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Vulpinoid

@vulpinoid.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.5K following 1.3K posts

Artist, Teacher, Game Designer, Freelance Visionary My game design musings are at vulpinoid.blogspot.com My game designs can be found at www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/3…

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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 2h
It's nice to see this o e show up again in my most regularly visited v blog pages... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2013/10/map-...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Map Drawing Tutorial 1
Here's something I've been working on...inspired by the recent work of  +Dyson Logos . (Awesome, I can stick google+ links in my blog post...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 19h
Does the gameplay feed into the narrative? Conversely, does the narrative feed into the gameplay? If there is a feedback loop between the two, it's an RPG. If the story is manufactured post-hoc, it's a boardgame.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Just working on game stuff for the new mini-campaign I'm starting next week.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I really liked that idea... I wonder if it's worth revisiting. vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2016/03/we-m...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
We may have a name
There is currently a poll to determine the name of the Egyptian underworld scroll game I'm working on. Originally I was going with ...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Just some musings I've had lately... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/beni...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Benign Violation
I first remember hearing this term a few years ago. Here's a link...   It was first proposed as a paradigm for comedy by A. Peter McGraw and...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yep...Kuromi is like that too.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Anyone who gas roleplayed long enough has probably encountered at least one of these players... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/cons...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Consequence Displacement
It's an interesting theory, and I've certain seen players like this at a number of tables that Ive either been a part of, or have run, a...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I've seen similar posts, time and time again... even back when RPG magazines were popular before the web was a big thing, people were trying to do this and often failing. vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/why-...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Why? Just Why?
I've been collecting posts from online to respond to... some giving me positive reactions...and some... ...seriously, for fuck's sake!!! Let...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yeah, I use a scene/act/episode/season structure in SNAFU, and I've seriously considered swapping the change in acts to an ad break metaphor. It basicallyveorks so that when this happens, characters get to refresh their limited-use powers, but so do their adversaries.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Like maybe "Lanterns"... or if you need a British show about magic, try "Small Prophts".
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Here's a more extended response to a recent post the wanders in the same spheres I've been in lately... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
The Virtues of Escapism
The liminal space is a powerful thing. The idea of being able to step out of yourself for a couple of hours, inhabit a character in a shared...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Just binge watched the entire series of Small Prophets... I couldn't stop watching, because I'm basically working on the final stages of an RPG which is exactly that... copy, forgotten magic in a harsh and callous world where the mundane concerns of others are some of the biggest threats to face.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Will you accept Aussies, or just USians?
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not sure why this old post is suddenly getting traction... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2013/02/cold...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Cold City Map Work
Because I like giving my players some decent props, I've drawn up a few maps for our Cold City campaign in progress. There will only be on...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Just do it, your thing will be different to someone else's... and that's actually a good thing. vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
The Cult of Personlity strikes again.
If you're reading this, you're either: A. an uber hispter delving into arcane knowledge from an obscure designer who'll probably never make...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
She has mentioned your design work once or twice... I'd forgotten about the fact this game was a convoluted descendent of Honey Heist.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I'll have to dig further into this one...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Interesting review... it reminds me a lot of the direction Stone Cold Fox Games was aiming for with "Heresy of the Obsidian Orchid", except that she went with a Cyberpunk dystopia...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is a great idea... I wish I knew who was behind it.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Wow...should have made sure more people knew about that skeletons game that Erin and I designed last year....
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
More insights into my design process, and how it tries to tap into the zeitgeist... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/why-...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Why create a "cookbook"?
There has often been a debate between "Rules and Written" (RAW) and "Rules as Intended" (RAI). The debate goes back to the earliest days o...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Wish I could have made it down there...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Last one for the current series... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/10/vari...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Variant RPGaDay - 28, 29, and 30
It's a day late, but lets finish off this run of posts.   Batch 10 (L5R) I love the Legend of the Five Rings setting, as it was one of the...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Getting to the end of my variant RPGaDay posts... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/vari...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Variant RPGaDay - 25, 26, and 27
