it was never going to be the full skin but I got attached to it and went with it, I ended up putting a lot more effort into it then I intended though
you say that like it's a bad thing lol. Honestly, when I first saw the site, I could immediately tell that you put in a lot of effort. Skinning/designing is not easy by any means at all.
I see you're considering doing a complete reskin so I'm actually going to try to dissuade you from doing so unless you really want to because of a specific reason.
Disclaimer: I don't play tabletop rpgs and my advice is just based on what I know second-hand, sorry.
I agree that the overall aesthetic, while not my personal cup of tea, is really reminiscent of tabletop games. So if you are aiming to get members who like those kinds of things, it works. It is an aesthetic that appeals to your intended audience and is familiar to them at a glance. I don't think you need to do a complete overhaul on the design at all because of this but changing just only a few elements can vastly improve things.
There are a whole lot of information going on for the eyes all at once everywhere. Could it be neater? Yeah. BUT from what I know of the gaming community that enjoys this type of aesthetic is that they generally
like having as much necessary information upfront as possible and a lot of them seem to prefer function over clean design as well. It's one of the reasons why a lot of mmos tend to have that same """clunky""" look to them. I personally do not like that general look tabletop rpgs and mmos have at all but I don't know if you should scrap everything and go for a "cleaner" look. It MIGHT actually be detrimental to attracting fellow tabletop rpg nerds. Keep in mind that a lot of members on PP like myself probably prefer a less heavily stylized and more stream-lined type of site but I don't think most of us are your intended audience. As a result, I am hesitant to suggest any design changes other than what I mention below.
I like the vertical boards. I think they're very unique and interesting but for the width you've chosen, they aren't very good for paragraph text. If you keep them, I suggest either keeping the board description REALLY short/non-existent or go with a bullet points. If you want to keep the info as it is, then I highly recommend adjusting the width so it's wider. It's hard to read a block of text that's only 3 words a line.
Like for the market and residential boards, maybe change the width so each individual one is as wide as the space the two of them currently take up side-by-side then move the other board below the first. From a glance, it is the only design issue that impacts readability.
Font and text-color wise, it's fine for readability. For the actual font itself, this may be too much of my own personal tastes coming in here but I think it might be best if you choose a different font since this might even turn off your core audience. I don't think it is the right font to use for your cool post-apocalyptic super alien world as it does nothing to add to the overall alien mood and tabletop look. I feel like it takes away from it by making it less serious and more amateur. Even the designer poked fun at his creation by saying the name means “not knowing how to create fonts right” in its description.
For the green borders, it really is harsh on the eyes. I tend to keep my screen brightness on the dimmer side and it's still pretty popping. I like the added glowing effect it does to that green crystal-organ thing in the forum's footer image but having it everywhere else is a bit much. If you like green borders, I would suggest choosing a less saturated/darker green. That way it's easier on the eyes and doesn't clash as much.
Alternatively, you can try changing from green to one of the other colors you used for the skin so it looks more harmonious.
The overall world is super interesting and I am just amazed at the amount of effort you put in and how you're even so willing to do a complete reskin for your site if necessary. It's extremely admirable! I know how hard skinning can be. I don't know of any other potential problems you need to look out for just glancing at the info and stuff.
Oh, and in terms of gaining members, I suggest you remember to advertise in places dedicated to tabletop gaming as you're more likely to find members there. Maybe posting about it on Reddit in the right subreddit if you haven't considered that already. I know that there is a big community of tabletop rpgs fans there that would probably be interested in joining. I can't point to any particular subreddit because that's as far as I know.
Good luck with your site! I hope it does well. Sorry for so much text or if it but I hope at least some of my advice is useful/relevant to you. I genuinely want to see you succeed so I guess I may have rambled on too much as a result. haha
