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Post by jakdethe on Mar 2, 2013 12:02:00 GMT -6
I suppose my whole point with that post was; if the players are going to be Crusaders, it would be nice to have them feel like heroes, instead of reluctant villains, or like they have to be fighting other Christians in ideals. EDIT: Furthermore, while many of the political motivations, theories, etc. may be true, they won't be that relevant to the players. Do you really think they'll care about that stuff? They'll be more concerned with surviving in a strange world, and fighting enemies, who regardless or reason, are trying to kill them and other Christians. In the context of a game, I can see your point however worrisome I find that. Players wouldn't be concerned with politics? Really? Maybe it's just a playstyle thing but my players/games always have plenty of intrigue. I think it's also prudent to include such things as to avoid reducing Muslims into a caricature, which given the times we live in, is a not so nice thing to do. Putting all that aside, I think all these things were front a centre in the crusader mindset. Especially the desire for divine redemption. The church viewed the crusades as a great sacrifice, like jesus's, and thought that god would be please with their own sacrifice. If you have a player who is a noble, the frustration with the bishops would be front and centre. Their drive for land grabs, thus consolidating their own power against that of the bishops would be pretty significant. You can't just ignore all motivations, I mean that would severely reduce plot hooks. I'm not suggesting they be ignored, just up until now the only thing being discussed is massacres, and political intrigue, with little relevant to what players would be dealing with in the holy land. Sure drop in some hooks, or mention the bishops, sure they'll be pissed off about it, and church wrong doings, but they have bigger fish to fry. I'm not suggesting downplaying Muslims or their causes either, but up-playing the vows of Crusaders, and their orders, to protect other Christians and defend the holy land. It must be remembered that the Crusaders were soldiers, and if you ask any soldier, while it pisses them of that the government may be ran by greedy people, they are more concerned with helping other people and each other. They are more concerned with staying alive, doing their job, and furthering whatever good comes from it.
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Post by jakdethe on Mar 2, 2013 11:29:02 GMT -6
I suppose my whole point with that post was; if the players are going to be Crusaders, it would be nice to have them feel like heroes, instead of reluctant villains, or like they have to be fighting other Christians in ideals.
EDIT: Furthermore, while many of the political motivations, theories, etc. may be true, they won't be that relevant to the players. Do you really think they'll care about that stuff? They'll be more concerned with surviving in a strange world, and fighting enemies, who regardless or reason, are trying to kill them and other Christians.
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Post by jakdethe on Mar 2, 2013 11:09:23 GMT -6
what else has been release for S&W? Since the merger with Frog God games we were promised new material, and what meaningful releases have we gotten? I forgot, and should mention -- in addition to all the Frog God modules and S&W sourcebooks, I should mention third party publishers. Pacesetter Games also recently did a Swords & Wizardry module, which is here: pacesettergames.com/q3deonsiissw.htmlI would (and will) bring up Tim Shorts module Knowledge Illuminates, which is probably before the time period you're asking about, but I think third party material is often the most interesting -- Knowledge Illuminates is here: gothridgemanorgames.blogspot.com/p/gm-games-store.html. I'm not trying to criticize S&W, Froggod Games, or your efforts. Modules are great and all, and I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but what practical resources are there for Sandbox DMs? I ask in earnest, because I'm sure there are some. And while I love Tome of Horrors, and Raphun Attuk, they are books that are far too expensive for most people, and far to large to use at the gaming table, where most Sandbox DMs need their resources. I'd love to see some reasonable monster books in the 100 - 200pg area, that cost under $50. Pathfinder's Beastiaries are 300pg, full color books, for $40 retail, $27 at amazon right now.
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Post by jakdethe on Mar 2, 2013 11:06:28 GMT -6
Except it is widely known that the Catholic Church and Christiandom never launched any incursions into Muslim land until the Orthodox Church asked for assistance because of Muslim aggression, against Jews, Pagans, and Christians in the Holy Land. Furthermore it is widely known from first hand accounts that Crusaders donated most of their lively goods to wage the wars, this includes Nobles.
