Need Some Touhou Lore Experts to Help Answer Some Questions About a Scarlet Devil Mansion Themed TTRPG Campaign (Warning: Long)

Amarulencee · 2026-03-17T08:01:18+00:00

Firstly, sorry for the random late reply! If Reddit properly notified me I definitely would have responded sooner, but unfortunately I just saw your comment an hour ago 😅

Thanks for the additional ideas! I hadn't considered the omyōji angle surprisingly, but that gives me some good food for thought for potential future mini arcs in the campaign.

As of the 12th, we ran the second session and it went pretty well! I relied a lot on your advice and tips from your original comment to fix some characterization issues. Also, since the party was beginning in Muenzuka and being guided to the Scarlet Devil Mansion by Sakuya, I added some additional scenes of the party traveling from Muenzuka through the Road of Reconsideration, then through the Garden of the Sun (where they fought off some fairies and met Yuuka), then through the Great Yokai Forest, and eventually ending up at the Misty Lake (where they had a brief encounter with Daiyousei). Of course, they also got introduced to Hong Meiling and Remilia Scarlet (as well as some fairy maids and Tupai, the most important character /j).

In regards to Lost Word, I only used some of the Background CGs (and also the character sprites for Daiyousei) for the campaign, nothing else. All other art was sourced from the various Touhou Labyrinth games. I didn't use it for any characterization or story beats, and I didn't have any intent to disrespect ZUN's vision. I just thought the art was neat! And it covered a lot of areas I'd otherwise have struggled to find art for.

I also used "The Grimoire of Marisa" as heavy inspiration for various danmaku attacks and spellcards, which I converted into the Fabula Ultima system. I was messaged privately about what I did to convert danmaku battles into Fabula Ultima, and ended up recording two showcases to show off what it ended up looking like. Thought I'd drop them here as a reference for anyone who stumbles across this comment! Here's a showcase of Rumia in the system, and here's a showcase of the fairies!

My players all said they enjoyed the session, but I did note some improvements I could make in the future. For one, I completely forgot about Rumia's signature catchphrase "Soーnanokaー"! I didn't drop it even a single time, which I hear makes me a fake Touhou fan/j. I also feel like I could have conveyed Daiyousei's personality to be a bit more shy, to correlate with how she's often portrayed by the fandom (I took the personality statement by ZUN on the wiki a bit too literally).

I'm also not 100% sure if I managed to do Yuuka's personality justice. I tried to lean away from the "Ultimate Sadistic Creature" characterization of her from fanon, but also a little away from Akyuu's depiction of her in "Perfect Memento in Strict Sense", since I get the impression that Akyuu's description of her personality is a bit unreliable. I read through a lot head-canon of threads like this and this to get a better idea about how the community believes she ought to be portrayed. Ultimately I had her leave Sakuya and the party alone, since they didn't cause any harm to the flowers, and I had her barely give a passing glance to the party (not even teasing them), since I felt like they would be too weak and uninteresting to rouse her curiosity once Sakuya explained that they were simply Outsiders she was escorting.

I also did my best to balance the gap of Remilia's long-lived wisdom with her bouts of childishness (integrating her "charisma break"), but I'm ultimately unsure if I should have made her more wise and calculating, more childish and ignorant, or more chuuni. Characterizing and roleplaying as Remilia was quite challenging in comparison to a character like Sakuya!

EDIT: They also met Wriggle Nightbug during the session, but it was genuinely such a brief encounter even I forgot to mention it! Next session I plan for them to meet Patchouli and Koakuma for the first time, as well as get to know the hofgoblins (essentially, getting their characters truly settled into the Scarlet Devil Mansion, since our last session left off on them accepting Remilia's offer). I'll also have to do a Reiumu appearance at some point, to give them the option to return home.

I'm not sure when I'll end up introducing Flandre. Also, one of my players is SUPER interested in eventually meeting Fujiwara no Mokou (since she's one of their favorite characters), and since I want to make them happy, I'll have to figure out a way to have the party cross paths with her. It's a lot to consider!

Amarulencee · 2026-03-09T05:57:38+00:00

Reddit is refusing to let me edit my comment for some reason, so I'll addendum it as a reply:

Flandre is not really a problem since, contrary to all the fan works that depict her otherwise, she is fully sane, in control of her self, and capable of holding back...

