Gradient Descent: Scifi Megadungeon Review

[@QuestingBeast]

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The information you were looking for about the impact the Minotaur will have on humanity is in the Fallout section

[@matthewrawls1184]

I haven't even finished reading through the whole module yet and already I've thought of several situations that the players could get into that would be absolutely horrifying. One thing this module does that I haven't seen too many other modules do (or do well at least) is evoke tons of ideas from the GM/Warden. I really love how the module combines body horror with psychological horror and it is all done without having to rely on the supernatural. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, this is one of those very rare RPG books that "elevate" the genre from being just a game to, well, art. I don't know any other way of saying it. For me at least this book reaches the heights that Call of Cthulhu's "The Horror on the Orient Express" and AD&D's "Temple of Elemental Evil" achieved. My only complaint with Gradient Descent is that it isn't a more fully fleshed out hardcover book with 200 or more pages. I'm not saying it isn't "complete" - I'm just saying that it is so good that I could have used even more!

[@anactualbear5683]

My only problem with your videos is that every time you describe a new book, my wallet hates me.

[@SightedAxis]

This one is fairly affordable though

[@thebrothersslim6056]

Just discovered the channel and my goodness are you correct!

[@Minodrec]

I have a first printing of this one. It's truly amazing. Mothership truly hit a small rule big adventure spot.

[@davidhorrocks5170]

I've been sitting on ordering this one for a while, absolutely sold on it now.

[@iantaran2843]

I .. I need to sit down and read all of my Mothership books. Learn and get comfy with the rules and really devour the modules 😸

[@JamesParatiiArts]

stop the bus!! I have just discovered Mothership tonight (download from drive through RPG) and I was thinking it would be perfect for a Blame/Bio Mega scenario and here it is! amaze . LOVE your content Ben, esp the recent DM interviews etc x

[@mikegould6590]

Horrifyingly beautiful. Has inspired a stockpile of GM madness to inflict...ahem..."share" with my players

[@ivanrichmond3524]

This looks really cool. I love dungeons that make you think, rather than hack and slash fests. Thanks

[@LimDul]

It's funny, I got the book as part of a Mothership haul but since I put the whole system on the back-burner not having had a group to GM for, this review re-sparked my interest to actually read it cover to cover. However, Mothership modules are quite difficult to read on their own due to their dense and compacted layout - they trade in 'pleasantness of reading' for maximum usability at the table. I think Patrick Stuart talked about that in a recent interview where he admitted that he leans towards the former and that you can pretty much never have both.

[@ilyaalexakhin8745]

I got all the Mothership booklets after being inspired by Gradient Descent promos, but I agree that the dense layout is not for everyone, myself included. An issue I have is that when I read Mothership books and especially GD, I feel like my brain strains harder to retain relevant information, even though I give it as much attention and focus as other material if not more. Another issue for me is that the density of layout sometimes hides the sparsity of material or connective tissue for its integration into the larger module structure. For example in GD there are a few times when a vague room description is given that leaves the reader confused about how its environment would function at the table. Like a network of gangways above an unshielded nuclear reactor cooling pool, but also in zero-g. Does the pool water/liquid break away into floating radioactive blobs? Do the gangways need to be used to traverse the room? Why would someone build an open pool with gangways above it, then turn off the gravity? Is meltdown imminent? Many other rooms are written like that, where the threat to pc's is clearly outlined (save or radiation), while descriptions of the workings of such complex and deadly environments are left vague and up to the gm to work out, potentially greatly expanding prep time, or causing frustration. Many NASA water in zero-g videos later I'm still confused on how rooms like that work and would expect an argument about it at the table when pc's lives are on the line. I mean this loose approach can be really cool and inspirational in small doses, or to those who prefer it, but when present in larger quantities it begins to hint at a lack of completeness and an indication of being an idea toolkit rather than a finished module. Maybe its just me, but overall I feel like Mothership looks and reviews better than it plays at the table. Currently, after many hours of playing, gm-ing and many more of hard prepping, I am trying to find a new home for my booklets as I feel like there is a better owner out there somewhere who will appreciate their layout and style of material delivery more than I can. Every time I get re-hyped to play it again, I just remember the lack of cohesion in the ruleset (game is currently between "editions" with many groups already using the new playtest rules) and the steep prep requirements keep me from coming back. Maybe things will change when the new box set finally comes out, with its Warden Manual helping gm's assimilate the material better, although it has been due for a year+ now. It's still a really cool game either way and I will always recommend it, even if only to find out exactly how much of a diy gm you are.

