"For our younger viewers, joking was a verbal exchange meant to provoke spontaneous laughter and amusement, and it stopped somewhere in about 2017." Wow, that's hysterical -- and rather sad, given how true it seems to be. I enjoyed the video, and thanks for the much-needed belly-laugh.
The main reason to use Lamentations MECHANICALLY, when there's a host of other B/X clones out there, is that Lamentations is the ONLY game that fixes the Thief class. In B/X it's ridiculously underpowered and has no chance of doing anything until 10th level or so. Lamentations gives everyone skills, and gives the Specialist bonus points to spend. It's simple, elegant, and makes the thief--for the first time ever--worth playing in B/X.
Valid point, and I say that as a definite non-fan of LotFP. It does do some things much better than its cousins, and the thief/rogue/specialist/mouser is one of them.
That's really nice to hear. One thing I always hated about AD&D/Basic is the fact that thieves were just terrible. It was the one class I pretty much refused to play. You felt totally incompetent most of your career. You were fragile and not good at combat supposedly because you were able to disarming trap and other dungeon skills, only you were terrible at all that as well. The only thing rogues were good at was the "I rolled low stats and my goal is to die so I can reroll" class.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Oh now I get it, the 'specialist' is a dungeoneering specialist, not really a thief. Yes. Brilliant. EDIT: That was supposed to reply to the main poster but I'm old and internetting is hard.
I do so love the description of the "Doom-Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children" free RPG day adventure. "Some people accused our last free RPG day book, 'Better than any Man' about being about the killing of children. It was not. However, people see what they want to see, and let it not be said that we don't listen to our customers, so this year's adventure is about the killing of children."
ROFLMAO Professor, you're brilliant. As an ordained minister who has spent decades playing RPGs while also lamenting the recent death of enlightened discourse at the hands of alleged online irony... I'm glad there are people like you still. Perhaps there's still hope. LotFP is a gem, for sure. 👍🏻
Joking ending in 2017 is definitely a thing. I think the world lost its sense of humor then. And now we live in a slow burn apocalypse where laughter is much needed. At least the Prof is here to....review one of the darkest OSR offerings. Actually I’ve been meaning to buy LotFP for a while, and I think after seeing it on here that it’s time to pull that trigger
I love the concept of reducing the amount of monsters in an adventure. Less but more frightening and challenging. It makes it much or exciting... IMO. Thanks Dan.
"For our younger viewers. Joking was just a verbal exchange meant to provoke spontaneous laughter and amusement that ended somewhere around 2017." I'm offended :P
@Mitch Lang That sounds hyperbolic and difficult to prove. It makes me think that there's this trend of no one taking personal responsibility for anything and blaming the guy in charge. Joke's aren't outlawed by Trump, they're outlawed by your peers.
I’m amazed that I followed you quite some time ago and never realized your vocation. I’m an Anglican priest in Atlantic Canada and totally agree with your approach to RPGs and issues of RL faith. been playing since ‘79.
YES! Finally. LotFP is probably the best vibes to me today. I just in love with all the things Raggi drops in the market. Mörk Borg too but I really like FP more.
I did GM Vault of the Drow with Veins of the Earth and that brought the module to such new life it practically felt as if my players never experienced it before.
Great review! I too think everyone and their brother's cousin's former roommate should own Veins of the Earth. The layout is subtle in its brilliance. The book basically starts with the bestiary with each monster being described by smell and sound. As you read you begin to understand the value of light... brilliant! Here's hoping Lamentations makes it through the pandemic! They make some great stuff.
Veins is pretty damn good. The 3D mapping system alone is worth the price of admission and there's plenty of other intriguing content as well. It's worth noting that you can apply that same mapping system to things beyond underdark crawls - it works for the interiors of large modern buildings, scifi starbases, giant postapoc survival bunkers, etc.
