What’s The Story, Muthur?
To the point, tabletop gaming
What’s in a Core Dice Mechanic?
I’ve been asked to review a lot of systems lately, and I’ve noticed myself drawn immediately to an analysis of the core mechanic of the game in question. Long may this continue, but wouldn’t it be helpful, thought I, if there was some well thought out way for me to sort and identify techniques, using common language and a clearly developed pitch regarding what does what well?
By JimmiWazEre
Opinionated tabletop gaming chap
TL;DR:
Every tabletop RPG needs a way to decide if an action succeeds; that’s its core dice mechanic. On the surface, all dice just generate randomness, but the way that randomness is expressed shapes the whole experience. This first post defines what a core mechanic actually is, why simplicity and modifiability matter, and sets up a short series exploring how different dice systems create different vibes and outcomes.
Introduction
I’ve been asked to review a lot of systems lately, and I’ve noticed myself drawn immediately to an analysis of the core mechanic of the game in question. Long may this continue, but wouldn’t it be helpful, thought I, if there was some well thought out way for me to sort and identify techniques, using common language and a clearly developed pitch regarding what does what well?
Well, soon there will be. This is part one in a mini series that’s going to be a little self indulgent exploration of core dice mechanics.
What is a Core Dice Mechanic?
All RPGs, at least all the ones I’ve played or seen, involve a gameplay mechanism for introducing uncertainty over the outcome of player actions, and the uncertainty is the point. Without it, there’s no tension or surprise, and no sense that player choices might actually matter.
So to be clear, this uncertainty doesn’t just randomise outcomes for the sake of it, it injects suspense so nobody (especially not the GM!) can predict what’ll happen next.
Now often there’s one overriding procedure for this upon which all other sub mechanics are related to. A core mechanic therefore, is the single recurring way a game decides success or failure. Nearly every roll eventually points back to it.
All TTRPG’s needs a way to answer the question, “Does the action succeed?” But how that answer is generated, and how it feels is the heart of a well defined system.
Versatility, Not Complexity
Take for example, D&D 5e: Roll a d20, add your relevant modifiers and aim to meet or beat a DC set by the GM. This same mechanic is then recycled in combat in the same way: roll a d20 add a different modifier, and meet or beat the target’s AC.
In this way, you could argue that 5e’s mechanic is both simple and versatile. Which is important, because when you have lots of wildly different methods and processes to follow, then you’ve entered the territory of “complicated” and it’s cousin; “confusing”.
I’m a firm advocate that that’s something to be keenly avoided because any jock with an imagination can keep piling processes and mechanics onto a game system, but a talented designer knows it’s more about killing your darlings, and whittling away the chaff to unearth of the gem at the centre.
Modifiable, Not Messy
Good core mechanics should also be neatly modifiable to reflect tweaks that the GM might like to make to your odds of success. Let’s be absolutely clear here - fundamentally, that’s all you’re trying to accomplish – reducing the odds of success from 66% to 33%, or whatever you need to do.
So again, the core mechanic should lend itself to simple modifications: to this end, in 5e for example, we have advantage/disadvantage (roll two d20 and keep the best/worst result) and adjusting the DC according to what the GM deems fair. Other systems go their own way, but they all should have comparable functionality to this.
There is a trap there connected to modifying core mechanics, that is: don’t overwhelm the core mechanic with variable options. Options create analysis paralysis and stress. If you’re running a game, you’ve got enough to think about without repeatedly having to decide which lever to pull to achieve the same impact of affecting the odds of success for a given roll.
So to put it simply; you can tweak difficulty and/or tweak circumstance but anything more than that, and you’re pulling too many levers for one simple outcome.
Thesis: One RNG Is Much The Same As Another RNG - Right?
This brings me onto what I really want to explore in this mini series. Are all core dice mechanics doing the same thing? Are they interchangeable or do they lend themselves towards different subsystems? Do they vibe differently and affect the game’s tone?
I suspect not. But more than this, I expect it'll be interesting to deep dive into these questions.
In the meantime, I had a run down of my games shelf as well as all the games I’ve reviewed this year and created a list of all the different expressions of key elements of the dice loop for core mechanics:
Dice used
d20
d100
d6
Step dice
Objective
Roll over
Roll under
Count number of successes
Degrees of success/failure determined by
Not applicable
Critical success/fail
Highest/lowest natural result
Rolling a “double”
Rolling over 90th percentile of stat
Over/Under TN/stat by absolute amount
Over/Under TN/stat by percentage
Number of successes rolled
Variables dictated by the GM
TN
Positive/negative modifiers to dice result
Step dice rolled
Dice pool size
Advantage/Disadvantage
Variables dictated by character stats
Positive/negative modifiers to dice result
TN
Dice pool size
Step dice rolled
Phew, there’s a lot there to consider. Definitely one for another day me thinks.
