#Mob’s character design session

[krazycat6167]

So @somerandomdudelmao made a version of their sona in a dystopia (inspired by @tapakah0 doing the same to theirs) and the person in this ask named the robot C.A.S.5 and I thought, ‘well then there’s at least four other C.A.S. units out and about in the world’ leading to this being the end result! It was a lot of fun to come up with the different customizations each C.A.S. unit has.

also, the design for C.A.S.4 (Cash) was partially inspired by @mobiitez post.

Doodles:

[trashyandtiredsol]

:D !!! Very urple (just noticed after posting that the quality is bleh :/, even when you click on the picture)

@mobiitez

[indierpgnewsletter]

Itch Roundup for August and September 2023

Welcome to the bimonthly round-up of interesting games released on itch.io. Like every edition of these, this one is also jam-packed with the creativity, joy, and weirdness of the itch design scene.

Hark! Says the Frog Magus: An ENNie-nominated, system-agnostic dungeon delve born out of love & fascination with all things amphibian, gets a new version which looks wonderful. (Diwata ng Manila, Dinoberry Press)

Bracknell Horror, Roseville Beach Zine 3: I recently checked out Moonlight on Roseville Beach and it’s a really interesting Psi-Run hack for running very pulpy, very queer mysteries with a cosmic horror angle. I think if you like Brindlewood Bay, you’ll also really like this game. (R Rook Sutdios)

This Mortal Coil: This is setting/hack for Liminal Horror with a weird sci-fi bent. You’re “a space traveler-turned-necromancer on a quest to achieve eternal life by constructing a magical device known and… mastering the forces of the Negaverse”. Seems like a really lush production. (David Garrett)

Dolly, We bought A Dream House: Barbie-inspired game of building a dream house. Think a map-drawing game but way more pink! This can be played be solo or with friends. (Plotbunny Games, also available in German)

Bxllet Clip, The Pinxp Issue: Celebrating the third anniversary of the very punchy, very metal gunslinger game BXLLET, a big zine with expanded content for the game, including a whole new hack by Adira Slattery about girls with demon guns. Most indie games don’t ever get long-term support so this is really cool to see. (Wheels within Wheels Publishing)

Eleventh Beast: A solo monster-hunting trifold game with a very slick design and heaps of grungy Victorian vibes. Exeunt Press, publisher of the Ennie-nominated Exclusion Zone Botanist, do very good work.

Esper Kids: A free one page Lasers & Feelings hack of middle schoolers with psychic powers, inspired by Mob Psycho. Also, someone’s first game, yay! (Robyn, Bitbirdy)

Hiss, A Village Doomed: A creepy town, a pressure cooked scenario, dungeons, NPCs. This is a horror-themed, 30 page module with some great design, meant for an OSR style game. (Idle Cartulary).

Coffee & Chaos: This is a coffee shop game where you bring your characters from your main game (D&D?) to play a one session of low stakes alternate universe shenanigans. (CobblePath Games)

Adventures in Purva City: This is an alternate setting for teenage superhero game Masks. It’s a far-future Mumbai/Bombay and comes out of a huge West Marches style Masks game that I never got to play but have heard lots about. Very cool! (Illicit Peanuts)

-------

My usual disclaimer that I haven’t read or played these games. Usually, I have only seen their store page. But they look cool and sound interesting and they might be something you want to buy. Or you might give the creator a follow on itch. Go wild!

This was originally published in the Indie RPG Newsletter.

[briarandhissecretgarden]

Drowned Thoughts

Hello!!! Here's the Drowned discussion post I was talking about before the small break, I have a few things to touch on and a new character to show off!!

Drowned in my canon can be separated into two groups, those that are the drowned people, and those that are the undead. Drowned are a complicated case because we all understand the Drowned in MC are zombies that spawn or are converted to living in the water and of course that happens in my world too!! I wouldn't deny an interesting feature like that!! I imagine water has a lot of magic within it and since its used for potions and such, a lot of magical waste from failed potion attempts or large brewing sessions culminated as pollution in some areas. Even then, I just feel like zombies are susceptible to magic and transformations especially, having a Husk variant as well. Very adaptable species.

However, I have a species of the Drowned that are people who lost their civilization to the ocean many many years ago, more so something like Atlantis, except not hidden. Their world was changed and as a result of Years of evolution, they had transformed into a water dwelling society!! Drowned are able to walk on land as they retain their legs, they are able to breathe air as they are mammals still, having both gills and lungs (though they are under developed). Drowned live primarily in undersea ruins both warm and cold ocean variants. There are differences in their cultures obviously, but they are the same species.

Drowned can form relationships and have children with other mobs as well!! This is shown through Dionysus' friend, Aries!! Who's father was a Witch and mother a Drowned.

Here's a design of her, very sketchy but the overall idea of color palette, features (aside from facial) and clothes concepts are very much that of the Warm Ocean variant drowned. Darker skin, more green hued skin, glowing/bio luminescent features as well as smaller clothes and more flowing options with gold accents!

Cold Water drowned have a more obvious lighter shade and more bluish tint to their skin along with having more wraps and such covering their bodies, they typically have more bio luminescent features and dark colored scleras!! They typically also have yellow teeth :0)

That's all I have, I'm hoping to talk more abt Aries if people are interested and to eventually make a design of a cold ocean drowned fellow :0)!!!

[shuttershocky]

If you were to have someone foreign develop some new nasu thing be that an adaptation or a brand new project who would you want to do it?

Me.

I won't even fully indulge myself and propose some project specifically catered to only me and what I like about Type-Moon because I know that will never sell, I'll propose a project with actual brand recognition and a known market.

Give me the Fate/Grand Order property and I'll propose a Heroes of the Storm style team brawler, casual enough that it won't scare away people because I'm not insane enough to propose making a real MOBA that competes with League of Legends and Dota 2 even if I'd want to.

No need to think about the setting. The gist is these are teambuilding exercises disguised as a competition inside Chaldea's simulator. All the mobs on the lanes? Mini Nobus. Shopkeeper? Still mini Nobus. Jungle creeps? Monsters. Maybe more Mini Nobus. Take the enemy's flag / destroy their base and you win, 20 minute matches, both the winning and losing team can get random cosmetic drops so everybody gets a silly hat to wear.

No need to worry about writing anything that would actually contradict Nasu's canon. As a session-based game the only writing to be done are interactions and quips between characters as servants fight each other, or when they're allies, and flavor text such as their profiles which FGO already has up anyway. I'll add playable characters from the wider Type-Moon universe too, because I want to indulge myself at least a little.

