Whatever happened to Degenesis? Did you ever play it? I always thought it looked cool but could never get a group together
it suffered from texbook case of style over substance
The author insults his readers on Discord
>>94405020He is upset people liked the bad guys (europeans) instead of his holy and perfect africans.
>>94404882>Whatever happened to Degenesis?They couldn't sell enough to continue production. My guess is that there really wasn't a big enough incentive to to buy anything given how most tables would be better off using Cyberpunk rules 90% of the time with the Degenesis stuff being translated.
>>94404882>Whatever happened to Degenesis?Boutique ttrpg, that was way more into form than substance. Production costs were so high that the whole project was constantly in red (according to Discord). The system was barely serviceable and required homebrew to make it work. Fluff is required to roleplay propely, but is written in cryptic, fragmented way that makes it hassle to look up or condense to new players, so large upfront cost to get into it (official statement from devs was to lookup youtube videos, if you want to understand metaplot). Lead developer and owner of company had Degenesis as his vanity project and is narcissistic as fuck, therefore any negative feedback caused him to resort to namecalling and sending his discord drones to flood online discussion. This triggered local retards to skim pdfs, and build their retorts on African fetishism and all discussion degraded into we wuz, kys shill and go back to discord. On the other hand, redditors call the game misogynistic and racist, because of rape and titties. After some flamewars, all online discussion stopped, and discord turned into echochamber, where they suck each other's cocks and no one is playing the game.But production values are way above average, art is nice, some ideas are interesting, and if you treat modules as short stories with illustrations instead of ttrpgs resource, you can have a nice time reading them.I played the game as a player, and as GM and it was quite fun for one shot with pimped chars, if you focused on social encounters instead of combat ones and used endgame stuff from start.
>>94404882It went bankrupt as simple as that, while their business model was very generous, it uhhh, it sucked as an actual business model, not helped by the impressive production values
>>94404882Production values were far too costly for the amount of market share. They've not stopped making RPGs though and Orken is coming at some point in the future. I know basically nothing about it other than it's fantasy and has lots of orcs and has a novel out in the setting. It's doing the standard youtube stuff that Degenesis did too.https://youtu.be/nxGdT0CxJAYhttps://youtu.be/oYfUxlu6_0ghttps://youtu.be/D1_dlcXaZ5I
>>94405549Are you sure it will be made into ttrpg? From what I saw, it should be only novels, comics, artbooks, worldbuilding and such.
It was never a game itself. Only artfags shilling because "muh worldbuilding"
>>94405028i hate to be That Guy but do you have a source for that?I'm not doubting the possible validity of your allegation, I'd like everyone to see you're not full of it and we can also join on shitting on the author for teh lulz
>>94405590He does not have any. Lead developer is racist balkanite, who built his world about Euros being the underdogs in continent turned death world, while Africans were upgraded into puppets of cosmic eldritch hivemind to conquer world by stealing shit and slaves from Europe. Anon just parrots brainrot from 2016 when degensis threads were daily occurrence overlapping with election tourists.
>>94405590Bro I am fucking with you and shitposting.It died because games that aren't supported by a multi million company and years upon years of brand awareness and side projects eventually die off.Like what do you sell once you sold a few setting books? More setting books? Branch off into a videogame that will likely be awful?>>94405642Most balkanoids into /tg/ stuff aren't as racist as you think they are anon.
>>94404882>Whatever happened to Degenesis?The Serb stopped masturbating to his own game>Did you ever play it?It's meh/10 game with 5/7 setting that tried too hard to be edgy, and turned into comedy gold by accident.> I always thought it looked coolThat's about all it does. Then you sit to it and realise what a clusterfuck it actually is
>>94407179>turned into comedy gold by accidentWhat parts where funny?I remember it being try hard but not funny try hard with a fanbase that had a stick so deep up their ass they'd go into a screeching match at the attosecond someone pointed out anything bad about it.
>>94407211>I remember it being try hard but not funny try hard with a fanbase that had a stick so deep up their ass they'd go into a screeching match at the attosecond someone pointed out anything bad about it.... which is what was so funny about it. It was extreme case of try-hard and had an obnoxious "fanbase" that was even more hardcore tryhard about their product of choice.It it doesn't strike you as funny, then I guess it's a matter of tastes and how cynical either of us is.
