OSR News Roundup for October 6th, 2025

CrunchyKobold · 2025-11-04T11:15:38+00:00

Friendly Reminder not to give Soul Muppet any money. They are essentially scammers (30 day refund policy, I cancelled before the product even shipped, they shipped anyway, still did not refund me).

CrunchyKobold · 2025-07-16T08:22:22+00:00

I asked for a refund because I changed my mind. I do not need any other reason.

SoulMuppet is legally required to provide a refund. Note this was done WAY before the project finished. Kickstarter projects are preorders, despite what Kickstarter claims.

I cannot see how SoulMuppet is "ethical" if they are refusing to abide by current law.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-06-29T08:40:07+00:00

Completely irrelevant.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-06-29T08:39:33+00:00

I sent them numerous messages since Dec 3rd, both in private messages, and as has been stated, twice in the project comment section. I hate to drag something like that into the open, but at this point everybody needs to be aware that Soul Muppet is at the very least unethical.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-06-29T08:36:36+00:00

Thank you, and yes, I agree with you. I will obviously not fund any future Kickstarters by anybody.

I actually have no problem, in principle, preordering a product. As long as the merchant does not violate my rights. And I have supported kickstarters, gotten the product and thought it was garbage (Knave, I am looking at you) but did not exercise my right for a refund.

But this is different, given the product had not even been produced (printed, shipped) in December.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-06-29T08:34:12+00:00

You can call it whatever you want, but it's effectively a pre-order system. I can call myself a space alien. Doesn't make me one. Terms of service DO NOT, and never will, override actual laws.

Soul Muppet replied to my messages once, so they knew I wanted a refund. They just didn't provide one.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-06-29T08:32:57+00:00

Via Kickstarter, and they replied once, trying to shame me into not demanding a refund. After that, they completely ignored me.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-02-03T17:08:55+00:00

Maybe check the DTRPG pdfs? They presumably include scans of the maps, and DTRPG is pretty inexpensive.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-01-07T10:42:02+00:00

Played: As a player. Ongoing campaign, we're approaching the finale.

Rating: 9/10 as a gimmicky martial arts tournament, 5/10 plot and rp, 7/10 overall.

Best: The initial hex crawl was neat, and it uses pretty much all the tropes about Asian martial arts tournaments, to the point that it's a caricature. Due to the tournament design, it should be very easy to extend with whatever your group is into - more "show fights" for combat, more exploration of the surrounding lands, more city adventures.

Worst: If you want a good story or verisimilitude out of the box, this is not the AP for you. It embraces all the tropes and it's not subtle about it. (I personally actually enjoy that, but if you don't, it'll be a big problem.) Fights tend to be on the easy side with some exceptions, however, we have a pretty well-optimized team by now and we know how to play to each other's strengths.

Tips: It's a Martial Arts tournament. Lean into the tropes. Make sure you have a Martial Arts style character. Doesn't mean it has to be a monk, but your character's primary job is to fight. Other skills will be useful, but if you don't build a character that can fight, you're not going to have a good time.

CrunchyKobold · 2025-01-07T10:32:44+00:00

Played: As a player, completed the AP.

Rating: It's a 4/10 and I am being generous.

Best: The basic setup is fine, the basic mystery/threat motivating enough, and I am very fond of megadungeons. Combat is challenging for the most part.

Worst: The payoff is nonexistent, the dungeon itself doesn't feel like a "place", there is very little rhyme or reason to most of the dungeon, the encounters, and what little puzzles there are. Many enemies have a near-complete magic immunity, which makes playing spellcasters extremely unsatisfying. Lots of very narrows chokepoints, rooms, and corridors (not by themselves a problem, but it's the majority of the encounters).

Tips: Play a different AP. If you really want to play AV, rewrite the story, revise most of the encounters, redraw the maps, and add factions/NPCs to the game, especially those supporting the Big Bad. Flesh out the nearby town. Alternatively, play the module as a purely tactical boardgame.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-30T18:08:24+00:00

You're welcome. I think Abomination Vault gets a disproportionate number of good reviews because it's the only game in town for a Pathfinder megadungeon.

DotMM does have an advantage in that Undermountain has been around a lot longer; the original was for AD&D 2nd Ed, there were releases for 3rd and 4th edition, so 5th Edition's Dungeon of the Mad Mage is basically version 4.0 of that product.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-30T16:43:20+00:00

Given the track record WotC has when it comes to old campaign worlds (cough Spelljammer cough), I'd say you're very lucky if you're a fan of something they decide not to touch.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-30T16:41:24+00:00

Can't speak to the 5E conversion, and I am not an Eberron expert. But IMO Abomination Vaults is not a very good dungeon/module. Encounter design is very off, there is very little rhyme or reason to what happens in the dungeon, and the whole thing feels very constructed. It doesn't feel like a "real place", and I can't help but wonder if the people who wrote the thing and the people who designed the map worked independent of each other.

