Total Pebble Knockdown

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: Star Citizen, the game that still has not actually been released, just passed $500 million in funding. We still have no idea when the game is coming out, but there are rumblings about sequels. Anyways, let’s discuss this milestone after 10 years in development. Star Citizen Crowdfunds Half a Billion Dollars - and $100 Million In Less Than a Year - IGN Star Citizen has now raised more than half a billion dollars in crowdfunding | Eurogamer.net Star Citizen developer lays out increasingly ambitious five-year plan | Eurogamer.net Star Citizen - Any Day Now™ - YouTube One D&D has even more draft material and it was quite a large info dump. A nearly 40 page document was released concerning expert classes and feats. On this Mechanically Speaking, we’re looking specifically at changes to the bard. Are the band kids even better than they were before or have they failed to make nationals? It is the spookiest time of the year and so our thoughts turn to things that go bump in the night. On this first part of our Spoopy or Not, we look at zombies. Are they a dangerous plague to be feared or an annoying obstacle to shopping at the mall? How many spoops do we give zombies? Only one way to find out.Zombie - Monsters - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: In Weekly Muse, is Matt Mercer a terrible DM? This is something we decided to discuss following comments on the most recent Critical Role episode. So, we're going to talk about how dangerous a world should be, what the consequences are for a player's actions and other ways to slam players when things go wrong. We will also answer that question. WARNING: Spoilers. Spoiler Report - Critical Role Shocks Fans With Its Most Intense Episode Yet (comicbook.com) Nathan recently played Death Stranding and came to a fascinating discovery that the landscape hates Norman Reedus. So how does the navigation of the landscape work as gameplay? Every rock, every stream, every inclined slope is now your enemy, far more intense a foe than the actual guys with guns that start shooting your bike. Was this a good design choice? We'll discuss. While looking at Reddit, a question caught our eye about a bag of holding tactical nuke and it piqued our interest. So, how does this work and should it? Are there ways to keep players from constantly using this tactic to destroy the game or unforeseen consequences for them? The Reddit comments of relevance - How to stop combat from revolving around a tactical nuke? : DMAcademy (reddit.com) Artificer Bag of Holding Bomb? : dndnext (reddit.com)

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: If you have ever watched a movie or TV show, played a game or read a book, you have probably noticed some typical character archetypes. At a certain point these become tropes that are easy to fall back on as writing devices. But does that mean you should play one in your games? We look at a list of 15 character tropes to see how these could work in your games and whether they should. Along the way, we find the worst character tropes that are being addressed today and talk about Shrek more than you might think. Our trope-down list - Character Tropes — 15 Common Character Types Explained (studiobinder.com) We have even more tropes. This time we look at 10 RPG tropes that are (apparently) not around anymore. We may take issue with that assertion. Is it just wishful thinking that high fantasy settings or impractical costumes are going by the wayside? We’ll break down this list while asking if we still see or want these in our games. The next trope-down list - 10 Classic RPG Tropes That Aren't Around Anymore (gamerant.com) Our video about leveling - How Fast Should You Level In RPGs? | Mechanically Speaking - YouTube And thus, even more tropes. This time, we look at 6 RPG tropes that are not actually fun. What tropes have gotten to a place that they are aggravating for players and why should we avoid them? Yes, it’s another trope list - Six Classic Roleplaying Tropes That Aren’t Actually Fun – Mythcreants

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: During a recent D&D session, the party ran across some wererats. This forced the mostly martial party to get creative with dealing damage and that led to a completely unorthodox usage of Heat Metal. What is Heat Metal? How are you supposed to use it? How did we change it? The answers may surprise and annoy you. Heat Metal is an interesting spell Wererats don't care about your swords The numbers are in and it appears that Diablo Immortal, like many mobile games before it, has made a Scrooge McDuck money silo in profit. But in this Soapbox, Nathan discusses how mobile games may be lucrative, but that certainly does not make them good. Having played some of Diablo Immortal himself, this is one thing he can testify to knowing. While we're at it, we discuss some of the other Diablo-style games we've been playing that are, frankly, much better and will cost you far less. COD Mobile made a LOT of money Diablo Immortal made a LOT of money Let's play a new game! In the first ever Side Quest Storming, we look at a random adventure list and start rolling dice. Three quests are picked randomly for Snowball and Hephaestus to get a quick lesson on how they would approach each scenario. It's sort of like roleplaying... The lovely list we used from Mystic Waffle