Most of this information pertains to the First Crusade era in which the game will be set.
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Post by jakdethe on Mar 2, 2013 0:11:08 GMT -6
I'm hesitant to post this, as I've avoided the religious argument thus far. However this document has some interesting facts, that may give some insight into the crusader's mindset. If you can get past the lining of paranoia, and instead take in the facts, and accept that certain aspects of history have been misrepresented, it's a very interesting documents. Key points include: -The Muslims were in fact the aggressors; this is common knowledge, that a lot of people simply ignore -Crusaders were not power or wealth hungry pirates, but often gave up much of their wealth to help fellow Christians -The actual goal of the Crusades was to retake Christian holy lands, and protect Christians in the Middle East -There was only ever one attempt made to convert those in the Middle East, and it was not the main goal during the First Crusade Finally here's the link to the video. Please try to view it with an open mind, and ignore the paranoia. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLVXRrzm0kc
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Post by jakdethe on Mar 1, 2013 18:34:07 GMT -6
Thanks this will prove very useful!
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 28, 2013 13:23:35 GMT -6
Just to clarify my comment wasn't directed at anyone. It was more or less just some morale boosting to sulldawga, because I think it's an awesome idea.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 28, 2013 10:25:49 GMT -6
Since the most positive feedback seems to be for the "Companion" product I've been talking about, I'll go ahead and take a small break from the three core rule books, and release a "beta" version of the companion.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 28, 2013 0:19:49 GMT -6
Would that avoid the issue, or make a rather stark and ethnocentric statement on the issue? Or were you going to make the Christians trolls, too? Yeah, I had already discarded that one. I guess I had hoped that I could find a few gamers who wouldn't be making a big deal out of all of this, but so far most of the comments on this board are very negative. I'm thinking I shouldn't bother at all. I wouldn't let the comments of a few cynics bother you. What's important are the gamers who are going to playing in your group. Have you asked anyone you normally play with, at your FLGS, or some people to PBEM? I mean I for one would love a game like this.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 26, 2013 13:47:54 GMT -6
Sorry if my post came off terse. I guess it was ust some thoughts rolling around in my head lately as I have converted my game to a few different D&D's and PF over the past 18 months. SYSTEM OVERLOAD. I welcome all versions, and everyones house rules, just am not likely to purchase any more "versions" of OD&D, as I already have prints of two versions of SWWB, SWcore, SWcomp, 2 copies Moldvay, 2 copies Cook/Marsh, LL,, Mentzer,BFRPG, Spellcraft & Swordplay, etc etc. Then there is the stuff I have on PDF...and AD&D books, and 2 e, and and and. Hope that makes more sense. Not at all, I share the same sentiments as both of your posts. That's why I'm doing this; I'm tired of having so many different books, with all of the information spread out. Furthermore I find that 1% of stuff interesting, and the 5% stuff in official D&D editions; so I'm putting it all in one place for myself. Just because I figure I'll share I'm going to release the final product. For people like you and I though, who have too many books already, I'll be releasing a "Companion" with just the 1% differences.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 21:25:15 GMT -6
Thanks I'll check it out right now. Exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 14:25:32 GMT -6
No sweat. If I were thin-skinned I definitely wouldn't be in hobby publishing! ;D I didn't read too much into what you typed and I wasn't offended by your opinion ... de gustibus non est disputandum and all that. Agreed. I will say this though, you have a good sense of customer service. I'm going to give Delving Deeper a more thorough read just because of how friendly you guys are.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 14:10:02 GMT -6
I've read your post about Delving Deeper and Copyright. I'm sorry you were disappointed in our product. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you the best of luck with your new project. Well let me say this: Yeah I'd never play or buy DD, but the guys who made it seem to be pretty awesome, and it's definitely done what it intended. I hope it wasn't harsh, the real point of the blog post was: DD got away with essentially re-releasing the LBBs as is, and that's awesome for us as community. Like I said it does an excellent job of reproducing OD&D, but I already have it. Also I wasn't saying you guys ripped off the LBBs, I was more or less pre-texting was I was about to say concerning me ripping of the Monster Manual.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 13:54:55 GMT -6
