Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Aaaaand... a second AI-generated RPG has emerged in Czechia. This time one aimed at kids. And it's as terrible as expected. This one is even worse since the author communicates a lot (and is utterly delusional) and also wants to sell boxed sets for a lot of money. But the saddest thing is... 110
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026When I'm unhappy about not being included, including me can make me not unhappy. But to make me happy, I also needo to be understood. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Ppl speculate that JKR's latest "surprisingly positive" statement about trans people was made because ppl are boycotting her TV show and she is losing money. I fear that the real reason is way more sinister (yes, it is possible): it's a new strategy of the far-right to divide trans people... (1/2) 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 20/08/2026If I had a bigger budget for Kalusa, I would hire LOADS of sensitivity readers. I want to create complex stories about hardships, but I don't have expertise in these topics. So I wonder if I should really write about it. I really want to do it right, but my time and resources are limited :( 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Rascal News recommended me essays about queer RPGs. And while I'm not technically queer myself, it's great to see that there is theoretical research and awareness being spread about this stuff and that there are people willing to listen and educate themselves on it. It makes me wish ... (1/2) 110
Reposted by SparkleFrances Roberts Reilly @francespoesis.bsky.social · 02/08/2026On 2 August 1944, the last 4,300 Roma and Sinti at Auschwitz were gassed to death. More than 500,000 Roma and Sinti were killed in the Pharraijmos - the Roma Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Day, August 2nd. A poem from my book, Parramisha: A Romani Poetry Collection. 21912
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 28/07/2026One day I'll apply for a managerial job and when they ask me about relevant experience I tell them that I have an adult cat and a kitten and manage them from eating each other's food. I think they'll hire me on the spot since this is pretty hardcore. 001
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Czech language is hardcore and so are Czech proofreaders. When they edited my writing, they always tortured me with correct use of dashes etc. it felt like a BDSM session. And now that I learned to use em-dashes correctly, after years of Pavlov-style conditioning, people will assume that I am AI :/ 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 14/07/2026"Czechia has a rich history and is a great source of inspi-" 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Blogpost about how my main RPG project started, back in early 2010s. kalusa.eu/blog/how-it-...kalusa.euKalusaThis is a story about why was Kalusa created, and how was it created. In the beginning, there was Dragon Age: Origins, a videogame some of you hopefully still remember – it dates me a bit, right? For our younger readers, it was an influential predecessor to Baldur's Gate 3. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 04/07/2026Yay! My work is finally previewed on Backerkit, with a 60-page preview PDF. Wizards, cats and relationships. Come and have a look. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 15/06/2026I'm conflicted about artistic manifestos that tell stuff like "Fuck the audience", "Say what you feel out loud", "Consensus is poison". While it is empowering and all, I also feel that it's privileged. Because in order to be able to "fuck the audience", you need to have a good support network... 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 08/06/2026Last Saturday was the first time I publicly unveiled info about the upcoming EN version of Kalusa to Czech fans who own the CZ version. Now I pray they won't condemn me for making revisions for the EN version. I'm prepared to spend a LOT of time and energy to explain the reasons for all the changes. 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026"Story mode" and "easy mode" in videogames are great accessibility tools and I wish it became a staple in TTRPG market as well. There are many "family-friendly" games out there but sometimes ppl who need accessibility tools don't want to play a different game than others, they just need some tweaks. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Ahh, it'd be so cool if aiming 'above average' was enough to succeed in RPG writing. My writing process would be sooo less stressful if I knew that an 'above average' work is enough to be read by ppl and not dragged through hell by harsh critics on social media. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...theguardian.comDon’t shoot for the moon: aiming for ‘above average’ is key to success, maths suggestsModel created by researchers shows better outcomes are often more likely when people are not too ambitious 100
Reposted by Sparklelex luddy needs a nap @lexluddy.xyz · 23/05/2026On Thursday evening Valnet issued new contracts to writers at TheGamer instituting a minimum article viewership threshold for payment. Most writers already have pay tied to article performance, but this new system would mean that if a piece didn't get X number of clicks you wouldn't be paid for it. 30612222
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 26/05/2026So, the first AI-written RPG has emerged in Czechia. It's as awful as you'd expect. And I wonder - what's the purpose? English AI RPG slop - I get it, it can bring some money for minimum effort, but in Czechia? Where even if you wrote the best RPG ever, you'll be lucky if 5 people read it?? :D 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 12/05/2026It seems that being an obscure RPG writer from small Czechia has one perk: AI slop (both Czech and international) ignores me completely as I'm too insignificant for it. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 12/05/2026I strive to be a progressive person but at the same time "taking the high road" is not natural for me. I want to be angry, emotionsmaxxxed, expressive, colourful, opinionated, loud... can I do it and still be a really good person? Not hurt those who dont deserve it? I ask this myself all the time. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 12/05/2026I find it sad that so many TTRPG people (including experienced and / or progressive-minded ones) cannot grasp the fact that some people like to make up OCs just for fun, even without a campaign where they would use them. 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Commissioning art for Kalusa characters means that I need to think about their bodies (how I want to have them drawn) a lot. Including body hair. Which character should have it and which shouldn't, and why. Should a rich fire mage have body hair or not, and stuff like that. It's actually cool... 