🌈🚀 Reliable wonder engine. I make narrative role-playing games that imagine a weirder, queerer, more connected world.
play Defy the Gods!
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Hi Reader, How are you? Please, come in, sit. I have tea and water, and some little biscuits. February is still figuring out if it's winter or spring. Little green shoots are coming up in the yard, now covered in snow, but brave and unstoppable. I've been heads-down over here, working on the "beta" doc for Defy the Gods. And here it is! https://bit.ly/defy-the-gods-beta​ ​You could play it right now. That link takes you to a "quick start," focused on the one-shot experience, to see if the core loops are working. I've been running this game so much, I don't always know what's in the text and what's in my head. To evolve it into its next form, others need to run it. Here's the current blurb I'm telling the internets, socials, and basically anyone who'll listen:
Defy the Gods is a queer sword & sorcery game about daring adventurers struggling against titanic forces who want to destroy them. Inspired by stories as diverse as Conan, Clash of the Titans, and Princess Mononoke, the game pits you against jealous gods, ambitious tyrants, wild creatures, and the lingering shadow of lost Atlantis. Play as a fierce warrior, scholarly sorcerer, flirtatious trickster, wild child, or fugitive shade as you explore this ancient, Mediterranean-like world and your emotional entanglements with each other. Burn brightly and hold fast to each other's hearts as you spiral upward toward your most glorious, monstrous self. But you already know that, because I've been talking about it at game night for months. Also, check out this amazing art that Thalie Shelen made for the front page! She based the enemy goddess on the Burney Relief, also known as the "Queen of the Night." She did a splendid job. I love everything about it—the colors, the mood, the action. ​The doc contains links to character sheets for both online and in-person play. There are pre-filled sheets for characters and setting if you only have time for one session, but the world-building is so much fun that it's worth setting aside time for that. Whew. Feels like a milestone. Lots farther to go with it yet. Cheers, P.S. I hope you can play Defy the Gods sometime! If you do, please tell me how it went. I'd love to get your feedback. P.P.S. And even if you don't, please tell others about it! It's out there now. |
Everlasting, Neverending Game Night
🌈🚀 Reliable wonder engine. I make narrative role-playing games that imagine a weirder, queerer, more connected world.
Hi Reader, What began as a silent shaking in the earth has grown to thunderous, resounding hoofbeats. The armies of Doom approach. Time to draw steel. That is—the Defy the Gods Kickstarter ends on Thursday! If you haven't read my emails for the last year, or I just didn't tell you, Defy the Gods is a queer sword & sorcery tabletop role-playing game set in fantasy ancient Mesopotamia—a game full of daring adventure, messy romance, and cursed power. It's a game where a single sword stroke or...
Hi Reader, It's good to see you. Please, have a seat. Have some iced tea. On the table is a little succulent called, I shit you not, goblin fingers. Other name, for real: Gollum jade. It's the most tabletop role-playing game plant I've ever met. The Defy the Gods Kickstarter ends on Thursday. It's been a roller coaster. In these last four days, I need to tell as many people as possible about it. Expect a few more emails from me this week. If you don't want to get them, you can opt out here....
Hi Reader, Welcome! Please, come in. Sit down. We've got some cold fizzy water and some pizza from this place up the road. On the table and chairs there's an oiled bronze sword, a boiled leather shield, a skeleton key mottled in verdigris ... let me get all that out of the way. There. As you can tell by all the detritus—We're just a week and a half away from the end of the Defy the Gods Kickstarter! So far, we've unlocked an embroidered patch, a spot-gloss upgrade for the standard edition, a...