June 2025 - Proudly Playing Pretend!

Time marches on, and once again the carousers scramble to meet our self-imposed deadline. Another issue overflowing with delectable RPG writing, this time including a pile of magic items, a review of Tiny Fables, and links to good posts across the blogosphere, as always.

Roll to Carouse!

1. Lighten your coin purse at the Projects Pavilion.
2. Pilfer ideas from the Blog Bazaar.
3. Sample the delights of the Gameable Gallery.
4. Hear the raving of Reviewers Row.
5. Stroll the Columnists Colonnade.
6. Languish in the Opinion Oubliette.

Projects Pavilion ⤴

• FATHOMLESS GEARS by Interpoint Station
  I love a fishing game. I love a mech game. I love the Cthulhu Mythos. I love this mechs going fishing for mythos monsters game by Interpoint Station. - John Bilodeau
• Jam In Silence by Possum Creek Games
  “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.” Put your money where your mouth isn’t by joining Possum Creek’s Jam in Silence. - Zak H
• Knock! Submissions by The Merry Mushmen
  The premier print magazine of old school gaming content is looking to fill their next issue. If you have ever blogged about role playing, or event thought of it, maybe you have something to submit? Those from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to submit their work. - Markus M

Blog Bazaar ⤴

• Arts, Names and God Tools - Character Growth in Mangayaw by Goobernuts
  Inspired by Philippine epics, Goobernuts has designed an advancement system that hinges on a character's sobriquets, noms de plume or de guerre, appellations and monikers. Your names are your deeds, and the bigger they are, the better. - Zak H
• Combat without Combat by Binary Star Games
  Binary writes a hybrid dev log / blog post, detailing his approach to tackling combat and other challenges in his upcoming game, NULL_SPACE. - Ty
• Dungeon Replayability by Behind the Helm
  Behind the Helm answers a question more dungeons in hexcrawls probably should try to answer: What gives a dungeon replayability? - Clayton
• Dungeon World 2 by Dungeon World
  Three things. Dungeon World is getting a second edition. The team behind it is all-new. And last but not least, they're blogging about it. - Clayton
• Look Before You Leap by A Knight at the Opera
  In this blogpost, Knight at the Opera talks about player spotlighting and how codifying it can help newer GMs run dungeon-centric adventure RPGs. - Clayton
• Paradigms of Religion in TTRPGs Part 1 by Against the Cult of the Commodity
  I like this blog post. - John B
• Perspective Shift: From Lore Dump to Lore Confetti by Githyanki Diaspora
  On Githyanki Diaspora, Judd talks about sharing the lore of your setting through mundane conversations and descriptions, rather than extensive lore dumps. As a fan of minimalist Dark Souls item descriptions, I wholeheartedly agree with this approach. - Tobias
• [Review] The Halls of Arden Vul by Beau Rancourt
  Beau Rancourt has begun a series on The Halls of Arden Vul that's appropriately mega. Parts 2 of 36 are out now. - Rowan
• Tabletop RPGs Want To Be Free by Levi Kornelsen
  Levi Kornelsen writes what is essentially a manifesto about how the basic nature of RPGs make them hard to wall in and be a product. - Markus
• The Copy and Paste Manifesto by Rise Up Comus
  Writing is hard. Rise Up Comus reminds us that stealing is not only easy; it gives us a chance to actually use all the modules we compulsively collect. - Zak H
• The Village of Hommlet is Too Much: Minimalist Location Sketches for Sandbox Prep by Forlorn Encystment
  Forlorn Encystment provides a framework for creating locations in a sandbox, detailing a minimalist approach to preparing various types of places, from settlements to ruins. - Ty
• TTRPG art can be good, actually by Copy/Paste Co-Op
  Great post encouraging people to draw their own art. A hobby horse of mine. - John Bilodeau
• White Smoke Rises from the Blogosphere by Prismatic Wasteland
  Prismatic Wasteland issued an "emergency" blog bandwagon following the Pope's death, and 44 bloggers answered the call, including Carouse members Clayton, Elizabeth, elmcat, Liz, Markus, Rowan, Ty, and Zak!

Gameable Gallery ⤴

A Handful of Magic Items

by Markus M

The Hammer of Judgement

Damage as hammer

On a critical hit, the target will be immediately wanted by the local authorities

Buoyant Spear

Damage as spear

When something is pierced by the spear, it will inflate with a non-flammable, lighter-than-air gas. When the spear is removed, the gas can escape through the hole.

Black Gold Pickaxe

Damage as pickaxe

Any wound inflicted by the pickaxe will bleed crude oil rather than whatever it normally would.

Eyeball Mace

Damage as mace

When you hit someone with the mace, you will swap eyesight, with the hitter seeing through the eyes of the target and vice versa.

The Crown of Temperance

by Zak H

A crown that suppresses the emotions of the wearer. But what good can come of such a thing? The truth will out, lad, as you well know.

The truth.

1. Court and kingdom suffer or thrive by the lot of the monarch. A queen who escapes pain, dread or loss will instead inflict it on her subjects. A benevolent king might trade his bliss for the happiness of the realm - but what becomes of such a man?
2. The crown is home to a small beast who feeds on emotions. Its scat is greedily collected by the apothecary's apprentice, who tails the monarch at all times.
3. Nine gems once studded the crown. On the king's coronation, an amethyst shattered and a silver bird flew free of it. When the young prince took ill, three gems fell out like sore teeth and became three gnomes, who haunt and tease the capital still. The prince's health wavers, hairline cracks form in the last 5 gems, and the citizenry tremble.
4. The crown, light as paper, becomes heavy with worry. It passes to the next sibling when the royal neck becomes too bowed.
5. What is suppressed by day is magnified by night. In the stressful days of the delegation from the north, a crowned beast stalked the palace after dark, while the courtiers hid in their rooms.
6. The royal scalp remains bare, temperance tempered.

