The Ranking
First: In case this breaks, here is a link to the google doc I pasted this from.
Happy Bionicle Day!
The last few years I have celebrated this joyous day by sharing some artwork from the Atama/BZPGOT series of games, but this year I thought I would do something a little different. Today I will officially rank all 24 of the games that we have played so far. I’ll highlight some of my favorite moments, some lessons learned, which player characters played the biggest roles, and more.
So without further ado… let us begin! Starting from the bottom…
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#24
also known as: “where the metanarrative experiment went horribly wrong”
Ran from July 2022-April 2023
Tagline: Have Faith and Obey
Focus Characters: Richard Vaughn (Trijhak), Xccj/”X” (Xccj), “Sarah Rays” (Ehks)
Favorite Moments: Two. The first is Chapter 11, where the metanarrative, due to a variety of circumstances, suddenly became very real. We’ll touch more on this later.
The second comes from Chapter 6, where horror and reality blended together.
The Game: At the end of the day, something needed to be at the bottom of the list. The hard truth is this: I have some fond memories of An Azurial Dream, but at the same time, this is the game that derailed an entire arc. Players lost interest, players dropped out. Many of the ideas I incorporated into the game (both from original plans and from scrambling to make things work later) failed. This was game two in a four game arc, but games three and four never ended up running. It was only the second time I canceled games and wiped things away.
I still feel like the metanarrative could work - but not in a game so horror-focused, where the players need to buy into the world they are playing inside in totality. And it needs to be an idea brought forth before players ever sign on - for a few, its very presence ruined every bit of immersion and attachment they had.
The biggest mistake I made was scrambling, when one player exited the campaign last minute, to fully replace them. I should have instead just moved forward, adjusting plans to the lower player count, while searching for a more organic way to introduce a new fourth player. Instead I turned to the metanarrative elements (which had mostly been in the background or hinted at) and dragged them to the forefront to explain how the player would return, through the deus ex machina of a fifth person being pulled into the game. To say that it was a giant cluttered mess is an understatement.
#23
also known as “the one where spilled soup kickstarted the most iconic romance in the series”
Ran from July 2018-December 2018
Tagline: Set Sail
Focus Characters: Juke Bawks (Zee), Rassilon Oak (TTL)
Favorite Moment: It can only be the dinner with Telluris, where soup was spilled on the shirt of a PC by the name of Juke Bawks. Juke’s player rolled a NAT 20 for seduction as they removed the soaked shirt, and from that moment, it was love at first sight for Telluris.
The Game: It isn’t that The Odyssey is BAD, it’s just that… there really wasn’t much to it. It was a very experimental game, meant to do a few things. The first was to do a little worldbuilding outside the island of Okoto; the second was to prototype the concept of a pirate-adventure style game (we’ll get there); the third was to prototype a team-based campaign before fulfilling the concept more fully with The Final Season.
The Odyssey succeeded in all three aspects, in that the players drifted mostly aimlessly for about six months IRL while I figured out exactly what it was I was actually trying to accomplish. Some fun memories, certainly, but all tied together by the absolute loosest of possible threads.
#22
also known as “the oneshot that took longer than entire games”. thanks, burnout+covid.
Ran for all of November 2022
Tagline: A Special Presentation!
Focus Characters: None.
Favorite Moment: Tough call with this one - I was legitimately so burned out and sick (and then, when not sick, so exhausted) that just getting through this one was hard for me. The players likely had more fun with this one than I did, in that they must have all enjoyed at least a singular second of it.
The Game: I should clarify that I don’t necessarily think that The Abomination!! was necessarily a “bad” game, though I did make mistakes that I learned from for future games. First, I came into it without a proper idea of what anything after the beginning could look like, which destroyed any hope of pacing the adventure. The ending is very weak. I made efforts to tie it into the ongoing major story arc at the time, when the game would have been better off standing on its own.
But at the end of the day, the real reason that The Abomination!! ranks so low is simply that I cannot divorce the suffering I was undergoing at the time from the game itself. Immediately following this game’s end, I took a multi-week break from both hosting and my IRL job at the same time and spent the first several days just sleeping.
(This was all happening at the same time that An Azurial Dream fell apart, and when AetherGarde had its rough start. What a month).
#21
also known as “the roguelike with a casual disdain for sense or canon”
Ran from October 2022-March 2023
Tagline: There’s Only One Rule: Win or Die.
