Zubby Newsletter #75: Castles & Crusaders
Health Update: Thank you to all the people who reached out about my previous newsletter where I talked about catching Covid and missing Gen Con. So many kind messages about that and the Conan contract helped bolster me through a tough week. A few friends came through with food care packages and many others offered to help, which was also deeply appreciated.
Two days ago I tested negative for Covid. I still have some minor aches and bouts of exhaustion but it’s getting better, day by day. Stacy seems to be about two days behind me in terms of symptoms and recovery so our fingers are crossed that she tests negative later today so we can fully restock groceries and start to socialize again.
Chicago Fan Expo is next week and if I wasn’t clear of Covid obviously I wouldn’t be going, but I am so I will, though I’m definitely going to be less cavalier about handshakes and hugs. I haven’t been to the Windy City since 2018, so I’m really looking forward to it.
A quick browse through photos from that show and it’s a bit mind boggling to me that it’s already been six years. Tom, Mark and I were out for dinner when Tom told us Marvel would be licensing Conan the Barbarian again and he wanted us to include the Cimmerian in our second Avengers weekly event series. A month later I was in a boardroom at the Marvel offices hashing out story beats with our team as we brought together a wild amount of elements in Avengers: No Road Home. So many great memories.
As always, in the rearview mirror the route of these creative projects make sense, but in the midst of the journey it can feel like you’re just driving into the dark and hoping it all works out.
D&D In a Castle!
So thrilled to formally announce that I’m the latest Dungeon Master to join the D&D In a Castle team and I’ll be running a big adventure at Castle Lumley on November 4th-8th!
Seats are extremely limited, so if you want to travel to the UK and play with me in a castle as we celebrate 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons, gather up your dice and register as soon as possible. It’s going to be one for the ages.
Sanctuary of Comics
I spoke to Alfredo at Sanctuary of Comics from Mexico when I was in Cross Plains for Robert E. Howard Days. There are some audio issues with this interview, but we cover a lot of good ground, so it’s worth checking out if you can muscle through:
Endured, Not Surpassed
At home resting and recovering, so I tackled the last part of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
All in all, Erdtree has incredible design and atmosphere – The new locations look epic, the new dungeons are interesting, and the new weapons are fun to try out. But, even with all that new stuff and stellar art and design, it didn’t push Elden Ring to the top of my personal Souls game list. Not even close. The issues I had with the base game are still here and some are even more pronounced in the DLC.
The bosses are designed to challenge characters across such broad power builds and assume you’re using spirit ash allies, so by the time you reach the end game they have to unleash ridiculous movements and area of effect attacks that make battles feel less like epic one-on-one duels and more like hooligan free-for-alls with anime explosions.
Without spirit ashes, most of the big boss battles are winnable but become endurance slogs as you jump and flip like a fool waiting for those moments when you’re allowed to punish the enemy.
With spirit ashes, most of the bosses get distracted so you can unleash combos or have time to heal, but then it feels like you’re ambushing them with attacks or running away to hide and lick your wounds instead of actually being in a direct duel. This means that even when you win, it can feel remarkably unsatisfying.
For me, Bloodborne had an ideal balance of aggression and maneuverability. You face down boss creatures or other hunters, the combat is intense, and you feel like you earned each victory.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice laser focused on sword combat and pushed it to the absolute limit. Every key boss battle was a white knuckle struggle that was hard as hell, but also fair in its application of the gameplay skills it taught you.
Elden Ring has a massive amount of content and a ridiculous amount of flexibility, which is really impressive, but the need to encompass all that creates a host of problems that crop up over the long haul. Even still, my first playthrough was flush with discoveries and a feeling of my character’s power growing, bit by bit. The Erdtree DLC has that same sense of awe and discovery. It is absolutely worth the price of admission…but also exhausting.
When I finished Bloodborne and Sekiro I immediately wanted to play them again, and soak up every moment, showcasing my new confidence and mastery.
When I finished Elden Ring (and now Erdtree) I was glad I went through it in general, but had zero desire to jump back in. The whole thing wore me down instead of pumping me up for another playthrough.
In Sekiro, when I fought Genichiro, Owl, and Isshin I felt the intensity of those duels. They were a test of my skill in watching enemy movement or listening to the audio cues for tells, and then executing moves in the core gameplay to succeed. I didn’t just want to move past those bosses, I wanted to prove myself.
In Elden Ring and Erdtree, the big fights feel so chaotic, the camera so unwieldly, and the arms race of combos so unrelenting that I used anything at my disposal to just get them over with. Most of the bosses felt like a punishment endured instead of a challenge surpassed.
I eventually platinumed Elden Ring and I’m sure I’ll play Erdtree again at some point, but right now I’m happy to set it down and try something else. It didn’t get its deep hooks into me like Bloodborne and Sekiro did…and that’s kind of disappointing.
Current + Upcoming Releases
Now that the solicit info for Conan the Barbarian #16 is out, I can show off Doug Braithwaite and Diego Rodriguez‘s wonderful connected covers for this story arc:
Conan the Barbarian #13 – released July 24th.
Conan the Barbarian #14 – releases August 21st.
Savage Sword of Conan #4 – releases August 28th.
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #1 (of 4) – releases September 4th.
D&D Young Adventurer’s Collection Box Set 2 – releases September 24th.
Conan the Barbarian #15 – releases September 25th.
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (of 4) – releases October 2nd.
Conan the Barbarian #16 – releases October 30th.
Upcoming Appearances
Aug 16-18, 2024 Fan Expo Chicago Chicago, IL, USA
Aug 22-25, 2024 Fan Expo Canada Toronto, ONT, CANADA
Oct 17-20, 2024 Gamehole Con Madison, WI, USA
Nov 4-8, 2024 D&D In a Castle Newcastle, UK
Links and Other Things
• Over on AV Club, Jarrod Jones discusses the legacy of The Iron Giant, one of the finest animated films ever made, 25 years after its release.
• Jon Peterson‘s Playing At The World and The Elusive Shift are wonderful books about tabletop gaming history and this interview with him from a few years ago feels even more relevant this year on D&D’s 50th anniversary.
• Campbell Walker has a neat video on the history of fonts, from ancient record keeping through to modern design. We take a lot of the typefaces around us for granted, so it was a nice reminder of the way these things build on each other over looong periods of time.
Glad you're getting through the crud, Jim! Keep the Adventure Going Strong!