Taking a road trip with sonny.
No posts for a few days.
Take care!
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
NUNA Bestiary # 2 Haunted Rigs, Petrophantoms, & Leviathans
Up to now, I have gone into depth about the land of Nuna, its people and its monsters. Now I'd like to take a look at the sea, the Grand Banks where The Titanic lies sleeping and the Riggers build a new society on their platforms and ships.
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| Been reading Mike Mignola and felt inspired. |
THE OFFSHORE
I had an uncle named Yugan who worked on oil ships and then oil rigs off of Newfoundland as the industry took off in the 1980's.
I used to love hearing his creepy stories of strange noises in the night, workers who went for a stroll on the deck and never came back, and a hundred other unsettling things.
This is probably why Riggers became a major component in NUNA. There are two main threats they face.
Petrophantoms
Before The Fall, Newfoundland was a petroculture, booming when the oil sold, busting out when it didn't. Oil is the residue of formerly living things, so what if it still carried some of their essence?
If you've seen Fish Night on LOVE, DEATH, & ROBOTS you get the vibe. I am working on my next scenario now and it is set on a deserted oil rig.
Should be fun!
Leviathans
On the other hand we have monsters from the Abyss, the Leviathans. Then came be huge monstrous things, or else misshapen weird creatures, neither dead nor alive. I remember as a child we would take the ferry from Goose Bay to Lewisporte, and later from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, and looking into that dark mirror of sea you could imagine ANYTHING crawling out of it.
And so I have.
Get Into NUNA!
If you are intrigued, pick up the Nuna quickstart or free preview at the links below.
Free Preview
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575125/NUNA-Rpg-Player-Characters-Free-Preview
Quickstart
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Coyote & Crow 3.85 - Touring The Five Great Nations of Makasing.
OK, time to take a break from promoting NUNA, and so let's have a sojourn through the lands of the OG Indigenous RPG, Coyote & Crow!
I generally prefer roleplaying games made from an established IP (Intellectual Property or known books or movies) for two reasons. First, everyone at the table knows exactly what to expect from a game set in the world of Star Wars, Stormbringer, or Alien, and this makes roleplaying and running a game much easier and more enjoyable. Second, since the early days of the hobby and even now an innumerable amount of homebrew, largely derivative gameworlds have vied for our increasingly limited attention. Aside from some innovative creations such as that of Paranoia, Deadlands, or Dark Sun, the vast majority is pap and good only for bedside reading.
I am happy to say that Coyote & Crow’s gameworld is an engaging and complex civilization, and one that certainly deserves a few novels much more than most of the TSR books from back in the day. If Coyote & Crow ever put out a call for novelists, I would be happy to throw my hat in the ring.
First, off the bat I like that Coyote & Crow writers have denied the slavish obedience to canon that hobbles franchises like Start Wars, with its need to jam in ALL creations of the last half century and know the name of every little conflict or character. Instead, C&C writers have baked ambiguity into the setting. They begin the gazeteer thus:
“This information was collected and collated by envoys from Cahokia who have traveled abroad and have returned with various observations. As such, keep in mind that these are their individual observations and may be laden with biases, faulty information, rumor, and conjecture.” (74)
This caveat allows GMs a free hand in bringing Makasing to life, and ensures that every table will have its own, dynamic version of the setting. For my adventure Initiation Day, I set the game in the future when farflung nations such as Hawaii, the Ezcan Empire, and the Inuit kingdoms have reconnected and Makasing faces the challenges of welcoming their disparate values and practices into the Suyata (ie super deputies).
The northeast coast of Makasing is the home of the Haudenosaunee, a confederation of 5 nations directly south of the glaciers. The Haudenosaunee were the hardest hit by Awis and the flood of refugees it spawned.
(NB What is ‘sogami’? Could be the expanding ice from the north re context of refugees. First truly unknown word, so kudos to their editing. Must have been a massive job)
Haudenosaunee is New England, basically. It is a melting pot of refugees, conquered tribes, and former allies. The five nation Grand Council needs consensus on decisions, and Laws are made by the Council of Sagamores, with an upper female house and lower male house. Considering gender representations still lags in our reality, this is a nice touch.
The region boasts the biggest cities, much like NYC, which are linked by Algonquin traders. Haudenosaunee leads in Daso technology (77), ie the internet, although this term is not explained till over 30 pages later (117). Dunno if this is a mistake or appetite whetting.
Like NYC, Haudenosee is a meritocracy for anyone willing to assimilate, exclusion for those who don’t. The Chahi trade language that allows social advancement can be an impediment if the first language is something else.
The Social Ranks of Haudenosaunee also give it depth:
Yavi - top of social pyramid, ancestors of founding members
Unlad - bottom, Cree and Anishinabee workers who don’t integrate
Gatli - Non assimilated members in northern towns, ceremonial representatives resolving deadlocks by symbolic power. Gatli are mostly explorers and researchers of special Adnadi, monster hunters of the north. LOTS of adventure seeds here!
As do its Factions:
Keepers of the Fire - Masters of ceremony, regulate the Adanadi
Mingo - Western border rangers, half law half bandit or paid guide
Kari Kehro - City builders, grip labour market & huge fortune. Sometimes hire extra legal help.
Northmen - Gatli who are valued for Adanadi but otherwise seen as expendable
Adventure Seed - Dirty Deeds & The Thunder Chief. Kari Kehro city builders hire PCs to get something in a lawless Mingo area.
Tadodahan - This capitol city is (p 24) on what we call the Saint Lawrence Seaway, in other words possibly analogous to Montreal. I like that this implies that river travel is the main route for trade, and that the absence of colonialism means that the trans-Pacific trade routes were never developed. This means that Cahokian urban placement can have very little to do with our world’s geography and instead reflect indigenous patterns of habitation.
I am not American and so might have missed the references to other cities, such as Chalakatha, an Unlad city possibly in West Virginia due to its 6 hills. Kahonto could be Toronto with its Gatlie Northmen population, while Saginaw on the east coast might not be the same place as Saginaw in Michigan. I am clueless to the whereabouts of Ganadag, the ceremonial center in the west.
On one hand, I would have liked a regional map. On the other, decolonizing the mental map of indigenous city = which colonial outpost is a great feature of the descriptions.
According to the map, this is the Pacific Northwest. Spared much devastation, now wealthy and a cultural power that influences art and design across Makasing. So, non colonial Hollywood. The Alliance is ruled by a hereditary line of female unifiers who hold potlatches to maintain relations and counsel other nations. Some antimonarch sentiment, but elected autocrats and ability to move away keeps peace internally and with neighbors.
Ti’Swaq lag behind other regions in The Gift, but concentrated in portable technology to make up. There are lots of other flourishes that I hope show up in the rules later: Big machines, sun power, airships, weapons, portable microtech, small batteries, gat printers and supplies, dasu (daso?) code.
So, others have big clunky tech with Adanadi, Ti’swaq has gone small on both.
They have a big navy but don’t venture north, and maintain the status quo. Economically conservative, don’t compete, leave much land undeveloped. Longhouses and public spaces, multigenerational apartment blocks.
Ti’Swaq use geothermal and river power, but have no roads, instead use yutsu hovering above dense forests.
Social rank is fixed:
Nobles -Diplomacy, laws, and advising the council
Merchants - Supply needs and aristocratic wants
Stick People - Laborers on farms and fishing
Descriptions sound VERY west coast:
“Walking through the emerald and glass superstructures on the coast, a visitor can almost always find someone with a couple of tools to fix your Second Eyes, a dance or trick to use at a party, or an entertainer who is going to hit their big break any day now.” (81)
Bacially, Ti’Swq is Steampunk Vancouver. Funny that I am living here and can see its echoes in the murals and land acknowledgments for the Coast Salish people.