I have a bit different opinion than most here. If I am going to use new game options with the same old rules I already know, I'd still like to have those same old rules reprinted in the same volume as the new stuff, as a single complete rulebook. It's just handier that way, as I'm at the point where having multiple books at the table and looking up things in each is quite the pain. Plus, I like to see the author's intended baseline rules, rather than say it's compatible with "all" old school games. Considering they all have some small differences, that will never be 100% true, anyhow. I can modify things for my own use with whatever rulebook, sure. But it's nice to see it all in one book, complete, as intended. Then I'm glad my efforts are not in vain! Edit: I forgot to say I'm glad we share the same view on rulebooks at the table. What most people don't get is that, yeah I don't necessarily want to push another rulebook into the market, but it's the most convenient way to express such a different rule set. I agree, BFRPG is an impressive product in every way. Chris has made a lot of very good material available and has really involved the community in keeping BFRPG supported. I really think BFRPG is an example of should be happening in the OSR. It seems that since he hasn't tried to make a business/profit based model that he's just kind of ignored by most of the community. It's a real shame, but kind of gives insight to our world, and even in a community that's not supposed be profit-driven, a lot of people still draw towards it.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 13:34:39 GMT -6
When, and if, I release a more complete version of "Arcane Adventures" I'll be releasing a stand alone rule set complete with a player's guide, monster book(s), and referee guide. In such a case I would advise taking a good long look at the Moldvay/Cook B/X sets, or Mentzer's BECMI. I'm an OD&D guy, but I've always liked the presentation of these two sets. Yeah personally I think B/X was the best presentation of the rules today. An excellent blend of introduction and rules reference. The proof is in it's two Retroclones, and their wide spread use and love from the community. For right now I'm using 1E AD&D to define contents of the three separate books, then I'm going to go back and reorganize them like B/X. I might even attempt to make the aesthetics similar (personally I think BFRPG has the cleanest look of any RPG I've seen, and it's based off B/X).
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 13:12:29 GMT -6
I would much rather see compilations of house rules/variations like RC Pinnel did, or Carcosa, or The Majestic Wilderlands, that are largely compatible with whatever game you use. Books that show me how an author plays D&D that may be different..how their campaigns work. Having 10 game systems that I have to dig through to find the 1% difference totally turns me off To everyone saying this: I intend to do exactly this. I've already stated it a couple times in this thread, but to reiterate. When, and if, I release a more complete version of "Arcane Adventures" I'll be releasing a stand alone rule set complete with a player's guide, monster book(s), and referee guide. I will also be releasing a "Companion" like product like Carcosa, and the MW, just the differences and house rules. If, and only if, some interest is shown in my rules, I'll be releasing a supplement, just as you're describing. Right now I have a download of "beta" version of my rules right now, but no one has checked it out yet. Hey there, I'm guessing you posted it somewhere but I don't browse this whole forum enough (Usually just General & Delving Deeper ). Mind giving me a link to your rules? arcaneretro.blogspot.com has a link in the top right hand side for a download. Right now it's a just a "Set of Standalone House Rules for Swords & Wizardry". But it's completely playable, and has a lot of, what I feel, are cool rules. The blog discusses what makes my game special, and what different rules I have. Thank you very much! I look forward to any criticisms and feedback. I'm a bit perplexed on what you're looking for. If you already have layout/organisation done then it's just a matter of transcribing your notes into that format. Essentially I'm asking how you guys transcribed your notes into the format. For me it's such a large document that doing that involves scrolling back and forth, and gets really hectic. Also just any processes you guys use, or tips and tricks. i zoomed through the document and read a few blog posts (i'm at work) - but have you looked at LABYRINTH LORD and its ADVANCED OPTIONS book? that seems to be what you've made/or are going for. it's b/x d&d and ad&d made compatible as an add on (with most of the ad&d rules cleared out). it doesn't have ascending AC, but you can easily add that in by (i think) subtracting 19 from all the given AC's in the book. monsters would then just add their HD as a bonus to hit. no sense doing the work if its been done for you. if you haven't, check it out (the pdf's are free): www.goblinoidgames.comThanks for checking it out! I have read through LL, and the AEC. It's a wonderful product, and I think it was great that they are offering that long ago promised bridge, but I feel I'd just end up house ruling it too much as well. Right now (and you'll see when if you get a chance to read