# Donathin Frye > Narrative designer, RPG writer, and lifelong Gamemaster. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Me URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/about-me/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T19:44:11.000Z I'm Donathin Frye (he/him), best-selling tabletop roleplaying game writer and lifelong gamemaster. I've written professionally for many types of media: plays, video games, graphic novels, websites, operas, and more. Stories matter to me a lot. People matter more. I thrive when helping others develop their ideas and fostering relationships built on respect and empathy. I'm drawn to stories that reflect on the human condition in all its beauty and horror. I also love laughing and believe every game is better with a bit of humor! I excel at empowering player agency, breathing fresh ideas into beloved fictional worlds, and creating characters bursting with personality and purpose. I approach narrative design with a deep understanding of game mechanics, genre, atmosphere, and worldbuilding. If you want to know more, you can click below to listen to me talk about: - My experiences as a [**professional gamemaster**](https://www.lightheartadventures.com/rpg/episode60/?ref=donathinfrye.com) - Being Lead Writer for [***Fallout: Winter of Atom***](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67w4y4FdUIU&t=919s&ab%5Fchannel=GateCrashers&ref=donathinfrye.com) - Co-writing [***Dragonlance: The Test of High Sorcery***](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndPY%5FJVK5hQ&ab%5Fchannel=DragonLanceSaga&ref=donathinfrye.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/Don-Greeting-2.png) --- ### A FEW TESTIMONIALS > *"Donathin is one of the most talented, hardworking, creative writers I've ever had the pleasure to work with. With him at the helm of a project, I can rest assured that it'll have momentum and ingenuity under the hood."* **\- Mike, Owner of Mage Hand Press** > *"From writing to GMing, Don embodies what is the best of tabletop RPGs - ingenious creativity, empathetic collaboration, vivid storytelling, hard work, and integrity. No matter what kind of project he's involved in, he'll bring the best out of a game or group."* **\- Kienna Shaw, Ennie Gold Award-Winning Game Designer** > *"Don is a rare individual who combines wicked creativity with analytical brilliance in a hardworking and considerate package. He improves upon ideas while being an exceptional colleague and collaborator."* **\- Charlie Smith, Creative Director at EncounterRoleplay** > *"Donathin is a writer who delivers exceptional work with a keen eye for detail, storytelling, and project needs. He's great to work with, and the quality of his writing would be an asset to any project."* **\- Virginia Page, Line Developer for Modiphius Entertainment** > *"The games I've played with Don have been among the best in my life. His love for TTRPGs shines through every session. Artful descriptions, vivid stories, and complex characters bring his worlds to life. He brings out the best in the others at the table and encourages them to explore their creativity and develop their play."* **\- Ithaea, an amazing player from my professional TTRPG campaigns** > *"Playing with Don is genuinely like reliving the fantasies of my youth. His characters are vibrant and complex, the action is epic, and our story feels like home. Most importantly, as a woman, I feel respected and safe at his table. If you're looking for a game, this is the one to rule them all."* **\- Honoria, another wonderful player from my campaigns** > *"One of the best things that Don brings to the table as a Gamemaster is a sense of gravity and grandeur to your character's actions. Don makes sure that every choice you make matters—and in a way that brings both joy and terror."* **\- James, another awesome player from my Patreon campaigns** --- ### SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER If you're interested in keeping up to date with my game design and writing projects, or learning more about availability in my epic and ongoing RPGs, [**subscribe**](https://www.donathinfrye.com/about/#/portal/)! I'll only send you occasional updates and will never spam your inbox. ### RPG Writing Portfolio URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/portfolio/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T17:34:33.000Z I have contributed writing and design to dozens of published tabletop RPG books, specializing in developing campaigns and adventure modules. I'm best known as a Lead Writer for *Fallout: The Roleplaying Game*. My work on [***Fallout: Winter of Atom***](https://www.amazon.com/Modiphius-Fallout-Roleplaying-Expansion-Characters/dp/1802810366?ref=donathinfrye.com)and [***Fallout: Starter Set***](https://www.amazon.com/Modiphius-Entertainment-Fallout-Roleplaying-Tabletop/dp/B0B7CR2RJW?ref=donathinfrye.com)earned several **Origins Award Finalist** honors. Those books continue to be reprinted regularly and are well-loved by devoted fans of the franchise. I also co-wrote the best-selling *Dungeons & Dragons* adventure books, [***To Hell & Back Again***](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/288363/To-Hell-and-Back-Again?ref=donathinfrye.com) and [***The Test of High Sorcery***](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/418263/The-Test-of-High-Sorcery?ref=donathinfrye.com). Both modules were selected as the **DM's Guild Featured Product** for the month they were released. They remain the most downloaded and best reviewed adventures in their respective D&D settings—Avernus and Dragonlance. [**Click here**](https://www.donathinfrye.com/writing-samples/) to read **writing samples** from some of my past projects! > *Do you need help with your project's writing or development? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me on* [***LinkedIn***](https://www.linkedin.com/in/donathinfrye/?ref=donathinfrye.com)*,* [***Bluesky***](https://bsky.app/profile/donathinfrye.bsky.social?ref=donathinfrye.com)*, or* [***Discord***](https://discord.com/users/donathinfrye?ref=donathinfrye.com) *with your project's summary and budget—and tell me what you need!* A few of my **RPG portfolio highlights** include the following. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/The-Test-of-High-Sorcery---Cover.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/To-Hell-and-Back-Again.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/winter-of-atom.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/fallout-starter-set.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/dark-matter.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/3c/b53c011e-65ff-429a-813f-aa52a1874f73/content/images/2025/07/petersen.png) ## MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT - *Achtung! Cthulhu: Seventh-Inning Slaughter!* - *Fallout: The Roleplaying Game* - *Fallout: Starter Set* \[Origins Award Finalist - Best RPG Supplement\] - *Fallout: Winter of Atom* \[Origins Award Finalist - Best RPG Adventure\] - *Fallout: Settler's Guide Book* - *Fallout: Wanderer's Book* ## DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5TH EDITION - *The Test of High Sorcery* (DM's Guild) - *To Hell & Back Again* - *Lore of Aetherra: Dark Symmetry* (Alchemy RPG) - *Dark Matter: Conspiracy in the Stars!* (Mage Hand Press) - *Dark Matter: One Hundred to Oni* - *Dark Matter: Grax's Club* - *The Big Sleep: The Sleeper Rising* (Petersen Games) - *The Big Sleep: The Doomed World* - *The Big Sleep: The Fate of the Empire* - *The Big Sleep: Lullaby* - *Dark Worlds: The Ritual* (Petersen Games) - *Dark Worlds: Nithon* - *Dark Worlds: The Zepzeg Cycle* - *Dark Worlds: The Green Pyramid* - *The Blood Plague* (Encounter Roleplay) ### Join a Game! URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/join-a-game/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T17:54:47.000Z Since 2018, my greatest joy has been working as a high-end professional gamemaster to run entirely original tabletop RPG campaigns for an awesome community of RPG fans and industry veterans. Having previously worked as a stage actor, director, and playwright, I bring my love for people, game design, and collaborative storytelling to create unforgettable experiences for my players. **Currently, all seats in my ongoing campaigns are full.** > *If you are interested in playing in a campaign when a seat opens up or asking me to run a game for you, join our* [***Discord Community***](https://discord.gg/79VP6QJxY4?ref=donathinfrye.com) *to learn more—or contact me on* [***LinkedIn***](https://www.linkedin.com/in/donathinfrye/?ref=donathinfrye.com)*,* [***Bluesky***](https://bsky.app/profile/donathinfrye.bsky.social?ref=donathinfrye.com)*, or* [***Discord***](https://discord.com/users/donathinfrye?ref=donathinfrye.com)*!* ### Previous Actual Play Campaigns I've also worked as a gamemaster, showrunner, and executive producer for several popular actual play series. If you'd like to watch me run a game, you can check out a few of my **favorite past series** below or on YouTube. Rise of the Veiled Alliance - Dark Sun D&D 5th Edition The Haunting of Seawall Orphanage - Stephen King-inspired Folk Horror May Black Roses Bloom - Dragonlance D&D 5th Edition I can also make appearances as a performer or player if schedules align, especially for charity events! You can see some of my **favorite past characters** below. Masks of Nyarlathotep - Call of Cthulhu After the Fyre - Game of Thrones Eclipse - Urban Shadows ## Posts ### Writing Samples URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/writing-samples/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T22:28:09.000Z *Note: I can provide my resume and more samples upon request.* ## Tabletop RPG Samples **Fallout: Starter Set -** [**Diamond City**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-QrLlTMEYW4fLvBIF8rg6nMKAcNraT2d/view?usp=sharing&ref=donathinfrye.com)**.** A new player-friendly location hub introducing the iconic setting of Diamond City. It features gamemaster advice, narrations, interactive NPCs, local intrigue, and optional side quests. **Fallout: Winter of Atom -** [**Ruins Exploration**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YNi8lcB-p1G5E5%5F1uDO%5F1Fk95ank6RcE/view?usp=sharing&ref=donathinfrye.com)**.** An ancient military ruin built by a secretive government cult. It features narrations, interactive environments, and a character-focused cosmic horror encounter with impactful consequences. **Fallout: Winter of Atom -** [**Boss Encounter**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HEgqdrb96S5uyTso98WnJ2L%5FZxqlg5qa/view?usp=sharing&ref=donathinfrye.com)**.** A dangerous late-game combat encounter. It features narrations, NPC stat blocks, modular environmental mechanics, and tools for determining multiple outcomes. **Content Warning:* Body horror.* **The Test of High Sorcery -** [**Mage Interview**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TMloZYfrGgidRdu9XYxwk9hXz%5FeKwe28/view?usp=sharing&ref=donathinfrye.com)**.** A narrative exploring the night before a life-changing test. It features writing for solo play, dynamic choices, branching paths, and an intense interview with three arguing archmages. ## Graphic Novel Sample **I, Necromancer -** [**Gothic Horror Scene**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wCvoWvEGyESUr70WF501yv%5F1mBaSfzlb/view?usp=sharing&ref=donathinfrye.com). A dark gothic-fantasy scene depicting a haunted man struggling with loss, violent regret, unanswered questions, and the horrors of love. **Content Warnings:* Alcohol, suggestive themes, graphic violence, vampires.* ## Video Game RPG Dialogue Sample This dark gothic-fantasy interactive dialogue is inspired by Larian Studios' *Baldur's Gate 3*. It explores first contact with a mysterious young ghost who is more than she appears. **Content Warnings:* Implied violence against a child, religious fanaticism.