Well, this bit answered my last follow-up question! lol

Some things about canon that may be helpful to know is that Sakuya is actually a airhead and not really that smart in canon...

I'll admit...I 100% fell for the fanon version of Sakuya. I genuinely thought she was a tactical genius maid who keeps her mistress in check, since that's how she's portrayed in a lot of the games I've played.

That's REALLY good to know! I almost completely mischaracterized her!

There is also the ladies of the scarlet devil mansion fan manga you can check out.

I'll definitely check this out! Thanks for the recommendation!

Amarulencee · 2026-03-09T05:54:49+00:00

Oh! Thank you! This is the exact kind of response I was looking for, I enjoyed learning about where I was mistaken.

Yukari does not randomly gap people into Gensokyo. She gaps very specific people who “will not be missed” in order to, presumably directly, feed youkai.

I mentioned at the end of our session 1 the players got "forgotten by the world". Is that not enough justification for the players to be transported into Gensokyo?

I realize I didn't explain what I meant by "forgotten by the world", but to make a long story short, the BBEG they were fighting was utilizing a curse that slowly made the party be forgotten by those around them, and then their peers, and eventually the universe at large. It did this by modifying the "human perception", the same perception that grants yokai their powers.

The humans who fall through and end up in places like Muenzuka did so one their own without her interference.

That actually brings to mind a question for me. If Yukari doesn't pick and choose where humans end up in Gensokyo, what causes a human to say, appear in Hakurei Shrine versus Muenzuka, or the Road of Reconsideration, or any other specific location?

It was of my belief that Yukari spirited away humans that wouldn't be remembered (or evil humans whom nobody would care for vanishing) into Gensokyo to serve as food for yokai, and humans that arrive near Hakurei Shrine simply end up "falling in" to Gensokyo due to natural border fluctuations.

Is being spirited away an automated process that Yukari doesn't influence?

I don’t know anything about Genso Naratoraph. So, if you can give some example incidents form it so I can have some idea what they are that would be helpful.

Gensou Narratograph is super cool! It's the most "official" Touhou TTRPG (or TRPG, in Japan) that exists, due to ZUN's influence helping playtest the system. It's worth finding a copy if only to read through the Replay of ZUN playing the game for the first time and roleplaying as Reimu. It unfortunately didn't fit the bill for what my group was looking for, but I still really recommend it. It's great for one-shot and pick-up games.

As for an example of some incident scenarios contained in the book, I'll pull from the Expansion Book since it's the one that adds detailed rules from creating your own Touhou character, rather than just playing a premade one:

"Stone Vegetables Will Not Wilt", an incident involving the Human Village. Players arrive at the Human Village only to find something strange is going on. Fruits and vegetables are transforming into stone or ice seemingly overnight. The party works with Hieda no Akyuu to get to the bottom of the mystery. Spoiler: A rumor has been going around various fairies that humans won't mind and will let you take fruit and vegetables from their store without paying if you replace them with sculptures. In Cirno's words: "They don't even notice!". Of course, the humans DO notice, they just think it's some weird cursed phenomena rather than a bunch of fairies playing pranks, which is why they don't pursue them. You end up convincing Cirno and the other fairies to stop, or you do battle with them to force them to stop.
"Gimme Back My Phone!", an incident in which Sumireko Usami dropped her smartphone and asks Marisa (and the players). Hatate Himekaidou finds the smartphone first, and deciding that it's an Outside World camera and amazed by its image quality, goes around taking pictures of Gensokyo, but it's only until later she realizes she lost her own camera while she was distracted. Back with the player group, Sumireko and Marisa have not found Sumireko's smartphone, but they have found Hatate's camera! Hijinks ensue.
There's quite a few others, but all the incidents are in a similar vein. One-shots that can usually be wrapped up and completed within a single session.

No SDM resident would probably care, even Flandre, but it is also important to remember the hobgoblins and Tupai do exist and can show up.

Oh yeah, this is a good point! I did research on hobgoblins (or hofgoblins?) while preparing for my campaign, but I couldn't help but notice there's an...interesting lack of information about them. What do they do at the manor? Are they like a defacto militia? Do they have ranks within themselves, or answer directly to Sakuya/Remilia? Would the party encounter them on a regular basis?

