#both of the rpg im following

[toonirl]

YOUR NICKTOON KIDDOS GIVE ME LIFE AUAGAGHAGHAAYAGYSGWFEKHFVUJEVFKHQEBVFJQVBLFJEQKFVQVFJEQVF

Stay tuned for the pitch bible bc i am just drawn to expanded worldbuilding megaprojects like damn magnet these days apparently

[kinghlaaluhelseth]

i feel like i dislike modded followers that attempt to have their own moral high ground and will leave you or become hostile to you if you join the thieves guild/dark brotherhood/volkihar clan because it's really rich for someone aiding the dragonborn in slaughtering literally hundreds of people just because they're bandits like it's nothing and raiding and pillaging tombs and killing the already subjugated falmer like they're beasts to suddenly take a big stand against a little thieving/assassination/blood sucking. bonus points if said follower also already participates in something considered abhorrent/taboo like casual use of necromancy spells and the like.

[rivilu]

disjointed fandom posting sorry but it just hit me that pwotr is like. the only rpg where a companion never once left my team

[baeshijima]

ngl after re-binge-watching hq!! with my mum, i have the urge to pick up my hq!! various x reader series again,,, i still have all the notes and plans and rereading that made me realise it would actually make a good fic 😭

[mynnthia]

compiling my headcanons for what video games dungeon meshi characters would like, if they were gamers in modern day

some taken from this post and my reblog additions there. added more characters, with some suggestions by friends/mutuals (marked by *asterisk ).

this can also be a games recommendation list based on your fav/most relatable characters too, if you want

characters that are not are included are bc i dont have ideas for them. if i only list the genre name but not any specific titles, its bc im not familiar enough with the character/genre to pick a specific game.

this list is, of course, biased towards games im more familiar with. feel free to ask me to elaborate on my choices or make suggestions in the comments

Laios' party:

Laios: plays lots of Monster Hunter. loves Spore but he doesnt often play past the tribal stage. likes Pokemon but he's more focused on catching the pokemon than following the story. played WolfQuest and DragonFable back in the day. enjoyed the concept of Bugsnax but wasn't interested in dealing with the NPCs

Marcille: mainly Dwarf Fortress, RTS games, some colony sims. but also sometimes The Sims, and dollmaker dress-up games. i could see her also enjoying Rollercoaster Tycoon and making elaborately-themed parks. might also occasionally indulge in some visual novels if she's in the mood for narrative she has Stardew Valley so she can have something to play co-op with falin, but its not a game she plays a lot of otherwise. when playing with falin, marcille micromanages the farm to maximize productivity, and does the decorations

Chilchuck: puzzle games and hidden object/escape room games as a video game-equivalent to finding/dismantling traps and lockpicking. i think he'd also enjoy Bejeweled.

Senshi: mainly Wii games and Cooking Mama. occasionally plays Snake on his 15-year-old nokia phone. i dont think he would enjoy games like Overcooked or restaurant manager games, because he likes to take his time making food, not stressing about customer service

Falin: some *Legend of Zelda games – she likes the exploration aspect in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, maybe also some of the toon zelda games like Minish Cap or Wind Waker she also plays Pokemon (*Pokemon Go when she's traveling), and i think she would enjoy some indie games, like Penko Park or Chicory: A Colorful Tale. plays Stardew Valley co-op with marcille – falin mainly takes care of the animals, mining, and picking the crops. occasionally makes improvement suggestions that marcille didnt think of

Izutsumi: i could see her enjoying games with parkour mechanics, like *Assassin's Creed, or Mirror's Edge. or maybe something simple but requiring cat-like swipes, like Fruit Ninja. despite her impatience, i think she could also enjoy action games with interesting longer narratives, as evidenced by [this omake] (relevant portion pictured below), so maybe *Final Fantasy 7 – my friend who's familiar with the game said "she’d find Cloud and Vincent relatable"

[ID: a dungeon meshi omake, where laios' party watches a nightmare monster manifest marcille's dream. there are snippets of dramatic soap opera-like dialogue. the rest of the party are initially enthusiastic but get bored over time, meanwhile izutsumi remains enthralled]

Kabru's party

Kabru: definitely Crusader Kings. maybe also some rpgs with relationship/faction mechanics, such as *Fire Emblem (one of the older ones or FE:3H) or Fallout: New Vegas (hes maxing out the speech stat asap) i think he would also enjoy mystery games like Pentiment and Return of the Obra Dinn – he would love the process of getting familiar with the many characters and deducing "who did what" in both games.

Rin: she takes pride in being an indie gamer (translating her disdain for upper class magic academy mages -> disdain for AAA games). given her chain-lightning magic in canon, i think she'd enjoy games with AOE-type magic, so maybe games such as Vampire Survivors. my mutual also suggested she might enjoy indie mystery visual novels like *Paranormasight, and that her AAA guilty-pleasure would be *Final Fantasy 14 – that rin is "a hardcore ff14 raider. would join PUGs and shot-call every week. #holm and diya might also play ff14 casually with rin but holm would be fishing mainly"

Mickbell: mainly Bethesda games like Fallout and Skyrim– enjoys the bootstrapper power fantasy in them. the type to go out of his way to pick up all the loot he can, to later sell

Kuro: enjoys the same games as Mickbell, but for the open-world exploration and investigation factors

Toshiro and Tansu's party:

Namari: her interest in fighting and weapons could translate to brawler/fighting games and action games with a focus on weapon stats – so maybe *Street Fighter, *God of War, and/or *Dark Souls. might play *Monster Hunter with laios but for the weapons. i could also see her occasionally enjoying truck simulators

Toshiro (Shuro): has the perseverance for soulslikes and other high-difficulty action and/or metroidvania games, but would take his time overthinking item/weapon synergies sometimes. given [his fondness for bugs], i could also see him enjoying Hollow Knight

Tade: would enjoy the cute aesthetics and lighthearted gameplay of Animal Crossing and Katamari. would also like idol anime rhythm games

Kiki: i think she would enjoy horror games such as Resident Evil, but would play it while super chill. i dont have much reasoning for this aside from vibes

Canaries:

Mithrun: plays Doom. got into Hollow Knight but still hasn't finished it because he keeps getting lost. senshi introduces him to Cooking Mama later on, which he finds surprisingly therapeutic

Cithis: plays Hitman and enjoys staging elaborate accident kills. i think she'd also enjoy The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, with her background as a devious fortune-teller

Fleki: surreal indie games like Hylics. also plays Team Fortress 2, and is a scout main. occasionally joins lycion in Animal Jam

Lycion: active WolfQuest and Animal Jam player. occasionally joins fleki in tf2

Pattadol: plays Stardew Valley – shes comparatively a normie, but on the meticulous side. she would enjoy perfecting her in-game farm

Otta: plays Genshin Impact. the serious reasoning is because of her (earth) elemental magic and how genshin has an elemental magic system (from my understanding. ive never played it). the joke reasoning is how some genshin players play to collect "waifus", and how otta goes through a lot of women in her dating life

Other:

Leed: runs her own guild in World of Warcraft

Winged Lion: god-games like WorldBox or Simmiland. and Darkest Dungeon (this ones mostly a joke)

Thistle: plays the original Plants VS. Zombies. also plays Minecraft and is very serious about it, but hasn't updated his game in years (translating the fact hes a 1000-year-old kid frozen in time -> playing "slightly old" games popular in the early 2010s)

[ID: tweet reply by twitter user ranchuppi – "thistle calls it lord delgal's server but he is the only mod. whole royal family is locked in spectator mode. Hell. living hell on earth."]

[kyri45]

✨ISAT Sky: Cotl!AU Q&A ✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the ISAT Sky: Cotl!AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

Anonimo ha chiesto: sometimes when im bored i just go to your profile to position your pfp to siffrin's hands so it looks like they're holding you

I feel threatened bc if Siffrin would know what I'm making them pass through with the next comic updates he would crush me insteantly with a fist.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Damn Siffrin is dying and no one will ever remember them. 😔 Oh Loo~ooop!