Ti’Swaq is thus the developed West versus the underdeveloped East of the Haudenosaunee. Politicians and cities are on the coast, with shrewd farmers in the east who resent the power & politics. In both places, there is an underclass of workers with growing resentment against those controlling a narrative that does not match their lives.
Adventure Seed: Exploration of the islands revealed by glacial retreat has caused the development of Archaeology. Who knows what they will find?
Major Cities
Si’ahl:Major city on the sound with a rich dramatic tradition. Sounds like Hollywood, possibly LA or San Francisco..
Sholeetsa:The capital at the foot of Ti’Swaq. Could be Seattle, or Vancouver if the ice weren’t there.
Strong and cohesive due to external threat of Ezcan Empire, at the vanguard of the coalition that repelled them. Large exporter of crops due to western farmland, even trade with the Empire now. Spiritual thought center, discoverer of the mystic D12 math theories.
Is Coyote City Santa Fe? My US geography is not up to scratch.
Decentralized local governments to accommodate linguistic and cultural diversity of its peoples. Clan or bands govern their large areas, and coordinate with national government for support. No secondary level of government, instead band leaders meet to coordinate in Kivas holy cities. No head of state, just bands governing the military and economy together.
Surprisingly, it is the center of scientific advance and Adnadi studies. This hints at the connection of science and mysticism in Makasing.
“The economy of Diné is one of the most powerful in the known world, built off a backbone of scientific advancement. Coyote City in particular is a critical research hub for the biotechnology, agriculture, climate restoration, and studies of The Adanadi.” (83)
Dine play a large role in military and exploration.
One major religion, Hozho or The Way, with regular activities celebrating Diné escape from the underworld and reverence towards albinos.
Strong economically and militarily, but plagued with discrimination against Uto-Ezcan people after the wars. Reminds me of Japanese Americans in WWII.
Compared to other nations, the cities are very evocative and full of adventure possibilities. I will refrain from embarrassing myself further by not guessing where they are in our world:
Yaanga: Major city nestled in the valleys of the Western province
Pimu: Military and exploration frontier city on an island
Coyote City: Major research hub and capital of The Republic
Tseyi: Major spiritual site and agricultural center
NiAlnigi:Ceremonial hub of the nation without permanent dwellings
GreenMountain: City built into the side of cliffs which played a pivotal role in the All Tribes War
Oraibi: This small town is famous for one reason: it is the oldest continually inhabited town in the known world and its establishment predates the Awis. Does this mean other cities are all post Awis?
Once again, Dine has intriguing Factions like in other regions.
Keepers of the Ancient Ones - Academic priests who master old petroglyps and apply them to The Gift
Corn Pollen Keepers - Stewards of genetics and crop science
The Twelve - Twelve hermaphrodite clan ambassadors valued for their diplomatic abilities
Coyote Crime Lords - Seven clans that profit off synthetic corn-based materials
The Ancients - Followers of older religions, shunned for faith but also protected legally. Vocal in independence discourses, mostly peaceful with some extremism.
This is a former slaver society still smarting after 200 years. They have had conflicts with Haudenosee, and fortifications are still left over from that time. They boast the most complex government, interconnected provinces, and outward facing federal government. As the creators note,
“This creates a labyrinthine legal system requiring intense academic knowledge of its innerworkings. Despite that, other nations often model their legal documents, court systems, and treaty processes after the Keetoowagi, who have become known as master diplomats and legal scholars. “(86)
They also trade with the Ezcan by creative interpretation of the treaty laws, frustrating other nations of Makasing. Multimodal fighting force is a rare standing army that can fight in air, on land, and at sea. Currently fighting piracy in the gulf.
Wealth comes from trade to Cahokia and Bayang, so playing both sides. Spared the worst of Awis by gulf current warmth. Advanced biomedical research and long lifespans due to care. Keetowagi engages in open trade, with some wealthy CEOs pushing for industrial espionage ie stealing secrets from other nations. Etisus or quartermasters enrich selves by controlling production, demand tribal loyalty from workers, and claim their achievements as basis for Keetoowagi success. They are Uber capitalists.
I have to say, I love that Coyote & Crow creators have replicated some of the evils of our social system in their gameworld. This grounds the game in reality and prevents any Mary Sue/Utopian accusations from sticking. Some more detail on social class would have been welcome, but one can imagine the pyramid starting with Etisus (capitalists) at top, down through to lawyers and corporate management, to workers below that.
There are four pharmaceutical companies like cities, large security forces and rumours of espionage networks. Meanwhile, advanced fishing feeds the nation.
The nation is built from dozens of cultures, so cosmopolitan and modern. Sharing is a cultural value, private property a new thing so Etisus seen with suspicion. Internal grievances between tribes drag on in court.
Mound building is prevalent, without Cahokian style tunnels due to terrain, cites are spread out low & flat. Transport is mostly by water or air, so trails are disappearing. Pensacola Bay and Ocute are huge ports. Capital seems to be Savannah or Charleston.
The Free Lands, composed of central plains led by Cahokia, get their name from their undefined borders. As stated,
“Instead, the city-state of Cahokia leads other smaller governments in the idea that no one, and no government, can claim such large swaths of territory for themselves. The autonomy of the Free Cities and their resistance to consolidation are a point of pride for Cahokia and the smaller groups within the Free Lands. In reality, they all likely survive due to the international influence of Cahokia.” (89)
FACTIONS
The Paha - Coastal traders, hagglers & bureaucrats, lost lands due to flooding and on the wane. Known for rare algae cloth.
The Anikora - Architects & engineers, live in beautiful underground cities. Humourless, orderly, polite, and effective. Known for strict education and superior buildings and materials.
The Nahoonak - Far north dwellers, broke off from Anikora. Live in crystal green houses, most vegetarian, loyal to their way of life, arrogant, short-tempered but quick to cool down. Religious prohibition against eating non Adnandi fruit and veg outside of their own creations. (THIS IS AWESOME!)
The Makokamit - Cowboys, herding buffalo, turkey, and antelope. Expert animal husbands, rotate between city and rural life. Live and let live democrats. Considered coarse or loud, but also flashy and into music, dance and dress.
Tomoha - Eastern forest dwellers, live in tree houses powered by Cahokian solar. Invented flight, use peha solar powered 2 man flyers. Very stable government with both religious inherited leader, elected leader, and regular votes. Value harmony, blend in so well are called The Invisible or Tree People.
Nakotoo - Nomads, defectors from other people, seen as a nuisance. Believe in balance, help the unfortunate or rob the over fortunate. Robin Hoods but also robbing hoods.
Ezcan Empire - Tech based on nationalist zeal, aka North Korea? Expansionist, grew most until the All Tribes’ War. Benevolent dictator with strict class system supporting him, liberates conquered from lesser governments. High standard of living and peace for citizens.
Raramori - Secretive hillmen holding out north of Ezcan. Toughest warriors on the planet, secretive of numbers and location.
Note - Is Abazang Central America, with Abayang South America? A map or clearer descriptions would definitely go a long way here. I'm also going to say it - a glossary of all words from yutzu to deso would have been very welcome. Not a deal breaker, but a second edition should have these.
Abayang - I’m going to skip over all this as Makasing is the focus of my gaming. Good to know there are options, though, and as well defined and diverse as those in Makasing.
