The Explorateur

This issue marks the third year of The Explorateur. That means three things. New cover image. New naming system. New nothing else. (For now.) Thanks for reading

Explorers' Loot

• Design Hireling: Pricing Models. Last month, I wrote this piece on the different ways freelancers can charge for their commission-style work.
• Design Hireling: Your Rate. Keeping on the freelancer discussion, I wrote about how to calculate an hourly rate and quote a flat-rate project fee.
• 50 Excuses for Good Players. My entry for Prismatic Wasteland's latest blogwagon, How to Be a Good Player. 50 acceptable excuses for flaking.

Quests & Rumors

Game jams, contests, and opportunities. Drop me a line on Bluesky.

• 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.
• 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.
• ❤️ Puzzle Dungeon Jam 2. It's time again to make a tabletop adventure filled with OSR-style puzzles and challenges. Jam ends Dec 5th.
• Make Moves Jam. Create or share singular Moves using Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) design philosophies. Jam lasts all year. Ends Dec 31st.
• Mini Map Jam. Create a minimalist map, that would be legible if it was printed on to a 15.8mm x 15.8mm LEGO tile. Jam ends Feb 1st.

Reviews & Critique

Critique and examinations of tabletop rpgs, adventures, and more.

• Scores Are the Least Interesting Part of Blades in the Dark by To Be Resolved. Yes, it's where the backflips happen, but it's not where the game lives.
• How to Care for a Brain in a Jar by Skeleton Code Machine. This week Skelly examines a Tamagotchi-style game where the pet is a brain in a jar.
• 🎙️ Folly of the Forgemaster by Between 2 Cairns. Forgemaster's colorful and expressive art direction makes for an instantly recognizable adventure.
• 🎙️ The Eye of Aeons by Between 2 Cairns. Aeons is a delightfully subdued adventure from Melsonian Arts Council. How does it work with Troika?
• 📺 Tephrotic Nightmares by Murkdice. Most Mörk Borg adventures are short affairs. Not this one. "This book proves Mörk Borg can do big campaigns."

Spotlight & Best-iary

The spotlight section showcases interviews, design examples, and projects.

• Thomas Manuel on Theater and RPGs by Backwards Tabletop. This interview unpacks the differences between actors, players, games, and theater.
• ⚙️ Roll to Move HP by Toucan't Blog. "...Everyone argues about HP systems because “Roll to Move” and “Roll for Damage” are mechanically identical"

Theory & Craft

Design tools, resources, theory, and advice for rpg designers from rpg designers.

• Why is the Rumor False? by Rise Up Comus. False rumors can disrupt play, but if players can learn why its false, gradually, the rumor is useful again.
• What is a Mystery? by Among Cats & Books. The answer to "What is a mystery?" starts by asking, "What do you mean by 'mystery?'"
• the fuckass axis of rules & regrets by in lowercase. There it is, Habeeb. I've written the title and byline all in lowercase—just this once. Good post.
• Making a Cool Monster by Prismatic Wasteland. A checklist for designing monsters that are (1) formidable, (2) desirable, and (3) believable.
• 🎙️ Funded by the Crowd by Making Games. What does it take to crowdfund a game? If anyone knew it would be the two hosts of this podcast.
• 🎙️ NPCs with Amanda P. by Dice Exploder. Amanda P. is a writer with a chokehold on character design. Let their brain worms be your brain worms.

Inspiring & Non-roleplaying

Design tools, theory, and inspiration from the world beyond tabletop rpgs.

• ❤️ Why is Waffle House like Toyota? by Girdley. It's hard to imagine a well-oiled machine having a sticky floor, but that's the design of Waffle House.
• The Case for Texture in Branding by True Grit. The Butlerian Jihad has begun in the hearts of Man, and it is the chrome and pristine that'll die first.
• 💡 2026 Print Awards. I love seeing what critics think from one year to the next. Nothing delights me more than to critique a critic's critiques critically.
• Fucking Up a Notebook to Write a Novel by Will Maclean. Open up a fresh notebook, away from the screens, and make a filthy animalistic mess.
• 🗄️ Inside Out Library. Another directory of public domain images ripped (sometimes literally) from old books and dusty tomes. The UI is nice here.

Design Archive

Old, missed, famous, and overlooked articles for the newsletter.

• Whose Mechanic is it Anyway? by Trilemma Adventures. "The player who needs to use a quantity should be the one tracking it."
• Staggered Goal Engagement Theory by GameTek. A framework for fostering player engagement by engineering staggered goals and incentives.

Missed the last issue? Read it here.

The Explorateur: October '26

Monthly jams, critique, theory, and resources for rpg designers.

Explorers DesignClayton Notestine

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