* To play the sample, download the file, open it, and it will run natively in your browser! [Donathin Frye - Playable RPG Ghost EncounterComputer RPG-styled branching dialogue and outcomes, scripted in Twine.Donathin-Frye-Twine-Playable-Ghost-Encounter.html405 KBdownload-circle](https://www.donathinfrye.com/content/files/2025/08/Donathin-Frye-Twine-Playable-Ghost-Encounter.html "Download") ### Spring 2026 Newsletter URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/spring-2026-newsletter/ Last updated: 2026-05-23T18:13:21.000Z I didn't start as a process-driven person. For a long time, I (over-)confidently improvised my way through life—often falling hard on my face and only sometimes actually learning a lesson from my bloody noses. Eventually, I discovered that being prepared and organized brings me peace. Most importantly, I realized that peace, and not chaos, makes me a better friend, creator, and collaborator. I learned other things, too: like that I tend to move too quickly through (and between) huge projects, propelled by my own irrational expectations. Or that self-imposed stress makes it far too easy for me to throw up my hands and exclaim that I just don't have time for personal goals. So this year, I am trying to slow down, prioritize health, explore other passions beyond games, and build deeper personal connections. If you know me, then you know that I've set similar goals over the past few years. I'm always ready for another round in the never-ending fight against my more obsessive tendencies. ### **So, How's It Going?** Generously, I'd call this year a work in progress, but progress feels *good*—better than it has in a long time. These are a few core pillars I'm using to stay on track: - Banish the myth that art demands sacrificing health or mental well-being - Opt out of more algorithm-driven platforms (one day, all of them?) - Take time to enjoy creative successes before leaping into new endeavors - Spend more time in nature and meeting new people in the wild - Only accept freelance writing jobs that are exciting (and well-organized) And then, the two bigger ideas that I'm trying to let be my north stars: - Find personal freedom and happiness in my communities (local and online) - Find creative freedom and fulfillment by owning more of what I create ### **Finding and Building Community** After moving around many times, my partner and I finally feel like we've found our home: we love San Diego. Embracing that realization is helping us to build better local roots with like-minded folks. When I found San Diego's thriving Tabletop RPG community, I was immediately impressed by how welcoming, diverse, and well-organized it is. As I get to know the community better, I hope to become a good neighbor and contribute to it! Meanwhile, it's never lost on me how lucky I am. The only way that I can survive as an independent creator is thanks to massive support from the community of people I've gotten to know online, through longtime friendships, creative collaborations, and (mostly) a whole lot of Tabletop RPGs. Because of them, I get more time to write games to the very best of my ability and share stories with so many phenomenal human beings. This year, I'm looking to find more ways to bring online folks together. I admit, this is partly selfish: this community means the world to me, and I simply want to spend more time with them in the wild, far from work distractions or Discord notifications. --- ## **Upcoming Events** I'll be attending [**PAX Unplugged 2026**](https://unplugged.paxsite.com/?ref=donathinfrye.com) in Philadelphia from **December 4-6th**, where I hope to connect with some Tabletop publishers and friends. I'll be around walking the halls, attending panels, coordinating gatherings, and playing games. I'll also be heading back to my hometown for [**Origins 2027**](https://www.originsgamefair.com/future-dates?ref=donathinfrye.com)in Columbus from **June 9-13th**! If you've never been to Origins, it's a great time—and the best time to be in downtown Columbus. I am available to participate in discussion panels for both conventions. If you know someone looking for a collaborative, thoughtful speaker, encourage them to reach out! I love talking about writing published adventures that emphasize player agency and worldbuilding, running games professionally, adapting beloved settings while staying true to your inner voice, and more. If you see me at a convention, please say hello! And, if you want to meet or chat about collaborating at a convention, reach out to me on [**LinkedIn**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/donathinfrye/?ref=donathinfrye.com) or [**Bluesky**](https://bsky.app/profile/donathinfrye.bsky.social?ref=donathinfrye.com). I'm also looking at organizing local events in the upcoming year! As the event gets closer, I'll share more details about my plans. --- ## **What I'm Working On** [**Last summer**](https://www.donathinfrye.com/summer-2025-newsletter/), I first wrote about grappling with *Dungeons & Dragons*, the OSR, and my burning need to create something new. Something that I owned. Something unsacred, unshaped, that I could experiment on and share however I wanted. So I have been building a game that is exciting to both my players and me. My big project (let's call it **RavenDark for now**) has come a long way since then: I'm already running several ongoing Ravenloft campaigns (with more to come) and regularly testing rule patches and new game mechanics. I'm beginning to see how I can take my design philosophy and expand it into an entirely original setting, with more unique character options alongside the familiar. When I'm ready to publish (or openly share) this system, it will be with a fully developed sandbox setting that Gamemasters can use, tear apart, rearrange, or