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: In a less than angry Soapbox, Nathan makes the completely reasonable argument that your in-game store informs everything about your world. Alex has some disagreements about that and makes those very known. Who’s hill will we die on? Perhaps each others… perhaps! Since Nathan now has a Level 5 Bard in the TPK D&D game, he took a 3rd Level spell called Plant Growth. After reading through the description, he started thinking of new and wild ways to utilize the spell, primarily the idea of building his own hedge maze. So, Alex goes over the rules as written and discusses how this might work mechanically in the game. While everyone is busy talking about Diablo Immortal, Nathan went a different way and played the original Diablo for the first time. It did not go well. There might be a reason Diablo 2 is where most people jumped into the series. So, let’s discuss if you can hit or see anything in this very old game.

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: E3 2022 is dead. We killed it... with shrugs. But in it’s wake, a whole bunch of game company streams will be flooding our lives over the next couple weeks. What companies are not having conferences? Do we know about any games being announced? Could we ever hope for a new IP? Will E3 2023 be more for gamers then the industry executives? Sorry, I made myself laugh there… Also, was Frostpunk good or bad? E3 has ceased to be - E3 2022 - Digital and Physical - Has Officially Been Canceled - IGN PC Gaming Show - E3 is dead, but the 2022 PC Gaming Show lives on with some big reveals promised (msn.com) A list of streams to replace E3 - The Complete Schedule Guide For Every Not-E3 2022 Showcase (msn.com) What does the average PC on the street take as a class? Should your bartender be thinking about being a fighter, a rogue or maybe a monk (Way of Drunken Master obviously)? Alex goes over NPC classes from D&D 3.5E to show how this was handled in previous versions. Nathan looks at making Indiana Jones in D&D. And we discuss how this might work in other applications. There are some games that you go back to many times. The question becomes: Why? What qualities do games have to possess to draw us back into it’s world over and over again? We discuss the nature of repeat playability, the games we went back to and the ones that we will never revisit, regardless of how good they were.

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * It appears that video games are the new go-to medium for film adaptation. What a wonderful time to explain that video games and movies are different things. Is Super Mario Brothers a movie masterpiece? Why would you want silent protagonists to suddenly recite dialogue? Why has Master Chief not gotten to the freakin' ring world the whole game series is named after!? Oh, and are they actually gonna try making a Fallout series? Why? * We grow very attached to our characters when playing RPGs. What aspects of their adventure can carry forward into the next campaign? Will you play an adversary or fellow student? Will you inherit their laboratory? Will you rebuild the town they set on fire? We go over our most memorable player characters and what their legacy might look like in this Crit Think. * While Nathan enjoys playing life sims, he had stayed away from Farming Simulator 2022... until now. So, how exactly did that go and can Alex explain why he is wrong?

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: Recently, Twitch was all ablaze with streamers playing an early build of Overwatch 2 and views were off the charts. Then, on Day 2, views were off the charts in a very different direction. So, why did enthusiasm for the game go away so quickly? We will look at a few possibilities and ask what Blizzard might be able to learn… from other Blizzard games.Overwatch 2 viewership drops - Overwatch 2 With Drastic Viewership Drop on Twitch | gamepressure.comSome concerns about the future - Why We're Seriously Worried About Overwatch 2 (looper.com) Nathan finally watched Spiderman: No Way Home, the film he has been looking forward to since the trailer. However, there was one thing he had to do first: Watch all the Spiderman movies that came before. And this led to a thought about building campaigns and RPGs. How can we avoid the pitfalls of making a game that’s just a giant series of references to previous works? Do we handwave storytelling and world-building by just saying “basically he’s Marty McFly”? What if your players have no idea what you are referencing? We delve deeper into this subject and the term “intertextuality”. A game preview popped up on GamePass and it looked vaguely like Stardew Valley. Of course, Nathan had to play it. This time on Games You Didn’t Think We’d Play, Nathan learned that Little Witch in the Woods was akin to watching grass grow. Faring slightly better, Alex played House Flipper to renovate your home while you weren’t looking. Find out why both these games feature cobweb cleaning mechanics.

