iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Sometimes they're just advice, which is also not quite a "fortune". I think my favorite fortune I've ever gotten was one I opened moments before playing Blades in the Dark. I think there must have been a translation hiccup, because this *can't* be what they meant.

The fortune reads "A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week."

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I can't find all of them, but I've started to make a habit of asking to take photos of (or keep, if players want me to) the hoverbikes people draw when I run Ridge City Riders with them. Some people have wild definitions of "hoverbike" and honestly I love that for them, these all fucking rule

A number of drawings of hoverbikes drawn by various players with various levels of detail and unique designs and concepts: an engine block with a seat, a device with a giant wheel on front, a pointed missile, a horse-shaped bike with folded wings, a bike made of large chemical flasks with bubbling liquid, a sinuous bike with wings and ribbons, not one but TWO segway-inspired designs, a sleek rounded bike with heavy inking, an articulated wheel with a seat in the middle, and a piano on wheels a la the Thousand Miles music video by Vanessa Carlton

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I keep up with anime less than I'd like but I still needed to limit myself to series (no movies) to narrow it down my9animes.com/en/share/efb...

3x3 grid of anime covers/titles: Darker than Black, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Steins; Gate, Trigun, Kill la Kill, Kino's Journey, Hunter x Hunter

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

hold on hold on check THIS shit out

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

still haven't found a chance to play it, but I love the cover of @ehronlime.bsky.social's An Altogether Different River. Flowy font and watercolor art style evoke a flowing river, everything draws the eye inward, and I love how the perspective overlays the near and the distant, the old and the new

A book cover with the large title text "An Altogether Different River" in a flowing cursive font. An eye-level view of a scene in a watercolor style, looking towards the shore from the edge of a riverside town. The foreground structures are short, shingled, homey, and warmly colored. Farther structures in the background look like ostentatious modern skyscrapers, towering above, in cold colors and low contrast. Author Aaron Lim's name is at the bottom of the cover.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

according to @eash.dev's tragically unused testimonial for RCR and the transitive property, that means that WARE is the "Like Skyrim With Guns" Of Honey Heist of asynchronous discord-based creative writing forums

Ridge City Riders Is The "Like Skyrim With Guns" Of Honey Heist

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

counting all of these as DISCOURSE so I guess I gotta log off

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

I haven't gotten to spend much time with Inevitable's overall structure, but I appreciate that the system is pretty light on rules and very restrained in how much "stuff" you have to track... So because of that, they can just have a wildly stylish and dramatic character sheet.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

I tragically couldn't fit this screencap into the post but it's too good not to share. This is campaign slogan material right here.

Screenshot from The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay of a weathered concrete wall with a graffiti scrawl in plain black writing that reads "FUCK TO YOU ALL"

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Local bookstore chain is having a warehouse sale at one of their locations and the boxes are peppered with probably 20+copies of this book and I *have* to imagine that these were ordered because of a misreading North Carolina as Northern California

Photo of a book titled "50 Hikes in the Mountains of North Carolina"

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Is it possible that the incompleteness was related to my insistence on making silly drawings of every silly space plant? Mind your own business!

A photo of a whiteboard containing the plants listed in the game linked in the previous reply, but with crude whiteboard drawings of each one.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

The prompt for day 22 of #ttrpgpromptober is "Summoning circles", so I made a solo journaling game about summoning a demon to enact a terrible revenge. It's a bit thin in some places but I had fun with the flavor writing and the prompt system! link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of Emissary of Vengeance, a solo journaling game about summoning a demon to enact your revenge. The full text is linked in the body of the post.

Page 2 of 3 of Emissary of Vengeance, a solo journaling game about summoning a demon to enact your revenge. The full text is linked in the body of the post.