Conclusion
This was just part one, an appetizer so to speak. Next time, I’ll start breaking these down. Modifiers, targets, roll-under, roll-over and see how those tiny shifts in probability shape entirely different kinds of games.
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials - it really helps me out and costs you nothing! If you’re super into it and want to make sure you catch more of my content, subscribe to my free monthly Mailer of Many Things newsletter - it really makes a huge difference, and helps me keep this thing running!
Catch you laters, alligators.
1970’s Italian Horror Mysteries! First Look at Lies by Omission & L’Isola Lacrime
LxO tries to capture the tone and aesthetics of 1960s and 70s Italian Giallo films - thrillers that mixed mystery, horror, and eroticism, often featuring stylized violence, psychological tension, and vivid visual design.
By JimmiWazEre
Opinionated tabletop gaming chap
TL;DR:
Lies by Omission is a rules-lite, tarot-driven horror RPG steeped in the mood of 1960s–70s Italian Giallo cinema. It’s gorgeously presented and thematically confident, with evocative art, clever pacing tools, and a distinct cinematic flair. If you’re into atmospheric, story-first experiences and Italian horror vibes, it’s absolutely worth a look. If you prefer games where mechanics drive tension and consequence, this one might not be for you.
Disclaimer
A few months ago, I was sent the physical press kit for Lies by Omission (LxO) by the creator with a request that I might feature it in an upcoming post. At the time of receipt, this kit represented a work in progress state of the game, with certain elements missing and others awaiting their final polish. As per usual, I have not received financial incentive to write nice things.
Finally, it’s well worth noting that I’ll be presenting this in a ‘first look’ format as I’ve not played LxO yet, so don’t go thinking that this a review :)
What Is Lies by Omission?
Just the Facts
| Type | TTRPG |
| Theme | Giallo, Horror |
| Players | 2-5 |
| Ages | Explicitly Adult |
| Dev | Chain Assembly |
| Pages | 68 |
Created and edited by Nick Ribera and Leslie Haas of Chain Assembly and launched on Gamefound just the other day, Lies by Omission (LxO) and it’s accompanying campaign setting; L’isola Lacrime achieved their modest funding goal of $1,000 in a mere 7 minutes - that’s roughly $2.40 per second, and a pretty decent salary by anyone’s reckoning.
More importantly, it demonstrates the clear appeal that the project has managed to generate against a backdrop of so many otherwise ignored indie RPGs. Congratulations Chain Assembly!
In fact, as of the time of writing, with 26 days to go until the Gamefound completes, it’s currently sitting on $9.9k from 120 backers. Plenty of time left for you to join the crowd and get involved if you like the sound of it.
What’s it Trying to Do?
Core Rules
Fundamentally LxO tries to capture the tone and aesthetics of 1960s and 70s Italian Giallo films - thrillers that mixed mystery, horror, and eroticism, often featuring stylized violence, psychological tension, and vivid visual design.
I must confess, it’s not a horror sub-genre that I’m particularly knowledgeable about - but despite this, I was surprised by how familiar I was with the key cultural ingredients which carry the game forwards, to the extent that I can’t imagine that I’d have any problems running it.
From my readthrough, it’s clear to me that Ribera and Haas are trying to double down on these striking vibes whilst attempting to offer a rules-lite framework for the GM (Director) to operate from. The books, props, even the suggested Spotify playlist all serve well to boil that theme into a juicy stew and then inject it directly into your face, whilst the simple game mechanics on the players side seem to want to stay out of the way as much as possible.
This manifests as a very mechanically light, narrative focused game. I get the impression that it’ll feel less like playing a gamey game in the traditional RPG sense, and more about inhabiting a mystery story that’s already partially written, with the mechanics as more of a faint pulse beneath the surface rather than a driving engine.
L’isola Lacrime
In addition to the core rules, there’s a campaign setting; L’isola Lacrime, which takes place on an island in the Mediterranean sea. This setting provides the GM with a bunch of mysteries which all link together, combining a wealth of locations, NPCs, factions, events into a cohesive whole which could be used piecemeal for a one shot, or over the course of a sandbox style campaign.
As with the core rules, the campaign setting maintains the style and vibes of Giallo films; strange locals, secretive institutions, and a lingering sense of something beautiful yet rotten lurking just out of sight.
What Stands out to Me?
Action Scenes
LxO’s “Action Scenes” use a structure that will feel familiar to anyone who’s played Forged in the Dark games. Essentially over the course of a number of granular challenges, the player decides how they’re going to resolve them in turn. The GM then converts the players intentions into a specific stat to test against. The overall objective is to achieve a set number of successes before reaching too many failures. I’ve written about this mechanic in the form of progress clocks before, and I like it a lot.
It’s a clean way of providing a clear sense of pacing and tension without resorting to complexity, a smart and cinematic mechanic if you will. It mirrors the rhythm of a thriller montage: each draw raises the suspense and pulls the group toward a satisfying and earned climax.
