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March 30th is World Bipolar Day! Sunflowers is my new autobio comic about what having bipolar disorder 1 with psychosis is like for me, and what it’s like living with the stigma. This was definitely the scariest, most emotionally-difficult comic I’ve ever made (and the most honest).

It’s 22 pages, and you can download it on Itch.io: https://keezyyoung.itch.io/sunflowers

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Image Text:

Bipolar Disorder in Teens and Young Adults: Know the Signs

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes unusual and extreme shifts in mood, marked by episodes of mania and depression. During these episodes, symptoms last for days or weeks at a time.

Common Signs & Symptoms of Mania

Showing intense happiness or silliness

Having a very short temper or seeming extremely irritable

Talking very fast or having racing thoughts

Having an inflated sense of ability, knowledge, and power

Doing reckless things that show poor judgment

Common signs & symptoms of depression

Feeling very sad or hopeless

Feeling lonely or isolated from others

Eating too much or too little

Having little energy and no interest in usual activities

Sleeping too much

If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, help is available. For crisis counseling and support, call or text 988 (988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). In life-threatening situations, call 911

Nimh.nih.gov/bipolardisorder

#bipolar #bipolar disorder #mental illness #de-stigmatize #de-stigmatize mental illness #shareNIMH #doing research to support some family #figured I'd share what I found

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More unconventional world-threatening disasters for your heroes to fight

The halflings have finally fucking snapped

Unfortunate political loophole gives ravenous ghoul total power, everyone upset at being eaten but insisting they need to respect the process.

World's greatest Archmage is drunk off their ass

There's some guy in a cape with glowing red eyes cackling and waving a skull staff around. He's not explicitly done anything wrong but, like, we kind of assume there must be something going on there. Right?

The blessed artifact that will save the world from the demon invasion has a big spider on it and no-one wants to go near it.

Someone gave the Tarrasque a knife

Every time someone casts a spell the moon comes one inch closer to the earth.

Oh shit the Elves just invented capitalism

Cursed item that will destroy the world if anyone says "rhubarb" near it. No-one knows which item it is.

Fire elemental desperately lonely and coming to the material plane for hugs.

There's one warlock who's just eldritch blasting everyone on the planet one by one, like an asshole.

Poorly considered Elder Evil Vacation Day coming up.

The GM is getting bored, and the PCs must entertain them from within the game lest they abandon the game and render their world non-existence.

#gm tools

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I know this map might look a bit hard to write into your average campaign, but with a little elbow grease I’m sure you’ll be able to integrate a flying crystal-studded space rotunda into just about any medieval fantasy adventure with only moderate effort. For example, if you were going to set up a goblin ambush in an autumn wood, maybe replace the goblins with a cosmic cloud entity of incomprehensible immensity, swap out the ambush with your players interrupting an inscrutable summoning ritual, and the autumn wood with a series of floating rocks from which any fall will result in endless falling through nothingness and then eventually, death in the cold void of infinity.

Patreon

#gm tools #battle map

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What about a d10 list of minimal to major spell failure blunders?

Your spell ricochets wildly, striking not only your intended target (though only in a glancing blow), but allies, passers-by, and the landscape itself. The damage is immense.

You find yourself two feet shorter than usual for the next 24 hours after a spell gone awry.

Everyone in the spell's vicinity begins to hiccup large green bubbles that leave a scent of watermelon when popped.

You teleport where you intended to. Your clothes, however, do not.

The target of the spell is concussed as though you had thrown a solid object at them instead of magic.

At first you think the spell simply failed. It is only that evening that you discover tiny pinprick holes in every article of clothing you own.

An invisible fire starts. You can only see the smoke, but the shouts of nearby civilians tells you the first is most certainly real.

Every animal in a mile radius is drawn to the smoldering remains of your spell components, and each and every one of them can speak temporarily.

Your spell hits a target - just not the one you intended. Somewhere, unbeknownst to you, someone feels the effects of the spell and their dreams are haunted by your voice.

Your misguided spell attempt renders you unable to carry a tune for the rest of your days.

all d10 lists

#gm tools

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⚔️ 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Obsidian Star
Weapon (dagger), rare (requires attunement) ___

A favorite amongst mage hunters, this midnight-dark obsidian dagger sparkles like starlight. While in darkness, you can clearly see the cosmos in its blade. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, which has 3 charges and regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn. If left outdoors under starlight for 8 hours, it automatically regains all expended charges at dawn instead.