Another game that has a lot of fond memories for me, and there were dozens of potential options I could think of for the various combination...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm really trying to do this with my SNAFU SRD. Combat is part of the game, but it's just a combination of other resolution elements in the system. I present those first... task resolution, opposed tasks, time critical tasks, bonuses/penalties... then show those elements combining for combat/magic.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I like the small things you are painting.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Gane design food for thought from the archive.. vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2009/06/game...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Game Mechani(sm) of the Week #24: Inter-Related Values
I hadn't really thought about the way that inter-related values really say something in a game, but a few instances have come up in recent e...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's nice to see certain old posts getting traction again. It reminds me that some of those ideas might have just been ahead of their time. vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2018/05/walk...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Walkabout: The Bower Bird
The Bower Bird is found in Australia and New Guinea. It is a collector of stuff. Among the bower birds found locally, the males predomina...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We're playing catch up, but I've finally reached one of my all time favourite gamessages... snd one of the posts that prompted me to actually write this series... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/vari...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Variant RPGaDay - 22, 23, and 24
When I first started lining up the games and the NPC ideas that I was going to run with for this series, I was actually looking forward to t...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Agreed... I never use it for ideas, and as a teacher I ensure to tell my students that it can't generate ideas, only draw on existing ideas to compare your prompts to. It will never innovate, and that's where humans will always have the edge.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Honestly, I've seen some good and bad in AI algorithmic generation. It works as a useful tool for some people to get their ideas out there, but it's certainly doing damage to the livelihoods of artists and writers. As a teacher I'm also seeing a decline in critical thinking, and skill practice.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Yes, I think I would.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Never heard it... On one hand, that might be because I'm in Australia... On the other hand, I live in the town considered "Australia's Country Music Capital"...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
You were open minded...that was good. You actually did some research, and reached conclusions, that was even better. Screw what other closed-minded folks might think. There's always going to be haters.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It gets more confusing.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I usually play sandboxes with a number of possible end points and conflicting factions for players to encounter. Like a dynamic web of intrigue that subtly shifts with each player action and reaction. I don't know where it will end up, nor do they. But actions often build tension and ramp up.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I like to know that ir's not all GM fiat. GM moves, rules that bind the GM, or even just table conventions that moderate the play between players and GM are all a part of that. I want my players to feel like they gave agency and that there are actually competitive forces acting within the session.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I don't put names on pre-gen sheets... and when it comes to potential actions, I say, these are 'some' of the things you can attempt, but explicitly state that these are prompts not restrictions and they may attempt anything reasonable
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Going back to my RPGaDay NPCs... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/vari...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Awesome!!
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The OSR is a vague, nebulously half-defined design movement which some claim recaptures the spirit of the earliest TTRPGS. It rides onthe coat-tails of indie darlings like "Lamentations of the Flame Princess" until the designer proves problematic, then claims "oh, that was never truly an OSR game."
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As a questionably straight white male TTRPG designer, I'd love to point out some of the awesome designers who aren't straight white males who I've been working with lately... such as @gumiho-girl.bsky.social.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@gumiho-girl.bsky.social did you hear about this?
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A few more observations... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/reac...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Reactions to posts I've seen
I seem to have found myself in some good places on various social media platforms. I'm seeing lots of folks promoting innovation in game de...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Feels like a bit of a milestone... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/25-m...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
2.5 Million Views
As I write this, I'm sitting on 2501069 views for the blog, and I've been getting a steady average of 2000 to 3000 views per day. The number...
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Reposted by Vulpinoid
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
make the John Brown season of Reacher you cowards
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/1...
drivethrurpg.com
DriveThruRPG - The Largest RPG Download Store!
Your one-stop online shop for new and vintage RPG products from the top publishers, delivered fresh to your desktop in electronic format.
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I'd love to run a Cold City campaign again some day... vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2026/09/vari...
vulpinoid.blogspot.com
Variant RPGaDay - 16, 17, and 18
I've had a couple of these batches of NPCs where I've just instantly thought of a game that would work. However for a few of them (like toda...
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Vulpinoid @vulpinoid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I've got a little game about ferrets that could easily be adapted...
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