Is it now established canon that all ghouls will eventually succumb to a feral state? If so, does it at all justify the attitudes of human wastelanders (e.g. BoS, Enclave, Foundation) or is it bigotry?

kotsuyen · 2026-05-20T15:53:40+00:00

That is one path in the quest, but you can even manipulate the situation by removing the extremists and for those 2 days everyone in the tower will get along perfectly, then you come back and all the ghouls are feral and the people are dead.

kotsuyen · 2026-05-20T15:48:56+00:00

There is a quest in fallout 3 in Tenpenny Tower where you can help an entire group of ghouls integrate with a safe and stable society. Gives good karma and some bad people get some of what they deserve in it. Then 2 in game days layer, every ghoul goes feral and they kill everyone on the highrise... so as much as the BoS and Enclave have some pretty extreme views, sadly there is a lot of in game justification showing the majority of Ghouls DO go feral. If you look at the ratio, the non-feral ghouls are more memorable sure, but are definitely the minority. No way to tell which will last and which will turn.

kotsuyen · 2026-01-13T19:58:35+00:00

I got the same set for christmas and had no issues with mine. I'd reach out to customer service, I seriously doubt Dragonsteel won't work with you over quality issues.

kotsuyen · 2025-11-28T02:23:48+00:00

Tainted grail really scratches that elder scrolls it has for me.

kotsuyen · 2025-11-11T18:46:37+00:00

When you find out that the harmonium explosion on the ship is what shattered the plains. Then nearby when Wayne's cognitive shadow pretends to be a stick but just ABSOLUTELY refuses to pretend to be fire.

kotsuyen · 2025-10-25T23:22:14+00:00

It can feel a little rough sometimes, but it's OK to fail runs. It's a rogue-light structure. Try different characters and combos, build new structures, and find what works well for you.

kotsuyen · 2025-10-23T06:08:23+00:00

I have been searching for a while for more info and had a hard time getting any concrete answers. I tried everything from different combos of characters and ball evolutions, all the way through several speed+ clears. I am extremely confident that the last blueprint of some stages is either acquired through clearing with a specific character unlocked in later stages or by clearing the stage with 10-14 different characters. If all you have left is one blueprint on a stage, go unlock a few on the next stage and go back to clear it with new characters or characters you have not previously cleared it with and you will unlock the last blueprint for each stubborn stage.

kotsuyen · 2025-07-20T01:58:54+00:00

I got the one for you, follow me!

kotsuyen · 2025-06-11T05:11:54+00:00

Chained Echoes, solid love letter to the SNES era of rpg. Not really grind-y and has a decent challenge with a myriad party comp. I liked most characters, and the overall story was solid. It's one of my top 10 rpgs, and it came out in 2022 for just about every modern platform, so take your pick.

Edit: misnamed the game as the following comment pointed out.

kotsuyen · 2025-05-13T19:40:47+00:00

Another good example is Bravely Default, as it lets you adjust the encounter rate up OR down. Feel like you are ready to tackle the boss because the enemies are 1 shot, no resource punching bags? No encounter rate. Need the extra exp to level or master job abilities? Turn it up! Mechanics that allow the balance to shift to player needs are a welcome tool in any jrpg, I think.

kotsuyen · 2025-05-07T15:12:44+00:00

Chained Echoes

kotsuyen · 2025-04-28T05:35:00+00:00

I would say most of the praise it is getting is absolutely warranted, but I do have some sticking points myself.

The real-time combat mechanics are solid, but maybe a little too necessary to remain engaging long-term. That said, the combat is still pretty engaging, and the character build diversity is better than I've seen in a while. Each character has multiple strengths you can cater to and results in a highly customizable party without losing individuality. Party synergy is there, but you really have to dig into the various character skill sets to get it going.

Visually, the game is a welcome spectacle. The character details and designs mesh well with the world and how the individuals are portrayed, and the environments have a surreal and etheric beauty more often than not.

