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Thanks for the comment! Yes, there are a lot of great ideas in Vaesen. I'm sure they can be ported to your system of choice. As for Miro, Scrivener, etc: I love experimenting with productivity tools like this for RPGs. Sometimes even in a player facing way (e.g. I once ran a short Fate/ Dresden Files Accelerated campaign using Trello). Friends are getting good results from Capacities and Notion as well. Have fun!

Thank you! And yes, that should definitely make it easier to run the published adventures. Good luck! FWIW, I do highly recommend my friend's adventure that I playtested. It's on DTRPG now, and the link is in the description. I thought he did a good job making it sandboxy and not assuming a particular course of action by the players.

Good luck! It's well worth it.

Thanks! Great playing and hanging out with you. Hope to see you at BSer Con in January.

Yes, I'm not a fan of how 5e dealt with lore. Seems like it was mostly dispensed piecemeal via the many campaign books, rather than via a setting book (smaller ones like the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide aside). Real world settings can be cool, whether historical, modern, or with a twist (like zombies, aliens, or Weird West, etc.).

Fingers crossed! Hope to see you again next year.

Madison seems great. Would love to spend a bit more time there at some point. Unfortunately, it's hard to properly experience the city while attending the con, as the convention center is pretty remote.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG yeah the remoteness you mention is a bit of a shame. Madison is lovely but really so is the area around it (as is frankly most of Wisconsin). Worth checking out when you get the opportunity.

Thanks, sorry you couldn't be there! Hope to see you at Genghis Con in February.

That's definitely a possibility! Looking forward to BSer Con.

Thanks, can't wait until the next one!

One of my favorite DCC mechanics, for sure. Really enjoy playing DCC warriors or dwarves. Pulled off some fun deeds in the recent DCC game that Brandon LaSalle ran at Gamehole Con.🤘

Some great games on that list, totally agree!

@@ChandlerLawsonPlays Thank you! And here's my dirty secret: I've only played a small fraction of the games in my collection. It's been a somewhat gradual shift over the past decade, but at some point I've come to terms with the fact that I'm realistically never going to play many of these games. I'm ok with that, and enjoy the hobby of collecting RPGs, not just for the purpose of actually playing them. That said, I have played _a lot_ of these games. Some just as a player, and others as a GM. My regular game group has been nice enough to let me run something new every now and then. Some of these are one-shots, others actual campaigns. For that group, I've run D&D 5e, DCC, Fate, Savage Worlds, EZD6, and Vaesen - over the course of 10 years. But the key to experiencing a lot of different RPGs is to find an RPG community that's on the same wavelength as you. Don't just randomly post LFG ads, but rather actively engage with that community, make friends, and build connections. Over the years, I've been able to run many other games this way, such as Blades in the Dark, Warlock!, Warpstar!, Broken Compass, Outgunned, Cortex Prime, and more. And of course, I've experienced many more as a player. While I love playing in person, most of my gaming these days is online. This makes it feasible to play with players all over the world, so it's much easier to find folks that are interested in the same games as you.

Not sure what that has to do with it. It's not a race. ;) FWIW, our sessions tend to be on the shorter side. Probably 2 hours of actual game time, 2.5 max. Shorter mysteries took us 2 sessions, so pretty similar to your 4 hour sessions. But some mysteries required more time, or benefited from breathing room to roleplay some of the engaging scenes.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG Never said it was a race. I can understand wanting to take your time too. Especially, if you add in leveling up, upgrades to HQ, backstory, and dark secrets. Play the game that is fun for you. I do think that 2 x 2 hr games are less play time that 4 hr games though because there is a certain sitting down, getting comfortable, being reminded of the past session, etc. that takes time out of the 2x2 hrs.

Yes, and my group actually really enjoyed these meta game elements, such as HQ upgrades. I think even accounting for socializing, recapping the previous session, etc., we usually net at least 2 hours of actual game time, sometimes a bit more. But I still agree with your point that 2 of these shorter sessions still result in relatively less progress than a single longer session.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG No worries. Enjoy your next game.

I wouldn't completely rule out Vaesen, depending on what you're going for. Worth taking a look to form your own opinion. However, it's very strongly centered around the Vaesen setting as well as the episodic structure with a headquarters that can be improved over time, etc., and the tone is quite serious. I'm not super well versed in the horror genre, so don't have a lot of recommendations. Other folks might have more suggestions. Aside from your overall concept (Dark Carnival, mystery solving) and tone (some silliness), what are you aiming for - what setting (modern / historical, fantasy), what will the players be doing (mostly investigation? Lots of fighting?), etc.? For a more pulpy / action oriented experience, Savage Worlds might be a decent fit. Or you could build something in Fate or Cortex Prime. If you're setting this in a fantasy or Renaissance era world, Warlock! might actually be a good option. Its tone is reminiscent of early WFRP editions, with a good dose of dark humor. It's not geared specifically towards investigation, but it does have a fairly broad list of skills and careers.

