iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 14/09/2026

I am once again so sorry for BONKY. He came to me from some cosmic chaotic force deep within me, and I have no control over myself when it bids me to BONK.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 01/09/2026

Thank you so much! Those were pure improv. Proud of the cast for these scenes.

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in my Strega Nona era @horizonswake.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Those dream sequences at the end of the episode were so fucking cool I immediately rewound the 25 minutes so I could listen to them again. #TTRPG #ActualPlay #ShrimpAndCrits #Ironsworn

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Shrimp and Crits @shrimpandcrits.com · 01/09/2026

🌠🎧📣 LISTEN TO ACTUAL PLAYS REVIEW ACTUAL PLAYS SHOW AND SHARE THE AWESOME STORIES YOU LOVE 📣🎧🌠

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 01/09/2026

Do you miss the Monster of the Week golden age when @shrimpandcrits.com and @monsterhourpod.bsky.social were both producing good old fashioned monster hunting fun? You don’t want to miss this. I think we bonked it out of the park ⚾️.

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Jess @jesssparksnotes.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Played Night Hag by @gshowitt.bsky.social with @itscap.bsky.social and @maudlingames.com and it felt like running through a hilarious 103 degree fever dream.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/08/2026

My post-GenCon update for the ttrpg shelf. Any glaring omissions? Tell me what this assortment of games says about me 😂.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 05/08/2026

Played Bump in the Dark with some friends at GenCon and had a BLAST. I’m a monster of the week stan so it was a tough sell but I really loved the Brindlewood elements. Excellent game, and I’m happy to be connected!

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 02/08/2026

Had my best GenCon yet. Thanks Indy. If we met this weekend, I can’t wait to game with you soon! 🦐💙🍤

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 05/07/2026

Got more lyrics than a church got “ooh lords”

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 20/06/2026

... that Monster of the Week works just like the great Michael Sands intended. Still, if we weren't making a podcast, it's possible we would have kept going with the story of Ray Ray and these would have come in handy. Sometimes its helpful just to know there's more road to hoe!

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 20/06/2026

If you know Shrimp and Crits, you can probably guess I made this for Ray Ray. Ryan is as stubborn as they come, and even after going over his options for other playbooks he wanted to be the monstrous forever. We never ended up getting to any Veteran Improvements, which may just prove...

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 20/06/2026

Do you have stubborn Monster of the Week players like I do who don't want to switch playbooks or retire their hunter? Keep the improvements coming with Veteran Improvements! rpg-trader.com/products/474...

rpg-trader.com

Veteran Improvements on RPG Trader

A Monster of the Week Supplement for Extending the Life of your Monster Hunter

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 16/06/2026

This is the first game I made, so it holds a very dear place in my heart. I remember watching Storage Wars in a hotel room and it just clicking how I could gamify this wild show. I scribbled everything on the hotel notepad and made it a one-pager a few months later.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 16/06/2026

Reintroducing my games now that I'm on RPG Trader. First up is Bid Around the Bush. A chaotic romp on one page that encourages you to hoot, holler, interrupt your friends, and occasionally profit from bidding on foreclosed storage units. rpg-trader.com/products/383...

rpg-trader.com

Bid Around The Bush on RPG Trader

A Storage Unit Auction Parody TTRPG On One Page

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 15/06/2026

@dreasilvertooth.bsky.social is pretty much the coolest person in AP. They are a joy to record with. Proud of you Drea!

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Reposted by Ian Mauldin

Shrimp and Crits @shrimpandcrits.com · 15/06/2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE ONE AND ONLY @maudlingames.com!!! Our ride or die GM with the mostest. We can't thank you enough for sharing your amazing stories and music with us, as well as your often horrendous dad-jokes. Share the love and say Happy Birthday to Ian today! 🎂🎈

Ian sitting with a book in hand. His shirt has polyhedral dice on it and his hat says "blow up your tv"

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 14/06/2026

My games are now on RPG Trader! If you enjoy my games, please go review them and give them a thumbs up. Over the next week or so, I'll take this opportunity to reintroduce each game I've made. rpg-trader.com/creator/696/...

rpg-trader.com

Maudlin Games on RPG Trader

Hello and welcome to our humble page of tabletop games! Maudlin Games was born out of a great love for collaborative storytelling, and our aim is to design games that encourage folks to step just outs...

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 13/06/2026

I hope you all enjoyed this series. It’s fun to talk about game design. If you ever have any questions or want to hear more you know where to find me! Big thanks to @itscap.bsky.social for running the @lightsiderpg.bsky.social account. Let’s play Light Side together sometime y’all!