Loop coming to save the day even tough they aren't paid enough for this shit

Anonimo Siffrin isn't aware of the hole in the wall you can go through for those two statues without having to get pelted by rocks smh my head. (said jokingly) ((Love your comic btw!! Thank you for this AU, I love it))

THE

WHAT?

YOU CAN GO THROUGH A WALL TO GET THEM WITHOUT RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE?????

Anonimo My reaction to this chapter of ISAT COTL CROSSOVER AU (10/9/2024) GO BBG YOU GOT THIS IN THE BAG!! OH YOU DO NOT GOT THIS IN THE BAG.. oh now you're out of the bag oh god ruh roh

Oh yeah he does NOT have this.

Anonimo pst hey hey are you gonna pose the statues, it would be funny i swear totally not more heartbreaking for siffr- WAIT HOW WOULD THEY REACT TO THE FACT YOU CAN BARELY SAVE ALL OF THE STATUES WHEN YOU REACH THE FOREVER STORM PART-

he has enough memories that he should recover a good amount of statues. It's not a matter of wheter or not he can save everyone, but mostly themself....

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hey so I cannot believe I am so late to see your ISAT and Sky AU because I love!! Both of them!! So much!! And I just wanted to thank you for making it and sharing it with us because it’s really cool! And both fandoms need more attention imo <333 @ucorpwhalingyaoi ha chiesto: I know NOTHING about cotl but my god your isat au of it has made me want to play it so bad 💔 (very /pos…) @primrosechronicles ha chiesto: HEYYYY ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE IVE SENT AN ASK!! Ive been silently reading the isat comic since my last ask and im very very proud of you for making this far!!! mwahh!!! Thank you for inspiring me to play sky again, cuz if not i wouldn't have able to meet my sky friends Anonimo ha chiesto: first of all, I came here from the shadowpeach au but your comics dragged my ass to the ISAT fandom second of all, HOW DARE YOU PLAYED WITH MY HAPPINESS LIKE THAT (love your art and story telling, I wanna eat it like a fancy dinner) @prince0fghosty ha chiesto: It's been hard for me to find Sky: Children of the Light content anywhere! I found you through a friend and not only are you interested in Sky but also Lego Monkie Kid this is truly the best day ever!!! I got back into the game because of you. I like to help moths out in Eden @phoenix-is-here ha chiesto: You are the person who introduced me to the ISAT fandom and I gotta say thank you for that. That's one of the best games I've ever played and I would have never known about it without stumbling onto your account first (because of a strong hyperfixation on a show about monkeys ofc) so.. Accept this virtual cookie and glass of milk as a gift : 🍪 Anonimo ha chiesto: I followed for the shadowpeach, stayed for Sky CotL, keep cookin

HIII!!! AND TYSM!!!!!

@elianaroselight ha chiesto: This feels a little silly, but what is ISAT? I read through your ISAT Sky AU comic and I feel like I am missing half of the story. I love what I'm seeing so far and want more, but I also don't know or completely understand who the characters are and why I should care about them (more than I do already at least). Sorry if this is silly. I just want to understand.

ISAT is short for "In Stars And Time". It's an RPG game made by @insertdisc5. ABsolutely go check it out otherwise you wont understand a thing about the characters of the AU!

when i was reading the most recent page of the In Skies and Time™️ comic I had the most hilarious image in my head of just a bunch of sky kids smacking down on the same area and making this. sky kid pileup????? [since it seems liek theyre all gonna come back like that..] it was super funny to imagine 30 CAR PILEUP 🔥🔥🔥

AWWW SKY KID MOUNTAIN!! Lol probably it would happen? Like when you do Eden just after reset and when you get reborn there's like 7 other players clipped in you rebirth animation in the aviary /home space

Anonimo ha chiesto: Awwwww Bonnie was so excited 😢

poor Bonnie they will get their comfort moment eventually

@sohrleas ha chiesto: YOU YOU'RE THE REASON WHY I got Sky 'cause I saw your isat sky au and got super curious about the game Your art is beautiful and I love it 💚💚💚

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO!!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: HOPEFUL STEWARD WOOOOO-

IT'S MY BOY!!

@o0mochacoffee0o This isn’t related to you Bio dad AU Like my usuals- I just saw in your abut that you like CotL! Now you share two of my interests!! I’m curious to know your favorite parts of the game, if you have any ships, head canons, etc!! I always love listening to people’s opinions on things I love!

About Scotl? I don't have any specific headcanon, but I do ship Moments Guide and Reassuring Ranges. The only thing that I crave for that game is MORE LORE GODDAMN IT

Anonimo ha chiesto: When I said the fun was dying. I did not expected this. I'M SCREAMING AND PUNCHING THE BED NOOOOOOOOOOOO SIFFF

*sips coffee* welcome to hell (literally)

Anonimo ha chiesto: "is that thing a sadness?!" sweet summer child that thing is a menace of death

It absolutely is

Anonimo ha chiesto: Poor Siffrin’s gotta be absolutely TERRIFIED Big scary beast thing spotted them AND suddenly getting bathed in the color they associate with bad stuff? I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be quaking in their boots.

He is in desperate need of comfort that wont come in like- a irl month I think

Anonimo ha chiesto: I know you won’t be doing the golden wastelands but… Once the party discovers that the groundwater has the same effect as the forest rain, Isabeau decides to bridal carry Siffrin the whole way. Leaving Siffrin a blushy mess. Also, almost if not everyone is scared shitless of the Dark Dragons/Krill (totally not projecting)

ooooohh that is soooo cute i'm dying!!!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: THE FAKE ACT 4 LOOKING SMILE . THE ACT 5 EDEN MOMENT. THE PARTY BEING SENT BACK . DIES "oh yeah if I still have energy I can loop back" ← me when I'm lying

@starlight-and-clockwork ha chiesto: bawling and kicking and screaming and pulling my hair out THAT PANEL OF SIFFRIN ASKING HIS FAMILY TO REMEMBER HIM WILL HAUNT ME FOREVER YOU ARE SO TALENTED AND CAUSE ME MUCH PAIN THANK U<3

@aro-aces-world ha chiesto: I just caught up with ISAT sky au Fuck you /affectionate

Thank you! Be ready to be even more destroyed by the following updates!

@cherryblossomventi ha chiesto: I’m gonna go feral, Sif did that because he knows he can kinda come back from this with the shooting star thing Im guessing but the others cant/might not because they aren’t from this land,,, oh buddy why didn’t you tell them stop being cryptic idiot

Sif doesn't really remember that he can be reborn like in Sky. He knows only that, if he can reach the light right at the base of the cataclysm, then maybe he can return as well.

