#cyberpunk meta

[merge-conflict]

I realize it's just a headcanon of mine that Takemura loves a little bit of mischief, but I will submit several canonical events to support my theory:

After meeting with Oda, if you ride with him in the car he will sternly warn V not to mock him and then minutes later V and a stranger can convince him to do his best Hideshi Hino impression, which absolutely bombs

He plays right along with V's "what happened to Dexter Deshawn again?" with "He is deceased" without being annoyed or disapproving

Before the parade starts, even though he seems to hate all streetfood, he buys a scopburger and waits until V is within view to drop it several stories off a railing and then complain about it

The industrial park quest where he jokes "I will make their systems sick" and then genuinely laughs when V tells him he can take the float all the way to Tokyo

The straight-faced way he tells V they "do not look so bad" can be read as just reassurance, but tell me that's not the kind of joke you might tell someone to make them feel better?

When Hellman freaks out and runs someone over, Takemura pats him on the shoulder and tells him (paraphrasing here) that he did a good job as a chauffeur

Actually his entire opening conversation with Hellman before he interrogates him and the way he threatens to waterboard him is entirely unnecessary unless he's amusing himself

Like, he's almost always deadpan and obviously there are a lot of times where he's too focused or annoyed for humor, but c'mon!! Who was it that once said Takemura was like the comic relief for this game? Because they are 100% correct.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk meta #goro takemura #it's possible to read him differently but i'm just exceptionally charmed by an emotionally reserved man having the soul of a trickster #all his experience being a sober and practical bodyguard just make him that much funnier when he chooses to joke around

[asha-mage]

Cyberpunk Meta: The Power of Sticking to Your (Narrative and Thematic) Guns

I've been struggling to articulate why exactly I find Cyberpunk 2077 so damn compelling, given how far it is out of my usual wheel house in terms of genre, tone, and even ideology. And I think after beatng Phantom Liberty it finally clicked-

What enthralls me about this game is it's complete commitment to it's underlying themes and ideas.

Most video games struggle to challenge the player on a story level. Some of this is the capitalism of it all: the idea that video games that aren't trying to make every moment exciting and engaging and wish fulling aren't going to sell well, and so video games should try and maximize player satisfaction above all else. But it's not just that- video games have an inherent limitation of medium in that, since they ask for so much time from the player, they have to be hooky, to draw you in, and keep you there. You don't loose a video game when you die and have to start over. You loose a video game when you put it down and decide to stop picking it up again. And that means that the ways a video game can or will push it's audience are sharply limited- it curtails their ability to make the player uncomfortable, to deprive them, to push them into things like no-win scenarios, and bad endings, to force the player to reflect. And that limit is a hurdle to making art inherent to video games as a medium.

What I admire about Cyberpunk 2077 is it's willingness to find away around, over, and through those limits, while still sticking to it's narrative and thematic guns. Cyberpunk could so easily fall into the trap of making the torment nexus look cool and rad. But it doesn't. Night City is a suffocating capitalist hellscape plastered with advertisements, where the right of way belongs to the person with the car running you over, the only way to get an ambulance is to have a good enough insurance policy, and dodging bullets on your way to work is just a part of every day. The game is unafraid to hammer it home repeatedly that this world is broken, sick, lost, and their isn't really anything you can do to save it. One of the main themes of the game is that sometimes, their are no good choices: just ones you can live with.

And nothing hits this home harder then Phantom Liberty's King of Wands ending. The game hammers you during it's final stretch, again and again- how much are you willing to help Songbird, someone who is, at the end of the day, no different then you- a young kid way in over their head, dying from betrayal and loss, with only a razor thin margin of hope. Helping her is the right thing, but what are you willing to do for that? The game slowly strips away your other motivations and reasons, until you are sitting on that train left with just one reality: do you call Reed and betray Songbird because that's the only way to get the cure you need? Or do you preform an act of true altruism and charity, in a world tormented by greed and selfishness? Do you put her on that rocket, and send her away knowing you'll get nothing for your trouble but the knowledge you stuck to what you believed was right? Or do you choose to give her up to the FIA, to Reed, to Myers, knowing what that will mean, knowing that all she's done to win her freedom?

