I've been TTRPG-adjacent since ~2020, when I got itch.io's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. I was one of those that were there for the video games and had no clue what 'physical games' were.

Fast forward to October 2024, when I was invited to join a one-shot by a RP Haven volunteer working the booth at MCM Comic Con. I was intrigued because someone was planning to run Badge Quest, where you play a girl guide in a Scooby-Doo-esque adventure. I didn't know TTRPGS =/= D&D?? I ended up going to another branch so didn't get to play Badge Quest. I played Forbidden Lands instead, which extended into a ~10 session long campaign. It kinda exploded from there!

This makes 2025 my first full year playing TTRPGs.

Games played: 28

  • The Wildsea

  • Wilderfeast

  • HOME '

  • When We Die

  • Beakwood Bay

  • Vaesen **

  • Mausritter

  • Valley100

  • DURF ^

  • Shadowdark

  • Masks

  • Death Game

  • Warhammer: Wraith & Glory *

  • Draw Steel

  • D&D5e *

  • Triangle Agency

  • Raptor Ruckus

  • Ryne

  • A Complicated Profession '

  • Public Access

  • Mothership

  • The Between *

  • Hard Wired Island *

  • Hellwhalers

  • Delta Green

  • Dungeon Pulp !

  • Cairn

  • Pick Me (Rooted in Trophy) ^

Of these:

  • 5 are campaigns (*), 3 still ongoing

  • 2 I ran (^)

  • 2 are GM-less (')

  • 1 is solo (!)

I want more of The Wildsea, Triangle Agency, Public Access and Trophy.

Making games

I like making, so when I saw people sharing their entry to the 36-word RPG jam on Bluesky, I thought it'd be a good way to ease into making RPGs.

I submitted Homicide, where you play a cleaner disposing a body. You win if you manage to clean up the crime scene before time runs out. You can also use the crime scene generated in another game.

Homicide
Clean this crime scene up before someone else arrives
https://batbehaviour.itch.io/homicide-a-crime-scene-generator

Next, during my paper engineering frenzy, I wanted to make a pop-up dollhouse. I thought Yazeba's would make the perfect setting, and I was right! So proud of how this turned out.

This project is also special to me because it marked the first time someone paid me for something I put up on itch.io. Dang!

The Laundry Room
A pop-up paper dollhouse of the laundry room in Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast
https://batbehaviour.itch.io/the-laundry-room

I then joined DURF's game jam. I'm fond of DURF because it's the first system I ran. I picked it because my partner wanted to explore a dungeon, I had some DURF adventures from a bundle, the cover was cute and the rules were straightforward.

I've not written an adventure module (nor played that many, frankly) but Designing Dungeons and the various OSR blog posts out there were really helpful. More about my process here.

Caged in the Cliffs of Mount Carrion
A one-shot adventure module for DURF
https://batbehaviour.itch.io/caged

When the DURF jam ended, it was Mausritter Month. I wanted to try my hand at a non-TTRPG game and got pretty far with this roll & write but didn't have enough steam in me to see it through.

Putting out a bookmark was easy enough though. I've turned to my partner and said 'new game idea' countless of times this year, and this one hit when we were re-watching Game of Thrones.

A Rider in the Night
Tell the tale of a messenger's journey with this TTRPG bookmark
http://batbehaviour.itch.io/a-rider-in-the-night

Finally, I wanted to get a solo drawing game out before the holiday season. While it's the last game I published this year, it's technically my first game. I finished a playable draft on 7 Dec 2024, roughly a month after my first session at RP Haven, but didn't finish it.

I cleaned it up and reformatted it into a zine, just in time for Dragonmeet this year so I could pass some copies to friends ahead of the holidays.

Fudge! - A Solo Drawing Game
It's the annual Frost Fair! Draw your experience for the photo wall.
https://batbehaviour.itch.io/fudge

I was pleasantly surprised to see an uptick in Fudge!'s engagement over the last week. When I dug into the analytics, I saw that some traffic was coming from Youtube. Someone actually played the game and made a Youtube video about it!!

Seeing someone experience a game I made and talking about it is the perfect end to my first year of TTRPGs.

Games made: 4 (+1 papercraft)

All 5 projects are PWYW. itch.io numbers:

  • Followers: 29

  • Views: 1,229

  • Total downloads: 475

  • Total payments: 8

  • Gross revenue: $18.00

If this is year 1, can't wait to see what this hobby has in store for me!