TL;DR
I created a laundry list of high-level tenets that drive the game design of specific genre I coined the World game based on Brad's famous quote. These aim to be applicable to any game that would scratch my old school MMO itch.
What tenets would you choose?
Preamble
The MMO community is, to some degree, divided by the different expectations and desires of its player base. Even an MMORPG can mean so many things to so many different people. I wanted to get to the root of what a good MMO is to me, and in the process, I found that the ambiguous label of MMO is likely getting in the way.
Passionate players across the board seem to complain about the same issues. Ease of difficulty. Cash shops. Single-player focus. Theme park design. Players of these games either leave the genre, ultimately disenchanted with the thin veil over Skinner box design, or they continue to search for something better, because they know it is possible. Maybe this is intentional. Developers piggy back on the MMO genre to hook the player-base before extracting as much as they can from the whales in their glorified casino.
So, here, I present the tenets of a specific game genre: the World genre. The focus on world over game is not a new idea. Brad McQuad famously said, “I want to make worlds, not games.” That focus can be seen right there in the name of Visionary Realms. And without the right language to describe what we are after, the community is continually bit by games that fit the abstract label but disappoint in the details.
The goal with these tenets isn’t to create a template so much as it is to create rough guidelines. In fact, these guidelines probably wouldn’t do a game designer much good in creating a solid design. But they should help in evaluating different options and validating an existing design. Certainly, none of the tenets get as specific as the theme or even the existence of combat. They should apply equally well to a game set in feudal Japan, The Sims Online, or the next zombie apocalypse.
Some tenets are broad, while others more specific. Some tenets are rigid, others more malleable. Some tenets are critical pillars of the genre, while others are less important. Tenets frequently conflict, creating tension.
A note on intuition
The tenets below are driven by the principle that they should be intuitive. The World genre is trying to capture something deeply human, buried in our brains because of the way we have interacted with ourselves, each other, society, and our planet over millennia of evolution. There is no right or wrong answer. When in doubt, we err on the side of realism.
A note on ownership
Establishing reasonably prescriptive tenets on the World and gameplay highlights the necessity of strong ownership and vision for this style of game. This is particularly true given that many of these tenets go explicitly against what makes a great game in general. For example, how many games would actually benefit from less player matchmaking? This also does not lend itself well to player-generated content, where those tenets can be easily violated.
The tenets of immersion
TENET 1 The player should be directly represented in the World
The World genre requires the player to form a direct relationship with the World, not with the character. This is a key difference between Eastern of Western RPGs (both of which I love) and so this may be controversial. The player should be able to insert themselves into their avatar. On the flip-side, it precludes certain mechanics, such as squad-based designs.
TENET 2 The World should be realistic in both form and function
That is, the World should minimize the need for suspension of disbelief. It should pull the player in naturally. I have always felt conflicted by WoW’s appearance. I absolutely loved the cell-shaded look of Wind Waker, but instinctually disliked the cartoon-like nature of WoW. This goes back to immersion. That doesn't mean the visuals have to be photorealistic. They just have to pull you in. It may be possible to get around this through the setting. For example, if the setting is a digital afterlife, you may be able to get away with a more abstract appearance.
TENET 3 The player and World should interface only through the player character
The player should only be able to influence the World through their character. And the World should only be able to influence the player through the character. This means, respectively, no cash shops and a first-person camera. It also means no GPS — unless, of course, the setting supports it. Taken to an extreme, this precludes voice chat, at least without something like racial voice filters.
TENET 4 The player should directly engage with the World around them
The key here is “direct”. No minimaps, no waypoints, no fast travel. Of course, these are not absolute deal-breakers. The key is that the player is able to establish a connection with the World around them. The player should, over the course of the game, develop a strong mental model of the World and its relation to their character.
The tenets of freedom
TENET 5 The player should not be assigned a story
The World itself can (and should!) have a story to tell. But the player character’s story should be their own. The player must have the freedom to make their own place within the World, eschewing the rails that a story provides. Side quests are lesser evils, but still evils. The more choice the better.
TENET 6 The player should be able to pursue multiple forms of progression
The choice should not just be in how to progress. It should be in which ways to progress. The most obvious example is crafting, but this can also include loot, skills, the economy, faction, or even — maybe most importantly — growing in strategy and skill.
TENET 7 The World should be demanding, but not prescriptive
This is an extension of the idea of a lack of story. If the game is too prescriptive, it becomes a job. A chore. To combat this phenomenon, the player needs significant choice at all times. This may, in fact, be the primary draw of the World genre: to provide an environment where players are purely driven by their own will. It is equally important to avoid visibly and overtly influencing the player’s decisions. The player’s incentives and motivating factors should be an organic part of the World. No daily XP boosts, for example. Alternate forms of progression can help here, because even once a player is motivated to progress, they have the choice of which dimension of progress to pursue.
TENET 8 The World should encourage downtime
The player should not feel compelled to move forward at all times. There should be joy simply in existing in the World, experience it moment to moment. Even better, progression itself can require downtime; this is related to the notion that players should be encouraged to play any game in the most fun way possible. This can be accomplished with world design, such as guard-protected cities or social taverns, or mechanics, such as fishing, firework shows, and waiting in queue for a boat. This is effectively the white space of gameplay. And it is all but lost in modern MMOs.
TENET 9 The World should be dangerous
Choice is meaningless without consequence. With real, negative consequence, comes danger. This not only gives weight to the player’s decisions, but also helps to establish the intricate give-and-take relationship between the World and the player. Looking at you, death penalty. If a World game is about finding your place within that world, then danger and risk makes this a meaningful pursuit. If that tension between risk and reward does not exist, even at the start of the journey, it undermines those goals. Note that this is different than challenge — and challenge itself is not enough.
TENET 10 Players should be encouraged to explore the World
This doesn't mean that players are constantly seeking some never-before-seen point of interest, but it does mean that players get out and move. In other words, the world provides resources across its footprint, and you must seek those out. Most forms of progression should require you to get out and explore. This also does not necessitate baubles scattered around the landscape to find.
The tenets of impact
TENET 11 The player’s actions should be worn like a badge
You should be a product of your choices. Your reputation, gear, and skills should tell a story about where you have been and what you have accomplished. Your spoken languages can tell a story of what cities you have spent the most time in. As you spend time in different climates, you may develop a natural acclimation to those environments. Imagine you walk into town and one of the NPC gnomes recognizes the scent of the nearby crystal caverns you have been exploring. This is interesting because it relates to life; the player’s accomplishments should come with artifacts. This also means that auction houses should be limited, as they create an artificial divide between adventure and outcome.
TENET 12 Players should have something unique to offer
The ways that a player can help others in their progression should be relatively unique to that player. As much as possible, they should tell a story about adventures undertaken; e.g., a proc from an item dropped by a famous mob. Of course, classes and class-specific skills are one way to accomplish this, but the more ways the better. For example, if one form of progression is fishing, then fish should be useful to others in many ways. A cooking skill is obvious. More creatively, certain kinds of fish could be used as powerful but low-level weapons. A butcher could extract gills or eyes to, in turn, be used as reagents for spells.
TENET 13 There should be no end game
Even the name “end game” is problematic for several reasons. It suggests a hard limit to progression. It suggests a hard divide in the way the World is experienced once the player reaches this limit. It also suggests that the focus is no longer on the World, but on the game — which is to say, the core promise of the genre is lost. This doesn’t mean to eliminate raids or AA points. It just means that those things should be included in the game proper. This tenet also implies that progression should be relatively limitless. Skyrim is an interesting example of this. One way to accomplish this is to create exponential progress; for example, having each level take 10% more experience than the last. Granted, this is a much harder problem than the simple discussion here suggests.
TENET 14 The player should leave a mark on the World itself
Can a World be meaningful if there is no way to make an impact on it? Of course, their character is one such mark. It is easy to imagine statues erected in town, or NPCs chatting about the first character to hit max level. But there should be a means for all characters to leave some lasting impact. Given that players can already say whatever they want in chat, breaking immersion, a simple example is the ability to leave a journal. These could even be curated. Other possibilities include geocaching, naming items, plaques that can be erected in various places throughout the world. Player-owned housing is perhaps the most obvious.
TENET 15 Power, fame, and fortune must be possible
A world game should be able to provide all three of these drivers. As with reality, these should not be the only reason to play. Fame is largely supported by communication; fortune by economy and loot. Power can be found even outside the game, in the player’s mind, as they grow in skill and strategy.
TENET 16 The player should have a home
Can you have a world without a home? Some place in the world should feel like your own. Where even the NPCs tend to be supportive of you: merchants give discounts and trainers more assistance. This could simply be your birthplace, your hometown.
The tenets of socialization
TENET 17 There must be no explicit matchmaking
Players must find each other. In fact, a World game should ideally employ the opposite of matchmaking: some players should have barriers preventing that connection. This makes it all the more meaningful when these seemingly unlikely relationships form. There are many ways to accomplish this, including separating players by distance or climate or language. Allowing certain players to engage in PvP is another.
TENET 18 There should be risk in trusting others
Trust can only exist when that trust can be violated. Otherwise there is no trust — just a cold, lack of consequence. By allowing negative consequences through socialization, we enable trust, and so enable more meaningful relationships. For example, a player might grief the group, log out at the wrong time, or simply lack the skill to effectively play their character. They might steal your loot.
TENET 19 Players must be able to communicate with language
The purpose of having a World is to allow the player to tell their own story within it. And what story is worth telling that doesn’t involve real connection with others? Connection with others requires communication. And not just any form of communication, but with language. This communication should extend throughout the game, as much as possible. That is, it should be limited to the tavern, but should naturally extend out to the dungeon as well.
TENET 20 Players should be able to help each other organically
Those that have the means to help should find themselves naturally in proximity to those that might need it. For example, have high-level dungeon entrances in low-level areas. Have new characters start out near big cities.
TENET 21 Cooperation should generally benefit progression
For example, a blacksmith could gather all of her own materials or rely on other players. In some cases, a blacksmith might actually require an enchanter to lend a hand in creating the best equipment. This is not a difficult tenet to design towards; it is more a warning against designing forms of progression that specifically do not lend themselves to cooperation. In many MMOs, solo combat is so fast-paced and rewarding that there is little incentive to try to find a group.
The tenets of the World itself
TENET 22 The World should be persistent
Things can change, but not so frequently that it harms the connection the player has with the World. This is one reason why Minecraft may not work as a World game, and perhaps one reason why the focus on player-generated content in EverQuest Next did not lend itself well to a fun experience.
TENET 23 The World should be shared
There should be no instancing. If you need to come up with elaborate lore and mechanics to facilitate this, then so be it. For example, say all of the top tier raid bosses are spirits that can only be summoned by rare relics. And the spirits can only be hurt by those that share a clan sash with the one who summoned them. Obviously this is terribly contrived. But it demonstrates that it is possible to work backwards from the need of a shared world.
TENET 24 The World should be big
You should move slowly compared to the size of the world. It should always feel as though there is somewhere new to explore.
TENET 25 The World should be open
Big by itself is not enough. Theoretically, you could create a massive, linear world — imagine Ant Hill: The MMO. But that is not sufficient for a World game. Exploration is critical, and so the specific layout of the space is important. For another example, imagine Destiny but with hundreds of expansions. The game would be large by any standard, but it would not be a World.
TENET 26 The World should be alive
To some degree, the World should be the main character. Day and night cycles are a simple start. Other possibilities include transient events or even changes to the landscape over time. The World should be full of surprises, unpredictable. You should come across enemies not normally found in the local climate. You should discover loot normally reserved for much tougher mobs. Emergent gameplay can help here as well. The more mechanics and attributes that can be projected naturally to some underlying physics, the greater the chance for interesting and unique interactions. In the same breath, the World should have history. The best example of this is Hollow Knight, a game that tells the history of the World through visual storytelling, environments, enemy design, dialog, secrets, and journals.
TENET 27 The World should be consistent
The World should carry an underlying consistency through it. The World should feel congruent. Variety, also important, must be tempered.
TENET 28 The World should be varied
Different places within the World should have an identity of their own, through climate or culture or environment. Different environments should encourage different play styles and behavior, even downtime.
TENET 29 The World should have landmarks
The World should be defined by the interesting places within it. More than that, the World should have locations that pull players together. Breath of the Wild does an amazing job with this, whereas it is one of the weaknesses of The Witcher III. In EverQuest, the camps themselves often serve this role — think Treants — showing how landmarks can emerge from gameplay rather than, say, visual interest.

Hey guys, it’s Coooolin!! Wow! The first month of 2021 is ALMOST over!!! How’s everyone’s January comin along!? Let me know, doown beloww!
(Pumpin this out, will update with syns in 5-10 min!)
Here’s the new cards for today!!! Thank you , EA!

NHL 2030 - Event Cards

Bowen Byram - 90 OVR - COL / LD - DIS² ... woah
Quinton Byfield - 90 OVR - SUD / C - SPA²
Filip Zadina - 89 OVR - DET / LW - BAR²
Jamie Drysdale - 89 OVR - EER / RD - SWA²
Michael Rasmussen - 88 OVR - DET / C - H and S²
Owen Tippett - 87 OVR - FLA / RW - SPA²
Gabe Vilardi - 87 OVR - LAK / C - H and S²
Jakub Zboril - 87 OVR - BOS / LD - BAR²
Ty Smith - 86 OVR - NJD / LD - DIS²
Keffer Bellows - 86 OVR - TIM / LW - BAL²
Brandt Clarke - 85 OVR - COL / RD - SWA²
Sebastian Cossa - 82 OVR - OIL / G - 6’4” / 212 lbs - H and S²

Primetimes

NHL

(NO PLD OR LAINE)
Brad Marchand - 89 OVR - BOS / LW - LTL¹ , MAG¹
Alexander Radulov - 88 OVR - DAL / RW - WM¹ , WH¹
John Klingberg - 88 OVR - DAL / RD - PP¹ , SH¹
Joe Pavelski - 87 OVR - DAL / C - GLA¹ , T¹ .... 88 FOs w Thief on
Paul Stastny - 83 OVR - WPJ / C - PP¹ , MAG¹
Joel Eriksson EK - 82 OVR - MIN / C - GLA¹ , WM¹
Conor Garland - 81 OVR - ARI / RW - LTL¹ , WH¹
Joel Edmundson - 81 OVR - MTL / LD - HOW¹ , WM¹
Andrew Copp - 81 OVR - WPJ / C - SPE¹ , T¹ ... 83 FOs with Thief on
Kevin Lankinen - 78 OVR - CHI / C - BAR¹ , SPA¹
Eric Robinson - 78 OVR - CBJ / LW - BAL¹ , GLA¹

Other Leagues

Tobias Stephan - 79 OVR - LAU / G - 6’4” / 194 lbs - DIS¹ , H and S¹
Andres Ambühl - 78 OVR - DAV / RW - BAL¹ , HOW¹
Jonas Arntzen - 78 OVR - ORL / G - 6’3” / 190 lbs - SPA¹ , SWA¹
Sandro Zurkirchen - 77 OVR - LUG / G - 5’11” / 172 lbs - BAR¹ , H and S¹
Ahti Oksanen - 77 OVR - KOL / LW - PP¹ , SWA¹
Mason Mctavish - 77 OVR - PET / C - DIS¹ , SPE¹
• • • • • • • • • • - - - - - - - - - • • • • • • • • • • • •

Packs Available

• Jumbo Elite Pack - 50k C / 1k P
20 items, with at least 11 80+ OVR players
• NHL Players Pack - 30k C / 600 P
10 items , all Gold NHL Players with at least 4 80+ OVR players
• Players Pack - 15k C / 300 P
10 items , all Players , at least 5 Gold Players and 1 80+ OVR player

P.S.

