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| JAMES ROMM |
Alexander's success is so epic and unprecedented it is why it lives on today!
Yet it is what happens AFTER his death that is far more thrilling: a messy empire wide chaotic civil war, power grabby men and women, an era of skullduggery that to me is 20x MORE interesting!
You want epic battles? The era of the Successor has got'em by the dozen! Betrayal, double crosses, rebellions, mercenaries, politics, strong women and strong men each claiming and vying to carve out a slice of Alexander's old empire and make it their own! Let me put it this way, if the struggles between the Houses of Game of Thrones hold any interest to you? Then you need to start diving into the real deal!
James Romm's book Ghost on the Throne is a fantastically readable, short and comprehensive look at this era. This is where I started my Successor summer reading and if the above sounds interesting to you--do yourself a favor and get it! Anyone who likes Game of Thrones intrigue should devour this history--it would make a FANTASTIC TV series for HBO or someone else to air as well....maybe someday.
Speaking of someday, I am going through final edits of FROSTCRAWL this weekend and am HOPING (not promising) to make the FREE PDF available for free download Sunday. Again--HOPING not promising.
Assuming the PDF happens, then I would expect to make a hard copy pocket book version available at cost 1 week later, next weekend and for the weekend only!
At a later time, I think I will add the entire Frostcrawl work as a bonus section into a combined Blades & Black Magic hardcover.
So back to editing and thanks very much for your kind patience and continued support.
I hope to post again with good news and free stuff Sunday!
Yeah, I first ran across the Diadochi as part of a Strategy I scenario back in about 1972 or so, when my brother and I were working our way through that first-ever "monster game" during our summer vacation. I had no idea at the time (heck I was only 12 and in what, 7th grade?) that the AFTERWARDS part of Alexander the Great's empire building was far more important (and had much more impact on our world today) than the conquests themselves! It was an alien concept to my mind, which at that time (keep in mind, all my male relatives had fought in World War II, as did every one of my male school teachers at that time) was steeped in the concept that the WAR was what mattered, not the aftermath!
ReplyDeleteI think that scenario is actually what eventually pushed me down the path of getting my BA and MA in history... ;-)
And, BTW, a future project for YOU, Chris -- maybe build a B&BM splat book on the Diadochi! It has everything but the magic, and is set in all those perfectly Conan-esque locations after all... (And you could always play it that all the Wizards/Sorcerers that everyone THOUGHT were real, really were!) Of course, I'd ask you to do that AFTER you finish your massive B&BM hardback tome with the fold-out map of your B&BM world! :-)
Jeff thanks for sharing a bit of your own personal interest/interaction with the Diadochi era! Amazing to see what shapes and impacts each of us!
DeleteWoof! I would love to tackle this era as a source book--along with the Anabasis!
...but I have a few things to march on and conquer first! Frostcrawl, then Black Magic then Cauldron 2. I am still striving to get all 3 done this year.
Do folks really want a BBM map? Hmm, well that could be a thing down the road too. Cartography is expensive to have done and since I am a self funded fellow I rely on game sales to give me opportunity to re-invest in my games, so fingers crossed enough folks like them to make a map possible to do and to do right!
Once these are done then I still want to finish a long gestating "jobs" book for HOW/BBM. After that..well we will see what the muse has for me next!
OMG! A JOBS book?!?!? for BOTH HOW AND BBM? Okay, here, take my money! ;-) And yes, I think I would like to see your B&BM world map someday.
DeleteAnother question for you...is there any possibility of Mythic Ireland being published as a print book one of these days? Between them, it and Raedwald have pretty much covered the Islands of Albion! ;-)
I LOVE the mythic Ireland work of John Briquelet. Maybe John will let it be included as the focus of an issue of Cauldron? Hmmmmm
DeleteThe "JOBS" book is basically an assortment of potential starting "class" ideas for the Player that doubles as NPC's for the referee. So if you wanted your character to start out as an abbot or a bailiff it would be in there as a concept.
Nice! (I assumed it was something like that -- archetypes, or "classes" in a game that doesn't really "have" such things; "examples on how those characters might look," might be a better description, I guess...)
DeleteI'll be looking forward to that one!
Such a fascinating time. And think of some of the scenario possibilities. The hijacking of Alexander's body. The struggle over and fate of Alexander's brother and and infant son. The machinations of Olympias. Not to mention the Diodachi themselves! And that's just the immediate aftermath. So much good stuff for characters to get involved in.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't even think of the possibilities of a television show.
Hey Narmer! It is incredible to think that Ptolemy's lineage ruled Egypt for centuries until Cleopatra(VII) and her affairs with Caesar and Marc Anthony led to the end of his line.
DeleteThat era has so many interesting personalities, dilemmas and dangers it is ripe for RPG usage!