Blog
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d66 Open Lock Fail Forwards
Failing Forward Skill Checks A lot of GM advice says to “fail forward”, and rightly so. That means that when a player fails a roll to do a thing, instead of just failing to do said thing, they succeed but with a complication...
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Compelling Arena Fights
A staple of stories and games, yet all too often: dry. Use the following tables and tools to create memorable arena fights and set pieces, with fun, dynamic scenery, and delightfully deadly surprises. This article first appeared in issue 3 of the excellent KNOCK...
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Pirate Borg: Heist the Black Flag
Hot on the heel of the previous Pirate Borg play report (and free one-shot adventure!) comes another round. We're only half-way through this adventure, so I won't be posting the full adventure just yet to avoid spoilers for my players...
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Pirate Borg Play Report and Adventure
To those who know me (Frank // Mottokrosh), it is no secret that I am currently obsessed with Pirate Borg. Naturally I am a fan of rules-light but flavorful systems (hello, devil's luck), but there is just something about the Dark Caribbean setting...
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Dragonmeet 2023
Last week a small contingent of Machinators made it to Dragonmeet 2023 in London, armed with stacks of our regular machinations, our still shiny Capes and Cloaks and Cowls and a Parks, and a preview printing for the upcoming The Eternal Grind Café...
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System Crashers Come to Eld Swinton
In this mystery adventure the System Crashers travel to a small but affluent hamlet in the Barony of Swine, either for personal reasons, for a job, or both. While coming face to face with many facets of societal injustice...
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Spell Com-pun-dium
Are your current spells too wordy? Does their description not match your first impression of them? Do you like word play? Then you're in for treat in this guest post by David Fuller, where he reinvents popular spells for the modern magic-user...
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Free RPG: System Crashers
A group of women fight back against a fantasy medieval society that systemically wrongs them. You were murdered in a previous life. Until you reach your personal catharsis, you will not escape the circle of reincarnation...
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Seasonal Surprise: New Hypertellurians Powers and a new Character Sheet
Before the turning of the year, I thought I'd talk about what's in store for Mottokrosh Machinations in the new year, and spice things up with a public playtest of new powers for Hypertellurians, as well as a brand new character sheet...
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Customizable Fantasy Vehicles for Hypertellurians and Other RPGs
Vehicles don't seem to come up that often in fantasy RPGs, but I've always had a soft spot for them; vehicles and portable fortresses of some kind—essentially anything that provides some protection (and comfort) to the characters and that can come with them on adventures...
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Essen Spiel Recap
At the time of writing, the Mottokrosh Machinations team has returned from Internationale Spieltage, or Essen Spiel, or Spiel, as it's more often known. Possibly the biggest boardgame convention in the world...
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Impressions from the Kickstarter Wrap-Up Event
This weekend we had a little get-together in honor of the Capes and Cloaks and Cowls and a Park Kickstarter campaign having finished. The event was held at All the Problems in This World, an awesome RPG and comics store in Kreuzberg...
