Rich H
Word of the Week: No.
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Yesterday evening my copy of Gran Meccanismo arrived from Amazon. Their deliveries seem to be getting later and later into the evenings lately.
Anyway, that's by the by, the book arrived. It looks nice, the layout's good, and overall I'm very happy with what I've got for £16. It's a new RPG from Osprey. It's an alt-history, clockpunk game set in 16th century Florence. The system is the latest iteration of Graham Spearing's Wordplay system; which has now been rebranded as Tripod (TRiple Pools Of D6). I can't say I'm keen on the name Tripod and I think I'll just keep referring to it as Wordplay thanks! This new version is certainly slimmed down from the system presented in the previous Wordplay core rulebook and I think I noticed a couple of rules changes too but nothing hugely significant.
This is the kind of padding that even Kevin Siembieda would see and go "maybe you need to put more effort in here."
I saw Amazon had the Spelljammer set for $40 so I decided to go ahead and get it. It just arrived a few moments ago and I've ripped off the plastic wrap to start looking at it.
Wow. What a padded out piece of shit.
Over half the 64 page setting book is ships and deckplans produced in such a way as to pad out the absolute maximum amount of space for below minimal amount of content. This is the kind of padding that even Kevin Siembieda would see and go "maybe you need to put more effort in here."
The adventure book is a standard WotC adventure booklet. It's basically the kind of thing you'd see in a starter set, but bound as a hardcover. Then there's the monster book, which strikes me as the only thing in the set worth a damn.
Everything is illustrated pretty, but there is no content here. There is less here than you'd see in one of the boxed starter sets. I'm going to toss out there and opine that this was probably originally conceived as a box set like D&D Essentials, but was changed in the 11th hour because suckers like myself would pay boxed hardcover slipcase prices for this throwaway bullshit.
I am so glad I didn't get the limited. About my only potential regret would be the idea of selling the limited at an overinflated price to some sucker in the future, but that would only make me feel guilty.
If you can find the Spelljammer set for $15 or something, then go for it. But definitely don't pay anywhere near full price for it. I haven't seen anything this fucking lazy and money grabbing since Rifts Ultimate Edition, and even that piece of garbage doesn't sink to anywhere near the same level as this Spelljammer set.
Seriously, even if you haven't ever SEEN the original 2e Spelljammer set, your conversion notes to 5e scribbled on one side of a napkin are probably more meaty than this thing.
My two Modern Age books from their sale arrived today. Pretty happy to get them so quickly
MIne hasn't arrived yet, though my Judge Dredd did.My two Modern Age books from their sale arrived today. Pretty happy to get them so quickly
I need to pick that up. The author, Mark Galeotti, did Mythic Russia for Heroquest back in the day, and I can remember him saying on the interwebs that he wanted to do a similar game for Renaissance Italy.
Some recent birthday gifts I received (just online pictures rather than real photos). None are actually RPGs:
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Also, in mid-August University of Chicago Press usually has a 75% off e-book sale, so I picked the following two volumes up as an early 'happy birthday to me' gift. They came to under $11, all told:
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I didn't own 2e Spelljammer after 4e came out so nostalgia isn't something the new SJ is competing with for me. From what I've read and used so far I have small complaints. The races are a hit with my group. The ships are described well enough. How spelljamming works is spelled out. The Rock of Bral gives a nice example city for what you might find spelljamming. 9I disagree, I did a comparison of the 2e SJ set ships and the 5e set in another thread and they are actually remarkably close to each other in terms of content and info except the 2e set gives you deckplans for 11 ships and the 5e gives you deckplans for 16 ships. Wordcount, stats, etc. they are not substanially different. The 2e set's setting material is more volumnious but not actually that detailed considering the wordcount.
I really like 2e SJ but most of the really gameable material is in supplements like The Rock of Bral and Astromundi Cluster.
People can dislike the 5e SJ but after all the previous complaints I've seen about WotC's adventures being 'overwritten' it is kinda ironic to see that when they come out with a concise 64 page setting book the complaints now are about too few pages, etc. What happened to the OSR preference for a setting with enough blank spaces for the GM to make it their own?
I think some are viewing the original 2e material through rose-coloured glasses. I love Spelljammer 2e for its ideas but like a lot of 2e material it has a lot of content that isn't particularly helpful at the table (the convoluted airpocket and gravity on ships section is a perfect example of getting lost in the weeds)
What is the Cortex Codex?
The Cortex Codex is a companion document to the Cortex Prime Game Handbook for creating and running your own Cortex Prime games. You’ll be able to find all current rules and mods, but it does not contain examples, option lists, or artwork. It’s not a ‘standalone’ document for the game.
Each mod and rule either has its own entry in the Codex, or is included in a parent rule or mod. There’s a table of contents that lists everything out to make it easy to know what is included and has its own entry (marked in bold) and what is listed under another designated entry.
The rules in the Cortex Codex include all of those that appear in the Cortex Prime Game Handbook, many that appear in Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game, and one that is in fact brand new! (You’ll look under the ‘Hitch’ entry for that one)
As we release new content, such as the upcoming Spotlight Volume I set for September release, we’ll also update the Codex with any new rules or mods. Each entry is presented on its own pages, so it’ll be easy even if you are receiving a print edition from us or choose to print it on your own to slip a new entry in.
I need to pick that up. The author, Mark Galeotti, did Mythic Russia for Heroquest back in the day, and I can remember him saying on the interwebs that he wanted to do a similar game for Renaissance Italy.
I saw that, I have been a fan of H+I since it came out and will be picking it up as well.I didn't realise he was the person behind Mythic Russia. If he's a Heroquest/QuestWorlds veteran then it makes a lot of sense that he would go with the Wordplay/TRiPOD system for Gran Meccanismo then.
