iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I just use the opportunity to reveal to my players they're actually in Tron and the enemies have just downloaded onto the map

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

meanwhile, 1994 is thriving with words such as: - Bootylicious - Bottom Surgery - Seaborgium (a short-lived manufactured radioactive element).

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I think the best description I've heard of Crows is that it's an Extraction shooter RPG. The point of crawling the dungeon is to get as far in as possible before booking it out of there with all the loot you can carry. Thinking of it like that instead of comparing to the OSR might be useful.

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Reposted by Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent

Magnolia Keep @magnoliakeep.itch.io · 15/07/2026

From the brilliant mind of Magnolia Keep comes a high-octane look at some kinda gross stuff! Deathbringer is ENWorld's most-anticipated RPG of 2026, it's currently raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, and also the marketing is kinda full of misogyny. magnoliakeep.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...

magnoliakeep.blogspot.com

The Thoughtlessness of Deathbringer's Marketing

As I write this, Deathbringer , the self-proclaimed most anticipated RPG of 2026, is entering day two of its Backerkit campaign and h...

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Having PCs covered in gore and blood while whining about how you shouldn't have to feel bad about killing orcs isn't metal. It's poser shit. It's fake and it's hollow.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Cause I like gore and violence in my games. I like Power Metal songs about shirtless men wading through a field of blood and bone. But being metal is more than an aesthetic. Being grimdark is more than wallowing in a pit of blood and mud.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Selling your game by bragging how transgressive and edgy it is only to tack on your homebrew rules to someone else's system so you can give yourself permission to have women in thongs and bikins in your game it tells me you have no opinions worth sharing and you should be embarrassed.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Kill all enemies is an easy objective to give and a hard one to shake. Which is why maps are very important. They are a solid limit on the obvious solution.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I don't think it will go down the canon of cinema. I don't even know if it measures up to Robin and Marian, but I like the ending of this one better.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The end, if a bit trite, is a good conclusion for Robin's journey in this movie from a man wanting to die but refusing to be killed to one wanting to live but ready to die. It's not a swashbuckling movie, and it's not an action movie. It is, as the title announces, a movie about death, and stories.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The soundtrack is killer, though the mixing is terrible (especially for the dialog), and if you can stomach the bleak and bloody first quarter, then the slow, contemplative pace of the rest of the movie becomes, if not exactly justified, somewhat understandable.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Don't get me wrong. It's no great masterpiece, and it is clumsy at times in its storytelling, but it is no great deconstruction of the Robin Hood Myth. The movie should have been called "The Birth of Robin Hood" if we wanted to spell it out for folks. But we don't and I love that.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Last Tuesday I watched The Death of Robin Hood. At the time I thought it was a solid 6/10. A clear vision with a muddled execution. Upon reflection and especially after seeing people online with their wrong opinions (shocking, I know), I have somewhat softened on the film.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I'm preparing for Violence in July, a game jam created by Luke Gearing for Violence. itch.io/jam/violence... Being one of those nerds with a blog. I decided to chronicle this process in said blog. woothemoon.bearblog.dev/preparing-fo...

woothemoon.bearblog.dev

Preparing for Violence

Luke Gearing is one of my many creative nemeses. I will not explain myself at this time. Luke Gearing has made a set of rules for violence named Violence)...

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

But thay doesn't mean Ill never run a white wolf game.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

The same goes for setting lore. I will probably never run a white wolf game as-is because I'm not interested in their AU earth setting and those games really want you to care about those things.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

In other words, dismissing a game just because you don't vibe with its art direction is a shallow and unserious position. Liking the art may put you over the top, but expression is not identity. When you confuse the two, that's how you get stereotypes.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Good art in a ttrpg product is like a good soundtrack in a movie. It definitely puts your game over the top in the consumers' mind, but what really matters is the game underneath. Like a killer soundtrack won't save a bad movie, aestgetic doesn't make a game fun.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

When society is not predisposed to be kind to you, but you want to do art, the idea of the Lone Genius moving against the current is very appealing. I don't think it's automatically an anti-social attitude regarding your art, though it is certainly counter-majoritarian.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

This is where the liberal values of self-expression and authenticity come into the mix. Capital A Artists pop up in vaguely left-ward circles not because of a political desire to be self-sufficient, but out of a desire for self-expression free from societal constraints qua gender, sexuality, etc.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The figure of the lone Genius against the world is very libertarian, which is something which appeals to various ideologies, both on the left and the right. It is by its nature asocial, but for a lot of people marginalized by society, broad appeal is not really a primary concern.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Walter Benjamin saw these movements as taking the long road to Communism, because they were still fundamentally populated by rich kids sticking it to their parents who, briefly, had an opportunity to see what was common experience among the working classes: The crushing weight of capitalism.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

These movements, largely led by bourgeois and aristocratic dandies, fundamentally change our concept of the artist as anti-modern, anti-commercial. This is also where the notion of the "starving" or "tortured" artist as an ideal holds its roots. Being an artist for art's sake becomes the culture.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

In response to this commercial success, various Romantic movements try to hew closer to a concept of art as a way to transcend the mundane. Not mere entertainment, but Art for Art's sake. This is where the contempt for broad appeal comes into play.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

In the late 18th, early 19th century, the Virtuoso moves from being a hot-shot musician who thinks he's too cool for the orchestra to the centerpiece of entire compositions (The concerto). Artists are now no longer just hired entertainment, but celebrities in their own right.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