[catmask]

genuine question – and i hope it doesn't come as weird – but how do get into...pokemon? </3

pokemon universe feels so big and there are so many games and i really like their designs – both for pokemons and trainers – making ocs in this setting would be so cool but i have no idea how to. begin!

could you give some advice?

ps leaving compliments for your comic and art in general!! i really like how your pieces are so colorful! gives the vibes of some small but cozy and fun town in a videogame..

no worries!! it seriously depends on what you are interested in - gamewise, region wise, and story wise.

heres what i can say. if you like typical top-down style pixel art rpg games where you solve tile puzzles and build a little team of monsters, any of the games before x and y is a good choice. platinum is a great introduction to the series because it doesn't baby you but is still decently difficult, heartgold/soulsilver are the 'coziest' games imo but may spoil you because of how much content there is, black/white and black/white 2 are the most story-driven of the games and bw2 is probably the longest play of all the games. emerald is also great, but its genuinely a hard game even as someone whos been a fan of the series for years. i would say to start with hgss because they're my favorites, but they're so good it might raise the bar too high for all the other games pixel-art games.

if you prefer 3D graphics, but still like the 'run around catching guys and solving tile puzzles', i think sun and moon are the best of the 3D games! the story is engaging and a little more modernized so that there are actual cut scenes, i think the pokemon available are cute and the region is really pretty. i thikn after that, x and y is pretty cute! the story is less strong in comparison to sun/moon. importantly; every game in the 3D era has a new type that was not present in the pixel art era - the fairy type, so if you want to learn the MODERN type chart and balances, the 3D games are where you'd need to start.

finally, if you're not a fan of the 'catch pokemon run around region' type games, pokemon has a LOT of really awesome spin off games. my favorites are as follows...

pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky. its the strongest story the pokemon company has ever written, and im a big fan of the mystery dungeon style gameplay.

pokemon ranger (any ranger game!) the story and graphics are cute, and it focuses on rescuing/rehabilitating pokemon more than capturing them. really lovely expansion of the pokemon universe.

pokemon go, because its free! so if you dont want to download a rom, or sink money into a new franchise, its an easy way to get into it.

pokemon snap - this was actually my very first pokemon game i ever played! (never owned it though heha) but there was just a remake for the switch, if you've got a switch that is. the game focuses on photographing pokemon in their natural habitat, and its really quite cute. slow paced and fun if you're not sure about battling yet.

finally... if you weren't looking to get into games at all, pokemon art + fan creations are personally my favorite things in the entire fandom! artists and writers and fangame devs are the people who hold this fandom up, engaging with their creations is a great and typically free way to involve yourself... im sorry this is so long, i hope this helps!! and ppl are free to add on to this hehe

[laviaceae]

your art has spiked my interest haha what’s tower of hanoi and how/where do i play it?

OKAY.

TOWER OF HANOI IS THE BEST GAME YOU ABSOLUTELY, 110% GUARANTEE NO REFUNDS, HAVE NEVER HEARD OF.

LET ME EXPLAIN.

(also known as: i win at all times ever and im glad my tawahano propaganda pays off, HAH!)

----------

Have you ever heard of... END ROLL? Walking On A Star Unknown? Farethere City? These are all relatively niche RPGMaker 2000 games made by a Japanese game creator known as Segawa (せがわ), with END ROLL being the most popular among Western Fans (you might see the main character, Russell, in some fanart with OMORI or Yume Nikki characters for example)!

In fact, for followers of mine who are In Stars and Time fans, END ROLL was credited as one of the inspirations for that game!

TOWER of HANOI is another game made by Segawa, one released in November of 2020, and one of the final games they've made in RPG2K (so they've got an absolute mastery of the engine).

I'll be in part directing this post towards ISAT fans since that makes up the majority of my followerbase on Tumblr, so there may be ISAT spoilers (including Two Hats/Act 6 Secret spoilers) up ahead! There will also be mild TOWER of HANOI spoilers required to explain the game's premise. Proceed at your own risk.

Section One: So, what is TOWER of HANOI all about?

TOWER of HANOI is a narrative-driven RPG with multiple endings (2 'true endings', 3 'bad endings') set in a futuristic, post-post-World-War-Five society. The game mostly takes place within the TOWER, a hyper-realistic virtual reality simulation currently undergoing playtests that was built to be able to rehabilitate HANOI (androids that look and sound and feel emotions like humans do) who have dangerous levels of mental instability.

The stability of a HANOI is measured through their Stress Level, a numerical representation of that HANOI's mental state. HANOI are generally considered by society to be more of technology or property than people (like your computer or your phone would be), and as such have no rights and are often mistreated by humans. More than 50% of HANOI hate their human employers.

In order to combat the dangerous upward trend of HANOI Stress Levels (caused by their mistreatment), the TOWER was created. In it, HANOI are expected to fight and defeat virtual enemies that approximate humans in order to destress through violence. Upon a successful completion, HANOI are to be returned to their human employers.

Because the TOWER is currently undergoing testing, groups of HANOI are accompanied through the TOWER by a human "Inspector" who is expected to report any bugs or issues they encounter during their playtest.

You play as one of those human Inspectors; Inspector No.102, Coral Brown.

(this is my art! you may have seen him in my ISAT au as taking the place of Siffrin).

He's 33 years old, kind, calm, and soft as a marshmallow. He's also a human being who believes in the rights and wellbeing of HANOI, and sympathises with their suffering. As a child, he was raised by a HANOI instead of his parents, which may have contributed to his feelings towards them.

Over the course of the game and as you progress through the TOWER you'll get to meet and intimately know the ten HANOI under Coral's care with Fire Emblem-esque Support events depending on how many times you bring each of them to battle. These can be between Coral and the HANOI, or the HANOI between eachother. (There are more than 100 of these such events to collect in total!)

TOWER of HANOI's characters are both charming and tragic. They each have incredibly well-realised personalities, backstories, and relationships both with the Inspector taking care of them and eachother. It's easy to imagine day-to-day interactions in Headquarters (your hub area) between them all.

You have Adams, a HANOI built for missionary work and who's Stress Level is the lowest out of all ten (and actually below the 'dangerous' stress threshold)! He's silly and mischevious and adores spicy food. Despite this, he's here at the TOWER because he doesn't believe in God, despite that being an important part of his 'role' in the world. When did he stop believing in God, and why? What is his relationship with the people at the Church that took care of him?

Or Mira, a Childcare HANOI that reminds Coral of the HANOI that looked after him as a child. She loves children, but has to constantly grapple with the fact that she can't have any and that any children she takes care of will eventually, inevitably leave her. How will she and Coral resolve the fact that they both remind eachother of someone they knew in the past? How will she interact with the other HANOI?

There's also Nanashi, a cheaply-made HANOI for miscellaneous chores who's trust and care for humanity has been completely shattered due to his ties with the mafia. He wasn't even important enough to be given a name until Coral gives him one upon their first meeting in the TOWER. He hates humans, hates Coral, and refuses to trust him, instead convincing himself that Coral is merely faking his kindness to get him to let his guard down just to use him like all humans he's ever known have done. Will Coral eventually be given Nanashi's trust? What will he do once he leaves the TOWER, and has to be sent back to the mafia where he came from?

Finally there's Kimon Noroi, a HANOI who resembles a child that fulfils a very special purpose. Noroi is what's known as a Yorimashi (憑坐), and uses her body to allow spirits to occupy it and commune with the living. She's seen how terrible humans can be because of the spirits she's seen and can come across as a bit standoffish (though she's really just as much of a menace as Adams is), and definitely, definitely, definitely doesn't miss the Priest at the shrine she lived in before coming to the TOWER at all! How will she interact with Adams, both having people they miss back at home? How will she interact with Mira, who's like a mother figure to her in this place?

As you progress, you can find the answers to all of these questions, as well as the identities of the six other HANOI I've not even mentioned here- all as well-written and interesting as these four.

However, the HANOI aren't the only faction in the game to worry about.

The very NPCs and enemies you'll be fighting along the way are coming to life, gaining sentience, and realising they want something more in their existence than eternally repeating dialogue chains and fetch quests and death in battle.

The head of this 'rebellion' of 0s and 1s, a computer virus named Shunya, acts as the main antagonist for the majority of the game, but even she isn't... 'evil'. She has her own found family, a group of bugged enemies she's befriended along her journey, all of whom want her to realise her dream of "melting" down the TOWER and returning all of the 0s and 1s inside to their base state of not thinking, not feeling, and not being in eternal pain.

Should you fight these people, if their emotions really are real, and defeat them without caring about their plight? Is it right to, to disregard the thoughts and feelings of 0s and 1s for the sake of the wellbeing of the HANOI Coral's grown so attached to? Should you follow the 'role' you've been given, or disregard it and create your own?

