So cool! I love the Cyberpunk videos

As a believer and practitioner in the Golden Dawn, which combines Hermeticism and the Kabbalah I just want to say that our beliefs do not line up with the lore here lol… yes some of it may be inspired by it, like I saw the chart featuring spheres which is clearly structured in the same way as the Sephiroths in the Tree of Life in the Kabbalah. Also the Gnostics line up with our beliefs in the concept of Theurgy, which is the idea of personal improvement by direct interaction with the divine, but all of this conspiracy stuff with “the world is really all of this and run by different supernatural races” does NOT line up with what we think. Also we don’t think that humans were or can be gods, but rather that true rituals like the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, balance the mystical elements in us and around us along with affirming that at our core we are made in the divine image, which gives us certain mystical abilities that only come out when we affirm and access the Divine Spark at our core. I’m trying to approach this game with an open mind, it is a different experience as I’m used to different takes on more mainstream religion and that doesn’t bother me since by beliefs are different… but particularly with the references to Hermeticism it’s a challenge for me as it makes into a (dark, horror) game stuff that is inspired by what I consider sacred.

It's all very well until your local powerhouse steamroller every situation into combat.

The economy was really dumbed down because the guy that wrote it was hard on for barter systems. I use the Traveller 5th edition benchmarks with the tables is Red as a better indicator of relative values.

Vanderbilt is dinkleberg

Great series, this is one of the best rules explanation I’ve seen. Great job, hope to see more rules explanation like this for other games. Thanks!

the DM is just another player. any player is the product of all their experiences. 🤷

Old video, i know, but Seth, do you still ever play old school DnD modules in any form?

I am actually a big fan of Brendan Davis here on KZfaq. He's got a tiny channel where he talks about wuxia from the perspective of a translator.

I enjoy all of Seth Skorkowsky videos

Sadly, if Lake Erie turned red, Cleveland wouldn't care...

Just stumbled across this ttrpg. At first I was excited b/c it seems perfect for younger kids, but after listening to you criticisms, I agree there are definitely weak points in the system. Everyone -- especially young kids -- wants to see SOME kind of progression. Do you have any recommendations for RPGs for the 6-9 year old age group?

I'm looking for a job in Maine btw

I highly enjoy this series

Anyone know where you can pick this game up? None of the links in description still offer it.

Thanks for giving us access to these assets. Been looking to run this game again after the update, and this should make things a lot easier.

8:20 NOW DA'S ALATTA DAMAGE!

I have, in fact, made 3 adventurers in dnd who I refer to as universal, because they are out in the world with the express intention of exploring and learning about the world around them. Handy trait when you're in a pinch and need someone to toss in. As fir CoC characters though, the circumstances bring you together the first time, but now you all have a shared mythos experience. No one else is gonna believe you. You're all bonded by this revelation and can find comfort in knowing others are with you. Why not trust in them, right? They got you through the first one. That initial setup might be a bit harder though.. I don't really have an answer for that.

I have an elf character who was an archfey long ago, but through his own actions he became a pathetic shadow of his former self (start at 6lvl). A character that is lawfully evil (formerly he stabilized the faewild demiplane - lawfully in fairytailish way). Playing in a good/neutral team works very well. 1. My hero needs strong allies to avenge his fall and regain his power - so he strives for the development of his companions and their loyalty to him. 2. He has the delussion that his companions (and recruited NPCs) are his subjects, and therefore tries to arrange everything that is best for them - which creates many funny situations. 3. Due to his delusions of grandeur, he is very detached from reality, so he needs a team as a kind of bridge between him and the world. 4. As a former archfey, he was behind the kidnapping of children (like in a fairy tale, children see fairies, follow them to play and do not come back because they become faewild inhabitants) - we agreed with the GM that fae very rarely have own children, so they kidnap human and they love them like cats, dogs, etc. So basically in any adventure where a child might get hurt, my evil hero might suddenly say "yes, let's do it. Let's risk our lives, our fortunes, whatever, because somewhere there's an orphan crying because of whatever." It's very convenient to play this way. You get fun that your PC is evil, but you also get plenty of reasons to do the good and right things (that you want as a player).