[@nicholascarter9158]

The thing about the mountain of corpses, sort of a problem for genre horror in general, is that I can't tell if it's a mistake, or if the incongruity also exists in the world. Should the explorers be freaking out about gravity that only affects corpses, the sci fi equivalent to ghostly flotation on earth?

[@PeterClotworthy]

Doesn't have to be incongruity - perhaps there is a high powered magnet in the floor to keep them from escaping the claw. Unexplained to your players, it's also an opportunity to recover some of the dilapidating effects of The Bends (since they are not made of metal and would stick to the magnet) but only IF they realise that!

[@nicholascarter9158]

@@PeterClotworthy It doesn't have to be, but that's my point: This is a haunted house, and sometimes incongruities are purposeful and meant to be scary.

[@jackkarol5718]

This is going to become part of my space hulk crawling dark heresy campaign.

[@riChchestMat]

What if I already have an… ENGLISH accent? Or should I do Welsh or Scots for Silas.

[@adammoffat6797]

i would play in your campaign just to experience a welsh AI... boyoh

[@chocolatebunnies6376]

Southern 18th century plantation owner-accent would be the American equivalent.

[@nickatwork]

Wonderful review, but I think my favorite part was when you pronounced my last name correctly

[@patrickrobles1036]

I finally picked this up. Holy crap is it well done.

[@ericjome7284]

Reminds me of BLAME!

[@seanmccoy]

Blame was a big influence!

[@samchafin4623]

This all looks really cool, and it's such a neat horrific idea, but at the same time, I don't I could run such a densely packed little book at the table. I feel like I'd be sticking my nose in it every five minutes to find something out.

[@crummyautumn]

I have a question for all. How do you guys work the maps while playing? Do you guys have two maps? Like one for the layout and another for battle space? I am curious on how everyone runs these labyrinths. I am thinking of using two maps also does the party already have the map layout on a device or etc?

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks.

[@al2642]

Wow! I wonder whether the AI for philosophical like in Bungie's Marathon XD

[@harkejuice]

> BLAME! Sold.

[@paavohirn3728]

Sounds awesome!

[@riChchestMat]

Less than 48 hours after I ordered this

[@riChchestMat]

OMG it's wonderful.

[@davetheandroid5382]

Ah, my favorite number... Number D! 😆

[@markchristiansen5683]

Is this dungeon system independent, and if not, what system is it for?

[@adenowirus]

It's for Mothership.

[@09lonedrone]

Luv it

[@amyshaw893]

my wallet is crying right now, i want to buy all 4 books right now and inflict psychological damage to some people :3

[@kristianwichmann9996]

I bet the authors are into machine learning.

[@bfkgod]

I just don't understand the point of making things as compact as possible.

[@BleepingRelics]

You should fix your audio. Love your content but i always have to crank my amp up.

[@QuestingBeast]

I think the issue is on your end. The volume levels on the video are normal.

[@BleepingRelics]

@@QuestingBeast No the gain is a bit weak, the volume is several DB too low, it's on your edit. You need to make sure the peaks of your edits reach -6dB. If you use a legit editing software, there is a VU meter. But it's ok, at least you don't pop up some unevenly loud things in your edit like some youtubers. And you don't put annoying background music when you speak, i respect you a lot for that :D

[@zulkhaireesulaiman8575]

@@BleepingRelics im with Questing Beast on this. sounds perfectly fine to me.

[@BleepingRelics]

@@zulkhaireesulaiman8575 it's sounds fine, it's just not enough gain.

[@zulkhaireesulaiman8575]

@@BleepingRelics yeah I suppose, but not something worth him troubling over.