TOWER of HANOI excellently tackles the dichotomy of themes between 'roles' in societies and the 'dreams' people have, and nowhere is this more apparent than Coral Brown himself. Throughout the game, there will be multiple events and opportunities in order to control Coral's own Stress Level, and how he feels towards both the side of HANOI and the side of 0s and 1s he's stuck between. Lower his stress and he'll side with the HANOI and enjoy his job, and at higher stresses he'll begin to hate it, being unable to eat or sleep as he starts feeling awful for the 0s and 1s he spends his time killing in the TOWER....

These branch into the two main 'True Routes' of the game, depending on your Stress Level... but I shall leave the specific nature of those to discover in your own playthroughs. :)

If you've enjoyed ISAT, there's a good chance you'll enjoy TOWER of HANOI. Not only is one of the creator's previous games an inspiration for ISAT, they share a lot of similarities in their characters. Coral and Siffrin are very similar as protagonists, and as for others...

(Loop artwork credit to Insertdisc5 from In Stars and Time)

I could write a whole essay on how these two are so painfully similar and would kill eachother on sight. Maybe I will one day. Who knows. Me when I have a guide character lacking half of a face that has Fucking Issues TM stemming from intense jealousy and shares some visual similarity with our main character. Just look at them. This is the sole reason for the twohats warning. Just look at them.

Section Two: Wow, that's so cool and awesome Mx Lav! How do I play TOWER of HANOI?

You can check out the official website here, and the official downloads page here! I'd recommend following the instructions on this website to get the game working faster (because RPG2K is a pain in the ass on modern systems).

...

...Oh? It's all in Japanese? ...Well-

Section Three: --WAIT WHY IS IT ALL IN JAPANESE??

Yes, that's TOWER of HANOI's One (Big) Thing. The one thing you have to look past in order to actually play the game; it's all in Japanese, and an English translation will never be made (unless Segawa-san lifts the translation ban).

However, you don't actually need to know Japanese to play the game. I sure don't! And all of the other English-speaking fans I know that have played this game don't either.

There are three main ways to accomplish this, but I'll only discuss two here:

Sugoi Translator or similar translators. Sugoi Translator (or Sugoi Toolkit) is a machine translation tool that automatically grabs and translates the text in game you're looking at. The translations themselves make a good amount of sense, too! It's a little difficult to set up, but once you've calibrated it once you never have to worry about it again. This is definitely easiest if you want to read all of the dialogue in the game, including flavourtext (as yes, all 10 HANOI and Coral have unique flavourtext for every item in the game...), but is only available for free on the 15th and 16th each month and is otherwise only available to download on the creator's Patreon.

Google Lens. The easier, plug-and-translate method of the two. Simply download the Google Lens app and point it at the text on the screen, it'll read and translate it for you. The translations here are a little goofier (and sometimes, depending on your phone camera quality or lighting conditions, can be difficult for the app to pick up), but it's easy to complete a playthrough with just this tool alone.

If you can't get past this game's One Big Thing, I get it. It's a hard game to sell to people precisely for this reason. I'm at least glad you've read this far down into the post to get to this point and have showed interest in the game. And now you now about a game you didn't before, and you also have an itty bitty bit of context for all the non-ISAT stuff I post here. But this game has had me in a chokehold for the past two years and I promise that, if you can get through it, it's extremely worth it.

If you have the time and you're willing to try, please do! I love this game with all my heart and it's such a shame that most Western fans will never have easy access to it. I shill this game with all my heart, for realsies.

Section Four: Trigger/Content Warnings

If you've played a Segawa game before, you knew this section was coming. Segawa-san's games often tackle heavy or dark themes, and TOWER of HANOI isn't an exception. I'll add a list of content warnings here just so you aren't surprised by anything.

Suicide, both on and off screen

Self-harm, on-screen through dialogue

Themes of terminal illness, on screen

Hospitals (on screen, a majority of one of the game's dungeons takes place in one)

Death (on-screen)

Abuse (off-screen, but portrayed through dialogue)

Child harm/death (mentioned)

Kidnapping/Child kidnapping (mentioned)

Horror elements (no chase sequences, one jumpscare through an optional and hard-to-find sidequest)

Sexual Assault/Abuse (Not on-screen but talked about extensively, can avoided if you avoid Melitica/Merrytika's dialogue)

Mishandling of discussions surrounding gender identity (this character's identity is shown generally throughout the game to be a positive/supported thing, but some dialogue and design choices are quite ignorant/transphobic- though not maliciously. This can be avoided if you avoid Kathy/Cameron's dialogue)

There is also a substantial amount of screenshake employed near the end of the game. This list is from memory and limited from the amount of dialogue I've personally seen/translated, so it's probably not fully comprehensive. But it is thorough.

Section Five: Conclusion

oof... You've made it to the end! This took me the better part of a day to write, and I'm glad I finally got to advertise my favourite game on main. I hope... any of this makes sense, and that you enjoy! Even if you decide TOWER of HANOI isn't right for you, you at least know a little more about something you didn't before. Thank you so much for getting to the end, and I wish you the best!

[nights-nonsensical-ramblings]

Damn it im trying to start a ramble but i cant really form anything much. (later note here, i managed it. I am so sorry for anyone thats come across this in the tags (they're there for my organisation), ive kinda made it a mess to put on any blog cuz of all the contradicting stuff) Like i've got "mmm i like Knuckles, he's best boy". But it feels like any headcanons or au ideas i could talk about are out of reach on my own. Again its like a fog, i know they're there but i just cant reach them. Subnautica 2 got a trailer and again its like i cant grab any thoughts on it. Like I love subnautica, never actually finished it, but i adore this game, its vibes its world the creatures

hmmm I just finished binge watching every single episode of Viva la Dirt League's bored series, did that over the last few days, saw its evolution and how stunningly high the production value got, how certain jokes were more/less common than i thought.

You know there's actually a reference to Baelin from their epic npc man series in one of my fics. In chapter 16 of 'No child should have to inherit a war' i have big say “morning, it’s a nice day for fishing, isn’t it?" a pretty close match to Baelin's "Morning! Nice day for fishing ain't it? Hua hah!" Alas no one ever got the reference. Okay, i got some Knuckles thoughts. Like in a generic fantasy rpg style world it would be so easy to put knux in a fighter/warrior/brawler type class. He likes to hit hard and get up in the heat of the fight. But i adore his more quiet moments so much. He likes to help out the animals of his islands, he's a protector who cares so much and is always jumping to help strangers, enemies and friends alike. (even if he still tries to play the stoic role) But what would be absolutely hilarious in my opinion is if he was an incredibly powerful sorcerer/mage/wizard. (in reference to how powerful he is due to the m.e connection) and he's hyped up as this powerful and dangerous magic user,

only for him to punch you in the face when you go to fight him.

Oh he'll use his magic (and m.e powers in canon also apply here) to look after the place he protects, but he's not a fan of using it in combat. Both cuz its not his style, he prefers a direct, get it done style and cuz he feels its not his place that his power is not to be used in an offensive manor.

and throw in some healing powers of course cuz i will forever love Knuckles as a healer who will tell you off for being stupid and will huff and deny he's worried. (Platonic tsunderes hold a place in my heart)

Cuz yeah, caring is a major part of who knuckles is.

And back to bored, cuz Knuckles being the type to care reminds me of Rowan (the character) being such an opposite and a terrible boss. Cuz man Ben and Rowan and SO good at playing hateable characters. Like Bens character in Bored is the culmination of all the most frustrating and OUTRAGEOUS customers. He does such a good job that i get excited when he plays a less punch able character.

Like Charles, sure he's a mugger, but he's literally just following his programming. But he's also one of the npcs whos kinda able to break out of it. (but is very easily reset).

hmmm the string of thought is kinda knotting up a bit. Like i got a little more about subnautica and how i really wanted to do a thing about Knuckles bonding with the sea emperor leviathan over being the last, but idk how to write the sea emperor so it hasn't really gotten anywhere. hmmm now what... I definitely want to keep rambling (its working and i feel better) but idk what to say now.