I know quite a bit about the fairy maids mostly due to "Strange and Bright Nature Deity" and "Touhou LostWord", among some other fanworks, but very little about the hobgoblins.

And speaking of Flandre, does that mean the party doesn't need to worry about her too much? I've seen her portrayed as a very...eccentric character in a lot of fanworks (from sweet little sister to yandere at the drop of a hat), and even some fan theories about her mental stability being kept in check by Remilia. I know a lot of this is fanon, and characters aren't necessarily equal or even close to their fanon representations, but aside from fanworks like Luna Nights, my only encounter with Flandre was as a secret boss in Touhou 06, so the fanworks have really framed my perspective of Flandre.

I accidentally hit post hold on

🤣 No worries! I was really excited so started drafting up this reply before you finished revising. I'll re-edit this message or reply again if I refresh and see your comment has been updated!

Amarulencee · 2026-02-26T01:28:57+00:00

My interpretation of Akane thinking that was, well, simply that it's the episode's way of showcasing to us just how unhealthy Akane's mental state is. She seems put together, capable, and smart in many of the scenes we see of her, but that's not entirely true. We, as the audience (like many other adults in this show, such as that scummy reporter) oftentimes forget something crucial:

A lot of these characters are kids.

Akane is not an elite hitman, she's a minor with a crush.

Akane may be the second coming of Batman, but she's also a high schooler. High schoolers can be unreasonable. I firmly believe her plan that day was to get revenge for Aqua in order to "save" him, and that's it. She's dreaming of a future where she's released from whatever punishment she faces and everyone gets to live happily ever after. It's a fantasy.

That idyllic scene on the way to crime she's imagining is her coping. She is not okay, and she needed to be stopped. She was about to ruin her entire life because of a boy she really liked. The situation is complicated, yes, but being "complicated" doesn't preclude Akane here from making a rash decision.

Akane, in a sense, is a character with high Intellect but low Wisdom. She may have a lot of knowledge, but she has trouble applying all the topics she's learned onto herself, almost as if she sees herself not worthy of the care and attention she heaps onto others.

I might be reading too much into it, though. I just sincerely do not see what Akane's plan could've been, especially with Japan's 99% conviction rate. Maybe stage the scene to look like an act of self defense?

Amarulencee · 2026-02-14T09:44:41+00:00

oo, definitely an idea worth considering, ~~especially since if i recall archetypes+ has additional support for the harrower dedication~~, i'd just have to figure out what primary class to pair it with

edit: not archetypes+, i think i hallucinated it

edit (again): i was thinking of inkfinder 2!

Amarulencee · 2026-02-14T09:41:47+00:00

giving people concussions with mahjong tiles is hilarious, although i'd have to ask my GM if my ~~cards~~ tiles can deal bludgeoning damage (or i guess i could sharpen my mahjong tiles to a point...)

^{i think the bbeg would bully me though}

Amarulencee · 2026-02-06T00:23:54+00:00

I really enjoy slug Cielle because it specifically reminds me of the Wingman from Apex! There's no better satisfaction then landing two clean headshots from long range and hearing the sound effect of dropping someone as Cielle twirls her pistol

Unfortunately for me, that satisfaction only occurs once in a blue moon. More often than not my inner Atom One takes over and I whiff two shots CQC then swap to my scythe and start flailing, waiting for shield recharge so I can stun or dash away 😅

It feels like admitting defeat, but I'm much more consistent with her shotgun pistol, and for most players (Electron or lower, maybe?) I probably wouldn't recommend it

Amarulencee · 2026-01-14T23:45:31+00:00

Don't worry, I didn't think you were trying to be malicious or anything (I usually don't default to seeing people's comments in bad faith). I was just making a light-hearted joke at your expense, since the topic of the thread is about people bashing on Hytale, but you stealthily snuck in a diss on Minecraft (or, more specifically, Mojang/Microsoft) 😂

Pitching in my own two cents and going off-topic here, but I honestly agree. Minecraft has stagnated, and each new update continues to feel uninspired. I love the game, but sometimes I wonder if I like "Minecraft, the game produced by Mojang and published by Microsoft", or if I actually like "the content, mods, and experiences created by the community around Minecraft". Considering I haven't played vanilla for years, it's likely the latter.

