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I love this game!

Happy Halloween Month!

I ramble a bit and my mic is bad.

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Keywords:
Retro Gaming - PC DOS - AD&D - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - 2nd Edition - Ravenloft - Strahd - Let's Play
Transcript
00:00 All right, so let me start this all over Ravenloft is one of the
00:05 Breakout games of Dungeons and Dragons
00:09 For computers and I'll go over this as quickly as I can
00:14 For those of you who aren't in the stream and you're seeing a black
00:21 Screen which befits Ravenloft
00:25 Also befits Zork, so for those who don't remember
00:30 Dungeons and Dragons there was a movement to ban Dungeons and Dragons the 80s. It was part of the satanic panic and
00:37 A lot of people don't know what the satanic panic was it was an actual witch hunt people throw away
00:45 It's around and throw away and mention whatever
00:49 This is a witch hunt. That's a witch hunt. This is a witch hunt in the 80s
00:53 They were actually looking for witches
00:55 right
00:57 The witch hunts didn't end in the 1600s or 1700s. They looked for witches in the 1980s
01:04 It was a concerted effort
01:06 by
01:08 any number of special investigations divisions
01:11 Where neighbors were convinced that their other neighbors were witches and using children and satanic rituals?
01:19 And you had psychologists respected psychologists using regression therapy
01:24 To discover that kids were actually being abused and they helped them remember this abuse
01:29 They helped them remember abuse that they implanted into the children's heads as suggestions and the children were literally saying
01:37 Okay, whatever this man says that's what happened
01:40 Parents were convicted on
01:47 Substantial evidence where there was no evidence at all that anything ever happened. So it was
01:55 There were there was no anything and
02:00 This was so bad
02:05 That prosecutors refused to admit that they basically violated people's rights
02:13 And only a few prosecutors actually came forward saying okay, I was duped
02:17 Because I believe that the investigation was conducted properly
02:21 And I believe that the victims were correct only a couple of investigators actually did that there were a couple dozen
02:28 I don't even want to say how many because I may get the number wrong. I
02:32 Know that there were hundreds of cases
02:36 I'm not sure how many convictions there were
02:40 But the there were quite a few convictions
02:43 and
02:44 It wasn't until just a few years ago
02:47 That the last couple who was convicted off of the flimsiest evidence that you can imagine
02:56 Was actually released from jail
03:00 And the prosecutors still stood by his prosecution of mountains of evidence and it turns out there wasn't any evidence at all
03:10 prosecutor
03:11 Blatantly lied like most prosecutors do
03:14 And that's the problem
03:20 and
03:21 People were convicted
03:23 of worshipping satan
03:25 somebody mentioned that they
03:28 Played dungeons and dragons. They were worshipping satan. There's a reason why the dead alewives
03:34 created
03:36 dungeons and dragons
03:39 Satan's game
03:41 If you've never heard it look it up dead alewives. That's a l e w i v e s. I believe some of you smoke
03:47 dead alewives
03:49 Dungeons and dragons listen to that. It sounds ridiculous. But guess what?
03:56 I
03:59 It's only ridiculous because they use funny voices
04:01 You know, they they actually churches actually produced crap
04:09 Like what the dead alewives said
04:11 Right, you know, it's satan's game that whole introduction video type thing
04:17 So what does this have to do with uh, just dragons and satanic panic?
04:22 Well satanic panic in the 80s basically killed a lot of role playing etc, etc, etc
04:27 um
04:29 They're part of the masquerade tried to come out, you know cyberpunk, you know, uh, and they were seen as like the rebels
04:36 The rebels bought that stuff, right?
