lawrence.whitaker

Me too. Note: just tried to submit 'Me Too' as the full reply, only to get an error message saying the reply is too short and needs to be at least 10 characters in length. So... Me too. As well.

Okay, opt-out it is. . Note I said a teensy bit of a cop-out - meaning that, whilst its intriguing enough idea, I can see that the am to try to get round some things that are, really, going to prove inevitable. So not a complete cop-out by any stretch, but even using gates as a central mechanism you'll still need some ground rules to operate to. Of course you can do both, but even in the gate version you'll be surprised at how much effort you need to go into a shared world, so doing two versions will still be heaps effort. Look, I'm not trying to put anyone off. Developing a shared world is great fun and working on Gwenthia was a blast. But, like anything worthwhile, it will require quite a bit of committment from those involved. I'd offer to get involved myself and get something kickstarted, but I simply don't have the time. I've still got Gwenthia to work on in addition to my usual writing workload. But, I'm keen to see something develop and the approach taken.

I completely agree. A framework is essential. I know the aim is to have fun - and you will - but there has to be a set of ground rules (no pun intended) or the world won't seem coherent. The gates idea is a teensy bit of a cop-out; it'll be far more satisfying if you get some framework together and work to it to produce a coherent, but original, world. Gwenthia used several mechanisms. First, we had an arbtrator. Next we had a weekly conference on IRC to discuss common elements such as magic, religion, and so on. Then we had a 'History Game' where we designed Gwenthia's history and integrated it as a group, despite comng up with disparate ideas. We also established a wiki so that ideas could be shared, amended, and collaborated on. Finally, Pete Nash put together a questonnaire that asked people to answer certain questions about their realm such as 'Who have you invaded and who has invaded you'? 'What culture developed as a result of these invasions?' This helped blur the edges of the silos we'd come up with indvidually. Its taken about 3 years to get Gwentha to the point its at now, and it still isn't finished. So be prepared for a haul! I'm not saying you need to do all these things - just outlining how the Design Mechanism did it. But yes, you will need rules. They needn't be too strict, but they do require buy-in.

Precisely the mandate Gwenthia was developed under. And including Ax's technology idea, too. I'd say one thing: embarking and a shared world is fun, but its heaps more work than you probably bank on. And it has to gel. One of the problems is avoiding different nations become silos. There's always going to be interplay between countries; they don't develop in complete isolation, so you'll need a framework to ensure the setting feels real.

What about the Hawk? That was designed as a fast attack craft and looks damned cool! Space: 1999 Catacombs- Hawk Now, I know it doesn't feature as part of the Moonbase Alpha fleet, but its still too cool a ship to ignore (and who's to say that Koenig doesn't have a couple stached somewhere in a secret hangar that he hasn't even told Dr Russell about in one of their little trysts...?)

Personality traits are presented as an option in BRP, based on D100 rather than D20, but they are there.

The idea behind Questworlds was that Chaosium would define a base world, with geography, politics, cults and so forth, that was distinct for Glorantha but would be developed by fans, leaving Chaosium (back when they had it) to work on Glorantha's specific development. The concept's great in theory but it never really developed in practice - perhaps because, really, shared worlds require an enormous amount of commitment and resource to properly develop. There was no intrawebnet back then, and its taken the www to really offer the online collaborative tools necessary to make shared world development effective. Whilst Gwenthia's being developed as product for publication, the intention was always to develop it to a certain stage and then release it as a basis for others to then develop as they wished. The existing body of Gwenthia is offered under the Creative Commons licence and does provide a very good basis for world sharing and development, using BRP as a system, if people want to. I think the Design Mechanism would be very happy to discuss with those on this forum who are interested in using Gwenthia, just how they can do so, using BRP. It actually moves things back to the original vision and, given that we'll produce Gwenthia independently anyway, won't impact on our longer term plans for a glossy book. Let's discuss this more on the Gwenthia thread. I've a whole host of supportive documents people can have, using the CC licence, to kick start a sort of shared world experience.

I was actually responding more to Atgxt's comments - so I don't take the idea of a financial deal as derogatory at all. We all have to earn a crust somehow. The wider inference is that Greg's bunged Mongoose the Second Age setting and doesn't take much of an active involvement with it - which really isn't the case. He and Jeff Richard put together books like 'Middle Sea Empire' and 'History of the Heortling Peoples' precisely to act as a frame of reference for Mongoose writers, and, certainly, everything Gloranthan I've written for GtSA has been run by Greg, and then been subject to very detailed and useful discussions.

