Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-03-2017, 02:23 PM   #81
LoneWolf23k
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Well, to be fair, the current version of GURPS Banestorm actually does have an advanced timeline from the original, who's timeline ended in 1989, while the new one ends at 2004, the time of the first printing.
LoneWolf23k is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2017, 04:28 PM   #82
voodoo54
 
voodoo54's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Southern Carolina
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

I enjoy the Banestorm setting. I'm glad it was separated from fantasy and made it into its own source book. It's specific enough to give you a good idea of what's going on and where to start but leaves a lot of room for the GM to fill in. I understand this might be a little intimidating to new GMs, but most of us are not new to RPGs. What I would like to see is a PDF series on the different locations in Ytarria. A separate PDF for Megalos, Zarak, the Orc Lands, etc. detailing the major cities, towns, dangerous places to explore, and Key NPCs. Maybe a detailed adventure to get started in that area as well as some adventure seeds for follow on adventures. I think that would regenerate some interest in the setting without causing to many issues. If you have your own setting and campaign going on don't buy the PDFs.
voodoo54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 12:58 PM   #83
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johansen View Post
I ask you Yrth fans, what do you want to see?

I'd like detailed baronies and even duchies in Megalos. We got Hark Wood for Caithness but Megalos tends to work differently due to the higher manna levels and more powerful state.
Agreed. Seeing how magic reworks the law and the power structure would be very interesting and widely useful in many sorts of fantasy games.

Quote:
I'd like some detailed wizard's guilds. Chapterhouse maps, personalities, secret lore, stuff like that.
Again, good in itself and useful beyond Yrth.

Quote:
Adventures or perhaps more appropriately interesting events, people, and places for the PCs to interact with.

Detailed cities with maps are always appropriate.

A solitaire adventure or two would be sweet. Maybe a merchant caravan journey or a coastal merchant ship adventure. Though a good rational dungeon like the sewers of Megalos would be okay.
Seconded.

Quote:
I'd really like a big poster map printed on canvas. I actually have the skills and access to the equipment (I've been screen printing professionally for 28 years) but I don't have the rights.
Good idea. An Atlas sold as a Pdf but printed on order would also be good. Especially if you could print both labeled and unlabeled versions of the maps.

I'd like more details on each Kingdom/subsector. A solid pdf on each section.

Some information of continents beyond Yttarria would be pleasing. Maybe the Banestorm brought people from several different versions of Africa to a southern continent.

Some details on Yrth's moon and solar system with alternate population choices would also be grand.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 01:00 PM   #84
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
China and India analogues on the other side of Muslim lands, along with a Silk Road passing through the latter to get to the former. Also some "dark" unexplored lands that they'd have to go around if trying to open a sea trade route. Tack that onto an unknown and unexplored western continent for attempts to Columbus a trade route west to the Far East.

Does Yrth have any Mongol/Golden Horde types? If not, I'd like to see some.
Seconded, especially if they draw on several different versions of each. Just as Yttarria is a print the legend Europe, they should be larger than life too.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 01:05 PM   #85
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by patchwork View Post
The Ministry of Serendipity's Book of the First Earth. What they understand about this world, especially what they understand incorrectly. And there really, really should be a Book of the First Gabrook and Book of the First Orendil too.
I think a whole book would be a bit much, but their view of Earth would be useful/interesting.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 01:34 PM   #86
LoneWolf23k
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
I think a whole book would be a bit much, but their view of Earth would be useful/interesting.
Maybe a book on the Ministry of Serendipity? I did conceive of a MoS campaign concept, adapting a version of GURPS Black Ops through the lens of an old Suppressed Transmission article that reimagined the Black Ops throughout history, specifically the Medieval version.

I could see a lot of potential in a MoS campaign where you're part of the Ministry's covert ops division, hunting down menaces to the stability of the Empire in the form of forbidden lore, either magical, technological or political.
LoneWolf23k is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 08:41 PM   #87
Joseph Paul
Custom User Title
 
Joseph Paul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

What I want is a small introductory campaign. It needs to be able to present the planned features of the setting to the players and it needs to make it easy for a GM to get it going. My go to example of this is Sun County for Runequest.
It uses a limited part of a particular region of the Gloranthan continent of Genertela. That gets fleshed out with a leader, NPCs, some politics, some villages, and maps.
A set of scenarios that introduces players to the cults, culture, and chaos of Glorantha.