Makasing holds an amazingly inviting array of peoples and places with which to game. Many of the RPG gazeteers I have read back in the day were dull because they built a world but left no place for the player characters. Coyote & Crow gives regional descriptions that will colour the roleplaying of any character from there, which is what a world should do. Reading this section inspired my adventure Initiation Day, where fledgling Suyata from Makasing and beyond had to put aside their differences to solve a mystery. If a gameworld is inspiring adventures right off the bat, you know it is good.
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| Psst, you can pick up the NUNA Quickstart HERE! |
I generally prefer roleplaying games made from an established IP (Intellectual Property or known books or movies) for two reasons. First, everyone at the table knows exactly what to expect from a game set in the world of Star Wars, Stormbringer, or Alien, and this makes roleplaying and running a game much easier and more enjoyable. Second, since the early days of the hobby and even now an innumerable amount of homebrew, largely derivative gameworlds have vied for our increasingly limited attention. Aside from some innovative creations such as that of Paranoia, Deadlands, or Dark Sun, the vast majority is pap and good only for bedside reading.
I am happy to say that Coyote & Crow’s gameworld is an engaging and complex civilization, and one that certainly deserves a few novels much more than most of the TSR books from back in the day. If Coyote & Crow ever put out a call for novelists, I would be happy to throw my hat in the ring.
The Fluid Canon of Makasing
First, off the bat I like that Coyote & Crow writers have denied the slavish obedience to canon that hobbles franchises like Start Wars, with its need to jam in ALL creations of the last half century and know the name of every little conflict or character. Instead, C&C writers have baked ambiguity into the setting. They begin the gazeteer thus:
“This information was collected and collated by envoys from Cahokia who have traveled abroad and have returned with various observations. As such, keep in mind that these are their individual observations and may be laden with biases, faulty information, rumor, and conjecture.” (74)
This caveat allows GMs a free hand in bringing Makasing to life, and ensures that every table will have its own, dynamic version of the setting. For my adventure Initiation Day, I set the game in the future when farflung nations such as Hawaii, the Ezcan Empire, and the Inuit kingdoms have reconnected and Makasing faces the challenges of welcoming their disparate values and practices into the Suyata (ie super deputies).
Region 1 - Haudenosaunee (The East Coast)
The northeast coast of Makasing is the home of the Haudenosaunee, a confederation of 5 nations directly south of the glaciers. The Haudenosaunee were the hardest hit by Awis and the flood of refugees it spawned.
(NB What is ‘sogami’? Could be the expanding ice from the north re context of refugees. First truly unknown word, so kudos to their editing. Must have been a massive job)
Haudenosaunee is New England, basically. It is a melting pot of refugees, conquered tribes, and former allies. The five nation Grand Council needs consensus on decisions, and Laws are made by the Council of Sagamores, with an upper female house and lower male house. Considering gender representations still lags in our reality, this is a nice touch.
The region boasts the biggest cities, much like NYC, which are linked by Algonquin traders. Haudenosaunee leads in Daso technology (77), ie the internet, although this term is not explained till over 30 pages later (117). Dunno if this is a mistake or appetite whetting.
Like NYC, Haudenosee is a meritocracy for anyone willing to assimilate, exclusion for those who don’t. The Chahi trade language that allows social advancement can be an impediment if the first language is something else.
The Social Ranks of Haudenosaunee also give it depth:
Yavi - top of social pyramid, ancestors of founding members
Unlad - bottom, Cree and Anishinabee workers who don’t integrate
Gatli - Non assimilated members in northern towns, ceremonial representatives resolving deadlocks by symbolic power. Gatli are mostly explorers and researchers of special Adnadi, monster hunters of the north. LOTS of adventure seeds here!
As do its Factions:
Keepers of the Fire - Masters of ceremony, regulate the Adanadi
Mingo - Western border rangers, half law half bandit or paid guide
Kari Kehro - City builders, grip labour market & huge fortune. Sometimes hire extra legal help.
Northmen - Gatli who are valued for Adanadi but otherwise seen as expendable
Adventure Seed - Dirty Deeds & The Thunder Chief. Kari Kehro city builders hire PCs to get something in a lawless Mingo area.
Tadodahan - This capitol city is (p 24) on what we call the Saint Lawrence Seaway, in other words possibly analogous to Montreal. I like that this implies that river travel is the main route for trade, and that the absence of colonialism means that the trans-Pacific trade routes were never developed. This means that Cahokian urban placement can have very little to do with our world’s geography and instead reflect indigenous patterns of habitation.
I am not American and so might have missed the references to other cities, such as Chalakatha, an Unlad city possibly in West Virginia due to its 6 hills. Kahonto could be Toronto with its Gatlie Northmen population, while Saginaw on the east coast might not be the same place as Saginaw in Michigan. I am clueless to the whereabouts of Ganadag, the ceremonial center in the west.
On one hand, I would have liked a regional map. On the other, decolonizing the mental map of indigenous city = which colonial outpost is a great feature of the descriptions.
TLDR - NYC ruled by city builders.
Region 2 - Ti’Swaq Alliance (Pacific Northwest)
According to the map, this is the Pacific Northwest. Spared much devastation, now wealthy and a cultural power that influences art and design across Makasing. So, non colonial Hollywood. The Alliance is ruled by a hereditary line of female unifiers who hold potlatches to maintain relations and counsel other nations. Some antimonarch sentiment, but elected autocrats and ability to move away keeps peace internally and with neighbors.
Ti’Swaq lag behind other regions in The Gift, but concentrated in portable technology to make up. There are lots of other flourishes that I hope show up in the rules later: Big machines, sun power, airships, weapons, portable microtech, small batteries, gat printers and supplies, dasu (daso?) code.
So, others have big clunky tech with Adanadi, Ti’swaq has gone small on both.
They have a big navy but don’t venture north, and maintain the status quo. Economically conservative, don’t compete, leave much land undeveloped. Longhouses and public spaces, multigenerational apartment blocks.
Ti’Swaq use geothermal and river power, but have no roads, instead use yutsu hovering above dense forests.
Social rank is fixed:
Nobles -Diplomacy, laws, and advising the council
Merchants - Supply needs and aristocratic wants
Stick People - Laborers on farms and fishing
Descriptions sound VERY west coast:
“Walking through the emerald and glass superstructures on the coast, a visitor can almost always find someone with a couple of tools to fix your Second Eyes, a dance or trick to use at a party, or an entertainer who is going to hit their big break any day now.” (81)
Bacially, Ti’Swq is Steampunk Vancouver. Funny that I am living here and can see its echoes in the murals and land acknowledgments for the Coast Salish people.
Ti’Swaq is thus the developed West versus the underdeveloped East of the Haudenosaunee. Politicians and cities are on the coast, with shrewd farmers in the east who resent the power & politics. In both places, there is an underclass of workers with growing resentment against those controlling a narrative that does not match their lives.
Adventure Seed: Exploration of the islands revealed by glacial retreat has caused the development of Archaeology. Who knows what they will find?
Major Cities
Si’ahl:Major city on the sound with a rich dramatic tradition. Sounds like Hollywood, possibly LA or San Francisco..
Sholeetsa:The capital at the foot of Ti’Swaq. Could be Seattle, or Vancouver if the ice weren’t there.
TLDR - Hollywood & Silicon Valley in the trees.
Region 3 - DINÉ REPUBLIC (The Southwest)
Strong and cohesive due to external threat of Ezcan Empire, at the vanguard of the coalition that repelled them. Large exporter of crops due to western farmland, even trade with the Empire now. Spiritual thought center, discoverer of the mystic D12 math theories.
