Robin D. Laws
@robindlaws
Writer, game designer, podcaster. Winner of the Diana Jones Award, 8 Gold and 5 Silver ENnies. Translated into 11 languages.
This is a Commentary beat, marking a moment when the story stops for tangents, observations, or pontification. Like when your players hilariously riff. Or a discussion of the latest DC movie breaks out in the middle of a fight.
This is a Bringdown beat, marking a moment when a story rings a negative emotional note. Like when the GM describes the sudden downpour that drenches the adventurers as the dark overlord’s castle heaves into view.
This is an Anticipation beat, symbolizing the jolt of hope when you can see something cool about to happen in a story.
Super into the image Spotify serves when a track is credited as Traditional
Little known fact: the Lionel Messi potato chips are made from FIFA’s failed Lionel Messi cloning experiments
When the T fell off the sign it became clearer where the death came from
When the same brain-mushing problem shows up at the end of two consecutive work days
There’s a lot to worry about right now so let’s cheer up with some trepanation pelgranepress.com/2026/02/14/s...
Does your beloved local tabletop game store stock books in a multi-tier rack? Interested in both yes and no answers. (Extra belovedness to you if you are yourself a game retailer.)
An ancient Egyptian tomb switch leads your Trail of Cthulhu investigators into 1930s peril pelgranepress.com/2026/01/31/t...
In a hole in the ground… they found a body. As a halfling amateur sleuth — or perhaps as a dwarf, boggart or pooka — you investigate the village crimes the constable is too sleepy to solve. The playtest for Merryshire Detective Club is now open. pelgranepress.com/2026/01/07/c...
At Pelgrane Press, 2026 is the Year When Books Come Out pelgranepress.com/2026/01/07/v...
Yellow King Paris story hook: the 1895 art students celebrate a year vanquishing the forces of Carcosa — until the stroke of midnight, when they discover that they have entered the 13th month, the month of Hali
How to do M. R. James inspired Christmas ghost stories with DramaSystem. pelgranepress.com/2025/12/17/a...
I'd wish Nostradamus a happy birthday but he always knows when I'm going to say that
I thought I was buying a ticket to a Predator movie but apparently I now have to escape a Predator…?
One of my Christmas traditions is getting angry at the unnecessary skeuomorphism of this sprinkles topper