Dark Refuge

[Atom523]

I am not sure if i am actually allowed to 'promote' a game here, apologies if i am not suppose to.

A friend of mine named Brandon Osorio developed a game some years ago called Dark Refuge. I started playing it last year and it is the reason why i have started to enjoy P&P games. Before i would play occasionally but i never could get into most systems. I mainly want to know if anyone has heard about it and if anyone is interested in learning more about it. The website is www.Darkrefuge.net if anyone is interested. The game is designed to be simple to pick up but difficult to master (i am sure many games are promoted that way sorry if it is a generic promotion) Like many RPGs this game greatly encourages creative thinking and trying new things. Death in Dark Refuge is rather transitory so that one unlucky roll doesn't automatically mean that you have to give up on that character that you worked so hard on, however it doesn't mean that your character is immune from final death, it simply means that it is a bit more forgiving then other games. Low level leyas (magic) users are not crippled with memorizing spells or limited spells per day. I always hated in other games how i would make a mage type character and then after two quick skirmishes be out of spells and when the next fight comes all i am is a meat shield that can take 2 blows and then die as i attempt to defeat my enemies with harsh language.

 

I am really bad at explaining these things but i would be happy to answer any questions. Personally i think the site does a really good job at explaining the stuff, especially in the FAQ section. I encourage everyone to read that section and if they have any questions about it i should be able to answer in full.

 

Perhaps i am not the best one to advertise as i am not the best at explaining things but i really do love this game and i think that many others would too if they checked it out. I hope however that i have sparked enough curiosity that you will check out the site and then decide if you like what you see. Please feel free to ask questions as i am far better at explaining specific things rather then an overview.

[Walsingham]

Hmmmm...

[Atom523]

Nothing? No interest, oh well. Again sorry if i give off the wrong impression, just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying out a game that i really like. Not trying to sell anyone anything i just love the game and want to see if anyone else would be interested. Sorry if it wasn't appreciated.

[Cantousent]

Give it time, Atom. The PnP neighborhood is slow most of the time, but you're likely to get a response in the long run. I read this, but I didn't really have anything to add. I'll probably look again later this summer and then post in the topic. I know a lot of the folks around here are like that.

[Walsingham]

Nothing? No interest, oh well. Again sorry if i give off the wrong impression, just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying out a game that i really like. Not trying to sell anyone anything i just love the game and want to see if anyone else would be interested. Sorry if it wasn't appreciated.

 

Maybe after you've done some more time here people will bite. Glad to see you're no toaster though.

[Tale]

Nothing? No interest, oh well. Again sorry if i give off the wrong impression, just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying out a game that i really like. Not trying to sell anyone anything i just love the game and want to see if anyone else would be interested. Sorry if it wasn't appreciated.

 

Maybe after you've done some more time here people will bite. Glad to see you're no toaster though.

What have you got against toasters? I am personally offended.

[Walsingham]

Nothing? No interest, oh well. Again sorry if i give off the wrong impression, just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying out a game that i really like. Not trying to sell anyone anything i just love the game and want to see if anyone else would be interested. Sorry if it wasn't appreciated.

 

Maybe after you've done some more time here people will bite. Glad to see you're no toaster though.

What have you got against toasters? I am personally offended.

 

BwaAAAAGH! Cylon!

[Atom523]

Nothing? No interest, oh well. Again sorry if i give off the wrong impression, just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying out a game that i really like. Not trying to sell anyone anything i just love the game and want to see if anyone else would be interested. Sorry if it wasn't appreciated.

 

Maybe after you've done some more time here people will bite. Glad to see you're no toaster though.

 

Perhaps, but i would hope that people wouldn't simply dismiss me based on the fact that i only recently joined the forums.

I do make some mighty fine toast but i am not robotic, though some cybernetic parts wouldn't be something that i would reject offhand.

[Aram]

Sonuvabitch is just asking for a permaban now!

[Musopticon?]

Witch! Witch! Burn the witch!

[metadigital]

Burnt toast?

[Atom523]

Don't like the idea of being burnt, i usually dislike pain. However as much as i enjoy people posting in this thread, i would prefer that when they did it was a bit more meaningful. Now if no one has interest in the game well that is one thing, disappointing but i can accept that. However i would prefer that this thread doesn't get closed down due to it degrading into jokes and side comments.

The game is built to be really easy to get into and simple to play. There is no need to constantly refer to charts or graphs, and i personally have found it to be a breath of fresh air from the games i used to play.

[Aram]

I've had about as much from this joker as I can take.

[Walsingham]

Don't like the idea of being burnt, i usually dislike pain. However as much as i enjoy people posting in this thread, i would prefer that when they did it was a bit more meaningful. Now if no one has interest in the game well that is one thing, disappointing but i can accept that. However i would prefer that this thread doesn't get closed down due to it degrading into jokes and side comments.

