Recent content by Ralif Redhammer

  1. Ralif Redhammer

    what are you playing in 2026?

    I started playing Ruiner on the Switch. So far I'm digging it, but for whatever reason my brain has a hard time with dual-stick shooters (see also The Ascent). Still, it's fun enough that I'm persisting.
  2. Ralif Redhammer

    Help Me Pick A Convention Game To Run

    Mothership is a pretty good con game in my experience.
  3. Ralif Redhammer

    What are you reading in 2026?

    This is my first time reading it, so I'm excited. I've read the two Gibson stories in it already, but that's about it.
  4. Ralif Redhammer

    Let's talk about "plot", "story", and "play to find out."

    Entirely agree with these thoughts. I've really leaned into just drafting a scenario and seeing where the PCs take it. We tell a story together, but it's the product of the game, not the other way around. I've seen when players and GMs get too focused on the story they're telling ahead of the...
  5. Ralif Redhammer

    What are you reading in 2026?

    I finished PKD's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. A trippy exploration of reality and religion that still maintains some classic sci-fi tropes. I also read Rudy Rucker's Wetware. After reading two books, I can say that I don't vibe with Rucker. Important events, including POV character...
  6. Ralif Redhammer

    Spoilers A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

    Heh, point conceded.
  7. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General TSR Alum and Fantasy Author Jean Rabe Passes Away

    Funny, it was one of the most recent FR novels I've read. For some reason I didn't pick it up back in the day.
  8. Ralif Redhammer

    Dungeon Crawl Classics What is cool to you from a player perspective?

    I mean, if someone talks about The Turner Diaries as a simple dystopian story, yeah, that's a problem. And yes, something bad does happen. For example, I love the stories of Robert E. Howard, but there's a whole lot of racism and sexism in them, full stop. Not discussing those issues...
  9. Ralif Redhammer

    Spoilers A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

    I dug the first episode. The smaller scope is nice, but one thing that struck me was that it depicted people just having a good time. No foreshadowing of doom or anything too deep. Been a long time since a Game of Thrones TV show just let people be happy. If it's the one I'm thinking of, yeah...
  10. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General TSR Alum and Fantasy Author Jean Rabe Passes Away

    68 is way too young. Red Magic was a solid entry in the D&D fiction line, and I mined a lot of Raven's Bluff sourcebooks for material back in the day.
  11. Ralif Redhammer

    Dungeon Crawl Classics What is cool to you from a player perspective?

    I fail to see how not being critical of flawed (and ultimately failed) ideas like the Confederate leads anywhere good.
  12. Ralif Redhammer

    What Systems Could Use More Attention?

    Yeah, Spire is a striking game, with a deeply detailed setting and the mechanics to back it up.
  13. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General Gary Con

    Considering SDCC pulled almost twice what Gen Con did last year, I'm not surprised.
  14. Ralif Redhammer

    What videogames are you playing in 2026?

    I played the 1997 Blade Runner game on the Switch. Originally released in 1997, it's got some great moments, but is constrained by the technology of the time it was created. It evokes the mood of the film quite well, even having a number of the original actors reprise their roles in it. But...
  15. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General Does anyone know which products had Elmore's Dragon Slayers, and Proud Of It! art?

    As much as I love that piece of art, it's represents what drove me to stop using wyrmling category dragons in my games. A dragon should be fearsome and majestic, not an overgrown winged alligator. But it is a great work of art. You can instantly recognize each character's class, their pride in...
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