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Johnny O’Neal

@johnnyoneal.bsky.social
1.7K followers 503 following 632 posts

Brotherwise Games Co-Founder. Geeky dad. Game designer, art director, and chief Cosmere officer. Trying to make the world a more positive & joyful place through games.

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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
United Wizards of the Coast - CWA @uwotc-official.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The biggest threat to workers isn’t a dragon or a beholder, it’s unfair working conditions. D&D Producer Vanessa Hoskins is calling for a union to protect the workers behind WOTC’s premier games. actionnetwork.org/forms/uwotcp...
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Glad you enjoyed it! We've learned a lot about adventure design since then, but I'm still happy with what we pulled off in Bridge Nine. We tried really hard to introduce something new about the system and the setting in each scene.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
We received our backer copy of Journeymon! Yesterday, I left it out for my 10-year-old to see when he got home from school. This morning, I woke up to find him reading like this, halfway through the rulebook. 😊
10-year-old boy intently reading the Journeymon rulebook
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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
Dea @dealunart.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
'The Gilded Few' More Mistborn era 2 character art for the Cosmere RPG. ADs: @mattdemino.bsky.social and @johnnyoneal.bsky.social
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Dea @dealunart.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
More Mistborn (Era 1 and 2) character art for the Cosmere RPG! ADs: @mattdemino.bsky.social and @johnnyoneal.bsky.social
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Brotherwise Games @brotherwisegames.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Stormlight: War for Roshar Kickstarter has some exciting additional offerings to announce today, such as the Mistborn Premium Miniatures! Read the full update here, and don't forget to follow the pre-launch page so you never miss an update 🌩️⚔️ www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
3D renders of Kelsier and Vin miniatures for the Cosmere RPG
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Yes. 🙋🏻‍♂️ After the tariffs were declared unconstitutional, our small board game business immediately sought refunds for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we paid in illegal Trump tariffs. After months of forms and applications, we have been refunded less than $5,000.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Hey @lulavampiro.bsky.social can this be my next Hexbeat character?
Meme by Alenora (@spunkyturnip) says "Imagine if your dad was a Minotaur and your mom was a Mermaid and you got the human half of both and now you're just some guy" and shows a picture of a normal human against a backdrop of a mermaid and a Minotaur.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This week I visited Dragonsteel HQ with @suenshine.bsky.social, Lead Designer of the Cosmere RPG. We had a great time seeing everyone there and seeing how well Kickstarter fulfillment is going. While we were at it, we recorded some videos on how to play in the Mistborn campaign setting!
Brotherwise Games Creative Director Johnny O'Neal and Cosmere RPG Lead Designer Lydia Suen holding the Mistborn campaign setting books in the Dragonsteel recording studio.
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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
Brotherwise Games @brotherwisegames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
While coming off the high of the Mistborn RPG digital fulfillment yesterday, we joined up with our friends at Demiplane for an AMA on Reddit today! Here are some of the standout questions and answers from both teams: 👇🧵
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Same!
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Yeah, that is such a good candid photo!
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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
Dea @dealunart.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I think I can finally share this one now that it’s been revealed! Had the pleasure of doing the cover art for the Well of Ascension Expansion of the Mistborn Deckbuilding Game! Loved working on this one. ADs: @mattdemino.bsky.social and @johnnyoneal.bsky.social #mistborn #cosmere
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
My 78-year-old dad LOVES ping-pong. The local news recently visited the senior center where he plays and ended up recording a 7-minute segment where he talked about ping-pong and gave the reporter a lesson. I can't tell you how happy it made him to give an extended interview on his favorite topic. 😄
