Hello, and welcome to the weekly.
Scroll podcast brought to you by the adventure.
Archive, my name is Ryan and I am Conan of Samaria.
What is best in life? Yeah, we have on the spot.
Yeah, the limitations of our women and defeating your enemies
and all those kind of things. Yeah, you know what?
Actually, as a matter of fact, hi everyone.
We're going to tangent immediately.
My one of my favorite Conan. The Barbarian quotes is in this
book at the end. But hey Ryan, what the fuck?
Are we talking about? Actually, how are you buddy?
I'm doing. All right.
How are you? You it's really weird when we
open the show and we're not like, Hey, we're about to
interview a person. You know.
It's like you know, if you like me I feel like we haven't known
as many lately. I feel like the beginning of the
year, we fucking january-february really day.
Yeah. Hard.
Yeah. But yeah lately we've had a lot
of cool stuff going on and and yeah it is kind of weird to just
like do an episode, you know what, but today we're going to
be doing the black sword hack from Yeah, she and the Mary
Marsh man and you know what I meant to do before we started.
But I did not and everyone in podcast land is not going to see
both myself and 100 leave camera for a second.
I should grab the fucking book. That's what I don't get.
Yeah, look how to make sure that we're matching today.
Yeah, we got Delaware. Got a, we got a rock that this
of locations to maximum make a fairy Insurance.
Let's fucking go. Something I was like, oh, it's
right next to me. So yeah, so as we get grooving
here, I just need to find this goddamn book, of course, is that
the bottom of the pile. So Ryan.
So today, do you want, do you want to some kickstarter's
first? I think we should finally got
the book. Whoo, black sword.
Heck, you have yours right? Yeah, so we'll go over this a
little bit more, but as Hunter just said, as we may look at us
professional fucking podcasters, really know how to get episode
going to help everybody. Hey, we just started, we'll be
right back. Um, we're gonna be doing black
sword. Hack from Kobayashi the Mary
Marsh, man. This is a hack of the black hack
sword and sorcery more cocky and fantasy.
Very excited for that but it's hundred.
You said we are going to quick do, we don't need.
This is often as much anymore first of all because I think
both of us are kind of like not. I know, I don't pack as many
kickstarter's as I usually do. Oh, I had a problem and like
when we started what was that was that 20 21 and to 2022?
I think was about when we started, right?
Yeah, huge. Huge thousands of dollars just
wasted. I wish I still had made that
kind of money but rip. Yeah.
You know, what's crazy is right at the end of 2020.
One that I still had some 5e projects that I had backed like,
A year or two prior that hadn't delivered and went from went
from like oh I you know I play 5e to man I really want to play
other games to. I play a lot of other games and
five. You kind of sucks to fuck 5e in
that period of time. Like a bunch of projects didn't
get sent to me and then once I get to that, I don't want
anything to do with five. You ever get anything.
I had like five, six, seven, big projects, deliver arm like,
well, great. Thanks for this friends.
Yeah. I mean it's like so I the first
thing I backed was Avatar The Last Airbender and it was right
when we started, right? That when we started and Yeah,
but I my God is that my cousin will play a game like this.
My guests to be rules. I'm I'm more of a, you know?
Yeah, lightweight High get. Okay.
But we talk about real quick. How many projects do you think
I've backed? I don't know.
A ton. I mean because I've backed like
a hundred and something so happy more than that.
A couple more than 100. Yeah. 442, holy shit.
Hey, that's a lot and jaw. Here's two of them.
So the first one we want to talk about a ton is 1978 the night.
They came home from out of a squirrel's him game.
Co anyone that's watching the show, I have a whole shelf right
above me of Adam stuff. Anyone who is a fan of the show
or washed our show at all knows that We are big fans of Adam vas
and World Champ game Co love the stuff that they do.
Yeah. Has advanced this massive
problems is just enormous in just.
Yeah, so don't say that. Don't say that other keyword,
you're about to say, this is no exception to that at all.
This is nice and 478 the night. They came home, A1 V1 Horror
Story game of Supernatural slasher and Resilient to
Survivor faded to Face Off forever.
So this one is really cool. Actually got a chance to read
through the play test documents of this and it is really really
fantastic. The the whole slasher Vibe
absolutely comes through in the mechanics in the the way that
the whole game is put together and it's not just out of a
salon. This it's also Logan Dean who
has done some amazing awesome stuff like the company so really
cool to see them. Was it Mega?
Cool games? Is that the yep?
Yep, absolutely. And Justin I think as well black
coffee and does the art, which is absolutely fantastic.
So this is a really short project, it's funded already but
it only has a week left to go. I think they're only doing a
two, maybe three weeks on this. So if you listen to this you
want to hop on and grab it right away.
But 1978 is a 1 or 2 player horror game telling the story of
a fateful showdown between Survivor and a.
Sure using a deck of poker cards.
Dual rulebooks, varied resources and shared plates.
Bass players will recount. The events of has forsaken
Halloween zoom in closer into the hunting folklore of a small
Midwestern town and its inhabitants, and culminating in
a violent battle for survival. Really fucking dope.
Art really amazing Vibe across the entire thing.
For those that haven't seen the the page or aren't all watching
right now, there's a lot of this dual kind of like half Face art
or there's like half a face of this, like, female Survivor half
a face of this, like, slasher looking guy just looks about as
much of a 90 slashers, you can possibly imagine.
And then the whole thing includes, if you back at the
highest tier, which you should the pools of blood tear for 50
bucks, which is I think really very reasonable, 50 bucks for
what you get. You know, incredibly reasonable,
I'm you get to Unique rulebooks, you get Printed cloth.
Playmat you get ya write a custom poker deck love that.
A lot of people use poker cards when they make projects in there
are like you have a poker deck, right?
This token collection to track resilience fear and fate and the
tokens are like little kitchen knives.
Like it's just a really, really cool Vibe cross the entire
project. It looks really really neat and
it is the right here at the beginning of Summer which is
perfect slasher season. So it's it's fantastic.
I'm very excited for this. There's a day phase and I'm
night phase day. Phase is really setting up like
the events of the day. The creepiest thing that people
notice all that and the night phase is a relation of
functionally. It's like accumulation of
resources to spend the night but yeah really cool.
Fun two player game. Like I'm my girlfriend I are
going to play. It's gonna be very fun.
I'm going to be the final girl though.
So she's going to be the Killer. Just like real life.
Yeah, right. Yeah.
So, um, so yeah, this is 1978 from a world.
Same game coming out of as highly, highly recommend it.
Like I said, we both got a chance to read to read the play
test documents. And I absolutely cannot wait to
get the full bits of this, as far as I know, and I don't know
if it's on here, but there may be a solo player mode to where
you can just pick one or the other and then be Able to play
on your own to the play mat is kind of designed for that as
well. So just a great-looking project
super excited for it. And you know you know us
anything that Adam puts out we're going to fucking we're
going to be true. Yeah so yeah.
And then the other one we wanted to do real quick is called
memory an adventure for mother ship from crab Dominion where
you've crashed on an alien planet with no memory of how you
got there. Your only option is to try to
Escape. Same thing with this.
I've had a chance to chat with crab Dominion.
We've actually got to play the game together recently, very
cool person, great Creator. This is number one of their
inspired Classics to really fun. Interesting Adventure, I've got
to read bits and pieces and a lot of the highlights for it and
it just it seems very Mothership but the thing with a lot of like
really good Mothership Adventures is although it is
Mothership they all feel a little bit different you know
what I mean? Like oh totally.
Yeah. Yeah.
I mean you win Mothership. What was it was it last year the
year before? Were like every fucking campaign
on Kickstarter was just another Mothership Adventure.
I got all those and a lot of them are fucking Beggars like
the people that do this and I think that the mothership
community in general works very well with each other, to ensure
that a lot of their stuff doesn't become just like she
fell but where, you know what I mean.
Like there's a huge support of community within the writer
community of mother. A ship that there is an eye
games and Sean McCoy put together that really, that
really helps each other out of town.
And it shows a lot of that work and not only that before, talk
about a little bit more, a couple of names, you might know
attached to this project. Some of them Christian Sorrell,
meet Castle game where no idea is, he's only edited like 50 60,
this year, and then the artist does Zach Hazard of open who has
done the art for like Fallen. He did Part four of them in a
holder. So amazing artist and fantastic
editor attached to this project. So, just just that alone, I
think would be enough to be go. Okay, well, then this is the,
did I think it is? Some of the art for battlefields
at our blood fills that blacks are station, which is another
Mothership. Heck scroll.
Yeah, from cries wow. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. So again just a really cool.
It can project. This is a 30-page adventure.
ER, for Mothership featuring new aliens and and a new planet
five. New alien adversaries, including
am nodes and star Splitters. A nine area Point crawl, you
know we love us. A good point next crop, attend
room, mini dungeon and a rich compelling narrative.
We have awoken on a strange planet with no memory of
arriving there, it's really neat.
The there's a section here on xenobiology with this just
mature star Splitter from Zach. Zack that terrifying just
terrified? Yeah, I saw this, I would, I'd
give up. I'd be like, okay, this is the
end. So, yeah, there's a lot of times
where I would just be like nah. Nah, yeah, that's fine.
Your that exist in the universe where this is real.
Exactly. So see ya great great looking
project excited to actually get it physically in hands.
As I said I've got to read bits and pieces of it already and it
is really really neat. This is what I would definitely
want to bring to the table. It does it is funded, it does
have 24 days left. The funding goal was 1500 and it
is reached 4400. So by that context, it's
definitely gone way over its goal, but it does have some
stretch goals where that most of which are unlocked more
interior, art editor, bonus, pamphlet.
Venture, some more full-page art is what's left at 6,500, and
another editor bonus at 7500. So, with, 24 days left to go.
Hopefully, we get all the way to the top.
I'd love to see this and reach, its full potential.
So grab both of those projects, we got memory from crab dominion
and 1978 the night, they came home from out of us and Logan.
Dean World Champ game Co and megacorps.
So fantastic stuff and just a quick, kick.
Start the podcast. There and we'll get into this
game. So here are current stuff.
Something we used to do every episode and literally for like
40 we have to we used to have to be.
Can we cut kick? Start the podcast less than an
hour? Yeah.
Ready for some black sword. Heck, oh no, no, no, no.
Good night everybody. Yeah.
Wait, we're still here. Okay, I guess the I guess we're
just going to do the game then so, so So we both love the shit
out of this game. But why do you?
Because I really, really enjoyed it.
You love the shit out of it. Why do you love this game so
much? Yeah, I actually grew up with a
lot of Conan, the Barbarian stuff.
And like, let me say right now that if you go back and you read
almost anything that Robert E Howard has written, including
all the Kona stories. They are incredibly misogynistic
and like not even just vaguely racist.
They are also raises. So I 100% Allah says, we go in
there, go into this but like the genre swords and sorcery.
I've always found this like really enjoyable because it's
it's kind of grim darky without being overly.
So Grim weird, Grim, weird. Grim weird is a great way to
describe it. It's very gritty, it's very real
for a lot of times. And when there's magic, it's
weird, it's dark. And there's kind of a cost to
it. He blew used magic are usually
seen as like. Yeah, they're kind of Of usually
a little bad or at least a little bad and are are like,
there are also elements of like weird over-the-top sci-fi that
kind of like dips head in, maybe not in Conan, but some other
series here and there it's weird.
Is this space for weird stuff? Yeah, I'm into.
So yeah, this whole book, I really, I mean, first off, its
D20 rule under, which if you've not realized, is my ideal way to
go and I just liked the characters.
Put together. I like the use of the Doom die,
which we'll get to and yeah, I think this is a really like,
well-put-together game. It's obviously a hack of black
hack. And yeah, I just like it.
Yeah, I'd be like and stuff. I'd be having opinions.
Hey, listen, your lab to, like, stuff and have opinions.
That's kind of our whole fucking thing.
Um, so yeah, I mean, similar, similar reason why, Why I really
enjoy it. I mean I just think that the
It's simple in all the right ways.
Yes, is always really enjoyable and and the kind of like kind of
class list but not classless, kind of thing, like you said
lead to diseases, you know, like your ability to like mix and
match backgrounds. Like I've made some really
interesting characters, you know, for sure and it just
that's one thing I like about games like this.
And one thing that I, maybe I should bring it back to the top
because I somehow all the way the bottom that I really want to
see an in my own games, I work on and stuff like that.
I love games like kind of like Karen and Eve and stuff like
that where you the Quasi classless but you still have
like a Direction. So yeah, we get into those
things. Those will, it is really
interesting the way that they do it and I like that you're not
completely. Pigeon-holed is by picking just
like one aspect of it which is really neat.
Super great. And then physically, we both got
the book, which is stunning. Because, you know, anyone that
hasn't got Mary, mush men stuff. All their stuff is fucking
fantastic, really very good. The knock books, the fucking
the, the the it's right there, there's the osc for be scary.
Yeah, really fantastic idea. We got the the osc 1.25 you want
the five, you cover was beautiful.
And then the physical book also came with with the chaos crier,
which is actually do. Nope, looking team II, really
hope that they keep coming out chaos cars.
Okay. Oscar for those listening is
just like more material. It kind of reminds me of like
the old like Dragon magazines whatever where you'd like just
calves more material for you to put in your game and so it has
like a couple of Ventures couple enemy types and it was like
really cool. My only my only complaint that
Kaos Courier is that the font is really fucking small.
Um, the bodies are I was like, oh, fuck, bro.
