Tabletop Community Watch

[Miriam Margoyles]

Stay the fuck away from anything Mork Borg. Everyone involved from creators to plays is some level of Lolcow. It is 100% aesthetic with just enough "rules" to say its a game for people who will never actually play it.

Please, tell me more. I was hearing good things about Pirate Borg. I thought the book looked pretty, but at the same time, thought the focus on aesthetics over function in the layout might make actually referencing it a pain in the arse.

 

[Warm Lasagna]

I was hearing good things about Pirate Borg. I thought the book looked pretty, but at the same time, thought the focus on aesthetics over function in the layout might make actually referencing it a pain in the arse.

Pirate Borg is just a reskin but the rules for naval combat and travel are serviceable. I’m curious about what fucked up shit the MB creators have been up to, but they’re Swedish so that’s a cardinal sin in itself.

It kind of just feels like Mork Borg, where it's all style, not a lot of substance.

Have you read the TC rules yet? It’s got a novel concept of racking up wounds and cashing them in to land a kill shot by adding more dice to your damage rolls. In practice, it might be interesting. The models look neat but I’m always a sucker for grimdark shit.

 

[Tactical Wizard]

Stay the fuck away from anything Mork Borg. Everyone involved from creators to plays is some level of Lolcow. It is 100% aesthetic with just enough "rules" to say its a game for people who will never actually play it.

I don't know about Frostgrave's ruleset, but I got their Gnolls to pad out my D&D villain minis and the model quality is very good. Nothing to really write home about but they don't look like bubbly pitted shit and go together pretty well with a decent level of mini-options.

I've both played and run Mork Borg and it fucking rules. Is it ridiculously rules light? Yes, to the point that I think it's the mouse trap of RPGs in that you can't simplify it anymore before it becomes unfit for purpose. Is it all style and no substance? Yes but I don't care.

Where it shines is turning your TTRPG session into an episode of metalocalypse where the PCs are the background characters dying in hilarious and unexpected ways. I ran it with a stack of pre-gens face down on the table and when one of the players had one of their many, many character deaths I'd just have them flip another one over and introduce them immediately. It is an order of magnitude more lethal than B/X.

 

[Ghostse]

Goddamn. That bad, huh? Sounds like you’ve got some lore you wanna drop.

Please, tell me more. I was hearing good things about Pirate Borg. I thought the book looked pretty, but at the same time, thought the focus on aesthetics over function in the layout might make actually referencing it a pain in the arse.

I’m curious about what fucked up shit the MB creators have been up to, but they’re Swedish so that’s a cardinal sin in itself.

The Creators, I guess I should clarify here when I say creators I don't just mean the guys who came up with it but other people who have released related/compatible things. There is nothing specific but being Eurofags the Creator-Creators hitch themselves to all the usual SocJus causes. This just leads to a bunch of incestuous circle-jerking about "Gonzo", especially when the rules are about 10x longer than need to be because the creators shove a bunch of world-salad into them to be "gonzo" and "continue the aesthetic". They are the ultimate "idea guys", which never matters to me because I have an excellent imagination so I'm never looking for idea seeds I'm lookin on how to translate those ideas onto the table. So I shit maybe unnecessarily hard on stuff that doesn't have substance because just style is a waste of my time.

@Tactical Wizard pretty much covers how the game goes from my experience which is "Do you think B/X has too many rules? Wish every encounter was a DCC lvl-0 meat grinder? Want to narrate an adventure based off your favorite heavy metal album cover but with some dice rolls so you don't feel like a theater faggot?"

And I guess my problem with the players is imagine the average gameshop mouthbreather mutant who likes heavy metal but then give them an incentitive for injecting body horror and weird coomer shit, but because they espouse trans women are women its like tranny coomer shit.

And I guess I'll once again reiterate my issue with "rules light" which is it permits lazy faggots to ship an incomplete game by saying "lol house rule it or w/e". This isn't every "rules light" but it is more than just a few.
Which I'd argue that Mork Borg is an incomplete game because if you hold a defender on the spot long enough they'll start to sweat, twitch, itch and eventually say "But the Zines are...". Which means it requires 3rd-party product to fix its shit, but people really do seem like the Zines. But then again we make fun of Venger Satanis for charging retards $20 for a chart that says "every turn increase the threat range by 1" and some of the zines the content they add are basically one or two random tables.

I contrast this need for 3rd party and house-rules with B/X which is a simple game that is meant to be expanded by the players and will result in a lot of house rules and dm fiat on edge cases, but all the base rules are there. I.e. It is expected that players will develop their own magic, and while there isn't a lot of guide rails and 3rd party content does it better, the mechanisms are there.

I've both played and run Mork Borg and it fucking rules. Is it ridiculously rules light? Yes, to the point that I think it's the mouse trap of RPGs in that you can't simplify it anymore before it becomes unfit for purpose. Is it all style and no substance? Yes but I don't care.

Where it shines is turning your TTRPG session into an episode of metalocalypse where the PCs are the background characters dying in hilarious and unexpected ways. I ran it with a stack of pre-gens face down on the table and when one of the players had one of their many, many character deaths I'd just have them flip another one over and introduce them immediately. It is an order of magnitude more lethal than B/X.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

And I guess I'll once again reiterate my issue with "rule light" which is it permits lazy faggots to ship an incomplete game by saying "lol house rule it or w/e". This isn't every "rules light" but it is more than just a few.

Give me some terrible AI software in three days and I'll come up with the rules light system it is literally the laziest people who are on creative homosexuals who just wanna pretend they're not doing ****** role play

 

[Adamska]

Give me some terrible AI software in three days and I'll come up with the rules light system it is literally the laziest people who are on creative homosexuals who just wanna pretend they're not doing ****** role play

TBH I know definitively that you can make a more mechanically effective and firmer set of rules than Mork Borg with AI writing. I knew someone who as a shitpost did that with a fidget spinner and yes, the crunch was still more firm than that art book that rewarded sending unfinished slop at too high a price LARPing as a game.

You'd honestly be able to get better ideas and have a firmer mechanic system just looking at Frank Frazetta metal album commissions and playing Everyone is John.

 

[Loose Goose]

Mop-haired porncow Zak S (who should probably have a thread on here) has come up with a flawless strategy to spread the word about his new book by encouraging his minions to be annoying on the Internet. His MLM scheme is built on flooding the zone with sock accounts praising his work, in exchange for a book he otherwise sells for $1000. This plan is working as well as you might guess. Since Zak believes he is the smartest man on the Internet, he went ahead with it, and got his attention all right. Here is the original call to arms, found on Pastebin (archive):

Alright, the Compendium is free, and the work I did for my D&D game-including the Cube World pdfs-will no longer be available any other way. It will ship anywhere in the world, free.

Again, all this goes away Jan 1. It will not be available any more nor will any of this stuff. This is a limited edition collectors' item.

Here's the deal: there are a lot of you. You send messages of support, you ask for game stuff I make, you are lovely and-frankly-it's really hard to find you or talk to you.

So, in order to help do this, anyone who wants this Compendium should perform the following social media tasks. If this seems absolutely impossible and horrible, remember you can send me 1000$ instead and I will rush-ship the Compendium to you immediately (VenMo ZakZSmith ).

Otherwise-to get the book, do this stuff. If there is some specific task that is technically impossible for some reason, get in touch and we'll find something else you can do to replace that task.

If you're thinking "But I'm not on social media" well that's the problem: you aren't. But now you will be.

(Please note also that if anyone spots a mistake in the Compendium I may change it at this point, so the precise page order of the Compendium you see in the ads might be different than what you get, but all the material you've seen in the posts/ads will be there.)

Please follow the instructions carefully, they matter. Keep in mind the difference between a "post" and a "comment".

