Lone Knight

what's in the pack?

Sun, 24 May 2026 02:12:30 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Aah, equipment. One of those things I both love to play with and absolutely tear my hair out over. So why not some ramblings on stuff I do with it and/or plan to do with it?

( Equipment kits )

( Faction equipment )

( Adventurer's 'pack' )

Am I saying anything new here? Ahahahaha hell no, a ton of people and published games do stuff like this. But it's why I'm doing it, so, eh --

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Blue Rose, and my issues with it

Mon, 11 May 2026 05:33:05 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Okie. So. Blue Rose.

This is a long and honestly probably pointless post literally years in the offing -- mostly because while Blue Rose annoys the shit out of me it doesn't annoy the shit out of me enough to actually be willing to spend a lot of energy elaborating on why. I have limited energy, other things to write/doodle/play, and it's over there. *gestures*

That said, it does annoy me and has always annoyed me. Not for the same reason(s) that certain ridiculous branches of the OSR have tilted at the floral windmill, though; Blue Rose got my goat because when it was announced -- Valdemar pastiche! romantic fantasy rpg! yay! -- I was really looking forward to it, goddamnit, and then I got ... well, I got Blue Rose.

It's been some years now. I don't own 1e BR any more, and my 2e core is inaccessible atm, but I have enough in the old skull to be able to hit on my most salient problems and even with a specific example or two or so. But I do want to put on the table that I don't have a pile of the books immediately to hand and can't quote page numbers or the like.

Why am I finally mustering the energy now? A couple reasons, in no particular order:

- I've been plagued by an itch (so far unacted-on for other reasons, mostly lack of energy/drive) to tinker up an appropriate Lindwyrm class or two, or adapt the sly-wink job I wrote for Crack!, or both
- there's a Valdemar bundle on HumbleBundle right now and it reminded me
- there's a new Blue Rose crowdfund running and it also reminded me
- I want to write something and creative block is real so fuckit
- If I finally write this out maybe I can kill at least some of the annoyance, or something

So, here we go.

Also, let me get one element out of the way first:

( The goddamn deer is fine, okay. )

Also, in the interest of brevity and sense, before we go any further I'd like to introduce the excellent look at romantic fantasy in the OSR to be found over on Against The Wicked City, which helpfully also includes some nice defining of the genre so I don't have to make this thing even longer than it is:
- On Romantic Fantasy And OSR D&D
- Romantic Fantasy Revisited: [1], [2], [3], [4]

All that out of the way, it's rambling time. Again, in no particular order:

( Why Is There A Dark Lord In My Valdemar Pastiche: basic theme issues )

Which brings me to

( What in the actual fuck is this alignment system: and also corruption can fuck itself today )

Now, if it was just the above, Blue Rose would sit snugly in Just Not For Me and all would be well in the land of lone knights, or multicoloured cats, or whatever bad joke about myself I can make today. It's more Tolkien high fantasy with a set in stone tangible good-evil and some handwaving at Valdemar trappings than romantic fantasy, but I could live with my personal disappointment.

Alas, it is not just the above.

This has been a lot of fucking words and these two following parts might come out shorter because of it, but also because hell no I'm just getting to the point of this fuckery. No need to invoke general or specific romantic fantasy tropes here.

( Inclusion for me but not for thee )

So, yeah. Someone had and has some clear biases and they are not great let me tell you.

But wait, there's more!

( What The ACTUAL FUCK Did I Just Read: Lar'tya )

So yeah. Yeah.

This is the game that's supposed to be so much better and more progressive, folks.

( Murder, arson and jaywalking: some parting deep-sigh but inconsequential comparisons with inspirational material )

So there you have it; my major sticking points with Blue Rose. I'm sure I'd be reminded of more if I had the books in front of me, but it would probably also devolve into deep pixelbitching of details and I needed to stay on point of the important points.

Blue Rose is a shit "romantic fantasy" rpg if you ask me. If you want the kind of setting it is selling, it should work fine. I can't overlook the non-genre issues though, sorry -- getting some things right and inclusive doesn't excuse the rest.

Honestly, if you asked me right now to name an rpg better suited, I don't think there's a specific perfect one you could just use an old D&D-type easily enough, though, AtWC demonstrates that nicely in all those posts *lol* but I have two suggestions:

- Perils & Princesses feels pretty good to me

- the best example, though? Dungeons & Kittens. no, trust me. this game and setting and how characters interact and can interact is practically purrrfect.

