A rant about tactical mechanics in roleplaying games and how they are incompatible with a Play Worlds mindset.

Here is a copy of an activity from a 1919 issue of the Danish magazine Familie Journal . Click to download the full-sized image Children wer...

Guidelines for creating playable Pokemon (essentially classes) for Into the Oddish.

# The Explorateur: Year 3! This is the 24th issue of The Explorateur, which makes next month's issue the start of its third year. As is tradition, here are a few updates and improvements. * **New title system.** This issue is the first one with the month and year in its title. This will make it easier to know which issue is the newest at a glance. * **Keeping to the niche.** In case it isn't obvious, The Explorateur is limited to design-focused links and resources. If it doesn't help rpg designers, it isn't here. * **1,363 subscribers.** That's a +300 increase from the previous year. There were no spikes in subscriptions. Slow and steady. Despite award nominations. * **Awarded Best Kisser.** None of this year's nominations landed The Explorateur a gold or silver Ennie or Crit, which means I did all that kissing and bribing just for the thrill of it. (I should have boasted "Best Dressed.") ✋ ****Did you know this post gets updated?**** Sometimes I miss something and add it later. Don't forget to check out the web version. ### Explorers' Loot * Great Covers: September '26**.** I returned this month with five more covers I love. The secret theme for this last spotlight: guts. These covers have them. * Shelfie #001 - Clayton.**** Jonas started a new blog where guests show off their rpg shelves, and I was the first ~~tribute~~ guest. Alas, I forgot to display _Scarface_. * **Design Hireling: Pricing Models.** In real life, you don't have to worry about gelatinous cubes. Instead, you worry about how you're going to get paid. ### Quests & Rumors Game jams, contests, and opportunities. Drop me a line on Bluesky. * Folklore Jam '26.**** Make an rpg, larp, or boardgame inspired by folklore from your culture. It can be a spooky, cozy, or anything really. Jam ends Oct 31st. * Orctober OSR Jam.**** Make orc thing. Get orc thing judged. All orcs welcome. Playable orc thing? Good. Unplayable orc thing? Bad. Orc jam end Orc 31st. * B.C. Compliant Primitive Jam.**** Make something for the game, _Year 100 Million BC_. Great for designers who love hitting things with rocks real good. * **❤️** Baseball Jam '26.**** Regular readers of Explorers Design know this is my kind of jam. Make something baseball-related for ttrpgs. Jam ends Nov 1st. * Norman Mailer Game Jam.**** Here's a weird one: Make something rpg-related based on the life and writings of Norman Mailer. Jam ends Nov 11th. * DURF Jam 6!**** The Annual Durf Jam is back. This year's theme: Lost & Found. Make an adventure or expansion for the game, DURF. Jam ends Nov 14th. * Minimalist TTRPG Jam 5. A jam all about primal, elemental, close-to-the-metal TTRPG creation! No pictures, no layout, all killer, no filler. Ends Nov 1st. * Noir-Vember TTRPG Jam.**** Make a game, module, or supplement for the black and white world of gumshoes, derringers, and crime. Jam ends Nov 30th. * Make Moves Jam.**** Create or share singular Moves using Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) design philosophies. Jam lasts all year. Ends Dec 31st. ### Reviews & Critique Critique and examinations of tabletop rpgs, adventures, and more. * I Kind of Hate Treasure?****_by Murk Mail. "_[It's] pretty central to old-school play in its ‘textbook’ form. But, I’ve got a confession. I kind of hate treasure._"_ * Bathtub Review: The Doom of the Dark****_by Idle Cartulary._ Patrick Stuart's latest adventure (for Tunnels & Trolls, no less) isn't like his others. * Wolves Along the Coast****_by Twilight Dreams._ Every time a game gets reviewed, I get to discover and appreciate it again. This is one of those reviews. * Shadowrun Review****_by Among Cats and Books._ Better late than never! Elmcat returns to Shadowrun to finally figure out: What the hell is it? ### Spotlight & Best-iary The spotlight section showcases interviews, design examples, and projects. * Knock! Bundle of Holding.