And like, the sheer audacity, to add an ending via DLC, and it's not a good ending. Their is no magical reward, no last minute silver bullet, or dues ex machina. Virtue is it's own reward. The extra ending you get, for compromising, for betraying, for choosing the same selfishness and greed as everyone else in Night City- it's a bad ending. You loose all your personal relationships, you loose our chance to be a legend, you even loose Johnny in the end. And for what? To most likely end up like Reed one day- on the leash of the NUSA, used up until their is nothing left but regret. I've never seen a game quite do that, because it runs against that central idea of video games- it's anti power fantasy. Your extra time, extra missions, extra choices- their not rewarded, not repaid. The story doesn't let V find a third door just because they have been moral and true. It's unjust. It's cruel. It's unfair.

Just like the world Cyberpunk 2077 is warning against.

And that, is a brilliant bit of art.

#cyberpunk 2077 #Cyberpunk #Phantom Liberty #phantom liberty spoilers #V #Songbird #Solomon Reed #rosalind myers #Johnny Silverhand #And NONE of this is even getting into how the final mission for King of Wands is a retelling of Paradise Lost #WHICH IS WILD ON IT'S OWN #*chews arm off* #Cyberpunk meta

[imadhatt3r]

You know what? That one line from that Phantom Liberty ending where V can call Johnny a "big ol' softie"? They're right. They're absolutely right.

Johnny is a softie. He goofs off on multiple occasions in V's field of view despite knowing that nobody can see him, probably to his own and V's amusement. He screams on the rollercoaster and grins like crazy at V. He adores Nibbles. He wanted to check on Kerry when he heard that he was suicidal. He finally took Rogue on that car cinema date and can flirt with her in a goofy way straight out of his favorite "Bushido" movies. He has fun on the reunion concert and gives Kerry his DeLuze Orphean as a goodbye gift. He narrates that one quest like a noir narrator just to mess with V. He understands Barry's grief over his tortoise. He's respectful when watching Joshua's crucifiction. He's nice to Spider Murphy and calls her "Spider". He sheepishly apologizes to Alt in "The Sun" ending. He puffs up his chest when Denny says she misses him. He's fuming over the kids in "Talent Academy" being treated like products, probably because it reminds him of how he was treated in the military. He feels for Solomon Reed because he sees himself in him. He feels for Songbird because her circumstances remind him of V's.

And speaking of, he really loves V. He just loves them so much; He's always on watch for any danger and does his best to give them advice. He promises that he will do everything he can to cure them. He will encourage them to take a break if they're feeling sick. He will attempt the most dangerous stunts to get them to Mikoshi. He promises V to let them wipe him from the Relic and he keeps that promise. He will realize that they're his only loved one left and will ask for the last chance, and when he gets it he does everything he can to make them proud and happy. He accepts their decision no matter what it is, because it's their body and life. His worst fear is getting to live again, but without his friend/partner/soulmate/beloved (depending on interpretation) with him. He's proud to be able to call himself V's friend. He's proud of them. He's sad that he won't be able to see how V will change. He choses to stay calm and positive before he will be innevitably killed so that his beloved V will live to keep them calm and comfort them.

That whole hardass, asshole act? It's a ruse, it's a front, it's a persona he had to put on due to bad childhood, PTSD from being drafted as a teenager, seeing other teenagers die horribly around him, losing his limb and being branded with the Arasaka logo he did his best to scratch out and being tossed into a rockstar life of drinking, drugs and fans when he was likely not much older.

He might fight it, but he will never be the detached, emotionless action hero he wants to be, because that's not at all who he is! I think that his slight grin when V says it is one of relief, that he was able to show his most vulnerable, tender and gentle side to the one person he holds dear and not be punished for it, playfully teased but with clear sympathy on V's part. After decades of struggle with who he is being so different from who he wants to be, he can finally be seen for who he is, and who he would be if his life went oh so differently.