I have to get my first completed that but there are a couple of
minutes, like shit man. Again my room in, we're getting
oh yeah. Give them bifocals on son, but
really very cool. Yeah.
All right. Well, not only that.
I mean the fucking are too. Yeah, from boring.
I'm gonna perfect art. Yeah, I'm gonna say it wrong.
So I'm going to scroll down so that I can get as close as I
possibly can goren. Glitch is what I'm going to say
and I'm that I'm going to apologize for saying it like
that because it's probably wrong.
Amazing. Yeah, if you click on the
hyperlinked name that they have these books hyperlink you can go
look at the rest of their work which is all very cool.
And it's all very swords and sorcery.
Ask yeah, so, so the first this first couple spreads, I got your
in page mode, huh. So my actually for this one, but
there's a really great spread, right?
That part beginning where it's like this giant statue, and it
has this great quote, from Michael moorcock.
The the weird of the white wolf, which is a book that I Not read.
There is no truth, but that of eternal struggle.
Hell yeah. Yep.
And now the Dodges the whole way
through as I was reading every time, there was like another
piece of character art or something, I was like, this
couldn't be literally more perfect for this game.
Yeah, I super gay. So, all right, so two going in
where I think we're jumping past this opening forward, although I
did read it. I did enjoy it.
It's not just talking about kobayashi's experience with like
gaming and 0s. Sr and like what they liked
about and what was lacking and where this kind of strikes.
But yeah, we scroll down, what do you want to start?
Ryan will start the Big D for doomed princes more.
Just a nice little opening that really explains like what swords
and sorcery is. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I both are
really good to read once, right? It's cool to happen.
It basically says like I'm from the 70s.
I remember when when the first Time this batch of game styles
came through and then there's a revolution trying to go back to
it, kind of. And this is what I wanted
knowing both, and that's about what it was.
Yeah. Another great piece are for
that. Mmm-hmm, that's all skull.
And then the table of contents. Which is interesting.
The numbers are hyperlinked, but the words aren't which, is he?
Like, I was just fine. Yeah, I'm just like, I went to
go. Click on the word rules.
No, my oh, and I hit 12 like, okay, that one works.
So yeah, that's why. I mean, people do that a bunch.
That's fine. Yeah, it's cool.
It's cool. Just doing the words on that
point, like to be got bookmarks on this on this SOB as well.
Yes, we do bookmarks AJ blanks and it's a lot of hyperlinks to
like everything that could be really is like the names of
everybody on the On the page that has the names for everybody
like written by art by, they're all hyperlinked hyperlinks as
well. Oh yeah.
Yeah, they're the websites are all hyperlink like you just had
like it references page art and every single one of those are
hyperlinked. I mean, when you got the
downloads for this, there was an HD version and it says an
interactive version, which is what I was using those like,
well, of course against its hyperlink to stuff.
Couldn't ask, for could not ask for more from like a pretty
standard. Book again, like anything
beyond. This is going above and beyond,
having everything possible, hyperlinked and bookmarks is
about as much as you can ask. For this is like one of those
projects where we go through, where it's just such a quality
project all the way through written really well, amazing
stuff like that. This next piece of art is a
fantastic piece of art. I love this like very pale all
white character with this like crass on that's like chameleon
colors almost Most you I'm talking about.
Like it's almost got like an oil slick.
Yeah, totally. Yeah.
Very very Elric. Yeah.
Totally hmm. And not them rules.
Yeah, rules. So turns this really explains
how turns work we've all taken turns before.
Yeah, make sure everyone at table gets a turn.
Essentially, the Crux of this one trying is to actions.
So you get two actions every turn.
To make sure that no one Hogs the spotlight doing a thing is
an action. So they have some really good
examples here. I want you some shopping and
this is like out of combat turns or I'd like to do some research.
And this helps prioritize what the character wants or needs to
do, if you're playing online, it says it's a lifesaver, is the
voids character players cutting each other off.
And obviously, I read this and I have since because I genuinely
had not been doing until now and if you are listen to this a lot
and you think I know a lot, you're wrong.
I let out of the combat via be very free form, but since going
through this have been like, you know, I'm gonna start running
outside of combat as turns as well.
And let me tell you it is like Like, like like that my table a
lot. No one's cutting each other off
mic. Okay?
You guys do that. And then you for so long, I've
had tables that worked so well together.
But now, since I have a lot of newer players, I'm like, oh,
that's the thing I should still, you know, like everyone goes
from table and has their turn, you know?
But yeah, I haven't been doing that.
So yeah, no, it's great. A lot of games, kind of
reference those options where it's like an exploration turn as
opposed like the vanilla game. Does it everytime everytime of
reasons? I'm like, that's a good idea and
I never did it and it's not that this Any different, I just was
like, oh, I should actually do that.
It's I mean, it's a good idea and I love the way that this one
really does. It is like there are some games
we've read. Like I think even like the
vanilla game and dürfen and Electra more carbon stuff where
it's like, an outside of combat turn is 10 minutes.
Here's a specific amount of time, maybe not one difference
because I don't think it really says anything like that
specifically says like it. Very specifically says, a turn
is as much time as As you need for it to take and can vary
depending on what you're doing. So you know, just trying to go
run an errand or whatever a turn is 10 minutes, but if you was a
group want to go shopping a turn is like half of the day, just
whatever it is, that you're trying to accomplish.
That is the amount of time. The gym has decided is your turn
and tell me how much time what you're all doing in that amount
of time. Maybe that's why I, when I read
it, I was like me. I should really start doing that
and I feel like it feels more free to have.
Like, I don't I don't like was like, it's exactly this much
time. It's like, okay, well, fuck it.
I'm not gonna, that's how my brain works.
So I'm not going to use that but yeah, I do the other thing I
really like about this too, is like turns always broke my brain
when it's like very specific. Because if you say, a turn is 10
minutes outside of combat. What did you call the next
person's like go in combat? Yeah, it's a chicken is hard.
It's a hard not to but when there's a capital T for a
specific amount of time and then you have like a lowercase t for
a completely different thing. It's kind of, you know, whatever
I meant the one one quick thing. I want to say about the layout,
I love all the way through first of all, how many examples are
are, but this kind of like it's a parchment background, but
there's kind of this like, very, like slight reddish kind of
faded box over and it literally says, what is this mean here?
Are some example, this is what it is.
It's like these little Explainers the whole way, you
guys, you go. I'm like really.
Yeah, guides the eye to those little red box as well.
And also, they're not like, it's interesting because I was
working on something a while ago, and I was putting boxes on
the page and it was like a web design thinking I was like, this
looks ugly, but now I'm looking at this is like, oh, I have
these boxes start on one side and like very quickly Fade Out,
it's still incredibly effective for drawing the eye, you know?
Yeah. What and it's and it just, it's
subtle in a way that doesn't say, here's a giant outline.
Yes. Which, which sometimes is
fantastic? When we read like dead Halt and
stuff like that. When someone was really
important, everything was white and those boxes were in Black.
I love the subtlety of this also partially because there's
someone like every fucking page. There's so many little examples
and explain hours and every page it's nice that it's subtle.
And you can just kind of cruise with it.
Cool. Yeah I think it was a turns.
Yeah, so such a. So tell turns are coming, we
return. We all understand you don't
understand. You can buy the book and you can
read it again. So attribute test.
So everything that incurs failure is a test and this is a
sane and right system that uses D20 roll under the superior
system. So yeah, you pick an attribute
or the game master pics Nashville.
Food and the player character roles under that attributes core
role on or over is fail or succeed at a cost, which I
thought was really interesting because I love the whole nothing
never happens. So yeah, well under the
attribute the carrot seeds roll-on or over is fails or
succeeds at a cost and there's a good look example of what is
succeeding at cost. This is meant as a way to avoid
a game song. Simply because of a failed role.
Here are a few examples. Tied to specific situations.
Stealth two really good ones like you need to make it through
but you leave something behind study you find the information
you seek but you gain unwanted attention.
But yeah, I really like this. There's a lot of instances.
Where what was that face? Tell me.
I do enjoy this because, you know me, I'm a make success guy,
you know, your D20 roll under, I'm 26.
Um, I like this but I do also feel like this puts a lot of
impetus specifically on to the gym.
I think that him bows from Mac slander.
Did it better in that? It actually Quantified it to a
number. That's right.
Dig quantify. What was that number?
I cannot remember. It was there, it's different
based on like what the number is.
It depended on how much of a When do you had for a non
failure? Because here, it basically just
says, like a failure. All something happens.
But like, is it when you fell by, it's a D20 system.
So, if you wrote, what if you roll, like a 19 verses rolling,
like, right on the number? It doesn't really quantify it.
And that's fine because this is the kind of game where you don't
have to quantify everything, right.
But the way you him bows did. It was so was the exact same
thing, but was so clean. Yeah.
Easy that I would probably bring that system into this.
To make it a little bit cleaner. Yeah I think it's really good
point. I liked it, this is in here
because it gives the like there's a lot not as much in
like maybe the osr seemed like, if you're ever change games and
this is like a sixth at D20 game.
So it's an easy one to pick up a few.
May be lying, I'm more popular shitty game but I think
instilling the whole like, hey failure doesn't mean nothing
happens. Is like a good thing or giving
them the option of like succeeding at a cost of like If
they make a doom rule, which will get to, but yeah.
Um I like it. No, it's fantastic.
Is that it's in here? I like it.
Okay, stop, stop changing me for it, dude problem.
Listen. Um, yeah, so critical success
and failure, no matter what the circumstances are roll, one is a
critical success 20s, critical failure for attack rolls.
Critical success means the character does maximum damage
and adds a damaged. A shout out that because that is
the superior way to do it and whatever the role.
A critical failure means you have to roll your doom die and
mediately, which is a usage die that we will get to I'm Threat.
Level Ryan. What do you think about Threat
Level? I liked love them in night.
Good movie, right inaudible. So in this game with a role
affects an NPC, your creature and their level is higher than
the characters level. The player must add level
difference to the role, thus, making the role harder.
I dig it, I think it, I think it basically, it makes its hard
enemies. Are Are are harder?
Yeah I mean that's a but are the same hard enemy is easier as you
get better. It's a cool quick little.
I love, I love tiny subsystems. Like this is exactly what we
just talked about with the attribute test.
I think this is such a cool little what your level 3 and
their level for. So like when every row you do
you add one because you want to roll under that's great clean.
Love it yep. Yeah.
In the enemies are really, really, very simple.
How they're built in this? So this is a cool thing.
It's like, oh yeah, this is how they're more difficult when in
the role under stem. That's all player facing roles.
So what and it allows, a lot of really interesting balance Ishq
kind of stuff without having to remake every fucking enemy.
You don't have to like yeah, make it bad guy and then make
like the the leader bad guy and then make like the boss bad guy,
you can just make a bad guy and as the when the players are low
level, it's more difficult. Occult and as you get higher
level, they kind of get up to the point where that becomes not
difficult anymore. So, I think this makes I have a
feeling that this makes character like a monster
creation exponentially Easier by not having to find those middle
spots, you monster creation. Does seem incredibly easy in
this game? Yeah.
So group test in the group effort, if half the characters
succeed at their, as we test the whole group, does this is Is a
great thing that we do at my table.
That is never like I only ever quantify anywhere, but it's
great to have it in here, okay? If you're all trying anything it
hath you succeed you do. You do the thing like that's in
here. Yeah.
And then advantage and disadvantage, you know, it works
like advantage and disadvantage to nice.
Pick the higher or two dice pickle or I think there's
another theater that's actually interesting.
It's an advantage and disadvantage can apply to All
Die rolls in. This isn't this includes usage
die which I'm like oh that's kind of, that's actually kind of
brutal. I like that.
Yeah. Yeah.
But what what is a usage die for those that haven't?
We've talked about on the on the game before sighs usage time.
I think this is maybe one of my favorite mechanics.
So usage, die is I'll read their their their exploration.
I'm some things games are represented by a usage guide.
This UD to model the fact that they are available in limited
quantities and blacks or attack. We like to use this mechanic to
represent mostly abstract resources such as influence
debt. These dye should seen as a
pusher luck mechanic. It can grant you some advantages
but also can blow up in your face in the worst possible
moment. Some games use this mechanic to
cop to manage concrete. Like rations or arrows.
Not so in Black sword hack accept my plate because I'll
still use usage. I for that.
But yeah, with the resources used, you roll the usage die.
A result were one or two means the usage.
Die is downgraded to the next smallest die sighs.
So used I-20 goes to 12, 12 goes to 10, 10 to 8, 8 2 6, 6, 2 4,
and then it's depleted and so it's a nice way to track
something that might diminish. Over time.
Like I use it a lot for like, poison or fire or something like
that. Like damage where it's like.
Yeah. You could use a knife 6 poison.
Good luck. Yeah.
Usage. Die are one of my favorite
mechanics that I know that I just don't use.
Look at all, really. I totally use them.
I don't know why I don't use them.
I think that's incredibly clever.
When systems, I mean This game clearly loves usage.
Die loves the shit out of it, and this one really doesn't
really like them. This one does, and then fall and
makes it like their entire core thing is he used to die?
I think it's so incredibly clever.
I think it's smart. I just don't use it.
Like I I use numbers or clocks. Yeah.
And then that's what I just find it.
Easier in my brain for whatever reason.
Did this visually see the thing all the time but it's a great
mechanic. To use.
