Thank you so much for having me, Daniel! After being a fan for years, it was an absolute privilege to be talking with you about my work. Hope folks find it interesting!
I know you prefer darker themes, but there is NOTHING in the entire mythosphere of thought right now for angelic, divine, etc style themes. Everything on the planet is "morally grey" (aka: objectively psycho but sexy) and I can't think of a single game that fits this bill. It's on the opposite end of the spectrum from what you typically do, but you might hit a market that has been under served for a decade or more. It can still be on the gritty side, because war and combat are gritty, but I think it's time to make divine power cool again. How cool would it be to be an angelic force travelling down to different dimensions / worlds in order to combat horrifying evils? People who typically gravitate towards the "good" just don't have the depth of writing required to make it flashy and cool. I think you're the right person to give it a new luster.
Yes!!! thanks for this love you two guys I am a big Blackoath fan boy ha I watch everything I can when it comes to reviews (even of his games I have ha) interviews, gameplay. Seems like more and more Blackoath is getting more coverage by people :-)
Only 11 mins in but wanted to say you're a natural interviewer Daniel. Doing a great job. [Edit] Alex comes across as a great guy and Riftbreakers sounds exactly like something we'd enjoy so many thanks for the vid.
Hey, I loved your games @blackoathentertainment5617 im embarrassed to say I’d never heard of your stuff until now, I love very simple narrative driven dark cult like solo RPGs, which of your games would you recommend I start with?
@@abandonedlighthousegamesnothing to be embarrassed about, there are so many games nowadays that it's hard to keep track! As for which game of mine I'd recommend, I'm not really sure because you mentioned preferring simple narrative games, and my stuff is very much mechanics-driven, which is how I prefer to play solo, since that allows me to focus on the story and not having to make rulings all the time. Probably the simplest of my games is Sacrifice, which is more or less your standard OSR game.
Great conversation, love these interview/convo videos! I’d listen to a Dungeon Dive podcast all day every day 😂 Alex is so prolific and his work is so inspiring. Love the worlds of his games. Low, gritty fantasy is my kinda thing! 🗡️
I'm still only halfway through (watching during work breaks) but I'm really enjoying this video! I backed Ker Nethalas: Into the Midnight Throne, and it is nice to hear from the designer.
I’m loving so much Warlord Ascendant! I’m playing a campaign either with miniatures on my table and with colored cubes on square-grid when I can’t play in my home. The game is similar to 5 parsecs/leagues, but the condensed rules and smaller rulebook permit me to bring the book everywhere and playing wherever I want. Thanks Alex T. for this great game!
@@TheDungeonDive saw that's its being shipped from Amazon and DTRPG since last week, and probably in many peoples hands, while KS backers are still waiting. Eeeek. 😬Still love you Alex.
Just to add that Alex is a great guy. All my dealings with him have been A+. I think I have all his works. Across a Thousand Worlds with be with me soon :)
Not sure how I missed this when it originally came out, but the algorithm did a good thing today! What a treat this whole interview was - it's always interesting to hear how designers were first introduced to the hobby. I also started with the D&D Red box, and then discovered MERP, Rolemaster and Call of Cthulhu - If you haven't seen Against the Darkmaster, I'd definitely say to check it out.
Great interview. Totally enjoyed the conversation. I just bought my copy of Warlord Ascendant off drive-thru rpg. Can't wait to dig in! Now I have an excuse to collect the Loke Battle maps too. Lol. Respect the hell out of both ya'll for your insights and creativity you bring to an amazing hobby of wonder and adventure!!!
Very interesting. I knew a couple of those games, but i learned about many more i hadnt heard of or didn't know what they were about. I will have to look into some of those when i have time.
It was damn epic, yeah! A friend still has all the dioramas in his basement, whish I lived closer so we could play again... We spent so much time working on those...
Fascinating interview! I am curious about solo RPGs and I've done some reading about it, but still haven't tried any. Being primarily a solo "RPG-adjacent" board gamer, which of Alex's games would you recommend to me? I'm not interested in journaling games like Ironsworn. Thanks!!
I absolutely love Seekers Beyond The Shroud. My favorite solo game. It's owned by Exalted Funeral now. They have a really nice soft cover available. It takes some effort to navigate the rules and incorporate the revised combat mechanics but once you got it down it is a fantastic experience.
