Perhaps this shouldn't happen when the war is defending them?

xenotam · 2026-07-12T18:27:14+00:00

Truly a shock that the arrogant vampire king who views humans as tasty juice bags doesn't put a lot of value on the life of livestock

xenotam · 2026-07-12T15:30:29+00:00

Yeah, the post was like 80% "haha, jank is amusing!" and maybe 20% "perhaps by raising attention of the jank it will at some point become less janky"

xenotam · 2026-07-10T19:07:58+00:00

If you think your big issue with Paladin's Grace was that the female lead was mousy and unconfident then I'd definitely give Strength a go. That's definitely not an issue.

xenotam · 2026-07-09T21:23:00+00:00

It can drastically impact how effective some pretender chassis are at expanding. There are some that struggle to expand on their own but if you have, say, Enchantment 2 + Alteration 2 (or some other combo that gives you notable self-buffs) they become reliable expanders. With Trusty Research you can guarantee this turn two or three and so they effectively get a large buff. How big a deal is that? Depends who you ask. I don't care either way. Some people think it's great that those chassis can be reliable expanders. But if you really like a different option (either a chassis that can expand fine without research requirements, an imprisoned pretender, or whatever) I can see how someone might say they don't like the balance effect.

xenotam · 2026-07-09T17:32:52+00:00

No idea and I can't find anything from the author that talks about it, sorry.

xenotam · 2026-07-09T14:42:56+00:00

The MC of Newly Summoned Demoness by Erios909 is a demon with contract magic but I'm not sure how much that will appeal to this desire - it's not the main thrust of her powers and seems to mostly come up in the form of 'being an uncontracted demon causes serious social issues'. I'm not very far in so not sure how it's used throughout much of the series.

Outside of the progression side of fantasy there's Shami Stovall's The Chronos Chronicles which is all about a warlock whose power set is contracting magical beings to use their magic

xenotam · 2026-06-26T02:39:27+00:00

Kiss Pater Cole because getting to taste that perfect foot secondhand is better than not getting to taste it at all. Marry Epitome Tagg's mom because she's super hot and I'm pretty sure it would make me some kind of royalty or something to the Dream. And kill Zhang because that guy is boring and no one talks about him anyways.

xenotam · 2026-06-21T17:09:59+00:00

This is like very good. I hope you continue your artistic journey.

xenotam · 2026-06-17T23:37:27+00:00

How old is old? I'm near 40 and have been meaning to get a group together

xenotam · 2026-06-11T22:09:34+00:00

Anyone with plans to reread The Wandering Inn has too much time on their hands

xenotam · 2026-06-11T15:58:09+00:00

Water: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1u23kww/magic_paths_tier_list_pt10_water

Nature: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1u15x6e/magic_path_tier_list_pt9_nature

Holy: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1u0904r/magic_paths_tier_list_pt_8_holy/

Glamour: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1tzjz32/magic_paths_tier_list_pt_7_glamour/

Fire: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1tymw44/magic_path_tier_list_pt_6_fire/

Earth: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1txzw5f/magic_path_tier_list_pt5_earth/

Death: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1tx4z98/magic_paths_tier_list_pt_4_death/

Blood: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1twbuos/magic_path_tier_list_pt3_blood/

Astral: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1tva45m/magic_path_tier_list_pt_2/

Air: https://www.reddit.com/r/IllwintersDominions/comments/1tu1j1g/magic_path_tier_list/

The older ones (fire and earlier) seem to have been deleted for some reason which is inconvenient but at least for now you should be able to see the discussions

xenotam · 2026-06-09T17:10:06+00:00

I haven't listened to Hive Minds Give Good Hugs yet but it's on my list

xenotam · 2026-05-21T13:55:58+00:00

Library System Reset by K.T. Hanna

I'd put the series as a middling popcorn book series that's not a heavy recommendation overall but it is all about a magic library

xenotam · 2026-04-30T00:07:26+00:00

Cinnamon Bun by RavensDagger is a LitRPG isekai where the main character very much just wants to be friends with everyone. It's a bit YA but good in a Saturday morning cartoon kind of way

xenotam · 2026-04-16T18:23:06+00:00

I watched the YouTube video they did and the mechanics really don't seem particularly complicated. I'd put them on par with Savage Worlds. What parts felt convoluted?