cast aside. This autumn will mark two years since I started the project and the first anniversary of launching my first campaign with the system. I plan to share what I've learned up to that point, what's changed, and where things are heading. If you're interested in learning more about the game that I'm building, consider checking out my [**Discord community**](https://discord.gg/79VP6QJxY4?ref=donathinfrye.com). Folks who support me on [**Patreon**](https://www.patreon.com/Donathin?ref=donathinfrye.com) and join the Discord community gain forever access to the game and my worldbuilding, as it continues to develop. --- ## **Final Spring Thoughts and Recommendations** Before I sign off, I'll leave you with one last thought, followed by a few recommendations for awesome Tabletop RPG resources. After 30+ years online, I have learned this truth: digital platforms don't last forever, and when they die, what is left behind is often lost forever. I've created a *lot* of games, stories, and art over that time. Most of it no longer exists. Moving forward, I aim to better preserve what I create for myself and others. I want to become more platform-independent. Increasingly, over the past couple of years, I've been inspired by folks who have gone out of their way to make RPGs more accessible and lead by example on platform independence. So, I recommend you check out these folks doing great work to improve the accessibility of the hobby. These are people and resources that I am personally learning from: [**Sly Flourish**](https://slyflourish.com/?ref=donathinfrye.com): I've been reading Mike Shea's blog articles for almost 20 years. In fact, it was some of his very good *Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition* design ideas that first inspired me to roll up my sleeves and start sharing my own D&D homebrew. Mike's website is a treasure trove of articles, podcasts, Gamemaster-ready tools, simple but excellent advice, and insights into the industry. I love recommending [**How to Be a Great Player**](https://slyflourish.com/be%5Fa%5Fgreat%5Fplayer.html?ref=donathinfrye.com) to new players who want to invest more in their games. [**ShadowDark**](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark?ref=donathinfrye.com)**:** Kelsey Dionne's efficient, evocative writing and fun, accessible mechanics are the bones of the game I'm building. That I'm able to do that at all is entirely thanks to her generous open license and support for brilliant third-party creators working on original ShadowDark projects. Kelsey has fostered an incredibly creative community worth checking out, especially if you have ever considered publishing your own Tabletop RPG module. [**Old Gus's Daggerheart System Reference Document**](https://callmepartario.github.io/og-dhsrd/?ref=donathinfrye.com): This might be my new gold standard for making a game as accessible as possible. The site is a free, open-license resource that gives you everything you need to play [**Daggerheart**](https://www.daggerheart.com/?ref=donathinfrye.com), a *Dungeons & Dragons* alternative that you have probably heard of, if not played. It goes above and beyond in all respects, with articles to help you learn to play and tools to help you run games more smoothly. You can download it all from GitHub, so even if the site goes down, the backup will remain on your hard drive. And that's all from me this spring! There's a lot that I'm looking forward to in the next year—but I'm going to continue to work at taking my time to smell the flowers along the way. I hope you have the chance to do more of the things you love, too. ### Winter 2026 Newsletter URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/winter-2026-newsletter/ Last updated: 2026-03-06T19:06:14.000Z It took six long months, navigating one of the most challenging periods in my life as gracefully as I could manage, to get back to where I was when I first launched this site. For a long time, it felt like I was treading water, barely able to keep up with life, creative projects, and friends. But now that I'm *almost* entirely caught up, I'm able to start looking ahead and imagining what this year can become. Beyond my creative goals, there are so many personal goals I want to work toward. Some are little things that I've given up as I've gotten increasingly busy. Others are much more overdue: more time outside in nature, reading more books (always more), collaborating with new folks in the TTRPG space, reconnecting with friends and previous collaborators, making myself available to mentor people wanting an outlet to create, connecting more with my local communities, and trying to organize a big gaming get-together for the many awesome people in my life. But I'm going to do my best to take things one at a time. Right now, I'm really looking forward to an upcoming camping trip with my wife. We're going to rest and unplug, and just be—surrounded by the desert, the mountains, and the stars. And, of course, I'm bringing my dice so we can play a little entirely improvised Dark Sun adventure while we're out there. The odds of the story involving a snake cult and some wretched ritual sacrifice are very high. (It's going to be great!) --- ## Acknowledging Things on Fire Outside the games and stories that dominate my thoughts much of every waking day, there are a lot of scary things happening in the world right now—and I know that they can so easily consume an incredible amount of our attention, energy, joy, and hope. I hear it all the time from folks I love. I hear that, right now, it's hard to create. It's hard to even just be. It always hurts to hear that, especially because I understand entirely how it feels. It might seem like a small thing, but I know that the stories and games I create (and the people I share them with) help *me* feel powerful and hopeful, even on Really Bad News days. Roleplaying and writing have always helped me process the toughest parts about being a caring person living in a world that can be shockingly uncaring. But sometimes, when the world seems particularly on fire, I feel guilty for obsessing over a story I'm writing or escaping into a fantasy world that I'm building. When I feel that way, I think about when I was in college, deeply struggling to reconcile with America going to war with Iraq. A friend recommended **Arundhati Roy's** book, *War Talk*. I'd already read and loved her novel, *The God of Small Things*, so I read all of the book's essays in one night. One section, in particular, has resonated with me ever since. It's what I think about when I feel guilty or like I am inconsequential. It always helps me feel more optimistic about the future. > *“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories."* I strongly believe that the act of telling collaborative stories (like in Tabletop RPGs) helps people feel personally empowered and become more empathic. And, corny or not, I think empathy is the most important part of being a human being, and the only force that can oppose cruelty and division. That's all! I've been thinking about these things a lot the last few days, as history looks to repeat itself yet again. It's nothing revelatory for folks who love the hobby, but, in short: *Tabletop RPGs are chicken soup for the soul.* --- ## What I'm Working On Is this even a newsletter? I might be a terrible newsletter writer, actually. There is so much I could write about, regarding all of the many creative projects I'm involved with right now. I could wax nostalgic about the bittersweet ending of our amazing **Pretty Marsh Harbor 1990** campaign or how my first of several original **Ravenloft** campaigns is going (it's been wicked and wonderful, of course). I could ramble in-depth on the four (FOUR!) new campaigns I've been working on for the past few months—and how my years-long **Star Wars**, **Forgotten Realms**, and **Dragonlance** groups are kicking off their final campaigns in those settings for now. I could talk about how the [**massive game industry layoffs**](https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/one-third-video-game-workers-laid-off-2025-1236644512/?ref=donathinfrye.com) have disproportionately impacted writers and narrative designers—as companies consider them non-essential and, laughably, think they can be replaced by generative A.I. chatbots. (Though, I do have upcoming game-writing projects that I can't talk about yet for contractual reasons!) But since everything happening is quite a lot, that's as detailed as I'll get with this newsletter! I do think I'm working on even more cool things at once than usual right now. Hopefully, by this summer, I'll be better rested, the world will be kinder, and I'll have just finished writing a new TTRPG book, which I can share more about. Okay, so I *will* share this: hopefully, this month, Faye and I should finish a beta website that will allow my players to build Ravenloft character sheets (similar to sites like D&D Beyond but for our unique TTRPG system)—and easily find all the lore, rules, character art, and recaps for our various campaigns. It’s a practical tool that should be a great quality-of-life improvement and make our games more accessible. Faye's put a ton of work into it over the past couple of months, and I’m excited to get it into folks’ hands. I'm very sure players will immediately break it in a million different ways! --- ## Final Winter Thoughts Right now, I'm looking forward to wandering the desert far from the nearest algorithm, rolling some dice by the light of a campfire, and (always, always) reflecting on my gratitude for the amazing people in my life. Until next time, I hope you have great games and wonderful stories to look forward to this spring—and plenty of good people to share them with. --- If you've read this far, here! Have three weird random tables, because random tables are the best, and there's no wrong time to roll on them. ## \[1d20\] Half-Remembered Dreams... | 1–10 | 11–20 | | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | 1\. Every word spoken turned to sand | 11\. Wet, three-toed footprints stalked you | | 2\. Your shadow predicted your every move | 12\. A mirror revealed a door that wasn't there | | 3\. A bell rang beneath the floorboards | 13\. A stairway to nowhere descended forever | | 4\. A very vulgar tree ate your loved one | 14\. A very friendly tree spat out your rival | | 5\. Chased through alleys by an ominous choir | 15\. A feast table covered in edible maps | | 6\. You were sad until it started raining keys | 16\. A thousand tiny ghost hands in the dark | | 7\. No, no – they saw you – the real you | 17\. Not-a-Man watched through a dirty window | | 8\. The tarnished wedding ring wasn't yours | 18\. You bricked your childhood home's doors | | 9\. Snow fell upward in slow sheets | 19\. A foreboding black star sank into the sea | | 10\. A letter arrived dated tomorrow | 20\. Storm clouds formed a Sorceress's Eye | ## \[1d20\] Cut Open the Monster’s Belly and Find... | 1–10 | 11–20 | | --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | 1\. A sealed love letter | 11\. A bell that won’t stop ringing | | 2\. A coin stamped with your face | 12\. A gemstone pulsing faintly | | 3\. A warm iron key | 13\. A map to a familiar place | | 4\. A child’s wooden toy | 14\. A mystery ring fused to flesh | | 5\. A saint’s bone wrapped in cloth | 15\. A sack of mismatched teeth | | 6\. A locket with a stranger’s portrait | 16\. A lantern still burning | | 7\. A jar of black sand | 17\. A broken claw from another beast | | 8\. A dagger etched with tiny runes | 18\. A vial of golden, humming liquid | | 9\. A ribbon with an odd monogram | 19\. A perfectly preserved musical instrument | | 10\. A contract signed in blood | 20\. A prayer written on thin vellum | ## \[1d20\] Tomes Interesting