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Brian Duguid

@brianduguid.bsky.social

Husband, father, bridge designer, Chair of Net Zero Bridges Group, tabletop gamer, writer for Jonstown Compendium, occasional drone photographer. Interested in modern art, prehistory, weird music, architecture. Reads more non-fiction than fiction. He/him.

426 Followers  |  292 Following  |  1,278 Posts  |  Joined: 13.08.2024  |  1.9753

Latest posts by brianduguid.bsky.social on Bluesky

A photo of the entrance to The Word for World exhibition, with two banners hanging vertically down outside the doorway to a brick building with white-paned windows. A row of bicycles are parked in front. The banners are purple and white and say the name of the exhibition and Ursula K. Le Guin's name.

A photo of the entrance to The Word for World exhibition, with two banners hanging vertically down outside the doorway to a brick building with white-paned windows. A row of bicycles are parked in front. The banners are purple and white and say the name of the exhibition and Ursula K. Le Guin's name.

A cord-wrapped rock rests on a vivid blue background next to a map of and program for The Word for World exhibition.

A cord-wrapped rock rests on a vivid blue background next to a map of and program for The Word for World exhibition.

A stack of copies of The Word for World book, which shows the title in vivid blue against a black cloth cover.

A stack of copies of The Word for World book, which shows the title in vivid blue against a black cloth cover.

Today, The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin opens at AA Gallery in London! Curated by Sarah Shin and Harriet Jennings, the exhibition presents a selection of Ursula's maps, including some that have never been exhibited before.

10.10.2025 18:20 β€” πŸ‘ 310    πŸ” 109    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 12
Preview
Bud Baird is the 2025 recipient of the Greg Stafford Memorial Award for Gloranthan Fandom This month marks the seventh anniversary of Greg Stafford's passing, and we are pleased to present the 2025 award to William "Bud" Baird.

Today, on the seventh anniversary of Greg Stafford's passing, Chaosium is pleased to announce William "Bud" Baird as the 2025 Greg Stafford Memorial Award for Gloranthan Fandom winner.

10.10.2025 13:06 β€” πŸ‘ 118    πŸ” 28    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 4
Post image

Today, October 10th, marks the seventh anniversary of @chaosium.bsky.social company founder Greg Stafford's passing.

10.10.2025 07:47 β€” πŸ‘ 109    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 4
a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, one the left hand side is a full page picture of an atom bomb test, on the right the headline Playing Games in the Shadow of the Bomb

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, one the left hand side is a full page picture of an atom bomb test, on the right the headline Playing Games in the Shadow of the Bomb

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, it shows a still from the film Red Dawn with Russian soldiers posing in front of a McDonalds, the subhead for this section reads The Paranoid Style in American Gaming

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, it shows a still from the film Red Dawn with Russian soldiers posing in front of a McDonalds, the subhead for this section reads The Paranoid Style in American Gaming

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, one side is taken up with the cover art for Greg Costikyan's Price of Freedom

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs, one side is taken up with the cover art for Greg Costikyan's Price of Freedom

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs

a photo of the latest issue of Wyrd Science, open to a spread on a feature about Cold War RPGs

Right, now I have some time (and a copy myself!) it's time to share some internal pics from the new issue, my thoughts on the relevant features & perhaps persuade a few more of you to buy a copy (because it's swell)

shop.wyrd.science

So today let's start with @malcolmcraig.bsky.social's one, as...

08.10.2025 12:31 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
scary sea-weathered saint on the church near Hartlepool headland (body of saint is heavily eroded down to a veined or boxwork-like underlying structure of the stone, which looks like weird branching fungus).

scary sea-weathered saint on the church near Hartlepool headland (body of saint is heavily eroded down to a veined or boxwork-like underlying structure of the stone, which looks like weird branching fungus).

As October begins, we contemplate how the sea wind had its way with this now-fungal saint.

01.10.2025 05:38 β€” πŸ‘ 1285    πŸ” 372    πŸ’¬ 17    πŸ“Œ 27
Title: One door leads to freedom, the others to certain death. You may ask one question. 

Image: Three guards with shields and speard stand in front of three doors. One guard sits at a folding table working at a typewriter, his shield and spear leaning against the wall.

Caption: One guard always tells the truth, one always tells lies, and the third always tells an entrancing story that blends reportage with imagination in an attempt to reach a deeper authenticity by moving beyond the narrow categories of fact and fiction.