[bees-tes-blog]

ok. im curious… when you’re playing an rpg, do you tend to refer to the player character more in first person (ex. “my follower pushed me off a cliff and I died”) or third person (ex. “my character’s follower pushed them off a cliff and they died”)?

[divorcedwife]

What rpgs have u liked/played and how did u like them? :) i saw that your fave is pillars 1 and i love the setting n story so much (i just loooooathe real time with pause combat unfortunately. This also has soured da origins to me a lot. Do action pls or even better turn based but not that) also u have a lot of amazing anders art <3

pillars 1 my beloved!! maybe you already know but i must mention it just in case - did you see that pillars 2 deadfire has turn by turn combat? i don't think it's as good as the first in terms of writing, but when they introduced turn by turn, it became one of my favorites just for that. it made me so violent because combat went from a necessary evil to my favorite part of the game, so i was just going around the world looking for people to fight. and it really has its moments, i loved serafen and the first quest with the pirates, and it is a game where you can actually roleplay and cause real harm without intending to if you just listen to your companions all the time. they're not all good people.......

and bg3 also has combat that i really loved :-) i played it as a bard and as a rogue and i really loved both. i loved playing a support character and not feeling like the main character so much, and as dark urge, i thought rogue combat played with the idea of the urge very beautifully because i was so good at killing that i tended to skip dialogues and just kill.... i just wish i could reverse the clock and talk the devs out of constantly rewriting it ship of theseus style. the companions to me already had an issue of being too friendly and too innocent in their sufferings in a way i didn't find compelling, so making them even more into fandom versions of themselves is just evil

but i think that's all for RPGs where i really like the combat, all my other favorite games have real-time strategy and i just do my best. kotor 1 & 2 have it, although i enjoy it more when i unlock fucked up evil force powers. i still do love dragon age origins & 2, and have some fondness for dai because i really like the characters. and dao was largely improved for me by playing a mage instead of an archer ; if i can say anything nice about datv, it's that they've made archery good for the first time ever in dragon age. being an archer in dai is especially sad, you have a range of like two meters

i also tried the first baldur's gate game but i got too scared and confused with the companions management and the way the story progresses - like i strayed from the main quest and that locked me out of meeting jaheira, so i had to restart and redo all of that and it was painful. i think i could play it if i had some guide to follow or something, i just don't have the 1990s gamer disposition. but i really liked xan, i made him leader of the party so i could hear him complain all the time

& i think that's kind of it...! im not a huge gamer in that i don't try tons of different games, i just mostly obsess and replay the same ones over and over again. there's some others i could mention - like i played outer worlds and i liked it ok, i played fallout new vegas but it wasn't really my style and i didn't finish, and oh wait i just remembered i played all three mass effect games! well, i liked the first game and hated 2 and 3, which may be my most controversial hill to die on but i must be true

[stephdragonness]

hey steph How do you work with most N team and minions most the day?

((i'll just write down most interaction she has most around when working with N team. possible draw up scenes sometime but just now a list.))

*Steph the Sorceress pov

Doctor Neo Cortex "i think its pretty open secret how my relationship with the doctor is like, dont think i need to say much."

Dingodile "well dingo not always around, there times go out lunch and bump into big fella, he reminded me in lot like a dragon so im comfortable around dingodile brash manner when other put off by his apperance, always nice for a chat on recipes of cooking, even tho his particular recipes do have things no one else can digest unlike dingos crocodilian nature to digest most things foul... but his roast penguin is pretty tasty on the menu."

Nefarious Tropy "certainly a interesting fella, no doubt handsome human, but our first meeting when i was in human form, he made mistake of thinking i was some sort payed escort when he heard i was dating the doctor... hmm so things left very sour in my mouth about him for while but we do have have talks of intellectual manner time to time.. prideful man and see way he very confident in his work."

Uka Uka "honestly, i do not trust or like this dark entity.. he try's order me like a minion even though i don't work for him as i contract Allie to Dr. Cortex and not to uka uka so he has no power over me, I buttheads to many time him as only barrier between him and doc. after one docs schemes where he was 'milked' for his dark mojo he been keeping his distance for now."

Komodo Brothers "not lot times i get meet the brothers, they tend stay away from doctors schemes these days and i heard they make living with fake jewellery selling in some markets. they occasionally called in by doctor for something big but its rare moment but i like there style, they reminded me of rouge types. joe is a smarts and clever with his swords and moe i find just sweetheart and they both seem be ok around my little zaran, see them play boardgames together."

N. Gin "Dr. Ngin was some first people on team to make me feel welcome, he has his moments but gentle manner so easy work with when i need help understanding tech of earth at times, he introduce me to games consoles so we moments racing games or those RPGs play together."

Nina Cortex "ah, Nina.. She was very hard warm up to and i know she is Docs beloved niece and so trying find some common ground with teenager too some time to build up, but we have our moments able bond, help out her assignments of school, girl talk on things she doesn't wish her uncle to know about.. so its slow for now i get it i might be aunty someday to her."

Nitrus Brio " a man who i mix feelings about, his bit ornery and fickle but i guess ok work with, we got along ok, I'm like to use alchemy and him a chemist so we have moments discuss on the matters at hand, but it comes do know being on competitive manner saying which is better alchemy of dragon realms or chemistry of earth. so our conversation get bit heated into debate."

Papu Papu "not much interactions with local tribal chief, when i do visit insanity island where the tribes are, i tend keep to my dragon form there as it dangerous with the locals now, so they keep wide birth from me... im sure i seen by them as omen of sorts."

Pinstripe Potoroo "ah, very confident and sleek dude, handsome face with vibes of street smarts, he like other minions who have there own life away from doc and only called in on big jobs. he always polite and a flirt when when i meet him first time. but nothing much as i don't have any work with him."

Ripper Roo "oooh yes the crazy one, apparently the blue roo took a liking to me when i came live in dr cortex current lair, followed me around lot times like a love sick puppy but he settle down now, he seem have moment of sanity and the his doctor persona pops out so easy deal with... but when the insane explosive manic comes out, the morning tnt blow up on the roof wake up calls are horrible to deal with.. cant sleep in some morning cause of whole place shaking."

Tiny Tiger "docs most loyal minion, he one stays living with doc and most time the bodyguard of the current lair, i find him be rather like big kid, i indulge moments play with checkers and help him with certain problems and so return he help with lot heavy lifting things when i need extra hand, real sweetheart."

Lab Assistant "these things are lil off putting, i kinda get they like golems with instructions for there AIs but its unsettling be around them cause remind me to much like dolls.. i don't like dolls as they creep me out."

"others i haven't meet cause most no longer work for dr cortex or moved on life, i heard the wild story's of characters like four legged racing aliens, living fruit ect ect.. but most who around islands to but that's another time to discuss about."

[makapatag]

so hear me out right (and this is by no means a smart blog post thing, im just rambling at 2am)

a lot of combat heavy ttrpgs (D&D4e, PF2e, ICON, Lancer, Panic! At The Dojo) rely a lot on keywording and mechanical definitions to create this interlocking (and hopefully well-oiled) combat engine that rewards good tactical choices and forward thinking. 4e needs you to know that Ranged Attacks Provoke Opportunity Attacks, and so you need to move away first to avoid that (often by spending their Move action to Shift). this goes for other games as well. ICON needs you to know that if an Ability does not have the "Attack" tag then its explicitly not an attack, even if it deals damage. This is important because some classes and abilities benefit from not attacking, such as the Demon Slayer

the far end of this is PF2e, where almost everything is Keyworded. Classes, Races, even Feats have keywords, and some keywords have Keywords in them. this is not bad design in my opinion: mastery of this keywording can create for some really cool effects (and you can feasibly design something very BotW which also depends on a lot of interactions between elements).

now consider that so much of tactics trpgs (that is, Traditional/Tabletop Role-Playing Games) rely on so much of that interaction to create fulfilling scenarios. most of the time this is because tactics rpgs also depend on build-crafting. there are a lot of tactics trpgs that don't really care about build crafting or has less of a focus on it to focus instead on the grid combat: games like Rune, Valiant Quest, maybe even Blood Neon, so im explicitly talking about the variety of tactics trpgs that are build-centered: basically anything that comes from the vein of Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons

one of my favorite parts about TTRPGs is that you can play them based off of the fiction. writing Gubat Banwa, I understand that sometimes you have to create that fiction, especially if its not one thats well-represented. the created fiction or genre is the blueprint from which the play-fiction arises during the game: that's the fire-like collective imagination that arises from play.