Only to Adventurers... | 1–10 | 11–20 | | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | 1\. A Practical Guide to Suspicious Statues | 11\. Famous Last Words, Annotated | | 2\. Identifying the True Villain at Court | 12\. How to Out Mimic a Mimic | | 3\. Surviving Your First Possession | 13\. Devils and the Fine Print | | 4\. Delighting at an Awkward Noble Dinner | 14\. On the Proper Disposal of Necromancers | | 5\. The Economics of Tomb Robbing | 15\. Signs of Hidden Rooms and False Walls | | 6\. How to Apologize to a Dragon, Unabridged | 16\. The Subtle Signs of Impending Betrayal | | 7\. Escaping Ritual Sacrifice with Dignity | 17\. Good Paladin, Bad Paladin, Dead Paladin | | 8\. A Dictionary of Threats in Twelve Tongues | 18\. Unchosen: Learning to Love Yourself Again | | 9\. What to Pack for a Probable Siege | 19\. A Treatise on Respectful Corpse Looting | | 10\. Common Causes of Spontaneous Undeath | 20\. What You Wished For: Adventurer Edition | ### Autumn 2025 Newsletter URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/autumn-2025-newsletter/ Last updated: 2025-11-26T00:12:38.000Z > *Content Warning: Reflections on illness and death of a loved one* I ended my [**Summer Newsletter**](https://www.donathinfrye.com/summer-2025-newsletter/) (my first on this site) by writing, *"... and I don't think I've ever felt more focused or ready for what is to come."* While everything I wrote was true—at least in regards to my creative life—it turned out that real life didn't care much about my feelings. A few days after sharing my reflection on where I've come from and plans for the future, I was in the hospital, staring at the ceiling, unable to breathe without a machine. Unexpectedly, a simple cold that I thought over turned into severe pneumonia in both my lungs. I was scared, and in a way that I've not experienced before. *Okay*, I thought. *I've not had many severe health challenges, and these things happen. I'll take it easy and bounce back quickly. Honestly, I'm a lucky guy.* So I spent a few days in the hospital, listened to the doctors, did everything they asked of me, and made some big (overdue) life changes while recovering. I fell behind in life—I'm not used to being unable to write, work, or walk a few steps without getting winded. It took long weeks after coming home to start feeling better, but the changes I enacted made me feel proud. Optimistic and excited, even. And then, while I was still recovering but starting to return to writing and running games, my mom passed away. It was sudden, though not unexpected. My mom was still fairly young but had been very sick for a long time. Almost 20 years. There'd been many frantic flights across the country, lingering quiet moments that felt final, and long stretches where things seemed to get better for a while. I'd been in and out of processing her passing for most of my adult life. Everyone faces the death of a loved one differently. When it finally happened, I put everything on hold: my new (good) recovery habits, writing, games, keeping up with friends, or even acknowledging that I was still not well. I'm the oldest in my family, and I knew my siblings and our families would need me. *Okay*, I thought. *I can do this and help the people I love get through it, too. I've got broad shoulders, an organized brain, and am a good listener. I'm lucky.* And so came the planning, choosing urns, flowers, wood grains—and a shady plot by a young tree, facing the old library nearby. Then came the distillation of a complicated human being's life into a series of faded pictures gathered into a slideshow, the selection of 60 minutes of music to honor a parent and try to help everyone saying goodbye feel open but at ease. Then came the strange hellos, the out-of-body experience of delivering a eulogy, and the even stranger goodbyes. And finally came embracing my siblings all together in the shadow of a young tree near an old library. It might have been the first time we'd ever done that. And now comes more planning, the slow unraveling of the tangled knot left behind when we leave this world for whatever comes next, and the redefinition of what our family will become now. Throughout all of this, I've had a lot of help from my incredible partner, my siblings (and their partners), and my many friends who were patient with me when I uncharacteristically floated away. I wouldn't be okay without them—I've learned that my shoulders aren't quite as broad as I figured. This fall has been unexpectedly exhausting, expensive, and at times, scary. But things are more normal today than they were yesterday. I want to live and love and create stories for a very long time to come, and the changes I'm making to my life are overdue. Some of those changes will start in the New Year, and others are already making my life better and healthier now. ## On Gratitude and the New Year I know this newsletter is unusual. Normally, it would be stuffed with my ramblings about what I'm working on, future ideas or plans, and how much I love the stories I get to share with the wonderful RPG community in our little corner of the internet. And it's true—there are a ton of cool new projects I'm excited about for next year! Maybe even too many, which probably isn't a surprise to folks who know me. If you've read all of this, thank you *so much* for letting me share it with you. I began writing this with more than a bit of dread. How do you acknowledge and write about something so personal that you're still trying to make sense of? It's obviously something that I'm still processing while I try to make the best of things moving forward. And somewhere along the way, maybe a few paragraphs ago, I felt some small bit of the heaviness from these past weeks lift. And that's how it's been every time I've sat down to play a game about imaginary characters raising dragons, or riding dinosaurs, or navigating courtly politics, or spinning up wizardly shenanigans, or blowing up space ships and bad guys in a galaxy far away, or facing grief, family, and unknowable cosmic horrors in small-town America. So for the folks who play those games and tell those stories with me—and who have given me *so* much support—I can't say enough how grateful I am and how much it means to me. *I'm a lucky guy.