Grimdark Media (PATRON PICK) - Rangers of Shadowdeep (2018 Tabletop Adventure Game)

[@JosephMcCullough-s3t]

I make it into Grim Dark Media, and I'm still not punk rock. It's the hair, isn't it?

[@GuerrillaMiniatureGames]

You’re too sweet a man to be punk rock. No punk has ever hand written thank you letters to their friends like they’re in the Civil War. ❤️

[@DeliciousCornbread]

I've really been enjoying the Grimdark media series, hope it sticks around a while!

[@sunnysideup8138]

I love shadowdeep. I’ve been unlucky enough to lose 2 rangers already and for my third I just bolted on a level 0 scrub nub ranger to my team of veterans and cracked on from where the previous one left off. He’s probably not long for this world but my thinking is, time has passed, the cream of the crop rangers have suffered so much attrition that (in my mind) Alladore has basically instituted a policy of conscription. Standards at ranger school have dropped just to get the bodies in, trained up and shipped off. Press gangs walk the street, criminals are sentenced to “the wall” and the streets are rife with preachers of doom. Can’t pay your taxes? It’s off to the rangers son. Confessed a sin, didn’t pray hard enough...congratulations, all will be forgiven after your stint in the shadowdeep. Here’s your sword, here’s your star, now get out there

[@torymiddlebrooks]

I just want to say that you have presented this game in a way I haven't thought of, and I have watched many games of Rangers played, and it makes me like it more.

[@PapaWargamer]

Playing Rangers of shadow deep was one of my favorite experience as a wargamer and as a YT content creator. Discovered it thanks to you so a massive thank you. 😚👍

[@bshean72]

First time I saw Rangers was on this channel and its one of my all time favourites

[@MrBogThing]

I rewatched Moral Orel and realised that dispute the fact that it is a claymation TV show flowing the explores of an 11 to 12 year-old boy growing up in a deeply religious community in the heart of the USA in the early 90s, is probably the most Grimdark thing I have ever seen. Even though it is not punk rock, it has no spiky bits, and some of the characters get happy endings.

[@charliecooper7655]

This series is 10/10 please continue!

[@euansmith3699]

My favourite X-Files episode is "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"; especially when Bruckman asks Mulder if he thinks that Autoerotic Asphyxiation is an embarrassing way to die? Chronicles of Riddick could be another Carl Urban pick for a grim-dark movie. Watching Jay and Ash nattering is so much fun.

[@GuerrillaMiniatureGames]

The dunking on Mulder being a degenerate in late season X-Files is a delight.

[@DeliciousCornbread]

I feel like we need an entire rewatch and review of X-Files. For me, 'The Walk' and 'The Host' are the ones that stuck with me all these years. Not the *best* episodes per say, but the villains are burned into my mind.

[@GuerrillaMiniatureGames]

@@DeliciousCornbread it has been done by far funnier men than me! Check out ‘Fox Mulder is a Maniac’ from @GamefullyUnemployed.

[@euansmith3699]

My favourite grim dark momment in X-Files is when Leonard Betts tells Dana Skully, "I'm sorry... but you've got something I need." @@DeliciousCornbread

[@DeliciousCornbread]

@@GuerrillaMiniatureGames don’t sell yourself short! But I’ll certainly check it out, thanks for the recommendation!

[@Kevin.Mitchell]

Excellent - I must admit that I voted for Rangers just because I wanted to hear you and Jay talk about it rather than thinking it fitted particularly well with the grimdark theme, but thanks to your discussion I guess it does tick a lot of those boxes. On a personal note, I'll always have a soft spot for this game because it got me and a group of friends back into tabletop gaming back in 2019 and rekindled my passion for this hobby that had been dormant for 30 years - and it's thanks to seeing it on your channel that I heard about it in the first place, so there you go!

[@JimCrimmins]

I'm playing a couple other game atm but Rangers is in my future.. I've got a Reaper bones pledge with a bunch of gnolls coming this summer to kick off my Rangers adventure at some point

[@Silvane911]

Thanks for the enjoyable discussion. The greatest part about RoDS is coming up with custom Ranger parties by mixing and matching various miniature lines and then creating custom lore. Not to mention the plug and play flexibility aspect of the scenario terrain. Love it!

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

THe nothing that consumes everything….just brilliant. Love it.

[@mevl4822]

Gnolls are the topic of dinner discussions at least 2 to 3 days a week in my family.

[@TheDornsFist]

Happy new year! What a great way to start the year. I think Rangers of Shadowdeep is a great example how you can actually drift into a grimdark setting without really noticing it. At the same time the addon Shadowgrave really pushes it even more into the grimdark, cyclopian abyss. Great video!

[@misomiso8228]

Happy New Year guys!