Focus Characters: None.
Favorite Moment: The boat.
The Game: We had talked for a long time about what a “roguelike” game might look like, and in 2022 I finally decided “let’s just try it and see what happens”. The resulting game had a very rough start as the players and I acclimated to all of the systems (and I acclimated to the need to hunt people down to actually perform actions). Then November 2022 hit, and then I took December 2022 off, and… that was that.
Just kidding.
When we returned in 2023 to finish the game, AetherGarde finally hit its stride. We leaned further into the inherent silliness of the concept, and streamlined some of the clunkier setups. It might be low on the list, but the second half was a lot of fun, and I think an AetherGarde 2 would have the potential to be fantastically fun.
#20
also known as “fire emblem: three houses”
Ran from January 2020-April 2020
Tagline: A Brave New World
Focus Characters: Eleshna Darkfire (Ehks), Quin Galum (Dane), Samson (Jakura), Vlora Crustallus (Voxumo), Giovanna Aodh (TTL)
Favorite Moments: A few. The first is the duel between Eleshna/The Flame Emperor, Quin, and Byleth Darkfire in Chapter 4. It was a frantic fight that took them from the second level of an inn out onto the streets at night.
The second is in Chapter 8, with the Black Eagles, as they finally uncover the answer about Efandril Darkfire’s whereabouts.
The Game: If ever a game was a mixed bag, this game is a MIXED BAG. You can probably tell by the dates above that a particularly stressful worldwide event started in the middle of this game, and it may well have contributed to the stress and attitudes of multiple players (and myself, even!). But there was a lot against this game from the start.
To begin: I had a detailed outline of a game taking place over the course of a year, but wanted the players to speed through each chapter over the course of an IRL week, meaning the pacing… well… it doesn’t exist. Major events are skipped over, as well as endless opportunities for genuine character interactions. An entire episode for character interactions set at a fancy ball was cut, for no other reason I can fathom these days except that I was attached to the idea of the game having ten chapters (we’ll get to that).
Too many factors to properly name (many of them my fault, and many of them not) led to the most vitriolic game I have ever hosted. Players were at my throat or each other’s throats more than they had ever been (and more than they ever have been since). Three players rage quit over the course of the game, another vanished without a trace, and I barely talked three others down from joining them. I cut an extra episode away from the second half of the game just to get finished with it faster. And half of the players that stuck it out were outright blood enemies IRL by the end of it all.
Not the greatest of times.
But it beats the games below it both because we did actually manage to finish it out, and because this is the second game in Edge of Dawn, my favorite arc, and so I have a soft spot for it despite everything. Also, it’s the origin of the Eleshna & Seiros dynamic, so bonus points.
#19
also known as “the first time voltex tried to end the series forever”
Ran from January 2019-April 2019
Tagline: Welcome to the Great Game
Focus Characters: Efandril Darkfire (Burnmad), Feli Sivr (Xccj), Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Nato Greavesy (Nato), Voxumo Ash (Voxumo), Anahera Abissm (Zee), Jakura Aodh (Jakura)
Favorite Moment: It comes from Chapter 5 - the midpoint of the game. Two groups of PCs confronted the game’s main antagonist, Miserix… and managed to kill him in the fight that ensued. Little did they know at the time that I had planned it, of course - the real main antagonists of this game were the player characters themselves.
Worst Moment: In a rush to get to some IRL event, I left the players mid-climatic event toward the end of the game, with about 30 seconds of in-game time available to them. I returned several IRL hours later to nonstop interactions that veered into the insane and canon-breaking - and not just because the players had been SO ACTIVE that they had played out several hours-long in-game conversations.
I deleted everything, and I am still not sorry. Also still not the worst thing a player has ever done (I’m looking at you, TTL, and having your players try to twerk).
The Game: The Final Season is a rather slapdash end to what was a rather slapdash arc. It introduced a brand new setup and playing style that contrasted against the focuses of previous games. The world was empty - and not even real for most of the game, besides. The game’s setup forced a premature end to the arcs of several PCs for no reason except that I had baked it into the mechanics of the game to force conflict. The “grand ending” to the series leading up to that point also introduced a bunch of new heroes, potential villains, and plot points. The final chapter ends on with at least two different cliffhangers teasing at future games. Not exactly an “ending”. Nicely done, me.
