THE CHRONICLES OF FUTURE EARTH - Science-Fantasy Roleplaying in Earth's Far Future

[Shaira]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say I'll be on the RPG Designers Seminar panel at UK Games Expo in Birmingham this weekend, talking about upcoming Chronicles projects as well as Anglerre, Mindjammer, Cthulhu Britannica, and others), as well as working the Cubicle 7 stand. If you're at the Con, please stop by for a chat if you're passing!

Best,

Sarah

(Chronicles of Future Earth etc writer )

[Shaira]

yep I have found the same cartographic typos on my copy. There's no number 9 key. I also notice that 6 should be 5 as it looks like 6 is a lake.

Thermifex hill (number 4) is supposed to be in the Akemenek precinct, probably 5? (There's is a map of that precinct in the book).

Hi onearmspence,

You're quite right - there are typos in the map key for the Precincts of Korudav. Here's a link to my own version of the map, with the correct references.

Many thanks - and I hope you enjoy Chronicles!

Best,

Sarah

[frogspawner]

Just a quick note to say I'll be on the RPG Designers Seminar panel at UK Games Expo in Birmingham this weekend...

Darn! Missed it, when I could've gone! (I really must check here more often...)

[soltakss]

Darn! Missed it, when I could've gone! (I really must check here more often...)

Went past it on Saturday, mentioned it to my wife and she said I should pop in, but I had a "Danger Will Robinson" moment and thought better of it.

[garypen]

Hi,

Just thought I'd let you all know that I started running my CoFE campaign last night. I've got six players, they generated some interesting characters (Disillusioned ex-legionnaire from the Legion of the Sword of Fire, Sorceror Scholar politician, Investigating Magistrate (detective), being a few of them.) and I'm all set to run the introductory adventures over the next few months.

I wondered if anyone, Shaira maybe... , knew if there are plans to issue more source material for the setting in the future?

My idea is to emphasise the "War of the False Avatar" and use this as a central building block for the campaign I have planned. I'm picking up on the references to this event in the CoFE sourcebook and expanding on it to form the core of the story which is unfolding in Korudav. I'd like to avoid doing anything which contradicts future publications on this subject, so I thought I'd solicit opinions on the idea here.

Cheers,

Gary

[pansophy]

I bought the PDF a week ago and finally hat time to read it. Though I am not very interested in Fantasy, this setting and book had something that I really like. The story is interesting and the bestiary has creatures that sparked some ideas. Not many books did that during the last years I must say.

End of story: I have to play it. Until my other players finish our "Rubble and Ruin" campaign, I will play CoFE solo by the help of Mythic.

Thanks Sarah! I hope there will be more stuff following

[GianniVacca]

I will play CoFE solo by the help of Mythic.

What does this exactly mean?

[pansophy]

What does this exactly mean?

Uups, sorry.

Mythic is a Game Master Emulater that allows you as a player to play an RPG alone. You need a good imagination of course. When playing prewritten adventures you use Mythic as a player emulator and take the role as the Game Master.

It' pretty cool and really working. Some people even use it for writing books and novels. I do know one popular writer who is using Mythic at least sometimes for creating his stories.

[GianniVacca]

Mythic is a Game Master Emulater that allows you as a player to play an RPG alone.

Is this like a T&T solo adventure, or is it a piece of software?

[wbcreighton]

Mythic is 2 things really. It is a simple rp system for use with solo gaming. Within the rules is a gm emulator that helps direct the plot. The player asks questions about the story or plot ( with yes or no answers) and the answer is derived from random dice rolls, charts and imagination. There are a number of ways of using it from solo gaming or small groups where the Emulator acts as the GM. It requires lots of creative input as with any good rping. Some people use it to act as the GM and other people use it to generate the motives and actions of a group of adventurers whikle they act as the GM.

You can purchase Mythic RPG ( which includes the GME) or purchase the Mythic GME separately.

