Hell's bells, I haven't done one of these posts since 2023.
To clarify: My RPG Folder series is where I open my folder of RPG PDFs and randomly click on a few. I give them a once-over scan or read and I write my thoughts pretty much as I'm scanning. These are not full-throated reviews, just "at a glance" thoughts. For fun.
Nobody reads these. I'm literally talking to myself right now. But I'm in that kind of mood. So here we go.
Opening folder... hitting "page down" a few times... double clicking with my eyes closed...
Oh. This one was just a one-page dice template for a custom d10. I'll click on something else...
Files For Everyone: Nashi by Alexander Augunus. Killer cover art by Luis Prado. Interior art by Prado and Chan Yue Rong. We're off to a good start because I have no idea what this is. No memory of picking it up. And it's for Pathfinder, which I've never played.
"Nashi are short, stocky plantigrade humanoids whose body is covered in thick fur that often makes them appear stouter then they are. Although viewed as a disparaging remark by the nashi, the term “raccoon folk” does aptly summarize a typical nashi’s appearance, as they possess furred bodies, long tails, mask-and-ring fur patterns, and nailed digits."
Given that the product came out in the 2010s and features a raccoon-ish character sporting a big gun, I think this was likely inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy. Which is cool. I love that movie.
Um... ok so this is a species for Pathfinder. Now, what I do know about Pathfinder is that it is the spiritual successor to D&D 3.5 edition, being largely the same game by a different name. I missed that whole era of gaming. I ducked out of D&D in the early 90s and didn't really pick it back up until I discovered the OSR in 2013.
The Nashi are an industrious lot. They love hard work and building things. Cool. This is a 21 page PDF and it's packed with info about these critters. From culture to cuisine to ethnic groups. Way more information that I'm comfortable with in an RPG. But I'm happy it exists. Looks like the author went to a lot of trouble to build something fun and detailed. Bravo.
Ok... full confession. I don't just look at whatever I click on. If it looks like something I don't want to talk about right now I just skip it. I just clicked on something that is super slick looking, polished as fuck, and boring as hell to my eyes right now. I'm skipping it.
Next one I clicked on was an ejection of desktop publishing overkill, complete with background imagery that interfered with text. It's also a D&D 5e type thing and I just can't be bothered right now. I'll skip it too.
Oh? What's this? O Povo do Buraco 1 by Carlos Silva, illustrated by Diego Santos. This looks interesting...
Ah, this is a Lamentations zine. But let's carry on anyway. I'm curious.
I won't comment on the writing because I assume the author's first language is not English. I will, however, comment on layout. There are some strange line breaks in here. Such as, on page 2, a line that breaks in the word "where". You never want to line break on a word like that. Super weird.
Since this is a Lamentations zine, it is going to contain references to excrement and sex. In this case, there is a local food (Vatapá) made by some scoundrels and it makes you addicted. One of the side effects is that you have to shit a lot and you might shit your pants. In fact, there are actual rules for it, with a d2 table dictating if you shit your pants or not.
There are a number of weird magic items that do strange things, such as a belt that makes you lose weight every day until you die. Oh, and there's a magic dildo that gets you pregnant with a dog-octopus baby, regardless of your sex. The drawing of this little bastard is actually cute.
But this is not for me. I don't mind the edginess, but often it feels like edginess for the sake of it. And I wouldn't want to play in or run a game where the central theme is shitting your pants and playing with dildos. I did enough of that in junior high.
I wish people would put the publication dates in these things. Maybe I'm stupid but I can't find it. Last update on DTRPG was 2018 so maybe that was it.
This next one is another desktop-publishing-nightmare and it's for Pathfinder and it's over 200 pages. I'm skipping it.
ReMemorex by R. M. Sean Benjamin Jaffe and illustrated by a bunch of people. Looks like 2018.
This is a game inspired by 1980s supernatural fun. Given the date, I'm sure Stranger Things had a large hand in making this game happen. Which is cool. I loved that show too. And I was an 80s kid, so this is supposed to hit me in the feels.
Right off the bat it does not. But lest I sound harsh, let me explain. Though I was a kid in the 80s (turned 10 in 1980), I am also a cynical middle aged man. I am not easily swooned by nostalgia. Especially when it is trendy. I really don't like being pandered to. And I'm not saying this game is doing that. To the contrary, it feels like a really genuine attempt to connect to the vibe of a time.
Ok. The look of the game is pretty classic. I don't love the very light font used, but I respect the late 80s RPG layout. Somehow it reminds me of the original Cyberpunk box set layout, which I owned for a brief time in the late 80s. Not bad.
Oh, funny mistake: The Athlete Type lists Flash Gordon twice in the examples.
Speaking of... So the game is very very simple. You make up a character with three ideas. One is your Type, one is your Training, and one is your Talent. Types include Athlete, Criminal, Brain, Basket Case... basically the cast of Breakfast Club. Next you come up with your Training... the thing you have learned to do. Examples include Techie, Karate Kid, and Meanest Girl. Finally you name your Talent... the thing you're actually really good at.
Then you assign them as Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. One example given is Ferris Bueller whose 3 things are (in order of importance):
Talent: Getting Away With It
Type: Trickster Prince
Training: High School Hero
Looks like you assign dice to your traits. So I think this is a dice pool type system.
OH... there's a terrible secret... ReMemorex isn't real. I like that. It means you can lean hard into nostalgia and mistaken memories and it's fine. It doesn't matter. Because the setting isn't real.
This is a highly narrative game. It has a lot of rules for players to initiate scenes, call for "Tracking Errors" (nice), and the like. The language is heavily TV-coded. There are Jump Cuts, Montages, and Clip Shows.
Ok, so I'm not going to read all 166 pages of this right now. But I gotta say that my impressions have changed while I've been scanning it. Started out a little weak for me but ended up feeling stronger about it. Went from "I'll never play or run this" to "This is a contender for me to play or run." So check it out.
It has a diagram of an Atari joystick.
