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I played The Last Book with its creator several years ago and I'm delighted to see that it's finally released into the light of day, or the light of itchio. "Crunch" is a loaded and polarizing term, and while it is probably fair to call this game crunchy, it is not particularly hard to play. There are two disparate resolution systems, basically one for unopposed skill checks and one for contests, but neither involves a lot of math or complexity to resolve. And honestly, it makes sense to separate these two aspects of the mechanics anyway, since they have very different valences. 

What makes TLB crunchy, for me, is its granularity and how "zoomed in" the moment-to-moment gameplay is—in other words, a single battle can take a long time IRL to resolve. But there's tons of texture and tactical decisions to make long combat feel fun and interesting. On the tactics, TLB offers an enormous menagerie of character options, but there are ways to streamline that for folks who don't enjoy theorycrafting. 

The world of Qir dispenses with a lot of the cartoonish fantasy tropes in D&D and its derivatives—not that I dislike those tropes or games necessarily, but it's nice to see a game chart its own course. It feels much more like original Robert E. Howard (who was, it must be said, a scumbag, but a skilled writer) than the funhouse mirror version of Conan that we so often get in fantasy nowadays. The game's dedication to its unique setting—really a specific area in its world if I recall, inspired by middle eastern history—makes it feel grounded. 

Why thank you! (Credit goes to the Mesopotamians, of course)

Why thank you! From my perspective, the variable defenses are indeed pretty key. But it is admittedly a lot to track (especially for the Guide running NPCs). 

I'm working on a new edition that keeps the variable defenses but streamlines a lot of the other gameplay elements. If you're interested in playing and don't mind being a guinea pig for the new rules, I'll be running a few one-shot adventures for new players soon, so don't be a stranger!

Thank you for the kind words—if you and your friends give it a shot, may the winds of fortune blow with you!

I had the pleasure of playing a short campaign of Shepherds run by the game’s creator. While I’ve read a bunch of Powered by the Apolocapyse–style games, Shepherds was the first I’ve actually had the chance to play. My experience was so positive that I recommend Shepherds both in general and in particular to others looking to dip their toe into the PbtA-waters.

My favorite thing about the game, at least mechanically, is the system of Resolve and Insight. These are two resource pools, keyed off your character’s core attributes, that you spend as you’d expect from their names. For example, you spend Resolve to withstand a foe’s attack. 

What makes the system so elegant is how these resources tie into the system’s focus on narrative and player agency in multiple ways. When you spend resolve, you (the player) say how your character overcomes the foe’s attack and avoids harm. And you replenish resolve by interacting with your allies—for example, by sharing a moment with them during a rest. It’s not quite HP/healing, it’s not a metacurrency, it’s a unique structure that does wonderful work reinforcing the game’s flow and themes of comraderie. 

On those themes—and the general JRPG-inspired vibe—I would consider myself a modest but wayward fan of the genre that inspired Shepherds. I loved the Final Fantasy games of my childhood, and while I haven’t played some of the more specific inspirations (Trails and Tales games), playing Shepherds felt like slipping into a warm bath of nostalgia. YMMV of course—every game’s vibe depends on what players bring to it—but for me, the game nails the approachable, whimsical, heroic high-fantasy-and-magitech vibe of the games I loved as a kid. The clarity of the setting and intended tone went a long way toward helping the players gel early on. 

I've now played several sessions of Realms of Legacy at various power levels and have made three different characters. Every adventure has been an absolute blast. Here's why: 

• The core resolution mechanic—a staggered dice pool of d6s and d8s—takes five minutes to learn and is extremely effective at creating that addictive sense of tension->release that underpins the best games (and gambling too, I suppose).
• The setting is wondrous and wonderfully charming. It nails a heroic, swashbuckling tone that's inviting and a little goofy—octopus people! goth-magic!—but also has depth and creativity. It's not just a facsimile of D&D or Spelljammer or a winking parody of some popular media/genre. It's a totally original world that invites exploration. 
• The character creation mini-game is mechanically fun and integrates thoughtfully within this setting. It strikes the right balance between freedom and guidance. It has all the right bits I needed to construct some of my favorite character concepts while also inspiring me to dive into the lore and come up with new stuff. 

There's more, of course—an elegant armor system, an interesting "push" mechanic that gives players a lot of flexibility, some very fun magic ideas, and some very cool mechanics for magical airships. Every aspect of the game shines with passion and creativity. 

Guten tag! Er, I don't know German at all, but (based on Google translate) thank you for the kind words! I've been developing this game for 3+ years now. 

I hope you enjoy it if you give it a try, and I'd love to hear what you think (language barrier notwithstanding...)

High praise coming from the creator of the amazing Realms of Legacy—thank you!

I had the honor and pleasure of playing a short campaign of Peerless. Some of my favorite things: 

• The setting. I am not a huge wuxia fan, but the vibe is totally here. What impressed me more about the setting is how elegantly it supports everything else in the game, particularly combat. In many TTRPGs, the "heroes" are expected to win every fight. In Peerless, that's very much not the case—and it totally works, because in this world, the "strong" do not bully the weak, and losing battle is part of progress. It also makes combat genuinely exciting because there isn't plot armor or PC-skewed mechanics protecting you from losing.
• Organic character progression. As fun as it is to "theorycraft" and build ideal/superpowered characters in other games, in Peerless, you're encouraged to inhabit this world, and your character's abilities and sensibilities flow naturally from that. There is a great sense of progression, but it feels natural, attuned to your character's actual experiences and failures.
• Creative martial arts. The game provides building blocks to create an infinite variety of martial arts, and the results feel genuinely expressive and thematic. The mechanics sit at a nice level of complexity—there's quite a bit of feinting, reacting, and resource-management, but rolling the dice is quick and the math is easy. 

If you're looking for a wuxia game, or just looking for something different from the sea of D&D/PF, PbtA, BitD, L&F, and other well-trod acronyms out there, I highly recommend Peerless. 

You are too kind, stranger. Thanks for taking a look—I hope you enjoy the rest!