For a game built on mood and narrative flow, I happy to go on record as saying that it genuinely complements its cinematic ambitions.
Confident and Thematic Artwork
Visually, LxO is a triumph. The artwork is striking from the front cover onwards, using a desaturated palette of washed-out reds, greys, and yellows that instantly evokes the faded glamour of 1960s and 70s cinema posters. The choice of fonts and layout work in concert to reinforce that era’s aesthetic, right down to the slightly grainy print texture that makes it feel like a lost artifact from an Italian art-house.
The black and white illustrations and photography are equally effective, often depicting eerie, half-familiar scenes — a discarded toy doll caught mid-blink, a figure just out of focus, a face obscured by shadow. It all feels intentionally off-kilter, capturing the unsettling, dreamlike tone that defines the genre.
Fans of Giallo will find a lot of joy in simply flipping through these books and taking in the visual tone, and in terms of setting the scene, it accomplishes this wonderfully.
Story Tracks
Another mechanic I like is the use of Story Tracks. These are essentially progress bars that help the Director manage the game’s pacing and trigger key events as the investigation unfolds. Each track ties to a specific narrative thread, ticking forward when players make discoveries or complete actions.
Once a track fills, a related event or scene is triggered, often adjusting the games difficulty via it’s core mechanic or unlocking new information. It’s a simple but effective tool that gives the GM a tangible way to measure story progression without having to improvise every beat.
GMs generally have a lot to get right in games, and pacing is a big one. A tool like this that explicitly codifies the structure of the adventure is a fantastic inclusion which gives the GM a little more much needed break from heavy cognitive load.
Potential Friction Points
These are the parts of LxO where either I think something missed the mark, or where the game has intentionally drawn a line in the sand and said “I am designed for people who like X, not Y” (and unfortunately, I happen to be team “Y”). That being said, as ever, I’m acutely aware that I am just a peculiar little dude from Yorkshire, and just because something works or doesn’t work for me, doesn’t mean that you’ll feel the same way.
To borrow a phrase; ‘your mileage may vary’. So I’m gonna call it like I see it, and I will be genuinely happy if the following points describe the kind of game that you’ll enjoy :)
Tarot Based Core Mechanic
At the heart of Lies by Omission lies an ostensibly tarot-based resolution system. The players share a single tarot deck composed from the minor Arcana cards known as the “Dread Deck,” drawing cards up to their relevant stat to resolve actions instead of rolling dice. Drawn face-up cards represent success; face-down cards represent failure. The tension builds as the balance of the deck shifts over time, simulating the rising dread of the story as the Director shuffles more face down cards into the deck in response to game events.
It’s an elegant idea on paper, but in practice the tarot’s symbolism and imagery never actually factor into play, they’re only used as binary tokens. The result is a mechanic that looks striking on the table and is definitely in line with the game’s tone, but feels functionally indistinguishable from sticking your hand in a bag and blindly drawing out pieces of paper marked ‘success’ or ‘fail’.
The Major Arcana cards, meanwhile, serve as markers of discovery rather than tools of play. Whenever the players uncover a key piece of information (By Golly! There’s a pack of werewolves living in the woods!), the Director awards them the most appropriate card that is available to abstractly represent that revelation. In theory, this gives the group a tangible record of what they’ve learned but in reality it’s little more than set dressing, as the cards serve no mechanical purpose other than as a kind of souvenir.
For me - it’s a big shame, because the game’s moody, surreal tone feels perfectly suited to genuine divinatory play where the meaning of each card might shape the fiction or foreshadow what’s to come. If I’m being honest - that’s what I was really excited for when I first heard about the game using a tarot deck for it’s core mechanic, and given all that it could have been, I can’t help but feel a little salty about this one.
But! And it’s a big but! It’s only fair to say that the game is very forward about being rules-lite, and that this simple ‘push your luck’ system certainly meets that criteria neatly and effectively.
Gated Social Flow
OK, so, in a typical investigative game, social encounters tend to flow organically — players follow their instincts, probe at interesting details, and test the boundaries of what NPCs know. LxO disrupts that rhythm by gating certain conversation topics behind Major Arcana cards, effectively requiring a “knowledge token” before a player can pursue a lead they may have already guessed at.
It’s meant to represent piecing together a mystery step by step, maybe I’m missing something, but I struggle to see the need for this codified process. In my games, players rarely ask about things they don’t know, and if they do, it hardly breaks immersion. This seems redundant?
On top of this, I have concerns that this codification risks turning dialogue into a faltering mechanical checklist rather than a naturally flowing conversation, somewhat counter to the ethos of your typical rules-lite game.
