't clarify was that I had only planned 20% of all that. Everything else came up during play from dice rolls, fiction and improv.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Tonight we finished a 6part #DungeonWorld #pbta campaign. It was awesome! PCs crossed into pocket dimension, saw the Astral Sea, bargained with Githyanki pirates. Two (out of three) characters died, fighting two iillithids. A character (captured in session 2) was rescued. Multiple failed rolls! 1/
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Warm wishes for a very Happy New Year to all the #ttrpg people out there!! May the new year bring you all you need and want!
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Warmest wishes for a peaceful, nourishing and deeply contemplative and meditative Winter Solstice to everyone!! Slow down, sleep much, eat good food, do nothing. Refresh your body in the stillness of the longest night!
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Congratulations to Vincent & Meguey Baker!!! So happy for them!! And if you ask me it should have done even better! For me, discovering the PbtA universe was the breath of fresh air that I needed after years of trade game stalemate. I haven't released my game yet, but I already feel I owe them.
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Indie Press Revolution @ipr.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Congratulations to Apocalypse World: Burned Over for hitting $200k on its final day. Still 12 hours left to get it to $250K! Just sayin'... www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
kickstarter.com
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
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Mikel L. Matthews Jr. @improvgm.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Apocalypsr World is the oddly forgotten Pbta game. If even just for the GM section, you owe it to yourself to get it.
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MegueyB 🔜Metatopia @megueyb.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Here it is. The final 24 hours. You've helped coax banked embers into a steady flame. Tell me, what is one thing you'll bring with you into What-Comes-Next? Seeds? Thread? A good kitchen knife? What will you make of what's left? Together, let's light up the world. www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
kickstarter.com
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
I just backed Apocalypse World: Burned Over Kickstarter!! #ApocalypseWorld #PbtA www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
kickstarter.com
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Spent most of the day working on my #PbtA #ttrpg Land of Myth. Last time I managed to put in so much work was back in September... One of the most challenging aspects of the design has been the fact that because I've based the game so intimately on Homer's Iliad, I've had very specific 1/2
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
I've been slowly working on my PbtA game for a long while now... Now my game doesn't have a lot of sex moves. The Iliad is more famous for the slaughter and gods, but still, it's got plenty of social interaction. My biggest stumbling block has been the structure of the playbooks, and the question
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John 'Magus of Thebes' - Land Of Myth PbtA @johnhaygood.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
As someone who spent years in uni and tried twice for a PhD, I find this shocking - although not surprising. But as a gamer, writer, consumer of fiction/scifi all I can think of is: The darn thing is trying to warn us!! It's telling us what it knows we ought to have understood by now, and it's 1/2
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