#cyberpunk 2077 #phantom liberty #phantom liberty spoilers #Johnny Silverhand #silverv #hatter blathers #hatter writes meta #i had these thoughts since the base game but pl finally added that one last puzzle to it #its literally like two sentences but its a key that unlocks his characterisation

[probablybadrpgideas]

Play a cyberpunk game but you just use the news as a sourcebook and see if anyone notices

#rpg #Roleplaying Game #cyberpunk #meta #setting idea

[tarmac-rat]

Slowly quietly thinking about how water-- the classical element of change, movement, emotion, and community-- is a subtle symbol of every Cyberpunk 2077's love interest's quest once it reaches it's completion

Judy Alvarez wants to enact change. She is, at her core, an idealist, and wants to confront the injustices of the world she lives in even if she doesn't exactly know where to start. Judy sees the way the world chews up the working classes of Night City and spits them out with no remorse and is one of the only people who says "no, this shouldn't stand, we have to do something". Even though her plan to seize of Clouds is ultimately unsuccessful, she walks away having gained at least one thing: her freedom. She's tied to Night City, in many ways always will be, but she realizes her worth extends beyond the place that's done absolutely nothing for her in return, so she chooses to leave it behind. Judy's storyline ends with her sitting on the dock overlooking the reservoir of Laguna Bend.

River Ward doesn't know how to change. Blue-blooded through and through, an NCPD detective whose traumatic experiences with crime has shaped who he is. River's morality drives his work, but it also pushes those closest to him-- his sister, his niece and nephews-- away from him. As a result, we see him as the thing society shaped him to be: a no-nonsense, by-the-book cop who genuinely believes in the morality of those he works with until he's forced to look it's corruption dead in the eyes. And the second he realizes how unjust the law he fought so hard to uphold really is, he severs his ties with it and returns to the people who care for him the most. River's storyline ends with him sitting on top of a water tower.

Kerry Eurodyne is resistant to change. Why wouldn't he be? Kerry Eurodyne is the last of the old guard, a rockerboy still living 60 years in the past who's in a mansion he hates and in a corporate deal he can't break out of. So what happens when change comes along in the form of a J-Pop band that's covering his songs without his permission? He confronts them, old-school style, because that's what rockerboys like him've always done. But Kerry soon realizes that the world moving on isn't a bad thing-- what is bad is him digging in his heels and not moving along with it. The new ways can be hard to accept, but Kerry's done with spending the rest of his life grappling with a past he refuses to reconcile with, so he ushers in a new era of his life the only way he knows how to: with songs and flames. Kerry's storyline ends with him lying on the shoreline of Del Cornado Bay

Panam Palmer is desperate for her people to change. Stubborn, hardheaded Panam saw the writing on the wall and broke out for a fresh start the moment she realized Saul's 'promised land' was nothing but dust, Raffen, and dealings with Biotechnica. She struck out as a merc in Night City, running drugs and working with the local gangs. But Panam's loyality is as much a blessing as it is a curse. She comes back when her family needs her, but she is done sitting on the sidelines and watching the Aldecaldos fall further under a corporate's thumb. So she does the only thing she feels she can do: steals a panzer and shows her leaders that their clan can still be something great. She's rewarded for her actions, and the Aldecaldos retain their independence for good. Panam's storyline ends with her driving the Basilisk over a lake in the Badlands.

#Cyberpunk 2077 #CP2077 #Judy Alvarez #River Ward #Kerry Eurodyne #Panam Palmer #Yeah yeah smth smth 'Water is the element of change we have a sense of community and love that holds us together through anything' #Also bonus fun fact that Johnny is very often paralleled with fire and Fire and Water are direct inverses of each other lolololol #This has been your once-every-two-months Cyberpunk meta analysis with Seta thank you for coming and please tip your waiters #Aldi speaks

[ghostoffuturespast]

What’d I miss what’s the thing with the clair de lune piano? 👀 gotta know the backstory

Hehehe I'm so glad you asked :>

I jokingly refer to the Clair de Lune piano (the piano in the Peralez's apartment for anyone reading this) as my arch nemesis, but it's actually one of my favorite pieces of foreshadowing in CP2077. Like it's just one of those things you'd never know, unless you took the time to get to know, and there's just so much of that in this game. A mind-boggling amount of it. It makes my brain very happy and it's one of the many reasons why I love this game so goddamn much. It's just layer upon layer upon layer. The cake that keeps on giving!

Now, there is a possibility that this wasn't intended as foreshadowing, but given how many music and poetry references there are in the game, I'm really hard pressed to believe that the inclusion of Clair de Lune wasn't intentional.

(Heck, look up the other classical song that is referenced in the game Nocturnes, Op. 55, Frederic Chopin, and Jane Stirling. You may see some similarities in situation between Chopin and Stirling, and V and Hanako. Two diseased dying virtuosos and their two wealthy financial sponsors crutching them along.)