I don't have a conclusion beyond this or a punchline. If you made it this far, congrats; no, seriously.

Sudden onset offended bodies of any stripe will get promptly bitbucketed.

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d100 trinkets: scifi edition

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 16:28:01 GMT

Posted by: taichara

I don't write (for on here anyway) nearly as much scifi stuff as I shove into my brainpan. This is largely, it must be admitted, because the trends in scifi rpgs/fiction/etc have not really marched with mine in a while (when they do/did at all). But I do love scifi stuff.

An interesting ("interesting" *grumblemutter*) side-effect of this -- and also of how scifi by its nature starts off infinitely more specialized in its settings and terminologies than fantasy -- is that writing a non-specific trinket table is a hell of a lot more of a brain pain >.> But I think I mostly managed. Sort of >.>;;

This is still basically a flavoured table; it also presumes scifi of the spaceships-and-stations-and-alien-worlds type. Hopefully its generic enough to be of at least some use.

Stuff for starter PCs, things left behind in ship's quarters, random bits and bobs ...

( spacey baubles and bits under here )

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d100 trinkets: fantasy edition

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:11:53 GMT

Posted by: taichara

That time again; time for some little belongings and treasures, trinkets and odd objects. Maybe something a PC might start a campaign with, maybe something a hireling has tucked away in their kit or that was left behind in a dungeon ...

Mostly mundane, a few strange mysteries mystical or otherwise, a scattering of small magics.

( little shiny things under here )

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some more critters

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:04:31 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Another small flock of strange fellows, mostly low-level for your low-level shenanigans.

( critters under here )

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Swordtember 2025, post the third

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:13:29 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Made it to the end of Swordtember! Yaaaaaay ~

I suppose the last four of these are maaaaaybe cheating; but it's been a beat or two since I made a seasonal set, and I wanted to, so there *lol*

Unrelated to swords, there may be a few more critters incoming in the semi-nearish future ...

( one last gathering of blades, for now )

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Swordtember 2025, post the second

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 13:46:03 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Ten more swords, come git yer swords ~
Even if "sword" gets a bit loose at times ~

( ten more blades )

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September critters, post the first(?)

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 11:16:55 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Oh hey lookit that, it's a second post. Goddamn. :O

Here's some critters for you, in Lindwyrm/generic-basic-but-ascending-AC/my usual kind of shorthand format. Maybe some more later in the month, ooo ~

( critters under here )

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Swordtember 2025, post the first

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:50:10 GMT

Posted by: taichara

I'm not dead, the world just sucks right now.

That, and when I've been writing rpg stuff at all it's mostly been for a "Final Fantasy game+setting running on Lindwyrm" personal project; there's also been a couple of non-rpg writing things, and also expanding my videogame hoard again. But highly a case of "the world sucks" with a side-order of "and summer can fuck itself".

But enough of that! September means Swordtember, and I miiiiight have another thing percolating for the month (we'll see), and here I am with the first third of Swordtember's swords in nice punchy and system-neutral description ~

( Ten Swords, Singular And Otherwise )

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on contemplating more Lindwyrm,"domain rules" and other such things

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 12:50:37 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Lol I planned to make at least four posts on here this month if not more, and that sure as hell didn't happen; mostly because the month happened, because lo! the world continues to be on fucking fire. I do have some spells written longhand, but we'll see when they get typed up (I refuse to panic about it).

This isn't about that -- it's about the prickling tingling notion of making another little Lindwyrm minizine.

Truth be told, I've also had an earlier notion (of a wee tiny planar thing, small enough to fit in that minizine), but this one is specifically of an expansion of "domain rules" things. Where "domain rules" is actually including not really domain stuff like other longer-range or 'downtime' endeavours like trade, and also upkeep, and events, maaaaybe something more on hirelings/followers, and etc.

Now, the traitor brainweasels are in full stompy mode with the argument of basically the following:

- what useful anything can possibly be shoved into 16 (actually 14) 1/8 pages on any one of these subjects, let alone several
- why do this when there's in-depth and detailed zines and books and blogposts on the subject already

To which, frankly, my answers are

- because I fucking want to
- because I squinched down dungeon suggestions and factions in "core" Lindwyrm so why the fuck not
- because simple rules-light takes on the ideas sure can't hurt
- because having the scaffolding available for Lindwyrm is fun and even useful
- because I fucking want to that's why.