By no means is this a show stopper though - it’s a minor rule that can simply be house ruled away :)
Action Accountability
I have a suspicion that this will be the most contentious issue I’ve raised. You see, character death in LxO is a narrative beat that occurs only when the Director deems it dramatically appropriate. The rules even state that players effectively have “plot armour,” dying only when it serves the story and a replacement character is ready. In fact, in the section describing the core mechanic, the rules even suggest using literal misdirection and slight of hand to slyly tip the deck in the players favour if things are becoming too difficult for them.
It’s a choice that aligns with the game’s cinematic ambitions but IMHO strips away a sense of agency and consequence. Rather than the players shaping their fate through risk and tension, the Director decides when their moment ends though acts of fiat, and consequently must own all that GM conflict of interest too.
I want to be fair because I know that many players like this style of play - where the story arc comes first, and all is in service to it. In these circumstances, I can see how a main character’s death would create problems! For me though, I’m turned off by the implication that my actions don’t have clearly and fairly defined consequences, and as such, as a player, I feel the same way about this mechanic as I do about GMs fudging dice to keep players alive in games of D&D; a bit like I’m just along for the ride.
Do You Want to Know More?
In a dramatic turn of events, it seems that other people A) Exist, and B) have opinions about LxO also! Probably be well worth checking them out to see what they have to say!
Conclusion
Fans of the blog will know that I’m generally more drawn towards games with mechanics that significantly affect emergent narratives rather than ones where a pre-written story takes precedent over mechanical expressions of player agency, so something like LxO was realistically always going to be a very hard sell for me.
I’m torn though, because all said, the deeper I looked, the more I found to appreciate. It’s undeniably stylish, focused, and thematically bold with the kind of design that is supremely confident about the niche it occupies and who it is for. While I can’t see it becoming a regular fixture at my table, I can absolutely imagine running it as a one shot for narrative driven players already invested in the Giallo aesthetic.
I want to thank Nick again for sending this over, it takes guts to share your creative expression with the world and I have nothing but admiration for anyone who dares to do so. To the rest of you guys, if Lies by Omission sounds like it scratches your itch, then I would absolutely encourage you to check out the Gamefound and secure yourself a copy!
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials - it really helps me out and costs you nothing! If you’re super into it and want to make sure you catch more of my content, subscribe to my free monthly Mailer of Many Things newsletter - it really makes a huge difference, and helps me keep this thing running!
Catch you laters, alligators.
What happens when you mix The Old American West with Folkloric Horror? A First Look at Huckleberry
In the case of Huckleberry, I’m happy to report that the central mechanic is lush. To begin with, all your character attributes and skills are represented by a single step dice each (that is, d6, d8, d10, d12 or d20). To make a check, you roll two dice. One from the relevant attribute, and one from the relevant skill.
By JimmiWazEre
Opinionated tabletop gaming cowboy chap. Yeehaa.
TL;DR:
Huckleberry: A Wyrd West RPG blends the grit of the Old West with creeping folkloric horror. Players take on the role of Mavericks; wandering bounty hunters chasing bounties through a world tainted by the supernatural Wyrd. Its poker-inspired Ante system, luck driven Wyrd Die, and flexible core mechanic make it quick to learn and richly thematic.
Disclaimer
Now then! You know the drill by now, so here’s the disclosure: I’m not calling this a review because I haven’t played Huckleberry yet. I’ve definitely not received any financial incentive to write about it, but I did receive a copy of the PDF to share my thoughts on without any actual obligation to do so.
Additionally, I will be including links to both the Backerkit crowdfunding page for the physical edition and affiliate links where you can pick up the PDF, which scores me a small kickback at no extra cost to you.
So saddle up partner, and let’s ride.
What Is Huckleberry?
Just the Facts
| Type | TTRPG |
| Theme | Western, Horror |
| Players | 2-6 |
| Ages | Teens and up |
| Dev | Steven Alexander |
| Pages | 161 |
With the physical release launching on Backerkit on October 7th, 2025, Huckleberry: A Wyrd West RPG marks the debut tabletop release from Adventures in Lollygagging Publishing, written and designed by Steven Alexander with layout by Nathan D. Paoletta.
Originally conceived as a 1930s supernatural FBI investigation game inspired by Hellboy, Alexander’s design evolved after a session of Chris Spivey’s Haunted West revealed the perfect home for his mechanics - a dark frontier where the veil between worlds has thinned. Drawing influence from Powered by the Apocalypse’s 2d6 structure, Forbidden Lands’ approach to Traits and monsters, and the Blade Runner RPG’s step-die system, Huckleberry reimagines those ideas through a gritty Weird West lens.
The project was developed in collaboration with Adventures in Lollygagging, an indie Actual Play collective known for showcasing narrative-forward systems. According to Alexander, the partnership was a natural fit: “When it came time to be serious about self-publishing Huckleberry, it was an easy choice to publish under a label I already loved and wanted to contribute to.”
What’s it Trying to Do?
