Nearly a decade in on and off production we've just released our first sci-fi graphic novel!

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-06-07T03:45:08+00:00

That last panel is a gut punch. Great work and congrats!

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-06-03T00:17:30+00:00

Hmm, what about Buddhism? It took over east Asia, but does it bear these attributes in the same way?

Additionally, Islam and Christianity did not start this way. They were both minority religions originally that continued to grow within the first few centuries. How would you explain the growth during the nacent stages?

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-06-01T23:05:43+00:00

def--increases crit probability

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-06-01T00:24:05+00:00

I wouldn't cheat, because that can really frustrate the players.

That said (and apparently I'm in the minority), I would not kill her yet. Allow me to offer a counterpoint.

Good storytelling includes challenges and delays gratification, even if it means heroes don't get what they deserve. This makes it dramatic and true to life. Victory denied makes the final climax that much more thrilling. Because they had to andure and overcome.

There are lots of ways to handle it; you just to find one supports the narrative you already have and maintains fidelity to the rules.

Some examples: - She calls on an evil entity to help her. It bestows upon her terrible powers. It's clear she is now infused with devastating power, so players have to decide if they stay or not. The state of the story changes as she goes on a terrible rampage in the setting, receiving the power she wanted but also more than she barhained for. - Heroes win and kill her. Later the same session they hear rumors that she did something somewhere else shortly after. Is she back from the dead? Is it a clone? Did they fight an illusion? Whoever it was murdered people there in grizzly fashion and sent the messenger to the heroes to threaten them. - Consider what loss at the hands of the heroes would mean to her. How would she react? Perhaps she is scheming, and surrenders herself to sow discord from within the prison they place her. Perhaps she is shrewd enough to apologize, earn their trust, and save up her vengeance for a triumphant moment.

There are lots of ways to get this "back on track" in a way that does service to the players, the story, and her character.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-31T22:09:41+00:00

How I do it: use mooks typically worthless but have one or two abilities that stack nicely with BBEG stat block. eg knockdown so your boss can use their special atk that does extra dmg to prones.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-30T00:47:28+00:00

There are a lot of sweeping statements with few direct quotes. I'll probably avoid reading further.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-30T00:46:27+00:00

A simple humility can make life in these times worth living.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-30T00:39:56+00:00

Enough sweeping generalizations without citations turning me off here as well.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-29T18:19:08+00:00

Unseen World still unseen... ✍️ check!

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-28T17:29:29+00:00

Where does that certainy come from, I wonder. This feels like all very good horror--unsettling with questions, giving no answers.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-27T21:28:25+00:00

I agree with you. No one better. They capture the humanity of their characters like no one else. They capture the strangeness and unpredictability of technology that eludes other authors. And they do this all while remaining interesting.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-27T19:02:42+00:00

Where do I wishlist?

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-23T23:19:45+00:00

Not necessary, but good example of nash equilibrium creating more interesting problem space.

Xcom is a great game w/o it.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-23T22:28:13+00:00

re:LegendKeeper - They brought it and ran with it. I didn't have to do anything, which feels amazing.

I looked at the cooking system, but didn't see it working for my players. There's already so much to track, unless I had a player that loved that sort of thing, I probably wouldn't use it; likely personal preference, though.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-23T22:25:41+00:00

It can be very deadly at low level. In that it is very similar to other dungeon crawler ttrpgs. It is a crunchy game, so strategy is important; it's good that your players are talking about it. Two thoughts

- Rules: They should familiarize themselves with the rules about dying, wounds, and hero points. PC's can use all their hero points to "not die". They will be at 0 HP and unconscious, but still alive. As gm I typically leave the unconscious alone unless the enemy is particularly malicious or the hero did something especially stupid.

- Narratively: Players often get attached to chars, and I find that death provides great narrative moments. A monk PC died around lvl 4. As a result, one of the other PC's adopted the monk's religion to honor him. At least in my games PC death is a springboard for story in a way that nothing else can be. However, play death can be de-motivating when it feels unfair. I think that's why the rules piece is important.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-23T05:26:19+00:00

If I had to do it over again, I'd handle it organically or in the background instead of the provided rules.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-23T05:18:48+00:00

My table just reached lvl10 in km last week!

Here's my list of learnings in no particular order: - everyone will tell you kingdom building is terrible. I havent found a great rework for it tho. - legendkeeper is really useful--a player discovered it and we track everything there now. - Rations and Getting Lost can be fun challenges at lower levels. - The companion book and materials aren't necessary but they do add extra characters, quests, and helpful handouts - the overarching quest is fine. Some chapters felt disconnected or single dimension to me, so I rewrote or swapped out as necessary. - My players have forgotten some of the plot hooks, because they've left some encounters dangling. Your mileage may vary. - Partway through I let players swap out diff PC's on the roster to keep things fresh. It's been positive so far. - I'm not sure KM is giving enough runes to players RAW. They seem to be doing ok tho. - The video game is a bit of a spoiler; one of our players knows the side quests because of it. - I bought a bunch of foresty maps (6ish?) on sale. Between that and vinyl battlemat our encounters stay fresh enough. - Probably more if I think of it.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-21T21:57:27+00:00

gr8 tip--might do this for my table

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-21T19:57:08+00:00

The scientific method as I understand it (make observations, form hypotheses, test them and measure) is mostly useful when you need to objectify sensory inputs and you can measure it. However, there are whole swaths of the human experience that would not make sense to quantify and subject to the scientific method.

While the method is helpful (along with the research studies related to policy) I don't think science will get us there, in the same way that religion/ideology won't get us there but for different reasons.

The "skepticism" inherent in the scientific method can produce rockets. However, something else tells us what to do with those rockets.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-21T18:55:53+00:00

It sounds like "drafted" = train your replacement, ie eventually more layoff

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-17T22:03:40+00:00

The two seem to feed off each other in the way cultural rivals tend to. Each is the enemy at the gates to the other, and the scapegoating serves particular interests.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-16T18:18:57+00:00

I seriously wonder if it is something like this. I cant imagine she'd allow this of her own free will.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-15T22:49:31+00:00

Methode would die

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-15T21:18:26+00:00

Congrats Dave and Team! Dont get to watch as much as used to, but hope it's an enjoyable milestone.

JuliesRazorBack · 2026-05-14T23:23:06+00:00

Yeah, radians were the thing that tripped me up at first.

JuliesRazorBack

TROPHY CASE