[lexchxn]

Poisons are just decently cheap, so even if you're not a Toxicologist and are buying on-level it could easily turn into nearly half a dozen rolls per enemy per round, and that'd break combat pacing pretty badly.

The main issue I see here is that the process of resolving this (especially with multiple poisons, multiple poison users, or god forbid both) is incredibly tedious.

I'd probably bundle this change into the kits of Toxicologist and *maybe* the Poisoner archetype (or a feat within it) to avoid this.

Humble Adventurers | Variant Rule - Paizo | Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite | Pathfinder Infinite A quick one-page variant rule for "flatter" games- play at your favourite level forever, without having to give up character progression!

Check out Humble Adventurers, a lightweight, high-compatibility variant rule that lets you play at your favourite level forever while still enjoying the ecstasy of character progression!

www.pathfinderinfinite.com/en/product/5...

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!

I've been thinking about doing a multi-system review; I'm particularly drawn to games that do something exciting, unique, or masterful, and I'm thinking about tossing all my favourite mechanics into one video as a "Check out this awesomeness!" primer. Thoughts?

With how many isolated ideas I come up with but don't have a surrounding framework to slot into, you would think I would start to note them down in a big "Ideas" folder already for future use.

However, the twist: I have done so. Many times. I just keep forgetting it's there and not using it. T_T

This is one of the biggest and first tips I teach anyone I see trying to get into GMing— it's a healthy, more absolute extension of the more general, more malleable "Don't tell the players what their characters do.".

YouTube video by [lexchxn] So You Want to Make an RPG? | Episode 2

Welcome back to "So You Want to Make an RPG?"!

This episode: Burnout, scope creep, and how to actually achieve something!

Really proud of both this video and the system behind it, Expeditions RPG, which I hope to release at some point before I die of old age~

youtu.be/LWr9qoK6kIU

Guess who just finished the first playtest session of its new TTRPG system???
Meeeeeee!! :33

Even better?
It actually played well on a first draft-- Holy shit I did not expect that.

I'm gonna try to get a video out on this at some point.

YouTube video by Veneon My FIRST TIME GMing Lancer! - Solstice Rain Campaign Diary - Session 1

I GM'd #Lancer for the first time! Come check out how it went!
#ttrpg #CampaignDiary
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT26...

YouTube video by [lexchxn] Starfinder 2nd Edition | System Review

Hey hey! I decided to sit down and put out whatever I got for my Starfinder 2e review 'cause I've been majorly stalling on it. It's been a difficult one to put together because I'm not one to be negative, but I have a lot of issues with the system and felt I need to share.

youtu.be/2lWQd94eIR0

Game systems incentivise outcomes— P2e is a very mechanical game, and it clamps down on outliers. This incentivises playing from your sheet and having most broad outcomes decided before impact, which can be boring.

This critique doesn't imply that we who enjoy or work within the framework are bad.

I don't know that this is fair— discussing design incentives in a game doesn't automatically then include an opinion about people who play the game.

Minecraft's design incentivises you to rush endgame. That doesn't mean everyone does or that those who don't are playing wrong, but it's still a fact.

3. Least important by far (to me), but still notable, boss difficulty can include its runback; this tool is best wielded if the runback tests the same skills needed in the boss fight, as with Father of the Flame.

2. Room to breathe is important for pacing. Constantly grinding your head against a challenge quickly leads to frustration or indifference, both feelings the game is not trying to evoke. Having space to process what you've learned and consider alternative options keeps engagements intentional.

2. "Runbacks are outdated and bad."

Runbacks provide two or arguably three major benefits to a game's design. I'll list in order of importance.
1. Skill is best progressed with cycles of practice and rest, not with unending participation. In enforcing breaks, you gain skill faster.

lest the game become too easy. It incentivises (and in certain situations, is the sole reason for) proper gameplay, knowledge acruement and execution, rather than bashing into something or rushing through until you get lucky.

1. "Two Masks is Bullshit/Artificial Difficulty/Unfair/etc."

Hollow Knight utilised Two Mask damage far less frequently due to a more limited, more granular healing system. Hornet's ability to rapidly heal 3 masks while anywhere requires a swath of attacks and enemies to be more punishing,

I wanted to add an addendum and unofficial third segment to "The Good" and "The Bad", called "The Contrary"; comebacks to common criticisms I've seen levied at the game that I disagree with.

I'll add more as I see fit, but here's two to kick it off.

@werbreadsmanga.bsky.social - youtu.be/S0xkQrmjr68 - (an analysis of the healing system and its wider impacts)
The Electric Underground - youtu.be/xvr3WJTWbMQ (a game-wide analysis, though mind the elitist tone in places)

intentional malice towards those playing it are just some, and I figured I'd throw my own hat in the ring as far as singing the game's praises and (hopefully) encouraging those on the fence to enjoy it for what it is. A couple of videos I've enjoyed are linked below, though not exhaustive. Thanks.

and insincere or emotional arguments levied at the game and the team for their astounding work on display. Negatively toned comparisons to Dark Souls 2, repetitions of some assumed "lack of QA testing", unkind charicatures of the developers, and declarations that the entire project is full of

Overall, the game is astounding; I would make very few, minor changes to the game (literally three:
1. rebindable controls
2. additional/more reliable rosary methods to disincentivise pure farming
3. a tool to aid in the finding of missed things)
and it has been quite disquieting to see the backlash

locating secrets (much like their role in the Mist) would be a fitting solution, both narratively and mechanically.

- A parallel critique, but the lack of any kind of "secret finding" tool combined with the game's size and an in-game completion percentage leads to a frustrating feeling of helpless re-treading or devolves into Silksong becoming a "wiki game"; a lategame tool that summons moths to aid in

- The sheer size of the game is starting to wear up against metroidvania design; whenever you gain a new item, or progress a major point in the story, you recontextualise (and should re-explore) most or all of the map, something that causes fatigue in such a large game.

exploration and pushing on. This could be solved by simply allowing rosary-carrying foes to respawn without a bench and allowing rosaries to be recovered from pits, or more complexly by allowing for fight rooms and bosses to reward rosaries while also supplementing more in exploration.

Now for the bad:

- The controls, specifically in relation to tools and silk skills, are unreliable on a controller, and cannot be rebound.
- The economy of the game, specifically in relation to accessible avenues of acquirement, is too tight, incentivising grinding out necklaces rather than natural

push on to further areas to afford them (in theory), creating a risk:reward storytelling masterpiece. If you find something strange or interesting, you are led to explore around it and almost always rewarded for doing so.

you are rewarded by going and exploring. If you take two masks of damage, you are incentivised to be cautious and learn. The healing system allows for much more diverse boss design than Hollow Knight's, and keeps combat fast-paced and exciting. Paying for benches and maps and bellways leads you to

Starting with the good:

- The game feels great, simply put. Your kit is enjoyable, dynamic, intuitive. The world is huge, diverse, beautiful. It just keeps giving, from start to finish.
- The game, by and large, has excellent utilisation of difficulty and incentives. If you find something too hard,