When you hit a creature with the dagger, you can expend 1 of its charges to force the target to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. The creature takes an extra 2d8 force damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. If the creature is a spellcaster and fails the saving throw, it also can’t cast spells of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level for 1 minute. It can make another DC 15 Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns for the duration, ending the effect on itself on a success. ___

✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon’s Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

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Everything okay?

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. There are many support services that are here to help. For 24/7 peer support and other resources, message KokoBot on Tumblr.

If you are in the United States, please try:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) The Trevor Project (LGBTQ youth, ages 13-24) National Eating Disorders Association (online chat, text) RAINN (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you are outside the United States, visit IASP to find resources for your country.

For more resources, please visit our Counseling & Prevention Resources page for a list of services that may be able to help.

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Made stickers of my little dungeon monsters!  Their names are Winkerson, Hinges, and Anjello.  Get yours here!

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If I may be so bold as to request two: a 1d10 list of heroic deeds a barbarian must accomplish to prove his/her honor. and 1d10 Dwarven folk tales.

Heroic Deeds as Tests of Merit

Climb the highest peak and retrieve a single egg from the snow eagle's nest. Raise the eaglet until it is grown.

Set aside weapons of all kind and traverse the continent from one end to another.

Hold up a waterfall.

Construct a bridge to unite two villages. Accept no help. Use no tools.

Race a cheetah and win.

Retrieve the shield of an ancient warrior, long sunk beneath a deadly whirlpool.

Slay a dragon and carve its skull into a cottage.

Find the bog witch and live with her for a year and a day, doing whatever she bids.

Find a fallen star and bring it to the king.

Scale the Tower and discover what is hidden within.

Dwarven Folk Tales

The Lady of Under is a figure of myth every dwarven child knows about. They say she comes from the deeps, from the very center of the earth, covered in the glitter of mineral and the dust of stone, to grant sweet dreams to those who are sleeping.

Have you heard the tale of the Lovers of Malachite? The trio separated by distance and politics? Their story is a tragic one, for when their knocked messages were heard by the kings of their respective nations, they were locked away forever.

Shadowmoles aren't real. They aren't! They're a made up creature used to explain away miners losing things in the tunnels. Some even say depth sickness is blamed on them.

They say there was once a dwarf so talented on the guitar that even tallfolk were enchanted. If you are lost and hear music, know that it is his songs guiding you.

Efri the Rash was a dwarf so strong and so quick to anger, they say she carved the vast canyon we now live in in a fit of pique after her prize badger was slain.

If you're very quiet near a tunnel's entrance, and the wind whistles across it, you can hear the weeping of a king under the mountain, now long dead. His spirit wanders above ground, unable to return home because of a curse.

Dwarves once were able to swim in the lava flows found deep underground, but a trickster god in the form of a tunnelworm robbed them of their fire immunity. That's why tunnelworms can now swim in lava lakes.

If legend is true, twas a dwarf that hung the moon and the sky. She so loved the stars that she gifted them a great rock to be near them. Some say her bones lie at the moon's center.

If ever you fall into a sinkhole, you have been chosen by the earth to hear and interpret her words. They say you will come back stronger and wiser - but forever changed.

The glowlark flowers that bloom in the caves only grow where a giant's tears have fallen as it laid down for final rest to let its body turn to stone.

all d10 random lists

#gm tools

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Random Calendar Builder: Starting With Weeks

This is part three of a series on calendars! See this master post for more calendar content: https://www.tumblr.com/randomtable/713543620842700800/random-calendar-series-masterpost?source=share

A different approach to building a calendar with randomization: starting with the smaller units and building up.

1d12 Week Structures

1. A 6 day week, with no set “weekend” - different days off are taken by different people. 2. A 5 day week, with a single weekend day of rest. 3. A 10 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 4. A 4 day week, with no set “weekend” - different days off are taken by different people.   5. A 6 day week, with days of rest on the third and sixth days. 6. An 8 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 7. A 7 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 8. A 9 day week, with days of rest on the third, sixth, and ninth days. 9. A 10 day week, with three concurrent weekend days of rest. 10. An 8 day week, with three concurrent weekend days of rest. 11. A 6 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest. 12. A 7 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest and a day of rest on the third day.

