Stoneshore: August 2023 update
Despite it being (apparently) the height of summer here in the North East of England, the weather has been pretty autumnal. The upside of this is I’m getting in the mood for our favourite time of year.
Since I started the Stoneshore project back in 2021, as a creative outlet and an exploration of the world of freelancing and self-publishing in the tabletop design space, I’ve been steadily releasing a horror game each year, to coincide with Hallowe’en.
I’m pleased to share that this year is no different, and in late September I’ll be releasing SUBSURFACE.
SUBSURFACE is an action horror tabletop RPG about escaping a clandestine underground research facility, inspired by the likes of Half-Life, F.E.A.R, and the SCP Foundation. The game is built using the LUMEN system, with a few tweaks to move slightly away from power fantasy and more towards survival horror, while keeping its simple, action-packed format. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you. You can see an exclusive WIP preview below. If you’d like to help out playtesting the game, email me at stoneshore.trpg@gmail.com.
Other news
2023 has been a quieter year for me. Partly this is because I’ve been focusing both on my new job, and I’ve been focusing on creative projects outside my tabletop work, such as writing. I tend to keep my creative writing and tabletop design work separate — this gives me space to have a ‘reprieve’ from one if I’m struggling with motivation, and I have different aims for these two occupations.
The chaos at Twitter has also had an impact on my motivation. Reduced engagement and an inability to promote my work, the breakdown of a functional community, and general repulsion at what the platform has become, means that I’ve felt like I haven’t had a space to draw inspiration from.
So far, Bluesky has been a promising new space for a sense of purpose and community. Creating this new game was in part made possible by having that sort of space again. I hope this continues. You can follow me on the platform here.
Spotlight
I’d like to do more to promote other things I like and engage with the community more. To that end, here’s some neat projects I’ve come across or I’m looking forward to trying out.
Space Jellyfish Overhead is a new one-page journalling RPG with psychedelic vibes and a unique set-up of communing with cosmic jellyfish. I’ve worked with Spring Villager before to illustrate The Last Tea Shop. Their work is lovely and thoughtful, and this looks like an equally thought-provoking, and singularly peculiar, journalling experience.
His Majesty the Worm has been plucking at the edges of my mind since I first heard about it. It’s impressive that an unreleased game has such an impact in a scene where we all try to push games to release quickly, and then struggle to keep them in the zeitgeist post-release. The way its appendices are being released pay-what-you-want as both previews and standalone products to help fund the complete game is a really clever solution to supporting a long-term project like this.
I absolutely love the aesthetic of FIST by Claymore. Its vibe, and the theme of paranormal mercenaries, were absolutely an inspiration for SUBSURFACE. I’d love to give it a play sometime soon.
Thanks for reading. I hope you’re all keeping well, and I hope to bring you another newsletter again soon.
—Nathaniel