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 13/06/2026

In terms of narrative power, there’s not a whole lot other than your specialty sort of implying what kind of soldier you were. This is a good candidate to start with if you aren’t sure what playbook to choose and then change to a new playbook once you have a road to hoe.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 13/06/2026

You get a standard issue weapon and a sidearm, as well as some really fun unique options like jetpacks and detonators for your “ordinance.” Their gear section really reads like a Battlefront load out.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 13/06/2026

In my mind, Chewie is totally the Soldier with the Bodyguard specialty. He’d probably have Easy Isn’t Always Simple and Only Through Fire is a Strong Sword Forged. For other types of characters to have Cybernetic Implants, mutations from the Bad Batch, or Fog of War.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 13/06/2026

Ah the Soldier. The last in this little series of design notes. The soldier was one of the KOTOR 6 and pretty easy to make a playbook for. Star ‘Wars’ need star soldiers after all. The combat specialties were a lot of fun, and I think make this playbook deceptively versatile.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

I’m so happy to see this. I try to keep most of my world building behind the curtain so lore dump eps can feel weird. Thank you for saying this.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Forgot to mention the Scout has my favorite Advanced Improvement. Inspired directly by Fennec Shand blasting pirates point blank with her long range targeting blaster. So friggin cool man….

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Reach for this playbook when you’re tempted to go Outcast. I think it has a wider range of stories to tell that won’t be wholly apparent until you start playing it.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

… getting to mod your light saber to have a blaster in the hilt. HELL YEAH. You also get armor 🤘🏻. The Temptation is a fun way to push this playbook towards their story. They have much different thematic temptations than the more grandiose Learners and Masters. Down to earth Jedi stories.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

… a unique force ability or bring in one that you like from Legends that isn’t super common. Then you have Force Artisan and The Lightsaber Rifle. Two moves I had a BLAST designing (thank you Action Scientist from MotW). This one also gets the best gear out of any Jedi playbook. I mean…

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

…Jedi like Jocosta Nu, Cal Kestis, and Ezra. It really suits the post-Order-66 Jedi well because they are forced to stifle their Force sensitivity and rely on other skills. I LOVE Battle Meditation as a way to play support in combat. I think Unique Connection is a cool way to give your character…

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

The three KOTOR Jedi classes create a lot of misunderstanding in the Star Wars fan community. It is a way of gamifying the Jedi suitable for RPG video games, but it isn’t exactly how the Jedi operate. Even though the Sentinel is an unofficial Jedi ‘class,’ I feel like we see it represented in…

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Algo-be-damned, here’s the second of these lil design journal posts today since I missed one over the weekend. Another of the “KOTOR 6” and the only one of the Jedi that did not get renamed. This one felt like it could have been cut, but I felt like it has huge untapped potential for role players.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

You are the Scout. What are you searching for? What has driven you to strive to be the fastest? The most accurate? At the very least, you get the coolest gear 😅

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Granting someone their own X-Wing (or whatever ship) with an astromech might feel a little narratively OP, but it definitely suits this playbook. The weakness is there’s no driving narrative element to this story, but I think the players who have a story to tell already will gravitate toward it.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Scan gives you a unique way to learn about your setting and find a place to take advantage of the “far” range tag. Then you have a slew of fun moves that help you lean into your pilot side or your sharpshooter side. The MOST fun thing about this playbook is it gives you a Starfighter.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

… I really love where this one ended up. I was pleased and surprised when Cap told me it was his favorite playbook (at least that day lol). Lots of Star Wars archetypes are great pilots and great shooters, but this encourages you to go all in on one of those as a personality.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 08/06/2026

Alright, I fell behind so you’re getting a two-fer today. This is one of the “KOTOR 6” and one of the few playbooks that I took a long look at cutting from the game. A playbook should have a clear story to tell and it was tough to give this one its own lane between Bounty Hunter and Scoundrel, BUT…

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 03/06/2026

Some nice iconic blaster choices and the ability to add mods from the jump round out this playbook to be the smuggler with a heart of gold your campaign needs.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 03/06/2026

One of my favorite moves in this whole game though is Nothing to Fight For. I LOVE splitting the party in PbtA. NtFF insures the Scoundrel stays loveable. You might leave them during a big important fight, but you’re gonna come back with information they need to beat the Villain.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 03/06/2026

… and this playbook has some real narrative power beyond just “you’re the Han Solo of the group.” It also has one of the most diverse move sets in the game. You can gain a ride-or-die via Life Debt. You can get any ship running with What a Piece of Junk. Nerf Herder gives you benefits from insults!

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 03/06/2026

Never Look Back and Scoundrel with a Cause give your character a little bit of background right off the bat while giving the GM some toys to play with in terms of characters who want to find you and bring you in. Pair that with the Gold Dice, a move that lets you bring in characters from your past…

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 03/06/2026

With the Scoundrel, it took me a while to pin down what the narrative aspect of the playbook should be. What could I provide as a springboard to make sure players were set up to tell a great story. Thankfully the Crooked from MotW had just what I needed.

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 01/06/2026

At the end of the day, it’s hard to miss the skeleton of the Wronged from MotW, but I like to think we successfully gave players a unique way to interact with the dark side system that really keys into this archetype. I hope that folks choose this playbook and make some memorable redemption stories!

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Ian Mauldin @maudlingames.com · 01/06/2026

Limited Power is my favorite move here though, mostly because it’s a funny play off the iconic Palpatine quote. Love that a player gets rewarded for their in-character temperance. The gear options allow you to really flavor this villain-turned-hero with exciting gear. Intense Helmet makes me laugh.

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