PeteEss

Historian. Wargamer. Historian of Wargaming. PhD student at Bath Spa University looking at COIN games.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro Shame I couldn't be there this year

[PeteEss @EssPete]

Playtesting last night. Was trying out my sewer combat game. Played it single blind with one side on markers with some dummies.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro I made cards similar to that... graphically much worse... to represent assets in 5core: Brigade Commander. Yours are far nicer looking. Photoshop again?

[PeteEss @EssPete]

Playtest, Playtest, and Playtest again must be the mantra of the game designer. A run through with the head to head version of my Insurgency game. #wargaming

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro Not a program I have ever used.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@ChasAHKnight Thank you. I will post pictures when I run it. Rules will appear online in the fullness of time.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

Game mats have arrived printed on vinyl. The road mat is for general figure gaming use. The two identical sewer ones are for the double blind underground skirmish game that I am developing. #wargaming

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro Not much. Different scenario. Rules for barricades and breaking them. Revised grenade rules. Flamethrowers and oxygen depletion. Watch Kanal as preparation.

[Ðrä8er ~ The DOOM Scribe ☠️ @Dra8er]

I’ve hit my limit. I need to share something that’s been weighing heavily on me.

I've played in a DOZEN TTRPGs lately, and I can say with certainty that every single one was driven by an AI-written narrative. And you know what? It was glaringly obvious. The soul was just… gone.

This isn't some "new tech is scary" rant. I've been in this hobby since 1979. My family has been in the business since the early 70s. I own an FLGS. I'm a published author. This hobby is my life.

For nearly 30 years, I've poured my heart and soul into the same campaign world. It's a living tapestry woven with my players, filled with history, mistakes, triumphs, and inside jokes that no machine could ever replicate. We built that. Together.

What I'm seeing now is the opposite of building. It's soulless generation. I use AI myself—as a sounding board, an editor. It’s a tool, not the artisan. But to see the core of our hobby handed over to an algorithm feels like a profound loss. It's like replacing a home-cooked meal with a nutrient paste. It might fill you up, but it will never nourish you.

To all the GMs out there: I'm begging you. Don't let your creativity be outsourced. The heart of this hobby is human connection, shared imagination, the beautiful, messy, unpredictable spark that happens between people. It’s not a string of perfectly bland, algorithmically generated prompts.
Your players deserve your story. Not a soulless echo. Let's champion the GMs who pour their passion into their worlds and the players who bring them to life. Our stories are worth more than that.

#TTRPG #TTRPGCommunity #DND #GMLife #TabletopGames #HumanCreativity #KeepItHuman #Storytelling

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro All look good fun.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro That is a really nice map.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

https://t.co/6nQocQSCBm

[Jack Matlack @JWyattMatlack]

What he said! @lseideas

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@6xW_a Definitely do so. It is a good quick game. Easy to learn, surprisingly deep to such a small game.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

Enjoying a quick run through of the asymmetric card game 'Insurgent Algeria'.

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@EM_DAlessandro Nice varied set of games there

[PeteEss @EssPete]

@Clint_Davey1 Easy to make I've done some myself. Led tealights, Teddy bear stuffing and a spray of black paint

[Sebastian Bae @SebastianBae]

🏆 To celebrate the arrival of my "Littoral Commander: Baltics" #wargame, I am going to give away a signed copy of the game. Like, repost, and follow by April 8 (midnight EST)! May the odds be ever in your favor. 😉🎲 #wargaming