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Hacks and Slashes

@hacksandslashes.bsky.social

We’re a small group of aspiring, indie TTRPG designers from Australia. Queer, sci-fi enthusiasts hoping to share our projects with the world. Anything we post is not permitted to be used for any AI related purposes. https://hacksandslashes.itch.io

444 Followers  |  1,003 Following  |  206 Posts  |  Joined: 04.11.2024  |  1.7793

Latest posts by hacksandslashes.bsky.social on Bluesky

I watched Upgrade back when it first came out but honestly forgot a lot about that movie. After rewatching I realise I totally should’ve been including it as a comparison for pitching Age of Metal. Such a good movie

28.07.2025 01:21 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Just checked in on our Itch page and we’ve hit 100 views for Age of Metal and over 250 views for the Parasites.

I know it’s nothing crazy but I’m pretty stoked by that.

21.07.2025 13:46 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Their wings make them a formidable threat within the, architecture of Confluence strongholds, and if they’re assigned to hunt someone in the outside world, the open air makes them even more dangerous. So if you see a Hivekeeper, you’ve either taken a terribly wrong turn or you’re in deep shit.”

13.07.2025 08:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

It’s hard to go grocery shopping and have no one notice a giant growth out of your back so I’d assume they live very secluded lives, or just keep to wherever they’re stationed. A good indicator of their devotion to the cause.

13.07.2025 08:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

I don’t know what possesses a person to make them jam a giant moth into their spinal column, maybe you can ask for me if you run into one. If the name doesn’t give it away, Hivekeepers often reside within Confluence laboratories and strongholds.

13.07.2025 08:00 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

“Hivekeepers. Definitely some of the more devoted members of the Confluence. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it’s hard to know how common they are among their ranks, their appearance isn’t exactly subtle enough to be a public presence.

13.07.2025 07:59 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Making some progress on descriptions for the NPC sheets. I’m enjoying still writing them from the perspective of an in-world character rather than flat out description. I wonder how people feel about it tho

13.07.2025 07:57 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

That’s awesome to hear! Thank you

13.07.2025 06:05 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Age of Metal by Hacks and Slashes A biopunk TTRPG set in a dangerous world reshaped by the presence of a mysterious, alien being

We recently released the playtest versions of our biopunk action #TTRPG, Age of Metal. At the moment I’m working on adding some NPC statblocks for the different factions mentioned in the core book.

If you love stuff like Deus Ex or John Wick, you should take a moment to check out Age of Metal.

12.07.2025 13:04 — 👍 2    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 0
A screenshot of nosferatu rising from his coffin with the caption "waking up to shout out fellow creators for #TTRPG Rising".

A screenshot of nosferatu rising from his coffin with the caption "waking up to shout out fellow creators for #TTRPG Rising".

It's #TTRPGRising which means it's time to help those smaller accounts find a wider audience and rise up!

If you're under 1000 Followers:
🧡 Like/retweet
💬 Post your stuff below

More than 1000 Followers:
🧡 Like/retweet
📣 Shoutout those below

🚫 No AI though!

10.07.2025 12:37 — 👍 8    🔁 6    💬 4    📌 0

Praise the notes app for letting me keep all of my trains of thought about metal from disappearing into the aether.

Currently planning out some basic NPC classes for each faction. Gonna try aim for 2-3 for each.

10.07.2025 10:28 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Ooh another good one would be the faction who obsess over the fauna of Ventrum. Often experimenting on them and replicating their traits, the most dedicated members sometimes fuse themselves to other creatures, living or otherwise.

08.07.2025 06:58 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Definitely body horror. It’s a big part of what I enjoy exploring in Age of Metal. As a good example, The Rejected (people whose bodies and minds have been warped by rapid, uncontrolled ‘Metal’ growth) were one of the earliest concepts we came up with when it came to worldbuilding and NPCs

08.07.2025 06:28 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Attention #TTRPG community: If you found an indie game or supplement you like, take a moment to tell the creator on social media. Unlike big companies, indie devs WILL notice and often greatly appreciate you taking the time to reach out. Sometimes it's the only way we know anyone likes our stuff!

07.07.2025 18:57 — 👍 337    🔁 138    💬 3    📌 21

It’s nice to see Edge of Eternities heavy Sci-Fi story and art getting so much love so far with spoilers. There always seemed to be so much ‘not in MY high fantasy game’ mentality going around so it’s good to see that there’s still plenty of appreciation for Sci-Fi, even if fantasy seems to dominate

08.07.2025 04:23 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’ve realised I might’ve missed a rules clarification in the Metal rulebook that makes a weapon bonus obsolete so I’ll have the check on that. Might write up another little lore entry and the statblock for another animal species I’ve been thinking about while I’m at it.

07.07.2025 02:17 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’ve been checking in on our itch page pretty regularly and the other day was our first since we uploaded The Parasites where we’ve gone without a view of any of our games. Which is around 3 months, pretty big for us.

06.07.2025 23:37 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

‘Should we finish off and add another animal stat-block for metal?’’Draw the other faction insignia’s and add them?’’Should we post something for engagement? What should we post?’’Should we tidy up Shadows?’’Is it worth worrying about any of these things?’ It’s a bit of a mess.

