TLC’s D&D 5e Homebrew: Samurai Class
The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to create a unique take on the frequently homebrewed Samurai class.
Cover Image by Lubliner
The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to create a unique take on the frequently homebrewed Samurai class.
Cover Image by Lubliner
Following our recent trend of D&D homebrew and other useful tips, I’m back with some Shadowrun tips. There’s no doubt that one of the most fun things you can do as a GM is build a world that your players get to explore. Worldbuilding is satisfying in ways that just writing the twists and turns of your campaign isn’t. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Weather you loved it or not, no one can deny what an impact Dragon Ball Z had. For a lot of people, myself included, it was their first introduction to anime. Most remember coming home and trying to catch one of the nineteen (not exaggerating) episodes of Goku fighting Frieza or Gohan fighting Cell. And what better to do with a series that blew up than make a game out of it.
And not just that, but many video games off of it. Its still even to the point where
games are still coming out even now, with Xenoverse 2 scheduled for release later this year. I even contemplated doing a “Games Gone By” of one of the series of games, but there really is no one to choose. Do you consider Budokai within the same series as Budokai Tenkaichi or Raging Blast as its own line with Ultimate Tenkaichi being a one-off? My point is, is that there is no definitive series for the game.
And why should there be? It can work in a traditional fighting game style (Budokai and Burst Limit) as well as an open range fighting game (Tenkaichi and Raging Blast) or as something entirely different (The Legacy of Goku series on Game Boy). The limits are endless, and no matter how many times you tell the story, it always seems to have people coming back for more.
An element of nostalgia is present for sure, but for a lot of people, they still are just as involved into it as they are Pokemon. But they always progress in what seems like a natural way. Now an online character creator game has been doing well with Xenoverse, and the sequel will no doubt do just as well.
But why? Why is Bandai Namco able to make game after game? The answer is simple:
THEY KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE
When the Kinect title didn’t work out, they scrapped it and built something familiar but still inventive with Battle of Z. When that did slightly better, they decided to build something that the fans have always wanted by taking the Dragon Ball Online from Japan and making it into Xenoverse for the Playstation 4. The developers listen to feedback, and while they may try and re-use a formula with a new coat of paint on it, they use the formula that worked and fans likes. It still showed that they pay attention to what people like and don’t. And for me, that is extremely important for any consumer company to do.
So now I say, enjoy Xenoverse, but if you can’t afford the newer games, put in one the old Budokai games r Super Dragon Ball Z, because no matter the time, Dragon Ball Z stands out as a beloved franchise that people can enjoy.
First, we discuss this week’s kinda barren newsscape. Then, we discuss questions that you’ve sent us… for the first time in The Lifecast’s short life span.
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Pokemon Sun and Moon have been doing a lot of interesting things with the series. Hyper Training, the potential replacement of gym leaders, and, most importantly, the Alola forms of specific Pokemon. So far, we have 5 confirmed Alola Pokemon: Alola Vulpix, Ninetales, Sandshrew, Sandslash, and Exeggutor. Obviously, these aren’t the only ones that are going to be in the game, and I thought it would be a cool idea to share potential new Alola forms for older Pokemon. I personally feel like doing this kind of thing to older Pokemon is a really cool idea, and breathes a lot of new life into the game by adding a certain level of realism. My big rule here is that I’m not just going to pick Pokemon I want to see re-typed. I’m choosing Pokemon that I feel would fit into the ecosystem Alola has going for it and how their new forms would fit into the area.
Golem has always been a weird Pokemon for me. I’ve always wanted to like it, but felt no reason to. If we were to make its design a bit better and slap a fire typing onto it, I feel like I’d like it a lot more. Alola Golem (and by association, Geodude and Graveler) could be living around the tip of a volcano on the island, and being by the lava all this time has caused them to develop a fire typing to withstand the heat better. For aesthetics, I feel like it’d be a really simple change. Take all the grooves between rocks on Golem and fill them with flowing lava, and then make the rocks acting as his main body take on a darker color, closer to something like coal. The Alola Golem would basically have its stats flipped. Make it a special attacker, with high special defense as well. Regular Golem already gets access to Flamethrower and Fire Blast, so maybe Alola Golem can hold onto those moves and also learn Power Gem to seal the deal. It could get something like Flame Body as its ability or keep Sturdy, both work.