Kinda like the good book, LotFP is so good that it reviews the reviewer. It offers so many good tips that, even if you don't plan to use the entire system, it makes you think about what you could do differently way more often than not. The art is always imaginative and inspiring, the mechanical rules always complement the themes of the system and the disparate adventures you read, and the writing is always thoughtful. Kinda like the writing, the contents presented in each book are placed where they should be. For instance, I always dread every 5e book purchase, knowing that I'd have to tab it with at least two dozen sticky notes so that I can navigate it better. You don't encounter these issues with LotFP or OSR books. You can almost always run an entire adventure using these books alone, though you probably shouldn't. But you can. Navigating the book is just so easy. When there's a rule question, or when you need to consult with one of each books' useful tables, it's only a short page flip away. And they can accomplish such a feat with a book as big as Veins of the Earth. When running a LotFP adventure, you only need the book in question, some notes, pencils, dice, and maybe a map. MAYBE. When you run a 5e adventure, you have to bring at least 3 large books, each with their own errata. The best way I can describe LotFP is that it offers lightweight preparation for some heavyweight DMing.
This is such a great review and breakdown. Was completely unfamiliar with this stuff but am a huge fan of "the book of vile darkness for 3.5" so this is right in that wheelhouse. Looking forward to cracking into this. Cheers prof.
Death Frost Doom is probably one of the most memorable games I ever played , if your players need reminded they are insignificant in the world it's a great way to humble them while running a cool adventure
Excellent review PDM. I've never even heard of these till this video. This is right up my alley and I think it's safe to say, you just sold them one more copy. Thanks for this review. Cheers!!
All my favorite adventures are from LotFP, specially Tower of the Stargazer, Broodmother Skyfortress and Carcosa. The art and layout in these books is brilliant, its hard to look at other osr books when lotfp exist.
LoTFP isn't my favorite retro clone, but I am fan of the quality of their books. Veins of the Earth, Broodmother Skyfortress and Red and Pleasant land are definitely some of my favorite RPG books ever published.
Surprise! Early Dungeon Craft video! I love that monsters in these games are meant to be unique and that commoners don't encounter them on a semi-regular basis. I wish I would have ran across this set earlier.
Professor, I'm just seeing this 4 years after you posted it. At 11:01 defining "joking" for "our younger viewers" with a straight face is the greatest mic-drop on all of UA-cam. I'm late to the party, but better than never, eh? All of you D&D UA-camrs are inspiring me to start my own channel, especially when I disagree with opinions and reviews. All the best to you. Stay well.
Another great addition Lamentations makes is a really great system for managing naval ship to ship combat in a simple cohesive way. In addition there are some really wonderful adventure modules built for this system that are pretty much the best like Death Frost Doom, Maze of the Blue Medusa, and A Red and Pleasant Land. In addition even if you don't enjoy the system any DM would have better tools at their fingertips if they own Vornheim. This book is an essential tool to help build and run creative cities for your world. Thanks for bringing these books to light for your fans. I learned about them thanks to Ben over at QuestingBeast years ago and they gave me a new route to enjoy D&D after I burned out on D&D 5th edition. Actually my favorite system is another one he highlighted years ago and that is Whitehack. Between that system, Index Card RPG, Five Torches Deep and Lamentations I have built a system for my own games that I am very happy with. I hope that when the designers finally reveal D&D 6th edition that it takes a lot of influence from these books.
Finally you bring your awesome insight to my favorite FRP game. LOTFP referee guide has been more influential on my rpg thinking than any other tome, with the possible exception of Gary Gygax' DMG. Unfortunately the art (especially in the current hardcover version) has kept me from pushing this game into the hands of everyone I know. I recently bought Mork Borg and am exploring it...
What I just realized, in the Rules & Magic version, if you open up two page spreads and scroll through from Cleric spells onward there is a flip-book action of a head decaying into a skull in the lower right corner which is kind of cool.
Thank you for doing that shoutout for Veigns of the Earth. Even if you're not going to play a retroclone but just want to add some OSR content to your toolbox, if you're only going to get one OSR book, Veigns of the Earth is the one to get.
Given the volume of OSR games, I hadn’t paid much attention to LotFP, but I think I’ll give it a look-see after watching your review. I especially liked the point about the young girl being the Flame Princess. As in older gamer, I loved your quip about the death of joking circa 2017. Thanks.
I like being back! I unsubscribe from your channel several months ago due to the number of ads in the middle of the video. I don't know if you changed it, UA-cam changed it, or anybody else... But I tried one of your videos on a whim. Now I've watched six in a row. You have great stuff!
Not trying to be that guy, but if you watch on a computer, you should really run an adblocker. Professor DM won't miss the 1/10th of a penny, especially if you pick his new rulebook up.
Steve Swann Jr I appreciate that. Actually, UA-cam just informed me they will be running more ads on my videos. Just being honest. It’s how we’re paid & now creators have less control over it. Sorry.