Wearing the Crown

When you wear the crown you are unflappable. You can love and hate, but are never carried away by your emotions.

You are immune to any effect that might affect your emotions, including stress, sanity, fear, charm or morale.

At the end of any day in which the crown prevents you from feeling an extreme emotion, roll a CHA (or equivalent) save. On failure, advance down this track:

• 1st Stage: An Omen. Some inkling of future badness.
• 2nd Stage: Distraction. Suppressed emotion batters at the doors of your psyche. For the next day, take a penalty to every dice roll unless you are engrossed in the action at hand.
• 3rd stage: Badness. Whatever the provenance of the crown, you experience its effect.
• 4th stage: Catastrophe. Not now, but tomorrow or the next day. The effects of the crown manifest in the most extreme way.

Reviewers Row ⤴

Review: Tiny Fables

by Tobias Adam

Tiny Fables is an adventure module for the Mausritter TTRPG, written by Josiah Moore. It presents a gorgeously illustrated little sandbox, full of whimsy and danger, in the classic Mausritter style.

Check out the full review here.

Columnists Colonnade ⤴

The Rest of the F#@king Owlbear 2

by John Bilodeau

This is the second in a series of articles I call “The rest of the F#@king Owlbear” about making art for TTRPGs. This month I want to talk to players about drawing their own monsters.

Check out this page for the rest!

Dear Diem

Relationship Advice for People who Roll Dice
by Carp A. Diem

Greetings, dear readers! Once again I find myself basking in the warmth of the sun, with another pair of letters from the audience asking for advice. I assume you'll join me, as Elfgame Imaginers are famous for going outside. Let's dive right in!

Dear Diem,
I'm playing a water genassi and really want to go through an entirely underwater temple. I feel like this is more than fair, as every other dungeon we've gone in is on land. How do I get my DM onboard? It feels like my character's strengths are being ignored.

Please and Thank!
Swimming against the Current

Dear Swimming,

Fear of water is actually pretty common in Dungeon Masters. Depending on the system, additional rules for Combat and Movement can become difficult to juggle on top of the more standard rules the table is used to. This leads to avoidance, which is unfair to players with Character builds keyed towards Underwater adventuring.

The first step is establishing trust. Saying to your DM that there's nothing to fear is unhelpful. Validate their concerns and listen to what causes their water-related anxiety. Address those concerns together, perhaps by reading the Rules and explaining where they would influence play. Once your DM has an understanding of the mechanics, they will feel more in control and ready for the next step of this process.

Begin in shallow waters, such as a pond or slow stream. Their understanding of Movement within water will help as you introduce them to ankle and then thigh-height wading. This may take several separate combats before they are prepared to be fully submerged. Once they feel comfortable walking at a depth close to their upper body, ask them to experiment with buoyancy. By this point, your DM should feel in control and ready to begin standard swimming lessons. They may still feel trepidation about the deep end, but that is completely natural in first time swimmers, and will ease with practice.

I hope this helps your Imaginary Elf Game.

Swimmingly Yours - Diem

Dear Diem,

So my party is fighting several bear owls at a fishery. How best to proceed with this so we don't have to kill them. I like to befriend one and gain it's trust. Paladin Bob thinks they need to be smote.

Help,
Kelt O'feesh Druid at Large.

Dear Large,

At a What

- Diem

As always, dear readers, remember that all relationships require mutual respect and communication. Until we meet again, Carpe Diem!

Letter Submissions may be sent care of carousingcollective [at] proton [dot] me, titled "Dear Diem." Letters may be edited for space and anonymity.

Opinion Oubliette ⤴

Dinkie's Droppings 2

We are all familiar with David “Dinkie” Rizzle. One of the forgotten luminaries of the early TSR days. His own work on Dungeons and Dragons was discarded, allegedly after spending company money on a D&D branded hot air balloon, and he faded into obscurity. However, I was able to convince him to join Carouse, Carouse!, and tell us stories about the olden days and offer advice to modern gamers.

My nephew has informed me that the month of June is “Pride Month” for a large amount of the roleplaying game populace, news which brings me great joy. After all, much like fire or sepsis, pride is a deadly hazard for many an adventurer. If we in America celebrate a National Fire Prevention Week, surely we would not be remiss to do the same for such a subtle and insidious hazard.

Few know this, but before the great hero of Budge, my brother Arthur played the fighter Ruthra. Having rolled well for his Strength and Constitution, he began to fancy himself something of a powerhouse, capable of slaying kobolds and goblins in a single swing. He developed a reputation, and several of my other players began to flock to him, especially after he founded the Keep of Whitestone (what eventually became the Sacred Keep in published Navein work).

I began to get sick of this, as Arthur bragged that he’d “conquered” my dungeons, and so I commenced scheming. A quirk of Ruthra’s character was that Arthur claimed to be a champion of Thasaidon, a god native to Clark Ashton Smith’s Zothique. A lord of the underworld, Thasaidon was not a god to be trifled with, and it seemed to me invoking him was a good way to get into trouble. Thus, upon his next prayers, I had Thasaidon appear, and whisk the warrior away to that far-off land, never to be seen again.

Let it be a lesson to all heroes and cuthroats, as we enter Pride Awareness Month: It always goeth before a fall.