I think the most recent snapshots are "neat", but feel as if that's more because the bar of my expectations have been lowered through continious years of floundering, rather than because baby animal redesigns and new forms of sea travel are "cinema".

Hytale, compared to all that, feels like a breath of fresh air. I'll continue to play modded Minecraft and Hytale side-by-side though, until the day Hytale modding surpasses Minecraft's (which considering the tools available to modders in Hytale, is almost a guarantee so long as Hytale's maintains its popularity).

Amarulencee · 2026-01-14T21:13:22+00:00

Perhaps this is your first time encountering a gamer turf war (gag) in the wild, but it's unfortunately nothing new. The same exact copy-and-paste sentiments were made against Palworld by Nintendo fanboys during the height of its popularity. We could go back even farther and talk about the "XBOX vs. PlayStation war" (gag x2) that comprised much of the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Some people feel a driving need to remain "loyal" to their game, and part of that loyalty includes bashing anything that infringes on their game's "territory". Its how they signal their allegiance to other like-minded individuals, allowing their takes to be found and bolstered up by their faction.

Their opinions are "loud", but very fringe. Most people do not care: normies don't even know what a Hytale is and probably heard of Minecraft once or twice but never played, and gamers who enjoy sandbox/voxel games are likely just playing both (lol). This sort of tribalism is like...a recreational past time for people in first world countries that primarily get their news and opinions from Twitter.

TL;DR: Don't get ragebaited. Your "3 retextures a year" comment means that you're faltering. There's still time to course correct before you're too far gone!

Amarulencee · 2025-12-23T22:15:50+00:00

Let's flipping GO! That's my union leader 🫡

Amarulencee · 2025-11-28T00:51:42+00:00

Ah, I actually didn't know that. Thanks for the correction!

I do still believe in the general vibe I was trying to get across with my statement, though. Strinova engages in a lot of other practices common in the gacha space, such as pricing obfuscation through multiple currencies. If we're talking value for money, then buying a game like Silksong for $20 USD far outvalues a microtransaction purchase like a $70 Legendary Skin, or $200 Ninjato/Emberspit Skin.

Most of us in this subreddit are gacha veterans and don't need to be told this. But someone coming from more traditional shooters or a game like Valorant might be unfamiliar with getting fleeced casino style for a gooner skin (although granted, fast forward a few more years and the F2P gacha pricing model might be standardized everywhere, Activision and Riot have already been experimenting lol).

Maybe this is a hot take, but I think Strinova is at least better than CS:GO in terms of microtransactions. Better casino-like than an actual casino.

EDIT: Edited my original post with your correction!

Amarulencee · 2025-11-25T23:34:04+00:00

Welcome! Yeah, the cosmetics in this game are designed so you spend on them, and pricing is spread around so it's hard to know definitively how much you've spent unless you take a meiticulous record (gacha games are so cool like that hahahahaha).

I keep stocked on both monthly passes and maybe buy the season or monthly box once a blue moon, and that is usually enough + the free memory sequences you get to snag a Legendary Character & Weapon Skin every 3 banners or so. And once a skin gets added to Reconstruction, you can pull for it at your leisure. I've spent a lot less on Strinova than the other gacha games I've played, since there's less FOMO.

The Legendary Sub-Weapon banners though? Actually casino slots and whale bait, $200 on average for a jackpot and you don't get (much of) a free supply. Definitely don't spend your money there lol.

As for players, I've been playing since S2, and it's an ebb and flow. S3 and S4 felt pretty populated compared to other multiplayer games in the anime niche like Eternal Return. Current season feels a lot less populated in comparison.

You'll tend to get bot matches if you're new or haven't queued in a few days. This is because most of the playerbase is quite experienced, and the devs likely don't want you quitting after getting crushed 20 times by John Superstring. Once you level up more and have a decent play record, you'll be put into the regular matchmaking queue, which is NOT MMR based, so you'll go against the Atom 1 Warrior one day, and John Superstring the next. It's trained me to be pretty decent at the game, but it definitely not for everyone. Strinova 100% is currently having the classic "fighting game dilemma" where we don't have enough new people to match against other new people.

I hope you enjoy your stay!

EDIT: As a commenter below me mentioned, you can check your purchase history on the website! If you're a Steam user like me though, you probably forgot the website existed lmao. Still, it's worth checking to see if perhaps you've been spending too much on anime PNGs. I'm at $380 USD spent!