Is Coyote City Santa Fe? My US geography is not up to scratch.
Decentralized local governments to accommodate linguistic and cultural diversity of its peoples. Clan or bands govern their large areas, and coordinate with national government for support. No secondary level of government, instead band leaders meet to coordinate in Kivas holy cities. No head of state, just bands governing the military and economy together.
Surprisingly, it is the center of scientific advance and Adnadi studies. This hints at the connection of science and mysticism in Makasing.
“The economy of Diné is one of the most powerful in the known world, built off a backbone of scientific advancement. Coyote City in particular is a critical research hub for the biotechnology, agriculture, climate restoration, and studies of The Adanadi.” (83)
Dine play a large role in military and exploration.
One major religion, Hozho or The Way, with regular activities celebrating Diné escape from the underworld and reverence towards albinos.
Strong economically and militarily, but plagued with discrimination against Uto-Ezcan people after the wars. Reminds me of Japanese Americans in WWII.
Compared to other nations, the cities are very evocative and full of adventure possibilities. I will refrain from embarrassing myself further by not guessing where they are in our world:
Yaanga: Major city nestled in the valleys of the Western province
Pimu: Military and exploration frontier city on an island
Coyote City: Major research hub and capital of The Republic
Tseyi: Major spiritual site and agricultural center
NiAlnigi:Ceremonial hub of the nation without permanent dwellings
GreenMountain: City built into the side of cliffs which played a pivotal role in the All Tribes War
Oraibi: This small town is famous for one reason: it is the oldest continually inhabited town in the known world and its establishment predates the Awis. Does this mean other cities are all post Awis?
Once again, Dine has intriguing Factions like in other regions.
Keepers of the Ancient Ones - Academic priests who master old petroglyps and apply them to The Gift
Corn Pollen Keepers - Stewards of genetics and crop science
The Twelve - Twelve hermaphrodite clan ambassadors valued for their diplomatic abilities
Coyote Crime Lords - Seven clans that profit off synthetic corn-based materials
The Ancients - Followers of older religions, shunned for faith but also protected legally. Vocal in independence discourses, mostly peaceful with some extremism.
TLDR - Technomagic Texas. Yee haw!
Region 4 - KEETOOWAGI FEDERATION (Southeast)
This is a former slaver society still smarting after 200 years. They have had conflicts with Haudenosee, and fortifications are still left over from that time. They boast the most complex government, interconnected provinces, and outward facing federal government. As the creators note,
“This creates a labyrinthine legal system requiring intense academic knowledge of its innerworkings. Despite that, other nations often model their legal documents, court systems, and treaty processes after the Keetoowagi, who have become known as master diplomats and legal scholars. “(86)
They also trade with the Ezcan by creative interpretation of the treaty laws, frustrating other nations of Makasing. Multimodal fighting force is a rare standing army that can fight in air, on land, and at sea. Currently fighting piracy in the gulf.
Wealth comes from trade to Cahokia and Bayang, so playing both sides. Spared the worst of Awis by gulf current warmth. Advanced biomedical research and long lifespans due to care. Keetowagi engages in open trade, with some wealthy CEOs pushing for industrial espionage ie stealing secrets from other nations. Etisus or quartermasters enrich selves by controlling production, demand tribal loyalty from workers, and claim their achievements as basis for Keetoowagi success. They are Uber capitalists.
I have to say, I love that Coyote & Crow creators have replicated some of the evils of our social system in their gameworld. This grounds the game in reality and prevents any Mary Sue/Utopian accusations from sticking. Some more detail on social class would have been welcome, but one can imagine the pyramid starting with Etisus (capitalists) at top, down through to lawyers and corporate management, to workers below that.
There are four pharmaceutical companies like cities, large security forces and rumours of espionage networks. Meanwhile, advanced fishing feeds the nation.
The nation is built from dozens of cultures, so cosmopolitan and modern. Sharing is a cultural value, private property a new thing so Etisus seen with suspicion. Internal grievances between tribes drag on in court.
Mound building is prevalent, without Cahokian style tunnels due to terrain, cites are spread out low & flat. Transport is mostly by water or air, so trails are disappearing. Pensacola Bay and Ocute are huge ports. Capital seems to be Savannah or Charleston.
TLDR - Florida as a lawyered up Corp State
Region 5 - THE FREE LANDS (The midwest and center)
The Free Lands, composed of central plains led by Cahokia, get their name from their undefined borders. As stated,
“Instead, the city-state of Cahokia leads other smaller governments in the idea that no one, and no government, can claim such large swaths of territory for themselves. The autonomy of the Free Cities and their resistance to consolidation are a point of pride for Cahokia and the smaller groups within the Free Lands. In reality, they all likely survive due to the international influence of Cahokia.” (89)
FACTIONS
The Paha - Coastal traders, hagglers & bureaucrats, lost lands due to flooding and on the wane. Known for rare algae cloth.
The Anikora - Architects & engineers, live in beautiful underground cities. Humourless, orderly, polite, and effective. Known for strict education and superior buildings and materials.
The Nahoonak - Far north dwellers, broke off from Anikora. Live in crystal green houses, most vegetarian, loyal to their way of life, arrogant, short-tempered but quick to cool down. Religious prohibition against eating non Adnandi fruit and veg outside of their own creations. (THIS IS AWESOME!)
The Makokamit - Cowboys, herding buffalo, turkey, and antelope. Expert animal husbands, rotate between city and rural life. Live and let live democrats. Considered coarse or loud, but also flashy and into music, dance and dress.
Tomoha - Eastern forest dwellers, live in tree houses powered by Cahokian solar. Invented flight, use peha solar powered 2 man flyers. Very stable government with both religious inherited leader, elected leader, and regular votes. Value harmony, blend in so well are called The Invisible or Tree People.
Nakotoo - Nomads, defectors from other people, seen as a nuisance. Believe in balance, help the unfortunate or rob the over fortunate. Robin Hoods but also robbing hoods.
TLDR - Rough and tumble midwest with rugged individualists
Region 6 - OUTSIDE (Central & South America)
Ezcan Empire - Tech based on nationalist zeal, aka North Korea? Expansionist, grew most until the All Tribes’ War. Benevolent dictator with strict class system supporting him, liberates conquered from lesser governments. High standard of living and peace for citizens.
Raramori - Secretive hillmen holding out north of Ezcan. Toughest warriors on the planet, secretive of numbers and location.
Note - Is Abazang Central America, with Abayang South America? A map or clearer descriptions would definitely go a long way here. I'm also going to say it - a glossary of all words from yutzu to deso would have been very welcome. Not a deal breaker, but a second edition should have these.
Abayang - I’m going to skip over all this as Makasing is the focus of my gaming. Good to know there are options, though, and as well defined and diverse as those in Makasing.
TLDR - Lots of amazing places to expand a game to, from indigenous North Korea to the mountain peoples.
Conclusion
Makasing holds an amazingly inviting array of peoples and places with which to game. Many of the RPG gazeteers I have read back in the day were dull because they built a world but left no place for the player characters. Coyote & Crow gives regional descriptions that will colour the roleplaying of any character from there, which is what a world should do. Reading this section inspired my adventure Initiation Day, where fledgling Suyata from Makasing and beyond had to put aside their differences to solve a mystery. If a gameworld is inspiring adventures right off the bat, you know it is good.
