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thelureking · 28 days

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LILIUM'S 2023 GAME RECOMMENDATIONS:

Hey! Better late than never! I actually have been editing this list since november, but I lost some of the things I said about the last games and it took me this long to remember what I had written. The risks I run because my mind flows better when I write with pen and paper. So, seeing how well the last list did on my memory, and because I got bored of talking to myself, I shall torture the unlucky ones who have found this post with both my video game taste and my rambles about them. I am so sorry in advance.

It's the same as before: they are ordered chronologically, from first played/finished to last, not ranked in how much I liked them. If I dont say a lot its not because I didn't like it, or that it was bad. At times I didn't want to give too much away. This time I tried to write each segment right after finishing them, or the following days, so that's why I talk way more or in more detail about each game and my own opinions. And who knows, maybe this will be a yearly thing. I like it, I'm Having fun. And hopefully some of these games get the love they deserve by whoever reads this.

So, once again, and now with more words:

1) Mothmen 1966

Mothmen being in the title was enough for me to give it a go, so it's good to say that the game is also good. It is divided by chapters, each one from the perspective of one of our three protagonists, showing the perspective of these vastly different people even if they are connected in some way. The game goes from a visual novel style to changing the gameplay to be interactive while also maintaining its format, something that I found entertaining. Its visuals are a treat, and I believe they enhance the horror presented in the story. All of the parts in this game work in its favor. I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but to get an achievement you need to take an L. I am not joking. It is part of a puzzle and me being good at it made me miss an achievement. No hard feelings, I had a good laugh about it as I was going back to the save file and doing it again. Sometimes, sucking is the way to go. I may have spent way too much time trying to win the Impossible Solitaire. But I will, one day, you'll see.

2) Roadwarden

You know a game is good when I play it for hours uninterrupted and is the main reason I turn on the computer.

Roadwarden is, as the title image says, an illustrated text based RPG, in which you take the role of a Roadwarden who is tasked to explore an unknown peninsula to expand a merchant's guild's influence, establish its safety, and find out what happened to the missing previous roadwarden.

Let me tell you, this game is amazing from both a mechanical and storytelling level. Mechanically because the game keeps track of so many things, it will remember even an answer you gave at the very beginning, and it'll become an integral part of your character. Even little thoughts as you are about to sleep will shape who you are playing as. On the story telling level, so many of the quests and towns are interlinked that holding back on finishing certain quests is the way to go, although in some cases having as many done as possible will no doubt help. The characters and towns are all unique and memorable, each with history that shapes them and how they interact with each other and you, the outsider. Both gameplay and story service each other to present an experience unlike any other, enhancing each other at every opportunity. The art and soundtrack set the perfect atmosphere for each moment. And the world building. Man, the world building, it's just. So well done, you actually believe this is a real place that existed before you arrived, and that it will continue to do so after you leave. It wasn't waiting for you, it did not kick into gear just because you showed up. It has its own issues, its own history, its own people, nature, culture, and you can feel that with each written word, each piece of information. I can't even explain properly just how good the world building is.

I just really fell in love with being a guy on the road taking care of these settlements' problems, getting to know their inhabitants and gaining their trust, all while falling in love with the game. There is one quest that I do not want to spoil, but the ending was so. Fitting, in a way, that I was surprised I didn't see it coming. Even as I saw the achievement name once I completed it, I looked back and just. I just smiled like damn, good job.

If you want to really take in this entire world and its people, I would personally recommend playing in Casual, since any other difficulty setting will put a limit to the days you'll be allowed to stay, and I must stress that this experience must not be rushed. Unless you dont mind a time challenge, in which case you do you. Also don't know about your memory, but I needed to take notes, and some highlights are: "Efren marry me", "We should have all stabbed Thais full Julius Caesar style", "Eudica and Efren my beloveds" and "Thyrsus is my Warlock Uncle". With that being said, the Journal mechanic is a god sent, and I can't be more grateful that it exists. Finally, a journal that doesn't get stuck in the first sentences of a quest from when you first got it.

Oh boy, those are a lot of words. Can you tell I really liked this game? I can't wait to see more from this developer.

EDIT: THE GAME HAS RECEIVED A HUGE UPDATE THAT I HAVE YET TO PLAY, BUT OH BOY IT'S MAKING ME WANT TO REPLAY THE ENTIRE GAME AGAIN.