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: In news we thought had already happened, Wizards of the Coast has purchased D&D Beyond, bringing the online service under the umbrella of the D&D parent company. Will this change anything about the core offerings for the users? Will you need a WOTC account? Can we wish for integration between digital and physical books? Time to dig into this acquisition. For more details on the deal to buy D&D Beyond - D&D Beyond comes under the wing of Wizards of the Coast in $146 million deal | TechCrunch After playing Mages of Mystralia, Nathan started thinking about the mechanics behind modifying spells. What if you could modify your spells in RPGs? Could we add additional effects? Could we change how spells function? How would you balance such a customized system? We’ll attempt to figure that out on this week’s Mechanically Speaking. The entire crew at TPK has been playing No Man’s Sky, one of the most surprising redemption stories in all of video gaming history. With the dozen updates Hello Games has made since it’s initial broken launch, what is this game today? We discuss our experiences in depth for this Games You Didn’t Think We’d Play. For the story behind the game and it’s development, check out the Internet Historian video here - The Engoodening of No Man's Sky - YouTube

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * So, Bethesda is letting it's game launcher go. Fly free little launcher! What happens to everyone's data, their save games, their libraries, their friends lists? And the question on everyone's mind: What about Fallout 76!? Also, a few old Bethesda games become available for free on Steam on the heels of this news. Coincidence? Maybe! Bethesda Launcher we hardly knew ye - https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-is-dropping-its-launcher-in-favor-of-a-return-to-steam/ Your burning Fallout 76 questions answered - https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/article/FfWIVEmUL8vXXpAtkYnCT/farewell-bethesda-net-launcher-fallout-76-faq Free games - https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/some-of-bethesdas-classic-elder-scrolls-rpgs-are-now-free-on-steam/ * Alex and Craeve went to PAX East in a somewhat unexpected fashion while they were in Boston over the weekend. Nathan is not at all familiar with PAX and asks some questions about what it is and why he should care. Were there games? Did they play any? What news do they bring? Did they just wander aimlessly with no real mission but to see what all the fuss is about? Find out! * Technology can be very useful to augment our tabletop experiences. One of the new ideas is holographic game tables. What is the best use for them? Will we ever be able to afford them? Do the logistics make it more trouble than it's worth? And, let's face it, will a new technology replace it before it becomes widely available to the general public? Let's discuss that. Holograms - https://vrscout.com/news/holographic-tabletop-games-on-the-way-from-catan-creators/

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Launched on April 12, two TTRPG Kickstarters hit the $1 Million mark in mere days of release. So, on this Weekly Muse, we talk a bit about that. Should we make monsters more interesting in Flee, Mortals! from MCDM? Should we bow down and worship the Old Gods of Appalachia from Monte Cook Games? Why isn't there an RPG set in a mall? Why has Alex not gotten his '90s themed Scholastic Book Fair game? What's the real difference between zombies and mindflayers? So many questions that we fail to answer... "Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e by Matt Colville — Kickstarter Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game by Monte Cook Games — Kickstarter * Since we brought up Kickstarter, a problem seems to be arising regarding crowdfunding. Namely, how do small or independent projects going to fund when so much attention is getting placed on large projects like the ones above? In this week's Crit Think, we ask what the small developer can do to get exposure and funding for their projects in a landscape that is increasingly becoming built for established brands. Is there still a place for games that are not based on D&D 5E? Should we make a game based around D5s? What exactly is Pebblecore? So many more questions that we fail to answer... * So, Nathan was still playing Rage for reasons we don't understand and came across another interesting wrinkle. This time on Mechanically Speaking, we are discussing the card game inside the game and how it interacts with everything else. Does your ability to play cards with random strangers actually improve your experience with other characters or situations? How integral should it be? How much time should it take? And in terms of tabletop RPGs, should we actually be playing a card game during the session and collect cards as part of the game? We also discuss Gwent, Pazaak and Caravan, just to cover all the made-up card games in video gaming. And no, we are not good at them.

