The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery (A.N.I.M.)'s Avatar

The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery (A.N.I.M.)

@anim-ttrpgs.bsky.social

A team comprised of lgbt and disabled individuals trying to make it in an industry dominated by D&D5e. Authors of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

1,223 Followers  |  231 Following  |  1,668 Posts  |  Joined: 23.11.2024  |  1.7634

Latest posts by anim-ttrpgs.bsky.social on Bluesky

If the characters are built with strong worldviews and they are drawn into the narrative ecology, then pretty soon the characters are going to differentiate each other over the issues at stake in the scenario. Once you've dropped the idea of everyone acting as a coherent team, then there's no

If the characters are built with strong worldviews and they are drawn into the narrative ecology, then pretty soon the characters are going to differentiate each other over the issues at stake in the scenario. Once you've dropped the idea of everyone acting as a coherent team, then there's no

need for everyone to agree on a single course of action or approach. Players can stick to their characters' ideologies and convictions and take appropriate actions based on them. These actions will have consequences, possibly negative ones, for the other player characters and that's a good thing. Let the player characters be free moral agents.

need for everyone to agree on a single course of action or approach. Players can stick to their characters' ideologies and convictions and take appropriate actions based on them. These actions will have consequences, possibly negative ones, for the other player characters and that's a good thing. Let the player characters be free moral agents.

Unlike the majority of TTRPGs, while Eureka is collaborative on the part of the Players, it is not necessarily a cooperative game, at least not in the sense that all the Investigators are always cooperating. The Players, however, are always cooperating - cooperating with each other to play an entertaining game and experience the story it produces. The Investigators have no inherent allegiance to each other just because they are all player-characters. The loyalty between Investigators in the party comes only from organically developed trust and common goals, just like the protagonists in a story told in any other medium. If the goals of Investigators diverge, so may the party, and they can even directly oppose each others' actions - violently if necessary.

Unlike the majority of TTRPGs, while Eureka is collaborative on the part of the Players, it is not necessarily a cooperative game, at least not in the sense that all the Investigators are always cooperating. The Players, however, are always cooperating - cooperating with each other to play an entertaining game and experience the story it produces. The Investigators have no inherent allegiance to each other just because they are all player-characters. The loyalty between Investigators in the party comes only from organically developed trust and common goals, just like the protagonists in a story told in any other medium. If the goals of Investigators diverge, so may the party, and they can even directly oppose each others' actions - violently if necessary.

Excerpt from Unchained Mysteries, a treaties on investigative TTRPG gameplay that shares a lot of points with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and a relevant excerpt from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy side-by-side. #ttrpgs #indiettrpgs

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

jburneko.itch.io/unchained-my...

14.10.2025 19:58 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A Runner-class Zombie from the Undead Paradise TTRPG. The strength of their leg muscles have been enhanced. Mould-like ligaments extended outside the body, wrapping around the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. The soles of their feet peeled away the skin, letting hard bone contact the earth. The skin around their eyes rotted away, erasing their eyelids.

A Runner-class Zombie from the Undead Paradise TTRPG. The strength of their leg muscles have been enhanced. Mould-like ligaments extended outside the body, wrapping around the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. The soles of their feet peeled away the skin, letting hard bone contact the earth. The skin around their eyes rotted away, erasing their eyelids.

In the beginning of the outbreak, zombies were-on average- slower than their prey. Contagion required physical contact, therefore the virus mutated.

Runners are zombies with remarkable speed & maneuverability. They are also one of the Undead Classes in my #ttrpg Undead Paradise.
Art by Cindy Lindy

13.10.2025 10:41 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A page from a book. This chapter title has a large illustration of 3 brightly colored wizards. One is red and holding his hand up and casting some sort of spell, dressed in the robes of a priest and face blurring as it shakes in many directions. One is blue and dressed in a suit, radiating an air of posh. One is purple, partially replaced with electromechanical parts, and poring over a tome.

A page from a book. This chapter title has a large illustration of 3 brightly colored wizards. One is red and holding his hand up and casting some sort of spell, dressed in the robes of a priest and face blurring as it shakes in many directions. One is blue and dressed in a suit, radiating an air of posh. One is purple, partially replaced with electromechanical parts, and poring over a tome.