Page 3 of 3 of Emissary of Vengeance, a solo journaling game about summoning a demon to enact your revenge. The full text is linked in the body of the post.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I was really happy with the little block building engine here! Here's some little sample creations (feat. Calypso in the last one) using the rules provided.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Day 20 of #ttrpgpromptober was "Lost book/lost knowledge"; I originally had an idea for a game about building things without instructions, but instead I landed on a game about exploring procedural ruins in a post-apocalypse. link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 4 of Among the Ruins, a game about exploring a post-apocalypse by procedurally building ruins out of block tower blocks. The full text is linked in the post body.

Page 2 of 4 of Among the Ruins, a game about exploring a post-apocalypse by procedurally building ruins out of block tower blocks. The full text is linked in the post body.

Page 3 of 4 of Among the Ruins, a game about exploring a post-apocalypse by procedurally building ruins out of block tower blocks. The full text is linked in the post body.

Page 4 of 4 of Among the Ruins, a game about exploring a post-apocalypse by procedurally building ruins out of block tower blocks. The full text is linked in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

My creation for #ttrpgpromptober day 17: "blood" is exceedingly stupid and very unrefined. But it was also an excuse to talk mad shit, which was good fun. Maybe it's at least fun to read??? link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 4 of "CRACK OPEN A BOY WITH THE COLD ONES", a dark comedy game for 2-4 players about CEOs bantering while they get transfusions of youthful blood. A text version of the game is linked in the post body.

Page 2 of 4 of "CRACK OPEN A BOY WITH THE COLD ONES", a dark comedy game for 2-4 players about CEOs bantering while they get transfusions of youthful blood. A text version of the game is linked in the post body.

Page 3 of 4 of "CRACK OPEN A BOY WITH THE COLD ONES", a dark comedy game for 2-4 players about CEOs bantering while they get transfusions of youthful blood. A text version of the game is linked in the post body.

Page 4 of 4 of "CRACK OPEN A BOY WITH THE COLD ONES", a dark comedy game for 2-4 players about CEOs bantering while they get transfusions of youthful blood. A text version of the game is linked in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Day 14 of #ttrpgpromptober is "stars". This game idea is a lot rougher than I hoped and I have a lot of adjustments I'd like to make, but I think there's some fun big ideas to it. I'm looking forward to coming back to this one. link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of Scattered to the Stars, an asynchronous journaling game about wandering spacefarers who have lost their home world, intended to be passed between players. A link to the full text is in the post body.

Page 2 of 3 of Scattered to the Stars, an asynchronous journaling game about wandering spacefarers who have lost their home world, intended to be passed between players. A link to the full text is in the post body.

Page 3 of 3 of Scattered to the Stars, an asynchronous journaling game about wandering spacefarers who have lost their home world, intended to be passed between players. A link to the full text is in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Waffled all day on "Liminal spaces" for day 12 of #ttrpgpromptober but I eventually got to a storygamer's variant of a random encounter table for overland travel. It has ideas for small travel events to get players imagining and adventurers talking link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 4 of No Empty Spaces, a small module for narrative-driven random encounters for overland travel. A text version is linked in the post body.

Page 2 of 4 of No Empty Spaces, a small module for narrative-driven random encounters for overland travel. A text version is linked in the post body.

Page 3 of 4 of No Empty Spaces, a small module for narrative-driven random encounters for overland travel. A text version is linked in the post body.

Page 4 of 4 of No Empty Spaces, a small module for narrative-driven random encounters for overland travel. A text version is linked in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Kind of a hangover from yesterday's serious one, but today is busy so my post for #ttrpgpromptober day 10 ("moon") is mostly a shitpost. But it was still fun to make! thank you @eash.dev for being an appreciator of the meme format used here link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

page 1 of 2 of "Two Guys on the Moon", a silly little generator with rollable tables that creates a seed of a story for a scifi horror adventure. The text version is linked in the body of the post.

page 2 of 2 of "Two Guys on the Moon", a silly little generator with rollable tables that creates a seed of a story for a scifi horror adventure. The text version is linked in the body of the post.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

For day 8 of #ttrpgpromptober ("spirits"), I wrote a faction for Blades in the Dark by John Harper. Heavily inspired by my first BitD group's crew concept, so @mandkips.bsky.social @behnkecodes.bsky.social @lpg.space also share credit for the idea! link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Screenshot of "The Rekindled Flame", a custom Faction for Blades in the Dark by John Harper, revolving around a secret drug that can keep ghosts from becoming feral

