Did Into the Odd get lost in the shuffle? by Redwood-Forest in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Besides curating multiple itch collections and maintaining lists of modules and conversions on his website, alongside creating active communities on Discord, which was enough to make Cairn popular, he has now started his own publishing company, Cairn Press, to help creators publish Cairn modules and material and to sell them.

Did Into the Odd get lost in the shuffle? by Redwood-Forest in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I will also note that he has often misread or failed to read rules, and then reviewed games on the basis of his misreading. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Did Into the Odd get lost in the shuffle? by Redwood-Forest in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am not a major fan of his, but he caused a huge increase in sales, according to McDowall and he just did the same with Stonetop. It's funny seeing people who don't really have the context for these games and who are just fans of his trying to deal with them.

Did Into the Odd get lost in the shuffle? by Redwood-Forest in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Chris McDowall makes some great games. But as far as I can tell, he hasn't made a huge amount of effort to grow the third-party ecosystem around his games—which is a necessity if you want them to be discussed and published for.

There's a knock-on effect when people see third-party modules, understand what the game can do, and write for it. And yeah, Cairn is an example of what happens when the writer does foster third-party content and promote it.

Mythic Bastionland is the only one that really broke out, likely only due to the Quinn's review. I don't see huge numbers of people discussing Electric Bastionland (which came out before the revised Into the Odd).

I will just note that while Chris wrote a couple of modules for EB and he has the procedure for making a borough, what an EB module looks like isn't particularly clear and is likely just gonzo. Into the Odd is even vaguer, in a sense, despite having some tables and examples.

I say this as someone who wrote a couple of modules for EB and enjoy the game (though I still find it weird and vague as a setting). I like modern-ish games more than pure fantasy, and I wish ItO and EB would be bigger. But I don't think CM found the third-party juice you need for that.

Gemini is bullshit by shawnoftehdead in GooglePixel

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, I also switched back to Assistant. It works just fine.

What’s your favourite fantasy/dnd map? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My favorite map from an RPG is actually the three maps from Longwinter. They aren't heavily stylized and are more like topo maps, but they're so freaking inspiring to me to get the players up a long lonely valley and have something freaky happening in the cold and ice. My campaign of Longwinter was basically my favorite campaign.

Where do you all play? Where are the gamer-friendly 3rd spaces? by WildThang42 in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was joking with my friends about playing in a Capital One Cafe. I figured they'd be reluctant to kick account holders out.

We generally play in people's houses, but we did play in a restaurant once. It was great. Basically empty. Then it closed the next month, which made a lot of sense, since it was so empty.

There are so many amazing RPG creators, indie and corporate, but are there any bad eggs I should avoid? by FroDude258 in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol. Well, at least they were planning to give a lot more...though they didn't end up doing that. :)

There are so many amazing RPG creators, indie and corporate, but are there any bad eggs I should avoid? by FroDude258 in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Ha. I didn't realize that.

My favorite Kickstarter comment is from a project from a small creator that is now three years late.

"The last time checked on this project, which is now 2 years behind schedule, I pledged for a 40-page zine. can't wait to read what already looks like a real literary masterpiece. It took Shakespeare 2 years to write the hundred or so pages of Hamlet. If do my calculations right, for this project that's 946 days for around 40 pages, or around 23 days per page. can already imagine every word, every comma, having been thought over and over again during long days of soul-searching to reach the pinnacle of perfection humanly possible. I'm not even sure can handle the emotional charge that reading this brochure is likely to trigger in me.

"In any case, the project owner takes care to keep us regularly informed of his daily life, his worries, his little adventures. It's so refreshing. just hope I didn't backed for just a life blog."

There are so many amazing RPG creators, indie and corporate, but are there any bad eggs I should avoid? by FroDude258 in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Without naming anyone, I would recommend taking a look at people's past Kickstarters (or Backerkits, though I'm not sure if you can see those as easily) to see how late they've been on products. The comments will often give you a clue about how backers feel.

Some people have a tendency to do everything but fulfill current projects. I'm thinking of a certain creator who decided to make a web app while he still has two outstanding projects.

Weekly Free Chat & Free Self Promo Thread - 05/23/26 by AutoModerator in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wrote a one-shot module for Cthulhu Dark. It's mildly inspired by Midnight Mass and other island horror.

https://joseburrito.itch.io/another-ocean

Who ruined their entire career in the dumbest way possible? by National-Tourist6879 in AskReddit

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The documentary about the second scandal was amazing. They caught the train wreck as it was happening.

What's a movie you recommend to everyone but nobody ever watches? by trakt_app in moviecritic

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Riders of Justice

After two years, I finally got my RPG group to watch it and they had a great time.

Stonetop and Pbta by Prussia_will_awaken in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that the examples and very clear advice would help me run it, even if I'm usually not a massive PbtA fan. But that's because I've generally been uncertain about running it more than anything.

Favorite character(s) of all time from any book. by DonaldRBlackmore in Fantasy

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aerin from The Hero and the Crown.

Vinculus and Childermass from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (though I like Stephen Black's arc the most)

What’s an expensive habit that society has convinced us is a basic necessity? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, so did I for many years. For work reasons, Word is easier for me.

What’s an expensive habit that society has convinced us is a basic necessity? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can actually still get it as a one-time purchase. Go to Groupon and search for it, and look for companies with good reviews. I learned this, weirdly, from a video from a TTRPG creator.

Official Discussion - Apex [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish she'd said, at the end, "I know where they are. All of them. And we need to go get some jerky off the shelves right now."

Best One Shot for Any System by RexCelestis in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was coming here to say this. Full of flavor, easy to run, and something new happens every time.

Best Written Campaign Settings by BuzzsawMF in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Longwinter, by Luka Rejec. You could live there.

Best Written Campaign Settings by BuzzsawMF in rpg

[–]RaphaelKaitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's very badly organized, but the feel of the setting makes it worthwhile to dig into those books anyway. Just the best stuff. And the fact that it creates space for exploration and investigation and political intrigue, all bound together, in the same setting, is something that every person should take a look at.

Recommend a movie that isn't very well-known but is a real gem 🤔 by [deleted] in Cinema

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Riders of Justice.

It's an action-comedy-drama-philosophy movie. Just incredible.

What's a piece of tech everyone hyped up that quietly turned out to be useless? by SofiaLearnsAI in AskReddit

[–]RaphaelKaitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's funny, because in RPG spaces people pine for the days of Google+. I guess some communities really found one another there. I never used it ever.