Yeah, I use a lot. I will say unlike it says here
when it comes to any resources, like it says like oh it's easy
to track 20 arrows, they're not doing that bro.
I'm gonna give them usage diet and arrows and when they run out
of those there you know it'll diminish naturally, you know you
know what I do with with arrows. I think I think it's either in
or inspired by cyborg I love it. You shot all generals and
combat. Roll a D6 to combat.
Yeah, if you roll a one, you got one Arrow left.
Yeah. Yeah.
Plenty of girls because you because you're able to gather up
the arrows, you're able to do whatever.
Like you got plenty of fucking arrows that I'll also love the
idea of like in the midst of combat, you're just fucking
ripping arrows. You have no idea.
How many you grabbed, what was going on around you any of that
shit. So when suddenly combat over,
you look down in your quiver and there's only one left you're
like well fuck me, you know? So that is a really, really
great way to track a actually. Yeah, so that's usage.
I solid examples when you need them as examples on damn near
every page. Yeah, and distances, so it's a
really easy distance. It's close nearby far and
distant. Moving one range requires one
move thing on the length of a turn.
The actual distance covered by the characters will vary for
example, and they have a combat example, essentially like, you
know, close nearby fighting like I'm a big fan of like, you know,
you can move nearby, you can move across a room, you know, a
single turn. Out.
Yeah, I like I like when so it does give a section for like if
you want to do it as squares but I also like the idea of just
like yeah I do like to dance bars in here.
Yeah rough estimates but just I like that it's a little just a
smidge abstracted. Like it's a little smudgy.
You know. I mean like just a little smudge
on the edges. And I like that.
Yeah I do also like that. Yeah.
Moving forward. There's more stuff on distances
and turns. Absolutely check that out.
Perception. Here's a fantastic part, right
here, when characters are actively looking for something,
they find it. Yeah.
It's like, it's like it's continuously on my biggest
complaints about more popular games.
Yeah. If the time if the time taken to
find it is a factor ask for the intelligence test.
If there are many are there on the clock and they only have
moments to find something. That's like a risk of failure
thing, right? But if I'm looking for a letter
in a desk, I'm going to look in the And I either find it there,
I don't, if I may be being chased by the guards and I need
to look really quickly, that's a great time to make a test but if
I'm looking I'll find it. Yeah, that's what we.
This exact example is come up numerous times on the show.
It literally has just like if I say I'm going to toss a fucking
room. I'm tossing a fucking room.
Yeah. Like I'm if you didn't do well.
Give me a 16 and it's just like, bro, I did a fucking scrub this
place down. I didn't miss it like like, you
know, I think it comes up so much because it's just such a
massive deficiency and other systems that it's immediately
evident. When you point out point that
out, you're like, oh yeah, I think it's more than just a
specific deficiency. I think it's a perfect example
of how a game creates a style in the people that run the game.
By the way, the game is written because it is totally true
because Maybe it's a common fucking.
The number of times. I've played a game and the like
things that you shouldn't fucking roll.
For people are forcing you to roll for just because you're
supposed to ask for rolls right without using fucking common
sense. It's just like, I'm just going
to do this thing. Like I'm just gonna, like, throw
this thing out the window. And it's like, oh okay.
Well when you lean up window to throw this thing, you trigger
this, and this, and this, and it's just like I've been I just
want to do that. Like it was it's just a
throwaway fun, like Like you know, my example, right?
My favorite example, I was playing 5e with the group at the
Rock Climbing Gym in the work there.
And my guy jumped from a tower next to a wall to look over the
wall and I had to roll for perception and I failed and
afterwards, thank you for, thank you for doing that.
I almost have to them actually. Just now after like after the
game, the gym was like I mean I really want to see that and I
was like well then why did I roll for it?
Like why did I incur failure? Like if I With my eyes, I would
have seen it right. Like he's like oh I'm like yeah
I and I don't think I, please do you deem or I think he plays
like ose or something because I was like you should try other
stuff. Just comes down to.
There's nothing in the rules. There's not necessarily anything
specifically, in the rules that says force.
People, always roll perception, checked?
Every time they open their eyes and look in a fucking Direction.
No. But it's the way the rules are
written in like, in influences. The way you think about them.
Yeah, absolutely. Hundred percent, like, the way
in which because, because 5e into this quick tangent.
The very first page says, like, make this game whatever you
want, mix and match and Olive know the but, but then the make
it what you want at your own table and then gives you all of
these in extraordinarily. Very specific, very exclusionary
rules to the point. There's even a fucking Twitter
account where people like, adjudicate, Zach specifics of
every fucking rule so you can't just like, oh, do whatever you
want the rules, don't bind you and then give you a light entire
like, bobbing win arguments about right before my action,
not after my action, either fucking way.
The rules are written. If you interpret them like this,
So be very specific about the way that you write your rules
because how you write this, how people interpret it, that that's
him. Absolutely.
I'm also shot this slick looking motherfucker at the bottom of
this page and right option. I don't know what he like kill.
Rick had a baby with Helsing and like this is his boy, you know?
Yeah. So do these know Doom is very
interesting mechanic and Yeah, I do like it.
Am I want to? I want to use it and then I'll
really like it more. I think once they decide to go
adventuring the characters bring the attention of Law and Chaos
on them this represented by the doomed, I each time a character
goes beyond their limits and tempts fate.
They must roll. They're doomed.
I the forces of Law and Chaos can and will turn the tide one
way or the other. The doomed, I is a usage die
when it is depleted, the character has brought Doom upon
themselves. Game terms, the doomed, I is
usually roll from the character takes same action, twice, during
a combat role, which I love because like I hate people do
something twice, so making them do it again.
When they were making roll Doom, when they are like well, I'm
gonna try again. Okay, cool.
Uses a gift that requires it, which we'll get to gifts a
little bit. Later gets a critical failure on
the attribute. Test the doomed, I returned to
his maximum. After each character has taken a
long rest players can choose to call on Doom, roll, doom and
subtract the result from the attribute test.
The doomed, I is automatically downgraded without rolling, no
Doom, die anymore. You can't use actions that
require it and Once you're doomed, I is depleted your
characters considered Dooms doomed and all of their a true
test and damage bowls are made at disadvantage until they rest
um like it nice and brutal. I like the character players be
able to do like use it and burn it a little bit to like make
something a little bit easier for themselves.
Yeah. It's very cool.
I I really enjoy Doom. I love like not specifically
this mechanic just in general. I think that having something
like Doom in a sword and sorcery really reinforces that concept
of just like weird, like darkness, that is really
interesting. The only thing about this is it
is a usage die. It is right.
So but I think it starts at, I think it starts pretty low,
right its argument. Yeah.
So it doesn't, I will I do wish it.
It said in the do A section that you start at a D6, I believe it
comes up when you're building your care.
Yeah. It's in character creation.
I wouldn't have minded it here. So what?
So it goes from like a D6 to a D4 to nothing.
And I like that because you do get options.
Pretty early. But you're doomed, I can
increase its numbers over time. Actually can only increase once
at max level to d8 and that's it.
Mmm, it's interesting. I think the only I have no
problem with this except sucking on my brain goes.
You kind of do I think it just is comes down to the usage
typing because again, is one of those mechanics that I love, but
I don't use because it just something about, it doesn't
settle in my brain as well as something else.
So I really have no critique of this.
Like this, I think I would get to the point of liking this a
lot in practice, although I might consider make a changing
it up. So I might consider changing up
to where I like, Maybe there is another way to increase your
usage. I other than just the leveling
because I think it's only the tenth level that you get UD up
to d8. But point being I would probably
create another Avenue for increasing.
How do I play it in Native for quite a while before I make that
call about my I was thinking literally the exact opposite
where I was like, you get a lot of Doom.
I would I feel like I would reduce it.
A D6 does not last a long, especially if your player Here's
your calls on their Doom died. One time of their choice
immediately goes down to a for real.
That's that but it I'm pretty long rest to completely
regenerates all the way to full. That's the part that bugs me
every long rest to completely regenerate.
I would almost make it even more brutal and say that you have to
roll a die to see if it recharges only to D4 or
recharges up to maximum. Do you mean cool customer?
I just like I've been using usage die.
A lot in the past. Four weeks in my, my bastards
game. It's honestly such a customized
the game so much. It's still bastards.
But also and like a D6 really either last quite a bit or
almost not at all. So my baby, I think.
And I think that's good for it though.
I would worry about making any any more like grittier, but
yeah. So, I mean, it's an Expendable
resource. That's not necessarily.
Like necessary in the game, right?
Yeah. If you are down to one you could
continue the game forever. Never using one, you know what I
mean? Yeah.
I mean, except if you have like a gift that requires you to it,
kind of like if you get locked out of using your gifts, it kind
of sucks. Yeah.
That's true. I mean at the end of the day
since you want more and I went less, I feel like maybe this is
a perfect right here. It probably perfect actually,
yes. Oh yeah.
Combat. Um, yeah.
So this game is called that. It's pretty good fairly
standard. And that is not me saying
anything bad about it. I like this a lot.
I will say it is all player facing roles.
So there's initiative test which I believe is a wisdom test and
then it tells you what you can do on your turn, the crits, the
crits on your initiative or fucking cool though.
Oh, that's right. Critical success on an
initiative. Role means you get three actions
instead of to your first turn which is in fact, very cool.
Critical failure on this new test roll.
It means you only get one action instead of it's up to, which is
also very cool. I agree.
I think that's a cool add on there because how can you create
success rules not super often on and on initiative?
Yeah, I initiative. I mean yeah.
Yeah, it's talk about what you can do on your turn, which, you
know, just keep in mind that if you do the same thing twice, you
gotta roll Doom, melee attack strength.
Test range Tech is decks lot of success.
You deal your damaged. I kill six critical success and
I got lost. I was early but you and I've had
this conversation before rolling double dice for critical
success. Stupid Ox taking Max damage and
then rolling another die. Fantastic.
It's one of my very when I, when I started playing 5e as cuz I
five years, my first rope It is one of the very first things
before I even knew at home brewing was, I was like that's
almost do this instead. Yeah, it's so intuitive lower
like I could roll a 2, you know. I you roll it to that stupid.
You should never be able to relax them what you could roll,
like the I've done that. I've hit it pretty fucking
enrolled like to like A1 and A2. I'm like okay why is it critical
damage? 3 - oh, fuck myself.
Yeah, very cool and then defending.
So yeah, it's player facing it doesn't the Caddo defending does
not count against your actions which I think to us is obvious
but it's always good to have it in here.
There's parrying which is a strength test test and dodging
which is a decks test note. The character must be holding
something to be able to Parry ranged.
Attacks can only be dumped if that's a thing.
I mean I don't see why you wouldn't.
Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, I don't see why that's necessary because I mean so so
when we get to Shields, which we can just talk about real quick.
Right now, Shields doesn't give you more armor, it gives you an
advantage in parrying right a? Yeah.
But if someone shooting a bow at me and I can see them drawing
back, I would put my shield up because I feel like I can hide
it. Hide my shield easier than I can
roll out of the way Panero. I mean it's whatever.
I think it just comes down to. Making sure that like a ranged
weapon is a DEX test. So the ability to dodge it is
ADD excess. I think it's just like a
cleanliness that they enjoyed in the rules, but I would, I would
allow people to Parry Parry ranged, especially and even if
you wanted to tweak it a little bit, if you use, if you are
looking in the direction of the attacker, that's firing an error
you you can Parry. It may be something like that if
you really wanted to make it something specific, but I see no
reason why you can quote unquote Perry a ranged.
Yeah. I I think that I once again, I
think anything on question about this game, I really do like this
game a lot. I would play like native as
written and then maybe go back to the dram.
Be like, how I really feel about this but that what that rule, I
was like, hmm. Okay.
So yeah, yeah, Threat Level for elbows back.
If the opponent's level is higher than the characters
level. Yeah, you're going to add the
difference between two levels to the D20 when making any
attribute test to attack. If the characters level is
higher though, there's no modifier which I think that is
fantastic and hilarious. It's like you're they're better
than you. You're worse than if you're
better than a manager. Just you and like perfect.
I really genuinely am okay with that but I do think that that is
so funny standard. Yeah, weapons damaged characters
are trained Fighters. The damage they caused with any
weapons is the same. It's a D6 there unarmed is One D
for which I like. I like a lot of times we do like
11 damage for unarmed attack, but I like having a D4 because I
like them to have the options, like, yeah, bro.
You can just beat the shit out of some common with your hands.
I mean, realistically, when you look at Deming damage can fuck
people up, right? Like, if I swing a sword, it
you, I'm gonna cut you, but I mean, I could punch you in the
fucking face, a whole lot and kill you too.
I mean, not even the whole lot. Like, you know, like really, if
you go get in a fight with a dude, one good hit or two, good
hit Accidentally kill this person or even is knock them
out. Like, there's plenty of, there's
plenty of videos. You can watch on the internet
where someone gets sucker punched and is just on the
ground. Hello.
So I do like variable damage for for unarmed.
We've just had a lot recently. They were just like oh it's just
one damage from I like know that makes a lot more sense in the
context of like if there are more damage options.
Like you have, if you have weapons at dude, D8 and d-10 and
like all the rest and you really want to like do it different.
But the fact that this is pretty much like swing whatever fucking
weapon who cares or swing your fist like go for it.
I love I really enjoy this. I mean I like systems that have
just like everything is one unless it's like some massive
two-handed weapon and then sometimes it does to in like I
love that. So this kind of feels the same
considering the average of a D2 is like R&D for is like to and
the average of these six is like three.
