Ryan Costello's avatar

Ryan Costello

@costello.bsky.social

110 followers 93 following 56 posts

LFG writer, Essence20 designer, G.I. Joe enthusiast

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Two books I worked on are up for ENNIES!
The Field Guide to Action and Adventure and the My Little Pony RPG CRB, both Essence20 books from Renegade.
I'm especially excited to see FGtAaA get the nod because I was both an author and a developer on it.
ennie-awards.com/2024-nominees/

2 replies 7 reposts 24 likes

Reposted by Ryan Costello

Ashley Lynch ✂️🎞️'s avatar Ashley Lynch ✂️🎞️ @ashleylynch.bsky.social
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Right now you can get Affinity's entire suite for $100 on a perpetual license. They're capitalizing on a lot of people looking to dump Adobe.

5 replies 41 reposts 109 likes

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Sorry I missed out on writing on this one. You and the other authors did an great job, taking the #GIJoeRPG and #Essence20 in some amazing new directions.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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And *I* wasn't following *you*!

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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This post made me realize I wasn't following you on Bluesky! It was a real knock at the door.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I've learned that when I have an idea that I think only I will appreciate, the best thing to do is make it and put it out there. Like building a Millennium Falcon Transformer PC that converts into a unicorn. Even if my follower don't like it, they get a better sense of what to expect from me.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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You can't LARP in the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war without glitter!

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Reposted by Ryan Costello

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Haven't shared a Now We Know in a while, but if you're wonder what's going on this week at the Know Direction Network, your best bet is clicking the News tab and checking the latest Now We Know.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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No, it's not all right. It's a problem.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Watching X-Men 97 My daughter asks how a character did that. Brief pause, explain that character's powers. My daughter asks why a character did that. Long pause, explain the current political climate between humans and mutants and how that character's lived experiences impacted their motivation.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I don't have the space or the budget to go all in on Turtles of Grayskull, as much as I'd like to. So I focused all of my interest into making the coolest Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo #Essence20 PC I could imagine.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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When Michael Bramnik and I wrote Battle for the Multiverse, it was for a one-off at Gen Con. Reception was so positive, it's now available to buy, and free for Play Renegade GMs. Here's to a long life as an introduction to Essence20 at cons and in game stores.
renegadegamestudios.com/pdf-essence-...

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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So glad that googling this gave me exactly the answer I needed.

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Reposted by Ryan Costello

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I'll be running two #Essence20 sessions at Breakout Con: An original G.I. JOE RPG adventure called M.A.S.S. Endangerment, and an Essence20 all-in crossover event called Fight for Freedom and Friendship. Space is limited, so if you're interested, sign up soon!
breakout2024.sched.com/subject/Ryan...

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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NFL SuperPro is a guilty pleasure of mine, but building him in Essence20 was an unironic joy.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I had to cut this line from a project I'm working on because it doesn't fit the tone, but I liked it so I'm sharing it: If the players are putting their lives on the line, call the police. This isn’t a roleplaying game, it’s a Squid Game.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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You probably figured that this would mostly use G.I. JOE RPG options. Surprisingly, no! Even more surprising, is the Origin I went with.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Looks like the future of car designs finally caught up to the 80s.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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You're going to read this Essential Builds and think we had Odo in mind when we designed certain Essence20 options. I know we did not, but even I find that hard to believe.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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This was one of the more bizarre origin stories of a board game, but I liked it. And I admire Rabble's commitment to eco-friendly game materials.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Is it just me, or does the thumbnail gives the book a spicier subtitle?

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Reposted by Ryan Costello

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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When my kids asked to watch The Grinch, I assumed they meant the old cartoon. Nope. The new cartoon? Nope. Somehow, they wanted the live action version.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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One of my artist friends is named Al, and I worry that will hurt his career...

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Whatever Paizo thought 2023 was going to look like, January threw off those plans and they spent the whole year under a dark legal shadow and basking in the light of good will and new fans.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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We do drive in traffic a lot.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Enjoy? It's Mmmm mmmm good!

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Will and Greg. The question was whether a soup barbarian would work like Bane, with soup acting as his venom compound (pictured), or would the barbarian rage when the soup ran out?

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Talk of a soup barbarian naturally let to this photoshop of Soup Bane.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Just when you think Super Dinosaur went extinct as an IP, it finds a new way to rear its prehistoric head!

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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G.I. JOE and Boba Fett in one episode? Can't wait to catch that one!

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Transformers is on there too, which I also worked on, but not nearly to the extent I am involved in the G.I. JOE line.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Proud to see the G.I. JOE RPG CRB on the GTS Distribution Top 25 RPG Rankings for November 2023. As a freelancer, I'm completely removed from any information on how well the games I work on sell, so lists like these provide valuable insight.
www.gtsdistribution.com/page.asp?p_k...

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Reposted by Ryan Costello

Reposted by Ryan Costello

Know Direction's avatar Know Direction @knowdirection.bsky.social
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Alex played #Starfinder2e at PAX Unplugged a couple of weeks ago and he’s sharing his thoughts with James and a live Twitch audience. That, and a closer look at the Field Test Mystic, all tonight on the Know Direction Twitch channel.
www.twitch.tv/knowdirection

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Nothing sets the tone for an actual play podcast quite like Eleanor saying she's playing a probably-human mystic.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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This might be my last LICD blog, so I try to wrap up the series I started talking about watching the MCU movies with my daughter in whatever order she wanted.
leasticoulddo.com/mcu-in-daugh...

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I also get ideas for new options that would suit the build, if they just existed yet.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Anyone #ttrpg game design who is interested in improving their craft, I highly recommend starting a blog like this. By picking a variety of unorthodox characters to build as #essence20 PCs, I contextualize the game's options in a way that I don't always think of when writing.

1 replies 1 reposts 3 likes

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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I prefer a setting with broad, clear concepts that inspire adventure, but minimal lore required to understand it. The lore can be there for added context and inspiration, but I don't want a setting that only makes sense if I and my players read the world's whole history.

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Reposted by Ryan Costello

Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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That explains why she was on the Island of Misfit Toys.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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It's still stuck on CD-ROMIX

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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On my way home from grabbing a couple of the latest G.I. JOE Classified figures Game Stop, I swung by the mailbox and found my shipment from the Creating G.I. JOE Kickstarter I backed. Then, when I got home, there was a huge box from Renegade of #Essence20 G.I. JOE RPG contributor copies (and more).

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Thank you once again, Esther and Navaar, for your perspective, insight, and carrying on Know Direction's legacy.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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Proud of this #TheMarvels meme I put together. I feel bad that there's no way to make this joke without spoiling a surprise. I wish more people saw the movie, and not just so they appreciate my joke.

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Ryan Costello's avatar Ryan Costello @costello.bsky.social
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The greatest comic, cartoon, and toy line that somehow no one knows about.

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