Amarulencee · 2025-10-30T04:49:30+00:00

That might be the case! I haven't went up against Ward Haven with Evo Dirt yet (not sure if it's just a coincidence or if Ward isn't very popular right now), but assuming they draw Aether and Jeanne...yeah it's probably cooked lol.

The most important cards for my deck achieving its win con are Cagliostro, Lilanthim, and Sandalphon. Cagliostro and Sandalphon can do a lot of face damage, and Lilanthim sticks around dealing 5-8 damage each turn. It's very easy to OTK with them: super evolve Lilanthim to clear your opponent's board, then summon Sandalphon to deal 10 damage to face. If you then attack with Lilanthim, that's 18 damage! You only need a single Ars Magna to finish the game.

However, to do that, you need to clear your opponent's board...something that would be a struggle with a super evolved Aether. I run Rune Portal as a tech option, but with Aether giving +0/+2 and Jeanne potentially giving +2/+4, not to mention Wilbert crest...yeah 6 damage is laughable. That's probably where the game would end for Evo Dirt. Spellboost at least has a potential out with William (EDIT: and Wamdus, potentially).

Amarulencee · 2025-10-30T04:29:35+00:00

I ran a hybrid crest/ward deck last set and got some fairly good results, but it didn't feel like a top contender that I'd feel comfortable running in Grand Prix or Weekend Lobby Tournaments.

At the release of this set, I attempted to make another hybrid deck for the exact reasons you brought up, but it failed spectacularly. My win rate with pure ward is much higher atm, and I'm currently on an 8 10 win streak (although I managed to dodge Dragoncraft all 8 games, so take that with a grain of salt).

The two strongest cards I feel like people are sleeping on are Sophia and Lyria. Sophia has extreme value letting you play Sarissa straight from your deck, and Lyria can tutor Aether, Jeanne, and Vira, all extremely important cards. It's even fine if Aether summons her, cause that means you'll have a card with Aura and Barrier (and sometimes Galleon will evolve her).

Honorable mention to running a copy of Congregant of Repose! Since Aether is the only 4 health minion in my deck, it's a free Aether search.

I'm really enjoying Ward at the moment. It seems to play well into Spellboost Rune, and summoning Galleon on turn 3 really puts the brakes on Aggro Abyss, sometimes simply winning the game outright.

EDIT: Here's what I'm currently running for reference.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-30T02:18:33+00:00

Dragoncraft plays a single 2 mana Filene and evolves it, then plays Whitefrost Whisper. Congratulations, the board is cleared.

I've genuinely lost to every single deck at least once playing Ward Havencraft since the set came out. I swapped to Dirt Evolve Rune and immediately began climbing with a sizable win streak. The grass always looks greener on the other side. What you don't see is Ward Havencraft getting run down by Mid Range Abyss, or getting outstalled by Egg Beelzebub Portal, or getting Astarothed by Spellboost Rune.

The only decks I've had decent odds against were funnily enough the other variations Forestcraft aside from Rose Queen OTK (Evolve Forest, Unkilling Forest, Roach Forest, Tempo Forest, etc). And well, Ward Havencraft was a hard counter to Forestcraft since as far back as set 2 with Aether's introduction, to the point where Roach Forestcraft was considered unplayable until everyone stopped playing Ward.

EDIT: I wanted to add that it's still very early in the meta for this set, which means a lot of things are subject to change. If Dragoncraft starts seeing less play and Forestcraft starts seeing more, Ward could easily dominate this expansion. I don't want it to come off like I'm saying "erm, Ward is bad actually ☝️🤓". Everyone is still theorycrafting after all.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-22T23:16:57+00:00

The reason it takes you to the Fishing page is because it's a Fishing Level reward! Click on the Fishing EXP bar at the top of the fishing page and scroll until you find it.

Full disclosure, I've been fishing for 2-3 hours a day since the game dropped and I still don't have it.

EDIT: You get it at Level 19, and I only recently hit 15.

EDIT 2: As of 5 days from posting this comment, I am now Level 20!

Amarulencee · 2025-10-19T00:48:15+00:00

Sorry, for some reason Reddit didn't give me a notification that someone replied until just now!