We as players can encounter Clair de Lune piano twice in the game. First at the end of the quest I Fought the Law and then a second time at the beginning of Dream On. Both instances, in the Peralez's apartment on a self-playing piano. The melody drifting disembodied through the air...

At first listen, the fact that this song is playing, may not have even registered. (It certainly didn't for me the first several times I played.) Just a classical song being listened to by a couple of rich people for atmosphere. Dig a little deeper, you may have noticed the moon motif based on the title of the song. There's a lot of moon and space motifs in this game too. But the true meaning of this song requires you to know a little bit of music history.

Clair de Lune is the third movement of a piano suite called Suite bergamasque that was composed by Claude Debussy. That third movement got its inspiration and name from a poem written by Paul Verlaine.

Clair de Lune is a fucking poem.

A poem about a masquerade dance underneath the moonlight where all the dancers are living a fantasy life. Very much in the same way that we find out in the conclusion of Dream On that Jefferson and Elizabeth Peralez are living their own fantasy life...

Foreshadowing.

Clair de Lune by Paul Verlaine Your soul is like a landscape fantasy, Where masks and Bergamasks, in charming wise, Strum lutes and dance, just a bit sad to be Hidden beneath their fanciful disguise. Singing in minor mode of life’s largesse And all-victorious love, they yet seem quite Reluctant to believe their happiness, And their song mingles with the pale moonlight, The calm, pale moonlight, whose sad beauty, beaming, Sets the birds softly dreaming in the trees, And makes the marbled fountains, gushing, streaming – Slender jet-fountains – sob their ecstasies.

And remember...

Nothing comes before Night City.

#ask away! #irrigone #cyberpunk 2077 #meta analysis #clair de lune piano #nothing comes before night city #and yes this little nugget is in my fic lol #i didn't tag it as an ode to my tinfoil for no reason

[disk28]

#disk28 #cyberpunk #secret program #technology #meta description

[lasaraconor]

#DigitalBelievers #noir chen #cyber girl #cyberpunk #cyborg #noir meta #futuristic

[bookmauls]

Potentially drama-starting take:

Pawel Sasko doesn't like Takemura.

BEFORE YOU GET MAD AT ME, TUMBLR, THIS ISN'T A PERSONAL ATTACK. I think Pawel did an amazing job with 2077, and I have utmost respect for him.

Regardless, I have thoughts:

I've been following meta analysis by writers about their games as a hobby since I was a kid. I recently got into CP 2077 because of how open and transparent Powel and Philipp have been about the development process and their own writing process, and I really appreciate the layers of story-telling they add to V and the cast of 2077.

However, I get the feeling Powel is apathetic or antipathic towards Takemura. I have to say I understand how he feels, because when your art is consumed, enjoyed and analysed in ways you don't expect it can feel a little alienating.

You put all your effort into THESE romances and story arcs for THESE characters, and a chunk of the fandom adores this last-minute addition who you weren't super invested in to begin with. Or the guy who lives in their head. I would feel super frustrated.

I think Powel avoided Takemura romance because he felt icky about it. That's fine. As a writer, he shouldn't have to write what he doesn't enjoy. What I wish he did instead was leave a romance arc to another writer and set out hard limits for content and characterisation, then share his thoughts with the rest of the writing team.

But I have to say, the best thing CDPR could have done is rolled with the fandom on this. Hell, Bioware did with Garrus, and femshep/garrus is still the biggest ship in the ME fandom. Garrus is babygirl and peeps are still grateful to bioware for indulging the fanbase. Takemura was a missed opportunity.

This is me talking out of my arse. Shoulda-coulda-woulda is easy for me to say. But I would have appreciated it if the idea of "goro gets giggty with V BUT another writer handles it bc it's not my cuppa tea," was given to the community, rather than just not including any new romance content.

It probably never would have happened, because time, budget, story prioritization etc. But Takemura has been done dirty, out of neglect. Not maliciously so, but the removal of lines, bugs (no post-Wakako jig-jig street shopping, eye-bugs, texts not triggering,) and his appearance in Phantom liberty (LITERALLY THE HAIRLINE THO.) All point to an unintended lack of care.

Again, I don't think there's any malicious intent, just different priorities. All too often, majority femme fanbases like v/takemura remain underserved, while the masc fans are better catered to and receive new content for Panam. (At least as far as I know, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)

In the end, all that matters to the execs of CDPR is turning a profit, so CDPR can remain in business. I get it, but fans don't forget goodwill. I hope CDPR will throw us a boner in the future.