There's a design and play philosophy (common among OSR, PbtA, and FitD) known as Fiction-First. This means that you follow what happens in the fiction first before the mechanics or anything else. Not to preserve the integrity of a "narrative" but rather, to preserve the integrity of the fiction.

What would a Fiction-First Tactics TRPG look like? This is something I tried to set out to do with Gubat Banwa. I haven't really succeeded, as of 1e.3.

so i've been thinking lately. What if a game was Fiction-First? It would work similarly to the Keywording of PF2e, but more open-ended in its interpretation.

Look at the Panabas from PF2e (a weapon present in SEAsia! From the Malay Archipelago all the way to the Philippine Archipelago). It has the Forceful (your second attack on your turn gains +X (X = damage dice, third up gets +2X.), Sweep (+1 to attack if youve alr targeted a separate character), and Two-Hand d10 (roll a d10 when you wield with both hands) tags.

I'm not going to be translating these one for one, but let's use the fiction-first style of writing and mechanics i'm concocting:

Panabas. A heavy blade. Using this, you strike with Bravery. The forward-curving blade can chop through tree, bone, and bramble.

Heavy Blade is a weapon type, so this is classic keywording. The text afterwards is also keywording: striking with Bravery means you roll your Bravery stat when making attacks with it. All well and good: there's always going to be some classical keywording in there as necessity (its this entanglement of mechanic and fiction that's made me love PbtA anyway).

The later text is more important, because say then I made an enemy like:

Walking Tree. A tree that uproots itself, and whistles to kill victims. Made of wood, so they lose 1 Stamina when they suffer chopping attacks. If they're struck by flame, they start burning. [Insert other combat-important stats here].

Now the fact that the panabas can chop through trees interacts with the description of the walking tree being vulnerable to chopping attacks.

Now these really aren't too different from the concept of keywording (really they're in the same concept park), the different thing is two things:

You can now apply that chopping quality to anything in the fiction. Find some brambles on your way, maybe even brambles as hindering terrain? Then spend a Beat to attack it to remove it! That's fiction first after all

It's easier to understand just at first glance with just natural language.

The important part here is natural language. In Play, a lot of the time, my players love picking up on little things about lore-bites of the items and techniques they have and seeing how that can apply to the fiction. So this is more of that: weapons, items, techniques, armor all become things that establish fiction. When two fictions interact, a new fiction arises!

Burning: A status effect. While you're burning, lose 1 Stamina when you start your Break. You lose burning when you're doused by water or you take time to remove it. Improvise: (A basic action). Do anything that does not inherently harm, as long as it makes sense in the fiction, and doesn't take more than 4 seconds to do (Beats take up 4 seconds). You can use this to stop drop and roll to get rid of Burning. Deep Water. -1 Elevation. Water reaches up to your shoulders. Moving into deep water costs +1 Speed.

Of course there's still going to be mechanical descriptions there, we're not going for FKR full just fiction thing. We're just blending fiction into the game part. Even PbtA still has stats and rolling and mechanics to further support their fiction.

I wanted to write this so that techniques and other widgets can be written with fictional wording in mind, and that wording would affect how its used in tactical grid combat. A technique that says: "You are surrounded by a barrier of tornado-force winds. Any attack from outside your adjacency is swept away, unless it cannot be buffeted by winds." Becomes a mechanical thing: perhaps a spell of concentrated curses pierces through this, but not arrows or weak fireballs?

The Arbiter

The last piece of the puzzle will almost always be: who arbitrates the fiction? There almost always needs to be a final word. For GuBa, this is the Umalagad, not so impartial arbiter. For Solo Play, this is still the Umalagad, but as the oracle: they ask a question, ie, "Would this area of effect attack be buffeted by the wind barrier if the origin point starts from outside?" and they would roll a d10. On a 6+, the answer is no, the target would not be buffeted because the flames overwhelm. On a 5-, the answer would be yes, it is buffeted because the target is not the brunt of the attack. And the final answer becomes the ruling for the rest of that scene.

Last last thing is this particular rule that sets things down that I might put into Gubat Banwa:

The Law of Phenomenon Pay close attention to the words that you have. These words will decide whether your blade can chop down a tree, or your abaka weave blunts edged strikes, but susceptible to piercing spears. These words will decide whether your dazzling spell can daze opponents, or if the opponent you fight ignores it due to them not depending on their senses to fight. The words establish the fiction. The fiction is the world in which your characters live: follow it always.

[lavendercrumbleshake]

Hello, My name is LavenderCrumble! U can call me Lav or Miss Crumble for short ♡

Some things u should probably know about this blog

*~▪︎☆°♡ This blog is a cutesy, semi-nsfw blog, so some the posts that I write, like or repost will not be safe for work, if u don't like this please block, not report, if u are a minor do not follow me please I will block u.

*~▪︎☆°♡ I am a plus size (kinda working on it as best I can atm) black girl who is 19 years old, & want to make friends & mutuals that are also 18 or older on tumblr, pinterest & on discord, I will link my discord server & other socials here for anybody that wants to join, if anyone has any fun discord servers or other social accounts that are sfw/nsfw u would like to invite me to then my asks are always always open♡

*~▪︎☆°♡ Any pictures that u see on this blog aren't mine and are from Pinterest, Tumblr, or Twitter unless stated otherwise.

*~▪︎☆°♡ Some of my current interests include:

drawing

coloring

anime

anime pop-up places (cafés, merch pop-ups, anime cons, ect) I wanna visit them when I get the opportunity xc

kawaiicore fashion, j-fashion, or just most alt fashion styles in general

makeup

maid cafés

sanrio (but notably kuromi, rilakkuma, korilakuma, hello kitty & my melody)

kawaii cafés

kawaii & sexy costumes/cosplays

cooking (especially asain food recipes)

kawaii bento boxes

cute kitchen appliances, cooking utensils, kawaii bento tools (like the hello kitty rice mold for example) pots, ect (preferably in pastel purple, or of cartoon characters like sanrio mascots)

asian snacks

kawaii food & drink recipes (I wanna recreate kawaii food plates from maid cafés or bento boxes like the ones on my pinterest board, or food from different animes)

super sonico & super pochaco(idk much but I love their mascots their sooo cute! I heard super sonico has an anime n i wanna watch it >v<)

cartoons

anime figurines

gloomy bear

sweet/dessert smelling perfumes & body products

games & gameplay videos(Mostly horror games, story games, visual novel games, RPGs or all of them together)

Tumblr stories/tumblr headcanons/tumblr concepts & prompts (particularly monster fantasy themed stories or relationships, & semi dark headcanons, like some Yan! headcanons for example, monster bf/husband, and Dom bf/husband (idk why I like these but some of them are just fun to read even if i don't resonate with them personally per sey, still trying to figure it out) among others, there really isn't any particular characters that i like for this)

Tbh that's just to name a few, I have a lot more interests than that lol

*~▪︎☆°♡ My favorite colors are usually pastels purple, pink, blue, yellow & green in that order, but I also like most darker colors too, like chocolate brown, black, or dark red, but my least favorite color is and will almost always be orange, idk why I don't like that color much

*~▪︎☆°♡ As is the nature of tumblr, I will also be putting my random thoughts & mentally ill rambling on here too lol, both sfw & nsfw. I love this chaos platform♡