• HUT CHAMPS PROCESSING - where did you place?
• More Event Cards!!! - 5pm EST - whos your favourite?!
• Blockbuster Deal ! - PLD for LAINE!
• Where does your team stand?
• Hockey in History
——————

What’s to Come?

• Rivals Resets - Tomorrow at 5pm EST
• SB Season Reset - Wednesday at 5pm EST
• Rivals Rewards - Wednesday at 5pm EST
• HUT Champ Rewards - Wednesday at 6am EST
• SB Rewards !! - Thursday at 5pm EST
—————

Summary of the day

Quick Read
Best Forward of the Day - NHL2030 - is QUUIINTON BYFIELDD OVR 90 with the syn DOUBLEEE SPAARKKK! (SPA²⁾
Best Defence of the Day - NHL2030 - is BOOWENN BYYYRAAM OVR 90 with the syn DOUBLEEE DISTRIBUTORRRR (DIS²⁾
////
Best Forward of the Day - PT - is BRAADD MARCHAND OVR 89 with the syn LIIGHT THE LAAMP , and MAGIICIAAN
Best Defence of the Day - PT - is JOOHNN KLINGBERGG OVR 88 with the syn PAASSSING PLAYYMAKERR and SHUUT DOOWN
• MORE NHL 2030 CARDS OUT!!
• HUT CHAMPS PROCESSING
• LAINE FOR PLD ! WOW!
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Important Notice

Think of your life like a bow and arrow. All your stress, personal problems, world problems, etc., will make the arrow fall back... and the more problems, difficulties, etc., pushing this arrow back is really getting to you... right?
Well not for long.
All those problems will be launched, and a gone ‘er.
You will get through your problems you’re having in life. — the further back this arrow goes? The further you will go into greatness.
I believe , and I pray that your problems will launch into something powerful...
Because you?
You deserve it.
Hope all is going well for you.
——

Interested in Stocks?

EA’s Stock Price, after hours - Jan 25
$ 146.30 (usd) —- Currency Converter
we looked at the stock at $137.54 usd
—— That is a difference of ( $8.76 / 6.37% ) —
Disclaimer - I am not a financial advisor. It is your money, please do your own due diligence. I am not responsible for your money. This is *not** advice. I added this section for an added educational purposes only. Thanks*
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NEED A SOUNDTRACK TO LISTEN TO?

• I made this for everyone. I sincerely hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!

ANYONE HAVE ANY SONG SUGGESTIONS??How are you not listening to this playlist already!?
Comment songs to add, and please give feedback! It’s much appreciated!!
I currently have “Joker and the Thief” by “Wolfmother” stuck in my head.... wanna listen to it? It’s on the playlist!
Sidenote - I really want to show my friend his music is worth all the time and effort he puts into it... he hasn’t been getting a ton of listens on his songs... can you please help me out? If you click Here!! it would mean a lot to me!! Please let me know if you like his music, and I’ll direct all the comments to him :) Thank you so much!
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Sites To Bookmark!

If you click here you will be redirected to bilasport. Bilasport is the best Online Streaming site for your entertainment needs for all sports! (Not affiliated)
A great streaming source recommended by NHLStreams is SurgeSport. Click on Hockey and you’ll be good to go!
Want to make your dream team, and show others what you’ve been working on, and much more? I will redirect you HERE!.
Here’s a helpful pack guide for you! Click!
Want to know how the market is holding up? With a simple TAP! you will be on the newly fresh made website for the HUT market, made by one of the guys on the sub!
.... what do the stats on a card mean? Is my card I want / pulled good? Click here to find out!!
When is my favourite team playing? When do they play!? Here you can click on this link, and tap on your favourite team. From there, tap “Schedule” . You can add this to your homescreen on iPhone by clicking the square with the upwards arrow, scrolling down, and tapping “Add to Home Screen”
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Fighting a Gambling Addiction?

Don’t feel scared to click here. Winning is SO much louder than losing. Know that you are NEVER alone. We are all here for eachother, and it is never too late to get help. I am here for you.
This is a VERY important thread, especially if you are new to HUT. Here!
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Story Time!

An old Cherokee chief teaching his grandson about life ....
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil, he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt and ego.
The other is good, he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.”
The grandson then asked his grandfather, “which wolf will win?”
The old chief simply replied “The one you feed.”
What wolf are you feeding? You can let me know down below in the comments if you wish!
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25 / 365
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Thanks for reading.
I’m always welcome to feedback, please let me know what I can improve on.
If there’s anything missing, please let me know!
Take care, happy gaming! TODAY IS NATIONAL BUBBLE WRAP DAY!
• Coolin Killin It
(Life is like a puzzle, you just have to find the right piece.)

1What retiring early is like

It's fucking great.
I wake up happy, I do pretty much whatever I want during the day, I go to sleep happy.
I indulge my limited passions and hobbies, I plunge down fascinating rabbit holes of knowledge, I bugger off to places for months at a time (harder with Brexit, you xenophobic malcontents), I spend time with people I want to. I feel smug.
I don't have an alarm waking me up, I don't need to take any shit off anyone, I don't burn 90 mins a day on a loud bus screeching stop announcements at 90db in my ear.
In the summer I sometimes pop over to the local greenery, have a pint and meal, read a book, soak up the sun. Great stuff.
My phone is always on silent. It can wait.
People occasionally ask me “what I do all day”. If your imagination is so limited, living in such an incredible time, with so much at your fingertips, that the question even crosses your mind, then carry on working and bitching about it, you don't know how to be happy.
“Scipio used to say that he was never less idle than when he had nothing to do “ - Cicero, On Duties.

2How to get there

2.1Difficulty modes

2.1.1Easy mode: Get free university education, get a good job, buy a cheap house

Not too difficult if you were born in 1972. Easy mode is now disabled in the UK. Maybe available in foreign versions of the game, such as in Greece or Denmark.

2.1.2Medium mode: Don't have kids

I swear to god, I have been pretty lucky not to accidentally father a crotch goblin, and believe me, little Goocho often vetoed my brain. Use contraceptives. Notice how all the shit hole countries don't give women control over their reproduction.
If I had foolishly crapped out a kid, I would have had to work another 10 years at least I reckon. Ugh.
Borrow kids to play with them, and return when they start crying.

2.1.3Hard mode: Have kids

Look, if you are spending 100k or whatever to raise a kid I don't know what to tell you, at least you got laid eh?
I hope you enjoy working like I didn't. Seriously, if you have a job you like, great stuff, things will be much easier for you. The impetus to leave it won't be so great. The point of all this is to be happy after all!

2.2Control your costs

Filling your house full of nonsense is consumerism at it's worst.
I practice a kind of minimalism. So I don't own a freezer, a cooker or a dish washing machine. Guess what? They will never need repairing or replacing! But I do own an amazing OLED tv, a solid speaker system, loads of films and books. Minimalism is a whole other subject, and attracts the mentally ill who take it to extremes. Spend money on a decent mattress you fools.
Subscriptions are death by a thousand cuts, and will weigh you down. However Netflix and Amazon Prime are great. Shades of grey.
Screw charities, charity workers get paid salaries and you are supposed to give for free? Nope. Begging scum. “it is only the price of a coffee”, bitch please, I pay 10p a cup for my lovely coffee.
Pay your taxes. Don't be a leech on society.
Live in a small house.
Aldi is great.
If you don't get married, you can't get ruinously divorced, .
Insurance is generally a scam, if you are drunkenly fucking up so regularly than you need your phone insured, sort your life out.
You really need that car? Hmmm. If you are driving to the supermarket and paying for the gym, you are an idiot. Those two cancel each other out.
Only unhappy people play the lottery.
Buy a decent phone for £200, pay £5 a month for service. You think iFruit users will look down upon you? Comparison is the thief of joy.
DIY accomplishments are mentally rewarding, great exercise and cheap – or you can throw money at a problem to make it go away, this is the point of money after all, we sell and buy time with it. Before I buy anything big, I ask myself, is this worth x days sitting in an office for​?
Spend your money how you like, I am not your mum.
Enjoy what you have.

2.3Plan a little

Write down (don't guess) how much you spend a month over a couple of years.
For investments, assume inflation cancels out general increase in non distributing equity value. This is all a rough guessing game anyway, don't pretend it isn't.
I think there are two ways to look at when you can stop working:

2.3.1Cash drawdown per month until death

If you assume you are going to die around 85 (actuarial tables available online), divide your cash + private pension wealth + state pension amount will pay you until age 85 by the number of months left to live, this tells you how much you can spend a month before you die. Sounds like enough? Investment appreciation means you might have more than that.

2.3.2Cash dividends per month

You have a lumpsum of wealth. Flexible uk pension rules means you no longer need to take the annuity gamble. 4% returns a year seems conservatively doable. Can you live on that? Means you die with a load of cash. Stash it in your silk lined coffin.

2.4Play it safe, but not too safe

Assume laws and taxes will change. Don't count too much on that state pension.
If the NHS falls ill itself, you might need some cash to go private. Good luck getting that hip surgery in the next 12 months post covid!
If the stock market takes a 10% dump, you must still sleep soundly. Don't live too close to the edge.
Assume and hope your parents will spend all their wealth on themselves, having a happy end of life in an old folks home. Points off as a human being for relying on your parent snuffing it for free money.
What if your body conks out and you start shitting yourself and have to pay 4k a month to be served Dickensian gruel in a nursing home? Trust in the societal safety net? Work another 5 years just in case? Keep a cyanide pill by the bed? Sell your house I guess? I'm rolling the dice on this one. Maybe dancing in VR and these 50 degree Victorian terrace stairs will keep me fit (or kill me).

2.5Personal Story

Went to Uni, got a Computering degree, got a job I liked, autistic-ally worked at it, got paid lots of money, bought a house at 26 for 48k, parents threw in 10k to get rid of me, paid off the mortgage in 30 months.
After 8 years in said job, started to dislike it, took 6 months off work. Worked another 2 years before I got made redundant, 15k for doing nothing? Yes please!
Worked about half the time from age 32 to 46 as Contractor scum, in jobs I generally disliked or eventually hated. Had 2-3 years between jobs. Snatching retirement chunks from the future. I figured, why leave retirement until I am too old to enjoy it? Took around 3 months to get a new job each time, I didn't care, I loved not working!
Played casino blackjack for a couple of years for ~8 hours a week, made £12k. Shuffling machines have stopped all that now, was bored of it anyway.
Decided at 40 I had better get a pension, threw money at it when working.
So at 46, when I walked out on the pathetic management at my last gig (FIS Birmingham, you see when you are retired, you really don't have to give a shit!), I had worked for a total of ~15 years, thoroughly enjoyed not working and was sick of working.
At 47 I realised maybe I don't actually need another job? Started paying real attention to my finances.
At 48, I have 110k cash & 140k pension = 250k. 4% a year dividends = 10k a year. I can live happily on that.
£800 a month is enough. I spent £350 a month in December and January, had a great time. Will get a PS5 when available, boiler is bound to break eventually. It all evens out.
My state pension fortells a sickly £117 per week. Meh. Forgive me for not factoring that in too much. Who knows where I will be in 20 years? Hopefully sleeping in late without an alarm clock.

