Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Talk about the life consuming, celibacy inducing hobby that is all the rage these days.
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VoiceOfReasonPast
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by VoiceOfReasonPast » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:23 pm

A glorious double post to talk about a strange trend in the world of tabletop wokeness: Diverse Tabletop RPG Anthologies (tm), usually featuring a collection of random micro RPGs that you can stuff into a single book (because micro RPGs have a low page count).

There are entire publishers that focus on this stuff. They usualy try to guilt-trip you into buying them by highlighting how most of the writers are female and/or from an exotic region like Latin America, and that they never "got the attention they deserve" in this *white* tabletop market.
You might be wondering why these are always anthologies. Surely the world of digital distribution makes it piss-easy to sell them individually. But that's part of the other sales pitch: They keep harping on how all the wonderfully talented and diverse writers get equal pay (aka you have to pay a premium even if you're only interested in one of the games advertised).

Of course this is all marketed from an ignorant Burger perspective. Actual RPG writers from Latin America or other places aren't these poor, downtrodden individuals who aren't allowed into the big boy clubhouse because they're just not *white* enough.
Regional RPG markets can be very insular. Every tabletop community worth its salt has at least one big national RPG that plays in the major league with the likes of D&D, but never really seems to leave its home market.
Part of it is likely money. Margins for RPG books can be pretty slim without having to pay for a translator. RPGs from English-speaking countries have it easier since you generally have an easier time finding someone with enough English skills to translate them into your mother tongue, and even failing that you can probably just release it in English and still find enough customers. But how profitable would it be to find someone who knows Portugese to translate some animu RPG from Brazil?
One of the countries that probably got the most attention in terms of translations is Japan, but even then there can be years between a new translation, and they never really make a big splash.
And finally, many national companies might just be happy being the big fish in the small pond. Trying to break into the English-speaking market might just not be worth it, because it's already oversaturated. You're never gonna be as popular as in your own turf.

Take Germany for example. Das Schwarze Auge aka The Dark Eye (aka Realms of Arkania if you're a hardcore PC gamer) is one of the biggest RPGs over here. They've tried to dabble into the English market with the 4th edition, and are doing it much more earnestly with the 5th one, but I can guarantee you the vast amount of people playing it digitally on Roll20 and shit are German. TDE itself just isn't terribly interesting if you have no investment into the setting with its decades worth of lore. In fact not even the Germans are too attached to the system itself (I swear every fan site has a list of alternate systems, ranging from conversions to Savage Worlds to heavily-streamlined forks of the main system).

Plus that Latin America one might be a scam. It's spearheaded by two blokes form the UK. Are these Latin writers even real?
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wulfenlord
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by wulfenlord » Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:31 am

The waters on KickScammer ocean have been calm the last 2 months since my last post (except for Voices forays). I hoped not to see any diverse, inclusive, or agnostic (yes, you heard right) RPG projects until next year. I was wrong. So now in this end-of-year-extrrravaganza I bring you:

Riding the coat-tails of Strixhaven, hipster virtue-signalling campaigns, and lastly, history revisionism by some queer communist disabled Scotsman

Steamforged Games does some creative stuff to check out, but this time they are riding hard on the virtue-signal-train, begging for funds for their newest miniature campaign:

Adventures & Academia: First Class

You guessed it, if you ever wanted miniatures for your Strixhaven Queerdos playing their mathematician Owlkin and/or Combat-wheelchair-cruising cripples:
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I mean, yeah, it's quirky and creative somewhat, but what tabletop group goes on a shopping spree thinking: "Alright, time to pick characters for our next campaign, lessee.... we could do with an Elven mage, Human fighter, Dwarf rogue, oh, we totally need representation, let's throw in a Faun bard in a wheelchair!"

Next up:
lofi bards to study and relax to: A Chill Fantasy TTRPG

(in a monotone Daria-voice) Wow, a Fantasy RPG written in all lowercase, where I can play a a bored, slacking student who tries not to exert xemselves - now my life is complete.