1d4 Naming Conventions for Days of the Week:

1. Days of the week are referred to by numerical names (ie “firstday” or an equivalent in one of your worlds languages). One day has an exception; what’s special about it? 2. Days of the week are named for gods or other religious figures. What kinds of prayers or rituals are devoted to them on their days? 3. Days of the week are named by duties, chores, or cultural practices that are expected to be done on that day. Are these widely followed, or viewed as something “no one does anymore”? 4. Days of the week are named for planets and/or other celestial bodies (or, for lunar calendars, they might be related to phases of the moon instead). What religious, cultural, scientific or magical associations do these planets have?

For the Rest of the Calendar (1d4)

1. A lunar calendar. Each month is divided into four weeks, based on the full moon, new moon, and waxing and waning half moons. There are 5d4 months in the year. 2. A solar calendar. There are 9d10 weeks in a year, and 5d4 months.* 3. A lunar calendar, based on multiple moons. The moon with the shortest lunar cycle is used for the weeks, while a moon with a longer lunar cycle is used for the months. There are 9d10 weeks in a year, and 5d4 months in a year.* 4. A lunisolar calendar. Each month is divided into four weeks, based on the full moon, new moon, and waxing and waning half moons. There are 5d4 months in the year, but every 2d4+1 years there is an extra month in the year, which helps keep the months aligned to the seasons.

*The number of months may not divide evenly into the year with these results. To resolve this, multiply the number of weeks by the number of days in one week. This is how many days are in the year. Divide the number of days in the year by the number of months in the year, to get the number of days in the month. If this number is whole, great! If not, take just the decimal of the result and multiply it by the number of months in the year to find the number of extra days. You can distribute these days to either make some months longer than others, or insert extra days between months that are observed as holidays.

This post is already pretty long, so if you want to build your calendar further, check out my posts on randomly generated solar and lunar calendars.

#world building #GM tools

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Sale!

20-50% off all pre-made dice sets from 6/15-6/24/23!

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I know you've done a game recommendations post about lighthearted solo games, but do you have any suggestions for someone's first solo ttrpg/journaling game?

THEME: First-Time Solo Games!

Hello friend! I sure do have some recommendations! Many of the games I present here are representative of a larger type, so you might be able to find other games within that category by browsing the related tags on itch.io. Most of the games require dice, and many of the games require decks of cards. Other than that, you shouldn’t need anything too fancy or elaborate to play these kinds of games!

The Sky City Charade, by Ashley Morgan’s Games.

Elysia. Midtown. Someone rich was murdered. And you, a private detective from the lowest reaches of Sky City, have been tasked to find out why.

This is a solo journalling game based on the Hints and Hijinx system from Pandion Games. Create a character and navigate through a cyberpunk city stretching into the heavens, dealing with whatever it throws at you.

Using polyhedral dice, a deck of cards, something to journal with, and your own imagination, see if you can bring this case to a satisfying close by actually solving it and finding out who is behind this mysterious crime, and why you were asked to solve it.

Hints and Hijinx games use a pack of cards and a deteriorating dice mechanic to generate a story. In The Sky City Charade, you’ll assign your two highest dice (a d10 and a d12) to two stats: Smarts & Tough. Every roll you make in an effort to find a clue has a chance of giving you what you’re looking for, but also a chance of making future rolls harder. The game is divided into three phases: Setup, Investigation, and Closure. You’ll spend most of your time in the Investigation phase, visiting locations and drawing cards to determine what kind of complications arise in your efforts to solve the mystery.

What I like about this kind of game is the structure. There’s clear instructions for each section of play, and the deteriorating dice mechanic ensures that you both think carefully about when to look for clues and also finish play within a reasonable time frame. I also enjoy the thoughtful world building that went into the location creation for this game; the author knows what kind of world they want to present you with, and they deliver.

If you want more games of this system, I’d recommend checking out the Hints and Hijinx Jam!

Beast at Bay, by Ive Sorocuk.

You arrive back in your hometown.The journey was long.You have little memory of it but you do recall being attacked by some form of beast. A beast you can still feel deep within you, wanting to get out.

Beast at Bay is a solo rpg/journaling game that uses the Second Guess System. It’s a pretty simple game, only one page long, with a Humanity tracker and a list of 20 prompts. You roll a d20 and answer a question from the prompt list, adjusting the Humanity tracker as needed.

The Second Guess System thrives on re-rolls, and frames rolling the same prompt twice as a chance to examine your character’s uncertainty - was their original answer truly what was going on, or is there something hidden, possibly even from themself? In Beast at Bay, every time you must re-examine a question, you will need to roll a d6 to determine whether you lose Humanity. The game ends when you either reach 6 or fall to 0. If you like quick-to-read games that can be played in approximately 30 minutes, then I’d recommend checking out this game.