Great review Professor! This sounds like an awesome, dark, rich, and terrifying setting. I always think I want something gritty and black, and then when I’m presented with how someone would get it done, I realize maybe I don’t want it too dark?
I like to have 1 unique crazy monster, either roaming the dungeon or as the boss. For the rest, I like to do things people instantly know. Like bifurcates (dog lizard, feathered snake, etc...), giant thing (giant spider, giant python), or beastmen (Dogmen, Hyenamen, etc...). Or combine, Giant Feathered Snakeman. Lol, that way not all the baddies are Zxetafls, Duberibits, and Yolosols. What the eff are those? I don't even know, but I'll roll up one per dungeon and put it to roaming or guarding a treasure or some such.
I really like the spells in Lams that and the Jacobean style setting. It's the game I run with guns , I wrote my first scenario entitled "kids with matchlocks " based on a troll hunt ...the troll was a raggi version an old woman with razor teeth who bit characters limbs off.
After doing a lot of research to find an encumbrance system somewhere on the spectrum between requiring a CPA credential to execute and not caring about encumbrance at all, I just got the LotFP core rules last week because i wanted to steal these encumbrance rules for my home brew!!! Awesome book...By the way...Clerics are the bad guys in my Irish Celtic setting. I love twisting it around so the imperialistic monotheistic religions are the known assholes (instead of being understood as the "good" people") by simply making players play characters in which an invading monotheistic land decided to force everyone to convert or die (just like how it really was)...i like how you, in this critique, are demonstrating how routinized the fantastic (monsters, magic, etc.) has become in plain old D&D -- the "zoo," the fear of magic items, etc.. standard D&D has become its own lame mythos that just does not draw me in any more. Glad to see people busting out of it.
Sounds neat, though I still have more of a liking for Tolkienesque settings and action, no matter how much some may insist that the concept has become cliché.
The Lamentations official group in Facebook is compiling a list of referees running this game; join in and you will surely find a game or start your own.
Played this years ago with Dr Pat (has his own channel), it is pretty simple to grasp but it felt a little lacking in customization. As a product that gives an old school flavor and eas to pick up it is on point. Good review
"If my players find a magic item they're afraid to touch it." My exact thoughts as a grim, dark medieval type GM. Every magic item is a relic or artifact and all inherently evil. The dagger Mat stole from Shadar Logoth in the wheel of time would be a good example of what I'm talking about. The one ring from LotR would be another. I like games that are low fantasy with horror grittiness. Though I've never played CoC I was inspired when I read through spell research and magic use for that game. Magic users in my game look drawn, sickly and haunted for a reason. If you insist on being a MU in my game you better have thick skin and love abuse! I rarely allow them but when I do they pay for it. LOL, seeing that eye reminded me of the Head of Vecna!
I kind of think that the reason standard D&D monsters lose their luster is because the monster manuals says that THIS MONSTER CONCEPT has to have THESE STATS and THIS SPECIAL ABILITY. Every Air elemental is the same. But, if you take it as a generic concept that this is a monster that happens to be made of living air, but it might act in a number of ways. Low.... well, not Low LEVEL, but um, low-horror factor(?) Air elementals can be cartoonish living tornadoes, but High horror Air elementals can be harmless-looking clouds of mist that suddenly take the shape of your own mother's face who kisses you on the lips and VIOLENTLY SIPHONS THE AIR OUT OF YOUR LUNGS, so forcefully that you have to roll a fortitude save just to see if your internal organs can handle the sudden change in pressure or if you die in the first second of the kiss! Dragons and Giants should come in a variety of shapes and (big, bigger, biggest, biggestER!) sizes. The only reason that the Player Character's entire homeland hasn't been destroyed by a Kijuu-sized dragon is because nobody has dived down deep enough in the right ocean and disturbed its sleep yet. Some goblins are just impoverished refugees who wandered across the wrong wasteland and mutated to look ugly and carnivorous but lack any special powers. Others are actual night demons with the power to grow bigger as a person gets more terrified and are summoned into reality by the anxiety of a person travelling in the wilderness alone at night and banished only by the dawn (unless you tried to hide from them inside of a deep, dark cave. Then you can have 24 hours of desperation!) Of course, I always like the idea of a world where more powerful creatures are rare. Maybe some of the low-level monsters are boring and standard, but instead of stupidly powerful monsters that are just walls of hit points, the rare monsters are what the things that go bump in the night are THEMSELVES afriad of. Perhaps the scariest thing you can do with an ogre is foreshadow its presence, have the villagers spread rumors about the wondering ogre terrorizing innocent people so the PCs know its a very evil and dangerous creature, then have the PCs randomly encounter signs of the ogre's presence, build up the tension for eventual boss fight with the ogre higher AND HIGHER...! And then when the PCs suddenly round the corner and accidentally stumble upon the ogre, they find it curled up in a fetal position, shaking. And when it notices them it grabs one of them by the shoulders and starts bawling like a baby. The PCs who speak Ogr-ish will understand that the gibberish its screaming roughly translates to: "don't let it find me, don't let it find me, don'tletitdon'tletdon'tletitfindmeeee DON'T! LET! IT! FIND! MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It is close to what I want. I think I may want one or two more levels of perversion, one more level of just utter despair and hopelessness. Yes a real world + monsters is bad... I probably just want to play a game in the Berserk setting. But this should do if I ever get money again.