A page from thieves of the tome. It has an illustration of NayZar, a phony prophet, as well as a stat block for them. NayZar looks like a bird wearing dirty blue robes. They wield an ocular staff and a tome with pages falling out.

A page from thieves of the tome. It has an illustration of NayZar, a phony prophet, as well as a stat block for them. NayZar looks like a bird wearing dirty blue robes. They wield an ocular staff and a tome with pages falling out.

A page from thieves of the tome titled casting spells. It lists the steps of spell casting as 1. Speak the name 2. Hear the choice 3. Make a choice 4. Hear the effect 5. The consequences 6. Spell consumed. It also shows a colorful illustration of a bug man desperately trying to cast spells.

A page from thieves of the tome titled casting spells. It lists the steps of spell casting as 1. Speak the name 2. Hear the choice 3. Make a choice 4. Hear the effect 5. The consequences 6. Spell consumed. It also shows a colorful illustration of a bug man desperately trying to cast spells.

A page from Thieves of the Tome titled Doom and Destiny. It shows a large illustration of a wizard with a scraggly beard and green goo flowing out of his head. His name is slime and he is a doomed thief.

A page from Thieves of the Tome titled Doom and Destiny. It shows a large illustration of a wizard with a scraggly beard and green goo flowing out of his head. His name is slime and he is a doomed thief.

Thieves of the Tome is officially digitally released! v1.0 looks and plays awesome and I'm so excited to get it out in the world.

The book is 70 pages of dripping acidpunk goodness featuring mechanics to run and play games using real books!

dairykillsme.itch.io/thieves-of-t...

#TTRPG #books

11.10.2025 13:52 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
concerns of the characters involved. The entire point of building richer player characters is to allow the players to express those characters fully and not just exist as a set of skills for acquiring information and a quirky personality to vocalize. Placing a character into scenes of immediate dramatic relevance is to look the player in the eyes and ask, "Okay, show me who this character you've built really is, for real."

concerns of the characters involved. The entire point of building richer player characters is to allow the players to express those characters fully and not just exist as a set of skills for acquiring information and a quirky personality to vocalize. Placing a character into scenes of immediate dramatic relevance is to look the player in the eyes and ask, "Okay, show me who this character you've built really is, for real."

Players are encouraged to create Investigators that are not simply representations of themselves, but instead fully realized characters with distinct personalities and feelings separate from their own. Investigators are not merely an alternate identity that their Players take on for the duration of the session. An Investigator is more like a character in a novel, distinctly separate from the author of the book. Often an Investigator's decisions in the story as it plays out will surprise even their own Player! It's the Player's job to answer the question, "what would this Investigator I created most likely do in this situation," and roll the dice for them.

Players are encouraged to create Investigators that are not simply representations of themselves, but instead fully realized characters with distinct personalities and feelings separate from their own. Investigators are not merely an alternate identity that their Players take on for the duration of the session. An Investigator is more like a character in a novel, distinctly separate from the author of the book. Often an Investigator's decisions in the story as it plays out will surprise even their own Player! It's the Player's job to answer the question, "what would this Investigator I created most likely do in this situation," and roll the dice for them.

Excerpt from Unchained Mysteries, a treaties on investigative TTRPG gameplay that shares a lot of points with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and a similar excerpt from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy side-by-side. #rpgs

anim-ttrpg.itch.io/eureka-urban...

jburneko.itch.io/unchained-my...

13.10.2025 17:36 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Get more from The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery Patreon on Patreon Patreon is empowering a new generation of creators. Support and engage with artists and creators as they live out their passions!

A.N.I.M. Financial Status Update October 13th 2025

October Income Quota: $453.19/$4,000

It is necessary that we hit this goal in October.

www.patreon.com/c/TheAgencyo...

ko-fi.com/animttrpgs

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

13.10.2025 17:21 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Quick Start Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy - YouTube

www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... #ttrpg #indiettrpg

We have quick start videos for Eureka, many people seem to not know this.