I mean it's pretty much Swing Away.
If you want it. So yeah I really when I read
this I was like I really fucking love that.
So Yeah, so armors on. Here's to its damage.
Soak. So yeah, fuckin throw.
These are such a good teacher, the one red.
I like that. Yeah, very cool.
Almost skeletal but like there is like still flesh because it's
got that beefy arm. Yeah, yeah.
So good. And this, this, the cultural
aspects of the armor itself are so fucking like sword and
sorcery. So good with this, I totally
kind of like Weird headpiece thing with these two holes like
Dragon situations with this, like, rusted out, patinaed armor
on him and this sword that comes up over and over and over again.
The this specific sword with like this cross bar and
everything, love it. Yeah, very cool.
Um, yeah, so Shield, we just talked about talked about it,
just give you an advantage on your depends test.
When pairing, You see what the last line of that specifically
says, the GM's discretion. They may let you use your
strength to defend against arrows.
A critical failure means that. Yeah, that point.
It's like why even, you know, Specifically say that you can't
and then and then let me on that literally mix later.
There's just there just wasn't really a reason not to put
Shields literally right under defending as opposed to after
Threat Level in, weapons and damage.
Yeah. She write a rule and then
immediately contradict that role like half a bitch later.
Yeah, yeah. I mean I kind of get it because
it's shield into any weapons they attack effects but yeah,
pointing to a weapons you get a damage on damage which is a
great way to handle two handed weapons.
And a sense of not only has one damaged eye.
Yeah, and attack effects. Lee cool.
Little addition here. If you want to add an effect to
your attack. Say so before you make your
ashram, you test and then you make a doom roll.
I also NPC is a don't have access to this.
Yeah, it's just a list of effects that you can cause to
happen. Like disarm.
So you do no damage but targets. Disarmed brutal.
You add the doomed eyes result to your damage.
Yeah. I like this nice easy way.
A to dress up combat and make it a little more interesting.
That's very smooth. Yeah I I love this.
This is one of my favorite mechanics in the entire game.
This is a like a sub like a sub system that I really enjoy a lot
and I really liked that a lot of these aren't Like our feet
specific to a class or some bullshit.
Like anybody can do any of these kind of like combat Maneuvers.
Just by tempting fate with their doom and stuff like that.
And the options are crazy like break or not crazy.
They're just like part of what should be part of combat and I
like they're being a list of it too, because I feel like it a
lot of people in combat the brain just kind of go swing
sword. Hit swing a sword hit.
This will allow a lot of of variants in the way that combat
Works adds a little more story to the combat by making these
like very simple quick little rules like a sacrifice and flick
double damage or triple on a crit but your weapon breaks like
there's some like cool Choice bits in it.
They're super clean. Everyone is like one line long
but there's what 12345678. There's ten fucking options.
That anyone can do anything. They want to add your own to,
you know, someone of the list. And yeah, they all fit, I do
love sacrifice. Actually maybe my favorite one
because it feels really epic. You know.
Imagine creating on sacrifice. You shatter your sword and he's
fucking demolish them, right? Especially the BBG like this is
statistically, it's going to happen at some point where
someone chooses to blow their weapon apart to get the final
kill on something that happened, people are already down the
options here and the way that you they make, Feels like combat
will be much more narratively interesting with these options
to the point that these, I would love to use this system and
like, pretty much fucking everything.
So yeah, yeah, I super agree. It's really easy to slide in
most places. Yeah.
Ongoing damage. Oh, this is exactly.
I use this a lot in my own game. Things like acid poison, or
fired the ongoing damage. So your role at usage, I usually
you D 4 or 6. Each turn until the dye is
depleted. There should always be ways to
stop damage like jumping in water or douse The Flame, or
apply anti-venom anti-venom unguent.
Yeah, but super cool. Yeah.
Yeah, some of the chat, just asked, how would you use that
with magical weapons? I mean, I think it depends on
the setting because if you're coming from feige, we're like
magical, weapons are literally fucking unbreakable.
I think, then that That get, they don't break in, you can't
use break, but in, I feel like in most settings, there's no
reason that magical weapons aren't unbreakable.
Like I feel like, if you want to break your magical weapon, that
sucks for you. There are magic weapons in this
game, but there's only supposed to be like to come in the whole
world. You know, there that's the thing
in this system and weird sword and sorcery, like magic is dark
and weird and onions, men. Yes, you can.
A lot of the times you're just coming across Like decadent
societies and like Pirates and like maybe some weird magic but
like a lot of like swords and sorcery.
It's like yeah he's a weird sorcerer who can summon this one
monster and it's kind of like the Apex of like his thing, you
know. Yeah.
But I mean this is, this is just a, like, an attack effect.
This isn't like a class feature or anything like that, but if
someone has a magical weapon that they are willing to risk
sacrificing, I would probably give them like a little bit of
an added effect depending on the what the weapon was.
I agree. Yeah.
If it's like a flame sword or something like that.
I probably give them like a bonus D4 or something of like
explosion damage or some shit because you're sacrificing a
magical weapon to do it. Give Advantage just something
that gives them a little bit bonus because the cost of what
you're sacrificing is more. So the effect should be greater.
Yes, about this group. I think I'd based on the
scenario, you know? It's like yeah.
You do you're doing UD 8 like crazy damage over time?
Yeah. Cool hit points.
Yeah. When the monster NBC's hit
points reach zero the dead at zero hit points.
A character is helpless unable to do anything except talk
feebly. Fantastic love that they can
talk to people once the fight is over, the character is dragged
to a safe place. I play roles.
D, 6G 6, catch anything from scratched good to go, except,
you know, new scar, Or just killed, you know, I love this.
Yeah, what's up? I love it.
I think this crowd. It's so easy, so good.
This is as much as I want. A death saving role is as deep
as I want that to go. Yeah.
And and, and one through five, because you roll a D6, 1 through
5, you just get D for HP back and get up and keep going.
Like, unless you die, you just get these cool effects to the
rest of your life, but otherwise, Eyes, you're just
good to go. It is not it is not like pieced
individually because you could make this a whole fucking page
long. We're at 1, you get 1 it on HP
back until you get this HP back like much.
Like many of the subsystems in this it's I feel like it's
incredibly clean and get you get keeps it moving forward.
Yeah, there's yeah. I think this is very good with
that. Yeah recovery.
I kind of like this to like in game narrative as soon as they
opted for a life of violence characters, Has have shown
unnatural capacity to heal a game turned.
It simply means that players recover HP by taking a short or
long rest. Everyone else needs medical
attention, several weeks. So short rest, can we take it
anywhere last an hour in the character recovers?
A number of hit points equal to half their con score.
Rounded down long wrist, can only be taken somewhere.
Safe takes about six hours and they get all their hit points,
back their doom and they're doomed, is fully restored.
And Crowns and gives me require a long rest to refresh.
I actually really like this because, like, you know, in the
in like the old Conan stories, like he's always bouncing back
from a horrible injury, like immediately and you're like,
what the fuck? So I kind of like, I always
thought it was ridiculous and I kind of like that.
This is like same Ridiculousness, like you're all
sorts of sorcery. I mean it also it also lets I
mean it almost is like I feel like there's almost an inside
joke for like, how all systems working Ealing where it's just
like you were literally maimed in tortured and died like four
times in combat, but take a quick nap and you're Chillin.
I love that. This is basically like well, you
chose filing. So guess what?
Like people think. It's weird that you heal so
fast. I love it.
I feel like this is so tongue-in-cheek.
And it brings me so much joy. Like I want to use this and
other shit where I'm just like well you guys all became
Adventures. So now like you grow your arms
back and shit. Like I just, yeah, so good.
I was too bad guy, very funny. Others come example on here.
Very solid example, right? Fantastic, really.
And then we get to my favorite part of anything at any point in
time, but just character creation, I'm a character
creation boy. This is how I learn every system
was like, I'm gonna start with this.
This is where actually started. This book is right here.
Yeah, creating a character is a three-step process.
The player rolls their character attributes, picks in origin and
finally chooses a background which I feel like It is actually
more than three steps but it's essentially three steps, right?
Russell will say that this is a 6th at system, which is a lot of
stats and I don't know why, but I kind of like it here.
So it makes sense in the context of like, like, why I mean, is
the black hack is six stats. Yeah, so this is going to be and
I lighten the if you if you again, read that forward in the
beating, the basically says I lived through when games were
being created So like if I'm going to do the actual
old-school mixed with the osr, I'm going to keep it to what the
game is. The only real difference really
is that D20. Roll under which fuck can you
imagine if someone told people in the 70's to do that instead?
How many pages of rules you wouldn't fucking need for like
modifiers and all the rest of that shit.
Yeah, it's it's I think is why I really do like a D20 and I like
the math about it and so I really do like this whole like
a, you can still use D2L. Me and just get rid of all this
like crazy like modifiers and DC building.
Like no, it's just this make oh perfect.
Um yeah, so six deaths, there's strength dexterity, Constitution
intelligence, wisdom and Charisma.
I'm not explaining those. I like to you like I do like how
its explained here though. We're like specifically, like
that is very clearly. Well, it's like strength, Str
raw, physical power, you strength to, and then gives us
an example, bash, skulls, Perry performed.
Abroad. Like every single one of them
has like used X to use con win. Like, I really like how it's a
really nice. It's not just, it doesn't just
say, you know, like, persuasion this that or whatever it
specifically says, use it to do this, these specific tasks
instead of just like broad random definition.
So once again, I just think the book is just so well done.
Beginning to is incredibly well-done and rolling
attributes. So, here is a great way to relax
boots, and like, I'm going to be Ali honest with you, I haven't
really read black hack. So I don't know if this is a
black hack origin but to you, roll to D6.
Yeah, point to it Ryan, you roll to D6 for each attribute and you
know, that score. So instead of rolling like
usually, like you roll in a lot of detailing Rollins, you roll
3, D6, and that's your stat and said here, you roll the number
and it tells you what the score is, which is really great
because it limited, it's only between 8 and 13, which Is
great. Because if you have some enroll
really high at the start, they have a strength of 16 like it
kind of sucks because they're going to pass pretty much every
single test, you know. But this like 13 still pretty
good, but it still leaves a good are like margin of failure.
Yeah, it's interesting to do it this way because most of the
time we see D20 roll under, you just roll your score and that's
what you were alone. They're this to me.
Am I Wrong? Am I reading?
This is exactly what I just said though, but this isn't that?
Now I never before that was like yeah.
Usually we see these one-year-old other.
It's 3 D6 and that's just your score.
Oh yeah. My brain would just not was not
there. I don't.
But you said you'd like to this. I do like this I do.
I don't know if I like this or not because because you don't
like when you have to roll for a stat and then figure out what
the modifier is and it's literally in the exactly what
like don't like, it's not that we don't.
Like that. I we literally this cracked a
joke about being a like man. If people back in the day we
could get rid of all these rules.
We have to roll it over to get a different number.
Instead of just using a number that you were all, just think
that this is a very simple and clean way that deal with a
problem that I'm having a lot a D20 roll under, which is that
you can roll a 17 when you're making a character, you know,
we, we just either just read or, or we just read one where you do
like to D6 + something, it's like to D6 + 3 hearing
something. I did like that.
I also, Liked so see again, that's what, like, when you're
rolling a number to derive, another number.
So for example, like the lowest you can possibly get is an
eight. I mean, so then, but but if you
roll 3 D6, the average of a six is a three, the lowest.
The average is about a nine, you know what I mean?
So like, I don't know. This isn't like it's super hard
or anything because at the end of the day it's not like You're
rolling a number to give you a different number that you then
have to take that number to add to your numbers in the future to
get you a different number. So it's cleaner than that.
So instead of a four step process, it drops it down to a
two step process. But will you have this number?
That's all you have to know. So it's not like I hate it.
It's just like, I feel like, I feel like, I don't know.
Maybe it is. What you just said, we're like,
if you do all three of these six in it too.
Hi like, you know, I it is interesting that it just goes up
to a 13, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.
This is what you want to play a whole night.
It's a really nice way to Wrangle the numbers in a in a
Range where you're not too bad or you're not too good.
Yeah, I don't know if that's the goal.
I think this does it is extremely well.
So yeah yeah. And then we have the next page
of art which is another for great character art.
Pieces. There's so many good ones.
Yeah, yeah. Some really great ones.
And then we get down to origin. So this is Step 2 picking your
origin, right? This is cool because you know it
doesn't it kind of matters later on but it kind of gives you like
an idea of where your character comes from.
I mean, basically the role on these origin tables, there's
three different like major overarching Origins.
There is the Barbarian, the Civilized origin and the
decadent origin. You gotta pick one of the
following Origins for your character of the three of.
You said, we use these words Loosely the way they were in the
pulp novels like a barbarian, like, is not just like a person
from no worries, just like a hero with certain values that
might easily succumb to violence.
And Superstition, a character coming from a civilized culture,
can cherish knowledge and progress, but also be quick to
deem others inferior primitive. Decadent Adventures come from
Doom societies, which could make them glow.
Ami and miserable or Carefree. Just happy to survive, another
day. I meant to be more of like a
jumping off point for how you imagine your character and not
like a way to create a new cliche so there's D20 tables
right? You want to go make character?
Yeah I got I love the origins I think they're so good.
Oh it's such a clean way to do it.
Yeah and on this art this like this redheaded person who is is
blue. It I just got it's just more so
good. Good.