The GM Emulator has been converted into a a software program that is freely available ( can be downloaded at the Yahoogroup). It will do the dice rolls and give you the chart results. There is a rather active Yahoo group for Mythic with lots of ideas for using Mythic in different ways with different rpgs, and writeups of solo games. There is a particularly cool writeup of a solo game where the GME is used to generate the actions of a group of Dnd level 1 adventurers exploring the Keep on the Borderland.

[Charnadis]

Hi guys,

The format of 'Children of the Worm' is decided by Chaosium rather than me, but right now I believe it's a pdf release. I haven't seen the finished doc, but I'm guessing it will be about 20-30 pages, layout depending. I'll chat with Dustin nearer the time to see if there are POD possibilities. At the very least I'll be printing out my pdf - I prefer hard copy too;-)

Cheers!

Sarah

Chaosium should reconsider printing 'Children of the Worm' on paper. I think they will get more sales that way.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Charnadis

[Charnadis]

It appears that Chronicles is moribund. There is a site for it but it has not been active for a long time.

http://chronicles-of-future-earth.com/

Edited September 24, 2011 by Charnadis

[rpgstarwizard]

I just got this today. Was a late Bday present, and well. I LIKE a LOT! Kinda crystalizes what I have been tinkering around for a far future game around the Great Lakes. In this ice age world, the ice cliffs around the great lakes have some interesting prospects. LOL

[Kairos]

I really dig this book. I was sort of miffed to see it get only a single star on Amazon.com. It only has a single review, and that written by some dude who was pretty clueless about what he was buying. He was pretty unfair to the book. For my part, I'm cooking up a review to post on Amazon to improve the book's rep. I encourage anyone else who has a few moments to spare to do the same.

[wbcreighton]

That review is just crap. Sounds like the reviewer doesn't own BRP but wanted to use it with Elric.

It is too bad that it has been a year since it was published and no follow up material. Hard to gain traction as a setting with nothing coming down the pipe.

Edited December 30, 2011 by wbcreighton

[Evilschemer]

I'll remedy that negative review by posting my own review. It's not all positive, I mention what I think are its warts, but I give the book 3.5 to 4 stars (rounded up to 4). Definitely doesn't deserve 1 star.

[Conrad]

That review is just crap. Sounds like the reviewer doesn't own BRP but wanted to use it with Elric.

It is too bad that it has been a year since it was published and no follow up material. Hard to gain traction as a setting with nothing coming down the pipe.

Dougla.s' review comes in for some stick by someone that has read the supplement. Its quite funny reading these replies:

"There are constant references to psychic powers, but where are they in the book?"

The reviewer asks this question failing to understand that CoFE is a supplement to be used with the Big Gold BRP Book, which has the psychic powers rules in it. It clearly states this on the back cover, and I quote- "This is a supplement for the BASIC ROLEPLAYING SYSTEM. You must have at least one copy of those rules to enjoy this book."

"...his absolute lack of respect for people.."

The author of this tome is a woman actually. Her name, Sarah Newton, is on the front cover. The reviewer should calm down and actually READ all of the book before going off on such a rant."

Edited December 30, 2011 by Conrad

[RosenMcStern]

Starting a polemic on Amazon.com will not do much good. Even if it is true that dougla.s did miss some important details before posting his review, all comments posted later sound like "Fanboy talk" and will not help increase the popularity of the series. Politely pointing out where the rules for Psychic Abilities are supposed to be, and that this is rather clear if you read the back cover which states "for use with the Basic Roleplaying rulebook" (and not RuneQuest II), without any polemic, would work better. Intelligent people will deduce that the reviewer missed some obvious points even if this is understated.

Polemics aside, this setting is interesting, but in order to produce a "killer setting" you need something more in terms of quantity and support, IMO. Add to this that Sarah's time is now really, really devoted to FATE, leaving her very little spare resources for "Chronicles", and the end result is that it risks to enter a "blind alley". A pity.

Edited December 30, 2011 by RosenMcStern

[GianniVacca]

A pity.

Yeah... About every page screams 100 ideas but you need guidance, the setting is quite weird and out of the usual science fantasy settings.

[Conrad]

Starting a polemic on Amazon.com will not do much good.