11.10.2025 22:48 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

As pointed out on the tumblr version of this post, only covering things that have already done $50K+ on kickstarter isn't really great news reporting either. We all already know about it, that's why it did $50K+ on kickstarter.

11.10.2025 13:55 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

it's always like

>TTRPG creators complain that TTRPG journalists don't cover small games

>TTRPG journalists say their job is to report the news not be advertisers

>”the news” is always at least two headlines for every D&D book or whatever movie-budget D&D actual play podcast is coming out next

10.10.2025 16:14 β€” πŸ‘ 108    πŸ” 27    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Solo RPG List - Find Solo and Duet TTRPGs Discover amazing solo and duet tabletop role-playing games that can be played withβ€”or withoutβ€”dice, tarot cards, playing cards, pen and paper, etc.

Looking for an amazing solo or duet #TTRPG?
We have over 400 titles listed in our index over at solorpglist.com

#SoloRPG #DuetRPG #TTRPGfolks #GMless #Worldbuilding #Journaling #DungeonCrawl #TabletopRPG

03.10.2025 12:43 β€” πŸ‘ 81    πŸ” 54    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 7
Preview
Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Beta August 22nd 2025 by Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery A TTRPG for deep character roleplay, realistic combat, player deduction, and secret monster antics!

anim-ttrpg.itch.io/eureka-urban... try this one free

10.10.2025 16:09 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Pen and pencil sketch on dotted paper. The sketch consist of for adventurers. A Fox knight, clad in his armor and wearing a respectable hat. A Boar miscreants, squat and unassuming with his big muscles for heavy lifting and stealing. A cat mage, wielding a star dress, witches hat, and paintbrush rod for her magic implement. A mouse barber, smallest from the group welding scissors almost as big as her.

Pen and pencil sketch on dotted paper. The sketch consist of for adventurers. A Fox knight, clad in his armor and wearing a respectable hat. A Boar miscreants, squat and unassuming with his big muscles for heavy lifting and stealing. A cat mage, wielding a star dress, witches hat, and paintbrush rod for her magic implement. A mouse barber, smallest from the group welding scissors almost as big as her.

Got another hit of inspiration. Drew a group Pic of my Ironclaw group in the @anim-ttrpgs.bsky.social book club. We are currently playing The Lost Heir of the Rinaldi!

09.10.2025 18:45 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A question you might be asking is: Shouldn't the opening scene be the same for everyone? Aren't the players a team? My strong answer is: No. Place each character into whatever opening scene is most appropriate for them. Even when characters are professionals working for a formal investigative organization rarely is the whole team dispatched to the same location with the same mandates. Instead, the work is divided and different people work the case from different angles. Take the the traditional idea of the party and kill it.

A question you might be asking is: Shouldn't the opening scene be the same for everyone? Aren't the players a team? My strong answer is: No. Place each character into whatever opening scene is most appropriate for them. Even when characters are professionals working for a formal investigative organization rarely is the whole team dispatched to the same location with the same mandates. Instead, the work is divided and different people work the case from different angles. Take the the traditional idea of the party and kill it.

Split the Party! "Don't split the party" has been an adage in TTRPG spaces for as long as anyone can remember, owing to the fact that in a combat-focused game a half-party is at half-strength and thus extremely vulnerable to whatever opposition they may face. Plus, handling multiple PC perspectives can be a lot of work for the GM.[1] [1 off to the side in the final formatting] Eureka already goes out of its way to make the Narrator's life easier, so we think we've cleared a little room on their plate for this. Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, however, wants you to split the party.

Split the Party! "Don't split the party" has been an adage in TTRPG spaces for as long as anyone can remember, owing to the fact that in a combat-focused game a half-party is at half-strength and thus extremely vulnerable to whatever opposition they may face. Plus, handling multiple PC perspectives can be a lot of work for the GM.[1] [1 off to the side in the final formatting] Eureka already goes out of its way to make the Narrator's life easier, so we think we've cleared a little room on their plate for this. Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, however, wants you to split the party.

Excerpt from Unchained Mysteries, a treaties on investigative TTRPG gameplay that shares a lot of points with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and a similar section from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy side-by-side. #ttrpg #indiettrpgs

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

jburneko.itch.io/unchained-my...

