magnusarchives

  • 2026 Plans Update #1: Ongoing Projects

    I originally intended to put out a single 2026 update near New Year’s, but as I started collecting my thoughts, it quickly became clear that it would turn into a very long post. More importantly, I wouldn’t really be able to do justice to some of the things I’m genuinely excited about without them getting

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  • Strange Beginnings: Session Two

    Session Two was a lot of fun and, while a little janky, the transcription bot worked so I was able to capture as much as possible. I hope you enjoy. The morning of November 17th, 2025, had been a trial by fire, sometimes literally, given the state of the Institute. The new staff had stumbled

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  • December 2025 Update

    December 2025 Update

    November has come and gone, and somehow I hit my goals again, plus a bonus short story to finish out the month. The views and returning readers continue to blow me away. Thank you. I’m still very much an amateur writer, so the fact that strangers on the internet take time to read my work,

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  • Strange Beginnings: Session One, Part Three

    The finale of our first session. If you have seen them yet, check out Part One and Part Two. I hope you enjoy. Evelyn Cross stepped into the tent, her expression composed and businesslike. She greeted the group with a polite nod, then asked John Miller and Father Mateo to remain behind. The others were

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  • Strange Beginnings: Session One, Part Two

    Continuing from Part One, the party is finally assembled and things are not as they were expected. Stay tuned for Part Three! They were ushered into the white tent, the air thick with paper dust and the sour smell of damp ink and mold. Folding tables filled the space, cluttered with open boxes and stacks

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  • Strange Beginnings: Session One, Part One

    Since the transcription bot refused to cooperate, I had to rely on a quick voice recording from memory right after the session. That means some dialogue and narrative beats couldn’t be perfectly reconstructed, and a few smaller details may have slipped through. I’ll be rebuilding this one in parts, blending what I remember with my

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  • Strange Beginnings: The Presession

    This is the full narrative of our presession for Strange Beginnings, the first story arc in my homebrew The End of the Institute campaign. The actual Session One took place last night, but unfortunately, our transcription bot died mid-way through and took the record with it. I’ll be recreating that session from memory as best I

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  • Character Sheets: Position Perks Part 4

    The last three players for my End of the Institute campaign have completed their sheets, chosen their roles, and have received their position perks. First we have an Elocutionist whose character personality did not align well with any of the existing Descriptors from the Magnus Archives core rulebook so I allowed them to check out

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  • Character Sheets: Position Perks Part 3

    Just completed another character sheet creation for one of the players of my End of the Institute campaign. This player is playing a Scholarly Elocutionist Who Solves Mysteries and has taken a position as Artifact Handler. Artifacts being potentially dangerous require special care and so below are the Position Perks I have created for this

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  • Will Cut a Bitch: A Custom Focus for The Magnus Archives Cypher TTRPG

    During Session Zero, our group began character creation. One of our players was trying to choose a focus and was having difficulty as the provided ones did not fully suit their character vision. As they describe their character concept, the joke was made “If only there was a ‘Cut a Bitch’ focus.” This led to

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