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Post by Ynas Midgard on Aug 30, 2011 22:11:01 GMT -6
Because Carcosa throws out most of the game's basic systems anyway, the only connection between the new Carcosa edition and the LotFP rules are the saving throw labels (which are all familiar) and AC (ascending, base 12). Hm, and what about the skill system? I can live without the encumbrance rules (despite loving how this issue is addressed in LotFP), but the skill system is too neat to be left out, isn't it? As far as I know, there are no plans right now for further Carcosa products. If the Carcosa book sells well, and if James gets good Carcosa submissions, I bet he'd publish them. I would definitely buy more quality products made for Carcosa (and I say that even though the new "edition" is still not released). |
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Post by rabindranath72 on Sept 1, 2011 7:06:30 GMT -6
Geoffrey has an agreement with Mr. Raggi to stop selling the original Carcosa. But let me just say, I'd be willing to pay extra for a "collector's edition" Carcosa consisting of the new hardback and the old PDF. (wink wink, nudge nudge... say no more, say no more...)  All sales of LotFP books come with free PDFs. There are some organizational changes, lots of new stuff, but very little of the actual text that appears in first edition is being changed. Because Carcosa throws out most of the game's basic systems anyway, the only connection between the new Carcosa edition and the LotFP rules are the saving throw labels (which are all familiar) and AC (ascending, base 12). That's a pity. With all the cool stuff in the LotFP rules I would have expected a deeper "merger." Will there be guidelines to use the LotFP rules in a Carcosa campaign? |
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 1, 2011 8:37:42 GMT -6
All the rules of the LotFP RPG can be used as-is in a campaign using the Carcosa book. The only things that wouldn't fit, in my opinion, are the following character classes:
cleric
magic-user
dwarf
elf
halfling
So specialists, the skill system, the encumbrance system, and all the rest of the non-magical stuff in LotFP can be used (or not) as the referee sees fit.
Hell, even the above 5 classes could be used in Carcosa. If I had a player who wanted to play one, I'd simply rule that he wasn't native to Carcosa but arrived via some intergalactic gate.
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Post by Mushgnome on Sept 1, 2011 9:04:54 GMT -6
So specialists, the skill system, the encumbrance system, and all the rest of the non-magical stuff in LotFP can be used (or not) as the referee sees fit. Specialists will be a nice addition, Geoffrey. Every sorcerer needs a sneaky accomplice to help procure certain... material components. Heck I am considering switching my PbP "Chainmail Carcosa" over to LotFP when the time comes. It is a refined rule-set and I am excited by the possibilities. I also very much like the art previews I've seen at the LotFP blog.  |
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 1, 2011 9:11:23 GMT -6
If you do switch to LotFP RPG, I suggest buying it from Troll and Toad. They have it priced at $29.99, quite a bit lower than the retail price of $50: www.trollandtoad.com/p311121.html |
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Post by Mushgnome on Sept 1, 2011 9:45:49 GMT -6
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 1, 2011 9:47:15 GMT -6
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Post by pessimisthalfling on Sept 1, 2011 11:03:13 GMT -6
I missed out on Carcosa the first time around. I'm happy I'll have a chance to experience whatever the hell Carcosa is.
This has probably been asked before, but I figure I might as well ask again: is there a Carcosan Appendix N?
Keep up the great work Geoffrey!
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Sept 1, 2011 11:12:57 GMT -6
Any plans for supporting material yet, or is the plan to see what the take up of boxed stes is like? As far as I know, there are no plans right now for further Carcosa products. If the Carcosa book sells well, and if James gets good Carcosa submissions, I bet he'd publish them. Well, I'll see what the new Carcosa boxed set actually contains and it would be nice to play some Carcosa over Google+; if anything suitably whacko airses out of that, I'll send it to James. |
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 1, 2011 11:42:38 GMT -6
Is there a Carcosan Appendix N? I would recommend reading Lovecraft and anything that other authors have written for the Cthulhu Mythos. There are literally thousands of such stories, so you'll undoubtedly run across a lot of bad ones. I also recommend the early Elric stories by Michael Moorcock. The single fiction book I most associate with Carcosa is probably The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter. It's not great literature, but it's fun. The single story I most associate with Carcosa is "Carcosa Story about Hali" by Lin Carter, which perversely enough is not found in that "complete" book I just mentioned. It's in The Hastur Cycle. |
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 1, 2011 11:47:01 GMT -6
Bert, Carcosa will not be a boxed set. It will be a single hardback volume. |
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Post by jimlotfp on Sept 1, 2011 11:47:37 GMT -6
The new Carcosa printing is going to be a hardcover book, not a box set.
There is very little relationship between the LotFP rules and the new Carcosa because it would serve no purpose. I'm not using Carcosa to promote my game, and Carcosa itself would be limited if it was directly tied to the LotFP rules.
I think the only real associations with the LotFP rules are the AC scale (LotFP uses a base-12 ascending, easy as pie to adjust to another game on the fly) and the order/labeling of the saving throw charts in the Sorcerer class description.