04:38 I lived in relatively press conservative as this area is it was actually pretty liberal in terms of
04:46 Uh, the conservatives who were really tight said. Yeah. Yeah, we don't believe in that. We don't believe you're worshipping. Satan
04:53 Uh, but down south they they did
04:56 um
04:58 So I lived in colorado another big difference between colorado and the actual south
05:04 But uh, even then there were people I knew who thought
05:07 You better be careful. I hear that they can you can actually get involved with the devil by playing that
05:14 Crazy people there are people you thought were saying they would say that to you
05:21 So it was very difficult for Dungeons and Dragons to actually stay in game stores TSR
05:28 Experienced some profit and they also experienced some
05:34 book burning banning
05:35 basically
05:37 well
05:38 SSI
05:40 Was a company that produced a lot of these gold box versions for dos very simplistic stick figure characters
05:46 They were not very good games, but people ate it up because oh, well, it's fantasy
05:52 Yeah, they say it's the forbidden fruit. They refuse to let us what play with fantasy stuff
05:59 that's why things like
06:01 the lord of the rings were so awesome at the end of the 90s because
06:04 Fantasy stuff was few and far between largely due to the satanic panic that happened in the 80s and the whole decade of the 80s
06:12 Dragon slayer was a great movie people wanted a sequel but
06:17 You better be careful. Satan might get involved
06:21 So ssi, uh produced, uh
06:29 I had the beholder. That was really cool first person view. You were actually your character fighting demons. Yeah
06:36 But it wasn't nearly as cool as ravenloft reason why ravenloft is so fucking cool
06:42 And i'm leaving that in there I hope youtube doesn't violate my my swearing so so cool
06:53 That
06:58 Maybe because uh, you were
07:00 Not only dealing with better graphics and these graphics are really really good for the 80s. I mean
07:07 Seriously, they they are fantastic
07:10 Uh because a lot of computers they needed to like double up tiles and stuff in order to make it work
07:17 But these the graphics the text was legible
07:22 The graphics were cool. The graphics were actually nice and crisp. They had different colors to them
07:27 You couldn't get this on any console
07:29 Uh, it was it was fantastic work
07:32 And you were in the land of evil the land was so evil
07:37 It tortured you if you were good
07:40 and tortured you and
07:42 Kept you alive. If you were good you were tortured and murdered if you were bad
07:46 You were tortured and kept alive to continue to feed the the thirst of the land for more evil
07:52 so if you were like a paladin and you go into ravenloft, it's uh
07:57 You know, you're you're saying you have a giant neon sign above your head saying kick me right
08:02 Unless you're an evil paladin, but don't quite know it
08:06 So ravenloft
08:10 was literally like
08:12 you dealing with the desians of hell
08:15 And fighting I guess the hordes of evil the exact same thing, you know that would
08:24 Cause people who revolted the satanic panic to go nuts
08:28 Right
08:31 And ravenloft
08:34 Was such a stellar game granted came out 90s, right
08:39 But it's still pretty close to the satanic panic a lot of people are still still believed in that crap
08:47 Ravenloft was such a stellar game. They had it right there
08:54 On the computer when you walked into the software store
08:56 And it was a high budget game
09:03 And yet there's still some things in ravenloft where you're like, oh, come on you could have gone one step further
09:09 But I mean they sort of did go one step further
09:13 with uh the sequel to this game, which is uh stone prophet
09:19 So this one's strats position sequel is the stone prophet and I believed ssi wanted to do another ravenloft game
09:27 But then they did menzo baram
09:29 menzo baron xan
09:31 That's how you pronounce it. And uh
09:33 Then they did dark sun and they kind of got distracted from doing the third ravenloft game and they
09:41 Wound up not finishing it before they went under and lost the contracts with uh, tsr. She's a real shame
09:50 You know because I like the idea of carrying characters over from one to another get this you can use all the characters
09:56 That you make in one and bring them over to the other might not keep your gear
10:00 But you could you know still wind up now. You also notice that i'm going to uh,
10:04 Legitimately cheat by legitimately cheat. What I mean is when you create your character
10:09 They don't force you to keep the stats that you roll
10:13 And this is ravenloft
10:16 and uh
10:18 Although menzo baron xan is is a lot
10:21 a lot more difficult
10:24 to uh
10:27 Uh to beat you mean you need to be super powerful to beat menzo
10:31 uh ravenloft is still one of those where it's like i'm not gonna go up against one of those whites or the
10:38 Vampires without having characters with max stats
10:40 So i'll roll my stats and then i'm going to knock them all up to 18 and above
10:47 In addition i'm going to uh
10:49 I'm gonna have a paladin
10:52 And i'm also going to have a cleric. I don't know I might have an elf who's a cleric
10:59 thief
11:01 I might go ahead and do that
11:03 so, um
11:06 Because you really need to open doors and everything except I think that there is a thief character you pick up
11:13 Maybe I should look at a guide. I can't remember but you know having two clerics is like
11:18 Really important
11:21 Uh and having them at max stats is super important and the npcs you pick up do not have max stats
11:30 They're usually pretty trashy stats