This is not to say that you can't be a commercial artist and a singular talent. Bach, Haydn, Beethoven are all examples of this. Note that we remember the composers and not the orchestra here. The orchestra has no face. Any member can be replaced by a sufficiently skilled musician.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The capital A artist goes back to at least Shaftesbury's thoughts on taste, where God was seen as the supreme Artist. A singular perspective on a singular masterwork: Creation. As Liberal self-expression became a value in our societies, so to did the idea of authenticity. Being true to oneself.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The idea of the capital A Artist with a singular vision is an old idea in modern society, just as their opposition with the commercial artist. They have taken many forms and stood for many causes, both conservative and progressive, but at their core the Artist is tied with the idea of authenticity.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

This entails that the solution to "boring combat" lies in the cause. If your combat is boring because your players care more for combat than you do, then the solution is in expectations. If it's boring because you have trouble understanding the system, then the solution is in system mastery.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

This can be for many reasons, but the issue is largely that there is a disconnect between your subjective experience as a player and the common activity that is the game at the table (as opposed to the game in your head).

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

"Boring combat" is one of those topics of ttrpg discourse that makes the rounds every now and again, to the point where I get bored thinking about people being bored. Getting the obvious out of the way: A boring combat is either one where you don't care about what's happening at the table.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

If you're not going to please everyone, then you should at least have an opinion you can stand behind. That way you're at least alone with your thoughts and not the Void.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

There's a blog post making the rounds about literacy in the hobby (See here: rolltodoubt.wordpress.com/2026/06/08/a...). I have my own rambling thoughts here: woothemoon.bearblog.dev/explain-more...

woothemoon.bearblog.dev

Explain More to Understand Better

There's been a blog post that came across my desk, about how this is a literary hobby with illiterate hobbyists [^1]. Some people take issue with the tone, b...

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

You just need the following: 1) A situation with a clear objective 2) A battleground with Obstacles and Opportunities for Action 3) A working knowledge of monster statblocks 4) An encounter design that is open to immediate feedback Hmmmm. This may need a blog post...

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

While it will never be as light on prep as an OSR game running on random tables and single-sentence statblocks, improvising a combat in a crunchy grid game is not only possible, but easier than trying to design a set-piece encounter.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

For those people who think that crunchy, tactical, grid-based games like Lancer and DS are doomed to the set-piece battle and can't be easily improvised I have this to say: Don't give in to despair!

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

A great blog post about what I'm talking about can be found here. catchingsnakes.neocities.org/POSTS/tactics

catchingsnakes.neocities.org

You Jabronies Don't Even Know What Tactical Combat Means

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Simply put, what makes a combat encounter A) Tactical and B) Interesting has little to do with the actual combat systems involved and more to do with establishing objectives, obstacles, and options for action. System can help, but you can have a tactical encounter in an OSR game as well as DS.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

This may be heretical, coming from someone who likes Draw Steel and thinks that its combat engine is pretty good, but I don't believe system is what delivers good tactical gameplay in rpgs. If it were, I would like Lancer more than I do.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Favorite non-DC/Marvel comic book film? I'm gonna cop out here and say Hellboy 1. Here's a sad gif to express my shame. It is very good and also my favourite depiction of Lovecraftian nonsense.

media.tenor.com

a man with a red face says i wish i could do something about this ..

ALT: a man with a red face says i wish i could do something about this ..

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Thing about modern cults and their agents. They are good at staying under the radar. They hide behind friendly faces and chipper attitudes when recruiting while they keep their offices and compounds away from prying eyes. It takes guts to be a fantasy cultist and commit to the Aesthetic.

A man wearing a suit of armor stands facing a towering and spectral figure holding a candle as other similar figures are leaving the scene in the background.

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Reposted by Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent

Spencer Hibnick | Pesto Publications @pestoenthusiast.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Do you love goblins, and want them to remain a threat as your heroes level up? Do you want to throw (literally, in one case) a bunch of weird little dudes at your heroes? Well then boy do I have the product for you! Reinforcements: Goblins is out now! pestopublications.itch.io/reinforcemen...

Goblin belcher stat block. It's a level 3 horde hexer with an area fire breath attack, a concussive burp that knocks both the target and the goblin back, and a death explosion.

Goblin swarmer and goblin nosebreaker stat blocks. The swarmer is a level 3 minion ambusher with an attack that allows other swarmers to surround the hero. The nosebreaker is a level 4 minion brute that inflicts bleeding if the target is winded either before or from their attack.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Cults are perhaps a favorite faction type of mine in ttrpgs. Less because I like people in robes (though I do like a good robe) and more because it is a good way to show my players what anxieties plague the people in my world. Anyway, here's some lore for an upcoming project.

The Cults of the Howling Dark

At the end of all things there is a long scream of horror, echoing the cries of those whose existence was pain. It promises vengeance for it cannot promise peace, nor healing. Those who, shackled by hate and chained by cruelty, raise their voices to the Howling Dark may yet hear its answer, compelling them to obey. Their instructions are simple: *Prepare the Way.*
Among those who hear the call of the Dark, few measure up to the task set before them. Knives in the dark, rituals to summon their master, sacrifices of blood and breath spilt over stone altars, one and all ending at the end of some hero's blade
Those who seek to understand this command gain prominence among the followers of the Dark at the cost of their own selves, given over to their lord as obsession consumed them.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I liked the idea of a knightly order that also included the lowly infantry that followed them around. The name I shamelessly ripped off from somewhere.

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Félix Gauthier-Mamaril|Argent @silverbeak.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

No blog post in the works, but I've been having fun writing lore for a band of monsters for Draw Steel. Cursed to an eternity spent chasing a vow long forgotten: The Company of Autumn

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