A Continent of Banalities

I have two settings for TROIKA! available for free on Itch.



There's The Liver of Acratopotes, a fantasy setting set on a demigod's liver.

And there's the TROIKA! version of Passing Strange. 21st century weirdness and the weirdos who must suffer it.

Both of these have been featured in stages of unfinishedness on this very blog.

1) Remember that you are not alone. There are legions of people out there who suffer as you do. Strike up a conversation with one.

2) Say to yourself “I belong in the space I occupy. I push myself to new accomplisments”.

3) Get a parrot. It echoes your words without the burden of an intellect.

4) Take pleasure in your indistinct reflection in storefront windows as you pass by. Like a real person, you are in motion. You are accomplishing things. You do not obsess.

5) Avoid mirrors. They are likely to make you ruminate upon certain parts of your face. Remember: an imagined flaw is as painful as a real one.

6) Drink coffee. Fetishize it. Say things like “I need my coffee” or “I don’t know what I would do without coffee”.

7) Avoid prolonged contact with dogs (and certain breeds of pig). They pick up on so much.

8) Remember to cycle between over-preparedness and procrastination. You need both to maintain your position.

9) Starve the parrot. Its voice sounds too much like you, like an imperfect rep…

(Sorry I've neglected the blog! I've been overwhelmed).




Everything shakes, and all things are shaken loose. In the body. In the world. 

 A Wolf whose maw reaches from earth to heaven swallows the sun. 

 A Worm so vast that it fills up the ocean, drags itself up on land, spewing venom and fire, setting the world ablaze.

The World Ash shakes from the tremors, and bursts into flame. Its fiery branches tear down the stars.

Heimdall sounds his horn, and it drowns out the heavens’ thunder.

The dead warriors stumble out onto the Plain of Iða, but giant birds, fire-drakes and flying lizards fill the sky, and descend upon them, crushing them under their weight.


Below in Midgard, humanity swarms out of its broken cities, like ants from a destroyed nest. The jotun trample them, and cross the rainbow bridge, breaking it as they march.

The Wolf strides into Asgard, and the Worm rises up, sinks its teeth into Hlidskialf, and pulls itself up.

The mighty gods seem very small. They stand outlined a…

The blinding incandescence was diminishing in strength, and I stared at the figure in the doorway.
It, he, was a chicken. Ain't no two ways about it. A chicken the size of a six-year-old with yellow feathers, a broad-brimmed hat and a rapier.
I was still considering the distinct possibility that this was the onset of of DT. God knows that my body's got more than enough reason to rebel. I've not treated it like I ought. Some mornings I've half-wished that it'd up and leave, like my second wife.

Back to the chicken. He removed his hat from his head with a rakish gesture and smiled. I's never considered that a chicken could smile, but it seemed appropriate in the situation. I must've been quite a vision in my strappy t and sagging undies. It was a condescending smile.

”I have a job for you” he said. ”I have been de-niched, and only now have I realized what I must do to set things right!”

I was dimly aware that my jaw was somewhat slacker than is proper…

(Once again this is an entry based on one of Evlyn M's brilliant pieces. Support her on Patreon!)


Many would probably call hobgoblins a ‘warrior race’. This is quite reductive of course, no species of intelligent creatures are just one thing. It is however true that the hobgoblins spent untold years as the Grey Emperor’s slave-warriors and expendable workers. They staged a great uprising which the hobgoblins call the Us War, since it was the event which made them their own masters. Of course the Grey Emperor is gone from the world now, but these ancient evil have a way of returning.
The other species do not see beyond the surface, and still think of hobgoblins as ‘foot soldiers of evil’ or some such nonsense. The hobgoblins for their part keenly remember how the species turned them away harshly or ignored them when they sought aid against their oppressor.

Hobgoblins must have perfect hair when they go war. In the days of enslavement it was a creative outlet and an act of defiance…

Background tables
These tables are meant to serve as inspiration for your teen’s background. You’re not required to use them, or to roll randomly. 
D10 Ideology/Belief
1 There is no such thing as bad attention.
2 Being a kid is really an application process for being an adult. I know where I’m meant to go.
3 I have faith (specify). It helps me tell right from wrong.
4 “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
5 I know that the world could be better, and it’s my job to make others see this (what’s your cause?)
6 There are more things out there than what people will admit to. I want to see what’s beneath the surface.
7 Childhood is a golden, fading memory. I don’t like I’m heading.
8 I only trust you guys. The rest of the world is out for blood.
9 My hobby (what is it?) comes first.
10 Without my family and friends, I am nothing.


Significant People


D10 Who are they?
1 Parent (e.g. …