The Crunch Corner

 Alright, I'll admit, I'm part of that new wave of Jojo's enjoyers. I first got into it in 2018-ish, on recommendation from a friend. I tend to be very choosy about anime particularly, with a special disdain for the specific genre that JJBA is. Years and years of Naruto this, Blue Exorcist that, had worn away my patience for so-called "shonen" shows. But, holy fuck, JJBA was just different. Stylish, with interesting power systems, characters that you don't loathe when they appear on-screen, actual stakes and threatening villains, and all at a time when the en-sloppening of entertainment as a whole was beginning. It was like a hit of crack after a long period of restless boredom. Phantom Blood was good, Battle Tendency was excellent (Joseph was the best Joestar), Stardust Crusaders was absolute cinema, and the peak just kept coming . At the time, I was just only dipping my toes into the TTRPGs. I was, to my great shame, DnD 5E only. Tried something similar to t...

Something that's always bothered me with traditional TTRPGs is how weapons are basically stat sticks. Really, this extends to some ARPGs as well, such as most Bethesda games (speaking on melee weapons, of course). Really, it made TTRPGs like DnD, and ARPGs such as The Elder Scrolls (take your pick which), fall somewhat flat on the combat. I had the most fun playing casters, which is a bit narrow. Salvation came in 2023, when my ex introduced me to Dark Souls, particularly Dark Souls Remastered. I spent many, many hours of spare time bashing my head against that wall, and I enjoyed every second of it. In pretty short order, I was hacking and rolling my way through DS2, its DLCs, then DS3, then the 2023 remake of Lords of the Fallen, and a bit of Elden Ring. I fucking loved  the way these games played, and it got me thinking: What if Dark Souls ,... but TTRPG ? So the first thing I decided on was the stats. Being what it is, the first few are fairly obvious. Strength, Dexterity, Vita...