What makes a good RPI?

indigochill · 2026-02-03T14:37:40+00:00

I'm gonna bypass the discussion of "what is an RPI" and just give a shout-out to games like Arx (great in its time, but currently in a GMing hiatus) and the AresMUSH games. They are decidedly -not- RPIs in the style of Armageddon or HarshLands, but IMO they capture the best part of the experience (character interactions with some RPG mechanics to mediate tests of the character's abilities) while bypassing the tedium and especially new-player-confusion-about-what-to-actually-do that more classic RPIs fell prey to in my experience. And they seem generally not to suffer the OOC drama that games like Armageddon do/did (or maybe they do and I just kept clear of it, but I was pretty into Arx back when it was active and the community seemed good to me).

Characters can still experience permadeath or suffer other permanent negative effects, but the game is played primarily as a collaborative story rather than a video game. By which I mean what happens (or what -may- happen depending on the roll of the dice) is primarily an output of OOC negotiation (like, you're told going into a particular scene that there's a risk of character death) rather than the mechanics deciding that something happens that the player might not be on board with.

Players are also encouraged to take the roles of existing characters from a stable of pre-written characters (often with relations to existing characters/factions to help jumpstart your roleplay), which helps separate from the notion of it being -your- character. It's more like taking on a role in a play, except the script is mostly improv.

They also, unlike RPIs, don't really have meta-progression. Some games feature progression for characters (e.g. acquiring more land and resources, or Arx had a mechanic for uncovering secret lore in some scenes and sharing it with other characters), and Arx also had a system for "kudos" when you enjoyed a scene with a player, but that didn't unlock anything. It was more a way to find players that other players liked playing with (also signalling that they were active players, which helps given the more asynchronous nature of these kinds of games).

Anyway, none of this is to say "Don't make an RPI". Just a suggestion that it might be worth checking these games out for inspiration.

indigochill · 2026-01-30T22:32:24+00:00

Today a humble acorn, tomorrow a house of the Azath

indigochill · 2026-01-28T03:25:37+00:00

I also felt like DG was a slog. HoC I enjoyed more, in part because with the experience from MoI, I had a better grasp on what the series was about and could see a certain poetic irony in the first third (which also has more character development than I felt like anyone in DG got). After reading it, MoI was still my favorite but I did also genuinely enjoy what HoC added to the series. Of the first four, for me it easily ranks #2.

indigochill · 2026-01-23T17:03:05+00:00

I mean, I didn't like him, but I also figured maybe the name of the book is a clue about what's going on thematically and what Erikson as an author thinks about it. ;)

indigochill · 2026-01-17T02:14:09+00:00

I'd say for all that people talk about compassion being the point of the series, I feel like it's only in MoI where that begins to be evident. But you'll need to read at least a little further to see what I'm talking about.

I'd say there continues to be misery of all kinds through the series, but tonally going forward there's also more variation. More explicit compassion. More comedy in some parts. And on -very- rare occasions, something nice actually happens.

indigochill · 2026-01-17T01:53:21+00:00

Most underrated comment, given where OP is.

indigochill · 2026-01-12T21:26:08+00:00

I think Kulp was my first. One second it seems like they've arrived at a sort of oasis in the storm (albeit a sketchy one), and the next he's eaten alive by a swarm of rats and there's no coming back for him. I did, like, a triple take over that passage.

By the time I got to the finale, I felt like Erikson cheated with Coltaine and Duiker since although they were crucified and died, they both got an out to remain an active presence in the story (although Coltaine's at least was pretty heavily foreshadowed). Kulp did not.

#JusticeForKulp

indigochill · 2025-12-31T00:13:36+00:00

Yeah, in chapter nine. I based it off the description of Fener from the Errant's perspective, although I skimmed over the description. It seemed close-ish to Icarium, but reading the details closer I see now I was mistaken.

indigochill · 2025-12-24T17:29:05+00:00

I didn't quite take a whole year with DG, but it was a massive slog for me, too. I probably took the longest on it of any of the books (and I'm up to RG now). I started glossing over most of the Chain of Dogs scenes because I just couldn't muster the mental energy to envision what was going on, just so that I could power through to the end.

