iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 21/09/2026

Low-res art, digital painting studies I made in 2012.

100x100 thumbnails of a misty forest with misshapen trees, a dog catching a frisbee viewed from below, a sprout starting to bud leaves, and a cracked brick pillar.

Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 09/09/2026

Calling it now, the no-arms pattern hasn't been wrong yet. King Dedede knows this girl carved a big chunk of Pop Star out and put it in an alien zoo. Kirby is going to get strung along and help her evil plan to summon an eldritch horror or something.

A purple and pink girl from Kirby and the World Beyond.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 06/09/2026

Finally figured out how to pose these in Blender for import to Godot. I've been trying to make this VFX demo for two years. I started in Unreal Engine, but switched engines when I realized it didn't have WebGL export.

Link from The Legend of Zelda in a pose that looks worried and alert.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 23/05/2026

Junk-o-Tron 1.1 patch is out! Robots are now 50% snarkier. Barring any major catastrophes, this is the last thing I'll do for this #gamedev project. I'm glad so many people liked it! It's the most popular thing I ever made with @animatrix1490.bsky.social. store.steampowered.com/app/2514390/...

A large dumpster-shaped robot running through a shower of colorful scrap metal and trash-like objects

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 16/05/2026

We've permanently reduced the price of Junk-o-Tron on Steam! Here's some more #gamedev notes: Observer came from @animatrix1490.bsky.social wanting to push herself with a faceless character. He emotes with his hands instead.

A shiny gold robot with a spherical head covered with lenses and a dramatic red cape.

A sketch of a robot that consists of a large eye with some small fins on the back.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 15/05/2026

The awesome @ismael-rodriguez.bsky.social and I bundled our block puzzle games on Steam! You can get them for less than the price of a burger and fries! store.steampowered.com/bundle/66766...

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 13/05/2026

Continuing the Junk-o-Tron #gamedev retrospective! I had a list of block spawning patterns we used to brainstorm character designs. One was "twins", spawning blocks in identical pairs. We had a few ideas, but @animatrix1490.bsky.social chose this because of a certain villain from the Reboot TV show.

A shiny chrome robot girl with two upper bodies back-to-back. One has her hands together in a contemplative pose, while the other is smiling like she's talking animatedly.

A robot with two heads, one is a round orb and the other has a face with protrusions that look like a visor. It is holding what looks like an old-fashioned sailing ship's steering wheel.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 08/05/2026

More Junk-o-Tron gamedev retrospective! Gertrude didn't come up until a later round of development, but @animatrix1490.bsky.social decided she had to be modeled first because she loves heavy machinery like excavators. Seriously, I've seen her stop and stare at them on construction sites.

A large yellow robot with a trash compactor at the top of its torso and green excavator shovel hands.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 06/05/2026

More #gamedev Junk-o-Tron retrospective. We whiteboxed the puzzle game mechanics for a year before deciding on any aesthetics or setting. Dave is the most "default" of the bunch. @animatrix1490.bsky.social says he was inspired by the Portal 2 robots and the robot townspeople from the Reboot TV show.

A one-eyed robot in a construction hat holding a cup of coffee. He is shrugging and rolling his eye.

Sketches of a one-eyed robot in a construction hat

A one-eyed robot in a construction hat with a cup of coffee

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 04/05/2026

I'm gonna be talking about Junk-o-Tron #gamedev for the next week or so as we approach the May 14th Nintendo Switch release date. Let's start by showing off some the awesome retro-inspired 3D robot designs @animatrix1490.bsky.social made for the game.

Artwork of four robots standing in front of a crater full of trash while colored blocks rain down on either side of them.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 19/03/2026

Photorealistic DLSS5? Sorry, all I can do is this Wind Waker style polygonal lighting trick. github.com/tkeene/wind-... #gamedev

A green capsule standing in a room surrounded by torches with hard-edged light pools

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 15/01/2026

We ended up going with this. She's having the time of her life!

A large yellow robot with shovel hands frolicking through a rain of falling multicolored junk objects

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 15/01/2026

So @animatrix1490.bsky.social and I were putting together Nintendo Switch #gamedev assets for Junk-o-Tron and had this exchange.

