I read Vampire: The Masquerade The Complete Series published by Vault Comics. This post was intended to be a graphic novel review because this book was hands down one of the best graphic novels I read this year. As I started writing the review, I was bored. It was me talking about how much I loved the graphic novel and that was it. I decided to pivot and talk about how I was introduced to Vampire: The Masquerade, why I love this system, and what podcasts or live streams I’d recommend watching.

It’s important to note how dark Vampire: The Masquerade is as a TTRPG system. I own the rulebook and in the beginning section it says and I quote, “This is not a roleplaying game where you play the good guys”. This is not Twilight where vampires sparkle and only feed on animals. This is not a game I would play with kids, this is a game intended for adults. While a vampire character can be designed to be as moral as possible, you are constantly fighting off the beast trying to influence you to feed all the time. I say this because I don’t think Vampire: The Masquerade is for everyone. It’s okay to recognize that Vampire may not be for you because of the above. I’m not going to discuss my previous stories in-depth with this paragraph serving as a content warning that this game is truly a horror game.

I was introduced to Vampire: The Masquerade at Gen Con in 2019. Me and my brother met up with a few of my friends who were also at Gen Con and they agreed to run a one-shot for us. The first character I created, I named Virginia. In Vampire: The Masquerade instead of classes like Dungeons & Dragons, the equivalent for this system would be a clan. Each clan has different abilities and strengths. Virginia is a Tremere, a clan in Vampire focusing on Blood Magic. I’d equate this to a Sorcerer or Wizard in Dungeons & Dragons. Since then, I have played in at least three one-shots; this could be higher. I only found three of my past Vampire character sheets to reference.

What impressed me the most about Vampire was the intricacies of vampire society. In Vampire: The Masquerade, vampires have to abide by a code. “The Masquerade” hence the name of the system, is secrecy in which vampires are forbidden to publically discuss their vampirism. If they do, they risk final death or their characters being killed. There’s a whole political system with “The Prince” being the leader of a particular area. There are Sheriffs, I’d describe them as being security guards who protect The Prince and The Masquerade. From there, there are several other important political positions to help enforce the vampire code. As a player, I think it provides the right amount of guidance. Without these rules, vampires would do whatever they want which would be quite frankly, a blood bath.

Another reason I like Vampire is the amount of customization with character creation. Besides choosing a clan, another choice to make is predator type. Predator type illustrates how your vampire will feed. For example, some players may choose Bagger meaning they will only feed by stealing blood from hospitals or other medical facilities. In some ways, this might be the moral high ground because you’re not feeding from people BUT you are stealing blood from someone who may need it in a transfusion. Another option is Siren where your vampire feeds during sex or feigning sex. I did say this was an adult game for mature audiences. Each predator type has advantages and disadvantages, but none of the choices make you good. There are many other characteristics to pick when creating a character, but the last one I wanted to touch on was beliefs. Each character chooses beliefs or convictions that they try to uphold. One common conviction I always take is “never expose children to violence”. These convictions offer a sense of humanity to your character because as long as I never expose children to violence, I’m not all bad. Vampire focuses on morality and what that means for the player. Do you try to be as moral as possible? or will you give in to the beast? The choice is yours.

The last time I played Vampire was a few months ago at Badwolf. To keep my interest, I find listening to podcasts or live plays helps to keep the rules fresh. The first podcast I’d recommend is Blood & Syrup by Dumb-Dumbs & Dice. Each episode is about forty minutes, so it won’t take long to listen to. There are three vampire characters which I find makes it easier to follow along. The podcast uploads episodes regularly. As a side note, I find it challenging to discover new Vampire podcasts since many podcasts don’t upload new episodes on a regular cadence. I’d hate to become invested in the story and not see how the story continues. Besides podcasts, I’m watching NY By Night, a live play of Vampire with Jason Carl as the storyteller. Jason Carl is the storyteller of LA By Night, another popular Vampire campaign. One last thing I would recommend would be to join the World of Darkness Discord. I joined a month ago and it’s a channel I read often. I don’t post my thoughts, instead, I have read about other players and the characters they create. It’s given me inspiration and determination to find my own game.

