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  1. TheAlkaizer

    Do Tariffs Apply To RPG Books? Maybe, Maybe Not!

    Morrus is right that it's a balance between what makes sense for the publishers and the buyer. For reasons that are hard to explain, I would never pay 60$ for a PDF. I do it all the time with books, even if they have the same content. It's not entirely logical, I think it really stems that it...
  2. TheAlkaizer

    What Does the RPG Hobby Need Now?

    I don't disagree with this, but I feel like you're describing a situation like we're a bunch of executives around a table trying to capture a new market and grow the industry. Nobody is trying to grow the industry in China. Most creators are making a little creative thing that they enjoy, and...
  3. TheAlkaizer

    Limited Edition Box Set Styles, which do you prefer?

    Personally, I prefer the boxed style. Might be out of habit and expectations.
  4. TheAlkaizer

    How Much Do You Care About Form Factor/Book Size?

    It's never been a purchase factor for me. However, it does affect my experience with the product after. I used to dig the big hardcovers. I'm falling more and more in love with digest size books.
  5. TheAlkaizer

    D&D 5E (2014) According to the Hasbro Q1 earning call D&D sales are up substantially.

    The report speaks about what happened in the past few months, before their departure. And the fact that Hasbro is making money and sales could reassure you on some aspects of D&D's future (will their release more content, be more ambitious, etc) but I see very little overlap with the worries...
  6. TheAlkaizer

    Let's Talk About Short Campaigns

    I'd say that I tend to use the terms interchangeably. But I definitely do not call it an adventure when we play for a year, and I definitely do not call it a campaign if we do a one-shot. So there's a threshold in there somewhere. But I know that I describe it as a short campaign when I propose...
  7. TheAlkaizer

    Let's Talk About Short Campaigns

    When I bring a new system to my players (which happens quite a few times a year), they know by now that it means a short 2-4 sessions campaign. Just to get a taste of it. And they always have the option to say "We want more, let's keep going!" Over time, I've grown to appreciate them for their...
  8. TheAlkaizer

    Mongoose Publishing Acquires Dark Conspiracy RPG

    I have no idea what the quality was years ago, I'm a recent purchaser of their products. I wouldn't call the products bad. I think the books (physically) are entirely serviceable. But they absolutely do not compare to the quality of production of Free League's books. As for the content, I...
  9. TheAlkaizer

    Mongoose Publishing Acquires Dark Conspiracy RPG

    I'm sorry, but I disagree. Mongoose products are plagued by typo, bad editing, contradictions. As for the physical production, Free League is years ahead of anything Mongoose does quality wise. The quality of the paper, the layout, the editing, the art direction, the quality of the material, the...
  10. TheAlkaizer

    Best fantasy names in literature

    I actually like George RR Martin. Many of his names feels real and believable. There's often a consistency to me as they follow some loose patterns. It's true that in certain parts (namely the Targaryen family and the kings) the same name comes up often, just like they do in most real royal...
  11. TheAlkaizer

    What's the best fantasy game for solo play?

    Kal-Arath by Castle Grief seems really popular right now. I bought the PDFs and read them but haven't got to playing it yet.
  12. TheAlkaizer

    Score +2 For Million Dollar Crowdfunders!

    I have a few issues about the design of their pages, which I hope they'll fix. But overall I like the platform. I also believe they take a smaller cut of the funds raised. I'm happy to see some competition, hopefully it'll lead to improvements.
  13. TheAlkaizer

    Score +2 For Million Dollar Crowdfunders!

    I feel it might be likely that this number might diminish. Whatever your political position is, I think we can all agree that there's a lot of uncertainty in the hair and international trade is going to be affected. This is going to increase prices, might lead to inflation in certain countries...
  14. TheAlkaizer

    GMing without an inner monologue.

    I'm a bit confused. Is this like a philosophical question? Or a practical one? I'm just there's a matter of semantics here that will clear your question. On philosophical note, my mind is also very active at all time of the day. It's natural mode is to hop from idea to question forever. But...
  15. TheAlkaizer

    What are you reading in 2025?

    I gathered a group to start a new campaign. The initial pitch was a early 11th century England historical campaign using Burning Wheel. I dove back into some of my notes on that period and I my interest slowly shifted towards an earlier period. Either in the first decades of the arrival of the...
  16. TheAlkaizer

    RPG Spotlight: Crown and Skull Volume II

    I enjoyed reading the first volume. It has interesting ideas and I liked the setting. But it's getting more and more difficult for me to justify such thick books. There's just so much rules and content that it would realistically take months to get a grasp of it.
  17. TheAlkaizer

    D&D General Mike Mearls sits down with Ben from Questing Beast

    What he says aside, I love interviewee that go on unending rants; and interviewers that lay them go on. Having just finished the video, I chuckled a few times as I couldn't recall the question a few minutes earlier. Ben: "It seems like in 2014 [...] bla bla bla [...] perception has changed?"...
  18. TheAlkaizer

    D&D General Mike Mearls sits down with Ben from Questing Beast

    Around 15:00, Ben brings up something interesting that I thought about often. For context, I started with 3E, played a ton of 4E, life forced me to focus on other things and I got back with 5E in 2016 before splitting into the OSR and indie RPGs around 2020. Around 2014, I was in the middle of...
  19. TheAlkaizer

    D&D 5E (2024) Do We Really Need Levels 11-20?

    Every time a game doesn't support higher levels, I'm disappointed it doesn't. Every time I play one of these games, we stop playing before these levels. I think it's something I just like having in case of. But I definitely need to stop letting it affect my reading of games.
  20. TheAlkaizer

    Do You Think Open Playtests Improve a Game's Development?

    I do agree that depending on what you're trying to seek, whatever hypothesis you have, different formats of playtests yield better or worse results. But every form of feedback can be useful. It becomes of challenge of data handling more than anything. You can also get incredibly valuable...
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