@DigitalHobbitRPG The feel I'm going for is P.T. Barnum, Victorian era. The concept is that the carnival performers have unique skills that they leverage in crime or mystery solving. There would definitely be fantasy elements. For example, the strongman actually would be extraordinarily strong, the fortune teller can actually see things, the contortionist can fit through much smaller gaps than physically possible, etc.

That sounds very fun, actually! But yeah, I don't think Vaesen would be a good fit. It still feels like Savage Worlds or Fate might work well here. I'm sure there are other good options, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

That sounds fun! I haven't had a chance to play or run Ironsworn: Starforged yet, but it seems like a very solid game. Enjoy!

The working title is "The Invading Wood", but I don't think they've released it yet.

Thanks, glad to hear this was useful!

Yes, both can cover this genre well. But they provide a very different experience. Savage Worlds tends to be more tactical in nature and is geared around miniatures (although you can absolutely play theater of the mind as well). The rules are more crunchy, both for character creation and during play. Lots of situational modifiers, rules that I can never remember for firing automatic weapons, etc. Even though it's touted as "fast, furious, fun", I find that in practice it's not all that fast. Overall, it's a fairly traditional system. A very solid and fun one, and a great way to mix things up if you're tired of d20 based games, for example - but still a traditional game. Outgunned is much, much more lightweight and loose when it comes to the rules, and with more modern game design. It focuses purely on capturing the high octane action vibe, without trying to simulate things with actual tactical rules. I find it much more relaxing to run as a GM, and the fact that all rolls are player facing really helps me focus on other aspects of the game. So ultimately, it really depends on what you and your group are after. If you want a tactical experience, Savage Worlds is a great option. If you want something that actually feels like an action movie, I'd go with Outgunned.

And yet many of my RPG friends are huge fans of YZE, so I'm still curious about where the disconnect is, i.e. in the engine itself or the other game aspects. Most of the games seem to emulate a harsh existence, where the sort of death spiral that the engine tends to bring fits the theme - even if I don't enjoy it. I'd like to try a YZE game at some point that's a bit more forgiving. Perhaps the upcoming new version of Coriolis, which is supposed to emphasize exploration?

I do like that tension, at least when playing an old school game or other game where resources play a big role. The old rules aren't necessarily difficult, but I've found that they can be quite tedious and time consuming. For me, slot based inventory like in Shadowdark strikes a pretty good balance.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG I guess the tedious was part of the fun back in the pre-computer days. Remember, we evolved from the war games genre where math was part of the deal. I have house ruled a bit by using small cards for consumables, kept in a "pack" (envelope) so as they are used, the players just hand them back. But they are tracked. Run out of torches or oil in the bottom of the dungeon - now it gets exciting.

I wouldn't go that far. I do think there's a lot of room for improvement in their products, and the YZ core mechanic is fine, but not groundbreaking or perfect in any way. But there are also a lot of great things about their products, whether I personally like them or not. The settings are evocative, and they are good at keeping the pressure on the player characters (although that's not my preferred mode of play). Many of my friends are having a great time playing or running Vaesen, The Walking Dead, Bladerunner, and other FL games.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG My issue isn't with the systems but with the books/pdfs. A game text should be a useful tool for the game first and an object d'art second. FL have their priorities backwards and it harms the games by proxy.

@@adolexical I agree, their production values are great. Dragonbane is a very solid boxed set. Free League is definitely not the only company that makes highly usable RPGs. For example, I'm a big fan of Two Little Mice, particularly the Outgunned RPG. Granted, my bias is towards more lightweight games these days, so this hits a great sweet spot for me. But it's a very usable product, and also comes with a great boxed set. That's just one of many examples, though. Savage Worlds is more traditional, but also produces great products for example. And there are dozens of amazing and highly usable indie games, such as Mothership, Mausritter, Outcast Silver Raiders, EZD6, Shadowdark, and many more.

Yes, those challenges are definitely real. To be fair, Vaesen does provide some support in form of Countdowns - a series of escalating events that you can trigger at appropriate times that push the story forward and get the players to act. These definitely helped, but didn't completely solve my issues.

🤛

Can you elaborate?

@@MirkoFroehlich ruclips.net/video/kWrPxY8iImE/видео.htmlsi=_v6QrpytnRNeXlWh

Ah, got it - thanks for the pointer!

@@MirkoFroehlich Theres a dnd creator named Xp To Level 3. and he made a very good fallout d20 system

I like 2d20 better than XP to lvl 3 Even with the core books problems I feel the system captures what fallout feels like mechanically better. Just my 2 cents

Thanks for the feedback, glad it was helpful! I hope you have fun with Vaesen.