A lot of you may be thinking “but Dan, Bellossom is already doing a hula dance and has flowers in its hair, it’s already Hawaiian enough!” and you’d be right. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a regular Bellossom has already shown up in some sort of Sun and Moon trailer or image. But that won’t stop me from decking this thing out with even more flowers, changing its color scheme to make it brighter, and giving it a fairy typing which is honestly should have anyway. Way I see it, the Bellossom could be a more friendly Pokemon of the region, consistently interacting with humans, and as such, have been closer to the culture of Alola than in other regions. Because they’re more interactive with humans, they live closer to civilization, making them adapt to the life there as opposed to the wild. If Bellossom were to get a fairy typing, its decent defensive stats would actually be a lot more useful in battle, too.
Let me tell you, I love Mamoswine. I love its bulk, I love its typing, and I love its design. But wouldn’t it be super cool to see it as a fire-type? Alola has icy mountains, so you could still have the ice-type ones alongside the fire types. Mamoswine that went into the icy areas stayed as the ice/ground-types we know, but the ones that chose to stay in the more tropical parts of the area eventually developed into normal/fire-types. In order to survive the warmer climate, their thick coat of fur got thinner and thinner, and being in such high temperatures also gave them an affinity for the hot rather than the cold. The blue patch around their eyes is red now, too. In terms of new stats, Mamoswine’s defenses would be lower, but a little more evenly split, and its speed would be higher, as it doesn’t need to traverse mountainous landscapes anymore. Attack stat stays the same, too. For an ability, it could have Flash Fire or Defiant.
Adding any of these Pokemon, or any new Alola Pokemon, really, would be awesome.
But Drampa will always be the best.
All images courtesy of Bulbapedia
The Lifecast’s Dungeon Master Greg Fernandes shares some of his D&D 5e homebrew ideas. This edition attempts to improve the Druid of the Land Circle.
Cover Image by DarkKenjie
If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook, you would’ve seen that we published a few videos recently. Yes, videos! I’m proud to announce that The Lifecast now has regular video content coming to you guys about once a week. We publish all our video content on YouTube, so subscribe if you want to see more! This time around, Adam, Greg, and myself opened up a bunch of Overwatch’s Rio loot boxes, and I’d like to think we had a good time of it.
Below is the playlist for easy watching.
I’ve been getting really into Fire Emblem this past year–and although (most of) the Fire Emblem games I’ve played so far have been fantastic, it’s got me looking back on many of the other wonderful strategy RPGs I’ve played. The genre is a bit niche in the sense that in the last few years, there simply haven’t been very many strategy RPGs released in the West–let alone great ones. The mobile market, however, seems to have been getting a steady release of strategy RPG games in the last few years–and I’ll talk about that more in this list. When people who don’t play many strategy RPGs think of strategy RPGs, however, Fire Emblem is the obvious choice. After all, it’s a Nintendo title that’s enjoying a Smash Bro’s (and Awakening) induced burst of popularity, and like I said–in the last few years, we haven’t got many big strategy RPG releases outside of Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates. It’s a shame, too, because (as I’m about to show you) there are plenty of great ones to play! Without further ado, here’s a list of some of the best strategy RPGs you can play that aren’t Fire Emblem.
Yes, there’s a first Devil Survivor game that’s also good. No, you don’t need to play Devil Survivor 1 to play Devil Survivor 2. Yes, there’s an enhanced port called Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker on the 3DS that’s also great. Yes, this game has an anime adaptation but it didn’t go so well and doesn’t serve even remotely as a summary of the game. Anyways, Devil Survivor 2 is one of my favorite games on the DS. It takes all the familiar themes from the first Devil Survivor game (You, your friends, and a VERY large amount of the Japanese population have been put on lock-down. Figure out why you’ve been put on lock down, make choices that could lead to a myriad of different endings, and ultimately, free everyone.) but, in the typical Shin Megami Tensei fashion, the sequel gets the gameplay and story better. The first game, although great, suffered a lot of balance and grinding issues–all of which are gone in Devil Survivor 2, leaving you more able to actually enjoy the battles in this game, not to mention the incredibly unique (and ultimately, very dark) story. The choices are more heavily emphasized in this game than the first one as well, and it really tests the player’s morals more than most other games. It’s an incredible, thought-provoking game that shouldn’t be looked over.
