Aaron Russin

I generally find there’s not enough focus on the experience of “regular” folks in any given district or faction. What is the lowest level grunt of that crew in Blades? How does a household eke out an existence? I think factions and economics are simply atmosphere and “vibe” for the GM to convey.

Play to find out about each other, your feud, and how you were changed in the moments before finally making peace...

www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?d...

To celebrate the completion of the project, PEACEMAKER: A QUICKDRAW WESTERN ROLE PLAYING GAME FOR TWO is just $2 on Drivethru!

Just use the link below:

POD coming to drivethru in a few weeks!

If anyone is heading to PAX Unplugged next weekend, let’s play!

PEACEMAKER is out in PDF for $8!

It’s a one-shot story game that uses Ironsworn and Blades in the Dark mechanics to create intense an intense Wild West showdown.

Play to find out about your feud through flashbacks, then return to the finale to make peace…

aaronrussin.itch.io/peacemaker

Is it better than Fiasco? Or even I Have the High Ground? Absolutely not. But I think it’s great. It says something politically, and contributes well to the ‘tradition’ of indie RPGs and I’m really proud of that. Or, I will be when it’s actually delivered.

But it’s close. It’s playing how I want it to when I’m not there because I wrote a lot, iterated even more, had it edited. I realized that working with other people is what really drives me, and I got to meet some really wonderful folks. Most importantly, it’s a lot of fun in my targeted timeframe.

I thought a lot about accessibility in RPGs, and what willing people need to create stories about characters they’ll try to embody. I read Keith Johnstone, I played a lot of different games, I talked endlessly to friends and family. I don’t think what I’ve produced is even close to a prime example.

The goal of this game was to create a session of intense visceral drama (the kind that takes months or years in traditional RPGs) in just an hour or two. But it wasn’t playing that way when I wasn’t in the room. I decided to pivot to a sub-70-page zine and ditch the pamphlet.

Back then, I was REALLY inspired by CBR+PNK’s 3-panel pamphlet and was playing a lot of co-op Ironsworn. The game at that time looked like this drive.google.com/file/d/13MI6... and is still completely playable, but I realized really late that it was wholly inaccessible to newcomers.

My first game is nearly out and I am full of anticipation and excitement (mostly to be “finished” but also to REALLY share it with other people). It’s a wild west story rpg called PEACEMAKER that I crowdfunded last August and expected to be delivered for Christmas www.kickstarter.com/projects/aar...

Free League’s Forbidden Lands, or something like Torchbesrer for a well-produced setting with the grit of OSR (if I’m not playing Cairn or OSE).

Only played the gencon23 demo but I don’t think it’s either. It’s roll under skill-centric resolution, gritty art and setting, but mechanizes failure as narrative disadvantage (strength turns exhausted, charisma turns disheartened). The setting interesting enough but would rather play

Also, it’s killing me that it’s not available in the free app!

Thanks to @bradkerr.bsky.social + @yochaigal.bsky.social for the… duck, octopus, with two human arms…? Duckdecapus that is saying “Drukktapus”? With nipples? It’s the best.

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