I’m glad I played Vampire: The Masquerade; it’s a system I thoroughly enjoy. I hope to eventually play Vampire again soon whether that be a one-shot or if I’m lucky, a longer-term campaign.

I played Hidden Through Time back in 2020 during COVID-19. Hidden Through Time was such a soothing game which is what I needed to get through that tumultuous time. I was scrolling through Steam as you do and I saw that there was a sequel. I was ecstatic! I immediately purchased, downloaded, and spent seven hours playing all the maps. Hidden Through Time 2 improved upon the first game, yet didn’t deviate from what made the game fun.

Hidden Through Time 2 is a hidden objects game with several themed maps. There are four themes within the game, they are 1001 Nights, Greek Mythology, The Middle Ages, and The Magical 80s. Within each individual map, there is a row of objects at the bottom of the screen. These indicate which hidden objects the player will need to locate. If you hover over the object, a hint will pop up to help direct the player to a specific area where the object can be found. In Hidden Through Time 2, there’s a new feature. Towards the top, the weather on the map can be changed to sunny, cloudy, snowy, or rainy. Some objects can be found in both weather maps while others can only be found in a specific weather pattern. The goal of the game is to locate all the objects within each themed area.

I loved the maps! I was partial to The Magical 80s and The Middle Ages. In The Middle Ages maps, there’s an Owlbear! The Middle Ages felt more like Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons than King Arthur which I liked a lot. I liked the weather setting. I thought it provided more of a challenge since some objects would appear darker on the map, so it took longer to find them. With the weather setting, it offered more replayability since it added more to the maps. Playing Hidden Through Time 2, I looked forward to getting off work, driving home, and playing this game.

Hidden Through Time 2 was so cute. I loved every second of it. It’s a game I would absolutely uninstall, reinstall, and replay it again. Hidden Through Time 2 does have a new DLC which I will be playing next and of course, I will write a post about it once I finish the game.

It’s funny how interests and hobbies can change as we get older. When I first started gaming, I played on consoles specifically Xbox. I played PC games occasionally, however, I devoted most of my time to first-person shooters like Halo or Gears of War. Now, I find myself playing more TTRPGs and board games with video games popping up every now and then. I wanted to share how gaming has changed for me and how I pick the games I play.

When I was in high school, I looked forward to when I hopped off the school bus, finished my homework, and I would sit downstairs in my basement to play Xbox. I would stay up till 3 AM playing a game and then sleep in until 10 or 11 the next day. Those were the good old days. I remember certain events in my life based on a video game I was playing. For example, I remember Batman: Arkham City because we had a snow day my senior year in high school, so I played Arkham City for hours underneath a cozy blanket. Once I went to college, gaming permanently shifted for me, although I didn’t know that then.

In college, I didn’t bring my Xbox with me and that was for the best. College was an adjustment and I think if I had my Xbox with me, it would have made me less social and less focused on my classes. While in college, I joined Video Game Club (VGC) a club that had meetings monthly, but meetings were marathons starting at 8 PM and ending at 8 AM. VGC helped me meet other gamers along with exposing me to board games. The first time I played Red Dragon Inn was at VGC; we had a huge group! Red Dragon Inn is a game I play all the time to this day. Gaming changed for me when I went to college as it taught me that I wouldn’t always have the time to play video games. When I did have the time, I cherished it a lot more.

After I graduated from college and started working full-time, my time to play video games shrank further. One of the biggest things I struggle with is having the energy to play video games. After I get home from work, exercise, and eat dinner, I’m tired. When I say tired, it’s not that I’m about to fall asleep, instead, I don’t have the energy to devote to something rigorous. If given the option, I’m more likely to pick a cozy game than a first-person shooter.

This leads me to the point which is how my gaming preferences have evolved. I will always have a soft spot for first-person shooters, that will never change. However, I tend to gravitate towards cozier games. I’m currently playing Hidden Through Time 2 and it’s been lovely. Hidden Through Time is a hidden objects game series and it’s been the perfect game to play during the week. It’s something I don’t have to concentrate on. It’s not that I don’t play more intensive games, but during the week, it’s nice to have an easier game to play.

When I pick out the video games I want to play, I have a process in place. I have a sticky notes app on my phone and one of the notes is a list of all the video games I want to play. In addition, I have the release dates next to the games, so I know when they come out. This has kept me organized and reminds me of the games I want to play and when. Before buying a game, I have started regularly watching gameplay from the game I want to buy. With video games now costing $70 per game, I want to know what the game looks like before I buy it. I never used to do this before and I don’t know why. I have spent a lot of money on games I would never play again which could have been avoided if I wanted gameplay videos before purchasing the game.

Video games will always carry some nostalgia for me. To be realistic, I know that my time to play video games will only get smaller in the next few years. I don’t feel sad about it. I think it’s helped me become pickier and only play games I know I will enjoy. I have also thought about replaying some of my all-time favorite games since it’s been several years since I played them last. Hobbies can change over time and long gone are the days in which I would play Halo on Legendary difficulty. I’m over it.

Since being involved in a regular campaign, I have rolled my fair share of natural 20s and my fair share of natural 1s. In Dungeons & Dragons, a d20 is rolled to either attack an enemy, make a skill check, or avoid a spell effect from another spell caster. Rolling a 20 is considered a critical hit or in some cases a critical success, while a natural 1 is a critical failure. I don’t think anyone enjoys rolling a natural 1, but in my case, I tend to roll natural 1s on a D20 at pivotal moments in our game. I wanted to share two examples where I rolled a natural 1 and how the lower dice roll furthered my character’s journey within the campaign.

Both stories are set in our current campaign where I’m playing Vesper, the Variant Human Sorcerer. Vesper had to make a Constitution Saving Throw after a long battle our group finished. When I stated I had rolled a 1, the DM revealed a disguised enemy came up behind me and removed my eyes. Our whole group was shocked! When this first happened, I will admit I was devastated. I wasn’t sure how Vesper would progress through the story considering that as a spell caster, she needed to be able to see everything around her. In a turn of events, Vesper accepted help from Zariel which unlocked a new feat for Vesper. If she calls on Zariel’s aid, she gets added benefits in battle but she can’t cast all her spells. Vesper eventually regained her eyes and vision with help from the other players in our party.

Rolling a natural 1 in this instance altered Vesper’s story. I don’t think she would have made a pact with a god. There were several in-game conversations between the other players where they expressed concerns over Vesper’s partnership with Zariel. These conversations were fun to have and I think bonded Vesper with the other characters. They expressed their empathy, but also kept Vesper in check and not letting Zariel take over. None of this would have happened had I not rolled a 1.

The second story happened pretty recently. Vesper is currently in a relationship with Cam, an NPC who is Vesper’s academic adviser at the magical academy she graduated from before the campaign started. In one session, Cam had accepted an opportunity that would permanently change his character. Our DM asked me to roll a d100 which would reveal how well this would go for him. I rolled a natural 1 on a d100 which is a 100-sided die. Rolling a 1 on a d20 is one thing, but a d100. I can’t even believe it. As a result, Cam almost died. I did not expect myself to care as much, but I started crying during the session. I thought of Vesper’s feelings toward Cam and how she would lose somebody she loved. With no help from myself, the other players rallied around me and we were able to give Cam assistance to pass his Constitution Saving Throw. I cannot look at d100s the same now.

From a story perspective, this was much needed for Vesper. The way I roleplayed Vesper, she always put Cam at a distance. This comes from her back story, but as a way to protect herself. Throughout the sessions, Cam got Vesper to open up which led to them confessing their feelings for each other. Vesper took Cam for granted and that was intentional on my end. The fact I rolled a natural 1 and almost killed him woke Vesper up to the fact that she truly loves him. As far as how that benefitted the campaign, I think it solidified Cam as a permanent member of our group.