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Reconnecting to Art through NUNA
A Family of Artists
Making art has always been a part of my life. As a child, I have many happy memories of playing in the kitchen of my grandmother Phyllis Pritchard, a known name in Labrador art whose painting I once found decades later on the wall of the Canadian ambassador to Japan's official residence! Nan was self-taught, and she and her sister supported their families by selling beautiful oil paintings of Labrador scenery and daily life. When I returned to Canada in 2023 after 20 years in Japan, and long after Nan had passed, I found this scrap of art she had done for me, a dogsled on the snow waiting for their master.
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| Thank you for this, Nan. |
Learning As You Go
Having been estranged from art, I have had to relearn a lot on the fly. I always sketched so for NUNA I have experimented with coloring. The biggest art influence on my life has been comic books, as you can see in the 2 pieces from the Quickstart below.
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| Inuk woman visiting a Tuniit |
The Final Countdown
With the Quickstart, I gave myself a strict deadline to, as Nan would say, "shit or get off the pot." This means I was in a sense rushed, but also added some dynamism to what I produced.
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| I am proud of this one |
When illustrating for the adventure The Silver Machine, I decided to go for whimsical 90's style line drawings, like this one of the ship's Bridge.
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| Thank you Star Trek! |
As I noted in an earlier post, art in RPGs is more polished than it has ever been, which excludes designers without art skills or a budget and pushes people towards AI art. I am blessed with some skill, and I would rather stretch myself for NUNA art than use AI slop any day.
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| Very underground exploration vibes with this one. |
What Is Next
I have purchased some art instruction books and have a long list of saved art lesson videos in my YouTube. I will be sketching as a daily practice and expect a marked improvement in the art for the NUNA Corebook.
Take A Look Inside NUNA
Want to take a look at the NUNA rules and art? The Quickstart is available HERE or at the link below.
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart
Friday, July 17, 2026
NUNA Update & Let's Learn Inuit!
Atelihai!
NUNA is 1/3 of the way to Bronze status after 2 days.
Not bad at all for a solo designer without a huge marketing budget or social media team.
If you can help out, pick up a copy for less than a cup of coffee HERE or at the link below.
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart
Speaking Inuit
One simplification I have made in NUNA is languages. Labrador Inuit speak Inuit (called Inuktut in Labrador and Inuktitut in other parts of Canada), but in reality a dozen dialects of the Inuit language exist across Canada. I sometimes see on social media when Labrador Inuit post, Inuit from other parts of Canada chime in that they are 'all wrong.' And this is the downside of the strong Inuit sense of identity - it sometimes cannot accept anything different. So for my game NUNA, the Labradormuit all speak one Inuktut, no dialects. The common language of the gameworld is Canadian (ie English), to reflect the past and its utility as a trade language, but this is a second language to the Inuit.
If you are interested in the Labrador dialect, which also has sub-dialects like the Rigolet variety, Angus Anderson is an Inuk living in Newfoundland who shares daily words. He is exactly what NUNA Inuit sound like.
Thursday, July 16, 2026
BRP Winner The Prince of Masks is on Sale for Xhristmas in Xuly
The Prince of Masks, another BRP design contest winner is on sale NOW! I've come to know the designer and his vision of a baroque fantasy of humans trapped between colossal fear-inducing statues and cruel vampiric fey is compelling to say the least.
Christmas in July sale, pick it up if the occult and adult content is your bag. I know the designer Steve, and he's poured heart and soul into this.
Link to free downloads: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks-free...
Link to adult content page: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks...
Christmas in July sale, pick it up if the occult and adult content is your bag. I know the designer Steve, and he's poured heart and soul into this.
Link to free downloads: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks-free...
Link to adult content page: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks...
Stormbringer Redux #31 - The Shield Hack from NUNA
One of the great things to come out of playtesting NUNA, my roleplaying game of Inuit & Iceships, is that it has given me lots of insight on the Stormbringer rules on which it is based.
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| I had this What If? comic back in the day. Absolute banger. |
And it has helped me solve the riddle of shields.
Chinks in the Armor
In the old Stormbringer rules, shields were both touted as important but not given enough explanation or mechanics to answer why. The rules for Shields were, as usual, split throughout the rulebook, so as is my practice, I try to put them in one place so I can better understand what the designers were trying to do at a glance.
Here are the rules on shields.
[3.3.3] reminds us that you cannot try to Parry with a weapon then switch to Shield for a second Parry on the same attack. Fair enough.
[3.3.3.1] adds that a Shield is the only way to Parry an arrow. Useful.
[3.5.2] gives us the stats for Shields as weapons, while [3.5.2.1] gives extra descriptions. A bit fiddly, so I always rewrote it in one place.
Buckler - Light & small, banded in iron, advantage is lightweight & ease of movement.
- (6 throwing) STR / 12 DEX / 1D4 (1D6 thrown for 9 meters) Damage / 30 cm or 1 ft Length / 50LB Price
Target - Larger round shield, covers most of torso. Wood covered in leather, banded in iron, BUT can be cast in iron, but not iron or steel. This confused me as a lad, but I now realize 'cast' doesn't mean made in metal, it means thrown, and indeed the Target is the one of the two shields on the projectile weapon list. Iron and steel are too heavy, so if you want to go Captain America and throw your shield, bronze is the only way, but doesn't cost any more or affect its durability.
8 (16 throwing) STR/ 7 DEX / 1D6 (2D4 thrown for 6 meters) Damage / 90 cm or 3 ft Length / 75LB Price
Heater - Typical mounted knight's shield, square at top and pointed at bottom.
8 STR / 9 DEX / 1D6 Damage / 90 cm or 3 ft Length / 100LB Price
8 STR / 9 DEX / 1D6 Damage / 90 cm or 3 ft Length / 100LB Price
Tower- Infantry man's shield, suitable for hiding behind. Best for shield walls, using short sword and fixing shield into ground.
12 STR / 6 DEX / 1D6+2 Damage / 150 cm or 5 ft Length/ 150 LB Price
But the meat of Shield rules come from [3.5.5] and [3.5.5.1], introducing the general concept of Shields and their use as weapons. We find that Shields are considered indestructible, and can only be killed by Critical Attacks or Demon Weapon Attacks (and Parrying demon weapons, one assumes). The description of a Shield rush, where you can bash with your Shield AND follow up with a weapon attack, is dropped in with little fanfare, except to remind us that an attacking Shield can't be used to Parry. This is a HUGE hidden rule, and could be applied to two weapon styles a la Moonglum, giving you the option of double Attacks or a combination of Attack & Parry.
There are more rules in the Magic chapter, but for now I want to stick to mundane Shields and their properties as listed above.
First, there seems to be some little inconsistencies. If both Target and Heater do 1D6, but the former is cheaper AND can be thrown, why use the latter? I'd be tempted to bump Heater and Tower up to 1D8 damage, but this would be unnecessary if their cover were mechanically supported.
The two biggest oversights seem to be elaborating Shield advantages such as lightness and cover without giving rules underpinning them. In the NUNA playtest, modern players were aghast they couldn't Dodge firearms, and so this oversight in Shield rules really stood out to me.
Here's what I did in NUNA.
The Benefits of Using a Shield
To make Shield rules clearer and add value to carrying one, I codified three advantages to using a Shield, in addition to the original uses in Parrying and Attacking.
1. Sword & Shield can reduce the Parry penalty versus multiple attackers.
This is not a new rule, just a clarification of the benefits of lugging a Shield about.
If you are facing three opponents and only hold a sword, your second and third Parry will be reduced by 20% and 40% respectively. This is a great rule and replicates the attrition factor of combat which I know well from my years in karate tournaments and SCA duels, without adding any other mechanics such as POW depletion.
