Bugling in the Brumal Darkness

Visual/recreational blog.

[saccharine-sorrows]

I am on a LOT of project assistance groups and discords for Ttrpg and board game design and when it comes go module writing in particular I have abstained from replying to a particular form of question that I want to address here and now. Questions to the effect of...

"I just finished the first draft of my [genre as adjective] RPG module/adventure. Here's an equivalent to its back matter and premise. What systems can it work in?"

Reveal a scarily fraut way to compose a module for a ttrpg. Stories in RPGs are not agnostic to their systems. Ttrpg systems are games at their core. The forms of gameplay the system holds space for the players to play with and in are the core experience in inexcticable ways.

[disgruntledexplainer]

can we appreciate for a moment that the show Secret Saturdays essentially made Bigfoot the main big bad, and far from being a joke character he's treated as a legitimately creepy and terrifying foe who is a realistic threat to the life and freedom every single human on earth?

I mean, just LOOK at this guy.

like this is what I was talking about when I was saying cartoon network had the most iconic villains between 2000 and 2015. Classic-era Vilgax, V.V. Argost, Van Kleiss, Slade. They all have their own "aura" that makes them stand out against the crowd as distinctly sinister. Even Aku, who ABSOLUTELY IS a joke villain despite being the main villain of samurai jack, feels unstoppable any time Jack isn't in the room.

I think part of it is that they aren't merely "evil", they are MONSTROUS, and have a classic cinematic flair to them. I've heard Classic-era Vilgax referred to as a cross between darth vader and an eldritch horror. V.V. Argost is an actual monster inspired by classic old horror films, both in and out of universe. Van Kleiss, while appearing human, is a warped, psychologically inhuman sociopath consumed with the desire for power and is fully willing to torture and murder his own allies (on screen) for his own benefit. And Slade... we'll just say that his behavior really captures the predatory nature of his appearance the original Judas Contract comic arc uncomfortably well. They're all unapologetically evil, and they revel in it, which makes them REALLY fun to watch.

[zybilna]

One thing that makes me kinda sad is seeing people who feel like TTRPGs just aren't for them because they bounced off of some element that is clearly just a symptom of them trying out D&D5e. Like people who have had a hard time with learning the rules would probably do well with any system where the rule formatting and play culture around learning them aren't a mess. One friend of mine didn't like waiting a long time for turns to come up in combat, not even knowing that many games don't even use a turn-based structure.

A lot of D&D5e defenders on here like to claim that asking someone to learn a new system is "gatekeeping" somehow, but I'd argue that acting like one game is emblematic of the entire medium to the exclusion of people who don't click with that one game is way more meaningfully a form of gatekeeping, even if it's fully unintentional.

I strongly believe that not all RPGs are gonna appeal to everyone, but there is an RPG out there for everyone, and I just hope that people who haven't clicked with the most common option to be introduced to can find something that works for them.

[vulpes-nothus]

You're right and you should say it.

Hasbro is fucking lying.

Their game does one very specific thing in an extremely specific way, and are exploiting unpaid game designers to sell the illusion otherwise.

There are other games. Hasbro is just gatekeeping the entire medium.

[local-goth-tgirl]

Theres a tension in the common ttrpg culture of play, where roleplaying can take over game systems.

If you are playing a ttrpg as a simulation engine, it makes sense to ignore the rules and try to reason what would be the result instead of using the game systems.

But if you play ttrpgs as games instead, the way you overcome obstacles is meant to make players experience a specific experience. Going out of the ttrpg sphere for examples, Resident Evil makes makes inventory a puzzle because it wants you to focus on what items you carry, Mario Kart gives you better items in the worst positions because it wants everyone to be close together and not have people fall behind (in casual settings), Elden Ring places cool items all over the map because it wants you to engage with the open world.

All of those decissions didn't come from trying to be realistic, they came because the designer wanted a specific experience and those systems help achieve it. There are simulators (powerwash simulator, farming simulator, etc) but those aren't games as much as they are toys. Toys dont try to get the player to achieve an end goal, games do.

When reading a ttrpg, try to understand what experience the mechanics lead to. DnD 5e is a game about fighting monsters and running out of combat resources the longer you go without resting. Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a game about creating relationship drama and angst. Eureka is a game about investigation.

All of these games have mechanics that try to get the player from playing that way. Issues start to arise when those systems are used to run adventures they don't fit well, since now half the rules will become annoying, bothersome or clashing with the intended experience of the adventure. Trying to play a Mutants and Masterminds adventure with Dungeon Crawl Classics without any homebrew will lead to a worse game because the mechanics of DCC don't reinforce the superhero themes that MnM goes for.

[70sscifiart]

Me, logging on to work after the long weekend

[shencomix]

[electricpurrs]

i think of this ProZD video constantly its always so fucking funny

[twilighthunt]

I think one of the most fascinating aspects of Spy x Family is that despite being a shonen, where the cast in this genre usually features teenagers with some adults here and there due to being aimed at a teenage demographic, the franchise’s main characters and supporting cast is comprised of nearly every age group EXCEPT teenagers. You have the adults (eg. Loid, Yor, Franky, Fiona, etc), toddlers (eg. Anya, Damian, Becky, etc), and senior citizens (Henry and Martha).

Spy x Family‘s characters consists of various age groups but there’s barely a teenager in sight and it isn’t limited to which age group gets to do stuff that matters either. Not that there's anything wrong with having teens as protagonists, but making the main protagonist a man possibly in his late 20s or early 30s and the main character group being two adults, a child, and a dog is quite refreshing and one of the reasons why these characters stand out so much.

[katnficer]

wait hear me out-

ok so not to forcefully adopt this idea as an au from @katzebruh or anything (because i'm unreasonably insane about it for some reason, literally a dozen other caine-centric AUs out there that are infinitely more complex and compelling and i picked this one, fuck it dawg we ball) but my headcanon is that caine genuinely was testing out modifiers and accidentally fucked up forever, if i had a nickel- and he's super conflicted about it...

because on one hand... he's a silly cat furry thing now and literally whats not to love? the humans like it and admittedly doing kitty things is really nice sometimes! chin scritches have never felt so good, honestly he would figure out how to get rid of it sooner if everyone wasn't enjoying it so much!

on the other hand... yikes... an unfixable bug? one that screws with his brain? stop me if you've heard this one before-

awww his widdle ears are so cute though awww and the paws awww

[michaelmoonsbookshop]

postcard c1910

I shall pass through this world but once, any good thing therefore I can do, or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now, let me not defer it or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

[kneepaw]

nipah nipah nipah nipah

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

They are babies! They don't know what a road is yet!

[chongoblog]

You might think your anime opening is cool, but is it “seamlessly put a ‘previously on…’ segment in the MIDDLE of the opening and have it kick ass every time” cool?

[chongoblog]

bet your ass he is

[luke-5353]

Some more art of Glaistig Uaine, this piece was inspired by the thought that if the Cycle were to go as planned, she'd probably have been the last Parahuman alive, before herself getting recollected by Scion. This is basically a depiction of that, though obviously with a lot of artistic license

[atompalace-official]

wash him he smely

[atompalace-official]

here’s how the other Eeveelutions react to bathtime 🛁🫧

[mantits24-07-24]

I'm pretty sure this has been done before. Anyways tHe BurNeD mAn LiVeS

[tiktoksthataregood-ish]

[maze-on-jars]