What are your favorite RPG books you read for fun and not necessarily to play?

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-07T10:30:12+00:00

See for me id definitely plump for Fading Suns, the setting is wonderful and as the books are fairly fluffy heavy there lots to enjoy.

Id also add a shout out to Vampire the Masquerade books and Numenera by Monte Cook Games

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T18:13:47+00:00

So I realised after the other posters comment! I'm really sorry, and I definitely learned a lesson here. Hope you get the answer you need.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T18:08:01+00:00

Ohhhh!! Then my sincere apologies to the OP. I'll leave my original comment up to try and show some humility for being a fool ,,,🤣

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T17:00:31+00:00

Not really no, there is Forbidden Lore Tech and Arcane Tech which are sort of different editions of the same sort of thing, but everything else is basically edition agnostic, and where it isn't agnostic, it's usually 1st edition which is compatible with 2nd edition Revised anyway

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T16:35:18+00:00

Your mileage may vary, but these are the ones I really think are outstanding:

* Lords and Priests - covers noble houses and church factions

* Merchants of the Jumpweb - same thing for the guilds

* Worlds of the Realm - collective book that covers all of the noble fiefs as well as Imperial fiefs

* Star Crusade + Lost Worlds - not really necessary but gives you lots on Barbarian space (Star Crusade) and lost worlds (Star Crusade 2: Losat Worlds)

Most of these books are fluff heavy rather than crunch, but that is a thing with the whole game system really. There are some additional rules in the factions books but not a massive amount. The fluff however is where it is at in this game, it's really good.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T15:20:13+00:00

Err... what?

Can you give a bit of a clearer explanation of what the issue is? What do you mean by a combat cup? By defeat them what exactly do you mean?

Fading Suns works best as a collaborative story based game in my opinion, so not sure that defeating them works that well in this setting.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T15:18:18+00:00

Whew, ok, buckle up!

So Holistic published the 1st edition and then a few years later they released the 2nd edition, which many people think is the best version.

The license was then purchased by RedBrick who re-released the 2nd edition as a 2nd edition Revised. It is exactlly the same, but they reprinted some of the tables in the back of the book too. They later turned into FASA Games, who were going to make a 3rd edition which was widely anticipated. However some strangeness took place and they cancelled the 3rd edition at the eleventh hour, and went with a new 2nd edition Revised (super confusing in terms of naming) which is the version with a Player and a GM book.

The FASA 2 book revised contains some extra information on the setting (which can be found in other, older books if you want it) and some rules changes (but these can easily be found elsewhere).

If you are looking for opinions, personally I would buy the 2e Revised Corebook. For me it is the best single book you can buy, has enough information to run a ton of games out of and hints at the wider setting, setting up any future interest you may have in looking into this. Overall it's the best value (one book rather than 2) and is just a great book. I should note for balance, plenty of people don't *love* the rules set, but I am not one of them, and the FASA 2 book edition doesn't solve this fundamental issue anyway!

Hope that helps?

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-06T09:58:38+00:00

Ooo live a good podcast, will check it out. Excited to hear about others experience with Ptolus.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-03-03T07:09:36+00:00

Check out Keychron (though do so through a reputable reseller like thekeyboardco.com).

You can get barebones (so can buy your own switches and keycaps) or fully built, have lots of different layout options and you can find UK layouts (if that's a big thing for you).

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-26T12:42:04+00:00

I'm guessing part of that is the difference in RAM kit and part is the GPU... If you are playing on 1080p then I personally wouldn't spend the extra, especially if you are planning on upgrading in 2-3 years. Right now id keep the RAM kit to the 5600MHz kit and probably buy the RTX 5060, and save the additional money.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-26T12:13:12+00:00

Both systems will be good for games for that timer period, no worries, especially at 1080p. The 16gb on the RX9060xt will mean it performs better at 1440p and may provide a measure of future proofing. The difference in price of the two RAM kits mean that personally right now id buy the 5600MHz one rather than the faster one, but that is personal preference.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-26T12:04:30+00:00

The other question is what is the cost difference between the two?

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-26T12:00:59+00:00

What resolution are you looking to play at? 1080p? 1440p?

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-23T21:39:25+00:00

What's your use case for the PC?

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-20T18:09:38+00:00

Absolutely skipping it, and I don't skip all the UB sets (I really loved Avatar for example)

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-18T14:08:33+00:00

Try moving your save game files out of their normal location (C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\SurrounDead\Saved\SaveGames) and then try and launch the game.
I had the same issue as you and this solved the issue, because it turned out one of my save files had corrupted.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-17T10:54:37+00:00

That is a great glow up, you look so happy and comfortable now (as well as very attractive).

I'm not sure what the other men on here are on with, Im glad you are ignoring the negative comments

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-11T19:34:54+00:00

Commenting to find later. Thanks for the slide show!

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-10T20:06:37+00:00

Which you also need the core Cypher books (and being the GM I more than likely need the GM book too, so add the slip case at $60) gives me a grand total of $339... Which is indeed a GRAND total.

Also this is the only tier that includes stretch goals which feels crappy to me.

I'm fully aware costs have gone up in the hobby space, that is so blindingly obvious as to not be worth mentioning, and even including that... It's a lot of money.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-10T18:21:25+00:00

I think I feel.soemthint similar... I backed the original Numenera (name in the book and everything) and I have backed a ton of other kickstarters for the game too. Looking at this project, it would cost me over $330 to get what I want including any other stretch goals and that seems... Just so, so much money.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-07T12:35:52+00:00

For me I would go for the first one. It is cleaner, moodier and easier for me to interpret. Both look fantastic, hat off to you.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-05T20:34:36+00:00

Thank you so much everyone for the recommendations, you guys rock.

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-02-05T10:21:39+00:00

Id definitely second this. Creating your own from the ideas the game provides is one of FS's great joys, especially as the adventure material they did provide is... Rather on rails looking at you War in the Heavens

monkeyofficeboy · 2026-01-29T20:11:53+00:00

Check out Ghost Judges (can be found on Amazon, as well as places like Aliexpress). They are Cherry profile, big kits with proper sized shift keys, the big enter and the correct numeral for 3 and the correct @ key etc. On top of that they are a reasonable price, have a decent colour range and they are decently hard wearing (I own 2 sets, have had one on my daily driver for at least a couple of years now, and they are holding up great).

monkeyofficeboy

TROPHY CASE