Time for the next wish list?

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Mexico <-- Some countries are just made for adventures. Between its wild west and Aztec history, current day drug wars, pulp era wrestling superheroes, ancient ruins filled with who knows what, and just some really cool culture and a lot of really interesting people from the past and the present, Mexico is not just a great country, but a great country for rpgs. The same approach could be taken with many other countries or regions, too.

There wasn't room for all of my loadouts in the Low-Tech Armor Loadouts book so I kept out all of the New World ones for a Pyramid article. They would work in this issue.

"Tools of the Trade: Rogues" (for historical/fantasy) -- like the Wizards and Clerics issues, but for the thievish side of the street.

I have already completed an article on concealed armour that would be perfect for this.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by Proteus

"Modern Locations" (for present-day) -- with individual articles smaller and less detailed than stand-alone e23 pieces. An oil platform, a band's touring bus, a custom yacht or plane, etc.

I've been saying for a while that this is exactly the sort of thing that e23 should be selling. Fully fleshed-out locations complete with NPCs that can be dropped into a gaming session with little prep-work required beforehand.

[DanHoward]

Just want to say that I like pretty much all of the above suggestions and hope that as many as possible get used as future Pyramid themes.

[J. Edward Tremlett]

My list, stealing a few good ideas :)

Supers II: more capes would be excellent
Steampunk II: more gears, too.
Horror: can you scare US?
Urban Fantasy II: always a good time
Cyberpunk II: We live in the future
Monster Hunters II: Because we need more
Dieselpunk: 1920's to WWII
Ironpunk: pre-Steam
Pirates: olde or new!
Resumed Transmission: (articles in the style of Suppressed Transmission with a game nugget or four at the end)
South of the Border: Mexico sounds awesome, but let's do everything South of Texas, as one person suggested
Africa: Anything to do with the continent
Australia: see above
Asia: as above
Middle East: repeat
Russia: yep
Europe: uh huh
Sword and Sorcery: the pulp side of fantasy gaming
Ghosts: anything spooky
Zombies: I'm sure we can fill this up, right?
Space Invasions: they're always fun
Atomic Horror: calling the 50's
Colonization - Past: march or set sail to new shores
Colonization - Present: our attempts to carve out territory in near space, under the waves, or in exotic locations
Colonization - Future: boldly go where no split infinitive has gone before

[Michele]

Has anybody mentioned social engineering? Pyramid 3/39 had a nice article about that in one of the specific settings for the issue's theme, but what about a whole issue about this kind of things, with adventures, campaign settings, optional rules etc. focused on social maneuvering?

[nondescript handle]

Originally Posted by Michele

Has anybody mentioned social engineering? [...] but what about a whole issue about this kind of things, with adventures, campaign settings, optional rules etc. focused on social maneuvering?

Oh, yes. And GM advice and aid.
E.g.:
- how to build a generic court [historical, galactic, Dwarven, whatever] or other political entity [city council, dragon moot].
- how to run many NPCs for the PCs to interact with
- how to handle intrigues/schemes/plans between NPCs that change even when the PCs aren't looking

[Refplace]

Here is a new one to add.

Hmm we need a Power Ups for Optional rules that grabs all of them and puts them in a neat tidy place, tacks on a few new ones and builds packages of them (with optional point costs using the rules exemption perk) for different genres or styles of play.
Say Bullet time, Flesh Wounds, Bullet Proof Nudity, Various harsh realism switches, etc.

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by nondescript handle

- how to build a generic court [historical, galactic, Dwarven, whatever] or other political entity [city council, dragon moot].
- how to run many NPCs for the PCs to interact with
- how to handle intrigues/schemes/plans between NPCs that change even when the PCs aren't looking

That sort of thing might loosen the focus enough for the "Adventure Design" theme someone proposed earlier; more "setting design" than "adventure design." That said, I still don't think such a theme is attention-grabbing enough to hang an entire issue around.

Perhaps the first could appear in a "Nobility / Peers of the Realm" themed issue in the "historical/fantasy" track (how to design courts, example NPCs, an adventure aimed around information-gathering and social "cutting", floor plans for a country palace, etc.).

The second could appear in an "Intrigue / Schemes and Secrecy" themed issue in the "modern-day" track (NPC plots and timelines, conspiracy construction, more spy gear, historical sources for adventure ideas, etc.).

[nondescript handle]

Originally Posted by Proteus

[...] That said, I still don't think such a theme is attention-grabbing enough to hang an entire issue around. [...]

I don't know, "Social Engineering" was focused enough for a 88 page book. And it sold quite well on e23.

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by nondescript handle

I don't know, "Social Engineering" was focused enough for a 88 page book. And it sold quite well on e23.

True enough, and you may well be right.

That said, "Social Engineering" has some exotic name attraction (tied into hacker-lingo, and all that); was written by Bill Stoddard, a writer of proven and frequent GURPS value; and deals with a topic that's both complex and (often, not always) less familiar to RPG players.

"Adventure Design," on the other hand, is an area of expertise where gaming tinkerers, of the sort GURPS tends to attract, are likely to feel far more comfortable and competent. Sure, you can always find folks humble and open enough to admit that they're always keen to learn new tricks of the trade -- and GURPS has those people, too, in spades. But "how to" books, to my limited knowledge, sometimes have trouble selling if they address topics viewed as relatively simple yet are pitched at a relatively informed audience.

Of course, the solution might be a somewhat broader and more evocative title. "Bringing the World to Life" or "Worlds of Detail", in the fantasy/historical track? That covers adventure design, particularizing NPCs, handling devious plots, introducing weird cultural features, and so on.