Ramtidings, dear friends! It is I, your dutiful lord and master, the eternal GM. My sabbatical proved most fruitful, having figured out some depth mechanics for 3 dimensional combat in my pet project, Blood & Thunder, a maritime piracy RPG that has been both a joy and a nerve-wracking nightmare to create. If you want to see what's going on with that, you can swing by patreon.com/BlackFlagPrintingPress to take a look or support my endeavors. But I digress, because I did not come here today to talk about Blood & Thunder, no. I came here with something else in mind, good friends, for while I have been writing my bread and butter, you have gone without your beard and butter, and this is unacceptable! And so, I have trawled the depths of my memory to bring you yet another TAAAAAALE FROM THE TABLETOP, lovingly subtitled A Prologue Into Poverty.
Life is not an easy thing. There was a time when life was very difficult for me. I had far less than most, and I went without frequently, my entire life loaded into a backpack of bare necessities. Joys were few and times were hard, but I made the best of it. I traveled the countryside, mostly alone, making friends where I could amongst the other forgotten souls who haunt the streets of the United States. I met a good number of people, many of them listless drifters in their own right, who became fast friends. We would hang out for a time, but like all drifters, we would eventually part ways, called to different places to do different things. I had just come from North Carolina. I had been in Asheville, playing bluegrass to make money with friends who eventually proved dishonest, and so I parted ways with them. While in Asheville, I had met a girl, also on the road like myself, and I developed a massive crush on her. Fortune would have it that our time together was short lived, as she disappeared on a freighter down the train tracks, and I layed curled up in a bush sick as a dog for the next 3 days.
You can't get a ride from a freighter with 8 people without getting pulled off by johnny law. Our group had fractured, and myself and one other soul continued on our own, until we parted ways in Atlanta. Now, on my own, clueless and green, I wandered aimlessly, until a friend of mine at the time reached out to me by way of the internet. He had work for me, back in California, if I could just make it there. What's 3000 miles? I've got this. I walked out of Atlanta, hitched a series of rides to Arkansas, and then caught a freighter myself, all the way back to the west coast while UP did the driving. I laid on the back of that train for 3 days until I finally ran out of water and decided to get off. I was in Los Angeles. After a bit of panhandling, I got a bus into the central valley, and my friend came and scooped me up. I worked on my friends farm for a bit, building green houses and stacking money until the time came for me to once again depart. During that time, my crush from North Carolina had found me on Facebook. We got to talking.
She told me she had gone back home to Wisconsin and was working in some greasy spoon trying to save up money to afford a bus. She'd been back for awhile now, but wasn't making any headway. Her vices were getting the best of her, and she couldn't seem to get ahead. I told her she needed to knock that shit off and clean up her act. After a long enough time talking, however, things started to get flirty and dirty.
I wanted to see her, and it's actually amazing what a guy will do for love. You're how far away? Piece of cake. Hold my beer. With the work season coming to a close, I took my pay and my leave of my old friend, and he dropped me off in Modesto at the Greyhound. On the way out, he loaded me up with gifts for my travels - a new backpack, socks, a sleeping bag, some snacks for the ride... and naturally, he gave me a gift that I always treasure. He gave me a set of RPG dice. I gave my boy a hug, wished him well in his endeavors, and promised I'd be back in the fall to help him with the harvest and gathering firewood. So I went on my merry way.
I absolutely despise Greyhounds. Have you ever been on one? It's miserable. There's no room to stretch out unless you sit in the back, right by the toilet. Some asshole is always blaring garbage mumble rap on his phone all day long. It doesn't matter who you are - at the end of the trip you exude the pungent aroma of a neckbeard. This didn't bother me too much - personal hygiene suffers when you have no way to bathe regularly, so I was used to being dirty, and my friends from the road were usually very dirty people in their own right at the time, so I could handle a certain degree of grossness... within limits. I did shower at my friend's farm before I boarded that bus, though, and was feeling rather spiffy - clean body, clean clothes. Life was good and I was on my way to see my woman.
I did my best to zone out. I tried to sleep as much as I could and ignore the general atmosphere of the bus, but that was no longer an option after a layover in Las Vegas. We boarded the bus once more after an almost 24 hour delay on our schedules, and finally got moving again. I sat in the back near the toilet, as I was no stranger to this game and wanted that bench seat, and foul smells at the time didn't bother me much... or so I thought. With the bus filling up and the seats reducing to slim pickings, it dawned on me that my coveted back seat bench was going to get shared. Then, I saw him... the Busbeard.
I'm usually a pretty nice person, but I did not want my coveted backseat benchseat getting taken up, let alone by this massive lardass that now lumbered towards me. I did everything in my power to seem as big and hostile as I could. This was all in vain, however, as some people cannot read social cues. I stared at him, dripping hostility, mentally repeating sit somewhere else like it was a Zen mantra. However, nobody wanted him to sit by them either, and so, he made his way, closer and closer, as he asked people if seats were taken until he got to me at the back. He shifted to sit into the seat, angling his ass in the general direction of my face. The smell of soggy feces-laden underwear wafted up as he slid his bulk onto the bench.
Did I mention that personal hygiene suffers on a greyhound bus ride, especially when you've been riding for days? I've taken my fair share of Greyhounds, and it's unlikely that this new arrival had been riding for awhile. He was eastbound, like the rest of us, and we were in Las Vegas. His point of origin was... not very far east. I had only been on the bus for approximately a day so far, minus the extended layover time of course, so I was getting a ittle sweaty myself, but this guy smelled as if he not only lived on this bus, but was born in the blue poop goop of the latrine. It was a question worthy of debate as to whether this man had actually employed the use of a speed stick in his life. His patchy jowels jiggled at me as he said, hi.
I responded with a gruff and monotone hello, and then turned my attentions to the window, watching the bus depot workers loading up suitcases beneath. My fate was sealed. This man was to be my travel companion all the way to Denver. I decided then that maybe it would be best to ignore him. I plugged in my phone, booted up an emulator I had downloaded, and started to play some Pokemon to whittle away the hours. It didn't take long, however, before I could feel his olfactory looming become physical looming as he examined the screen upon which I played from over my shoulder.
Busbeard: Pokemon? I fucking love Pokemon! I didn't know you could play it on a phone. How are you doing that?
His heavy respirations were like an infusion of green spearmint and halitosis.
GM: Emulators.
I went back to my game, trying to angle myself away from him in such a way that he couldn't lean over my shoulder and watch me as I trained my team, but I was effectively sandwiched between him and the wall, forced to sit straight as he leaned over and watched me play. I debated then, what I ought to do. Playing Pokemon would make the time fly, but I would be crushed between the window and a sweaty fat man. Not playing Pokemon would save me the physical agony of being squished, but I would be painfully bored for seemingly endless miles, and he may use it as an opportunity to interact further. A decision needed to be made.
I shut the emulator off and put away my phone, turning my attention back out the window as the bus pulled out of the Las Vegas terminal and began down the freeway. It was not long after we had pulled out of the station, however, when that wheezing, rasping voice chirped up again.
Busbeard: So where are you going?
I ignored him, focusing on the casinos towering in the distance of the skyline, pretending as if I hadn't heard the question, or as if it weren't addressed at me. With insistance, he repeated his question at my turned back again, searching for a response within my stony exterior. I mumbled, the Midwest, and he questioningly grunted, and asked me to repeat myself. I guess we're doing this.
GM: I'm going to the Midwest.
Busbeard: Where in the Midwest?
GM: Wisconsin.
Busbeard: I've never been to Wisconsin before, but I know they got really good cheese! Hyuk hyuk... Is that why you're going there?
Judging by his smell, he must have been an excessively avid connosieur of fine Wisconsinite cheese. However, cheese was the last thing on my mind at the time.I was enamored with my lady love.
GM: I'm going to see an old friend.
Busbeard: Oh, that's cool... who is it?
The odds of this man knowing the person who I was on my way to visit were astronomically low. Your odds of getting struck by lightning, winning the lottery, and becoming president in the same day were probably higher than this cretin knowing the one specific person whom I was going to go visit in some backwater Wisconsin town. Still, I humored him, and in the same flat voice, answered his question, and told him I was on my way to see my sweetheart.
This caught Busbeard's attention. For a grown man in his mid 30s, he let out a loud "oooooooo" like a middle schooler would when he finds out his friend has a crush. I contemplated execution methods and the subjective severity of their barbarism as he excitedly asked me where she was from.
GM: Wisconsin.
Busbeard: Yeah... but, where in Wiconsin?
GM: Fuck off, dude. I'm not going to tell you the town where she lives.
Busbeard: Heh! I'd be terrified of telling a superior male like me where my girlfriend lives, too. A little kid like you wouldn't stand a chance next to a man like me. Her panties would hit the floor from one whiff of my pheromones. It happens all the time, bro, I swear. I could have any woman on this bus. They just can't resist me. They can sense my manhood, I know it.
I shouldn't stir the pot. All common sense tells me that I should just stop myself while I'm ahead, but sometimes... sometimes I just can't help myself. I've always been a pretty reserved and self-contained person for the most part, and I just want to be left alone 90% of the time to do my thing. Apparently, that's a lot to ask, because every now and then, somebody comes and invades my personal space with their protruding belly, bad breath, and self-aggrandizement, and then I find it really hard to resist my inclination to fuck with them. I know, I know, it's wrong of me to do that, but I'm human, damnit, and something good was cooking in the kitchen. What's the harm in dipping a spoon into this self-important concoction of body odor and bravado?
GM: Any woman, huh? Tell ya what, Busbeard, I just got paid, and you seem really confident in the power of your, ahhhhh, pheromones, so... how about a wager.
I laid out the terms of my devil's bargain. With a wager of 100 dollars, I would pick a lady on the bus at the next break. Busbeard would then have to seduce her. He MUST "present" his pheromones to her, naturally. If he recovered her phone number, or anything in excess thereof, like a kiss or a consensual toilet stall consummation, it would suffice to meet my criteria and loose my grasp from the freshly printed Franklin in my wallet. He agreed enthusiastically to my terms, insisting I was going to loose and he was going to get his dick sucked in a Greyhound portajohn "blumpkin style".
We rode along in silence for the next hour or so. The sun was high in the sky when we made our next stop at some gas station in Utah, and everyone filed off the bus to stretch their legs and get their snacks. I wandered around, huffing down my smoke, chatting it up with people and making friends, seeing just who they were, asking them questions - where they were going, who they were going there with. I got to talking with one guy and his girlfriend.
The guy, who we will call Sarge, was built like a brick shithouse and was a former infantry man who served 2 tours of duty in the middle east. He was traveling with his wife, a young and pretty little thing who we will call Alexandra. They were on their way back to the east coast to stay with family. Alexandra's mom was getting old and had asked them to move in to help take care of her. They were on their way out there to steward her aging mother's estate. I remarked that that was awfully kind of them, and sincerely wished them the best on taking care of Alexandra's aging mom. I told them a little bit about myself, as well... that I was effectively living on the road, playing life by ear, and on the way to see a loved one of mine for a bit before the wind blew me somewhere else.
Eventually, the bus driver gave everyone a 5 minute warning before departure, and we all filed on board. I moved back to my seat and waited for Busbeard to arrive. He came back, cradling piles of gas station sandwiches, bags of chips, and a couple of sodas in his massive paws. He sat down beside me with a loud "oof" and offered me a drink, saying that it's the least he could do before he took my money. I took that beverage. It was both cold and delicious.
GM: Well, Busbeard, I've done my rounds, and I've come to a decision.
Busbeard: Who is it? She better be hot. I swear to God, if you make me waste my time on some dried up roastie, I'm gonna be so fucking pissed at you dude.
GM: Why would I do that dude? Naturally, I only want the best for you. No, she's very pretty. You see that girl over there, in the aisle seat? That's the one. Make your move whenever you're ready.
I pointed out Alexandra to him. I already knew this was going to end very poorly. There was no way in Hell that Alexandra would express any interest in this disgusting lardass whatsoever when she had a stable and solid man like Sarge, and Sarge wasn't about to take guff from anyone. Add on to it that Sarge was easily the size of, if not bigger than, the prodigious Busbeard himself. Sarge was also trained to kill and hardened by years of combat in the graveyard of empires. I can fight - I've fought a lot - and I would not want to square up against him under any circumstances. Busbeard was going to get the snot beat out of him and pay me 100 dollars for that privilege.
The bus took off and I listened to the disgusting sounds of Busbeard inhaling the equivalent of 5 pounds of gas station food. I was only halfway through my soda, when Busbeard emitted a satisfied belch that rumbled the seats, and the feeding frenzy had ended in an effervesence of curdling bile and preservatives just as fast as it had begun. He then started to pump himself up for the task at hand. He started to sweat with excitement and latent cardiac arrest as he prepared his pheromonal aura about himself, and then with a gruff, alright, let's do this, he stood up from his seat and waddled down the aisle, his greasy belly bumping into everybody who had chosen an aisle seat.
He approached Alexandra. They were near the front end of the bus, and so I couldn't hear a word that they were saying. I watched Busbeard as he extended an arm and held on to the overhead luggage rack, exposing the damp miasma of corn-syrup infused armpit sweat to his unsuspecting victim. His pheromones were beginning to work their magic over the unsuspecting Alexandra who would soon be enraptured by its juicy spell. I waited, leaning forward intently, when a loud shout broke the silence.
Sarge: BACK THE FUCK UP.
Alexandra started to shout, too, yelling "get the fuck away from me!"
The driver turned back and yelled for everyone to sit down and shut the hell up or he would pull the bus over.
Sarge: Please do! I'm gonna beat this fucking lardass into the pavement! Saying shit like that to my wife? Who the fuck do you think you are?
The bus driver repeated his warning, and Busbeard began to shout his protests, insisting upon his innocence.
Busbeard: B-but, I was put up to it! It was that guy, in the back seat! He said---
He pointed back at me. I yelled back, I don't fucking know that guy.
The bus driver meant his threat, and pulled the bus over. We were on a long and empty stretch on the I-15 somewhere in rural Utah. The last town I had seen was about 20 miles back. It was late spring, and it was getting hot outside that afternoon. The bus driver got out of his seat, walked up to Busbeard, and told him to get the Hell off of his bus. Busbeard kept protesting, when Sarge moved past his wife, and started forcing Busbeard towards the front door.
I've heard the threat of getting kicked off maybe a thousand times on a Greyhound, but I had never seen it play out before. Busbeard was thrown off the bus. Sarge did not join him outside and pummel him into the asphalt, regrettably, as I would have loved to have watched it. Busbeard kept pleading with the bus driver as the driver shut the door on him, sealing him out on the shoulder of a lonely stretch of highway. I breathed a sigh of relief, and stretched out my legs. It was another 15 miles before we saw signs of civilization. A part of me felt bad for Busbeard, but the other part of me said, "if I can walk 20 miles in a day with 60 lbs of shit on my back, he can do an unencumbered 15 and be fine."
The ride continued on in sweet, reclined silence for me until we reached Denver, werein there was another changeover, and this bus was much, much more desolate. The rest of the Greyhound voyage passed without incident, and I spent my time flirting with my lady love and training some Pokemons. At long last, I finally arrived in Wisconsin. She came to pick me up at the bus station, and when we approached each other, we made out like long lost lovers for a good 5 minutes before we finally caught our breath enough to say hello. I got in her car, and spent maybe a week or so with her, before it was time to take my leave. I couldn't live there forever, and so, as fast as I had drifted into her life, once again, it was time for me to disappear. We said goodbye, and she dropped me off at a lonely interstate overpass on the edge of town. I put my thumb out to catch a ride to Anywhere But Here USA.
I planned my next move, and I figured that there were some friends of hers and mine that lived not too far away in the Dakotas, and maybe I would pay them a visit next. I was in the neighborhood, and figured that I might as well say hello. I reached out to them online, and then made my way west again. They were excited for me to come see them. It was only a day into the voyage when I received a message from Janet. It said, "wait for me, I'm catching up." She had packed her backpack again, and was coming after me, hot on my tail. I told her we could meet up at our mutual friend's house.
I dialed ahead to our friends, who we shall call Sarah and Queenie. Sarah used to travel together with Janet for many months before she stabilized, and then settled down. Queenie was one of my friends from North Carolina. He was a loveable chucklefuck of a drifter, missing a few teeth, wore a skirt, and spoke in the most haggard voice you could imagine. Still... he insisted on being called Queenie. He had settled down with Sarah after they hooked up, and they were living at Sarah's house. He was on thin ice there, however, and she was threatening to kick him out.
I arrived at Sarah's and Queenie's, and spent the next few days waiting for Janet to come up on my heels. During that time, Queenie and I played a lot of Magic (he had just gotten into it), and I remembered the dice that my friend in California had given me that were laying unusued in my backpack. I asked him if he had ever played tabletop RPG's before, to which he answered no. I told him that, maybe next time I see him and I'm in a better spot, we could run a game. Eventually Janet caught up, and we prepared to leave Sarah's for good towards our own new horizons. Queenie, however, had finally broken through the thin ice upon which he skated, and was getting thrown out. On the day of our departure, we asked him if he wanted to join us in our travels so he wouldn't have to go it alone.
Thus we began from Sarah's house out into the unknown once again, a cheerful trio, and true to my word, I began to teach not only Queenie, but Janet as well, the joys of tabletop RPGs.
As I'm sure you can surmise, dear friends, that this is not the end of our story, but only the beginning of another chapter. Is Busbeard still alive? What does the future hold for Ramtide's love life? How do a gaggle of vagabond drifters play tabetop games without a table? Some of these questions will be answered, my dear friends, in our next installment of TAAAAAALES FROM THE TABLETOP.
A shoutout to my lovely patrons, Tatoferret and Sillibits. You guys are wonderful. Thank you for believing in the dream.