To be loved and making them an and then the three, the three
Origins to Barbarian. What was the the civilized?
And then decadent a so fucking like, I love the way that but
yeah, I got 15. So my for the Barbarian I guess,
what kind of make 3 is ha so on the night, your clan?
My character was born on the night.
My Klan burned, the Empire's Capital nice, hope.
That's a good one. They're really good ones here.
So origin, really like you said in the description here, like it
really just comes down to, like, a little bit of of past, like,
yeah, the, the ways that they use origin and background here
are interesting to me, but it's a neat little bit of
Storytelling, and, and that's about.
That's about what it is. So, it's cool.
I like it. What would you go with?
I have met a knowledge of the future and so I would pick
decadent because I know what kind of character fun to build.
I mean, definitely dope to, you know, I think I would pick
decadent because I Hold on. Because I really want to play
like a magic assassin. This game, and I feel like,
saying, I'm from like a decadent, like, like actual
decadent character background where you're from like a
society, like the low School of like assassin's, you know, like
that would be a decadent Society.
So yeah, I would, I would pick decadent, you know, you know,
it's dope for civilized, I rolled up an 11 which would have
been that I was born aboard a ship sent to find a new Maritime
route. Mmm.
And then if I Decadent, I got a six my deck and it would be in a
museum as part of the permanent exhibition.
How would you define? Like what would you say the
difference between barbarians civilized and decadent is what
makes technique because Barbarian we get, I think,
civilized we get. What?
What, what, what is digging it to you in?
This decadent is almost like the darker end of this.
It's like, the like a bottom and of, like, High Society or magic
Society, or like you No people who like maybe.
I don't like, I want to be like, oh, they owned slaves, but like
that kinda shit. Like it's not civilized world is
the regular people. These are the people who have
like, you know, there's there from a place where the culture
is so alien or so wealthy. That turned dark and turned in
on itself, you know? Yeah, I think dark dark weird
again. Just like everything else.
I think, I think decadent is the, the distilled parts of this
whole setting, you know, I mean like, civilized is like, is
Like, merchants and Military and all that Barbarian is clearly
Barbarian. But decadent like, you just
said, they have poppy fields or they're assassins where they're
from a Forbidden City. Yeah, there we I feel like it's
law chaos and weird. Yeah, that's weird.
They're weird, I would totally pick decadent to, but for the,
for the context of this, I'm gonna go Barbarian cool, and
then backgrounds backgrounds, fuck tremendously.
I love this so much. This might be my favorite part.
So, when you're baking a character, you're going to pick
three backgrounds to are going to be tied to your origin.
And then one from any other lists you, there's some that are
labeled unique. You cannot take two backgrounds
described as unique. They raised an attribute and
they give you another thing. It's a nice way to fill out the
character, both like mechanically and also like, who
they are narratively. And here's another one where
it's like, if my player characters like, hey, I have an
idea for a custom background, I would let them say it.
I would love to bring him to you know.
It gives you a thing and it gives you a plus one.
Yeah, go off. Yeah, the only the only thing I
want more because like you said, backgrounds, fuck tremendously.
Like they I love how clean they are and exactly what you said,
where it is. Not just mechanical bits story,
but to your character as well. So like if I picked, like, for
barbarian, for example, you get things like beserker, which is
your unique, but Scout Shaman Storyteller.
There's so much flavor and every single one of those like
civilized bodyguard Legionnaire, Diplomat decadent changeling,
Forbidden Knowledge, snake blood vicious.
Like they're so fucking good. The only thing I want more in
this would be a bonus, not a necessity, would be a little bit
of guidance and or like, like it written in permission to be like
these aren't the only ones make make whatever you want and this
is how you do it. Quick, give one attribute and
want ability. That doesn't break shit like
just like a one line that said that I think would be the only
thing. I wish there was like more to
this. It just that like yeah written
permission to like do more of that but they're so fucking
cool. Like if I was going Barbarian
like, doing like Like a shaman Storyteller herbalist would be
completely different than doing like a beserker Chieftain
Hunter, you know what I mean. Right?
So fucking good and the individual abilities should give
it to like Hunter, which is in every RPG ever in combat.
Your first Arrow always hits and you add your level to it damage
plus Dex. Let's great.
That's such a good one. So good.
Like anyway. And like you just said, it's
also A way to the fact that you get an attribute bonus to each
one. Like, right off the bat is a
really interesting way to like give slight progression, right?
Right. Yeah.
You bet your little bit better at this.
Yeah, because because you can just go fuck it, strength,
strength, strength, if you want and you say don't wanna succeed.
Just be like, yeah, you're just old powerful.
So, okay, so I picked decadent. So I have Assasin Forbidden
Knowledge and then the take Street Merchants from civilized
so assassin. Your First attack against
unaware. Target is an automatic hit and
it deals damage equal to your dexterity score.
If you have dexterity score of 15, you do 15 damage off the
bat, that's dope. And let me tell you that a lot
of times in other games, when I played as an assassin and
they're just like, oh, you do a little bit bonus damage.
It felt a little like it doesn't really hit, but this because if
I'm like stabbing someone in the back when they're unaware, it'll
it's gonna kill them. And like, frankly, if you're
doing 15, CH damage to somebody there, Plato going to kill him.
Yeah, yeah. Do I completely forgot that you
get to pick one? That's not from your origin,
right? My dear.
Oh God, it really makes this really well.
I love this style of classless. Like I use games like I'm like
I'm specifically thinking of things like Karen and stuff like
that. I really enjoy Karen.
I think y'all did a really fantastic job with Karen, but
like, everybody's everything, like, it doesn't matter.
You can cast spells, you can do this, you can It doesn't fucking
like there's no. I feel like I personally like a
little bit more guidance in that and I feel like this is such a
good way between rolling, your choosing and rolling your origin
and then getting to choose to backgrounds from your origin.
But then one from anywhere else, gives you like a direction to
your character but allows them to not be contained in like such
a specific Direction. Because one of my biggest nods
knocked on, a lot of games is that you were so funneled into
one specific. Pacific thing.
Like if you become a battle master that is all you can
fucking do. Yeah, I'll also this that get
what's what? Like, six to ten different
things you could have picked two from based on your origin.
And then, literally, like you could be like a Chieftain Scout
assassin if you really wanted to as part of your Barbarian
origin. It's so fucking clean and smart
and lobbed. I worked incredibly well.
So God it's so good. I do wish they were more but
also they be so easy to make. Yeah.
Are there are there? I mean, it's been a while since
I read cry or are there more in crier?
Or is it mostly like a patron, sustained fire?
Yeah, they're so fucking easy to make the like I can't believe
there's not more black sword, had content already.
Like this is the kind of shit. I want to see more of, you know
what I mean? Like, I am curious to see more
people like, I don't know why there isn't more content for
this game because I've had, I've never been looking super hard,
but I have kind of looked like, I mean I could I would play the
shit out of anything so doing they would get we are we're
gonna Going to start putting stick it out and it's going to
be for like, let's fucking go. But yeah, just black stored
outside. They're so easy to make, you
know what I mean? Like, that's really so good
about it. Like you could, I mean if people
could make a thousand backgrounds 445 Eon fucking
what's it called? Not drive through RPG, the other
one where they DM's Guild, if you make a thousand backgrounds
for fucking 5e, you can come up with five more fucking Grounds
for, for a barbarian, like, they're the fact that they are
so simple and just for more examples like like pit fighter
under decadent, you're unarmed damage is equal to your weapon
damage and you get a +2 strength.
Like, there's so many rules that come up earlier in the system
that the backgrounds can easily feed into that.
It just makes it a really interesting way to as we said
already to really flavor your class to not pigeonhole them,
and to give a lot of spread to how How you want to play your
character and what your character can do within the
game. I mean the fact that again
besides the three unique backgrounds because barbarians
unique one is beserker. When you go berserk at a D6 to
the damage, you deal the damage received his / to your rage
stops when you roll a 1 on the D6, That's Unique.
That's the only thing that you can do for the.
You can't take a second unique. One in the Civilized one, the
unique one is the inventor, you know, how to build to Scientific
Marvels and you get plus one? And and in the decadent, the
unique one is the Assassin. Your first attack against an
unaware Target is an automatic it as Hunter already said.
So the ways in which you could easily make both unique and non
unique, origin specific backgrounds is Limitless and
simple and easy. As I said, like I would not mind
a little bit more guidance in those maybe in a separate
document, ER, or whatnot. I believe there is an SRT and
maybe I haven't read it deep enough.
But it's just really interesting.
But yeah, so that's backgrounds. What's after backgrounds?
Don't leave without so hit points.
Hit points. Total are equal to your York on
score Doom. Here you go.
You start with U D6, as of Doom, weapons and armor, character
starts with a D6 weapon damage and unarmed and damaged before
starting equipment. It gives you kind of coins for
what you free. What year, what your background
gives you you now, because barbarians don't have shit for
money for to weapon for R2 weapons you can roll 2D tens on
the table. On page 29.
The links may just what's up, is that hyperlinks baby hyperlinks,
that hyperlink merch sometime soon, man.
Oh yeah, that's a really good idea.
Yeah and then a result of 0 or 10 means no weapon with that
role. Yeah and I think silages what's
up? I said sorry.
So suck done stock, the stock but it would be funny to start
with the weapons and languages all characters probably speak.
Iranian Serenity. And there we go.
And another language X, their origin.
Discuss with GM. Yeah, there's that.
I like I like I really enjoy systems like this.
You know, I'm a lawyer boy. I like enough floor.
I don't need a 500-page book but I like a little bit and I really
enjoy you in systems step out of being an SRD a little bit and
yeah flavor flavor into the system.
So like in the context of like the origins and the The
backgrounds and things like that, I really enjoyed that and
I really enjoyed this little section that literally just
taught it. It's it gives you like a whole
bit of World building in the what amounts to maybe 20 words
just by listing a language and just the origin of where that
language came from emmerich, is the caliphate that it and
automatically your brain goes. Oh get it.
Okay cool. Jirka is the iron horde.
Our gig is the northern Raiders. Like so good to just have like
what amounts to a quarter little page bit that just feels good.
And this character art is also do is find a little guy, yeah.
Aristocrat dwarf situation categories are is just so
fucking good dude, really good? Yeah.
And then we get into equipment cost of living, which I like so
much. At the beginning of each
Adventure characters lose a number of coins equal to their
Cod. This represents their it Daily
expenses between two adventurers.
If your characters couldn't or wouldn't pay, they could either
have taken a job or alone and you get to roll on the table
below to set up that job or loan and I love that.
I think it's like a very great way to deal with like, yeah, in
Believers because I feel this is meant to be played very much
like an episodic swords and sorcery tale, where it's like,
yeah, we're I the, you know, the the raid in the red desert and
then like, you know, the city, Sleeping in Amber like these
names kind of Adventures that you go on that there's time in
between. It's like yeah cost you live in
between. Oh yeah I just like this lat I
really did. This is covered.
So yeah I think it's great and again like the way that the the
layout is done here where there's like the tables and
there's little arrows pointing and stuff like that.
Yeah. Just it looks great, the detail.
The attention to detail is just so well done.
Throughout this entire fucking book that it just, I don't know,
I don't know why. There's just such a level of you
can see when we read books where someone really knows what
they're doing and really like picks out all the tiny little
things in very clever ways and people that are maybe like a
little bit less experienced. I want to say in layout and
stuff like that and clearly the most men know what the fuck
they're doing. Very true.
Um yeah. And then there's a great piece
of art of this weapons and armor dealer time showing off their
Wares, you know, love it, love it.
Yeah. And then price list, oh my God,
I love this so much, such an easy way to a Priceless to a
variable Priceless. Yes.
Um, so, it's variable, right? So it's, there's a D6 column A D
6 times, 10, calm, and D, 6 times, 100 column.
And there's a reason why like, item prices would vary, which is
why you think they would vary based on Rarity and scary?
Like it's it's yeah, it makes sense.
I love it. I love it so much.
I don't remember who else did
something similar to this and I don't know whether it was Flay.
Oh, red giant or eyes beyond the Torchlight or something like
that. But like anyone, again, anyone
that knows me knows that I complain a lot about things that
I don't like and one of the things I Being hate is like a
three page list of the difference in the cost between
like a fucking marble in a fucking donkey.
I don't give a fuck like and it doesn't matter because if you
really need a marble it's gonna cost a lot more than if you
don't really need a fucking marble.
So I love that day breaks it down into this concept of like
simple shit. Just roll this medium shit roll
this and really expensive shit role that and I don't need a
fucking list for everything. Just all you have to tell me is
is it a regular? Times 10 R times 100, I'll roll
it and then pay the fucking price for it is so clean and I
loved it so much. I was so happy when I read this
page, I literally was I literally was like, like in a
good way very easy, it's funny because so much of this game
like you just said about how the layout, but knowing I put a game
together, these little subsystems that we keep going
over in this game just like, oh this person knows how to fucking
play a tabletop game because this is so clean.
So Point, well, you know, one of the other games that we've
already reviewed by Kobayashi was play it, play it.
And throughout the entire fan, we kept saying this is not a
rules light game necessarily because it's it had some beef to
it. There were a lot of subsystems.
Yeah, but one thing we came game.
Yeah. But one thing we kept saying
over and over and over again, was its rules medium because of
the number of subsystems that has, but every individual
subsystem is very clean and light was incredibly clean and
light. Like, I think it was the best
gun mechanic we've ever reviewed in my canister.