Here we come, reach for your gun and you better listen well my friend, you see; it's been slow, down below, aimed at you we're the cowboys from hell. Deed is done, again we've won, ain't talking no tall tales friend - 'cause; high noon, your doom, comin' for you - we're the: cowboys from hell.
--Pantera, Cowboys from Hell
I can’t help but have Pantera on as I write this all up. You see; Huckleberry is a weird west cowboy setting, where a corrupting maleficent force called “Wyrd” has been unleashed upon the “Fifth World”, introducing mutations to the local flora and fauna and everything between. In this setting, you play as “Mavericks”; bounty hunters, and the game play loop supports an episodic play style where each session is a new job as you and your team hunt for a new mark.
Alexander has clearly directed the game to be as player facing as possible; in a way that is reminiscent of Mork Borg, the players rolls for both attack and defence, and with a fixed target number of ten to aim for. Additionally, the GM (“Trailblazer“) is given tools to randomise events and situations in an effort to reduce GM cognitive load and keep the exciting decision making in the players hands.
Whilst the Mavericks certainly do not have the kind of longevity and power of a D&D 5e character, they aren’t going to typically be going down to one hit. Instead, the game encourages a cinematic play style, forgoing a lot of crunch in favour of fast play and building your legend as much as possible, before you inevitably hang your hat for the final time.
What Stands Out to Me?
Here’s a selection of elements that really call out to me as being particularly cool features of the game:
The Core Mechanic
I know I always say this, but I chuffin’ love a well-done core mechanic. Elegance and versatility are essential in establishing a ‘rules language’ that can be broadly applied to the whole game, and there’s no prizes from me for complexity for the sake of it.
In the case of Huckleberry, I’m happy to report that the central mechanic is lush. To begin with, all your character attributes (quick, grit, reckon, and spirit) and skills (Education, Brawl, Wrangling etc etc) are represented by a single step dice each (that is, d6, d8, d10 or d12). To make a check, you roll two dice. One from the relevant attribute, and one from the relevant skill.
For example, to roll a check for fighting in a pistol duel the Trailblazer would call for “quick” and “hand guns”, they might be d10, and d8 respectively. You’d roll those dice together and add up the total. If it’s greater than ten (the TN is always ten) - you succeed.
The Wyrd Die
Every Maverick has a Wyrd Die, starting at a d10, representing their luck, grit, and connection to the supernatural. It’s rolled alongside an Attribute when you’re reacting to danger, such as a save against bullets, curses, or rocks falling. In this way, it echoes the core mechanic above.
The interesting thing though is that the die’s size shifts up or down as you burn through Wyrd. For instance, you can shrink it by one step to reroll a check (pushing your luck) or spend four Aces (the game’s meta currency) to raise it again. When it’s high, Not only does the Maverick become more likely to make their saves, but they’ve also essentially got re-rolls in the bank too. When it’s low however, you’re courting disaster.
It’s a clever little tension gauge that links narrative risk to mechanical pressure.
The Ante System
Instead of rolling dice for enemies or hazards, the Trailblazer flips cards from a poker deck. The suit tells the Maverick which Attribute they must save with (Spades = Quick, Clubs = Grit, Diamonds = Reckon, Hearts = Spirit).
Number cards mean ordinary danger, and the monster’s ‘stat block’ gives you examples of how to describe this, but face cards twist the knife by dropping a Maverick’s Wyrd Die or escalating the threat. On the plus side, Aces and Jokers throw boons upon the Mavericks in the form of meta currency and Wyrd die promotions.
Now, because every monster in the game includes bespoke face card effects, the same deck produces wildly different encounters: a King of Hearts from a Brute might mean their attack becomes an AoE assault, while the same card from an Outlaw Thug unleashes a hail of bullets and a major injury.
I’m particularly fond of this idea, having written about GM conflict of interest and cognitive load before; any game system that takes some decisions out of the GMs hands when they need a rest are a welcome inclusion as far as I’m concerned.
Three Tiers of Environment Description
I’ve written about this idea before - that all environments should have three tiers of information. In this way GMs learn that environmental descriptions should be concise, and players should learn to engage with their surroundings in order to get the juiciest information.
I’m very happy to see that Huckleberry shares my views on this with it’s explicit inclusion of Open, Hidden, and Locked clues. The first layer is freely available information upon entering an area. The second tier is free also, but requires the player to specifically ask about a given tier one element. The final tier contains the most valuable information about, or within a known element and is consequently locked behind a dice roll of some kind.
Not only does this make for good game play, but it also results in a much easier and more concise experience for the GM taking pre-game notes for preparation.
Clint Eastwood would be proud of this, someone should tell him.
