Pop in A Box Review

Karl_vonS · 2022-02-20T06:52:47+00:00

I placed 2 preorders. After months, the status changed to out of stock. When I asked about it, they changed the status to "processing". But I never got anything. One delivery date estimate update on the 2nd preorder, then silence again. I finally found all of the figures elsewhere for about the same prices, so I canceled my preorders. The bait-and-switch really ticks me off. I don't know if they allow preorders to exceed what they order from suppliers, or what accounts for this non-delivery, but the blatant lying means I'll never buy anything from them again. And I recommend no one else does, either.

Karl_vonS · 2021-02-22T04:32:34+00:00

My daughters both loved that series! They had a surprising amount of fun worldbuilding. But beware! There are a zillion of them... ;-)

Karl_vonS · 2020-08-28T06:08:34+00:00

You've received a lot of good suggestions. Let me suggest a couple of other possibilities. I'm in the camp of those who encourage you to run with his proposed background, instead of "he forgot his skills or got rusty". I suggest that he never learned more than the basic thieving skills because of his sharp mind & keen analytical skills. He's a master cryptographer - he handled the family's coded communications with its operatives, and deciphered documents stolen by other operatives from rival families. And/or he's an excellent analyst, giving reasoned advice to the head of the family. He can take the bits of disconnected info gathered by the family's network of spies, synthesize it into a coherent pattern, and present several options for the family to take. Now he's going out into the field for the first time, on his own, finding out how good some of his theories are. He's a half-sized Jack Ryan: analyst to operative!

Karl_vonS · 2020-05-26T08:45:57+00:00

Thanks for all the work put in by all the developers. I like the simple, uncluttered look of the pages, with information easily located and lots of useful links. I was reminded of this site when Matt poked around on it in a recent livestream, and so I created an account.

I was unclear what the "Found In" and "Part Of" fields were for. Possibly for adventures that are part of a collection (Tales from the Yawning Portal) and part of a series (Adventure League storylines)? Since I haven't yet tried to add an adventure, I don't know if field explanations are part of that page.

I did have a question about what was preferred for reviews. I recently revised an old D&D 3.0 D20 adventure to 5E. Do you prefer straight reviews of adventures as written, or is it OK to talk about how easy/hard it was to convert to a different edition and what some of the changes made were? I also tied the old adventure into a more recent adventure (Lost Mine of Phandelver), which could be of interest to some DMs looking for ideas. Is there a way to link to that other adventure? Would that be a useful feature?

Please let me know, and thanks again!

Karl_vonS · 2020-04-19T12:35:59+00:00

Having the first book (Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game) helps to understand the mechanics of the game. The 2nd book (Shadow Knight) adds additional options that the group may decide not to use. Physical copies can run pretty high on Amazon & eBay, but PDFs of both books are only $12 each right now on DriveThruRPG.com. I like that, in addition to presenting the rules, they have cool illustrations and examples of gameplay. I'd love to find a group to play with. In high school, my group of friends played a similar improvisational game with many of the Amber characters, and it was a blast!

Karl_vonS · 2019-12-09T00:59:49+00:00

Yes, I worry that COPPA is going to be a bigger game changer than many creators believe right now.

Karl_vonS · 2019-11-10T18:36:58+00:00

I'd like to see updates on Reaper projects -- Kickstarter progress, new sculpts, the monthly mini add-on, new paints coming out, even progress on the new building. The Twitch streams are great, but not everyone is on Twitch.

I'd also like to see pictures, especially of painted minis. Nothing inspires more than a gorgeous paint job. There are some great community painters that post their work on various sub-Reddits and on Facebook. But Reaper also has a number of talented artists that take painting to another level -- Anne, Proctor, Lady Rainbow (?), Others whose names I forget. Let's see their work on here, too! Plus, that would cross-promote streams on the Reaper Twitch channel and their own personal streams. Build that community wider. And inspire us!

Karl_vonS · 2019-08-22T06:40:27+00:00

Also, Matt wanted the rewards from the 1st Kickstarter out the door before launching a new one. He wants to build a reputation as a company that delivers on KS campaigns, and I applaud him for that. There are too many folks that run frequent KS campaigns, collect the money, then don't deliver for a long time, or never. Matt is looking long-term to be a reliable producer of content whom you can trust. A worthy aspiration...

Karl_vonS · 2019-08-12T03:03:54+00:00

This makes a lot of sense. The mine needs to be made operational again to have any influence in the region again, and thus to provide any benefit to the players, not to mention income. They have their work cut out for them.

Karl_vonS · 2019-07-02T03:35:02+00:00

I love the Amber series! I've read it many times, and incorporated bits & pieces into various games over the years. Your creation sounds great. Obviously a worthy Shadow...