A, oh my God, I was You think about looking through it, after
we're done with this episode because I was like, oh yeah,
they also did flam. Yeah.
And you can tell that it's kind of the same person just how
clean house clean all the systems are.
Yeah, they're really yeah. I'm I've learned a lot about,
says, subsystems through Reading to of their games.
So yeah, poison and drugs here, A bunch of point.
I like to say here's a bunch of boys and herbs, and drugs list,
according to their effects, prices should vary between six,
Ten and six times 100 depending on the context.
Yeah, just gives you some some stuff you know, I'm you can I
think it's, yeah, it's a great way to do it because it just
gives you like for basically options like anesthetics
hallucinations pain or weakness. So like and and here's what what
you have to do for each one, but then you can make a million of
your own just based on that. Stimulation death healing like
really quick, easy ways, to just give you super basic things that
you could you could write a whole book of poison.
Based on this half of the actually, I think I was about to
say, I think the point of this and the power and the strength
is the context, it gives you for making those decisions self
which I loves, I don't want a game to hold my hand through
every single thing. And this game is a great example
of like, here's context for decision making.
Here's a couple examples, whatever you do after this is
like that's your table. One thing you just said is
perfect about, this is like there are times where you're
handing to be held a little bit and then times where it, you can
just let someone Wonder. And it's such a great way.
There's so many games that like my brain just went to like a
million analogies but I feel like it's those people that put
their kids on a leash and I love that this is one that like will
kind of Hold Your Hand a little bit through some of the like the
the green, like kind of rules parts and otherwise just keeps
an eye on you, you know, it was a great analogy.
Hell yeah, brother. Yeah.
So then we have the weapons table, which is the one twenty
nine-year-old on based on your background, very cool.
It has a little note for two-handed weapons which give
advantage of damaged eye. And then there's armor and
SHIELD suits arms, come with protection rating.
This number is subtracted from most damage the character
receives in combat because there is some some damage that ignores
armor which seems fairly obvious, right?
Weirdly enough. Metal armor is not great at
start at stopping fire. Yeah, once again, great examples
then you can just expand on those as needed.
But yeah, so moving on to experience each time a character
survives an adventure, they gained a story, write down the
title of the adventure, on your character sheet, or you can make
one up. I will name every Adventure
playing this game because it's very classic swords and sorcery.
The black God's kiss Dusk, and soothe all, you know, like very
classic. Yeah, but characters, gain the
level once they have never stories equal to current level.
So if your level one, One the first time you finish it in a
venture, you name the adventure and you level up.
Fantastic a like keeps things moving forward.
It's very easy to understand. It also is great because I love
creating titles for stuff and so it'll create it will challenge
me at the table, the title every adventure and like personally,
like I'm looking for more games play episodically and this is a
great one to pick up. It's just like yeah this
episode, you know. Yeah level and Associated
benefits. Oh yeah.
It pretty much every other level you can increase an attribute up
to 18 and you get 1 HP. And on the other other, every
other level you gain a gift and you get plus 1, HP.
So, U plus 1 plus 1, HP, every level.
And you either get an attribute boost or a gift.
And then there's rule for to slow.
You can increase the pacing, which you're absolutely can do.
So, next page is going to be gifts though.
Yeah, gives her do. Yeah.
Well you got say, what you think?
Run. No, I like it.
It's clean. I mean the only the only thing
that's interesting. It's not interesting the after
your initial creation of your Origins and things like that,
there's no real way to because it is your background.
Technically, everything comes down to just attributes and
Gifts which is interesting. I think it would be kind of neat
at some point. Want to be able to, like, learn
a new background. Maybe like something like that.
Like something through the course of your adventuring, you
know, if you if you're a barbarian and you learn to read
and, you know, it's a little something, I think it'd be cool
to like have an option to maybe like, Homebrew, in like, being
able to pick like another background or like a new
background at some point, but unnecessary not necessary by any
stretch. But I think it'd be cool to kind
of toss that in. Yeah, I think that's like almost
like expanding upon gifts. About to go over, maybe a good
way to handle as well. So real quick, aside here we've
not really been talking about the Lord but there's this
constant theme of law chaos and balance in this game and we have
kind of like mentioned that we mostly glossed over it but is
like a fairly narratively important thing.
There is not like a 3X3 of alignment it's more kind of like
is your character a little more chaotic they little more lawful
or they little are they right in between but also it seems like
it's kind of have to match. Either if you don't want to.
So having said that each gift can only be taken once gifts can
come from the powers of balance, chaos, or law, a time may come,
when these choices affect your character, the GM will find more
information about this in the end game section on page 70,
which we probably won't go over them a stream, Because by the
book, but yeah. So gifts gifts.
They're pretty much they're up. They're almost like Feats, you
know? yeah, I mean it kind of accept
that like a lot of them are I feel like a lot of them are more
passive than active like they give you a, give you something
like because it is a gift versus, allowing you to do
something. You know what I mean?
Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so like for example like
like bloodlust upgrade your damaged, I buy one size so
that's like just the thing that you that you get but then you
get something like battle-hardened and give some
law where it says in combat you get a crit success on an
unmodified role of one, two, three.
So like, Like I mean, I guess that's again that's still just
like a like a passive little bonus that you get.
I guess the concept. The fact that it's a gift really
make sense. The word, really fits.
What you what you get here? What did any of these really
strike at us like what you would immediately take?
I'm so because I was building like a magic assassin, I was
thinking I dark Revelation because if you fail if you
totally with your magic roll, you have to make a roll on the
torn Veil which can suck up really terribly and just gives
Advantage on that. And then maybe, like, once
again, kind of same parent, I was looking at chaotic stuff
because I'm me paranoid, give advantage on your initiative
test because I did while I was making, like an assassin like a
magic assassin, you know. Mmm-hmm, yeah.
They're there. This is once again, ripe for a
million more. Let you read a whole book that's
literally just more Origins, backgrounds and Gifts like armor
of Scars is dope. Like that's really lean into the
Barbarian, not wearing armor bit, you know.
So really cool. Really like it a lot.
Hell. Yeah, brother.
Another really cool spread some just like, I like this dart at
this. It's like this big dark thing
and like area. And there's just one guy kind of
fallen through it. On the panel of bark above dark
packs. Yeah, it's very like it's the
ocean but it gives space to Internet space oceans.
Yeah. So dark packs and other vileness
sign. A pact with a mortal creatures
made of devious rage deviousness.
Rage and hatred. You're welcome to try.
Such Bargains tend to blur the lines between master and
servant, whatever your orange original intentions working with
demons and practicing magic. Me and you'll be serving chaos
in the end. Yeah, use possibly this game
gives you rules for sorcery game packs.
Be reliance's very ties and twisted science.
It doesn't mean you have to include them all.
Yeah I would probably include them because I like weird shit
and I'm like pile on me. We are bro.
Can I get some more weird? On my plate.
Yes. So we have to Deep dive all of
these, but so these tie to your backgrounds right d.
Impacts going to tie to the Warlock background.
This one's kind of the most. This was really interesting
because this is the one where you roll your doom die, which is
a more limited die, but the effects of a demon pack can be a
lot grandeur. Um, all of these have like a
failure table. So the demons revenge is, if you
fail, which is your doom. Die rolls one, there's a side
effect. These are local demon.
What's up? The demons are advantages.
Are so fucking good though. Like the like so it so it's a D6
table but like the the demon pays itself in your blood is a
fucking dope on or the broken pack like you literally can't
summon it again ever. Her again.
Yeah, it tastes so good. Yeah, I like that.
It just a hip. Here's a Netflix 3D six damage
before wandering off in the pack is broken up so punches you and
it's like, all right. Well I'm gonna go.
All right, demons are really powerful but they are out.
There is like a very easy, Marge, are big margin for
failure on this one, like you really can fuck up terribly,
which is why taking like the gift dubious friendship.
I think it was called, which gives you an advantage on this
role as, like, not the worst idea in the world.
Yeah. Demon manifestations like as a
rule demons are never seen as they don't need to appear
physically to influence their target.
I like that a lot. I don't know why but it's like
always like you see a demon's? Like no, like are like invisible
and like very dark under nature. There are there's a role table
for like, how to find the demon you seek and how the creative
packed is, like written there, a little blurb.
There's also types of demons to this.
Very interesting. When you are invoking your
demon, there is a thing that happens on a 1, right?
And so, usually, it's things. Go incredibly arrive.
Like, I think one of them is that you make your target fall
asleep, slot. So, if you invoke your slot
demon, right? Ryan, you're going to do that to
the cause a Target to fall asleep.
If you roll one, that's heart, falls asleep and never wakes up
and I love that, I love that. It's like oh on the one.
Kind of what you want to happen happens.
But times a hundred, it may it's not exactly what you wanted, you
know? It's interesting that it's a
one. Because, well, because it's so,
are we saying these things are good things, or bad?
Things are just weird things. So, it's on a one-on-one on your
doom die. So it's a failure.
Oh, okay. Yeah, sorry.
I'm broke for a second. So then yes, it's very much how
a demon would want you to fail, which is you ask a demon for
something it's like, oh yeah, you want that thing.
Here's that thing. Weigh more than you wanted it,
the Leprechaun movie where it's like you asked for something but
you you got it. What the other thing I think
maybe that's something that like just popped into my brain.
Real quick was I like wind systems and this isn't like a
big problem or or anything. That obviously not big enough
thing to notice before I like, when all the numbers are the
same. So yeah.
That your nails on the rolling one is bad.
Yeah. Yeah.
So like rolling the water and everything is good, except for
your usage, I which reduces your usage dye so like, it's yeah.
But yeah. Anyway, so good.
So yeah, there's a lot of different examples of demons and
what they do and then there's the option to make a free-form
demon, which I would be interested in doing.
We're instead, you just invoke a demon, ask it for something.
It seems like the Big like outlier with this one is like
when you they do roll a 1, how do you make it worse for them?
But I think holding on to that very Insidious like a demon's
going to do. Yeah, I'll do what you ask for
it, you know like but it'll do it in a way that you initially
didn't want. I think it'd be fun though as
the game master. It's so good II, love this part
here where it literally says, what you decide the tricky part
is coming up with the backlash. Like so there's this little bit
of like explanation, right? Here I would have loved this
same thing in or in the origin of background section.
Just this one line that says like here's a way to do Origins.
This is the part that you know, you need to pay attention to.
I would have loved something that just says Origins and
backgrounds and Gifts. These are the quick ways that
you can make more and then and then just go.
Yeah. Yeah I hear agree.
So yeah, very cool section. Spirit alliances.
So this is going to be for the shaman background.
And basically, you, they're not demons their Spirits from the
spirit world, which is a parallel world to ours where
there are no demons. Shout out that world.
Yeah, and so you're the common Spirit.
You roll your doom, die with disadvantaged Elliott, all them.
By the way, when you're rolling with these is disadvantage if
you've already called upon them once today.
So the first time you just roll regular second time, Well, I
guess it's doomed. I as well I just I'm I didn't
realize that I mostly can be honest.
I focused on sorcery and fairy tales because I'm me and that's
exactly what I would do. So yeah, Spirit there are uses
more open-ended any other type of power each period has its own
guidelines. The goal is to help the player
make good use of their powers without going overboard.
So there's like several different types of spirits.
There's ancestor Spirits animal Lord Spirits disease, fire
forest, hunger, pain, River Wind and they all have their own like
kind of how those individual things work and it kind of work
the way you think. Like a diseased Spirit,
woodworker a hunger Spirit work or animal Lord.
And I believe they all have a like a backlash as well.
Like one, the shamans infected are affected as well.
Those are rules. As for sacrificing your spirit
Alliance, which you can choose, a sacrifice that relationship
was spirit and your granted, a huge effect, right?
Like a fiery Spirit, create massive Firestorm.
So on so forth. Very cool so good.
Yeah, yeah. Can we just say I was?
Oh, yeah. And also the shop instructed to
different spirits to, which I really like.
So you can like it's not just picking one.
Yeah, those are the there's a spirits and then once again
there's another like creating a pact and then like rolling on,
you know what? Prices Spirit ask for.
Creating a pact. Yeah, very cool setup.
And then yeah you know my next my favorites coming along right?
Yeah sorcery um it's sorcery. I love source for this is for
the Forbidden Knowledge back on. You start with 4 spells B.
These are random you roll randomly for these and there's a
reason for that is because there's a couple on here that
would fuck up the game entirely. If you were able to stack off
and together but as a player character I'd be like oh well I
want an adventure to get these spells.
As you know, and as a DM I would let them do that.
So this is gonna be an intelligent test which you know,
casting spells, we have you, if you cast a spell again on the
same day, you do so a disadvantage if on failure.
Crystal you roll on torn Veil which I referred to earlier.
As the thing I would take like the advantage on none because
you know, I six a tentacled monstrosity appears and takes
you to another plane although that kind of sound sick Yeah,
range and duration other, like, unless otherwise stated in its
description, you must be able to see the Spells Target kind of
makes sense, right? And you can learn a number of
cells equal to your intelligence score, which could be fairly
High. You know, it's a pretty good
amount of spells. Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, yeah, felt
it but yeah, there's a lot of very cool and unique spells in
here, but I would very much. Just you buy the book and read
forget, it's a D100 body 100, but there's a loving it.
It's adding is 50 because it's one or two as one.
I think it's a list of 50 spells rolling a D100 because you get
know, like, three, four and five give you animate mirror.