Pokemon Unite showed us that there's still a market for these more casual but still team-based competitive games, and FGO has the perfect setting, cast, and pre-existing fanbase to pull this off. Type-Moon would never make this on their own, because they are storytellers first and game designers never which is the exact opposite of these kinds of games, which is why they should lend out the property.

_____

For an actual serious answer, I think Korean developer Nimble Neuron could make a fantastic Grail War survival game. I've posted before about being a fan of Eternal Return and its incredibly unique take on battle royales, I think playing it as a duo is probably the closest you can get to replicating a Grail War in a video game.

Now if by "foreign" you meant "Western", there's only one Western storyteller I would trust to first understand the heart of something before adapting it, and that's Guillermo Del Toro. I don't think he's a very compatible fit at all with any Type-Moon property nor the general ethos behind the world but I don't trust anyone else to even try you know? I know Del Toro would try. He might even make something incredibly good if unrecognizable.

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Babylon

Its been a while since we've had a truly chaotic and whimsical film. A film that doesn't play it safe and goes for the insanity right off the bat. What we really haven't had in a long time is a period film about the massive transitions, hardships and dangers of Hollywood. Its become a niche genre in film that isn't explored as much since the entertainment genre has evolved so much. This film explores the classic period of cinema in the 1920's when silent films were king and the music, fashion, alcohol, opioids and depravity were at its highest peaks. Just the first 20 minutes alone was like a serious fever dream of debauchery, style and fun that was out of this world. They called it the roaring 20's for a reason and this film excels at showing why the era earned its title. Aside from the parties and drugs on tap, you got a fast look at the quick pace of the birth of a star, the growth of a business man, a musician striving for greatness while facing a challenge that is still prevalent today and then a fading of a star. Its so multi-layered and dizzying to explore but in this 3 hour epic, there was plenty of time spent to explore the dark underbelly of the industry and actual character development.

Margot Robbie was absolutely stunning and insanely energetic as rising starlet Nellie LaRoy. The moment she crashes on to the screen she commands the focus. You see LaRoy's meteric climb to fame as she quickly shows off her talents and then the eventual and disturbingly fast cocaine fueled decline. It's a cautionary tale as old as time, but she somehow finds a way to bring out the empathy of the character. Diego Calva was awesome as the film assistant Manny Torres and his journey was something to really focus on as you see the story truly through his eyes from the ground floor. The emotional turmoil the man goes through as he worked so hard to survive not only the assistant life, but also his navigation of the studio system was inspiring and terrifyingly stressful. His chemistry with LaRoy was the heart of the film and yet lacked a lot of logic towards the last half of the film. Anyone else would've stepped away from the chaos, but man did he really hang in there. Brad Pitt was excellent as the arrogant, decadant and never sober movie star Jack Conrad. Pitt truly delivers a strong look at the life of a rock star actor who's earned his status in the industry and yet has never really given up the party life. He is effected the most once the industry begins to shift away from silent films to talkies and to see his reactions was refreshing and classic. Jean Smart was elegant and fun as the journalist Elinor St. John. She may have been around for the debauchery, but she knew what was coming and had a realistic outlook on the world. Li Jun Li was outstanding as the cabaret singer and titles designer Lady Fay Zhu. She was so smooth in her scenes and even though she was not in it for too long, she represented that sexuality and control that Hollywood at the time was not ready for. Jovan Adepo was great as the sensational jazz trumpet player Sidney Palmer. His rise to fame was fun to watch and subtle in execution. I loved how he handled himself as essentially a session musician that got recognized for his talent. The obvious level of racism of Hollywood is explored in this film in one of the most degrading scenes I've ever seen and yet it still happens today, but in digital form. Sidney never forgets his roots and he was truly one of my favorite characters. Tobey Maguire was absolutely weird and terrifying as the truly messed up mob boss James McKay. He was very welcoming, but man his eyes were filled with evil and he takes you into the darkness in the most disturbing scenes of the film.

The score by Justin Hurwitz was pure brilliance. It was fun, energetic, chaotic and captured the tone and speed of the film's nonstop pace. Even with its infectious energy coursing through the veins of the film, there were enough moments where it highlighted heart of the film. The cinematography was outstanding and showcased the epic parties and landscapes of the many locations in Los Angeles. Even though the film was a 3 hour epic, I didn't feel the length of the film because of the fast pacing at not many have mastered that technique. There were moments that I think could've been trimmed a bit here and there, but overall I loved the film history lesson. The old saying of life immitading art and art immitading life was on full display in the last 30 minutes of the film and that I enjoyed. This was not only a energetic celebratory look at cinema history, but also a cautionary tale and reminder of how fast your life can change in the entertainment world for the best or the worst. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[agentldiddy]

Leviathan Company Session 3

So, to recap, cult's dead, there's a new party member, they fought a tree and a cult leader in a tree mech, the slaver killed Baron VonBaron, and Zeta vored a crossbow. They victorious party returns to the employer to get a new job: locating a mysterious magic item for him. So, they venture out to a town across a sea to get the item. On the way there, they free a prisoner and escape an angry mob to get to a temple where they find the object: a regular bag. When one member of the party opened it, a large swathe of bees shot out. This, my friends, is the BAG OF HOLDING BEES. The DM puts in in every campaign he runs. In my first proper campaign with him, (which will be called the "Lightbringer Campaign," for reasons I will tell later) the barbarian actually had that item. He then joined the BBEG, his player replaced him with a character that's the opposite of the barbarian, we fought him, and the undead aaracockra he kept harassing got the final shot on him. We then gave the bag of holding bees to this guy we called "Barry B. Benson" who was obsessed with bees and secretly a warlock for the Bee God. After the campaign, he died of malnutrition due to only eating honey and honey products.

Anyways, back to the Leviathan Company, Anakiir found a magical helmet there, too, and Dar found a magical sword named Gjortt (it can shoot lasers if you say its name). Then, the party gave the employer the bag, disgusted that THIS is what they were sent to get, and decided to cut all ties with the employer then and there. Afterwards, Anakiir fiddled with the magic helmet and learned of a cool treasure, so they went to chase after that. Along the way, the party encounters a beautiful and young noblewoman in a carriage going along the road. Dar decides to speak with her, but learns that the noble was a doppelganger. That sucks, but what sucked more was that the carriage she rode in was a mimic.

Needless to say we killed both.

Next stop on their travels, they found a strange, stone staircase descending in a small depression in the middle of the woods. Dar and Ivan went to investigate, and found only a jail cell with a suit of plate armor lying in it. Dar removed the Jail door and tried to take the armor, only for it to spring to life and attack. It then ascended to steps, where it met eyes with the party, and most notably Zeta.