So it works just as well with AD&D, Labyrinth Lord, or whatever... I mean, it's great if you use the LotFP rules with it, but which core rulebook you use really has no impact on Carcosa itself.
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Post by Mushgnome on Sept 1, 2011 11:56:26 GMT -6
Are the "village of 200 green men led by a neutral superhero" encounter descriptions going to be replaced with "village of 200 green men led by a neutral 8th level fighter"? To be honest that was a detail that irked me about the original printing; I don't carry around the "what level is a Myrmidon?" info in my brain-vault. |
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Post by jimlotfp on Sept 1, 2011 14:30:17 GMT -6
Are the "village of 200 green men led by a neutral superhero" encounter descriptions going to be replaced with "village of 200 green men led by a neutral 8th level fighter" Yes. |
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Post by rabindranath72 on Sept 5, 2011 2:47:52 GMT -6
So the book will use its own fighter and sorcerer classes without changes? how about incorporating the actual rules stuff from LotFPrpg then? Two different fighter classes don't look like a good idea at all, and the fighter is really a basic class. I could easily see Sorcery as a simple add-on special (much like done in Call of Cthulhu) which can be performed by Fighters and Specialists (and dwarves and halflings, why not?)  |
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 5, 2011 8:36:59 GMT -6
So the book will use its own fighter and sorcerer classes without changes? how about incorporating the actual rules stuff from LotFPrpg then? Two different fighter classes don't look like a good idea at all, and the fighter is really a basic class. I could easily see Sorcery as a simple add-on special (much like done in Call of Cthulhu) which can be performed by Fighters and Specialists (and dwarves and halflings, why not?) The Carcosa book uses the Fighter as described in the LotFP RPG rules. (Of course, one could use the fighter from any rules he desired.) Plus the sorcerer class is fully described in the Carcosa book. A mention is made that the Specialist could be included in games set on Carcosa without changing the feel of Carcosa. As for magic-users, clerics, dwarfs, elves, and halflings (as well as anything else: illusionists, druids, paladins, pixie fairies, or whatnot): They would change the feel of the world of Carcosa. But if that's what the referee wants, then he should go for it! ;D And sorcery could easily be used as an add-on for other classes. |
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Post by rabindranath72 on Sept 5, 2011 8:44:47 GMT -6
Good news. Is the sorcerer still the fighter + ability to cast rituals? I hope not, since it would then beg the question: why not sorcerer=specialist+spellcasting.
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Post by geoffrey on Sept 5, 2011 8:56:01 GMT -6
Is the sorcerer still the fighter + ability to cast rituals? I hope not, since it would then beg the question: why not sorcerer=specialist+spellcasting. Yes, the sorcerer is still basically a fighter who A) can perform rituals, B) gets some better saving throws, and C) takes more xp to gain a level. I prefer that to a specialist + rituals. Why? Because I think of sorcerers as similar to Elric: Fully armed and armored warriors. But if someone prefers a sort of Gray Mouser sorcerer, that would be easy to do: A. Basically use the Specialist as the sorcerer class, with the ability to perform rituals. B. For saving throws, compare the magic-user and the specialist saving throw tables. Use whichever score is more advantageous to the sorcerer. C. Alter the sorcerer xp table by deducting 10% from each xp total required to gain a level. So instead of 3,000 xp to get to level 2, it would be 2,700 (3,000 * .1 = 300; then 3,000 - 300 = 2,700). Or whatever is palatable. The above is merely how I'd do it. |
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Post by foxroe on Nov 3, 2011 21:47:23 GMT -6
Sorcerers also don't get the Fighting-Man's multiple attacks (and Strength and AC bonus if using Supp.I) I presume.
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Post by geoffrey on Nov 3, 2011 23:37:48 GMT -6
Sorcerers also don't get the Fighting-Man's multiple attacks (and Strength and AC bonus if using Supp.I) I presume. That's something I've never addressed, since Supplement V: CARCOSA ignores the previous four supplements. Personally, I'd grant sorcerers the same multiple attacks, AC bonus, and strength bonus as fighters. I see them as the full equals of fighters in combat ability. |
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Post by foxroe on Nov 4, 2011 19:51:54 GMT -6
Hmmmm. Interesting, actually. I always felt that Sorcerers were somewhat overpowered compared to Fighters, so I assumed that the benefits explicitly defined for Fighters applied only to Fighters in Carcosa.
I understand that Sorcerers have to earn more XP and that they potentially suffer from aging (or a short life depending on what they conjure, etc.); however, I've always felt that the Fighter class should have abilities as equally appealing as the allure of the Sorcerer class abilities. Hence my assumption that Sorcerers were not as well endowed as Fighters.
(I only harp on it because I'm working on an interpretation of Carcosa for myselfr for S&W Whitebox. In it I identify the Sorcerer as a distinct class, but I also give more definition to the Fighter class by adding Strength and Dexterity bonuses, and multiple attacks as Fighter-only benefits. ;D)
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Post by geoffrey on Nov 4, 2011 23:08:13 GMT -6
Doing it that way would certainly be fine, too. There is no One True Wayism about Carcosa. Carcosa is meant to inspire, not dictate. ;D
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