A screenshot of a Discord conversation. A hulking robot with shovel arms is posing. The conversation follows:
"How about that?"
"Gertrude is exuding 'level 2 mid boss" energy. Maybe goofier?"

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 07/01/2026

Y'all like 80s racing games? @animatrix1490.bsky.social made the billboard, but we're still discussing aesthetic. #gamedev #godotengine

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 01/01/2026

Some #TTRPG artwork for an upcoming #scifi zine. Honestly I'm uncomfortable and embarrassed about the quality of my art. But I'm hoping it adds authenticity and a feel for what I'm trying to do here.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 28/12/2025

It is possible to tap on a crystal locked door behind fog of war by accident and spend a key to open the door unintentionally. This is especially annoying if you were unaware it was a treasure room with six locks in it there. I was able to do this with only the unlocked wooden door visible.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 18/12/2025

Updated the #scifi one-shot #ttrpg handout. I like this version a lot better! About half of character creation was cut from the core rules, things like NPC Contacts, Species Traits, character Origins, and Class Perks. But it's easy to upgrade from the one-shot rules to the 16-page zine rules.

Laser Sword - Compact Edition v0.6.2 - by Thomas Keene @koboldskeep http://kobolds-keep.net
Tests: When you do something the Game Master deems Risky, you must roll a d20 and roll under the
relevant Ability. Favorable circumstances give Advantage, and your Ability gets a +5 bonus for that Test.
Hindrances like relevant Injuries give Disadvantage, a -5 penalty to the Ability.
Luck Points: Whenever you fail a Test, gain 1 Luck Point (track these with tokens). You may spend 1 LP after a
Test to reroll or substitute your LUK Ability. Unused LP are lost when the Mission ends.
Character Creation: Make your Character using the following steps:
1 Name your Character, come up with a brief description of their role on the Team, and answer this
Background question: "What did the Imperium take from you?" Add more details later as needed.
2 Assign the following numbers to your eight Abilities: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
* Might (MGT): A warrior's brutality. Grab, throw, wrestle, restrain, smash, Attack/Defend in Melee.
* Perception (PER): A ranger's alertness. See, hear, smell, search, track, navigate, Attack/Defend at Range.
* Endurance (END): A soldier's grit. Labor, ignore pain, resist poisons. Gives more Gear Slots.
* Charisma (CHZ): A socialite's moxie. Persuade, appeal, bargain, deceive, intimidate, ride mounts.
* Agility (AGI): An acrobat's finesse. Run, leap, climb, swim, sneak, pilot vehicles, dodge tangible Attacks.
* Craft (CFT): An engineer's technical savvy. Build, repair, appraise, invent, sabotage, analyze.
* Spirit (SPR): A mystic's psionic insight. Identify exotic effects, Attack/Defend with Powers.
* Luck (LUK): A fool's good fortune.
3 Choose one Power, your supernatural talent. You may Heighten it fourfold, but it Risks working too well.
* Telekinesis: Strong as your arms* Mindlink: Touch forges a long-term telepathic link
* Witchfire: Green flame burns or ages organics* Comet Dust: Create/shape/throw handful of ice
* Life Transfer: Move an Injury to another person

A TTRPG character sheet for the rules on the left.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 14/12/2025

I've been running rules-lite #ttrpg games as one-shots at the library. So far the fantasy one has been working really well! I found the most important thing is sticking to the Five-Room Dungeon steps, and writing down any foreshadowing or player expectations to deliver on them ASAP.

