Table of content

Shadowdark third-party 

1. Alms & Arms
2. Struggler class
3. Champion class
4. Templar class
5. Flame Keeper class
6. Zaqaru class
7. Hrfan class

Other projects

1. Out of Bubblegum 
2. EZ to Die 

Article

1. Tinfoil punkas a Subgenre

Road Map

Make a road map asap.

EZ to Die

 What is EZ to Die?

A ttrpg rule hack for EZ D6, spliced with ideas from other systems and some of my ideas. EZ to Die has a high rotation of characters and items, no leveling and 1 strike, that is protected by slotted 1 strike items. The rule system is a work in progress hopefully serving as a foundation for future work. Ultimately it’s roll D6 high.

Intent.

A game that allows a small group of players to tell mid-scale stories without sacrificing the gameplay of an individual character, stories on the scale of 20-50 people: a platoon, retinue or the like. Designed to serve as a system for a trench warfare setting currently being developed.

future updates.

Magic system, rules for non-humanoid enemies, more than 50% of character and item options to keep the system neutral as possible. Mechanics making the platoon/retinue feel like a shared character with goals, stakes, benefits and more.

Mechanics making the land feel like a living being: dropped items likely to be swelled by the mud, stray bullets add chaos and random death.
Hero die are also used as resource to get new character.

Drive Thru RPG EZ to Die

Hrafn: Third-party class for Shadowdark

Archetype: The Hrafn (raven) are sought after advisors, strategist and interrupters walking the path set by Odin, some even offering their eye as tribute.

Core abilities: Jack of all trades master of none, One-eyed, Mimir's Well.

Design influences: Common Norse mythology knowledge, mutualism wolf and raven.

Mechanic: Permanently sacrificing Hit points for power, Similarly to Odin's sacrifice.

Potential problems: Possibly requires to much luck to be a competent character. 

Hrafn Class third party class for Shadowdark

DrivetruRPG

Champion: Third-party class for Shadowdark

Archetype: Amidst the fray, silence falls upon the battle field, from each faction comes forth their best, whatever may follow only one can hold the title of champion.

Core abilities: Strength/Dexterity, Art of war, Manoeuvres.
Design influences: Achilles, Musashi.  
Mechanic: -

Potential problems: -

Champion PDF

OUT OF BUBBLEGUM

OUT OF BUBBLEGUM

 TTRPG in a Tin Foil Punk setting (proof of concept)

OUT OF BUBBLEGUM (name subject to change) is an exercise I am doing in game design, taking inspiration from a mix of games, Maze Rats, Tunnel Goons, Carin and Goons to name a few, and reskinning them in to what I call Tin Foil Punk.

Tin Foil Punk - Dystopian theme, pulpy characteristics, conspiracy as a narrative.Think of books and movies like Eight O’clock in the Morning, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, They Live and Scanners.

Game

• Players: Are trying to confront conspiracy and secrets.

• Referee: AKA Big Brother, mostly does not need to roll dice during the game, will need to track some systems as the game progresses.

• Classless.

• Tables to build a conspiracy and track its progress.

• Alpha: core game is there, requires polish, likely has some rule and term inconsistencies, spelling mistakes (my dyslexia has surpassed all spell checkers thus far).

Drivethru RPG 

Itch.io

Tinfoil punk

 Tinfoil punkas a Subgenre

Dystopian theme, pulpy characteristics, conspiracy as a narrative

Tinfoilpunk is a subgenre of dystopian and pulp fiction, defined by conspiracies meant to subjugate or end humanity. Unlike the harsh examination and critique of society in dystopian literature, it takes a more lax approach to it, while the sensational elements taken from pulp fiction are more grounded.

In Tinfoil Punk, pulp fiction fears (the vast unknown, science and technology, aliens, occult & forbidden knowledge, end of the world etc.) are secondary to dystopian fears (totalitarian control, loss of individuality, manipulation of truth, isolation, censorship, inescapable system etc.); these dystopian elements are superimposed on the sensational elements of pulp fiction as an explanation to the dystopia.
As with all subgenres, some elements belong to both (mind control, loss of free will, propaganda etc.).

Abbreviated etymology of the colloquial use of the words Tinfoil and punk.

 Tinfoilpunk is the combination of words Tinfoil and punk:

Tinfoil: comes from Tin foil hat, originating from the short story "The Tissue Culture King" (1926) by Julian Huxley, wherein the protagonist uses a wire mesh as a cap for its supposed anti-telepathic 
properties. The concept evolved during the Cold War era, with the conspiracy theory of voice to skull (V2K) that targets individuals through radio waves. Today used colloquially as: tinfoil hatter, tinfoil theory, used interchangeably with crackpot theory, conspiracy theorist, unwarranted paranoia and the like.

