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Dethstrok9

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Blog Entries posted by Dethstrok9

  1. Dethstrok9
    Welcome back everyone, this is Dethstrok9! Today, we have a very special guest! Dennis Detwiller is a writer, designer, and illustrator for some of your favorite games like Magic the Gathering and Delta Green.
    We're going to interview him and see what he has to say about a number of topics, including MtG, DG, the Video Game industry, working for Wizards of the Coast, co-founding and running Arc Dream Publishing, why KickStarter revolutionized the industry, Call of Cthulhu and its impact, and valuable advice for game designers just starting out in the industry!
    Dennis is the four-time winner of the Origins Award for game design, and the thirteen-time winner of the ENnie Award for RPG excellence. His books Delta Green and Delta Green COUNTDOWN are the highest rated RPG products ever, according to RPGnet and RPGgeek, and he has 9 products in the top 100 RPG products of all time.
    I encourage you to check out the interview. This far exceeded my own expectations, as Dennis' answers were extremely thought-provoking and filled with useful industry information. It's also pretty short, just over 30 minutes:)
    Thanks for reading, I hope you find this interesting! Link below.
     
     
  2. Dethstrok9
    How to get into: Delta Green
     Greetings prospective Agents and Handlers. This is Dethstrok9, and today's mission is to learn how to join the enigmatic role-playing experience of Lovecraftian horror and conspiracy know as Delta Green (DG). If you have never heard of DG fear not, for I am here to enlighten you. Published in 2016 by Arc Dream Publishing and created by Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy, and John Scott Tynes, DG is a tabletop RPG in the vein of X-Files or Men in Black only far darker and more mysterious. The game at its core is about fear. Fear and the end of all things, and how much of this end you might live to see... Everything has layers of fear and goes far deeper than you though possible, everything is on a need to know basis, and if you learn more than you should, you will either learn to keep your mouth shut or likely end up dead.
    Welcome:)
    Excerpt from Arc Dream's Website: 
    "Born of the U.S. government’s 1928 raid on the degenerate coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, the covert agency known as Delta Green spent four decades opposing the forces of darkness with honor, but without glory. Stripped of sanction after a disastrous 1969 operation in Cambodia, Delta Green’s leaders made a secret pact: to continue their work without authority, without support, and without fear. Delta Green agents slip through the system, manipulating the federal bureaucracy while pushing the darkness back for another day—but often at a shattering personal cost."
     
    The Quick Start
    First thing you will want to pick up is the free Quick Start Guide which includes everything a new player (in Delta Green know as Agents) or game master (Aka Handlers) needs to start gaming in the world of DG!
    Complete rules for conducting investigations, overcoming crises, fighting for your life, and watching your sanity slip away. Complete rules for character creation. Six pre-generated agents, ready to play. A Delta Green operation, “Last Things Last,” ready for the Handler (the game Master) to introduce your team to Delta Green. Another thing you'll want to do is check out this top secret video file on YouTube. It will help anyone with learning all about Delta Green and how to dive deep into the eldritch lore contained within. I should know, I'm the one who created it. Subscribe to the channel if you want to see more DG content, and let me know what you think.
    I do think it will be helpful, and hope you enjoy it:) It's one of my personal favorite videos I've concocted... And after looking through that there is-
     
    The Core Rules
    The meat of Delta Green is within two books: The Agent's Handbook, and the Handler's Guide. You can get both together in the Delta Green Slipcase Set, or purchase them separately. At the time of writing, the slipcase is 100$ US.
    The Agent's Handbook includes all the rules one needs to play the game. Character creation and backstory generation is the first big thing here, and the actual rules are very well put together. Based on BRP, the system boasts extremely intuitive and streamlined rules for skill checks and combat, as well as a deeply disturbing sanity system which will slowly destroy your character's mind and twist them into something they were never meant to be... 
     As mentioned the combat is very well done and realistic, where getting shot will actually kill you. It's intense, satisfying, and brutal to witness. Another really fun concept is the rules for "home" scenes to teach players what they are fighting for... and what they stand to lose should they falter. The way funds are handled is nigh perfect, and makes money a far more simple matter than other similar games. Overall what sets Delta Green apart from, say, Call of Cthulhu, is the way it truly gives the players hope before crushing them. That hope is built into the game since players take on the role of secret agents or Men in Black fighting against the Cthulhu Mythos. They have purpose and some hope of success, even as their little worlds are shattered by the mind bending truths unveiled.
    The Handler's Guide is a Game Master resource like no other! While not essential to the rules and while you can play without it, I would personally never dream of doing so. This 368 pg book is one of the most useful supplements I've ever seen for a TTRPG. Ever. It includes a detailed history of the Delta Green organization which goes deep into the truth (not going to reveal much, lots of spoiler heavy content within the Handler's Guide, don't let your players read it heheh) behind what's in store for the future and the past...
     But all the lore aside, it also includes tons of scenario hooks, as wells as detailed magic rituals, unnatural and horrifying monsters, and reality breaking Great Old Ones. Then after all that, there's guidelines on how to create new threats and entities to shock and scare your players into oblivion, as well as guidelines on making your own scenarios and campaigns using the resources provided within the book itself. And finally, there's a really dark and fun pre-made scenario called "Sentinels of Twilight" included as well.
     