A screenshot from the interview with Johnny's dad. The chyron says "John O'Neal, Table Tennis Enthusiast." A wide shot of Johnny's dad playing ping-pong with the reporter.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Academy members were invited to submit designs for new heroic path talents, and the Plotweaver core design team provided feedback! The notes reveal a lot about how to create balanced, clever talent designs. Just one step toward making Plotweaver the most designer-friendly open source RPG out there!
Screenshot of a Participants in the Plotweaver "Talent Show" share responses to the experience, like: "This is absurdly more feedback than I ever expected these submissions would get" and "Thanks to the Plotweaver team for such excellent feedback." (Full text available in comments section of linked article.)
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
If you're an aspiring or freelance RPG designer, I encourage you to check out Plotweaver Academy. Many of the free articles are relevant to designing for any system, and it's a really cool look behind the scenes of RPG design. Check out this article from last week: www.patreon.com/PlotweaverAc...
patreon.com
Plotweaver Talent Show Results | Plotweaver Academy
Hello Plotweaver Academy! Today we have the Plotweaver Core Design Team’s feedback on the Talent Show submissions, and a cool look forward!
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I can speak to it! The Cosmere RPG Lead, Lyla Fujiwara, is incredibly passionate about playtesting and has put our books through thousands of hours of testing. I don't want to tag her in a thread on her day off, but please check out some of her writing on playtesting: www.patreon.com/PlotweaverAc...
patreon.com
Designer Guidance 4: Playtesting | Plotweaver Academy
Happy Friday Plotweaver Academeers! If you haven't been following the Gen Con news from yesterday, you should definitely go and check that o
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Cosmere has its Sanderfan core, but is absolutely a game made by and for the TTRPG community. At Gen Con we had nonstop games running in our Cosmere room and beyond. I encourage you to look into the resumes of the system's leads, or check out our Discord. We're a real game! bsky.app/profile/john...
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
The Plotweaver team, especially Setting Leads @kiennas.bsky.social and @anarisis.dylangrinder.com, have created a unique fantasy world with emotion-based magic, ancient technology, and a high concept of adventuring as therapy for a wounded world. Journey to Erstwild and share your feedback!
A page showing concept sketches for First Age ruins in the world of Erstwild. (Download the linked PDF to for the full text of this page.)A page showing concept sketches for Hastelings, our current term for human and near-human ancestries. (Download the linked PDF to for the full text of this page.)
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
To support the Open Alpha for our first Plotweaver setting, the @plotweaver.bsky.social team has created a new PDF of imagery to introduce your players to Erstwild! Just visit PlotweaverRPG.com and click on the link to access our Google Drive for the Alpha playtest materials!
Welcome to Erstwild cover page
World by Kienna Shaw and Dylan Grinder
Concept Art by Christian Benavides
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Kienna is making Erstwild @kiennas.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Erstwild open alpha is live ✨right now✨ So very proud of what I, @anarisis.dylangrinder.com, and the rest of the @plotweaver.bsky.social team has pulled together, and I can't wait to see what folks do in our setting 💖 Join the playtest here: discord.gg/jgqZWwcmHm
A spiritfolk (a person with an inky void-like body and a mask for a head) crouches in front of a trio of people approaching an ancient mural. Text reads, "Erstwild Open Alpha"
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Jillian Schumacher @jillianschumacher.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
@audonalsium.bsky.social is editing the Opening Ceremony video from Gen Con and this is a good representation of the @johnnyoneal.bsky.social and Jillian dynamic
Picture of a computer paused on the Opening Ceremony presentation featuring Johnny and Jillian. Johnny looks like he is emoting and happy while Jillian is holding a microphone with no facial expression
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Andrew Fischer @afischergames.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Easily the best part of working on the Cosmere RPG is the team. This is one of the kindest, smartest, and most passionate groups of people I've ever had the joy of working with.
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Lyla @lyla.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Have GenCon con crash or FOMO? Checkout Gamehole Con! If you're a POC and make TTRPG content, @glyphtide.games and I run the POC Industry Dinner, sponsored by @montecookgames.com and @brotherwisegames.bsky.social Meet creators, find mentorship, grow our industry. 🌽 Apply by 8/23: bit.ly/ghcpoc26 🌽
Gamehole Con 13 Logo, Monte Cook Games Logo, Cosmere Roleplaying Game Logo, Plotweaver Logo, with advertisement for the POC Industry Dinner Open Application that reads:


POC Industry Dinner

Gamehole Con is hosting a POC (people of color) Industry Dinner! This dinner is an opportunity to meet other amazing creators, find mentorship, and grow our diverse industry.

Seating is limited. If you are attending Gamehole Con, are a POC, and have created tabletop content of any size-including self-published work-please apply: https://bit.ly/ghcpoc26

Apply by August 23
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Told my wife that this was an award for the handsomest men at Gen Con.
Hollywood hunk and D&D creator Joe Manganiello with a Gaming Trend Best of Gen Con awardCosmere RPG Creative Director Johnny O'Neal with a Gaming Trend Best of Gen Con award
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Good guesses! I was the Recluse, next to me is the Saint, and Erin perfectly nailed the Librarian expression here.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
☝️That photo shows our Mistborn leads with the books they led: Meric Moir (Mistborn World Guide), Lydia Suen (Mistborn Handbook), and Lyla Fujiwara (Mistborn Legacy). We're also grateful to Andrew Fischer, who passed the Cosmere RPG Design Lead baton to Lydia before moving on to lead Plotweaver!
Andrew Fischer and Lydia Suen split Design Lead responsibilities on the Mistborn Handbook.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I feel incredibly lucky that @brotherwisegames.bsky.social has been able to work with some of the industry's most talented designers to create the Cosmere RPG. It's a joy to work every day with Mistborn campaign setting leads @mericmoir.bsky.social, @suenshine.bsky.social, and @lyla.bsky.social.
Mistborn Lead Writer Meric Moir, Lead Designer Lydia Suen, and Adventure Design Lead Lyla Fujiwara, each holding production samples of their books!
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The most fun I had at Gen Con: @lyla.bsky.social ran a fantastic game of Blood on the Clocktower for this gang of folks. Afterward, we took this photo posing as our characters. Can you guess what role everyone was playing? 😁
A group of game industry folks posing as their characters in Blood on the Clocktower
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
ಠ_ಠ
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
You know what never gets old? Seeing Brotherwise posters on the doors into Gen Con. I love that @jillianschumacher.bsky.social secures this location for us every year. This is our 13th Gen Con and a decade ago I could not have possibly imagined we'd be in this spot -- literally or figuratively.
Johnny at the front doors of Gen Con, which are adorned with posters for the Cosmere RPG and Shards of Creation.
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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
EN World | D&D/TTRPG News & Reviews @enworldrpg.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Plotweaver RPG announces new partnerships and a setting contest #ttrpg #dnd
twp.ai
www.enworld.org
Plotweaver RPG announces new partnerships and a setting contest
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Earthborne Games @earthbornegames.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The Earthborne Rangers roleplaying game is happening! We're grateful for the opportunity to partner with @brotherwisegames.bsky.social to bring Earthborne Rangers to their Plotweaver system. Find out more about Plotweaver at the link below, and stay tuned for more details. www.plotweaverrpg.com
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
You can follow the War for Roshar campaign here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
kickstarter.com
Coming soon: War for Roshar
Command the forces of Honor and Odium in this strategic board game based on Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series!
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Stormlight: War for Roshar is an asymmetric war game based on Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series. The Kickstarter isn't until October 13, so what you're seeing here is just a prototype. But it's pretty incredible! If you like games like War of the Ring or Star Wars Rebellion, this is for you.
Brotherwise Games president Johnny O’Neal playing a prototype copy of War for Roshar in the Cosmere room at Gen ConThe War for Roshar game board is so large that the prototype is printed on two boards. It shows the map of Roshar, covered in tokens and cards.
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Cosmere 16 Podcast @cosmere16pod.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Fuente: www.polygon.com/brandon-sand...
polygon.com
Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG is getting new life from a D&D legend
The creator of Eberron is helping more designers get their worlds published
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GamingTrend @feed.gamingtrend.com.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2026
Earthborne Games bring new settings to Plotweaver!
gamingtrend.com
Plotweaver RPG announces new partnerships and setting contest
The Plotweaver system, which is the backbone of the Cosmere RPG, is getting new settings: > Brotherwise Games kicked off Gen Con in full swing with a slate of new Plotweaver announcements made during Gen Con’s Opening Ceremonies. Johnny O’Neal and Jillian Schumacher from Brotherwise went onstage this morning to show off their Gen Con releases and teased upcoming games, such as _Stormlight: War for Roshar_. However, their biggest reveals during the Opening Ceremony were for the upcoming Plotweaver RPG System. > > Plotweaver, the underlying system for the Cosmere RPG, is positioned as “the game designer’s RPG,” with an open source system that encourages independent creators to freely publish and monetize their work. Brotherwise will provide free online rules, guidance on designing with the Plotweaver system, and templates for developers. The Plotweaver System Reference Document (SRD) will be revealed ahead of a Plotweaver crowdfunding campaign in Q2 2027. > Brotherwise announced the first partners outside of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere for the Plotweaver system. The first partner they revealed was Earthborne Games, the makers of _Earthborne Rangers_ and _Hubworld: Aidalon_. Earthborne Games will be using the Plotweaver system to make a RPG set in their original solarpunk setting. The