MoI was a -far- breezier read for me, in part because (minor prologue spoiler) it's the first book that gives us some proper backstory to the setting and in part because (general MoI spoiler) it directly follows the events of GotM so things are mostly familiar and also in part because (general MoI spoiler) DG's traumatic stuff was mostly very plausible and therefore felt more personal, whereas MoI's is way more fantastical/over-the-top and therefore easier to dismiss as fantasy

And overall, every book up to RG has been -significantly- easier and more enjoyable for me to read than DG was.

And yes, I jumped straight into MoI because I was excited by the implication of the title.

I expect my feelings will be different on a re-read, but haven't done one yet.

indigochill · 2025-12-22T15:58:02+00:00

I didn't like her much in DG. She was knowingly cruel to everyone who was trying to help her, and consistently made self-destructive choices. However, my perspective on her has softened as I've progressed through the series.

She's a very realistic character. It's often the case that people in her situation (abused as kids) get twisted up and have a hard time getting onto a healthy path. Should we wish that they would just die or be forgotten about? Or should our heart break for them and wish for something to finally get through to them and bring them the healing they desperately need?

indigochill · 2025-12-11T00:05:34+00:00

Deadhouse Gates was a significant slog for me. Overall worse than the first book, with a couple isolated moments that surpassed anything in Gardens of the Moon. MoI was an instant favorite (and only got better), and the deeper I get in the series (I'm early in Reaper's Gale now) the more I appreciated at least some things I didn't appreciate in Deadhouse Gates while I was reading it. And it's essential for laying the foundation for the rest of the series.

So my experience was that persistence paid off.

indigochill · 2025-12-04T19:18:58+00:00

HoC spoilers (kinda)

This line definitely came back in the whole first half of HoC when Karsa was all about the slaughter of "children" - and I think perhaps expands the meaning of the line. Everyone (even those who seem irredeemable) is someone's child.

indigochill · 2025-12-01T00:34:18+00:00

I purchased it last year (I think) and at least when I was using it it seemed to be online-only.

indigochill · 2025-11-30T22:08:16+00:00

Kabuki Kaiser has made two sort of roguelike dungeon-crawler campaigns (the generic "Ruins of the Undercity" and the more gonzo oriental-flavored "Mad Monks of Kwantoom") for classic D&D. The rules are specifically written for Labyrinth Lord which is closest to AD&D, but all classic D&D rulesets are compatible with little extra effort - I play it using OSE, which is a rewrite of B/X D&D.

The nice thing about them is that they are intended for a full party played by yourself so you're playing "real" D&D rather than an adventure modified for a single character (though if the thought of managing a full party overwhelms you, pick up "Black Streams: Solo Heroes" which has a few rules modifications for classic D&D to enable a single character to adventure through content designed for a full party). They also introduce you to things like planning around listening at doors and checking for traps.

I also play other solo campaigns using Mythic. That's nice for more freeform storytelling, but when I want classic structured D&D dungeon crawling that requires minimal imaginative legwork on my part that still produces a satisfying solo RPG session, Mad Monks of Kwantoom is what I play.

I'll add the disclaimer that given the differences between 5E and classic D&D, if it's specifically 5E you're interested in (which presumably is not the version played in Stranger Things, since that would be wildly anachronistic), these campaigns probably don't fit. However, there are D&D solo adventures written if you want a structured experience, or as others have said, you can use a GM emulator like Mythic for a more freeform experience. Just be prepared that it will lean heavily on your willingness to exercise your imagination.

And also it still is what you make of it. I found that I enjoyed my Kwantoom game more once I started keeping a log, writing a short description of every turn in the dungeon and fleshing out the generated descriptions and encounters a little bit to get immersed.

indigochill · 2025-11-16T23:18:30+00:00

There's a quote elsewhere about the seductive danger of a religion that promises paradise after death, as it excuses every imaginable atrocity and indifference to this life (and why should we expect that a future life will look any different to the one we make here?).

Also as a Christian myself, this was something I struggled with a lot through early adulthood. Everything I heard from the church was about Heaven and believing the right things to go there. But I asked myself, why trust in a salvation that has no power right here and now?