    Beyond the Veil
    After picking up these things, what's next? Well, there are many pre-made scenario books out there, as well as materiel from the previous edition of DG which could also be utilized. Apart from that, there is a Handler's Screen, and many more intriguing things over on Arc Dream's Website. Seek and ye shall find, but do not pick up that which you cannot put downe...
    I hope this quick guide on what Delta Green is has either helped you learn about this game, or inspired you to play it again. I had fun writing it and making the accompanying video, and the system itself is phenomenal. I appreciate you taking the time to read all this and watch my content, Dethstrok9 out:)
  3. Dethstrok9
    Secret File/ Delta Green first impressions/ We are all doomed/
    Hello my friends! Awhile ago I asked you what the enigmatic game called Delta Green was, and if it could be all it's cracked up to be... Now I have obtained it. Woohoo!!
    Yesterday I received a secret package from Arc Dream Publishing in the mail, they were kind enough to send me a review copy of the slipcase set. So here is my unboxing video, and what follows is a brief summary of what I'm enjoying so far after a quick flip-through:
     
     One of the biggest problems I have always had with Call of Cthulhu is the way investigators are supposed to both investigate and work together just "because". The way investigators are often throw together to fight creatures or threats they would likely simply run away from in real life can get grating, and Delta Green provides the answer with its MIB or X-Files type approach to investigators. We have a secret sect of the government which functions as a secret society and will call on its members to fight Mythos threats. But instead of giving anybody any sense of security in their employers, the DG core books do quite the opposite, painting a picture of a bleak and horrifying group who is a mystery to even its own members. This group will stoop below morality for the common good, and if its hand picked agents have problems, those very agents often will become the mission!
     I also find the horrific aspect of the game to be important, and additional sanity resources are much appreciated. The way the game ties the sanity into the way real life and bonds are effected makes the terrifying mentality of the mental illness all the more poignant. The way bonds work also seem great, so much so that I may use the bonds rules set even outside of DG...
     In Call of Cthulhu (my favorite horror game, which is why I keep comparing the two), there is some artwork reminiscent of a cartoon and others which feel like a scientist's meticulous sketching of a creature from beyond. While I enjoy that style of artwork very much, I cannot help but notice how much more eye catching the artwork in DG is... I mean, those images are actually scary af! Half the time I have no clue what the heck I'm looking at, let alone how to process or comprehend it. As an aside along the same lines: the aesthetic of the game and the layout of the pages is evocative in itself. There are dozens of scenario hooks hidden in the pages which each could become a full blown campaign, and the general feel of the books is that you hold in your hands something confidential. Off limits. Redacted.
     I personally enjoy conspiracies and secret plots, the very concept of them. So the way DG takes those concepts and runs with them is truly incredible. Everything has layers of fear and goes far deeper than you though possible, everything is on a need to know basis, and if you learn more than you should, you will either learn to keep your mouth shut or likely end up dead.
    These are just some surface level impressions, I encourage you to heck out the video and let me know what you think, and also let me know what aspects of Delta Green you love the most or most excite you:)
    These are just a few examples of stuff I found exciting about the system and the core rulebooks, really didn't have any complaints at all (something rare to see, let me tell you). There was none of the copy paste stuff from the CoC core books, each book was its own entity and fully contained a part of the needed materials to both play and be a Handler (GM).
    The game has forced my hand, this is just the beginning. From this point onward, we shall be exploring Delta Green on my channel (in addition to RQ) and we shall start with a "How to get into: Delta Green" series. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I'm looking forward to delving deeper into the mind wrenching lore and sanity shattering system of Delta Green.
  4. Dethstrok9
    Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. As this fits perfectly into the themes of my channel, this is our LIVE playthrough.
     Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be. Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. We are going live May 16, 2020. Saturday @ 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Join us, if you dare!

    Also, I'm pretty excited to try out my new Zoom subscription, and you (hopefully) will be able to see everyone this stream! .
     
    https://youtu.be/9jCB8jGFGkg
  5. Dethstrok9
    Well, this is what to say to those who feel changing game elements is cheating or dishonest. All of this about whether or not fudging die rolls or other game components is cheating is completely subjective. This is my personal TTRPG Game Master Advice, and it's not a popular opinion. If you are always a player, maybe think twice before watching this one:)
    Also attempting to get more people to join the hive mind of the BRP forums. We are all Us.
  6. Dethstrok9
    Dethstrok9 reviews the awesome new system for nearly every setting, Sabre second edition from Dragonsbane Entertainment! Link to the PDFs on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10173/Dragonsbane-Entertainment From the author: "I'd like to announce the Sabre RPG System 2nd Edition has been rolling out for the past few weeks at DTRPG! It's a system built on foundations of realism, smooth play and flexibility, featuring a skill-based d100 core with passive talents, active manoeuvres, in-game "on-the-spot" character advancement and a simple but powerful magic system.
  7. Dethstrok9
    Ignis Probat Speculo: the enigmatic Professor Deth is back and more insane than ever. His metaphors and deep sarcasm take on new meaning through the seemingly innocent imagery which darkly permeates this horror short film. Which is also an announcement for our latest Call of Cthulhu LIVEPLAY.
  8. Dethstrok9
    My main points here are that one should understand that the answer will largely depend on how you are portraying war in game. The focus could be on tension and a sense of dread with moments of depraved violence and mass destruction, or there could be a surreal excitement gripping the masses as they root for one side or another like it's a sport. There could be shown a certain glory in the art of war, or the madness of willing battle. And that's just one side to it...
  9. Dethstrok9
    Well. This has been done, I wash my hands of this OGL, my main point in this video is why I think Chaosium had every right to do what they did. I personally just don't think it should have been called an Open Game License.
  10. Dethstrok9
    Hi all, here is my latest video, which both has advice on using Death well, and also has some updates on next steps (eg. Glorantha).
  11. Dethstrok9
    Have you been disappointed by combat in role-playing games? Well be that way no further, here is the perfect video for you! Taking inspiration from Sandy Peterson himself, Dethstrok9 goes over some of the best ways to make Call of Cthulhu 7E combat more engaging, exciting, and interesting!
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