**** Normally I wouldn't promote a product, but this latest bundle is 100% this newsletter's special interest. Blogs immortalized! * How Deadly is the OSR Actually?****_by Valeria Loves._ Are OSR games universally short and deadly? Valeria is on the case. (The answer is no.) * Workflow Eats Features For Breakfast****_by Bastionland._ Chris, designer of _Mythic Bastionland,_ talks about how his game "runs itself" via workflows. * Mothership Month Returns!**** This November: A new Warden's Program, Writers' Grants, and Mothership Select—a hall of fame for 3rd party products. * **📺** How I Make a Living as a Full-time Indie RPG Designer****_by Cezar Capacle._ Cezar's been on my bookshelf for years, so this was a fun watch. ### Theory & Craft Design tools, resources, theory, and advice for rpg designers from rpg designers. * **❤️** The Keys to My Heart _by New School Revolution._ Loved this one. It explores different styles of keying found in different adventures. What's yours? * **❤️** Signposting, Signseeking, and Agency Spirals****_by Atmospheric Underworld._ This is long toothsome read about incentives, railroading, etc. * Three-Sentence Hexes****_by Idraluna Archives._ This is a follow-up to Idraluna's defense of empty hexes. An argument for less-is-more. * The (Implied) Author of this Game Hates You_by Skeleton Code Machine._ Exploring the concept of antagonistic game design as a technique. * Do Not Overthink the City****_by Pool Time. "_ Have you ever lived in a city? Think back and you will notice: your experience was mainly a series of rooms." * The Elemental Level of Megadungeon Construction****_by Rise Up Comus._ A fun article about how Megadungeons are made up of parts within parts. * 🎙️ Making & Breaking Genre****_by The Indie Game Talk Club._ Paul and Dusey talk about onboarding, monetizing, and the power and limits of genre. ### Inspiring & Non-roleplaying Design tools, theory, and inspiration from the world beyond tabletop rpgs. * **💡** Book Covers of Note Sept. 2026****_by Casual Optimist._ This month revealed an amazing crop of book covers from the literary space. * ❤️ Why All of Our Games Look like Crap****_by The Bottom Feeder._ "...why do my games look the way they do, when other more fancy, more expensive art styles are available? * 🗄️ Annual Report Archive.**** Before mankind was cursed with PowerPoint, companies used to design annual reports—a lost art of layout, data, and design. * 🗄️ 50 Watts Archive.**** "A growing archive of weird and wonderful visual ephemera from around the world." A great collection of illustrations. * Bezier Game.**** If you're trying to learn the pen tool in Affinity or Illustrator, this browser game will help! I wish it had the solutions to some of these. ### Design Archive Old, missed, famous, and overlooked articles for the newsletter. * Negotiating with Monsters****_by Dungeon Fantastic._ There's something illuminating here about designing NPCs, especially for psycho PC interactions. * The Cowardice of Incremental Modifiers****_by Was It Likely?_ The increments are boring. They're inert. They betray play for vanity. Boo! Hiss! * * * ****What do the emojis mean?**** They're a visual shorthand for non-blog links, including resources (📁), archives (🗄️), inspiration (💡), podcasts (🎙️), and videos (📺). My favorites for the month get a heart (❤️). * * * ### Missed the last issue? Read it here. The Explorateur: Issue #23Monthly jams, critique, theory, and resources for rpg designers.Explorers DesignClayton Notestine * * * _This newsletter uses the occasional affiliate link to support Explorers Design. If you notice any broken links, mistakes, or bad actors, please let me know._ Explorers Design_is a production of Clayton Notestine. If you liked this issue, please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing._