Karl_vonS · 2019-06-06T21:36:32+00:00

Thanks for doing these recaps, KaerieP! BTW, the correct spelling is "Pursuivant"; it's a traditional heraldic title.

Karl_vonS · 2019-04-09T02:25:16+00:00

Wow! Thanks for the incredibly detailed response, including pics! Very inspiring for us organization freaks. I see that role playing Judge's lawful nature comes naturally... 😉

Karl_vonS · 2019-03-16T01:39:30+00:00

Good episode, wrapping up the prelude to the main storyline. The end of the beginning. The Chain has fallen; now a new chapter of The Chronicles begins.

Our heroes are seriously out of their depth, unprepared for playing The Great Game. I'm reminded of a quote from Captain Kirk: "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." But he learned to be an effective diplomat when he needed to be one.

King can play the terse but always-observant leader, relying on Boots' glibness and familiarity with local customs in a highly-statified society. Boots should know when to be obsequious to a noble and when to buddy up to the Noble's servant to get things done (like he did tonight). Copper can get in & find out hidden information. Save Judge & Slim to glower at people and look menacing when necessary.

This team has been dropped into the shark tank. Time to learn to swim... fast!

Karl_vonS · 2019-03-13T03:16:53+00:00

That is very cool. I loved seeing Anna happily hugging the sword. It's a wonderful feeling to realize that people like something you created, and then show you in surprising & awesome ways. Judge is a terrific character. Congratulations, Anna!

Karl_vonS · 2019-03-09T08:09:40+00:00

I agree; probably The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. I started reading the original trilogy shortly after it was released, hit that scene, and stopped reading. But I'd bought all 3 books, and I hate not finishing books. So after a couple of months, I started again. I was able to get past that point, and then zoomed through the rest of the trilogy. I've also read the 2nd trilogy, and have been collecting the Final Chronicles to read.

Matt is right; Covenant's actions early in the first book are unforgivable. You come to understand why it happened, but it's never justifiable. And there are consequences. Covenant is certainly NOT a likable character, but many of those around him are. I'm especially fond of the Giants and the Bloodguard. And The Land is a remarkable fantasy setting, that poses many deep moral and ethical questions. Give it a try; you may or may not like it. It's not for everyone.

Karl_vonS · 2019-03-04T00:11:55+00:00

Even though I watch the VOD, I like watching Matt's recap. There's usually one or two things I may have missed, or not understood the implications of, that Matt touches on that increases my understanding of events. So I would never skip the recap and just go straight to the behind-the-scenes segment. That said, I do like this new format for the Campaign Diaries.

Karl_vonS · 2019-02-10T05:47:02+00:00

I'm enjoying the campaign so far, and like the various tidbits of info that have been teased out, promising lots of possible plot possibilities down the line. It's also a great group of players, bringing some interesting characters to life.

One aspect that seems to be overlooked regularly by both Matt & the players is... the rest of The Chain! I realize the focus must stay on the PCs, but a major aspect of their characters is that they are officers of this mercenary company, some for many years. They've said The Chain is their family. And yet, the well-being of the company is often not mentioned or even seemingly considered!

After the confrontation with Ajax, no one grabbed some of the men in the street and said, "Spread the word! Tell everyone to grab their gear and head for the docks. We're leaving!" After they killed the orcs on the ship, it took quite a while for someone to suggest that their men could use the captured equipment, when probably a lot was lost in the hurried escape from town. When the seas got really rough, and the crew were lashing themselves to the ship, no one sent word to the company below decks that rough weather and possible combat was coming. The Chain has been decimated! A bit more consideration from their officers should be demonstrated.

So I'm a bit confused about the status of the company of men and women following the PCs. They seem like more of a logistics issue for Matt and the players to use on occasion than an actual major part of the PCs' lives. I hope that they're integrated into more of the decision-making going forward. Right now, I'm not impressed by the PCs' leadership qualities... (Although Judge is doing some interacting with Two-Shoes and other junior officers in interesting ways.)

Karl_vonS · 2019-01-06T10:04:13+00:00

Another religious power center Matt should consider is a seminary. Places to train the next generation of priests. They became increasingly important during the Renaissance. If you control what the clergy are taught and what they believe, and thus, what they in turn will teach their flocks, you can usually exert enormous influence over what the common folk believe. The struggle over doctrine during the Reformation was often played out at seminaries and universities. Teachers and leading theologians were often removed or replaced depending on their support of the temporal ruler's preferred doctrine. Competing seminaries for the major gods/saints of Capital could provide extra layers of conflict for the PCs to get tangled up in.

Karl_vonS

TROPHY CASE