thelostbaystudio

[thelostbaystudio]

We're Punk Monks

We're humans

We publish RPG zines for humans

We don't use AIs or NFTs

We cherish the craft

We value creative minds and hearts

We love gamers

Zines https://thelostbaystudio.com

Newsletter https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/subscribe

Logo by Hinokodo https://hinokodo.itch.io/human-made

Art by Evangeline Gallagher https://bsky.app/profile/egallagher.bsky.social

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #osr #human made art #no ai art

[thelostbaystudio]

Riso print made at/with `Spazio Florida Milan

To make The Lost Bay RPG more accessible we are working to:

* Make a 4 p. quickstart, easily translatable

* Support 3RP designers who use non English languages

* Provide Spanish, Chinese, and French support/content

* Prep a full translation in Spanish

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #horrorrpgs #suburbia #the lost bay #osr #suburban gothic #risograph #riso print

[thelostbaystudio]

Tonight! join us on The Weekly Scroll and discover if Sarah, Johnny and Dante will survive Deep Water - I'll be running a variant of the intro session to the campaign I'm running in TLB server.

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #horrorrpgs #suburbia #the lost bay #southern gothic #actual play

[thelostbaystudio]

:P

#amazing

[thelostbaystudio]

Cybercafé à Paris (1995)

#1990s #56k #when bars had computers

[thelostbaystudio]

The limit does not exist (what a seizure feels like)

#beautiful

[thelostbaystudio]

Appendix N

Working to support designers in other continents than mine with designing The Lost Bay RPG content, I was chatting with a Taiwanese GM and was reminded how much The Rebels of The Neon God hits the TLB vibe

One of my all time fave films, if you can try and watch it, a superb movie.

Goes straight into TLB Appendix N

#indie ttrpg #taiwan #suburbia #tsai ming liang #Youtube

[thelostbaystudio]

Milk Bar: my sci-fi RPG set in a post-Soviet Poland is now live on Kickstarter!

Hey folks!!

Milk Bar is a sci-fi tabletop roleplaying game set in an alternate-timeline, post-Soviet Poland. After the Soviets grew in power, their ultimate clash with Capital left your city in ruin. All you can do now is gather your fellow Communards, salvage whatever you can, and build your Milk Bar.

Based on RPGs like Cairn, Mausritter, and Mothership, and video games like Disco Elysium and Control, Milk Bar is a game about the post-collapse and rebuilding.

A 100-page book featuring:

Quick, simplified rules in the old school tradition

A toolkit for generating a retro-futuristic, alternate-timeline post-Soviet Communist Poland

Funnel Rules which have your group of upstart Communards find and take back a Milk Bar from the grasp of Capital. Start at level 0 and Cut Your Milk Teeth. 

Unique progression system tied to basebuilding. Want to stitch up those wounds? You better build an Infirmary and find a Doctor

Abandoned Soviet Superstructures containing reality-bending Future Tech deep within

A Bestiary melding Polish and Slavic mythology with classic science fiction

Solo Rules. Become the Biggest Communism Builder of the year '24!

Gorgeous production values: high-quality, uncoated paper and an exposed, yellow thread binding. Full of graphic design work from Eryk Sawicki (me!) and art from SADGHOBLIN

Pierogi

#rpg #poland #indie rpg #retro scifi #cool stuff

[thelostbaystudio]

New Episode - The Links Between with Ell

It's the match of the century. You won't want to miss this, wrestling fans!

[thelostbaystudio]

It's officially #zinemonth, and that means there are a ton of incredible TTRPG projects funding right now. We want to feature as many of these projects as possible in our February newsletter, so if you're running a project or know of a cool one (this part is a trick, they're all cool) please promote it here and/or email us about it, [email protected]

#zinemonth2024 #indie ttrpgs

[thelostbaystudio]

Cursed Tamagotchi RPG

🔥 Final cover art by Evangeline Gallagher for PARABYTE by @goblinmixtape for The Lost Bay RPG KS - cursed tamagotchi user manual Will you let them feed on Fresh Blood and Memories? Will you still love them once they grow into a Torso with a hundred hands or a Fleshy Millipede?

You guys, I'm super excited about this contribution by Sam. It's so wild, written in a super fun way. A great module to hook into your campaign, to play solo, or just to enjoy reading and grin :)

It's written like an in-game user manual, and will take you through all the steps to grow your own hellish tamagotchi

I'm so grateful it's in The Lost Bay pack, but above all, I can't wait to play it!

Would you let them feed on you?

