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2026

On Meeting a Game Where It's At

Trying to understand a game better can be a lot of fun and lead to less frustration.
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #6: A Perfect Rock

A literal worldbuilder.
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #5: Vaesen

A modern, elegant take on a very traditional way to play.
Writing Things in Networks is Unreasonably Effective

That's because RPGs are network building games.
Exploding a Blog Post

Or: Growing a digital garden out of a Zettelkasten about RPGs
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #4: Honey Heist

The little one page RPG that could.
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #3: :Otherscape

The tags basically act as prompts for the players to get their creative juices flowing.
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #2: Brindlewood Bay

It's not about being one of the great detectives, it's about acting like them.
Notes on Every New System I Play this Year #1: Monolith

Lean, but pretty complete. You'll just have to bring a lot of the really juicy flavours yourself.
"We Need to Talk About Goodman Games" vs. "Eating the Book" - Why not both?

Both of these preferences are equally valid in my opinion. So why not both?

2025

What We Shouldn't Learn From 5e

A well-meaning, good-natured rebuttal. Feel free to disagree.
A New Pattern & Pattern Language Garden

One new pattern, and a digital garden to grow the rest of them in.
A Pattern Language for (OSR) Adventure Design

A first attempt at applying Christopher Alexander to adventure design. Call it a seed for a larger language.
Towards a Framework for Authoring Adventures

There's a lot more that would be possible when going digital.
A Few First Thoughts About a New Hex Kit (and Some on the One After That)

What is it that makes Hex Kit unique? What's its identity?
Turning The Met Collection Into a Set of Hex Tiles

The Met Collection is one of my favorite sources of public domain art.
A few things I got out of forcing myself to write a bad, short blogpost on a deadline and publish it last-minute

What did I get out of the whole process for it to be worth it?
Mobile Lair Generator

Sometimes, you need a lair. And sometimes, you'll want that lair to be mobile.
The Taste Gap, or: On the weirdness of learning how to be a better Dungeon Master

You will have to constantly put your players through worse work than what you know you're capable of.

© 2026 • Dungeon Merlin

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