Heath

I played in Isaac's Ghosts of Saltmarsh game, and unfortunately, my experience was overwhelmingly negative. While Isaac does have some strengths, like decent voices for NPCs, those positives were overshadowed by significant issues that made the game frustrating and unbalanced. Isaac runs a "my way or the highway" type of game. He claims to be open to player feedback, but in practice, he shuts down any attempts at constructive discussion or strategizing. Despite his claims that strategizing was welcome, he actively discouraged any efforts to plan or think ahead, especially when it came to helping new players. The encounters were often overly deadly, with Isaac frequently running encounters far above the players' level and not offering helpful advice for character building. His approach is not at all friendly to new players, and he seemed more interested in punishing them than helping them learn. One of the most significant issues for me was the high player turnover in the game. A total of 11 players joined, but only 4 remained by the time I left, meaning over half the players left. This constant turnover made it difficult to maintain any continuity in the story, and the game felt disjointed and incomplete. With new players constantly joining and others leaving, the narrative lacked cohesion, making it harder to invest in the game or its developments. The game also suffered from frequent scheduling changes, which created confusion and inconsistency. When the party was split, which seemed to happen often, Isaac tended to favor one group over another, giving more time to one side. This was frustrating, especially since we were all paying to play. On one occasion, a new player started in a prison, but Isaac primarily focused on the group outside the prison for most of the session. While I can't speak to how that affected the new player's experience, I felt that it was unfair to neglect any player’s time, especially when everyone had paid to participate. Isaac also struggled with the technical aspects of the game. The Roll20 setup was poorly optimized, causing lag and glitches, even on a high-end PC. The maps were nice, but the technical issues really detracted from the experience. In terms of the story, Isaac pushed us off-track from the advertised Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign, weaving in homebrew elements that never felt like they fit. The game was chaotic, and every encounter felt like it was designed to fail, with no sense of balance or fun. I would not recommend playing with Isaac unless you’re looking for a highly challenging experience with little room for feedback or improvement. There’s potential for growth, but based on my experience and the price, I suggest looking elsewhere for a more balanced and player-friendly game.