With these natural 1s, Vesper wouldn’t be where she is today without them. I think it’s easy to feel disappointed or sad when a natural 1 is rolled, but hopefully, this gives some reassurance that sometimes, they aren’t always bad.

In March, I wrote a post about Daggerheart, Critical Role’s TTRPG system, when it was first announced with an open beta. I had reservations based on their initial announcements, but wanted to reserve judgment until there was more released and if I would have the opportunity to play. As it turns out, Badowolf Adventure Studios ran a Daggerheart one-shot which served as an introduction to the system. Now that I have played the game, I feel my thoughts are different than they were a few months ago.

When I originally wrote this post, I mentioned being skeptical about combat. In Daggerheart, there isn’t an initiative order meaning the players decide who goes first. When signing up for gaming events at conventions, it’s random people paired together. I didn’t find it awkward when we figured out who would go. There was always one player who wanted to start and I found that as we all worked together, we would call out who hadn’t gone yet. By not having an initiative order, players can be strategic and pick who goes based on what character is doing what. Another slight concern was how the DM would go after a player rolls higher in Fear. I wasn’t sure how often that would be. During our session, our group rolled pretty well, but I didn’t think it slated the game one way or another. With a one-shot, it’s tough to tell, but I left feeling much better about the mechanics than I had felt before.

Our session was only an hour, so it was difficult to interpret much from one session. I left feeling positive about Daggerheart. It’s one thing to hear all the announcements and another to actually get to play. I’m curious to see how Daggerheart will be finalized upon its release and if Critical Role‘s next campaign will be with Daggerheart.

After completing Jedi: Survivor, I felt like I needed a cozy game to play next. I searched through my library on Steam and saw I had purchased Zodiacats a few months ago. I didn’t know much about the game except that it has cats, its a puzzle game, and that’s about it. Zodiacats is the perfect cozy, puzzle, cat game that I needed.

Zodiacats is a puzzle game in which the goal is to solve puzzles to reveal pictures about the astrological signs. Each sign has their own image and each image features a cat on it. The puzzles are a sliding square type puzzle with the goal of revealing the picture once the blocks are in the right spot. Once each zodiac is revealed, there are two other puzzles that become available for players to complete.

I loved Zodiacats, but let’s be real, I’m a bit biased. I love any game that features cats, so this game would have had to been really bad in order for me not to like it. It was the perfect game for me to play after a long day at work. I would usually have Critical Role or What We Do in the Shadows on as background noise while I played through this game. The hard mode is actually difficult. There are a few of the puzzles I have yet to complete because I can’t figure out why the puzzle isn’t unlocking. I did read some of the comments from other gamers and they mentioned the possibility of a bug. I don’t know if that’s the case for me. Some of the flowers on the puzzles are difficult to differentiate at times, so it could be that I have a few of the blocks in the wrong spot.

Zodiacats is a cute, Zodiac puzzle game. It’s a good cozy game that I think is perfect if you need a break from a game that’s a bit more time consuming. I didn’t realize, but Zodiacats is designed by the same company who made A Building Full of Cats and Sudocats which are both games I played on my Switch. I’ll be on the lookout for any future games they make.

The last time I played Vampire: The Masquerade was back in 2021 for a one-shot. I hoped this one-shot would develop into a longer campaign, but our group dissolved due to conflicting schedules. A few weeks ago, I was alerted in our Dungeons & Dragons Discord that Bad Wolf Adventure Studios was running a Vampire one-shot on Friday night. I immediately signed up because Vampire has to be one of my favorite TTRPG systems I have played. I’m happy I signed up because it was an entertaining one-shot from start to finish.

The DM running our Vampire session was the same DM who ran the Curse of Strahd campaign I was in, so it felt like a mini-reunion. To prepare for the session, our DM had pre-generated characters to pick from. I liked this a lot because it had been a while since I created a character from scratch, so having readily available options worked quite well for me. Whenever I play Vampire, I usually pick the Toreador or Ventrue clans. I wanted to choose something different and picked Tremere. Tremere is the Blood Witch clan who experiments with Blood Magic. While there wasn’t much time to experiment with all of my character’s abilities, I liked playing Tremere as a clan.