So I think it's about time I fully detailed Zeta's backstory, according to what he wrote in his bible. In a far away land, there was a group of 7 gnome artificers. Each one was adept at their trade of inventing wonderous things. One day, they heard about legends of metal men all the way from Eberron called Warforged. They sought it as a wonderous challenge to make their own Warforged. They spent several days designing and building a prototype called Alpha. Their goal was to find out any issues with him and repair it until it reaches it's final version, Meta. One of the gnomes had a different idea. His plan was to turn Alpha into his own war machine and sell copies of him to the highest, deadliest bidder. The others told him off, so he snatched a copy of Alpha's blueprints to fulfill his own plans. He worked for days on his own Alpha to rival the good one, and an additional one named Bravo. When he was done, he attacked his former colleagues without mercy. The good Alpha beat the other robots, with Bravo going missing and the bad gnome being flung out a window. However, only 1 good gnome barely survived, the whole workshop was in disrepair, and Alpha was heavily damaged. So, the last gnome made a cacoon like-thing to put Alpha and his power core in, and removed small segments of it. He made many other warforged bodies out of remaining metal and put a piece of alpha's power core in each of their power cores. He was hoping-in his delirious state-that the warforged would grow stronger with their core returning when they die. When that happens, it would be absorbed back into Alpha, until Omega journeys back home to personally turn them into Meta. How true this story is ambiguous, since this is Zeta we are talking about. However, if any single part of it can be 100%, it would be the existence of Bravo, considering that was the warforged Dar just released. So, Zeta went into a rage and went to attack this vile bad-gnomespawn, mano de hierro y mano de hierro (with the rest of the party providing support). In the fight, Dar was almost killed, but Sir Ivan saved him. Then, at the conclusion of the battle, Zeta grabbed his enemy, ripped through it's chest with his bare head, grabbed its core, punched their hand through the other end with the core in hand, and crushed it, killing Bravo forevermore. They then scavenged the metal in it's corpse, with a bitter Dar not being able to get new armor since there's a hole in it now.

They then reach another pit stop at a local city. There, Lily buys a Tiefling slave girl and the party meets with some strange, human-looking entity that sells "Curiosities." They get a 3-headed fish skull from this abominable creature and then get told of a terrifying monster they could kill: The Fish King.

[leam1983]

Diablo IV - Thoughts

If you'd told me that I'd eventually hear Ralph Ineson serving as one of the main Blizzard releases' characters back when the first title released, I'd probably never would've believed you.

Diablo began as a very grungy series, where the studio formerly known as Blizzard North had to scrounge up voice talent amongst the game's own designers. The Lord of Hatred himself was actually voiced by North's CEO, Bill Roper. From the first game to the third, there was a bit of a sense that you were watching a WWE Summerslam special in terms of acting chops - just with more grandiose stakes. Diablo III's killing off of Deckard Cain for the sake of cheap pathos felt a bit like the end of an era, notably.

In the ten years since, it feels like the wordsmiths at Blizzard either changed or strongly matured. Killing off demons that have no other characteristics than the one sin they represented got old pretty fast, I'd wager - so now we're left with a demoness who resents the order of things and who intends to reclaim Sanctuary for her own ends - as the world is now little more than the staging ground between Heaven and Hell, in a complete mockery of the, well, sanctuary that Lilith and Inarius built for one another.

Imagine that: a relatable antagonist... Yeah, the purists are going to crow that Lilith isn't Diablo and that you can't plaster the Lord of Hatred's name on the box without actually invoking him - but now we've got the Big Cheese's own daughter - which stands to reason that Diablo himself isn't far behind. I'm not so far into the game as to have seen Diablo myself, so I don't really know in which capacity he's present. Yet.

No, the real shocker is in the game's structure. Diablo-by-way-of-live-service feels like a travesty to some, seeing as it leaves many of the series' cornerstones on the chopping block. Gone are the procedurally-generated levels, gone is the traditional four-Act structure interspersed with map changes, what we've got instead is a plot that atomizes itself across Sanctuary and that can be followed mostly non-linearly. No more Inventory Tetris, now every item takes two squares no matter its size. No more potion-hoarding, now you've only got four Health ones by default and a smattering of stat-boosting Elixirs to carry. Not all changes are like to seem sacrilegious to the purists, however - as now every single 'toon starts with the Town Portal spell permanently bound to T on your average keyboard. You'll need it, too - Sanctuary's a big place, and hopping between settlements is more vital than ever. If you're open to experimentation by a team that clearly knows what it's doing, you're likely to tolerate this new mixture.

Where this takes a ding from me is in the inclusion of World Events. As everything is shared in the same fashion as with Bungie's Destiny, now, some bosses appear not as plot contrivances but rather as randomized instances that anyone can attack. This makes multiplayer more of an emergent feature than your usual toggleable option, seeing as you can more or less luck onto Darin DePaul's version of the Butcher - iconic voice line included - at any point in the campaign and more or less stumble into two or more characters spam-casting like their lives depend on it. You can still book private sessions with people on your Friends list, but you'll always see randoms going off on their own thing. That's fine in and of itself, but it also means that World Events feel generic by default. They involve souped-up regular enemies in most instances, and only rarely feature named mobs or iconic demons like our cleaver-wielding friend.

Consequently, the challenge factor seems to have been tweaked a bit. Corpse runs no longer seem to be mandatory, and death only sends you back a few hundred meters away - and typically wipes your immediate surroundings clear of all enemies. There's no death tax, no sense that your biting it is a bit of a punitive measure in and of itself - it feels quite light, all things considered.

The same can't be said about the game's tone, however. This is Sanctuary at its darkest, an obvious response to the previous game's notoriously lighter palette - to the point where it's a bit detrimental to panels with adaptive brightness or a good color range. Your blacks are about to get really fucking black, which does wonders for the Dark Fantasy universe's expected grim and dour undertones, but also makes certain elements of the navigational experience a little uncomfortable. If you're like me, you'll spot the map markers denoting interactable changes in the terrain's level, like cliffs to climb or ladders to slide down from, but you'll have trouble seeing the objects they refer to. It might take you a little while to really dial things in with your monitor of choice.

Generally speaking, I'd consider this a return to form for the franchise - despite the cringe-inducing inclusion of microtransactions in the final package. There's no Diablo Immortal-esque character boosts in sight and everything is cosmetic, but everything feels rather pricey for what it is. The rate for Platinum is exponential, with the only decent value being the exorbitantly-priced 115$ bundle. Considering Kotick's latest comments regarding player spending habits and monetization, this is both egregious and sadly unsurprising.

Diablo IV gets a cautious recommendation from me, seeing as I'm well aware that first-hour fans might not entirely appreciate it.

[regenuine]

Eddie’s entire arc was great writing.