Old School TTRPG Quick Start by Thomas Keene @koboldskeep
Checks: When you do something risky, roll a d20 and you must roll under (not equal to) the relevant ability. Circumstances may give your ability a +5 bonus or a -5 penalty. NPCs do not roll.
2 Your adventurer had two careers before they started adventuring. Consult the Careers And Starting Equipment table, choosing two careers or rolling d100 twice. Each career gives you three items (for a total of six). Your careers may give you bonuses to relevant checks.
3 Assign the following numbers to your six abilities:
13 12 11 10 9 8
(Alternately, roll 3d6 down the line, loudly announcing the rolls for the group's entertainment.)
* Strength: The Warrior ability. Used for melee attacks and checks like climbing and lifting.
* Dexterity: The Thief ability. Used for checks requiring agility and reflexes, like dodging, sneaking, picking pockets, sleight of hand, etc. (Dexterity is not used to attack.)
* Constitution: The Adventurer ability. Used for checks to resist poison, intoxication, cold, etc.
* Intelligence: The Magic-User ability. Used for checks requiring cunning, like crafting, lock picking, potion-making, etc. Scrolls and spellbooks typically affect Int minus 10 targets.
* Wisdom: The Ranger ability. Used for ranged attacks and checks like foraging and navigation.
* Charisma: The Cleric ability. Used for social and divine intervention checks.
You also have an Armor ability, rolled to defend against attacks. It starts at 10.
4 You have Item Slots equal to your Constitution. Fill your remaining Slots with any number of:
Light Weapon: wield 2 for +1 accuracy
Armor Piece: each gives you +1 Armor (max 18)
Heavy Weapon: +1 damage, 2 hands, 2 Slots
Shield: +2 Armor (max 18) when held in one hand
Bow or Crossbow: 2 hands, Ud8 ammo
Healing Potion: heals 2d6 damage
Flintlock: noisy, +1 damage, 2 hands, 2 Slots, Ud6
A Random Spellbook: usable once per day
Extra Ammo: same Usage Die as the weapon

Laser Sword - Compact Edition - by Thomas Keene @koboldskeep http://kobolds-keep.net
Tests: When you do something the Game Master deems Risky, you must roll a d20 and roll under the
relevant Ability. Favorable circumstances give Advantage, giving your Ability a +5 bonus for that Test.
Hindrances like Injuries give a -5 Disadvantage.
Luck Points: Whenever you fail a Test, you gain 1 Luck Point (track these with tokens). You may spend 1 LP
after a Test to reroll or substitute your LUK Ability. Unused LP are lost when the Mission ends.
1 Name your Character, come up with a brief description of their role on the Team, and answer this
Background question: "What did the Imperium take from you?" Add more details later as needed.
2 Assign the following numbers to your eight Abilities: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
* Might (MGT): A warrior's brutality. Grab, throw, wrestle, restrain, smash, Attack/Defend in Melee.
* Perception (PER): A ranger's alertness. See, hear, smell, search, track, navigate, Attack/Defend at Range.
* Endurance (END): A soldier's grit. Labor, ignore pain, resist poisons.
* Charisma (CHZ): A socialite's moxie. Persuade, appeal, bargain, deceive, intimidate, ride mounts.
* Agility (AGI): An acrobat's finesse. Run, leap, climb, swim, sneak, pilot vehicles, dodge tangible Attacks.
* Craft (CFT): An engineer's technical savvy. Build, repair, appraise, invent, sabotage, analyze.
* Spirit (SPR): A mystic's psionic insight. Identify exotic effects, Attack/Defend with Powers.
* Luck (LUK): A fool's good fortune.
4 Choose one Power, your supernatural talent. You may Heighten it fourfold, but it Risks working too well.
* Telekinesis: Strong as your arms* Mindlink: Touch forges a long-term telepathic link
* Witchfire: Green flame burns or ages organics* Comet Dust: Create/shape/throw handful of ice
* Life Transfer: Touch moves Injuries to others* Psiblades: Energy blades, can reflect projectiles

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 23/11/2025

Wind Waker style light and shadow stencils using #godotengine 4.5. The source code and sample project are on GitHub now for any #gamedev who wants to try it out. I also added a playable demo. Source - github.com/tkeene/wind-... WebGL Demo - koboldskeep.itch.io/wind-waker-l...