#I'm so sorry i had to get this off my chest #goro takemura #takemura romance #takemura #takemura goro #Cyberpunk 2077 #Cyberpunk 2077 meta #cd projekt red #video game feels #Judy was done dirty in pl too #i wrote this at 3am and with a severe uti so bear with me

[merge-conflict]

Thinking again about Johnny and all his possible endings, and thinking that he just doesn't want to do it all again. How he tried to be both a symbol and get his hands dirty, and then continued to escalate until he became a martyr. But the world just– moved on without him, and if the people he loves are still alive, they seem happier without him. Sometimes I think he tries to train V to be what he was, and sometimes I think he just wants them to be happier than he was. But if V gives him another chance at life, he just...walks away.

I've been sitting for a couple weeks trying to articulate why he would save a corpo V, and I think that just being in such intimately close contact makes it hard not to become sympathetic to someone– but I also think he sees himself, a bit. Signing up with a corp to fight a war, just to get out, just to go do something. He got disillusioned much more quickly than V, and because he is the way that he is, he had to commit to fighting it. Had to keep getting bigger and meaner and more intense until a nuke seemed like a good idea. How do you come back from that? How can you come back from that?

#cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #cyberpunk meta #it strikes me that there was no Plan for making things better #i can't really blame him too much for that because he's just doing what he knows how to do #but that failed #and i think that really broke him in some fundamental way

[awhalesrider]

Some thoughts about the story timeline in CP2077(2.0) after the release of PL

Dunno if it's a spoiler (about PL) but you are alert anyway!!!

The more time I spend playing Phantom Liberty, the more I realize that the canon timeline could be PL (after chasing clues about Evelyne and Voodoo Boys) followed by other main quests (getting Hellman with Panam and seeing Hanako in the Parade with Takemura). The quest of "Phantom Liberty" pops up as early as V is chasing after Evelyn, and there will be quite a bit more new dialog with Johnny and NPCs in the main quests if you finish the expansion before them...

In this case, the silverv relationship will develop in a natural way in cp2077 2.0 with all their interactions in Dogtown.

The conversation in Pistis Sophia and Johnny's grave in the oil field are milestones (in their relationship) of qualitative changes. In Pistis Sophia, they have promises about taking a bullet for the other. In the oil field, they truly understand each other (if players take the proper choices). But...for me all these are a little sudden? Like I know they spend 24h a day together, but the *reasons* are not enough, you know? Especially for V. They are dying because of Relic, and what make them finally take Johnny, who is an engram in the chip that's killing them, as a friend, a comrade and even a soulmate for them?

So it is very nice that we finally have those quantum changes in their relationship accumulating in Dogtown. What happened in PL fill the blanks in these "reasons".

Dogtown is a treacherous war zone with a whole lot of colluding forces. V is confused. In such a high-pressure environment, who should they trust? Maybe the only one they can rely on is themselves, and Johnny is somehow themselves. That's the point. The only person who is LITERALLY and TECHNICALLY on the same boat with them is the engram in the Relic.

That's why in some conversations at the end of the PL, when V says "Got the two of us more time together"... the tone of their voice sounds like they are in relief (instead of being annoyed). When they are strunggling in Dogtown, for a moment maybe, V thinks that they are lucky to have Johnny in their head, and that at least they are not alone. They have Johnny despite all awful things.

With the timeline goes like that, both the promises in Pistis Sophia and the true reconciliation in the oil fields become a done deal.

Just imagine. Even though you have some happy time together, you will still hesitate to make a generous promise to an engram living in a chip that's killing you that you'll take a bullet for him too, right?

But what if he was the only close allied comrade in arms you could trust for a long time? What if he was always there for emotional support, no matter what choices you made?

Your answer, of course, will be: Yeah, I would do the same for you.