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * After hearing about the horror that is the false hydra, Nathan started thinking about rectifying player knowledge versus character knowledge. If you know how to combat a monster that is imperceivable by normal means as a player, should your character prepare to fight it accordingly? Should I pick Silence as a spell knowing what I know? How much of this becomes meta-gaming and does that affect the campaign? A whole lot of questions, which means we have to do a Crit Think. * On a merry jaunt through Rage (yes, the original game, not the recent sequel) Nathan came down with a fever and the only cure was a Soapbox. On this episode, we have a little rant about “Decorative Door Syndrome” where we as players are presented with what looks like interactive doors only to have our hopes dashed by the fact they are but facades placed there by developers. Why is this so frustrating and could we please address this in the future? * On a round-up of games we’ve played recently, Nathan has many thoughts about the recently released Weird West. Does it really earn the label of “immersive sim”? Is it even fun to play? How weird are we talking?

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Well, we had a weird one on the last episode, which pretty much sets up the whole premise of this episode. To start things off, we're going to have a Crit Think asking if games can be so bad they are good? Some examples are given and personal experiences are relayed. Perhaps the whole thing is subjective. But also, Nathan played Kattastik, so... * Sometimes a bug, flaw, coding error or technical limitation has unexpected consequences. In some cases this leads to features that become iconic to game series and might even spawn a new series altogether. In this week's Delving Deeper (for real this time) we give some examples of games that took their mistakes and made them into features due to their popularity. From speedy aliens to aggro Ghandi to explosive pranksters, we discuss what glorious problems were actually wonderful new mechanics. 7 Glitches That Became Beloved Features - YouTube 15 Gameplay Glitches That Actually Became Features In Video Games - YouTube 10 Video Game Bugs That Became Features - YouTube * It is inevitable that games will have bugs, but to what level are we willing to overlook them? Can you work around them and should you? On this One More Thing we talk about the bugs that broke us, the ones that became unacceptable and the ones that we just kind of ignore.

On this episode of Delve: * Once upon a time we discussed the "good" party and the "bad" party, but we never discussed the "morally ambiguous" party. You know, the neutral party that really doesn't have a stake in affairs of the state or society, but just has a job to do and wants to get paid for their services. Basically witchers, but with less personal investment. What do you do when your party of personified shrugs enters a world full of intrigue to which they have no interest in getting involved? We walk the line of the gray jedi in this Delving Deep. * You've fought them. You've befriended them. You've asked them for more ale. But did you ever ask what they do in their free time? Fictitious worlds are chock full of non-playable characters lining their streets and countryside, but their lives rarely get fleshed out if they are not directly part of the players' story. However, after watching Free Guy, Nathan started wondering if it's worth getting more "NPC on the street" perspectives to the world around the players. Perhaps they are worth talking to, even if they do not have a quest? We explore this subject in this week's Delving Deeper. * Did the Monopoly man have a monocle? What color was C-3PO? Did Sinbad play a genie in the 90s? Question everything about your memory as we dive into the Mandela Effect, a collective misremembering of information. Alex has a quiz for you on this Delving Deepest. Then, we discuss how this attention to detail and altering of information could be utilized in your games as a fun layer of character design or world building. A list of prime Mandela Effect examples - What Is the Mandela Effect? 50 Examples That Will Blow Your Mind

