advanced darning & dragons

Your name is [redacted] and you’ve been writing [series title removed by editor] for decades. It has everything – adventure, conquest, romance, betrayal, heroism, and of course, wizards and dragons and stuff like that, as all good high fantasy series need. What can you say, you’re a good writer!

The thing is, you’ve been writing under a penname, so no one knows you’re the author. Which is a really good thing, considering the plots of your novels may be a little … inspired. Not stolen. Just. Lightly lifted.

From very specific people.

Namely, your long-time knitting group, [title removed due to identifiable information], that meets at the [removed] Community Center every Thursday at 2.

Some people come, some people go, but it’s always good material.

Who knew old folks led such messy lives!

In Advanced Darning & Dragons solo mode, you need a 4 sided die, an 8 sided die, tarot cards, and a way to write. You'll generate elderly people using the knitter table, draw tarot cards to inspire their gossip of the week, and then write in your journal how you're transforming that into a high-stakes, campy, high fantasy adventure.

In multiplayer mode, you'll need an 8 sided die, tarot cards, a way to write, and 3-6 players (no GM necessary). Each player will create their Oldsona, draw tarot cards to generate their gossip of the week, and then will assign themselves a fantasy archetype and their plot beat for the chapter. Players will casually gossip as their oldsonas (perhaps even while really doing handcrafts!) and will write down their guesses as to what the other player's archetypes and plot beats were. When everyone is done, players will write a short chapter outline, share them aloud, and then will be assigned writer's awards like "most grimdark fantasy" or "most slapstick".

Advanced Darning & Dragons is a silly comedy game that's meant to put the fun back in writing. It's available free / pwyw so everyone has a chance to bring a little humor to their lives!