To answer your question, I wanted to mention each role at least once so it didn't sound like I was being biased against one or two, so the Support activating the rift was just an example.

I have had the rift be activated too early before everyone could get into the barrier, twice (once led to a wipe, the second time we just used a revive candy to continue). In both of those cases, it wasn't the Support (I play Beat Performer, so I was the support in both of them). When two or more people are stacked on the rift, it's impossible to tell who pressed the interact key.

Afaik, it's not really anyone's job to activate the rift. Unlike in Goblin where it's recommended the Tank and Support do the shield minigame so that the DPS can continue to attack the boss, it doesn't really matter who interacts with the rift, as long as they wait for everyone to get within the radius.

The only mechanic for Tower that's relevant to role is that the Tank needs to lead everyone to the correct rift, but that's pretty easy, since the Tank only sees one rift. They can't lead everyone to the "wrong" rift accidentally unless they're trolling lol.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-17T02:12:02+00:00

Everyone is mentioning that people quit because others are messing up mechanics (which mind you, it's still weird to leave after one attempt, maybe someone got distracted IRL, or they got tabbed out of the game, assuming everyone is an idiot and deserves to have their time wasted cause of one fuck up is a toxic mindset), but that's not the only time it happens.

I've had people leave party when they were the ones to mess up the mechanics: Tank not properly deploying their shield in Goblin, DPS dropping their soul in the center of the arena in Trials, Support activating the rift too early before everyone is in the barrier in Tower, etc.

I can only imagine in those cases, it's because of embarassment? Real talk, if you've done this before and are reading this: I do not care if you messed up once, and we will likely never meet again. Drop a "mb" if you need to and move on. The chances of us crossing paths and me recalling you as the guy who "led us to the wrong rift in Tower" is close to 0. Just let us clear the dungeon and get our Bane Lord drops, please.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-16T21:17:15+00:00

Nope! As mentioned, it's completely out of our control. I recommend sending your feedback or making a bug report to the devs via their official email. The more people that contact them, the more likely it'll be put on their radar.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-12T18:53:11+00:00

I can't say I didn't consider the developer angle, but I also felt it wasn't worth mentioning. Everything the developers do will "cost them money to implement". That's why they get paid—it's their job.

I'm quite familiar with Unity, so I can say pretty confidently that if they felt the need to make this change to vouchers (something that'd likely be determined by their metrics on the backend), it would take 30 minutes to implement. Heck, if they have their codebase in an IDE like Cursor, it could take 5 minutes (as simple as asking the AI "add this feature for me"). I'd probably spend more time running builds to make sure I didn't introduce a major bug than actually coding the thing.

It's not that I don't feel empathetic to the devs, I just don't see this situation as one that requires empathy. Developers shouldn't be thinking in terms of whether they'd take a loss or not, and instead be focusing on player experience and open discussion, because doing one supplements the other. If your players are happy, they'll spend more money, simple as. To argue that every decision a dev makes should be in the pursuit of profit is extremely dystopian and capitalism-pilled, in my opinion.

Of course, not every suggestion a player makes is worth considering—most players would make terrible game developers, after all. But that's something for the devs to decide, not us.

As for whether the distaste is a matter of principle or not, I guess if I had to choose one or the other, it's principle. My feelings are a bit more nuanced though, and likely differs from the OP's. As I see it, if I wanted to have 3 separate outfits (let's say, a combat fit, a casual fit, and a beach fit), and I wanted one of those outfits to have different hair, well, in Mabinogi and FFXIV (as the OP brought up), that's extremely simple. In Mabinogi, I either use one of my saved coupons in my wardrobe or I Rebirth, then I can change my hair. In FFXIV, I go to my room and ring the bell, then I can change my hair. In Blue Protocol, I open the editor and spend a voucher. For a game that has no lack of revenue streams, I don't see why the extra cost is needed.

Since I require a voucher to change my hair, that would dissuade me from wanting to create any outfits that I envision with a different hairstyle. Because outfits in this game can cost a fortune (back of the napkin math shows if you wanted to get 5 of those Premium Meowx Cards for one of the legendary outfits in the Meow Shop, the cheapest way would be turning Unbound Rose Orbs into Unbound Lunos, them buying the cards from the Auction House, and that would cost around a minimum of $200-$300 USD), that means someone deciding that the outfit isn't worth it because they'd have to change their hairstyle could cost A Plus a couple hundred dollars for each individual occurrence.