Having worked very closely with Greg on the 'Dara Happa Stirs' book for Mongoose, I don't get the impression that he doesn't care about what gets developed. He might not care too much for the system, but as far as the Second Age is concerned, he's put a great deal of effort into providing Mongoose's writers with the precise tools to reflect his vision, and his own writing seems to have developed the second age. Greg's been extremely supportive about the Dragonewts book, Dara Happa, and is very keen to see what further Second Age projects are developed. So to say that his interest is purely or mainly financial is a little on the disingenuous side - both to him, and to Mongoose, which is very keen to ensure that all its Gloranthan output gets an official seal of approval.

Only if Greg Stafford gave permission first. Glorantha is a protected Intellectual Property. If you did a 'rewrite' to fit BRP specifically without acquiring a licence or the appropriate permission, they'd be opening themselves to litigation.

Sure it is. Or has. Moon Design's republished RQ works are still in print. Completely compatible with BRP. And Mongoose's Glorantha the Second Age core book is effectively system agnostic; perfectly usable with either/any system.

There's actually several magic systems. Orb Magic, Mysticism, Shard Magic, Spirit Magic (very different to RQ SM) and Communal magic. All share similar elements, but all work very differently from each other and tie closely to the way Gwenthia works as a world. On hit points - it'll be general hit points rather than hit locations. On RQ logo or just OGL, we're going for the former. It means we can cross refer to the SRDs and RQ rulebooks, thereby saving space and not having to reinvent the wheel (save where it needs some reinvention, like the magic systems). Y'know, just yakking about Gwenthia again s gettng me itching to get back to work on it. If only there were 30 hours in a day and 10 days in a week.

All the Elric and Hawkmoon books are brilliant. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and mesmerising. The forthcoming titles, Elric Companion, Castle Brass, Cults, Magic... all will be paragons of excellence. :):):) Okay, to be serious and less egocentric... Simon's reviews speak for themselves. Charles Green has done brilliant work on Bright Shadows and Magic of the YK, and the Elric Companion takes a great deal of material that I couldn't fit into the main rules, plus a whole load of new stuff written for that project. Cults of the YK will expand cults further, but won't be a shopping list book of new and groovy cults; it will be a serious dip into who cults work in the YK, their relations, and what worshippers can expect. Castle Brass is a detailed campaign setting and campaign outline for the Kamarg, Aigues Mortes and the Castle itself; lots of NPCs, maps of the regions, and lots of scheming and weirdness. On Hawkmoon, I think Gareth Hanrahan has done a fine job. In particular, the opening of the Granbretan book is just fabulous, capturing the weirdness and comedy of the Hawkmoon setting in a really unique and imaginative way. A complete newcomer to the Hawkmoon saga can read that intro and know immediately what the flavour of the game (and books) is. As Charles said, I'm very happy to talk about the Elric and Hawkmoon lines here, and on the Mongoose forums, so please feel free to ask questions.

I really hope you do. Converting between BRP and MRQ is really NOT going to be such a hassle. The magic systems are designed with both systems in mind; the background is dense, multi-layered, and can be used with many systems. Gwenthia will be published independently. It will conform to the SRD and OGL, but it'll be produced by The Design Mechanism, the name of thje collective who created the world. All profits generated will go into producing additional books; Mongoose won't see a penny of it. The reasons for taking Gwenthia in this direction are many, but can be summarised as follows... 1. Communication. Yes, The Design Mechanism was frustrated by the lack of communication, but on its own, it wasn't the only reason for going MRQ. 2. Flexibility. MRQ operates under an SRD and OGL which gives us great scope and freedom to publish the system we want without having to wait for the BRP rules to be published or negotiate with Chaosium on how the rules, or the BRP licence, is applied to the finished article. Also, staying independent would allow us to perhaps include BRP conversion notes without having any license issues. 3. Control. The Design Mechanism has about 10 members - all contributors to the project, and all have a say in how the book and setting should develop. Whilst I'm certainly NOT saying that we'd lose control over Gwenthia if we went with a Chaosium contract, there is that possibility. And that's what we were discussing; a contract for Chaosium to produce Gwenthia - not for the DM to sublicense BRP. 4. Money. By remaining independent and MRQ, we can do this on a much, much, lower budget. We do not need to pay for any form of license to use BRP, and that lets us focus on other things. Ultimately, whatever your feelings about Chaosium, Mongoose, BRP or MRQ, Gwenthia is a setting first and foremost, developed as a place for great gaming (and it is. I've run games in many areas of Gwenthia and had a comnplete blast). MRQ will support the system as well as BRP, but the Gwenthia variant will have the following additions: Magic: several completely new magic systems that are unlike any of the MRQ magic systems. Or BRP's, for that matter. Combat: Pete Nash's brilliant combat rules will be the system used here. Religion: These are the main areas we need to develop before going to publication. It'll be very different to MRQ's cult structures. Creatures: A brand new bestiary, with creatures that fit ecological niches and have sound, believable rationales. If you've seen what we've done with the Iqari and She'eth, you'll see what sort of design approach we're taking. Enough thread-jacking from me, but I wanted to just outline why Gwenthia's going the way it is, and just make clear that Chaosium hasn't 'lost' it just because comms was lacking; there are other reasons outweighing that.

