Does anyone know what Dark Places and Demogorgons is?  If yes, can anyone explain to me what the base game (assuming there is one) is like?

They have a Kickstarter up for a Iron Age style comic RPG which I assume is a variation on the base game?  Again, if there is one?

This is the KS link which I am putting here for informational purposes.

Does anyone have any experience with Bloat Games (I think that's the name?)

Bloat...games? LOL.

The KS looks interesting. I'd be interested in hearing more about their Survive This system.

Dark Places and Demogorgons is basically Stranger Things the RPG, playing 80s kids who investigate weird goings on

Gamewise, it a mash-up of B/X D&D with 5e's Advantage/Disadvantage system.  There are a lot of classes, each one being a clique, essentially, and special powers or something every level. Levels only go to 5. Skill system is basically ability mod (using B/X range so +/- 3) plus skill level (which is generally very low, almost like traveller) plus d20 compared to a DC, with 10 being easy and 25 being difficult. So characters fail a lot, since even "easy" tasks fail maybe 40% of the time. That kinda fits the genre, though

It does not seem particularly well suited for super-hero games, but...shrug

If you want a OSR based superhero game, Guardians from Night Owl Games isn't bad.

I've got quite a lot of experience with it. I was GMing it for a while a few months back and we had a blast.

If you like retro 80s stuff and OSR, then I've yet to find a better game. This isn't another 'Tales from the loop' as people seem to think. I mean, you don't play little kids on bikes. Sure, you could but this is more about young adults who find themselves in weird and horrific situations in a town where people disapear. It's a dark game...

The characters definitely take a nod from 80's teen movies - so if you like those tropes then you'll like this. Some of the player character types include: The Nerd, The Geek, The Jock, The Karate Kid, Extreme Athlete, Break Dancer, Goth, Metal Head, Preppy, The Princess, The Heart Throb, The Bully, The Hood, Punk Rocker.

It's a game about heroes (or anti-heroes) but it's not a superhero game by any stretch. But you can have characters with psychic abilities, etc.

Bestiary covers a lot of stuff you'd expect for urban teen horror. Werewolves, cults, vampires, Golems, Medusa, etc. J-Town or Jefferson town is the setting but it's optional. I really like it as it's been well thought out and drips with 80s nostalgia.

I never had a problem with any of Eric's Kickstarters they've all been excellent (I've backed four of them so far). And he knows his shit when it comes to the OSR (check his Bloat Games youtube channel). Incidentally, There are some very in depth review of Dark places on youtube as well.

I'm on the fence about the Vigilante City Kickstarter. It looks fun.

I've played Tales from the Loop once now and though I generally enjoyed the experience, I felt the futuristic technology was somewhat tacked onto the setting without fully integrating it. So for example, there's anti-grav technology but the only impact it had is that there's the occasional anti-grav ship floating around, otherwise it's just the 80s as we know them. It sounds like Dark Places & Demogorgons, and another 80s kids' adventure game I read about called Kids on Bikes, steer clear of this setting-inconsistency. I've no intention of ever running an 80s kids themed game so I won't be picking up any of these.

I saw Bloat Games also has a non-superheroic vigilante kind of game available, titled The Vigilante Hack. I didn't care much for the artwork I saw, though. I think they should Kickstart an edition of this with improved art and layout. I'd back that.

Quote from: 3rik;1046105It sounds like Dark Places & Demogorgons, and another 80s kids' adventure game I read about called Kids on Bikes, steer clear of this setting-inconsistency. I've no intention of ever running an 80s kids themed game so I won't be picking up any of these.

Personally, I would not consider Dark Places & Demogorgons anything like 80's kids on bikes or Tales from the Loop. To me, it's more of a homage to old 80's horror movies.

Quote from: JeremyR;1046076If you want a OSR based superhero game, Guardians from Night Owl Games isn't bad.

Or Sentinels of Echo City

Quote from: The Exploited.;1046115Personally, I would not consider Dark Places & Demogorgons anything like 80's kids on bikes or Tales from the Loop. To me, it's more of a homage to old 80's horror movies.

Interesting. So they're even more different then, since at least from what I saw Tales from the Loop is very much not a horror game.

Kids on Bikes however, does seem to be kind of in the same vein but takes a more "new school" / coop / narrative kind of approach. They even call it a storytelling game, though I'll leave it to others to judge if that's the correct term in this case; it involves collaborative world building and a communally controlled Powered Character...

I just bought Survive This: Zombies - modern zombie horror - it seemed worth looting for parts but pretty amateurish. I would have liked some decent character templates/classes evocative of genre - sounds like Dark Places and Demogorgons does more what I'd want "The Nerd, The Geek, The Jock, The Karate Kid, Extreme Athlete, Break Dancer, Goth, Metal Head, Preppy, The Princess, The Heart Throb, The Bully, The Hood, Punk Rocker" - the Zombies game only has sorta prestige classes eg 'hunter' 'tracker' 'leader' 'slayer' - fairly bland & focused on what the PC might be doing after the zombie apocalypse; I much prefer templates that cover the PC's past lives before entering play.

Quote from: 3rik;1046260Interesting. So they're even more different then, since at least from what I saw Tales from the Loop is very much not a horror game.

Kids on Bikes however, does seem to be kind of in the same vein but takes a more "new school" / coop / narrative kind of approach. They even call it a storytelling game, though I'll leave it to others to judge if that's the correct term in this case; it involves collaborative world building and a communally controlled Powered Character...

Yeah... Tales from the loop was a bit jolly for my tastes. I especially didn't like the fact that the kid PC characters were immune to death. But I did think the lore was interesting with the particle accelerator but I wouldn't run a game if I'm being honest. Not heard about the Kids on Bikes game to be honest.

Quote from: S'mon;1046290I just bought Survive This: Zombies - modern zombie horror - it seemed worth looting for parts but pretty amateurish. I would have liked some decent character templates/classes evocative of genre - sounds like Dark Places and Demogorgons does more what I'd want "The Nerd, The Geek, The Jock, The Karate Kid, Extreme Athlete, Break Dancer, Goth, Metal Head, Preppy, The Princess, The Heart Throb, The Bully, The Hood, Punk Rocker" - the Zombies game only has sorta prestige classes eg 'hunter' 'tracker' 'leader' 'slayer' - fairly bland & focused on what the PC might be doing after the zombie apocalypse; I much prefer templates that cover the PC's past lives before entering play.

He's got a second edition in the pipeline just about to come out - but it's not been released yet. I only got my KS version a couple of weeks back. But I've not read it yet (the lazy b'stard that I am)... So I can't really compare it to the first edition just yet.

Quote from: The Exploited.;1046335He's got a second edition in the pipeline just about to come out - but it's not been released yet. I only got my KS version a couple of weeks back. But I've not read it yet (the lazy b'stard that I am)... So I can't really compare it to the first edition just yet.

Would you happen to be familiar with any of the sourcebooks for Dark Places & Domogorgons? I saw there's a vampire and a werewolf sourcebook and a setting guide and it mentioned these can easily be used with other OSR games.

Stranger Things season 1 was good, in spite of endless sappy nostalgia. But the constant fetishization of it is getting boring.

Quote from: 3rik;1046418Would you happen to be familiar with any of the sourcebooks for Dark Places & Domogorgons? I saw there are a vampire and a werewolf sourcebook and a setting guide and it mentioned these can easily be used with other OSR games.

Sorry... I missed this. Yeah pretty much. Effectively they are just mini monster manuals that emulate some of the famous movie vamps. While nothing you couldn't do yourself, but I found them very handy for inspiration.