I’ve been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a couple of years as a player and a DM and have enjoyed every minute. I have made some great new friends, and I look forward to hanging out with them every week. That said, there have been times in my D&D career when burnout has gotten to me. This burnout has made me curious about other systems. Sometimes just I want to live in a new system for a session or three to keep things fresh. Over the years, I’ve researched a few systems to sprinkle into our sessions. This time, my search brought me to the classic Swedish RPG Dragonbane.
What first drew me to this system was the beautiful art style. If nothing else, you need to look up this system to appreciate the artwork. The system looks simple enough to pick up quickly, and it has an interesting parry/dodge mechanic that could make combat more interesting.
If you want to play Dragonbane, there is a free QuickStart guide you can download with the basic rules and even a short adventure you can run. You will not have to enter any payment information if you order it through the site, but the delivery does take a couple of minutes to get to you. I suggest you get a copy directly from Drivethrough RPG instead.
You can preorder the core set from the official site for $53.93. For this price, you’ll receive a copy of the rule book, an adventure book with 11 adventures, a set of dice, five pre-generated character sheets, five blank character sheets, a double-sided map, custom treasure cards, and cardboard standees for characters and monsters. People who preorder will also get immediate access to the PDF of the rulebook, so you can start playing immediately. The core set has everything you need to get you hooked for a very reasonable price. You can convert the pricing on the store page to your local currency but not the cart. A quick Google search should remedy this. They do ship to the US, but I am not sure about anywhere else. The shipping cost was reasonable if I did the conversion correctly.
Dragonbane looks to be a solid system if you are looking to get into a new TTRPG. I will be trying to get my players to join me on this adventure, will you be doing the same?
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Kakele: A cute pixel art MMO you should try once
I got to play Kakele at GDC and liked it enough to try to get a deeper experience. Make sure you check out my original post for additional information. Kakele is a free-to-play pixel art MMORPG that you can play on IOS, Android, or PC. There is cross-play between devices, and your saves carry over. If you are looking for and cute MMO to try, you should consider Kakale.
I played on both the PC and mobile versions and enjoyed them the same. Each version has its advantage. On PC, I felt like I had better control of my character, and made fewer mistakes in combat. Mobile was much more convenient, and I liked being able to play on the go. I loved that I could grind out some levels while I waited for my oil change. I didn’t feel an unfair advantage between devices, but most players I talked to preferred PC for endgame content and PVP.
Kakele has a voice-acted story, but there are some syntax errors due to the translation. It isn’t so bad you won’t understand what’s going on, but it is noticeable. The voice acting is computer generated, but I appreciate that I don’t always have to read the text. I found the story delightfully quirky, and it did enough to set up its lore. I am curious to see where they take the story, but the English translation needs some love. According to players I chatted with, the story is the quickest way to level up your character.
Kakele has an undeniably adorable aesthetic, but some of the maps can feel a bit cluttered. The character creation is limited to a few sprites and color changes, but they want to sell you skins. The early leveling experience is great. The game does enough to ease new players into their new roles, and there is enough to do to keep players busy. Outside the starter zone, the difficulty felt well-scaled. I felt I was given enough of a foundation to grind efficiently while still feeling challenged. It is easy to get overwhelmed by mobs of enemies if you are playing too passively, or aren’t properly geared or leveled. The combat felt active. I liked that I didn’t have to wait for global cooldowns, and had a blast kiting with the mage.
There is a grind, but it doesn’t feel any different from modern MMOs. You can pay for premium or buy boosts to level up faster, but I leveled quickly without having to spend money. There are global boosts that can be applied to the whole server in the cash shop. I was lucky and always got to play with a global boost and it made the grind more pleasant. At least this early in the game’s life, some charitable players love the game enough to help grow the community.
One issue that might be a barrier to entry is the social element. If you speak Spanish or Portuguese, you will find a healthy supply of friendly players ready to help you. I am fluent in Spanish and understand enough Portuguese to get by. All the interactions I had were pleasant and made me want to play the game more. I was never able to find English-speaking players, at least not on the North American server. I don’t think this is much of an issue because there are plenty of players walking around who will help without the need to communicate. I doubt you will have issues finding groups for PVP or PVE content. At least that was the experience on the PVE server, I can’t speak for the PVP side. If you want to level up with English-speaking players, I recommend you convince friends to join you.
I liked Kakale and played it more than I should have. I love the combat system, love the tone, and enjoy its simplicity. The combat is complex enough to keep the game from growing stale, but the simple graphics means this game can run on anything. I am a huge proponent of games made for all gamers, not just the ones that can afford high-end computers. The game is a lot of fun, and the community is very welcoming. If you are looking for a new MMO while you take a break from your main one, consider playing Kakele. It’s free to play, so you have nothing to lose.
You can download load Kakele for IOS, Android, and PC. Make sure you also check out my previous post for additional information.
GDC Recap: Worldless
I got to try Worldless at GDC, and it was one of the few times I have ever enjoyed a platformer. Worldless is a 2D minimalistic adventure platformer with an interesting battle mechanic. This game is beautiful, but the game has a great design. You play as this character of light and travel through this abstract world, fighting against monsters and marveling at how pretty everything is.
As far as platformers go, this one isn’t that bad. According to the game’s producer, the devs wanted to make the focus of the game its combat system. I don’t like platformers, but I found the experience pleasant and relaxing. I particularly loved how the world changes around the main character as you move her through the world. This feature was implemented to keep players from getting lost, and it works perfectly. It also looks great in practice.
The combat is where I had the most fun with the game. Combat is turn-based, but there is a slight rhythm mechanic to it. You can easily button-mash between turns to get through fights, but it is more efficient to get the timing correctly. The loop is simple. On your turn, you cast spells and abilities, and on theirs, you block. There are elemental weaknesses, resistances, and other quirks to keep combat engaging. Worldless also features a relatively expansive skill tree that you fill by absorbing monsters or finding hidden nodes. You can fill up the whole tree, so make sure you explore everything!
The demo does a fantastic job at slowly introducing mechanics as you explore the world and builds up perfectly to a final boss. The game design for this game is terrific, and I appreciate the attention to detail that went into the making of this experience. If you pay attention, the encounters give you enough hints to make the final boss fight easier. I was told that the boss in the demo isn’t as hard as the bosses in the full game, but I was also told that I was one of the few to beat it on the first try. I found the encounter to be challenging enough to keep me engaged. I wouldn’t have been able beat the boss without a solid strategy or proper game design.
If you like RPGs and platformers, you should be looking into Worldless. The combat is fun and engaging, the platforming is relaxing, and the game is beautiful. I loved my limited exposure to this game, and I look forward to its release.
Worldless is coming to the PC and Xbox sometime this year, but an official date hasn’t been announced. The Demo is available on Steam, and I highly recommend you go download it. Don’t forget to wishlist it while you’re there!
Shout out the Dev who was so kind and answered all my questions. Make sure you follow them on Twitter and Join the Discord so that you are always up to date!
Game Review: Tower of Fantasy
The new Gotcha MMO Tower of Fantasy has just been released and if you are thinking of trying it out, now is a good time because of how many rewards they are throwing at their players.
For those not familiar, this is a Genshin Impact clone that is trying to make its place in the genre. For the most part, I think it’s succeeding. Full disclosure, I am not an expert on the game and will be speaking about this game from a casual perspective. If you are someone looking for the best strategies to optimize your gaming experience, there are tons of YouTube channels dedicated to the subject.
Tower of Fantasy is playable on Android, IOS and PC. It is cross-platform, and I was able to play it on both PC and mobile. As far as the art goes, it is fine. It isn’t too busy, but I do prefer the dreamlike art style of Genshin Impact slightly better. There is character creation to this, but I can’t speak on how detailed it can get. I tend to randomize my appearance, but I liked my character. Not that character creation matters because you can roll for playable characters later on through the game’s Gotcha mechanic.
As far as Gotcha games go, Tower of Fantasy doesn’t feel very predatory. I got a healthy amount of in-game currency and was able to pull a couple of the chased characters. Most importantly, I found a character I love playing without spending any money on the game.
The game has a story, but it isn’t very good. You go from town to town completing chores and learning about the world’s lore. There is voice acting in this game, but it is very inconsistent. Some voice actors are great, but there are some bad recordings. I guess we can be grateful that there is voice acting, but some of the cut scenes are a chore to get through. The NPCs aren’t very memorable unless you want to play as them. I didn’t care enough about the story to care about many of the characters.
The gameplay is like any open-world MMO. There is a map you are encouraged to explore, tons of enemies to fight, and real people you can play with. Exploration is fun. You get a mount early on and other movement abilities that make traveling across the map interesting. Sometimes the movement abilities feel clunky and don’t work as intended, but the game just came so I can forgive it for now. The game encourages exploration by hiding treasures and secrets across the map that offer in-game currencies or items.
Combat is my favorite part of this game. You carry three weapons that you must switch between to maximize your damage. You work towards combos and ultimate attacks by fighting, switching weapons, and dodging properly. I never felt like the combat got stale because there is always a different combo to pull off. You have to level up your gear to keep up with the mob levels by feeding your equipment materials you find in the world. I got a steady amount of supplies to keep up with the content by only playing casually.
I’ve played this game on PC, iPhone, and the iPad. While I much prefer the PC experience because it runs smoother and my big fingers don’t get in the way, it runs fine enough on mobile. I will say that it felt especially clunky, and I encountered the most crashes on my iPad 8.
Tower of Fate has had a solid launch. I’ve encountered a few bugs and crashes, but nothing that would ruin the experience. It honestly comes down to taste. If you like the art style, go for it. If you are on the fence, try it out, it’s free. This is a very casual friendly game, especially if you only have an hour a day to play your games.
You can find out more information on the game’s official website.
Game Review: Blackguards 2 (Nintendo Switch)
I received this Blackguards 2 as a review code for the Nintendo Switch. I would like to take this moment to thank Daedalic Entertainment for the opportunity, and I hope I can continue to do more reviews for the company in the future. That said, I will not let this affect my review. This will be my honest opinion of the game.
Blackguards 2 is an action turn based-strategy RPG where you control a team of heroes and mercenaries through a series of combat scenarios and puzzles. The game focuses on Cassia, a wronged woman who seeks revenge by taking her ex-husband’s kingdom from him. Her husband locked her up and left her to die. Will she be able to lead her army and achieve her revenge, or will she succumb to her ever-creeping madness?
I had a lot of fun with this game when it worked properly. You can set traps, ambush enemies, and use the environment to earn your victory. Unfortunately, the enemy AI is inconsistent, and some levels will not work as intended. Sometimes I was greeted by tactical enemies who forced me to earn my victory. Other times the enemy would stand still while I slaughtered them relentlessly. If you are smarter than me (and you probably are) you can find ways to break the Ai and breeze through combat easily. There is also a light puzzle element that is heavily impacted by how the enemy AI chooses to act. I failed a few puzzles because the AI became ungodly.
My biggest issue with the combat was the pathing. There are levels where you will have to choose your pathing hex by hex; this will prove tedious. If you allow the pathing to be chosen for you, your heroes will run into fire or traps that will kill them instantly. Each level can also have invisible traps that require special skills to see. These will create incredibly frustrating moments as you watch your heroes die instatly for stepping on random particles. This game can become incredibly frustrating and impossible to beat if you are not careful or paying attention.
The graphics for the game are fine, but nothing special. On some levels, the bloom and high contrast make it hard to see enemies and traps. I felt this to be especially true in handheld mode where it would be hard to see even the pathing. It doesn’t help that the camera controls don’t let you rotate the camera horizontally, making it hard to select some units or objectives. If you are going to play this game, I suggest you play this on a bigger screen.
Customization can be overwhelming if you are new to the genre. You can buy and earn gear to customize your units to fit your play style. You can also buy skills, spells, and feats to make your heroes more heroic. I found customizing my units to be a hassle as the UI felt clunky most of the time. Unfortunately, skills and feats you buy impact combat, making dealing with the UI a necessary evil.
I enjoyed the story for the most part. I adored the voice acting, although the sound mixing isn’t consistent. I thought the characters were fine although they do fall into the same tropes you are probably used to. The world-building in this game comes from conversations you have with NPCs in the hubs, but it stops the information you gather stops being interesting halfway through. The game does offer you choices to make, but I didn’t feel like they impacted gameplay.
I didn’t hate this game, but I can’t ignore its issues. When this game worked, I had a blast! Unfortunately, the bugs make victories anticlimactic, losses frustrating, and on some levels unnecessarily difficult. This game fills a specific niche, so if you don’t like strategy games, I wouldn’t bother. If you do like the genre, I would wait for it to go on sale. It isn’t worth the $10. You can play this on Mac, PC, Xbox, Playstation, and on the Nintendo Switch.
This game is currently on sale on steam for $.99. It is definitely worth that much.
D&D Sessions – Character Introductions
This is part of a series. Click here for the whole story!
Tal and his brother Zarmir stand in the middle of the crowded field. Zarmir nonchalantly musing about while, fiddling at his cape. Tal makes a quick scans the signs until he finds the grouping that includes their last names. Tal takes the lead and guides his brother through the crowds of students and parents to the table with the letters “Ne-0” printed in front of it.
The two make an unusual pair. Those who look at them would never guess they were brother. Tal is a slender red skin Tiefling, with his hair raven black hair falling to his shoulders. His eyes are a bright yellow. He has two large ram’s horns that come out the front of his forehead and loop around his ears. There is a freshly polished and painted lute that is strapped to his back. He is dressed in fine linens and would almost resemble a noble if his pants and boots were not sullied with mud and dirt from his travels.
Zarmir the other hand is a stout and tall human male. His broad shoulders and large arms prove to the world that he tirelessly spends his time training. His blue eyes scanning for trouble as he follows his brother. His short black hair is neatly kept. In fact, he keeps himself neatly. His suit is freshly pressed and his boots and pants don’t have a spec of dirt on them. His clothes are all brightly adorned with gold trimmings and his Northman family crest perfectly embroidered on the chest of his jacket. He uses the cape to slightly hide this small detail. Zarmir gows impatient with the whole ordeal. He just wants to get back to training and get stronger.
Tal gets them registered. They receive a sheet with the words “Sylvan Towers 304” written under room assignment.
“Cool we got the same room” Zarmir says, unable to hide his excitement “we aren’t going to be separated after all!” Tal nods, sharing in the excitement.
Tal thinks for a second. He has seen this name before. He remembers passing the dorm room on their way to sports fields. He remembers how to get back to it.
“Come brother, I remember the way” Tal says confidently. Zarmir shrugs and follows him without question. Tal was always better at these kinds of things.
The brothers are the first to arrive. The door reads 304 and it is decorated with five small pieces of parchment, each with a different name. They recognize their own names, but not the other three.
“I guess we have roommates” Tal says as he reaches out to open the door. The door opens to a large living space, cluttered with neat stacks of boxes, chest, bags and other miscellaneous items. There are 3 reading chairs scattered about the room. There is a small empty fireplace at its center for the winter months. There are two bare shelves on opposite sides of the room. There is a large window at the end of the room that looks out to the snow-capped mountains behind the school. Under it, a small table with two chairs neatly tucked under it. The large room empties into 4 separate rooms. Each room comes with a bed and a desk, but there is one with a bunk bed. That room is slightly bigger meaning that one of the singles is slightly smaller.
Tal takes a seat on one of the reading chairs and starts to play with his lute. He tunes it for a bit before fiddling with a scale he enjoys. Zarmir finds an empty space on the ground that fits his frame and drops to the floor to do pushups.
Jalila makes her way through the crowd effortlessly. Crowds don’t bother her. She is used to moving through the busy city streets of Rexxentrum, and this was a lot more spacious. She looks down at the piece of parchment she was given at orientation. The words “Sylvan Towers 304” neatly written under room assignment. It doesn’t take her long to find the building. Jalila walks down the busy hall. She passes open doors with people talking loudly inside. She passes others carrying large boxes. She reads the numbers, each one getting closer to 304.
Jalila is an unusual creature. Her soft brown completion seems to glow even in the shadow. Her eyes are a pretty golden amber color and one might argue that she is unnaturally beautiful. She doesn’t quite look human, although she mostly is. A symbol of Bast hangs around her neck. In her plain navy blue soldier’s uniform, she stomps through the halls confidently. Some people will stop and stare but she doesn’t take notice, she has a mission.
The door opens and Jalila barges in. Tal stops playing his loot and stares at the curious new figure who now stands at the front of the room. Zarmir continues doing push ups.
Looking at the two guys in her room she says “Oh, so the dorms are coed. Cool. Nothing I haven’t done before.” She takes in the layout of the room. It’s nicer than any place she’s ever stayed at. My name is Jalila. What’s your’s?” her voice assertively filling the room.
“My name is Tal and this” pointing at Zarmir who continues to do push-ups “is my brother Zarmir.”
“ The r is silent” he adds from the floor.
Overcome by obvious bewilderment, she stares at the odd pair and asks “How are you brothers?”
“Adopted” Zarmir adds as he finishes the last of his set. He stands up, towering over Jalila and adds “He’s my adopted brother” Zarmir flexes slightly and inspects his biceps for progress. Satisfied, he puts his hand on Tal’s soldier “We grew up together so as far as I’m concerned, he is my real brother”
“That’s sweet” she replied. She understands the bond between an adopted family all too well. Her guard drops a bit, but the room fills with an awkward silence. Zarmir, looking into the rooms, is the first to break the silence. “I want my own room” he says as he continues with his inspection. He chooses the room he believes is the biggest and begins to fill it with his belongings.
“I don’t mind getting the small room” Tal says as he begins to gather his things. Jalila shrugs and walks towards the last single. She tries to hide the excitement of finally having her own room.
The door opens a third time. Varus, another tall human, barges in without saying a word or acknowledging the inhabitants. He’s dressed in dark brown leather. A hunter’s cap with the rim bent up slightly. His face is scared and an eyepatch covers his right eye. A small crossbow hangs limply at his side. He passes the group wordlessly and walks up to a bare wall. He clears his throat and without looking away lets out “My name is Varus Silbarian. What’s your name? Why are you here?”
Tal confused by the new stranger’s mannerism replies “Um. I am Tal and I go to school here. This…”
“I wasn’t talking to you!” Varus interrupts sounding completely annoyed. He turns back to the wall and says “yeah I’m doing pretty good, how are you?”
Tal blinks, unsure on how to react. Finally he gathers himself and a bit annoyed asks “Im sorry…Who are you speaking with?”
Without turning away from the wall Varus says “I’m just talking to Dorthy.” The other two watch, confused by the whole situation.
“Ah Dorthy the door” Tal says, attempting to keep the conversation civil. They would be sharing a room after all.
“Dorthy is not a door” Varus turns looking offended.
“Ah Dorthy the wall, makes sense” Tal says as he rolls his eyes. He does not like this guy.
In an effort to break the awkward tension in the room, Jalila changes the subject. “Does anyone know what the test is on?”
“I hope it’s not a written test” Zarmir shrugs “I don’t know shit”
“Yeah” Tal laughs in agreement. “No one told us there would be a test, I didn’t see it on any of the introductory materials.”
“I don’t think anyone knew. Its kind of weird that they give us a test so early in the year.” Jalila continues trying to keep the conversation going but the conversation fizzles out naturally and they continue to unpack in silence. Tal takes it upon himself to break the silence once again by playing his lute. He plays relaxing melodies for his roommates to unpack to. No one objects.
Across campus, the robot continues to try to get registered, but he is distracted. Ha has never been around this many people, nor has he been to a school before. At this point, people have started avoiding him, creating a clear perimeter around him. They can’t help but to gawk at B.U.D. and they have good reason to. His body is entirely metallic. The platting that covers his body shines like in the sun. It isn’t flesh that connects the large pieces of armor together, but wires and cables visible through exposed patches. He towers over the crowd, peering over the heads of all the other students and their families. He moves slowly through the crow, distracted by all the new around him. He continues to grab at loose accessories and items until people no longer walk near him.
Eventually B.U.D makes it to the front of the correct table after trying all the other ones. He is intrigued by the concept. A tiny human woman hands him a piece of parchment. It reads “Sylvan Towers 304” written under room assignment. Without looking at the sheet, he grabs it and sticks it in his mouth.
“Wait no! you need that” a panicked hand reaches up to grab at the sheet of parchment. B.U.D. spits it out, not fully understanding why he couldn’t eat the paper. “It tells you where you need to go” the small woman adds, shaking her head at the strange creature.
“Can I have one of those then?” B.U.D points at the stack of papers on a table behind them.
“No. You need to go find your room” she says slowly, “ You’re in Sylvan Towers 304. Just follow that path and you will see the scenes. I’m sorry I don’t mean to be mean but I have more people I need to help. Good luck and welcome!” She tries desperately to sound enthused. B.U.D nods and walks away from the table down the suggested path. He continues to get distracted by everything.
The door opens a fourth time. B.U.D. Stands on the other side with his arms full of pieces of parchments, like the ones posted on the room doors. “Can you believe they just leave these for anyone to take?” he adds as he walks through the door. He takes a step inside and pops one of the pieces into his mouth, this time swallowing before anyone could react.
He looks around, the 4 who were already in the room stare back blankly. astonished and confused by this odd specimen, no one knows quite what to say.
“Hi” he finally says, breaking the minutes of silence. “My designation is Biomechanical Universal Diplomat, but you can call me B.U.D. It is very nice to meet you all” he adds with a slight respectful bow of the head. Taken aback by the tall new creature in the room they all introduce themselves. B.U.D towers over his new friends.
“Oh man. Check this place out you guys, and girl. Its so big!” He says as he walks to a corner, inspects it for moment and says “This is a pretty cool corner. Did you guys see this corner? I claim this corner if no one has claimed it yet!”
“No…that’s fine” Tal says, not quite understanding the situation. “Do you not need to sleep”
“I do a bit, but that’s why I picked this awesome corner.” Bud pops another piece of parchment into his mouth. The others look at him curiously. “Oh do you guys want some? They have these everywhere.” He begins to offer a sheet to Zarmir”
“No I’m good” he answers “I’m just going to be in my room. I will see you tomorrow.” And with that, he closes the door behind him. No one else takes his offer, and he gleefully continues to snack on parchment.
“Why are you eating parchment?” Jalila asks finally.
“I’m collecting data” B.U.D replies.
“Data? Data for what?” Tal joins in.
“Data for the Mother Ship”
“What’s the Mother Ship?”
“It’s the mother ship. I was sent here to collect data for the mother ship.”
“Sent? Sent from where?” Tal continues to ask. It seems the more he talked to B.U.D, the more confused he seemed to become.
“I was sent from the mother ship” Clearly this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Tal gives up on his interrogation.
They spend the rest of the night unpacking and exchanging more awkward conversation. They talk about what they think the test, but no one does anything to prepare for it. They all go to bed, all sharing different levels of anxiety. A new chapter to their adventure has just begun.