Playtest Material Magazine

@playtestmaterial.bsky.social

We publish critical writing on roleplaying games, in a quarterly magazine with a new guest editor every issue.

October 1: Issue 1, An RPG Is Like...

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@laurieoc.bsky.socialReposted by @playtestmaterial.bsky.social

Just as an update for playtest material inquiries- we have had so many and we need to look at everything at once. If you haven't heard back please bear with us. Still really keen for reviews, literary essays and experimental pieces!

@zhenwa40.bsky.socialReposted by @playtestmaterial.bsky.social

I am grateful for the opportunity as a humble fan of TTRPGs to write for @playtestmaterial.bsky.social. I went into this writing with serious academic rigour, and the editing experience was really helpful in trying to make is parseable. It’s also just fun to be able to use quotes like this:

The audience for this game was a single session game (a “oneshot”) featuring players who had never played the game before. A feature of Mythic Bastionland is the “weirdness” of the setting and open interpretation of the gameworld. This is exemplified, for example, by the entry of the Screaming Seer, whose details are replaced with “RAAAAAARGH!” and “YAAAAAAAAAARRRHG!!” respectively, a reading which can be comic or tragic depending on specific interpretation by the GM and players.
@alexvalente.fyiReposted by @playtestmaterial.bsky.social

i got to read this one in the editing stage, and it's a really intriguing mapping that zhen does of the two modes of storytelling!

@playtestmaterial.bsky.social

“If we interpret a 'traditional' GM’s authority over storytelling as being similar to that of a Rakugoka to their 'banashi', then perhaps we can consider the traditional Rakugoka’s structured training in empathy to be a useful lens through which to understand safety in TTRPGs.”

@laurieoc.bsky.socialReposted by @playtestmaterial.bsky.social

Even before tori emailed offering to produce a piece for the magazine, I had already envisioned their art on the cover. I just knew it would be perfect for the magazine. If I could have only them do the covers forever, I would. They have a project on at the moment so take a look at their profile.

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