Ian A. Thomson

Looking at the notes on the Jonstown Compendium, it says that HeroQuest stats are permitted in Jonstown publications. I had thought that I heard the exact opposite. That they are not permitted. Can someone clarify this for me please. A lot of the material in the later Companions had full HQ stats in, and if this is possible to be used, then what I will probably do is produce separate supplements for each volume, containing HQ conversion notes. As much as I wasn't a huge fan of the system, the work has already been done, and it would be crazy to just throw it away if it's permissible. Potentially I guess I could just include it in the publications, but that would ramp up the page-count and probably be useless to most people. How popular is HQ these days?

Your work was epic of course!! Absolute working partner in the enterprise. Huge appreciation as always!

Thanks to a bunch of volunteers, and my own insane 12hr days, Vol 01 of the Pavis & Big Rubble Director's Cut 'The Rough Guide to Pavis City' is now complete. All that is required now is a cover, which we are still pondering on the best way forward with that. (So it might still be a while before it sees release.) Thanks in particular to Bill the Barbarian and 7Tigers for long hours of work also, and to Simon Phipp, Graeme Prowse and Harry Grawe for very helpful support.

Glorantha isn't an exact science. Greg explored the Green Age stuff in depth with me, and then it seems like he later changed his mind. That's not a problem. All Gloranthas vary, even the Glorantha of the founder has shifted and changed. I'm going to keep going with the ideas Greg discussed with me because they are just too juicy to throw away. And they do indeed give answers to some questions like yours. It doesn't matter to me at all that it's no longer canon. I'm writing for MGF. and have the fortune to have had some discussions with the founder about those ideas. Not a big issue for me that he changed his mind; I'm not saying my ideas should be official, only that they are really interesting and worth presenting again. :)

Sure, and that wasn't the case when I was communicating with him. People change their minds. No worries. I have a load of emails from Greg before he changed his mind, and I'm going to expand on those ideas. I was puzzled though in the video when you dismissed it as 'some fan theory', when it was actually something Greg was seriously into for a significant time. If I can link it all back in to the new official stuff somehow when it is released I would like to do that. The more quality Pavis material the better :)

I was looking last night of my print out of some (sadly not all) of the emails I shared with Greg In the information above you mention: - one thing pretty much exactly summing up something Greg stated explicitly - one thing that is a red herring but intriguing to consider - one thing that is spot on the button according to what he and I hashed out, and something I am now free to write about more explicitly - and one thing that correctly observes such a secret, but then diverts in a different direction with it

That is a great idea, since Vol 01 is now complete except for the final small amount of proofing and the cover. So the product is not speculative. Vol 02 also is in an advanced stage of completion and should be done within two weeks to the same level. But I doubt if this is possible on Jonstown Compendium

Yes, like Bill says, Vol 01 is Pavis City in 894ST Vol 02 is how to set up and run a campaign in Pavis City 894ST (because why not!!!) :) Then Vol 03 is New Pavis 1619 ST, and the volumes role on from there :)

Me too! But I think people are right in general. That covers attract the eye and attention. I did think of releasing two versions so people have a choice :)

>>Go with old covers, but (if time permits) let get them coloured by Dario. << That might be possible for later issues, but I'm not sure he has the images anymore. Hopefully he does. But the first two volumes have no detailed image for 894ST so we need a new one I have decided >>Give the whole line the same cover layout. << I am definitely considering getting just one image as a cover to use for the whole series, and change the text each time of course With one exception. The first two volumes are about 894ST, and the rest about 1619 onwards, so it would have to be an image of the same scene but in the first two volumes it would be 894 and the rest 1619 OR I just get Dario to slightly alter them each time, to show the different states of the Rubble over time, in order over the eight volumes. A little story in slightly changed images

If I recall correctly (and I'm pretty sure I do) I asked Greg about this, and he said that Mani's Clan were protected like all the oasis people. Same as why the Praxians don't kill the oasis folk. They are 'allowed'. Greg also definitely said <spoilers> that the clan can go hide inside green age magic for as long as they need, and then later pop out again and rebuild.