The game is built to be really easy to get into and simple to play. There is no need to constantly refer to charts or graphs, and i personally have found it to be a breath of fresh air from the games i used to play.

 

 

Steady on there, fellah. We don't mean to seem unfriendly. But we've had a passel full of rogues, bots, and spam merchants come through here, and if you kick off by sounding like one then you're apt to get a roasting. Just ride it out and keep on in.

[Darque]

Behave, kids.

 

[Laozi]

I had dark refuse once. Bad stomach infection

[Atom523]

Don't like the idea of being burnt, i usually dislike pain. However as much as i enjoy people posting in this thread, i would prefer that when they did it was a bit more meaningful. Now if no one has interest in the game well that is one thing, disappointing but i can accept that. However i would prefer that this thread doesn't get closed down due to it degrading into jokes and side comments.

The game is built to be really easy to get into and simple to play. There is no need to constantly refer to charts or graphs, and i personally have found it to be a breath of fresh air from the games i used to play.

 

 

Steady on there, fellah. We don't mean to seem unfriendly. But we've had a passel full of rogues, bots, and spam merchants come through here, and if you kick off by sounding like one then you're apt to get a roasting. Just ride it out and keep on in.

 

I understand the aversion to bots in some forums i joined a while back we had a lot of problems with bots especially when for a several month period there were no mods so the spam kept on coming up. Usually then the bots were mainly porn bots, don't recall too many actually sticking to the theme of the forum . But i haven't been a member of this forum very long so perhaps i just had lower quality bots infesting those forums ha ha ha.

 

I do appreciate your post though, and i wasn't sure at first if i should actually make the topic without first posting in some other topics which probably would have been a good idea to let people know first that i was a real person. The benefits of hindsight indeed. Though i don't mind the occasional jeering, in the first forum i joined i got flamed horribly, though mainly because i joined the minority faction of the forum (partially out of spite i must admit) and defenders of that group weren't really looked well upon, so i will take your advice and keep on truckin.

Edited July 5, 2007 by Atom523

[Walsingham]

Don't like the idea of being burnt, i usually dislike pain. However as much as i enjoy people posting in this thread, i would prefer that when they did it was a bit more meaningful. Now if no one has interest in the game well that is one thing, disappointing but i can accept that. However i would prefer that this thread doesn't get closed down due to it degrading into jokes and side comments.

The game is built to be really easy to get into and simple to play. There is no need to constantly refer to charts or graphs, and i personally have found it to be a breath of fresh air from the games i used to play.

 

 

Steady on there, fellah. We don't mean to seem unfriendly. But we've had a passel full of rogues, bots, and spam merchants come through here, and if you kick off by sounding like one then you're apt to get a roasting. Just ride it out and keep on in.

 

I understand the aversion to bots in some forums i joined a while back we had a lot of problems with bots especially when for a several month period there were no mods so the spam kept on coming up. Usually then the bots were mainly porn bots, don't recall too many actually sticking to the theme of the forum . But i haven't been a member of this forum very long so perhaps i just had lower quality bots infesting those forums ha ha ha.

 

I do appreciate your post though, and i wasn't sure at first if i should actually make the topic without first posting in some other topics which probably would have been a good idea to let people know first that i was a real person. The benefits of hindsight indeed. Though i don't mind the occasional jeering, in the first forum i joined i got flamed horribly, though mainly because i joined the minority faction of the forum (partially out of spite i must admit) and defenders of that group weren't really looked well upon, so i will take your advice and keep on truckin.

 

Good man!

[Atom523]

Woot bumping my own thread much to the dismay of the community!

At risk of the wrath of the community i will continue to and try again to perk someone interest in this game (i love that graphic)

Here is a link to the FAQ section for the game's website, and no this is not a link to purchase anything, it is just information about the different aspects of the game. I hope that some will give it a chance and give their honest opinion. http://darkrefuge.net/FAQs.html

[Walsingham]

Okay, couple of points:

 

1) I love the 'strider tank'. Never in the field of human conflict have so many guns existed in so strange profusion in so little space. Unless those are exhaust tubes. Or spaghetti funnels.

 

 

EDIT: Is that the turret of a Ram tank?

EDIT EDIT: I win the ww2 geek prize!

 

 

 

 

2) The thin yellow font on black background is painful.

 

3) In firefox the pictures are floating over the text.

 

4) "allowing battles to take on the fast past exciting flow as bright and vivid as an Anime" It could just be me, but I find anime synonymous with poorly characterised and overpowered. I would suggest you may turn people off by referencing to a niche market up front, however passionate your convictions.

[Atom523]

Okay, couple of points:

 

1) I love the 'strider tank'. Never in the field of human conflict have so many guns existed in so strange profusion in so little space. Unless those are exhaust tubes. Or spaghetti funnels.

 

 

EDIT: Is that the turret of a Ram tank?

EDIT EDIT: I win the ww2 geek prize!

 

 

 

 

2) The thin yellow font on black background is painful.

 

3) In firefox the pictures are floating over the text.

