iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 03/10/2026

Stonetop - Session 12! The PCs rest at the Golden Oak after walking fae paths, dueling the Pale Hunter, and peering beyond the Last Door. The Heavy frees his soul of The Thing Below that haunted him. After stepping off the fae path, The Blessed returns 11 years older, his young love forgotten.

A table with tons of paper and my laptop with the stonetop books open, 4 players stuff and dice are nearby.

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 30/09/2026

If this happened to me, I would be hamming it up so hard in character. Fate would feel my blade for having conspired against me so! The first success I rolled would be a major turning point in the campaign. I'd love to have this problem. (Also... talk to the GM? Play a different game?)

Leaving a game because of bad luck?
Discussion
So, I've been in a game for about two months and a half, and I'm reaching my limit. I'm lucky to have a good group, and on the roleplay aspect we have a blast. But I dread the moment we start rolling dice.

In ten sessions I haven't landed a single hit, succeeded at any non-trivial exploration roll or even got the chance of using any class features. I've gotten one shot critted on the first round of combat, or been so down the initiative that combat is over before getting a turn. And I can handle having bad rolls. I like to keep things light and make failure as funny as possible to get something out of it. But it's been almost three months of it, and it's starting to wear me down. I don't wanna bring bad vibes to the table, but it would feel bad dropping off the game because of something out of the dm's control

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 29/09/2026

Big Walkin' once again - we're so close to 100% now!

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 28/09/2026

Wild of them to drop one of the worst mini game scenarios ever in the opening bits of Leda's Part 1 in Fire Emblem. Nothing in this game has made me want to just stop playing like this, lol. All the tactical enjoyment of the Cracker Barrel golf tee puzzle.

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 27/09/2026

These things are tough. I just don't think of stuff I enjoy in ranked lists and I tend to replace a lot of older stuff with newer experiences since me now often isn't the me that enjoyed those then, but here are some games that had a big impact on me across the years. I could easily do 4-5x this.

Outer wilds, fire emblem awakening, baldurs gate, eve online, harvest moon 64, control, dark souls, citizen sleeper, dota 2

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 26/09/2026

Playing a bit of The Devil's Game tonight

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 24/09/2026

Happy Control Resonant Day to those who celebrate!

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 24/09/2026

There's already a playable starter adventure and the first region of the Ahmian setting guide to bring to the table as well! Give your players an in-universe introduction to being Tacticians and then continue the story as they adventure across Lake Traecine in node-based, open world travel.

screenshot showing a grid battle map and enemy abilities in simple layout

a node-based world map showing several settlements ringing a large lake

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 24/09/2026

I'm using the funds raised via Itchfunding and whatever else I can muster in the coming months to make this the best book possible (more art, great layout). Working with professionals is (rightfully) pricey so your support helps. Grab the current version to get the final version as it develops!

Amazing art by Helena Santana showing a ton of Tacticians fighting in a big field

A sample spread showing the fighter and their various attack patterns - layout by Jean Verne, art by Helena Santana

A Dire Snipe (big bird with a pointed, jagged beak) posing in front of a grid background

Another sample layout, this time with more text and full page art of DARKWELL off across the sea

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 22/09/2026

The other option, of course, would be the Frontier Scum-style exposed binding that also lays flat, but seeing as Tacticians has this faux-video game/old MMO world kind of vibe to it that style of binding doesn't fit the game feel to me.

a promo shot of Frontier scum's exposed hardback-style binding that lays flat

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 22/09/2026

Here's a sample of some of the interior layout in a section with a lot of important grids. Right now, it's looking like it will be a pretty sizeable rulebook (64+ pages) so staple bound is likely off the table.

a sample spread of Tacticians showing lots of attack pattern grids and such

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 21/09/2026

Found a second and third campaign where they've done basically the same thing:

Pixen Intrigue banner with handdrawn pixie art

Same campaign, but someone showing AI bullshit in the rewards

Stock or handdrawn art in a spread of the book from the campaign page for GRYMWYRD

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 21/09/2026

Get a load of this excerpt from the update (also, the link to their "AI policy" just hits a 404 page on their site, lol)!

screenshot:

Time has swiftly passed under our feet and the industry is going to many changes... least of which is all of the million ways that AI can be used to develop creative projects.. some great, some controversial. We won't be going into a line by line inspection of the ways we use (or don't use) the latest technologies, but we do feel that it's appropriate to disclose our AI policy so you can know that going forward. You can view that here: https://scraprats.org/en/legal/ai. Yes, I know you have opinions on this. Yes we are compliance with Kickstarter policies on this. Yes, we embrace AI in important ways for our creative projects. No we won't be issuing refunds if you aren't cool with that. No, your friends left the project, you can chat with me, head Rät. Yes, those that behave themselves will get a $20 store credit for Scrap Räts merch as a thank you for your support of our little project here (including older scrap rats zines if that's your thing). Those Räts that jump on and are supportive will also receive a free terrain playmat with lunar surfaces as our strong thank you. So with that out of the way, here is the information about our relaunch of the game.

document not found page on their site at the ai policy link

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 17/09/2026

Chainbreaker is a new Major Arcana for use at your #Stonetop table! It's a crude but mighty weapon in the eternal war against oppression, enslavement, and imprisonment - but take care not to wield it too readily, as you may find yourself unable to live in the new world you fought so hard to create.

a major arcana with big hammer art by Perplexing Ruins:

A massive hammer with a head of rough-hewn stone and a thick handle carved from a mighty bough of
the Golden Oak. Its head bears the old runes of the Green Lords surrounding a single skull, etched in
cooperation by both fae and mortal hands.
When you
fight to free others
, centuries of oppression and rebellion flash across your mind in an instant.
You may ask the GM “Why are they being imprisoned or enslaved?” and the GM must answer truthfully.
When you
wish to disguise Chainbreaker or otherwise carry it unseen
, fae magic encases the hammer and
glamours it (Book II, pg. 98) into a common item of your choice (
◇◇
or smaller). You may dispel this
glamour at any time and must dispel it before wielding the weapon.
When you
break a cage, chains, or manacles binding a prisoner
,
you do not need to roll to do so, regardless
of its material or tags. Mark 1 unless you have already done so since the last sunset:
◯
◯
◯
◯
When you
make the last mark
, you unlock Chainbreaker’s mysteries, gain Nothing to Lose (see reverse).
◇◇
,
close
, +1 damage,
forceful
,
messy
,
magical
Chainbreaker

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 16/09/2026

I can't blame him for falling in love. She does sound wonderful.

Caves of Qud screenshot showing a huge love poem in the "look" description for an "apple farmer's daughter" Lunor found in a bug-filled cave.

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 16/09/2026

My next freebie is a Major Arcana for Stonetop! Follow me on Patreon to get it straight to your inbox/app later this week.

Perplexing Ruins art of a big hammer with the text:

Chainbreaker
◇◇, close, forceful, messy

A massive hammer with a head of rough-hewn stone and a thick handle carved from a mighty bough of the Golden Oak. Its head bears the runes of the Green Lords around a single skull, etched by both fae and mortal hands.

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 15/09/2026

Finally started Sol Cesto after getting it for free on the Epic Store a while back, and wow, it's incredible. We should be talking about Sol Cesto! Go and scream it off the rooftops!

screenshot of the wild handdrawn animation with a dungeon crawly grid and peasant and monsters and stuff

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 12/09/2026

Casting pickle spells at Pickle Palooza today

Me holding a pickle staff and brandishing it as a weapon outside at a garden

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 10/09/2026

It's only 16 pages so I'm not gonna show too much here, but it's got moody stuff like this in it.

A spread showing a dusk shot of the ocean with a distant ships light painting a pillar of reflections across the sea. Another shot shows a thin chimney stack of rock before the distant horizon.

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 10/09/2026

Ordering prints of a photo zine with some of the best shots I've taken in Newfoundland over the last two years, all of "edges" - coast, sky, cliffs, icebergs, etc. While it's not a MCGW product, I may still put it up for pre-orders on my shop, though I'm not sure if anyone would grab one.