Title: One door leads to freedom, the others to certain death. You may ask one question. Image: Three guards with shields and speard stand in front of three doors. One guard sits at a folding table working at a typewriter, his shield and spear leaning against the wall. Caption: One guard always tells the truth, one always tells lies, and the third always tells an entrancing story that blends reportage with imagination in an attempt to reach a deeper authenticity by moving beyond the narrow categories of fact and fiction.

A riddle for @theguardian.com books page.
p.s. My new book 'Physics for Cats' is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com

06.10.2025 10:57 β€” πŸ‘ 680    πŸ” 188    πŸ’¬ 11    πŸ“Œ 6

That was pretty much my first thought. It doesn't need to be an "atrocity". Just a reprisal attack for seeing the Lunars' original peaceful intrusion met by people for whom "violence is always an option". And having mixed motives within the "enemy" group gives multiple options for resolution.

05.10.2025 06:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Table Tales: Coming back to Glorantha I had a long sleepless night in 1982: I’d just read RuneQuest after playing it with my friend Mark Holsworth and it was a much, much better game than Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. But everyone played A...

Mark Morrison says non-human player characters go right back to "why I fell in love with #RuneQuest in the first place", so, with our new Elder Race Adventurers coming out he asked his #Pendragon group if they’d be up for trying RuneQuest for one night...

03.10.2025 14:16 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A digital book cover, with brown grainy background, and in white text: A Greg Stafford Bibliography, by Brian Duguid 2025, and a large white Greg Stafford Rune.

A digital book cover, with brown grainy background, and in white text: A Greg Stafford Bibliography, by Brian Duguid 2025, and a large white Greg Stafford Rune.

I dived into a deep rabbit hole recently, and ended up putting together and sharing a 30-page bibliography of writings by (and about) Greg Stafford over at basicroleplaying.org/topic/26176-.... Maybe it's of interest to a few others? I'll be adding more to it soon. #Glorantha #Pendragon #ttrpg

02.10.2025 16:18 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Genius!

01.10.2025 11:18 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Literally everyone who is a long-time Glorantha lorehound today started playing in the setting with little or no knowledge about it, and generally without caring if they were getting it "right".

01.10.2025 09:50 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, I want to find a space in one of my games for them now :-)

30.09.2025 19:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Ah, the "Rambo Wave", as the French call it.

30.09.2025 13:02 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Tagging @wyrdscience.bsky.social for their important contribution to research :-)

30.09.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A portrait illustration of a Gloranthan character, a blonde bearded man, wearing a thick woolen cloak and holding a spear.

A portrait illustration of a Gloranthan character, a blonde bearded man, wearing a thick woolen cloak and holding a spear.

This is my first try at my Ygg-worshipping ex-Wolf Pirate character, Svarnar Deepdiver.

30.09.2025 11:05 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A portrait illustration of a Gloranthan character, possibly a shaman, with pale hair, brown skin, and a ritual mace held in one hand. Their eyes are closed and they look contemplative and happy.

A portrait illustration of a Gloranthan character, possibly a shaman, with pale hair, brown skin, and a ritual mace held in one hand. Their eyes are closed and they look contemplative and happy.

This one was just me playing around

30.09.2025 11:03 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

This is fabulous, a really useful and creative tool for #RuneQuest #Glorantha fans!

30.09.2025 11:02 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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As a special addition to the RuneQuest Adventure Tokens, @katrindirim.bsky.social has kindly drawn a Moon Cat! Feel free to use this feline in your games.

#Glorantha

30.09.2025 08:06 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
[Scene is a 19th century drawing room with a sign outside saying TRANSPORT INVENTORS CLUB. Inside, the German Engineer KARL BENZ is addressing a meeting of gentlemen about his new transport idea]

1
KARL BENZ:
OK guys - you’re gonna love this

2
KARL BENZ:
So it’s like, a box made of metal that goes at up to 120 miles an hour, yeah?

[Karl shows them a diagram of a car]

3
KARL BENZ:
And your drive it down one side of the road, and the boxes going the other way go on the opposite side, so we don’t need to build two roads!

4
OTHER GUY:
What’s down the middle?

KARL BENZ:
A white line.

5
OTHER GUY:
So like, a white barrier…

KARL BENZ:
No a white line. Drawn on the floor.Β 

6
OTHER GUY:
And who’s piloting these machines?

KARL BENZ:
I was thinking: random members of the public.