* ### Summer 2025 Newsletter URL: https://www.donathinfrye.com/summer-2025-newsletter/ Last updated: 2025-09-01T18:48:44.000Z New website, same old newsletter! Before I delve into the past, present, and future at length, I'd like to give a shout-out to the awesome folks who play in my campaigns. Beyond showing up to tell fantastic stories every week, this year, we've had so many players write beautiful (or hilarious) pieces of original fiction, short stories, character journals, and manifestos that make our games feel so much more lived-in. It's one of my favorite things, and I am always grateful that I get to run games for so many diverse, brilliant, creative, and thoughtful human beings. I also want to thank the folks who play in my original Star Wars TTRPG campaign. They've voluntarily been my guinea pigs for the last few years, as I've developed an original system to play out epic stories in a galaxy far, far away. The image above features an app being developed by Faye, one of our players, that is essentially D&D Beyond for our original system. It hosts easily-searchable rules, has a lightning-fast character creator that handles leveling up, integrates with Roll20 for dice rolls, and makes combat management super smooth. Once it's finished, I'd love to bring that level of support to our groups' other original and custom systems. Since this is my first newsletter on my new website, I thought it would be timely to reflect on what has been an incredible creative journey over the past years before looking into the future. For those who have followed me for a long time, much of this might be familiar. ## Looking Back to How We Got Here For a decade now, I've been incredibly fortunate to have the support of folks on my [**Patreon**](https://www.patreon.com/Donathin?ref=donathinfrye.com). Without them, I honestly can't imagine what my life would look like right now. Before that, I spent a long time scraping by as a working actor (sometimes bartender), dreaming about how I could do the things I loved most. I'd written fiction and designed games in my free time—creations that I was very proud of, like my online game *Atonement*. I learned a lot about online communities (sometimes the hard way) and how to collaborate with other extremely gifted creative people. However, as I grew older, time proved to be rarer and more elusive than it had been. I realized that I couldn't keep doing what I had been and still survive week to week. And then, unexpectedly, thanks to word of mouth from *Atonement*, I received my first offer to design an online computer game and be paid for my work in 2013\. It wasn't much money, but thanks to that project, I had a little bit of savings for the first time in my life. I wanted to use it to invest in creating something of my own. That led to creating my Patreon as a means to promote and support writing fantasy and horror webcomics and graphic novels, which had been a lifelong dream of mine. I wrote a lot over the next couple of years, supplementing my theater work with comics. In 2017, word of mouth led to another chance opportunity. My webcomic *I, Necromancer* was picked up by a tabletop RPG company that created actual plays and podcasts. TTRPGs had always been my greatest hobby passion, but I had never even heard of live-streaming. And so, for a few years, I entered the world of actual plays, sometimes for work and sometimes for fun. I began to receive writing gigs for adventure and campaign books, and I shifted my focus from acting and comics to TTRPGs, which, surprisingly, proved to be a far healthier industry than what I was used to. But, as much as I enjoy performing for an audience, there was a lot of noise in actual play games that I felt like got in the way of me running the best kind of game I could and just telling a good, long-form story with folks I knew were always excited to be there. I was also getting more and more TTRPG writing gigs on the side, and I became eager again to create something that felt like it just belonged to me and the other folks at the table. So, I attempted to launch my first private online game, supported by my Patreon, in 2019. That first campaign (Dark Sun!) went really well, taught me a lot, ran for years, and made me feel like I'd finally figured out what it was I was meant to be doing. I met a ton of new folks over the next few years. Six years later, I'm still writing games and stories for other companies, but the heart and soul of what I do now is creating entirely original TTRPG campaigns for incredible people whose support allows me to do what I love most. *Atonement* to now has been a 16-year journey, almost all of which I've spent with my amazing and supportive partner. A great deal of my life changed over that time. I got married, met so many incredible people from all over the world, moved across the country several times, wrote and published around 30 comics and TTRPG books, and found a level of happiness that I honestly didn't know I'd been missing. ## Grappling With D&D and the OSR Most of the long, ongoing TTRPG campaigns I've been running over the past few years are reaching the end of their stories. When this year started, I did some soul-searching. I asked myself if I still had enough truly good ideas to create new games that would feel fresh for my players and leave me feeling inspired. If I'd had any doubt, it didn't last long. If anything, I still have *way too many* ideas and far too little time to explore them all. I love D&D 5th edition, but I've run multiple years-long