Yes it's a really good point, yet I have to consider finances. As authors will know the cash return is laughable compared to the hours put in. (You make way more per hour serving behind a fast food counter.) But I am now interested to get a good cover, and have a couple of questions I'd be grateful to hear back about: Since it's a series, I do have the option of maybe commissioning just one or two covers and then simply changing the text on them to give new volume number and title IE the first two volumes are set around Pavis City in the second age, so I could commission a view of the city at its height in 894 ST and use that same image for the cover for both of these And I could at the same time commission a cover of the identical scene but set in 1619 ST Maybe somewhere like the Wyvern Gate with an angled view of the street within (fancy in 894ST and ruined in 1619ST) Both images have the option for intriguing characters to be lurking around I'm pretty sure I can't afford big scene covers, unless anyone thinks some kind of gofundme would make sense. (Not something I envisioned, but a very cool pair of broader panorama cover pics as above might be practical if I get some help.)

You speak with the dragon tongue of wisdom, sir. Consider me to be considering! :)

This is the classic period when Pavis City was a booming metropolis, so I deliberately wanted an incongruent image with the idea of the Rubble, and at this time wyrmish influence is big in the city too :) [Edit: The cover won't end up looking like this. I'll be going for some type of picture as per advice. But it's nice isn't it :) ]

Thanks for that. Kind of reflects my thinking :) Yes main point is not sales, most definitely. BUT I consider creative writing an art, and as an artist I absolutely want to get my creation noticed by the maximum amount of people. :) So just pondering exactly that question: Will an Old School cover be intriguing and accepted by a wide audience, or do we need at least a slightly more modern version in order for it to be taken seriously? There may be no way of knowing of course, but I welcome opinions.

Yes. I'm seeking opinions cos I personally like this cover :) But if people generally think that it's just too out of style for what draws the attention to a product, I've no issue in letting this basic idea go. Took me less than 10mins to throw together Two versions is totally possible, and if there is likely to be a significant number of people who would like a different version (like epub) I've no issues in spending an extra few hours to make different versions either. Anyone got opinions/knowledge on what styles of document are commonly preferred on Jonstown? Basically just taking a poll here of what people reckon, so thanks for feedback so far :)

I feel like going old school with the cover Bucking the trend of really fancy covers and staying with something more basic like a rough guide in different times might have Future volumes can have more elaborate covers of course What do people think?

Can watermarked pdfs be printed? Normally when I am working on pdf books I lay them out, format them, and organise margins so that people can take them to a cheap print place (Officeworks in Oz) and double-sided print them and get them bound if they want (What can I say; I love a real book!) However, not being familiar with Jonstown selling, before I go back through Vol 01 and reposition the margins and do all the reformatting required... ... will that be possible, or do watermarked pdfs somehow stuff-up printing? A quick online search seems to indicate it will be fine, but since it will be a lot of work to reformat the Word doc when I change the margins I wanted to check here first :)

## PERMISSIONS EXTREMELY GRATEFULLY RECEIVED SO FAR - YAY! :) * Pavis County was a joint creation between myself Jeff Richard, John Hughes and Dave Bell (not heard back from Jeff, and no trace of Dave, but their contribution while very helpful was not critical, so we are good to go with Pavis County! yay! And thanks to John for permission) * Wesley Quadros - Orlanth Dragonfriend piece, and some great assistance (I found him in BC, although his Glorantha website shut down a few years ago) [Tracked him down via internet sleuthery.] :) * Michael O'Brien for the original version of Jalmar Ironsword * James Frusetta for key assistance with the 'Pavic Variations on Troll Religions' piece and very helpful input into the Kaggroka Contests * Andrew Graham - The Fivewinds Gang * Martin Crim - Seven Masks of Pavis * Peter Johannson - main-author of Zebra Fort piece, assisting with design of Opili subcult, and the bulk of the Real Inn article * Peter Johannson & Sten Ahrman for co-writing 'Trolls of the Rubble' with me, and also co-writing Opili's Fort scenario * Peter Maranci - The original Grey Company online piece * Sarah Evans - illustrations and cover for Rough Guide to Pavis City * Bo Rosen - piece on Old Pavic architecture and one of the Pavis County herobands * Alban Schmid and Christoph Kohring for the original Crimson Shadows over Prax scenario that I adapted for TT8 (sad to learn that Alban is no longer with us) * Eric Vanel - map of Prax * Mark Galeotti - Red Moon Over Pavis section in 'Masks Of Pavis', and a small piece on Lunar spies called 'Dustbowl Circus' * John R Hutchinson - significant assistance with the Dwarf Drinks article * Julian Lord - helped out significantly with the Uleria Cult piece * Simon Phipp - the Unicorn Quest & Joraz Kyrem Gains An Ally (TT9) * Mark Galeotti - Red Moon Over Pavis section in 'Masks Of Pavis', and a small piece on Lunar spies called 'Dustbowl Circus' * Darren Happens & Ingo Tschinke - co-authors with me of the New Pavis Knowledge Temple piece * Erik Nolander - co-writing Zebra Folk Of Pavis & Zebra Tribe of Pavis County & Prax