For some reason expected it to be about videogame RPGs when saw in recomendation. So this mindset made me think: there is a lot of videogames where character progression is tied to equipment without levels/skills. Can TTRPG be item-based? Idk like there is sci-fi setting and characters are robots/heavily implanted people. So bonuses are dependent not on skill value but on quality of character parts/implants. Like to be better at shooting you need to upgrade implant for ballistic calculations (or your gun)). Also it is probably bad idea. In videogames is good because it gives you more freedom to change your build and game designer more control on when you sholud gain some ability. In TTRPG this qualities seem to be more harmful tha useful because we don' want players to minmax and GM deciding all about your character improvements is wierd.

I had a session where my players were hunting a cult that had already cut off someone's head. The players skipped all hints of picking up, stealing, or buying weapons so when it got to the final event they were both stabbed to death as they tried to fight with their hands against machetes and knives...... Was funny though and they lved it, players don't always have to win

What really lit me up about Kult back in the 90's was it remind me of "They Live" as an rpg and we ( well I) always inject a lot of "They Live" Im here to kick ass and chew bubble gum AND i'm all out of buble gum" into Kult. I cant help myself. A really common complaint I have on modern system design is the "Cool Pwz Proliferation" FATE started this escalation I believe. OK its not just powers its all the additional character "Traits" "Tags""Relationships" etc its very hard to track all these added elements during game (although I do think Cortex Plus et al does it well IF you have to have ). I've come to the head-cannon that like in comics only the ones the GM or Player reference in the scene are "real" at that moment. However as a GM knowing of and remembering them at ALL in a short campaign is really tough - even with crib sheets, sticky-notes etc. There is a reason why in recent years I've been more fond of "Cairn", "Meteor", "Electrum Archive", "Unconcqured" and other Nu-SR games which are more minimal. I'm not sure all the "traits" are doing the modern designs any favors. YMMV. On Kult dice mechanics; we noticed the same thing so just "doubled" the range i.e. every +1 is actually a +2 etc. (I veted the players for +3's wanting them to be less common. yes this required some char gen tweaking. Essentially no +3 and no -2 but three -1's to keep the hard-bitten flavor we liked from the earlier "Drak og Demoner" derived d20 rules of 1st ed. Which while weird works mechanically [enough] and is in some ways more "hack" accepting ) For a better Powered by the Apocalypse run-time experience, as I know you guys like Cyberpunk I suggest (nay highly recommend) you try "The Sprawl" for a much better implementation of AbtP and a very fun Cyberpunk game tbh. Id be very interested in seeing you guys do a mini campaign of that!!! In regards to a "Modern Horror" game I think "Unknown Armies" 3d ed is quite good. I personally have a soft spot for "Conspiracy-X" even the unisystem version (we played 1st edition and found the die mechanic usable is play if a little odd). We mash it up with Delta Green and have a ball.

Top teir gas light GM psi op Seth did convincing the players the game was over. I wish I could've seen the faces on his players when a Judge Dredd looking gang pulled out weapons at what ever night club they where celebrating at

As someone as who does Renn Faire as well as SCA stuff, I know EXACTLY the kind of person you're illustrating. Hanging around the fire, drunk guy comes up and starts spouting nonsense. Not harmful, just nonsense. I showed this to friends, and they immediately started naming names.

Can confirm. Maine has mosquitos the size of Shetland ponies.

Ending with the AI farm is really cool. I love when scenarios give the players a say in how things wrap up. My party is a morally dubious street gang, when they found the server room they fried the place, turned in the phone, and washed their hands of the scenario.

I’ve had an idea for an adventure where the PCs show up after a major battle for a while now, it’s nice to see I’m not the only one who thinks that’s an interesting idea.

Hi! I am running a dnd club for elementary school kids. Do you have any thoughts on running sessions for children? Thanks!!

Very cool, very appropriate M12 SMG prop Jack!

That's was missing from today's D&D - wood paneled walls - it just isn't the same without them.

