The final full chapter of Deep Dive is coming along, and I'm now ready to ask all of you if there are conspiracy mechanics you wish existed but don't. Well, are there? Tell me about it. I might not be able to fulfill every request, but I'...
2025-11-06 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThis week I'm sharing a total asshole of a Devoted who serves Human Logistics, a Standing 7 conspiracy.
The usual caveat applies: This is a first draft, so there will be changes.
Quote: “If y...
2025-11-04 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostHalloween was a success, although we didn't have a huge number of trick or treaters. Our trouble is that there's a stretch of road a block away where absolutely everyone takes the holiday very seriously - like, spider skeleton and 12-foot skeleton...
2025-11-01 11:08:06 +0000 UTC View PostWork continues on the mechanics and optional rules chapter of Deep Dive. Progress there is slow but steady. I hope to finish that at some point in November. Then comes chapter fiction, which shouldn't be too time-consuming.
Second d...
2025-10-30 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThis week I'm sharing the Devoted of the Chinkon Collective, a Standing 5 conspiracy.
The usual caveat applies: This is a first draft. There will be changes.
Quote: “My name is Hideki Shimizu, ...
2025-10-28 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostI'm hanging out with the kids this weekend while Beth is at Ohio Valley Filk Fest. Aside from a couple of brief activities, it should be a pretty chill weekend. "Should" is always the operative word here. Sometimes the kids are just as content as ...
2025-10-25 11:59:20 +0000 UTC View PostI'm finished with the various introductions and am now working on the mechanics clarifications and optional rules chapter. I certainly have a fair number of items on my to-do list for this, but I also want to make sure I'm addressing things that m...
2025-10-23 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThis week's sample character is the spurned and forgotten genius behind the technology that makes the Dark Matter Fellowship (a Standing 2 conspiracy) possible.
As always, this is a first draft. There will be changes.
I had my regular check-up last week and an additional blood draw, and the consensus was that there's no cause for alarm, but I really need to get back in the habit of exercising regularly again. So, I've been experimenting with fitting an hour or ...
2025-10-18 11:56:17 +0000 UTC View PostI've finished the main introduction of Deep Dive, as well as the handshake introductions for the local and regional chapters. I'm currently making progress on the global chapter introduction. I expect to get that one and the otherworldly ...
2025-10-16 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThis week I'm finally sharing the Devoted for the Symposium, a Standing 10 conspiracy using the bootstrap paradox to bring itself into existence as early in human history as possible. I had perhaps a bit too much fun with this one. My goal was to ...
2025-10-14 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostA few weeks back, I took Arya to the family overnight, which was focused on younger kids and so absolutely needed an abundance of grown-ups there. Tonight is the 8th grader overnight, which permits drop-off-and-drive but also still requires so...
2025-10-11 11:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostI've been working on the first draft of the introduction to Deep Dive. Something I've learned along the way is that it's essentially impossible to write the introduction to a supplement (especially a large one) until the first draft is co...
2025-10-09 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThis week's Devoted is part of Abyssal Pioneers, a Standing 6 conspiracy with its headquarters at one of the deepest points of the ocean.
As with the others I've shared, this is a first draft, so there will be changes as I revise.
It's been a challenging week. Recently, Arya became enamored with the idea of having an aquarium. She saved up money for her agreed-upon share of the start-up costs and off to the aquarium store she and Beth went. After consulting with the local f...
2025-10-04 12:28:46 +0000 UTC View PostWith the exception of a couple of conspiracies that are still pending first drafts for quite understandable reasons, Deep Dive is now in second drafts. Writers will spend the next several weeks revising their drafts based on redlines. Whi...
2025-10-02 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostToday's sample character comes from Next-Gen Law Enforcement, a Standing 3 conspiracy. Although most of the characters in Deep Dive are Devoted, Erika is a Renegade.
The usual caveat applies: This is a first draft, so there will be ...
2025-09-30 11:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThere are many things in Arya's life where only Mom will do. Given the choice between "do you want Mom to take you to the pool or Dad?", for example, she will always choose Mom. But one the strength of that one epic game of sardines last year, the...
2025-09-27 13:03:49 +0000 UTC View PostMy redlining tasks this week have been mostly concerned with comparing sample characters to make sure there isn't too much conceptual overlap. I did something similar with conspiracies a couple of weeks ago - making sure we don't have three differ...
2025-09-25 11:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThis week I'm spoiling the signature Devoted of Gustaw's Retinue, a Standing 1 conspiracy that has sprung up around a celebrity-businessman.
I think I've mostly sorted out which conspiracy sections I've spoiled and which are still waiting in...
2025-09-23 11:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostI seem to have picked up the kids' back-to-school cold, so instead of getting up and being unproductive (but feeling bad about it), I'm taking NyQuil and going back to bed (in hopes of minimizing this cold's duration).
2025-09-20 10:36:08 +0000 UTC View PostI've now finished two redlining passes and am taking a brief pause before beginning another. I find that it's important to have a little bit of space between editorial passes - roughly two weeks is generally enough. When we're talking first vs. se...
2025-09-18 11:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostI apparently need to take a moment soon to make a list of which conspiracies/Devoted I have and haven't shared, yet, because the one I posted today was one I shared back in May. Sorry about that. So, have the Devoted from the Extraordinary Leagues...
2025-09-16 13:42:33 +0000 UTC View PostThis week's Devoted comes from Corvalis Chemicals, a Standing 3 conspiracy. I swear, not every conspiracy agent is a charlatan of one stripe or another! But there are a pretty decent number of them in the Web of Pain.
The usual caveat applie...
2025-09-16 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostWe ultimately settled on giving Kaiju No. 8 a try as our (relatively) serious anime. It held our attention so well that we ended up watching its entire first season.
It had some echoes of Jujutsu Kaisen - a hero who swallows a thing that giv...
2025-09-13 11:11:27 +0000 UTC View PostI'm working through my second redline pass on Deep Dive and am currently a little more than halfway through global conspiracies. Not a whole lot more to report than that, for now. Each reread gives me a clearer picture of what this supple...
2025-09-11 11:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostToday I'm sharing the sample character for the Magorum Collegia, a demon summoner who mostly uses his considerable occult skill to run long cons.
Quote: “My daughters and I are visiting your charmi...
2025-09-09 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe final episode of What We Do in the Shadows was marvelous, although we're so glad we failed utterly to check the runtime before we started it, because instead of the usual 20-minute episode, it went on...considerably longer than that. ...
2025-09-06 12:29:17 +0000 UTC View PostI finished my first redline pass of Deep Dive over the weekend. On Monday, I spent about 10 hours revising the template I've been using for these since late 2024. This was less a "change everything" move and more a matter of taking the pa...
2025-09-04 12:06:57 +0000 UTC View PostToday I'm sharing the sample Devoted for Tavayana, a Standing 1 conspiracy.
The usual caveat applies: This is a first draft, so there will be changes.
Quote: “We all dream, but with Tavayana’s...
2025-09-02 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post