#169: Elden Ring, Wuxia, Links
I. Dear Reader
Been incredibly sick all week. Have gotten zero work done but have been recuperating alongside Elden Ring. The game was on sale and I had heard that unlike other FromSoft games, you can run away from monsters. That’s all I want really, the option to not learn how to parry and instead run away. And it’s been tremendously accessible and rewarding. I’ve never felt the kind of excitement and joy and wonder for exploring what’s around the corner in a game before. There’s some drop-dead gorgeous vistas to experience. And also some really freaky beasts and fetid swamps. But also gorgeous vistas. There’s a lot of creativity and artistry on display here and if you’ve held out because you’ve heard the horror stories of Dark Souls, Sekiro or Bloodborne, I think you might want to give this one a try.
Honestly, it’s making want to play some fantasy tabletop games after a long time.
(There’s a small cottage industry of help, advice, how-to guides, etc to help you with the game. You’ll probably need it because even as the game tries to accommodate many skill levels and playstyles, it’s not obvious how they’re doing it at the start. I’m playing a mage and while that makes adventuring a little harder (because you’re so squishy), it also allows me to stand far away and hit monsters and run away if they look too scary. )
Yours runefully,
Thomas
II. Media of the Week
AA Voigt shares his deep excitement for Emily Zhu’s new WIP tactical wuxia game, Ten Thousand Days For The Sword.
Party of One celebrates eight years with a great run of one shots as usual. I highly enjoyed this one called Upon A Pirate’s Sea with designer Kendo. It’s a testament to how good a show it is that this was the first time the designer played the game but with Jeff Stormer, it came across as creative, smooth and fun.
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III. Links of the Week
In the “big IP” corner of tabletop RPG news, Dicebreaker reports the legendary Diablo videogame is going to be adapted into an RPG.
Egg Embry interviews the husband-wife duo Carlos Hernandez and CSE Cooney about their unique card-based game, Negocios Infernales.
On reddit, an interesting post where user RollForThings summarizes a video about the “pitfalls” of the boardgame hobby and how they resonate with RPGs as well.
Sidney Icarus talks about their WIP game, The Tapestry, which tries to let players choose the stakes for every action that needs to be resolved and discusses what resolutions actually are.
Not about RPGs but a great historical dive into monsters and monstrosity, relevant to all you fantasy worldbuilders.
IV. Small Ads
All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.
Vergence, the game of dimensional conflict and family drama, is crowdfunding in November. Explore infinite worlds, make use of cosmic powers, deal with complex politics and ancient forces.
WW2 game Deployment is now crowdfunding! Deployment includes fast-paced combat, a campaign that tackles important social themes, vehicles, and more! Back the project here and receive a limited edition print!
DAGGERS & HEART is now LIVE on Kickstarter! This hack of Lasers & Feelings uses the best die, a d12, and costs only $1. Plus, get instant access when you pledge!
This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.
High concept scifi game full of lost memories and a big mysterious ship, Nibiru.
Funnels for Dungeon Crawl Classics, all bundled up like your level zero NPCs
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Hey mate, thanks for the mention. A pleasure to be included alongside such wonderful names.
I always get nervous seeing TTRPG adaptations of stuff like Diablo or Dark Souls. Because for people who start the hobby in giant unwieldy trad games like D&D 5e, the first time they dip their toes outside to try something new will often be with a big IP game
But these big IP game often are THEMSELVES giant unwieldy trad games that are barely distinguishable from D&D! And so they don't go out adventuring into new games.