1. A lot of platforms are named below-within a week of receiving this email send me your screen names on those platforms along an email with the subject line, all-caps ******************. In the email you don't have to send anything else but your screen-names in that email. The screennames can be whatever works for you-some people like to be anonymous, some do not care. Put some kind of picture in your avatar on platforms that have avatars so people can remember you. Post what you like on these platforms but do not get thrown off.

2. Join the Cube World Crew Discord server, invite here: ****************** Make at least 10 posts there before December 25.

3. Join the LotFP Discord server if you are not already a member, invite here: ******************, whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 posts there before December 25.

4. Join the-formerly- Chris McDowall's OSR Discord server if you are not already a member, invite here: ****************** whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 posts there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

5. Join Reddit if you are not already a member, whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 posts (not comments, posts) on r/theOSR before Jan 1.

6. Also on Reddit: whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 comments on any subject on reddit/r/OSR before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

7. Also on Reddit: whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 comments on r/RPG before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

8. Also on Reddit: whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 posts on r/Lotfp before Dec 25. This place is hostile but technically they want to encourage LotFP talk, so if you reference my stuff, only do so in the context of LotFP products.

9. Join RPGGeek if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 comments there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

10. Join Boardgamegeek if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 comments there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

11. Join theRPGsite if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 comments there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

12. Join RPGnet if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 comments there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

13. Join EnWorld if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 comments there before December 25 on any subject but remember, this place is hostile, so do not talk about me or my projects there right now.

14. Join Twitter (aka X) - https://twitter.com/- if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 posts there before Jan 1. Make sure you follow @ihititwithmyaxe

15. Also on Twitter, retweet this post here: ****************** AND leave a comment underneath it

16. Also on Twitter, follow all the other people who leave a comment underneath it.

17. Also on Twitter send at least 10 public @ messages to the other people who like or share that post-it can be literally about anything, just interact.

18. I may make or share up to 4 other posts on twitter which do nothing other than show off what's in the Compendium-share those.

19. Join Bluesky (https://bsky.app/) if you are not already a member: whether you are already member or not, make at least 10 posts there before Jan 1. Make sure you follow @zakthepainter

20. Also on Bluesky, reshare this post here: ********************* and leave a comment underneath it

21. Also on Bluesky follow all the other people who leave a comment underneath it

22. Also on Bluesky send at least 10 public @ messages to the other people who like or share that post-it can be literally about anything, just interact.

23. I may make or share up to 4 other posts on Bluesky which show off what's in the Compendium, share those.

24. Join the Official LotFP Facebook page if you are not already a member, https://www.facebook.com/aroups/lotfp.

25. Join the Tabletop RPG One Shot Group Facebook page if you are not already a member, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tabletoprpgoneshot, whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 comments or posts before Jan 1. Keep in mind if you have your own projects that there are limits on self-promotion posts in the rules.

26. Join the Old School TSR Gamers Facebook page if you are not already a member, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/osts, whether you are already a member or not, make at least 10 comments before Jan 1. Keep in mind posts there must be about TSR-era stuff and you gotta answer a few simple anti-bot questions to get in.

27. Join every OSR and tabletop RPG group you can on Facebook. I can't enforce this, but l am asking you to and it helps.

28. Make a Tumblr account if you don't already have one, follow https://zaksmith.tumblr.com/ retumbl at least 5 of my things before Dec 25.

29. Leave a comment on this post on dndwithpornstars: https://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2024/11/it-will-be-here-it-will-cost-0-and-then.html

30. Leave 10 other comments on dndwithpornstars on any posts.

31. Sometime before January 8th you will receive a NEWS UPDATE marked ZAK NEWS UPDATE. After getting this, make at least 2 comments on each of these platforms.

Ground rules:

- Don't post anything that makes my life worse. Don't get thrown off any platforms. Don't say anything that isn't true. Be nice to your fellow Cube fans. They love games.

- If there is any major positive news from me, you will get an email from me. If so, and if this news is discussed in any of the places above, write helpful comments in all the places above where it is being discussed.

