Stonetop, or, Nice Village You've Got There

[Eyes of Nine]

Quinn’s Quest released a review today:

Yeah the Stonetop discord is blowing up...

 

[Aldarc]

 

[Raduin711]

Quinn's glowing review has definitely piqued my interest. I am not terribly familiar with PBtA, what little I have seen of the rules wasn't super inspiring, but maybe it's worth a second look.

 

[Fenris-77]

Quinn's glowing review has definitely piqued my interest. I am not terribly familiar with PBtA, what little I have seen of the rules wasn't super inspiring, but maybe it's worth a second look.

The PbtA rules are marvelous, or at least can be in the right hands. These are the right hands.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That was an amazing review (they're all amazing reviews by Quinns). This game feels like a real commitment, as opposed to, say, Dolmenwood, which feels more like players could come and go from a campaign.

But for the right group, this sounds like a peak RPG experience.

 

[Piperken]

I'm about halfway through Quinns review. I really like this art.

In a way, this is dense like Dolmenwood is, but PbtA mechanics with special attention paid to the social relationships in each location.

 

[zakael19]

The art is wondrous. The fact they had a single artist do all 200+ pieces across both books gives a real unity of vision and feel.

This game feels like a real commitment, as opposed to, say, Dolmenwood, which feels more like players could come and go from a campaign.

The more the players (all of them, inclusive of GM) commit to treating this place and these people with sincerity and caring about the community, the greater the game shines. Agonizing over decisions not from a mechanical perspective but because your character is taunt with the potential of what this means for their home leads to really amazing scenes.

My Ranger kept his Husband in his thoughts throughout play, the son of the village blacksmith (and following in this father's footsteps). When he Defied Danger against fear or malign powers trying to entrap him, it was fighting for his husband (or their love) that he always turned to. When they came home from another treacherous Expedition, we always had a scene or two showing their reunion + the mixed emotions upon another parting.

When the Ranger died, fighting an undead creature wrought by the evil sorcery of a follower of a Thing Below, he saw the Gates and refused to pass through. He then rolled a 4- on his Death's Door, and we all gasped when he immediately said ..."ok, well, I guess I'm a Revenent now, I refuse to go until I complete my duty and ensure my husband and the village is safe from this."

No other game has come close to effortlessly delivering these moments.

 

[Agamon]

Coincidentally, I checked out what I could of this game a week ago, looking for some community-building rules to steal for a Daggerheart game. The price of the PDF put me off, as I was just looking for ideas, not a full-fledged pbta game.

Google must ate some of my cookies, because I was rec'ed Quinns' review, even though I've never watched him before. Glad it was recommended, both because Quinns is an amazing reviewer, but also this game seems to be worth the price of admission...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Google must ate some of my cookies, because I was rec'ed Quinns' review, even though I've never watched him before. Glad it was recommended, both because Quinns is an amazing reviewer, but also this game seems to be worth the price of admission...

Quinns Quest is pretty dangerous that way.

His Patreon stuff, which he periodically makes available for a deep discount, is also great.

 

[Aldarc]

Yeah the Stonetop discord is blowing up...

It gets even crazier. According to Jeremy, they "had ~3000 physical orders already via KS and Backerkit," but "over 3500 units ordered since the QQ post."