#silverv #johnny silverhand #female v #male v #johnny x v #johnny silverhand x v #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk2077 #phantom liberty #some meta stuff #plz cdpr they just want to live together #I dunno I am just crying

[elvenbeard]

Brain empty, only Kerry.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk kerry #kerry eurodyne #cyberpunk screenshots #cyberpunk vp #cp2077 #v has the first one as his phone bg for a while - snatched the original file from whichever photographer that took it probably xD #on a meta level I just really wanted a nice pic of his cyberware as reference XD #my screenshots #my vp

[imadhatt3r]

Johnny can totally empathize with Reed because he sees himself in him, that much is clear, but he absolutely can sympathize with Songbird (esp if you side with her and help her) because he can see V, his V, in her, and he wants to protect her and help her get better because that's what he wants to do to V...

#cyberpunk 2077 #phantom liberty #phantom liberty spoilers #johnny silverhand #v cyberpunk #silverv #song so mi #solomon reed #hatter blathers #hatter writes meta

[equalseleventhirds]

Hey, do you have any recs for long form, more serious ttrpg systems for fantasy settings? I feel like I hear a lot about short/definitively-lengthed systems, but I've been yearning for a DnD-esque system without all the baggage of equip loads and complicated Challenge Ratings and other rules-y baggage I don't super care about.

do i! do i ever!

serious & long-form systems do on the whole tend to be crunchier than shorter systems (not always, but generally); nevertheless, i've picked out a........ handful......... ok there's Several, i did try to control and limit myself but u kno.......... games......... anyway, here are some that are considerably less crunchy than d&d but still lend themselves to long fantasy campaigns.

uh. under the cut for. oh god it's so long. it's so long. tried my best to explain them, u see. (which is also why it took me so long to reply lol, sry abt that)

godeater (& godeater 2.0): play in a broken, post-apocalyptic fantasy world, where dead and dying gods warp the land, and you raid their bodies for divine magic to help support humanity. 2d10-based, get weird & funky with it! i admit a small preference for version 1.0, which gave u some loose examples but left much of the worldbuilding and even character building up to u to create; 2.0 has some extra books that go with it that i haven't much looked into yet, but seem to give more solid lore to work with, if u would like that.

when the guilds pay in copper, crime pays in gold: alchemical guilds pay shit wages to use people for magical experiments. go do crimes on 'em with your own magic. d6 base, assign dice to stats to make ur own dice pool; fairly light rules and in fact very little in the way of instruction or hard lore on the gm's side, so better played with an experienced gm who's good at making their own stuff, but certainly campaign material for the right gm!

third empire - violence + beauty: the world sucks, and has sucked for a while, through two oppressive empires and into a third one. you play adventurers who are trying to carve out a little goodness, a little justice, a little vengeance, in the world. y'know. lasers & feelings based, but expanded beyond the original (which also comes with it if u get it!) into more lore, more character choices, very collaborative worldbuilding, downtime mechanics, etc etc.

ruby radiance 6e: streamlined dungeoneering built to let ppl play the way actual play podcasts sound, essentially. d20 pool system, based on trophy mechanics but v much adjusted. lots of choices to make during character creation & leveling, but much much less to keep track of during the playing part. u get it.

wizard pals: all of you are wizards, going on adventures and trying to accomplish your goals in a fantasy world. d12-based, fairly lighthearted (can lean silly but u could use it for more serious if not super grimdark adventures), much worldbuilding left up to the gm, but very simple rules, so.

grimblade rpg: (speaking of grim lol,) action & adventure in a grim fantasy world; things like character creation and rewards (and magic) fully imply a fantasy world, but worldbuilding is left up to the gm, altho there are many tables to roll on to give some help. uses d4, 6, 8, and 10; all rolls are contested rolls, with dice picked based on how serious the gm feels this roll is.

shattered aether: post-apocalyptic science fantasy, you roam around a fucked up magic world and protect ppl from various dangers. 2d6 based, based on the lumen system so fairly combat-forward in a very high-action very cool asskicking way. for some reason the font chosen for this book is murder on my eyes, but if u can get past that (or just zoom in lots and read a bit at a time) it's straightforward, simple, and fun!

familiars of terra: this one may be a little too crunchy, but i love it a lot and rly the most crunch is in character creation and tracking experience, actual gameplay is (imo) pretty easy. post-post-apocalyptic fantasy world, some science fantasy elements depending on where you choose to focus, bcos there are absolute PAGES of lore on this extremely cool and enormous world; you and your party go around with your soul-bonded animal friends to spread hope and healing and also do cool shit. y'know. card-based, again it is probably more crunchy than ur looking for but less abt tracking what you can do during things and more abt tracking experience in order to level up stats, so.