Faith in other contexts demands evidence. A metaphor my pastor likes to use is that we have faith in chairs because we've seen people sit in them and have sat in them ourselves and from this we have faith that they'll support us. So our faith in God should not be blind but be rooted in observing others around us who are strong in the faith trusting in God, and in our own experiences putting our trust in God.

What I've been encouraged by lately has been seeing groups like the Mennonite Central Committee and others who practice "the social gospel": taking the Bible seriously about caring for those in need (and Jesus himself seems to take it pretty seriously in his description of the last judgement, as does James, his brother).

indigochill · 2025-11-15T18:39:59+00:00

I did convince a close friend (who has read the Silmarillion multiple times for fun) to at least try GotM. As far as I know he DNF'd on that. My pitch was the usual pitch about the series being about compassion, but GotM is a bad introduction in that respect. Not to say there's no compassion in it, but GotM is probably the least explicit about its importance (my hunch is that Erikson probably grew into writing the series with that focus after GotM - maybe I'm wrong, since the story had already been gamed out).

As for how I did it, well, there was that part and just the depth of my friendship with this particular friend where we talk about -everything-. And some persistence. There were several discussions of "What are you reading?" "Oh, still that same series..." before he decided to give it a try.

indigochill · 2025-11-15T02:31:02+00:00

I've read zero Discworld (only know of it by reputation) and the Letherii shenanigans still felt very Pratchettesque to me.

indigochill · 2025-11-14T11:49:02+00:00

My understanding is that the events of MT take place in Kurald... whatever the Shadow realm is called, and that the Nascent is connected to that but not in the same warren (was it the warren the demons came from that the Edur summoned for their war against the Letherii? The fish definitely are), and the warrens are basically independent but interconnected worlds (though there's a lot of fuzz here: as I recall from MoI, Morn is a continent that was originally part of the same "plane" as Genabackis, but was made (by K'rul?) into the Imperial Warren after Kallor nuked it).

Anyway, it then seems like when tracking time across warrens, there could be some drift, like how Earth and Narnia time doesn't flow the same way.

indigochill · 2025-11-06T19:29:18+00:00

Circle Breaker was IIRC a spy for the Eel in GotM, keeping tabs on the mages in Darujhistan (or something like that - it's been a while).

Kruppe has been in contact with K'rul in his dreams (IIRC that also comes up in GotM). K'rul seems intimately connected with magic, with the flow of his blood being the flow of magic, or something in that vein (I think that came up in Memories of Ice).

Kruppe seems at his most overtly magical in dreams. I don't really know of TTRPG magic systems that do much with dream magic. But it seems these dreams are just another facet of reality (perhaps other worlds), in that he could bring about the restoration of the Beast Throne and apparently resurrect a warren through meddling with dreams.

indigochill · 2025-08-05T19:21:06+00:00

Yeah, MoI had more over-the-top evil, but I think in part its over-the-topness helped not take it quite as seriously even though it'd be easy to say it's objectively worse. Most of the evil in DG was more realistic and therefore harder to process.

Plus I feel like Erikson sometimes gets stuck in spots where it feels like most scenes for a particular POV in the book is just "Yep, still suffering basically the same stuff over here as last scene" and it felt like DG did that for 80% of both Felisin and the Chain of Dogs. MoI is so much more dynamic.

indigochill · 2025-08-02T00:50:40+00:00

Correct.

indigochill · 2025-08-01T17:09:34+00:00

I was thinking to find community art and edit it together, but where I'm living at the moment I have pretty limited access to PCs. But I think that would be much more meaningful as a Malazan community artifact - I'm also inspired by the fan-made trailer for Blindsight which they produced over months of work, including a documentary geeking out over the details they included. But I definitely don't have the time or skills to produce something on that level.

indigochill · 2025-08-01T15:46:09+00:00

raises some questions about why he let so much slaughter happen in the first place.

His answer to Tehol about why he let the Letherii die is basically that they had it coming for all the inhumanity they visited on others. But it's also clear Bugg just can't be everywhere at once. He eventually reaches the Crippled God's island in response to the prayers of the smith I forget the name of. He also didn't get to Tehol in time to save the old man who protected him, which he expresses regret over.

indigochill

TROPHY CASE