#18
also known as “the choose-your-own-adventure that was really just an excuse to lore dump at the end”
Ran in January 2017
Tagline: How It Began
Focus Characters: None
Favorite Moment: The title of Chapter 10, “United We Fall”. I felt so clever at the time, but have also kicked myself for wasting it so early in the series many times. The whole “United We Stand / Divided We Fall” is so cliche, I loved the idea of turning it on its head. Silly Voltex.
The Game: Not much to say here. This was strictly a CYOA game, where players contributed only be selecting 1 path of multiple options, and had to continue picking the correct path all the way to the end. There really isn’t much to this, and in fact it should probably be lower for it.
What I’m really saying is that I enjoyed this nothingburger more than all of the games ranked lower than it, which is just me hurling an insult at… myself????
Let’s move on.
#17
also known as “the game where everything falls apart at the very end”
Ran from January 2018-July 2018
Tagline: Everything Before was Just Prelude
Focus Characters: Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Quin Galum (Dane), Efandril Darkfire (Burnmad), Jakura Aodh (Jakura), Vinheim Maran (Voxumo), Rilgivi Nivis (Trijhak), Rassilon Oak (TTL), Isniel Lasang (FF)
Favorite Moments: A few. The first is Jakura Aodh’s death at the hands of Efandril Darkfire. The second is the trip through time that Ehks took. The third is the entire Battle of Fort Patrus.
Worst Moments: Also a few. The first was my co-host rage-quitting on me right in the middle of the finale. The second was a player rage-quitting right before the finale. The third was my co-host taking one player’s PC and sending them on an adventure one episode that was as long as the entire rest of the game combined that also took place in another dimension unrelated to anything else that was going on (seriously, what the heck am I supposed to do with that?!?!).
The Game: Look, as you can probably surmise, Season Three had a lot going on. A lot of it was really, REALLY good, and I’ll even list some of it right here:
-The House Darkfire plotline finally came to fruition with Efandril Darkfire, whose storyline through Season Three, The Final Season, and Theogony is one of my favorites.
-Jakura Aodh was introduced, kickstarting what might still be my favorite overall arc any PC has undergone.
-The worldbuilding was crazy intense. The planet suddenly had a name (Atama!). The nations on Okoto had names, and provinces, and actual cities. Those locations were all now filled with actual characters, with actual lives, and actual histories.
-Building onto Point 3 - the characters and lore and worldbuilding that Season Three set up are still having significant impact all these years later, with some of its characters still active all these years later (one - Sahmad - was the first character to break past 100 total appearances!).
-Season Three had what I personally felt were the first genuinely GOOD fights in the series - whether it was the small-scaled fight against Turahk in Chapter 1, or the Battle of Fort Patrus in Chapter 5.
But also, at the same time, a lot of stuff in Season Three was really not so good. To list a few examples:
-Each player had their own storyline, tied into the storyline of their specific nation. Some storylines had more going on than others, and this also isolated the various nations in a way they never had been before.
-Tied into Point 1 - Season Three removed a lot of the freedom that was so prevalent in previous games. This remains an ongoing point of contention. My personal POV is that the series would not last as long as it has if we had kept with the super-open PVP focus that the series had prior… but also, it means always making an effort not to railroad the players onto a specific narrow path.
-Certain setups or encounters were blatantly unfair. Several players were forced to hunt for the cure to a plague given to them during setup, instead of getting involved with plotlines they were more interested in. Many players found themselves reaping unfair consequences for their successes in past games. It was not that good, to put it lightly.
-This was the one and only game I had a co-host for, and the experience left much to be desired for every person involved in the game. We’ll leave it at that.
-The ending is just. It’s not good. At all.
So… that’s Season Three. There’s a lot to like from it, and the series would not have lasted as long as it did if it were not for this game. But a lot of it was less than stellar, and many of the returning players did not enjoy their time.
#16
also known as “the one that started it all”
Ran from May 2016-July 2016
Tagline: You Win or You Die
Focus Characters: Voxumo Ash (Voxumo), Nato Greavesy (Nato), Pulse Vatten (Trijhak)
Favorite Moment: Season One has a few iconic moments, but if I had to choose one… it would be the ending to Chapter 3. “I’m a Man of My Word”.