1400 quest: ok that last one was crunchy, this one's very uncrunchy. pick a handful of things and get going! clearly inspired by d&d, but very very streamlined, so things that were pages of mechanics are like, one or two sentences. gm's side of it is like, a handful of rollable tables and then do whatever, so prolly for the more experienced gm. d6 based, but you may have occasion to use other dice. also if you like this one there's others by the same author focusing on other things (1400 mage, sneak, etc), or you can check out others in the 24XX type of games, which started out sci fi but has since been expanded to a bunch of other stuff. u kno.

beast dream: pokemon-inspired game where you make friends with magical beasts and go on magical adventures! d6-based, forged in the dark, so there is a little crunch wrt deciding on position etc and stuff like stress, but the author rly wanted to focus in on letting u adventure and have fun without getting bogged down in numbers and i think that shows, stuff like load and reputation aren't so much a thing.

cognatons: play as sentient, magic-filled automatons doing whatever fantasy adventures your robot heart desires. d4-based, caltrop core, so you get a fairly simple & defined set of actions; less to keep track of, easy to follow.

dethrone the divine: you're gonna overthrow the gods, and also take their places. you're already either divine, semi-divine, or magically powerful in other ways, and you adventure with the goal of gathering power and followers so you can take the place of the shitty gods in power. d6-based, pretty straightforward system, makes characters v cool and powerful, which is always fun.

perilous: do you love dungeon crawls bcos i love dungeon crawls... streamlined and easy to understand fantasy dungeoneer adventures in this one! d20-based, leans towards tags instead of complicated numerical skill stuff to keep track of. go to dungeons, fight monsters, get treasure. simple n good. (adds in some metaplot, like who sent you, how will this affect the people living here, whatever, but rly strong with the very old core of d&d-style 'go do a dungeon' kinda thing, if that's what u like.)

high magic lowlives: ok my latest obsession bcos i'm currently planning a big ol campaign for friends in this one. there are classic adventurers in this world, out there cleaning out monster nests or whatever, but they're usually in the employ of the immortal aristocracy. you? you make your money by stealing from and humiliating the immortal aristocracy, because you're a lowlife. it's a dangerous gig, but isn't it better than going into student debt at wizard school? melds high fantasy aesthetics with like, magical twitch streaming aesthetics. fun as hell. uses all the dice and also sometimes tarot cards (mostly just for character creation, u kno). easy to understand rules, i'm having a great time.

ellipses rpg: setting-agnostic system (make ur own setting!) with simple, streamlined rules and an emphasis on improvisation. d20 based, rly just some very basic foundation and then a lot of encouragement to make things up and do what's fun. so like, loosey goosey & not super structured if you want structure, but could be fun!

unbound: setting-agnostic system but with much more formal structure, got structure around how to collaboratively worldbuild your setting and everything. obvs this means some crunch, but it's still not super crunchy, nice and straightforward rly. lotta character options but not so complex and math-heavy, u kno. card-based system. designed actually for a series of short campaigns in a linked world, tho, so if ur not up for exploring new characters a lot, may not be for you.

#algie talks ttrpgs #i have HUNDREDS of games u don't UNDERSTAND #tried to limit myself. took off some rly more urban fantasy or cyberpunk fantasy or noir fantasy or horror-focused. #took off some more crunchy ones tried to stay with the less crunchy............. #even the ones i took off are STILL not as full of useless-ass rules than d&d but i tried to go for ones with much less to keep track of #took off some ones that are perhaps not as easy for someone moving from d&d eg. gmless ones non-combat ones rly meta ones etc #and still it's like. sixteen here??? which obvs u cannot play all of them lmao #but anyway here u go i hope this helps!! i lov games #long post #just in case the readmore fucks up bcos it's moved itself like three times since i started drafting this

[mirkokosmos]

Metaborg

#Metaborg #柔術 #Jiu Jitsu #close combat #martial arts #mark zuckerberg #meta #gear #sci fi #cyberpunk

[tarmac-rat]

I think one of the reasons that Cyberpunk 2077 still hits for me despite everything is because it's set in a world that's been built by decades of broken human connections and then gives you the option to say "No. This is wrong. We need to fix this, because we can't survive this world without each other."

#Cyberpunk 2077 #Gonna get a little meta in my first response sorry for this I've been feeling...how you say...inspired #Aldi Speaks