11:33 so
11:35 Uh, I definitely need a paladin for the lay on hands and for the tankage and everything
11:42 And everyone the term you use now tankage back. Then it was just being a warrior
11:47 You know, you need a you need a bruiser. You need a warrior
11:50 To handle it. So thank you for listening to my introduction
11:54 All right, 12 minute introduction dear god
11:58 Uh, but I wanted I wanted to explain this game
12:03 And I wanted you guys to appreciate why i'm playing this game
12:10 And uh, I love it and I hope that you understand what why this game was great when it came out why it was special
12:17 why it inspires
12:20 So much more because the game goes up so far then stops a stone prophet
12:25 They go a little bit further and then stops
12:28 like
12:30 There are there's a lot of things you could've done. Oh, um, so
12:32 Another thing about this game. I can't remember if I mentioned it this particular recording
12:37 I know I mentioned the previous one that I discarded
12:39 Uh, i'm going to be saving
12:42 A lot because it's a toss game. That's a game from the 80s and 90s
12:47 There are things that you could accidentally do that will screw you
12:51 So i'm also not going to record the parts where i'm farming
12:55 Uh enemies in order to get help if you want
12:58 Stats for characters, whatever you can look it up in the monster manual. Um
13:05 Yeah, so that's what i'm going to be doing so you might see the levels of my characters jump around
13:09 If I forgot something and I won't mention it
13:12 But uh, i'm just going to be playing to have fun. I'm going to be pausing it when I can and uh
13:18 I need to figure out how to set the mute button
13:21 so
13:24 That's what i'm going to do and I hope you enjoy this and I hope you have fun. I hope you take care and prepare
13:30 For we are entering
13:33 Brave
13:35 Having recently returned from patrol
13:51 The comrades of lord dealt walk the corridors of high hall approaching the quarters of el toro sovereign lord
13:59 Word of the unforgivable is in the land
14:03 Forces without virtue it is whispered forces both powerful and corrupt plot against good lord dealt
14:10 In a rush of explosive magic the door to delt's hall is torn asunder
14:15 It is too late
14:18 With each stride toward the door comes the icy realization of failure
14:22 Amid the debris lie dealt in the mage baranta chance
14:26 still alive
14:28 Yet both mauled by the ferocity of the attack
14:32 Do
14:34 Thank the gods you're here with us by helm if only a moment sooner
14:41 The assassin who sought our lives has failed but in his hand lies the holy symbol of helm the amulet torn from me as we fought
14:48 The cutthroat moves quickly toward the forest beyond the castle stop him and retrieve the amulet go now
14:55 A vow to pound the swarm in delt's presence and the quest begins
15:00 Never shall the lord of el toro see his comrades again until the amulet is safely in their hands
15:06 At the gate an order to raise the portcullis is given
15:12 It ascends all too slowly for those whose blood seeds with anger over the assault on lord dealt
15:28 Hours later and far beyond the hearths and homes delta the assassin's trail leads into an autumn wood
15:35 The apparent peace and beauty of the setting belies its danger
15:41 So
15:44 So
15:47 So
15:49 So
15:51 So
15:54 So
15:56 So
15:58 So
16:01 So
16:03 So
16:05 So
16:07 So
16:09 So
16:11 So
16:13 So
16:15 So
16:17 So
16:19 So
16:21 So
16:23 So
16:26 So
16:28 So
16:30 Yeah
16:47 So
16:57 So
17:10 So
17:13 So
17:15 So
17:32 So
17:34 So
17:46 It's not cheating if it's allowed in the game
17:52 So
17:55 So
18:23 And seriously seriously i'm not going up against something for with a feasibly 30 hit so it's not gonna happen
18:31 So
18:34 So
18:37 So
18:40 So
18:42 So
18:59 So
19:01 So
19:18 So
19:20 So
19:41 What's easier to
19:43 survive a mage or a cleric
19:47 when clerics got that
19:50 Uh those protection spells but mages they've got the fireballs, but I think I think I get a mage later on
19:56 um
19:59 Oh man, what should I pick?
20:01 Uh, I I know I played all sorts of combinations before rangers were really good
20:07 but um
20:10 I mean, I need to make sure
20:12 Maybe I should do uh
20:16 Thief
20:19 And I can get well, no, no, I I need heals
20:23 um
20:26 so
20:28 So god see this is the problem is you need you need a paladin
20:32 And I know you get a cleric
20:36 Thief later on
20:40 she's uh
20:42 From the japanese expansion set which never really took off despite the fact everybody everybody I knew loved it
20:50 I've I've oriental adventures. I freaking love that
20:56 um
20:59 See if you can pick a lot of locks you can get around things you can find hidden doors
21:05 uh
21:08 but uh
21:11 Maybe
21:13 Maybe maybe I should try
21:15 Is that one bard the black girl she's a bard she does uh fire and stuff there's that one guy who's a cleric
21:25 There's that that mage who's a cleric or not mage who's a cleric, um, I mean the thief who's a cleric
21:33 Right, who's also a cleric? It's a dual class multi-class
21:38 Um, I think is what I was not doing. It's a dual class or multi-class. She said I can't remember
21:43 I always got those confused when I was playing I like
21:45 Love this game, but I was always like, oh, they're like dual class. You mean multiclass? Yeah, whatever
21:49 um
21:53 Because I mean I do want to uh
21:55 I do want to um
21:59 Find things and open secret doors
22:03 But I need to survive getting my butt kicked
22:08 And ravenloft kicks your butt, you know, if you know, it's like people talk about dark souls
22:14 Ravenloft is this the first dark souls?