*~▪︎☆°♡NSFW Interests/Kinks

(Plz note that I am a virgin so all of this are just fantasies that I want to try with someone who really cares about me & who I really trust one day)

Giving thighjobs

Giving Assjobs

Giving Pantyjobs

Giving Footjobs (to dicks specifically)

Cockteasing (almost anything that involves giving a guy a huge boner basically)

Humping/Grinding

Handjobs

Blowjobs(I wanna try to give one but I have a bit of a gag reflex rn ;< i need 2 get stuff 4 practice)

Cockwarming(wanna build up to this at some point)

Size difference(both in height & d size, im 4'11 rn due to spine compression from scoliosis but with improved stretching im 5'1)

Praise kink(I like being praised)

Praise & light teasing(it has to be light teasing mixed with Praise specifically, but im still exploring this too)

Worshipping kink( I want a group of paypigs to buy me all that I want & to worship the ground I walk on lol)

Possible Breeding/knotting kink (No Pregnancy or mentions of it) ( I kinda wanna know what it feels like tbh)

Possible dd/lg kink (not sure yet, but I found a lot of stuff that I like under those tags & it's variations)

Possible rope/bontage kink (I'm kinda exploring this one too bcuz I wanna be comfortably tied up & gagged but I have physical disabilities)

Degrading & Praising Simps/Paypigs

Army of cute paypigs

I'd like to be gifted some money, cute clothes,intimates, essentials, toys, & other stuff to take tumblr selfies in & prep for so paypigs & simps can worship & jerk off to them

HARD LIMITS: SCAT, GORE, PISS, INCEST/FAUXPLAY, ABCG KINK, PATRIARCHY KINK, SLAVEPLAY, RAPEPLAY RACEPLAY, HARD SPANKING, VOMIT, KNIFEPLAY, ect

Anything I haven't mentioned here u can just ask & I will update accordingly ♡

*~▪︎☆°♡ Links to my other socials: (if the link to my discord doesn't work then feel free to ask me for a link in the ask box)

DNI ON THIS OR ANY OF MY SOCIALS IF YOU ARE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: homophobic, transphobic, racist, misogynistic, abelist, fatphobic, currently 55+ or Ana Coach; if u are any of these things I will block you. Do not send unsolicited nude photos of any kind without permission (simply just ask i really don't mind♡) or I will call you out, block you & report you.

*~▪︎☆°♡ (*note) This pinned post will probably be edited with more stuff about me, my hobbies, interests, ect, when i get the time, but for now this will be it ♡

[mobblespsycho100]

Surya since you like both HSR and dungeon meshi what paths would the dunmeshi characters be :0

PAIGE I OWE YOU MY LIFE FOR THIS 🙏💞 . excellent question... enabling my brainrots... I will now cook (rubs my autistic hands together)

Laios: Destruction, Imaginary / Fire. I think he has to be either Imaginary or Fire path wise, leaning towards imaginary because smth smth golden / yellow smth smth. I just think destruction would fit him well based on pure vibes <3 lots of destruction characters have this deal of dealing w/ loss and also having a strong motivation for something (firefly wanting to live, dan heng finally facing his past etc.). If we're talking unplayable paths though I think Laios would follow The Hunt or even The Voracity (even tho im p sure the Aeon of Voracity Ouroboros is like . missing iirc? but like cmon. Laios is Thee Devourer™ I think it works !!)

Marcille: Erudition, Ice. "Wait why not fire she uses a lot of fire spells" yes I hear you . I think fire could also b a good element for her but I think ice fits with her lore in a sense . of like her fear of outliving everyone and her wanting to preserve others lives in a way. Erudition I pick cuz in canon she is like a big range/can hit a lot of enemies combatant in a way so AoE dmg dealer gameplay wise fits me thinks and also shes a scholarrr :3 thee academiccc. Lore / unplayable paths wise she might still follow the Erudition still or the Remembrance or even Preservation (but with The Architects not the IPC) me thinks.

Senshi: Abundance, Fire. I will not be taking criticism hes definitely abundance . he would be a healer. believe in me . also fire because cooking <3 NOT MUCH TO SAY HERE. even like outside of gameplay i still think he'd follow abundance . Ik theres this upcoming character (Jiaoqiu) whos a chef healer whos nihility fire but he has a diff vibe from senshi so like uhm yea

Chilchuck: Nihility, Quantum / Wind. this ones easy peasy to me like . chilled chuck on the path of nihility... he is such a goofy guy. i think quantum or wind would work as the elements for him because quantum entanglement debuff being this slow + stacking mechanic works for his kind of cautious guy whole thing while wind is like . uhh hes quick on his feet i suppose. Gameplay wise i think he'd be like increasing his own spd and delaying the enemies or like giving a vulnerability debuff mark ( reference to him using his bow and arrow to shoot at the ice golems weakspot but he doesn't really do any damage akhdkshd ). Outside of gameplay he still strikes me as a nihility guy or maybe he wouldn't be following a path ¯⁠\⁠_(•-•)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ idk

Izutsumi: Nihility or Hunt, Physical. Nihility again ! I just think it works for her ! but Hunt could also work !!! she would definitely be a dps type character I can't see anythin else. Nihility can also be dps even if their official role is debuffer . I picked physical because physical break causes bleed and uhh izutsumis claw scratches . scratch -> bleed. Yee. I love her a lot I think this works for her 🐱😎 . i feel like Izutsumi would actually be a pathstrider of the Trailblaze . like shes looking for her own path and wanting to be free and travel around tbh like . yeah . <3

Falin: Harmony, Imaginary. Touden siblings the imaginariessss realness. I feel like she would be harmony even though yeah her primary role is a cleric n she was the designated party healer but I feel like in rpg settings she would be a buffer for sure. I think the idea of a harmony character who can like switch modes after ulting (like oooh she transforms into chimera Falin in combat) would be super cool also. it would be pretty neat. She also gives me Robin vibes so like tbh ? hashtag . I'm always right. Lore wise she would also follow The Trailblaze <3 a wanderer wandering she is full of wanderlust . to me

Okay now I'm faced with a dilemma of doing like everyone else who I like or not but I've decided I'll just do . Kabru Toshiro and Namari and their parties I will not give extra explanations and just jump into it aight . ajhskahdjs

Kabru: Preservation, Physical. A combination that is not yet in the game (woah). I think he would be preservation because they're a really strong class and legit the rarest one also, kind of crazy how they're sustain but barring March 7th and Gepard (and even then March can be used offensively too) they can honestly b p neat dmg dealers / offensive buffers also. I think its really funny to assign guy who keeps dying to be the protector™ path also help ajahsjah. I picked physical because um . sword / weapons guy llalalala <3 . Unplayable paths wise I'd say he would bee . following The Remembrance :3<

Toshiro (Shuro): Erudition, Wind. Wind because I associate him with green too much . but also y'know who else is a wind dmg dealer . freakin Blade . So It Works (Guy who is making shit up) ‼️ I think he would be erudition because erm... well 👍 he's cool like that . i mean he could be destruction too . whatever idk anything. outside of gameplay he has the vibes of guy who is forced to be in the IPC LMAO

Namari: Nihility, Fire / Physical. Yeah we back in the nihility zone 🔥🔥🔥 honestly my excuse for this is that she gives me huge Luka vibes so NIHILITY IT IS and fire is also mostly vibes while physical is because punch punch . and she is the weapons knower™ ... but tbh outside of gameplay maybe she would follow the hunt. just vibes. she could be a galaxy ranger 👊💥

ok now here comes the rapidfire assignments

Kabru's party:

• Rin -> Erudition, Lightning. easy

• Dia -> Hunt, Physical

• Holm -> Abundance, Ice

• Mickbell -> Elation Nihility, Imaginary

• Kuro -> Destruction, Physical

Shuro's party:

• Maizuru -> Erudition, Quantum

• Inutade -> Destruction, Physical

• Benichidori -> Nihility, Lightning

• Hien -> Hunt / Destruction, Fire (but Lightning could work too)

Namari's party:

• Kiki & Kaka (I can't seperate the twins) -> Erudition, Imaginary

• Mr. Tansu Floke -> Abundance / Preservation, Ice

• Mrs. Yarn Floke -> Harmony, Fire (to contrast with mr tansu idk i think itd be silly <3)

The Canaries:

• Mithrun -> Destruction, Wind

• Fleki -> Nihility, Imaginary

• Lycion -> Destruction, Physical

• Cithis -> Erudition, Quantum (Enigmata follower vibes outside of gameplay)

• Pattadol -> Preservation, Ice or Erudition, Imaginary

• Otta -> Hunt, Fire

extra:

• Thistle -> Destruction / Preservation, Lightning

• Yaad -> Harmony, Quantum / Imaginary

• The Winged Lion -> Preservation, Imaginary

okay yeah thats it Me Thinks. (scuttles away)

[omophagic-beast]

for the tarot rpg ask game! The Fool, The Empress, The Hierophant, The Chariot, The Hanged Man, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Sun!

