RUNEvember Session 8: The Cracks Betwixt

November 16, 2022

Session 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

This time, I ran through The Cracks Betwixt, another pamphlet Realm!

When something shatters, it leaves behind cracks. Over time, those cracks fill with all sorts of interesting things. All sorts of filth. All sorts of riches.

Obron is no different. When the world shattered it left behind cracks of all kinds, and time has filled them plenty.

Somehow, you find yourself there now; in The Cracks Betwixt. Whichever Realm you were heading towards, you do not find yourself there now, O’ Engraved One.

Will you return to the shattered surface of the world? Will you plunder these wretched depths for all that—much like you—has slipped betwixt the cracks.

Overview and Realm Mechanics

This is a tiny Realm about finding things in the cracks between Realms. It's a cool idea for something to play as an intermission Realm because it's literally between things!

Realm Clock

The Realm Clock deals Harm to you depending on how far away you are from point 1 when it rolls over. Once it's rolled over three times, you unlock the not-Rune Lord's area.

Death Mechanic

This is my least favorite Death Mechanic I've seen so far. Not because it's bad in the slightest - you have an increasingly high chance to fail to activate Runes, which is cool - but because the chance is 10% per death. Don't make me roll percentages in a game that only uses d6's! Argh!

Major Edit: I was using an older version because I'm very lazy and forgot to check if there was a new one. This has been fixed! See the designer's comment below.

Play Impressions

Pretty fast. A few encounters with fairly unthreatening enemies, but a lot of cool flavor to it. One encounter gave me some trouble because there's a curse that removes the highest stamina die until you roll double sixes and I kept not rolling sixes, even with three dice.

Second Edit: The double sixes was also fixed in the newer version!

Most points either give you a Stable Healing Vial (restore Health, can be taken between Realms) or +1 Lore (which matters in the not-Rune Lord fight). One has a new weapon, which doesn't deal Harm but instead slows down either 1 or 2 enemies.

The not-Rune Lord has a clock of their own, which either ticks twice per round or once per round if you collected all the Lore. Once it rolls over, it moves into a far, far nastier Phase 2. Upon defeat, you gain the Graven Shackles, a utility that lets you halve a chosen enemy's incoming Harm on doubles. (This feels way less cheap to me than the Amulet for a 3-Stamina build so I'm taking it.)

Carried Over Equipment

• Weapons:
  • Battle Axe (Cragcliff Reformatory)
  • Lance of Light (Castle Blanchard)
  • Radiant Heater (Cragcliff Reformatory)
• Gear:
  • Graven Shackles (The Cracks Betwixt)
  • Radiant Crest (Cragcliff Reformatory)
• Runes:
  • E: Rune of Control (Castle Blanchard)
  • E: Osteomancer's Rune (World's Grave)
  • E: Silvertongue Rune (Cragcliff Reformatory)
  • Fate's Foe
  • Devouring Rune (Bulwark Hollow)
  • Obran Express Medal (Obran Express)
  • Obsidian Arm (Obsidian Brink)
  • Fate's Hunter (Great Serpent Tree replacement)

Next time, a replay of Coral Rock, which I think was the first 3rd party Realm made! (I'll be playing the recently dropped revamp of it, so it won't be exactly the same.)

(Read the original on cohost here!)

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