>>94407230Oh yeah no, that checks.I thought they made some utterly kek worthy edgelord lore like baby eating or similar.
>>94407243Well, that kinda is how it is in the wastelands, so there is that, too. But more in "generic tryhard edgelord" tone than "ridiculous shit that is someone's kink/fetish that is turned into lore and served dead-serious"
>>94407295Fair enough, I sorta spaced out of it because the community here was so utterly hardcore tryhard types that read like a 13 year old that just picked up warhammer and needs to be taken seriously.
The devs had a bit of a feud with /tg/.
Does anyone have that fan-made expansion set in the US?
>>94407295>ridiculous shit that is someone's kink/fetish that is turned into lore and served dead-seriousisnt the setting full of BBC raping white women?
>>94407612>>94407629>US mentioned>next post is about BBC and white womenpottery
Deal with it, white boys.
>>94404882The system is mediocre, the setting has some good nuggets to mine in the midst of a lot of garbage, and the adventure paths are unplayably railroaded. I used to follow the project (mostly for the art), but I dropped off after they put a plot-mandated scene where the GM is required to take a player out of the room (the text explicitly says to isolate them OOC), play out a rape scene against them with no warning or buildup, and then not let them tell the rest of the group what happened. Skip that, because you're not playing at an ERP table? You skip out on important information for later in the module.It could have been saved, and maybe could have even been a good game, but it would have taken an entirely different stable of writers who didn't learn all the wrong lessons from World of Darkness.the Hellvetics, the Enemoi, and the AMSUMOs are still cool ideas I've reused in other games
>>94407629Not even close.But thanks knowing what you're masturbating to
>>94407166>Most balkanoids into /tg/ stuff aren't as racist as you think they are anon.It was more like double identifier specifically to lead developer, then general statement about balkanites
>>94404882Played it for 2 years.The art is a head above most RPG.The Rules are very simple D6 and death is a real possibility in most encounters.Getting your players to really read the 8 pages fully about the Cult and 5 pages about the region they are from is hard to do now a days it seems. The main thing to get through to your players (and some are to dumb to listen) is they are just people, people trying to survive. Sure they could get some good gear from before the asteroid hit like having power armor and smart guns with the Hellvetics cult but just a few highway robbers with double barrel shotguns can drop you in one turn if they get the drop on you. So they must play smart and play dirty to live through tough squeezes.I liked it. You could have a Mexican stand off and really have it work as you can not face tank a shot to the face. Everyone is out for themselves but humanity leaks through if you setup the world right and give them hope. >Two gangs killing each other over territory rights one minute are fighting back to back with the Judges come riding in on horse back, sledge hammers cracking skulls as they storm down the cobble stone streets.>Full on wars stop as the "Life" that hitched a ride on the asteroid starts spreading faster.You don't ever have to touch on the meta stuff >like how there was a 'secret' group of rich fucks that let the end of the world happen as they wanted to rise up out of the ashes as gods to have a fucking great time.There is almost too much lore and people get overwhelmed easily, just pick out a part of it you like and run with it. Like that Spain is in a guerilla war against African expansion?>Think Carthage Empire conquering north. Like the idea of being a part of the godhood plan?>Start them out as Vaulters(Palers)Want to hunt Degenesis monstrosities?>Join a rich merchant on a safari tripThe printed adventure books are more meta of the world story moving forward. I would not play them first.
>>94407960>but I dropped off after they put a plot-mandated scene where the GM is required to take a player out of the room (the text explicitly says to isolate them OOC), play out a rape scene against them with no warning or buildup, and then not let them tell the rest of the group what happened. Skip that, because you're not playing at an ERP table? You skip out on important information for later in the module.lolwut
>>94410243Okay fair enough, I am just used to people thinking that anything east of germany is hyper racist gigabased bullshit.>>94412915You need super narrative heavy characters, but reading 12+ pages of region specific lore is a pretty hefty bore compared to learning things in game.