more) I have a few really big additions that no other game has. When I make the "Companion" they'll be the main source of it; I have a feat-like system called techniques that no other game (not even 3E) has, I've added a percentile skill system, the three-fold saving throws that still function like the original saves; and a few minor rules that I feel streamline game play, like combined initiative/surprise checks for example. Id appreciate the sentiment of not having to do all this work; but as I've said a lot of it is a personal want; I kind of have an OCD about all of this. Of course one added benefit to all of this will be a uniformity to anything "Arcane Adventures". For example when I finally make my monster books I'll not have any repetitions, but I'll know I have all of the monsters I want. They'll all be in the same format, and ready for my game (no need to modify on the fly. Now this is obviously mostly of personal benefit; but they'll be completely compatible with any and every edition. Since I'll be releasing them for free, anyone who wants a complete, concise set of Monster books is welcome to them, and hopefully someone will enjoy it. Furthermore I intend to do the same thing with a nice spell cyclopedia. I'll be cross-referencing every addition for different variations of the same spells. So the spell book will have, say, magic-missile. Under it's description I'll have all of the different versions listed so the DM can either; select the one best suited for his campaign, offer multiple versions making players pay to learn new spells, or offer stronger variants as loot. A final word, I suppose, is that sure the stand alone rules may be of little use to everyone else, but the planned "Companion", and all of my supplementary material will be useful to anyone. The main benefit being you'll have one set, or series of books, that won't have repeated material, but there will be a lot of it. The best example I can use is monster books. You could use the 1E Monster Manual, some 3E Books, maybe a Retroclone, and then some Pathfinder Bestiaries, and you'll have a lot of monsters to play with. However, they'll all have different formats and styles, you'll have to kind of modify on the fly, and a good 50%+ of those books will just be repeated monsters. You'll have a book there for only a few of its unique offerings, while half of it is just more goblins, orcs, and dragons.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 7:54:22 GMT -6
I guess I really shouldn't have put Retro-Clone in the title. Of course when I put house-rules I just got a "don't even bother" response.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 5:56:15 GMT -6
That said, there is something to be said about a relatively generic supplement that outlines specific ways you want to express certain aspects of D&D and which could be easily adapted to either the original books or any of the clones/emulators. This saves you the time and effort of putting the whole thing together from top to bottom, and allows you to focus on those specific aspects you want to share beyond your own table and set of fellow gamers. If, and only if, some interest is shown in my rules, I'll be releasing a supplement, just as you're describing. Right now I have a download of "beta" version of my rules right now, but no one has checked it out yet.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 5:26:25 GMT -6
To address the defense of Matt really quickly: I understand and agree. It's always nice to get new copies. But what else has been release for S&W? Since the merger with Frog God games we were promised new material, and what meaningful releases have we gotten? What supplements are the community praising, discussing, or even criticizing? Then why bother? If it is for personal use, you need to figure out how to format effectively for you. The conventional wisdom of others, who made a product for everyone, won't be much help. The only reason I'm asking is mostly a "how did you guys do it?". Even if my goals are different, a similar process is occurring; Referencing older rules, taking notes of them, compiling them into a book. I already know how the book is going to be laid out and organized. I was mostly asking how people get from a stack of notes, to a compiled and finished product.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 4:49:07 GMT -6
Hi Jakdethe, The first thing to know is that, as an author, you cannot (legally) produce a retro-"clone". Only the fans have the freedom to call your product a "clone" The second thing to know is that you'll have a big job on your hands. It might take you months or even years to "finish" it (these things are never really "finished", are they?). But if you're genuinely enthusiastic and energetic that won't be a problem -- but it will sure help if you can get yourself some help along the way. You might also take a look at the Ghost Town thread (if you haven't already) which laments the tendency for interest in specific "clones" (their word, not mine) to wane after a time. There's lessons to be learned there somewhere, I'm sure -- when you figure out what they are please write to me ;D On a more serious note, it would be neat to see a few enthusiastic OD&Ders put their house rules together as Delving Deeper