"For our younger viewers, joking was a verbal exchange meant to provoke spontaneous laughter and amusement, and it stopped somewhere in about 2017." Wow, that's hysterical -- and rather sad, given how true it seems to be. I enjoyed the video, and thanks for the much-needed belly-laugh.
Okay Bill Cosby
@@gabrielcayer2705 Now this guy gets it!
The main reason to use Lamentations MECHANICALLY, when there's a host of other B/X clones out there, is that Lamentations is the ONLY game that fixes the Thief class. In B/X it's ridiculously underpowered and has no chance of doing anything until 10th level or so. Lamentations gives everyone skills, and gives the Specialist bonus points to spend. It's simple, elegant, and makes the thief--for the first time ever--worth playing in B/X.
Valid point, and I say that as a definite non-fan of LotFP. It does do some things much better than its cousins, and the thief/rogue/specialist/mouser is one of them.
I wish I had said that. You are correct. If I could afford writers, you’d be hired!
That's really nice to hear. One thing I always hated about AD&D/Basic is the fact that thieves were just terrible. It was the one class I pretty much refused to play. You felt totally incompetent most of your career. You were fragile and not good at combat supposedly because you were able to disarming trap and other dungeon skills, only you were terrible at all that as well. The only thing rogues were good at was the "I rolled low stats and my goal is to die so I can reroll" class.
The other reason is that it makes encumbrance both easy to use at the table and important in the game. But totaly agreement on the thief/specialist.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Oh now I get it, the 'specialist' is a dungeoneering specialist, not really a thief. Yes. Brilliant.
EDIT: That was supposed to reply to the main poster but I'm old and internetting is hard.
I do so love the description of the "Doom-Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children" free RPG day adventure.
"Some people accused our last free RPG day book, 'Better than any Man' about being about the killing of children. It was not. However, people see what they want to see, and let it not be said that we don't listen to our customers, so this year's adventure is about the killing of children."
ROFLMAO Professor, you're brilliant.
As an ordained minister who has spent decades playing RPGs while also lamenting the recent death of enlightened discourse at the hands of alleged online irony...
I'm glad there are people like you still.
Perhaps there's still hope.
LotFP is a gem, for sure. 👍🏻
Amen.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 HALLELUYER
The defenition of joking, I laughed at this one but I dunno If I should have. Great review, thank you professor.
Joking ending in 2017 is definitely a thing. I think the world lost its sense of humor then. And now we live in a slow burn apocalypse where laughter is much needed. At least the Prof is here to....review one of the darkest OSR offerings.
Actually I’ve been meaning to buy LotFP for a while, and I think after seeing it on here that it’s time to pull that trigger
Savage Professor is savage.
I opened the comments just to remark on the definition of joking... Awesome.
I love the concept of reducing the amount of monsters in an adventure. Less but more frightening and challenging. It makes it much or exciting... IMO. Thanks Dan.
Knew James when " LOTFP " was a metal zine. Great writer. Mixed bag of taste in music. Phenomenal RPG creator. ATLANTA misses him
"For our younger viewers. Joking was just a verbal exchange meant to provoke spontaneous laughter and amusement that ended somewhere around 2017."