>>94413285
>>94413285The exact text of the sidebar is> I N T I M A T E> Play the following scenes, "The Haunting" and "Not a Dream", with one player absent from the table or during a break.>For the story to proceed, it is important that only one of your players is versed in the revelations. If more players are familiar with them, it will diminish the experience. The hints emerging from the scenes will help your player elsewhere, but until then, the chosen player must process this new information alone.>>94413343 posted the excerpt while I was waiting on the fifteen fucking minute post timer. Black Atlantic, pg 193-194, if you want a source.
>>94413343>>94413354Oh dear.
>>94412915>There is almost too much lore and people get overwhelmed easily, just pick out a part of it you like and run with it.See, that's actually the problem:With this approach, the game boils down to "why fucking bother" and is also why it failed to attract stable playerbase or market share.Let me elaborate here for a momentThis game comes in three pieces:- artwork to oogle- so-so crunch that doesn't do anything special or worthwhile- overwritten lore, that comes in just too big chunks at onceSo you get your eyes on the pictures for what? Few minutes? An hour?Then you've got a ruleset that's just meh/10And going through the lore is boring as all fuck due to the way it's written. Which goes a step further: if you ignore the lore you don't like/aren't interested, this game is literally left with nothing. You are buying a product that's effectively "dunno, make your own if you don't like ours".And people did exactly that, so the whole thing crashed and burned financially. Having your game build entirely on setting and then making the setting ignorable or easily boiled down to generics and/or homebrewing is a kiss of death. Compare and consult BitD, which is a horrendous game with even dumber lore... but they know how to package it and how to market it, so rather than saying "dunno, make your own", it's "you've bought the graydiest thing ewah, enjoy!"tl;dr neither Germs nor Serbs can't into RPGs
>>94413374It's also illustrated on the facing page. Because of course it is.It's also not even the only illustrated, plot related rape scene in that particular adventure. Just the only one that requires you to do it to a player.
I honestly have no issue with the lore or the setting. I find it flavourful, enjoyable and diverse enough that you can play the game in a lot of different ways.Do you want an epic battle to save the world from foul mutants who seek to dominate it? Focus on fighting the psychonauts.Are you more interested in exploring an ancient conspiracy that surrounds an ancient megacorporation, that seeks to remake the world in its own image? Focus on the Recombination Group.Are you more interested in interaction between all of the different cults and factions in the game? Run a game set in Justitian or Toulon.Maybe you just really hate the Africans in this game and you want to take the fight to them. Play a resistance group and fight back against the invaders in Hybrispania.
>>94413390>rape stuff Sure, okay, beast men whatever I get it. Shit's gritty. >plot required railroad and weird single player information Pass.
>>94413485>You can just do anything you want with it... then why using it in the first place? Consult >>94413385
>>94413658I said a lot of different ways, not "you can do anything." It's versatile but it's not GURPS.
>>94413285>muh rapelmao, blow it out your ass. I'm not saying the modules aren't shit, but don't pretend you'd be all traumatized and broken if a conventionally attractive woman walked up to you and rode your dick.
>>94413746Meant for this to be a response to >>94407960, sorry 'bout that.
>>94413746>>94413752Consult >>94413343 >>94413354 faggot
>>94413680>I said you can do a lot of generic stuff, just not all of itI fail to see how this refutes my point
>>94413776I mean, if you think the psychonauts, the Recombination Group, the cults and cultures, Justitian and Toulon and the Africans are all generic, that's fine, you're allowed to not like the game, but where you see generic I see a lot of flavour and personality and a lot that can be done with that.
>>94413633No matter how you cut it there's issues with their approach. Not everyone will take issue to the same thing but just about everyone will take issue with *something*. Big part of why it never caught on as more than an art book.
>>94413784Mate, let me be clear:You are trying to slide your own argument at this point, in some retarded idea that if I'm questioning the validity of your (pretty dense) point, then it means I hate on the game or dislike the setting.In other words - take a leave from internet for a week and go touch some grass, because the terminally online tribal war is rotting your brain.