“...and walk away with a trip to beautiful Las Vegas Nevada! Enjoy a complimentary 5 day 4 night stay at any MGM casino resort all on us! No nonsense, no gimmicks. Just a bit of your precious time! Call today!”
Yes. A vacation extravaganza all on the arm. Courtesy of the Hibou Timeshare Corporation. All it cost was your time and cooperation for a timeshare presentation. Simple enough yes? I wish I would have realized how much better a couple of overtimes would have served me, than taking myself to that horrid building.
I was living in Phoenix AZ with my parents. Still half way bullshitting my final semester at college. I’ve got to be honest, I was checked out. It was summer..I was going to graduate and I had these final two classes in the bag. I could have failed my finals and still walked out with a C. Yes but that kind of luxury came at a price. My social life was the casualty in all of this. While I did have a tight knit of pals, my attendance to social gatherings were...well..less than punctual. I was usually doing work for one of my advanced classes. If not that, then I was pulling a shift at either of my jobs. Yeah..you could say I gave up the glamour of late night pizzas, puking in my friends car and hooking up with a random ASU frat sluts for a heavier wallet...except I was paying everything out of my own pocket. My gas, insurance, cell, college. I wasn't exactly hiding cash in the walls. My parents worked hard but..never did make a living to give me and my siblings an extravagant lifestyle. We were grateful though.
So when I heard that AD of how I could get a long needed vacation to party central Las Vegas, all for watching some BS timeshare I knew I wasn’t going to buy into, you bet your ass off I made that call. The phone only rang once before I got an answer,
“Thank you for calling the Hibou Timeshare Corporation, how can we help you?” a voice rang through the phone. The voice sounded shrill and sickly.
“Hi, I'm calling about the vacation in Vegas? Says that you need people for a presen..”
“Yeessss.” the voice interrupted “The timeshare presentation, well...we would be so honored to have you”
“Uhh..yeah...anyway I’d like to sign up? Is there a form online or do you take the information here?” I said..now feeling a bit tense.
“Well I'll tell you what...pack your things for the vacation. When we are finished presenting..we can send you on our way to Vegas. We just need..a bit of your time.”
That was that. He gave me the address, date and time of the meeting. The area was in a place called Amargosa Valley in Nevada. Luckily it was just about an hour away from Vegas. Before we parted ways on the phone, the operator said something...he said something that should have been a MAJOR red flag.
“Okay then, you’re all set...we will see you July 28th at 4:30pm. Not a moment later” he laughed
“Oh..and..one more thing, if you have some more specimens like yourself that might be interested in the free vacation...bring them along. They’ll all receive the same prize and you will receive $100 cash for every person you bring. We look forward to presenting you, Austin. Good day.”
I never gave him my name.
Still, my young dumb brain didn’t hear anything past $100 dollars. So I rounded up a few of my best pals and we were set to meet the reps over at the timeshare. The days leading up to the trip I couldn't get a hold of myself. It was so exciting. My first real vacation in...i couldn't remember how long. I longed for this type of adventure with my friends. We packed a truck full and set off to Amargosa Valley.
I brought Luke, Larry and Adam. We’d been friends since the 3rd grade. We all moved to AZ from different parts of the country that summer, so being new kids we naturally ganged up together. Luke was from Texas..we called him Tex. Real big guy. Loved to work out but definitely was a bit of a boozebag. Larry was from Ohio. Quiet in public but probably the loudest of us all. Always had some political conspiracy to talk about. Then Adam..Adam was interesting. He was from Florida...or Georgia...or Nebraska. Adam never could keep it straight about where he was from. He always had some sort of story and backtrack about where he’d come from. I personally thought he was probably from another part of AZ and just wanted to fit in...so we humor him and let him be the nomad of our group. I myself was originally from California...things got pricey so we made the move to blistering AZ.
That was my crew. No matter how long it had been, we were always as tight as ever. The ride was filled with laughing and gags. Stops at fast food joints and all around bullshitting. Yes it was an amazing time just driving there, we couldn't wait to get on with the meeting and head down to Boozeville USA. As we approached our destination...something felt off. Amargosa Valley had been a bit of a ghost town the whole drive. A gas station here. A small outlet there...but otherwise unpopulated. When we hit our destination we were met by a Chrome building. Smack center in the middle of the highway. As we parked at the only stall..we all took a look at each other.
“Well this is...odd.” Luke said plainly.
“Yeah man...are we really going there?” Adam shook out. Barely containing his fear.
“Look guys, I know it looks weird. This place is really clean and bright in the middle of a dusty desert but c’mon. It's like what...an hour of our time? Within 2 hours we’ll be on our way to the dopest guys trip ever.” I said...selfishly.
The guys all agreed. We got out, locked the car up and walked in through the sliding glass doors. The cool air hit us like a wave. Each of us breathing in the refreshingly cold air. The inside of this lobby..was also immaculate. Chrome everywhere. Right down to the sofas and chairs. A woman came from around the front desk.
“You must be here to be presented. I see you brought more specimens! What a joy! Will you gentlemen please follow me?” She said.
Specimens. Ugh. Her tone. That word still makes me shutter.
Me and the boys looked at each other..all with the same should we do it look on our faces. Maybe it was the cold air enticing our sweaty brows. We’d been a poorly AC’D truck for a couple hours. Or maybe it was the ice cold drinks she presented in front of us. Whatever the case we followed her through a door behind the front desk and were met with a grand auditorium. It looked as if it could hold maybe 50 people. And all they had was me and my knucklehead friends. As we sat down, sucking down sodas and waters, a mans voice came over the intercom.
“Welcome my friends to the Hibou Timeshare Corporation presentation. Today you will be examining the lifetime of these vessels. Determine whether or not you think they are a smart investment and make a choice if you would like to partake!” I recognized the voice. It was the same shrill tone that I set up the appointment with.
“Now my dear friends, it's time to sit back with your favorite drink...and listen..”
With that, a large projector screen came down from the celine. An old timey countdown began winding down.
BEEP3...BEEP2...BEEP1
From what I can remember, I heard the screams of something...unnatural. A scream so high tone that I felt as if my ears would burst with blood. I tried clasping my hands over my ears but to no avail. The screams were too overpowering. As soon as it started, I passed out.
I awoke looking at the lights on the celine. Unable to sit up. I could tell I was bareass naked on a metal table. I moved my head, the little that i could to see Adam next to me on another table. Naked as the day we were born. He was encased in what looked like a light purple energy field. Looking more in depth, I too had this field in front of me. Before I could speak the tables raised up. Bringing me upright. Bringing me face to face with Tex. To the left of me..Larry. “My friends, I present to you: Terramite 99-0 specimens.” a voice rang out. The same voice from the auditorium.
“They are..of the male species. Strong. Cunning and above all loyal...if raised properly.”
“HEY, you bastards. WTF is this! LET US GO!” Tex cried out. Before he could continue, the energy field tightened around him. Tex let out a scream that will haunt me for the rest of my life. The smell of burned flesh and hair filled the area. I would have puked had the horror of seeing my best friend being burned alive wasn't keeping my attention away from the smell. When the field lifted, Tex was stripped down to the muscle fibers. Hair burned down to the scalp. Tex convulsed until he finally relaxed into a hanging position on the table.
“Now see..specimen is now sedated. Reduced to a weaker position. With the energy field keeping him contained and the Auto-Reversal Time Warp engaging, we can have this specimen back into working shape immediately.”
There was an electrical hum in the air. As before my eyes, Tex’s skin began to heal. His hair growing back. And all burns subsiding. It was as if nothing had happened to him. He still hung in limbo, but we could see the breath return to his chest.The rest of us let out bits of gasps of horror and astonishment.
I could see Adam crying a bit in the corner of my eyes.
A figure appeared from behind me. A tentacle graced my shoulder, not even phased by the force field. I caught sight of the creature. It stood around 7foot tall. Skin that looked human but a head that was elongated. No nose. And eyes that were black as coal. It had two tentacles for hands. I could not see its feet, as it was covered by a long gown.
Larry screamed in anger. “Your...your...a...a…” he managed to get out before the creature silenced him.
“Shhhh….I am...a salesman is all. Now my friends I will demonstrate the life cycle of the Terramite 99-0’s.”
With that, Larry's forcefield began to hum. Right before my eyes Larry began to get...smaller. Not in stature necessarily, no, but in age. He went from being a young man..to a teenager..to that kid i met in 3rd grade..to an infant. His cries were extremely loud. Unaware of the horrors around him. At that moment I could hear Adam's field begin to hum.
“Please no! Please!” Adam begged.
“If you will direct your attention to our third pod:”
Adam then began to scream as he went from a young man..to middle aged man...to retirement age and finally...to a decrepit old man. Hair as white as snow. Wrinkled beyond recognition. Each breath looking to nearly be his last.
“From birth to the declining ages of 70 and beyond the Auto-Reversal Time Warp pods are the perfect tool to use when training your armys, your children, your slaves. Imagine...never having to replace workers. Never worrying if your training methods or punishments might go too far. Never losing a prisoner to death. And though the Terramites look to be difficult to control, I can guarantee their cooperation once put through the proper training.” The creature said. Full of glee in his dead eyes.
Between the crying of baby larry and incoherent babbling of old man adam, the room felt like it was spinning. Just when I thought things couldn't get any stranger, the rest of the lights came to life. The room we were in were surrounded by seats, similar to the ones we sat in. However, sitting in these seats were ghastly creatures of different varieties. Some looked like the salesman creature. Others were ogreish. Large bodied creatures covered in a film of slime. Some of them even looked human. It was the eyes though...their eyes were a teal color with white pupils. Many many creatures looked up me and my friends. All of them began clapping their hands and cheering in unison. The claps were deafening. The cries of the baby felt as if a baseball bat was ramming my head. Adams babbling was terrifyingly disturbing. And Tex...hanging there. Eyes rolled back into his skull. I couldnt imagine the hell he began to feel. At this point I wondered what awaited my fate. The clapping stopped abruptly.
“Oh...Austin...yes, well if you want to know what fate awaits you just shut your eyes. Shut your eyes and quietly count back from 3.” the creature said...was he reading my mind?
Suddenly the urge to close my eyes overtook me. Almost as if I had no choice, I began counting down. 3….2….1….
Everything went black. I wasn't sure if i was alive or dead...or somewhere in between. I saw nothing but black for what felt like a lifetime. And in an instant...I heard that same shrill scream. Only this time I could not cover my ears. I couldn’t feel my body but I felt an unimaginable amount of pain. As the scream grew to its peak, I slammed my eyes open. Trying to catch my breath.
I was back in the car...we were all back in the car. The engine was on. Shitty ac blasting. The others were still out. I sat up in my seat. Not wanting to move too suddenly. The sun was beating down on us. I looked over at the time on the dash…July 28th 4:34 pm. I reached into my shirt pocket and I found several vouchers for the MGM hotels in Vegas along with $300 dollars. I also found a card that simply read “Hibou Timeshare Corp. would like to thank you for a bit of your time”
The boys came too. All feeling rather groggy.
“We all fell asleep huh?” Adam laughed. “We here?”
They didn't remember a thing. Not one thing. Not going in...not the reception area...not the freaky timeshare presentation...not one bit. I lied...i told them that while they were sound asleep, we arrived a little earlier than expected. The presenter had an emergency and left our vouchers at the front desk and apologized profusely.
“Wow, what a gentleman!” Tex laughed. “We definitely owe it to him to sit through another timeshare, probono.” Larry added.
I think it's safe to say that I will not be returning to this or any other timeshare. As I drove away I could see the building disappear in the rear view mirror.
So if you’re traveling deep within the southwest of the United States and hear an ad for a free vacation that's too good to be true...do yourself a favor..turn off the radio, call into work and ask for some overtime..because nothing is ever given for free.