 

4) "allowing battles to take on the fast past exciting flow as bright and vivid as an Anime" It could just be me, but I find anime synonymous with poorly characterised and overpowered. I would suggest you may turn people off by referencing to a niche market up front, however passionate your convictions.

 

Woot! an actual response with constructive stuff to say about the game, you sir are awesome! (no offense to anyone who didn't flame me before you too are cool )

 

Oh first before answering anything just know that this is not my website, i am a friend of the maker of the game not the maker himself and i am not in charge of the site though i might mention any criticisms of it to him.

 

For number 4 i can actually answer this. (and i will bring it up to the creator to think about)

The way the leyas (magic) system and abilities are set up the players are encouraged to try to come up with creative ways to deal with situations, for example while at ICON a guy who came to our table was playing a hydromancer and he decided to chase after a fleeing enemy by firing off a blast of water into the ground, freezing it, gliding across it and then bashing him over the back of the head for his attack. Now as this move is quite complicated he had to make a series of rolls with increasingly difficult target numbers to actually achieve it, now any one of those moves would be relatively simple to do but all combined is more then simply the sum of their individual target numbers. After several rolls he ended up getting everything fine up until the last roll to strike the guy, he completely screwed up the roll and instead of bashing the guy with his gauntlet he shot right past him and into a lamp post allowing the target to escape.

Now most likely if he had simply tried to fire off a jet of water into the guy's back he probably could have knocked the guy down so the party could catch up but this game rewards players for going above and beyond what simply can be done. This game doesn't use experience points to advance the characters instead points are distributed after the game to all the players equally (generally 5 points each) however if you as a player does something extraordinary he is generally awarded an extra point to later use for character customization. So this is how the game rewards the players for pulling off the "animeish" maneuvers without becoming overpowered. The bigger and badder the move you try to accomplish the harder your roll is to accomplish it.

There are many examples of this inside and outside of combat, there was a time where i used my Bastard (similar to halflings) who has absolutely no combat skills to save his party by managing to convince the leader of a wide spread cult to not only spare our group by constructing an elaborate lie but after hearing my arguments he wanted me to become one of his Dark Sages as my talents were being wasted on my current pursuant. This happening right after my companion repeatedly (unintentionally i must add) insulted him and was about to be executed. In this game you can pull off amazing things with just about any type of character, i actually have a build of a nice housewife that i have been planning on using but we are in the middle of several things and i don't know when i could use her.

I hope this didn't totally go off topic and answered your concerns about that.

 

oh and good eye with the tank turret, you get an extra point for figuring out the reference.

[Walsingham]

I appreciate your explanation, although I was actually just giving you the rather dubious benefit of my understanding of marketing. However, your answer was far more interesting than my question.

 

I'm actually beginning to wnder if I haven't wasted my entire life after spotting that tank turret.

[Atom523]

I appreciate your explanation, although I was actually just giving you the rather dubious benefit of my understanding of marketing. However, your answer was far more interesting than my question.

 

I'm actually beginning to wnder if I haven't wasted my entire life after spotting that tank turret.

 

I do appreciate your input, i myself know little to nothing about marketing as i have only taken economics 101, i am better in politics then that.

 

I may have misjudged your question but this works alright as now others can have an example of how that kind of description might apply. I think another concern of the maker is a desire to pull more people into P&P gaming, he has been playing for about 11 years or so if i am not mistaken, and he wanted to create a game that could appeal to new players and was easy to get into while still maintaining the interest of long time players.

 

Hey, have those people on jeopardy wasted their lives on the weird stuff they memorized? There is always a way to use information retained.

[Walsingham]

In which case I hope he has the best of luck. It's an admirable goal. I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep in mind that your geek market is very parochial. I think my point does apply after all. Certainly there are anime geeks, but the rest of the geek market can get very snooty about them.

 

*thinks*

 

Unless you made a geek specific range of marketing fronts for each geek genre.

 

*thinks*

 

I should be in bed asleep.

[Atom523]

In which case I hope he has the best of luck. It's an admirable goal. I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep in mind that your geek market is very parochial. I think my point does apply after all. Certainly there are anime geeks, but the rest of the geek market can get very snooty about them.

 

*thinks*

 

Unless you made a geek specific range of marketing fronts for each geek genre.

 

*thinks*

 

I should be in bed asleep.

 

Yeah, you do make very good points.

I guess one of the best things i can personally say about this that if you are sick and tired of constantly looking at charts just to find out if you can walk over to this guy and hit him then you will probably enjoy this game. You can simply turn to the GM and ask "Can i do this?" and they will have a simple answer for you without having to look up three different things, it is simplicity without dumping all realism. I know that very long time gamers eventually memorize those charts and can get a smooth game going but for gamers who haven't played those games intensely that kind of stuff can really interrupt games. I have watched D&D games where they had to stop every few minutes so a player could refer to a chart which really in my opinion ruined the flow of the game.