Strangers in Prax Companion (P&BRC:DC: Vol. 04A) - Out Now in PDF & PoD :)

[Ian A. Thomson]

PAVIS & BIG RUBBLE COMPANION (D.C.): VOL. 04A: “THE ‘STRANGERS IN PRAX’ COMPANION”

[The first of two Special Edition spin-offs from the ‘Pavis Grand Plan’ campaign]
Mike Dawson, Michael O’Brien & Jonathan Tweet once released three amazing pieces of work that collectively made up ‘Strangers in Prax’ [Avalon Hill, 1994]. It is widely considered one of the best RQ3 scenario publications and was blended into both runs of the original Old Pavis Campaign currently being re-released as the P&BRC: Director’s Cut. This supplement provides detailed adaptation and expansion notes for using that classic publication under the contemporary RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha rules. Plus three separate new scenarios!
** You will also need a copy of that original publication. This supplement does not recreate any of the core details or information from it. **
There are no new versions of any main Strangers characters in this book — just suggested RQ:G enhancements. With the sorcerers, the new information here outlines ways to run them as mysterious GMCs whose mechanics occur entirely out of the awareness of the Players. (We don’t offer any new formal sorcery rules, just simple ideas for the GM to make the main sorcerer’s function believably and congruently.)

This Companion additionally contains a huge amount of stand-alone material, and so can also be used to expand and support any Pavic campaign set between 1610-1621. This extra content includes:

- Full RQ:G Stats for a wide range of supporting characters and enemies from Strangers that had none in the original;
- THREE new self-contained scenarios (The chance to assist the Flintnail Dwarfs in an Old City quest ritual as part of backing Arlaten's claim for residence in a ruined tower on the edge of Manside; a daring Big Rubble robbery on behalf of Baran [or Arlaten]; and an epic Old Pavic mystery in which the Lunar Coders cameo strongly);
- A two-part article on the Old Pavic Jalmari, who were originally created by Michael O’Brien & Tim Leask for Strangers in Prax, but didn’t make the final cut;
- Full Deck-plans & room index for the flagship of the Moon Boat fleet: ‘The Darjinni Enterprise’.

 This Companion is NOT designed as any kind of ‘new canon’, and does not attempt to match everyone’s ideal about such a ‘conversion’ project. It provides practical guidelines and options, so that the scenarios in Strangers can be run in the same spirit (and with as few gameplay details changed as possible) in which they were originally written.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/483301/vol-4a-the-strangers-in-prax-companion-runequest

 

Edited December 6, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[OrlanthRex]

Strangers in Prax was truly awesome scenario pack. Just finished playing RQ campaign where Count Julian showed up as a fair broker of the otherwise corrupt Lunar administration. The Corflu scenario was not only fun but a great story. 
It’s been a long, long time ago, but I thought that an early advertisement for SiP included a fourth scenario that included a visitor from the east. 
 

[svensson]

@Ian A. Thomson WONDERFUL supplement/addenda/update/whatever. THANKS to everyone involved for all the hard work.

Strangers in Prax has been a favorite of mine since it came out back when. Having some ready on demand top guns and examples what PCs want to grow up to be has been really handy to my games for years, ESPECIALLY Maculus and Arlaten.

I do have a question, however.

Faltikus the Good, the Lunar 'High Priest' of Orlanth, has always been described as either Illuminated or 'probably Illuminated'. I mean, it would be damned difficult to walk the thin line between toeing the Imperial Lunar line and violating your oaths to Orlanth as a fully ordained Priest. And with a Moon Rune of 80, I'm guessing Faltikus did not navigate that line very successfully. But his statistics make no mention of either Illumination or suffering the lower-level spirits of reprisal [Impests, Flint Slingers]. I'm assuming you didn't have access to the Lunar Way book any sooner than the rest of us, so the new Illumination rules were probably not available to you. So I have to ask the question: Is Faltikus an Illuminate, a very talented or lucky Lunar stooge, or just stupid? 😆

Edited June 4, 2024 by svensson

[Ian A. Thomson]

47 minutes ago, OrlanthRex said:

Strangers in Prax was truly awesome scenario pack.

Oh my goodness, yes! :)

47 minutes ago, OrlanthRex said:

Just finished playing RQ campaign where Count Julian showed up as a fair broker of the otherwise corrupt Lunar administration. The Corflu scenario was not only fun but a great story. 
It’s been a long, long time ago, but I thought that an early advertisement for SiP included a fourth scenario that included a visitor from the east. 
 

Yes, I've seen that fourth scenario discussed somewhere while doing my research for this book, but found no evidence that it was ever completed or submitted. Would have tried to track it down if I'd heard otherwise :)

Closest thing in this book is the Jalmari material, the original version of which MOB write for Strangers, but it didn't make the cut

Edited June 4, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

21 minutes ago, svensson said:

@Ian A. Thomson WONDERFUL supplement/addenda/update/whatever. THANKS to everyone involved for all the hard work.

