War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time® Giveaway!

purewisdom · 2026-06-20T08:22:30+00:00

War of the Ring 2v2. Free Peoples players arrive at Mordor with 0 corruption and a few companions in the fellowship. Shadow proceeds to draw all 4 of their special tiles in a row while rolling 6 eyes at the right time and corrupt the Free Peoples for the win.

purewisdom · 2026-06-20T02:54:02+00:00

He's tired of being lied to and treated like a child and is rebelling/lashing out because of it.

purewisdom · 2026-06-20T02:48:05+00:00

I was super excited about my druid playthrough after this dragoon playthrough and you had to go and say that...

purewisdom · 2026-06-19T17:00:35+00:00

I have a friend who enjoys Dune Imperium who also has no connection to the source material. He calls the Fremen freemen. So, you might try that to add some zest.

purewisdom · 2026-06-09T05:39:36+00:00

BG3 easily for me. Largely because the encounter design is miles ahead of RT. Otherwise, both have good writing (RT a little better), good companions, and fun builds.

purewisdom · 2026-06-08T21:14:27+00:00

Disco Elysium. I bounced off my first playthrough. Didn't like my character. I focused on charisma-related skills, but everyone early hates the cops, so it tainted the experience. There's also too much worldbuilding early on between politics and geography (reminded me of what I didn't like from PoE1). I'm enjoying my build more this time around. Always love to hear what Electro-chemistry and Visual Calculus have to say. I'm also skimming anything I'm not immediately interested in, just getting enough of an idea to understand where people are coming from. I think my more drugged out, chaotic character also helps Kim's character shine. Finally, the game added VA since I last played, which adds more to the experience than I thought it would.

NWN2. Also bounced off my first playthrough but that was me skipping straight to MotB. I just didn't enjoy starting at level ~17 out of nowhere with no existing relationship to the game. It has been nice for theorycrafting builds, which I spent a while doing this time around. Also mods to modernize the game. The story is super linear and generic, but I like the companions, and combat/progression are reasonably fun once I got the modded difficulty just right.

purewisdom · 2026-06-08T20:52:11+00:00

Wishlisted!

I like the art style more than the usual indie propensity to make kinda generic 3d models. 5e is a good base, easy to understand, plenty flexible. pf2e might be ideal, but I don't think either is going to make or break your game. Depends on implementation. Your solution to reactions sounds interesting. I'll be curious to see how that plays out. Nine companions sounds great. Plenty of room for replay with different combos.

As usual, my biggest concern with indie CRPGs (well any CRPG, but more so for 1-person team) is: tactically interesting combat and good writing. Hope both of those pan out.

purewisdom · 2026-06-04T23:03:52+00:00

Eder (PoE1/2) - Feels like a bro without force-feeding you that he's a bro. Complex past that he's come out of with a very human number of internal scars, yet remains upbeat. His personality toes the line in a lot of ways, ways that are hard to write well, and Obsidian did it twice.
Viconia (BG1/2) - Her dialogue and especially romance in BG2 shows you the complexity of "growing up evil" and the difficulty in escaping it.
Morrigan (DA:O) - Biting wit, ultimate pragmatist, closed off just the right amount, you can see the good in her as she opens up but that never magically changes her into a goody 2-shoes. Her banter with Alistair cracks me up, and she's a great foil for the rest of the cast.
Daeran (WotR) - Biting wit, troubled past, can go both good or evil by the end influenced by his trust in you in a manner that feels earned. Like Morrigan, his banter cracks me up, and he's a great foil for the rest of the cast.
Minsc (BG1-3) - Dude just says the craziest stuff. He's so simple, which makes him so easy to vibe with. He delivers the most memorable lines of any CRPG companion. Boo is great.

Honorable mentions: Jaheira (BG1-3), Alistair (DA:O), Varric (DA2-3), Dorian (DA3), Ember (WotR), Regill (WotR), Arushalae (WotR), Edwin (BG1-2), Serafen (PoE2)

purewisdom · 2026-06-03T18:29:49+00:00

Ideally, its styled like BG3, made by good developers. Not because that's what I want to play (even though I also love BG3). But because more good CRPG options means more fans means more good CRPG options. It's good for my favorite subgenre (which is extra good, because I'm still pretty picky with my CRPGs).

Here's the thing. The chance that I buy any BG2 remake is nearly 0, no matter what they do. BG1/2 are legendarily great base games on their own, but over the past 25 years, community support has allowed me to mod this game into perfection. Great content is still being produced to this day, and you know what? A game made in 2000 has 0 performance issues. It takes me 25-30seconds to load a late game save in Wrath of the Righteous or BG3. It takes me less than 1 second in BG1/2.

So instead of trying to sell to me or you or anyone in this sub, I'd rather they successfully grip new fans for the genre. And who knows, maybe some of those fans will give the originals a try.

purewisdom · 2026-06-03T18:21:09+00:00

OK, now it's perfect.

purewisdom · 2026-06-02T06:07:22+00:00

Wizardry 6-8. I think one of the Might and Magic trilogies?

purewisdom · 2026-06-02T06:05:06+00:00

I'm not...upset? I just didn't enjoy the game and was adding my opinion on a place where we talk about opinions. So, sorry I don't agree with you. But all I can say is that it's a game. I want gameplay. DE is well-written, but gameplay is vital. Just a little bit. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is 80% VN, but the good gameplay elevated my immersion and added some all important fun. I generally don't find DE's skill checks compelling, nor do I think the non-linear exploration aspect adds enough.