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * In case you were not aware, basically every licensed property in existence has decided to dive into the tabletop market. On this Weekly Muse, Nathan slightly breaks Alex with news of a Power Rangers RPG, Disney theme park board games, a 5E compatible version of Runescape and a shocking list of super successful Kickstarters with recognizable brands. And since we're looking at all of those, let's also discuss possible games from intellectual properties we like. Power Rangers - Roll Roll Power Rangers In This New Tabletop Role Playing Game (forbes.com) Everything is Disney - Funko Games Reveals New Tabletop Games Inspired by Disney Characters and Attractions | SuperParent Runescape, sort of - Runescape is getting a tabletop RPG “fully compatible” with DnD 5e | PCGamesN Top 10 biggest tabletop Kickstarters of 2021 - The top 10 biggest board games and TTRPGs on Kickstarter in 2021 - Polygon * How can you use games as a learning experience? That's a question that came up after Nathan found some articles detailing two games from the Phillipines tackling real world issues of disaster management and martial law. But there are many basic skills that gaming can help us learn without even realizing it. On this Delving Deeper we discuss how games can help develop social skills, cooperation and understanding. Also, we ask if gamification could aid with learning jobs and if HR would have enjoyed orientation more by utilizing it. Serious topics from the Phillipines in game form - ‘Sakunwari’ tabletop game aims to gamify disaster management (philstarlife.com), https://philstarlife.com/geeky/777546-neverforget-educational-rpg-lipunan-tackles-martial-law?page=2 * So many board games have been published over the years, we were bound to have some bad ones. On this One More Thing, we are looking at games that actually got made, but probably should not have. From national disasters, repurposed party games, weird things to market to kids and general head-scratching, we take a look at some of the best worst ideas of board gaming history. The first list we reference - 30 Hilariously Bad Board Games — Best Life (bestlifeonline.com) The second list we reference - The 26 funniest, freakiest board games you can buy - CNET

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Somewhere in Nebraska, video game enthusiasts uncovered a treasure trove of cartridges from the Genesis and SNES era and lost their collective minds. Early estimates suggest that it could be worth millions with most of the cartridges still factory sealed. Does this sound like an over-estimate? What other digital antiques could be worth money? What should we have kept around? Also, Ninja Turtles and Pokemon Cards. Local news shows plastic cartridges - https://www.klkntv.com/rare-video-game-collection-found-in-nebraska-could-be-worth-millions/ The full Gameroom video showing the collection - Video Game Store Closes mid 90s Inventory Found Years Later Factory Sealed SNES Sega Genesis Saturn * Yet another souls title, yet another time round of this discussion. So, Elden Ring has posed the question once more "Should Games Have an Easy Mode". Okay, so let's do a Soapbox about the problem with calling for easy modes and the "git gud" mentality. Yes, we are going to talk about this so we hopefully never have to do so again. * Nathan went back to the kingdoms of Amalur in Re-Reckoning on a mission to explore what has changed and if it still holds up. How hard is it to skip most of the side quests so you can get through the main quest line? This might apply to Skyrim and Fallout in this context as well. Also, what other dead game series would we like to discuss and could we see them return?

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * It might not be well-known, but Alex and Nathan have been playing... oh, what is it called... Dungeons & Dragons. Alex has been running a module and Nathan is playing a bard, so this is a new experience for both of us. We discuss what it's like running a module compared to making your own campaign and how you can still make it your own. We also think about what backstory will make Nathan's character more realistic, but in the terms of a fantasy roleplaying game. * The concept of ludonarrative dissonance may be a foreign one to many people, but we can explain. Basically, imagine if the story and the action in a game contradict each other. Now imagine how that makes some games very odd when you look at them closely. Think about your gallant hero on a quest to save the world and also killing hundreds of people along the way. Think about taking down a dictator while leaving villages in ruin. Welcome to the divide. We'll discuss it on this episode. The original article that spawned the term. https://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html A more recent article discussing Uncharted I’m a Nice Guy, Just Ignore the Bodies | by Benji Tigg | SUPERJUMP (superjumpmagazine.com) * After traversing a linear road, you come upon a set of great doors that open up to reveal this world in all it's glory... WELCOME TO JURASSIC PARK! Yes, on this One More Thing, we are discussing that moment in games when you finally see the scope of it all and how games have done this for better or worse. Will your players be awed by the landscape in front of them or will they simply shrug and say "okay"?

