This is DIYRPG. A new Lemmy instance all about creating content of any kind for any Roleplaying Game systems.

There’s recently been some talk on Mastodon wishing for something like the OSR group on Google Plus and looking fondly at the buzz of activity on personal RPG sites, and how the form of conversation on either Discord or Mastodon is not at all suited for these long interconnected conversations and collaborations that can span weeks or months. And, well, Reddit is being Reddit. Not what everyone is looking for. I believe that Lemmy could be a suitable infrastructure to support such kinds of conversation again.

The OSR has collected a lot of baggage over the years, and to some degree that baggage has taken the center of whatever conversations are still going on. Which plenty of people interested in creating their own RPG content for personal fun really don’t care for and would rather stay far away from. I was having some thoughts of ironically “founding” a new movement that is similar to the old spirit, but doesn’t concern itself with the orthodoxy of early D&D or any drama about how to make games the correct way.

Earlier this week, Marcia B. and Idle Cartulary both wrote about a conversation about “DIY Elfgames”, which is something I really can get behind.

And here we are. DIY RPG is now a thing.

My own goal here is to make this a space for everyone interested in creating any kind of RPG related material. Regardless of game system, regardless of play style, and regardless of scope. Whole games or a single new item, and everything in between. Whether it’s showing off completed works, or just blurting out a half-finished idea. I don’t think spaces like this really need many strictly codified rules and can very well be kept orderly and pleasant by simply maintaining a basic civility and respectful conduct that comes from the top and letting people know when they start pushing things too far and certain shit won’t fly here.

Everyone is welcome, but not every behavior is tolerated.

I really don’t want to have policing any kind of opinions, but unnecessary rudeness should get an early warning and attacking people or groups specifically is where the last line is crossed. This is meant as a space to throw stupid shit at the wall and see what sticks for the sake of fun. I have no problem with general design discussions getting heated, but I expect most stuff that people make will be made primarily to have fun with in their own personal games, so there really is no point to argue about the general ideas and tastes of each creation.

I literally first had the thought about setting up a Lemmy instance this morning and just went for it. There really isn’t much of a plan for any of this yet. So I am inviting anyone to throw in your idea for what we could make of this space and how to set everything up. I also never used Lemmy in any capacity before today, so any suggestions about how the various customization options should be set up are just as welcome. Any suggestions you might have should go below this post into this conversation.