Of course tragedy never sits well but it shouldn’t. Eddie’s story was designed to be sad. It was designed to stir up feelings of injustice. It has haunted my dreams it is making me cry as I type this up. And that sadness has depth–it has meaning because his arc is moving and good. 

In one of his first few scenes he meets with Chrissy who is doing something she never would have done because of an unfortunate situation she cannot properly explain to anyone. She is doubting herself because of the guilt Vecna is hashing up in her. But Eddie, this scary guy who she never gave a time of day to is a light for her in that helplessness. In return, she learns that he isn’t what he’s stereotyped to be. He’s approachable and genuinely a good person just like she is despite the scariness that’s happening to her. This is setting up a huge point in his character and it’s also making the audience see him for the good he is too. 

Her unfortunate circumstance becomes Eddie’s. But unlike her, he doesn’t have the stereotype she did of looking like a good person. (Jason to the end refuses to believe she could have gotten mixed up in drugs.) The setting is all there. He lives in a trailer park, there’s no nuclear family, there’s drugs involved. He was doomed to have her death pinned him because his arc is about the injustice of stereotyping. We know that none of those things should define a person but we also know that the world is prejudiced and tragedy does happen because of it. What really sends this message home is that the Duffers based his character on a real kid who got wrongfully convicted just for the way he looked. Eddie’s story is a direct work of art about that. That’s good writing to me. 

We see from the DND session that Eddie makes a cool show for his party as DM but he doesn’t have faith in them. He thinks they need to run because Vecna is too powerful. He doesn’t have the experiences that the Erica, Mike, and Dustin have triumphed over. They know what it’s like to feel like they’ve lost but make it out as heroes in the end. This sets up the hero's journey for Eddie. We know Eddie is a hero but Eddie hasn’t seen it himself because of this simple doubt he has that his party won’t be able to win. 

That’s where the motif that he isn’t a hero like them comes in repeatedly. His journey of being on the run with these people ready to lock him up and hate him for murders he didn’t commit tells us he’s a hero. But heroes have all this other charisma with them too. A big trait a of a hero is standing up against evil and Eddie doesn’t seem to naturally have that in him in the start. But by being around Steve, Nancy, Robin, Dustin, Erica, Max, and Lucas, they all inspire him and give him the hope that a hero needs. His situation is hopeless. It’s tragedy but we see him face it with dignity and they give him hope to let him give /himself/ a chance. 

So when his time comes, he gets a heroes death. But he was a hero for himself too not just Max and not just Hawkins. He became what he didn't believe he could be because of what the world internalized in him. So no matter what the people of Hawkins still accused him of, he finally got to be that hero for himself and that was so important for him. 

That’s why I think he needed to have only a few people there for the scenes related to his death. It couldn’t be like Hopper where the whole town canonized him as a hero. It had to be the people who saw through the stereotype the whole time. Dustin and Wayne carry the weight of the truth about Eddie in those intimate moments just like any family mourning the loss of someone wrongfully accused by the mob. We feel that dignity in the silent–yet heroic ending of him, and we feel the anger and injustice as we should.  

[soelbergmartinez11]

Navigating the Minecraft Multiverse: Exploring Different Server Types

Minecraft, the beloved sandbox game, offers players a vast and immersive world to explore, build, and create. One of the most exciting aspects of Minecraft is the ability to connect with others through multiplayer servers, expanding the gameplay experience beyond single-player adventures. Within the Minecraft multiverse, there is a wide range of server types, each offering a unique experience and catering to different playstyles and interests. In this article, we will navigate the Minecraft multiverse and explore the various server types available, helping you find the perfect server to suit your preferences. - Survival Servers: Survival servers are the quintessential Minecraft experience, providing a challenging yet rewarding gameplay environment. On survival servers, players must gather resources, craft tools, build shelters, and survive against environmental threats and hostile mobs. These servers often have additional features like economies, player-run towns, and quests, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. Survival servers are ideal for players who enjoy the satisfaction of starting from scratch, surviving in a dynamic world, and embarking on long-term projects. - Creative Servers: For those who thrive on creativity and building, creative servers offer a haven to unleash their imagination. Creative servers provide players with unlimited resources, enabling them to build and design magnificent structures without the constraints of resource gathering. These servers often have vast plots or worlds dedicated to showcasing player creations, encouraging collaboration and inspiring others. Creative servers are perfect for players who enjoy expressing their artistic flair, constructing impressive builds, and engaging in collaborative building projects. - PvP (Player versus Player) Servers: PvP servers focus on player combat and competitive gameplay. These servers feature arenas, battle arenas, or dedicated PvP zones where players can engage in thrilling PvP battles. Whether it's team-based fights, free-for-all matches, or objective-based gameplay, PvP servers provide an adrenaline-pumping experience for players seeking intense PvP action. PvP servers attract players who enjoy strategic combat, honing their skills, and competing against other skilled players. - Mini-Game Servers: Mini-game servers offer a variety of exciting and unique game modes within the Minecraft universe. From parkour challenges and treasure hunts to spleef matches and capture the flag, mini-game servers provide diverse gameplay experiences beyond the traditional Minecraft gameplay. These servers are perfect for players who enjoy quick and fast-paced gaming sessions, socializing with other players, and testing their skills in a variety of mini-games. - Roleplay Servers: Roleplay servers immerse players in interactive and story-driven experiences, allowing them to assume different roles and engage in collaborative storytelling. These servers often have custom maps, intricate lore, and dedicated communities. Players can adopt various personas, build character backstories, and engage in roleplay scenarios with other players. Roleplay servers are ideal for players who enjoy immersive storytelling, character development, and cooperative roleplaying experiences. - Modded Servers: Modded servers introduce additional modifications or "mods" to the base Minecraft game, offering new features, mechanics, and content. These servers can range from simple mod packs to comprehensive modded experiences with custom biomes, new creatures, advanced technologies, and more. Modded servers provide a fresh and unique twist to the Minecraft gameplay, attracting players who crave novelty, expanded gameplay possibilities, and the exploration of new mechanics. - Hardcore Servers: Hardcore servers offer a challenging and unforgiving Minecraft experience. In hardcore mode, players have a single life, and death results in permanent world deletion or banishment from the server. This intense gameplay style requires careful planning, resource management, and an emphasis on survival skills. Hardcore servers are perfect for players seeking an adrenaline rush, a test of their survival prowess, and a sense of accomplishment from conquering the toughest challenges Minecraft has to offer. When venturing into the Minecraft multiverse, consider your playstyle, preferences, and desired gameplay experience. Whether you're a builder, adventurer, PvPer, or storyteller, there's a server type that caters to your interests. Explore different server communities, read reviews, and engage with fellow players to find the server type that aligns with your vision of Minecraft enjoyment. So, dive into the multiverse, embark on new adventures, and connect with the vibrant Minecraft community on the server type that speaks to you. tcl online