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Day 7 of #ttrpgpromptober is "secrets", and I had the idea of a heist falling apart at the last minute as secret schemes and betrayals suddenly came to light. It's a little slapdash but I think it could polish up into something fun and snappy! link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

page 1 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

page 2 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

page 3 of 3 of No Honor, a game about a crew of thieves betraying one another during the final stages of a daring heist. A link to a text version is in the post body.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

I've made it to Day 6 of #ttrpgpromptober! This one is honestly very under-informed, but it's a usable foundation for a better-researched game. Inspired by Friends at the Table's Hieron seasons and history-making games like Ben Robbins' Microscope! link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 2 of a mythic pantheon creation game, in which players take turns introducing deities or adding details to them, their relationships, and their stories. There's a link to the text version in the body of this post.

Page 2 of 2 of a mythic pantheon creation game, in which players take turns introducing deities or adding details to them, their relationships, and their stories. There's a link to the text version in the body of this post.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

For Day 5 of #ttrpgpromptober I'm stretching the theme... "masquerade" implies disguise/misdirection, so I dusted off and expanded a (HxH inspired) 2-player shonen dueling game idea. the escalating one-upsmanship is the masquerade part, to me link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of "Jajanken Duel", a 2-player storytelling game about shonen duels that's broadly inspired by Hunter x Hunter

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

For #ttrpgpromptober day 4, I made a procedure for modifying a character in a campaign game. As a player, my characters' stories sometimes peter out or change before the campaign concludes. This is one loose idea of how to alter their path! link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

Page 1 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

Page 2 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

Page 3 of 3 of The Shadow Plunge, a generic procedure for modifying a character's history or mechanics in a campaign-style game

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

I won't have several free hours tomorrow, so I'll have to reign things in, but today's #ttrpgpromptober got away from me again... Here's Glade of Solitude, a (very rough) game about collaborative potion-crafting with restricted communication. Link: thecastlebuilder.notion.site/promptober-D...

1 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

2 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

3 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

4 of 4 screenshots of the rules to Glade of Solitude, a GM-less 3 player game about collaborative potion-crafting with imperfect communication

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I'm afraid that there's a good chance I'm gonna make a whole-ass game for each of these prompts. For day 2 of #ttrpgpromptober, I present to you: WORD WIZARDS

The setup for WORD WIZARDS, in which spelling be contestants accidentally cast an eldritch spell that summons a monster, and must use their newly awakened magic powers to defeat it

The gameplay rules for WORD WIZARDS, in which spelling be contestants accidentally cast an eldritch spell that summons a monster, and must use their newly awakened magic powers to defeat it

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

To start off somewhere I'm already at, I made a quick landmark for Heart: the City Beneath (which I've been running lately) for the first day of #ttrpgpromptober

A landmark for Heart: The City Beneath, describing an enormous bramble with vicious thorns that spills out of a great ravine, attracting divers who delve into its depths

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Another screenshot that I loved, but had no reason to include in the post is this shot of this briefcase full of stacks and stacks of crisp b̶e̶n̶j̶a̶m̶i̶n̶s̶ washingtons

Max Payne stands in a shipping container with a small desk and chair, a dead body on the ground, and a briefcase on the desk filled with stacks of 1$ bills

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

you can even anthropomorphize your cat to be one of your example players!

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

don't mind me, just frantically trying to put meaningful bits of time into all the games I missed this year

screenshot from I Am Your Beast of a first person view of a snowy military encampment and a masked soldier aiming a gun towards the player

screenshot from 1000xRESIST of a zoomed-in close-up of the main character's face

screenshot from Nine Sols showing several people gathered in front o fa high-tech shrine at dusk

screenshot from The Rise of the Golden Idol showing two people on the side of a snowy road discovering a body

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

my cat is very small and good (also a little evil)

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