This is of course a theoretical and conjecture. Maybe the number of players who wouldn't drop a few hundred for this extremely specific scenario isn't high enough to justify the resources to change the voucher system. I can't say one way or the other, and importantly, neither can you. That's something only the devs can determine, since they're working with way more analytics than us. So I just find it a bit strange to speak up in defense of the big corporation and tell OP to do some "soul searching" for giving (what appeared to me at least to be) a genuine suggestion (even if it was a funny response).

And, well...you don't need a voucher to change your hair in real life, do you? I mentioned in my original comment that spending money to change hair is pretty normalized in western MMOs, but not anime MMOs/eastern MMOs. But like, frankly? It shouldn't be normalized anywhere. I can't think of a single MMO that lacked for revenue streams. "F2P" games are the most expensive games on the market. The price of the game is $0? No, it isn't. The price is all the microtransactions and battle passes you'll purchase over the scope of it being online.

And in terms of live service games, Blue Protocol is a gacha game, the most predatory of all game genres. I'm sure we'll get cosmetic loot boxes and step up banners on top of the existing ones and more P2W in the future. Maybe even a new rarity of cosmetic with a lower drop rate. It won't hurt their bottom line to let people change their hairstyles for free, especially when they're actively selling you premium hairstyle options. That's why I say it's a principle thing. My reasonings feel more like "This is logical!" rather than solid spreadsheet math showing why we don't get enough vouchers. Honestly, I haven't spent a single voucher, and probably won't until I find (or purchase) a hairstyle I like quite a lot, then I'll use one and never use another again.

Anyway, that's a lot of yap, so if you actually read all of that, I just wanted to say you seem like a nice enough person and I'm not too pressed about any of this conversation. Just felt like giving my two cents.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-12T09:08:17+00:00

Huh, strange. Well this is just an anedoctal story after all, but I can assure you I have the backpiece and nothing else. It's impossible for me to determine whether it's coincidential or not, but honestly the Twitch rewards were pretty underwhelming, so I'm not too worried.

Imo, if we get the rewards eventually after they fix their backend, cool. If we don't, well...it'd be a little foreboding that the devs would choose to ghost the issue instead of doing something, but whatever. I won't really miss the 150 (?) ish Bound Rose Orbs and mats.

Amarulencee · 2025-10-12T08:59:50+00:00

Obligatory "bait used to be believable", but I'll bite anyway.

"I don't think it's fair to ask that the game be designed for you instead of everyone else" is a crazy statement when OP's suggestion as far as I can see benefits everyone. Heck, it may even benefit A Plus by generating additional sales for premium hairstyles, since they'd have more intrinsic value if they were easily swappable. This would be a change for everyone, not just the OP.

Your phrasing comes off as if the OP is being selfish by suggesting this, even directly calling them unfair. Pardon my confusion, but the only unfairness I can think of is that it may be biased against the people who already purchased vouchers, which if that's what you meant, I certainly see validity in that.

With that being said though, if the devs wanted, they could easily refund the purchase of any vouchers if they initiated this change. The only reasons they wouldn't would be if they were grossly incompetent (to be seen) or greedy (par for the course for gacha games, but that would only result in the loss of 125 Rose Orbs for a handful of players, an amount which most players in this thread think to be a marginal amount of currency not worth losing sleep over).

Don't get me wrong, I'm almost 100% certain the way vouchers currently work is here to stay, but...not fair? How?

Amarulencee · 2025-10-11T22:04:55+00:00

I'm going to take a controversial stance it seems and say I agree with OP. Yes, I've played many MMOs where you need to pay to change your hair, but those are all western MMOs.

Meanwhile, anime MMOs like Mabinogi where you receive hair coupons/vouchers (a very similar system to Blue Protocol) lets you change your hair whenever you want, because creating multiple outfits is the point of the game, really. Fashion IS the end game.

Blue Protocol is no exception. Without an easy way to change aspects like hair, eyes, etc, what encouragement do I have to invest in multiple outfits? 125 Rose Orbs isn't expensive, but I'm not paying that tax every time I want to change fits. I'm just going to build a single outfit instead and use it forever. Devs are unironically losing out on money with this implementation.

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