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grinningportal.bsky.social
Grinning Portal Games
@grinningportal.bsky.social
320 followers 330 following 65 posts
Check out our adventures and blog posts at grinningportalgames.com

Operated by: https://bsky.app/profile/ryanloos.bsky.social
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Grinning Portal Games @grinningportal.bsky.social · Jul 29
You’ve fought goblins, mimics, and dragons. You’ve explored forgotten tombs, snowy mountains, and dangerous mines. Isn’t it time you settled down? Bought a house? Joined a community?

Check out Serenity Springs, a D&D setting and adventure based on 1950s suburban America.

tinyurl.com/ytd9w688
Across the top it says "Serenity Springs: Realm of Noxious Nostalgia" There is a man and woman sitting at a dining table talking to each other. Next to the table, a window to the outside shows TV static and a mutant pig monster. The two people and the monster are teal while everything else is in grayscale.
grinningportal.bsky.social
What happens when D&D characters have to face the horrors of a 1950's suburb?

Serenity Springs is now available on @rpgtrader.bsky.social!

rpg-trader.com/products/900...

#Dnd #5e #5.5e #ttrpg
Serenity Springs cover on RPG Trader
August 31, 2026 at 6:05 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
You’ve fought goblins, mimics, and dragons. You’ve explored forgotten tombs, snowy mountains, and dangerous mines. Isn’t it time you settled down? Bought a house? Joined a community?

Check out Serenity Springs, a D&D setting and adventure based on 1950s suburban America.

tinyurl.com/ytd9w688
Across the top it says "Serenity Springs: Realm of Noxious Nostalgia" There is a man and woman sitting at a dining table talking to each other. Next to the table, a window to the outside shows TV static and a mutant pig monster. The two people and the monster are teal while everything else is in grayscale.
July 29, 2026 at 3:36 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
I love a good mashup and Mad Max but animals fits that bill perfectly. Check out Road Rage by @daggerwoodgames.bsky.social www.kickstarter.com/projects/dag...
Coming soon: Road Rage
A high-octane mutant apocalypse TTRPG where failure builds Rage and Rage hits back.
www.kickstarter.com
July 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
rpgtrader.bsky.social
1 month ago we launched RPG Trader.

We had no idea how the TTRPG community would respond.

We're humbled by the creators who've joined us, the customers who've supported them, & the encouragement we've received from across the community.

Thank u, wonderful RPG Trader community!
Let's go, month 2!💥
Dwight Schrute's Boss Day Thank You
ALT: Dwight Schrute's Boss Day Thank You
static.klipy.com
July 8, 2026 at 9:06 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
I've added my PBTA supplements and adventure to RPGTrader! I'm excited to see another sales platform in the mix.
rpg-trader.com/creator/321/...
June 5, 2026 at 1:22 AM
grinningportal.bsky.social
The Serenity Springs Kickstarter is up for only three more days! Throw your players into a monochrome horror dimension based on 1950s suburban America!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gri...
#ttrpg #D&D #5e
Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for D&D
What happens when D&D characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
www.kickstarter.com
April 27, 2026 at 5:49 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Funded! Thank you to everyone who supported and shared the project! Now back to work polishing and editing.

#dnd #ttrpg #kickstarter #5e
www.kickstarter.com/projects/gri...
Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for D&D
What happens when D&D characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
www.kickstarter.com
April 15, 2026 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
geeknative.bsky.social
Serenity Springs brings the horrors of 1950s suburbia to your roleplaying game sessions. Avoid the G-men and keep your lawn perfect or face the consequences.
Serenity Springs: The 1950s suburbs meet Dungeons & Dragons horror
Serenity Springs brings 1950s suburban horror to your next roleplaying game. Explore a nightmare of conformity with new D&D compatible mechanics.
www.geeknative.com
April 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Want to learn more about Serenity Springs? Tune in to @talesfromelsewhere.bsky.social tomorrow at 10:00 am (PST) where Peter and I will discuss the unique blend of history, design, and offbeat ideas that eventually became Serenity Springs. www.youtube.com/live/DV0GdNv...
#ttrpg #dnd #5e
Taking D&D in Strange Directions - Live Interview
YouTube video by Tales from Elsewhere
www.youtube.com
April 3, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
systemhoppers.bsky.social
COMING SOON......👀
March 31, 2026 at 3:33 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
And we're live! #ttrpg #dnd #5e
www.kickstarter.com/projects/gri...
Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for DnD
What happens when DnD characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
www.kickstarter.com
March 31, 2026 at 5:11 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Major kudos to @excalibird.bsky.social for her work on the two covers for Serenity Springs!

The project goes live on Kickstarter tomorrow! #dnd #ttrpg #5e
Two pieces of cover art. The one on the left says "Serenity Springs: Realm of Noxious Nostalgia" and depicts a couple sitting down to dinner while a flying bug/pig monster menaces them from just outside their window. The one on the right says "Freaks from Beyond the Hayze: A Serenity Springs Adventure." It shows a suburban street with several Dnd characters in the mid-ground. The foreground is full of people looking scared and confused.
March 30, 2026 at 9:00 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
“Why do you think now is the right time for ttrpg players to trade their plate armor for a cardigan and a dark secret?”

My answer took a lot of soul searching and re-writing, but I was really happy with the result.
grinningportalgames.com/blog/why-ser...

#ttrpg #dnd #5e #politics
March 27, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
exeunt.press
No budget? No problem!