>>94413797Yeah, I can see how it didn't play well with a wide variety of audiences. Sort of a microcosm of the entire thing really. >interesting ideas, high production detail >poor execution both in terms of setting, rules and apparently module metaplot. Thought we gave up on that after Gehenna.
>>94413809I mean, you're the one who stated that all of the types of game you can play with Degenesis are generic. Not the sort of statement that you make if you have a positive opinion on the game, but you're allowed to think what you want about it. Also, you're getting pretty hostile, and that's coming from a "terminally online tribal warrior."
>>94413658>>You can just do anything you want with it>... then why using it in the first place?Isn't Pathfinder kind of a massive world where there is a ton of shit going on and you just pick the shit you like to play?I am confused, if you have to choose you are mad and mad that picking everything is too much? >Are you 8?
For completeness sake, I’m annoyed I can’t get a copy of Artefacts, In Thy Blood and the Justinian paired books in English.Maybe the art book too but that’s not a priority.
>>94415048They have given the PDF's for free and have give the green light to have them printed out.Costs a bit to have them printed out on good paper but you can do it.>I am in the same boat and need to get Artifacts and Justinian printed out
>wah i don't like degenesis because it has africans conquering and enslaving europeans clearly this makes it wokeThe entire narrative of Hybrispania basically revolves around brave European guerrillas and revolutionaries fighting back against the evil black invaders. This is literally a game where you can run an entire campaign focused on a morally justified race war against black people, if you want to.
>>94419708Very true.You can play out Romes comeback to crush Carthage but this time use nukes instead of salt in the end.Sounds like a blast to me. Since the pdfs are free I will ask my DM if he could run it.
>>94405582You are not wrong. The core game felt like an afterthought despite some highlights.
>>94421150>>94405582The highlight might be the setting and the art, but I wouldn't call the (admittedly mediocre) system "never a game" or "an afterthought," considering that there's three hundred or so pages of it, even if a hundred of those pages are nothing but art and setting information that was shoved in the mechanics book instead of the setting book, for some bizarre reason.
>>94404882They couldn’t move product and thus it stagnated and not many people care anymore
>>94420559>>94419708Counter argument then you are forced to engage with disgenesis mechanics
>>94424381We recently had a thread focused on FATAL character generation. After that, any system looks good to me in comparison.
>>94424403I am sorry for your trauma anon, but this isn't good therapy.
The Killing Game and Black Atlantic has actual cutscenes you can’t do anything in.
Nice art couldn't save a generic system or draw people into the setting
>>94424381What mechanics would you want in a lethal game like Degenesis?Every other one I can think of that is deeper just turns PC's into superheroes.
>>94426564That was the joke anon.The first anon wanted to have a power fantasy but disgenesis really discourages that.
>>94404882I played a one-shot and it was pretty dry. The GM did a good job but the system fucking sucked and fed into confusion. The module he ran was also terribly written and he threw out a lot to make it work. I can't imagine it gets better.
>>94431577Oh also, everyone else's points about there just being far too much lore and information is 100% accurate. I am a very lore-heavy roleplayer and I love having lots of meat to chew on. I spend hours doing character research and I love reading wiki pages and getting information to work with and stuff. So info doesn't really bother me. I am a fucking VTM player for chrissakes.But in Degenesis it's ALL packed into these hyper-dense, half-in-character, half-out-of-character megapages interspersed with art and unreliable narration and dream-talk and code-talk and wasteland slang and stuff and it's very very thick. It's clearly without any kind of external editing because any actual editor would have had the writer chop it down hard. There's no condensate form of it either, and no way to summarize it to players on the fly in the game, so it really fell down hard when we came across a concept we hadn't read about yet and the GM would have to flip over to the book and read whole passages, either aloud, or to himself and then summarize them to us to get crucial single-line information.It made the whole thing feel incredibly stodgy and atonal and considering Degenesis doesn't actually do a whole lot NEW in post-apoc terms, it's not really worth it. It felt like a fresh COMPOSITION, but nothing in it is actually freshly written. It's all just pastiche and mishmash of 50s-to-70s blackhearted apocalyptic stuff and I feel like you can service that better with far less writing.tl;dr too many words.
