Recent content by Retros_x

But that is exactly where I get the tonal whiplash from. The imperium is a comical satire of fascists lead by an evil wizard, but Andor attempts to make some real life commentary and "serious" storytelling in this setting. I am not saying the full series is bad because of it, I very much enjoyed...

Oh of course! No doubt in that! But usually it gets done in a more primitive and much cheaper version than designing with tons of resources a super weapon. Andor made a point that the Imperium didn't even believe a rebellion was possible when they were already designing a weapon. The timeline...

This is a plan I had for a longer time too! Loved Pratchett in my childhood/teenage years. But because of my age I read the books in German translation which were passable, but I definitely want to re-read them in Pratchetts original words. Ok, I didn't know it gets so bad! I think I was in a...

I finally finished Andor last night with my SO. It was really good! An actual good Star Wars series with great characters. But I don't think its as perfect as some people make it out to be. I think my main gripe is the clash of serious political tones with the fantastical over-the-top universe...

I have a lot of fun at the moment with the new DK game for Switch 2. Its just bonkers fun done with Nintendo main team creativity. Really nice game to play after a stressfull day, its easy but creative and has great feedback. Its just fun to punch with holes in the world with a big monkey. In...

I think Sanderson have become too successful to edit. He either doesn't listen/trust his editors or they don't dare too much and/or are yes-men. Because these weaknesses are common critique of his books a lot of people seen this, every experienced editor has seen these weaknesses, I am 100% sure...

I think when the faffing around is actually the point, like in Jonathan Strange, its fine (but still a matter of taste of course). The faffing around is fun in itself in these books. But if its done like in Stormlight Archive where its just meandering thoughts and dialogues that are just boring...

The biggest problem is that in most games the different species are just humans in disguise. Humans with pointy ears, humans with different skin and teeth, little human etc. and than they get traits like "being less intelligent" in general AND on top get described traits that are cultural, not...

I absolutely agree. A high page count demands a lot of the reader and when it is not justified, I almost get mad because it feels like the author don't respect the readers time. And I have read 400+ page books with slow pacing that I absolutely loved, its definitely possible and I am not...

I was that other person in the other thread. I don't want to argue for argues sake, but when people actively misdescribe the game I like and tell its bad design, I can get heated, I'll admit that. In the other thread it was claimed that a) combat is rigged against you from a math perspective b)...

That is a fair point. The SD rules are quite brief especially on expectations and how the game is actually supposed to run and kinda expect people to already know OSR principles. Of course its not to take 100% literally (especially at higher levels you also can just win some easy fights), but...

Avoidance or trying to get in advantageous situation is exactly that. Its stated by most OSR creators in their blogs and products. Here an excerpt from Shadowdark: "Battles are fast and deadly. Being clever is crucial for survival." The implication is clear: If you run into every combat, you...

Of course the rules are 80% about that fail state, because that is when your characters die. You want to have precise rules here. The foul rules of basketball are quite precise, that doesn't mean the game is about fouling the other players, but these are the moments of contention. Ok, but this...

The options are not presented as options, that is what I mean. You get monsters in a specific environment, often in a specific situation. Like 3 Lizardmen arguing around a campfire. Now the players need to weigh their options, for example: do they try to sneak around, surprise them, intervene in...

No, the goal is rarely to kill a monster. The shadowdark (and OSR in general) intention is that the monsters are a danger/challenge to your mission which is not to kill monsters in most cases, but get treasure or reach a quest goal. Killing monster gives you 0 XP, so "kill the monsters" is not...