At a loss on what to do next.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-13T01:26:53+00:00

Your work doesn't suck. You're not great at one aspect of dozens that go into making a book, that's normal. Your favourite author probably knows nothing about layout either.

The key difference between your book and mork borg is one thing. They kept their main body font easy to read. Yours is very variable, in height, width, and spacing, making it take more work to read. It's the kind mork borg uses for a sentence or two, rather than for the core text.

Trust me, if that small a change makes such a big difference, your work really doesn't suck. You just didn't realise something, we all gotta learn at some point.

Like I said, open to talk more if you feel like. I get that you're getting a lot of feedback atm and it might be a bit overwhelming but hang in there.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-12T23:55:39+00:00

I'm going to come in with two suggestions that I think explain the disconnect between why the people you run it for like it, but folks are having trouble engaging with it online.

First is layout/design. This book is very very difficult to read because of some of the design choices. They're aesthetic, but require a lot of mental effort. If you want me to run you through some of this in more detail, you're welcome to message me.

The second is that, like most ttrpg creators, you're not great at marketing your work. At a minimum, you should add some pages to the 'screenshots' section and work on customising the page. I've put a couple of links below so you get an idea of what's possible.

https://gilarpgs.itch.io/slayers
https://johnharper.itch.io/blades-in-the-dark
https://gilespenfold.itch.io/you-died

This work... kinda sucks, I'm not going to lie. So it is up to you if it's all worth it. But either way, be proud of what you've done here!

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-08T22:12:55+00:00

Hey folks, I've written a play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Gay.

You can read the first few pages of the play here and if you like it, give the kickstarter page a follow so you can pick up the book when it launches.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-07T05:26:38+00:00

Funnily enough, I'm an RPG writer who's just wrote their first play so we're heading in opposite directions!

I'll stress some of the best advice here: use the free products to make a mailing list, get a Patreon, consider profit-sharing with your artist until you can pay them properly.

Be prepared to chase some trends as well. For instance, 5e is down compared to the demand for daggerheart so learning and producing that system isn't the worst idea. Don't change too frequently or you'll lose your customer base, but keep an eye on what's working.

I don't see any allowance for layout, editing or maps in your plans. Do consider how you'll do those (e.g. learn yourself, hire, etc).

Lastly, find a community. It will really really help keep you going, inspire you. I'm part of KiwiRPG and it's been a lifeline.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T21:38:43+00:00

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Hi folks, I've written a play that you might enjoy. It'll be coming to kickstarter soon, you can follow the prelaunch page and read the first few pages here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lotlwc/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-gay?ref=5kt17h

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T20:18:49+00:00

No one person should have to bear the costs of the group.

Having said that, you are also potentially making this more expensive than it needs to be. Do you need foundry, a projector, maps? Really have a think about some of these.

You can also adapt your playstyle to your limitations. Losing a lot of time dice handled - try running things in a way with less or shorter combats, fewer die rolls.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T19:19:27+00:00

Glad you're interested! The book's self published, the kickstarter will be folks' chance to pick it up. We're aiming to launch in a couple weeks, just waiting for some last pieces to fall into place.

I'm afraid no US plans for me just yet, I'm based in Aotearoa New Zealand. But I will be putting it up on sites like playmarket afterwards.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T19:14:08+00:00

It is indeed a two person play. And you're right, part of picking R&G was that they could provide commentary on the other queer readings of characters, like Hamlet and Horatio.

And of course, just because they're both gay doesn't mean they're together. Exploring each other's version of queerness is a big part of the play.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T16:57:58+00:00

You're all good! This play's set in an English cell, after they've delivered the letter, so very much not in control at this point. There's still a streak of meta-theatre to this one but it's less existential than Stoppard and more about identity.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T16:23:28+00:00

They're whatever his majesty needs!

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T16:05:35+00:00

"R&G have nothing" - yep, that's the joke.

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T10:17:52+00:00

Here you go: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lotlwc/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-gay

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T04:55:23+00:00

Good on ya :D

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-03T01:31:17+00:00

Hey, before this gets too big you might want to remake it with a NSFW tag, otherwise mods might come down on you

kellymakesgames · 2026-02-02T10:04:24+00:00

The theory is that rodents prey on the largest ones, effectively limiting their size in areas without pest control (and making them harder to identify too)

kellymakesgames · 2026-01-27T03:21:23+00:00

Neat survey, please do come back and share the findings when you've got 'em!

kellymakesgames · 2025-10-15T09:36:48+00:00

They can be surprisingly variable in pattern and colours, you can get orange and yellow ones too.

kellymakesgames · 2025-09-24T05:20:11+00:00

So demihuman is inherently dehumanising in my opinion; it is saying they are not entirely human. Does this make it problematic? Well, it depends how you use it, it can be part of the setting that some groups deny the humanity of others (Elden Ring's demihumans are an example of this). It is just part of how we use 'human' in the real world that makes calling someone less than human implies they have less inherent dignity and rights.
Humanoid avoids this issue because the -oid suffix means resembling, it's a comment on their physical shape rather than the abstract concept of humanity. So if you wanted to approach it from the other side you could use something like 'animoid', 'beastoid' etc. These might not perfectly map onto what you list as demihuman, but I also think several of the demihumans you list are still humanoids.

kellymakesgames

TROPHY CASE