You can find other Second Guess Games in the Second Guess Jam!

Weeds in the Waste, by Meghan Cross.

Weeds in the Waste is a solo storytelling game about tending a garden in a post apocalyptic wasteland.

Determine the state of your wasteland, create your gardener, plant your seeds, and tend your garden as you play through the seasons in the wastes. It is a narrative, storytelling game played using 2d6s and a 6x6 grid, as well as a series of prompts. 

Grid-based games give you visual references that can help you visualize what is going on in your game world. They also give you a chance to strategize a little bit, especially if the dice you’re rolling will affect the map, like in this game. Despite the fact that this game happens in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I still feel like some part of it is a cozy game. You’re not saving the world or fighting your inner darkness in Weeds in the Waste; you’re growing plants and striving to make your garden a place of hope. Much of the prompts provided are aimed at building up the world around you, whether that be weather events, celebrations, or the kinds of plants you are attempting to grow.

If you like games with lower stakes and visual references, I recommend this game. If you want other grid-based games with different themes, I’d recommend Wonderfall, by Catscratcher Studio, and Exclusion Zone Botanist, by Exuent Press.

Anamnesis, by Sam Leigh, Blinking Birch Games.

Anamnesis is a 24-page solo journaling RPG about self-discovery, reflection, and identity.

You play as an individual who has woken up with memory loss. You do not remember who you are, where you are, or what you care about. As you draw tarot cards, you fill the blank spaces of your past and learn more about your present. All that is needed to play is a deck of tarot cards and a way to record your thoughts.

Explore your character’s backstory through five acts, divided up using the four suits and major arcana of a tarot deck. This game is highly interpretive, giving you prompts to answer but depending upon your interpretation of tarot cards in order to determine the kinds of details that you’ll end up filling out. The fact that it uses a tarot deck may be it’s biggest obstacle if you don’t already own a tarot deck, but if you do own a tarot deck you’ll likely already have some experience when it comes to interpreting the cards, and so I don’t know if the openness of interpretation is that much of a hurdle when it comes to playing this game.

What I do know is that Anamnesis has won several awards, and is pretty well-known in the gaming scene. There’s both digital and physical copies, and the creator offers both discounted damaged copies as well as community copies pretty regularly. There’s also an Anamnesis Jam with many other Anamnesis - inspired games for you to check out!

The Sealed Library, by Sealed Library.

The Sealed Library is a solo journaling RPG played with a deck of cards, a tumbling block tower and a notebook/scroll.

You are the sole surviving librarian of the greatest library in history. It sits in the centre of culture for an ancient land, now fallen to invaders. They pillage and raze. 

The library has been barricaded and you are under siege. What important texts can you move down into the vaults and seal away forever before the barricade breaks? What will future generations discover inside the Sealed Library?

Wretched & Alone games such as this one usually recommend a Jenga tower but I’ve found them very playable without one. All you really need is a deck of cads, a six-sided dice, and some tokens, which can be anything (I use poker chips). Personally, I think the biggest con is the tone of the games - most Wretched & Alone games are meant to be tragic or horrific. For example, in The Sealed Library, you are a librarian trying to save as much of the library as possible before invaders knock down the doors and kill you, or before you die of starvation.

These games divide events in between four categories, to match the four suits of cards. In this game, these suits represent saved books, new discoveries, invader events and dwindling resources. If the tumbling tower falls, you die. If you draw all four Kings, you die. There are a few ways for your character to escape alive, but the chances of drawing the right cards in the right order are low. What I appreciate about this game is that it includes a debrief section, allowing you to process the story you have just told yourself. If you’re interested in playing out a story that may pull you into a tragedy however, games like this one may suit you.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Untitled Moth Game, by S. Kaiya J.

Osteozee, by Psychound.

Global Dragon Egg Conservation, by KuumatheBronze.

Games from the Solo But Not Alone Bundle.

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Eldritch Blast

Evocation Cantrip

Range: 120ft

A beam of crackling energy streaks toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 force damage.

Hey, if you're going to sell your soul, you may as well get a dope ass cantrip out of it, right?

REDBUBBLE ✨ TEEPUBLIC

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Magic Missile

1st Level Evocation Range: 120ft You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several. A staple for every beginner wizard! REDBUBBLE ✨ TEEPUBLIC

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I took some new pictures of my shirts :) (Also I painted that mini! haha)

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All good stories start with a 1!

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♡ Yeet For Initiative (S-3XL) - Link in the source! ♡