[ralstonmorrison72]

Minecraft Mods: Enhancing Your Gameplay Experience

Minecraft is a game that offers endless possibilities, allowing players to shape their own virtual worlds and embark on incredible adventures. However, if you're looking to expand your Minecraft experience even further, Minecraft mods are the way to go. Mods, short for modifications, are user-created additions to the game that can alter or enhance gameplay in numerous ways. In this article, we'll explore the world of Minecraft mods and discuss how they can elevate your gameplay experience to new heights. Good minecraft servers - What Are Minecraft Mods? Minecraft mods are custom creations made by players that modify various aspects of the game. They can introduce new gameplay mechanics, items, blocks, mobs, or even entirely new dimensions to explore. Mods can range from simple modifications that add new tools or creatures to complex overhauls that transform Minecraft into an entirely different game. The modding community is vast and creative, continuously developing innovative and exciting mods for players to enjoy. - Enhancing Gameplay: One of the primary reasons players turn to mods is to enhance their gameplay experience. Mods can introduce new challenges, mechanics, and progression systems, providing fresh and engaging content. For example, mods like "Biomes O' Plenty" add a plethora of new biomes and landscapes to explore, while "Tinkers' Construct" introduces advanced tool crafting and customization options. Mods like these can breathe new life into the game, making each playthrough feel unique and exciting. - Expanding Content: Minecraft's base game already offers a wealth of content, but mods take it to the next level by expanding upon it. Mods can introduce new blocks, items, and crafting recipes, giving you more options for building and customization. They can also add new creatures, NPCs (non-player characters), or even entire civilizations, creating a livelier and more immersive world. With mods, your Minecraft experience becomes richer, allowing you to discover and experiment with a vast array of content. - Visual Enhancements: Mods aren't just about gameplay improvements—they can also enhance the visual aesthetics of Minecraft. Texture packs and shaders are popular types of mods that can completely transform the game's look and feel. Texture packs modify the appearance of blocks, items, and entities, allowing you to customize Minecraft's visual style to suit your preferences. Shaders, on the other hand, add realistic lighting, shadows, and visual effects, creating stunning and atmospheric visuals. - Multiplayer Fun: Mods can also be a fantastic addition to multiplayer gameplay. Many mods are specifically designed for multiplayer servers, introducing new features and mechanics that enhance cooperative or competitive play. Mods like "Pixelmon" bring the world of Pokémon into Minecraft, allowing players to catch, train, and battle with their favorite creatures alongside friends. These mods can inject new excitement and dynamics into your multiplayer sessions, fostering collaboration and friendly competition. - Customization and Personalization: Minecraft is all about personal expression and creativity, and mods offer further avenues for customization. Mods like "Chisel" and "Decocraft" provide an extensive selection of decorative blocks and furniture, allowing you to create intricate and detailed builds. Other mods, such as "Custom NPCs," enable you to populate your world with unique characters and create custom quests or storylines. With mods, you can tailor your Minecraft experience to reflect your individual style and vision. - Installation and Compatibility: Installing mods can vary depending on the platform and version of Minecraft you're playing. Generally, mods require a compatible mod loader or installer to integrate them into the game. Many mods have dedicated websites or forums where you can download them, along with instructions for installation. It's important to ensure that the mods you choose are compatible with your version of Minecraft and any other mods you may have installed to avoid conflicts or issues. However, it's worth noting that mods are created by third-party developers and may not always be officially supported or compatible with the latest Minecraft updates. It's essential to research and choose reputable mods from trusted sources to ensure stability and safety. Minecraft mods open up a world of possibilities for players, allowing them to customize and enhance their gameplay experience. Whether you're seeking new challenges, expanded content, visual enhancements, or multiplayer fun, mods offer a wealth of options to explore. As you delve into the world of Minecraft mods, remember to choose carefully, follow installation instructions diligently, and enjoy the exciting new adventures that await you in your enhanced Minecraft experience.

[keatingortega80]

Finding Your Niche: Exploring Specialized Servers in Minecraft

Minecraft, the beloved sandbox game, offers a vast and immersive world for players to explore, create, and connect. While the base game provides endless possibilities, Minecraft's multiplayer aspect expands those horizons even further. With specialized servers, players can delve into unique gameplay experiences tailored to specific interests and preferences. In this article, we will embark on a journey to discover specialized servers in Minecraft, allowing you to find your niche and engage in customized adventures. What are Specialized Servers? Specialized servers in Minecraft are community-driven platforms that focus on specific gameplay styles, themes, or modifications. These servers offer distinct features, rules, and content that cater to a particular audience. Whether you're seeking intense PvP battles, immersive role-playing experiences, creative building challenges, or something entirely different, specialized servers provide dedicated environments to fulfill those desires. Exploring Different Gameplay Styles - PvP Servers: For players who thrive on competition and combat, PvP servers are the perfect fit. These servers emphasize player versus player battles, whether in arenas, faction-based wars, or survival-based combat scenarios. Join forces with friends or go solo to test your skills against formidable opponents and emerge victorious. - Role-playing Servers: Dive into a world of immersive storytelling and character development on role-playing servers. Embark on quests, interact with other players in character, and shape your own narrative. From medieval fantasy realms to futuristic sci-fi adventures, role-playing servers offer a rich and dynamic experience for those seeking to live out their virtual fantasies. - Creative Servers: If building and designing are your passions, creative servers provide a canvas for your imagination. Collaborate with other builders, participate in building competitions, or explore sprawling player-created cities. Unleash your creativity and construct awe-inspiring structures that push the boundaries of Minecraft's blocky world. - Modded Servers: Modded servers introduce a world of endless possibilities by incorporating modifications and customizations beyond the base game. From adding new dimensions and creatures to introducing technological advancements and magic systems, modded servers offer unique gameplay experiences that can't be found in vanilla Minecraft. Discovering Theme-Based Servers - Minigame Servers: Seek a quick burst of excitement? Minigame servers offer a variety of bite-sized challenges and competitions. From parkour courses and spleef arenas to puzzle challenges and treasure hunts, minigame servers provide endless fun for players looking for shorter, action-packed gameplay sessions. - Economy Servers: Dive into a virtual economy on servers that simulate a marketplace. Engage in trading, farming, resource gathering, and crafting to amass wealth and build your empire. Whether you aspire to become a prosperous merchant, a skilled farmer, or a shrewd investor, economy servers offer a vibrant world of commerce and entrepreneurship. - Survival Servers: For those seeking a more authentic survival experience, survival servers provide a challenging and immersive environment. Gather resources, build shelters, and face off against mobs and other players as you strive to survive. Work together with fellow survivors or brave the wilderness alone in this unforgiving yet rewarding gameplay style. ryomail.online - Educational Servers: Minecraft's educational potential is harnessed by specialized servers that provide educational content and experiences. From historical recreations and science simulations to language learning and coding lessons, educational servers transform Minecraft into a captivating and interactive learning tool. Finding Your Ideal Server When searching for a specialized server that aligns with your interests, consider the following: - Research and Recommendations: Utilize online resources, forums, and community recommendations to discover servers that cater to your desired gameplay style or theme. Engage with the Minecraft community to gather insights and recommendations from experienced players. - Server Population and Community: Assess the size and activity of the server's player community. A vibrant and active community enhances the multiplayer experience, fostering social interactions, events, and collaborative projects. - Server Rules and Policies: Familiarize yourself with the server's rules and policies to ensure they align with your preferences and playstyle. Some servers may have specific guidelines, age restrictions, or mod requirements that you need to consider before joining. - Server Stability and Performance: Check the server's uptime, latency, and stability to ensure a smooth and enjoyable gameplay experience. Look for servers with reliable hosting and regular maintenance to minimize potential disruptions. - Server Staff and Support: Consider the quality of the server's staff and their responsiveness to inquiries and issues. A supportive and knowledgeable staff can contribute to a positive and enjoyable experience on the server. Finding your niche in Minecraft is a thrilling adventure that opens up a world of tailored gameplay experiences. Whether you're seeking intense PvP battles, immersive role-playing, creative building challenges, or unique modifications, specialized servers provide the perfect avenue to pursue your passions. So, embark on your quest, explore the vast array of specialized servers, and find the Minecraft community that best suits your style and preferences.