Hey Alex, as someone who has been asking a lot of questions on your discord recently, I‘d like to chime in on your design philosophy regarding homebrew and the impression that many enjoyers of your games seem to be different from you in this regard. Improving the clarity and congruency of one’s writing and presentation is naturally never a bad idea, but I think beyond that, there is a certain danger of perceptive distortion here. It might feel like a lot of people expect or hope for far more hermetic rules or lore, than you personally would need and it’s certainly true for many of us, but we can’t really know , if the people speaking out about it or asking for tons of clarification, are not a form of a vocal minority. After all, the people who share your attitude towards homebrewing are less often going to report back to you, because they have probably solved the matter already. So just going by the feedback and Q&A, you might not see the whole picture. Your impression of what your readers and buyers want, might swing too far in the other direction. In my case I’m a mix of both. Initially I just like to get as solid a grip of a system and its world as possible before I start mastering for my group. That way I hope to get very close to the author‘s vision and to reduce the cognitive load on me during our first adventures. Once we have a feeling for the game and it’s world and we get going, I’ll rarely look back. Now it’s our game. We fill any gaps and adjust anything we don’t like. Btw I‘m so jealous of your former Mortheim crew! That must have been a glorious time!
Apologies, I just saw your comment! Thank you so much for the valuable feedback. I do think I need to improve the clarity of my writing, and also make it clear that people shouldn't be afraid of homebrewing my games!
Hi Alex T., I am an Italian fan of you (Sacrifice and I am a backer of Ker Nethalas). Just a curiosity: I think you are from Spain, how can you speak English so well.
Thank you for your support! I grew up in the US and lived abroad in different countries for half of my life. I lost my American accent due to not using English for at least a decade, but I now use it daily (I only write and read in English) so it's coming back, haha.
Wow, blasts form the past. I also grew up playing Palladium Systems games. Love me some OCC and SDC/MDC damage. TMNT personnel favorite and really enjoying Mutants in the Now/Next
TMNT, After the Bomb, and Robotech were our go-to games. All that damage - OCC, SDC, MDC, lol! That system is so weird. We once played a game of Robotech, but we could use martial arts from Ninjas and Super Spies in our mechs. That was insane. :)
@@TheDungeonDive We also played around with Beyond the Supernatural with our Palladium Fantasy campaign was a great way to add horror. Dont forget, we also had those Palladium Compendiums of Armor and weapons, that thing was amazing addition for any rpg. The book of Contemporary Weapons got the most use though. Also super excited to see the two book KS that they just ran for TMNT. Looking forward to trying to get some GME in for solo play with it.
Still watching the conversation, two daughters, so little time. Is there a possibility of a Spanish translation of any book in the near future? Thanks & excellent work both speakers!
Great interiew both! I love the discussion on the media influence on Alex's game. My personally favourite of Alex's games is Brokenshores at the moment which I feel straddles the line of Zine RPG and OSR RPG the best! That said, I haven't look at Warlord Ascendant yet.
Thank you so much for having me, Daniel! After being a fan for years, it was an absolute privilege to be talking with you about my work. Hope folks find it interesting!
I had a lot of fun chatting! We will do it again.
@@TheDungeonDive count me in, for sure!
I know you prefer darker themes, but there is NOTHING in the entire mythosphere of thought right now for angelic, divine, etc style themes. Everything on the planet is "morally grey" (aka: objectively psycho but sexy) and I can't think of a single game that fits this bill. It's on the opposite end of the spectrum from what you typically do, but you might hit a market that has been under served for a decade or more. It can still be on the gritty side, because war and combat are gritty, but I think it's time to make divine power cool again. How cool would it be to be an angelic force travelling down to different dimensions / worlds in order to combat horrifying evils? People who typically gravitate towards the "good" just don't have the depth of writing required to make it flashy and cool. I think you're the right person to give it a new luster.
Ker Nethalas, Black Edition. I'm in!
These guys are brilliant!
Thanks for your support!
He is an absolute rol genius, I really LOVE his solo stuffs
haha, thank you for your kind words!
Daniel, again you are a great interviewer and conversationalist. Thanks.
I appreciate that!
Yes!!! thanks for this love you two guys I am a big Blackoath fan boy ha I watch everything I can when it comes to reviews (even of his games I have ha) interviews, gameplay. Seems like more and more Blackoath is getting more coverage by people :-)
Alex is a brilliant designer and a great guy.
Thank you so much!
Only 11 mins in but wanted to say you're a natural interviewer Daniel. Doing a great job.
[Edit] Alex comes across as a great guy and Riftbreakers sounds exactly like something we'd enjoy so many thanks for the vid.
Thank you! Appreciate it.
Thank you!