Funny story: I saw ads for this game in Newtype USA years ago, when it was about to be a new release, and I thought the game’s art looked gorgeous (after all: This is the first game that Vanillaware made as Vanillaware) and therefore, I wanted it. It came out shortly before my birthday, so I asked for it for my birthday, and lo and behold, I got it. The ads didn’t mention what kind of a game it was–it just had the image on the cover and a short blurb about the story, so going into the game, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t played a strategy RPG before then, so it took me a really long time to get the hang of this game. That never stopped it from being a fun ride, though. Usually very overshadowed by the outstanding success of other Vanillaware games like Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown, GrimGrimoire is absolutely a hidden gem. You play as Lillet Blan–a new student in a Hogwarts-esque wizarding school. However, strange things are going on, and in a Groundhog Day fashion, her first week keeps resetting and she has no idea why–and she’s the only one who realizes it, too. So the whole story is you trying to find out what’s going on. Using different kinds of magic (EX: Glamor, necromancy, alchemy, etc.) you’ll summon different familiars to stop your enemies. Needless to say, if you’re into mythology, this game is a must play solely because of how much mythology is present in the game.
There’s an unspoken law in gaming that you can’t talk about great strategy RPGs and not bring up Valkyria Chronicles. War has erupted between the Gallians and the Imperial Alliance. You play as Welkin, the son of a very successful General, who is thrown right into it. He commands a militia squad, Squad 7, and through this, he tries to end the war one battle at a time so he can return to his peaceful life of studying nature. Admittedly, the story in this game is nothing too memorable. It’s the gameplay that makes this game so great. Valkyria Chronicles is a grade-A example of what difficulty should be in a game: Yes, this game is hard–but it’s nothing the player can’t handle. The gameplay is so simple and tight in this game that any mistakes made are 100% on the player. If you die, it’s because you messed up. Grinding, although it can’t hurt, will never be the reason you win or lose a battle. How the game play works is that you decide what troops you want to bring into battle (fun fact: 3 of the troops are characters from Skies of Arcadia) based on their classes and what kind of a strategy you want to use and who, therefore, will be the most useful. For example, if you’re in a battle with several tanks, you’ll bring extra lancers. If it’s a battle with a huge area, you’ll need extra scouts to survey the land. From there, you engage the enemy troops and fulfill your goal–which is usually something along the lines of taking over an enemy camp or defeating an enemy in a specific way. This game is on the PS3 and can usually be found at a really good price–there’s no reason not to give it a try. It’s incredibly addicting from start to finish.
The most recent game on this list, Banner Saga is a critically-acclaimed gem of a strategy RPG. Set in the Viking Age, you play as both Vognir and Rook–two heroes whose stories will, based on your decisions, eventually collide. Decisions are something heavily emphasized in this game, as there are many to make that can heavily change your game based on your choices. One of the best parts about the game play are the many classes and races you can have at your control–some of which come from Viking mythology such as the Varl and the Dredge. This game is available on just about any platform you can imagine–Steam, X-Box One, PS4, PSVita, iOs, and Android. As I mentioned in the intro, the mobile market seems to be a rapidly growing place for strategy RPGs, and Banner Saga is one of the reasons why–with its many features, engaging story, gorgeous art, and wonderful game play, it’s not hard to see why this game is so loved.
Another reason that the mobile strategy RPG market is doing so well right now, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a gem on the PSP, and now that it’s available on mobile devices, is enjoying a new wave of fans who simply didn’t have a PSP when it came out. (Or were like me and were too busy playing the same 2 games on their PSP to care about many of the others.) This game is, at its core, an updated version of the original Final Fantasy Tactics which was released on the PS1 in 1997. You play as Ramza, a mercenary who finds himself caught in the midst of a civil war that could affect the fate of the world. Like Banner Saga, this game is very well loved by critics and receives consistently good scores. And of course, it’s not a Final Fantasy Tactics game without a few cameos: Including Cloud Strife (FF7), Luso Clemens (FFT A2), and Balthier (FF12.) This is a game I’d recommend not just to fans of strategy RPGs, but Final Fantasy fans looking to get into strategy RPGs as well.
Honorable Mentions: Ogre Battle 64, Jeanne d’Arc, and the Disgaea series
Starhawk is one of the better games on the PlayStation 3
Starhawk is a 2012 pulse pounding action game released on the PlayStation 3. The game is a spiritual successor to the PS3 launch title Warhawk.
When it was released, Starhawk received average reviews and had very little to no marketing campaign. For a first party Sony game, this is strange. It also came out a week within Max Payne 3 and Diablo III. A minor burden, but not something in Starhawk’s favor. The game has sold less than 300,000 copies worldwide when it was released. To make matters worse, Starhawk’s only major sales came at the beginning of May of 2012. Starhawk was regulated to the bargain bin in all too quick fashion.
Starhawk is a game worth checking out just once. In short, the game is a blast to play. LightBox Interactive managed to make an action/RTS game that’s simplistic, yet still fun. Starhawk even manages to have a fun story mode as well. On top of those features, the soundtrack is a sublime mix of western and space opera.