hat’s happening on Wall Street?
Investors have been rushing into the nearly bankrupt strip mall video game retailer GameStop faster than shoppers hoping to score a PlayStation5 at a Black Friday door-crashers sale. Suddenly, the company is valued more than big box tech behemoth Best Buy. Its shares are trading at a volume surpassing even the biggest stock of them all, Apple.
If you think it’s because GameStop suddenly re-invented the video game wheel, the answer is no. In fact, other than the hiring of a new CEO, not much at the company has changed since last year when a share of GameStop stock could be had for as little as $5. But at their peak (as of this writing) on the morning of Thursday, Jan. 28, the company’s shares hit $500 in premarket trading. Cumulatively, GameStop stock has skyrocketed 1,200% in the recent period.
With game enthusiasts embracing streaming subscriptions and turning away from plastic cartridges, many analysts have been predicting GameStop will soon be going the way of Blockbuster—another modern incarnation of video killing the radio star. So if GameStop did little, if anything, to turn around its sagging fortunes, why are its shares in such high demand?
The only thing that changed is that Wall Street powerhouse hedge funds and short-sellers have lost their monopoly on gaming the stock market casino.
The meteoric rise in GameStop shares—and to a lesser extent those of other troubled companies, like Bed Bath & Beyond, Blackberry, movie house AMC, and even candy maker Tootsie Roll—is being driven by the actions of a group of what the Wall Street professionals call dangerous amateurs.
Coordinating with each other on a section of the online platform Reddit called WallStreetBets, a huge number of relatively small-time investors (around 2.2 million of them by the most recent count) have teamed up to take on the big guys in a battle that has all the trappings of a Robin Hood tale.
The “short” in a nutshell
To understand the game plan of the WallStreetBets crowd, it’s necessary to know some of the lingo of Wall Street gambling—especially the concept of the “short.”
A short is when an investor essentially “borrows” a company’s stock from a broker. The investor then takes that borrowed stock and sells it on the market. The hope of the “short seller” is that the value of that company’s stock will drop before they are due to return their borrowed shares, allowing them to re-buy the stock at a cheaper price and return it to the broker—pocketing the difference as a profit.
In essence, they are placing a bet against a company’s future. They believe the company is worth less than the market is valuing it at, and when that reality sets in among others, then they will get to cash in on their foresight.
As an example, a short-seller may borrow a share of Company A and sell it for the current market price of $100. They do so because they believe Company A isn’t really worth $100 per share and eventually the price will drop. If they are right, and the price of Company A shares sink to $60, then the short-seller will re-buy the share at the new price and return it to the broker (called “covering the short”). The $40 difference is their profit.
If they are wrong, however, and Company A’s shares go up, then they will lose out on their bad bet. Let’s say that Company A shares go from $100 to $120. When the short-seller’s stock loan comes due, they have to buy a share at whatever the current price is and return it to the broker. Their loss in this case would be $20. But what if the price of Company A shares go even higher, to $150, $200, or $500?
In a regular stock transaction, when a person actually buys a share (as opposed to borrowing it like a short-seller does), their potential loss is capped at whatever they paid. You can’t lose more than you put in. But for a short-seller, the potential loss is actually endless. When the due date comes for their borrowed shares, they have to pay whatever it takes to cover their short.
Gambling against GameStop
Now, back to the real world and the GameStop situation.
A number of weeks ago, the “amateur” investors on WallStreetBets started focusing their attention on the huge hedge funds with massive short bets against GameStop. They targeted outfits like Melvin Capital and Citron Research that had taken short positions in GameStop and then spent months talking about how bad the company was (an intentional effort to drive down its share price).
The gambling against GameStop had gotten so extreme that there were over 71 million borrowed short shares out there, even though the company has only 69 million shares—short-sellers were “borrowing” stock that didn’t even exist! These Wall Street titans became the villains for the Reddit Robin Hoods. (Appropriately, Robinhood is the name of a popular trading app used by many of the so-called untraditional investors.)
WallStreetBets members fantasized about how great it would be to make these short-sellers scream by driving up the price of GameStop. Some believed that GameStop really had a chance to turn around and was being unfairly punished by the short-sellers; for others, it was simply the joy that would come from sticking it to the hedge funds.
They’d done it before, on a smaller scale, with other shorted companies. If they got together again and acted in unison with their dollars, they could inflict some real pain on Melvin and Citron.
Putting the squeeze on the short sellers
Within days, WallStreetBets (and others who followed in their wake) engineered what’s called a “short squeeze”—an escalation of a company’s share price that forces short-sellers to buy at an inflated value. Panicked traders at Melvin, Citron, and other big short-sellers reacted exactly as predicted: They scrambled to cover their shorts, knowing that the longer they waited, the more they risked losing.
By the middle of this week, the short-sellers were surrendering. Citron’s managing partner Andrew Left admitted the company had to cover its short Tuesday afternoon at “a loss of 100%.” As for Melvin Capital, it was only kept afloat by an injection of $2.75 billion in funds from other asset management firms. Data from financial analytics firm S3 Partners shows that GameStop short-sellers have collectively lost more than $5 billion in the month of January alone.
The masters of finance on Wall Street are, to put it mildly, pissed. This is a crowd that has enjoyed pretty much unrestrained power for decades, dodging the efforts of governments and activists to rein them in. To be outmaneuvered by a bunch of millennials on the internet has them seeing red—both literally and metaphorically.
Traditional stock market analysts and financial commentators are musing about whether the coordinated moves of WallStreetBets are illegal. Many are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to chase down what they’re characterizing as a “pump and dump” scheme. They are crying out for help from the same regulators they themselves spend all their time avoiding and undermining.
These are the guys who brought us the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the Great Recession. They’re the ones who have made billions of dollars off the pandemic in the past year while the rest of the country lost their jobs and homes—or died from coronavirus. Whatever losses they’re experiencing now are certainly well-deserved.
That makes it very tempting to cheer on the WallStreetBets crusaders. Richard Smith, a market behavior analyst at the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, described their role to Markets Insider: “You have these media-driven platforms where the media isn’t controlled by the institutions in the way that it has historically been.” He characterized this as “a sign that the institutions are losing control.”
Heroes or same-old capitalists?
But WallStreetBets is not necessarily a den of folk heroes or investors driven by some social conscience. Some are saying they plan to make charitable donations with some of their winnings, but other forum members are simply bragging about all the money they’ve made from outsmarting the old Wall Street. One of the key ringleaders of the short squeeze effort, someone who goes by the username DeepFuckValue, claims to have turned a $50,000 GameStop investment into $20 million amidst the chaos.
Undoubtedly some of the more talented among the WallStreetBets crowd will be recruited to join the ranks of top firms—rebels eventually co-opted by the system. Others will get too caught up in the euphoria and eventually lose all their money when the bubble bursts. And let’s face it, this is capitalism—the bubble always bursts.
It’s also necessary to remember that the most powerful segments of finance capital usually find a way to shift the price for their gambling onto the rest of society by one means or another (remember the bailouts for the “too big to fail” banks?). It would be delusional to think that Wall Street isn’t making moves to offload its losses and go on the offensive.
The empire of high finance is already striking back. By Wednesday evening, the WallStreetBets forum on Reddit had gone dark, for reasons not yet clear. The WallStreetBets server on Discord was shut down. On Thursday morning, brokers started implementing restrictions on GameStop trades, raising expectations that more action will be taken by the establishment to regain control.
Taking note of the fact that trades in GameStop, AMC, and other shorted stocks were now blocked on the Robinhood platform, one Twitter user observed, appropriately, “The free market is only free until rich people lose money.”
Wall Street’s control over our society won’t be meaningfully challenged by simply replacing one group of gamblers with a different, younger group of gamblers. It wasn’t the robbers like Bonnie and Clyde that beat the banks and fought back against the Great Depression in the 1930s—it was the coalition of labor, African-American, and other people’s movements that won the New Deal and put capitalism on notice.
Now, as then, only organized political struggle by the working class and democratic movements has the potential to upend the power of finance capital for good and allow us to collectively decide our future.
So we can enjoy a laugh at the misfortunes of the hedge funds and short-sellers, but then we have to keep organizing.
Socialist_

CritCrab's videos got me here, and praise be, I've found a place where I can share my story!
This has been on my mind for a while as one of the bad attempts to find a D&D group to play with online. I don't have much luck still and almost always either meet a group which embraces things that I consider personal red flags or exclaim "everyone needs their own group". Nevertheless, this one I thought I had to get off my chest.
I'm a player with great focus on doing RP - which I enjoy a lot due to my love for doing voices and creating characters with distinctive values and traits. I'm often loud, but not the "angry" loud - the "attempt to insert the joke" loud. Though I do my very best not to speak over others or drop hijinks out of place. When it comes to TTRPGs I'm on the instigating side (which is a sin, I know) but most people I played with for very short periods of time were too.... passive, I'd say?
Anyway, to the story...
Playing TTRPGs (mostly 5e, the only system I've ever played so far aside from Shadowrun) online these days mostly means using roll20. Which I did. Browsed through the LFG like crazy and managed to find a game that seemed interesting:A permanently nighttime (due to some magical issues of the world), snowy world with plenty of dwarves and creatures living in such frigid conditions. Sounds great - exploration in the snow and living through the blizzards is pretty cool as a constant natural hazard to deal with.Well, at least I thought so. That was on me - to expect that this would matter, because it never came up once.
The DM told me that this group has been playing for some time - 5 players, 1-2 of which joined half a year ago and the others played from the start, for a whole 1 year. Cool - people that already know each other and won't squabble. They know their pet peeves and won't start anything. Their only collective target could be me, and I'm a guy that goes with almost everything except the aforementioned "red flags".
The party was at level 8 at the time and consisted of:

1. A dragonborn cleric/sorcerer with the essential need to cause trouble wherever she goes, referring to it as "being the storm that will happen and nothing can stop it". On paper, that sounded fine to me, but when I heard from others that she was setting buildings ablaze, starting bar brawls for no reason whatsoever and had a very clear "Violence is always the first and best solution" personality trait, I started to doubt whether I'm playing with a Chaotic Neutral or with a Chaotic "Neutral" (the kind that is basically a murderhobo with no understanding of consequences).
2. An..... aasimar, I think (?) warlock who was famous for constantly lying to everyone and using Disguise Self to look like someone else completely. I wasn't there for a long time so I didn't actually get to know who he was, but he was an aasimar when I first met him. A very chill guy, though he hadn't made it in the two sessions I was last in.
3. A tiefling bard, probably the nicest person in the group. Her forte was talking to people whe the aforementioned warlock wasn't there and was keeping the spirits up.
4. A centaur ranger which I knew very little about and used mostly as a "social shield" (explanation later). What surprised me was that it was a melee, double-axe-wielding ranger. Great stuff.
5. A half-elf wizard which I also knew very little about, though he was constantly suspicious of my own character.
6. And lastly, myself: a homebrew race that I had asked DM to consider and (and this is important) approved with just the slightest bit of hesitation, but after reading through the features he approved of it. My character was basically a sentient meat slime (think Gibbering Mouther) with closed mouths and eyes all over their body that looked like a human. I picked the Path of the Beast Barbarian to fit with the aesthetic of a monster character that had instincts to attack anything that threatens them and asked the DM for some small changes that I thought would be organic in exchange for certain lack of features (most notably, lack of proficiency with any armor or weapons). The DM approved without even the slightest bit of tension. I thought "Sweet, I can finally play the character I've wanted for so long!" My joy didn't last.

The very first session my character had felt a certain level of tension with the dragonborn cleric and the party in general. They were ascending the mountain my character used to live under and was ascending it to see the sights for once. Once ascended, their companion said "You've come here to be tested, so come at me!" Initiative was rolled, the fight has begun.
Fitting for a monster but after some hesitation (my character doesn't like to fight or kill unless enraged and it's an absolute must, which is ironic considering that they must consume freshly killed beings to stay sentient), I charged in as soon as I could. With claws and a grin wider than humanly possible, everyone noticed that I wasn't human.Although that didn't carry past the fight, which we had won somehow - we were only supposed to damage the guy enough, and that was understandable because he was Bahamut in human form. After being beaten, he has taken off, giving us the quest to kill one of his "misguided" evil offsprings.
After that came repercussions. The group noted that I'm strange and definitely not a human, and the dragonborn cleric retained a heavily suspicious attitude towards me for the entirety of the time I was there. To note, for the time I was with the party, I had done nothing to cease the dragonborn from following her antics except questioning her about why should she apply violence to everything, wrapped up in a simplified logic used by my character (my character saw the living beings as either "humans" or "monsters". Humans are kind, understanding and capable of abstaining from violence while monsters embrace violence, kill to consume or just for fun etc. I thought that would fit the recently created consciousness of a former monster). I know the logic was oversimplified and party members told me there were layers to it, but the fact stands - I've never done anything to impede their actions and instead volunteered to help wherever I could.
Next session we headed over to the dwarven town built inside a hollow mountain where they would "report". My character, living in a cave for their entire existence, started checking out what city has to offer - trying to grab food from the stalls but being shoo'd away without payment, asking about what everything is etc. That ceased after the dragonborn just vanished. Apparently, this was her thing - to walk off from the party to do something she wants (namely to start trouble) and for the rest of this session she was basically a spectator in Discord. I was also using the centaur as a "shield" to hide from prying eyes - my character was afraid of too many people. He didn't mind though.
We came into a hotel/casino to report on the matter to a gnome captain of the guard. After the party did (my character was too scared to talk to anyone or even lift their hood up), the half-elf wizard decided to ask the gnome about me. After taking a walk to the wrong room (he led us downstairs, to a literal sex dungeon), we went upstairs into actual rooms.
There, for some reason, our wizard decided to flat out tell the gnome what I was. The gnome jumped in place in panic, and that was the basic que for me to run. He attempted to stop me with spells, but, being a Barbarian with no armor on, I outran him (he was an Arcane Trickster Rogue so he was just a bit short on distance) and crawled on the bottom part of the pillars within the mountain which the city was built upon.After hiding for a while, the warlock has found me and convinced me through his familiar to come down and come quietly. I did, and we went back to the gnome to explain ourselves. After a poorly-placed lie by the warlock, the gnome effectively exiled the entire party from the city and left to gamble. Following a conversation between everyone present (and a couple of bottles of brandy), the warlock walked off to find the dragonborn and we decided to leave.
On the 3rd session, just as it started, the aasimar went missing and I was told that it's "just what he does" (he couldn't make it for personal reasons). So I decided to make amends for the accident I've inadvertently caused. As such, I went back to the casino, found a gnome and, with all possible might that my character could muster (they spoke in broken sentences, lacking articles, skipping and using small words only) groveled before him and asked for forgiveness. It worked and he said that this is the last time.
We needed to go to the coastal city to find a dagger that the party was tasked to obtain by the gnome, plus Bahamut's offspring lived somewhere close to it. So we needed to get on a caravan. After a short trip to the guild (where my character was just as curious about everything and everyone as previously), we managed to sign up to guard a caravan in exchange for a lift.
But just before we've set off, a deva descended upon the city's market and started yelling something among the lines of "if you don't forgive the adventurers you've exiled, doom will befall this city!" The party told me that it was definitely the aasimar doing his thing. I guessed that this was what he wanted his character to do while he was out, so he wouldn't know that we were already forgiven.
Still, we've set off, but somewhere along the way, in the sudden blizzard, we were ambushed by a Nuckelavee (a flayed horse with an upper body flailed human attached to the horse) and a bunch of Yeth Hounds. That said, they basically gave us a fright and nothing else. But they killed everyone in the caravan. So, after disposing of the bodies (my character wanted to chomp them down because "nobody will need corpses" and the ranger said I have a point, but the dragonborn refused to accept that. There was no fight, just two verbal attempts to convince her) on the pyre, we pressed on.
During that travel, we've met a Christmas (was a bit too late for that, but we had to skip a session due to holidays on 1st of January) troupe of..... I think it was fey.... that offered us shelter and food. After that, we've managed to stumble upon a "Stonehenge" with 2 gnolls chanting and chowing down on humanoid bones and corpses. I decided to sneak in there and got a pretty decent score to see that there was indeed only two on that hill and they're both occupied. After some arguing, we've decided to kill them next session.
Before that though, I had a discussion with the DM about my racial ability, which was to scream incoherently, basically casting Confusion in a small radius around me for 1 turn. This affected the party during the fight with Bahamut, and I was worried that friendly fire was an issue. So I proposed to the DM once again to find an alternative to that feature. He said that he'd be willing to listedn, so I presented one - a once-per-day melee attack that deals damage equal to d6 times my overall level. He argued that it was too strong at first and proposed it to be a half of my overall level, to which I responded that I deal that same damage with all attacks on my turn regardless (Path of the Beast Barbarians with claws get 3 attacks, plus my unarmed attack which was a d6 due to a racial feature), in addition to comparing a once-per-day attack with a fireball (which deals 8d6 in an area, can be used multiple times or upcast). Those arguments swayed him to agree. In exchange for that, I asked him that he would give me no magic items at all for some period of time, which was a pretty big deal - the party was kitted out with magical gear and I was running around naked, with only a torn cloak, bandages all over my body and a warm shirt I bought with money I've found on previous victims.
So when the fight started on the last session I was present for, I opened up with the newly invented Chomp ability. I rolled a crit on my attack and did 50+ damage to one of the gnolls. I was ecstatic and a bit afraid.... but from the noises I heard in my earbuds, I guessed that the party was mortified. "That's bullshit" I heard from the wizard. Me and DM explained that this is a once-per-day attack and it only dealt so much damage because it crit. Still, the wizard was having none of it and demanded me to hand over the stats for the attack, which I did. He remained mostly silent for the rest of the session.
Due to myself almost oneshotting one of the gnolls (the DM said I managed to chomp 25% of his head and brain with that attack) and the expert usage of illusion magic by our bard, we managed to kill Fang of Yeenoghu and Flind without taking damage. Afterwards, it was smooth sailing to the city. We did hear the wailing noises resembling child's cry in the woods, but we assumed that those were more Yeth Hounds and didn't tempt fate. We also did run into a ruined and frozen village, which we had assumed to be destroyed by the Bahamut's offsrping still flying in the distance, but that was just to show how much that thing needed to go.
In the city, our first priority was to tell everyone that the roads were crawling with evil fey, about the ruined village and the goat-headed flayed menace. For which we went to the local fort and had to wake up a guard on the wall (I climbed up the wall and threw a pebble at him) to let us in. The bard did the talking, got us the information where to get a possible ship to the island with the dagger and then it turned to a debate on what should we do next - to go after the dragon or after the dagger. I instantly said that I'm not going to cast a vote as my character more or less follows the party because they have nobody else to turn to and will go with whatever, and as a player I had no attachment to the dragon quest or the dagger yet. That remained undecided, as the dragonborn (whom we've left outside the city because she stayed there) has vanished after we came back for her. As always, wizard has contacted her to figure out where she went, but the typical "I'll find you guys later" answer has followed.
After a small (I thought it was cute-ish) encounter with me buying and trying out fish (also unsuccessfully trying to buy a whole-ass pickled shark), we've hit up a tavern. Wizard used Sending to tell the dragonborn where we would be and that ended the session.
After the session has ended, I apologized to everyone for bringing "testing" to the table and immediatelly agreed that the attack had to go. I contacted the DM about it and he said the same. I told him that I was willing to be penalized for inventing and trying such a feature, but no reply followed.
This was the last session I ever took part in. After a couple of days, the DM has left me a "parting message" saying that he shouldn't have let me design stuff for myself and outright saying that I went too far with the homebrew (mind you, he basically approved everything without the slightest bit of hesitation), that I didn't belong in the group and they all decided to they're better off without me. That was instantly followed up with a roll20 game kick and a discord server kick.
The story of that game came to an end for me, I felt sad for a while, but I've decided to recollect some factors that were happening during the game:

• Despite the party having two face-type characters, they did very little talking outside of going forward with the designated quests. There also were huge pauses in-between people talking on what they were going to do, which I usually broke up with ".... shall we go?" There was no RP in-between characters unless I instigated said interaction by asking question in-character. Later on, I asked the DM and some players, but I got mixed messages - the DM said they were more talkative before and the players said they are just not the talkative type. All of them. That sounded like my very presence was getting on their nerves.
• Members of the party with buffs targeted exclusively the members of the original party. Aid always came onto the original caster, dragonborn cleric (she was heavy on melee) and someone else. Never on myself, despite being a Barbarian with natural Barbarian armor and mostly relying on a giant hit point pool. Now I would understand if the one doing the buffing was the dragonborn - she distrusted me. But it was the bard - the person my character was incredibly trusting towards and she shared the sentiment.
• The tendency to walk off and do their own thing seemed to be a norm among the party, and the cleric was constantly expected to get into trouble. I was questioning that IC as to why they wouldn't just let her stay in prison or be killed - she creates this trouble without anyone being involved and deserves to suffer the consequences. This question was never given an answer. Only the warlock once said "if she dies, we can resurrect her". To this day, I still don't understand why.
• Not a single player has shown their dislike towards me or the character. I tried socializing with them for a bit (mostly the warlock, the dragonborn and the bard) and it went well. Though I've stopped sending them private messages after a while, there was absolutely nothing indicating that they disliked my presence and the DM said nothing about it, only after I asked him if I'm "hogging the spotlight" he responded with "a bit, but it's not an issue".

I understand that my.... performance as a player isn't exactly what one would call stellar. But this example more or less sums up my entire experience as a player in D&D so far. But all this time, I ask myself "is my luck really that terrible or am I a terrible player at the table?" Or why would a DM open an LFG thread for a game if the group's reaction to the "new guy/girl" is..... that. I don't want to call it ostracizing, but I get the feeling that this is what happened. Or I'm actually an awful player.
TL;DR:
Player joins the game, uses homebrewed assets which the DM approves, the party seemingly dislikes the new player and soon after DM kicks them for "going too far with the homebrew".