Earthborne Campaign Setting will be available to pre-order during the Plotweaver crowdfunding campaign in 2027. > > “Our fans have been asking for an Earthborne Rangers roleplaying game since day one, so we’re incredibly excited to finally make it happen,” said Earthborne's Founder & Creative Director, Andrew Navaro. “And to do it in partnership with another independent publisher as accomplished and beloved as Brotherwise is such a tremendous opportunity, we couldn’t be more grateful.” > The second partner revealed was Twogether Studios, led by Keith Baker and Jenn Ellis. The duo will be creating an entirely new property, I _nfinite_. This genre-hopping RPG will take full advantage of the Plotweaver system’s ability to adapt any heroic action story, from sci-fi to fantasy. > > "_Infinite_ is a truly unique setting; the experience at the table will change with every session," said Keith Baker, co-owner of Twogether Studios. "Jenn and I believe that Plotweaver is the perfect system to deliver this experience, and we can't wait to share it." > In addition to these partnerships, Brotherwise is conducting the Plotweaver Setting Search contest, where RPG designers can submit their setting ideas to get featured as an official release from Brotherwise Games. Keith Baker will be a part of the judging panel, 24 years after his own setting, Eberron, won the Fantasy Setting Search sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. More details on the Plotweaver Setting Search will be available later this year, but interested designers should be ready to submit their settings in early 2027. > For those interested in trying out the Plotweaver system, the Open Alpha begins in a few days on August 5th with an original fantasy setting, _Erstwild_. The _Splinterlight_ and _Hexbeat_ settings will follow in September and October, with an open Beta set for early 2027.
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Scott White @professorrpg.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Big thanks to @brotherwisegames.bsky.social for letting this Cosmere nerd check out the upcoming War for Roshar board game! I had a blast playing and can't wait for the real thing! Check out my exclusive preview! #Bridge4Ever
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
These are just for making 1" tokens that work nicely on battlemaps for our Cosmere RPG demos. They look like this before we print them and snap them into the little reusable plastic disks. They're handy for prototyping and available online (with the boxes) as "coin holders."
Two sets of tokens from Stormlight: Law & Obligation, an adventure that will be available for demos at Gen Con.
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Reposted by Johnny O’Neal
IGN @ign.com · 27/07/2026
It’s time for Stormlight Archive fans to feast as Brotherwise Games is set to launch the campaign for the latest of their Brandon Sanderson offerings, the War for Roshar. bit.ly/4wISIEd
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Honestly, I have no idea how this will go. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Our goal is just to do fun things, try to do them in a way we can be proud of, and hope we'll make enough money to pay for the next project.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A casepack contains at least one of each mini, so it's possible to just buy them all. There's no big gamble, no rarity high enough to result in high eBay prices. And for folks that just want a few favorite games, we have a swap event on Sunday at Gen Con where people can trade and gift any doubles.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
As someone who grew up loving X-Men cards, Star Wars cards, and yes, TCGs, I personally enjoy the whole collecting and trading thing. I think it can be taken to exploitative places, but it's still a valid type of fun. And I can promise it will not be hard or expensive to get a complete set of these.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Blind-packed trading card games are already hundreds of millions of dollars bigger than anything else in the tabletop industry, so I think anyone who wants to take that approach already has. The only reason nobody's made little collectible board game meeples is because they're incredibly niche. 😅
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We do hope it's something we can do for future Gen Cons, ergo the optimistic "Season 1." But it's an experiment that may or may not sell, which is why we do marketing. Brotherwise is a small company with 8 full-time employees (including me and my brother), and we're all hoping this doesn't flop.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
To be fair, that is a better way of emphasizing the amount of effort that goes into making these prototypes! 😅 Thanks for teaching me the coin holder technique. But next year, I want to see if I can save a couple of hours and just figure out how to get these printed on punchboard ahead of time.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The companies involved are just industry friends going along with our silly idea of making the board game version of little miniatures that a lot of people like to collect. I'm just hoping it's not a total flop. Anyway, happy to talk about this, or RPG stuff, if you're at Gen Con. Take care!
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Hey, Jay. Johnny from Brotherwise here. I'm a fan of your work! This is really just a fun passion project for us. It's a way to show off your love of games, trade with friends, and maybe learn about games you haven't played before. It's also a pretty small print run, not some huge new thing.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
All packed and ready for Gen Con! Spent a lot of this weekend prepping our "State of Games in the Cosmere" presentation, printing out character sheets for RPG demos, and punching out tokens! So many tokens.
Photo of printed paper tokens in reusable plastic coin holders, our usual method for con demos of unreleased adventures. In the background, pages and pages of punched out circles give a silent testament to the hours that Johnny spent making these little tokens.
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Johnny O’Neal @johnnyoneal.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
LOL, truly!
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