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Nintendo came under some fire for shutting down their WiiU and 3DS game stores without offering another option to enjoy a ton of classic games once that happens. Besides spawning a clear response from academics and the Video Game History Foundation, this brings up a serious issue about the preservation of video games in the digital age. Also, why can't Nathan find Oni anymore and what are we supposed to do to avoid losing old games to the ether? Articles on the e-shop closures - https://kotaku.com/nintendo-wii-u-3ds-classic-games-mario-zelda-eshop-shop-1848544931 https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-3ds-wii-eshop-discontinued The VGHF response on Twitter - https://twitter.com/gamehistoryorg The difficulty of video game preservation - https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/01/12/video-game-preservation-emulation/ * Now that he's played Lost Ark for around 80 hours, Alex wanted to take the opportunity to explain what makes it different than other MMORPGs. Or rather, what makes it very similar. Is this the kind of game that would appeal to Nathan or does it involve other people? Do we ride a ladybug? Do we one of the million chosen ones? Let's discuss the new hotness that has hit American shores. * Whether you play survival games, RPGs, adventure games or even Dungeons and Dragons, you may have encountered a problem with carrying capacity. Recently, Nathan encountered one of the more egregious cases he has ever seen with Windbound, having to start engaging with inventory management before even building a boat. So, how do you factor weight and space into a game's mechanics without it overwhelming the game?  And, do we even want to have inventory limits in the first place?

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * With Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring now released, media outlets have already begun the discussion about what shall be the Game of the Year. On this Soapbox, we make the simple statement: NO! And while it is far too early to be calling a contest such as this, we might as well discuss why GOTY is a thing and if we really need The Game Awards. Horizon Forbidden West review: Game of the year already? 'Elden Ring' Is the Game of the Year | WIRED * Alex has been playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus for many hours now. Being different from the main line of Pokemon games, this brought up many points on it's similarities and differences. A long conversation follows to discuss the structure of Arceus, the story and missions, the streamlining and mechanics, as well as things it does not do. Also, we float the potential Pokemon x Animal Crossing crossover event that you never knew you didn't want. There is much to cover in this Delving Deeper. * We may have discussed the original question about when to have encounters, but there was another Discord Discussion that came up along the way concerning laying out the structure of gameplay. Some RPGs are more structured than others. Can we explain the basic structure of D&D? Can we determine which kinds of games lend themselves to more regimented structure than others? Does our show even have a structure? We sort of answer these questions.

On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * We welcome our first guest to the show, Chris Bissette, creator of Loot the Room, writer of The Wretched and Co-Writer/Publisher of The Unquiet Dark on Kickstarter right now. How quickly will this episode go off the rails? You probably know the answer. * Dark Souls has a tabletop game now, as does Devil May Cry and Darkest Dungeon apparently. Not really sure if this was a good idea, but Chris wanted to discuss it, possibly because he actually cannot get it shipped to his home country. Moreover, Chris happens to be working on a tabletop souls-like project called Dice Souls, with dice pools and everything. Do souls-likes lend themselves to tabletop RPGs, board games or anything else in the analog space? To prove we didn’t make tabletop Dark Souls up… The Dark Souls tabletop RPG will be based on 5th edition D&D - Polygon * The Unquiet Dark is a jazz age prequel campaign supplement for Brindlewood Bay. What is Brindlewood Bay? Imagine Murder She Wrote but with Lovecraftian horror elements. Yes, this is all new to us, but Chris explains it better in this segment.  Created by Alicia Furness, the Unquiet Dark is set in 1922 and makes you think about bootlegging, speakeasys and blues clubs. Also, we come up with terrible puns because of course we did. You can find it on Kickstarter right now, but only for a few more days! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/afurness/the-unquiet-dark * Chris has finally left his job and is now working on games full-time. How was that transition. What were the benefit? How is time-management going now that he never has to set an alarm? We discuss creative process, time for decompression and the very prolific career of Michael Crichton. * Since we have a guest on the show, we get to try out a new question. Can Chris give us a personal Total Pebble Knockdown moment? Was it likely a moment from Delve? Was it fatal? We shall find out. You can find Loot the Room here https://loottheroom.uk/ and Chris's linktree here Loot The Room | Linktree and on Twitter at Chris B 🐻 🏳️‍🌈 (@pangalactic) / Twitter