By Peter Rudin-Burgess
Azukail Games
Generic
In Gemsting Cave, characters explore a cave once haunted by Gemstings – Giant Scorpions – which have now returned after many years. The cave can be dangerous, as the Gemstings are able to climb on the walls and roof, attacking fro
This fourteen page thing is not an adventure.
The intro implies that it’s an adventure.
The rip-off at one point refers to itself as a mini-adventure.
If I search on DriveThru for “Adventures” it shows up there.
If I did REAL deep and look at the page count on the right in the product details and then go look at the preview and compare them then I can see that it’s actually a nine page map you print out and tape together. There’s one page that says “there are giant scorpions in the caves and they can walk on walls and ceilings.”
This is fucking bullshit.
These creator marketplaces are fucking rip-offs. Steam solved this problem by implementing a return policy. I now buy more from them because I have more confidence that I’m not getting ripped off. DriveThru needs a return policy.
And if you’re a creator about to whine about your already tiny profits then go fuck yourself.
This is $1 at DriveThru. Go fuck yourself.https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240006/Gemsting-Cave?affiliate_id=1892600
At least you can see the entire thing in preview.
And yes, it’s garbage.
These guys have a few similar things even without a map. Like this: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/230946
That is literally the worst thing I have ever seen. That is an adventure in the sense that a dollop of mayonnaise is a sandwich. Good grief!
If it wasn’t for the fact that you can preview the whole thing, I’d assume this was an intentional scam. Maybe it still is, and they’re just counting on a few dollars from people like our beloved Bryce (who really should know better) not being careful enough.
Haahaaahahaaha!
Could the creators of “It Lives! Muhahah!”, “One Muhaha, Two Muhaha” and “World War Tree” go wrong? No, because they are 0.75 American Dollars richer and Bryce, who didn’t heed the obvious warning signs (including an extensive preview of this crap), is 0.75 American Dollars poorer.
Sad!
Fake News!
Better to be a disillusioned dreamer than a cynical pragmatist. 🙂
On a more serious note, I am disappointed that one must research heavily a 200 Forint product. The effort seems out of line. I want to buy something expecting good things, and push a button for a no questions asked refund if its shit.
Bryce, you crack me up.
So, if it said “here’s a map of a cave. Not an adventure, just a map” would Bryce be satisfied?
The terrible thing is, I actually get how this gets made and put up for sale. Someone who only plays/runs late edition D&D whips up a battle mat knowing it’s the kind of thing he finds useful, throws it up with a full preview and hopes people kick him 75 cents if they use it. Fair so far.
I agree it’s not an adventure. I hadn’t even looked at OBS’ maps/play aids section before now, but that’s definitely where it goes.
Bryce, I know you’ve rejected the idea before, but I really would kick in a few bucks to a review fund to offset your purchase price on these gems. You shouldn’t have to bear this burden alone.
I personally think Bryce should start a Patreon. People can throw in a buck or two per month. I mean, seeing this in the morning: “This is 1$ on Drivethru. Go fuck yourself” making me snort my coffee with laughter in the morning would be totally worth it to me.
[Didn’t finish a thought:]
So the question is, is it a scam at all, or is this the state of modern D&D, that the creator really sincerely believes a battle mat is an adventure?
Hard to say, but it looks like we can’t even blame it on modern D&D – this is a “system-agnostic” product for d100-based RPGs.
They recently released this: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240611/100-Inane-Comments-and-Useless-Answers-from-Speaking-to-Animals
“Characters are often given the ability to communicate with animals, but this does not mean that the animals in question have anything useful or intelligent to say. 100 Inane Comments and Useless Answers from Speaking to Animals is a list of less than helpful responses that can come from animals.”
Wow. Thanks for the heads up.