Follow https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/the-lost-bay-suburban-dark-fantasy-rpg

Info https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/announcing-the-lost-bay-rpg-a-dark

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #horrorrpgs #the lost bay #suburban gothic #suburbia #tamagotchi #osr #dnd #not dnd

[thelostbaystudio]

Fam

🔥 In The Lost Bay RPG when the characters survive adventures together they can found a Family, whatever that word means for them, and get bonuses to heal Scars or use Powers 🔥

Your Family is what you want it to be

The Lost Bay is what you want it to be

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #suburbia #horrorrpgs #the lost bay #the lost bay rpg #suburban gothic

[thelostbaystudio]

In The Lost Bay RPG you can play a zombie Half-Dead character class. Those are Half-Dead's hands.

This last weekend I decided to append the Suburban Gothic genre to the game. People who are playing/writing for the game find that is a good match. I'm overexcited about this, and I'm doing little layouts with Suburban Gothic close to the game illustrations, like a test. If it works with the game art, it works! Well looks like it works.

#indie ttrpg #indie rpg #indie tabletop rpg #tabletop rpg #horrorrpgs #osr #suburban gothic #suburbia #the lost bay

[thelostbaystudio]

Suburban Gothic

Yesterday I randomly stumbled across the Suburban Gothic subgenre (thanks tumblr algorithm) - so many cool photos with that hashtag and also I find it suits so well The Lost Bay RPG. I've been looking for a while how to describe the game genre and landed on complicated wordings like "weird dark fantasy horror in a suburban space in the 199Xs". Suburban Gothic just does the trick. I've decided to adopt it.

#indie tabletop rpg #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #tabletop rpg #suburban gothic #game design #the lost bay rpg #dnd #not dnd

[thelostbaystudio]

The Lost Bay comes to life!!!

Hey folks, in the next few weeks I'll be launching the crowdfunding campaign for The Lost Bay, a dark fantasy tabletop RPG set in 199X.

I've been working on it for years, and thanks to the feedback and support of the numerous folks who played the early access version, the game is now ripe to go to print.

But what is it exactly?

The Lost Bay is a dark fantasy tabletop RPG. It’s set in alternate 199X. The Lost Bay is also the name of the game setting, a small coastal suburb, both familiar and uncanny, where the mundane and the magical mix inextricably. Living Saints, rituals, blood curses are part of the characters’ daily life alongside console games, VHS tapes, and phone booths.

The Lost Bay is a set of three booklets. It contains everything you need to play: character creation, core rules, advanced tips and toolkits, detailed setting and bestiary.

The cool thing is that you get to play powerful characters, roaming in a weird and at times dark world.

The system in a nutshell

Three attributes, and a d6 dice pool for all your Action Rolls or Saves.

One resource to fuel your Powers.

Powers always succeed but can get you a Scar.

Scars can hurt you, make you more powerful, or change you. They are specific to each Vibe.

If you get all the Scars and you manage to survive them, you become a Living Saint, an immortal roaming the Bay. YOU become the Lore of the Bay.

What’s in the books?

User Guide: character creation and core rules, ten playable classes, three post-death special classes, custom character growth, Scar tables.

GM Guide: tips and toolkits, advanced rules, adventure building frameworks, examples and designer commentary.

Travel guide: extensive ready to use setting, exploration procedures, pre-gen point-crawls, six full-fledged districts featuring: locations, NPCs, Bosses, complications, rumors, treasures, adventure seeds.

If this sounds cool to you stay tuned for more updates about the game, or follow the Kickstarter page to be notified on launch

If you have any questions about the game feel free to fire them, I'd be happy to answer. And if you want to try it come and say hi on The Lost Bay server, we play the game regularly, and I even do 60minutes intro to it for folks who just want to give it a quick try https://discord.com/invite/37XBQVr7eP

Cheers

Iko

#indie tabletop rpg #indie ttrpg #indie rpg #tabletop rpg #horrorrpgs #osr #dark fantasy #game design #90s #suburbia #suburban #suburban gothic #suburbangothic

[thelostbaystudio]

Play-By-Blog #7: The Isle by Luke Gearing

Welcome to my ongoing play-by-blog of The Isle by Luke Gearing! We are playing this adventure with its original system, The Vanilla Game (adjusted somewhat to fit the format). You can check out the Play-By-Blog Repository to get all caught up if you wish.

How Play-By-Blog works:

I write up the situation, NPCs, and more, just like a DM.

You vote in the poll to help decide the character's course of action.

I roll the dice, resolve actions, and write them up next week.

So on and so forth for the rest of the adventure!

Notation:

[Text in brackets is out-of-character/GM text!] "Non-italicized quotes denote text from the original adventure!" "Italicized quotations denotes NPC dialogue."

Our character: Medon Girou - Magic Cutpurse

Our map: The Isle

[You can use the link's above to find Medon's Character Sheet and map of the Isle. On the map, you are currently at B.]

Now, back to the adventure!