- If you want two copies, then all these things have to be done by 3 different people, 3 sets of accounts etc..

32. Before Jan 8th, send me an email with the subject line, all-caps ******************. It should contain screencapped evidence you've done the things on this list and the address you want your book sent to. I will then have the book shipped to you, anywhere in the world.

If you want to pay for shipping, be my guest.

-Z

This is the $1000 product in question. Whether it is a work of underappreciated genius which will once be displayed in art galleries, or the scribblings of a drugged out schizo, is everyone's best guess.



Self awareness has never been the the strong suite of Zak, and his minions are usually two steps dumber and more gullible (otherwise, they would not be caught near this garbage fire), so here are a few representative screenshots from TheRPGSite, where the socks weren't banned outright, but allowed to douse themselves in gasoline and light themselves on fire. You may also notice that a lot of them seem to follow the same kind of spergy, accusatory style of arguing as Zak, have an identical "full auto" posting pattern, and post in the exact same time range Zak does. So you can never be sure there are actually that many minions at all.

"What the hell is he doing?"

The Smartest Man on the Internet since Derek Smart appears as soon as his name turns up on the Google alert:

James Raggi, Zak's former publisher, confirms the sock invasion:


Zak minion appears in the thread. The only reason they hate Zak is because Zak exists.



One of Zak's earlier stories (he cut and run when his former employer, Alexander Macris, got cancelled for "transphobia") come back to haunt him. Zak responds with a counter accusation:

Riquez, a totally legit account, joins in the praise, and GnosticGoblin responds:

Believe me, guys, the book is selling like hotcakes at $1000. Multiple people are paying $1000 for it. I am very intelligent.

Totally legit cartoon dog joins the discussion. What are the odds?





GnosticGoblin agrees with Zak, then agrees again with GnosticGoblin.

Here are a few nice things about Zak. He has amazing art that was displayed at Saatchi, just like real art! His books are amazing. The game industry awarded him. These are coincidentally the same points Zak has in his sig. If you have lost count, this is also the same game industry which conspired to destroy Zak just for existing. Unlike the trolls who spread misinformation and defamation, Zak is righteous, just, and has just made an awesome book.

Zak is so awesome he won the court case against one of the prostitutes he was living with, and who mysteriously turned on him like... other evil prostitutes who mysteriously turned on him after living with him. Viv (Vivka Grey) is a liar, and Zak is a complete winner.

If you remember the Alexander Macris storyline, he arrives to presents his side of the story lies.

Kyle Aaron wins the thread with a does of good old common sense. Zak's response confirms this was center of mass.


Something about dentistry:

He is a real human bean. His books are also selling for $1000 each, while yours are not. You are bitter losers who can't appreciate CUBE WORLD.


This is where things currently stand.

 

[Flexo]

For those interested, SFdebris has continued his history of D&D and MTG.

 

[Sunflower Samurai]

R/OSR is trying to struggle session Ben Milton, the writer of Knave, for allegedly platforming meanie proto facists and other no no people

https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1hsov6i/yochai_gal_on_ben_milton_bigots_protofascists_and/

https://archive.ph/bV3Ox

Heres a direct link to the blog

https://newschoolrevolution.com/blue-skies-ahead/

https://archive.ph/GtYc0

Note that i have no idea who or what any of this means or is since im more or less just a TTRPG tourist myself who has never played any, but this popped up and it looks like it warrants a share, since apparently even redditors are calling the OP, who is a mod of r/OSR, retarded and purity spiraling

This quote from the OP is really funny though

Spoiler

On the moderation at r/OSR

We all know that Reddit has a pretty bad reputation, and r/OSR doesn't have a great one either (for good reason). But it is still a central place for OSR discussion, and I am happy with the mod team there. I can speak personally on that front, as I nearly left the subreddit when a person who will remain nameless harassed me and any mention of my game (and later went on to write a hateful screed about me as well). I told the mods there that I was unhappy about it and leaving, but that I wanted them to know why. Their response was wonderful: they banned the user and told me they'd keep an eye out going forward.