However, with a sword and shield you can alternate between these for Parries and thus slow the rate of attrition. Facing the same three opponents, your first sword Parry has no penalty, ditto your first shield Parry. Only your third Parry faces the 20% penalty. This is a lifesaver in combat.
2. Advancing (or Retreating) under fire with a Shield increases your Armor Value
Taking a note from historical castle sieges and the NUNA playtest feedback about defense versus firearms, I implemented the following house rule.
When advancing or retreating under missile fire, you can hold your shield in front of you and get the shield's Armor added to your own. Shield armor is equal to its melee damage. Note that when doing this, you cannot Attack & Parry as usual.
For example, let's image you are wearing Leather Armor (1D6) and being fired upon by multiple archers and only have a sword and shield (Target 1D6). By the old rules you have to Parry EVERY arrow, which becomes more difficult the more attackers there are. Instead, with my Advancing house rule, you now get 2D6 armor for every arrow fired against you, so you have a better chance of Advancing and attacking or Retreating out of range.
Critical shots of arrows would avoid the Shield and be applied straight to the Armor. For attackers trying to shoot around the shield, its size would also give a penalty to the Attack roll as follows:
Penalties for Attacking vs Shields
Buckler minus 20%
Target minus 50%
Heater minus 50%
Tower minus 80%
Since there is no skill for Advancing or Retreating under a shield, noncombatant or unarmored characters can also use it to increase their survivability. Movement speed is half whether Advancing or Retreating, and if you Attack a nearby foe you lose the added Armor benefit.
Note that this applies to ALL missiles, so a shield can save your life when facing a firearm.
3. Shields are portable Cover
Similar to the above rule, if you are trying to peek out on a busy battlefield (ie make a See roll to find troop composition or gain a strategic advantage), you can apply the above Penalties for Attacking vs Shields above.
This house rule is especially important when using Theater of the Mind, in other words no battlemats or minis, just descriptions. I find that with battlemats, players can see EVERYTHING and have omniscient knowledge of the terrain.
That is fine if you want a superheroic and gamey feeling combat. But if you want gritty or tragic combat, characters should have to literally stick their necks out to get useful information, and the Fog of War around them should hide important information from characters who are busy fighting for their lives and can't see anything beyond their combat tunnel vision. I would suggest having characters trying to See an advantage make a Luck roll, failure of which means they are subject to an attack following the above Shield Cover rule penalties above.
Interested in Seeing NUNA?
If you are interested in seeing how different NUNA is from Stormbringer, check the links below.
The link to the FREE preview of 7 PCs from Inuit Hunter and Shaman Whisperer to Rigger Roughneck & New Scientist is HERE or at the link below.
PC Preview
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575125/NUNA-Rpg-Player-Characters-Free-Preview
The link to the full Quickstart, priced at $1.99 because I believe $15 quickstart PDFs are a scam, and which contains the Moorcock-inspired gonza scenario The Silver Machine, can be found HERE or below.
Quickstart
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
NUNA Update - Advancing to Bronze AND The Origin of Shaman Whisperers
Atelihai!
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| Labrador Inuit, 1880, Rigolet (McCord collection) |
NUNA is officially LIVE today, but with the timezone difference it was open for purchase or download a few hours yesterday. In that short time we are already 20% of the way to Bronze in the DriveThruRPG ranking!
Thanks to all who bought a copy and pushed us further toward the goal! Keep spreading the good word.
Here are the links:
PC Preview
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575125/NUNA-Rpg-Player-Characters-Free-Preview
$1.99 Quickstart
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart
Origin of the Shaman Whisperer
During the playtests for Nuna, people were very curious about the Shaman Whisperers. Why not just have a powerful Shaman, some asked.
Three reasons.
First, the shaman (angakkuq) of Labrador were essentially wiped out by the arrival of the Moravian missionaries in the late 1700's. In my childhood, everyone around me was either United Church or RC. But at night my lovely nan, the Inuit painter Phyllis Pritchard, would tell me spine-tingling stories of the shaman, who would help you, but at a terrible price. Like Inuit kids all across Canada, my nan told us not to whistle at night, and certainly not when the Northern Lights were visible. Fastforward 30 years and when I began researching the shamanism of Inuit in Purvirnituq (Povungnituk), I encountered many stories of shamans cutting off their own limbs and reattaching them, and other horrific magics. Purvirnituq created the first Inuit artistic collective in Canada, and kept the old stories alive in their soapstone paintings. In the interviews I read from people there, some felt it was better off the shaman were gone, and that they were also angry at being cast aside. This was my inspiration for the NUNA conception of shaman as angry dead trying to control the chosen people they whispered to, and thereby find their way back into the land of the living.
Second, Nuna is a gritty game base but with gonzo powers added on through the presence of New Scientists and Shaman Whisperers. Those powers come with a terrible price - unpredictability and alien source for the New Scientists, and the rancor of the dead Shamans and loss of control to them for the Shaman whisperers. This is a feature of NUNA, and I don't want to replicate the old fantasy game trope of quadratically scaling magic users with (boring) fire & forget magic. I want something horrific yet entrancing, and that is what I have created with NUNA magics.
Last, the RPG image of a power fulshaman using nature magic is a colonial trope that is often used as a foil against the heroic western wizard and his magical tomes. I didn't want to replicate that dynamic, but instead lean into the depiction of power, whether scientific or magical, as also risky and fraught with danger, much like the US army colonial outposts in Labrador, which left DDT polluted dumps and radioactive material that affected Labradorians' health for generations.
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
NUNA Politics, Pricing, & Download Links
Hi all! NUNA goes live tomorrow so I want to tell you a few things about it.
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| A scene from the adventure The Silver Machine. |
If You Don't Know NUNA By Now...
First, if you're new to NUNA and want to read the backstory, there are tons of fiction and descriptions on the Kickstarter I ran back in 2024 after winning the Chaosium RPG design contest. We didn't fund due to my lack of familiarity with the platform, but it was worth it to make community and connections, and gain experience.
TLDR Nuna is a BRP system game set in a post-apocalyptic Labrador where the Land has healed from resource exploitation and the Inuit are back as its stewards. Various Outsiders have also survived as Riggers out on the oil platforms and they all have to work together to build Community against the threat from magic and mythic monsters that have also returned.
Kickstarter link is HERE.
Link to my interview on the World of RPGs podcast episode about indigenous roleplaying HERE.
The Politics of NUNA
Indigenous roleplaying is, due to the history of colonialism, inherently political. Look at Coyote & Crow, which avoids the historical reality of Columbus and his start of the indigenous apocalypse by replacing it with a natural phenomenon. But like all good RPGs, it also echoes real world politics. There is the stigma of slave ownership of the Keetoowagi Federation, and the imperialist aggression of the Ezcan Empire, the North Korean cognate of their world. This inclusion of politics makes the gameworld all the more compelling.
Being a NunatuKavut (Labrador Inuit) is inherently political. What do I mean?
As a youth in Labrador I was Inuit, full stop, and enjoyed the strong family ties and casual discrimination that comes with it. No Inuit organizations existed before 1971, the year of my birth, and the first, entitled the now unacceptable Brotherhood of Eskimo, started that year. The Brotherhood changed its name several times until it called itself the Inuit Tapirisi Kanatami (ITK) in the 2000s.
The ITK slowly consolidated its power eastward until it covered Inuit Nunagat, or the 4 Inuit Homelands of Nunavut (central), Inuvialuit (west), Nunavik (French), and Nunatsiavut (Labrador).