Fantastic Interview, what a warm giving guy! And super smart too! I feel his Gamecrafter pain!
Thank you for your kind words!
Hey, I loved your games @blackoathentertainment5617 im embarrassed to say I’d never heard of your stuff until now, I love very simple narrative driven dark cult like solo RPGs, which of your games would you recommend I start with?
@@abandonedlighthousegamesnothing to be embarrassed about, there are so many games nowadays that it's hard to keep track! As for which game of mine I'd recommend, I'm not really sure because you mentioned preferring simple narrative games, and my stuff is very much mechanics-driven, which is how I prefer to play solo, since that allows me to focus on the story and not having to make rulings all the time. Probably the simplest of my games is Sacrifice, which is more or less your standard OSR game.
Great conversation, love these interview/convo videos! I’d listen to a Dungeon Dive podcast all day every day 😂 Alex is so prolific and his work is so inspiring. Love the worlds of his games. Low, gritty fantasy is my kinda thing! 🗡️
A kindred spirit, haha. Thank you!
I love these interviews! No where else can I find such useful and interesting discussions about the kind of games that I love.
Just found out about this watching GMG. Love solo stuff looking forward to checking it out.
I'm still only halfway through (watching during work breaks) but I'm really enjoying this video! I backed Ker Nethalas: Into the Midnight Throne, and it is nice to hear from the designer.
I’m loving so much Warlord Ascendant! I’m playing a campaign either with miniatures on my table and with colored cubes on square-grid when I can’t play in my home. The game is similar to 5 parsecs/leagues, but the condensed rules and smaller rulebook permit me to bring the book everywhere and playing wherever I want. Thanks Alex T. for this great game!
It seems like a really neat game. I love how small it can be.
Thank you for playing, glad you are enjoying it!
I love his work, it is amazing. Thank you for this interview!
backed Ker Nethalas and so glad I did. Loving it so far.
Just received my copy of Across a Thousand Dead Worlds. Can't wait to start:)
Hope you like it!
@@blackoathentertainment I'm sure I will!
Can't wait for the channel to cover Ker Nethalas.
Seems like his Solo masterpiece
Same! I'll get to it some day. LOL! I'm so far behind in my coverage!
@@TheDungeonDive saw that's its being shipped from Amazon and DTRPG since last week, and probably in many peoples hands, while KS backers are still waiting.
Eeeek. 😬Still love you Alex.
I thought the KS was just for digital versions and codes? I think you just go to DTRPG and get your discount through there.
Great interview! Nicely done. I took notes!
This was a real treat to watch. Alex's worlds (they're more than games) are amazing. Fantastic interview
Glad you enjouyed it!
thank you so much!
Just to add that Alex is a great guy. All my dealings with him have been A+. I think I have all his works. Across a Thousand Worlds with be with me soon :)
Thank you for your kind words!
Not sure how I missed this when it originally came out, but the algorithm did a good thing today! What a treat this whole interview was - it's always interesting to hear how designers were first introduced to the hobby. I also started with the D&D Red box, and then discovered MERP, Rolemaster and Call of Cthulhu - If you haven't seen Against the Darkmaster, I'd definitely say to check it out.
This was a fun conversation.
I'm a big fan of Against the Darkmaster! The creators are such great folks, too.
Dark & Brutal survival game designer at all !
I've been playing wargames alone for decades. It was revealing for me when I found out you can solo RPGs as well!
Great interview. Totally enjoyed the conversation. I just bought my copy of Warlord Ascendant off drive-thru rpg. Can't wait to dig in! Now I have an excuse to collect the Loke Battle maps too. Lol. Respect the hell out of both ya'll for your insights and creativity you bring to an amazing hobby of wonder and adventure!!!
Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for your kind words!
Very interesting. I knew a couple of those games, but i learned about many more i hadnt heard of or didn't know what they were about. I will have to look into some of those when i have time.
Glad you enjoyed!
Thanks a lot for this great interview, i made so many notes on things to check out 😀🥰🙈
Wow, that Mordheim game Alex tells about! WOW! Epic. Mordheim is FOR SURE one of my favorite games forever too!
It was damn epic, yeah! A friend still has all the dioramas in his basement, whish I lived closer so we could play again... We spent so much time working on those...
Kult is on eof my favourites RPG of all time. The last edition is brilliant and imo the best take of PBTA.
awesome interview!! Big Fan here - of both of you
Haha! Gotta keep those random tables gender neutral. ;)
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the interview and my games!