!!! wowow hi!! thank you for all the questions, im gonna put them under a read more as to not clog up peoples dashes

from this ask game

The Fool – What do the earliest stages of work on a game look like for you? OR How did you get into game design?

i have a notes discord server! and a channel in there specifically for game ideas. previously i had a big word document titled "game ideas", but its easier to access discord from my phone lol

usually i have an idea and i stick it in there first

heres the start of the pillars of creation :3

and then ill noodle around with it, just brainstorm and slap spaghetti around. this is another reason why i like discord for this at the moment, its informal and easy, much less daunting than a word doc

i didnt end up using most of the bits here lol

and then ill move it into a word doc once its clear that ive got an actual project / game starting to form!

the one problem with this is sometimes ill keep an idea in there for much longer than i should and it becomes a mess of me replying to myself, terrible to follow. this is the current problem with moonlight whaling, sigh

The Empress — Where do your ideas come from? OR Do you seek out or avoid inspiration while working on an idea?

a lot of places!! tumblr being one of them, sometimes ill see a post where im like "huh that could be a game in some way" and ill stick it in my notes discord for later. but really anything, books, movies, songs, other games. im not the first to say this but u gotta read / watch / experience new things to make new things

The Hierophant — Who is a fellow game designer you’ve learned a lot from? OR What is a piece of popular wisdom about games you think is nonsense?

i answered the second one here so ill answer the first!

ive learned a lot from any designer whos game ive played or read, to start. but i wanna shout out @thydungeongal on here, her posts abt game design and rollmaster / d&d are highly highly fascinating and helpful to me, as a guy who hasnt even played d&d let alone any old school stuff and just kinda jumped into the indie scene from the start.

kinda makes me wanna play rollmaster, ngl. whats it doin with all those mechanics and tables =w=

The Chariot — What is the next project you’re planning to start OR What is the next project you’re excited to finish?

this has been my big question to myself recently, what game to really focus in on next. i have games that just need to be finished, but i think my next one* is gonna be this time travel game ive been thinking of

working title is Hooked, and the reason i think im going to start (and finish) it next is cause ive already got the main mechanic figured out, where when you fail a roll you can choose to create a hook, and in doing so succeed the roll

but that hook is a place where a future you has traveled back to that point in time and given you what you needed to succeed, which means at some point youre going to have to come back and close the loop, or else risk creating a paradox

too many paradoxes and the universe explodes so like. be careful :3!

it is going to be a lot of work, i want the general aesthetic to be the journal of a time traveler, with notes from all their future and past selves scrawled in the margins in different colors. and theres the question of if its a solo game or multiplayer, or both. solo-friendly is my current thought, but encouraged for more than one person. but we'll see how it actually plays.

The Hanged Man — What other creative pursuits do you have? OR What current trends in game design are you most interested in?

someone should ask me this again cause i wanna answer the other one also :3c

but! i have a crochet project on the mind so i wanna talk abt other stuff im into also :3

im currently considering ADHD and how it could possibly relate to myself, so just keep that in mind when i say ive dipped my paws into a whoooole lot of different creative hobbies. sewing, knitting, pottery, bookbinding, needle felting, jewelry making, and yea, crochet, are all stuff ive been into at one point or another

but my favorites are crochet and cooking / baking. for most of my life i thought my career was gonna be in food service! ive been a baker, cake decorator, and diner cook before, and loved all three of those jobs.

and crochet is great mainly cause you can make stuffed animals / amigurimis >:33 i loooove little guys and being able to choose what soft yarn im gonna make em out of, though its been a minute since ive made one. but!! like i mentioned ive got a project on the mind, as im gonna try and make the "something strange and indescribable" from the Before the Flood backerkit campaign and im very excited abt it :3 stay tuned for posts abt my success or failure on this front

The Devil — What motifs or mechanics do you just keep coming back to? OR What is a game you’ve enjoyed playing in the last year?

NIGHTHAWKS by @titanrpg is really really good. it has a heart in it, one that beats at an all too-familiar rhythm. when i played it we told a story that was perhaps a touch too close to home as well, disparate sad people sitting several stools apart at a dive bar in a small town.

i have a tendency towards comedy when i play ttrpgs, but my favorite moments are all when ive been deeply serious and sad, and thats what i got from NIGHTHAWKS

The Tower — Talk about about a game you tried to make that crashed and burned.

center of the known universe was an anthology of games i wanted to make a while back, all inspired by the part of the nevadan desert i live in. i dont think its crashed and burned necessarily but i certainly never finished it and im not sure i ever will, though i still like the ideas for some of the games and may release them individually

The Star — Talk about a game you’re working on and what excites you about it.

a game ive been working on for a looong time that i dont think ive really talked abt on here is The Lady, The Tiger, and The Accused. its a descended from the queen game based on The Lady or The Tiger? short story, where (to put it very briefly) a king has created a new form of justice where the accused is put in an arena with two identical doors in front of them.

behind one door, a lady of an appropriate social standing for them to marry, behind the other a very hungry tiger. this leaves the verdict up to fate, for if the accused is innocent they will surely pick the door with the lady, and if they are guilty they will choose the door with the tiger.

but the accused in the story is also the lover of the lands princess, and when they look back at her for the last time she raises a hand and points towards one of the doors.

the question in the story is one of love. would the princess rather see her lover dead, or married to someone else?

what comes through the door, the lady or the tiger?

but! there are other characters in this story, with agency and lives of their own.

The Lady, The Tiger, and The Accused instead asks a question of trust. when The Accused looks back towards their princess, and she raises her hand, do they trust her? do they open the door that she points towards?

its a game for three players, with each person playing one of the titular characters. it uses the descended from the queen format to create the character of the princess throughout play, along with the characters of The Lady, The Tiger, and The Accused.

its a good game!! ive got a bit more work to do on it, mainly on the tiger role. not everyone is comfortable being an actual tiger and role playing scenes that involve communicating with humans or attending parties and such, it turns out.

but im really excited abt it overall :3 its good and fun and i think it uses the descended from the queen format really well and hopefully one day ill do a crowdfunding project for it and get enough money to hire a bunch of different artists to make princess illustrations for it >:333

The Sun — Talk about a game you’ve made that you’re proud of.

im proud of all of my games, in one way or another. but, with an obligatory Before the Flood mention (crowdfunding now!), im really and truly proud of my body is your body is our body is

it was my first kinda big game that i published, and there was a lot of stuff with the first edition i really wasnt super happy with. im really, really proud of myself for finally going back in this year and fixing it. its so much better now! in a lot of ways.

and i mean it was good to start with also, most of my problems were with the programming side of it. when i was making the second edition reading back through the game made me cry a bit lol. theres a lot of banger lines in there and a lot of feelings.