The Game: This placement might seem controversial to some who played it. Season One is the game that started this whole thing! And there is a lot to like here; it was totally open, meaning that almost every single bit of worldbuilding in this game came from the players themselves. They had total freedom of where to go and what to do. It crafted the skeleton from which the rest of the series has been built.
But also, outside of the iconic moments it has… not much happens. The entire game put together is smaller in size than most single chapters from future games. The conflict - entirely player driven - fizzles out into utter nothing at the end with near-zero interactions. The worldbuilding is lackluster at best outside of the immediate contributions of players; cities have no names, nations have no names, we’re lucky that the island even has a name!
So here it lands, at 16 out of 24. You did good, Season One. But we’ve done so much better.
#15
also known as “the blatant excuse to stretch out several play streaks”
READ IT HERE (note: this game is incomplete. i haven't done the writeup yet. my b.)
Ran in December 2023
Tagline: Learn the Meaning of X-Mas!
Focus Character: Balathumel (Voxumo)
Favorite Moment: The reveal of X-Mas.
The Game: This was a fun little game. I took much of December 2023 off again, to recharge after another year of running games - but I also thought it would be fun to let a bunch of players just have some holiday-related fun, and to stretch out Voxumo’s years-long streak of playing Balathumel (as well as conveniently stretch out the streaks for a few other PCs). So the idea of 12 Days was born: Voxumo would play out all twelve days, each day visiting another PC to learn a lesson about “X-Mas”. And at the end, he even meets Saint Nick!
I was not too involved with this, outside of setting each day up - but that was part of the point. To let the players have some holiday-themed fun with each other, apart from the major story arcs being played through elsewhere. I applied some of the lessons learned from The Abomination!! the year prior.
#14
also known as “the birth of everyone’s least favorite, most hated npc”. die, sierra. die!
Ran from October 2021-November 2021
Tagline: The King is Dead. Who Killed the King?
Focus Characters: None.
Favorite Moment: The fate of Ztolta Nares in Chapter 1. Thanks again, Taka.
The Game: I talked for a long time about wanting to do a murder mystery game - and The Mysterious Affair at Styles is that mystery game. Following the behemoth that was Verdant Wind, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to do a little genre experiment, and I think it worked out well for the most part. There were some interesting twists and turns that took place, with some implications for the games ahead.
I do feel that the mystery aspect ended up feeling a little weak, and while the game was running, I did struggle with providing proper clues for the players. I tried to set things up so that the players could reach a conclusive ending no matter which suspect they selected, but I don’t feel I quite managed to succeed. Like AetherGarde, this is a concept that I think could genuinely turn out great if I give it another shot.
Oh yeah - that most hated NPC. Sierra Darkfire. A classic case of a new character being made way too important way too quickly off the backs of legacy characters, inheriting all that made those older characters iconic for no real reasons that the audience/players can see at all. But just you wait, players, I did what you wanted and dealt her a terrible fate! And I’m not done yet! You’ll like her by the end, I swear! I did it with Sahmad before, and I’ll do it again!
*shakes fist at sky, continues shouting pointlessly at clouds*
#13
also known as “the game where the players were actually the antagonists all along”
Ran from May 2020-July 2020
Tagline: Danger in the Dark
Focus Characters: Hakma Populus (Xccj), Giovanna Aodh (TTL), Loche Lurrun (Zee)
Favorite Moment: Chapter 6, “A Snake Among Serpents”.
The Game: Azure Moon has one of my favorite single-game arcs for a PC - the story of Hakma Populus. It also birthed the idea of “solo episodes”, where only one player is involved. Like most other firsts in this series, “A Snake Among Serpents” is pretty rough around the edges, but it also remains one of my favorites, and I have enjoyed, every so often, continuing to pull a solo episode out of my pocket. Azure Moon also has some of my favorite darker moments, particularly in Chapters 4 and 5.
But why is it here, in the dead center? Because that’s just the sort of game it is. It is almost dead-even with Silver Snow in my mind, and Azure Moon just barely loses out due to its weaker finale.
#12
also known as “the game where the player characters all hated each other all the time and didn’t understand the value of teamwork”
Ran from May 2020-July 2020
Tagline: Two Worlds Collide. One Survives.
Focus Characters: Vlora Crustallus (Voxumo), Samson (Jakura), Mlavic Aodh (Unit), Nathair Greavesy (Nato)
Favorite Moments: Two. The first was the reappearance of Balathumel (his first appearance since Theogony) and the NPC known as Vatten (his first appearance since Season Two) in Chapter 3, with both characters joining the party.