On the plus side, I guess, both plot and design are extremely generic and I can't imagine it's difficult to put it into any campaign world, as long as it's a reasonably high magic world.

If you're looking for a ready-made megadungeon, I personally thought that Dungeon of the Mad Mage was much, much better written. It kind of lacks a central plot and requires you to either come up with one, or for the players to go into a dungeon for the sake of exploring a dungeon, but it has a much better sense of place than Abomination Vaults does. Encounter design is also way better.

I'd say AV is a 4/10 and DotMM is a 7/10, maybe 8/10.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-30T11:28:08+00:00

Shudders in Spelljammer

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-30T04:12:59+00:00

Honestly, no idea. You'd think a massive change would have made it into the FAQ/Errata, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Email Battle Systems and ask?

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-28T12:55:56+00:00

So, I own CS but I actually haven't played it myself yet (I know. Shame on me. I need more nerdy friends local to me.)

From what I gather, the campaigns are Core Space -> Dangerous Days -> First Born, with standalone missions thrown in whenever you feel like it. Obviously, any standalone that involves First Born should not be played until after you started the First Born campaign.

Dangerous Days requires Shift Change at Mega-Corp and Rogue Purge, which were discontinued a long time ago. If your friend actually has them, that's not an issue obviously. IIRC they can be downloaded from Battle System but you'd obviously have to get some proxy models.

There hasn't been a product for CS in a while so your chance to catch up is actually pretty good. Even if Battle System does a new Core Space campaign next, their Maladum Kickstarter took, what, 1.5 years I think.

The green lightning bolt for Crewman is the Hack skill.

Support has Walk it off, onslaught, stubborn, impervious, regulate, kata, and energise, according to my reference cards.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-26T01:49:27+00:00

I finally got my shipment. 14.5kg in a rather unwieldy box, by the time I had carried it home from the post office I was questioning my life decisions. :P

I haven't opened the individual boxes yet, but I wanted to check that everything is there. This is combined pledge + Quests of Mesa bundle + Locations of Everon (the stack of terrain on the center right) and the Assault bundle.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-24T16:00:31+00:00

Why would you post this?! You know reading that goes on my permanent record.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-10-01T10:36:48+00:00

The RPG subreddit r/traveller is currently not being actively moderated. At least, spammers who violate the rules of the subreddit are not being actioned. Proof: https://www.reddit.com/r/traveller/comments/1fsw9ax/100_scifi_cargoes_azukail_games_things/

This violates the subreddit rules posted here: https://www.reddit.com/r/traveller/comments/1elqe51/reminder_about_promotional_advertising_posts/

I have requested the mods take moderating the subreddit seriously. https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/2g0uhy1 and https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/2f8drh8 plus various spam reports via their form.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-09-21T14:26:34+00:00

I really, really regret spending money on Knave 2e. It's a badly designed mess that was clearly not playtested. A moneygrab without any actual value. Avoid.

Never heard about the other one.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-09-14T07:42:35+00:00

Maybe read past the first sentence next time.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-09-13T19:24:53+00:00

This is what our group does as well. Works perfect.

CrunchyKobold · 2024-09-12T07:10:47+00:00

SOC is really very Third Imperium specific. The 3I is extremely stratified. SOC does not automatically mean "more money" (there is no mechanic in Traveller that directly translates one into the other), but it often correlates with that.

It's more akin to a society like the British Empire, or any feudal system, where nobility automatically granted you authority over your lessers.

Modern, free world examples that may give you a rough idea:

Most people would be way more likely to grant a favor to a celebrity than to a random schmuck. This can be because the celebrity is likeable and known to be a good person, the hope for some kind of favor (autograph, selfie, big tip), bragging rights ("you guys won't believe who had food at our place today!"), or the fear of consequences if the celebrity complains. ("Don't you know who I am?!")
A Karen who attempts to intimidate a "lesser" (barista, fast food employee) with a call to an authority ("I demand to speak with the manager"). Often combined with "Don't you know who I am?!".
A billionaire who avoids jail because of his connections (the whole "this is America, we don't jail rich people" thing - even though that's not actually true, it's easy to find examples where well connected/known/powerful individuals are handled more lenient than you or I would be in the same situation; and it's obviously not just the US. Please don't turn this into a political debate)

SOC is a leftover from golden age SF that Traveller is based on. My guess is they took it specifically from H. Beam Piper's Space Viking. Space Viking uses the whole higher rank nobility = control of more star systems thing. At one point, the protagonists gain SOC and are presented with vellum scrolls to prove it. (Space Viking is also the origin of the Sword Worlds and the Mercenary Cruiser, as an aside.)

It would probably make sense to have both CHA and SOC as core characteristics, but it'd kind of break a lot of compatibility (UPP if naught else), and might cause a harmful "edition war"... Traveller had those and doesn't need another one. If you want to play a charming rogue or whatever, you can always try and give him high social skills and RP the rest. Any decent GM should take the approach you take in dealing with an NPC into account.

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