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David Doughty

@sleepypenguin.bsky.social

Indie game, web & VR/AR/MR developer, TTRPG DM and author. Maine, USA

589 Followers  |  1,819 Following  |  83 Posts  |  Joined: 05.09.2023
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Posts by David Doughty (@sleepypenguin.bsky.social)

RPG tip from the archive: Random encounters can be friendly parlays, meeting interesting people, or discovering hidden mysteries instead of just combat with monsters.

#dnd #ttrpg

05.03.2026 21:45 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1

Imaging a human saying to you, "i will only ever tell you what i think you want to hear, based on what i know about ppl like you, how you start our conversation, & what you say during it. Sometimes that will sound like truth, sometimes like errors or lies. Now: Let's talk about your medical history"

04.03.2026 16:34 β€” πŸ‘ 599    πŸ” 151    πŸ’¬ 10    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
β€˜Unbelievably dangerous’: experts sound alarm after ChatGPT Health fails to recognise medical emergencies Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases

Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

27.02.2026 19:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1269    πŸ” 720    πŸ’¬ 43    πŸ“Œ 189

Something I've been thinking a lot about in TTRPG design and theory lately is what I'll call "New Hammer Syndrome". A system becomes popular, and an under-pinning concept becomes the new "hammer" that turns all of TTRPGs into a certain kind of nail.

27.02.2026 13:45 β€” πŸ‘ 154    πŸ” 28    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 9
Post image

Me in every RPG ever

23.02.2026 10:13 β€” πŸ‘ 730    πŸ” 147    πŸ’¬ 25    πŸ“Œ 26

Spent a loooooot of time today thinking about maps

23.02.2026 01:19 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

That place looks amazing!! Will have to stop in next time I'm down south!

14.02.2026 18:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

With my work hat on, here are some red flags that tell me a content designer probably hasn't been involved in designing your website. 🚩

1. The main header (H1, page title) doesn't describe what the product or service is, or does.

13.02.2026 11:36 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

πŸ”’
Well it seems this KLS flare is looking like its in the postdromal stage. During, I often get hypomania, insomnia (that preceded this flare. yay.), and/or spike-then-crash of energy levels

I'm not hypomanic. I NEEDED diphenhydramine to get to sleep, and that hit 3 hours later

#kls #venting

1/18

11.02.2026 18:52 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

More games should have a cowardly baby mode. More games should let me suffer less consequences for dying or mistakes. Should have a "I just want the story" mode. Games should not pride themselves on "look how difficult we are".

I'm bad at video games and I wanna experience the good stories too :c

10.02.2026 10:31 β€” πŸ‘ 3087    πŸ” 344    πŸ’¬ 281    πŸ“Œ 72
Julia Marie tweet: 

What makes me sad seeing photos like this & of the NASA astronauts is, you must understand, these athletes didn't just spontaneously all decide to mask. They're being forced to mask be richer ppl have a stake in their bodies & health. Their health has value. Yours doesn't. (With a photo of several masked Olympics athletes at a press conference)

Julia Marie tweet: What makes me sad seeing photos like this & of the NASA astronauts is, you must understand, these athletes didn't just spontaneously all decide to mask. They're being forced to mask be richer ppl have a stake in their bodies & health. Their health has value. Yours doesn't. (With a photo of several masked Olympics athletes at a press conference)

The powers that be know that COVID remains dangerous. They just don’t want any of β€œtheir” funds to go towards combatting it.

09.02.2026 17:28 β€” πŸ‘ 48    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0

OK, my brain is working on a million other things while I am trying to work on a main thing, so lemme share this thought so I can focus.

I think it would be really dope to "formalize" stitching together different games systems to tell stories.

07.02.2026 20:02 β€” πŸ‘ 98    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 14    πŸ“Œ 12

I was finally able to cope with this when I realized I'll have all of eternity to continue creating after this life!

07.02.2026 16:59 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

GM Tip: When running supers, build a rogues gallery of recurring villains. After the first defeat, they come back with new tactics, grudges and team-ups. Personal vendettas make for better stories than random threats.

#ttrpg #supers #rpg #gaming

06.02.2026 13:25 β€” πŸ‘ 108    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 1
People in business meeting

People in business meeting

A really interesting article in Estates Gazette: Why CEOs should treat office air quality like a financial KPI that notes:

03.02.2026 05:53 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

I <3 job searching

#comic #sliceoflife

30.01.2026 13:32 β€” πŸ‘ 777    πŸ” 226    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 5

Some cool Innkeep news: A world map is being made for the game by the master map maker @salvaterra.bsky.social! As somebody who grew up on tolkien and loved to draw my own silly fantasy world maps, it's crazy to see a professional render this world. It really helps makes it feel more real, somehow.