I'm offended :P
THIS IS THE BEST LINE I HAVE EVER HEARD.. OMG as a 51yr old (38yr D&D veteran) I could not stop laughing....LMAO many many times.
I replayed that part of the video!
This made me snort my water! Worst time to take a drink LOLOL
@Mitch Lang That sounds hyperbolic and difficult to prove. It makes me think that there's this trend of no one taking personal responsibility for anything and blaming the guy in charge. Joke's aren't outlawed by Trump, they're outlawed by your peers.
@@DnDOldGuard Amateur. Never drink while watching dungeon craft.
I’m amazed that I followed you quite some time ago and never realized your vocation. I’m an Anglican priest in Atlantic Canada and totally agree with your approach to RPGs and issues of RL faith. been playing since ‘79.
Amen!
YES! Finally.
LotFP is probably the best vibes to me today. I just in love with all the things Raggi drops in the market. Mörk Borg too but I really like FP more.
I love how evocatively atmospheric LotFP appears just from the artwork alone.
Yep.
I did GM Vault of the Drow with Veins of the Earth and that brought the module to such new life it practically felt as if my players never experienced it before.
Great review! I too think everyone and their brother's cousin's former roommate should own Veins of the Earth. The layout is subtle in its brilliance. The book basically starts with the bestiary with each monster being described by smell and sound. As you read you begin to understand the value of light... brilliant!
Here's hoping Lamentations makes it through the pandemic! They make some great stuff.
Veins is pretty damn good. The 3D mapping system alone is worth the price of admission and there's plenty of other intriguing content as well. It's worth noting that you can apply that same mapping system to things beyond underdark crawls - it works for the interiors of large modern buildings, scifi starbases, giant postapoc survival bunkers, etc.
Pun not intended?
"It's practically Goodnight Moon." Oh good, I'll have something new to read the kids at bedtime.
Kinda like the good book, LotFP is so good that it reviews the reviewer. It offers so many good tips that, even if you don't plan to use the entire system, it makes you think about what you could do differently way more often than not. The art is always imaginative and inspiring, the mechanical rules always complement the themes of the system and the disparate adventures you read, and the writing is always thoughtful. Kinda like the writing, the contents presented in each book are placed where they should be. For instance, I always dread every 5e book purchase, knowing that I'd have to tab it with at least two dozen sticky notes so that I can navigate it better. You don't encounter these issues with LotFP or OSR books. You can almost always run an entire adventure using these books alone, though you probably shouldn't. But you can. Navigating the book is just so easy. When there's a rule question, or when you need to consult with one of each books' useful tables, it's only a short page flip away. And they can accomplish such a feat with a book as big as Veins of the Earth. When running a LotFP adventure, you only need the book in question, some notes, pencils, dice, and maybe a map. MAYBE. When you run a 5e adventure, you have to bring at least 3 large books, each with their own errata. The best way I can describe LotFP is that it offers lightweight preparation for some heavyweight DMing.
Great observations. 6e needs a ribbon!
This is such a great review and breakdown. Was completely unfamiliar with this stuff but am a huge fan of "the book of vile darkness for 3.5" so this is right in that wheelhouse. Looking forward to cracking into this. Cheers prof.
Death Frost Doom is probably one of the most memorable games I ever played , if your players need reminded they are insignificant in the world it's a great way to humble them while running a cool adventure
I was very skeptical... but wow I’m sold. Checking it out now. Sounds wonderful.
Favorite system from my favorite rpg channel. Can’t ask for much more!
Cool. There's a new video out today, BTW.
Veins of the Earth is a fantastic book. I ran Out of the Abyss and punched it up to terrifying new heights with concepts from the book.
Thanks for reviewing this. I was thinking about buying - I think your review pushed me over the edge.
Excellent review PDM. I've never even heard of these till this video. This is right up my alley and I think it's safe to say, you just sold them one more copy. Thanks for this review. Cheers!!
All my favorite adventures are from LotFP, specially Tower of the Stargazer, Broodmother Skyfortress and Carcosa. The art and layout in these books is brilliant, its hard to look at other osr books when lotfp exist.
LoTFP isn't my favorite retro clone, but I am fan of the quality of their books. Veins of the Earth, Broodmother Skyfortress and Red and Pleasant land are definitely some of my favorite RPG books ever published.
Surprise! Early Dungeon Craft video!
I love that monsters in these games are meant to be unique and that commoners don't encounter them on a semi-regular basis. I wish I would have ran across this set earlier.
