The Explorateur: Issue #20
Monthly design jams, critique, theory, and inspiration for tabletop rpg designers by rpg designers. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
Does design solve problems? No.
There's a popular definition in design schools and creative agencies. It goes something like this, "Good design solves problems." It's a great way to sell work to clients, a great way to get likes on LinkedIn, and a great way to make garbage for people who don't deserve "good" anyway.
I've grown increasingly dismissive of the problem-solving mindset. Sometimes there isn't a problem to solve. Sometimes the wrong problems are being solved. Sometimes the solution is ugly, dull, and worse than the problem.
A solution no one wants to use doesn't solve anything. A solution that feels like nothing should be condemned as nothing. This applies to architecture, branding, and zines. Don't forget this when you're making your next adventure or game. Remember: You can do worse than make something people hate.
Don't mistake the weave for a tangle.
Explorers' Loot
- How to Design Lists in RPGs. I was late to the lists vs prose debate, but I arrived just in time to share some design insights from outside of tabletop rpgs.
- Unconventional GMs plays Invaders from Atlantis. An actual play of an adventure I'm working on the full release for! It's like a broadcasted playtest.
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Quests & Rumors
Game jams, contests, and opportunities. Drop me a line on Bluesky.
- Old-School Essentials Month. Prepare your spirit for a collab project led by Exalted Funeral and Necrotic Gnome on Backerkit. May 5th – June 6th.
- Randomness Blogwagon. Bloggers, it's time to write about randomness. Make a claim, propose a theory, or make something. Blogging ends June 20th.
- You Cannot Play This TTRPG Jam. This is a game jam for games that do not exist. They won't ever exist. They will never be playable. Ends June 21st.
- Vaarn Summer Jam '26. Make something for Vaults of Vaarn, a science-fantasy rpg, inspired by Dune, Hyperion, and Mobieus. Jam ends Sept. 30th.
- Chainlinked Game Jam. Create your own content for the semi-cooperative dungeon-defying rpg, Chain×Link. Or make a hack of it. Jam ends Oct. 4th.
- 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.
- Rare Bird by Idle Cartulary. This pay-what-you-want adventure is the first to pique my interest in Swyvers, a very British, very scoundrel-y game of heists.
- Fatherfog (Zero Edition) by OSR Rocks! The 2nd-ever rpg from Tuesday Knight Games (of Mothership fame) already looks great but what's in the fog?
- Daggerheart and "Moves" by Deeper in the Game. The popular fantasy rpg is massive, but does it need to be? Looking at its inspirations—maybe not.
- 🎙️ Reading Club: Draw Steel by Rascal. Thomas Manuel's latest podcast is a new favorite. Part 1 is the deep dive. Part 2 is the audience response.
- 🎙️ The Secret of the Night Market by Between 2 Cairns. Yochai, Brad, and Sam talk about the systems of Perils & Princesses, illustration, and paper stock!
- 📺 Stonetop by Quinns Quest. Stonetop takes the top spot for Quinns Quest season 2. I think it's well deserved, and I think Quinns captures exactly why.
Design Examples & Best-iary
The spotlight section of the newsletter full of showcases and projects.
- Patrick Stuart Interview by Swan and Raven Studio. Patrick Stuart talks about his new Tunnels & Trolls adventure. The answers: funny and insightful.
- Johan Nohr's Before/After. 12 years ago, Johan designed Symbaroum's first book. Now he's designing the newest edition. The glow up is insightful.
- ⚙️ Treasure Encumbrance by Failure Tolerated. Sean drops a delightfully simple chart about treasure that asks, "How easy is this to sell and move?"
- ⚙️ A Wee Mechanic: Stabilising the Dying by Idle Cartulary. This elegant mechanic will have your characters pondering the best treatment like a doctor.
- ⚙️ The Bonkers Loop by 3x5 Arcana. Playing with kids reveals just how fast an rpg can (and maybe should) escalate when given the tools to do so.
- 📺 State of the OSR 2026 by Ship of the Dead. Limithron and others reconvene at Gary Con to answer the question, "What the deal with the OSR?"
- 📺 Interview with M. Allen Hall by The Weekly Scroll. Ryan comes out of the wargaming mines to talk adventure writing and more with M. Allen Hall.
Theory & Craft
Design tools, resources, theory, and advice for rpg designers from rpg designers.
- The Three Secrets of Making Games by Jay Dragon. The three secrets are secret because they're maybe more important and impactful than anything else.
- No-Nonsense Crowdfunding by Outrider Creative. Ryan Lynch of Perils & Princesses fame enters the blogosphere with 40 tips all about crowdfunding.
- The 2 Axes of Abstraction by Murkdice. Another taxonomy-like post, but this time the model is used to answer, "What is this particular game about?"
- Things I Wish I'd Thought of Before Putting "Fuck" in the Name of my Game by Dinoberry Press. Spoiler: The four-letter word is a pain to sell.
- What Actually is a Module Anyway? by Murkdice. I like the weaving of differing viewpoints to define modules and the skills needed to make them.
- I'm Tired of Touchstones by Murkdice. I don't usually include two, let alone three posts from the same person, but I can't second this post enough.
- The Door Tax by 3x5 Arcana. A breakdown of how doors influence exploration. What makes a door good or bad in dungeon delving adventures?
- Chess is a Boxed RPG by Backwards Tabletop. This is just one part in a series all about repurposing board games, like Chess, for tabletop rpgs.
- 📺 How to Write and Run OSR Adventures by Ship of the Dead. Limithron, Joseph R Lewis, and Joel Hines lend their proven process for OSR.
- 📺 The Ox That's Breaking Your Fantasy Map by The Grainbound. I'm not sure how true it is, but I love building a world extrapolated from logistics.
Inspiring & Non-roleplaying
Design tools, theory, and inspiration from the world beyond tabletop rpgs.
- How I Learned to Just Fucking Write by Kieran Cutting. It involves a lot of eavesdropping and very little waiting. I love this idea and hope to adopt it.
- Games that Shine in Play-and-Win by Stonemaier Games. A few insights about promoting your game at conventions, including a "Play-and-Win" raffle.
- 🔒 Become a Better Graphic Designer by Thinking Like a Sign-Painter by Beth Matthews. One of the goats of ephemera design. Paywalled.
- 💡 Meet Tiffany Chin by True Grit Texture Supply. Behold this ocular feast of inspiring posters. You can find her whole portfolio at TWKCHIN.
- 📺 Graphic Design Should Die by Oversettext. The term "graphic design" is functionally meaningless in a world where everything is graphic and designed.
- 📺 Everything You Need to Know About Medieval Travel by Modern History. This'll be good worldbuilding fodder for your next fantasy game.
Design Archive
Old articles, missed articles, famous or overlooked, resurfaced for the newsletter.
- Dissociated Mechanics by The Alexandrian. I love any essay that puts a name to something that desperately needs calling out.
- Deep Dive: Stonetop by Indie Game Reading Club. With the imminent arrival of Stonetop, it's worth checking out this awesome review from '24.
Missed the last issue? Read it here.
Clayton Notestine
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