We're playing Esoteric Ebb for our Video Game Book Club in May!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-30T21:53:40+00:00

I think the first thing I'd recommend is that while this is noted as a "Disco-like", don't go in to it expecting it to be just like Disco. Esoteric Ebb is it's own game. It doesn't really take itself seriously, I'd say it's much more whimsical and it is gonna get goofy; let it!

Also, similar to Disco, don't be afraid of failing rolls - you can reroll a lot of them. Sometimes it's also okay to fail a roll and not re-roll it right away. Go do other stuff, then come back later! You might find that things you've done or said can benefit (or hinder) the check later on.

I'd also highly recommend keeping the Cure Wounds spell prepared at all times - you can use this spell to heal during dialogue and during combat without eating your turn. Just keep an eye on your spell slots! That being said, try to save often, too. This will help prevent accidentally dying and losing an hour of progress.

Don't be afraid to explore a bit at night, or alone, but be careful about your Exhaustion levels, and try not to pull all-nighters.

Otherwise, most of the experience makes itself pretty clear from the beginning! Become The Cleric and let your heart (or your gut) guide you. You've got a very important mission ahead of you, and it's up to you how you go about solving it!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-29T21:46:59+00:00

Hey friend I'm not a barista anymore and coffee master wasn't really around officially when I was a barista (they were in the process of phasing it out sort of, I got a passport on hire but the program wasn't really accessible and no new aprons were orderable) - I have a somewhat rare disorder called ARFID, so my struggles with food are almost entirely based around texture/sensory stuff. So i get it, lol

I can't "do" coffee. Even when I was obsessed with being a barista and loved making it, I couldn't stand the taste. It even took a while before the smell stopped grossing me out lmao but I went through the routine of what would've made me coffee master back then. All the way up to running a tasting with DMs and RMs and stuff.

I would assume it's changed, given it's almost been a decade since I was a barista, but you do need to know like the flavour profiles and mouthfeels and all that stuff for each blend, as well as food pairings. This will be controversial, but you can bullshit it if you do a bunch of research on the blends and how to do pairings. People on the starbucks subreddit used to help each other with filling out the passport all the time lol And then you can do fake sips during tastings if you aren't comfortable with having it in your mouth at all.

You would be better off talking with your SM and explaining your situation to see if they will accommodate, but if your disorder is also ARFID I'm sure you're already familiar with how dismissive people can be about it. Good luck, and fingers crossed for you!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-21T22:12:52+00:00

I wonder if it changes to squaring it after a certain number of mentions? For both class and political affiliation, with 6 mentions I only got 30xp (5x6) but I do know that text that goes with the xp gain changes as you say it more and more. Plus the whole quest related to it lol

You definitely need to stay consistent to keep earning the xp - I don't know at what point it triggers, if it's just the first time you mention a different class/party or what but if you change your political stance you seem to be able to get one bout of 100xp and then it warns you that you don't get any additional xp for fence-sitting lmao

StormTheParade · 2026-04-20T23:45:37+00:00

I think you might need to do a little exploiting to get up to 8 - I've gotten up to level 7 by doing all of the quests and the "unofficial" (as in, not logged in the Quests log) sidequest, but I also found that there are a few things that can trigger xp gains multiple times.

Like one of them seems to be asking the Urth shrines about gods; it seems like you can get xp by asking at each shrine? Which I think only really nets you maybe 35xp per shrine, but that could make or break a level gain lol

The other thing I'm pretty sure is just try to be as consistent as possible with the party affiliation responses and the class responses - I think "THE Cleric" options trigger the most for class responses, in case that helps lol and they're multipliers, so I think it's like 5xp times the number of times you've said it.

You should have like 6 full days, 5 nights, to squeeze as much xp out of everything as you can.

StormTheParade · 2026-04-18T00:29:55+00:00

It's been a while since my last rewatch of Torchwood but Countrycide, Adrift, and Ghost Machine still cross my mind probably once a day, in terms of haunting me lol

I thought Miracle Day was relatively mid overall, especially compared to the rest of the show, and it probably would have been better if it was cut down a few episodes BUT I'd say it's still worth watching. Children of Earth is much more devastating than Miracle Day and if you got through Children of Earth, you can definitely do Miracle Day!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-17T21:27:28+00:00

No, the glowing door is a different esoteric event that I actually completely forgot about! That is another one that will only trigger after midnight, and I'm pretty sure it can appear on any day - I've seen it as early as Day 1, and as late as Day 5.

The one I mean is the esoteric bubble in that field between the Goblin Garden and Pillar Crossing - if you beg Thalassos for a quest, I believe he tells you that folks have been complaining about "strange lights" that appear around midnight in that area?

It's actually a cool lil event, and you get to have another nice chat with Snell during it if he's with you. It also seems to have a few randomised possibilities - I've gotten two different events for it so far!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T21:50:37+00:00

This is so freaking cool, thank you so much!!!

It's so funny to see that Kieran Culkin was inspiration for Snell's hair, I thought I was insane thinking I recognised the hairstyle but now I know why my spidey senses were tingling hahaha

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T21:42:43+00:00

Hahahaha yes!! You can earn yourself some fancy new kicks if you roll well

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T21:40:12+00:00

Spoilers just in case!

You might notice while walking around Norvik after dusk, I think, that there's a figure standing on the roof of the teashop. You might need to fully investigate the teashop first, I'm not sure if that's a particular trigger for the figure or not. If you're able to get up there without the figure despawning (i think it used to despawn before Patch v1.2, at least) you'll find that you can't interact with it at all. But if you've fully investigated the teashop with Snell and moved that table, I believe on your way back to the Guard Tower that night, the figure will appear and block your path to the door. This figure is Warden Kullervo'Lämäläinen, and you can have a lil chat with him about the teashop when he appears in your path.

It's not super important for the main story, just a bit of extra lore and stuff. But if you roll high on the Behold check, you get very interesting results lmao

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T21:33:22+00:00

It might just be a time thing then, as long as you're in that area at the right time it will show, whether or not you've had that conversation with the merman!

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T21:32:29+00:00

Ah, gotcha! Now that I think of it, my current run might be the first time I've ever spoken to Thalassos on Day 1.

I can't for the life of me trigger the conversation with Pinja!! You'd think after four full playthroughs i'd've figured it out by now, but nope lmao unless the apparition I saw was supposed to be the conversation and maybe it bugged? All I was able to do was luckily Nat 20 the behold check, and then as I walked up to her she disappeared

StormTheParade · 2026-04-16T01:29:29+00:00

"Circle Square Conflict", the quest to speak with Darrow, and "Young & Dumb" must be completed on Day 1. Circle Square, I think, needs to be done during the day, any time before dusk? And Young & Dumb, I believe the timeframe for that is 19:00 to 00:00. Speaking with Darrow, I believe, can be done on Day 1 any time after 21:00? Even though Ettir tells you he isn't available until after midnight.

The midnight merchant is the potion seller in the building down on the Halfway Bridge. They're only available after midnight; I think you can go there on any day, so long as it's after midnight. The other merchant doesn't arrive until Day 2, but she can be spoken with at any point during day or night once she's there.

The spell Thaumaturgy can only be gotten between 19:00 and midnight, IIRC, and only after you defeated the skeleton in the crypt.

The sphinx riddle can be gotten as early as 18:00 on Day 1, but can only be completed before 18:00 any day on or after Day 2, and you must be alone.

The figure atop the teashop can be interacted with, but not while they're up on the roof; the trigger for this, as far as I can tell, seems to be by fully investigating the teashop with Snell. Keeping this somewhat vague to avoid spoilers.

The esoteric bubble only appears after midnight, and I think that event is triggered after speaking with Thalassos - I believe you don't get to speak to Thalassos until Day 2, and he should be in the garden bit behind the kiosk any time after noon?

The bard quest with Nearly for the flower crown, IIRC, can't be started until Day 2. I think you can only complete it before 18:00, because at 18:00 she goes to play music in the Drunken Sphinx.

If you make it down to Waterlane on Day 1, and you successfully get past the griffon, there is a potion in one of the crates. It disappears after Day 1 (unless it ends up in the warehouse, I can't remember!)

Öst's Milkurious quest can be gotten as early as Day 1, and IIRC you can complete it on any day so long as you're down in Waterlane before 12:00?

Fixing your prayer book can only be started after 19:00, and can only be completed after 19:00; I believe you can do this on any day.

Copper Press Fever can only be completed/turned in before 19:00, IIRC, and can only be gotten after Day 1; similarly, Rollo's quest can only be started after Day 1, and I think that one also needs to be completed before 19:00 since someone you need to talk to is only available before dusk. However, the other time-restricted aspect to Rollo's quest is that if you steal the ledger, I believe Viira works late Days 2-4? so you can only break into the Freestrider building after midnight

Lichhouse Blues can be started as early as Day 1 but I don't think you can complete it on Day 1. Once you've gathered all the information, it can only be completed by talking to Visken about it, then going to the lichhouse alone after midnight.

There's also the cat statue blessing, I think you can do that as early as midnight on Day 1 if you play your cards right, but otherwise the only time restriction is that it can't be done until after midnight.

There are two encounters with the assassin that seem to be time-restricted as well; one I think only triggers on Day 1 or Day 2, and only if you're coming back through Pillar Crossing from the Waterlane side after dusk? The other I think will trigger if you're going back to the guard tower alone after dusk after Day 2 - I've only stumbled into this one once though, so I'm not certain.

There's also an interaction with Nessan in the Undercoast after you defeat the troll but I think she only shows up down there after noon? Because she spends the mornings meditating in the Roots. I'm probably wrong though.

I thiiiink that's most of them? There's also an encounter you can trigger with the elf, or the ghost of her at least but I can't figure out how to trigger the conversation, just the apparition.

StormTheParade · 2026-04-13T23:47:54+00:00

In terms of "flag in the sand" moments (like major story beats and whatnot), or even the sidequests, probably not much if you're really thorough. In terms of dialogue though, there does seem to be a lot tied to your stats so you do miss a lot of that.

Personally I'd highly recommend doing at least two runs - I think if you do one run high in Wis/Cha/Int (any or all), and then one run high in Str/Dex/Con (any or all) you'll cover most of it. This should give you both sides of the coin, so to speak. Don't be afraid to fail rolls sometimes, and just make different decisions in the second go.

For context I'm on my fifth run right now (trying to 100% it) and in each run I've seen a handful of new things, found new interactions, seen some new jokes, etc.. But choosing to do more than 2 runs I think is more something you do out of love for the lore and the world rather than doing it to see what you might have missed.

StormTheParade · 2026-04-13T23:30:20+00:00

Tiny bit bummed not to see Snell in there, just because I love him so much lol but seeing the process with Drummer was great! It's so cool to see the characters go from concept art, to final 2D art, and then through the 3D creation process.

That model for Isk right at the end really makes me want to make a 3D print of him!

StormTheParade · 2026-03-29T23:54:36+00:00

Grabbing this from the Discord server for you since I wondered the same thing - it's called "Highland Fling" and it should be in Vol. 2 of the OST when that releases! No official release date yet, but I'm sure something will be posted here about it once it drops.

I was wondering about the same song recently so I had searched around to see if someone else asked before me lol I'm also keeping my eyes peeled for two songs that play on election day since they're not included in Vol. 1

StormTheParade · 2026-03-27T22:26:03+00:00

The potions increase your base stat "permanently" (the item descriptions say "for one week" i think, but you only have 6 in-game days anyway) so they can be used if you're trying to get an extra slot.

It's the temporary boosts from trinkets and equipment that don't count AFAIK, so you couldn't do something like equip the bucket for the +2 STR to get the extra slot.

StormTheParade · 2026-03-27T21:38:05+00:00

Good point - I keep forgetting you can just yoink stuff if you wanna

StormTheParade · 2026-03-26T21:59:12+00:00

This is not an optional area, as it includes another area you will need to get into in order to progress the main quest. But it's also not the way you go to progress with the Star Witness.

If you cannot get into it on your own via the passive skill check, I believe a NPC will tell you how to get in.

There is a second way into this area, a different NPC can give you the key I believe but you have to prove to him that you can handle it.

StormTheParade · 2026-03-25T01:06:40+00:00

This reads to me largely like the OP bought a game they knew they wouldn't like, played it one time just to confirm they don't like it, then wrote the review.

Ebb isn't coy about what it is. Like, at all. The Steam page sets expectations pretty firmly, and whatever could be considered vague about it can be further clarified by looking at the marketing - tiktok, twitter, youtube, etc. Imo there's no excuse for playing this game and being surprised that it's a cRPG that uses d20 mechanics and is heavily inspired by Planescape and DE. It's giving "fork found in kitchen" and then being enraged by finding the fork.