 

[Ghostse]

R/OSR is trying to struggle session Ben Milton, the writer of Knave, for allegedly platforming meanie proto facists and other no no people

https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1hsov6i/yochai_gal_on_ben_milton_bigots_protofascists_and/

https://archive.ph/bV3Ox

Heres a direct link to the blog

https://newschoolrevolution.com/blue-skies-ahead/

https://archive.ph/GtYc0

Note that i have no idea who or what any of this means or is since im more or less just a TTRPG tourist myself who has never played any, but this popped up and it looks like it warrants a share, since apparently even redditors are calling the OP, who is a mod of r/OSR, retarded and purity spiraling

This quote from the OP is really funny though

Spoiler

On the moderation at r/OSR

Jesus christ what a terrible individual this faggot is.

Ben Milton is Questing Beast, one of the few gaming youtubers who isn't a shill, idiot, or screecher. He also, as the woke lynch mob starter is implying, talks to/about creators if he thinks their product is good not if they pass some sort of DEI purity test or are a nigger. This means he has reviewed products from wrongthinkers, shock and horror.
Ben has made a few RPGs, most notably Knave which is an OSR system.

This worthless fucking snake (Yochai Gal who despite the game isn't a tranny or queer; they are much worse we'll get to later) is an also ran who released a RPG that is based on Knave. Basically too worthless and unpopular to make thier own game, they used the Knave SRD to make thier own version. This gay RPG and modules for Knave are the bulk of this feckless jellyspine's output.
Now because some people on FagTwitter are mad and bullied him off the platform, he is throwing Ben under the bus.
Fuck this guy.

Now I know what you're wondering: "This level of treachery, it could only come from a Jew couldn't it? This must be another 'Everytime'."
And you'd be half right.

To ensure the authenticity and sensitivity of this portrayal, the core development team (including the writing, art, and layout) all identify as Jewish. Members of the religious community were consulted throughout the development of this book to ensure that the themes and images represented in the text were not perceived as offensive or derogatory.

lol yeah right. You consulted your rabbi to make sure the Goyim don't do any realizing, and When shitting on other religions you talked to one or two people from your insulated hugbox who were lower than you on the oppression ladder and had to "oh yes perfect" every idea. unless they were punching up "yes, those fucking wicked goys following the false messiah you are giving them too much slack. muh six million after all, please spit outside of churches more often."

However, more than just a jew they are also a communist. He is a computer janny at a "a worker-owned cooperative in Massachusetts" and makes a lot of posts about his communist rhetoric.

 

[ZMOT]

Note that i have no idea who or what any of this means or is since im more or less just a TTRPG tourist myself who has never played any, but this popped up and it looks like it warrants a share, since apparently even redditors are calling the OP, who is a mod of r/OSR, retarded and purity spiraling

not OP but this sheriff dude is eating shit in all the posts I've seen so far, pretty remarkable considering this is fucking reddit.

 

[Loose Goose]

I'm not even that familiar with the OSR corner of the hobby, but it is always a surprise there is so much poz there. Most people playing these old games are middle aged or older guys, the majority with boomercon politics. How come the freaks overran and assimilated even them? Isn't old D&D just racist colonialism anyway?

Rhetorical question, I know. But it is still weird it happened.

 

[Adamska]

People forget that younger boomers and gen xers can still be fake activist retards who support that garbage, and those are the ones who played ADnD during those times too. I'd argue it was inevitable and already there due specifically to how OSR at most is more of a style which is "copy B/X or Traveller, and add my homebrew rules to it; reject the cgi sloppa art, return to black and white.". There's a reason Mork Borg also went through like wildfire in that crowd too; since it too is all vibes, just without any substance stuff unlike some of the bajillion other ones out in the OSR sphere have.