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 18/11/2025

Okay maybe I will do a video explaining how all this stencil stuff works. #gamedev #godotengine #vfx

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 17/11/2025

The whole point of this is that the stencil buffers look bad when they overlap and overwrite each other. Normally it looks like this:

A videogame prototype of two torches in a room casting hard-edged light pools on the floors and walls. One of the torches has its light pool cut off near the second torch which is in front of it.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 17/11/2025

Wind Waker style stencil buffer torches are done! I'm gonna share this on GitHub soon. This should also do shadows and layered/nested spheres as well. Not sure whether it's worth making a full video explaining it yet... #gamedev #godotengine #vfx

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 16/11/2025

Today I learned about game-icons.net, a great #gamedev and #ttrpg resource with thousands of icons for UI and item art.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 09/11/2025

Getting more serious about this parkour-platformer project again. #gamedev #godot

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 13/10/2025

Playing around with some #godotengine stencil buffers for spooky stuff like lanterns and ghosts. I'll be teaching people how to do this at a #gamedev club presentation later this month.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 09/09/2025

Thanks for hosting! I colored this lineart by @animatrix1490.bsky.social. We make TTRPGs and videogames.

A hallway of a crumbling temple with a glowing orb at its center. Several priests in robes with conical hats are moving about. The closest holds a book and we can see a glowing void that has grown over one of their eyes.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 01/09/2025

Some days you just can't get rid of a bug... #gamedev

A list of build folders numbered sequentially. The top ones are named "oops" and "doubleOpps". The bottom ones are named "saveSizing", "fixedSaveSize", and "pleaseWork".

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 25/08/2025

I've always wanted to run a Chrono Trigger inspired #ttrpg. There's something fun about using different a lot of different time periods as backgrounds and adventure settings. Also, who doesn't like dinosaurs in their tabletop games?

The Conflux: Everything that falls between the cracks ends up here, stuck to the lumpy underside of space-time. Millions of fragments of your world's history are illuminated by dim light from the Timestream above. Forgotten things, lost things, magical mishaps, unfortunate science experiments, and you. A small village has congealed around the debris. Each inhabitant has some unique insight into the nature of time. Nothing ages here, and nothing changes. You could stay and find peace. But it doesn't have what you want.
The Unmoored: One fateful day, your anchor to reality was severed. Some accident set you adrift from the Timestream. You are able to dive back into the Timestream at any place or time of your choosing, a thrilling power! But a few days pass, the world turns slippery around you, and you slide right back into the Conflux.
What motivates you to make these journeys? Do you want to go home? Does some question haunt you? Do you need to set right what went wrong? Do you need to alter the very course of history?
The Mailbeast: A squat blue creature with a massive mouth, and a Squakbird perched atop its horns. It speaks in short sentences and is easily irritated until fed. If you address a letter to a Contact and feed it to the Mailbeast, it will immediately burp up a letter or package in response, as though hours or days passed for the Contact.
The Squakbird: A small red bird that constantly titters to itself in snippets of familiar-sounding conversations. It screeches loudly when interrupted. On close inspection, you see its eyes are tiny machine lenses with intricate parts. The bird can relay messages to any Contact in the Timestream you name, as long as they have a technological communication device. It doesn't matter if it's by telegraph, telephone, or telepresence.
The Oracle: A robed figure with a single massive eye. She is happy to tell you how any person, place, or thing in history met its eventual end. Your journeys greatly interest her.

Origins
Choose one of the following Origins, then write down the burning question that keeps you exploring different time periods in the world's history.
Pre-Historic
+1 Might, Endurance, or Agility
You lived in a land teeming with life. You were not the strongest or the smartest. You were not even near the top of the food chain. But your family taught you the rhythms of the land, and you learned to hunt and gather what you needed to survive. A few sharp tools, a warm fire, and some beast hides were all you needed.
Golden Age
+1 Endurance, Charisma, or Spirit
The first emperor was able to turn dreams into reality. Thus, the age of magic and wonders began. Old age and death were banished and forgotten. Castles were erected above the highest clouds, pinned to the sky by wise mages and their diligent students. Each day some new dreamcrafted wonder was produced so all could admire and study its essence.
Medieval
+1 Might, Agility, or Spirit
You lived in an era of constant feudal warfare. The surviving weapons of the Golden Age fell into the hands of royalty, who brought misery and death to their foes. Note whether you lived as a noble, courtier, knight, soldier, serf, or outlaw before you became Unmoored.
Modern
+1 Perception, Charisma, or Craft
You lived during an era of rapid technological advancement, a parade of gunpowder, steam, electricity, radio, and rocketry. The wounds of past ages healed, and civilization flourished. It seemed like anything was possible. People reached for the stars. And then the stars made their will known...
Post-Apocalyptic
+1 Agility, Craft, or Luck
Some children ask too many questions. They want to know who built the ruins above our home. They want to know who their great-grandparents were. They want to know why the archives talk of a sun and moon and stars, and why we never see them. Eventually those children leave to find answers. They never come back.