7
[Pause, the other guys all look with concern at Karl]

8
OTHER GUY:
Karl are you OK

KARL BENZ:
No listen it’s fineΒ 

9Β 
OTHER GUY:
You know we’re worried about you, don’t you?Β 

KARL BENZ:
No really it’ll work -

10
KARL BENZ:
Once hundreds of millions of people have died and the world’s started ending because of the fumes it’ll all be normal.

11
OTHER GUY:
Is that normal like the β€˜commuter travel device’ you brought in last week which was just…

12
OTHER GUY:
 …an iron maiden fired from a catapult?

[The other guy displays a diagram of an iron maiden being fired from a catapult]

KARL BENZ:
THAT WOULD’VE WORKED!

[ends]

[Scene is a 19th century drawing room with a sign outside saying TRANSPORT INVENTORS CLUB. Inside, the German Engineer KARL BENZ is addressing a meeting of gentlemen about his new transport idea] 1 KARL BENZ: OK guys - you’re gonna love this 2 KARL BENZ: So it’s like, a box made of metal that goes at up to 120 miles an hour, yeah? [Karl shows them a diagram of a car] 3 KARL BENZ: And your drive it down one side of the road, and the boxes going the other way go on the opposite side, so we don’t need to build two roads! 4 OTHER GUY: What’s down the middle? KARL BENZ: A white line. 5 OTHER GUY: So like, a white barrier… KARL BENZ: No a white line. Drawn on the floor.Β  6 OTHER GUY: And who’s piloting these machines? KARL BENZ: I was thinking: random members of the public. 7 [Pause, the other guys all look with concern at Karl] 8 OTHER GUY: Karl are you OK KARL BENZ: No listen it’s fineΒ  9Β  OTHER GUY: You know we’re worried about you, don’t you?Β  KARL BENZ: No really it’ll work - 10 KARL BENZ: Once hundreds of millions of people have died and the world’s started ending because of the fumes it’ll all be normal. 11 OTHER GUY: Is that normal like the β€˜commuter travel device’ you brought in last week which was just… 12 OTHER GUY:  …an iron maiden fired from a catapult? [The other guy displays a diagram of an iron maiden being fired from a catapult] KARL BENZ: THAT WOULD’VE WORKED! [ends]

Carl Benz has an idea

29.09.2025 10:20 β€” πŸ‘ 616    πŸ” 172    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 14

Repost with a game released the year you were born

27.09.2025 06:57 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

My PC is in Fay Jee right now!

26.09.2025 16:10 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Serious question: is this the best Gloranthan campaign ever published? In any case: these are a fabulous resource and it's great to see them available again!

26.09.2025 14:41 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

She has at least installed OneDrive on the iPad, so assuming she has got it correctly set up in the Apple Files app, at least she shouldn't have to worry about copying files between multiple cloud accounts. But why does everything have to be so *difficult* !

25.09.2025 16:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

My daughter bought an iPad on Saturday. First Apple device we have allowed into our house (she's leaving in two days time, so it's ok). Seeing what they charge for a keyboard ... and the shoddiness of 3rd party ones ... I'll stick with the more open PC ecosystem thanks very much.

25.09.2025 16:41 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I used the TMB App on my phone when I was last there a year or two ago. From memory, you can either buy tickets from machines, or load credits onto the app. But we were battling with our very limited Spanish :-).

25.09.2025 16:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

#ttrpg game submissions are underway for next year's AireCon in Harrogate. We have 21 tables over 8 slots from Friday to Sunday 13-15 March 2026.

Join me for some RPG action! Run some amazing games there. πŸ˜„

www.airecon.co.uk/gms

25.09.2025 13:49 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

It isn't really the right word for what I was reaching for, but I went largely by feeling :-)

23.09.2025 06:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

You'll go into this podcast expecting a discussion of six Cults of RuneQuest books and come out the other side having experienced a short but mind-opening introduction to the epistomology of myth. Enjoy!

22.09.2025 17:31 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

I certainly look forward to running it some day.

21.09.2025 18:09 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

What the game does lack is some of the unpredictability of a more detailed, simulationist system. Certain things happen unexpectedly in a system like BRP that never happen in QW. But that's ok: you need to lean into the story, accept failure as a fork in the narrative and keep moving ahead.

21.09.2025 18:09 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@brianduguid is following 20 prominent accounts