Into the Portal #3: The State of the Portal
Last year was a big one for Portalier Press. So, what are we looking ahead to?
Hello, 2026!
Last year was a big one for Portalier Press. We've been around for a bit – our 5e Portalier subclass came out in August '22, our Pact of the Empty Warlock in May '23 – but this year, we finally started getting our shit together.
New website/blog? Check!
Our own itch.io page? Check!
Our first playtesting packet? Check!
I've always seen the wisdom in the advice 'build lots of small things before you try to make a big thing'. So my goal as a designer, last year, was a simple one: Make a bunch of small, interesting TTRPGs and start to get eyes on them. So I made some new games, and polished up some others I've had kicking around for years. And I joined some really cool microTTRPG game jams. Between beginning and end of last year, we put out seven micro-TTRPGs for people to check out, with the hopes of playtesting them this year to really kick them into shape.
Another goal was to start taking Portalier Press seriously. Things like upgrading our online presence (see above: website! itch page!) and starting to talk about what we're making, whether in public or with within a slightly smaller circle. I officially invited Megan MacKay into Portalier, and we debuted our first co-written game, Gilded Blades, in the aforementioned packet. And I posted our first game devlog, talking about the creative origins of the game currently known as Devil's Hollow. It's been amazing to participate in the TTRPG world as a creator, after spending ages watching from the tree line.
I think we nailed both goals. So... what does that mean for this year?
2026
Running More Playtesting: My biggest weakness as a designer right now, the driver of my yips, the core of my fear. Sharing your work is a vulnerable thing; watching people play your work, and risk watching it catastrophically fail in front of your face, is something else entirely. We did some playtesting for the Portalier Artificer, and I loved that process, but between scheduling trickiness and the above yips, I've been (mostly subconsciously) avoiding the playtesting process. If I want to be able to take myself and my work seriously, that has to change. And 2026 is the year I'm gonna change it.
Polishing & Releasing Micro-TTRPGs: Once we've gotten playtesting in a good place, we can look at giving some of these projects a final release. I won't feel like any of our micro-TTRPGs are ready for primetime until they've been stress tested with playtesting & editing, and (in a perfect world!) received some custom commissioned art, too. Some games might never quite come together and ultimately stay development drafts forever, but I'd love to take at least a couple of our micro-TTRPGs and give them a full (digital) release.
Releasing Ashcans: We've put out playtesting drafts of a handful of micro-TTRPGs, as well as released some unplaytested ones, but we haven't put out a game (in any form) longer than a handful of pages. Even if it's just an ashcan, I want to make sure we get one longer game out for folks to read and consider. Current best candidate is probably Devil's Hollow, but I've learned better than to predict with any sort of certainty.
In addition to building on previous successes, these are the things I want to tackle as we dive into 2026. That, and just playing more games, studying more TTRPGs, meeting and collaborating with more creators, and doing more fun shit on Into the Portal like the Markus Project or possibly solo TTRPG playthroughs.
The best plans are ambitious and measured: know what you can accomplish, and give yourself room for stretch goals. So we've made big plans, but manageable ones. Last year was a big success on that front. Let's keep it going strong.