Why the Olds Gods of Appalachia RPG is a huge disappoinment

Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game by Monte Cook Games successfully translates the soulful, folkloric horror of the hit podcast into the Cypher System, though the 418-page core rulebook suffers from significant presentation bloat. While the game remains deeply faithful to its source material's Lovecraftian heart, its layout often prioritizes volume over utility, resulting in dense walls of text and rules scattered across multiple chapters. This "more is more" philosophy leads to a fragmented reading experience where key mechanics like Effort and Player Intrusions are buried in long-winded paragraphs rather than succinct, referenceable callouts. Despite these editorial hurdles, veteran Cypher fans will find a rich and evocative setting, and the companion 35-page player guide proves the system can be delivered with the brevity modern tables crave. This review explores the tension between the game’s excellent atmospheric writing and its cumbersome organization, offering an honest look at whether this "doorstopper" manual captures the true essence of the Appalachia stories. ----------------------------------------------- Support the channel Join the channel: https://bit.ly/JoinTheDaveThaumavoreC... Patreon:   / thaumavore   Newsletter sign-up: https://bit.ly/ThaumavoreNewsletter www.thaumavore.com Dave RPG Links (purchases help the channel!) https://open.substack.com/pub/thaumav... My Amazon Shop (purchases help the channel!) https://www.amazon.com/shop/davethaum... ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Patreon Founders List Regnant Thaumavorians mawburn -- https://bit.ly/gaslandsdice Doug Vieira Mr. Universe – https://www.realmsoflegacy.com Otavio Lessa – https://www.minds-vision.com Agile Monk Lordship Thaumavorians Wizard Lizard Savant Thaumavorians Targrus Allen Varney Nick Louie Daniel Goupil Nawid Ayobi Keith Nathan Padde Raye Leon John Wood Eanilsen Stephen Kramer DC Ken Austin Gordon Travis Porter Sven Breiter Josh Lawrence Charles Medina