Starhawk is light on story, incredibly heavy on action
The shockingly good story of Starhawk is told through well done motion comics. Starhawk’s space western universe focuses on the Rifts. Rifts are sources of powerful energy. When a person comes in contact with a Rift, they become a monster composed of pure energy called an Outcast. Emmett Graves is a bounty hunter who has been called on various jobs throughout the galaxy to get rid of the Outcasts and secure energy. However, lately the galaxy has had an outbreak of Outcasts. The leader of these Outcasts may have a personal connection to Emmett.
The action of Starhawk uses the typical third person shooter aesthetic. The PS3 controller was made for these kinds of games. The tight controls keep the game flowing with set pieces. With a wide variety of guns, vehicles and explosives, Emmett can take out Outcasts in a simplistic, but fun, way. However, where the RTS elements come in are with building support units and garages for vehicles.
Emmett’s friend Cutter shoots down all kinds of helpful items and vehicles. A highlight is the glider, which Emmett can use for ground fighting and aerial combat. As long as Emmett and Cutter have enough funds, the player can summon as much as they want. This keeps Starhawk fun, as the player will always have some sort of item to have gameplay fresh every time
It also helps that each mission is on a unique planet of the galaxy or on a space station. Each chapter of the game will have its own unique mission. Rather than having a variation of the same task, like securing Rift or eliminating all the enemies, Starhawk requires players to be a little experimental with what they create.
For a game focusing on its multiplayer aspect, Starhawk has a consistently solid single player mode.
Multiplayer is one of the many bright moments
Starhawk has one of the most entertaining multiplayer modes in any game on the PS3. Utilizing the same chaotic energy the single player missions have, Starhawk is fun with friends. There are your standard deathmatch and capture the flag modes. However, Starhawk has so much freedom with its gameplay, it allows for some creative multiplayer experiences. Even after finishing the story mode, players will keep going back to Starhawk’s multiplayer. Granted if the servers are still up.
During Starhawk‘s development, the multiplayer component was highly anticipated. Unfortunately, a very little amount of gamers were online playing it. Which is a shame, as the easy-to-learn gameplay is perfect for a big game night with friends.
One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
Starhawk is one of Sony’s more interesting first party games. Pity the company did not promote it better. Emmett Graves could be going on more adventures.
The space western design of the characters and story will certainly bring in people in. It’s the extremely enjoyable and overall inventiveness of the gameplay that will keep players on their PS3s. Starhawk may look like a generic third person shooter, but it’s a far better game than that assumption. It also won’t clean out any wallets with those prices on Amazon.
Hey, it’s another review! I got the chance to play Abzû recently. Being a fan of Journey and Flower, I was incredibly excited for Abzû. The creative mind behind the game is Matt Nava, former art director for thatgamecompany’s previously mentioned games. Instead of working with thatgamecompany this time around, he’s founded his own studio, Giant Squid, the developers of Abzû. While in the same sort of low-poly style as the other two games, Abzû aims to be something entirely different. Let’s take a look, then, shall we?
Needless to say, there are Abzû spoilers ahead! If you care about them, play the game and come back.
You start out as an unnamed scuba diver exploring wildlife among floating patches of seaweed in the ocean. From there, while giving players a short tutorial of the controls, the game progresses in a largely linear track. While there are areas that allow for exploration and interaction between routes of linear travel, you’re more of an accessory for the story to show itself through the world around you.
Personally, I liked this form of storytelling quite a bit. There are some things left to interpretation, and even some lore flavor as you explore deeper into the game. The whole world seemed rich and well-researched with each species of fish that swim around in schools in open areas. There’s not much else to say here aside from the fact that this provided a very laid-back experience while playing the game. There was no real pressure to get to the next area, and players were almost encouraged to take their time and poke around. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and its approach in how it was told.
After passing through a section of the game, the player swims to a brightly colored whirlpool amongst an otherwise gray, kelp-covered cavern. Presumably, this transports the player into a different, more ethereal realm, where they awaken the cavern. Upon returning, it’s now teeming with all sorts of plant and fish life. The theme of awakening becomes a large part of the game; players are able to awaken small nests of different species of fish that will swim around certain areas as well as some small robots that follow the player through each chapter.
There are seven chapters in the game: the first four end after their counterpart in the ethereal realm has been awakened. In chapters two and three, players can see some imagery of an ancient civilization in mosaics on the walls of caverns, along with shark statues that players can meditate on. As the game progresses, more imagery starts appearing, implying that players are moving towards the epicenter of whatever had existed there before.