supplements! Maybe together we can beat the Ghost Town effect, while individually we'll all just fade away eventually? (PM me if you're interested). FWIW -- I had the exact same experience you describe while working on Delving Deeper (which is not a "clone"). I ended up breaking the whole thing up into scores of separate files, and later merging them back into the final documents. You'll probably have (at least) your source text files, your layout files, and your PDFs, with multiple (often quite a few) version of each, and possibly a library of art assets too. If you start exchanging files with proofreaders and other collaborators by email, then you instantly create an additional copy of each file for each email recipient. It can be a major undertaking just to manage all the sources in their various formats. The best advice I can offer is to know exactly what you're trying to do and stay focused on your target. Good luck! First off thanks for the advice! Second I know exactly what you mean about he Ghost Town effect. I just read the thread and I think the real problem is a lack of released material. That's what I intend to remedy with my game. Take S&W for example: "Lets do a kickstarter for a set of rules we're already selling, and just change the cover art!" I think there's too much of that in our community. Furthermore there's too much rehashing of the same stuff. So we have multiple clones for the same editions. Each of them all discuss encumbrance, how to move, determine initiative etc... Instead of people releasing just what's different about their game, or just their house rules. I love the Crusader's Companion because its exactly that; a collection of optional rules! I'm making a stand alone rule set for myself, just so I can limit the number of books I have at my gaming table; but I do intend to release a set of optional rules by themselves; the things that make my game different. Really what you're suggesting is great, almost perfect in fact. I think we need to see more collaborations if our hobby is to thrive, or at least authors working on original content. There's a lot of overlooked, underdeveloped collections of monsters, spells, treasure, items, etc. found through out the web. I know there's at least two monster books on Dragonsfoot. I'd be more likely to shell out money and discuss a new monster manual every few months, then a SuperRetro & Clones ver 1.3.5.2.5.6 with new cover art! Of course I could be wrong, just my thoughts on the matter.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 4:37:23 GMT -6
I think you seriously need to think, do we really need another retro-clone? It's funny I wrote a blog post about that exact thing. I think the title was literally "Another Retro-Clone, Really?". Well to answer both above posts let me say this: I have no desire to make money, usurp, innovate, or displace what is already there. I know I'm not going to get much interest, I know I'm not going to make money, and I know no one cares. I've accepted this before I started, and I have no delusions of grandeur. What I do know is this: I intend to make a set of rules to play by, and if I release them to the community, it's just more free stuff. With that said, I've been working on this project on and off for about a year, year and a half now. It started as a couple house rules for S&W, but grew into its own thing. Really its kind of a gaming tumor if you will. With some of my players wanting to DM, they wanted to use those same rules because they were familiar, and they liked them. So really I'm making this book so I can hand it to some of my players who want to DM, and they can learn how. I just talked to my fiance about this and she had a wonderful idea for organization if anyone wants to hear it. What I've been doing right now is taking notes from other games (1E, 2E, etc...) and compiling them into one book. Well the biggest problem I was having was making sure everything was in order (ability score rules next to ability scores section, classes under class section). As my document got bigger it became harder and harder to scroll back and forth to the appropriate sections to place my notes in. Her solution is to make a master template file, with all of the Section titles. Then copy the notes under the relevant section titles, since the document is shorter, it's easier to navigate. From there I can copy the notes out of the template, into my main "source" document. Since they have the same order, I just copy as I go along, no need to go back and forth. Anyhow that's what I have for now. I'll check out that Ghost town thread right now. As I said before I know no one will really be interested, this is for personal use. When and if I do release it, I want it to be more like the Crusader Companion, or a supplement. Just a collection of house rules and options compatible with any edition/clone. Right now I'm making a stand alone game, just so I don't need to have several books at the gaming table.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 25, 2013 2:07:01 GMT -6
I know some of you guys have experience writing full on retro clones. I'm currently working on one and was hoping someone could shed some light on the matter. Links to some articles would be great if you don't feel like writing here.