So it's interesting how sometimes There's two.
And sometimes there's three, I'm curious.
Why they why? 20 21 22 Yeah like 15 16 17 13
14 11, 12, 8 9 10 6 7 there it seems like there's either it
assigns two or three numbers to different spells, but Achilles
counters, like 40, something like 4142, some spells, like,
super jump out at you is like what exactly does it do?
100 is like 100, is the best one.
Maybe not. I've been at the one.
I would choose for myself that I just think it's really At
withering, your target has a strength and vitality of a
ninety-year-old for the next six hours.
And that like Okay. Like I just won this fight.
Yeah, that's fucking so good. What about you?
I just rolled a 69 nice Bourbon, please.
Yeah, so the red trap is the really good one.
Yeah, make a small pool of your own blood dope.
Losing to HP until the Spells canceled, anyone stepping in the
pool cannot move further. That's dope, I love that.
I think it's so cool. Um yeah, there's a dead man's
map is a cool one, the blood of a dead creature.
Or draws a map, that indicates the rough location of its
murderer. Like I don't know.
It's good. There's some spells are just
like, yeah, there's like acid blood and stuff and like with
her and there's some of their just like.
Well, that's weird. Yeah.
And I love when magic is weird. Yeah, well, I love this is
another place. Every single one of these is
jizz. Again, I said before, when the
mechanics built into the lore, like the demon types and all
that kind of stuff, really, builds the Lord.
And in the mechanics, the spirit types.
There's very few Of these spells that are like, yes, that is good
and fun and people would enjoy if I did that, you know what I
mean? Like, everything on these beers,
they spells is dark and fucked up and like, really, and I,
they're so so clever. Yeah.
I really liked how weird it was
and then yeah there's another like finding and learn new
spells and then like where is the spell?
And then we get on to bury ties. This is from changeling
background. Very this was a very unique one
because this one is actually like you take them to ties to
the fairy realm and they just kind of give you something.
Well my favorite ones just because I like it actually
there. They're all really good but I
like called them gold because I'm very pragmatic.
You own a magical gold doesn't worth 100 coins and that's just
like a good bike one, gold coin that always find, its Finds Its
way back to your purse after one date Dawn's.
So, you just spend a hundred and then one D, eight days,
essentially, you're just gonna get it back.
It's so funny and I could just the hijinks of this but just
Yeah, I really like this one and then, and it just the, the
variation of these, like, four types of, like packs is so
smart, and so, well done. Like I was just saying like
cold, iron weapons Elfin secret silversmiths.
Sorcerer Skinwalker, the, it feels so unique to compared to
the other ones. It's not just like, let's just
reskin it to be like, elfi shit. Like it's actually like, really
Really well done. Individually to separate all
these out. Yeah.
A super agree. Yeah.
And then, Twisted science another one that I like I, you
know, I glossed over it. I'm not much of the adventure
guy. I'm trying to make deals with
demons and casting spells. Yeah.
But well, so this one's for the adventure backgrounds and this
this it adds a little bit of what I hate in my world but is
done in a good way, which is technology.
Into my weird fantasy. But basically that's exactly
what this is like you get to build gadgets and invention
specifically for the inventor one that and your gadgets have
inventor points. So there are costs associated
with building your Gadget and then there are usage dies
associated with that too. But it's he's Twisted science
Marvel so it feels very like it's not it's not steampunk shit
which I love. No, it's definitely not.
Yeah. Acid.
Spray blood tinted spy glasses. A freezing Warhammer
hallucinogenic gas. Like, I feel like it's just on
the cusp of technology, which I really love.
Yeah. On established in any way,
shape, or form. Like the metal owl, the
automaton is the only one that I feel like really pushes the the,
the the technology a little bit forward.
Other than that, like, I feel like again, it's just like, very
like This to me, this like image here of the metal owl with,
like, the giant thing feels. I don't know why it feels so out
of place to me. Maybe I can get a read my sword
and sorcery actually. Um, what page is that?
Give me a page number real quick.
I'm 45. I think that's actually
something from the best jyri and that's where the Patriots.
I think it refers back to it later.
Okay, he breathing on my way. I mean, it's creating new
objects steampunk novels movies and animes are a great source of
Twisted science Gadget. Take the 19th and early 20th
century items and add a dash of Madness.
I love everything about this game and then I would just tear
out these like, three pages, big technology guy.
I just, I just don't Don't I think every other aspect of the
setting dutt would not make me when I got to this part.
I felt like it felt to me, it felt very anachronistic but
yeah, I don't I don't mind that it's in there for people that do
like a little bit of tech in the world.
I would just ignore this and not let people not like people, like
pick this part, right? Very much.
You. I can't find what I was looking
for, but I'm sure I'll find it eventually and send it to you
and be like, there's what I'm about.
So runic weapons. So these are your Magic weapons
and there's almost none of them. They're very powerful.
There are very few of them in the world.
They are like associated with chaos, law, or balanced, and
they're like, I think every like follow like a mortal followers
tight, like, of these things tied to a blade, but yeah, they
give you a cool weapon or a cool little roll table.
For building them. Yeah, very interesting.
I rolled, I love this. I rolled a ten and eight and a
seven, so it's I roll the naginata of withering.
Death, withering death. Okay, sit, I'll take that all
day. Yes, Auntie this immediately
drops me right back to the world while I go.
Yep. Breunig weapons is what I would
use now technology. Yeah, real good.
Open has the intelligence Corps. It's rolled the same way as the
characters does a school tour. The GM makes an inch test, which
is interesting because GM doesn't almost ever do like role
at all. But this one G and makes it
tests for the weapon at the beginning of each session, if
successful, the weapon will kill the character, if they become
helpless during that session. So mothers have a very powerful
weapon that will in fact, kill you given the chance.
So good. Love it, love it so much.
Yeah. And then there's Really weapon
properties, which times layout, like what it does, I think is
very cool, very easy way to build a ramp up and blah.
So it's like I like, it's like this is not a thing that they'll
see. Like there is an example world
and one of the appendices and there's literally like two in
the entire world created by you you would you could build a
whole campaign or multiple like adventures in your like campaign
because a whole campaign I didn't do the math.
With on it, but you'd have to how many games do you have to
get to, to retire? Like, I imagine, it's like three
say it's an existentialist from 2 to 10, so it's like 30 issue
or some shit or whatever. I can imagine a whole chunk of
that, like, five to ten Adventures around finding it, it
fucking you all over, and then trying to get rid of it.
Like and it would be super dope. Yeah.
I mean this is like the kind of
thing like, oh there's a great evil rising in the west because
one leader of some band, got this one weapon and now people
are just following him because like, oh, yeah, he he's holding
the with arethat naginata of withering death, you know,
right. He's got a deep voice and like a
weird bowl. Cut, long situation like yeah,
perfect. Yeah.
I think this is really cool. And then the Beast here, which
Is here. So it's really great school.
It gives you in PC stats on the Fly and have a make them.
It's also nice because they they like section A lot of this like
here is a type of enemy and here are several different ones
within that type. It kind of gives you some more
on each of them as well. I really like this.
Shout out to serpent folk because they're always serpent.
People always my favorite. I love the like first
civilization is like snake people.
And like this is what's left of them?
Always great, never gets old. By one of my favorite cliches
and swords and sorcery or like fantasy.
Um, yeah, swords power snakes baths, Snakes first bad.
So yeah. Very first, what do you fought?
What do you find on the corpse was another one.
I loved a lot. I did like this because it's
like Hey listen like it's a person so really you're not
going to find like you know, You're going to find a body part
like yeah. Yeah to so yeah.
And then we get to create your own world which was really cool
guy that were actually really read through this.
And I really enjoyed this, they lay out like their game, their
world and ideas and like some stuff you can use like lands and
governments people kind of the law and Chaos aspect of it.
Like what do the main antagonist of either Force?
Look like What do their troops look like whether in pyres look
like, and then way later I think getting the palace 70, it talks
about balance, this place between law and chaos.
And then the endgame what your the campaign looks like them
towards the end. Yeah.
And there's like more stuff. There's creating your own City.
There's a lot of honestly, this is actually maybe some my
favorite appendices and Any Adventure game ever?
I read all of them and I enjoyed all of them.
They were all really good. There's some Adventure seeds.
There's some straight-up Adventures.
There is a city, there's a world, someone built.
There is a list of like touch points.
Yeah, there's like a plot generator and I, it's really
very useful. Yeah.
It's it's like you just said, like the tables for building
that weird world and all the things that you need.
Like, it turns prep into a couple of dice rolls and then
just letting your characters exist in the world.
And it's so well done. Yeah.
And then the the part the the the appendix, like the running,
the game section, like the GM guidance section is also really
really well done to. I mean we see this a lot in in
in some things but this I feel like this one was so concise and
if someone a chapter said, the advice from the great old ones
where it's literally like quotes from all of these swords and
sorcery officers like Howard and moorcock and Lieber like in an
imperfect world, the Mysteries were always without solution.
That was why there was always a great choice of solutions.
Like it's takes the quotes and breaks them down into like how
you can ascribe the way that these people wrote their worlds
and what their Adventures to the way that you write your world
and write your adventures, like, it's just and then, and then a
whole like solo section, like solo rules.
Oh yeah, very cool. I did see that as well, not just
with solo gamer, but like I do like it is here, you know.
Yeah I yeah II Love solo adventure games solo like
writing games. I think they're fantastic.
That is not the way my brain works.
I cannot focus on something long enough to just write shit but
the the then the literature section here, I love that.
The first law and shattered. See from Joe Abercrombie is on
this list. Because yeah, first law like the
Logan, bloody the bloody nine and is to me modern Sword &
sworcery in a really interesting fun way.
So just today, so good. I was wondering.
Did they put CL more on this list?
Oh I just want to know. I remember seeing Marco's.
You could you could read the black God's kiss which is
another great source of history or in fact you know there's a
really great creator that we know who's working on a black
dots kiss project. My boy might be I died too
though. I do love that that Jack Vance
and Gene Wolfe are also on the list to like there's a really
interesting like sword and sorcery into like kind of like
the evolution of those things that that were That are really
good too and even Comics like means world of desserts to share
books but people were like Rave about them.
I know that I know them you know.
I got the diner set from DC nice.
Yeah yeah I mean that's cat Vance and Magic is something
that also but yeah we have you already have you read book of
the new sun? No idea.
Listen I gotta be honest then says fuck.
But so good. But yeah, I mean, just all of
these appendices like, the the dark Gods Oracle appendix.
Like Cosmic usage dice, but I love those.
Pretty cool. Just all the way.
Beginning to end even impossible creatures.
This book is so well done. What I see everything that we
just went through the number of appendices, like the amount of
art, everything that we just read and then I see them.
A book and it does not look like a very big boot.
Seriously, I close my mind for, like, a couple of weeks man, and
I was like, oh, there's like a lot in here, it doesn't feel
like that, you know, but there is a lot in here.
There's even like a, there's even, like names and obviously,
like cool, like, like nod to the, to the Book of Job.
Yeah, the character sheets are fucking beautiful.
I like him. The soclean.
They're very clean. Yeah.
Where are ya? That all and like the sword down
the middle and stuff and the logo thing it's just, I mean,
yeah. I mean, but also the system is
like super easy and I also love that the character sheets.
There's like four character sheets.
There's like a sideways one. There's this like kind of like
short haffey haffey one where you could literally print it out
and like fold it in half and have almost like, well, my one
character died. Let's roll over into another
character and then I don't love David.
I mean, the glossary, yeah, my after the glossary and after the
sword there's that Conan. Quote that I love, which is if
life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion and being thus.
The illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with lie, I love
I slay and I am content which is one of my favorite kind of
moment because yours like is he supposed to be a barbarian but
also like He's? He's a very fairly deep
character. He's very intelligent.
We have encountered in the books.
Definitely has a level of sophistication to his blood
loss. That's a really crazy.
I've never seen the movie. You have never watched like the
Conan. Arnold.
Schwarzenegger movies. Bro, I literally watch one the
other day like I didn't get to talk to all things as ADHD but
like they're all over fucking like Netflix and stuff.
And thank you so much for everyone.
They just raided 20 sides to every story.
I appreciate it. So we are just wrapping up our
read-through of black sword hack and we're going to hop into the
rating system that we do for 400 games.
Very biased. I really, really love this game
so that's fine. I enjoy being being objective
about a lot of this. Stuff.
I love the game too. I think it's incredibly well
done. And why does this keep getting
worse? As I make the screen bigger.
I accidentally messed with our Zoom windows before and I feel
like I'm just making it worse. Every time I do anything, there
we go. That looks better.
So black sword. Hack the weekly scroll game
review. The way we do this.
Since it is a full-size book, this is the book.
It's fucking beautiful. We break, are we, how do you
quantify a tabletop role-playing game?
We try probably unsuccessfully, but we break it into five
categories. All of which are given value up
to ten points, each five is not bad, it's just bang, average.
One would be really bad. The first is the art and style,
this covers the style of the are the quality of the art, the
Quantum of the art, but also a little bit of like, the, the
layout as art and style the style of the Layout artistically
with it. And then when you get to layout
layout is really more about readability, navigability.
All of those things like functional size of the page.
The functions rule set is if it's a unique rule set, is it
good? Do we like it?
If it's an adapted, ruleset, how well is it adapted?
Do we like it? Originality is a very broad,
kind of like, catch-all one where it can be originality in
the ruleset originality in the setting, originality in the art
style, like all of that, all kind of Calm down into one and
then value is the bang for your buck mom.
