Month: April 2022

Boss Rush Banter: Which Games Have The Most Memorable Plot Twists?

The Boss Rush Network

Elden Ring. Horizon: Forbidden West. Inscryption. These are just a few notable games from the last year that pull off an incredible magic trick with their story telling. In Elden Ring‘s case, using FromSoftware’s trademark indirect lore, you have a world-changing event in the late-game that may or may not blow your mind depending on how much you bother to even pay attention to the game’s story. With Horizon, you have a game whose story is the point, but whose twist pays off in dividends if you invest in the game’s amazing side quests. And with Inscryption, you have a game designer who has trained the player to watch for the big twist in his games and is still able to hit them with multiple big surprises. It’s like watching Paul Rudd dupe Conan O’Brien multiple times in the same interview.

The thrill of a well-deserved…

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All the Dungeons & Dragons news

GamingSF

There was a flurry of Dungeons & Dragons news last week (see Polygon.com summary), it came out just as I was ramping up to a frantic week of work so I was kind of distracted from absorbing any of it beyond the headlines. I’ve since done some catch up reading and listened to the relevant episode of the Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk podcast for some discussion on this deluge of updates. Here’s a collection of my thoughts on some of these headlines:

Dragonlance

I’ve seen a lot of excitement about the return of this classic 1980s D&D campaign setting on Twitter. I did actually read the first two triologies when they came out, and ran the first AD&D module for friends. But my tastes in fantasy have changed rather a lot since then. There were more exciting settings, for me, released at the time and since, than ‘generic fantasy…

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Among the Lost – Session 3

Dyson's Dodecahedron

he Midnight has become the “for now” group haunt of the circle.

Once a six-story warehouse that was then converted into a hot night club and then decayed into the city’s top goth club. The interior was half gutted so the dance floor / main bar is open to the 6-story ceiling and skylights. The back half of the structure still has 4 floors intact – the main and second floors are 2 stories tall, and the two upper floors were offices, private rooms, short term rentals, and storage.

Then some kids died up there in the back rooms and the place caught fire on the same night in early March, 1994.

Used by the Sons of Tertullian as a base for a few months, they moved their font there to be at the presence of a pinhole nihil to empower it.

Shroud: 4

Haunt Echoes:
Slipping (time slips)

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Boss Rush Banter: What Do You Love About Indie Games?

The Boss Rush Network

With the possibility of an Indie World Showcase announcement soon, we would like to ask our readers, what do you love about indie games? It seems there are qualities that stand out in the indie genre compared to bigger titles. Here’s a few reasons why I love indie games.

I believe indie games really broaden their audience by taking the biggest risk compared to most AAA games. For example, metroidvanias are big in the indie community. There are games like Guacamelee and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom that really stick out compared to your typical metroidvania. These two don’t feel like your average dark, serious metroidvania and are not the only indies to give this genre light and humor. Guacamelee feels structured like Super Metroid, but when it comes down to it, Guacamelee stands out with its change of combat, where attack combos are very important for progression…

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Syp’s gaming goals for May 2022

Bio Break

April 2022 in review

  • Overall it was a chill month of gaming without much in the way of variety and juggling.
  • Primarily, I devoted most of my time to Lord of the Rings Online. My minstrel dinged level 60 (current cap) on Treebeard, caught up on Bingo Boffin, and maxed out her virtues. She’s in good shape for Mirkwood. Then after trying out a variety of classes, I ended up dusting off my lore-master and worked on leveling her up. I also did a bunch of scavenger hunt quests for the anniversary.
  • I tried, more or less, to do a Dungeons and Dragons Online quest every day. I actually did fairly well here! The whole month I spent on the Forgotten Realms quest chains, and I got many of them done and organized into blog format.
  • I dropped WoW Classic for now out of a lack of current interest…

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My RPG Passion Statement

Roleplay Rescue’s Blog

A couple of weeks back, as I prepared to record Season 10 Episode 20, I wrote some thoughts about where I am as a GM. In that post and the episode that arose from it, I mentioned I had spent some time working on what Kenny Norris calls a “Passion Statement”.

As we approach a long weekend here in the UK, I am hoping to find some spare time to get myself back to the solo table. To prepare, I referred back to this statement. It’s interesting because, apart from one small tweak, it strongly resonated with me all over again.

Here’s the revised version of what I wrote:

Battling for the heart of civilisation, I want to discover characters exploring deeply rendered worlds and facing dangerous challenges. Using detailed and grounded rules, I seek to use random elements, blended genres, and entrancing details to immerse myself in adventure…

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THARIZDUN: Session 6 – Plunder

Wayne's Books

Everybody – the party, the gnomes, and the Kettite men-at-arms – all waited in silence. Deep in the Black Temple, it’d been non-stop battle with the giants and their servitors, more arriving all the time.

But now, no reinforcements came. The power of this oversized bandit gang had been broken.

The battle over, it was now only Silence in this deeply unsettling place of dark worship. The walls appeared to writhe when seen out of the corner of the eye. Everywhere, black stone, only relieved by veins of various shades of purple.

This is Session 6 of my recap / walkthrough / playthrough series ofTHE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE OF THARIZDUN(1982) byGary Gygax. [PDF for $5 at DTRPG].

Previously:

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How I Use Reputation To Modify Reaction Rolls.

Grumpy Wizard

OD&D monster reaction table

I use a 2D6 reaction roll for many situations in my games.

In addition to monster encounter reactions, I use it for offers to potential hirelings, making deals with merchants and traders, negotiations with NPCs about jobs, hireling loyalty and more.

The way I use the reaction roll is when the players are asking an NPC for something, trying to make a deal, avoid a fight, or if I’m not sure of the mood of an NPC. It is usually how I answer the question, “How does this NPC feel about this situation going into the encounter?”

Once I have that result as a baseline, I will adjust the outcome based on what the players do. If they behave aggressively and the reaction roll is a 4, there’s going to be a fight. The response from a reaction roll of 12 might be the NPC…

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Boss Rush Banter: What is the Best Fictional City in Video Games?

The Boss Rush Network

Many video games are defined by their location. Especially with immersive open world titles, the cities that you explore are just as important and fleshed out than the characters themselves (and sometimes even more so). These virtual destinations all have rich histories, districts with their own inhabitants, distinct landmarks, memorable shops and other establishments, and so much more to satisfy the tourist within.

Rockstar Games has made some of the most detailed of these digital municipalities in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead franchises. Of course Liberty City, Vice City, Los Santos, Saint Denis, Blackwater, and their other urban areas are all based on real world locales, but they add just enough creative flair to separate them from their inspirations.

The rolling fog and empty streets of Silent Hill makes for one of the most frightening environments in gaming.

Horror games also often have some of the best (and…

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