[good-prog]

ff13 review/reactions: gay people can hold up the world, but can't hold a messy plot together.

Main campaign date: 2023/01/16-01/27 Playtime (Steam) to roll credits: 54.5 hours Playtime (in game) to roll credits: 48.5 hours

I wanted to like this game so badly. A false utopia created by creatures beyond human comprehension, featuring flawed characters fighting their own fates (embodied by His Eminence the space Pope Himself)? Sign me up.

TL;DR: Pacing is my main gripe with this game. It gets better in later chapters, but the game wore out its welcome by the time I got there.

A side note on how I play through RPGs: I don't mind spoilers; in fact, I tend to spoil major plot points for myself so I don't feel compelled to speed through the game. This allows me to take things at my own pace by breaking sessions into manageable chunks.

This was also the first game I played since BOTW on a controller, though I played on the PC port, which shows the keyboard keybinds on screen. There was a bit of a learning curve with the camera (which likely made the first few chapters more interesting/bearable).

Obviously, spoiler warning for all aspects of FF13!

gameplay

The game starts each character with three roles they can swap between, and allows you to create presets with combinations ("paradigm deck").

I consider myself subpar at video games, but even for me, the rate at which the game spoon fed the gameplay system felt drawn out. I appreciated that it started with a party of two, which forced me to get comfortable swapping paradigms often for ATB refresh and stagger bar maintenance. For instance, in the early chapters with Sazh/Vanille, Sazh doesn't have access to the commando role, making stagger difficult with two ravagers. Thus, I had to swap often between RAV/RAV and RAV/SAB to more easily fill the stagger bar.

Trash mobs were forgettable until maybe a third of the way through the game (~Ch. 7-8), when they started getting mechanics of their own (e.g., Cocoon soldiers that buffed themselves, or guarded the closer you were to staggering them). I didn't intentionally grind, but was still able to max out the crystarium as I went (until the start of Stage 8, when the party lands on Gran Pulse).

The boss battles were more enjoyable. For example, Barthandalus' first fight was notably difficult, until I understood that Destrudo's damage could be decreased by attacking him while he was charging. I sometimes found myself going into a fight with the paradigm deck I progressed through the level with, then rearranging my party once I wiped.

I liked figuring out the gimmick of the eidolon battles. The main one I had trouble with was Snow's; I spent a couple pulls repeatedly alternating between COM and RAV in an attempt to fill the stagger/Gestalt bars. The best I could do was about 2/3 of the bar, at which point I decided to look up the solution. To be fair, the game gives a hint about swapping to SEN, but one of the sisters heals you, so you never have to SEN, right?

In contrast, the gimmick of Fang's eidolon fight was a similar "take damage as a SEN to fill Gestalt bar", which was much easier to grasp since Bahamut just repeatedly attacked the party, so I stayed in SEN/MED/MED most of the time (first out of necessity, then intentionally once I saw the Gestalt bar filling). In spite of the initial eidolon encounters being interesting, I didn't feel like I could use them effectively in game, so I just stuck to my party.

level design and "linearity"

Most of the chapters involved moving through rooms/corridors with set trash mobs. At the end of the chapter was a boss battle (or two), then a more extended cutscene (a flashback, a transition to the next chapter, etc.) Unfortunately, since I wasn't a fan of the story, I often spent the cutscenes wanting to get back to the gameplay.

When I got to Gran Pulse (approx. 25 hours), I was initially quite frustrated by the difficulty spike. After a fairly predictable 10 chapters with some occasional challenges, I wasn't able to defeat most of the enemies I encountered (and when I did, they often took a significant amount of time). I initially proceeded toward the Mah'habara Subterra, until I got overwhelmed by a juggernaut, when I decided to turn around and do some of the Cie'th stone missions to gain CP and familiarity with local mobs. After filling out the first ~18 or so missions and getting to Oerba, I finally felt like I understood the battle system and I could comfortably get around Gran Pulse (40 hours).

I didn't mind the linearity, but I wish there was better variation within those bounds. In one of the early Sazh/Vanille chapters, there was a minor puzzle which felt like a limp-wristed attempt at that variation (turn on 4 switches in the area before proceeding through the exit). In contrast, in chapters 12-13, the areas feel more open despite still being linear (larger areas, more unique branching paths).

characters/story

I think the story would hold up better on a second playthrough. I had some familiarity with the terms (fal'Cie, l'Cie, etc.) due to some reading I did beforehand, but I wouldn't be surprised if much of it went over my head. For example, the concept of the fal'Cie "Orphan" felt like it suddenly appeared in game toward the end. (Was it brought up by Barthandelus? I guess I should have read the in-game Wikipedia, but I'm dumb and need information communicated to me in game beyond just "Pulse fal'Cie, enemy of Cocoon".)

I don't think I disliked the main party (besides maybe Snow), but there was something about their characterization that was off. It seemed like all the puzzle pieces were in place: cool designs; hubris; a person they each were fighting for. I don't believe I have to find the characters likeable in order for their stories to feel compelling, but the initial hours just felt one-note.