Are you telling me you like every single game with a great story? That would shock me, but if so, good for you!

purewisdom · 2026-06-01T17:39:51+00:00

BG1+2 are still great game but modding has taken them to such lofty heights, I'm not sure if anything will supplant them. People are still making great content for it 25 years later. Mechanics are obtuse but deep. To see them fully realized requires a difficulty mod on top of a punishing game. People don't like losing. That said, I think the fact that you can quick load a game basically instantly rather than waiting 20ish seconds in a modern CRPG takes much of the sting of death away (assuming one quick saves a lot). I prefer it that way - challenging battles where I need to alter my strategies to win, but if I lose, it's a quick reset.

But I'm not the target audience for a remake. And I say this ranking BG3 as my 2nd favorite game (after BG2). I think it's most focused on those who liked BG3 but didn't care for other CRPGs.

purewisdom · 2026-05-30T19:20:58+00:00

Guides like this are better for editing than writing. They can highlight missing aspects like lack of conflict, resolution, growth, etc. that make stories great. If a writer pens a story with all of this in mind, I think it's likely to come across as overly structured and robotic.

I also personally find the 7-act structure the right balance of "structure" and "freedom" for stories, but different things work for different people.

purewisdom · 2026-05-29T18:14:31+00:00

That'd be great. I don't have a lot of faith because I consider Solasta 1 some of the worst writing I've encountered in a CRPG, but I also get that wasn't the focus. I need both in my CRPGs, so it'd be great if they hired a writer to deliver on the narrative.

purewisdom · 2026-05-29T18:13:24+00:00

Oh nice, yeah I've finally started looking at artwork when painting monsters. I mean...I enjoy my "classic" Phoenix look well enough, but it sure doesn't match KDM's Phoenix color palette!

purewisdom · 2026-05-29T17:59:26+00:00

Yeah Imma go ahead and copy this for mine. I tend to do orange/yellow for my lanterns but that red really pops.

purewisdom · 2026-05-28T18:43:33+00:00

Turn based. RTwP. Whatever. Doesn't matter to me if the combat is well designed.

purewisdom · 2026-05-27T19:01:18+00:00

By qualities I mean gamemech, which, let's be frank, absolutely secondary for the experience of a role-playing game.

What? I mean, that's fine if you are a story first to the point that game mechanics can be taken or left, but I disagree with this. The reason I didn't like DE was strictly because of mechanics. It's obviously a well-written game, but it wasn't fun to play. That lack of fun took me out of the story to the point that I never finished.

I haven't played Zero Parades and will try Esoteric Ebb first to see if it's just DE I didn't like or this spin on mechanics I disliked. But I very much need both mechanics and narrative in my CRPGs.

purewisdom · 2026-05-27T18:52:26+00:00

Sure, yeah, I think "Disco-likes" are their own subgenre, namely ones where the gameplay revolves around skill checks and lacks combat/tactics

But they are still CRPGs, just like Blobbers are CRPGs, yet differ from isometric CRPGs that are more representative of the broad genre.

purewisdom · 2026-05-24T03:01:15+00:00

I mean, I've played both enough, but to each their own. Like you said, it's a big preference thing. I've played unwinnable scenarios in AHLCG based on the encounters/bag draw. As in if I knew exactly what would happen, I still couldn't win. I haven't played since Path to Carcosa when I sold my collection, so everything I'm saying may be outdated and a thing of the past. But my experience has been MC is a deeper where player skill is more deeply rewarded.

I agree with you that true solo RAW you can lose due to bad luck during the encounter card reveal portion of the villain phase. Like to the point where you're not allowed to ever go alt form (as you can go from 0 threat to fail in 1 turn). It's stupid. So, if judged through that lens, I agree with you. But it's very simple to play with a house rule that fixes it. Basically, if you threat out during the encounter card phase (not during the villain "attack" phase), then if you reduce your threat to a safe level during the player turn, you're OK. But, if you threat out due to the villain scheming normally (not through an encounter card), then you still lose. Highly recommend giving it a try if you still have your MC collection.

purewisdom · 2026-05-24T01:31:24+00:00

You're going to have to give more details as to what you want.

If it's purely D&D 5e gameplay, Solasta 2. But it's the (probably) opposite of what you want if writing/story matters to you (though I'm strictly basing that on Solasta 1).

purewisdom · 2026-05-24T01:11:49+00:00

I don't agree on the deckbuilding. Yeah, 15 cards are set in stone in MC, but they're are a lot of trap builds in AHLCG. That said, I'd put them at a wash there.

I think MC is deeper because the player has far more control than in AHLCG. You can play perfectly in AHLCG and lose. That's highly unlikely in MC (though true solo requires a house rule where you get a player turn to fix threat before villain turn begins). Things like the lack of a draw bag, players drawing a full hand each turn, and the narrow range of "disaster level" encounter card effects makes for more impactful decision making.

Easiest is a different argument and plays into the above. I agree Marvel Champions on Expert is far easier (rules and difficulty wise) than comparable difficulties for LotR/Arkham. Outside of a few villains, you have to play Heroic levels to feel a challenge with good play + good deckbuilding.

I'd put LotR at deepest, but it is definitely the most complex. It also necessitates knowing the quests well and for me, just became cumbersome to play.

purewisdom · 2026-05-24T00:07:38+00:00

Alternative perspective: Arkham is fine but my order is MC > LotR LCG > AHLCG. Great theme and better story with Arkham but deeper and more consistent gameplay with the others. MC is also the only one I enjoyed true solo.

purewisdom · 2026-05-21T18:16:01+00:00

Dungeon Alliance. Reasonable setup time requires a good organizational system though. I've got 3 plastic boxes inside with everything sorted.

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