09.10.2025 16:57 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Cover for The Hearth Magazine, Issue 4, September 2025. Art: Watercolour-style digital image depicting a curious, grey sky whale shark flies through the clouds with her young, towards an explorer in a hot air balloon.

Cover for The Hearth Magazine, Issue 4, September 2025. Art: Watercolour-style digital image depicting a curious, grey sky whale shark flies through the clouds with her young, towards an explorer in a hot air balloon.

Look at this pretty cover! (Thank you @montfordtales.com) This cover is so pretty, how can you not want to read what's inside? You can pre-order Issue #4 now and get it direct to your inbox on October 14, and maybe catch up on issues you missed. #ttrpgsky #ttrpg ko-fi.com/prairiedrago...

09.10.2025 15:44 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1
The result of the above process is not the story that will be revealed to the players. It isn't even a history of events that will be explored by the players. The point of play is not to carefully and patiently dole out this information in a dramatic and entertaining manner. That is writing. Instead, the purpose of this is to prime the game master for playing on equal footing with the players. In many ways, it is simply the backstory of all the supporting characters in the scenario. Therefore, the only thing that matters at this stage is the game master's own enthusiasm for the material. Are they excited to play with, not merely present, the situation now boiling in their hands?

The result of the above process is not the story that will be revealed to the players. It isn't even a history of events that will be explored by the players. The point of play is not to carefully and patiently dole out this information in a dramatic and entertaining manner. That is writing. Instead, the purpose of this is to prime the game master for playing on equal footing with the players. In many ways, it is simply the backstory of all the supporting characters in the scenario. Therefore, the only thing that matters at this stage is the game master's own enthusiasm for the material. Are they excited to play with, not merely present, the situation now boiling in their hands?

Excerpt from Unchained Mysteries, a treaties on investigative TTRPG gameplay that shares a lot of points with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. #ttrpg #ttrpgtalk #indiettrpg #rpg

jburneko.itch.io/unchained-my...

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

08.10.2025 18:08 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Spooky Season TTRPG Round-up (Dungeon Delve #38) Frights are back!! In this weeks tabletop RPG round-up, we highlight WRASTLEVANIA, Shift RPG, Glatisant, World of Darkness deals, many RPG tables, Power Word Meal, Kickstarter United news, and more!

Its a new TTRPG round-up, my roleplaying friends! This week, we highlight WRASTLEVANIA, Shift RPG, Glatisant, and more, ... Plus some of spoooooky bundles! chaoticanwriter.substack.com/p/spooky-sea...

08.10.2025 16:48 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Think of all the ways people in a community react in the presence of that sudden stress. The key is to make sure enough human drama exists so that the weirdness does not become the point. The simple test is to look and see if discovering and destroying the creature resolves all the crises and return things to the status quo. If that's the case, add in more trouble and turmoil among the supporting characters.

Think of all the ways people in a community react in the presence of that sudden stress. The key is to make sure enough human drama exists so that the weirdness does not become the point. The simple test is to look and see if discovering and destroying the creature resolves all the crises and return things to the status quo. If that's the case, add in more trouble and turmoil among the supporting characters.

Excerpt from Unchained Mysteries, a treaties on investigative TTRPG gameplay that shares a lot of points with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. #ttrpg #indiettrpgs #ttrpgtalk

jburneko.itch.io/unchained-my...

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

07.10.2025 17:33 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

Happy #SelfPromoSaturday to the #TTRPG community!

My new adventure, The Crown of Jarajakti, is a horror dungeon crawl set on a stranded ship that evolves as the party delves deeper β›΅

PDFs, booklets, maps, tokens, and more available!

Back it now on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/161...

04.10.2025 10:52 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery

Financial Status Update October 7th 2025

October Income Quota: $224.54/$4,000

It is necessary that we hit this goal in October.

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

www.patreon.com/TheAgencyofN...

ko-fi.com/animttrpgs

07.10.2025 17:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
seroRPG - Twitch Horror Harry's Haunted House - A Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy One-Shot -- !eureka !quote

www.twitch.tv/seroRPG

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy module Horror Harry's Haunted House is being streamed live right now.