If I'm understanding this interpretation, you're saying that Second Guy rolling 54 gets downgraded because first guy also rolled a success? If so, then that's not right - certainly in MRQ. Second Guy wins the contest because he has the better roll (under, yet higher than Frst Guy). In opposed combat, First Guy would be downgraded to a failure, not Second Guy. Am I understanding you correctly? I like the gambling example though. It can be rationalised thus. Both guys, playing cards, have hands that could be winners. But Second Guy has a pair of aces whilst First Guy has an ace and a king. Both succeeded in playing good hands (for eg, neither folds in the first round), but Second Guy has trumped the First Guy with his better hand - so First Guy has, effectively, failed.

The new website is now live at Continuum

I also concur with the thoughts on Lovecraft. Some of his prose is god awful to read; some of it is okay.

Sorry, my last diatribe should read Matthew Riley and not Mark Riley. I'm sure that any author named Mark Riley writes incredibly good books and does not need to be confused with Matthew Riley who ought to be burned at the stake for crimes against literature.

Not strictly fantasy, but 'Scarecrow' by Mark Riley. Why? Appallingly written. Cliched plot. Blatant Star Wars homage/rip-off so crassly done its an insult to the intelligence. Characters that aren't really characters but simply a collection of every, single, action-genre Hollywood cliche its possible to find and mould together. The book rounds itself off with an 'interview' with the author that is so clearly himself interviewing himself, and crowing over what a masterpiece he's created, you seriously want to track this idiot down and brain him with his own Boba Fett helmet. A novel that is, truly, truly, gut wrenchingly awfully, appallingly bad and should be burned from the face of the planet.

I've got two copies (don't ask me how). Numbers 9 and 16.

Absolutely. In fact, its so nice, we may not invite any attendees... just to be on the safe side.

I know. Its a sad but true fact that, once over the hill that is 40, the decline is both fast and inexorable. Yet I embrace my path towards the god that is Victor Meldrew* with fondness because, at some stage, my faculties will have degenerated to a point where I just don't care any more! *For our overseas friends who might not be familiar with the British sitcom 'One Foot in the Grave', Victor Meldrew is a 60-something curmudgeon who hates everything about the modern world, the people occupying it, and the things it does to him. His catch phrase of 'I don't believe it!' is legendary and oh so true.

No, just another table to consult... The table's useful, and certainly quicker than my abysmal mental arithmetic, but I'd simply rather have a straight 10% as Crit and not have to worry about whether its a simple success, a special success or a critical success. My mind handles that much better. Its personal preference, I hasten to add; not strictly a system criticism. Your BRP Will Vary.

What are your rates? Seriously, its not that people can't divide by ten and then halve, its more a case that you have to do that whilst you have a mind swimming with other things - like keeping a mental track of what's happening in a combat, who's injured, who's readying magic, who's leaping in with a kung-fu kick, and what tactics the GM-controlled adversaries are doing. For a crit, dividing by 10 is a cinch for a slow mental multi-tasker like me. But to divide by ten AND THEN halve/double the result (and am I rounding up, down or to the nearest?) adds another layer of brain-stuff to an already stuffed-brain. Then you might need to cross ref that special success with a crit to determine the appropriate result, as I've pointed out before. Of course, you can build character sheets that have the skill success granularities annotated, and that's a Good Thing, but if you're a GM and working with stats for lots of creatures, or a pre-published adventure, you may not have time to prep all those calculations yourself. This is the reason I don't like Specials. Not because the math is intrinsically hard, but simply because it slows me down considerably. But your Brains (and BRP) May Vary! (and no. I hate using a calculator at the gaming table. Besides, you can always guarantee that the batteries will conk or the solar-cell's knackered). There are sliderules, I suppose... and log tables...

The pre-pub version I have is very clear on what's core and what's optional. Jason's done an exceedingly good job pulling together, sifting, and optionalising what needs to be optionalised. It really is a modular game that you can plug the bits you want (or need) into the core mechanics to get the kind of game that suits the setting.