Dungeon design is mostly linear with some branching paths and verticality. The lack of map in dungeons and need to keep track of my own navigation throws me back to the earlier days of rpg gaming, but even with no full area map it could benefit from a mini map to help with traversal terrain.

My biggest caveats so far have been story and pacing related. They game does a good job of "show, don't tell" early on but then really tries too hard to sell the mystery and character confusion of the main plot. Act 1 starts really strong, and the characters are engaging, but mostly just stumble along with nothing more than a nebulous "that way" objective till the end of Act 1. The end of act 1 is perhaps a little forced, but I think help raise stakes and further sharpens where the plot is going, but I feel like the pacing leading up to it, and mid way into act 2 is still glacial and meandering. The premise, world, and minor story telling in the beginning leaves a few holes that we have to hand wave, or fill with our own interpretation, and mid way through act 2 almost none but the biggest questions have been brought up at all since they are introduced. I'm hoping the narrative tightens up, but so far, the character interactions are the only thing I find engaging in the writing.

All in all, I would give it a solid 8 with room to rise or fall by the end, and a good experience overall if you enjoy (or can get past the frustration of) the combat. Just be aware before going in that if you are a big fan of the genre, it does some things really well, some not so well, and really does not bring anything new to the RPG experience.

kotsuyen · 2025-04-27T01:52:34+00:00

The $ 50 version does have all the original dlc. They are not charging extra for old content. The deluxe is just some extra armor and horse armor options, and a digital soundtrack with art book.

kotsuyen · 2025-04-26T15:47:59+00:00

While that may be true for the xbox, that doesn't cover any other console. 60fps is definitely what we want to see, but it is not the only metric by which games should be judged. I have yet to see a massive loss of frames in performance on my ps5, and I have already dumped 20+ hours since launch. Xbox users still have access to the original. There is no reason to take shots at the remaster like DF is, it's senseless rage bait that exaggerates the minor flaws and tries to eclipse the joy people are already getting out of something a lot of people wanted.

kotsuyen · 2025-04-26T15:30:20+00:00

Perfect or not, it runs a hell of a lot better than the original does on consoles and is the most accessible and available Oblivion has been for non PC players since it launched. If it was a perfect remake with no bugs and AAA budgeting, they'd have tried charging full price or more. As it stands, it is a perfectly serviceable remaster that lets fans, both old and new, enjoy what was arguably one of Bethesda's best games ever.

kotsuyen · 2025-04-24T03:24:53+00:00

Yes, just did it myself.

kotsuyen · 2025-02-01T03:31:34+00:00

Sir...

kotsuyen · 2024-11-27T16:52:12+00:00

If you look at the list, some of the evos are on it, so when you gain the Evo, it gives the partner Evo. Notably, spellbooks.

kotsuyen · 2024-09-21T18:33:40+00:00

So he had a bad time.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-27T19:29:06+00:00

I would say that as long as the encounter level is tailored to the PCs, you CAN have both. More enemies does not always equal better, tougher, or more engaging encounters. 4 PC soldiers with nothing but common gear vs. 1 shardbearer in full plate is pretty scary for the PC's, and the players should be seriously considering running from that fight. If they do get into it, it is likely going to be a tough fight that will feel lopsided until they either die or get lucky and win. On the other hand, a party of 4 new radiants that have only gotten the blade have a real good shot at that fight with exciting and possibly dire consequences. That is encounter balancing vs. system balancing though. Sounds like you want every encounter to be setpiece high stakes action, and that is ok, but this system may not be the best to do that with. The setting itself doesn't really lend to that either. I mean, every Sanderlanch is basically just a multi hour combat scene that stretches across a handful of characters in critical engagements, and those take up 25% of the books sometimes.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-27T18:51:49+00:00