Our session had five players in total with three of us having prior experience in Vampire with the other two players being new to the system. Our group worked well even though we had never played a game together. One of the newer players straight-up tried to use her vampiric abilities to intimidate one of the guards. I was here for it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, but it was cool to see them dive into the game so quickly. One of the vampires we encountered tried to use a power called Dominate on my character which compels someone to obey. This worked, however, I retaliated and used Cloud Memory, so the Vampire didn’t remember anything I told her under Dominate. Our players were rolling well throughout the session which doesn’t always happen in Vampire. After the session ended, it seemed like everyone had a good time.

This was so much fun and I’m happy I signed up for the session. I hope Bad Wolf will offer a longer-term Vampire campaign or more one-shots of other systems in the future.

It has taken me five months, but I finally sat down and finished Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. I would go through spurts where I would play for a few hours at a time and then I wouldn’t play the game for months. When May came around, I knew I wanted to sit down and devote the time to complete the story. I’m glad I made the time to finish Jedi: Survivor, but I can’t deny that there were many moments where this game frustrated me.

Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after Jedi: Fallen Order. Cal Kestis has distanced himself from Cere Junda, Greez Dritus, and Merrin. While stealing military data on Coruscant, Cal’s ship, The Mantis, is heavily damaged. Cal flies The Mantis to Koboh, so Greez can repair it. While locating ship parts, Cal has a vision of two High Republic Jedi, Dagan Gera, and Santari Khri, talking about a hidden planet called Tanalorr. Cal wakes Dagan from a Bacta tank and is horrified to find out that Dagan turned to the Dark Side. After Dagan escapes, Cal realizes Tanalorr would be the perfect place to hide from The Empire. Cal has to team up with his friends to stop Dagan once and for all.

Spoilers Ahead for Jedi: Survivor

One of my favorite parts about playing these games is the characters. Cal and his partnership with BD1 is so heartwarming. BD1 is the best buddy and keeps Cal company on his adventures. Merrin has a much bigger role in Jedi: Survivor which I enjoyed. Cere and Greez still have Cal’s back and reunite as the story continues. I liked the addition of Bode to Cal’s crew. Bode’s voice sounded familiar to me and it turns out that Bode was voiced by Noshir Dalal who recently appeared on Critical Role’s Candela Obscura. I loved Noshir on Candela Obscura, so it was a nice surprise to see him pop up in this game. I mentioned this in my Jedi: Fallen Order review, but I genuinely believe that these games provide essential lore for Star Wars.

In Jedi: Survivor, Cal unlocks new abilities. I like how this game prompts Cal into diving into the Dark Side of The Force. When Cal goes after Bode, Cal unlocks his Dark Side ability which replaced his previous ability. I’m curious to see how this will impact Cal in future games. Will Cal turn to the Dark Side permanently? or will Cal see The Light. Personally, I hope Cal remains a Jedi. Besides Cal’s new ability, there are several new Lightsaber stances to learn. One includes a more heavy melee attack while another stance allows Cal to carry a blaster. I leaned towards the blaster stance as I felt it was useful against the Stormtroopers and Battle Droids.

With the story, I liked the inclusion of The High Republic era of Star Wars. I think there’s so much potential to tell powerful stories before the prequels. Can we talk about Cere’s journey throughout this game? When their base is attacked, Cere confronts Darth Vader. Unfortunately, Darth Vader gets the upper hand and stabs Cere. Cal arrives too late when he senses Cere’s echo and holds her as she dies. This scene was heartbreaking, but so fitting to her character. I liked how Cal didn’t see what happened, but could sense it which plays into Cal’s powers as a Jedi.

Another interesting element of Jedi: Survivor is Bode’s story. Towards the latter half of the game, Bode betrays the group and takes the compass believing Tanalorr can protect his daughter. Once Cal chases Bode, Bode pulls out his red lightsaber indicating his previous history as a Jedi. What a moment! Bode’s character is so interesting to me because it reveals how morally gray the galaxy is when The Empire took over. Bode’s intentions are good because he wants to protect his daughter from the Inquisitors. However, he partners with The Empire because he doesn’t see a way out. I feel for Bode and while I’d say he’s a villain, I think he was shaped by his experiences and he couldn’t sacrifice everything to keep a rebellion alive.