Fascinating interview! I am curious about solo RPGs and I've done some reading about it, but still haven't tried any. Being primarily a solo "RPG-adjacent" board gamer, which of Alex's games would you recommend to me? I'm not interested in journaling games like Ironsworn. Thanks!!
I would recommend Riftbreakers or Broken Shores.
@@TheDungeonDive I'll take a look at them. Thank you!
I'd agree with Daniel, Broken Shores or Riftbreakers should be a good fit for someone coming from boardgames. Thanks for watching!
I absolutely love Seekers Beyond The Shroud. My favorite solo game. It's owned by Exalted Funeral now. They have a really nice soft cover available. It takes some effort to navigate the rules and incorporate the revised combat mechanics but once you got it down it is a fantastic experience.
I am paetron for both of you guys and loved this. You both feel like friends and it was nice to finally put a face wirh Alex
Thank! It was a really fun talk. Also thank you for the support.
Hey Alex, as someone who has been asking a lot of questions on your discord recently, I‘d like to chime in on your design philosophy regarding homebrew and the impression that many enjoyers of your games seem to be different from you in this regard.
Improving the clarity and congruency of one’s writing and presentation is naturally never a bad idea, but I think beyond that, there is a certain danger of perceptive distortion here.
It might feel like a lot of people expect or hope for far more hermetic rules or lore, than you personally would need and it’s certainly true for many of us, but we can’t really know , if the people speaking out about it or asking for tons of clarification, are not a form of a vocal minority.
After all, the people who share your attitude towards homebrewing are less often going to report back to you, because they have probably solved the matter already.
So just going by the feedback and Q&A, you might not see the whole picture.
Your impression of what your readers and buyers want, might swing too far in the other direction.
In my case I’m a mix of both. Initially I just like to get as solid a grip of a system and its world as possible before I start mastering for my group. That way I hope to get very close to the author‘s vision and to reduce the cognitive load on me during our first adventures. Once we have a feeling for the game and it’s world and we get going, I’ll rarely look back. Now it’s our game. We fill any gaps and adjust anything we don’t like.
Btw I‘m so jealous of your former Mortheim crew! That must have been a glorious time!
Apologies, I just saw your comment! Thank you so much for the valuable feedback. I do think I need to improve the clarity of my writing, and also make it clear that people shouldn't be afraid of homebrewing my games!
tip for broken shores for starting --> 1d10 OCEAN EXPLORATION - Hex TYPE 1-5 Island 6-10 Ocean. no worryes !! ;D remeber only first island is free !!
In Europe we can’t say the same about drive thru cards being cheap
I know, it sucks how expensive it is due to their card plant being in the US...
We need more Bone and Shadow physical editions!
the only way is POD, i recommend to you lulu
Hi Alex T., I am an Italian fan of you (Sacrifice and I am a backer of Ker Nethalas). Just a curiosity: I think you are from Spain, how can you speak English so well.
He lived abroad.
Thank you for your support! I grew up in the US and lived abroad in different countries for half of my life. I lost my American accent due to not using English for at least a decade, but I now use it daily (I only write and read in English) so it's coming back, haha.
Wow, blasts form the past. I also grew up playing Palladium Systems games. Love me some OCC and SDC/MDC damage. TMNT personnel favorite and really enjoying Mutants in the Now/Next
TMNT, After the Bomb, and Robotech were our go-to games. All that damage - OCC, SDC, MDC, lol! That system is so weird. We once played a game of Robotech, but we could use martial arts from Ninjas and Super Spies in our mechs. That was insane. :)
@@TheDungeonDive We also played around with Beyond the Supernatural with our Palladium Fantasy campaign was a great way to add horror. Dont forget, we also had those Palladium Compendiums of Armor and weapons, that thing was amazing addition for any rpg. The book of Contemporary Weapons got the most use though. Also super excited to see the two book KS that they just ran for TMNT. Looking forward to trying to get some GME in for solo play with it.
Palladium's Robotech was my group's favorite like 15 years ago. @@TheDungeonDive
Still watching the conversation, two daughters, so little time.
Is there a possibility of a Spanish translation of any book in the near future? Thanks & excellent work both speakers!
In case you missed it, Ker Nethalas is being released in Spanish by HT Publishers in December 2024!
Alex T. The GOAT
haha thank you!
Great interiew both! I love the discussion on the media influence on Alex's game.
My personally favourite of Alex's games is Brokenshores at the moment which I feel straddles the line of Zine RPG and OSR RPG the best! That said, I haven't look at Warlord Ascendant yet.
I love rangers of shadow deep ... so cool !!!