 

[Sunflower Samurai]

I'm not even that familiar with the OSR corner of the hobby, but it is always a surprise there is so much poz there. Most people playing these old games are middle aged or older guys, the majority with boomercon politics. How come the freaks overran and assimilated even them? Isn't old D&D just racist colonialism anyway?

Rhetorical question, I know. But it is still weird it happened.

Pozzed rhetoric has a de-facto governance over what even normal people use as forums or public spaces nowadays, such as Reddit, Twitter or Youtube, so anyone with an inkling of poz is celebrated and elevated in places where a newfag can look into the system
It doesnt help that OSR is an easy escape to other systems that are still recognizbly DnD for the virtue signaler that is too lazy to learn pathfinder after the numerous WOTC debacles

And as people have said, Boomers and Older retards arent immune from being screething mouthpieces of the message, for every couple boomers who dont care about what forums say there is one who is terminally online and secretly titling at windmills

 

[IAmNotAlpharius]

And as people have said, Boomers and Older retards arent immune from being screething mouthpieces of the message, for every couple boomers who dont care about what forums say there is one who is terminally online and secretly titling at windmills

Those boomers are the vector for woke. It didn’t come out of nowhere. They’re parient 0 if you will.

 

[HTTP Error 404]

Gundam is entering the tabletop wargame hobby with "Gundam Assemble." Looks like a cross between Battletech and Kill Team? Maybe?

I haven't watched this brand of Chinese Cartoon, but I do remember the latest series being swarmed by a bunch of 40 year old men who thought it had 13 year old lesbians in it, only to find out eventually that Japan likes to play a game where they pretend 13 year olds are lesbians to sell products to 40 year old men. No idea if the Gundam hobby is "colonized" by the flag bearers since then, but since the hobby costs money to be in, probably not.

 

[Adamska]

It's a catch-all from all aspects of the franchise, much like other properties with the title. The game could actually be pretty good, though I will note it's a bit of a shame it will only focus on the mecha due to the IP and cynical focus of the company. Mainly because in at least one of the franchise universes, the original UC, has enough details on vehicles and ships you could easily and totally play it similar to battletech. I'd wait and see, since this could just be cynical cash grabbing tbh.

Also if you're going to mock the Witch of Mercury for trying to bait western idiots, which it clearly tried to do via marketing, laugh at AC and Gundam Wing in general as well; it's so filled with fujoshis that it's like stupidly filled with gay art and fanfiction between the protagonist and his wing mates.

Also CE/SEED was written by a legit cow; she legit self inserted herself into the work and dressed as that character because the brain tumor told her to.

There's a reason I mostly only paid attention to shit from the classic run onward. Though in fairness, Gundam Wing isn't that bad; it's just okay. It does have the funny moment where the mech Heero uses goes from tough as shit in the main run to getting shredded like toilet paper in Endless Waltz. SEED is just ass though; it tried to be the original run of Gundam but it fucked up and wasn't good.

 

[Roy's Food Repair]

Gundam is entering the tabletop wargame hobby with "Gundam Assemble." Looks like a cross between Battletech and Kill Team? Maybe?

I haven't watched this brand of Chinese Cartoon, but I do remember the latest series being swarmed by a bunch of 40 year old men who thought it had 13 year old lesbians in it, only to find out eventually that Japan likes to play a game where they pretend 13 year olds are lesbians to sell products to 40 year old men. No idea if the Gundam hobby is "colonized" by the flag bearers since then, but since the hobby costs money to be in, probably not.


View attachment 6823052View attachment 6823054View attachment 6823056
View attachment 6823053

It's a shame the miniatures aren't in 1/144 scale (the most common scale for gunpla). They'd have a massive potential player base right off the bat if that were the case. It's nice to see that just like almost every Gundam video game, it's set on a grid. I'm just as dissapointed as usual.

 

[bort420]

if they can get the insane plastic injection molding technology they have with the smaller models it's over for GW

 

[iceteayo]

if they can get the insane plastic injection molding technology they have with the smaller models it's over for GW

You still have to paint them