 

Cheers, yeh a LOT of work :)

21 minutes ago, svensson said:

Faltikus the Good, the Lunar 'High Priest' of Orlanth, has always been described as either Illuminated or 'probably Illuminated'. I mean, it would be damned difficult to walk the thin line between toeing the Imperial Lunar line and violating your oaths to Orlanth as a fully ordained Priest. And with a Moon Rune of 80, I'm guessing Faltikus did not navigate that line very successfully. But his statistics make no mention of either Illumination or suffering the lower-level spirits of reprisal [Impests, Flint Slingers]. I'm assuming you didn't have access to the Lunar Way book any sooner than the rest of us, so the new Illumination rules were probably not available to you. So I have to ask the question: Is Faltikus an Illuminate, a very talented or lucky Lunar stooge, or just stupid? 😆

I should try and look at those rules

Makes sense to me about him being Illuminated

As with all the books, there will be an update to a V1.2 within a few weeks

There is basically so much to consider and work on, that inevitably at least a few significant things will be missed

And maybe this will be the first such change

Want to message me privately with your suggested additions/alterations to his details? :)

Edited June 4, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[D]

when funds allow, I'll be buying this and having a go at building the moon boat in unreal engine 

Edited June 4, 2024 by D
grammar

[svensson]

On 6/4/2024 at 12:28 AM, D said:

when funds allow, I'll be buying this and having a go at building the moon boat in unreal engine 

Ooohhh... THAT would be a sight

[D]

51 minutes ago, svensson said:

Ooohhh... THAT would be a sight

it'll be a good challenge for my 3d modeling skills 

[Tyrian Telbenj]

got mine 🙂

[Ian A. Thomson]

VOL. 04a NOW UPDATED

Version 1.2 is up on Drivethru already (just now) and here are the change notes as to why :)

Added a quarter page on Faltikus' status/history as an Illuminant & Lunar agent.

Corrected a few formatting errors, and an embarrassingly large number of spelling/grammar mistakes!!

(Yes, we forgot to run the checker that one last time!!)

Also, we have changed the cover and the DTRPG blurb page to emphasize more fully the proportions of the book.

Only 16 pages are adaptation notes and extra pieces for the original, and only about half of these are completely useless without the original Strangers in Prax. (So yes, only 8 pages of this book are of zero use without the original book.)

Whereas the majority are extra independent details (scenarios, moonboat article, full RQ:G statted characters) that can be used either with or independently from the Strangers in Prax original scenarios.

So yes, nearly 160 pages of the 166 actual (packed) content pages stand-alone whether you own the original or not.

 

Edited June 16, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

** Extra PDF hand-outs document for the P&BRC:DC is up on Drivethru **

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/488217/Pavis-and-Big-Rubble-Companion-Directors-Cut--Index-pages-lists-and-other-helpful-PDFs

Various helpful indices, the up-to-date campaign plan, and printable map of the alternate-scale Big Rubble that we use in the campaign. 

All put as a separate release so that people who only get the PoDs can also access this

[Ian A. Thomson]

New (and likely final) Version of the Strangers Companion Just Uploaded to DriveThru

While working on Vol. 05 I worked out a much clearer way of formatting one element of the scenarios that had always bugged me as looking really boring for the eye

So I am using a slightly different style now for passages that the GM can read out (GMCs speaking and descriptions of places/events), which are quite common throughout

Went back and revised that for Vol. 4A (Strangers Companion) and I think it is a huge positive difference! :)

Also took the opportunity to correct a handful of small errors and replace one of the images, with the one I had originally wanted, but wasn't available

That's probably the Strangers Companion fully completed now I think

Edited July 20, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

Good news, the 'Strangers in Prax Companion' is approved for Print On Demand

Big thanks again to Nick for formatting the pdf for this!!

Process take a fair while, what with needing to wait for an approval copy etc, but it's underway! :)

Also, in doing the triple-checking prior to sending the copy for PoD prep, I found a few other tiny errors (mostly formatting) and a few more places to improve formatting in the style I did recently...

EDIT: The truly final version of the PDF for 4A just went up now thanks to Fabian

EDIT: And the handouts pages on Drivethru have just been updated too with some extra pieces, so now is good to grab a copy:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/488217/pavis-and-big-rubble-companion-director-s-cut-index-pages-lists-and-other-helpful-pdfs

 

Edited July 29, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

Thanks to Nick for once again doing the transmogrification of Vol. 4A's PDF to PoD format. There was a big delay from my side of things as I was considering adding a new image before it went to PoD. It proved not possible to do that anytime soon, so we're going ahead without it. (It wasn't anything critical, and will be in a future volume anyway.)