Species
Talk with the Game Master if you want to play a non-human. A lot of weird things end up in the Conflux. You might be an Unmoored individual from a radically different alternate timeline, a dreamcrafted being from the Golden Age, or a one-off genetic experiment from the future.
Human
Typical Species Traits: Resourceful (x2)
Resilient and adaptable. Humans became the dominant species in the Modern era, to the point that other sentient Species were considered myths and legends.
Construct
Typical Species Traits: Inorganic, Natural Armor
Called "golems" in the Golden Age, and "robots" in the late Modern and Post-Apocalyptic eras. Thousands were built, but truly sentient constructs remained a rare curiosity.
Goblin
Typical Species Traits: Small, Sprinter
Created from modified rodents in the Golden Age and intended to serve as messengers. Their population swelled in the warming climate of the early Medieval era. For a time it was easy to amass large armies of goblins, and they were considered ideal soldiers.
Mutant
Typical Species Traits: Any
Creatures twisted by magic or advanced technology. Found on the fringes of society in the Golden Age and Post-Apocalyptic wastelands.
Reptilian
Typical Species Traits: Natural Weapons, Natural Armor
Highly intelligent lizard-people, one of humanity's prehistoric competitors. Their inability to cope with cold temperatures led to their extinction. Some survived until the late Medieval era in an underground lost world.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 23/08/2025

This is how Junk-o-Tron #gamedev is going for me this morning.

A list of folders. Each starts with "Junk-o-Tron" followed by ascending numbers. The top ones are "debugSaveLogging" and "enableUser". The bottom ones are "initializingSavesProperly", "saveUnmountBugfix", "moreSaveFixes", "oops", and "doubleOops".

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 12/07/2025

I love blank #dungeonsanddragons character sheets. There's a world of possibilities as you make someone interesting to inhabit a setting and go on exciting adventures. Anyways, here's the first draft of the Laser Sword science fantasy #ttrpg character sheet.

A character sheet for a sci-fi science fantasy tabletop role-playing game.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 05/07/2025

Buying a tavern or becoming nobility should add more plot hooks and drama to the campaign, am I right? Here are my quick and dirty #TTRPG rules for letting the players run a business or town.

Features List: Let every player propose one or more Features, notable things about the town/business. Ask leading questions. Ask about bad things. You'll get a nice list quickly.

Events Table: Looking at the Features, make a d20 table of weekly events that is 1/3 good, 1/3 neutral, and 1/3 bad. Put your extra ideas on a reserve list. Keep this table secret.

PCs Modify Features: Every week players spend time improving or spending money on the town/business, either changing a Feature or adding a new one (or attempting to, depending on ability checks). Anything they change that could matter for an item on the d20 events table, modify that event on the table to reflect it. This could turn a bad event good, and that's fine.

Weekly Event: Every week have one player roll a d20 for the event table. If a PC is supervising/managing, they get to roll twice on that table and they are the first PC to react to the event. Have the event happen, then remove it from the list and replace it with a new one from the reserve list.

1/250 Weekly Profits: My rule of thumb for return on investment is that, as long as it makes sense, the town/business makes all of its money back in 5 years. That means each week you earn 1/250th of the invested money as profits. Weekly events can modify or obliterate this. You may want to adjust it to monthly, especially if the party is traveling. You may want to change payout to seasonal or yearly depending on the kind of business.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 05/07/2025

A sketch slowly congealing into a working scifi #ttrpg character sheet.