Similar with the teeny tiny planar idea, which will not be the one sprawled across the blog (though I'll likely use ringwalking because I quite like it). Might even eye my spacehack to strip down someday. ~~but my critters, my dozens of beloved critters ...~~

But, yeah. Maybe another Lindwyrm mini in the futurish, pending successful brainstorming and the like.

Because I fucking want to.

Also some more classes some time, and maybe even some new class modifiers, because I want to. Or thumbnail settings. Or both. Who knows!

All of which is a bunch of words (hey, I'm also breaking in a new keyboard lol) to reiterate (mostly to myself) yet again that

it is not only fine but Good, Actually to make things just for wanting to be making them.

It's not a competition here. No matter how much some voices, deliberately or (faaaaar more often) unconsciously, pressed and press otherwise.

Now I get to think the thoughts on just what I want to do and how it might work lololololololol distraction time over --

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a choir of angels

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:15:49 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Angels:

Mind the structure and the rightness of the universe, or so they claim. Some serve the gods; many -- most -- continue on in their own inscrutable hierarchy. Some are worshiped as gods themselves, though this is ill-favoured.

An angel acts to further the existence and the structure, the order if you will, of the world. This does not make angels innately compassionate; if they must end a thing, a life, a creation, to preserve the pattern the Host adheres to, they will do so without hesitation.

To break from the hierarchy of type and calling is to fall to individualism.

It is to Fall.

( some sample angelic hosts )

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The Cheating Bastard's Dark Sun Shortcuts For Lindwyrm And Similar

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:43:22 GMT

Posted by: taichara

So you want a Dark Sun-esque setting of your own, eh?

At the minimum concept, for an Athas-like sword-and-sorcery post-apocalyptic (how many hyphens are we gonna use here) world, you need:

- a hellblasted desert, courtesy of the apocalypse

-> with a scattering of Weird or Extra Hazardous (or Both) Geographies

- water rules

- psionics
- using magic is more difficult, destructive, kind of sucks, and gets you In Deep Trouble like as not
- despotic city-states with themes to fight and free the people of
- one Walking Apocalypse kaiju-type monster or entity
- non-metal weapon rules if you insist and you hate yourself

( let's throw some inspirational stuff around to get things started! )

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RPG Blog Carnival: The Other Side

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:25:12 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Travelling in for January's RPG Blog Carnival --

( There's another place threading through (or maybe beneath, or maybe behind, or maybe all three, or) the myriad planes. )

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games and zines, rpgs and blogs, this and that, kind of flat

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 12:51:32 GMT

Posted by: taichara

First post of 2025 isn't game stuff either. (behold, the universe.)

( People are making plans ... )

( Antisocial media ... )

( Making ... )

Honestly there was going to be at least more useful navel-gazing, or commentary on Where I Feel I Fit In (Or Don't), or something; but I don't have the energy and, in the end, does it matter?

*adds dandelions to angels, potions, and that make-your-own-Athas idea-thing*

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ramblings on Creative Commons and whys and wherefores and the like

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 14:56:05 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Sorry, it's not game stuff today. The month/season/year/etc continues doubling down on kicking my arse -- and also the non-psionics bits of Lindwyrm Liberty went up last week, and there's that.

Instead I'm going to ramble on about using Creative Commons for some of my stuff, because why not.

=> Why did I do it? Why do I do it?

Why the hell not?

I like the idea of letting people have access to my stuff -- which is why virtually all of it is free or pay what you want to begin with -- and, hey, letting people be able to play with stuff in their own published stuff (as long as my contribution gets a nod) is just one more step.

It's a sharing thing, basically?

=> But then, why not everything?

Because of a lot of reasons, some of which are here in no particular order:

- some things I feel strongly about personally (and am not done with)
- some things might have more iterations in the future (so, also not done with)
- not every bit and bob and table I dump out of my skull is going to be useful that way
- some things I'm just more attached to and that is also okie
- fanworks and homages are really, really not going CC do I look that stupid

=> Creative Commons can't be revoked, what if someone awful uses your stuff

I'm going to be level with you here, hypothetical person actually reading this: the absolute kaleidoscope of terrible fuckholes that infest this hobby and cottage industry absolutely do not give one single solitary fuck about other people to begin with, so it's not like anything's stopping them from lifting my stuff anyway.

I don't fancy locking down everything for everyone in a futile attempt to keep out the Fuckhole Factor[tm].