I already own Darksiders III and Yakuza Kiwami 2, so I figured I'd just skip this month and trade for the other games on here. I haven't updated my list in a long time, so there may be one or two games that I don't have anymore, but I still own most of them. So far, the games I'm looking for are:
Imperator: Rome Deluxe Edition
Crying Suns
Darksburg
Little Misfortune
Smile for Me
Darkwood
Tsioque
Rover Mechanic Simulator
Youropa
Townsmen - A Kingdom Rebuilt
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The ones that I have for trade are:
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Humble Gift Link -
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The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day
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Knights of Pen and Paper 1+2 Collection
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Road Redemption
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This War of Mine
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Throne of Lies The Online Game of Deceit
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Torchlight
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Torchlight II
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The First Tree
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One Deck Dungeon
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Skybolt Zack
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Golf With Your Friends - OST
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Codex of Victory
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Conglomerate 451
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Deep Sky Derelicts
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Gift of Parthax
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Haimrik
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Quantum Replica
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Re-Legion
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Shiny
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Through the Woods
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The Inner World
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Pixel Heroes Byte & Magic
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Safety First!
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SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell
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The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia + Soundtrack
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Vambrace: Cold Soul Soundtrack
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Vampyr
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AER Memories of Old
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Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
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State of Mind
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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III
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Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
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Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
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Batman - The Telltale Series
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Batman: The Enemy Within - The Telltale Series
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Oxenfree
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The Walking Dead
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The Walking Dead - 400 Days
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The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries
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The Walking Dead: Season Two
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Astebreed Definitive Edition
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LiEat
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Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae
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Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight
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GET EVEN
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Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics
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Mysterium: A Psychic Clue Game
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Small World 2
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Splendor
​
Twilight Struggle
​
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
​
Black The Fall
​
Children of Zodiarcs
​
Deadbeat Heroes
​
Forgotton Anne
​
Goetia
​
Tokyo Dark
​
The Turing Test
​
Train Valley 2
​
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build
​
A Mortician's Tale
​
Alien Spidy
​
Broken Age
​
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
​
Brutal Legend
​
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition
​
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
​
DUCATI - 90th Anniversary
​
Europa Universalis IV
​
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
​
GNOG
​
Hacknet
​
HIVESWAP: Act 1
​
Hollow Knight
​
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
​
Lostwinds
​
Magicka
​
Music Maker EDM Edition
​
PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
​
Party Hard
​
Pikuniku
​
Psychonauts
​
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville
​
Sniper Elite 3
​
Speed Brawl
​
Stealth 2: A Game of Clones
​
Stick Fight: The Game
​
Super Hexagon
​
SUPERHOT
​
This is the Police
​
Tilt Brush
​
Tropico 4
​
Undertale
​
VVVVVV
​
World of Goo
​
Worms Revolution
​
Zombotron
​
Dead Rising 4
​
Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition
​
RESIDENT EVIL 2 - All In-game Rewards Unlock
​
STRIDER
​
Reigns
​
Reigns: Her Majesty
​
Equilinox
​
MagiCat
​
Samorost 3
​
1 Screen Platformer
​
A Glider's Journey
​
Adventure Boy Cheapskate DX
​
Animal Super Squad
​
Anomaly 2
​
Anomaly Defenders
​
Anomaly Korea
​
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
​
Anomaly Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign
​
Artemis: God-Queen of the Hunt
​
Balancelot
​
Bastion
​
Cathedral
​
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
​
Clatter
​
Dead by Daylight - Of Flesh and Mud
​
Dead by Daylight - Spark of Madness
​
Deadlight: Director's Cut
​
Dino Run DX
​
Downtown Drift
​
Draw Your Game
​
Drink More Glurp Jingle Jam Challenge
​
Invisible Inc.
​
Kalaban
​
Kingdom: New Lands
​
Motorsport Manager
​
Must Dash Amigos
​
Nemo Dungeon
​
Neverwinter: Vestments of the Wind Pack
​
Ninja Senki DX
​
PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
​
Potatoman Seeks the Troof
​
Pumped BMX +
​
Rapture Rejects
​
Rebound Dodgeball Evolved
​
Red Horizon
​
Rogue Rocks
​
Scanner Sombre
​
Songs of Skydale
​
Stories: The Path of Destinies
​
Super Chicken Catchers
​
THE TEAR
​
YORG.io
​
Chasm
​
Fluffy Horde
​
Regular Human Basketball
​
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force Complete Deluxe Set
​
Megatagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies (Neptunia)
​
Moero Chronicle
​
Neptunia Shooter
​
Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls
​
Trillion: God of Destruction
​
Beckett
​
Everything
​
Rusty Lake Hotel
​
The Stanley Parable
​
Thomas Was Alone
​
Yume Nikki
​
YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY-
​
Game Character Hub PE: DS Generator Parts
​
Game Character Hub PE: Second Story
​
Game Character Hub: Portfolio Edition
​
RPG Maker MV
​
RPG Maker MV - GENE
​
RPG Maker MV - MADO
​
RPG Maker MV - SAKAN
​
RPG Maker VX
​
RPG Maker VX Ace
​
RPG Maker XP
​
Visual Novel Maker + Live 2D
​
Evergarden
​
Shenmue I & II
​
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising
​
Bridge Constructor Portal
​
Portal Knights
​
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell
​
Staxel
​
Tricky Towers
​
When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
​
Planet Alpha
​
Puss!
​
The Spiral Scouts
​
Cat Quest
​
HIVESWAP: Act 1
​
Immortal Planet
​
Pillars of Eternity
​
Tyranny - Standard Edition
​
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
​
Pound of Ground
​
Take On Helicopters
​
Take on Mars
​
Ylands
​
Distance
​
God's Trigger
​
Guacamelee! 2
​
MOTHERGUNSHIP
​
DISTRAINT 2
​
Rusty Lake Paradise
​
Unexplored
​
The Adventure Pals
​
Almost There: The Platformer
​
Yoku's Island Express
​
60 Parsecs!
​
Love is Dead
​
Road Redemption
​
Clustertruck
​
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
​
Party Hard
​
Punch Club
​
SpeedRunners
​
Duskers
​
Paratopic
​
Pool Panic
​
Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered
​
Black The Fall
​
Octahedron
​
The Turing Test
​
I'm not a Monster
​
Wandersong
​
11-11 Memories Retold
​
Impact Winter
​
Little Nightmares
​
PAC-MAN™ Championship Edition DX+
​
Project CARS
​
Genital Jousting
​
Highway Blossoms
​
Just Deserts
​
Purrfect Date
​
Sunrider Academy
​
Sunrider: Liberation Day - Captain's Edition
​
Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition
​
Tooth and Tail
​
Dandara
​
MINIT
​
Steel Rats
​
12 is Better Than 6
​
BLACKHOLE
​
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
​
Kingsway
​
kuso
​
Soft Body
​
Way of the Passive Fist
​
Slipstream
​
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
​
GoNNER
​
Headlander
​
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
​
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
​
Bleed 2
​
Rapture Rejects
​
Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder
​
Sniper Elite 3
​
Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition
​
Worms Clan Wars
​
Animal Super Squad
​
Anomaly 2
​
Anomaly Defenders
​
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
​
Blade & Bones
​
Board Battlefield
​
Clicker bAdventure
​
Cloudborn
​
Convoy
​
Cube Link
​
Deep Dungeons of Doom
​
Detective Case and Clown Bot in: Murder in the Hotel Lisbon
​
Don't Stand Out
​
Dungeon Escape
​
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
​
Flux8
​
Freaky Awesome
​
Guns of Icarus Alliance Collector's Edition
​
Hackyzack
​
The Haunting of Billy
​
Hello Pollution!
​
Hyperdrive Massacre
​
Indecision.
​
Kabounce
​
Lakeview Cabin Collection
​
Last Encounter
​
LOVE
​
Lucius Demake
​
Marvin's Mittens
​
Match Point
​
No Time To Explain Remastered
​
Race The Sun
​
R-COIL
​
Road Doom
​
Slime-san
​
Super Steampunk Pinball 2D
​
Sure Footing
​
Switchblade Starter Pack
​
Temple of Xiala
​
Throne of Lies The Online Game of Deceit
​
Tower 57
​
Tross
​
Unit 4
​
Wizorb
​
Zero G Arena
​
Colt Express
​
King and Assassins
​
Kentucky Route Zero
​
RWBY: Grimm Eclipse
​
War for the Overworld + Heart of Gold DLC
​
The Dwarves
​
Resident Evil Revelations
​
Gremlins, Inc.
​
Old Man's Journey
​
Pathfinder Adventures
​
Talisman: Digital Edition
​
Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics
​
Talisman: Digital Edition
​
How to Survive 2
​
Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
​
12 is Better than 6
​
Bear With Me - Collector's Edition
​
Dungeon of the Endless
​
Jalopy
​
NBA Playgrounds
​
Action Henk
​
JYDGE
​
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
​
Kingdom: New Lands
​
Laser League
​
Holy Potatoes! We're In Space?!
​
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
​
Grand Theft Auto III
​
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
​
Filthy, Stinking, Orcs
​
Sanctum 2
​
Grey Goo
​
Sorcerer King: Rivals
​
​
Green Man Gaming -
​
CRUSADER KINGS II
​
WARHAMMER END TIMES VERMINTIDE
​
INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US ULTIMATE
​
THE FLAME IN THE FLOOD
​
FROZEN SYNAPSE PRIME
​
BEAT COP
​
SUPER CLOUDBUILT
​
THE LITTLE ACRE
​
INSURGENCY
​
FEAR 3
​
DEAD AGE
​
MAGICKA
​
SERIAL CLEANER
​
CASTLEVANIA LORDS OF SHADOW 2
​
FAHRENHEIT REMASTERED
​
OPERATION FLASHPOINT RED RIVER
​
ROCKET KNIGHT
​
LEGO BATMAN
​
BIOZONE
​
ADR1FT
​
​
Fanatical -
​
Autonauts
​
Guards
​
How to Take Off Your Mask
​
ENIGMA:
​
Garfield Kart
​
Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition
​
Styx: Master of Shadows
​
Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition
​
EARTH'S DAWN
​
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
​
Rain World
​
Shadwen
​
Syndrome
​
The Technomancer
​
Chess Ultra
​
Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!!
​
DEAD OR SCHOOL
​
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom
​
XBlaze Code: Embryo
​
XBlaze Lost: Memories
​
Duke Nukem Forever
​
GUILTY GEAR Xrd -REVELATOR-
​
Party Hard 2
​
The Walking Dead
​
This War of Mine
​
Blood: Fresh Supply
​
Syberia II
​
If My Heart Had Wings
​
LoveKami -Divinity Stage-
​
LoveKami -Useless Goddess-
​
The Surge
​
Dungeons 2
​
The First Templar - Steam Special Edition
​
Urban Empire
​
The Dark Eye: Demonicon
​
Chronicles of Magic: Divided Kingdoms
​
Endless Fables 3: Dark Moor
​
King's Heir: Rise to the Throne
​
Lost Grimoires 3: The Forgotten Well
​
My Brother Rabbit
​
Noir Chronicles: City of Crime
​
Path of Sin: Greed
​
Queen's Quest 4: Sacred Truce
​
Tharsis
​
Little Big Adventure 2
​
Return to Mysterious Island 2
​
Damned
​
Return to Mysterious Island
​
Odyssey - The Story of Science
​
Little Big Adventure - Enhanced Edition
​
Sanitarium
​
The Royal Marines Commando
​
STARBO
​
Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015 Edition
​
Guns of Icarus Online
​
Hamsterdam
​
Gates of Hell
​
Perfect Heist
​
Aces of the Luftwaffe
​
Operation Thunderstorm
​
Clouds & Sheep 2
​
Archamon
​
The Crown of Leaves
​
HERO DEFENSE
​
Tales From Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation
​
Last Dream: World Unknown
​
The Swindle
​
Robothorium: Cyberpunk Dungeon Crawler
​
Equilinox
​
Rogue Wizards
​
Codex of Victory
​
Haimrik
​
In Fear I Trust
​
In Fear I Trust - Episode 2
​
In Fear I Trust - Episode 3
​
In Fear I Trust - Episode 4
​
The Watchmaker
​
The Uncertain - The Last Quiet Day
​
World's Dawn
​
Extinction
​
Infinite Air with Mark McMorris
​
Super Inefficient Golf
​
Tales of Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation
​
Shadwen
​
Creeping Terror
​
Fantasy Wars
​
Ascension to the Throne
​
Savage Lands
​
Survivalist
​
Still Life
​
Holy Avatar vs. Maidens of the Dead
​
Syberia
​
Miasmata
​
Syberia II
​
Looterkings
​
Damned
​
Lost Civilization
​
QuestRun
​
Railroad Pioneer
​
SkyDrift
​
Thunder Wolves
​
Airline Tycoon Deluxe
​
Overclocked: A History of Violence
​
Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom Collector's Edition
​
Eternal Journey: New Atlantis
​
Forest Legends: The Call of Love Collector's Edition
​
House of 1000 Doors: Evil Inside
​
House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame
​
Joan Jade and the Gates of Xibalba
​
Love Alchemy: A Heart in Winter
​
Magic Encyclopedia: Moon Light
​
Mind's Eye: Secrets of the Forgotten
​
The Fog: Trap for Moths
​
Analogue: A Hate Story
​
Detention
​
The Coma: Recut
​
The Coma: Recut - Soundtrack & Art Pack DLC
​
Revolution Ace
​
Californium
​
SkyDrift
​
Clinically Dead
​
Out There Somewhere
​
Fate Tectonics
​
Plazma Being
​
One Finger Death Punch
​
ESport Manager
​
Dungeons 2
​
Galaxy Squad
​
Oriental Empires
​
Stars in Shadow
​
TASTEE Lethal Tactics
​
The Lion's Song: Season Pass
​
Homeworld Remastered Collection
​
Shuyan Saga
​
Steel Vampire
​
Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!
​
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload
​
Lifeless Planet Premier Edition
​
Snake Pass
​
BEEP
​
DRAGON: A Game About a Dragon
​
Destiny Warriors RPG
​
Gun Rocket
​
Labyronia RPG
​
Labyronia RPG 2
​
LocoSoccer
​
Out There Somewhere
​
Storm of Spears RPG
​
Subterra
​
Sun Blast: Star Fighter
​
The Odyssey: Winds of Athena
​
Tiny Bridge: Ratventure
​
Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon
​
GAUGE
​
Isbarah
​
Poöf
​
Puddle
​
Replay - VHS is not dead
​
Wooden Sen'SeY
​
House of Caravan
​
Cultures Northland
​
Splatter Zombie Apocalypse
​
Squirbs
​
Learn Japanese to survive Hiragana Battle
​
Airscape The Fall of Gravity
​
Revolution Ace
​
Labyronia RPG
​
PARTICLE MACE
​
Cultures 8th Wonder of the World
​
GIBZ
​
STAR WARS Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy
​
STAR WARS Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast
​
Dex
​
Figment
​
Hive Jump
​
Jalopy
​
PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist
​
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII STEAM EDITION
​
Blades of Time Limited Edition
​
Blood Knights
​
Demonicon
​
Drakensang
​
GemCraft - Chasing Shadows
​
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
​
Inquisitor
​
Knights and Merchants
​
Lichdom: Battlemage
​
Numen: Contest of Heroes
​
Rune Classic
​
Sudeki
​
Two Worlds II: Velvet Edition
​
Wizardry 6&7
​
Asteroid Bounty Hunter
​
Charlie's Adventure
​