[@Cody_the_Photon]

Rangers of Shadowdeep is solo, coop, and a brilliant experience. Hmmm, you don’t say (bought the rulebook immediately after this video) Ash and Jay have never steered me wrong on a miniatures game. They are the reason I bought TnT, Malifaux, Frostgrave and more.

[@kierdalemodels]

That was a really interesting discussion. Thanks guys. Part of me now really want to watch your SoSD vids…another part of me screams “You don’t need more games!”😱

[@tempusavatar]

Thanks for the video. I think this series is getting to the point where it might be helpful to cut to a slide with a chart when it gets to talking about your two's top 20s.

[@DeliciousCornbread]

@46:02 Challenge accepted funny man.

[@grodd1016]

Jose Chung is fantastic. I also really like the ones with Robert Patrick Model

[@aslbaron1]

Love the series. Rangers is a great game, and the family loves it! But, I miss the voice overs on the segment cards.

[@12neef]

I’m really enjoying these podcasts. Are these uploaded anywhere else? 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@GuerrillaMiniatureGames]

I’m going to upload them to the Patron Podcast Stream starting this month once I’m happy with the audio capture.

[@ApocryphalPress]

Yeah, I went and changed my vote from Dark City to The Thing. Hopefully that breaks the tie 😆

[@GreyHunter88]

This was a fun video! As a massive fan of this game, I have to say that listening to you guys gush about the theme and story kind of felt like listening to someone talk about shifting modes and shit in a Raisin Bran jingle. I never got anything close to what you described from any of my runs through the campaign, and most of my players kind of passed on the story. It felt very generic fantasy to us. "We're rangers from Gondor, and we go do missions in Mordor. Got it." What you guys were talking about sounded very cool, but I'm not entirely sure that you didn't read a lot of that into it! My biggest criticism of the game is that it's far too easy, even on "Challenge Mode". Maybe that's what kept us from getting into the story. You mentioned themes of 'fear' and 'hopelessness', but in three full runs through the campaign with three different groups, I've yet to see a ranger die, and I've only seen one companion bite the dust (he was a recruit). I found myself cheering for the bad guys because I wanted to experience the attrition and injuries that the game could contain. I would definitely recommend banning archers or bow-armed rangers if you want a more grim dark experience. Maybe also allow enemies to get critical hits, and/or reduce Ranger health. Also, don't allow multiple "Split-Cast" guys into the party! All of that being said, I've spent tons of hours in this game and I think it's one of the best miniature experiences I've ever had with my buddies. Nobody ever gets salty. Nobody's ever stuck losing or not feeling involved in the game. It's just an unpredictable and exciting romp through some very creative and interesting scenarios and ideas, and a great excuse to paint all kinds of cool miniatures you otherwise wouldn't. It's a 5/5 game, for sure. Any flaws it has are completely outweighed by its ambition and creativity.

[@axanax2534]

I will treasure my WGV hardcover RoSD forever. Myabe I will be buried with it, TBD.

[@einsUNDcolt]

Does this mean you and Jay are gonna do a Rangers of Shadowdeep game then?

[@worlds-in-conflict]

Yep!

[@einsUNDcolt]

@@worlds-in-conflict hell yeah!

[@gavinm894]

I'm about to start this as a project but intend to play the solo solo using multiple rangers. They each have their full retinue, so I am effectively building multiple teams for solo games but I just follow the multiplayer rules on how much I can take ini regards to the number of rangers I take. So when I lose someone I still have guys from that Ranger's retinue back at the campsite I can call on.

[@aguy5690]

I really want the 2 of you to play Rangers of Shadow Deep together now!

[@worlds-in-conflict]

Soon....so very soon....

[@aguy5690]

Awesome!

[@nelsikegaming]

Bought the book a year ago and I have been gathering minis and terrain to play the way I want to ever since but have yet to play. 😅

[@Khurzan72]

So the big bad is The Nothing from Never ending Story?

[@atragonx7939]

I think you should always go over the bottom of the list, just so we keep this TLoU2 battle going.

[@Weed_Ghost]

Very cool to hear about this game; new to me! Some of the themes and elements discussed here really reminded me of Stephen King's The Dark Tower, especially book 3, The Waste Lands. I dont suppose that's on the list for consideration?

[@GuerrillaMiniatureGames]

It certainly is.

[@SpannSr1970]

Man it’s so easy to play ROSD in spaaace!

[@atragonx7939]

Potential programming suggestion for game coverage. You may want to do a little more of a game concept summary at the start. I'd never heard of this game, watched the whole video, and I'm still not all that clear on what kind of game this is from just this discussion.

[@direden]

Speaking of Gnolls... 3rd edition D&D killed Gnolls by pigeon-holing them into servants of Yeenoghu. During AD&D Gnolls were a common foe like Orcs and Hobgoblins. By making Gnolls so specific in D&D cannon they actually became under used... therefore less popular.