My plan is to clear it up, clean it up, remove ambiguity and condense it down. The revised core rule book will also drop in price and there will be less overall content.
It will contain the core rule, skills and equipment There will be some IQ 8, IQ 9 , and IQ 10 spells, some creatures and some treasures. The core rules price will also drop, most likely in half to $10 print and $6 PDF.
Over in the forums I set up a "revised edition" thread where you can post your issues that need to be fixed.
I am clear already that the Berserk combat action needs work. :)
i very much love this plan :)
ReplyDeletethe new forum design: the chick at the top is easy on the eyes but the colors in the posting areas are very hard on the eyes. i know i can change my theme in my settings but shouldn't the default be a little easier to read? maybe i'm the only one. i turned 40 this last year and i have noticed my ability to focus my vision has decreased remarkedly in the last few years.
well that was weird. not it's back to the old white/blue theme before i logon. before there was an attractive lady holding a lantern at the top and the logo was "Sinister Templates". nevermind i guess.
DeleteNo worries, just experimenting. :)
Deletewill the revised edition still contain all of the referee stuff? ;)
ReplyDeleteyes
DeleteHonestly, I'm skeptical about reducing the core book. As it stands now it's a tight little product, it just needs some TLC to clean it up. That's where .pdfs are the ideal format 'cuz you can literally make a living document with updates & revisions over the life of the product. Yes this means printed books become outdated but that's the nature of print. To satisfy print book buyers just provide a bridge document with the errata and revisions.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to be skeptical! I do not really want a constantly changing core rules set, I'd like to get it clean and right one time. I have plans for interesting optional rules, but before I can add the chrome--I do need to insure the engine is sound and all the wheels are the same size.
DeleteNot digging the idea of re-buying the core book for clarifications/ revisions/ errata. I also like RW's idea of a errata/ revisions only print book.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly create an "errata/bridge" document no problem. I understand what you are saying about buying again and part of that concern is why I am also lowering the price of the core book and thinning the book down.
DeleteKudos to you sir for producing such owrk for others to enjoy in any format - something I envy in others and wish I could do myself. So you have my utmost respect. Flexibility can be a good thing within a market place, the one advantage being of a .pdf format (to my mind) is thatof storage: I have shelves groaning under the weight of rule books and I don't want to add more, whereas a .pdf file weighs nothing and sits inside my pc, and I can print it off anytime I wish.
ReplyDeleteBut I alos appreciate the feel of a printed adventure, the artwork, the layout, quality of paper. So I can see things from both sides. That's the important part, serving the customer need. Great job :)
Thanks for your insight Mark and I appreciate the kind words. Brother YOU CAN do it!! Just have to commit time and effort and YOU WILL get it done. There is nothing special or different about me--so rest assured you can and should make it happen! You get one spin around the blue marble so make your mark Mark!
DeleteChiming in a bit late here, Chris, but I wanted to get TTT before I even started to give this some thought. Now that's done, and after browsing through it and refreshing my mind on the contents of Magi Carta, I'm totally on board with slimming down the core book and making it more affordable.
ReplyDeleteTaking those in reverse order, I've found it's easier to get players to buy into new systems (especially indies) when I can just gift them the book, or at least have a small stack at the table. I'll do that for around $10, but not so much for $20.
As for slimming, you know me: Metagaming Old School. It's amazing how much game you can get out of 20-30 pages. Melee+Wizard was pretty powerful. Holmes D&D at 48 pages, Moldvay at 64, even moreso. I think that Basic D&D (5E) at 100+ pages is too much, and many Quick Starts these days are too little.
I love HOW Core, but with MC and TTT and others out now, this is the perfect time to take a fresh look and find that perfect balance between "up and running in 15-20 minutes" and "enough for many sessions of a variety of play." From there, players can expand on their own or look to the advanced supplements, much like ITL, AM and AW back in the day.
