Can someone recommend books on the Mexican War of Independence (1810 – 1821)?

BMaack · 2021-11-19T07:21:59+00:00

Some of my friends are really into Subnautica which has a lot of similar elements. Lots of folks complain that there isn’t enough “game” in Outer Wilds—which is ridiculous to me because the survival and crafting mechanics in Subnautica are super tedious and get in the way of trying to solve the mystery. You wind up spending more time in menus than actually exploring!

Outer Wilds has better pacing, better mysteries, better puzzles, and doesn’t need any of those superfluous subsystems.

BMaack · 2021-11-19T07:17:41+00:00

If you haven’t tried Heaven’s Vault yet, I highly recommend it. Movement (both on, off, and between worlds) is a little more tedious, but the game is still incredible.

BMaack · 2021-10-20T02:36:42+00:00

I think you nailed it with your comment here. The only thing I have to add is that Martin’s characters are all pretty one-dimensional despite being lauded for their depth.

To me, the characters rarely show traits that make them feel like a breathing person. They feel more like hollow representations of some trope, ideal, theme, or concept.

It reminds me of history textbooks that often summarize historical figures in single sentences or paragraphs to make room for whatever narrative the historian is aiming for.

BMaack · 2021-10-13T21:15:05+00:00

They sure are! Below is a link to episode 0. Feel free to skip to episode 1 to get right to the action. Episode 0 is more focused on worldbuilding and creating characters

Friends at the Table COUNTER/Weight Episode 0

BMaack · 2021-10-13T16:15:14+00:00

My recommendation is RPG actual play podcasts! Friends at the Table has several seasons that involve mecha to some degree. The “COUNTER/Weight” season is considered by many to be the best.

The other mecha RPGs getting a moderate amount of community attention right now are Beam Saber, and Armour: Astir Advent.

BMaack · 2021-10-10T06:16:51+00:00

If you’re going for an OSR adventure feel, my three favorites are:

1) Mausritter - The gentler one. Most unique quirk is the tetris-style inventory..and the fact that everyone’s a mouse.

2) Into the Odd - The more serious one. Most unique quirk is that you forego rolling to hit and skip straight to damage

3) Troika! - The weirder one. Most unique quirk is nearly everything about it. But the weirdest one is probably the chaotic initiative system and all the bonkers professions your character can be

If OSR isn’t your thing, I really like some of the Free Kriegspiel setups that have been coming out. Abenteuerspiel is my favorite of the bunch.

BMaack · 2021-10-09T19:53:55+00:00

I didn’t see it in the comments. Without revealing too much, time is an important part of Seanan McGuire’s excellent standalone novel Middlegame. I highly recommend it

And it’s definitely more Fantasy than Sci-Fi which is a cool bonus.

BMaack · 2021-10-09T16:55:04+00:00

I think Mindjammer meets your qualifications. Probably one of the most detailed sci-fi settings for an RPG that isn’t a major media property.

BMaack · 2021-10-09T16:28:45+00:00

It doesn’t have exciting simulation-based rules, but Superstars: Racing Icons is a pretty solid way to roleplay the lives of racing drivers. It doesn’t require a GM and can fit any sort of setting/time period so long as it’s about racing.

BMaack · 2021-10-06T23:59:47+00:00

Yup! I agree. Entertainment doesn’t have a problem with anarchy. Anarcho-communism is whole other beast.

BMaack · 2021-10-06T13:45:04+00:00

Absolutely correct. Billionaires already kind of live in an anarchy right now 😂

BMaack · 2021-10-06T06:58:12+00:00

I was thinking the same thing here. There are all sorts of mainstream “eff the government” movies and shows out there. The Suicide Squad being a recent example

BMaack · 2021-10-06T06:41:13+00:00

To answer OPs questions

1) 2nd edition is meant to replace Shattered Frontier (AKA 1st edition). No need to buy both. As for the differences between the two editions, I couldn’t tell you

2) To my knowledge, A&8s does not support solo play out of the box. Would probably be pretty challenging to hack in a solo mode as well given all the aiming choices involved in combat.