The second occurs in Chapter 6, when the PCs earned Surtr’s loyalty and respect.
The Game: This game ran alongside Azure Moon, and edges it out for a few reasons. While Azure Moon’s highs are higher, its lows are lower; in particular, its first few chapters are pretty meh, and its finale is weaker. Silver Snow, on the other hand, is consistent the whole way through, and has some equally interesting twists and turns. For instance, take the NPC Vatten; he was a bitter but heroic figure back in Season Two who sacrificed himself for the greater good - re-introducing him here in the Underworld, having suffered in the Fields of Punishment, is one of the better tricks I have managed to pull.
The players choosing to allow Balathumel and Vatten to accompany them on their journey also directly led to the fan favorite NPC known as Metus Crustallus surviving Silver Snow… so that he could later be taken down by none other than Balathumel.
But that’s a moment to be discussed later.
#11
also known as “the game with the highest highs and lowest lows. best final battle question mark?”
Ran from June 2019-August 2019
Tagline: The Last Enemy to Be Destroyed is Death
Focus Characters: Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Tabek Umrik (TBK), Juke Bawks (Zee), Jakura Aodh (Jakura), Toru Sevoi (Toru)
Favorite Moments: A whole bunch. There’s the wedding in Chapter 1, the final battle in Chapter 6, the interactions in Chapter 5, the epilogues… the list goes on.
Worst Moments: Chapter 4 might be the worst in the entire series. And Chapter 3 is mediocre. And Chapter 2 is… it’s okay, I guess.
The Game: The Aenid was the conclusion to The Argo Trilogy, a trilogy where I ran the first and third games in 2019 and then waited until 2022 to run the second. Yes, the order was on purpose. No, I did not intend for the gap to be three years long. Yes, the trilogy does work well as a trilogy, if you ignore the fact that games 1 and 3 are bullet-point writeups and game 2 has full chapters.
Anyway.
The Aenid starts out strong with one of the best opening chapters of any game, and it concludes with one of the best battles in any game, and has some of the best interactions, fights, and hijinks in any game. But man, Chapters 3 and 4 in particular are so weak. Truly terrible. The biggest lesson I learned from this game? Don’t make the players do the exact same thing every single chapter.
The biggest lesson I ignored from this game? You can either determine chapters by an IRL time limit or by an outline with no time limit. Don’t do both. I steadfastly ignored this until Twilight Requiem blew up in my face.
Fun!
#10
also know as “the one that would be perfect… IF I HAD FINISHED IT”
Ran from January 2017-June 2017
Tagline: All Men Must Die
Focus Characters: Pulse Vatten (Trijhak), Vinheim Maran (Voxumo), Nato Greavesy (Nato), Onaku Greavesy (Onaku), Jed Corruich (Jed), Chloe Saryian (Blade)
Favorite Moment: Genuinely hard to think of one moment compared to any others; I am still of the belief that, had we ended up playing Season Two through to its proper conclusion, it would be my favorite game.
Worst Moment: Getting burned out, and shutting things down early.
The Game: I think that Season Two still has the best mix of player freedom and predetermined plots in the series. The worldbuilding was stronger than Season One, but the NPCs were not as crushingly omnipresent as they would be in Season Three. Players decided what they wanted to do, where they wanted to do it, who they wanted to do it with (or to), and when. The slow escalation of the broader threat from Season One to the end of Season Two would have been great if it had played out to completion.
I have ranked this game higher in the past for all these reasons, but alas, I think I must be fair: this game was never truly completed, and so I cannot give it a completing grade. A game that was never finished is certainly still better than most of the games (maybe that’s a yikes, maybe that’s just nostalgia talking, maybe it’s both), and it is good enough to kick off our top ten - but no further.
#9
also known as “the end of all good things” HAHAHA WASN’T IT FUN HAVING THAT SHOVED DOWN YOUR THROAT FOR A YEAR
Ran from October 2023-June 2024
Tagline: All Good Things Must Come to an End
Focus Characters: Olik (Oncertainty), Eleshna Darkfire/Sarah Rays (Ehks), Prevalar Rayne (Terrorsaur), Rhagre Cipactli-10002 (Xccj), Pohatu-2968 (Voxumo), Jukris (Zee), JUK-3 (Zee), Vashan (Valendale), Achro (Toru)
Favorite Moments: A few. The Dread’s first appearance and the subsequent fall of Telluris in Chapter 4; the binary choice made by Rhagre in the finale (more on that later); the Olik solo episode and his return in the Epilogue; the various reveals surrounding Eleshna/Sarah and Seiros.