02.07.2025 09:46 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

My brain feels so on the fritz at the moment. Work leaves my brain idle so it races around and makes me feel like I need to be doing something for Metal or Shadows or any of those things. But of course I don’t have access to all that while working and I don’t know what is or isn’t worth doing rn

02.07.2025 09:42 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Preview
a man in a dark room with the words want some help on the bottom Alt: a man in a dark room with the words want some help on the bottom

Just want to put it out there that if you are an indie TTRPG designer wanting to self-publish your game (under 100 pages & non-D&D related), I am happy to provide advice and guidance.
This applies to veteran designers who wants someone to discuss ideas or rant about the industry with.

01.07.2025 12:39 — 👍 135    🔁 48    💬 19    📌 3

Thinkin about getting some people together to record a play through of Metal’s quickstart guide for people to listen to. Could link it to the Itch page for people to listen to if interested. I wonder if it’s a worthwhile idea.

01.07.2025 10:52 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Ooh I like that, if a player ever asks about foods I’ll have to keep it in mind. On the other hand, maybe I can lure a player into getting attacked by a giant, mutant snail with the promise of a sweet smelling treat.

25.06.2025 05:26 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I honestly hadn’t thought about it before but there’s a mutated variant of snails that let out a strong smelling mucus. Some might be raised to produce one with a particularly sweet smell and taste, to then be used as an ingredient in candies

24.06.2025 15:18 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Preview
Age of Metal by Hacks and Slashes A biopunk TTRPG set in a dangerous world reshaped by the presence of a mysterious, alien being

Our first major project is finally here. Age of Metal and it’s playtest materials are now available for free

Become a bounty hunter doing what’s necessary to make ends meet in a world caught up in a turbulent era of trans-humanism where people augment themselves with strange, alien biology.

19.06.2025 05:29 — 👍 1    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Age of Metal by Hacks and Slashes A biopunk TTRPG set in a dangerous world reshaped by the presence of a mysterious, alien being

Our first major project is finally here. Age of Metal and it’s playtest materials are now available for free

Become a bounty hunter doing what’s necessary to make ends meet in a world caught up in a turbulent era of trans-humanism where people augment themselves with strange, alien biology.

19.06.2025 05:29 — 👍 1    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
The Tell Tale Ticking by mccorgi metronome & tarot duet TTRPG about being your own Unreliable narrator

Excited to release my very first game! It's for @jdragsky.bsky.social's Jam in Silence and currently free/PWYW.

Using tarot cards and a metronome, two players retrace their steps leading up to a sudden, tragic death. Can also be played as a solo journaling game!

14.06.2025 23:34 — 👍 31    🔁 19    💬 1    📌 7
A silver hand sits, palm open to the sky, in the foreground. Four spheres of metal float above it, portraying a bustling nighttime cityscape, an elemental wandering through a forest, a busy factory line collecting scrap metals, and a brighter, lush cityscape. Behind it lies a dirt landscape with dark, glowing cracks running through the ground from the horizon, along with some small plants and rocks along the ground. The title Age of Metal sits above in the night sky.

A silver hand sits, palm open to the sky, in the foreground. Four spheres of metal float above it, portraying a bustling nighttime cityscape, an elemental wandering through a forest, a busy factory line collecting scrap metals, and a brighter, lush cityscape. Behind it lies a dirt landscape with dark, glowing cracks running through the ground from the horizon, along with some small plants and rocks along the ground. The title Age of Metal sits above in the night sky.

Age of Metal is our major biopunk TTRPG project we’ve been working on. I’ve added this front cover to the core rulebook and am slowly going over the layout to make sure everything is laid out nicely. We plan to upload a playtesting version alongside a quickstart guide soon.

05.06.2025 10:10 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
A screenshot of nosferatu rising from his coffin with the caption "waking up to shout out fellow creators for #TTRPG Rising".

A screenshot of nosferatu rising from his coffin with the caption "waking up to shout out fellow creators for #TTRPG Rising".

It's #TTRPGRising which means it's time to help those smaller accounts find a wider audience and rise up!

If you're under 1000 Followers:
🧡 Like/retweet
💬 Post your stuff below

More than 1000 Followers:
🧡 Like/retweet
📣 Shoutout those below

🚫 No AI though!

05.06.2025 10:02 — 👍 23    🔁 15    💬 13    📌 0
A silver hand sits, palm open to the sky, in the foreground. Four spheres of metal float above it, portraying a bustling nighttime cityscape, an elemental wandering through a forest, a busy factory line collecting scrap metals, and a brighter, lush cityscape. Behind it lies a dirt landscape with dark, glowing cracks running through the ground from the horizon, along with some small plants and rocks along the ground. The title Age of Metal sits above in the night sky.

A silver hand sits, palm open to the sky, in the foreground. Four spheres of metal float above it, portraying a bustling nighttime cityscape, an elemental wandering through a forest, a busy factory line collecting scrap metals, and a brighter, lush cityscape. Behind it lies a dirt landscape with dark, glowing cracks running through the ground from the horizon, along with some small plants and rocks along the ground. The title Age of Metal sits above in the night sky.

I’ve been slowly working away at the cover for Age of Metal and it’s definitely becoming something we’re happy with.

I’ve gotten a bit of feedback and I think I’m satisfied with this as something for the early/playtest versions of the game and then we can go from there.

16.05.2025 12:20 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

We stand together or we all fall.

- NO AI audiobooks
- NO AI covers
- NO AI book trailers
- NO AI character drawings
- NO AI marketing copy
- NO AI “research”
- NO AI editors
- NO AI translation
- NO AI at all

14.05.2025 10:31 — 👍 2705    🔁 1331    💬 25    📌 15

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