Veins of the Earth is the most amazing, useful (at the table) and brilliant RPG book ever written.
I recently discovered this game and I fell in love with it.
Bob the Odd I’m literally discovering this as I write.
Same.
I have been very curious about this RPG for a long time... Thanks for the post!
One of my favorite channels. Great job as always, Professor.
Jason Pelath Thank you. Stay tuned. The new videos are really good.
Professor, I'm just seeing this 4 years after you posted it. At 11:01 defining "joking" for "our younger viewers" with a straight face is the greatest mic-drop on all of UA-cam. I'm late to the party, but better than never, eh? All of you D&D UA-camrs are inspiring me to start my own channel, especially when I disagree with opinions and reviews. All the best to you. Stay well.
Thanks for watching my older videos!
Another great addition Lamentations makes is a really great system for managing naval ship to ship combat in a simple cohesive way. In addition there are some really wonderful adventure modules built for this system that are pretty much the best like Death Frost Doom, Maze of the Blue Medusa, and A Red and Pleasant Land. In addition even if you don't enjoy the system any DM would have better tools at their fingertips if they own Vornheim. This book is an essential tool to help build and run creative cities for your world.
Thanks for bringing these books to light for your fans. I learned about them thanks to Ben over at QuestingBeast years ago and they gave me a new route to enjoy D&D after I burned out on D&D 5th edition. Actually my favorite system is another one he highlighted years ago and that is Whitehack. Between that system, Index Card RPG, Five Torches Deep and Lamentations I have built a system for my own games that I am very happy with.
I hope that when the designers finally reveal D&D 6th edition that it takes a lot of influence from these books.
Dungeon Craft video pops up....enough said. Thumbs Up!!!!!
Finally you bring your awesome insight to my favorite FRP game. LOTFP referee guide has been more influential on my rpg thinking than any other tome, with the possible exception of Gary Gygax' DMG. Unfortunately the art (especially in the current hardcover version) has kept me from pushing this game into the hands of everyone I know.
I recently bought Mork Borg and am exploring it...
What I just realized, in the Rules & Magic version, if you open up two page spreads and scroll through from Cleric spells onward there is a flip-book action of a head decaying into a skull in the lower right corner which is kind of cool.
Thank you for doing that shoutout for Veigns of the Earth. Even if you're not going to play a retroclone but just want to add some OSR content to your toolbox, if you're only going to get one OSR book, Veigns of the Earth is the one to get.
Given the volume of OSR games, I hadn’t paid much attention to LotFP, but I think I’ll give it a look-see after watching your review. I especially liked the point about the young girl being the Flame Princess. As in older gamer, I loved your quip about the death of joking circa 2017. Thanks.
These types of games are right up my alley. I went to D&D camp in 1985 at Shippensburg University. Frank Mentzer was there and signed my DMG!
Included: definition of "joking". Perfect, thanks!!
I like being back! I unsubscribe from your channel several months ago due to the number of ads in the middle of the video. I don't know if you changed it, UA-cam changed it, or anybody else... But I tried one of your videos on a whim. Now I've watched six in a row. You have great stuff!
Not trying to be that guy, but if you watch on a computer, you should really run an adblocker. Professor DM won't miss the 1/10th of a penny, especially if you pick his new rulebook up.
@@steventatlock5443 thanks!
Steve Swann Jr I appreciate that. Actually, UA-cam just informed me they will be running more ads on my videos. Just being honest. It’s how we’re paid & now creators have less control over it. Sorry.
I really enjoy seeing new takes on skill management.
Hahaha the humor joke at the end was awesome. Looks like a great system!
Thanks! More Deathbrigner humor here in my latest video. If you like Grimdark, watch THIS: ua-cam.com/video/W8JBzKCa3rk/v-deo.html
Great review Professor! This sounds like an awesome, dark, rich, and terrifying setting. I always think I want something gritty and black, and then when I’m presented with how someone would get it done, I realize maybe I don’t want it too dark?
I like to have 1 unique crazy monster, either roaming the dungeon or as the boss. For the rest, I like to do things people instantly know. Like bifurcates (dog lizard, feathered snake, etc...), giant thing (giant spider, giant python), or beastmen (Dogmen, Hyenamen, etc...). Or combine, Giant Feathered Snakeman.