A partially completed character sheet for a TTRPG. The left side has entries like Character, Player, Appearance, Background, Origin, Species, Traits, Powers, and Perks. A column of Abilities are labeled Might, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Agility, Craft, Spirit, and Luck. The right side is much sketchier in pink with entries like Class, Rank, Class Gear, Knacks, Contacts, Gear, Items, "creduts", and Injuries.

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 17/06/2025

Boing! This is a feature @animatrix1490.bsky.social wanted to try out. We disagree over how to place this game on the spectrum between fun and challenging and the best way to solve that is prototyping. #gamedev #godot

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 13/06/2025

Rules sheet for Quest Now! An all-ages TTRPG I've been designing. I've had to really work to keep the vocabulary appropriate for young players. I really like the resource management of your dice also being your stamina. No dice drawings yet. Your Abilitis are d6, d8, d8, d10.

QUEST NOW!
A letter from the King!
"The kingdom is in danger!
Now brave heroes are
needed for a quest.
Heroes like you!"

Abilities
Abilities are the things your
Hero is good at. A bigger die
means you are better at it.
Put these dice on your
four Abilities:
Roll an Ability die when the
Game Master asks you to.
If you have HELP, roll another
d6. Use the higher die.
If the Roll is DIFFICULT, roll
another d6. Use the lower die.

Might helps you to push, smash, grab, throw, fight. Is it your d10? You get 3 items... * a sharp axe * a sturdy shield * a bag of climbing gear

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 18/05/2025

Infinite terrain consisting of two hexagons joined at their edges. They cycle around so the player can never run off of the terrain when the map loops. It's gonna be a bit larger so players will be unlikely to notice. #gamedev #indiegame #godotengine #screenshotsaturday

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 17/05/2025

Proof of concept works! This was kinda crazy to put together so I hope it's worth it. The setup is that there are two hexagons made of triangles. Whenever you leave one hexagon, you'll walk onto the next hexagon's corresponding triangle no matter what. #gamedev #screenshotsaturday #godotengine

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 11/05/2025

Mysterious tessellation! Can you guess what this feature is for? #gamedev #GodotEngine

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 20/04/2025

Basic (slightly messy) setup for running up walls. No jump button involved! #gamedev #godot

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 19/04/2025

All the iterations of the Quest Now! character sheet. This has been a fun graphic design exercise! I learned that grayscale is THE WORST THING EVER!!! (But hatched lines print great.) This is almost a playable #TTRPG on its own, but I'm going to release a series of one-page zines to supplement it.

Six different iterations of a TTRPG character sheet, starting with a scrawled sheet of lined yellow notepad paper.

A TTRPG character sheet with the following entries:
Name
Looks
MIGHT: push grab, throw, break, hit, smash
SPEED: run jump swim, climb, sneak, shoot
CHARM: befriend, lead, teach, sing, calm animals
SPIRIT: resist curses, use magic items
Rolls:
1-2: Fail! Oh no!
3-4: Almost Success... but with a small problem
5-6: Success! You did it!
7-8: Double Success! 2x as good or 2x as fast
Lucky d12: add to any Roll, any time, once per Quest
Wearing
Belt
Bag
Dragging
Coin Purse
Friends
Promises
Quests

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 18/03/2025

A new custom GM screen insert for my #ttrpg materials. (The top-left Ask The Stars oracle table is from @bastionland.bsky.social.)