Free art from dead people for your games: www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/public-dom...

#ttrpg #boardgames #gamedesign #publicdomain #freeart #art
Public domain art resources
Using public domain art in tabletop game design
www.skeletoncodemachine.com
March 25, 2026 at 1:51 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Here's what Serenity Springs' kitbashed artstyle looks like in practice. We took this (archive.org/details/hous...) image from Household Magazine, and added a hand-drawn Alien getting ready for mischief.
#ttrpg #dnd #5e
A woman in 50s clothing standing next to an open dryer and smiling down on it. Behind her is a window and its raining outside. In the corner of the window is an alien holding up a ray gun.
March 25, 2026 at 5:53 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Thanks for the interview @geeknative.bsky.social!
geeknative.bsky.social Geek Native @geeknative.bsky.social · Mar 20
Most roleplaying games tell you exactly how much health you have left. In Serenity Springs, the rules of the world censor violence so thoroughly that you never know how close your character is to death until it might be too late to run.
Suburban horror and censored violence: Ryan Loos on the 1950s dystopia of Serenity Springs
Explore the unsettling suburban horror of Serenity Springs, a 5e setting where social rules and censored damage mechanics redefine roleplaying games.
www.geeknative.com
March 20, 2026 at 10:31 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
Serenity Spring's artwork is kitbashed from old 1950s magazines. It's not hard to find unintentionally creepy pictures like the one below. She has absolutely murdered someone with that clock and will kill again. Source: archive.org/details/hous...
A woman holding a paint roller in one hand and in another holding up a tiny clock that has a bunch of sharp spikes jutting out of it. She is situated behind the clock giving a mischievous look.
March 15, 2026 at 9:52 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
How does one get in or out of Serenity Springs? A magic item called the Universal Remote teleports you there for petty reasons. This vengeful little contraption exists in some form in every plane, sending all manner of life-forms to Serenity Springs. More shapes in the comments!
A simple old fashioned TV remote with four buttons across the middle: + volume, - volume, + channel, - channel
March 13, 2026 at 12:22 AM
grinningportal.bsky.social
A 1950s suburb isn't gonna have traditional DnD dungeons, so how about a landed Roswell-coded UFO? Notes to my music guy for this part just reads "Theramin ass theramin."

Intrigued? Check out the Kickstarter for Serenity Springs, launching March 31
tinyurl.com/3pppxe2h #ttrpg #dnd #5e
A large gridded DnD map all in black and white. Its the interior of a circular UFO. There is one large room in the center that leads out to 8 miscellaneous connected smaller circular rooms around it. In order starting from the top and going clockwise the rooms contain: - Some navigation equipment - An engine room - An armory - A room full of strange mold that was taken over by a monster - Cryosleep chambers - A laboratory - Storage for captured people - a space that prints food and spare parts
March 9, 2026 at 6:02 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
In Serenity Springs, walking somewhere always takes 1 hour while driving always takes 10 minutes. Its a navigation challenge for the players, and a parody of the car-dependence kicked off in this era.

Intrigued? Check out the Kickstarter, launching March 31.
tinyurl.com/3pppxe2h #ttrpg #dnd
Coming soon: Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for DnD
What happens when DnD characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
tinyurl.com
March 5, 2026 at 5:34 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
In Serenity Springs, sentient TV static called The Hayze censors all violence and nudity. The spelling is a direct reference to the Hays Code, a real thing that rigidly confined media in the 20th century.

Intrigued? Check out the Kickstarter, launching March 31
tinyurl.com/3pppxe2h #ttrpg #dnd
Coming soon: Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for 5E
What happens when 5E characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
tinyurl.com
March 2, 2026 at 6:54 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
#SelfPromoSaturday time!
Serenity Springs is my biggest project yet, a setting and adventure for 5E based on 1950s suburban America, launching on KS at the end of the month!

What other #ttrpg projects are folks working on?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/207...
Coming soon: Serenity Springs - Campaign setting and adventure for 5E
What happens when 5E characters have to contend with the horrors of a 1950's suburb?
www.kickstarter.com
February 28, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
jesthehuman.itch.io
The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED!

There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota!

Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
graphic that says no ice in Minnesota itch.io charity bundle
February 9, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Grinning Portal Games
jayeeis.bsky.social
8 hours left to submit any game/game adjacent itch project (new or current) to the No ICE in MN bundle, benefitting the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.

I've added my most popular game, so if you don't already have Ready, Set, Bake!, watch this space for the bundle
Feb 9. itch.io/jam/no-ice-i...
No ICE in Minnesota
A game jam from 2026-01-07 to 2026-01-27 hosted by jesthehuman. FAQ Can I submit multiple projects? You are welcome to submit multiple games, free, paid, or pay what you can, including new and existin...
itch.io
January 26, 2026 at 4:47 PM
grinningportal.bsky.social
This motivated me to finally get my work up on itch.io. I've added my very modest library to the bundle. Fellow game designers: if you can afford it, please consider joining. All proceeds go to the Minnesota Immigration Law Center. #ttrpg

itch.io/jam/no-ice-i...
No ICE in Minnesota
A game jam from 2026-01-07 to 2026-01-27 hosted by jesthehuman. FAQ Can I submit multiple projects? You are welcome to submit multiple games, free, paid, or pay what you can, including new and existin...
itch.io
January 16, 2026 at 12:05 AM