campaigns from 1st to 20th level. It requires a lot, and I needed a break. Some of that has to do with some objections I have to how Hasbro (the corporation that owns D&D) has handled the game, alongside its treatment of the design team, third-party creators, and the community in recent years. But really, simply, over time, my tastes as a gamemaster shifted. I wanted faster, more cinematic, more dangerous action. I wanted rules that better supported roleplay and improvisation over a rules-as-written philosophy that slows down play and creates a lot of choice paralysis for some folks. While I'm not compelled by the OSR (Old School Renaissance) design philosophy's often heavy emphasis on dungeon crawling, random encounters, and loot-centric motivation, I do enjoy those elements in moderation. More so, in the past couple of years, I've found a lot to love in how games like [**Cairn**](https://cairnrpg.com/?ref=donathinfrye.com) and [**ShadowDark**](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark?ref=donathinfrye.com) get out of the story's way and give more agency to the players. (I *strongly* recommend both games, whether you're a gamemaster, player, collector, or TTRPG fan!) A few years ago, I created an original TTRPG system from scratch to run two **Star Wars** campaigns, wanting something that felt a little different than the games already published. Only a little more recently, I hacked a faster, tenser, more lightweight version of [**Call of Cthulhu**](https://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu-quickstart?ref=donathinfrye.com) to run my latest **Pretty Marsh Harbor** campaign. For Pretty Marsh, I approached the design from almost the opposite point of view of Star Wars, with organic character progression and practically no rules for combat at all. I'm still running those campaigns, and they've both been phenomenal experiences. In short, our Star Wars plays more like D&D with robust combat and character progression, while Pretty Marsh is even more rules-lite, improvised, and organic than most OSR games. After a lot of refining and reflection on what was working for me and what wasn't, I gained perspective on what kind of games I want to run—and confidence to create a system that supports long-term fantasy campaigns. I finally felt ready to tackle a new project that could replace my *Dungeons & Dragons* campaigns moving forward. ## In the Year 2025 So, I took some time off from taking on writing projects on the side to develop my own version of the Ravenloft setting, featuring unique domains, my spin on classics, and an original storyline loosely tied to my players' past campaigns. Ravenloft combines my love of fantasy and gothic horror, and it's always been one of my favorite TTRPG sandboxes. To support Ravenloft, I heavily modified *ShadowDark* to develop something closer to an [**NSR** **(New School Revolution)**](https://www.ttrpg-games.com/blog/osr-vs-nsr-7-differences-every-game-master-should-know/?ref=donathinfrye.com) system emphasizing collaborative storytelling, narrative-driven play, and more expanded player character progression. I wrote a book's worth of lore and rules, added rules to support different campaign styles, created a ton of unique player options, and made it all freely accessible to players without requiring a third-party site like D&D Beyond. This month, we launched our first Ravenloft campaign, set in my version of a future **Sithicus**, inspired by some of my favorite dark fantasy stories: *DragonLance*, *A Song of Ice and Fire*, *The Witcher*, and *The Blacktongue Thief*. It's been an absolute blast and, after two sessions, I'm already eager for all the future campaigns we'll play with this system once our current D&D campaigns reach their epic conclusions. ## Looking Forward to the Next Year So what comes next? While I am in talks to write more TTRPGs and video games, and have ideas for new self-published digital-first games, my focus remains on my community and the games we play. It's what I'm most passionate about, and I don't want that to change. Most of my current long-running campaigns will conclude over the next year or so. Some of these campaigns have (or will) run for 130-150 sessions! My main goal is to collaborate with my players to tell the best story possible for each, and to craft endings that folks will hopefully remember fondly for many years to come. I'm also excited to start new campaigns! One of the greatest joys I have is witnessing how players evolve and develop their own personal style of roleplaying over time, and I can't wait to see what new ideas they bring to the table in the future. Another goal is to further develop this website. I created it to become a hub for everything I do, from running games to writing them. I'm engaging with social media much less now than I have in the past, and much more directly with the communities I'm part of. I want to use this space to write helpful articles for players and writers, share design ideas, and maybe offer more interactive experiences. Finally, I'd like to expand on how I support my players. As we move away from D&D and play more original games, I aim to find better ways to provide resources that make playing our games as easy and enjoyable as possible. ## Final Summer Thoughts If you've supported me or collaborated with me over these past years (or even if you've just read the entirety of this long letter)—please know that I couldn't feel more thankful. I love what I do more than I can really say, and I hope folks can feel that in what I write or the games we play together. I've gone on at length because, to me at least, right now feels like the end of one era and the start of the next one. I can draw a straight line through the last 16 years to where I am now, and I can see well into the future. It's all very special to me, and I don't think I've ever felt more focused or ready for what is to come.