The cover of a photo zine titled Views From The Edge showing a orange gradient sunset sky across a blue gradient ocean with clouds in the distance

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 09/09/2026

Sorry to all the other games out there this year, but I can't really imagine anything else beating out Big Walk as my GOTY.

a "dead" big walk player being dropkicked off a mountain by another player while a third player points at the body with wide eyes

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 08/09/2026

Test print of the photo zine, mostly just to get a feel for cropping/layout order in print. Obviously, it's not a photo-quality print. Focusing on coastal landscapes/skies for this one.

Sunset ocean view cover image with the title Views from the Edge on it

A view out a tower window and a fox on the coast looking at an iceberg

A solar eclipse in the fog and pine trees at sunset

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 08/09/2026

Putting together a little photo zine (finally), mostly just for me but maybe to sell here at a local shop or two in town.

a 16 page photo zine in layout software showing landscapes of all kinds

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 08/09/2026

I'm a bit disappointed no one ever ordered this Very Normal and Obviously Good shirt I put up on my shop a few years ago. If you now realize your mistake and want one: www.bonfire.com/doo-what-nin...

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 03/09/2026

This was only a small part of the Really Great Day, but I did eat a crab rangoon grilled cheese today that was insanely good.

Crab Rangoon Grilled cheese with fries and a lobster roll in the distance

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 02/09/2026

New TTRPG horror adventure just dropped

Headline reading : Man claimed on Facebook he ran a circumcision service - from his "cabin in the woods"

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 30/08/2026

Big Walk is so good. My face aches from grinning like a moron for two hours.

big walk screenshot showing a red button and a coastal landscape with my friends in the distance at other buttons

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 29/08/2026

Into the Mann-iverse continues, I guess

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 29/08/2026

It was cool as heck. Incredible production for the time. Sort of mixed messages from the movie but very cool to see a 1936 movie predict WW2, the Blitz, smart watches, helicopters, etc. and also be very Fallout-y and like proto-zombie movie at parts even. Twas fun.

The projectionist repairing the film after it snapped

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 17/08/2026

Got to see some unreal clouds during my flight out of Toronto earlier today

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 13/08/2026

Beautiful night last night - here are some better versions

starfield photo with a stray cloud in the foreground and the galactic body in the back of the field of stars

starfield photo with a stray cloud in the foreground and the galactic body in the back of the field of stars - landscape with two trees in the foreground

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 13/08/2026

Went out to watch the Perseid meteor shower despite it being totally cloudy. Got a few great breaks in the clouds and saw ~17 super bright ones and dozens more faint ones. Proper space pics coming soon, but here's a quick phone edit. We could see the galaxy with the naked eye. Gorgeous night.

A long exposure showing the galactic band with thousands of stars and even the andromeda galaxy visible

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 13/08/2026

Partial Eclipse - up to ~54% here in St. John's

a shot through held out solar glasses showing a partial solar eclipse with the moon covering the top half of the sun

abstract shots showing the partial eclipse with green and white lens flares wreathing the shot

abstract shots showing the partial eclipse with green flares wreathing the shot

abstract shots showing the partial eclipse with green and white lens flares to one edge of the shot

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 09/08/2026

Okay, that's much better! $100 and 20 minutes of work just gave this laptop a whole new life (that and the jump to Linux for 95% of my workload too).

an ubuntu health check showing a new battery with 84.29 Wh of battery life by design and as it stands - basically, a fully working new battery!

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 08/08/2026

Found a ton of ghost pipes today! These are extremely cool parasitic plants that lack chlorophyll and don't use photosynthesis for energy. They are translucent! They look like the Bloodborne lamps! They are a little pink!

a cluster of ghost pipes in the shade near moss in the forest

three slightly pink white ghost pipes with moss undernearth

a few short ghost pipes near pine tree needles with clear leaves and hanging down like a lantern

Bloodborne lantern with little white ghosty guys under it

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MeatCastle GameWare @meatcastlegameware.com · 04/08/2026

I really loved working on this book, and Marco made it all look INCREDIBLE! My adventure, Between a Corp and a Hard Place, puts the PCs at the center of a powder keg situation with a miner family homestead, corporate espionage, cybernetic assassins, and alien powers all on an "uninhabited" planet.

opening spread to the adventure with some wild text layout for the title showing a sniper laying prone looking done a barrel and a distress call and orbital contact details, all in various shades of brown.

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