Thanks Simon I make no claim that my version will match Greg's ideas even 50%, but maybe they will come close to that. We had some huge discussions and I made a lot of notes and also have a good memory for this because 'Hey I was chatting with Greg Stafford'. It was kind of like the time I met Larry Mullen at a native american store and restaurant in Arizona. Stands out in the mind quite vividly meeting and engaging in a grounded way with one's idols. However, I am letting off the stops, and am already writing the beginnings of how this will unfold into Vol. 02 of the re-release. (Vol 02 is also very advanced and will probably be ready for proofing to begin in a week or so.)

GREENS ARE BACK ON THE MENU So useful to watch this video. Gives me clearer direction I was disappointed when they casually dissed the 'fan theory' that Pavis was all about Green Age experiments, and then excitedly moved on to other things they are planning Greg Stafford spent a lot of time talking to me when I was Pavis Expert, about the fact that Pavis was ALL about Green Age stuff. He said that's why Mani's Clan was there, that's one reason why the God Learners chose this place to set up the cradle-snatching place, and that's why Pavis came there. Even if Greg totally changed his mind (which would surprise me, but he certainly could have) it was still what he was envisaging, and was not just some 'fan theory' as Robin and Jeff so casually dismissed it as. Even if it was originally a fan theory, it was one that Greg himself embraced and ran with at that time So, this video does make one thing clear however! I am staying with those ideas that Greg and I discussed, and will be developing them across the new Companion release, as an alternative to the new material Once the new material is released I will go back and do my level best to make everything I write match all the new material when it comes to the practical and the adventure stuff. (IE if they redefine a named Rubble area, I might go back and slightly redesign my Rubble area of the same name and make it be somewhere else instead. If they create new Rubble families I'll alter mine to include them etc etc) But otherwise, Green Age secrets theme is back on the menu. I will be developing that throughout the material, heading up towards the grand finale of the campaign, and providing an alternate Pavis & Big Rubble Which I will later retrofit to the published material when it comes to practical details, but not when it comes to the deeper secrets of Pavis. It looks like those have been officially abandoned, so carte blanche to me and to everything I recollect about my discussions with Greg Eye of Wakboth was also in my plan (and I think is even mentioned in one of the scenarios) but it looks like the new official stuff will deal with that. So I may leave it out of my campaign arc, and then later add notes of how to incorporate the official Eye of WB adventure into my series. Because it's such a huge thing I am reluctant to create my own version that will be different from the soon-to-be-released official one, but we shall see. It is also possible, because they are setting their material at a later date that I might add a brief note in the middle of the final volume of the new series, along the lines of "Here's How to Include the new material and extend/expand the R&BRC campaign, by moving it into the new official stuff" So I'd better get cracking so people can run the P&BRC campaign before the new stuff is released (since it chronologically begins pretty much at the point my campaign ends!)

Cup of tea at the ready. Here we go! :)

Someone sent me a link to a Youtube video where someone (at a gaming conference I think) was giving a talk about the upcoming official new Pavis material. Finally I reach the point of sitting down to watch that video, and can I find that link?? I cannot. Half an hour of searching emails and nothing. Does anyone have that link please?

Love it. It's in!!! "A streamlined version of the cooper, known as the ‘buggy’ is usually pulled by a large, muscular and specially-trained ostrich. The rider of these is also the driver, as it is a single-person transport, although one can squeeze in a passenger in an emergency."

Zebra Carriages?? For MGF purposes I have included one paragraph in the Rough Guide to Pavis City to indicate that carriages are pulled around the city via zebras. However, this could be another animal if there is some massive religious reason why zebras could NEVER be used this way? Comments (I already have mule carriages, but they are not MGF. Needs to be another animal even if it annoys the nomads.)