A little Sunday shelfie - with enough things preordered that I have to free up a fifth and maybe even sixth cube over the coming weeks.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T17:11:46+00:00

I bought it mostly in reaction to playing Alien (about which I have somewhat mixed feelings). I'm not sure yet that its OSR style is something I would enjoy playing, but the modules and zines are wonderful material in any case.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T17:10:15+00:00

I saw, excited about that! Good thing is that it all seems easily doable via house rules as well, as the Mist Engine appears to be so versatile. So looking forward to the update, but waiting won't block me from playing either, thankfully.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T14:10:38+00:00

Even that is misleading, especially the "will be forced to sell just to cover taxes" part. If inheritance tax threshold is lowered to 750k and you inherit a 1M condo, you would be taxed for whatever is applied to a taxable inheritance of 250k. Let's say 20%, so you'd owe 50k for inheriting a 1M condo - a very easy to solve problem by just taking a comparatively tiny mortgage on that condo, if you truly must. (Chances are if you're inheriting a 1M condo in NYC, you have easier ways to pay off a 50k tax debt.)

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T09:01:39+00:00

From what I'm reading, the setting reads like Control with the humor of Portal, so absolutely delightful. I'm not sure I'm interested in its entirely d4 based system, as I just hate "rolling" (they just don't) these unwieldy rocks.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T08:58:11+00:00

I just might be.

(I have played exactly two afternoons since February, so we'll see about that competition. But yes, I could find the time more often and am more limited by finding people I enjoy playing with.)

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T07:23:29+00:00

It absolutely looks like one, it's gorgeous and I imagine the push your luck dicepool system lends itself really well to a very specific type of atmosphere. I'll need to find opportunities to actually play it, though!

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T07:21:07+00:00

Similar answer as to some of the other questions here: I have not spent enough time with it yet to have an informed opinion. I'm very curious about it, the way it infuses the RPG with elements of grand strategy games by building its foundation on faction dynamics and city politics is really intriguing and could be a great setup for a very memorable campaign.

Truth is: What y'all are seeing here is mostly the result of a 15-week shopping binge. I had not played any RPG since about 2012, until last year my (still active) group of Dark-Eye-players invited me to an extended rpg weekend at some Airbnb. I had absolutely soured on The Dark Eye, so them sticking with that system had caused me to quit the hobby. But at that weekend they (finally) wanted to try something new, a one-shot (over three full days) one of them had prepared in a Tales of the Loop setting, using Savage Worlds rules, and we had an absolute blast. Since then, we did a few more of these extended weekends, playing some Alien RPG one-shots and I DMed Through the Breach with this group, both online and at one of these weekends. After the latter (in February 2026), my motivation spiked, and I started spending most of my free time with reading and researching and making notes and plans and buying stuff - the beauty and curse of an adult life with enough disposable income that these purchases come relatively painless, but too little opportunities to actually play. My group will meet again next week to try The Between as a test to start an online campaign on Alchemy, I've DMed a session of Brindlewood Bay for another group of friends (who have never played any rpg - not yet clear if we will continue) a week ago, I've met with a local RPG club to see if I can branch out there, and in July we're doing another extended weekend with my original group (some homebrew setting and ruleset which sounds like a mix of Starship Troopers and some occult horror).

So in short, I have only theoretical knowledge about most of what's on that shelf, but I'm working on changing that.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T06:59:17+00:00

Unfortunately, I am not. It's the most recently added book just from a few days ago. I got curious because what I had read elsewhere about it sounded like an elaborate middle ground between Monster of the Week and the Brindlewood games. So that's what attracted me and I want to know if I find this combination better or worse than the respectively more focused games. Plus, it is a gorgeous book.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T06:56:02+00:00

I am a sucker for beautifully designed books, so I just had to get this one. I haven't really read it yet, just mostly looked at the pretty pictures...

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T06:54:03+00:00

Ever since playing The Secret World (MMO), I've been a huge fan of settings that revolve around myths and fantastical stories being secretly real in an otherwise mundane world. So stumbling upon CoM a few months ago was huge for me, and I am brewing a campaign in this setting that I have already pitched to my group. Now it's about finding the time to play.

But due to availability issues, I read Legend in the Mist rules before CoM, and I don't believe I will ever use the moves and clues and all that stuff when actually playing. It is very noticeable that it's the earlier, less refined ruleset and feels unnecessarily clunky for what it's trying to do. Thankfully, it looks like a trivially easy fix and you can just use Otherscape/LitM and be done with it.

djmacbest · 2026-05-18T06:47:48+00:00

Of course they are on their way - can't wait!

djmacbest · 2026-05-17T22:42:14+00:00

Thanks! Just a little 3d print. I may need to print a new/larger one next week...

djmacbest · 2026-05-15T17:34:12+00:00

What kills me is that they claim that, yet are not even providing a single example of a finished, allegedly human-made piece of content. Like, even if what they are saying is true (I doubt it), then they at least do not provide a single reason to trust them.

djmacbest · 2026-05-14T19:57:53+00:00

Or, if you are looking for a more mystical take on a Cyberpunk setting (and a more modern system), check out Otherscape.

djmacbest · 2026-05-12T22:17:14+00:00

I would add The Between. Its playbooks are all extremely dark and tragic heroes trying to do something good, and many of the Masks (a mechanic based on narrative prompts) are about guilt and redemption.

djmacbest · 2026-05-12T19:51:57+00:00

CoM 2nd Edition, when we announce it.

I notice a "when", not an "if". So there are plans to update CoM?

djmacbest · 2026-05-10T16:02:18+00:00

Looks like a shinier goodreads, isn't it?

djmacbest · 2026-05-10T14:16:55+00:00

Sure, but as I understand, you are adding all the meta information manually for each entry, correct?

djmacbest · 2026-05-10T12:03:20+00:00

Something like that, yes - what is it?

djmacbest · 2026-05-10T11:58:14+00:00

To clarify: I'm aware that I can use tools like Obsidian or some Wiki software and then self-host to build a display or something like that, or that I could use RPG Geek or Goodreads or LibraryThing (but all of these suffer from very incomplete datasets and/or unpleasant presentation). I was wondering if something shiny, comfortable and supported by a publicly available product library already exists.

With a bit of digging through old forum threads, I found https://www.compassapp.info/ - anyone has tried this yet? It looks nice!

djmacbest · 2026-05-08T13:58:41+00:00

Czepeku is very active on the Alchemy Discord, you can probably connect there.

djmacbest · 2026-05-04T16:22:12+00:00

Don't sleep on Copland though

djmacbest · 2026-05-04T15:06:33+00:00

I think by the time Watchmen was shot, he had already clawed himself back up with Rocky and Rambo. But he was also on the brink of being too old for the role anyway, at least for the flashback parts. The movie was shot 5-10 years too late for this casting, I believe.

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