Potential Friction Points
Look, I really don’t want to be critical of this game as I think it’s pretty nifty and my mates have already added it to the ever growing list of games that I absolutely 100% have to run for them, but I’d not be doing you any favours if I wasn’t up front with you about some of the things I would have done differently, or that you should be very clear on before you buy. So I just gotta bite the bullet and crack on:
Rulebook Organisation
The rulebook references keywords and denotes them with a leading capital letter as if a proper noun. Unfortunately it then often doesn’t define these keywords until much later. Being a monotropic thinker, I find that quite a frustrating experience to sort of have to stick a pin in the thread I was currently following, and to then have to go blindly searching through the book to grab a definition, before returning to my original position and trying to carry on with the original chain of thought.
Two simple fixes here would do more than pull their weight - bolded keywords, and then page references immediately afterwards. I recently reviewed Ravaged by Storms, a Pirate Borg supplement by Golem Games, and it’s a great example of this philosophy.
Character Sheets
The PDF doesn’t include a character sheet. Obviously, it’s available for free online, but I find an annotated character sheet is a useful thing to have in a book as it tends to tell you a lot about a game system and the elements that are important. It would have been nice to include one for the sake of taking up an extra page at the back.
Built For Episodic Play
The Injury slot health system, limited advancement, and slow healing make Mavericks short lived by design. It’s brilliant for one shots and serial tales, but less so for your traditional epic D&D style sagas taking years.
This absolutely works for me, as I believe that the episodic style of running games is the best way to go anyway. It keeps the adventures action focused, helps fight against GM burnout, and prevents the players from meandering into one of those off sessions where they take two hours to go shopping for new swords.
Do You Want to Know More?
Hey what’s this, other people have thoughts about Huckleberry too? What sorcery is this?! Checkout these videos if you fancy going deeper down the rabbit hole:
Conclusion
So, I’m definitely adding Huckleberry to my shelf and I’m already thinking about ways to mine the Dark Tower books by Stephen King for adventure inspiration!
So you know - Huckleberry has just launched their crowdfunding Backerkit for the physical edition of the game (7th Oct 2025), and if you’ve been tempted by the devilish succubus of this first-look, might I suggest that sir/madam takes a sniff over at the Backerkit page and make any pledges within the first 48 hours of launch in order to receive an exclusive neoprene Huckleberry dice tray?
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials - it really helps me out and costs you nothing! If you’re super into it and want to make sure you catch more of my content, subscribe to my free monthly Mailer of Many Things newsletter - it really makes a huge difference, and helps me keep this thing running! Hey, Hey also! Check out some of the other great posts I’ve written recently on the carousel below:
Catch you laters, alligators.
Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho and a Collection of Off-Brand Pirates
As you know, I like pirates, pirates are cool - and I have a Pirate Borg game that I'm building up to running. Well, it occurred to me a few weeks ago that it might be fun to grab some pirate LEGO sets, and maybe even find a use for them in game?
By JimmiWazEre
Opinionated tabletop gaming chap who’s been exceptionally busy this month.
TL;DR:
LEGO sets are pricey and out of print, but LEGO-compatible pirate ships from AliExpress scratched my itch for Pirate Borg minis at a fraction of the cost. The legality’s murky, the quality’s decent, and they’re undeniably cool.
Disclaimer:
This post discusses unlicensed, third-party brick sets purchased on AliExpress. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorise, or endorse this product.
Consequently, no affiliate links or monitisation is present on this post as it just don't feel right.
Who’s a Pretty Boy Then?
Alrighty then, apologies for not keeping up with my usual output, I've been burning the candle at both ends this month by dedicating all my free time to helping out a mate.
I'm so tired that it's not exactly left me with enough beans to be creative, and I know that my commitment to the blog this month has suffered because of it.
So, bearing that in mind, today's post is gonna be a quick one, but hopefully you'll agree it's cool and worthwhile.
As you know, I like pirates, pirates are cool - and I have a Pirate Borg game that I'm building up to running. Well, it occurred to me a few weeks ago that it might be fun to grab some pirate LEGO sets, and maybe even find a use for them in game?
Well, three problems there straight away. LEGO don't do their pirate line currently, even if they did it'd be crazy expensive, and consequently the 2nd hand market is more expensive than many of these sets were new.
Take this one for example - the Renegade Runner is close to my heart because I had it as a kid. Sure, it was easily the worst ship available at the time but at about £30 (approx £65 adjusting for inflation - wowzers!) in 1993 it's probably less than what my mum could afford for a Christmas present, so I'm grateful.
Well today that same ship is going secondhand without a box for over £100 on eBay. Madness! Boxed and sealed, you're looking at north of £600. Not a cats chance in hell that I'm paying that, no way.
So what's a boy to do? Well, a boy could dip his toe in the murky shark infested waters of AliExpress, and this boy is glad he did, because this boy picked up several not-lego pirate ships for a fraction of the cost. Check these little badgers out:
Shiver me timbers, indeed.