Adventurer! We've resurrected our February 2024 KNOCK! Magazine Bundle featuring three digital .PDF issues of KNOCK!, the Merry Mushmen magazine for old-school tabletop fantasy roleplaying games. Dubb...

A cursed game-within-a-game that won't go back into its box, and a chess-based RPG about Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

I don't really have time to write this, but I was already spending the time i didn't have discussing it on discord. This will be fast and dirty. We've bee...

More shiny links from around the web. For even more, try last weeks set found here or the weekly r/OSR blogroll or check the RPG Blog Carn...

An announcement of a new live text discord megagame starting October 16th 2026.

I'm back this month with a slightly different format. Five covers of note. New, interesting, or on my mind. Without further ado, here they are... * * * # Seven-Part Pact Seven-Part Pact by Jay Dragon Seven-Part Pact, a game about the might and folly of powerful wizards bound by a venerable pact. What's pictured here is the planned slipcase art by Seattle-based illustrator, Pam Wishbow._Seven-Part Pact_ is a maximalist game. The kind that corrupts a kitchen table with knick-knacks, charts, booklets, cards, and notes. There will be conspiracy, patriarchy, power, violence—and thanks to this game's cover—a lot to look at. I love how the art captures the ornate, kaleidoscopic-feel of the game without plucking something more expected off the wizardly tree. Less Planeswalker. More weirdo antiquarian with a stationary fetish. Excellent. Check out Seven-Part Pact * * * # Tiny Fables Tiny Fables by Josiah S. Moore There's a lot to love about _Tiny Fables_ cover. Its execution is flawless. Harmonious colors, clean woodcut-style illustrations, soft textures, and a simple but evocative composition. Tone is on full display in this cover. It's just so cute! Something worth calling out: the title and art compliment each other. There are two reasons for that. One (1), the letterforms borrow some of the visual characteristics of the art—serifed, humanist, similar weights. Two (2), the art gives the title somewhere to be. Too many covers diminish their title and art by piling them on top of each other with outlines, overlays, and drop shadows. Check out Tiny Fables * * * # Empire of Hatred Empire of Hatred by Sam Sorenson I can think of only a few self-inserts in tabletop rpgs. This is the loudest and most interesting: Sam Sorenson screaming bloody murder. This is who I picture in front of the mic recording _Dead Letters._ A blood-drenched zealot for simulation. Something interesting: this cover doesn't have a title. Online you don't necessarily need one. The storefront's UI will label it for you. But if this does live on a shelf somewhere, I don't think it needs the title. _Empire of Hatred_? Oh yeah, the screaming one. It's right over there. Check out Empire of Hatred * * * # Green Oaks My biggest regret from the 2025 Ennies was not nominating _Green Oaks_ for best cover or design. My wife nearly tossed it in the trash when I got it. If it weren't for that tiny snippet of copy in the lower right, it would be too covert for its own good. This kind of cover takes guts, and I officially award Green Oaks the crown for in-world artifacts. Sorry, _Call of Cthulhu_ and prop-tastic LARPS—you never stood a chance. Look at what you had to spend for a fraction of _Green Oak's_ power. Check out Green Oaks * * * # Wages of Sin (Special Edition) Normally special edition covers are a downgrade immortalized in leather. Not so with this one!__ The simplicity and colors do a lot for this _Mothership_ release. The trio of portraits is also a better appetizer for the interiors smorgasbord of bastards, dissidents, and saps. It makes me wonder what an entire rogues gallery might look like. Pay special attention to the logos and icons here. These are the correct proportions. Anything else would be a distraction. A clumsy bit of trade dress. Logos should never compete with the book's title or art. Check out Wages of Sin * * * # Send me your favorites. This is a fun regular exercise, but it's hard to do on a regular schedule without help. If you have a new release or new obsession, let me know in the comments or on Bluesky. Current covers I'm looking for: * Typographical covers. Minimal art. Font everything. * Minimalist covers. Something with next to nothing. * Scenery covers. Something that depicts a place well. Until then, I'll keep exploring. * * * ## Additional Reading Great Book Covers July ’26Cover inspiration from across the tabletop rpg industry.Explorers DesignClayton NotestineThe Art of the RPG CoverHow to make your roleplaying game’s cover stand out (with examples).Explorers DesignClayton NotestineKilling Good Games with Bad TitlesHow to write a bad RPG title. And how to do the opposite.Explorers DesignClayton Notestine * * * Explorers Design_is a production of Clayton Notestine. If you liked this article, please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing._

Have you ever lived in a city? Think back and you will notice: your experience was mainly a series of rooms. You visited perhaps 6-12 rooms each day. (Usuall...

YouTube video by Sean Foer

Here’s an offering for you, D&D DMs, adventure game masters, old school referees: a wounds system where your hit dice are a pool to roll from every time you get hit. Use it, hack it, mock it. It’s you...