The Game: Across the Argo-Verse is the hardest game to talk about on this list, because it is the latest game to have been completed. If the rankings on this list change, this is the game most likely to shift, as more time passes and my opinion on it potentially changes. But for now it is here, for a few reasons, despite what issues it has (and it did have a few). First is the binary choice: for the third time, I asked one player - Xccj - to choose between two options at the very end of the game, like Ehks in Verdant Wind and Burnmad in Theogony before him. There were also some great character interactions this game, and great rivalries between several of the PCs and the antagonists they were up against.
This game was originally just the second half of Into the Argo-Verse, but the campaign grew so large that I split it in two.
I think that’s all that I’ll say on this one for now.
#8
also known as “the game where characters die for real this time, i swear”
Ran from January 2022-July 2022
Tagline: One Last Stand.
Focus Characters: Rhagre Cipactli (Xccj), Rhagre Cipactli-10002 (Xccj), Jennir Nuan (Terrorsaur), Balathumel (Voxumo), Anaster Petros (Taka), Kortaq Maran (Trijhak)
Favorite Moments: Two. The first was the destruction of the Argo, before destroying it became a running gag of sorts. Is destroying a ship funny? Well, it certainly became a running something.
Second is death of Metus at the hands of Balathumel, and everything that immediately followed it, including the Battle at Styles.
The Game: Epigoni originated as me wanting to tell a small, contained story about a couple long-running characters fighting to the death against overwhelming odds to save the day. Somehow that got mixed in with wanting to do a game set in Karda-Nui, which got mixed into wanting to do a sequel to The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which mixed with wanting to do a space game, which mixed with wanting to do a multiverse game, which mixed with wanting to do another Argonauts game, and then suddenly we have the game with the highest number of chapters in the series.
Anyway, it was a fun time.
And yes, most of the deaths did end up sticking. Except for Kovant. He escaped the ship explosion because I wanted him to.
#7
also known as “efandril darkfire is so important she needs her own game”
Ran from August 2019-September 2019
Tagline: Many Faces. Many Names.
Focus Character: Efandril Darkfire (Burnmad)
Favorite Moment: If I had to choose one, it is the binary choice that Efandril makes at the very end of the game. It cannot be understated how drastically this shifted the course of the entire series moving forward.
The Game: If Season Three and The Final Season had a single main character, that main character’s name was Efandril Darkfire. After being absent for the Argo Trilogy, I wanted to design a game around her… so I did. I merged it with an adaptation of the greek underworld, and the resulting game was small but enormously important. She met a few new faces along the way - Balalthumel, Gragu, and Aion/Khron (played by Voxumo, Xccj, and Dane respectively) - who would all continue to crop up in future games. But some of the biggest moments here derive from the lore that Efandril uncovered, and the decision she made at the very end: to side with the gods against the mortals that would stand against them.
This decision changed the course of the Edge of Dawn arc, and in turn, everything that has followed.
#6
also known as “the happy-go-lucky adventure where nothing bad ever happens, i swear”
Ran from April 2019-June 2019
Tagline: It’s a Beautiful Day
Focus Characters: Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Tabek Umrik (TBK), Rassilon Oak (TTL), Xavi Sivr (Xccj)
Favorite Moments: Gosh, where to start? Maybe it’s the final duel where Rassilon and Mazeka fought Rassilon’s abusive, absentee father aboard a sinking ship. Maybe it’s the Kraken fight from Chapter 4. Maybe it’s when I suddenly killed off my own self-insert. Maybe it’s the house of horrors that the players explored in Chapters 2 and 3. Maybe it’s Chapter 7, where the players traveled back in time and created the very enemies they were fighting in the present. Maybe it’s one of the dozens of different shenanigans that happened along the way.
The Game: The Argonauts is tough to summarize. Even if the writeups were full-on chapters and not just bullet points, I don’t think anyone who wasn’t there and playing can understand the utter joy that this game was. It was our first game to receive official cover art. Players made doodles and fan comics and memes. It was more lighthearted than any game before, but that meant the tragedies and scares and brutal fights that did crop up hit harder than any game before too. It took us out beyond Okoto, giving us a proper picture of what the rest of Atama looked like for the first time (The Odyssey barely counted). It was the pirate adventure I had always kinda wanted to try running, even before I was running these games.