Of course if I come across any given terrible fuckhole using my work, I'm going to have my blood pressure spike in absolutely unhelpful ways, because those guys can rot in the lowest levels of the most frigid iron-mawed hell imaginable. But it's not really a gamble opening things up for those with good intentions, when I know nothing -- not a lack of license, not a warning, not a "not for you" notice -- will stop fuckholes from being fuckholes. Because they're fuckholes.

=> Why CC-BY-SA?

Do you want the reason, or the reason?

On the one hand, it's because I'd like some small acknowledgement for having made something, something that another person liked enough to make use of (my life sucks enough as it is, just acknowledgement is nice if I can get it); and I want to encourage spreading more stuff under the same banner (that's the -SA part).

On the other it's because that's the result I got for my criteria in the license picker and it's the one Cairn uses and if it's good enough for Cairn it works for me.

There's probably even more I could ramble but this is long enough, I'm drawing a blank atm, and also a headache is threatening and I really should give in and feed myself so, good enough for now >.>

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Character options and some treasure-creations for Lindwyrm

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:05:05 GMT

Posted by: taichara

And here, for ease of grabbing, is the non-psionic parts of Lindwyrm Liberty over on the Lindwyrm Itch page--

( more kiths, more classes, more equipment kits, more shinies ~ )

Lindwyrm Liberty: more additions and fancies by E. A. Bisson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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Seven Swords: a mini-setting

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:12:07 GMT

Posted by: taichara

( Seven Swords: a setting for Lindwyrm and other adventure games )

Seven Swords by E. A. Bisson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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some NPC thumbnails for Lindwyrm

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 12:51:13 GMT

Posted by: taichara

These folks are from Wandering Wayfarers ~

( and who might these folks be? )

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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psionics for Lindwyrm

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 07:31:41 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Psionics! Some people hate psionics in fantasy rpgs -- and D&Dish stuff in particular -- and claim there’s no psionics in fantasy; and those folks can, putting it politely, go fuck themselves. Possibly with the entire Deryni series with a Valdemar series chaser, just to start.

I digress, though.

This here is a (slightly wordy because not trimmed down to fit tiny pages, ha) set of psionic powers + a class to go with them for Lindwyrm. There’s also two additions/tweaks to existing stuff, and a tiny faq because I do those on some class posts I guess, it’s not the first time.

Onward --

Psychic (Psionicist, etc)
d6 HD. Armour: light. Weapon: 1d6
- Awareness: mindspeech to 100’, 2-in-6 chance to sense psychic energy/effects/active minds
- The Gift: Choose two paths; choose a starting power from them. Gain 1 power/lvl, and 1 path/3 lvls. A psychic can use powers lvl/day freely, then 1 hp/usage.

Basic Psionic Rules

Psychics and other psi-using characters don’t carry spellbook equivalents; they know their powers innately.

It is possible to create a record of a power (an “imprint” or “pattern”), like a spell scroll, and they are used similarly. A psychic can learn a power from an imprint if it belongs to one of their paths; if it doesn’t, they can still use the imprint itself.

* Using a power: A psychic can use 1 power/level freely per day. More usages cost 1 hp each. Healing magic or psionics doesn’t restore psychic energy, only rest does.
-> a psychic can also spend extra hp to boost a power’s level, 2 hp : 1 lvl

* Psionic and magic interaction: Everyone always makes this complicated. It doesn’t have to be bloody complicated.
- a spell or power can only affect the opposite “category” if it says so explicitly (a magical ward against magic won’t stop psionics)
- a general effect can be affected by both psionics and magic because the effect is the significant part. Fire damage is fire damage, whatever the source and whatever the source of fire resistance.

( Sample Paths )

Tweaks To Existing Lindwyrm Stuff: Not much, basically this –

- The esper species in Lockbox instead uses psionics (I mean they’re espers, come on) and choose a path to pick their power from. Maybe two or three paths, if that’s what the group prefers.

- Talent (class modifier): Choose one psionic path. Gain one power and another every 3 lvls, access to a second school at lvl5. Have one power use / 2 lvls free before requiring hp.

( FAQ )

Now in Creative Commons ~~finally~~ as promised, as part of Lindwyrm Liberty --

Lindwyrm Liberty: more additions and fancies by E. A. Bisson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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The Scrolls Of Chromatic Sorcery

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 11:45:28 GMT

Posted by: taichara

A dozen scrolls are known to scholars,
drawn from the ruins of Serpent-Spired Kovoruk and a few other, lesser ruins;
their contents form the core of many extant schools of magic,
all expanding on the truths perceived in colours.

