I've been dreaming of TTRPGs, Fire & Fangs, and other weirdness
Dreams and RPGs, Primal Quest, Weird Games & Weirder People, recommendations, and last days of Fire & Fangs offer.
I daydream so much that when I lay down to sleep, my subconscious is all used up… - Diogo Nogueira
Hello, wonderful weirdos!
February is going by fast! So many incredible projects for Zinequest 2024
This is Diogo Nogueira and you are receiving this e-mail beause, for some reason, you thought it was a good idea to give me your address so I could send you direct messages about me! Notice me! Me! Me! Me!
No, really, it’s not about me, but about the things I do, right? Great! Because I have been doing a lot! And most of it is good stuff! So I will use this space to talk about the tabletop RPG work I am developing, releasing and selling. I will also talk about my work on Weird Games & Weirder People, the podcast in which I interview creators from the TTRPG space about all sorts of weird and wonderful things. And, maybe… I will also use this to talk about life in general, make jokes (I love comedy), vent, and whatever. But I will always leave this last part in the end (so if this is not what you are looking for, you can ignore it, like 80s parents did with their kids - hey, that can be ant article of the section someday).
Let’s start with an offer and a few things that are very close to being released!
Get Fire & Fangs Now!
Fire & Fangs is my weird stone and sorcery setting/supplement for Old-School Essentials. It offers new rules, setting information, and an introductory adventure in a fantasy prehistoric world inspired by pulp fantasy.
The book will be officially released March 13th in PDF, but it will be offered here with a discounted price only until March 12th. After that, it officially releases at full price. Take advantage of that offer before it becomes extinct!
In Production - Primal Screen
There’s a couple of things in production for Primal Quest, and one of them is the Primal Screen! With art by the amazing Penny Melgarejo, this beautifully illustrated Screen has references to all essential rules in Primal Quest, and some extra!
It is looking pretty sharp but we still have some adjustments to make. It’s coming soon to Exalted Funeral store.
You can get Primal Quest zines here.
What am I working on?
But what I am actually workin on you might want to know? Well, a bunch of stuff, really. But I am trying to focus on a couple of them. One that I just started because the idea came so fully formed to my mind (and apparently won’t take much to write), and one that I’ve been working for a while now and it’s almost finished (the text at leas).
My Dream(less) Journal
This is the new project that suddenly overwhelmed my mind and I simply had to write it. I am very excited to talk about it, and I am writing as fast as I can so I can have a working playlets edition to share here (would anyone want that?).
The idea can be summarized as a “dream journal for the dreamless”. I was talking with my muse, my dear wife Raquel, about dreams and how I always wanted to remember them and have a dream journal like all the cool kids have, when it suddenly hit me. I needed to make a game, a system, a tool, to create dreams and to journal about them. It might be the fact that I was working on the project I am gonna talk below this one, an adventure generator toolkit for Primal Quest, or the fact that I played Fiasco on Fiasco Fridays recently, but it all came together into an almost fully formed idea of a game of making dream like an adventure generator, but that slowly changes and twists with good and bad outcomes like Fiasco.
The goal is also to make the book a beautifully designed product that resembles an actual dream journal, with collages, scribbles and doodles, containing all the rules, tools, tables, and also pages and pages you can use to play and write your Dreams. If I can make that, the book will come with pencil and the pages will have “dice rollers” you can flip through (and maybe we can have special dice). Well, I am daydreaming aren’t I?
Anyway, you can read a little bit about this game on this blog post I posted on Old Skull Publishing page.
Well, stay tuned, you will be the first to know about this one!
The Fire of Adventure
One of the sources of inspiration for the project above, The Fire of Adventure is going to be a big zine for Primal Quest containing an extensive adventure creation toolkit. Not only it will contain 6 d666 tables with elements you can use to determine Goals, Locations, Antagonists, Complications, Supporting Quests, and Rewards, the entries also help establish the implied setting of a mythical weird stone and sorcery world, with dinosaurs, aliens, time travelers, a myriad of cultures and people, and cultists of the elder beings.
I am in the midst of writing a complete example of an adventure being created collaboratively by a group using the zine. It’s going to be very cool! I hope you enjoy it!
Here’s a draft of the cover by the amazing Lukasz Kowalczuk!
Weird Games & Weirder People
I continue to have incredible conversations with weird and wonderful creators in the TTRPG space, and since last we “spoke”, I’ve published the following weird and wonderful interviews.
Brandish Gilhelm / Henkerin Ferinale, also known as Runehammer, is the game designer, artist, and content creator behind, well, RUNEHAMMER. A powerhouse of TTRPG design and guidance, he is the creator behind Index Card RPG, Viking Death Squad and more recently Skull & Crown!
Megan Goins and Terry Azamber and new game designers with their first project being funded on this year's Zinequest. The project is called Terra Arcis, a captivating single-player journaling RPG game in which the players are invited to go on a harrowing trip into the beautiful and deadly kingdom of fairies.
Jim Miller is the founder of Crit Hit AZ, a convention focused on tabletop gaming in Arizona, and is now Co-Director of Tabletop Games of Game on Expo, happening on March 15th to 17th in Phoenix. He is also a game designer and community builder, and, like all weirdos, a lot more than all of that.
Luke Gearing is the renowned writer and game designer behind some of the best weird fantasy adventures made in the last years! He has been making TTRPG stuff for a long while and is tackling bigger and more challenging projects lately. His works include Fever Swamp, The Big Squirm, The Isle, many others, and now Sawyers, a urban fantasy heist game that promises a unique way to play!
I will be at Game on Expo and Gary Con in March
I feel very important now with announcements. So silly!
Anyway, I will be at two conventions in March!
Game on Expo from March 15th to 17th and Gary Con from March 23rd to 25th! I don’t have a schedule for any of them yet. I will keep y’all informed. Look me up on social media or whatever if you will be around and wants to hang out! :)
Wonderfully weird things you should check out!
Did you like the weird stuff I shared last time? I hope you did, because I have more! Sharing is loving! :)
Possibly my favorite series of the last years. This mixes comedy, horror, cyberpunk, mystery. The idea is that a person joins a company and goes through a procedure that makes them forget everything from outside work while at work, and vice versa. Very interesting and kinda of a commentary of the horror’s of today’s work environment.
Sam Jay - Salute Me or Shoot Me
A fantastic stand-up special by Sam Jay, a comedian that talks about how is it to be the “man” of her relationship, and how hard and weird it is. It’s a really funny one, and one of the best commentaries on the subject. Fantastic work.
I just got to know this band recently, listening to a comedy podcast, and the guest talked about how drugs would relate do music and they mentioned Morphine. It’s a really unique sound for me and very good. Relaxing and exciting at the same time for some reason.
A fantastic documentary about the recent discoveries about the original people of South America’s Amazon fortes, their civilizations and culture. I discovered this documentary while reading the fantastic book “1499 - O Brazil Antes de Cabral” and have been thinking about how to incorporate many of the teachings into Primal Quest’s setting!
This is a really cool series made by the folks of Bully Pulpit Games and Roll 20, where people play Fiasco, one of my favorite Narrative focused Tabletop Games and have loads of fun! I was in one recently and it was a blast! You should check that out!
Analytic Dice is a cool podcast where the hosts analyze games after playing them and also interview creators about their work with interesting questions and focused commentary! I was in one of their episodes recently as well and loved the questions! You should check this one out as well!
Last but not least…
In the age of AI, share your process! Share the shy beginnings, the messy middles, and the glorious endings! It’s you doing it that is the art!
I'm gonna be that guy
Any thoughts on SS&SS 2E?