In the fourth chapter, players explore the last segment before the last trip to the ether. Here the game introduces pyramids that will give the player an electric shock if they stray too close for too long. In chapter five, players enter the factory that’s been churning out the small robots that have been following them, and at the end must swim through a minefield of the pyramids to witness a shark get electrocuted by a pyramid that’s a lot bigger than the ones you’ve been seeing around.
Continuing on the game’s path, players explore what I assume to be the center of the ancient civilization. After opening a set of doors and swimming through to the center of the center, the final chapter begins.
Players are granted invulnerability and incredible speed as you rush past sections of pyramids and destroy them, once and for all awakening the areas you had in the ether. Finally, players happen upon the source of the disruptions that they’ve been encountering. In turn, it, too, is destroyed and players secure the reefs they’ve been swimming through from the beginning.
One thing I have to mention is that Abzû takes place largely underwater. Video games are notorious for having pretty crappy underwater controls, and Abzû is not one of these games. Everything about it is fluid, and that includes the underwater controls. Its quirks mainly come from the fact that instead of adjusting the angle of the pitch, I’m very much used to having the controls reset to a zero point instead of staying where they’ve been directed to. Other than that, the controls are solid, if a little loose, but I get the feeling that it’s supposed to be that way. There’s a boost mechanic to help you get past obstacles, like those pyramids, a bit faster.
There are a couple of features that stand out among the game. First is the meditation feature that doubles as a collectible and a fast-travel system. Littered throughout the game, once or twice per section, there are shark statues that players can sit on top of and “meditate”, watching the fish swim by for an indefinite period of time. It makes a nice screen saver, and the attention to detail in the fish is a bit stunning.
Interactions with the little robots, schools of fish, and the environment are satisfying and very fun.
My favorite part of the game is how good it looks. The 71 screenshots on my Steam profile should at least say that much. Bright colors adorn schools of fish and plants alike, and even in the dull, un-awakened sections look like they have some life in them. Flora and fauna are fun to swim through, and the game feels polished. I’m talking about a Nintendo-polish level of polish, here. It looks great. Even the meditation sections would make a nice idle display for when you’re not using your computer, as I’ve said before.
The music is composed by the wonderful Austin Wintory, as was Journey’s soundtrack. It’s not something I’d really listen to outside of the game but it fits nicely with the overall atmosphere.
Abzû is great, and I really love it. It’s a nice, calming change from other games I’ve been playing recently and it’s worth its price tag of $20. It’s a little short at just about two hours, and is on sale on Steam right now for $16. If you want my recommendation, pick it up! Even if it’s just for that meditation feature.
All images used in this post come from my own Steam screenshot library. View them all here!
[wp-review id=”1309″]
There’s something to be said about games that keep getting pushed back and back that keep us strangely interested. Oftentimes we’re amazed a game is taking so long to come out. Many times we become frustrated with it. But there’s no denying that when a new trailer or rumor about it surfaces, you can bet people flock to forums and get hyped all over again.
Take for instance Duke Nukem Forever. This is a game that cemented in people’s minds what it meant for a game to be in development hell. Having been announced in 1996, it took fifteen years for it to come out on the Playstation 3. It traded hands so much people were sure it was never going to come out. But when a release date was announced after so long in 2011, people became hyped as hell. However what they got was a very bland and boring shooter with a notably dated misogynist hero. But that’s not what the game is remembered for. It’s remembered for the constant hope and disappointment roller coaster which was the past 15 years.
Take a more recent example, Final Fantasy 15. Originally marketed as “Final Fantasy Versus 13” in 2006, the game has taken ten years to finally hit shelves, being released this year. What may have been a cool concept for some people in the beginning became an obsession for many. Itching and clawing at any shred of information or rumor they could find.
I have no doubt that this game will sell well when it comes out, but I’m also skeptical to say it will be everything the die-hard optimists have been hoping for.
So why do we keep following these games? Why do we find it so interesting to hear something new that’s been on uncertain ground for so long. My theory: its the uncertainty that is pulling us towards it. It’s the mystery. Wondering if THIS might be the release date trailer or THIS rumor may be true only serves to fuel our obsession with it. Having certainty is great for a lot of people, but it lacks the inherit excitement of what we don’t know and if this hunt is going anywhere.
We as people naturally find some joy in the journey, and sometimes a lot more in it than the destination. So the next time you see people fawning over the next Kingdom Hearts trailer or Half Life 3 rumor and analyzing it to death, remember that for a lot of people, this is the journey, and it may be a bumpy ride, but its one they can’t help but stay on.
Back again on The Lifecast this week are your regulars talking about our now-regular topic, Pokemon Go. And other things, like a follow-up to I Am Setsuna from last week.
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