22:18 Dark souls is really not as hard as a lot of games that I played in the 80s and 90s
22:23 So
22:27 I mean, what should I play?
22:30 Yeah, if I had a four-sided die I'd roll one
22:37 Oh, you know what
22:39 I'm going to go ahead and try and do the four-sided die here
22:46 All right. All right. All right. Let me roll the dice here
22:49 So, uh cleric is one mage is two and thief is three. Let's see what the character is gonna be
22:57 rolled
23:03 Looks like i'm gonna go ahead and get the cleric elven cleric I can always get the thief later
23:11 Uh through an npc. So let's go ahead and get that done
23:15 So
23:17 Sure here. All right, let me mute myself
23:41 Do
23:43 Do
23:46 do
23:47 do
23:49 Do
23:51 do
23:53 do
23:56 do
23:58 Do
24:00 do
24:13 Do
24:40 Now you guys may notice uh, you may notice that the uh
24:43 Ac actually decreases
24:46 Uh when your stats get higher that's because in the original dungeons and dragons advanced dungeons and dragons you needed a lower ac
24:53 Rather than a higher one. They did things reverse and apparently some people got so confused. They had to change it
25:00 I think that people who are that confused over a simple number
25:04 Should not play because that they don't know how to play
25:10 Dear god
25:12 Okay, okay, that's probably be gate keeping
25:18 um
25:20 I I always found out that you know
25:22 Some character sheets actually had a little math thing. They'd say do this do this for this number
25:28 So even if you got confused, I mean sometimes I could I just look at my little little math thing
25:33 um
25:35 But it is true though that
25:37 That
25:39 But maybe it has nothing to do with the numbers but when they change the system to make it more easily acceptable
25:45 Accessible. Oh, I am acceptable, I guess
25:48 uh
25:49 far easily accessible when it got too easy to
25:52 He ran up with people who didn't know how to creatively think
25:56 And you know, I'm the type of person I could take a level one spell wipe out 50 people with just one level one spell
26:03 Because I knew how to properly use it
26:07 Uh, you wind up now with people who have like 10
26:09 copies of fireball and they manage to kill two
26:13 So, you know, I think that if you force people to
26:20 Spend the time to learn something that may be tricky
26:24 Then those same people are like, okay. Okay. Listen, it took me a long time to get this straight
26:29 And it was pain in the butt. So i'm gonna make sure that I don't have to do this
26:32 I've found that
26:36 Maybe my anecdotal evidence is incorrect
26:38 But I also believe that anybody can be taught how to deal with two hit on our class of zero just so
26:44 So track, you know, or you know subtract the number from 20
26:49 And that's your highest rated number now, like I said character sheets
26:54 that have the actual ac of the gear that they have and then there's a little uh,
26:59 Little math thing and then you get the roll of the dial say roll needed to hit you. Okay
27:05 So
27:07 So those were easy to do
27:09 But who knows? Uh, and don't think that i'm like a stats
27:14 whore
27:16 Uh, it's the only way to describe it because i've played games that are so heavy in the numbers that are just like no
27:23 but
27:25 I'm looking at you roll master
27:27 Roll master was a role-playing system
27:32 Yeah, i'm definitely gonna adapt when I mention that it's almost impossible to play
27:38 Do
27:40 So
28:07 This is weird his constitution can only get up to 17 i'm going to delete him
28:12 Come on, let me make sure that this is this is the way it's supposed to be
28:16 Health cleric because I rolled a number. Uh awful good
28:25 Tubby mctub tubs
28:30 Edit
28:33 Uh 18 19
28:37 So out
28:39 Oh, well, it is 17 that 17 is the max on
28:42 And uh, this is what I mean by when I say i'm legitimately cheating
28:47 The game lets you do this
28:49 Because it's daring you say this is right. You think stats are gonna help I actually do but uh
28:56 They just make it so it's playable
28:59 I played this game with naturally rolled stats before
29:03 And I quit for a reason
29:07 You already have a dungeon master who knows the ins and outs of every second edition rule and it's like no, you know
29:14 I'm, not playing with naturally rolled stats
29:16 That ain't that ain't happening
29:19 That ain't happening at all
29:21 All right. So, uh, go ahead and keep this those are actually my stats. I think the maximum stats
29:29 But uh, let's see if we can raise a little bit more while we play
29:34 All right, keep and mr. Tubbs
29:36 Mr. Tubbs
29:39 I love you. Mr. Tubbs
29:42 All right
29:44 Now we get to watch the future and i'm gonna let the
29:47 Thing play I think I think something happens. Oh and I so just uh, I always
29:53 fun little thing I always considered the
29:56 cat to a bit of an actual fortune teller
29:59 You know, I think i'm gonna stop the recording here
30:04 And i'm going to go ahead and begin the adventure with the next recording
30:10 You
30:12 (upbeat music)

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