Right now I'm more or less just compiling all of the rules I use into one set of books to have at my gaming table. It's really just filled with options more than anything else.
As of now I've just been copying notes into a word document, but it's getting rather long, and hard to navigate. I fear when I move onto the next document, I won't be able to insert my notes quickly or efficiently. My first thought right now is to break it up into multiple shorter documents based on subject, much like the SRD; then I'll recompile and organize them into one book. Has anyone else used this method? How has it worked for you?
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 21, 2013 23:55:26 GMT -6
My $0.02 on this issue. They know who will buy this and who won't. Young folks with little disposable income, who are already trained to steal the PDF off the Internet, are not their market. Old fogies like you and me who have more disposable income are the target demographic. They did the math, figured out what the price would have to be to get a decent profit margin from 10,000 sales (or however many actually sell), and moved on. If you want to communicate to Hasbro that this product is, in your opinion, overpriced, don't buy it. That is the only feedback from customers that they seem to take into account. This is a big problem too. I can't communicate to Hasbro that I think it's overpriced by not buying it, if they aren't expecting me to buy it. If you're right, they aren't expecting me, or my pier group to buy it, so they're going to ignore us ignoring them. Until they release practical versions of the older games it is nothing more than a money grab. We'll see what happens. Hopefully they at least release new PDF's of 0E, 1E, and 2E.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 21, 2013 20:01:56 GMT -6
One other point. I seem to remember, when Dave Arneson was alive, he gave Supplement II: Blackmoor away for free on his web site. Did Dave have some kind of license to do this from Hasbro? Or was this him flipping them the bird? I really hope it was him giving them the bird! The image in my head is hilarious: Mr. Arneson running through WOTC headquarters flipping everyone off
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 21, 2013 17:38:53 GMT -6
I always love looking at power metal albums, all very swords and sorcery. But one thing in particular stuck out to me lately. I was inspired to make a female bard called the She-Wolf inspired by Megadeth's song of the same name. She'd use charms, sleep spells, and utilize poison. I normally abhor the idea of playing female characters (just because of how most modern gamers handle it like fetish role playing). Seemed like a cool idea but haven't had a chance to test it.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 20, 2013 22:10:06 GMT -6
The only problem with the inflation argument is that's not how it works. Everything doesn't just multiply in price by a certain amount. Inflation makes money's value change, not products. So if you were to go back in time and by the original OD&D books, with today's inflation, yes it would cost you around 160 dollars. That's because back then it would have cost them much more to print those books.
