Powered by GURPS... Dungeon Fantasy?

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

What adventures want is different playtesting, not more or less. Playtesters probably spent as much time calibrating N for DFA1 as they did calibrating reaction time

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

I really liked the 3e DnD one page dungeons people made and have used several of them

One big thing that made those successful was the common pool of known monsters to draw from

Agreed. Getting a set of known monsters, with a fairly well calibrated CER (as was done in Its a Threat) will go along way to making adventures that can be re-used and recalibrated for different party compositions. Also allows for easier adventure building as players grow.

I wonder if Kromm went the 'X points to "level Up"' route with this set? MAN that would make things ALOT easier to write adventures for. If you knew where the charachters were in combat ability, you could write those adventures with a certain level of confidence and purchase them with the same level of confidence.

Also, I wonder if there is a good way to incentivize feedback especially for adventures?

Originally Posted by robertsconley

D&D 5e handles this by highlighting monsters and in NPCs in bold and expect you go to an appendix or the core book for the actual stats.

I liked the 'inline' notation used in the 1st ed and Basic sets. prevented alot of page flipping


Nymdok
See? This is further proof that all conversations ultimately come full circle.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

Iconic Characters?

One wonders if an NPC Codex with characters of the various templates (built 100% as per the template, plus quirks and the extra points from there assigned somewhere sensible) with a sketchy backstory would sell...

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

One wonders if an NPC Codex with characters of the various templates (built 100% as per the template, plus quirks and the extra points from there assigned somewhere sensible) with a sketchy backstory would sell...

I would think so, using D&D as a guide (regdar the iconic fighter frex?) but the iconics in the back of 4e dont seem to get too much text service here on the forums so I wonder about their popularity.

I think its a viable idea. I still remember Strongheart, Warduke, and Kelek the wizard fondly, but YMMV.

I dont know that its a good enough idea to anchor its own book per se, but it might be nice to have one in each subsequent adventure, or supplement.

Nymdok

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

Over the years, I've written something north of 130 items for SJ Games, some of them freestanding products. I'm reasonably adept at house styles at this point, and I like to think I turn in prose which is fairly easy to deal with.

And I am not even remotely qualified to be an editor. Writing and editing are related but separate skills.

Ah well.
I know the value of a good editor, its why I said pay them proper. Especially as you say the ability to be objective but sympathetic and understand how well it works.
I am actually a better editor than writer because the thinking is so different. Not that I claim professional ability at either.
You also need to be able to edit for audience perspective and anticipate their questions while being concise.
So you reduce the need for FAQs, yet don't bore the reader.

I had hoped that several of the regular authors would be good editors as well but you know your skills and mindset better than I do.
Thanks for taking the suggestion seriously.

[DouglasCole]

Ninety minutes of goodness with Sean Punch on Gaming Ballistic - the Topic? Of course: the Dungeon Fantasy Boxed Set. There will be enhancements to the video later - post production and a transcript. But for now, here's some great information from The Man Himself.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Refplace

I had hoped that several of the regular authors would be good editors as well but you know your skills and mindset better than I do.
Thanks for taking the suggestion seriously.

Well, I certainly need an editor. I MIGHT be qualified to rules check someone else's crunchy books (I do that during playtests, I've got a knack for spotting rules issues), but certainly not the English (non-native and all that). Trust me when I say that I barely recognize my works after they're given an editorial pass (and yet 95% of the words are the same).

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Looks interesting!

One thing SJG is definitively NOT interested in, for example, is DF settings. They're marginally interested in adventures, but not settings. I wonder, if, with the release of the DF boxed set, they might create a special imprint (so it's clear the product is NOT an official DF or SJG product) that would allow 3rd parties to create such stuff for sale (maybe even restrict it to W23? After all, SJG runs that store). Maybe you can NOT reproduce any of the rules text from any GURPS book, but you can release sample characters built with the templates, unique monsters, etc. Also, maybe you can create new modifiers/variant traits, but in doing so you also give SJG a license to use that in ANY of their products?

Such an imprint would come with a license, a logo and a text that must be included in the work, and SJG would get standard store fees on each sale through the shop?

These ideas would be interesting. Some options to consider.

• Require publication only be through W23 so SJG can pull a work if they determine too much infringement. Some authors wont like that requirement but SJG reputation among freelancers should help there.
• Refer existing monsters to the source book rather than write them up again. Easier with the new monsters book
• NPCs and monsters could be resticted to descriptions and pointless builds. Mr. Z uses Acrobatics, and attacks with his rapier at -16, often fienting.

Adventures, Encounters, Locations, and Supporting Cast could be a simpler testing bed and draw in more new people. Will be interesting to see how many vote for the stretch adventure vs. Magic items.

Another thing I would like to see is systemless settings and adventures on W23. We have a few systemless items, though finding them can be tough, especially if just browsing.
A good description can inspire and leave it to the reader to stat it out. Most would prefer stats and SJG does allow thing like Animalia so might allow write ups but even without that some original content is cool enough to pay for.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by robertsconley

D&D 5e handles this by highlighting monsters and in NPCs in bold and expect you go to an appendix or the core book for the actual stats.

GURPS adventures essentially do this as well (see the adventure template and Mirror of the Fire Demon), but the specific location in which stats appear in a book doesn't change the page count, and there's not yet enough of a body of monsters to support going completely to page references in other books.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

How much playtesting was needed for DFA1? I'd imagine that adventures need more playtesting than rules expansions of the same size, especially in the case of GURPS, where most rules expansions are refinements of the Basic Set (like Sorcery is).

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

What adventures want is different playtesting, not more or less. Playtesters probably spent as much time calibrating N for DFA1 as they did calibrating reaction time modifiers for Boardroom and Curia.

A lot. More specifically, I ran it something like six times total (about 4 during hte playtest and 2 after to make sure my conclusions were correct). The whole thing. Three times for my gaming group at different points and three for utterly random folks at a game store who had no idea they were playtesting anything. Matt's concept of N-Ratings eventually sparked my "It's a Threat" rules. I just wish I'd had the idea during the playtest because it would have been much easier to calibrate the encounters...which were not exactly easy at times. Still, Matt did an amazing job with that PDF and it remains one of my favorite DF books to date.

[DouglasCole]

Dungeon Fantasy Boxed Set: Interview with Line Editor Sean Punch


I had the opportunity to sit down once again with GURPS Line Editor Sean Punch for a 90-minute interview concerning the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Boxed Set.

The interview is fairly clear, though Sean and I both talk fast, and there will be some interruptions in the flow.

This is the first Firing Squad video in over a year . . . sorry for making you wait so long!

Without further ado, here's the video!