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At least the slacking Game Designer is humble and only asks for 500 quid. He is obviously queer, but at least according to his half-assed flavortext he isn't parading it around:
SpoilerShow
I'm a Scottish Director, Writer and Game Designer with a deep love for all things weird and wonderful. My work is all about fun, friendship and connection, and I'd love to be able to share it with as many people as possible. Keep it weird out there!
Thus he gets a pass from me, meaning I won't put him on my personal list of dissidents to execute once the Transpocalypse is over.

But oh boy, have I saved the best for last. I felt physically disgusted delving through this guys campaign, and so with great pleasure I share it with y'all :3

Carved in Stone -
A system-agnostic setting guide to Scotland’s Pictish peoples, for players, historians and enthusiasts of all ages!

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From here on out it's red flags one after another. First of all, as a system-theist, I have NO respect for any cowardly fence-sitting agnostic!

Then: easily discernible tumblr-artstyle. Including muh BIPOC scotsmen
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Motherfucker must be furious from Kingdom Come, I presume.

Followed by a brief description who this book is for. First: Roleplayers. Ok, so far, so good, but why the long campaign subtitle? Care to explain?
  • Learners. Readers of all ages can learn something new and exciting about their own past from this book, whether at home or in a classroom.
  • Historians. Carved in Stone will platform new voices in academic spaces, helping broaden the discussion of the past in comparison to today.
Yep, indoctrinated propaganda, I can just smell it. Just say it clearly, forfuckssakes.
We have the support of key experts across four different sectors (arts, archaeology, education and heritage) to create a vibrantly beautiful book exploring the past. All we need now is your support, so we can make it and give it away for free.
There, was it so hard being honest?

...

Wait - free?
Yup, you read that right!

History isn’t owned by any one person, but by all of us. So, after a period of early access, we’ll be digitally releasing Carved in Stone under a Creative Commons license* (we predict mid-2023).
So, leftist propaganda to be given away for free. Then what's with the ridiculous asking fund of 15k pounds?

https://www.patreon.com/doad
Hi! I’m Brian (he/him). I’m a queer and disabled TTRPG creator residing in Scotland, and I’ve been in and around the indie scene for a few years now. This Patreon was the original starting point for my award nominated publishing house, and throughout every book it’s been a place for me to share some novel ideas I’ve been baking alongside my big releases.

Fling me a coin!
Most of the money I make from this Patreon goes right back into new Dungeons on a Dime projects. It’s an excuse to hire new illustrators, play with new tools, and make some conventional (and sometimes unconventional) gaming materials.

In the back catalogue there’s plenty of battle maps, adventures, creatures and stat blocks. I aim towards system-neutral content nowadays, and always have something coming out every month, even if what it is surprises even me.
Tiers
My tiers are very simple, as I am a very simple man:

£2 - All the bits. You get whatever I release this month, and mostly everything I’ve made in the past, too!

£5 - All the bits, but smugly. The same as before, but you get to feel good for buying me a coffee :)

£10 - All the bits, and a head pat. You get to feel smug, support indie TTRPG creators, and I’ll give you one (1) head pat at an undesignated point in time in the future*.
Why are all the tiers the same?
Because I’m neurodivergent and this shit is really hard. I just wanna make stuff and get some pocket money, I’m too tired by all this capitalism stuff tbh :(

*I reserve the right not to pat your head if you are terf or something else that’s pretty gross.
Ok, Brian, because you are a beggar and a thief.

Also, according to your own words, unemployable: Understandable you need to self-publish with your own scam-company then. Just a word of advice: Drop the boyfriend - the beard just screams pedophile: But then again, you communist Kotnascher probably are, too.

Lastly, a challenge. How long can you last listening to the games writers boring drivel about the nothingburger of a campaign setting?
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nfah Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl muh'fugen bix nood

Whenever you feel down :3
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rabidtictac
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by rabidtictac » Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:47 am

Why would someone date a clone of themselves? I don't understand this. Jim Spergeling did the same shit before trooning out. That brian tyrell guy is who I mean. What the fuck.
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by wulfenlord » Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:03 am

Encore: Yes, in casual conversation I also drop this question. After all, it is important to immediately alienate the opposite person with radical extremes.