The ITK has never fully accepted Labradorians. Unlike in the other 3 regions, where the Inuit were isolated from colonists and intermarriage was rare and started later, Labrador is on the Atlantic Coast and so settlers came and married Inuit from the very start. The Labradormuit were displaced from the north two times, first by Moravian missionairies in the 1700's, then again in the 1950's after Labrador was given to Newfoundland and joined Canada as one province, so we have lost much of our language and culture.
The Labrador Inuit long faced neglect from the UK and Canada, and rejection from other Canadian Inuit organizations due to their mixed composition. In the 80's and 90's Labrador Inuit started two groups, the Nunatsiavut (originally Labrador Inuit Association) and the NunatuKavut (Labrador Metis Association). Now, the Nunatsiavut and ITK have attacked NunatuKavut as not being Inuit enough, accusing them of changing the name of their organization (despite the fact that all 3 organizations having changed names), of not having blood ties (my mother is Nunatsiavut, as are many family members), and of hoarding tens of millions of government funds (although the Nunatsiavut gets 3 to 5 times as much).
(I have to add that individual Canadian Inuit response to my game has been mostly positive, with only one negative response. I see the dislocation between Canada's Inuit peoples as a political problem, one that says very little about the kindness of individual Inuk or their communities.)
It is important to note here that NunatuKavut members were victims of Canadian residential schools and recognized by the Canadian government in 2018. If we are Inuit enough to be victims recognized by the colonial state, we are no different from other Labrador Inuit.
The insane part is, in my family, my mother and her generation are all Nunatsiavut, and my generation are NunatuKavut. So this political distinction is in reality a result of the Indian Act and its policy of reducing indigenous populations by instituting a racial cutoff or blood quantum on the matriarchal line, and is useful to the ITK to access Labrador's mineral resources and Canadian government funding. This exclusion of indigenous people from their identity is a big problem in Canada, and has resulted in pretendian witch hunts, and I admire America in this respect, where percentage of blood does not count, and all indigenous are invited to reconnect to their roots and the land they grew up in.
So NUNA, my game, is a fantasy where Inuit of the North and South Labrador are brothers again, and their land is all they know. The Inuit are large and in charge, and lead the other peoples of Labrador in reconnecting to The Land and building healthy Communities there.
(But there is still resources to be salvaged and monsters to be defeated, have no fear!)
The Low Low Price of...
I have consciously set the price of the NUNA Quickstart at $1.99 for several reasons.
First, I see lots of Quickstart PDFs for $15 to $20 dollars on Drive Thru RPG. I think this is scandalous. I'd agree to paying that for a full game PDF, but not a Quickstart. NUNA Quickstart has the full actions, skills, and combat engine, some cool PCs, a mind-blowing psychedelic first adventure scenario, and lots of history about the world. But it is missing the Community building and Status rules, as well as a bestiary and full gazeteer.
Second, my goal with the Quickstart is to build buzz by getting as high as possible a medal for sales on Drive Thru RPG. So every sale pushes us higher on the DriveThru ranking system as the price exceeds the minimum needed to earn medals.
Whatever is earned on the Quickstart will be seed money for the Corebook, and a nice dinner with my son.
Where Do I Get NUNA?
If you want NUNA, the following links will be live July 15th.
For the FREE preview (7 player characters), click HERE.
The link for the 66 page Quickstart rules, written and illustrated by me, is HERE.
Thank you for supporting NUNA, and spread the word!
Nekkumek!
Monday, July 13, 2026
Why You Should Read The Mabinogion
This absolute banger of Welsh folklore is the second on my summer reading list:
If you are a fantasy gamer, here is why you should find yourself a copy.
1. Lots of Fantasy Game Items Are In Here
I've only read the first 3 tales, and already I've seen a Bag of Holding and a Black Cauldron (which supposedly inspired Disney's cult foray into dark fantasy of that name). There was also a giant iron house used to trap and kill a giant, a disappearing castle with a golden bowl that freezes anyone who touches it, as well as a horde of magical crop-eating mice and a shining white boar. I can't say I understand all of it, as there is a millennium between myself and the writers of these tales, but they are all compelling even to modern readers.
2. Lots of Fantasy Writers Were Inspired By It
Just reading The Mabinogion you can tell that it has provided inspiration to great fantasy authors. Especially important to me, Michael Moorcock based his Corum chronicles on Welsh mythology, and the scene of Corum being frozen by Arioch's heart was an echo of the Mabinogion's golden bowl that froze any who touched it. Ditto Elric's promise to return to Cymoril after a year, which is echoed in the many promises made between the lovers Pwyll and Rhiannon to reunite after 1 year when certain conditions are met. I am sure I'll find many other instances as I continue reading.
3. It Models Great Roleplaying and GMing
I find a lot of modern roleplaying gets bogged down in a slavish attention to either replicate the 'real world' or flatter the egos of players and GMs. Characters in The Mabinogion inhabit their worlds completely, and follow its internal, mythic logic.
In terms of roleplaying what is on your character sheet, the second tale, Branwyn the Daughter of Lyrr, models this excellently. When Branwyn's gigantic brother sails his fleet to Ireland to check up on his sister after hearing of her mistreatment, the simple (low INT) fisherfolk tell the Irish king "a wood we have seen upon the sea, in a place where we never yet saw a single tree... We saw, Lord, a vast mountain beside the wood, which moved, and there was a lofty ride atop the mountain, and a lake on each side of the ridge." The Irish king & his retainers are dumbfounded, and upon asking the wise Branwyn to decipher, she explains that the 'wood' are the masts of her brother's ships, and the mountain none other than her sibling, with the lakes being his gigantic eyes.
Just imagine how compelling would it be if GMs tailored all descriptions through the INT of those giving them?
Additionally, the magic items are not simple fire and forget technology with no downsides of many games. The Black Cauldron revives any dead on the same day, but they come back without the ability to speak. The Bag of Holding can only be used for a specific purpose, and let's just say that unless your are filling yours with mounds of meat and unwanted suitors, you not using it in a Mabinogion way.
Get A Copy For Your Appendix N
The original Appendix N referenced the fantasy literature that sprang from older works such as the Arthurian Chronicles and The Mabinogion. Why not take a step back to their folklore inspirations, and infuse your games with the ancient aura of Welsh mythology?
July 15th NUNA Quickstart & Free Preview
Hello friends,
Below is the announcement of the NUNA Quickstart launch I've posted on my gaming profiles.
TLDR Free preview (players characters) and 65 page Quickstart drop the 15th.
Please spread the word and watch here for updates.
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Atelihai (Hello)!
I'm Tedankhamen, I'm a Labrador NunatuKavut Inuit and I won the 2024 Chaosium RPG Design contest for my Inuit RPG, NUNA. I've always disliked the depiction of the Arctic as 'savage wasteland' in games and fiction so NUNA presents the Inuit as masters of a living north who have awe inspiring Cultural ablities. I am also saddened by infighting by Canada's Inuit groups, so this game is a love letter to Labrador and a wish for peace between the NunatuKavut and Nunatsiavut, the two groups of Inuit created by colonial policies of Canada.
The 65 page Quickstart rules will be available at DriveThru RPG on July 15th, so please spread the word and pick up a copy. There is also a free preview of the Player Characters, which include an Inuit Hunter and a Shaman Whisperer. The Quickstart has combat rules and the scenario The Silver Machine. I intend to publish the full Corebook, which includes Cultural abilities and rules for supporting Communities, by year end.