You see, LEGO lost their brick patent a few years back, meaning that anyone could make LEGO compatible bricks and sell them to the public. So they did. The end? Not quite. LEGO didn't lose their trademark, and they retain control of copyrighted builds and things like their mini figures.
So now there's a murky bit, some of these kits look very much like their LEGO counterparts, and I suspect they're either just different enough to not infringe copyright, or that where they appear very similar to older LEGO sets, they fall into grey areas of copyright law depending on jurisdiction. Hence manufacturers selling on AliExpress which is based in China. That's something to consider before you get too excited anyway.
And whilst we're at it, here's another thing to think about: Are there quality defects? The answer is 'Yes', but from the sets I have, I've only experienced very minor ones such as the occasional very tight fitting brick, miss-print in the instructions, or brick bags labelled with the wrong number... Nothing someone with two or more braincells can't work around, and certainly nothing that isn't compensated for by the exceptionally low price.
So, all that said and done, I now have some cool pirate sets, and I reckon that if I 3d print some of these LEGO compatible round bases, I can effectively have LEGO compatible pirate minis ready for Pirate Borg.
And yes, I'm aware I usually advocate against using minis in TTRPGs... But COME ON, they're so cool!!!
Conclusion
Thanks for sticking with me on this one, what do you think about using LEGO or similar in TTRPGs? Crazy idea or genius?
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials - it really helps me out and costs you nothing! If you’re super into it and want to make sure you catch more of my content, subscribe to my free monthly Mailer of Many Things newsletter - it really makes a huge difference, and helps me keep this thing running!
Catch you laters, alligators.
Silksong & Monkey Island Meet Aliens: My Own Kooky Appendix N
This week, I thought it’d be cool to share my own personal Appendix N (or perhaps ‘Appendix DMT’) for no better reason than to share a little bit about myself.
By JimmiWazEre
Opinionated Tabletop Gaming Chap
TL;DR:
My own “Appendix N” blends Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Alien, Robocop, Monkey Island, and Hollow Knight into a stew of survival, satire, exploration, and corporate dystopia. These influences shape how I run games: players face real risks, moral greys, teamwork challenges, and a world that keeps unfolding the more you explore.
What Is Appendix N?
Back when, a million years ago when D&D first came out, one Gary Gygax included in the rules something called ‘Appendix N’. This was meant to represent something akin to his reading list to help nascent DM’s (who’d never seen D&D or any other RPG before) to understand the themes and vibes required to run D&D according to the intended vision of the authors.
Fast forward to today and it’s a neat little historical artefact for nerds to pour over and count off how many items they’ve personally consumed.
This week, I thought it’d be cool to share my own personal Appendix N (or perhaps ‘Appendix DMT’) for no better reason than to share a little bit about myself. This covers not on thematic things I like, but how these cultural artefacts guide my person GM style.
Let’s get crackin’!
Appendix DMT
The Gunslinger By Stephen King
The first book in King’s Dark Tower series is a favourite of mine, it tells the story of Roland Deschain, the last of the Arthurian Gunslingers, (essentially cowboy paladins) and his pursuit of the nefarious ‘man in black’ as he flees across the desert.
The book explores Roland in his anti-hero phase, where he continually has to struggle with the consequences of the sacrifices he makes (namely in other people) in order to achieve his ends.
I like the moral greyness here. The fact that there’s no easy ‘good’ option is something that I like to carry forwards into my games, making sure that my players don’t always get easy black and white choices in front of them.
IT By Stephen King
I read a lot of King, OK? Anyway, IT was the first King book I read, and I’ve always loved it. I love how Pennywise is presented as this mocking force of nature, but that his weakness (the unwillingness of his victims to be intimidated) is apparent from the start, and telegraphed in how he goes out of his way to ensure that his victims are always properly terrified before who goes in for the kill.
This is a great lesson for GMs, as it keeps games fair because it avoids designing arcs where players are spoon-fed the monster’s weakness at a pre-planned point, and instead leave it entirely up to them to connect the dots in their own time.
The other inspiration IT has upon me is the idea of the plucky underdog. At its core, this is an OSR principle, that an underpowered character can win the day not through raw toe to toe power, but through cunning and guile.
Mountain Survival By Edward Packard
I think this was my older brother’s - kicking about my childhood home in the late 80s. It’s a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book about: “You and your pilot; Jake Mckay [iirc] are flying over the Canadian Rockies, when all of a sudden the engine begins to splutter.” What follows is an interactive story about the survival choices you make as you attempt to navigate the wilderness on foot and find rescue for yourself and the injured Jake.
Invariably, many decisions lead to your untimely death. I distinctly remember a brutal choice about climbing up either the left, right, or middle of a crevasse and one of the choices leads to a boulder falling and wiping you out mid climb!
Mostly though, the choices you make are logical and well telegraphed allowing you to make an informed decision, and this is a principle that I like to carry through to my game. The risks are real, often fatal - but never a gotcha, never (ironically) ‘rocks fall, you die’.