Punk: originates from the original punk movement, which was all about rebellion, anti-authoritarianism, and subversion of the mainstream. When added to different genres, "punk" usually signifies a world or aesthetic that is countercultural, rebellious, or questioning authority in some way, such as in Cyberpunk or Steampunk.

Its Origins and Evolution

The beginning of the 60s is where dystopian and pulp themes really start to meld. At this time, George Orwell's 1984 book had been in circulation for about 10 years, and it was 10 years post the end of the golden era of pulp fiction.

Dystopian and pulp works of Kurt Vonnegut (Harrison Bergeron - 1961) and Ray Nelson (Eight O'Clock in the Morning - 1963) and similar stories of the era, more clearly defined by later movies like David Cronenberg's (Videodrome - 1983) and John Carpenter's (They Live - 1988), cemented that consumerism is an integral part of the subgenre.These stories primarily focus on a protagonist learning of a conspiracy meant to control humanity, mostly ending badly for them, while they are not able to make an impact.

Key Characteristics List:

• Reality shattering – A complete paradigm shift that comes with knowledge of a conspiracy meant to control, change, or eliminate part or all of humanity.

• Dystopian theme – On the verge of dystopia or unknowingly in one, strongly mirroring elements of our world.

• Pulpy characteristics – Dystopian themes are explored and are caused by the sensational elements. of pulp fiction

• Unrestrained social structure – Unrestrained capitalism/socialism.

• Passive society – The malice and stupidity of human passivity is explored.

• conspiracy as a narrative – Can give a sense of escapism and simple explanation to multifaceted problems that mostly cause empathy distress.

• Justified paranoia – A powerful entity is out to get its dissenters.

Examples and Analysis

Example Analysis in Media: "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" (1963): after completely becoming awake from a hypnosis treatment, the protagonist discovers that an alien race called "fascinators" are secretly controlling the world with subliminal messages and mind control, while the rest of humanity has no idea that their behavior is a result of the aliens' mind control. Similarly, John Carpenter's adaptation of the story into the movie "They Live": the protagonist obtains a pair of sunglasses able to show him these subliminal messages hidden in plain sight. In both these stories, most of the key characteristics of Tinfoil Punk are present.

Sensational journalism: Tinfoil Punk also serves as a framework for journalism as some of its origins started as sensational newspaper articles, one of the main ones being about G. Warren Shufelt, in 1930s trying to convince the people of Los Angeles that he had devised an X-ray machine with which he uncovered an incredible underground city, covered in gold, made thousands of years ago by a race of lizard people.

In modern times, some notable names of sensational reporters working within the framework of Tinfoil punk are Alex Jones, David Icke, Dan Diaconescu amongst others. As in Secret Insight, it may be used as a tool to mislead or miss the forest for the trees, easily answering complex social, political problems.

Impact and Relevance

Conclusion: Tinfoil punk remains a powerful yet mostly undefined sub-genre. It's powerful because it taps into humanity's fear of losing its humanity in the near future — it gives us a palatable way of exploring dystopian concepts of human suffering, mostly caused by modernity, with no requirement of putting our prior biases aside, doing so by transferring the cause of the suffering to a pulpy concept. It continues to prove that the fear of harm we may cause ourselves en masse is timeless.Undefined because it continues to evolve as society evolves; for example, voice to skull conspiracy theory (V2K) is now the 5G conspiracy theory. In addition, it encompasses many other well-defined genres that bleed into one another.It endures in pop culture with familiar concepts of Lizard people and so-called psy- ops such as Area 51, tin foil hats and more. As a story framework, it's extremely malleable and can fit most political or religious leanings.

Zaqaru: Third-party class for Shadowdark

Zaqaru Class

Archetype: 

A pathfinder trailing a legendary creature, a head hunter returning to the ziggurat with a worthy sacrifice.

Core abilities: Exotic weapons , Survival, Consume .

Design influences: Time spent in South America, The apocalypto movie, Vanilla world of warcraft Trolls.

Mechanic: I wanted to use the master generator page in the Shadowdark Book.

Potential problems:  consume ability is to granular / hard to understand. 

Zaqaru.drivethrurpg.com

vorpaledge.itch.io/zaqaru-class

Zaqaru class is an independent product published under the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License and is not affiliated with The Arcane Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane Librmodified art of Mariana Ruiz Villareal is licensed under: CC0