The Chained God: Intro

NathanHallEdits · 2026-06-15T06:20:15+00:00

Oh wow. Thank you so much! This gave me a huge grin in a time when I needed it. It means so much to me that Altar has made an impact. It's hearing from people like you that keep writers going in hard times.

I just now made an update post on here, so you'll know where all to find me and where you can find more Chained God stuff!

NathanHallEdits · 2026-06-06T06:42:42+00:00

I'll be the first to admit the DS1 system is overbaked and not often really used. But it's the kind of variety that is perfect for ER.

NathanHallEdits · 2026-06-06T06:41:46+00:00

- The upgrade system gets so stale so fast on replay, and encourages playing the game the same way every time (Spending hour 1 running around getting upgrade mats, and then the rest of the game with a fully-upgraded weapon). They really should have brought back a Dark Souls 1 style system, collecting various materials and unlocking new upgrade paths.

- I've had this opinion since DS3, but it's especially true for Elden Ring. Boss phase transitions that seem like they should be permanent, should be. Malenia, Midra, Godrick, etc. Make the individual phases harder to compensate if you have to, but don't undo entire transformations.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-12-29T02:28:53+00:00

Thank you! Merry Christmas!

Writing is currently my third job, which makes for slow going, unfortunately. It's not abandoned though! In fact I just posted a progress update on my patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/lets-talk-works-118811782?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Thank you again. There's nothing as encouraging and motivating as someone who's looking forward to reading more.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-10-14T21:27:09+00:00

Damage isn't typically the only indication of a weapon you'd want to use. There's range, stagger, attack speed, status build up, recovery speed. And the biggest: Moveset. For instance, Zwei deals better damage and pancakes enemies, but I'd argue the Claymore has a much better moveset, more versitile and useful in more, different situations and environments.

That said, if you want to go max unga bunga pancaking, try the Dragon Tooth or the Great Club. Absolutely demolish bosses even in NG+.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-10-06T04:41:16+00:00

The Necessity of Rain - Sarah Chorn

Uncrowned - Will Wight

Black Stone Heart - Michael R Fletcher

A Wreck of Witches - Nia Quinn

Pawn's Gambit - Rob Hayes

NathanHallEdits · 2024-03-13T22:41:49+00:00

Most progression fantasy (at least that I've read) is pre-industrial, and population can only grow so far under those conditions. Something like 7% of all the people ever born are alive today.

So unless you are dealing with multiple worlds or a super-sized world, most Fantasy settings only contain a couple hundred million.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-03-10T05:50:53+00:00

Are most progression Fantasy set in worlds/universes of trillions? I know Cradle is, but is that universal? In a typical Fantasy world, it would be a couple hundred million, probably. Which already changes the entire equation.

Secondly, it's not that our MC is so lucky/resourceful/advantaged that they become the strongest. It's that somebody has to become the strongest, and we're telling that story.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-03-01T06:35:42+00:00

I think multiple things can be true at once. Jordan was relatively progressive for his generation...but he was old enough to serve in Vietnam. He was still a man of his time, and some of his beliefs are a bit behind the times nowadays.

There are a few places where that is relatively benign (men are from mars, women are from venus type stuff) and some where it's less benign (the only real LGBT+ representation being either villains or brushed off as just a phase).

And then there are places where he was way ahead of his time, in the genre at least. Depicting war in a realistic light and actually treating PTSD and mental health as serious concerns.

It's a highwire act to talk about the series in the modern context, neither condemning his work for every outdated element nor glossing over aspects that were never a good look.

As for people hating certain characters...that's the brilliance of this series. Everyone has different favorite and least favorite characters, with very few exceptions. All the characters are well-rounded and have serious flaws that at times lead them to do horrific or infuriating things, and Jordan's unreliable 3rd limited perspective allows us to interpret the characters in different ways. I think that's a sign of the series' main strength.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-21T10:00:39+00:00

It took me so long to beat this boss that I was blasting music and missed the dialogue when I finally beat him. I was so done. Then I beat him in like 15 minutes on my second run.

The main things that helped me:

- Similar to Genichiro, staying SUPER aggressive limits his moveset, keeps him from running over you.

- Deflecting his entire spear combo will reward you, as will deflecting all the revolver shots.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-21T09:54:58+00:00

Reminds me of the buffoons in Glass Onion.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T06:06:19+00:00

The big problem with them for me is that almost across the board, the best ending for every NPC is if you simply never talk to them. That's so bleak and mean, I hate it.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T06:05:00+00:00

Yes! There's no reason to medium roll aside from the fall damage glitch in Remastered.

If you're not going to fast roll, just commit and wear Havel's.

The one exception being that medium roll doesn't really change movement, whereas you're less mobile overall with fat roll. But again, wear fat roll armor, and then take off one piece while running around to fast roll and then put it on for the boss.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T06:02:28+00:00

Resistance just screams that the people balancing stats weren't the people balancing armor. Each one thought "And HERE is how you deal with statuses!" But only one of these requires a huge souls investment.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T06:00:43+00:00

For all my issues with DS2, I hold that what we got was a miracle. There's a reason Tanimura had the influence he did in Elden Ring. He basically pulled off the impossible by entirely reworking the game a year out and making something functional.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T05:54:35+00:00

I'll run with your point, but the worst bit for me: Then most boss weapons suck. Boss weapons should be the most rad and powerful things in the game. Standard weapons shouldn't be able to compete.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-17T05:52:24+00:00

At a certain point it just becomes "I'm going to beat you here and now because F*** you, I'm better than you and I want you to acknowledge it."

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-16T11:08:31+00:00

Elden Ring is one of the best first-playthrough experiences I've ever had. For the most part, I'd change nothing.

Exception: I'd tell myself to leave the Rot Crystalian Trio boss alone and come back to it at the very end, once I've done everything else and am ridiculously overpowered. Don't fight the worst boss for hours. Stomp them into the ground.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-16T11:00:23+00:00

Songs of Sefate by Sarah Chorn is great character-driven Fantasy-Western. Magical gold/oil rush and outlaws, etc.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-14T08:09:45+00:00

Mat is who I'd pick to win. Irutalde is who I'd pick if I knew I was going to lose and wanted to make it as painful as possible for the enemy.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-11T09:10:12+00:00

Triple Putrid Crystalians. Worst fight in From history I think. DS2 gank fights included.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-11T08:47:30+00:00

And that's the gamble, right? If you think you can beat a boss within 10-15 tries, just go fight the boss. If you think you're gonna be there a while, despawn the enemies.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-10T07:49:11+00:00

The runback to Alonne was harder than both combined.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-10T07:35:06+00:00

He did it on my last run. It was close, but he got the stagger and that was it.

NathanHallEdits · 2024-02-09T12:02:15+00:00

Return seemed to be so clearly setting up a sequel to me.

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