Save or Die Episode 126: "Welcome to Pelinore"

[sieg]

Save or Die Episode 126: "Welcome to Pelinore"

The Dmigoes step off the beaten track this episode...all the way to Old Blighty! TSR published a Dragon magazine for the U.K. in the 1980s called Imagine magazine, and one of its offerings was a Basic-Expert campaign world called Pelinore. Over the course of several articles this world was fleshed out for use by aspiring DMs. Join the three Flatlanders as they delve into this obscure little gem!

It's all here at: saveordie.info

Sites mentioned in this episode:

Pelinore at the Piazza forums
www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=71&sid=6822132b9c0a58b4026f51388d54ce63

Pelinore from 'Imagine' magazine = Phil Gyford's website
(Pelinore Omnibus pdf; 69 page pdf)
www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2008/12/22/pelinore.php

Pelinore on Facebook
www.facebook.com/PelinoreRevived


Don't forget to drop us an email at saveordiepodcast(at)gmail.com to give your opinions of the show!

If writing's not your thing, then give our voiceline a call at 940-536-3763 (3SOD)!

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[Deleted]

Not sure how you're associated with SoD, really - sent them a PM, via Facebook.

[Zenopus]

Sieg is DM Mike, one of the three hosts of the show. I had the pleasure of being on the show over the summer.

[sieg]

Yup, I'm DM Mike...didn't realize there was confusion; I'll try to be clearer in future posts. Thanks Zack!

DM Mike

[sieg]

Oh, and Rafael DM Liz handles the FB stuff. If you want to send a letter to the show either send to [e-mail] or the voice mail at 940-536-3763!

Dm Mike

[Deleted]

Wow, thanks for the answer. - Cool, I'll contact her, gladly, then!

BTW, are posting as *sieg* elsewhere, too, right? - Then we're old acquaintances, from C&C, and the Kalamar boards, I believe! Nice to know you're still around our corner of the web!

[ritt]

The Pelinore material is really good and quite worth reading.

[sieg]

Ritt's right, even if you don't run Pelinorr the articles are very inspiring for anyone's home game. Especially as to how NPCs should smell.

DM Mike

[Deleted]

Absolutely. For years, I told people that Pelinore was my fav setting, above all else - precisely those articles really struck a chord in me. The only other setting I found this inherently fascinating the way it was written was - probably - Dawnforge, the d20 setting from FFG.

[sieg]

<nod> Rafael, did you ever get a look at their post-Imagine development of Pelinore? Any opinions if you did?

Dm Mike

[Deleted]

Hey, Mike! Not much, lamentably - I think, a few years back, a very dedicated fan compiled all the resources, but I am not sure whether that included all issues of... Game Master Publications, was the name, IIRC.

(For context, I'm 34, so I only discovered the material many years later, out of its own time.)


My impression was that Pelinore had a lot of potential, but was developed without some sort of a "red line" in mind that the designers were meant to follow, and that the switch from Imagine to GRM was somewhat rushed. Like many of the mid-80s publications, it had an excellent premise, but was not particularly balanced, nor developed in detail when it came to narrative dynamics. - What I mean is, it was an excellent read, but probably not, like Greyhawk, or Blackmoor, built and tested against actual, and extensive play.

As a result, what I read of the later stuff felt a bit bland to me, and I didn't return to it. - Maybe also a matter of age and point of time: I had found Pelinore when I was in my early 20s, and I read the GRM stuff when I was pushing 30. In between, I had obviously collected many more experiences. So, it's probably not so much the material, but my taste changing.

I can still credit P for alerting me to the British way of D&D. Through it, I discovered Dragon Warriors and old White Dwarf Mag, which I use until today. Pelinore, lamentably, I have not looked at in four or five years.

I don't remember whether you mentioned it in your podcast, but - do you happen to know who now holds the copyright to the old material? - Because, with all the reboots and relaunches that happened lately, I would be surprised if "Cearn", at least, wouldn't make a return, some day, one way, or another.

[sieg]

Alas, no; though I'd assume the creators do as they did the Game Master stuff when they left Imagine. Or Imagine left them, I suppose.

I've spoken with Dirk the Dice of the Grognard Files and they plan to have the editor of Imagine (not Don Turnbull, the other guy) on for an interview. You might shoot the questions over to him if you want 'em asked. I'm doing so.

34? Wow, I feel OLD....!

d**n kids, Get off my Battlemat!

Mike

[Deleted]

My apologies, I never checked back into this thread!

FWIW, I got the "Collected Pelinore" files, and I'm giving them a closer look over the holidays. I recently decided to get serious about my own writing, so looking into what was one of my primary sources as a younger guy might not be a bad choice. The PDF I found, an excellent resource, by the way. Pelinore, as I remembered it, not very coherent. The new file makes the setting way more playable.