You said something about the weapons in RED being overly simplistic versus the original 2020 and while I originally whole heartedly (and I still agree regarding melee weapons because a knife is NOT the same as a tomahawk) with firearms it speaks to the thinking during the RED. The setting of RED can be compared to 40k's Necromunda as both settings take place in post-societal-collapse scenarios, with Necromunda's societal collapse taking place mulitple generations before the characters' births. In a situation like that when it comes to clothes, gear, and especially weapons you stop caring abd looking at brand names: you objective is primarily survival, utility, and comfort/ease of repair and/or getting ammo. You do not care that you are using the Malorian ArmsFuckShitUp 9000 that's in the shop for €$500: you care about what ammo it uses, how likely it is that it will break/blow up in your hand in a firefight, and how difficult a repair will be should that happen in a firefight. Iin this way, it is genuinely okay that they are not going by brand names (except in Black Chrome. Of course, but those are mostly for the rich corpos that can afford such things, not the common people fighting in the streets and bars and burned out apartments. I will say this too though: I agree with you that brandnames are AWESOME for world building (you will not catch me DEAD using a Maliwan in Borderlands... or maybe you will!) But for this specific setting, with the dust from the nukes literally still settling, it's a forgiveable offense in my humble opinion. Sorry for the disertation!

I listened to your podcast adventure before watching this video, loved discovering the mystery the slow and suspenseful way! One other option I would suggest if the investigators try to call for help is remind them that they’re not supposed to be in this area anyways, so they might invite even more trouble, especially if the police are already on edge after sending an officer who hasn’t returned.

"And now, everyone in the village is named Bob" still gets a laugh out of me.

lol I’ve have them all in audio had no idea but how the books are written them being rpg characters make a lot of sense

Loved the Kult series. It's a shame that it under performs. And I cannot wait for more Kult adventure reviews! =)

Personally, for me, quantam ogres are a railroading problem. Like, a lack of preparation and improvisation. Its been clear for a bit that our dm is a little burnt out. And for the past 10 or so sessions its been all travel, bogged down by "random" encounters. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can prevent hostile wildlife monsters from spawning in a perfect circle, around the party, and pummeling on us before we drop to 5 hp before fleeing as soon as we kill one of them. The terrain changes, the monsters change, our tactics absolutely change, but the outcome is the same every single time. Again, i really think its an issue of a lack of creative improvisation, or even an adversarial stance against the players

"Yeah I said it." And you got a like and subscription out of it too!

I’m about as groggy as a grognard gets, but i don’t recognize that final reference. Maybe something from Mazes & Monsters?

If your game is set in New Orleans, maybe the investigators are all in the same Mardi Gras crew. Why not?

Thanks for turning me on to Kult. While it's not a game that I think I'll ever run, I DID buy the rulebook, and enjoyed reading through it. It's got great concepts and interesting mythology, and I always like that sort of thing. Why won't I ever run it? It's a bit too heavy for my gaming taste. That, I think, is why people see it as more hopeless than Call of Cthulhu. Though CoC is a game of cosmic hopelessness in the grand scheme of things, the actual gameplay often has a sort of cheerful nihilism about it that makes the experience fun. Kult, meanwhile, offers a far more positive cosmology, but feels like it would really drag you through hell on the way there.

I love these deep dives, really got me into a lot of cool stuff

This video series got me into Kult. My girlfriend and I now l play it, and ive dragged other friends into it as well. Sorry the series didnt perform great, but i personally wouldnt be playing this wonderful game if you hadnt made it!

I was a big fan of the 1st-edition of Kult back in the day, not really emotionally mature enough to "get" it, but still loving the atmosphere and my friend ran our sessions. I never touched this version of it because I'd been burned way too many times by low-effort cash grabs that present themselves as follow-ups to my nostalgia but are just the same old setting slapped on top of a generic like d20 or PbtA. I'm glad the new version of Kult isn't that. Now, if I only had a group nowadays who I could try it out with.

immediately trying to guess which cannibal clown CoC scenario it is…

This game isn’t exactly my jam, but as a religious studies nerd who’s been reading a bit lately about Gnosticism, I have enjoyed learning about Kult.

My idea for this is that if one or more of the PCs has an enemy like a crime boss or pirate leader who wants the group dead would show up in helicopters or their own grav cars and the kink is try to storm past the checkpoints while rockets and laser cannons are trying to wipe them off the face of the universe.

I have a writing question for you: What do you do when your characters wont shut up about some thread you were going to explore but haven't had the space to write it in? I got this one duo that's been wandering around in their local woods solving mysteries and dodging danger and they're supposed to come upon this 'major reveal' but there's just no place to put it in the current narrative. Any ideas? And, yeah; when are we going to find out about Jack's backstory?

We're playing Kult for the first time next week. These videos are gold for getting me ready to run it ^^

It is not for everyone…. But it is an interesting game.