The Idle Digest #8
Idle Cartulary's Digest for June 2025
June has proven to be a challenging month for me, with a lot of real-life drama, and I’ll have to admit I haven’t gotten a lot done. I was supposed to be playtesting Lightfingers and writing a few as to unconfirmed projects, but I’ve honestly just been surviving. But July is my birthday, so this week all my dungeon-related stuff is half price on itch.io here, and in two weeks Curse of Mizzling Grove and Sharky will be half price for print copies (I wanted it to be this week as well, but Lulu make you schedule in advance and I wasn’t prepared, so you have a few weeks to save for a cheap print copy if you’re after them). Both the Curse of Mizzling Grove and Sharky are pretty cool, in my opinion, and a few reviewers agree if you go googling.
Lonely Play
In June, on Playful Void, I wrote:
I wrote four Bathtub Reviews:
The Howling Tomb, a brief but well-keyed knight’s tomb.
Steelhollow, the last of the Abbot Trilogy, where you venture into a perilous desert.
Brackish, a murder-mystery on a deadly space station for Mothership.
The Blackapple Brugh, an excellent descent into a fairy kingdom, hamstrung by a challenging layout and information design.
Wind Wraith, a post-apocalyptic water world setting toolbox filled with spectacular art and weird specifics.
And I wrote about mechanics and how we think about them in Multitudes, not mechanics
I didn’t write any zungeon reviews this month, but the zungeons keep on coming, and I’ve got a few on the slate.
Pickpocketing
In other news, June continues to be filled with great writing:
Designers, check out these budget friendly typefaces
Gus L talks about interactivity and what we mean by it in module design
David B talks about how to create interesting NPCs (I missed this one when it came out)
Amanda P writes about how the seventh chapter of Lord of the Rings tells us about writing lore into our roleplaying games
Josh and Warren have finished their dungeon design course — this features a broad consultation and two excellent designers giving all of their hard-earnt knowledge, and is well worth working through while you design your next dungeon.
Gamespotting
Some cool stuff is crowdfunding now or soon:
Vaults of Vaarn is getting a second edition soon! I reviewed the first here.
Galactic & Going Rogue are being released in a single book. These two faux-Star Wars games are generally my go to for introducing new players to RPGs.
Last Train to Bremen is a roleplaying game about a doomed train ride to hell, and what landed you there, released for the first time in print.
Ways and Means is a new Heart sourcebook, if that particular dungeon setting is your jam.
Chris McDowall’s publicly designed mecha wargame, MAC Attack, is crowdfunding this month.
Mausritter Month is coming in November, an exciting sequel to Mothership Month (although we don’t know yet when it’s coming, and because of the short notice some of us won’t have a chance to participate)
There were another 5 submissions to the Zungeon Jam in June, which is going strong at 49 entries and 215 people joined!
The Council of Invisible Eagles by Gran, where a crazed demon turns giant eagles invisible for reasons unknown.
The Witch Tree, a forest scenario featuring a wicked witch.
The Lizard’s Den, an abandoned estate in a parched desert — is it a mirage? by Joie Yong
Have a great July! Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter!
Idle Cartulary
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