The other thing is to use the available space to show how HOW is its own thing, how it has its own feel that is different from D&D, the various old school clones, 13th Age, C&C, etc., and even TFT. My feeling is that that is done through the prose, the art, basic character options, and the spells and monsters included. Example, Lamentations of the Flame Princess imparts an atmosphere that makes it feel (and play) so different than, say, S&W or any version of D&D. Back in the day, TFT felt so much different than T&T, D&D or RuneQuest (all different from each other), and it was much more than just system. Perhaps the choices you make now can help create a light implied setting and atmosphere, just like TFT and Classic Traveller (1-3 only) did. Does that make sense?
I'll put it another way. TFT adventures like the Death Tests or Treasure of the Silver Dragon didn't *feel* anything like what was coming out of TSR. There was something about Gargoyles, Octopi with swords and 7-hex Dragons, and spells like Summon Myrmidon, Illusions and Dazzle that made TFT "not D&D". In Classic Traveller, the early Third Imperium was barely defined, but defined just well enough to be Dumarest and Flandry, not Kirk and Skywalker. At the same time, we had to wait awhile for TFT:ITL, and we expanded it on our own, probably made it more like D&D for a bit. With Traveller, we couldn't resist setting it in a galaxy far away. And in both cases, as more supplements came out, we would pick and choose and make the games and setting our own. With MC, TTT and other supplements like Cauldron, we have those tools in advance for HOW. But I'd love to see HOW have a different starting point that was both easier to jump into, but still implied a fantasy universe that was all its own. Swords & Sorcery? Low Magic? Magic Everywhere? Humanocentric, or a conflict between two major races (those above against those below?)?
This is already much longer than I'd intended. I'll save the rest for the forum after I have digested TTT some more. Oh, just two other specific things. First, HOW spells start to get interesting at IQ 12. 8-10 seems a little low IMO. Second, instead of Orcs of the High Mountains, a sandbox wilderness area with some points of interest could be more useful. Put Helsmuth in there, and perhaps make OotHM available as an optional free PDF.
Keep rockin', Chris. It's been a fantastic 2+ years, and I love to see where the game is going. See you on the forums.
RSJ--I really appreciate your insight, your clarity in reasoning, and especially your time in spelling out in detail an opportunity to improve HOW. If I were to boil down your excellent points and thoughts--you see HOW as really needing and benefiting from an implied or defining fantasy motif. A "feel" or "theme" that gives it a specific identity.
DeleteThat is some meaty food for thought my friend, and I will start digesting it.
Thank you for all your years of support RSJ, I really do appreciate it and look forward to hearing more of your great ideas and thoughts.
My pleasure! Yes, you got it, though HOW doesn't *need* that identity. In fact, in re-reading the intro to MC last night, I accept that such a thing may be counter to the approach you've taken all along. I do, for instance, segregate spells and magic into different "colleges" as you suggest, because my own implied setting for TFT (and now HOW) has always been more like that of SPI's DragonQuest than TFT's Cidri.
ReplyDeleteHOW is very much a toolkit, the visit to an "International Buffet" in Vegas where you can load up a plate with some pasta, a burrito, and some lo mein. TFT was similar with Cidri, where the Gates could conceivably give you any kind of setting, monsters and artifacts: Unicorn Gold, or Security Station? Flared trousers or shiny Excalibur plate? You choose!
Perhaps it's really more of a desire on my part to see what's in your head, rather than any expert opinion that the game would benefit from it. HOW has become much more than "TFT Plus", and I think it deserves an identity as strong as "weird fantasy" is to LotFP. Maybe it's the subject for a different supplement entirely ("Brandonville!"), and the Core should stay as generic as possible. It's not as if HOW is flavorless. But sometimes that "International Buffet" can be overwhelming, and sometimes people just want to try Thai food because they've never had it before.
So maybe in the new Core, you pick and choose from your own buffet. Dwarves are Mountain Dwarves. Elves are Grau Elves. The forests are ruled by Grox, and the shores are always under threat from Octopo. Humans primarily occupy the plains, breed like rabbits, and their cities and "technology" are in direct conflict with a world of magic and nature. And the Titans may still exist, biding their time...
That kind of thing :)
When will new version be released?
ReplyDeleteWilliam, my goal is September. Also note it's a revision cleaning and clarifying the game mechanics are unchanged.
DeleteThanks. I don't own this yet. Waiting for that before I buy.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the status on sword & shield? The last I saw was v2.
ReplyDelete