Snow is, despite all attempts of the story to make him understand otherwise, is a self-proclaimed "hero."

Hope isn't as whiny as I thought he would be; he's just lost his mother, and the shock of additionally being branded a l'Cie fuels his rage against Snow and his desire for misattributed revenge.

Lightning wants to save her sister and maybe get back at the Sanctum for the Purge?

Vanille tries to hide her concern for Fang under a goofy exterior, but until more was revealed about her past, her tone often felt out of place.

Sazh is just some everyman caught up in it all.

Fang doesn't even show up until Snow's arrest, and she's oooo mysterious lady working with the "bad guys" (that are actually good guys but they're led by a l'Cie that like the protagonists, wants to change his own fate).

Side note: It amuses (?) / depresses (?) me that even in a "utopia", military forces are so prevalent. Sure, some of them, like Lightning's branch of the Guardian Corps, takes care of local wildlife. But why would governing a continent require such heavily armed "public safety" officers, or an entire airship armada? Of course, we later learn that the Sanctum didn't even intend for the Purge train to reach Pulse, and uses PSICOM to enforce it. Still, it's depressing that the only way fal'Cie conceptualized human society (or humans in power, in fear of a modern Pulsian threat despite the War of Transgression occurring hundreds of years previously) involved extensive military might. It doesn't help that the player's main exposure to Cocoon society is simply (1) military/government and (2) leisure (Bodhum, Nautilus). NPCs in Nautilus complain about having to go back to work after their vacations, but what exactly do they do for a living?

Maybe it's because I tuned out some of the less obvious character development as a result of not feeling as invested in the characters, but when emotional scenes occurred, they often fell flat. Hope lashing out at Snow felt out of place, even though the scene itself was well performed. It didn't feel like tension was building throughout the first act of the story; Hope just pushed confrontation away.

In contrast, I enjoyed the party's encounter with Hope's dad. Despite the game telling us how much Hope dislikes him, he isn't a deadbeat--just absent--and tries to care for Hope in his own way. Even if he works for the Sanctum, his wayward son comes first.

Another scene that stood out was the summoning of Hecatoncheir. Vanille and Fang are roommates were shown to care deeply about each other through flashbacks and their interactions once reunited, so when Fang voices her suspicions about turning into Ragnarok and causing the devastation of Pulse, Vanille vehemently denies it. This denial causes her eidolon to appear. Once the eidolon is defeated, Fang chastises Vanille for running away from her Focus, and raises a hand as to punch her. However, she gently nudges Vanille's forehead and embraces her. Because they are the only ones in the party that have experienced fulfilling their destructive Focus, they are also the only ones that can understand each other and the desire to prevent the magnitude of that destruction from being wrought again, even if it means becoming Cie'th themselves (Vanille) or going through with it in order to save their friends (Fang).

Besides Hope's father, the other NPCs were sparse and forgettable. The only ones that stood out for me Cid and Barthandelus. I feel like Cid Raines has a similar character arc (and final boss appearance!) as Ravus from FF15, but his motivations were convoluted in comparison to the limited screentime he got.

Annoyances with the ending of the game specifically:

I get that l'Cie brands advance under physical/mental stress, but when Orphan torments Fang in order to try to get her to turn into Ragnarok, it comes across as "oops, we made it so that you don't feel sorry for her? Let's torture her so that you do."

Once the party turns into Cie'th, there's a flashback where the party sees scenes of narrative significance that occur through the game: Sazh in Nautilus, Snow and Hope in Palumpolum, Lightning in Lake Bresha. At that point, I was just glad the game was winding down and finishing up the melodrama.

Even though the story establishes that once one turns into a Cie'th, there's no turning back, there's two major exceptions: Cid Raines and the party--hand wavy, indomitable human spirit reasons?

Side note: after the game, I read this comprehensive FAQ put together by reddit user /u/KuroPuP, which clarified some of my initial "plot hole" knee-jerk reactions. I prefer my local section of the lore universe to feel coherent and not require additional explanation; doing deep lore dives should serve to enhance, not fix the story as presented.

misc

The Crystarium UI is gorgeous, but feels visually cluttered (a la 7R's weapon upgrade UI, though admittedly with better color coded orbs corresponding to each stat upgrade). It was this UI that clued me in to the 13 DNA in 7R: levels are quite linear, with the loading sections masked by the character moving through a tunnel or squeezing through a crevice in a wall. ATB is now spent on stagger-increasing and/or relatively powerful moves, instead for auto-attacks. If one materia loadout doesn't work for a particular enemy, it's easy to go back, reset, then try again.

It's just that the characters are so much more likeable in 7R (and don't always take themselves seriously) that potentially replaying the game is more appealing. Also, there's breaks to talk to NPCs or explore, besides just hitting enemies.

As far as I know, there is no way to lock true north (either on the minimap or the zone map), which is a pet peeve for me.

conclusion/next steps

I don't feel especially invested in the world FF13 created, but I like the battle system enough. I plan on at least attempting the rest of the Cie'th stone trials and maybe trying for an ultimate weapon or two, maxing out a job for each character in the process. I don't plan on playing the sequels immediately, though I've heard good things about 13-2's battle system (plus, dresspheres in LR?) Still, with my middling experience with this game, I don't think I'll play through those immediately.

Much of my frustrations with the story could be chalked up to pacing. By the middle of the game, I could honestly say I was enjoying myself (if not story wise, at least gameplay wise). I'm glad I had the experience of playing through one of the Final Fantasy games people love to hate, even if I came to some of the same conclusions critics did.

[lindholmharper73]

Minecraft Dungeons Launching May 26

If you're like me and would like to get at minimum ten copies without having to beg Executive Producer David Nisshagen or Game Director Mans Olson for them, Minecraft Dungeons will be available for pre-order on select platforms. You can also pre-install the game on your console or computer if you have Xbox Game Pass. This allows you to begin playing the game on the first day.

To learn more about how you can pre-order your game, visit Minecraftdungeons.net. Minecraft server list

Some of you may ask "What is Minecraft Dungeons?" I could ask you if you've been living under the block, but I'd much rather explain to you: Minecraft Dungeons is our new action-adventure, dungeon-crawler-style game where up to four players battle together to defeat the evil Arch-Illager and his relentless mobs, which are new and dangerous - one action-packed level at each level. Not only can you do it in the company of your fellow players, but you also have a variety of weapons, artifacts and enchantments available. If you have any questions we have the answer in our FAQ. all of them!

Is Minecraft Dungeons a Minecraft-based game? Minecraft Dungeons is an all-new standalone game set in the Minecraft universe, featuring the majority of its blocks and challenges. You may not be able to place blocks or build a house made of cobblestone, but it's still very much an adventurer exploring the Overworld.