It gives the means to create local soldier and militia units (files of 16) pretty much on the fly - they are important/useful to some of the scenarios. GURPS really needs to adopt something like this rather than telling GMs "there is a horde of Orcs/Elves/bandersbatchi in the area - have fun statting them up".
It gives the possibility for the PCs to gain a holding of their own. A fixer-upper to be sure but it could be a base for future action and it gives the characters a tie to the area and the local politics.

Mysteries in Banestorm are often just mentioned with no details about what is going on. Which leaves new-to-GURPS refs hanging. For each piece of strangeness how about 3-6 ideas of what it is so that the GM can pick one and go and the players won't necessarily know which option is in play. Or a supplement that does this and adds more potential mysteries to the mix. Even overarching meta plots to be chosen and worked into the adventures a GM runs. Perhaps Yrth and the Banestorm are not what we have thought they were?

Pre-stat all enemies and make thug sheets for encounters so it is easier to run both 'out of the box' and 'at the table'.

If there is an encounter with something that is in another book – stat it or repeat it in the adventure. I don't want to see – 'Avalanche occurs see ppxx Fantasy'. That breaks the flow at the table.

Likewise I don't want to read a discussion of how to transplant this adventure to Tales of the Solar Patrol. Cutting the requirement that all adventures cross sell on their ability to be dropped anywhere should free up some space to make this adventure better.

Other things I would like to see is a 'Janes – All of Yrth's Forces'. Size, quality, organization, equipment (personal to siege to transport), and doctrine. Include templates, lenses and stats for a cross section of a kingdom's military. Levies, militia, sergeants, captains, knights, squires, exceptional (or not so exceptional) commanders and magic users. Bring out the national qualities in the templates. Show an ideal small sub-unit that might be a good place for adventurers to get a start.
__________________
Joseph Paul
Joseph Paul is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2017, 11:34 PM   #88
4rc4num
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by acrosome View Post
A Tredroy update would be on my wish list, but only if it includes a decent map. And, hell, include maps and a gazetteer of a 100-mile radius or so around the city, too.

Something similar for Megalos the City, I suppose.

Heck, while I'm dreaming, a mapset of Ytarria, with much more detail. Like, Harn/Atlas Kelestia level of detail. Commissioning it from one of the masters at cartographersguild.com would be a good way to go- Daelin comes to mind but there a a lot of excellent artists there. I have discussed this elsewhere. A great opportunity to be definitive about Ytarria, and show that the nomad lands, orclands, etc., are really much larger and complex than previously presented.

Expansion of the 'wild' areas in a gazetteer. One could be for the nomad lands, one for the orclands, etc. Heck, even Zarak. Including detailed maps. (Sort of a running theme, that.)

I also agree that "the crusades transplanted to a place with magic" is a bit limiting in scope. As I said on the other thread, the real ideal for me would be completely rebooting with the banestorm major in 700AD or so. Maybe with a gnostic church ascendant and other kewlness. Or maybe even a bit earlier. But anyway- the intent is that interesting but now essentially extinct belief systems and cultures could be evolved over 1400 years or so. Zoroastrianism. The Harsha Empire. Manicheanism. Tang China. Syncretic Hellenistic Empires. The frikkin Vikings! Other Gothic cultures, while we're at it. The Maya. Shugendo. The Avars and the Persians. The Khazar Khaganate. Yazdanism. The Sao and Axum from Africa. Tocharians. Picts.
A good MAP is essential ! Daelin is one of the best choice in cartographers guild !

One revised world map, one regional map delimiting the nobles territories (help to give a notion of how big is a region of the map) and one big city map like Megalos or Tredoy would be all we need.

Plus, Ytarria need some new countries to add some Polytheism like Celtic and Greek Gods. But not all pagan religions in one country, maybe 3-4 small countries. And call that the "Pagan alliance". The best place to put then is Nomads territory, this place is very big, is nearly empty and Megalos would love some Pagan countries as neighbors.