Lol, that way not all the baddies are Zxetafls, Duberibits, and Yolosols. What the eff are those? I don't even know, but I'll roll up one per dungeon and put it to roaming or guarding a treasure or some such.
R.I.P. jokes I knew you well
Something I keep seeing is 'Lamentations compatible'. So now I'm nearly obligated to check this out, thanks for the preview.
You’re welcome!
I really like the spells in Lams that and the Jacobean style setting. It's the game I run with guns , I wrote my first scenario entitled "kids with matchlocks " based on a troll hunt ...the troll was a raggi version an old woman with razor teeth who bit characters limbs off.
Love it!
Nice review
I’ve never heard of the game before, sounds interesting.
Best game in the market.
:-D 7:08 I like your description of a Monster Condo, and calling it a Dungeon Zoo.
Thanks for doing this video. I will definitely be checking this out.
"If my group find a magic item, they're afraid to touch it" 😂😂😂
After doing a lot of research to find an encumbrance system somewhere on the spectrum between requiring a CPA credential to execute and not caring about encumbrance at all, I just got the LotFP core rules last week because i wanted to steal these encumbrance rules for my home brew!!! Awesome book...By the way...Clerics are the bad guys in my Irish Celtic setting. I love twisting it around so the imperialistic monotheistic religions are the known assholes (instead of being understood as the "good" people") by simply making players play characters in which an invading monotheistic land decided to force everyone to convert or die (just like how it really was)...i like how you, in this critique, are demonstrating how routinized the fantastic (monsters, magic, etc.) has become in plain old D&D -- the "zoo," the fear of magic items, etc.. standard D&D has become its own lame mythos that just does not draw me in any more. Glad to see people busting out of it.
Can't believe I missed this video.
Thanks for the sage advice!
You have such a cool attitude. Really appreciate it. Jokes did stop in 2017. Bummer
Yep. Thanks for the comment!
Watched it with my Blindfold on! Awesome, as usual.
Malefic eye of putrescence.
Grandfather Nurgle approves
Oh man. That zinger about jokes near the end of the video was worth a share for sure. Great stuff as usual Professor. Keep it up! :D
0:17 Classic Death Bringer is much better than the current iteration.
PDM you almost have me wanting to go grim dark. Great review, I will probably pick this up eventually
Amazing review. Can't wait to pick up a copy of this. I love some of these game mechanics.
"Does anybody remember laughter?" -Robert Plant
Sounds neat, though I still have more of a liking for Tolkienesque settings and action, no matter how much some may insist that the concept has become cliché.
Joking stopped around 2017 lololol. You made my day, prof! 🤣
Gonna use this and ICRPG to make Keep on the Borderlands a space station!!! Ty for the review and your prep videos!
I still have not played this game, I really have to find someone running that for one day.
I'll run you a game
The Lamentations official group in Facebook is compiling a list of referees running this game; join in and you will surely find a game or start your own.
Fantastic review. Love the "joking" comment. I dont know much about this game but I'm incredibly interested.
It’s a lot of fun. Working on my review of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything now. Stay tuned.
LotFP is pretty awesome. Death Frost Doom is also an awesome adventures. Traumatised my players and people in adjoining gaming tables when I ran it.
Played this years ago with Dr Pat (has his own channel), it is pretty simple to grasp but it felt a little lacking in customization. As a product that gives an old school flavor and eas to pick up it is on point. Good review
Great review, thank you!
Thanks!
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 you are welcome!
Yeah, Doombringer! Missed him in the last vid. Thanks for the excellent content once again. Cookie for the metric
OK, I am in. I want to purchase. Am I not seeing the links you mentioned? Great review!
Gnarly system and great review! I love the super grim tone to everything, and I’m definitely a sucker for great artwork.
"If my players find a magic item they're afraid to touch it." My exact thoughts as a grim, dark medieval type GM. Every magic item is a relic or artifact and all inherently evil. The dagger Mat stole from Shadar Logoth in the wheel of time would be a good example of what I'm talking about. The one ring from LotR would be another.
I like games that are low fantasy with horror grittiness. Though I've never played CoC I was inspired when I read through spell research and magic use for that game. Magic users in my game look drawn, sickly and haunted for a reason. If you insist on being a MU in my game you better have thick skin and love abuse! I rarely allow them but when I do they pay for it.
LOL, seeing that eye reminded me of the Head of Vecna!
