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The Intrepid

Hauntology Hollow: Mark Fisher and the Dread of Cozy Simulations

A Postscript to May Day: Hollow Parade Mark Fisher is already in the room. The screen flickers, a faint hum threading through Animal Crossing’s saccharine soundtrack. On Crossing Hollow’s bulletin board, a message appears: “It is easier to imagine the end of the mayor than the end of

Your Paladin Has PTSD and a Mortgage: The Case for Downtime

When the dice stop rolling, the real questions begin The Unspoken Bargain We always fade to black. When the dungeon is cleared, the tyrant slain, the village saved, and the loot divvied up, we sheathe our swords and retreat from the table. Characters go inert. Frozen mid-stride in a pose

The Village Crossing: Be Seeing You!

A Dread One-Shot Overview Players: 2–4 (plus 1 GM) System: Dread (Jenga tower for tension) Duration: 2–3 hours Tone: Folk horror, surveillance horror, hauntological dread Premise: You are former mayors of Animal Crossing, now trapped in Village 001, a charming island where smiles are mandatory, tasks are rituals,

Multiplication Isn’t the Point

On oracles, parlor tricks, and the danger of the wrong benchmark A recent LinkedIn post showed an AI model confidently failing a basic multiplication problem — and then rationalizing its mistake with total composure. This wasn’t just a math error; it was a narrative performance. And predictably, the comments rolled

The Quad of Exitlight

A Liminal Americana RPG Setting Along the endless highways of the Gulf Coast, where Interstate 10 hums with the weight of forgotten dreams, there lies a mythic quadrangle known as The Quad of Exitlight. It’s not a place you find on a map, but a state of being—a

Check Your Mag: Five Dummy Rounds We All Carry

Before we go loud, let’s get honest. We like to think we’re squared away—tight groups, good gear, situational awareness. But even in a clean draw and a clear conscience, we might still be carrying things we haven’t examined. These aren’t hollowpoints or FMJs. They’re

May Day: The Hollow Parade

A One-Shot for Dread Overview Players: 2–4 (plus 1 GM) System: Dread (Jenga tower for tension) Duration: 2-3 hours Tone: Folk horror, psychological dread, inevitable sacrifice Premise: You are mayors who’ve returned to Crossing Hollow, a digital island from Animal Crossing. The villagers welcome you, but their smiles

Keep the Crowd Whole

On Internal De-Escalation and the Quiet Power of CLARA In every protest, there is the official narrative: the chants, the signs, the demands. But beneath that is a second, quieter thread that determines whether the day holds—or frays. That thread is internal de-escalation. It’s easy to think of

A Playable Folktale: The Choir of No Votes

A Playable Folktale for drifters, hyperpigs, and static that hums no name. This is not a vote to cast or a world to save. It is a mirror for what rusts, what hums, what fades uncounted in the Glitter Band’s haze. What You Need * 2–6 participants * A shared

The Bell Is Full: A Crossing Tale

The sky was always perfect in Crossing Hollow. It wasn’t weather—it was design. Every leaf shimmered in the breeze. Every cloud was a soft-edged shape, cartoonish but real enough to almost believe in. The birds chirped a melody you couldn’t name, but which seemed familiar, like a