Various D&D tables with entries like,
d20 GenerIc event
1 Something almost destroys the business,
causing permanent damage. -100% profits
2 Someone gets hurt. -80% profits
3 A rival, a moneylender, a monster, or some
other NPC stirs up some trouble. -60% profits
4 Someone or something threatens to destroy
the business in the near future. The staff are
terrified. -50% profits
5 Something unlucky happens, possibly
supernatural. -30% profits
6 Something inconvenient disrupts normal
business this week. -20% profits
7 Something annoying happens. -10% profits
8 Something stupid happens.
9 Someone brings a magic item and then leaves
with it.
10 A new NPC does something odd.
11 An old friend comes by for a visit.
12 Something supernatural but harmless happens.
13 An omen appears.
14 Something nice happens. +10% profits
15 Something weird happens, but it worked out in
your favor. +25% profits
16 Everything works out well, business is quite
favorable this week. +50% profits
17 An important NPC does something that helps
your business. +60% profits
18 A really good thing happens, you were either
very lucky or it was a supernatural occurrence.
+80% profits
19 A massive windfall occurs. +100% profits
20 Someone wealthy gives you money because
they like the business so much. +50% profits,
+5% Investment Score
d20 Complication
1 A Resistance cell is in urgent need of aid, only you can do it in time
2 A rain of debris and meteors causes havoc
3 A holostar is doing a live broadcast on-site, security is on high alert
4 That’s no moon… an Imperial destroyer looms overhead
5 A large alien predator is awakened by the smell of blood
6 It’s a trap! 1d6 mercenaries are lying in wait!
7 A canister of gray goo shatters, you’re not sure what it eats
8 A storm strikes the site, visibility is bad and infrastructure deteriorates
9 Your intended escape route has been cut off
10 Someone is actually royalty in disguise, and they’re not happy with you
11 One of the guards uses an astral lure to summ…

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 02/03/2025

Laser Sword starmap display is looking about like I want it to. It seems the secret is to make the center of each dot very bright, and the halo very faint. Also been getting a ton of mileage out of hot reloading code, wow! Bad optimization, but iteration is fast! #gamedev #ttrpg #scifi #vfx #godot

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 23/02/2025

A slide from a #gamedev talk I'm giving this week on Pokemon, game design, and stealing thousands of hours of R&D from Nintendo.

A presentation slide titled "What is Pokemon NOT about?"
An image on the side shows Ken Sugimori's concept art for Pokemon Red/Green with two Pokemon facing one another with HP meters over their heads.
"Interesting and engaging battle mechanics
PvE strategy is too simple
PvP strategy is too RNG-dependent
Creators don’t want to emphasize violence
Was an auto-battler until Nintendo complained (Pokedex - Shigeki Morimoto)
Themes of friendship (fight me)
Too vague
Very small number of features until Pokemon Yellow
Only supported by:
Nicknames
Effort values
Some dialogue lines from Professor Oak"

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 01/02/2025

A billion words have been written about how to run a #ttrpg. I'm writing the GM guide for Laser Sword, and I'm hoping I have something to contribute to this discussion. #scifi #sciencefantasy

Building Missions 2: Sources of Drama

Who is getting hurt? Is a struggling colonist getting sold into slavery to settle their debts? Are space pirates holding the governor’s daughter hostage? Is a noble sympathetic to the Resistance about to be deposed? The source of the Mission should be a cry for help (and if your Team isn’t very heroic, the cry of help can be followed by an offer of payment).

This determines the Mission’s Objective, what the Team has to do to solve the problem. The Objective might not be readily apparent, or it might be complex, but the Team’s job is to gather intel on site and figure it out. Individual Contacts may give their Characters extra minor Objectives with gear rewards.

Pay close attention to Contacts at Character Creation. Players are automatically motivated to help their Contacts because they are part of their Characters. Contacts have friends and family, debts and setbacks, and rivals and enemies. Even if a Contact is a pet, you can prompt a Player to make a connection by asking, “who gave you your pet and how long has it been since you last heard from them?”

Dial up the heat and pile on problems, even if it feels cheap. It must be clear why heroes are needed. Don’t just say “there’s a space monster killing our colony’s livestock and our colony will starve.” Say, “it killed our livestock, then we filed an insurance claim, but we were accused of committing fraud, and then our first expedition to find it got our best hunters injured, so now they’re going to nuke our credit, and a local noble just sent an appraiser to determine which plots will be seized at auction, so we must catch or kill this creature to present it as proof, or else our colony will starve.”

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Thomas @koboldskeep Keene @kobolds-keep.net · 26/01/2025

The galaxy groans under an uneasy truce. The Imperium has chosen their next battleground: the lawless Praxis frontier. How will you Resist? My next #ttrpg project is inspired by Indiana Jones, Treasure Planet, and Wildstar. Core system playtests are complete. Deployment is pending.

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