I have run playtests at Rain City Games here in Vancouver, and am talks to do a promotional event and distribute physical copies there.
Also, on my roleplaying blog I've been writing a review of Coyote & Crow that has gotten thousands of reads, so check it out (https://tomboftedankhamen.blogspot.com/) if you want to see what is great about decolonial gaming in general and Coyote & Crow specifically.
Nekumek!
Sunday, July 12, 2026
NUNA Player Characters Free Preview
Just submitted it to DriveThru.
Look for it and the PWYW Quickstart in 3 days!!
Now time for an ice cream with sonny.
PS Looking good.
Saturday, July 11, 2026
NUNA Update - The return of whimsy, the start of the hardest part, and Elric's Secret Part four
The text of NUNA is filled with art, and once I finalize the cover, it will be ready to go. Some of the interior pictures are quite whimsical and I think whimsical art is kind of dwindling these days. Most modern RPG art is professional and pompous and overly self-important, so glad to give a bit of that old-school vibe back.
It has also been nice getting my drawing skills back. I can see things improve the more I draw. But I need to get into coloring and broader techniques at some point.
Now that the text is ready to go, the hard part begins.
I'm talking networking, promotion, beating the drum.
But I am excited for the challenge!
If anyone is interested, here is another installment in my Elric's Secret pastiche series.
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Art & Life Advice
OK, Nuna text is finished. Just need to add a half dozen sketches at important points, redesign the covers, and it is off to the printer. I'll also have to get the gameshop launch party planned, as well as online sales set up.
But feels great to have come this far.
My whole life I have been called a Dreamer, but that is how I have made so many of my dreams come true.
I wanted to live in Japan. Spent 22 years there.
I wanted to be a professor. I got tenure in Japan, but quit to care for sonny.
I wanted to be a martial artist. I got blackbelt in karate, then won 2nd place in my city in Japan.
I wanted to learn Japanese. I taught myself to the JLPT level 1, the highest you can get.
I wanted to get my son out of Japan. Now we enjoy life in Vancouver.
I wanted to be a game designer. Now here I am.
In my life, people have mostly been supportive of my dreams. But there are always negative voices, and our inner voice often sides with them against our own dreams.
So I say to you, Dream big!
Don't listen to the naysayers.
Keep at it with incremental action.
And whatever dream you have, you can make it reality.
Nekmek!
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
First Character Complete
This was a detailed process of addition and modification. But I like how it turned out.
Time for a walk and a snack.
Skills might seem meager to modern players, but are made up for by Cultural abilities and impresses the need for cooperation and community instead of maxed out individuals.
Monday, July 6, 2026
NUNA Character sheet Sneak Peek
BRP character sheets have always staggered under the burden of all the information they have to hold. So with NUNA, I tried to simplify in three ways.
First, a sheet that helps with character generation so you don't have to look through the rulebook so much.
Next, a sheet that just asks you for the essentials.
Last, a sheet that is function over form. I would like to produce a creative or artistic sheet at some point, but bigger fish to fry at the moment.
ENJOY!
NUNA Update, Game Designer ADD, and Elric's Secret Part Three
Greetings!
I've gone silent running mode the past few days as I have been editing and rewriting NUNA Quickstart.
It is 99.99% done.
WHEW!
I still have to rejigger the PC stats (they were a bit underpowered) and add art. Then it is off to the printers! Then the social media blitz and networking begins.
Exciting. There are so many facets to making an RPG. The making is just the start of it. The connecting to community and getting your name out there is a much bigger part of the process, I have learned.
Wish me all the luck I wish you.
One thing I have noticed, is that Gamer ADD, ie having so many games you don't know which to play, extends to designing games as well. My game of Japan, Giri-Ninjo, is next in my sights. But I have plans for a Call of Cthulhu series of adventures with recurring characters, as well as a Coyote & Crow adventure I ran here in Vancouver.
But as a designer you will NEVER get anything done if you don't commit to finish one game before you work on the next.
In preparation for the final artwork of NUNA, here is the next chapter in Elric's Secret, my satirical mashup of Elric and old time bodybuilding ads.
(NB Had to re-upload the pic as the mesh shirt didn't show)
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Are role-playing games art?
I’m pretty much entirely centred on finishing off the NUNA Quickstart right now, so time for a mental (procrastination) break to think of something larger.
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| New NUNA art! |
So the titular question, are role-playing games art? Here are my thoughts.
They are definitely spaces for art. From their inception, they supported writers and world builders, and gave a discernible boost to fantasy fiction. I won’t get into the downside, which is the D&Difucation of the fantasy genre, and how fantasy without any dungeon exploring tropes is now hard to come by. Just look at the history of D&D novels and current domination of works like Dungeon Crawler Carl and Frieren. Role-playing games have definitely contributed much to the continuance of the publishing industry during the digital age, both in the form of novels and gamebooks. And there are many role-playing games that are equally important as pieces of art than as playable games, from Stormbringer to the art books of Tales From the Loop and Alien.
In return, role-playing games have also given a huge boost to visual artists. In Japan especially, the master of fantasy art, Yoshitaka Amano, cut his teeth on art he did for the Japanese edition of Stormbringer, as well as the original Sword World RPG and the CRPG Final Fantasy. Frank Brunner's Stormbringer cover is equally iconic, and I will fight anyone who says its deeply atmospheric depiction of Elric isn't art.
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| Russel's shadowing and mastery of form here is breathtaking |
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| Amano did both the game and novel translations, and adds a dreamlike quality |
If you are a gamesmaster, then you’ve served as both script, writer and director for your own narratives. Josh Whedon reportedly based Firefly on a college Traveller campaign, which could explain his career success in those roles.
Similarly, players are also actors, and the role-playing table is a space that allows people to polish their acting chops without fear of sanction. The professional actors I know have all had to deal with a high level of criticism for pursuing their art, whereas playing in an RPG is decidedly nonjudgmental. Go look at Audrey Plaza's performance in the Harmonquest series, and you can see what heights an unfettered actor at a gaming table can aspire to.
With all these examples, it is pretty clear that rpgs are an integral and modern inspiration for many artists, from a variety of art forms. They may not have the cachet of exclusive high art, but that is an elitist domain and thus not a great loss.
But I think asking the question Are role-playing games art is actually an example of looking in the wrong direction, barking up the wrong tree.
Instead, if we see role-play games as essential incubation spaces for various genres of art, then we can see both their social and artistic relevance. And at this moment of history, rpgs are also an important canary in the coal mine in the conflict between AI and human art. The debate over AI art in games, the rise of AI GMs who will run your game for you, both point out the danger of not defending art - that we will be cut off from others and turned into captive individual audiences for corporate AI products.
And that would be the end of art, of games, and of our humanity, which is rooted in interaction with others.
Saturday, June 27, 2026
NUNA Summer Schedule Update
I have killed off the day job and my exhaustion from the day job and ready to roll up my sleeves.
The plan.
Finish all mechanics and story this week.
Do art all next week
Launch this baby into the world
Exciting.
Now reading David Suzuki for inspiration. NUNA is a decolonial game, but doesn’t try to preach or hit you over the head with things. After the fall, the land regrows and regenerates and people recalibrate to it. It’s the opposite of Mad Max, where people mourn for capitalism and the exploitive system that drove them to the end of the world.
Instead of warring peoples there are communities knitting together. Instead of gritty realism, magic seeps back into the world. Suzuki notes that if we disappeared, the world would heal at an amazing pace. I agree, but we were originally in harmony with that world, and so what if we just shifted our alignment back towards it?
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