Shawn Merwin

A little found art for you on a cold Tuesday.

I once sat down and tried to map out all the relationships that a game might encourage or demand between or among various elements: players, their characters, the rules, the narrative, the story, the GM, the world/setting, etc. My scribblings ended up looking damn near psychotic, so I gave up.

Dungeons of Drakkenheim: Daggerheart The ENNIE Award winning adventure redesigned for Daggerheart. Levels 1-10 eldritch horror Campaign where Hope dies and Fear reigns.

There's going to be a few of these because it's the last day:

11 hours left on the Daggerheart campaign guide, a reinterpretation of the ENNIE award-winning dark fantasy adventure! Help us make a strong finish and give me even more work to do (appreciative) :D

www.kickstarter.com/projects/dun...

Dungeons of Drakkenheim: Daggerheart The ENNIE Award winning adventure redesigned for Daggerheart. Levels 1-10 eldritch horror Campaign where Hope dies and Fear reigns.

Just a day left to back Dungeons of Drakkenheim for Daggerheart. It's been a pleasure to watch one of the designers on the Daggerheart game (Mike Underwood) and the @dungeondudes.bsky.social bring an amazing setting and adventure site to this new game! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dun...

d20play Live 87 DELIAN TOMB Draw Steel Starter Set Live Recap YouTube video by d20play

Great discussions on Draw Steel and the Delian Tomb with players, Directors, and writers. Thanks Amit, Ed, @shawnmerwin.bsky.social, and @alphastream.bsky.social!
youtube.com/live/rGCT2OQ...

I know at least one chucklehead who'd love to take on that challenge.

Me. I'm that chucklehead.

As the Acq Inc franchise (pun intended) moves into a new chapter by adopting the newly released Daggerheart rule set, I wanted to thank all the people who've contributed to it, and I want to thank all the folks who've used it in their games. May your ventures always be profitable.

Sometimes I hear people say the Acq Inc hardcover was not a "real Wizards book." I've gotten thick skin over the years, but that one stings a bit. It's a miracle any book gets made. Getting a book like Acq Inc made is a double-miracle.

They are the ones who worked to put the whole thing together: writing and art and layout. Most importantly, they are the ones who worked with Wizards of the Coast to get it published and distributed with WotC. That is no small task. That is less for the faint of heart than creating an RPG book.

Although Teos Abadia and I did a great deal of the game-design writing on the book, and the genius creators like Mike and Jerry at Penny Arcade are responsible for the entire milieu in which Acq Inc exists, the two heroes of the book were Scott Fitzgerald Gray and Elyssa Grant.

What I do want to talk about is how difficult, complicated, harrowing, and wonderful it is to make an RPG book. At this point I've been intimately involved in making several. The amount of time, energy, and worry that goes into it is not for the faint of heart. Or apparently, the mentally sound.

For me, AI does not mean Artificial Intelligence. It means Acquisitions Incorporated. And this time of year, as PAX Unplugged winds down, will forever remind me of making the Acquisitions Incorporated D&D hardcover. I have endless stories about that book, but those are best saved for another time.

Sad to be missing #paxu. Happy to be spending that time creating games that hopefully people will enjoy for years to come! Everyone at PAX: enjoy and safe travels.

YouTube video by Mike Underwood Bringing Drakkenheim to Daggerheart! (Beta campaign frame overview)

Two cool things from me this morning!

First - the campaign frame read-through for Dungeons of Drakkenheim: Daggerheart is now on YouTube: youtu.be/yNfa7AWRK6g

Second - patrons at $10 and up get an early WIP version of my idea for *GM* character class choices for DH: www.patreon.com/posts/142837...

The beta version of the Drakkenheim for Daggerheart campaign frame is free, so you can check it out, and if you like what you see, you can back the campaign. And definitely watch the stream to check out Mike's amazing work here.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/dun...

Coming soon: Dungeons of Drakkenheim: Daggerheart The ENNIE Award winning adventure redesigned for Daggerheart. Levels 1-10 eldritch horror Campaign where Hope dies and Fear reigns.

The Dungeons of Drakkenheim for Daggerheart Kickstarter launches in 24 hours. If you like free minis or STL files, you still have time to follow the KS before launch. Very excited for this project! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dun...

Microsoft Authenticator is the 10th level of hell. That is all.

No kidding!

Hope it was great for you as well and that we can connect soon!

Sometimes #ttrpg conventions leave you drained and sometimes energized. And sometimes you come out turbocharged to the point that you dive into work so hard you forget to mention them. GameholeCon was fantastic. Thanks to everyone to contributed! Too many great panels, games, and folks to name!

two men are sitting at a table with a microphone and one has a name tag that says ' a. ' ALT: two men are sitting at a table with a microphone and one has a name tag that says ' a. '

I like to think it was a Scanners-style head explosion.

He did not look very sorry. I survived countless deadly monsters and situations, and blew up because I was standing next to the magic slinger.

What a great time to be an #rpg fan! Working on #dnd content for @ghostfiregaming.bsky.social, ran a #Daggerheart game last night and running one tonight, perusing the Draw Steel books, and planning some notes for my #GameholeCon panels. May your dice be kind!

Coming soon: Dungeons of Drakkenheim: Daggerheart The ENNIE Award winning adventure redesigned for Daggerheart.

Excited to see Dungeons of Drakkenheim for Daggerheart being announced. Monty and Kelly are amazing creators, and I love what I'm seeing coming from their collaboration thus far with Mike Underwood. This has a lot of potential to be truly groundbreaking: www.kickstarter.com/projects/dun...

The title of the video is superimposed over a gaming battlemat, with several RPG books opened around the edge, including Forge of Foes, Daggerheart, Acquisitions Incorporated, Shadow of the Weird Wizard, Draw Steel, Alice is Missing, Shadowdark, The Monster Overhaul, and the 2024 D&D Monster Manual.

How an RPG Book is Made, Part 2!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN0f...

How should a book be made? Find out which steps happen in which order and the pitfalls to avoid! Part 2 covers proofreading, layout, art, PDFs vs offset vs print-on-demand, and more!

#ttrpg #DnD #DrawSteel #Daggerheart

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Grim Hollow: 2024 Bundle - Shop D&D Beyond <p><strong>Save by purchasing the <em>Player's Guide</em> and <em>Campaign Guide</em> together!</strong></p> <br /> <p>Step into the doomed world of Etharis with the complete Grim Hollow experience. T...

Following the release of the Grim Hollow Player's Guide on @dndbeyond.bsky.social last month, the Grim Hollow Campaign Guide is now available. These books represent a year and many long days and nights, and I hope they add much to your #dnd games. marketplace.dndbeyond.com/category/CBG...

TrabaJAZO del equipo del Notis!! @elbardodeldyd.role.ar @federicomuller.role.ar @leonmarcilla.role.ar 💜✨️
Los invitamos esta noche, para los que quieren empezar a diseñar y escribir para #lodelrol 🎲
@shawnmerwin.bsky.social thank you for this unique opportunity, your kindness and knowledge!

YouTube video by Mastering Dungeons Inside Heroes of the Borderlands: Justice Arman on creating D&D’s new starter set! (MD 258)

My podcasting partner @alphastream.bsky.social and I got talked to @justiceraminarman.bsky.social, Managing Game Designer from Wizards of the Coast for D&D, about his career, creating official D&D products, and the new Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set. #dnd

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKZP...