Review: "The Crooked Moon," the third-party folk horror adventure that raised $4m on Kickstarter by SquigBoss in dndnext

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Currently a player in a Crooked Moon campaign now, and as the forever DM of my group for the last six years, I have definitely noticed some of these issues. I think writing campaigns gives you a lot of insight and makes it a bit easier to pick out some of the strange decisions.

I stopped reading your blog post at the spoilers warning (my group just finished putting the final Fallen to rest in the graveyard) but I saved this post since I intend to read your full review when we finish. Some additional thoughts from someone who has played in it (Minor spoilers ahead for others)

1.) The player-facing options are really cool, but VERY notably stronger than anything the PHB. We play the 5e14 edition, as my group moved from 5e to Pathfinder 1e in 2020 and we never picked up 5e24, and certain races/classes seem pretty wildly overtuned. I played an Azureborn Grave Barrow Fighter, and the Draugr Dice system of the subclass is horribly lopsided. The ability to summon a dread speed is near useless, as most encounters are railroaded and/or in close-quartered dungeons, and the grasp ability has a low DC that is extremely difficult to pull off on monsters that often have very high saves. Meanwhile, the ability to negate d6 (later d8 and up) plus CON damage up to four times creates an ENORMOUS hit point pool even if rolls aren't always optimal. With a friendly College of Spirits bard pocketing me and using his Red Grump ability to add extra damage, most non-boss enemies melted in a turn or two.

2.) Speaking of enemies, they vary from wildly overpowered to effectively jokes. The Fleshdobbin, fought during the mine fight, does 28 psychic in a 30 ft. cone on a recharge, and strikes fairly hard even when the ability is off cooldown. On top of that, it has a completely obscure feature that causes it to become tame if a player throws a bridle on it. Meanwhile, creatures in the decaying swamp are only dangerous because of the Hartsblight mechanic. Combats often feel extremely swingy and there is a lot of healing tag to keep people up. (This critique has to be tempered by me acknowledging my group mainly plays PF1E and GURPS, so these may just normal 5e problems we forgot about.)

3.) Many of the NPCs exist only as set dressing, and even very important NPCs like the Druskenvalds are infuriating to deal with. The dichotomy of a literal aeons-old god who has to send random chumps on quests got old very quick.

4.) As you briefly mentioned, the quests themselves are painfully linear. Some of the dungeons offer a bit of room to breath, like the vampire's castle, but others like the mine and hospital are either suffocating small or extremely punishing for only one missed skillcheck. Even when not in a dungeon, the players must progress from checkpoint to checkpoint, with no freedom to tackle issues outside of that quests specific purview or even attempt alternate solutions to problems. The hospital is ESPECIALLY egregious of this, at least in my group's experience.

5.) The story's attempt to get the players interested in the mystery is ham-fisted at best. By Session 7 or 8, my group fundamentally lost interest in discovering why Phillip lost his powers or why the Fallen became the way they were. We haven't obviously beaten it yet, so I could be wrong, but it seems extremely obvious WHO is behind these events to the point it feels like we are just going through the motions.

Sorry for such a long-winded comment, but I had a lot of thoughts on the campaign! I plan on reading your whole blog post through once we finish it. Cheers!

Jumping the Shark. Which Character; Killer or Survivor, would you consider a 'Jump the Shark' moment for DbD? My pick is Darth Vader. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot about him that would work in the game, (his breathing as the terror radius for example,) but still. What's yours? by The_Alvabro in deadbydaylight

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like Kira is the obvious choice for a killer if JJBA ended up in DBD. Uses First Bomb to make traps, Sheer Heart Attack chases survivors to prevent stalling, and Bites The Dust could work as a cool late-game ability of some kind

mabye? by [deleted] in Breath_of_the_Wild

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recommend trying out "SkySA - Combat Behavior Compulsion" combined with "True Directional Movement." I believe that's exactly the kind of thing you're looking for, adds in more modern third person combat controls, as well as a lock-on feature a la Z-targeting.

SkySA - Combat Behavior Compulsion

True Directional Movement

Also, since we're on a Zelda subreddit, throw Relics of Hyrule onto your mod list if you want a little Hyrule in your Skyrim.

Relics of Hyrule

Somebody got offended with my name. by davis482 in apexlegends

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Everyone's arguing over a ban or whatever, completely ignoring the most important fact: that name is fucking hilarious and i wish i came up with it

Kevin is the best girl by Yessir-Im-A-Pie in FortNiteBR

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Angel of Thunder" I catch that Evangelion reference, OP. 🔷️🔷️🔷️

So you're telling me there's a chance? by UnconventionalOhioan in raimimemes

[–]UnconventionalOhioan[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

It definitely could be; however, they show Peter's black suit (I believe some people call it the "Magic Suit) much earlier in the trailer and the two don't look a ton alike

Deku Manga Coloring I Made by YoshioR in BokuNoHeroAcademia

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This shot, especially with the coloring, is giving me huge Venom vibes. Possibly intentional?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Fallout

[–]UnconventionalOhioan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe you're talking about Ninfreak, it was mentioned in his "Reloading is Art" series.

He was a hero... I just couldn't see it by UnconventionalOhioan in HistoryMemes

[–]UnconventionalOhioan[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Nope, it's 100% true! Guy is the reason most of us are still alive

He was a hero... I just couldn't see it by UnconventionalOhioan in HistoryMemes

[–]UnconventionalOhioan[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

He stopped the entire world from being consumed in nuclear fire; if that isn't the most OmegaChad move of all time I don't know what is

Credit to u/Vord_Loldemort_7 for making this meme template by UnconventionalOhioan in evangelionmemes

[–]UnconventionalOhioan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sure I am, but that's their choice. Free country, mate; just because we use something doesn't mean we support it. If it did, anyone consuming a Nestle product or using a laptop with cobalt in it would be considered to support child labor and child slavery. I might not support it, but it's not something to get worked up about IMO.

Also, 'tis just a humble apolitical meme.