Until I looked the word up, I thought that "polemic" was a type of Polish sausage! Politeness does not equal truth, and the person that read the supplement does show that the ranting reviewer (Dougla.s) hasn't done his homework. Which says to any person with half a cerebrum that Dougla.s' review is to be taken with a dose of sodium chloride.

And the time it took for you to take the moral high ground, Rosen, and to insinuate that Evil Schemer is a "fanboy" for his decent succint review would be better spent proofreading your products before publication.

What won't do much good is publishing a quarter of a setting and then having the author go on to other projects without leaving the rest of the background to be edited and published, but thats Chaosium for you! The scenario Children of the Worm should, at least, have been part of the original supplement IMO.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Conrad

[Conrad]

Yeah... About every page screams 100 ideas but you need guidance, the setting is quite weird and out of the usual science fantasy settings.

Why do you need guidance if you've got 100 ideas to every page?

[GianniVacca]

Why do you need guidance if you've got 100 ideas to every page?

Because there are so many names that are not indexed or explained anywhere. I could make 'em up but I'd love to know what Sarah'd meant when she wrote 'em!

[Conrad]

Because there are so many names that are not indexed or explained anywhere. I could make 'em up but I'd love to know what Sarah'd meant when she wrote 'em!

I understand your viewpoint completely Gianni; the time dragons (Shalai) seem most intriguing and I can't wait to find out what they're like. It is a pity that more of this setting wasn't published in that first supplement.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Conrad

[RosenMcStern]

And the time it took for you to take the moral high ground, Rosen, and to insinuate that Evil Schemer is a "fanboy" for his decent succint review would be better spent proofreading your products before publication.

I did not speak from a "morally superior" point of view, but from a business point of view. Sometimes, from _that_ point of view, it is a good idea to describe crap as "matter that could smell more pleasantly".

Please read my post carefully - like dougla.s should have done with "Chronicles" : I never accused Evil Schemer of being a fanboy, I just said that his words, in that context, sound as "fanboy talk". There is a difference - a big one - between talking about someone's words and talking about him or her. A point that the aforementioned dougla.s sounds like not understanding well, to be honest.

[Evilschemer]

I did not speak from a "morally superior" point of view, but from a business point of view. Sometimes, from _that_ point of view, it is a good idea to describe crap as "matter that could smell more pleasantly".

Please read my post carefully - like dougla.s should have done with "Chronicles" : I never accused Evil Schemer of being a fanboy, I just said that his words, in that context, sound as "fanboy talk". There is a difference - a big one - between talking about someone's words and talking about him or her. A point that the aforementioned dougla.s sounds like not understanding well, to be honest.

I tried to balance praise with my honest criticism. I honestly feel the book didn't deserve a 1 star review and wished to provide a more balanced review for potential buyers.

For those that don't know what we're talking about, here's my review:

By Christian W. Conkle "El Capitan de Outre Espacio" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME) This review is from: The Chronicles of Future Earth: A Setting Book for Basic Roleplaying (Paperback)

I read the other review of this book and was perplexed! This book is an excellent supplement and does a fantastic job capturing the feel of a "weird" fantasy setting.

The cover is evocative. The interior artwork ranges from good to great. There aren't any pieces of art I would describe as "amateurish", such as pixelated images (other than one slightly pixellated image on page 59) or re-used public domain artwork, like you'd find in many small-press RPG books.

The maps are very well done, especially those in the included adventures.

The writing jumps around from topic to topic without any real sense of cohesion, giving the feeling of "collected snippets". Other than that, the writing is adequately professional and the "snippets" do a good job of getting the point across. I especially like the chapter on the gods of Urth and the artifacts.

On a more technical level, I would have made different font choices for the headlines, the grey-scale borders look a little busy, and I wouldn't have used alternating shades of grey for the tables, but these are purely aesthetic choices.

The adventures included in the book offer a good balance of investigation, role-play, and old-fashioned dungeon crawling, and as I mentioned earlier, the adventure maps are top notch.

Even with the flaws, I find this book to be informative, inspirational, and useful. DEFINITELY not deserving of a 1-star negative review. I give this product 3.5-to-4 stars (let's round it up to 4).