While I enjoyed Jedi: Survivor, I wanted to share a few grievances I had with the game. The first would be the navigation. It feels like Jedi: Survivor made no improvements to the map. For each mission, Cal has a waypoint several meters away. Unfortunately, the area between Cal’s current location and the waypoint is black, so there really isn’t a great way to figure out where you’re going. I still had to use walkthroughs to ensure I was heading in the right direction. I wish these games had a navigational feature where there would be a yellow line or arrow on the ground guiding Cal to the next spot. This feature could be turned on or off in the main menu for those gamers who want to figure it out for themselves. This would have saved me so much time. While there was a fast travel option, I don’t think it addresses the issues I have with the maps.

Jedi: Survivor is as difficult or more difficult than Jedi: Fallen Order. While some of the boss fights seem more balanced, I found the save points were way more spread out. There were several times when I would face a group of enemies, be low on health, and end up dying because I didn’t make the wall run to the next area. This was so aggravating. While this didn’t ruin the game for me, it became a major reason why it took me so long to finish the game.

Jedi: Survivor is a solid sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order. I feel these games appeal to a certain type of gamer and that’s not me. I don’t have the time to grind through a difficult game. Going forward, I will probably play these games on the Story Mode difficulty because honestly, that’s why I’m playing these games to begin with. I want to dive into the story without feeling like I’m getting a ruthless game experience. I’m looking forward to the third game in the series and to the release of Star Wars Outlaws which is set to come out later this year.

I have found myself playing in more one-shot Dungeons and Dragons sessions in between our main campaign on Mondays. One-shots are such a great option for testing out character classes to see how each class plays in combat or a roleplaying scenario. I thought it would be fun to make a checklist of all the classes I played in a long-term campaign, classes I played in a one-shot, and classes I haven’t had the chance to play yet.

Classes I Played in a Campaign

• Blood Hunter
• Sorcerer
• Paladin

For this portion of this list, I count any classes I played as for five sessions or more. I played a Blood Hunter in Curse of Strahd, I’m playing a Sorcerer now, and I played a Paladin when I used to play in Adventurer’s League at a local game store. It’s difficult to choose a favorite class. I am loving Sorcerer right now and it would not surprise me if I ended up playing a Sorcerer again in the future. Paladins are another great class. They can be so versatile with being able to heal, be in melee combat and have the ability to Smite which allows for extra damage to be dealt. It’s been fun to play as all three of these classes in various campaigns.

Classes I Played in a One-Shot

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Fighter
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Warlock

Out of this list, I think I had the most fun playing as the Cleric, Ranger, and Warlock. For the Cleric, I made a Death Domain Cleric and named her Freya. I took Banishment as a spell and tried to use it as often as I could. I like Rangers as a class, but I like when they can be homebrewed into something else. Warlocks and Blood Hunters are similar in a lot of ways, so it isn’t surprising to me that I’m drawn to Warlocks as a class.

I would want to give Barbarian another chance. My Barbarian ended up getting decapitated in the one-shot and I wasn’t rolling well, so it was a bummer. Fighters and Rogues are two awesome classes especially if you’re looking for a combat heavy class. Bards are so good. I have had a Bard in every long-term campaign and they are very powerful.

Classes I Have Never Played…. Yet.

• Artificer
• Druid
• Monk
• Wizard

Out of this list, I’d want to prioritize both Druid and Wizard. Druids are clutch. The fact that Druids can change out their spell list is so vital for a story. Wizards are also incredibly powerful, but they can be squishy meaning they can be hit easily and may need to be healed often. After playing a Sorcerer, I may want a break and play a class with a bit more durability.

Playing at Bad Wolf Adventure Studios has provided me with a lot more roleplaying experience in a short period of time. I’m curious to see what types of classes and characters I will play as or create in the future.