Ranking it at #6 almost feels like a crime. But when it came to these top six, one game had to miss out on the top five, and The Argonauts has some rough spots, courtesy of its age, that some of the games that ranked higher don’t have (or overcome).
#5
also known as “sorry not sorry but yes the black eagles are the main protagonists of edge of dawn get rekt losers”
Ran from August 2019-December 2019
Tagline: No More Tomorrows
Focus Characters: Eleshna Darkfire (Ehks), Meghana (Zee), Lyonesse Yue’yuan (FF), Anaster Petros (Taka), Samson (Jakura)
Favorite Moments: I will limit myself to exactly three, just for you:
-The end of Chapter 5 (and let me tell you, I regret spoiling the surprise ahead of time back when I was running this)
-The Meghana plotline in Chapter 6.
-Eleshna’s arc with Sahmad in Chapter 1.
-HAHAHA JUST KIDDING A FOURTH - the debut of the Hunter in Chapter 1. Iconic.
Worst Moment: The opener for Chapter 4, and the general setup of that Chapter. What a mess, I tell ya.
The Game: Take the Argonauts (my favorite faction) and the Black Eagles (also my favorite faction) and blend the two together. You get Crimson Flower. Just thinking about this game I almost want to rank it higher. Almost. For all of the highs of this game (which I will list shortly), it does have some lows. Chapter 4 is almost abysmally bad compared to the rest of the game; Chapter 7 is rushed, and honestly probably should have been spread out into at least one other Chapter (curse you, Past Me, for your arbitrary limit of seven chapters!); there were some issues with players that involved disliking storylines and significant miscommunications that made things messy at the time.
But even still, Crimson Flower is one of my faves. I mean, it has all the following:
-The Black Eagles sailing alongside the Argonauts
-The Argonauts getting a legacy sequel game
-The Hunter
-Samson & Metus showing up by surprise in Chapter 1 and sticking around the whole game
-Unit Ember & Gragu showing up to star in Chapters 6 and 7 (sorry to spoil the surprise here)
-More stuff i won’t spoil for you
Anyway, Crimson Flower is great, the Argonauts and Black Eagles are my two favorite PC factions, and the Black Eagles always were and always will be the main protagonists of Edge of Dawn.
#4
also known as “the game voltex waited four years to run”
Ran from March 2023-October 2023
Tagline: All for One. One for All.
Focus Characters: Rhagre Cipactli-10002 (Xccj), Prevalar Rayne (Terrorsaur), Olik (Oncertainty), Pohatu-2968 (Voxumo), Seqala-420 (Trijhak), Thulox (Unit), Gragu (Xccj), Terrorsaur Rayne (Terrorsaur), Pulse Vatten (Trijhak), Isniel Lasang (FF)
Favorite Moment: Aside from finally getting to run the thing? Gotta be TBK rolling a NAT 20 to oneshot a character that was supposed to be one of the final bosses. But also when Prevalar had a three phase duel to end the game in the final battle. But also when the Gragcrew became the main characters for a few chapters. But also when the epilogue of The Apologoi ended up leading right into this game. But also exploring an Incursion (what are those? Read and find out). But also every time Thokiller is onscreen. But also Kivoda Rayne. But also-
The Game: Listen, if I start talking about Into the Argo-Verse, we’ll be here all day. I’d been trying to run this game (or some version of it) since 2019 when The Argonauts ended, and four years later, it finally happened.
Let’s just say I was very happy, got very silly, and call it a day.
#3
also known as “that time voltex finally went back and ran the middle part of that trilogy”
Ran from August 2022-September 2022
Tagline: The Untold Tale of the Argonauts
Focus Characters: Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Tabek Umrik (TBK), Juke Bawks (Zee), Prevalar Rayne (Terrorsaur)
Favorite Moment: The moment that all of the time travel and multiversal spaghetti clicked for people. Assuming it did, in fact, ever click for them. Also Kivoda Rayne. He’s such a dirtbag, we love him.
