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Articles & Devlog

Advancement - Devlog #8

Advancement - Devlog #8

Problem/s: XP in many TTRPGs gears the players toward certain types of actions. Eg: XP for killing drives you to kill more instead of exploring other options Eg: XP for gold recovered back to town in OSR games encourages reward-seeking behaviour The way some systems, like many OSR games...
26th Mar 2023
This plot smells bad

This plot smells bad

I've been having fun with Rory's Story Cubes as a means of helping prompt or generate small bits of narrative. What follows is an example, originally posted to Twitter but edited for quality here, of a short story using this method. Phil and Fred are two of the main characters of Bug & Claw's worl...
19th Mar 2023
Separating HP into two separate pools - Devlog #7

Separating HP into two separate pools - Devlog #7

In the last post, you may have noticed two curious blocks on the character sheet capturing "grit" and "flesh" and wondered what those are for. Let's talk about that. The problem with HP There's long been a problem many of us have had with HP in games. Your character is often supposed to be thi...
25th Feb 2023
Character sheet prototypes - Devlog #6

Character sheet prototypes - Devlog #6

The first iterations for player character sheets started almost a year ago. Any time I was thinking about a problem players might encounter I thought about how they might resolve it. I asked myself a lot of questions during this process: What kind of interesting choices should they be able to ma...
25th Feb 2023
The Breach - B&C:Devlog #5

The Breach - B&C:Devlog #5

In Bug & Claw, there are various organizations characters can join or encounter. One that's more common is the Breach. Get to know the Breach with a bit of the lore behind them in this devlog. The Breach Guild Goal The Breach is one of the oldest guilds, its members devoting themselves to pr...
28th Jan 2023
Moulting & Regeneration - B&C:Devlog #4

Moulting & Regeneration - B&C:Devlog #4

Did you know arthropods shed their exoskeletons as they grow? It's a process called ecdysis, but most of us just call it moulting. What I find super cool about this process, though, is the chance for regeneration. With the world of Bug & Claw keeping up with OSR tenants and being a dangerous place...
14th Jan 2023
Bug & Claw is now a part of Monkey's Lunch!

Bug & Claw is now a part of Monkey's Lunch!

Exciting announcement! 🎉 I'm launching Monkeyslunch (aka Monkey's Lunch, aka ML), my little escapism (games, fiction) company, which Bug & Claw is now a part of! What does this mean? Clearer content. No mixing of Bug & Claw items with other game items. A dedicated site just for Bug & C...
6th Jan 2023
The Doll's Eye - Part 3

The Doll's Eye - Part 3

Finally, the exciting (and ominous?) conclusion to the Doll's Eye, short fiction from the Bug & Claw universe. The Doll's Eye is a mace-like weapon with a child's voice and a thirst for blood. Last we left off, small child had just discovered it in the muck of Stagbay. Read The Doll's Eye - Part ...
6th Jan 2023
The settlement of Patient Watch - B&C:Devlog #3

The settlement of Patient Watch - B&C:Devlog #3

Patient Watch Guild town Medium danger Description Patient Watch is what’s known as a Breach Watch, a settlement devoted to breach craft, almost all of the population being members of the Breach. Patient Watch is built near the remnants of the old lighthouse at Stagbay. For years the populac...
4th Nov 2022
The Doll's Eye - Part 2

The Doll's Eye - Part 2

Read part 1 of the Doll's Eye here. Long, silk roads that seem to go on forever, intertwining, and undulating. They're all at once brilliant white, colourful, and full of life. Each seems unique, on its own journey, with its own story to tell. We follow them for what feels like ages. Our atten...
29th Oct 2022
The Doll's Eye - An Artefact Actual Play

The Doll's Eye - An Artefact Actual Play

An Artefact actual play summary, as well an introduction to some of the characters and world of Bug & Claw. The finding We are shriveled, dormant. We sleep. Ages go by. Our sleep deepens. Creatures come. They snack on our legs, our body. We don't have the strength to fuss and continue to...
1st Aug 2022