3) Exhibit of Sorrows

A short game set in a clown exhibit, with a point - click and drag gameplay. I'll keep this one short, since this game can be played for free in both browser and for download in Itchio, and it is a neat little thing that you can beat as fast or as slow as you want. You interact with each exhibit, clicking and dragging the mouse depending on what you need to do, each with a little buddy that you need to help or have fun with to get the key, and proceed to the next screen. Its length and artstyle make for a fun and interesting experience, pacing itself beautifully. It is effective in every way. And come on, they are clowns, they are so cute and look like plushies. I love them all.

4) The Firebrand

A game about a detective interrogating a woman with different word prompts that he writes down in his notebook, all which branch into more questions and answers. You'll uncover the story and the truth of this conversation as you play along, finding out stuff about the woman, the detective, and even the world they live in. It is an interrogation against a clock that keeps on ticking, and luckily the developers give us the chance to check out a dialogue tree and how to get both the Normal and True Ending. With that in mind, the questions that don't lead to either of these are worth reading, as they serve to paint a bigger picture. And hey, you can also get the Bad Ending while you do it.

5) Royal Alchemist

Royal Alchemist is a visual novel in which you, the protagonist, are tasked with tutoring the three princes of a nation. You will fight for your life against the challenges this new position presents and also the stat checks you will have to pass at different points of the story, both of your character and the princes. Speaking of, each one of them represents a different route, with their recommended order (which I highly request following as stated by the creators: Aurelius, then Serin, and finally Nazir. Trust me, they were made to be experienced like this, you wont regret it). You will experience the constant back and forth, the battle of swords and wits with Aurelius, the emotional build up with Serin, and to describe the main appeal of Nazir's route before playing it would be a spoiler. The romance in this VN is some of the best I've experienced. I have never read about two characters holding hands in such an intimate way, it made the pure build up of a route worth every second. And the Princes aren't the only interesting characters, this visual novel is full of fun and complex characters, all with their own personalities and roles. From Raphael, the butler who might as well be the patron saint of patience, to Viola, the infamous head merchant. It has a mechanic of stat raising and, as stated before, there will be points in the story where you will need to reach a certain level of a skill to be able to pass. But don't worry, there is an official guide made by the developers which is a life saver, which not only has each stat requirement for each route, but also with neat additions like character profiles and more. The only criticism I'll give it is that some scenes are cut short when they could have been expanded on and it would have had a better effect, not only in terms of an emotional connection, but also to further enforce the bond between the player and the relationship developed in the route. But besides that small complaint, this visual novel is one I would gladly recommend.

6) Fear & Hunger

God, this game. This game hates you on a mechanical level. This game will put the fear of god in you every time you get further away from a save point, every time you think "yeah I can take this enemy no problem" and next thing you know you are eating dinner with your creator; every time you think "oh neat, a new area" and proceed to eat shit and die for the next hour because you just lost a fucking arm and a leg and can't outrun your enemies anymore. And you refuse to start another run because you are just that stubborn, and you will suffer through the consequences of your early game actions. No this is not my personal experience what are you talking about. It is a bleak and grotesque horror rpg game, made with RPG Maker. You will accompany whichever poor soul you choose as your playable character in their trip to the dungeon of Fear and Hunger, for whichever the reason their story presents. Should you play this game? Be mindful of the triggering content, first and foremost. This is a dark game, and it does not shy away from depicting it. From enemy designs, gameplay mechanics, to the way of worshiping gods, to specific game overs, and so on. Its hard and you will feel it unfair. This game will not hold your hand, and when you think it does it will put its teeth around your wrist and tear it off your body, its saliva infecting your wound with poison and leaving you to rot. I love this game.

7) Clash: Robot Detective

Fun fact: I never look into games that much before playing them, which in this case led to the asssumption that I was going to play a robot. So I named my character Flesh, because I thought a robot named Flesh was funny and also cool. Turns out, I ended up playing a human named Flesh. Which was somehow even funnier, and ended up becoming a pattern when I played the extras, which have a different protagonist, and I decided to commit to the bit and named them Blood. Flesh and Blood, my favourite human beings.

You play as the extremely new assistant to our titular detective Clash, who asks for your help in solving a mystery taking place in the cruise ship you are vacationing on. Depending on the different dialogue options, you can play as the good or the bad cop, and Clash will balance you out in this act, which leads to different and interesting outcomes.

I have to say, the artstyle drew me in. I am a sucker for these types of illustrations, and I'm glad that the writing and story were as good. I was invested not only in the case, but also on Clash as a character, who I will longingly stare at from a distance because I respect his boundaries and preferences.

Keep on going, you majestic robot detective, I can't wait to see what kind of trouble you get into in the future.

8) EXCUSE ME SIR (Demo)

Long awaited (at least for me) DEMO from Airdoft (creator of FAITH) and , and it all came about because of her videos and a single tweet.

The demo is short, but it shows the great potential of what a game like this could grow into, and I cant wait to see it become a finished project.

EDIT: Sadly, the game has been canceled, so we won't be able to see this concept grow into a finished game. Hopefully it'll inspire others with its style and presentation.

9) (Don't) Open Your Eyes

In this room, you know how everything looks. Does that include your midnight intruder?

This entire VN is a one sided conversation between you and something that may or may not be there, shaped in the darkness of your closed eyelids. Both of you are gripped by the same question, the intrigue eats away at you. Your imagination runs wild trying to give shape to this anomaly, and it is so desperate for you to find out.

There is only one way to do so:

Don't open your eyes.

10) Fortress

Man, short and effective is the way to describe this one. It has such a fantastic grip on atmosphere and tension that I admire. It truly captures the feeling of returning to a place where an impactful childhood memory took place.

Using the same location and making you play through it at different times of the story was done so well. I was ready for things to happen just because they did in the past, the first half of the game, and expected them to happen again.

In the past, I was ready to shoot on sight. As an adult, I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger, not even to see if I could. I don't know why, months after playing it, this little thing has stuck with me the most.

11) The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car

You leave the gas station with a stranger, either on the wheel or sitting next to you. The silence hangs heavy between you two, the road is empty, the sun is setting, and the end of the world is now. Time to break the silence, you get to choose who. In this visual novel you get to decide how this conversation at the end of the world unfolds, a game of perspective between our two characters, who may hide certain details about themselves or reveal them, if they give you the choice. After all, what would you gain by hiding a secret in this car ride? It could be your last.

12) Attack of the Murder Hornets

Hornets are evil, evil things of nature. They are coming for your bees.

They are coming for you.

BE READY

13) Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (+ Siege of Dragon Spear)

There has to be a saying that goes: If you can't play the game everyone is talking about, go play every single game in it's series that came before it. Because that's what I did, even if I already wanted to play the Baldur's Gate games before the third one came around. But it was definitely a good push. The game's story has a much smaller scope than I expected, or maybe that's just how I feel now that I am currently playing the second game, but I think it works in its favor.

I think the reason I don't have much to say, besides the fact that I had lots of fun, is because my head is still processing Siege of Dragon Spear (with its much bigger scope) and what I am currently seeing in the second game. What all I'll say about that one now is man, what a way to start a sequel.

My suffering came mostly from the ruleset used (which I was unfamiliar with) and the fucking paralysis spell. Fuck it. ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE PARALYSIS SPELL.

In terms of characters, I didn't end up using most of the available NPCs in my party, even if I made the effort of recruiting them all, mostly because the ones I had I liked a lot. I liked Rasaad and I was pleasantly surprised he had a romance in the expansion AND the second game, which I am enjoying a lot. Jaheira and Khalid never left my party, same with Imoen who I kept treating like a sister because come on, the setup of being raised in the same city since birth and being childhood friends was perfect. I love Baeloth an unhealthy amount, he is so perfect in the expansion I made an effort to keep him in the party even if I had high reputation. In the expansion my party was insane looking. Like Oh yes, the Hero of Baldur's Gate, her monk companion Rasaad, Jaheira and... a gnome nobody knows why he is around, Baeloth the entertainer I guess, and a GOBLIN? At one point I did switch Jaheira for Viconia, only because Baeloth was one point of reputation away from leaving the party. I swear, the grip that man has on me. The story from Viconia's POV must be so funny: She gets recruited and instantly tells me she is fucking off, gets recruited again only because I dont want an idiot entertainer to leave; and then when she is about to be killed, who comes to her rescue? THIS DUMBASS. She must be like: GOD, DAMN IT, I CAN'T ESCAPE THIS BITCH. I am her surface curse.

My closing thought for this game is: Whoever made the TOSC maze... Who the fuck hurt you? Same goes for whoever made that final boss. WHY?!

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roanimations · 8 months

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cool demon

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xwagnerplaguesx · 2 years

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Demon’s Crest (Capcom/1994)

#capcom #demon's crest #firebrand #red arremer #video games #Consoles #games #gaming #SNES #Super Nintendo

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theresattrpgforthat · 2 years

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THEME: MECHS Part 2

There are a lot of great Mech games, so this is a continuation of this week's theme!

Breakup on Re-Entry by Riverhouse Games

Earth is at war w/ The Colonies. Mech pilots must keep their identities secret or risk assassination. You just realized your lover has been secretly piloting your rival mech. It all comes down to this battle. Do you want to keep fighting?

This is a roleplaying game for two Mecha pilots who do not know yet that their mortal enemy sleeps by their side every night. You will need a deck of Poker cards and two index cards to play this game.

Players will draw from the deck of cards and answer questions about Civilian Life, the War, the Fight at Hand and your Lover. Your character won't realize who exactly it is they are fighting until they draw the King of Hearts - and then you will get to roleplay all of the heartbreak and betrayal: if you stop fighting, you will get do decide what happens after. This is a simple, short game, great for two people who want to roleplay out something dramatic without requiring a time commitment longer than a few hours.

Bro, is it Gay to GATTAI? by Lucas Valensa.

Bro, he’s your whole world. He makes you feel fabulous. He completes you. He’s huge, made of metal, and has a heart powered by plutonium.

He’s a giant robot. And so are you.

You’re in love and the two of you combine into an even bigger giant robot.

This is “Bro, Is It Gay To GATTAI!?” a Gay Game about telling your boyfriend you love him and how much he means to you. This game is a hack of “Hot Gay Bro Dragons” by Riverhouse Games, inspired Transformers, LEGO Bionicle, and any other media where two giant robots combine into a bigger robot.

You'll need some kind of toy robot to build as you play this game together. As you build, you'll ask (and answer) questions about your relationship. Puns and bad jokes are encouraged! This is an excellent game for couples, or people who would like to try romantic roleplay.

Apocalypse Frame by Binary Star Games.

In a ruined and terraformed world where most of humanity is under the yoke of a brutal regime, the former workers of a once-remote factory - now known as The Collective - have risen up to create a future of freedom from oppression. You are an Ace - a highly skilled pilot referred from a Division in The Collective and assigned a humanoid combat vehicle known as a Frame. You and your Strike Team of fellow Aces must take on The Collective’s greatest threats, ensure its survival, and carve a path for its continued success.

APOCALYPSE FRAME is designed to be very fast to pick up and play, and it's suitable for both one-shots and extended campaigns. Combat is quick, punchy, and deadly for Aces' enemies.

Player characters have three attributes: Drive, Speed and Control. You will choose one of your three attributes for every attack roll you make, and roll a number of d6's equal to your Attribute number. Apocalypse Frame uses the LUMEN system and comes with pre-generated characters (for the table that wants to get roleplaying right away) as well as an expansion called Aces High! You can also pick up Ballad of Industrial Gods, and Explore the Ruined World, which contain missions and seasonal content for Apocalypse Frame. With easy rules and a lot of content, your party can get a new campaign up and running quickly!

Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by Lumpley Games (Meguey & Vincent Baker.)

Humanity has spread through the Milky way, using interstellar transit gate technology to colonize the galaxy. Mobile frames are the hard-working, hard-fighting combat- and labor mecha they’ve brought with them.

You are romantic ace mobile frame pilots, caught up in an undeclared war for the future of the Bantral system.

MOBILE FRAME ZERO: FIREBRANDS is a roleplaying party game by Meguey Baker & D. Vincent Baker, set in Joshua A.C. Newman’s MOBILE FRAME ZERO universe. You don’t need to be familiar with MF0: RAPID ATTACK or MF0: INTERCEPT ORBIT to play. To play, you’ll need 3–5 players, a copy of the playbook for each, and a handful of coins.

This is the precursor to the Firebrands series, a game in which players engage in a series of mini games in order to play out a series of scenes between their characters. If you are a fan of Mobile Frame Zero, if you like the idea of romance and big mech pilots, if you like games focused on narrative more than anything else, this is the game for you.

Disaster/Wing by A Couple of Drakes.

Deal with drama, pass the test, doubt yourself, trust your friends, face down the Alien Horde, and GET IN THE ROBOT.

DISASTER/WING, prep for launch.

DISASTER/WING is a mecha tabletop game made to tell stories of fantastic adolescent heroism and giant robots. The characters are teenagers in a world very much like our own. They go to school, get embroiled in teen drama, and try to find their place in the face of onrushing adult responsibility and societal expectation. They are also in a city that is actually a giant spaceship, hurtling through space, fleeing a catastrophic war with technologically-superior aliens that destroyed their world generations ago. They are also, through no fault of their own, the only ones who can pilot the centuries-old war machines that are their city’s only hope when the aliens inevitably return. They exist between these worlds, juggling their teenage feelings and responsibilities with the duty that has been thrust upon them.

Another Forged in the Dark game, this game adds the teenage experience to the mecha genre. You'll be running through missions without the fiddly planning, focusing on the action and quick d6-based pools.

Nova by GilaRpgs

NOVA is a rules-lite tabletop RPG in a world where the sun exploded, and humanity struggles to hold onto what little light they have left. The players will pilot exosuits, called Sparks, exploring the dark ruins of old earth, searching for the technology and knowledge that may just bring on a new dawn.

NOVA also uses the LUMEN system, which is designed for action-packed combat, equipping the players with a set of powers that bring the power fantasy feelings of looter shooters to the tabletop. Players will each choose a Spark to pilot, specialized exosuits designed to explore the dangers of the Dusk. Each exosuit was designed by humanity to serve a particular function, and the LUMEN system equips the players with a set of powers and abilities that allow them to excel while on their dangerous missions.

This is a game with a slew of third-party content available for you to modify your gam with, including new Sparks, alternate mechanics and additions to the world. You're not going to get gigantic robots in this game, but you'll get the same theme of humans going up against larger-than-life odds, fighting desperately to cling onto hope. This is a twice-Ennie-nominated game, so it's worth checking out!

#indie ttrpg #robots #mechs #firebrands #dnd #lumen #game recommendations

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fideidefenswhore · 1 year

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It’s a watchable piece of faux history, but the movie does not know what to do with its own heroine, content to leave her to the clutches of its villain: Henry.

yeah, i don’t think i’m going to be a fan of this one.

#i mean i know it's just one review; but...#that is literally everything i hate #a push to dissociate every wife of henry from...henry #which. you can't really credibly do? they were married to him #it's my possible entirely most unpopular opinion ever but i do believe all of them did WANT to marry him #they weren't the one in pursuit; that wasn't how the 'game' went #but i believe each was a decision made by them #which does not = 'they were all uninhibitedly in love with him' which is how that is always taken for some reason #i mean without reservation? i don't think any of them were. but he wasn't either .#certainly not without limits #it's also just boring. it's fucking boringggg. there is simply no flavor #as horrible as the kh depiction was in like the tudors it was so much more compelling to watch her with agency #than like idk. whatever mid shit worsley's docuseries put it #bcus it made it feel all the more gut-wrenching when she lost it #same with the depiction of AB's for all its flaws even #and why the kparr and js arcs were the most fucking boring .#firebrand 2023

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corvidcall · 1 year

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i dont play ttrpgs anymore really (i got very shy over the pandemic, and also i had a really bad experience making an actual play at the start of the ap podcast boom, which resulted in me kind of falling out with the indie ttrpg scene as a whole) but one thing i very much miss was how much fun i had naming characters. my go-to move, especially for any scifi game, was to just use a random noun generator to name my characters. got some real bangers from that

#anime life #some examples: Captain Symmetry Flintlock ('Sims' to her friends)#(Sims was from a game of follow)#Azimuth Font (my character from the one time i played firebrands)#Courage Capitol (from Beam Saber)#i have more that weren't strictly from a random noun generator but are a similar naming convention #like Orion Convallaria #(orion being a greek hero and a constellation. convallaria is part of the scientific name of lily of the valley)

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dailyfgsupers · 1 year

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Firebrand's Luminous Body/Red Blaze

(Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, 2017)

#fighting games #fighting game #marvel vs capcom #mvc #marvel vs capcom: infinite #mvci #firebrand

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ehronlime · 1 year

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My Favourite Tabletop Games I Played in 2022

Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands - Violence Erupts

I wrote about playing a one-shot of Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands and trying out the new Violence Erupts minigame in a previous issue of the newsletter. Then, I used it more as a jumping off point to muse about directions to push the Blood mechanic in Spectres of Brocken and about providing scaffolding for play.

However, now I just want to gush about how I really, really love Firebrands and the new minigame slots right in so perfectly and plays expertly with the themes that I love in mecha fiction, of the outsize reach that mechs, that technology, allows you and the tragedies that ensue. It also helped me push through some design ideas in Spectres of Brocken, and that's the best thing a game could do for a game designer. I've seen some more previews of updates to Firebrands through Vincent Baker's Patreon and that has me really excited for the new edition, so there's a high chance (pretty much a lock, tbh) Firebrands will return again on another end of year favourites list.

Wingspan

I finally played Wingspan this year lol. It had a lot of buzz when it released in 2019 and I figured I would eventually play it at one of the many boardgame meetups that I attended but I somehow managed to always find something else new and exciting to play and put off Wingspan because Wingspan would still be there for me, since it was so popular. Well, I managed to put it all off until 2022 and yeah it's pretty good! Jeannie loves birds a lot, so it was the perfect game for us to play together, and she's the undisputed Queen of Birds.

Reach of the Roach God

Someone could accuse me of bias since I was paid to help out with playtesting a couple of adventures for Reach of the Roach God (City of Peace and Spider Mountain Temple), and to that someone I would say, tough shit - the adventures are really, really good regardless.

It's also been quite a while since I've run fantasy adventures as I've been running a Beam Saber campaign since 2020 and I've been playtesting a mecha game, and it was just really nice to get back into that mode. I felt incredibly comfortable and supported doing it with the Reach of the Roach God adventures as it drew upon a lot of folklore that we were already familiar with, and the various random generators and bits of writing did so much to make the places and people feel so alive. I'm incredibly excited to see the final book and run the adventures again once they've gone through the refinement process.

Spectres of Brocken

Well, well, well. If you read my December newsletter reflecting on 2022 you already knew this was coming. I love Spectres of Brocken so much. I feel so lucky I get to "playtest" this game, which is just an excuse to play this game over and over with cool people. It's not a perfect game, to be sure, but it feels like the perfect game for me. It's got all the weird little mechanical toggles I like playing with, the types of scenes I like playing with, and all the themes and timeskips and tragedy and mechs that I could want.

Honourable Mentions: Mr. Face, Parks: Nightfall, Crisis, A Worried Guest, Stand Up! Hero!!!, Oldhome: Children Chasing Giants, Oldhome: Trip to Turtle City, Iseguy, DaDaGang, Depths Unfathomable, For The Other City, Corps a Corps, Meanwhile, In the Subway..., Da Xia, Stealing The Throne

#tabletop games #ttrpgs #boardgames #mobile frame zero #firebrands #wingspan #reach of the roach god #spectres of brocken

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clankhead · 1 year

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Demon / Gargoyle

Wicked Duals

Fun Fact: This was one of the first times I ever sculpted green stuff for a base 3 years back, it looks awful! This is a goofy looking figure though, so I think it’s fine.

#miniature painting #demon #dnd #painting miniatures #miniatures #devil #gargoyle #firebrand #ghosts n goblins #fantasy monster #fantasy #fantasy creature #monster #horns #devil horns #wings #bat wings #tabletop gaming #tabletop

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keniambro · 2 years

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A few of the drawings that I did for Drawlloween 2015, which I themed entirely around video games.

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silenced-uzi · 11 months

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having the game design epiphany that I'm making the narrative play in the game I've been working on into Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast but what if it was about the ramifications of committing horrible hyperviolence

#ttrpg #game design #ttrpg design #this isn't totally accurate but I thought it was funny #I'm mostly just taking the sorta #“use the mechanics for the narrative situations they fit and drop em when they arent relevant” philosophy Yazeba's and Firebrands has #Neon Animal #yazeba's bed & breakfast

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meltingpenguins · 2 years

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The Hero Unraveled! (A Hero Unmasked! FanFic)

A little OneShot to celebrate the 5th anniversary of The Hero Unmasked!'s original release. <3

Firebrand's having an epiphany and a bit of a crisis.

(Mild spoilers for the game, female MC)

Well, this was certainly unexpected and unplanned. The only question Firebrand had now was if it was unwelcomed too. Should he actually tell her the next time he'd see her? She knew his identity (admittedly, he was glad and a bit surprised she hadn't ratted him out yet), so this could provide some much needed leverage. True, he had anticipated she'd find out who he was one of these days, but… No, that wasn't right. He had anticipated that the Swashbuckler would find out who he was. But this wasn't actually Swash, was it? It was, Firebrand was certain of it, her twin sister. All because he had decided to clean his apartment after that little totally-not-a-date-according-to-not-Swash date at the Golden Eagle to clear his mind. Just sort through some old papers, try not to think about the evening (in part to not get angry about Lee, in part because he was maybe still a little flustered about Swash asking him out for a date), that kind of thing. Maybe figure out where half of his socks went, because he was certain they didn't get lost in the laundry. This plan had panned out quite well until he had fished up some receipt from last summer for an odd job at the edge of Dockerstown. Little terraced house in one of the odd folds of the city, with an overgrown backyard chaotic enough that Firebrand had almost suspected to dig up some archaeological sensations there when he (in his civilian guise, of course) was called in by the neighbors to see about cutting the grass. He faintly remembered the jokes he had cracked about it, but only now, upon finding the receipt, did he remember a peculiar detail. The name of the woman owning that mess of a yard.

Gentry.

Like Ellie Gentry, the tv star who is meant to marry the mayor in about a week's-or-so time, and who currently has been kidnapped. Just that that yard did not belong to 'Ellie Gentry', but to 'Mag Gentry'. The longer Firebrand looked at the receipt, the more bits and pieces he remembered. Things like Miss Mag Gentry's neighbors telling him that, yes, she absolutely looks like Miss Gentry on TV, and if Miss Mag would be two inches taller they might be twins. Things like Miss Mag watching him work from the roof of all things as he faceplanted into her backyard after discovering a long lost flower pot (not an archaeological sensation), and the two even talking about scaling the buildings of the area as workout.

And then something that Lee had said just hours prior to now had sank in, and the epiphany had hit him like an 18-wheeler loaded with sledgehammers.

Lee had, maybe genuinely, maybe jokingly, said that Swash (in disguise, of course) looks so much like Miss Gentry from behind. And hadn't Firebrand often mused that Ellie Gentry was the Swashbuckler? Sure, he had assumed that the Swashbuckler now and back at the station a few weeks ago had been a body-double meant to throw off people suspecting the same thing about Miss Ellie, but this way things started to make a lot more sense. Because a body-double would not have much of a reason to risk their hide like that, no matter how much Swash might have been paying them. But a sister? Especially one who already made a living out of doing almost the same stuff as Swash? A sister would. So, the Swashbuckler he had faced at the station was the genuine deal, the one he faced after the kidnapping was Ellie, stepping in for her sister, who was the one who had gotten kidnapped. No wonder she had kissed him, he doubted the actual Swashbuckler would ever do that, as much as he'd like for that to happen.

Firebrand would by lying if he said this hadn't made him a little giddy. Then he had remembered that Ellie had quite certainly found out his real name and address. And he would also be lying if he said he wasn't torn right now. He should actually tell her he knew, and press her to not tell Swash. Then again, Ellie was trying to save her sister's live, and Firebrand did have a conscience, no matter what the media said, thank you very much. He couldn't really bring himself to just waltz up to her in such a situation and threaten the two of them. He opted for counting on Ellie not being an asshole. She hadn't been so far, so there was a chance she wouldn't even tell her sister once all of this was over.

There was, however, something about the entire thing that was worrying: Who had gotten the upper hand of the Swashbuckler? That Firebrand himself had managed to ultimately best Swash in the first battle after the kidnapping was obviously due to that being Ellie, not Mag. So, who would have the skill and means to best the actual Swashbuckler? And another thought sank in. Ellie was up against the King of Diamonds. Not that Firebrand thought her incapable (for all he had heard she bested Bloodmist but then bargained her own life against that of the old bloodsucker's hostage or something? Typically Swash, even if it's not really Swash), but it wouldn't hurt to hang around the casino the following night.

Firebrand got up and stretched. He still had to get his mail, and then he needed a good night of sleep in preparation for tomorrow.

This was really a mess.

At least things couldn't get more convoluted than they already were.

#choice of games #the hero unmasked #hero unmasked firebrand #interactive fiction #meeps writes

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