Dozens and Dragons

Blog Buddies Kickoff

blog buddies – it’s like blogging with friends – blogging with friends is what it’s like

2026-01-30

Hello and welcome to Blog Buddies!

To the best of my knowledge this format was recently pioneered by Mint / @theresattrpgforthat and Josh / @goblincow.

https://www.tumblr.com/theresattrpgforthat/789959230903943168/blog-buddies-goblincow

…and when sean shared it over on his discord we both thought it was so utterly cute that we decided to apply that most cherished and time-honoured of ttrpg traditions, stealing inspiration from others, and do our own!

So without further ado…

Hello sean!

Thanks for suggesting we do this! I think it’s going to be very fun.

I think for this first post, I’m going to focus on establishing and elaborating on our relationship, and wrap up with a few questions. And then we’ll just see where this conversation takes us!

Just now before I started writing this, I was trying to remember precisely how and when we actually met. And I have to admit I can’t remember exactly. But if I had to guess, I would say it was through the Troika! community.

I started getting really into Troika! in 2020. As a late-comer to the ttrpg hobby, it was my first non-D&D experience and it was everything I wanted in a game at the time: fast, quick, light, quirky, and kind of surreal. It was a real breath of fresh air!

Incidentally I see you have Troika! Numinous Edition in an “i have worked upon” collection on itch. Did you work on that edition??

Anyway, the first thing in my notes + logs that I can find about us playing together was a 2021 game of Smithy of Sacrilege. The “Anvil” open sandbox. Remember that? I played Birel, a weathered old pirate with an All-Purpose Shield. (It was kind of an Oops! All Pirates! game.)

Since then we’ve played together a lot over the years, never the same system twice I don’t think, and I’ve really enjoyed each and every time! This was still somewhat early on in the Covid Years, and at the height of my live-text and play-by-post phase. Did a lot of discord, and a bit of irc / email. Never could really get the knack of checking forums. Still can’t. They’re just too external to my already well-established online routines. But at least now I know not to sign up for a forum game in the first place.

So, I know that you really cut your teeth on Fighting Fantasy books and consequently have/had what I think of as a uniquely British ttrpg experience. We didn’t really have those books in the US as far as I can tell. But their legacy lives on in Troika! and in your own hacks Quarrel and Fable, and OOWL & Weasel, which are FF by way of assorted OSR titles, and 2400 respectively. And also there’s your extensive knowledge of Titan, the default setting for FF titles, that I’ve seen pop up now and then in your games.

You seem to have a really deep and extensive knowledge of old titles and games and TSR modules that I find really impressive. Especially considering that I consider your style to be very inventive and experimental: you’ve got a knack for remixing old ideas with new stuff and coming away with a really fresh take.

Okay! I feel like I should wrap this up with a few questions for you. That will make this feel less like some form of personal fan letter.

FUN FACT: I learned the solitaire card game Osmosis by reading/playing Exuviae! And I still play it sometimes what I’m playing solitaires. Kind of reluctantly at times, haha. It’s more of a pastime than a game, really, isn’t it? There’s not really any strategy or choice to it. It’s just kind of a way to move cards around.

Okay that’s it! Thanks, bye! Write back soon!

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