The dead monk's medallion hangs heavy around your neck as you pick yourself off and leave this place. If there was silver to be found in those ruins to the north and peace may be difficult to procure with the monks (based on this last interaction anyway), you figure it best to explore what else of interest my lie outside the monastery's walls.

To the north, there was a large graveyard, butting up against the sea. You head there. Grave robbing has never been your preferred style of theft, but you aren't above it. If these monks are godly men than it will do them no harm either way. Their souls are safe in their lord's heavenly domain, after all.

It takes an hour or so to reach the graves [1 on the map]. You pass over the collapsed building once more and, keeping your eyes peeled, don't see any other monks out and about. To the south, the flame still burns atop the monastery's tower.

"Low pilings of rock--the traditional drystone cairns of the mainland. There are seven, currently. The graves are neither named nor marked." The seventh shows some sign of being more recently dug than the others, albeit still a considerable time--many months at least.

The sea crashes against the cliff face over the edge and far below. The graves cast almost no shadows in the high, midday sun. To the west, you can see an ancient auld tree, warped by the wind [2, on the map] but with little else nearby. To the west, the 30 some foot high formation of stone stands in stark contrast with the oceanic horizon beyond [3, on the map]. It looks climbable, if you are careful. The birds certainly seem to perch their regularly.

[A short little transition entry this week. Lots of options still, and we haven't even hit the monastery itself (where the vast majority of the adventure lies)! If I find the time, I may do a midweek update as well to help us make a bit more progress. Thanks, as always, for reading and voting! - Christian]

#leave the graves in peace

[thelostbaystudio]

Play-By-Blog #4: The Isle by Luke Gearing

Welcome to my ongoing play-by-blog of The Isle by Luke Gearing! We are playing this adventure with its original system, The Vanilla Game (adjusted somewhat to fit the format). You can check out the Play-By-Blog Repository to get all caught up if you wish.

How Play-By-Blog works:

I write up the situation, NPCs, and more, just like a DM.

You vote in the poll to help decide the character's course of action.

I roll the dice, resolve actions, and write them up next week.

So on and so forth for the rest of the adventure!

Notation:

[Text in brackets is out-of-character/GM text!] "Non-italicized quotes denote text from the original adventure!" "Italicized quotations denotes NPC dialogue."

Our character: Medon Girou - Magic Cutpurse Our map: The Isle

[You can use the link's above to find Medon's Character Sheet and map of the Isle. On the map, you are currently at 4.]

Now, back to the adventure!

The monk is the first person you've seen on the actual isle, other than that corpse back in the mossy cove. Best to follow him from afar, you think. They may only be monks, but Cioran made it pretty clear that can be wary of outsiders, especially uninvited ones. You lay down amongst the rubble you searched through earlier in the day and walk the monk on his stroll.

He heads north, generally in your direction and away from the monastery for some time, before turning west and heading down a well worn path heading towards the sea. At a point, he falls out of your view as the path descends. It's time to approach and quietly tail him, if you can.

You cautiously step down the raised rocky region and into the area of the lower path, steps carefully as you go [Dexterity Check: 8 - Success!]. You keep a good distance and the short cliffs at either side are full of pockets to hide yourself away in. The monk continues on his path.

Closer now, you are able to see the man is younger, younger that you expected any of the monks to be on a forgotten monastery like this. He's carrying a long, fairly fine fishing pole, using it as a walking stick as he travels towards the cove [B] along the western coast. He's singing a shanty to himself:

"Oh, poor old man your horse will die And we say so, and we know so Oh, poor old man your horse will die Oh, poor old man "We'll hoist him up to the main yardarm We'll hoist him up to the main yardarm "Say, I old man your horse will die Say, I old man your horse will die "We'll drop him down to the depths of the sea We'll drop him down to the bottom of the sea "We'll sing him down with a long, long roll Where the sharks'll have his body and the devil have have his soul!"

A surprising song to hear from a godly man such as this.

You continue to trail him for a time until he enters the built-out and well-kept cove. He walks past a stockpile of stones and down a set of carves stairs towards the water below.

"This shallow cove shows extensive signs of recent improvement—some stone removed and a wooden jetty installed. The stairs are worn, but notably clean."

The monks moves some crates near the end of the jetty, creating a makeshift chair and table. From out of his pocket, he pulls a small leather pouch filled with dirt.... no wait, there are worms among the dirt. He settles in for a long afternoon of fishing, humming a song.

Other than the monk, there's little of note in the cove, other than its well-maintained state. You imagine this is where Ciaron pulled the boat in after dropping you off early this morning. Supplies for the monastery come to the island here, but they do not stay here.

[The next entry will be in 1 full week since I've done a few now in a shorter time frame than that, just to get things moving. Thanks for following along and taking part in the adventure so far! - Christian]

#cool rpg adventure