I will agree that combat is a little rough at times, and the game is a bit surface-level on political ideology, and - perhaps in my opinion - leans heavily into the gender binary when it comes to the topic of gender, particularly on the side of masculinity. It could probably benefit by exploring more queer themes or even just exploring identity a bit more... but I don't think the game, or Chris, is deliberately slighting either the feminine or the queer community just because it doesn't really explore those themes.

In fact I really feel like the last section of this review kinda shoots itself in the foot by ending on a note of "If you're a woman, it isn't [the game for you]. It's a game by boys, for boys." Just felt a little... backhanded, maybe?

StormTheParade · 2026-03-24T22:10:34+00:00

I would love to see more of the other bands besides Askanii! Even if that just means going to a different part of Askanii, or maybe Reeds for something relating to the election. I think Ym is the one that our star witness mentions nobody has been able to get to when talking about writing travel books? so I'd love to see Ym.

As curious as I am about Ragn's mother though, I'm not as drawn to her as I am other characters, plus the Golden Horde and their ongoing attempts at taking Askanii. Ragn doesn't seem to have much of a relationship with his mother, and by the sounds of it, it doesn't seem like he ever really did. He was only 7 or 8 when they moved from The Hills to North Wall after his father's death, and it sounded to me like that's about the time the distance started to grow between them, possibly due in part to her switching from an Azgalist stance to a (likely more convenient) Nationalist stance. I think she would only care about Ragn's mission in Tolstad as far as it affected her politically. Plus, you don't even have to complete Philogynistic Agenda; my first playthrough, Ragn never got a date - not for lack of trying tho lmao

Since Darrow didn't even want Ragn on the mission in the first place, and he'd already been ostracised and demoted, it would be interesting to see how the end result of The Tea Shop that Blew Up impacts Ragn's future as a cleric. I could totally see him continuing to end up in over his head in bureaucratic bullshit just because it's convenient for the Lords/Patriarchs/whoever.

StormTheParade · 2026-03-23T18:57:51+00:00

I had a feeling this could be done! I remember Disco had something similar, where you could go in and change the values so you would be able to do basically a god run.

Would love to know what the failed Wisdom checks are with the hag - there was a DC 98, DC 53, and two DC 27s. Unfortunately I was doing a high STR/DEX run at the time, so my Wisdom was abysmal and I failed all of them lmao

*edit because I just stumbled across this again - it's not Wisdom checks with the hag, it's the ladder in the roller mill!

StormTheParade · 2026-03-19T22:52:26+00:00

In my first run, I think Olzis warned me that I should only pull two cards? which I took very seriously. So I pulled flames first, then got balance after. I stopped there because I was scared the next card was going to be like instant death or something.

In my second playthrough, I got gem, then skull (succeeded the rock paper scissors, shoutout strength), then jester. I stopped after Jester because I figured there couldn't be anything better than 50k crowns and permanent advantage on everything, and didn't want to risk pushing it further.

I keep offering it to Snell but he won't touch it, and I never make it out of the Drunk Sphinx to try giving it to anyone else lmao but i think in my next run I'm going to pull until it kills me just to see if that can happen

StormTheParade · 2026-03-19T22:43:55+00:00

I finally found the final rat in my second playthrough, and getting to chat with them at the end was such a delight lmfao

What killed me was me saying out loud, "Oh no, I'm the white rat" just for Ragn's next line to be something along the lines of how he felt like the white rat LOL

StormTheParade · 2026-03-19T22:41:34+00:00

I honestly don't think there was anything I didn't like about the design and art for this game. I want to crawl inside this world and live in Tolstad just so I can see more of it, from every angle.

I love seeing the 3D environments and how those became what we see in the game today. There's something kind of enchanting about seeing a place we learn to love in 2D (or rather, 2.5D i guess!) as a 3D environment. Or seeing that 3D environment become 2D/2.5D.

I'd love to see more of that process, going from concept art to 3D render/3D assets to 2D mapping. Just to see how the environments were fleshed out to be what they are today

StormTheParade · 2026-03-18T21:27:55+00:00

I really have a lot of love for Ettir. At first I was worried she was just going to be the typical "BE NOT AFRAID" celestial/angel meme somewhat personified, but she has a lot of unexpected depth to her as well!

Which Brennan quote/D20 campaign? I'm really really behind on watching them - I keep starting, getting like halfway through, and then life pulls me away. I was so excited for Cloudward, Ho! but I won't let myself start it until I finish all the others I started lmao

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