On a slightly different note, I just bought Intriguing Options 2 for Honor & Intrigue. This edition of Intriguing Options is about Space Opera. So lots of new careers, traits, gear, vehicles, and rules for running Star Wars or John Carter games. It's got a lot of good stuff packed into 50 or so pages. If you like Honor & Intrigue/BoL/Everywhen then this is really worth a look!
I saw that, I have been a fan of H+I since it came out and will be picking it up as well.
I didn't know that Chris Rutkowski is continuing the development of H+I. I guess I should get Intriguing Options 1&2 and the Duellist Guide...I didn't realise he was the person behind Mythic Russia. If he's a Heroquest/QuestWorlds veteran then it makes a lot of sense that he would go with the Wordplay/TRiPOD system for Gran Meccanismo then.
On a slightly different note, I just bought Intriguing Options 2 for Honor & Intrigue. This edition of Intriguing Options is about Space Opera. So lots of new careers, traits, gear, vehicles, and rules for running Star Wars or John Carter games. It's got a lot of good stuff packed into 50 or so pages. If you like Honor & Intrigue/BoL/Everywhen then this is really worth a look!
I didn't know that Chris Rutkowski is continuing the development of H+I. I guess I should get Intriguing Options 1&2 and the Duellist Guide...
At this rate the next question really should be "where can I get this in print".
This was mentioned in my OSR thread, but as not everybody may read that thread
On a suggestion I picked up Ghastly Affair, a gothic game of romantic horror. System is level / class using OD&D or B/X as a foundation. The artwork has an appropriate Edward Gorey-esque feel to it, and the writing is much more than just D&D with the serial numbers filed off. The author goes into a lot of depth for how to run a game in the style of gothic horror / romance fiction, lots of do and don't suggestions. Much of the setting advice would be useful to an author wanting to write in the style.
I've been reading through the rules and am impressed enough that I will be ordering hard copies as well. Looks like a fun change of pace, hunting (or being hunted by) vampyres, wolfmen, and disgraced nobles through dark foggy streets and moors.
Not going to be everybody's thing but a well done adaption of D&D to an unusual genre.
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I love period settings and gothic supernatural tales, so I have taken the plunge on DrivethruRPG today and ordered Ghastly Affair.
The hardcover books arrive in a few weeks, but from what I am reading in the pdfs it looks like it captures the decadent gothic vibe quite well, and in terms of game mechanics it feels like a very clean OSR-adjacent system.
So far so good
Five Leagues from the Borderlands: cramming so much gameable stuff in such a compact book puts most of us rpg writers to shame IMHO. I won't be able to give it a spin anytime soon but it's a great read anyway if you're into RPG/game design. If you're sitting on a bunch of miniatures and have no one to play with, this is a no-brainer.
Cortex Codex Like @chuckdee, I was let down by this. I had forgotten that it being loose leaf had been mentioned before, because it's been so long. I did get the PD(Big F of the main book too. Just not happy with this KS overall, and glad I didn't back for the main book in print, as my interest in the system faded years ago.
Into the Wyrd and Wild looks like it will work well alongside another title I have called Wickerpunk.Quoting myself since this ties in. I backed the Into the Wyrd and Wild kickstarter and received it recently.
A really neat system agnostic book for making the woods in a game very dark and foreboding. The writing and ideas it contains are really well done, but it makes getting lost in the woods almost a game in itself.
As cool as it was, I struggled to find a use for it. I have now found a use, it will be a great supplement for Ghastly Affair.
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Given he was also still working on Awesome Powers for BASH UE, that's probably why he hasn't done much with H&I. Finishing AP is kind of a priority, given it was a kickstarter Chris needs to finish, while the H&I supplements he did outside of crowdfunding.H+I seems to go through long periods of quiet followed by flurries of intense activity. I guess that's part and parcel of independent publishing though.
I'm hoping there's going to be a PoD compendium when the Intriguing Options line is complete.
I got the first printing of Into the Wyrd and Wild through Kickstarter. It's a great resource and unfortunately I never went for the hardcover, but I still decided that also backing the Kickstarter for the second printing/edition would be a bit much.
Given he was also still working on Awesome Powers for BASH UE, that's probably why he hasn't done much with H&I. Finishing AP is kind of a priority, given it was a kickstarter Chris needs to finish, while the H&I supplements he did outside of crowdfunding.
I think the fact that Everywhen has been seeing multiple discussions of late that H+I has been getting new attention (as it gets mentioned in these conversations, along with BoL). The new publisher for Everywhen has put out some really good stuff for the game since he took over. The original publisher was good, but I think Garnet Elliot has done wonders for the game. This in turn, has helped the games that preceded it. Chris had mentioned some things in the works for H+I in a couple of those threads, but had also mentioned he needed to get AP finished. He's at the point now where he is putting together the omnibus for that (as all the individual ones came out), so he's finally had the time to do more H+I material.I knew he did BASH (and a number of spin offs from that) as well as H+I. I don't follow what's happening with the BASH line though, so didn't know about the AP kickstarter, but I know he's a small independent publisher supporting multiple lines. That's a difficult thing to do. So, yeah, I don't expect a regular output for H+I but that also means I'm more excited when something new appears!
I did the same, and my experience with the author there was less than stellar, so there was no chance I was backing 2nd edition. It's a great product, but it's made by someone thoroughly unprofessional.
Author or publisher? Wet Ink did Into the Wyrd & Wild, but the author is Charles Ferguson-Avery. I ask because there are other products independent of this collaboration.
I guess I backed the 2nd printing kick starter (2021), and only ran across the usual delays and troubles common to most kick starters and post 2020 everything.