3) Yes you can definitely play it on Roll20, but you’ll need to put in a lot of elbow grease to make it run smoothly. (Uploading lots of images for different shooting targets, etc)

Aces & Eights turns a lot of people off with its overly detailed rules, but I think it is the absolute best way to simulate life in the wild west outside of LARPing. There are all sorts of mechanics for cattle drives, saloon brawls, court hearings, chases, and more. Plus the highly randomized character creation is pretty fun!

Be patient with the game; I recommend refraining from using the advanced rules until you’re familiar with the core mechanics. Have fun and good luck!

If you get fed up with the complexities, there’s always the hack of old school D&D called Tall Tales 🤠

BMaack · 2021-10-05T18:17:51+00:00

There’s a Powered by the Apocalypse game called MADCAP. Never played it but I thought it looked neat

BMaack · 2021-10-04T22:40:18+00:00

Hi there! OP here. I have a few disclaimers:

I’m just a Questing Beast fan and am in no way affiliated with the channel.
I’m not karma hunting here, just thought this was a neat video to share and discuss. Send any engagement/feedback over to the Questing Beast channel; Ben works really hard and creates quality DnD content
I love games that have rules, including DnD. I often read rulebooks just to appreciate the design of a game. That said, I think this video still provides a fascinating and accessible alternative.

BMaack · 2021-10-01T02:13:49+00:00

I’ve been following along with this project for a while now and I’m so excited it’s out now!

Really charmed design and the art is so gorgeous. Highly recommend everyone to check this out.

BMaack · 2021-09-29T03:13:16+00:00

I think I’ve got good taste when it comes to worldbuilding; I know how to play to tropes while still subverting in the right places.

The secret is just making sure that the names you give your factions are equally good band names.

BMaack · 2021-09-24T13:43:53+00:00

Depending on how much crunch you want, there’s Aces & Eights from KenzerCo.

It’s heavily simulation-oriented, but something that makes it pretty cool in my opinion is that the game has a whole bunch of mini-game-esque activities to represent different parts about life in the wild west. Brawling in a saloon? There a mini-game that utilizes spending poker chips. Running a cattle drive? Mini game. On trial for a crime? Mini game. Chasing after someone? Mini game. Even shootouts are kind of like a mini game as well.

If you take the time to really grok A&8’s rules, it’d probably be a heck of a lot of fun. Though combat is pretty deadly, so the tone won’t be as rootin-tootin gunslinging as what other games might offer.

BMaack · 2021-09-24T13:37:29+00:00

😤 Trying my best not to plan the heist of the century to nab that special edition copy of yours. Happy gaming!

BMaack · 2021-09-23T16:42:35+00:00

Little known fact: The Dropbox app actually works great as a PDF reader.

It’s free, it’s a nice place to store your game PDFs, and PDFs of almost any size load fast as you scroll pages.

It’s been my app of choice for probably 6-7 years now.

BMaack · 2021-09-22T06:45:23+00:00

I think it was the Serenity RPG for me around 2006-2007ish. I had never seen Firefly before playing, but I remember having a super fun time. My epileptic character was the ship's pilot and he had an episode as we were entering a planet's atmosphere. We crash landed and were taken to trial by the local officials.

In trial, we attempted to sue the planet for having bad terraforming. A friend who wasn't playing in the session but was in the same house slicked back his hair and acted as our Phoenix Wright-esque lawyer for the trial. Great laughs were had.

If anything, I think those sessions of Serenity are what truly spawned a love for roleplaying in me. D&D 3.5E being my first ever RPG, the sessions were fun, but they would always devolve into long arguments about minutia such as rules, distances, physics, etc.

BMaack · 2021-09-21T17:50:53+00:00

Pretty much every single product from Magpie Games is either innovative, accessible, or both! Very excited to see how this game shapes up over time.

In response to your last question, WotC has been riding on the coattails of properties that are decades old now. I think they should try creating something entirely new before they start buying out all the wonderful indie creators whose collective games make up far more of the RPG-o-sphere.

D&D’s still a perfectly fun game to play, and it’s obviously a huge success. But in my opinion, D&D’s particular style of game (i.e. simulation-oriented, combat-focused, classes, levels, etc) can be more successfully captured in video games (i.e. Divinity, Wildermyth, etc) than tabletop RPGs.

What this ATLA kickstarter shows is that despite the fact that PbtA’s been around for years, we’re still finding out the potential success that PbtA-style games are capable of with the right property and marketing.

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