Cube Runner
​
Duke of Alpha Centauri
​
Fly and Destroy
​
Hungry Flame
​
Neon Space
​
Neon Space 2
​
ShipLord
​
Slash It
​
Slash It 2
​
Spin Rush
​
Survive in Space
​
Upside Down
​
Distant Worlds: Universe
​
Heavy Burger
​
I am not a Monster
​
Learn Japanese to survive Hiragana Battle
​
SimplePlanes
​
Sword Legacy Omen
​
Moero Chronicle
​
Moero Chronicle - Deluxe Pack DLC
​
35MM
​
Deadlight
​
Distrust
​
Killing Room
​
March of the Living
​
Savage Lands
​
Tharsis
​
Valnir Rok Survival RPG
​
Dreamscapes: The Sandman - Premium Edition
​
Dreamscapes: Nightmare's Heir - Premium Edition
​
Sea Legends: Phantasmal Light Collector's Edition
​
Witch's Pranks: Frog's Fortune Collector's Edition
​
Kingdom of Aurelia: Mystery of the Poisoned Dagger
​
Taken Souls: Blood Ritual Collector's Edition
​
Silver Tale
​
A Plot Story
​
Hexus
​
Jane Angel: Templar Mystery
​
Dream Walker
​
Witch's Tales
​
Escape Doodland
​
Mad Dream: Coma
​
Earthworms
​
Clinically Dead
​
Mech Rage
​
Camper Jumper Simulator
​
ESport Manager
​
Darkest Hunters
​
The Sexy Brutale
​
Beholder
​
The Last Door - Collector's Edition
​
The Last Door: Season 2 - Collector's Edition
​
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller
​
System Shock: Enhanced Edition
​
System Shock 2
​
Metal Fatigue
​
Spirits of Xanadu
​
Shadow Man
​
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
​
Homeworld Remastered Collection
​
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation
​
PAYDAY 2
​
Jalopy
​
Hover
​
Figment
​
Subterrain
​
STARWHAL
​
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure
​
Joggernauts
​
The Long Reach
​
Mainlining
​
Coffin Dodgers
​
The Rivers of Alice - Extended Version
​
Zombie Kill of the Week - Reborn
​
The Walking Vegetables
​
Unbox: Newbie's Adventure
​
System Shock: Enhanced Edition
​
UNLOVED
​
Killing Room
​
Sir, You Are Being Hunted
​
Styx: Shards of Darkness
​
STAR WARS - Knights of the Old Republic
​
STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
​
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition
​
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition
​
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition
​
METAL SLUG X
​
Oxenfree
​
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition
​
Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity
​
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
​
The Political Machine 2016
​
The Corporate Machine
​
Sorcerer King: Rivals
​
Demigod
​
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~
​
March of the Living
​
Four Sided Fantasy
​
Dungeon Rushers
​
The Invisible Hours
​
Dead Secret
​
The Free Ones
​
HIVESWAP: Act 1
​
Castle of no Escape 2
​
Galactic Lords
​
W4RR-i/o-RS
​
Nogibator: Way Of Legs
​
WN - ShP
​
Fairy Lands: Rinka and the Fairy Gems
​
Drill Arena
​
Walhall
​
Er-Spectro
​
Risky Rescue
​
Frederic: Evil Strikes Back
​
16bit Trader
​
Midnight Mysteries
​
Midnight Mysteries 4: Haunted Houdini
​
Zombie Bowl-o-Rama
​
Little Farm
​
Silver Knight
​
ANKI
​
Lift It
​
3 Coins At School
​
Deep Eclipse: New Space Odyssey
​
Green Ranch
​
The lost joystick
​
UBERMOSH Vol. 5
​
Trip to Vinelands
​
TTV2
​
SWARMRIDER OMEGA
​
UBERMOSH
​
UBERMOSH:BLACK
​
UBERMOSH Vol.3
​
Iesabel
​
Daemonsgate
​
Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess
​
Spiritual Warfare & Wisdom Tree Collection
​
Prophecy I - The Viking Child
​
Drakkhen
​
Hostage: Rescue Mission
​
King's Table - The Legend of Ragnarok
​
Eternam
​
Chaos Control
​
Bubble Ghost
​
Mystical
​
Alien Rampage
​
Frederic: Resurrection of Music
​
Teddy Floppy Ear - Mountain Adventure
​
Teddy Floppy Ear - Kayaking
​
Millie
​
Sparkle 2 Evo
​
Story of the Survivor
​
SharpShooter3D
​
Goodbye My King
​
Watch This!
​
Crazy Oafish Ultra Blocks: Big Sale
​
Crystal City
​
Bloody Boobs
​
AuroraRL
​
Dispatcher
​
Casino Noir
​
Detective Noir
​
Reptilians Must Die!
​
The Braves & Bows
​
Zzzz-Zzzz-Zzzz
​
The Dweller
​
Surfingers
​
Timberman
​
Sparkle 3 Genesis
​
Cat on a Diet
​
Zombillie
​
Asteroid Bounty Hunter
​
ShipLord
​
Neon Prism
​
Slash It
​
Slash It 2
​
Cube Runner
​
Upside Down
​
Spin Rush
​
Neon Space
​
Neon Space 2
​
Duke of Alpha Centauri
​
Hungry Flame
​
Survive in Space
​
Fly and Destroy
​
Charlie's Adventure
​
Luxor Evolved
​
Luxor: Amun Rising HD
​
LUXOR: Mah Jong
​
Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife
​
Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena
​
Red Risk
​
Particula
​
Overcast - Walden and the Werewolf
​
OutDrive
​
Invasion
​
Cubium Dreams
​
Iron Impact
​
Stigmat
​
Marco Polo
​
Cybercube
​
Mr. Dubstep
​
Monstrum
​
Wick
​
Lethe - Episode One
​
35MM
​
I Shall Remain
​
Silence of the Sleep
​
Rebel Galaxy
​
Punch Club - Deluxe Edition
​
Grey Goo Definitive Edition
​
RiME
​
Gloom
​
SharpShooter3D
​
Goodbye My King
​
Crystal City
​
Art of Murder - Cards of Destiny
​
Art of Murder - Deadly Secrets
​
Art of Murder - FBI Confidential
​
Art of Murder - Hunt for the Puppeteer
​
Art of Murder - The Secret Files
​
Chronicles of Mystery - Secret of the Lost Kingdom
​
Chronicles of Mystery - The Legend of the Sacred Treasure
​
Chronicles of Mystery - The Tree of Life
​
Chronicles of Mystery: The Scorpio Ritual
​
Megadimension Neptunia VII
​
Megadimension Neptunia VII Digital Deluxe Set DLC
​
Galactic Lords
​
W4RR-i/o-RS
​
Nogibator: Way Of Legs
​
WN - ShP
​
Fairy Lands: Rinka and the Fairy Gems
​
Drill Arena
​
Walhall
​
Er-Spectro
​
Daemonsgate
​
Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess
​
Spiritual Warfare & Wisdom Tree Collection
​
Prophecy I - The Viking Child
​
Drakkhen
​
Marco Polo
​
Hostage: Rescue Mission
​
King's Table - The Legend of Ragnarok
​
Eternam
​
Chaos Control
​
Bubble Ghost
​
Mystical
​
Alien Rampage
​
Ocean Classics Volume 1
​
200% Mixed Juice
​
War of the Human Tanks
​
Worms
​
Worms Reloaded: Game of the Year Edition
​
Worms Ultimate Mayhem - Deluxe Edition
​
Worms Crazy Golf
​
Worms Blast
​
Worms Pinball
​
The Mooseman
​
Sky Break
​
Tropico 5
​
Super Cloudbuilt
​
Tower 57
​
Dex
​
Epistory - Typing Chronicles
​
Deponia: The Complete Journey
​
Table Top Racing: World Tour
​
Riff Racer - Race Your Music!
​
GT Legends
​
GTR Evolution
​
Vangers
​
Insane 2
​
Zero Gear
​
Race.a.bit
​
Mashed
​
Race: The WTCC Game + Caterham Expansion
​
Little Racers STREET
​
BARRIER X
​
Super Toy Cars
​
Mini Motor Racing EVO
​
Drift Streets Japan
​
Instant Death
​
Spirits of Xanadu
​
Swipe Fruit Smash
​
Voxel Baller
​
Breezeblox
​
BalanCity
​
VRog
​
BoomTown! Deluxe
​
City Siege: Faction Island
​
Bomb The Monsters!
​
Crazy Belts
​
Rush for Glory
​
Naval Warfare
​
Insurgency
​
Blood Knights
​
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
​
Wizardry 6 & 7
​
Drakensang
​
Rune Classic
​
Gemcraft - Chasing Shadows
​
Knights and Merchants
​
Etherlords I & II
​
Sudeki
​
Numen: Contest of Heroes
​
Inquisitor
​
Commands & Colors: The Great War
​
Making History: The Calm and the Storm Gold Edition
​
Attrition: Tactical Fronts
​
Imperial Glory
​
Praetorians
​
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines
​
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty
​
Commandos 2: Men of Courage
​
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
​
Ominous Tales: The Forsaken Isle
​
Beyond the Invisible: Evening
​
Tearstone
​
Entwined: Strings of Deception
​
Vengeance: Lost Love
​
The Rosebud Condominium
​
Where Angels Cry: Tears of the Fallen (Collector's Edition)
​
Lightning: D-Day
​
Congo Merc
​
Hold the Line: The American Revolution
​
Battles of the Ancient World
​
Peninsular War Battles
​
1812: The Invasion of Canada
​
Russian Front
​
7 Wonders II
​
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
​
7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover
​
7 Wonders: Magical Mystery Tour
​
7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven
​
Discovery! A Seek and Find Adventure
​
Gardens Inc. 2: The Road to Fame
​
Glowfish
​
Little Farm
​
Luxor 2 HD
​
Luxor 3
​
Luxor Evolved
​
Luxor HD
​
Luxor: 5th Passage
​
Luxor: Amun Rising HD
​
LUXOR: Mah Jong
​
Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife
​
Midnight Mysteries
​
Midnight Mysteries 3: Devil on the Mississippi
​
Midnight Mysteries 4: Haunted Houdini
​
Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials
​
Midnight Mysteries: Witches of Abraham - Collector's Edition
​
Pickers
​
Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena
​
The Dweller
​
Iesabel
​
EM: Shader Attack
​
Invasion
​
Labyronia RPG
​
Labyronia RPG 2
​
Legend of Mysteria RPG
​
Chosen 2
​
Balloon Blowout
​
Bayla Bunny
​
Block Blowout
​
Chess Knight 2
​
Dessert Storm
​
Fantastic 4 In A Row 2
​
Fantastic Checkers 2
​
Ludo Supremo
​
Mahjong Deluxe 2: Astral Planes
​
Mahsung Deluxe
​
Mini Golf Mundo
​
Pepe Porcupine
​
Puppy Dog: Jigsaw Puzzles
​
Puzzles Under The Hill
​
Ultimate Word Search 2: Letter Boxed
​
Bubble Blowout
​
Train Valley
​
Broken Sword Trilogy
​
Daemonsgate
​
Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess
​
Prophecy I - The Viking Child
​
Drakkhen
​
Marco Polo
​
Hostage: Rescue Mission
​
King's Table - The Legend of Ragnarok
​
Bubble Ghost
​
Mystical
​
Ocean Classics Volume 1
​
Pandora: First Contact
​
35MM
​
Grand Ages: Rome GOLD
​
GT Legends
​
Nether: Resurrected
​
CAT Interstellar
​
Circut Breakers
​
Memoranda
​
Sins of the Demon RPG
​
Gladiator Trainer
​
Dragon Sinker
​
Neon Chrome
​
Skullgirls
​
Mad Games Tycoon
​
Replica
​
Patrician IV - Steam Special Edition
​
Patrician IV: Rise of a Dynasty
​
Patrician III
​
The Swindle
​
Zenith
​
Hive Jump
​
ICY: Frostbite Edition
​
Commandos Collection
​
Revhead
​
Car Mechanic Simulator 2015
​
Demolish & Build 2017
​
Robot Squad Simulator 2017
​
Skullgirls & DLC
​
The Mims Beginning
​
Dreamstones
​
Cally's Caves 4
​
Tank Battle: East Front
​
Tank Battle: Pacific
​
Tank Battle: Normandy
​
Tank Battle: North Africa
​
Tank Battle: 1944
​
Tank Battle: Blitzkrieg
​
Tank Battle: 1945
​
Civil War: 1861
​
Civil War: Bull Run 1861
​
Civil War: 1862
​
Civil War: 1865
​
Civil War: Gettysburg
​
Civil War: 1864
​
SK8
​
King of the Eggs
​
Bouncy Bob
​
Hotel Dracula
​
Warfront Defenders: Westerplatte
​
Pony Island
​
Who's Your Daddy
​
SWARMRIDER OMEGA
​
SWARMRIDER OMEGA OST DLC
​
SWARMRIDERS: Original Soundtrack DLC
​
DinoSystem
​
Super Sports Surgery
​
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
​
Startide
​
Timberman
​
Kathy Rain
​
Table Top Racing: World Tour
​
Z
​
Dark Years
​
Exowar
​
Total Extreme Wrestling
​
World of Mixed Martial Arts 3
​
IGT Slots Paradise Garden
​
Anti-Opoly
​
Wrestling Spirit 3
​
Draft Day Sports College Basketball 3
​
Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball 4
​
Defend Your Life
​
Hyperdrive Massacre
​
The lost joystick
​
Orbital Racer
​
RUNRUNRUN
​
Murder...
​
UBERMOSH:BLACK
​
Trip to Vinelands
​
SWARMRIDER OMEGA
​
Bad Dream: Coma
​
Mad Games Tycoon
​
Perfect Universe
​
Daddy's Gone A-Hunting
​
Deep Dungeons of Doom
​
Worms
​
PolyRace
​
The Way
​
​
Indiegala -
​
Persian Nights: Sands of Wonders
​
The Secret Order 6: Bloodline
​
Demon Hunter 4: Riddles of Light
​
Lost Grimoires 2: Shard of Mystery
​
Animal Lover
​
Magi Trials Deluxe Edition
​
Highschool Possession
​
Topless Hentai Mosaic
​
Hentai Hexa Mosaic
​
Borderus
​
The Myth Seekers: The Legacy of Vulcan
​
Eventide 2: The Sorcerers Mirror
​
Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones
​
Beach Bounce
​
Beach Bounce - Soundtrack
​
Beauty Bounce
​
Bunny Bounce
​
Club Life
​
Club Life - Soundtrack
​
Divine Slice of Life
​
Divine Slice of Life - Soundtrack
​
Echo Tokyo - Wallpapers
​
Echo Tokyo: Graphic Novel
​
Echo Tokyo: Intro
​
Highschool Possession
​
Highschool Romance
​
Magi Trials Deluxe Edition
​
Summer Fling
​
Summer Fling OST
​
Sword of Asumi Deluxe Edition
​
Knock-knock
​
Systematic Immunity
​
OddPlanet
​
The Quest for Achievements Remix
​
Moot District
​
Ceville
​
Mutiny!
​
Magic Trials Deluxe Edition
​
Hentai Zodiac Puzzle
​
PUZZLETIME: Lovely Girls
​
Girls of Hentai Mosaic
​
Girls of Hentai Mosaic - HQ Artbook & Wallpapers
​
Hentai Hexa mosaic
​
Hentai Hexa Mosaic - Soundtrack
​
Lady's Hentai Mosaic
​
Lady's Hentai Mosaic - OST
​
Lady's Hentai Mosaic - PNG Artbook
​
Pixel Hentai Mosaic
​
Pixel Hentai Mosaic - OST
​
Topless Hentai Mosaic
​
Topless Hentai Mosaic - OST
​
Topless Hentai Mosaic - PNG Artbook
​
Echo Tokyo: An Intro
​
Echo Tokyo - Wallpapers
​
Echo Tokyo: Graphic Novel
​
Last Anime boy: Saving loli
​
Witch College
​
Pleasure Airlines
​
Senpai Teaches Me Japanese: Part 1
​
Chibi Volleyball
​
My personal Angel
​
Riddled Corpses
​
Nandeyanen!?
​
AstroViking
​
?????2 / Seven boys 2
​
TimeTekker
​
Girls of Hentai Mosaic
​
Topless Hentai Mosaic
​
Hentai Hexa mosaic
​
Lady's Hentai Mosaic
​
Pixel Hentai Mosaic
​
Book Series - Alice in Wonderland
​
On Earth As It Is In Heaven - A Kinetic Novel
​
BAD END
​
Frank & the TimeTwister Machine
​
Linelight
​
Hook
​
Franchise Wars
​
Rush Bros
​
Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride
​
Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden
​
Without Within 2
​
Cursed Sight
​
Beauty Bounce
​
Highschool Romance
​
Beach Bounce
​
Club Life
​
Echo Tokyo: Intro
​
Echo Tokyo: Graphic Novel
​
This Strange Realm Of Mine
​
Bot Vice
​
Eliosi's Hunt
​
Aspect
​
Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan
​
Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily
​
Grim Legends 3: The Dark City
​
Particle Mace
​
Secret of Magia
​
Sins of the Demon RPG
​
Splatter - Zombie Apocalypse
​
Airscape - The Fall of Gravity
​
Fate Tectonics
​
Battle Ranch: Pigs vs Plants
​
Earth Overclocked
​
Greyfox RPG
​
Wish -tale of the sixteenth night of lunar month-
​
Cursed Sight
​
A Winter's Daydream
​
Empty Horizons
​
Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold'em
​
Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire
​
Pretty Girls Panic!
​
Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle
​
Boneless Zombie
​
Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire
​
Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards]
​
Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle: Schools Girls Edition
​
Wild Romance
​
Pretty Girls Panic! (Chinese version only)
​
Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire (Chinese version only)
​
Slash or Die
​
Slash or Die 2
​
RepairBot
​
Stellar Interface
​
Trench Run
​
12 Labours of Hercules VII: Fleecing the Fleece (Platinum Edition)
​
A Dream For Aaron
​
A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher
​
ARENA GODS
​
Adelantado Trilogy. Book Two
​
Adelantado Trilogy. Book one
​
Adventures of Dragon
​
Aircraft Evolution
​
Alice in Wonderland - Hidden Objects
​
Alicia Quatermain 2: The Stone of Fate
​
Alicia Quatermain: Secrets Of The Lost Treasures
​
Amelon
​
BAD END
​
BELPAESE: Homecoming
​
Battle High 2 A+
​
Beat The Game
​
Bitcoin Miner
​
Blind Men
​
BlowOut
​
Border of her Heart
​
Bottom of the 9th
​
Bravium
​
Brawlout
​
Broken Minds
​
Burnin' Rubber 5 HD
​
Chinese Ink Painting Puzzle & Creator
​
ClickBit
​
Coffee Crawl
​
Crashday Redline Edition
​
Crazy Pirate
​
Crisis in the Kremlin
​
Crystal Catacombs
​
Crystals of Niberium
​
Cube Zone
​
Cubiques
​
Cubiques 2
​
Curse: The Eye of Isis
​
Digital Resistance
​
Disparity
​
Drake of the 99 Dragons
​
E-Startup
​
Elbub
​
FreeHolder
​
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance
​
Goldmine
​
Gothicc Breaker
​
Hentai Puzzle
​
Hentai Sokoban
​
Hide The Body
​
I.F.O
​
Inexplicable Geeks: Dawn of Just Us
​
Insert Paper: Update
​
Joy Climb
​
Judge Dredd 95
​
Krampus Quest
​
Krautscape
​
LOOT BOX ACHIEVEMENT SIMULATOR
​
Legend of the Skyfish
​
Lunch Truck Tycoon
​
MIND SHIFT
​
Maze of Infection
​
Mines of Mars
​
Mini Ghost
​
Mission: Escape from Island 2
​
Moto Racer 4
​
Moto Racer 4 - Space Dasher
​
Moto Racer 4 - The Truth
​
Navalny 20!8 : The Rise of Evil
​
Negligee
​
Neverliria
​
Next Hero
​
ORCS
​
PLATI NALOG: Favorite Russian Game
​
Panzer Hearts - War Visual Novel
​
Paper Shakespeare: To Date Or Not To Date?
​
Paradox Wrench
​
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
​
Pixel Hentai Mosaic
​
Pixelpunk XL
​
Plant This
​
Q-YO Blaster
​
Questr
​
Ravensword: Shadowlands
​
River City Super Sports Challenge All Stars Special
​
Rot Gut
​
STATUS: INSANE
​
SUPER BENBO QUEST: TURBO DELUXE
​
Science Girls
​
Shadowgrounds
​
Shield Impact
​
Shout Of Survival
​
Spooky Cats
​
Store Simulator
​
Suna
​
SwordBounce
​
The Adventures of Elena Temple
​
The Bluecoats: North vs South
​
The God
​
The Last Dawn : The first invasion
​
The Lost Gardens
​
The Reject Demon: Toko Chapter 0 - Prelude
​
The Uncertain: Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day
​
They Are Hundreds
​
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
​
Usual John
​
Visceral Cubes
​
WeakWood Throne
​
Welcome to Princeland
​
Wings of Vi
​
World's Dawn
​
Zombie Desperation
​
the Line