Shawn Merwin

This is how it felt for me and others as we were coming up in tabletop games. I often thought of my industry peers and mentors as fellow classmates, upperclassmen, or alumni. Just like in school, it's important for us to help each other along and pave the way for future classes to learn and grow.

First post post-GenCon! It was an absolute blast to attend and run many games of #GrimHollow for many great groups! Thanks to everyone who shared stories with me, both in and out of game! I couldn't have asked for a better first experience at the show!

I’m tired WHILE I’M SLEEPING.

Draw Steel A new game for a new age! Draw Steel is the breathtaking new, action-oriented, fantasy RPG from MCDM that’s both fun to play and fun to run!

You can get all the goodness here: shop.mcdmproductions.com/collections/...

Sometimes I forget working on a project. One project I won't forget is Draw Steel, MCDM's new TTRPG. @jamesintrocaso.bsky.social and @scottfgray.bsky.social are two of my favorite collaborators and working with each is a joy. Check out Draw Steel and the Delian Tomb Intro adventure!

Thanks so much for the kind words!

I’ll be at booth 2935 for Ghostfire Gaming from 3:30 until 6pm today. Stop by and say hello if you’re at #gencon.

It was great to chat with Josh and Lewanika about writing and game design as they release their own project. Great questions and insights from them!

Thanks!

Coming soon: Aetherial Expanse: Dreams of the Drowned God Embark on a plane-spanning 5E 2024 adventure full of mystery, war, and cosmic catastrophe.

We've got an awesome new Aetherial Expanse adventure in the works! Our design team is top-notch, with @beholderpie.bsky.social leading the design, along with Andy Collins, @jamesjhaeck.bsky.social, @nirele.bsky.social, @shawnmerwin.bsky.social, and myself.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/gho...

Thanks for listening and for the kind words!

Spicy Eldtrich Lorecast this week. It's my favourite episodes where they get really into the philosophy and tone of games

And then @shawnmerwin.bsky.social interrupts to be calm and rational.

It's the best podcast.

Worldbuilding Tip 48: When building maps, using real-world topography can be helpful. While it can satisfy those looking for realism in the geography of a world, it can also be a great prompt for interesting story or adventure elements. Geological oddities are great places for adventures.

I hope the event went well. I would have come in to run some Ghostfire Gaming adventures, but I’m at Origins for the weekend.

Here there be dragons - overlooking all who enter the game rooms.

Notice board showcasing events hosted by the store (and a great wrap/poutine spot up the street).

Free RPG Day 2025, featuring a haul of Grim Hollow 5e products and a fine selection of indies.

Happy #FreeRPGDay to all, including the aspiring Heart of the Game in Fredonia, NY! A small but distinct selection of RPGs await inside, along with a couple private game rooms.

I assume I have @shawnmerwin.bsky.social to thank for finding Grim Hollow stocked there. First time in the US!

We’ll discuss its different aspects for a few more weeks, so hopefully it’ll get broader. Thanks for listening.

Worldbuilding Tips will be on hiatus for the next several days while I attend Origins Game Fair. If you are attending, come say hello at the Ghostfire Gaming booth in the Dealer Hall. If you are not attending, have a great worldbuilding weekend!

Worldbuilding Tip 47: Using other languages to name world elements for published material often backfires, as it is possible that someone who speaks that language will use it. If you want to avoid some awkward moments, try to create names that aren't too on the nose or embarrassing when translated.

Worldbuilding Tip 46: Naming elements in your world is challenging. No name you use will be beyond someone's scorn or ridicule, so don't try to be perfect. You can, however, make them usable by being at least pronounceable. Using other languages can be dangerous (more about that tomorrow).

Worldbuilding Tip 45: If you create a history for your world, think about how it affects the current state of your world. If the historical periods you create are more exciting and evocative for stories and games than the present, set your world in that time period instead. Find the fun and use it!

To be completely clear, there's nothing wrong with creating worlds that invite satire and social commentary. It can just sometimes be challenging to do so in a way that also allows creators to focus on telling intricate and nuanced stories there without getting overwhelmed by the larger themes.

Worldbuilding Tip 44: If you rely on real-world elements to build a world, consider moving beyond broad tropes and expectations, especially in terms of cultural or political polemics. Explore issues in your world through unique elements, unless you are looking to create satire or social commentary.

Worldbuilding Tip 43: To enhance verisimilitude, use existing world elements but change key features of those elements. A vampire nation's economy runs on blood instead of precious metals or commodities. What does that economy and nation look like now? How are taxes collected and services procured?

Worldbuilding Tip 42: Provide a variety of locations that perform different tasks for adventure/story creators. Some of the places must be functional, like stores and farms. Some should be ornamental, to provide color and utility. Then you can have a few oddities, which contrast with the others.

Worldbuilding Tip 41: Locations and other world elements shouldn't be static, even if they are shown as just a snapshot in time. Have places being built, places in the process of being brought down, and places otherwise in a state of flux. Let characters see the world is in process, not artificial.

Worldbuilding Tip 40: How do locations exemplify the action and stakes of threats to your world? If a hostile entity is taking over, what locations best show the stakes? Start with a few people in a border town, then move to the city? Or show the city fall, and then the effects on bordering areas?

Worldbuilding Tip 39: A farming community a day's travel from a large city should not just offer different adventuring opportunities, it should show the similarities and differences in theme, tone, and plot for your world. What are the people's commonalities and differences besides location?

Worldbuilding Tip 38: Let's expand back to top-down building. After you create locations and people, you need to put them together into a larger picture. These places should contrast with and highlight each other, both smaller locations in a community and the communities within a larger region.

I've worked with quite a few great art directors, but I won't presume to name them. Art and art direction is still an arcane and mystical process to me.

I've not read the released version because of an impending deadline I can't miss, but it's definitely different than my submitted draft. I used a modified version of the "included" map, that has one path starting in the east, then going north, east, south through the center, then east again.