Wow, you actually managed to combine at least 4 different turn order procedures into one. Respect! 😆

Interesting! Can you elaborate on what it is about Cyberpunk 2020/Red that makes it a good fit for Fallout? I've considered other Cyberpunk games, but dismissed these because their focus (and skill lists etc) tend to be quite different from post-apocalyptic games (that are more about survival, resources, etc.).

Thanks for the feedback, glad it was useful for you!

@@DigitalHobbitRPG Are you planning on making a video about Traveller system? Or comparing it to other systems about adventures in space?

Good idea, but I don't have any experience with the Traveller system. At some point I might still make a video overview of various sci-fi games, including Traveler - but it likely wouldn't be very in-depth.

I'll take a closer look. At first glance, it looks like a comprehensive fan created game. I can't imagine it's officially endorsed by Bethesda, though, as the license is currently owned by Modiphius. So it seems similar to the many other fan made Fallout systems out there. But I could be wrong. :)

@@DigitalHobbitRPG he originally cot premission regarding direct language when he started streaming the game roughly 2 years ago

I came across it, but don't own it. I do own Kevin Crawford's other games, and find them a bit dense. But I've heard people mention Other Dust as a good option.

You certainly could - and from Jason's comment it sounds like there was a fan made attempt at that. Personally, I think emulating the vibe is more important than replicating the detailed mechanics of the game.

💯

Interesting, thanks for sharing! I can't find much info about that d100 game. It looks like one Fallout pen and paper game that was under development was ultimately released as the d20 based Exodus game, but not sure if that's the same thing.

Exodus was supposed to be, I think the Fallout Pen and Paper is just fan made and not official so you won’t find it on DrivethruRPG or anything

Ah, got it! Makes sense.

Thanks! I'll have to take a look at those Tim Cain videos - sounds fun! I actually never had a chance to play GURPS myself. It sounds like it's not for me given my preference for lightweight systems these days, but I probably would have enjoyed it back then. Perhaps what we really need is a post-apocalyptic Warlock! game, to join Warpstar! and Wetwired! in the series. Perhaps "Wastewalker!" or "Warwrecked!" or something.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG haha, yeah, it must have crossed Greg’s mind at least once. I like “Wastewalker!” 👍

Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks! And yes, looking forward to seeing the Shadowdark torch rule in action in Sean's West Marches game soon.

Guilty. :) Hand-waving (with some common sense) is my default. But some of these other systems (like slot based inventory) are a great option when this really matters for your game. I just recently rolled up a Shadowdark character for our West Marches campaign and can already tell how I'll have to make some difficult choices once we come across some treasure and other items that might compete with my precious lantern oil. It'll be great!

Thanks! And yes, there's a lot to like about it.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG Take a peek at Worlds Without Number at some point -- it's a pretty neat take on slot inventory as well.

Oh, will do! Good to finally have a reason to crack open that massive tome... 😅

Great to hear you're enjoying it. Have fun with your next Vaesen mystery!

Thank you! And I feel the same. Their production value is top notch. Great artwork, evocative settings, good layout, etc. Many of my RPG friends love the YZE games, and I really _want_ to like them.

Thanks for the feedback! You're right, in hindsight I should have covered how to play Vaesen - at least the core mechanic. I can recommend this overview that some friends made: ruclips.net/video/HuRUr27nSV4/видео.htmlsi=Y5Z6ztwxdGeGvzQm

A ring binder with the most important pages might help, or even just sticky tabs in the book. Honestly, the rules really aren't that difficult. The challenge is more around the published adventures.

Ah, you're right - it looks like I forgot to add the links. I added them to the video description now. Thanks for letting me know!

Yes, I agree. And my sense is that the game is probably "good enough" for someone who's experienced in running mysteries and horror games, in spite of its rough edges. But it doesn't exactly make it easy or smooth for others, like myself.

I think the structure they provide is intended to help with that, but when there's so much to track it doesn't help enough.

Agree 100%.

Thank you! 😊

It depends on the game for me, but in this case that would have been my preference, especially since many of the underlying myths date back much further.

@@DigitalHobbitRPG Part of what's going on in Vaesen is using the church as a source of conflict as well, though. They're not the "good guys," and are in fact slightly bound up with the schism in the Society!

Yeah, I've mostly come to terms with that. I just don't like that some of the actual Vaesen are tied to the church, such as the Church Grim.

Why?

@@AnonAdderlan If you're asking why I don't like that some of the Vaesen are tied to the Christian church: The conflict between the "old ways" and the "new ways" is at the heart of Vaesen. And many of the Vaesen (Giants, Trolls, Vaettir, Ghosts, etc.) date back to old Nordic folklore, long before Christianity. I feel that having Vaesen tied to relatively recent history (in the form of Christianity) weakens that focus of the struggle between the old and the new.