The Game: Back in 2019, I had the thought that it would be very interesting if I were to follow The Argonauts up with a game concluding the story (The Aenid) and then run a third game set between the two after the fact, as a challenge to see if that middle entry would still be fun to both run and play. My first attempt failed, and we do not talk about it, because it was terrible and it delayed Into the Argo-Verse by four years (though it did mean I pivoted entirely to Edge of Dawn, so it’s not all bad).
But in 2022, I had run a poll, and the players voted to play AetherGarde next. Except I had nothing ready for AetherGarde, and I REALLY wanted to run Into the Argo-Verse… so I got a couple players together in secret, and then I ran The Apologoi instead as a stopgap. Little did the players realize, at the time, what my TRUE INTENTIONS WERE! HAHAHA!
#2
also known as “all of voltex’s horror hopes and dreams realized”
Ran from January 2022-July 2022
Tagline: There is Nothing to Fear
Focus Characters: “Sarah Rays” (Ehks), Dale Eisenhorn (Jakura)
Favorite Moment: Everything with the Watermill
The Game: Much like Into the Argo-Verse, I was inspired by The Argonauts. The idea of running a fully-fledged horror game would not leave me. Only a few small problems: not everyone is scared by the same things. Not everyone wants to be scared, either. Not everyone can sustain that mindset for hours at a time for a campaign. Some people will claim they’re good for horror, but does that mean they are good at crafting the horror, or experiencing the horror, because those are two very different skills!
Anyway, it took 2.5 years, but then Verdant Wind ended, and I got to thinking about a question:
Where do Vanished Things Go?
You see, one of my favorite PCs, Eleshna Darkfire, had recently erased herself. And one of my favorite NPCs, Seiros, had just pledged to find her. And so the mystery was born: I would lead a campaign adapting the cthulhu mythos and other horrors and mythologies into BZPGOT, and all of it would secretly be leading to the potential return of Eleshna Darkfire to the games, so that she could live out her happy ending.
A Midnight Requiem went, I think, about as well as I could have hoped for the first installment of such a series to go. The players were into it. I was into it. And though we all know now where it ended, I have come around to feel that it does not necessarily need to impact how I view this game. (Maybe it helps that the storyline started here with Eleshna and Seiros did end up getting its conclusion in Across the Argo-Verse).
Anyway, I feel like this game was pretty swell, even if the whole Glass storyline kinda just shriveled and died afterward.
#1
also known as “the magnum opus”
Ran from January 2021-August 2021
Tagline: The End.
Focus Characters: *deep breath* Eleshna Darkfire (Ehks), Tekmo Saryian (Toru), Tharkan Plast (Trijhak), Iyara Diurim (TBK), Meghana (Zee), Jakura Aodh (Jakura), Xavi Sivr (Xccj), Lyonesse Yue’yuan (FF), Anaster Petros (Taka), Vlora Crustallus (Voxumo), Nathair Greavesy (Nato), Mlavic Aodh (Unit), Giovanna Aodh (TTL), Veer Sanada (Dane), Efandril Darkfire (Burnmad), Kranan Crustallus (Kranan), Samson (Jakura), Feli Sivr (Xccj), Ehks Glacies (Ehks), Gragu (Xccj), Khron (Dane), Jennir Nuan (Terrorsaur)
Favorite Moments: The Game.
The Game: Let’s get this clear right out of the gate: Verdant Wind should not have worked. It had too many players. It had too many player characters. It had players playing too many characters. It had too many NPCs. It had too many locations. It had too many factions. It had too many conflicts. Too many plot points. Too many story arcs. Too many character arcs. Too many heroes. Too many antagonists. Too many reveals.
But it stuck the landing. Yes, there were one or two stumbles along the way. An event or two that could have used some more foreshadowing; a particular skip in time that maybe wasn’t necessary halfway through.
But it stuck the landing. The opener was great. The ending was great. The final battles - yes, both of them, at the midpoint and the finale - were great! The choice that ended it all was great. The characters were great. I loved that it came down to Eleshna & Seiros, that iconic duo, and how their rivalry and relationship evolved. We threw everything at the wall for Verdant Wind, and near all of it actually stuck on the thing.
Three years later, it still blows my mind.
I could run these games for another century, and I don’t think I’ll ever top this.
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Anyway, that's my ranking of the BZPGOT series! Let me know if you disagree. Share your own rankings, those of you that have observed or participated through the years!
(and join the community here if you'd like)
Edited by Voltex
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