Excelsior

07/14/2025

Nocturnus Game Sessions @ GenCon

It’s official, the very first Nocturnus RPG public games are happening at GenCon! Six total events are scheduled, each lasting 3 to 4 hours. You can go to https://www.gencon.com/events?c=indy2025 to get tickets—

Thursday, July 31st @ 1pm – 5pm Event ID: RPG25ND288445

Thursday, July 31st @ 7pm – 11pm Event ID: RPG25ND288460 (currently SOLD OUT)

Friday, Aug 1st @ 1pm – 5pm Event ID: RPG25ND288461

Friday, Aug 1st @ 7pm – 11pm Event ID: RPG25ND288462

Saturday, Aug 2nd @ 1pm – 5pm Event ID: RPG25ND288463

Saturday, Aug 2nd @ 7pm – 11pm Event ID: RPG25ND288464

I’ll be running all six events, and hope to see some of you there!

The scenario for these events is entitled “The Silence at Blackwood Keep.” No one has heard from Blackwood Keep since before winter. With the spring thaw, a group of harbingers (player characters) is hired to discover the reason for its silence. To get there they must brave a journey of unpredictable daylight. Night descends when it will and for as long as it pleases, carrying unspeakable horrors within its darkness.

Will your group make it to the keep and discover the cause of its silence before time runs out?

06/17/2025

Had this topic come up recently, which I thought was timely for RPGers! You can check it out on DarkCrawl.com :

https://www.darkcrawl.com/forums/rpg-style/dissatisfaction-with-rpgs

Here's a snippet:

In a Reddit post I was reading, a member mentioned their growing dislike of 5e, and they happened to be a 34 year-long enthusiast. They wondered if others had similar experiences/feelings, trying to figure out their own dissatisfaction. So of course I chimed in!

Having played D&D even longer, I felt like I knew where this RPGer was coming from. I've played every edition extensively, and more 5e than perhaps any other edition, and I've enjoyed it. But I know what it does, thoroughly, and I know what it doesn't.

The bottom line is that sometimes we feel "Something's Missing."

Some of us eventually find that the rules begin getting in the way of WHY and HOW we are playing, and we begin house ruling and homebrewing more and more, or abandoning it all together to play other RPGs.

There are other RPGs out there giving you options to really get into those WHYs and HOWs we pursue this hobby. Any of you have particular WHYs and HOWs you play a specific RPG?

This arose in a Reddit post I was reading, and I thought I'd write a little about it here. One member posted about their growing dislike of 5e, and they happened to be a 34 year-long enthusiast. They wondered if others had similar experiences/feelings, trying to figure out their own dissatisfaction.

05/22/2025

If you're looking for a free, OSR-style RPG, including a built in hex crawl, adventure detail generators, and a free form magic system, check out: ROGUELAND.

If you're looking to play an RPG tonight, Rogueland gives a classic, gritty, OSR-style experience, complete with self-generating adventure details. The game is presented in a 36 page A5 booklet format, really 40 pages when counting the inside and outside covers. It's also another example of systems,...

05/17/2025

Nocturnus is coming:

Infinite Black, known for its cosmic horror themed gaming accessories, has finally revealed the Kickstarter landing page for its upcoming roleplaying game, Nocturnus. Visitors will immediately notice "Journey to the Tree of Sorrows" in the title. Since the company's inception this title has appeared...

05/15/2025

Nearly done with this piece for The Legend of Tanglewud adventure:

05/11/2025

Great video about RPGs and their different styles by writer/designer Matthew Colville:

A great video that's really about how different RPGs give different gaming experiences. Personally, I think it's essential viewing for GMs and Players alike. For newer GMs, Matthew's video highlights that you can't really run any kind of adventure or scenario with just any RPG system. I know many of

05/09/2025

Hello all,

This evening @ 6:30pm CST I'll be on the Youtube channel Flint Fireforge. We'll be talking about Dungeonmor and general RPG geek stuff--mainly about my experience designing the system, its game elements, and doing crowdfunding for the first time:

I want to inspire new Game Master's to run E.P.I.C games Evolving Characters. Passionate Storytelling. Inspiring Creativity. Celebratory Moments. My name is Paul and I've been playing/running rpgs,' in person, for 40 years and online for the past ten. I love to gather new people around the table to....

05/04/2025

Here's a new art piece for a 1 page adventure I'm working on for DUNGEONMOR. Even though "The Legend of Tanglewud" is supposed to be a 1 page adventure, I wanted it to have a little pizazz. So I'm working on this piece for the front, showing off the forest in that adventure. The roots of the trees form dungeon-like passages, thus creating dark, gnarly trees was a must.