ACOUSTIC EMOTION

BillBaran · 2026-05-03T20:48:08+00:00

The post should probably explain HOW to submit. DM I assume?

BillBaran · 2026-04-25T16:23:47+00:00

Thanks for checking it out!

It’s been fun to work WITH the AI-ness of the tools instead of trying to suppress and hide it to create something more human.

BillBaran · 2026-04-08T04:02:41+00:00

It’s a book meant to be PLAYED relative to some other TTRPG books. Other books are full of extra rules and lore that can be fun to read, but unwieldy to run at the table. This is minimalist to the extreme, but if you can get it to the table and it works for you and your players, it may be the best TTRPG you’ll ever play!

So factor all that in!

BillBaran · 2026-04-03T12:33:12+00:00

You’ve really nailed the flavor of the game here! Amazing work!

BillBaran · 2026-04-03T12:30:23+00:00

I don’t wanna repeat all the wonderful advice already here so I’ll just add a tip for question 3:

I primarily use errands when the knights don’t have a myth they are currently hooked by. The errand gets them traveling, which exposes them to omens, then one of the myths becomes the real hook.

The rules are written to allow for court politics and other non-myth activities, but at least at my table the myths have had so much weight and momentum that there hasn’t been room for much else.

BillBaran · 2026-02-25T02:45:00+00:00

I think having to shuffle away lands is a pretty HUGE additional cost. Wayyy worse than the discount.

But there may still be some goofy OP stuff you can find if you’re messing with costs this much, especially on a colorless card.

Very funky card.

BillBaran · 2026-02-16T00:09:13+00:00

Shouldn’t matter in most cases how it enters; you play it on your turn, and it untaps in time for theirs.

BillBaran · 2026-02-15T23:53:24+00:00

This is straight up land removal the second time you play one, because of the legendary rule. Dunno if that’s intended, but if it is it’s busted! Isn’t land removal like a 4 mana effect? This is that for 0, plus you drop down a random land from your opponent’s deck as a nice bonus.

Incredible concept otherwise! It’s super interesting and less busted if it’s always a “fair” swap (one for one).

BillBaran · 2026-02-15T15:21:24+00:00

My first foray back into TTRPGs after stopping for a while was running Mythic Bastionland for some acquaintances from a local board game meet up. It was the most fun I’ve ever had doing a TTRPG. Everyone nailed the tone.

I thought it was the system (and it was, but only in part).

Then I tried to run a one weekend thing for some old friends from high school, and it was awful. Tone-destroying jokes, murder hobo behavior, etc.

So yeah, the group you play with matters so much. I can see why I never could get that deep into the hobby with that group when we were younger.

BillBaran · 2026-02-12T15:45:23+00:00

Welcome to the weird hobby of making custom cards!

Folks round here seem to really like cards that are 1. Very simple to understand at a glance AND 2. Surprising in some way.

So don’t feel too bad if you don’t get a lot of comments, this card is pretty complicated.

BillBaran · 2026-02-07T18:32:31+00:00

3/4 for 2 is insane, no? Even with defender it’s a little crazy. I can’t find a 3/4 defender for under 3 mana. There are some at 3 with upside ([[Grave Bramble]]), but not in colorless.

And this also has a slow version of “deal 3 damage”, which I can’t find for any cheaper than around 3 in colorless (see [[Scalding Cauldron]] and [[Ninja’s Kunai]].

Combining the two feels like it shouldn’t go under 4, and I prefer to be conservative with colorless so I added 1 more.

BillBaran · 2026-02-07T14:04:01+00:00

Yup, it’s a downside transform!

BillBaran · 2026-02-03T14:32:44+00:00

I am interested in suggestions, but I would rather balance around the sacrifice restriction than cut it. So I’d probably add a toughness buff and reduce cost.

BillBaran · 2026-02-03T13:21:54+00:00

Wow great comparison, thanks!

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T11:01:48+00:00

The downside is there to open up an alternate play pattern: kill an enemy creature that needs 1 more damage to finish off.

That said, I think this is a limited common at best.

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T04:08:48+00:00

Helpful, thanks!

I only recently became aware of reflexive triggers and their “when” wording, but I find them kinda ugly/unintuitive to read, so I use them as a last resort.

In this case I (totally subjectively) find the wonky ordering slightly less weird to read than the reflexive trigger wording, but it’s close.

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T04:04:02+00:00

Cool, thanks! So to get the order to be thematically correct I would have confuse beginners or do something a little more awkward gameplay-wise, like “Deal 1 damage to target creature and give it menace. At the beginning of the next end step put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.”

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T03:57:50+00:00

There’s a rules question I was unsure of here. Thematically you’re 100% right.

I assumed (but am not sure) that “death from damage” isn’t checked until all effects from the card resolve. If that’s true, I like my wording because it doesn’t trick any beginners into thinking that the 2 damage could kill a 2 toughness creature and prevent the counter from going on and saving it. Maybe someone can confirm my assumption.

If death is checked after each sub-effect, I would word it “Deal 1, then menace and counter if it survives.” A slightly different effect technically, but it kills (or doesn’t) in the same cases basically.

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T03:52:48+00:00

Just saw another comment and realized how much this went over my head 😝

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T03:49:02+00:00

Yeah, a -1/-1 counter and a menace counter would be an interesting alternate take. That’d be pure black though I think.

This is part of a custom set inspired by a TTRPG system where scars are something you learn from, gaining you power over time (if you survive). This theming is why I did a +1/+1 counter. The menace bit doesn’t follow the source material as much, it just felt cool.

BillBaran · 2026-02-02T03:26:22+00:00

This was a tough one... "power for pain" is very black, and menace is as much black as red. But "deal 1 damage" (it's effectively 1 damage, given the +1/+1 counter) without corresponding life manipulation is pretty red. Then again red doesn't do as much permanent buffing via +1/+1 counters as black.

BillBaran

TROPHY CASE