I like the Roll20 character sheet - well implemented for LotFP.
Encumbrance system for LotFP is nice.
Awesome, very cool that you have the boxed version
Looks like Solomon Kane with fantasy elements
Very much so.
i agree with the deathbringer - but then again i watch horror movies to have a laugh :D
I love me some lamentations of the flame princess
Will have to check out Veins of the Earth! I need to prep a session for characters investigating an abandoned mine. This may just be the ticket
Really having a hard time choosing between this, old school essentials, and five torches deep.
Great stuff, Professor!
PDM, have you reviewed DCC yet? I'd love to see your take.
Here you go! ua-cam.com/video/RV_RwUFETdI/v-deo.html You should watch the whole vid but there's the relevant part.
Does anyone know where I can buy Veins of the Earth ? I can't find this book anywhere...
Well this is going to be a treat! Woot woot!
Excellent review, Professor!!
I kind of think that the reason standard D&D monsters lose their luster is because the monster manuals says that THIS MONSTER CONCEPT has to have THESE STATS and THIS SPECIAL ABILITY. Every Air elemental is the same.
But, if you take it as a generic concept that this is a monster that happens to be made of living air, but it might act in a number of ways. Low.... well, not Low LEVEL, but um, low-horror factor(?) Air elementals can be cartoonish living tornadoes, but High horror Air elementals can be harmless-looking clouds of mist that suddenly take the shape of your own mother's face who kisses you on the lips and VIOLENTLY SIPHONS THE AIR OUT OF YOUR LUNGS, so forcefully that you have to roll a fortitude save just to see if your internal organs can handle the sudden change in pressure or if you die in the first second of the kiss!
Dragons and Giants should come in a variety of shapes and (big, bigger, biggest, biggestER!) sizes. The only reason that the Player Character's entire homeland hasn't been destroyed by a Kijuu-sized dragon is because nobody has dived down deep enough in the right ocean and disturbed its sleep yet.
Some goblins are just impoverished refugees who wandered across the wrong wasteland and mutated to look ugly and carnivorous but lack any special powers. Others are actual night demons with the power to grow bigger as a person gets more terrified and are summoned into reality by the anxiety of a person travelling in the wilderness alone at night and banished only by the dawn (unless you tried to hide from them inside of a deep, dark cave. Then you can have 24 hours of desperation!)
Of course, I always like the idea of a world where more powerful creatures are rare. Maybe some of the low-level monsters are boring and standard, but instead of stupidly powerful monsters that are just walls of hit points, the rare monsters are what the things that go bump in the night are THEMSELVES afriad of.
Perhaps the scariest thing you can do with an ogre is foreshadow its presence, have the villagers spread rumors about the wondering ogre terrorizing innocent people so the PCs know its a very evil and dangerous creature, then have the PCs randomly encounter signs of the ogre's presence, build up the tension for eventual boss fight with the ogre higher AND HIGHER...! And then when the PCs suddenly round the corner and accidentally stumble upon the ogre, they find it curled up in a fetal position, shaking. And when it notices them it grabs one of them by the shoulders and starts bawling like a baby. The PCs who speak Ogr-ish will understand that the gibberish its screaming roughly translates to: "don't let it find me, don't let it find me, don'tletitdon'tletdon'tletitfindmeeee DON'T! LET! IT! FIND! MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
You're a madman and I like it
Great review abd insight as always.
This is the game for me! My main goal during Dming is to creep out my players.
Ill be using some of those monsters for when I run Mork Borg
Good review. I agree w/ you PDM, I always look at a games Character Sheet first.
AMAZING video, professor, thanks!!!
The aside about humor was laugh out loud funny. Nice.
Instant thumbs up for "For our younger viewers 'Joking' was...", knocking down the outrage culture one blow at a time.
My copy of Frostbitten and Mutilated should be arriving today!
I wonder if Corpse Grinder watches Dungeon Craft?
+1 for Goodnight Moon reference
For our younger viewers about joking AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHA holy hell that was gold.
It is close to what I want. I think I may want one or two more levels of perversion, one more level of just utter despair and hopelessness. Yes a real world + monsters is bad... I probably just want to play a game in the Berserk setting.
But this should do if I ever get money again.
Neat! I like the grimdark setting!
Poor jokes. Almost forgot the word. Had to replay for my wife. She got a kick out of it.