Moving Pictures By Terry Pratchett
Compared to the others in this list so far, this ones going to come out of left field a bit I suspect :) Thing is, I like comedy and satire done well. Now, I’m far from a comic master, barely a comic novice, but what I take from Pratchett’s work here is the sparing introduction of silly and tension busting NPCs.
Mr. “cut me own throat“ Dibbler, the sausage in a bun salesman is brilliant, introduced carefully and not over used - making him easily one of my favourite characters in the book and a golden inspiration for a handful of similar characters of my own. Such as Bombastic Barry, and his brilliant bazaar of bodacious baubles and bewitching bric-a-brac, a joy to play and reintroduce at least once per campaign as part of my ongoing ‘Barry-verse’.
Alien
OK, leaving books behind now and moving onto films - Alien is a massive influence on me, I find corporo-dystopias to be a really terrifying and interesting sandbox to explore, and the idea that the real monsters aren’t the creatures crawling around in the vents, but rather your fellow humans, screwing you over for a payday.
It’s bleak as hell, but I always like to hold onto this whole ‘the good guys are actually the bad guys’ trick in my back pocket for deployment from time to time.
Robocop (1987)
More corporate dystopia and now with a healthy dose of satire. Robocop is a masterclass of combining the two to great effect without compromising the integrity of the film. In fact, the satire only serves to underline the absurdity of the fascist corporate oligarchy that the American system has descended into.
Thank goodness that’s just a work of fiction though. Right guys? Right? FFS.
The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
That whole Mines of Moria scene, dude… it’s easily the most tense element of the entire franchise for me and it reduces our hard as nails heroes to mere mortals, running for their lives as they face the consequences of their mistakes.
Hell, even Gandalf ‘dies’, underlining the whole new ethos that I bring to the table every time - my players aren’t invincible and sometimes running is not only necessary, but also tense and great fun.
The Secret of Monkey Island
Did you ever play this? Gem of an adventure game back in the 90s, I had it on my brother's Amiga. Easily one of my favourite games of all time - a classic that just keeps giving the more I go back to it!
But what do I take away from it for my GM style? Certainly not the linearity of the problem and solution loop, that goes against most of my GMing ideals, so I guess the key thing is its sheer irreverence, and parody.
Everything is a joke, normally grounded in pop culture. I think it's fine to take some of that and bring it into a game, so long as you don't over use it.
The other thing of course is Pirates! Definitely my favourite swashbuckling subject matter, and something that set me on a life long path for appreciating all things 1715 Caribbean!
World of Warcraft
I was deep down the WoW rabbit hole back when it first came out, up until the Cataclysm expansion where despite some cool new features, like instanced story telling, the game definitely started being dumbed down for the masses.
Which should tell you what I take from it; difficulty and the reliance on roles and teamwork to overcome threats. That's so much more interesting to me than modern games and TTRPG design which instead focus on these ‘one man army’ character builds.
If the problem you dish out as a GM can be solved by one PC’s character sheet in an instant, then the problem has failed to be interesting.
Faster than Light
I've lost so many hours to this one, it's a rogue-like where the idea is that the game is difficult and you're going to lose often, and each time you'll start again and have a blast. Learning, and getting better with each iteration.
For me, the key point to take away is that losing shouldn't be unfun. When players die, and have to roll up something new then it should feel like an opportunity and not a punishment.
How do I think you achieve that? Don't rely on deep character stories and arcs, let that stuff come naturally over the game. If there's no preplanned character arc to lose then players willingness to accept a new character is hugely improved.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
If you've not played Silksong or it's forebear; Hollow Knight then I pity you my friend! It's such a great example of a modern day metroid-vania.
But what is that and why's it relevent? Well, a metroid-vania game has a focus on exploration, hitting dead ends, exploring again, unlocking new solutions, backtracking and then using those solutions to progress at a previous dead end.
This is a framework we can carry carefully into TTRPGs. Not necessarily in the sense of locking progress away behind a predefined solution, but rather in keeping locations fresh and interesting for the players to visit many times and find something new each time - like a dungeon where the players return later with new knowledge/items, revealing paths that weren’t options before.
Conclusion
So that's it - my appendix N. What's yours? Answers below the line, folks. I look forward to reading them.
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials - it really helps me out and costs you nothing! If you’re super into it and want to make sure you catch more of my content, subscribe to my free monthly Mailer of Many Things newsletter - it really makes a huge difference, and helps me keep this thing running!
Catch you laters, alligators.
I’ve been asked to review a lot of systems lately, and I’ve noticed myself drawn immediately to an analysis of the core mechanic of the game in question. Long may this continue, but wouldn’t it be helpful, thought I, if there was some well thought out way for me to sort and identify techniques, using common language and a clearly developed pitch regarding what does what well?