Don't xander your dungeons, jaquays them !

 Just relaying this article from Anne, over at DIY & dragons.

You know how the OSR sphere talks about "jaquaying dungeons" since that 2010 article from Justin Alexander ?

Well, remember it's actually jaquaysing – my inner proofwriter has always been irritated by that typo –, and that Mr. Alexander really shouldn't rename it "xandering" after himself. Dishonest, distasteful, trans people erasing (the article says it all much better than I could), and it's an ugly word on top of that.

So please, go jaquays 'em dungeons. That's good game design.

(Also, thank you, Anne. You're always doing good work with what I call "community" posts, and I've been reading your blog with interest.)

Where I stand as a creator

 This is a "this is my stance on things" article. And my stand as a creator (or would-be creator) is the same as my stance as a, you know, human being trying to be kind.

These days, everything and everyone is more politically polarized. Perhaps it's bad. It certainly can be. Social networks use outrage to appeal to our attention, and far-right fascists are all to happy to ride this wave while complaining that they're persecuted — fragile little things, they are.

But some good comes out of it, too. Marginalized communities have voices, voices that reach far further than ever before. The real problems can be discussed, nationwide, worldwide, easier and faster than ever before. And now, with a bit of curiosity and internet access, you can know who you give money to. It is possible to vote with your wallet with actual insight.

It's not to say you can't have bad surprises, as some well-regarded creators get to be seen in a new light when their victims speak up.

But now you know. The world of tabletop RPGs in general, and the OSR in particular, are sprawling scenes. There is enough great stuff out there to support good people while playing with quality material. (Heck, there's enough great stuff to play for free for ever, and if that's not voting with your wallet, I don't know what is.)

So there's no reason not to do it. Support good games by good people. Give more money to those who need it (and yes, that can mean keep it to yourself — and play with free material or community copies). Don't encourage or enable awful people, even if they make good games, because there's good elsewhere, too.

As for me ? Whatever the labels, I'll stand with those that the system actually crushes, excludes, marginalizes, in all its accidental and intentional ways. Persons of color, women, children, queer folk, neuro-atypical folk, disabled folks of all kinds, victims of sexual crimes of all kinds, victims of wars and their consequences, etc.
Recognizing myself in a few of these categories, I obviously feel concerned.
Knowing people from all of these categories, I obviously empathize and want things to change.
Living in a world that seems doomed by greed-induced deliberate inaction in front of the coming catastrophes, I am spurred by my will to live.

So yeah. Of course, doing this in the rest of my daily life is far, far more important and far, far more difficult. But RPGs deserve it, too. I won't comment, promote or talk about products made by bigoted people whose views and actions I despise, and that's all. It's quite easy to do, in fact.

Belle-Île-en-Mer : awesome inspiration

When I was a kid, I often went on holidays on the island of Belle-Île-en-Mer (Brittany, France), situated 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) off the coast of Morbihan. The whole island basically fits in a 6-mile hex, and it takes the better part of a day to cross it on foot. Circling it takes 3 to 4 days.

Here I jot a few notes on what's cool and interesting there. I have long wanted to create some kind of module, adventure or sandbox there. When I was a kid, we often went there around the time of Halloween, and it was ripe for autumnal adventures.

So. On this tiny hex, you can find :

- 4 villages, including a fishing harbor, a military harbor with a seaside huge citadel, an ancient abbey, a secluded village... and none of them gets along, 

- almost a hundred hamlets comprised of family farms (about 2d6 houses each), 

- a whole system of cisterns and fortifications around the citadel, including weird sewers and buried places where no one has set foot in three or four centuries,

- a magic / witch forest,

- at least three menhirs,

- a small lake, some ponds, an orchard, 

- 20+ beaches lodged in small coves between sharp cliffs, including : one with hellish waves, one with weird seashells and small bits of explosives washed ashore by a sunken WW1 ship, one with a weird marsh, one infested with jellyfish and venomous fishes, one renowned for it's lethal currents, one that's almost impossible to access unless you cross a maze of brambles and thorn-trees...

- at least one sunken 17th-century galleon with rumors of treasure and gold, 

- three lighthouses and one meteo station,

- the ruins of at least three other lighthouses and semaphors, and one windmill, 

- several seaside caverns and grottoes, including a giant one that's closed because the waves and rocks are too dangerous, another nicknamed the Vazen pit or the Devil's pit, and another that was used by pirates and English soldiers for smuggling and clandestine operations, 

- one islet that gets cut off the island when the tide comes, where you can get trapped for 6 hours if you're not careful, 

- a cove named "Borderune" (Runeside) with a rock looking like a giant bear, 

- wild boars sometimes, 

- all manners of strange mushrooms, in autumn there's an annual display of the weirdest, biggest, most colorful mushrooms found by people in the preceding weeks, 

- traces of occupation and encampments from both Bronze Age people and Roman soldiers,

- a dozen small seaside forts, ruined or occupied, one once built and owned by a famous actress, 

- a former orphanage / child prison that's full of ghosts and awful stories, 

- lots of bunkers built by the Nazis and left in place along the coast, 

- a tiny airport, a ranch...

Belle-Île-en-Mer means "beautiful island in the sea", which does sound a bit precious. But it's former names, most meaning the exact same thing, are all very inspiring : Vindilis in Latin, Guerveur in Breton / old French, Kalonessos in Greek...

Of course the island is exceptionally packed with stuff, and of course most of these places might be of little interest for a more epic or lengthy campaign. But it shows how much stuff you can pack in small distances such as a single traditional 6-mile hex, and Europe is certainly a great inspiration for this.

As for me, I'm definitely in the mood for making something out of this...