#ttrpg #indiettrpg #ttrpgtalk #actualplay

03.10.2025 23:14 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Get more from The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery Patreon on Patreon Patreon is empowering a new generation of creators. Support and engage with artists and creators as they live out their passions!

www.patreon.com/c/TheAgencyo...

You get a bunch of awesome stuff from a patreon subscription, including monthly updated versions on everything we work on.

03.10.2025 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Patreon Pledge Drive

We get $947/month on patreon.

If we could increase that to $2,000/month, we would be a lot less desperate for money every month.

It will take a long time to build that number up, but once we do I am promising an expansion with boats, selkie, and mermaids for Eureka. #ttrpgs

03.10.2025 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Support A.N.I.M. TTRPGs Support A.N.I.M. TTRPGs

Financial Status Update

October Income Quota: $90.90/$4,000.

We absolutely must hit $4,000 this month, anything you can give will be a huge help. If you cant, just talking about our projects such as Eureka also helps.

#rpg

ko-fi.com/animttrpgs

www.patreon.com/c/theagencyo...

anim-ttrpg.itch.io

03.10.2025 17:46 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Spooky old and dimly lit manor house with naked trees in the background. Text reads: Horror Harry's Haunted House - Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy One-Shot. Includes the seroRPG logo which depicts a chibi style purple-haired, hoodie wearing person alongside their happy orange cat. So Cute!

Spooky old and dimly lit manor house with naked trees in the background. Text reads: Horror Harry's Haunted House - Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy One-Shot. Includes the seroRPG logo which depicts a chibi style purple-haired, hoodie wearing person alongside their happy orange cat. So Cute!

We'll be playing a one-shot of @anim-ttrpgs.bsky.social's new #TTRPG, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. Consider it our spooky #HalloweenSpecial -- with guests Laura and Heather and a GM from the Eureka community!

Join us this Friday: 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT (Saturday 12noon NZDT) on twitch.tv/seroRPG

29.09.2025 23:39 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
The Cog That Remains Itchfunding - Final Shot Sale by Seamus Conneely A sale by Seamus Conneely, 65% off The Cog That Remains

The Cog That Remains has reached 80% of its goal that will translate to some cool interior art to complement the cool cover art! This mecha mechanic Wretched & Alone solo #ttrpg will remain 65% off through November, so give it a try so I can throw money at an artist! itch.io/s/160017/the...

03.10.2025 13:29 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 3

Surely nothing bad could possibly happen in paradise, right?

30.09.2025 17:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Rifflin Office Supply Co. is that place for some people, and it just expanded its workforce. The investigators have been taken on as new employees and work continues to flow smoothly. Rifflin Office Supply Co. is just the place that makes people want to stay until retirement.

30.09.2025 17:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Looking for a job is hard, and sometimes you have to take what you can get. Sometimes, however, you find the perfect place where the sun seems to shine even indoors. Your coworkers are funny, you can take short Fridays, and the boss genuinely cares about his employees.

30.09.2025 17:14 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Everybody Loves Frank [Finished/Beta] by promicamite short mystery module for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

promicamite.itch.io/everybody-lo...

Everybody Loves Frank, a Fan-Made Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Adventure Module

#ttrpg #indiettrpg #adventuremodule #rpgs #eurekattrpg

30.09.2025 17:14 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A blurred but still discernable map of a custom pokemon region with what appears to be a main major landmass with two seperate offshoot islands

A blurred but still discernable map of a custom pokemon region with what appears to be a main major landmass with two seperate offshoot islands

Recording for the show Harmony Road starts in less than a week so time for me & @starmetalpro.bsky.social to begin the hype train

First up we have the map teaser!

Our players are gonna be (hopefully) traveling all over this map in this first season and If ya want to see it full check Out the show

30.09.2025 13:32 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

Financial Status Update:
We have made $2,214.90, so we didn't hit our ultimate goal of $4,000, but we did surpass our minimum of $2,000, thanks to all your generous support!

We will NEED to hit $4,000 in October, however, so if you are planning to donate more, please wait until October 1st.

30.09.2025 17:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@anim-ttrpgs is following 20 prominent accounts