True chromatic scrolls are rumoured to hold secrets still,
hidden within the subtle play of hue and shade
that make up the colour of their fabric,
that strange substance; translucent,
as if vellum were made of horn,
and picked across the surface in dizzying calligraphy.

( The Scrolls Of Chromatic Sorcery )

Others whisper, quieter still, of three scrolls yet unknown;
one of Silver,
one of Gold,
and the third
-- breathe it near-silently --
of the blasphemy of the Colourless.

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RPGaDay 2024: Kurukhan, Sage of Brass and Diamond (dragon + create an npc)

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 09:45:50 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Made it to the end!

I'll admit there were a few patches where things felt wobbly (which was at least 90% the miserable weather because fuck summer, yo), but here we are at the end ~

( Kurukhan, Sage of Brass and Diamond )

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RPGaDay 2024: tricksy things (trap + create a random table) (create a simple mechanic)

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 11:18:09 GMT

Posted by: taichara

I am actually not at all fond of the traditional "traps", by which I mean various mechanical-or-otherwise contrivances placed just to fuck up an unwitting PC's (and sometimes player's) day -- especially when there's so many littered around, or the traps are so all-encompassing, the suspension bridge of my disbelief just snaps in half when I try to fathom how a dungeon's inhabitants function at all.

( nonetheless, rambling and a table under here ~ )

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RPGaDay 2024: the knightly bones (knight + create a random table)

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:28:00 GMT

Posted by: taichara

The party has found a fallen knight!

Fallen so long, they are naught but bone and scattered panoply. What happened, one wonders?

Amongst mail and rusted sword, lance and shattered shield, the pitiful remains, might be found ...

01. A silken scarf tucked between armour and ribcage, embroidered with droplets and yet unstained by death and rot
02. A packet of thick leather, stitched and waxed all over, seal still intact
03. A twist of half-decayed green cloth tied around one bicep, faint traces of ink -- an inscription? -- still visible
04. The teeth in the bare jaws are noticeably fang-like, said jaws closed around a sunstone
05. A broken dagger-blade between pale ribs, translucent and black
06. Gold-wrapped threads still tracing the details of a coat of arms on a tabard long rotted; a motif of a style unknown in these lands
07. A small sealed horn flask engraved "dragonsblood"
08. Two rings on fingerbones; one of slim tarnished silver, the other golden and embossed with a famed knight-order's emblem
09. A single feather, colourless and luminescent and long as a forearm, exposed in its pocket in a rotting scabbard
10. Around the neck -- or where it should be -- a heavy herringbone chain of gold and sapphire; royal gift, or royal ...
11. The sternum of the fallen is pierced by a handspan and more of a unicorn's horn
12. A slim circlet of a translucent blue-gold metal, tumbled a short distance from the skull

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RPGaDay 2024: Subtle Revolutionary (mimic + invent an item)

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 12:02:19 GMT

Posted by: taichara

Subtle Revolutionary: A finger-ring of -- in its base form -- iron and red glass, enchanted to take on whatever role is required of it. This magic expresses itself in the following ways:

* Whoever wears Subtle Revolutionary can choose the ring's appearance and it will shift accordingly; a heavy silver signet, a thin brass ring, a woven linen band, threaded glass beads, whatever one likes.

* Touching a different, specific ring (or its wearer) while wearing Subtle Revolutionary allows that exact shape and appearance -- but no enchantments, if present -- of that ring to be assumed by Subtle Revolutionary for one hour within the next 12 hours.

* Touching a seal or stamped/inked impression of any kind, or its ribbon, while wearing Subtle Revolutionary allows the ring to reshape itself to imprint a copy of that seal or stamp, even enlarging or changing shape (for example to a block stamp). It may do so for one successful sealing or stamping before reverting to ring form.

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stir-fried random: navel-gazing on zines and me making zines and

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 17:16:17 GMT

Posted by: taichara

We interrupt the usual nonsense for a different kind of nonsense --

I like making zines.

( so of course I'm going to ramble along on the subject staring at my navel the whole way )

I'd like to say there was a point or a punchline to all this, but not really? Just needed to get the words into words, I guess?

But that's what this place is for, so --

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