Are there classes for characters in Minecraft Dungeons? Minecraft Dungeons does not have classes. In true Minecraft spirit, it's all up to the player to create their own style of play and personal identity with the items they equip. You are what you wear!

Xbox Game Pass will include Minecraft Dungeons. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to access both the console as well as Windows PC. The Standard Edition Minecraft Dungeons membership will include the Standard Edition. Xbox Game Pass members have access to up to 10% off related Minecraft Dungeons DLC, add-ons and games!

Does Minecraft Dungeons include multiplayer, and if so how does it work? Simply grab your controller and jump right into the action! Minecraft Dungeons supports up to four players in both local couch co-op as well as online co-op modes. However, we don't provide you with an actual couch!

Will Minecraft Dungeons support cross-platform multiplayer? In the beginning it will be possible to play online multiplayer with your friends on the same platform. We're currently working to bring cross-platform multiplayer on Xbox One, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in the near future through a free update after the game's launch.

Are there online multiplayer matchmaking? No. Minecraft Dungeons is designed to be played with your group of friends, either on the comfort of a couch or an online session that is comfortable.

Are the missions different from one game to the other? Yes! Every mission in Minecraft Dungeons is a blend of procedural content and carefully crafted elements that tie into the mission's goals and narrative. In other words, while parts of the mission stay the same, the paths that you take, the mobs you encounter and the treasure you find will change each time you play it.

Is there DLC? Yes! With Minecraft Dungeons - Hero Edition you'll be able to access two new DLC packs for free. We'll soon provide more information.

Why can't I preorder Minecraft Dungeons for all platforms? Minecraft Dungeons will be available on all platforms, however it's impossible to pre-order on every platform. Keep in mind the official Minecraft Channels for the latest updates.

[joankho]

Does the toxic fans on social media damage the image of fans?

What is fandom?

Fandom is a colloquial term for “fan culture” ( Fandoms: What they are and how to get into it 2019). A fandom is a fan community or subculture that has formed around a specific piece of pop culture, such as a book, movie, video game, comic, music group, sports team, and so on. This group of fans is united by their love of the source material. Even fandoms typically consist of consumers who buy the source material and its various offshoots such as action figures, posters, and supplemental books. Fans who actively participate and engage with the source material through creative works can also form fandoms. This could include posting fanfiction and drawings, as well as creating songs or videos based on the original work. People may also dress up as the characters from the source material, a practice is known as “cosplay,” or act out original scenes.

What is toxic fandom?

Toxic fandom is a term coined in recent years by journalists, news outlets, and others to describe popular culture fans who engage in negative and unacceptable behaviors (Vinney 2022).

The behavior of toxic fans damages the image of fans

Toxic fans can't be considered fans because they do things that are radical and hurtful to others, so they are very damaging to the image of a fan. Toxic fans will harass their favorite idol or object of affection for the sake of the object of affection regardless of the consequences. For example, they will spend a lot of money to buy the whereabouts and address of their idol. Not only that, toxic fans will attack the reputation of other idols or attack the fans of other idols by taking the name of the idol fans they adore, like mailing razor blades to other idols such as action attacks or verbal attacks through social media platforms.

For example, BTS is a Kpop idol team. They were once attacked by toxic fans. With BTS's massive fan base, it's not surprising that members frequently face complete disregard for their privacy (Shinde 2022). Jungkook decided to talk to their fans in a live stream via VLive in 2019, while the group was on their Love Yourself tour. Jungkook received several calls on his personal cell phone during a fun-filled session in which the youngest member opened a bottle of wine and coined several iconic phrases. When asked about the commotion, the BTS Maknae stated that the calls were made by Sasaeng fans who wanted to confirm if the number they had was correct. The Stay Alive singer went on to say that he ignored such calls and blocked the numbers almost immediately. Obsessive fans have mobbed the BTS idols on occasion, invading their hotel rooms and invading their privacy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a qualified fan should have good character and refrain from being a cyberbully or any illegal acts of harming and attacking others. Once made illegal or hurt others and aggressive behavior are called toxic fans and tarnishes the image of fans.

References

Fandoms: What they are and how to get into it 2019, Hundred Life Design, viewed 20 November 2022, <https://hundredlifedesign.com/fandoms-what-they-are-and-how-to-get-into-it-or-not/>.

Shinde, S 2022, ‘5 times K-pop idols called out toxic fan behaviors’, Sports News, viewed 20 November 2022, <https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/5-times-k-pop-idols-called-toxic-fan-behaviors>.

Vinney, C 2022, ‘What is toxic fandom?’, Verywell Mind, viewed 20 November 2022, <https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-toxic-fandom-5214499#:~:text=Toxic%20fandom%20is%20a%20buzzword,are%20considered%20negative%20and%20unacceptable>.

[bixbiboom]

Expected in the first quarter of 2021 from Critical Role’s new games publishing company, Darrington Press: Uk’atoa!

A battle for life and death on the high Lucidian seas! This flagship title from Darrington Press is a tactical game of semi-cooperative card play as factions of sailors vie to be the last claimed by the raging sea leviathan Uk’otoa. As the ship slowly falls into the ocean, you’ll have to run, push, and sacrifice others to win! Fans of Critical Role know Uk’otoa as the ex-patron of warlock Fjord (played by Travis Willingham). Who could say whether these tales hold any truth? Fjord isn’t telling.

This game is suitable for 3-5 players, aged 12+, and each game should run about 30–45 minutes. And, of course, we included a VERY COOL Uk’otoa mini.

This game will be available for preorder in the Critrole shops soon, and you are encouraged to check with your local games stores to see if they can preorder it for you!

Expected in the second quarter of 2021: Critical Role Adventures!

Embark on your own journey through Exandria with Critical Role Adventures! Play as the upstart adventurers Vox Machina and overcome treacherous challenges. This cooperative legacy-lite campaign game uses a unique, narrative mechanic for social and combat encounters, luring you back session after session. Within this enormous box, you’ll find a host of hidden treasures and a rich storybook to guide you through thrilling combat, dynamic character growth, and tales worthy of the name Vox Machina.

Expected in the third quarter of 2021: Syndicult!

Syndicult is an original modern magic roleplaying game designed by Matthew Mercer in which mob families jealously guard secrets and battle it out for power on the city streets. Featuring a simple storytelling dice mechanic, Syndicult is a low magic world where all bets are off.

Expected in the fourth quarter of 2021: Guardians of Matrimonia!

Fight the monsters, save the party! Guardians of Matrimonia is a cooperative card game where players have pre-built decks that are pitted against a deck of monsters (party crashers). If your deck runs out, everyone loses. But if you battle your way through the entire party crasher deck, everyone wins!

More details will be announced in the coming months!