About Sahud, maybe expand Sahud territory to the last forest alongside of Koriryu no Umi (in Orclands map). This double the Sahud territory without any major change in the map.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joseph Paul View Post

Mysteries in Banestorm are often just mentioned with no details about what is going on. Which leaves new-to-GURPS refs hanging. For each piece of strangeness how about 3-6 ideas of what it is so that the GM can pick one and go and the players won't necessarily know which option is in play. Or a supplement that does this and adds more potential mysteries to the mix. Even overarching meta plots to be chosen and worked into the adventures a GM runs. Perhaps Yrth and the Banestorm are not what we have thought they were?


Other things I would like to see is a 'Janes – All of Yrth's Forces'. Size, quality, organization, equipment (personal to siege to transport), and doctrine. Include templates, lenses and stats for a cross section of a kingdom's military. Levies, militia, sergeants, captains, knights, squires, exceptional (or not so exceptional) commanders and magic users. Bring out the national qualities in the templates. Show an ideal small sub-unit that might be a good place for adventurers to get a start.
This.

Plus something similar to Cthulhu mythos in Yrth would be awesome. Blackwoods looks like a sketch of this idea.

Last but not least, Ytarria need some clarification about:

1. How Magic affect society and Tech levels (how common are magic itens, the price, how many mages, list of magic that the guilds sell and the price, etc...)

2. How magic affect the politics, aka magic organizations vs religion/church;

3. What magic is against the law !!!! Necromancy is clearly against the law, but other spells can be forbidden too, like Mind Control, shapeshift, et cetera. Every country need its own laws against some spells.

4. Some information about "ethereal planes of existence" aka the world of spirits, angels, demons, gods, et cetera.

5. A clearly explanation about noble rank difference, with information of how much big is a Duke territory compared with a Baron, how many magic itens have a noble (some nobles are mages but the non mages nobles need some magic item to make some sense and for adventure purpose), how big is the economy/resources of the feud (Harkwood have some sketch), et cetera.

6.Yrth Fantasy Tech !!!! Yes, all TL3-4^ things from Fantasy tech, like mechanichal android/automaton.
4rc4num is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-05-2017, 11:21 AM   #89
JMason
 
JMason's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cockeysville, MD
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4rc4num View Post
1. How Magic affect society and Tech levels (how common are magic itens, the price, how many mages, list of magic that the guilds sell and the price, etc...)

2. How magic affect the politics, aka magic organizations vs religion/church;

3. What magic is against the law !!!! Necromancy is clearly against the law, but other spells can be forbidden too, like Mind Control, shapeshift, et cetera. Every country need its own laws against some spells.

4. Some information about "ethereal planes of existence" aka the world of spirits, angels, demons, gods, et cetera.
I'd love to see a long take on how magic effects criminal justice? How can anyone get away with crime when a mage can just look into the past and see exactly what happened? Do organizations like the thieves guild supply magic dampening tools to hide their crimes? etc.
__________________
---
My Blog: Dice and Discourse - My adventures in GURPS and thoughts on table top RPGs.
JMason is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-05-2017, 04:04 PM   #90
David Johansen
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Default Re: What Do You Want For Yrth

One of the appeals of Yrth is that it's a bit more medieval, say, good Hollywood medieval, rather than steam punk or such. Still the effects of magic on society can have a few interesting outcomes. Many of these will be available to the rich and powerful without much improving the lives of peasants.

Reduced mortality rates, improved crop yields, drought and pestilence mitigated, better lighting, better evidence. One might argue that these things would lead to a more advanced society, but as necessity is the mother of invention they might actually slow it down. You can also argue that it cancels out by the time you have curses and demons and magic being used to undermine evidence. As Yrth is a medival fantasy setting I'd err towards the impact cancelling out but have extreme examples of the good and bad here and there.

As for the other realms, I suspect the worlds that gave Yrth Satrys, Centaurs, Goblins, and Trolls still exist. I would further suggest that demons come from such a world rather than being philosophically extraplanar beings. It's not a Cthulhu setting but it's easy enough to add such entities if you want them. But just suppose there are actually two or more Banestorms and they each have their own agendas.
David Johansen is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
wishlist, yrth

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:03 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.