So, today, Vol. 04A's PoD file has just been sent off to Drivethru for approval :)

Vol. 05 still needs some more images to be completed, but that's all ongoing. The last article proved problematic and just didn't flow, but I've finally worked out how to make it sparkle, and so am powering through the last pages of that. (Which means the actual written content should be done in a few days.)

Edited August 28, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

Vol. 04A's proof PoD has been shipped to the ever-helpful Nick, so fingers crossed that this arrives without any issues and then it will be available shortly. (There aren't usually any issues, so we should be good, but there's always a chance that the printing has failed or an image not reproduced OK or something, so we have to wait and see.)

I'm working on the Rough Guide to Pavis City now, though I think that will be Vol. 06A rather than Vol. 06. Huge amounts of the content are done and laid-out already, and just being proofed, and other parts are well-advanced. So I'm chomping into it in order to get another book done fairly quickly, which will leave me with only two left most likely. :)

Also, all of the written contents of Vol. 05 are completed, proofed, laid-out and triple-checked, and so we just wait on the last three images, and it's good to go.

(Once again I want to clarify that if any of those wonderful volunteers working on the last images see this post, there is NO pressure. Take your time. I'm just extremely appreciative that you are assisting, and the book will be ready when it is ready.) This part of the post is just an updated to let people know where things are at. :)

[Ian A. Thomson]

Proof copy arrived and looks mighty fine. Will arrange with Fabian to get the PoD option active asap :)

[Ian A. Thomson]

STRANGERS IN PRAX COMPANION NOW AVAILABLE AS POD :)

Thanks to Nick's fine conversion work, and Fabian's stirling efforts working with the increasingly-tricky DTRPG system, the Strangers in Prax Companion is now available as a hardcopy.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/483301/vol-4a-the-strangers-in-prax-companion-runequest

 

Also a new free PDFs:

In related news, Gary Norton is busy creating some easy-reference guides for GMs in Pavis, and said that he would be happy for the P&BRC:DC series to include some of his work in the free PDF handout bundle. So  there is now also a fifth PDF there as of a few hours ago. (A large document of locations & who you might find there, temples & associated worshippers, and lists of options for those seeking accommodation or other services, All with page references to the campaign series Volumes, the Pavis PoD and 'Pavis: Gateway to Adventure')

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/488217/pavis-and-big-rubble-companion-director-s-cut-index-pages-lists-and-other-helpful-pdfs

 

Vol. 01 PDF Updated for the Final Time

In his collating of page references, Gary noted several small errors in Vol. 01, and sent them to me at a moment when I was feeling perfectionist. So the Vol. 01 PDF is now updated. You gotta stop somewhere, so that's the last version.

 

Edited December 6, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

EDITED: UPDATE: Vol. 04A (Strangers Companion):

The PDF had a formatting error with off-centering in one of the inner cover pages, so that's been fixed.

Also, this was a larger file, and a few people have said that they find the very large PDFs difficult to manage.

So a smaller-size version was then created. Almost entirely just through making the front and back covers lower quality, and the same for the interior back cover promo pics.

Both of these two versions have just now been uploaded on 10 Dec

This book is unlikely to be updated again after these

Edited December 9, 2024 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

Vol. 04A (Strangers Companion): The PDF had a formatting error with off-centering in one of the inner cover pages, so that's been fixed. Also, this was a larger file, so a smaller-size version was then also prepared. Both of these two versions are now there on Drivethru as of an hour ago, replacing the old version.

[Ian A. Thomson]

Vol. 04A (Strangers Companion): 

As noted above, there are two versions of this file at the download link. Although there is a weird DTRPG issue when files that Fabian deletes vanish for him, but stay accessible for everyone else for up to several months!

So right now I can see:

Tentacles_Press_Compressed_TheStrangersinPraxCompanion_09December2024 (This one is fine and is the latest version with the cover-pages and inner back promo images reduced in size, so that they are grainy if you zoom in, but the overall file size is significantly reduced for anyone that matters for.)

Tentacles_Press_TheStrangersinPraxCompanion_09December2024 (This is the one Fabian has just deleted. It has a column-formatting error from the version with minor corrections that was uploaded a month ago. That new error pushed one column ahead one page, thus stuffing up formatting for those pages and page-numbering for most of the book. It is noted inside as Version 1.5)

Tentacles_Press_TheStrangersinPraxCompanion_16January2025 This is new corrected replacement and is noted inside as 'Version 1.5 (Jan 2025)' to differentiate it from the previous one with the formatting error. It also has one minor correction (something I spotted when fixing the formatting) and one promo image - and related text - updated at the end of the book. 

Edited January 17 by Ian A. Thomson