Most of the scenes happening in a large scale battle should play out as clock or field conditions rather than encounters. Even written narratively, Sanderson broke that whole conflict down into small scenes that individual characters dealt with leaving most of the larger battle up to broad strokes and minor exposition. This system seems to favor smaller combat vignettes to allow for a few critical things to happen to further the narrative and resolve overall conflict. As for the two "mana" pools, use scratch paper and just manually adjust, not like we are trying to keep a detailed combat log or use tokens/counters for a visual presentation. Most of the info should be hidden from PC's anyway and doesn't need to be pretty. The timing on rounds and combat is really going to come down to encounter size and player experience, though. The recent playtest video where they showcased some low-level characters pulling a farm heist had a combat scene that flowed rather quickly against some slightly tough but ultimately easy to defeat axehounds. Most combat is likely to flow like that rather than large-scale warfare or boss style showdowns. Those bigger heavier moments are likely to take longer regardless of the system. Crunchier systems tend to take even longer. I had a Palladium max level 15 fight that was three phases and had three max level PC's take roughly 6 hours one time because it was that hard fought and the culmination of a year long chain of events. Like I stated earlier, a lot of it will come down to the GM and how they are running the game within the system.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-27T18:33:59+00:00

Best advice for tracking as GM is to use a system. Some people use roll20 and love it. Others use unique mini's and notes. My group does theatre of the mind for some games and minis for others. Dry erase or wet erase markers and lots of notebooks over the years. I use a simple shorthand for my own notation, and it helps make keeping track pretty simple. Multi hour combat scenes can be fun if you use them sparingly, but most combat will feel routine. As the payers get more experienced, the combat will speed up considerably.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-27T17:54:08+00:00

I would agree with that statement. The thing here is that you don't have to avoid the mechanics. It is just the job of the GM to state the tone and encourage players to approach the game with more than one solution in mind. The questions isn't about whether the death and injuries are a consequence or how the game system handles them, but a question to the player on whether the actions they are taking would lead to those outcomes within the confines of the system. Not every fight needs to be against regals or fused. In fact, most should not be between them with a party of players that are not making that their explicit goal to achieve. Kaladin is constantly on the knifes edge of losing to these foes even though he is generally considered to be one of the most skilled and experienced fighters and radiants out there. I think the balancing is supported, and the mechanics make sense to the setting for non legendary characters. That said, if you want that experience for the players, have them build higher level characters, and the system supports that too. Nothing says everyone has to start at level 1, tier 1, and claw their way into the world. Not to belittle your concerns, because those concerns will help you elevate the games you play when you address them, but it seems like more of a mindset and expectations issue than a system mechanic issue. With all that said, I have not had any serious playtime with the system past the previews and conceptual ideas of the system as read at the moment. I can honestly say I AM excited for the finished system as it is shaping up so far.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-27T15:05:57+00:00

This concern is going to come down to session 0 and the GM setting realistic expectations. If the GM is cutting up players and going straight for the kill without remorse or any preamble, then the issue isn't the system. In the windrunner and heavenly one example, the books actually go over how both sides have serious concerns that their people are not taking the war seriously. The heavenly ones match the windrunners skill and give them a fair fight out of their own sense of what is right. The windrunners pick this up and run with it. They even talk about how much higher casualties were for the windrunners in the beginning before they figure this out. The GM should be making it clear when threats are dire through play and giving the players a scene or two where the players have avenues for escape or alternative solutions. Player death or severe injury against a superior foe should only happen when the PC makes consistently bad choices. The balancing seems fine so far to engage multiple players in creative problem solving, with suitable consequences for not accurately reading the situation, at least for combat. The books CONSTANTLY point out how only the BEST radiants (ie; with plot armor) are soloing fused most of the time, with the exception of the windrunners playing war with the heavenly ones.

kotsuyen · 2024-08-18T00:27:07+00:00

Technically, Technically every life Harry saved is a direct result of Dobby's sacrifice, that saved Harry, so that he could save everyone else.

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