Big ideas. Gaming outside the box. Walnut and Steel. Past and Present. Distinguished Ruffian. Plus Ultra.
Joined August 2012
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Chaosium looked at WotC's 2020 disclaimer and thought, “Hold my beer. We can edit too.”
Presenting the 1983 classic, now corrected by people who know better.
Don't worry. The historical revisionism is only “minor.”
Ah yes, nothing like settling into a reprint of a classic Call of Cthuhlu adventure anthology and finding out the dumbest people in the world have edited it for my own good. 🙄
The rot started long before this whole Shub-Niggurath thing.
Good job @Chaosium_Inc , you guys are complete and utter TRASH.
My current campaign is Shadowrun 2E, and I love how it handles damage over traditional HP. A Light wound is +1 to target numbers and -1 Initiative, Moderate +2 and -2, Serious +3 and -3.
It's apples and oranges in terms of systems, but I like how injuries progressively affect what you can do.
The fact that WotC keeps “updating” the language, art, and lore while leaving the core gameplay loop untouched is proof positive this has been activism, not game design, all along.
They sure do agonize over whether a monster is described respectfully. Then they hand you a stat block so you can fight it and loot the room.
The Monster Manual is still just a catalog of things to kill.
This is really cool. If you’ve never heard of Wayne's Books, browse his wares. Lots of great stuff.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
WotC says legacy dungeons will be updated to better reflect modern values.
Older adventures too often rewarded PCs for breaking into monsters’ homes, killing them, and taking their stuff.
“Every word, illustration, and map will be checked to ensure the inhabitants are depicted respectfully and no species is unfairly stereotyped. Future books will use only sensitivity reader approved language.”
PCs will still break into their homes, kill them, and take their stuff.
Ayoub says D&D can have product lines aimed at different audiences. Sounds fine on paper, right?
It also sure as hell feels like a corpo compromise. WotC gets to create new lanes while still doing the same things that drove people away in the first place.
Dark Sun is already a good example. If the whole point is that not every version of D&D has to be for everyone, then why can’t Dark Sun just be Dark Sun?
wargamer.com/dnd/dan-ayoub-i…
WotC says the “overwhelmingly successful” art direction of NuD&D is here to stay.
Players apparently prefer fantasy worlds where everyone is smiling, nothing looks dangerous, and even the monsters look like they sell candles on Etsy.
Future books will keep leaning into it.
“After all, the dungeon was always the least important part of Dungeons & Dragons.”
Hasbro declines to voluntarily recognize WotC employees’ union effort.
The organizers say the decision threatens years of important work alienating longtime D&D fans.
“We’ve worked very hard helping make D&D reflect our values. All we’re asking for is the job security necessary to make sure AI doesn’t change it back.”
FYI. There is still time to support this project.
With 24 hours left to go on the ShadowSun Revised Kickstarter campaign, we are at 1,224 backers. Thanks to everyone that has been a part of this campaign.
Here is my final pitch
ShadowSun presents you with a setting packed with unbridled evils to fight, deeply challenging moral questions, and no judgment of what content might be "too much" for you to handle.
Don't take my word for it either, check out the 144 page free quickstart.
The full books will let players begin with knowledge from a generous gazetteer, surrounded by a vast unforgiving surface world, with a dark, terrifying underworld beneath their feet. Use new unique mechanics and tools designed to make GMing easy, with innovations on the base ShadowDark structure like caravan travel, brewing customized alcohols, and world-spanning cataclysms.
Both books are done and in editing. They will be ready for PDF release in a couple of weeks when Kickstarter gives me a confirmed backer list, then I will proceed to proofs & print after that.
kickstarter.com/projects/chu…
Tactics still have to survive the action economy. They can look great on paper and then mean nothing once the initiative dogpile starts.
Let's design a NuD&D adventure for modern audiences.
The Ruins of Problematic Lore
The party explores a city erased during the Great Sensitivity Sweep. Shattered statues of Half Elves and Half Orcs still line the streets.
Encounters so far are hordes of Differently Alive People and the Alternative Faith Practitioners that command them.
All PCs get plot armor. There are also pages of safety card cutouts and a sleeve of crayons.
The crayons are not for inking your dice. They are for coloring the cutouts when you need a break.
What are we missing?
FYI Shadowdark & Dark Sun fans.
The ShadowSun kickstarter has been a bit exhausting, but it is almost over. All writing is done, editing proceeds rapidly. I am on track to release the PDFs in roughly 2-3 weeks from today. Feels good.
We are at $99,000 as I write this. Amazing!
link below