I can just assume how fun this guy muste be at parties, with quotes like this:
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nfah Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl muh'fugen bix nood

Whenever you feel down :3
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VoiceOfReasonPast
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by VoiceOfReasonPast » Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:14 am

He's certainly infinitely self-deconstructing.

And "lofi bards", you say?

>powered by the Apocalypse (tm)

Of course it is :roll:
The core of the study rules focus on managing your character's Stress. You can push it higher to increase your chances of success, but push it too high and you'll Freak Out - losing all focus and ability and falling into a melancholy that must be soothed before you can get back to normal.
This is more simulationist than FATAL, at least by modern standards :lol:
As it's an Apocalypse game, I assume most of the Stress will come from other player characters. These games have a thing for generating inner-party drama.

So how does the book look like?
Image

I would certainly gain Stress and Freak Out if I had to suffer through this font.

And that Pictish thing?
Contemporary archaeological research proves that Scotland has always been a multicultural, multilingual and socially diverse country, as it still is today.
It may have been multi-something in many ways, but not in skin pigmentation.
Fading empires - the Roman empire collapsed only a few hundred years prior to the 7th century, and remnants of their culture, traditions and settled soldiers still impacted day-to-day life.
You do know the Picts have never been conquered by Rome, do you? They built a wall up there, you know?
Britons south of Scotland are like actually diverse since they've been exposed to other cultures and religions through invaders and colonizers.

(I assume the Rome connection will be their main excuse for black people.)

And why even bother? No matter how diverse you make this, your target audience won't care about your primarily *white* setting. You think SJWs care about learning Gaelic so they can properly pronounce shit like Caledfwlch?
wulfenlord wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:31 am
At least the slacking Game Designer is humble and only asks for 500 quid. He is obviously queer, but at least according to his half-assed flavortext he isn't parading it around:


Thus he gets a pass from me, meaning I won't put him on my personal list of dissidents to execute once the Transpocalypse is over.
Speaking of virtuous queers:
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Advertized as a tabletop RPG, though it's really more of a skirmish game about gonzo hyper-violence gladiatorial combat (with a heavy pro-wrestling flair) where the PCs blast freakazoids in multiple waves, like some kind of video game.
At least one of the creators is genderfluid or something (as evidenced by all example characters having their pronouns listed for some reason), but they don't seem to have much of an online presence outside of Discord. The art is certainly not tumblr, more like the scribbles of a kid that has only ever been exposed to action figures, Warhammer 40k and heavy metal. It's dumb and stupid, and I can't really be mad at it.
Autism attracts more autism. Sooner or later, an internet nobody will attract the exact kind of fans - and detractors - he deserves.
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by Guest » Thu Dec 02, 2021 12:14 pm

VoiceOfReasonPast wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:14 am
You think SJWs care about learning Gaelic so they can properly pronounce shit like Caledfwlch?
I think that's actually Cymraeg, not Gaelic.

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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by VoiceOfReasonPast » Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:37 pm

Cachu ("cachu" means "shit").
Autism attracts more autism. Sooner or later, an internet nobody will attract the exact kind of fans - and detractors - he deserves.
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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by VoiceOfReasonPast » Sun Dec 05, 2021 7:34 am

You know, I just wondered: Will Cucked in Stone talk about slavery?
Autism attracts more autism. Sooner or later, an internet nobody will attract the exact kind of fans - and detractors - he deserves.
-Yours Truly

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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by Guest » Sun Dec 05, 2021 8:48 am

wulfenlord wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:03 am
Dummy, the 1920s aren't Victorian.

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Re: Basements & Beards- Analogue Gaming Thread

Post by Guest » Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:47 am

VoiceOfReasonPast wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:14 am
Contemporary archaeological research proves that Scotland has always been a multicultural, multilingual and socially diverse country, as it still is today.
It may have been multi-something in many ways, but not in skin pigmentation.
He's not wrong exactly, he's just too autistic and stupid to understand the facts. Scotland has always had two broad cultures - highland and lowland. The northern coast had a lot of cultural exchange with Norwegian sailors and traders. The Roman occupied much further north than the wall and the cultural and race mixing created a distinct culture in area that lasted until the 1700s.

So scotland was somewhat multicultural and multiethnic. Just not in the way he thinks.

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