It is the not only how much you pay for the original game, but
what you get for the amount of money that you spend character
sheets, open licenses extra content, you know, all those
kind of things what you get for all that.
So, art and style wise, what are your thoughts?
So this is a pretty good one. It's definitely not, not an art
book but you know, this pretty much art every two to three
pages and the The art is fantastic.
Is incredible, is amazing. It's contiguous it reinforces
the vibe which I love we love ya for me.
This is like a good, like a strong 84 art.
Yeah, I think I think easy peasy a eat.
I just think for a lot of the art, almost all of the art I
think is, is character art, right?
And fair. Full page is not a lot of page
like endures or like little small pieces as you go which I
think would really bump it up to another level very few, but at
the same time there's not a lot of pages that have like I don't
think there's any pages that really have like an empty spot,
you know, there is that there was that Helsing dude was like a
partial pay, just a little dwarfs guy.
Was a partial one. Yeah, yeah.
Oh my God, no on weapons and armor and shields they were
spaced. Maybe throw like a part of one
of those or there is space to put more stuff.
Which is why I'm just like, why? I don't think it's a 9, but I
think it's a very strong eight. Yeah, I don't, I think I agree
with you. I mean, like you said
specifically like the equipment page actually has like, a good
like quarter of it at the top that's just like empty, could
have put, even just like a like a like some type of like running
thing across the top or like a little thing at the bottom.
I mean, yeah. 88 side ait's a really, really solid art score
for a game. That's not an art book and I
think that this is a hard a like easy easily.
Fantastic. Just the art from from Goran is
fucking beautiful layout wise, pretty straightforward, two
columns. Only a couple of pages kind of
break that up a little bit like the equipment like you
specifically the weapons, things like that.
But navigation wise, I mean, no man.
So I wish the book had a bookmark but that's the bonus,
not a deduction, but the the hyperlinks are fantastic.
There's I haven't found a broken one.
They're everywhere. You could possibly want one.
If it references, another page, there's an inline hyperlink.
There's bookmarks. There's one thing that some
people forget a lot to is links to the people in the books
stuff. Absolutely.
Yeah. They're like you can pardon
corner. Yeah.
I mean it all that's there. Yeah, I think it's incredibly
readable. It's a dark.
It's black on a basically white background with a little bit of
like a parchment texture to it. It's readable, it's navigable,
it doesn't necessarily Blow Me Away with like the bonus
features, we really feel like you know the the color-coded
shit and bookmarks and all that kind of stuff.
Right? Where are you with this?
This is another strong eight. Yeah, I feel the exact same way.
I think that this is an easy 84 that.
All right, getting into the ruleset.
So I've read the black hack, but it's not the system that I know
like the back of my fucking hand, right.
So, how well, it's adapted. I feel like a lot of the core
bits of it are there but I don't know how many I can imagine that
a lot of these subsets aren't in the black hack.
Like demon packs and shit. So what do you what are your
thoughts on the the rules? Overall, I love this rule set,
it's a really great example of a D20 roll under system, and I
mean, that's a black black thing, but it's also a great,
like, example, like Flay. Oh, of Awesome.
Subsystems. It has amazing, subsystems that
all fit in really, well, that I really enjoy.
I mean, the rules that's always really hard one for me because
to me, this is about as good as a rule sets gonna get for me,
you know? Um, Maybe change, I'm going to
things but like this is a strong 8 to 9 for me for ruleset, you
know. He's a yeah easily. 829 for me.
I mean I you know, I love for D20 D20.
Rolled over what role under is the best.
I think that there's no rule that I would change without
playing this game about 50 times first, but there are some rules
that in my brain. I go, I absolutely understand
why that is done that way, it's consistent with the way
everything else works, but my brain would like it done
slightly differently and that's only in like one or two spots I
think again, I don't know necessarily how well is adapted
from Blackjack because once again I've read it but did not
research it but much like fly. Oh, The subsystems really shine
in the way that the game is designed.
And I also think that it shines massively in the way that all of
the systems, reinforce the playstyle that I think that
Kobayashi was going for. So what do you think world that?
I mean, I am between an eight and a nine on this.
I'm probably an eight on this. I mean, I think that more, like,
kind of out-of-the-box Unique Mechanics or what I shoot, For
things more, like neck or Nautilus style stuff.
You know what I mean? Like things were.
You like, words are your power in your life?
I think this is like an easy and easy eight, almost nine terms to
a saw, Hey listen, AIDS all across the board, you know?
Yeah, I mean, those are solid fucking scores originality.
So, this one's interesting for me because it literally is genre
original, like it. All, I could genre emulation
like, that's, but Um, done in such a good wet.
Like, I've seen a lot of sword and sorcery games.
And I don't know if I would say that, any of them were better
than this. As far as I, this is without a
doubt, my favorite swords and sorcery game.
Like, if I wanted to play Conan or Elric or anything like that,
there is nobody that for this one, my own weird, like, weird
Grim fantasy. You know, like, yeah, I would be
using the system. I will be actually using the
system because I fucking love this game.
Yes, originality. The thing is, like, yeah, is
genre In, right? It's like you go to the back of
the book, The appendices and they're like, yeah.
Like this is you, it's swords and sorcery.
Like, these are all great, touch points.
Like you literally have quotes from the people who wrote the
genre, like you can't get much more emulator than that.
So yeah, I mean, maybe it's not the most original thing in the
world like its use of genre, I think is like really good.
I think it does suffer from the fact that like I don't know if
it's innovating on the genre at all, you know?
It's not know. I just it's modernizing it
though. I do think it is bringing a
genre that's at this point 40 to 50 years old and putting it into
a system for people now, and I can imagine people playing this
game that haven't read a lot of moorcock or anything like that.
That would do would bring that in.
No. What do you think?
Yeah I think I'm thinking another 81-82 like I'm because I
mean not only not only again, originality is kind of like I
don't want to say it's the dumb stat here but it kind of where
everything falls, you know, I'm not not in a bad way.
It's kind of like where everything goes.
Like, if there's a thing that I really love about the game that
doesn't really fit into another like rule or another one of our
metrics. I added into originality and I
think one, That someone just said in the chat to all of the
appendices, I think really Aid in originality, because
customizing your audience, the world generosity generators.
There's a really great tool the tools in this, the subsystem
tools, the role tables, they're all so, Top Notch.
Okay, so value, let's talk about value.
So this game if you get, it is $31, American mother brought my
brother, it does have a little bit of a pricey shipping if you
are getting it from. The Mary marshman is 12 dollars,
shipping right. But dude, there's so much in
this book for $31. It's a crazy amount of stuff in
this book and it's a beautiful toward back.
Its sorry, we couldn't hear that Ryan because your mic works.
But yeah, mine. Yeah.
It's a beautiful hard pack and it's not pod, which means it's
not glossy. It's a beautiful cover.
I mean, I love The like this black Edge on the side we didn't
even talk about like the made by humans logo thing here.
Yeah and yeah the other thing too is like this book.
This came out a little while ago, I feel like it kind of came
out like maybe right as like mid-journey started to be a
thing and you could really only make like maybe cool backgrounds
for it. Not like people making like
anime chicks and you know what I mean?
Like, yes. So the fact that they went made
by human, I feel like pretty early on in the context of like
fuck a I are in your books, get pay.
A real person was interesting but the book itself for $31 I
did not expect it to be so cheap.
Realistic is that's genuinely for what we go over.
That's pretty crazy. And also like to add on chaos
car with we can't touch up a. We're not going through today is
eight dollars. Eight dollars and fifty cents,
right? But like there is two Adventures
a location. And a subset of enemies.
One of the things you said early was that the font is small,
because it's cool much in it. It is packed page page.
Let alone is months of play. Yeah, I'm hungry.
Honestly, this I would expect this to be closer to 40 plus,
and I would expect this to be an easy $15.
Yeah, told the in neither of them are that.
It's It's pretty high value and I think with the world generator
the customization like the, I don't know what the person's
name is their world. It's already in the back, you
can kind of piggyback off of like the GM section or whatever
where it's like building your own world and like how like it
gives you ideas for all the areas like mean.
It's not only not only that, right?
Like, it's it's automatically built on to what is it?
The the Creative Commons 4.0. So that means that yeah, the,
the text of the game is in CC by 4.0 and on top of that, the SRD
completely free on the merriment website so you can easily use a
lot of resources for that. It is directly on the website
itself, super easy to use and then there's a whole section of
compatibility logos that you can toss on as well.
I mean, and if I remember correctly, I have somewhere safe
to my phone. Someone made like an interactive
character sheet as well. That is that is really well
done. When you think of this one, I
mean, you know what I'm thinking It's against hate.
I think Anna made I think it's Nate as well.
I think this is just yet there were there was more stuff
content created for this game it would easily be a 9 but like I'm
having a hard time finding more content creator of this game.
If you have content for Creative this game send me the link, I'll
buy it. I mean, but here's the thing, if
it's not I don't think it's an odd that there is not that other
people haven't made stuff for it already based on the game by
itself. You know what I mean?
I just, I, I honestly cannot believe that we didn't see a
million fucking games made after this came out like, yeah, I
don't No why? And I don't know like would it
just be Adventures? Like because I mean that black
sword hack is a hack of the black cap so if you're going to
hack, the black sword, hack your the black sword had khaki.
They were just hack squared at that point but like I'm
surprised there aren't more Adventures.
I genuinely am someone in chat so a good thing.
Could you not use existing black hack stuff?
Here's the problem is that you probably could, but I really
deep dive black hack, honestly. So, I mean, I guess you could
write I mean, there's not there has there can be that vast of a
difference. You could be, you should be able
to adapt at least. Yeah.
I mean you can adapt but I feel like I don't I mean I guess
there's ton of black hack stuff but I don't feel like Blackjack
is a weird sword and sorcery. The game, you know, based on
Market. So there are some black hack
Adventures that are like weird fantasy for sure.
But yeah it's kind of its kind of more open.
I don't know. I'm still pretty good with Nate.
Yeah. Oh no.
I'm solid. I mean for to get above an 8 in
general, the game with you'd basically have to give us the
game like at this point mark, Borg got a tin.
When it first came out because of the amount of like content
that they were putting out for it.
And at this point the game is literally free.
Like you can literally go by the Plain text version the game
entirely for free and have about 1000 Adventures for and that's
why that gets a 10-8 for a Name that you, you have to buy is a
really high score as far as the value, but it's because the
amount of content that you get within this what I still think,
I still must be paid sickness or something.
And on top of that the pages feel very like, like thick
magazine Pages. There's a slight gloss and like,
like smoothness to them. That's really, really gorgeous
again. Like, I don't, I maybe I'm
looking at the wrong people but II would think that I would, See
Adventure every other week for this, but regardless, that's not
a knock on the game itself. That's a knock on all of all the
people that are not making good shit for a good game.
Overall, a 40, which is a really fucking high score.
I mean, the highest score we've ever given out as like, well,
like a 43 or 44. So this automatically puts in
the top tier of all the games that we've ever reviewed, and I
think that's exactly where it belongs.
I think everything about this beginning to end.
I think the rules are fantastic. I think the subsets are
fantastic. I think the It is fantastic.
I think that the Polish on the game is fantastic.
The layout beginning to end. I mean, I just think that
everything about this is an extraordinarily professional and
Polished and well done and everything.
You could possibly want from the game including World Generation
and literally guide into based on, like the authors of the game
of the books that the game is built on.
I don't think there's anything more.
You could really want from this. And I think it's fucking
fantastic. Is this where you thought I'd
be? Is this where you thought it'd
be? Yeah pretty much.
I kind of figured we'd be in the in at least like the very high
30s or low 40s. So yeah I think it's fantastic I
would play the show this and we should.
Yeah, that sucks. That's black sword hack.
So for those in Chad here because I don't know if the game
this will definitely not be out on podcast before it happens.
But tomorrow and the following day we are doing a really Fun
batch of stuff. Last week we play we chatted
with the guys from on a table and got to play some triangle
agency and then now tomorrow and Tuesday, we are doing another
really fun. Interesting thing, we are doing
one night at the shelter would in.
This is a crossover reality at crossover Adventure written for
both liminal horror and trying latency from Josh Kaminski and
K. Sean at Layton T.
So we are actually going to be playing the adventure twice.
Once with lemon horror tomorrow and Hunter will be running that
stream with a fun group of players Kirby from disaster
tourism. Andy from here on the adventure
archive and on Tuesday I will be running that stream in Triangle
agency with myself with Leona which is a person that we will
link all of their stuff to and with Christian's realm.
Eat meat. Casul gamer say, yeah, super
excited for that. So you will see shelter would
end tomorrow and Tuesday in limit horror and trying latency.
Super excited, very happy, stick around for that.
This is the weekly scroll podcast, this was the black
sword hack. You can find us on Instagram at
V Dot weekly that scroll. I'm falling behind again.
So we'll see what happens that you can find us at on Twitter at
weekly underscore scroll and if you could go to YouTube, The
Adventure archive, find all of our EPS, all of our stuff and
hit the Subscribe button. We Are Climbing towards 850 and
get into 1000 is going to be fun and interesting.
So do that and catch us next two days.
And I think next week in the plane is mouse, right?
All right. Yeah so for that we will see you
all later. That is our episode Hunter.
You Beautiful Bastard. Have a good evening.
You can't good. Bye everybody.
Bye bye. Bye.