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 23/03/2026People who are marginalized or/and bullied because of gender-related stuff have various ways how to approach this stuff in TTRPGs. Some want to play games that deal with gender topics a lot, some want to escape to games / settings where gender doesn't matter at all... The important thing is, that... 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 10/03/2026The fact that we have one artist dedicated solely to drawing cats for our Kalusa hardcover books tells a lot about our dedication to the feline element of the setting :) 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 09/03/2026SOOO PROUD of my fellow countryman, RPG writer @nord-ninja.bsky.social for standing up to racist bullshit in a third-party RPG event that was supposed to promote his game. The organizer cancelled the event in the end. Gives me hope for better times to come in our domestic TTRPG community. <3 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 08/03/2026The Grit and Glory controversy pisses me off since it will make ppl even more suspicious of unknown products and studios like ours :( 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 05/03/2026I want to make art that is deep, thought-provoking and personal, but also accessible for ppl of various backgrounds, incl. those who are not very versed in popculture and don't have time / resources / health etc. to educate themselves in artsy stuff. It's a challenging task for me but worth it. 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 04/03/2026Okay, so I just found out that a nice visual inspiration for time magic and clockwork automatons for Kalusa is in the... Skibidi Toilet Multiverse series on Youtube. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 02/03/2026Bringing Kalusa to EN version will take up at least one year of my life. But I went for it because when we played the Czech version, I saw that it works. It created moments at the table that I wanted it to create. And that gave me not just confidence but also a sense of duty... 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 21/02/2026The pain of knowing that this is a RPG writer's account and I should post RPG-related thoughts... instead I'm posting about cats. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 19/02/2026Please don't judge people who adopt an expensive purebreed cat instead of one from a shelter. People might have preferences for a cat similar to preferences for a partner. And a cat is a commitment for 10+ years so it is actually responsible to pick the one that resonates with you the most. 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 06/02/2026Recommending this! www.kickstarter.com/projects/stu...kickstarter.comPotvory – Tabletop Roleplaying GamePotvory is a rules-light tabletop role-playing game that offers a new look at traditional Slavic mythology through a queer lens. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 16/01/2026This is a great game, cannot recommend it enough. Many people told me that they cannot imagine themselves playing slice-of-life because it would be boring as hell, and nothing will really be going on there. Stewpot proved that a slice-of-life can still have a lot going on. It inspired me a lot. 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 10/01/2026Revamping a Czech campaign into a version for the international (and mostly US) market means that my side screen while writing looks like this... 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 09/01/2026The venture into international RPG scene is SO MUCH different from creating stuff just for Czechia. I have absorbed so much new information it the last months about stuff like how Backerkit works. Or how Paypal works. Stuff I never had to dabble in before. 100
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 05/01/2026It seems that we will manage to have mainly local Czech artists as collaborators for the international edition of Kalusa (artwork, maps, layout...) for many of them it will be the first venture into international market (and for me as well haha). 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 16/12/2025I've accepted that my taste will never be of the "artsy intellectual" sort. This is what I've been listening to lately: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENLj...youtube.comYağmur - Miau Miau | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Official Music Video | Junior Eurovision 2025YouTube video by Junior Eurovision Song Contest 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 13/12/2025We're starting to launch advertising for the international version of my setting & campaign from Kalusa, city full of wizards, cats and complicated life stories. It's a long road ahead, but we have to start somewhere. bsky.app/profile/kalu...bsky.app 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 14/11/2025It makes me sad that Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine never really took off in Czechia. I played it three times and it will probably end that way since the people I played it with moved on to newer games. The game is amazing and it shaped my game and campaign designer views a lot. 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 12/11/2025Just creating a d6 randomtable for "how would this cat react to catnip". Since, yeah, that's actually important in my setting. 010
Reposted by SparkleFinn (Swan and Raven Studio) @swanandravenstudio.com · 02/11/2025tricks-tales.blogspot.com/2025/11/mark... New blog post about the charity bundle!tricks-tales.blogspot.comMarketing Retrospective from my Charity BundleFirst things first, here is the pitch for the bundle in case anyone hasn't seen it yet. 🎲 HELLO//GOODBYE Charity Bundle for Legal Aid is Li... 187
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 01/11/2025Again, played in a session organized by No Fun Collective, in a series of oneshots that take place in "The Great Transformation", a sort of utopic contemporary / a bit sci-fi setting. This time we were journalists who arrived from a different area and had to write a colourful report. Had a blast! 000
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 26/10/2025In the last 4 years, most of my free time was consumed by writing a RPG campaign in Czech (too small market for paid work unfortunately). So I never had time to play Baldur's Gate 3. Finally I found some free time to run the game. It's hard to concentrate though as there is serious distraction... 010
Sparkle @sparklecz.bsky.social · 24/10/2025Had to put on hold some of my local play activities to concentrate on my Kalusa projects. I however still remain as player in a Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast campaign, since I love this game and it's so relaxing. 210