A lot of things have actually gone down in relative price when you take into account inflation. The problem is those booklets only cost a couple dollars to print out now, considering technology and readiness of supplies. So yes, our money is worth less, but the price to make those books is also less.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 19, 2013 17:51:39 GMT -6
We are actually going to see OD&D in print in hobby shops in 2013. How cool is that? The problem is you won't be seeing OD&D in print in hobby shops. You'll see a single collectors set in a few WOTC distributors that will either; sit their for a long time because almost no one knows what it is, or isn't going to shell out $150 for it; or the one guy who likes OD&D and already has the booklets in PDF or DIY'd will grab it. No one new is going to buy it, it's not going to get played again, and it's not in print. If it was in print there would be multiple, affordable copies available like any other RPG or even Monopoly. We have a collectors set and that's it. To parrot what everyone else is saying you can buy a full color board game with all sorts of pieces, dice, and game boards for half the cost. The same really could be said about the 1E reprints. They were black and white, under 200 pages for the MM and PHB, and under 250 pgs for the DMG. How is that it costs as much as 300+ page full color books put out by Paizo and WOTC? I can pick up a hard cover copy of Labyrinth Lord for $30, Basic Fantasy for $20, and Swords & Wizardry for $24. Instead they cost $40, $40, and $50, shooting it up to $130. And once again it was just a collectors set. Edit: I should add this is exactly what happened at my two FLGSs and Book Stores. I haven't seen a single main stream book store carry the 1E reprints, so they either never came there, or were bought up extremely quickly. As for my two FLGSs they've been sitting on the shelves for months because either no one can afford to shell that out, or they don't wanna play, or both.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 19, 2013 5:07:01 GMT -6
Releasing PDF's is all well and good. But to total newcomers, or even people playing 3.X up, they want hard copy items. People want to see a product in the store that they can purchase, bring home, read, play with, etc... Not everyone has the DIY mentality this community has. Imagine trying to sell modern gamers on the idea of: "Oh yeah just go online, register an account, pay $15 for a PDF, and then print it yourself, spend the money or time on some sort of binding if the book is to big, etc...."
One of the biggest things new gamers are complaining about is the lack of dress for old school games. They like their full color, nicely bound rule books. While I prefer the minimal look of OD&D, you can't really blame them for liking what the industry has set as the current standard. Take the Pathfinder Box Set for example; it's an excellent, wonderfully crafted starter set with everything you need to start playing. People will buy that and actually play.
What tangible products, that newcomers can actually use at the table to start playing has WOTC released? They won't because all they are doing is drumming up hype for their "DnD next product". Admittedly this isn't a horrifying thing, it's what businesses do, and should do. They should just be honest about it. "Hey we aren't actually going to fully support old school games, or even attempt to make them an in print edition, we're just giving a bone to some of you collector types." Instead they're brandishing it as some sort of D&D renaissance where everyone is happy and feeling good. To me it seems more like damage control when they realized retroclones were actually successfully competing with them.
Sorry for the rant.
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 19, 2013 3:20:59 GMT -6
I can't help but think it's all just a ploy to get old school gamers to say "Wow that's wonderful of WOTC, I can't afford it, but obviously they are starting to listen! Lets let our guard down..." Call me cynical and paranoid, but how is any of this actually helping to promote the old school? A couple of rich collectors, who already play or collect OD&D, will snatch up the box sets, and that will be that.
What practical gaming materials have they put out to actually let new comers get into the game? Why not a nice reproduction of one of the Basic D&D games. They put out the essentials red box for $20 (very reasonable to get into the hobby). It wouldn't even have to be a faithful reproduction. WOTC could make their own retroclone, and I'd buy it up. I don't know, maybe I'm just being to negative, but it all just comes off as an obvious marketing campaign to draw interest for "DnDNext".
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Post by jakdethe on Feb 14, 2013 10:29:51 GMT -6
For example (keep in mind this is in no way historical, I'm just tossing out some fun ideas): Knights Templars: Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, King Solomon was a king known for his wisdom, as such any member of a Templar order is protected against any charm, mind control, or sleep type attacks. Knight Hospitallers: Knights of St. John are known to provide care for the sick and poor, as such members of this order my heal a certain amount of hit points (possibly determined by level) per day. Saint Michael: The leader of God's armies, those who pray to Michael the Archangel and call him patron receive a bonus to damage once a day (possibly determined by level). These are just a couple examples I could think up. Hopefully it gives you some ideas. Awesome ideas! Thanks for sharing, and an exalt for your trouble. No trouble at all, I love making up stuff like that. I just hope you can use it and have fun with it!
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