Dyfed ca 480 AD (Celtic Myth/Camelot/Infinite Worlds)

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

What about the others? Are they balanced? Cool? Fun? Evocative?

They're reasonably evocative, but I don't know that much about Celtic mythology. Jo Walton's novel The King's Peace might well provide suitable atmosphere and details.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Comments? Other suggested power packages?

Several of your packages consist of multiple Skill Talents.

In GURPS, a Skill Talent is effectively a sub-attribute of IQ, or DX, or in a few cases both IQ and DX. As such it represents a subset of that which IQ covers, or that which DX covers, or that which IQ or DX covers.

A character with +DX "is dextreous", period, while a character with +Talent "is only dextrous when it comes to these particular activities".

It follows from this that purchasing multiple Talents is often nonsensical, and not something a cost-conscious players would be willing to do. Instead of purchasing 2 Talents, it's often more attractive to just buy up the relevant one of IQ or DX (even if you pay a few percent more, you get a lot more bang for your buck), especially if one of the Talents is a broad 10-pointer. Worse if both are broad. And even worse still so when purchasing 3 Talents.

Given that you seem to be implying that the players are to get these as "packages", e.g. everything under Brighid, etc, it's going to be problematic, and might well cause quiet resentment among your players. Quiet, un-voiced resentment (because complainers are always munchkins and nobody wants to be accused of munchkinry).

You need to try much harder to stick to one Skill Talent per package.



Also, you've overlooked the opportunity to apply Limitations to Skill Talents. GURPS Fantasy talks a bit about that, giving Preparation Required as just one example, but there are numerous opportunities for fun and flavourful fantasy ambience.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by johndallman

They're reasonably evocative, but I don't know that much about Celtic mythology. Jo Walton's novel The King's Peace might well provide suitable atmosphere and details.

There are a bunch of historical fantasy novels taking place in sub-Roman Britain. MZB's "Mists of Avalon" is the best known, but Gillian Bradshaw's "Down the Long Wind"-trilogy seems to be better researched, and to be less about pushing a particular agenda. I highly recommend the first in the trilogy in particular, "Hawk of May".

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by johndallman

They're reasonably evocative, but I don't know that much about Celtic mythology. Jo Walton's novel The King's Peace might well provide suitable atmosphere and details.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

There are a bunch of historical fantasy novels taking place in sub-Roman Britain. MZB's "Mists of Avalon" is the best known, but Gillian Bradshaw's "Down the Long Wind"-trilogy seems to be better researched, and to be less about pushing a particular agenda. I highly recommend the first in the trilogy in particular, "Hawk of May".

I'll make a note of these and see if they can be obtained. I found Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles utterly superb, but another series whose author I can't recall (all books were named in the style 'Dreaming the...') did not impress me. Matriarchal liberal-democrat Green conservationist Celts who were morally and culturally infinitely superior to brutish Romans, I seem to remember. Edit: Ah, they were Manda Scott's Boudica series. I found Simon Scarrow's Eagle series of militaray historical fiction a preferable treatment of the period of the Roman subjugation of the island.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Matriarchal liberal-democrat Green conservationist Celts who were morally and culturally infinitely superior to brutish Romans, I seem to remember. Edit: Ah, they were Manda Scott's Boudica series. I found Simon Scarrow's Eagle series of militaray historical fiction a preferable treatment of the period of the Roman subjugation of the island.

I don't know whether to laugh or vomit.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I'll make a note of these and see if they can be obtained. I found Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles utterly superb, but another series whose author I can't recall (all books were named in the style 'Dreaming the...') did not impress me. Matriarchal liberal-democrat Green conservationist Celts who were morally and culturally infinitely superior to brutish Romans, I seem to remember. Edit: Ah, they were Manda Scott's Boudica series. I found Simon Scarrow's Eagle series of militaray historical fiction a preferable treatment of the period of the Roman subjugation of the island.

You and Jason might want to stay away from MZB's novel, then. There are sequels to it, increasingly written by Diana L. Paxson, especially after MZB's death, but I've only read the first.

[DanHoward]

Some of the epic poetry of the region such as the Ulster Cycle might provide some inspiration.

The Táin Bó Cúalnge is probably the most famous of these
http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/Cooley/

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

I don't know whether to laugh or vomit.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

You and Jason might want to stay away from MZB's novel, then. There are sequels to it, increasingly written by Diana L. Paxson, especially after MZB's death, but I've only read the first.

I don't really mind when authors make a fictional society or even fantasize a historical society explicitly with the intent of exploring political ideas, theirs or others. The realm of speculative fiction would be poor indeed if not for many works where there is some degree of that going on.

I just mind when it's poorly done.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I don't really mind when authors make a fictional society or even fantasize a historical society explicitly with the intent of exploring political ideas, theirs or others. The realm of speculative fiction would be poor indeed if not for many works where there is some degree of that going on.

I just mind when it's poorly done.

Celts were a historical society and were not matriarchal liberal green democrats. Cattle raiding is presumably not a sport that would please animal rights activists to start with. Not to mention eating stolen cattle.

[Anders]

There's a book called AD 500 that's about a fictitious expedition to the British Isles from Byzantium. I can recommend it.