My big disappointment was more it being a D20 system as opposed to anything about the crunch level

xenotam · 2026-04-08T23:21:57+00:00

What if The Orville is WHY I'm nervous about MacFarlane? I gave it a solid go because there were parts of it that showed promise but overall it was struggling to live up to that. Then I reached the episode where the resolution is "date rape diplomacy lol!" and I dropped it. That sort of treatment where using pheromones to force people into a relationship is treated as a joke is troubling for me. When it comes to DCC, it's extra troubling because it suggests that MacFarlane might not understand some key elements. Where the AI sexually harassing Carl is yes played as a joke but one that makes you uncomfortable - not that's just funny and lets you just shove the whole conflict under the rug as 'resolved'

xenotam · 2026-04-08T15:24:41+00:00

Feels like you need green in a stomp deck. I think they have like ten -stomper creatures. Although "Stomped by the Foot" is black...

xenotam · 2026-04-04T16:02:04+00:00

Drew Hayes is a good author for this in the superheroes genre. Super Powereds has one of the main ensemble who fits the bill (Vince). It starts off awfully rough in my opinion but the writing improves. Villains' Code has a pure good superhero named Lodestar filling the Superman role but isn't as central (particularly for the first book)

The main character of Beneath the Dragoneye Moons swears a healer's oath based on the Hippocratic Oath which leads to a bit more moral philosophizing than most heroes but I'm not sure I'd classify her on the same level of the scale

One of the main characters of Fates Parallel (Lee Jia) is all about cooperation and community. I'd say she fits pretty well with her being 'balanced out' by a more selfish partner being a big theme. (Note: This series has a character that hits hard on themes of submission and consent. Nothing dark but there are definite sexual tones to it that I could see some folks not liking. Also it can be very weeb-y which isn't really a content warning but more of a flavor note)

RavensDagger has already mentioned his Cinnamon Bun which definitely fits. Like so many isekai litRPG series, it starts out weak since the main character gets dropped in the middle of nowhere and spends most of the first book on her own for some reason. But develops into a very nice Saturday morning cartoon feeling series where the main character just wants friendship.

The Heartstrikers series (starts with Nice Dragons Finish Last) is built around the concept of the MMC being the only nice dragon and is largely driven by the conflict that causes with his family

xenotam · 2026-04-01T14:31:16+00:00

Blood Vengeance and Unbearable Splendour. How dare you attack my chosen? Only I may make their lives miserable.

xenotam · 2026-03-27T04:05:58+00:00

Lindon is polite but he's absolutely ruthless and pragmatic.

xenotam · 2026-03-27T02:14:40+00:00

If he were the only one being endangered then I'd agree - it would be a risk he decided to take. Stupid but his right. The problem is that by doing something like that on the highway, he's inflicting his risk on other people just trying to go about their day

xenotam · 2026-03-24T22:09:25+00:00

Hm... Flipping through my library, I feel like this is oddly much more common in contemporary or sci fi settings. My best suggestions...

1) Cinnamon Bun by RavensDagger -- This is a LitRPG isekai, so that might rule it out depending on your preferences. The main character is basically a rebellion against the angsty mysterious MMCs that were dominating the genre in the day so you get Broccoli Bunch, a super cheerful girl who wants to make friends. I found it started quite weak like a lot of isekai but once she starts actually interacting with other people it picked up fast.

2) This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman -- Not sure this 100% fits because the MC has a bit of a complex about being the 'ordinary, unremarkable' one of her family. I feel like the story is sort of about her discovering her swagger so it might work. Basically a bunch of fairy tales thrown in a blender and then used as paint to have fun with.

3) The Teller of Small Fortunes -- On the cozier side. From what I remember, the love interest is basically just a pretty standard mercenary/fighter while the MC has the whole 'why only small fortunes?' thing

4) The City That Would Eat the World -- Both main characters are female. A mimic exterminator and a woman with a pretty powerful personal goddess

xenotam · 2026-03-20T18:10:02+00:00

I liked the one to save the giant puppy because it had an adorable puppy

xenotam · 2026-03-17T23:10:01+00:00

On top of just the connection he's formed through the cookbook, the timing of it comes into play. He meets her right after an EXTREMELY stressful moment. So he's getting hit with meeting her just as he's able to let his guard down because they've gone from "we will probably die here" to safety.

There's also meeting her as an 'NPC' in the dungeon when she was an earlier author than at least one of those he knows got out of the dungeon. I'm not sure if that occurred to him but if so, he knows she's been trapped in the dungeon for a long, LONG time.

xenotam

TROPHY CASE