03.02.2026 09:20 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Comic-Con fans, you have the power to get clean air at events that most celebrities don’t because of their β€œcontractual restrictions, such as non‑disparagement clauses” that limit what they can publicly say about exposure or illness. You love their characters, protect them, YOU & all from viruses ✊😷

01.02.2026 14:39 β€” πŸ‘ 37    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
NASA Puts Moon Mission Crew in Quarantine Crew begins 2-week health stabilization before historic Artemis 2 mission

NASA astronauts enter 2-week health quarantine before their mission to space. They can still see friends and fam, but with masks, distancing & a ban on public places.

Doesn't really sound like they are living in fear when they're shooting for the moon, does it?

www.newser.com/story/382678...

29.01.2026 01:45 β€” πŸ‘ 133    πŸ” 23    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

I hate this too. But I think mostly I hate that if you *don't* sacrifice to the hype machine, you struggle.

21.01.2026 08:46 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

LLMs in business...

I'm a commercial copywriter (well, mostly. I have other income sources too...)

Interesting conversations with my biggest client last week. I hadn't realised they'd been experimenting internally with ChatGPT Pro.

Obviously this worries me...

1/

20.01.2026 16:11 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0
Page decor illustrations with a mining town theme.

Page decor illustrations with a mining town theme.

6 colour cover illustrations on vintage bookbinding style.

6 colour cover illustrations on vintage bookbinding style.

30 colour illustrations of fantasy swords.

30 colour illustrations of fantasy swords.

Black and white page decor illustrations with a nature theme.

Black and white page decor illustrations with a nature theme.

Psst. Hey you. There's free stuff in my ko-fi library for you to use in your projects - even commercial ones.
Don't tell anyone I told you 🀫
ko-fi.com/alderdoodle/...

20.01.2026 16:17 β€” πŸ‘ 338    πŸ” 160    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 10

Reading Agatha Christie's lesser work does show you how much of what counts as "fair play" in mysteries depends on the assumption of shared social context.

Just read a short story where the crucial clue was, as Miss Marple says, "Gardeners don't work on Whit Monday. Everybody knows that."

14.01.2026 14:36 β€” πŸ‘ 278    πŸ” 25    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 6

Happy birthday Jack!

14.01.2026 12:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A romani woman with flowers in her hair dances with the words tonight we dance

A romani woman with flowers in her hair dances with the words tonight we dance

Two jazz musicians play together back to with the words a multiplayer rpg about more than surviving

Two jazz musicians play together back to with the words a multiplayer rpg about more than surviving

A page from the game showing the layout in bold colours of plum and orange

A page from the game showing the layout in bold colours of plum and orange

πŸ’–Morning my lovelies!πŸ’–
To thank you all for being such a kind, supportive community, I've made you a free game - a GMless multiplayer rpg inspired by the development of Romani dance styles like flamenco. It's all about relationships and thriving together as a community when faced with adversityπŸ”—β¬‡οΈ

13.01.2026 08:19 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Asian rhino *playing*. Delightful.

09.01.2026 21:05 β€” πŸ‘ 41    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

The statement "Coding is closer to a closed model than an open one!" is really ignoring what coding is all about: solving problems.

Can we automate code generation more easily now with LLMs... kind of, for the stuff that's really well defined and almost as easy to automate more predictably.
1/10

09.01.2026 21:29 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

So, I have this weird thing going where I sometimes come up with a perfect title, but there is no story. Just a few words and the vibes. My fellow writers, does it happen to you as well? How do you unspool a story from something like that?

#writingcommunity #writerslife #booksky πŸ“šπŸ’™

06.01.2026 10:28 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey #ttrpgCommunity!

Have you ever played a game that didn't rely on combat to resolve conflicts? What was the system? And how did the mechanics encourage non-combat resolution?

#ttrpg #dnd #rpg

03.01.2026 16:15 β€” πŸ‘ 68    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 33    πŸ“Œ 6

Writing Tip:
When making an error in your writing, there is a tendency for many to put yourself down and assume that you suck at writing. Errors are human. What matters is that you can accept your mistake, internalize it, and recognize that your work still has value.
#writing #writingtips #Booksky

02.01.2026 09:03 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0