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Old 06-22-2017, 12:33 PM   #1
PK
 
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Default Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game


Defeating a lich
Is easier than finding
Armor in my size
— Roodnat, Ogre Cleric
If you've been reading the forums or our social media, you know that the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game is making its way through physical production on its way toward an October release. If you're anything like me, you can't wait to crack this beautiful box set open on the table and start a delve. And it's this very wait that made us wonder . . . can we do an issue that's useful even before the game itself is out? Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game shows that the answer is a resounding "Yes!"
  • You were just scouting ahead for your caravan when you suddenly crashed through a covered hole. Now that you're Trapped in the Living Tomb, can you survive the threats and use your head to find a way back to the surface? (And if so, what treasure will you bring with you?) This solo adventure from Steven Marsh has it all: action, exploration, combat, magic, and more. (Plus a sample hero, of course.) The best part is that all of the rules you need are in the adventure itself! That means the GM can print this off and hand it to a complete newbie, who will come out of it with a basic understanding of how Dungeon Fantasy and GURPS work.

  • Once a GM is comfortable creating custom adventures, it's time to think about where to go from there. Sure, even unconnected encounters are fun, but there's nothing quite like the look in your players' eyes when they realize that It's a Quest! Experienced GM Christopher Rice shows how straightforward it is to take your game's existing pieces and history, break them down into "tiles" and "touchstones," and then use those to form a "quest mosaic" that will add epicness to any campaign! And if you're in a hurry or just need some inspiration, the Random Quest Generator tables are full of people, places, plot twists, and more.

  • The GM isn't the only one who can benefit from a little bit of inspiration, though. In this month's Eidetic Memory, David Pulver presents the Heroic Background Generator -- a series of easy-to-use tables that can tell you everything about an adventurer's backstory, from how and where they were raised to the prophecies, enemies, and/or tragedy that define their life. Whether you're about to create a new PC, or need details for an NPC on the spot, you can either roll randomly or choose whatever inspires you.

  • Of course, you're probably curious about The State of the Dungeon -- that is, what's going on with the box set and all of those stretch goals? Enjoy this sneak peek behind the curtains, including a few leaks and details that you'll only find here.

  • And we defeated the orc who was guarding this month's Random Thought Table, which looks at the other half of creating a hero -- making someone you'll actually want to play.

Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2704
Preview PDF: http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2704_preview.pdf
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Last edited by PK; 06-22-2017 at 12:50 PM.
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:46 PM   #2
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Trapped in the Living Tomb Deathtest is back!
Seriously a nice solo adventure to help people learn the game and have fun. I like the layout and writing of this article. I would like to see more as standalone adventures.
It's a Quest is a surprising read. Chris spends the first bit on a discussion of Sandbox vs. Railroads and gives not only a good explanation but help towards running either. It codifies what I already knew from experience but benefits from laying it out plain and simple. It even prompted a blog post
Then goes into a bit on Quests and ends with lots of tables. I think the first two sections were the best but will come back to the quest portion for a more careful read later.
Eidetic Memory: Heroic Background Generator: Looks pretty complete and diverse. What I really want are some good name generators though.
State of the Dungeon Nice read on whats happening and don't forget the forward which had another bit of news.
Random Thought Table works well with It's a Quest and the Eidetic Memory article and gives advice for the player on making their character come alive.
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My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
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My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:53 PM   #3
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Solo adventure!?!?!?!

Huge cheers here!
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Old 06-22-2017, 04:18 PM   #4
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Really great idea! :) *thumbs way up*
Solo adventures are a cool thing, really fun. And moreover they are one of the greatest tools for introducing new players IMHO. "Learning by doing" usually is one of the most interesting ways to get into something.
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Old 06-22-2017, 04:45 PM   #5
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Yeah, as I leaked on Twitter a few days back, this solo adventure is (IMHO) the most ambitious thing we've ever included in an issue of Pyramid. Frankly, I'm amazed at how complete and complex Steven was able to make this while still keeping it newbie-friendly; I'm not sure if I could've pulled that off!
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Old 06-22-2017, 08:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

I love the solo adventure! Resources like this are a fantastic way to introduce new players to GURPS.

Is it legal for me to print and distribute copies? I often sponsor the gaming club at my middle school and am always touting the awesomeness of GURPS, but for many students, the learning curve is steep. This is a perfect entry point!
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Old 06-22-2017, 08:54 PM   #7
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post
It's a Quest is a surprising read. Chris spends the first bit on a discussion of Sandbox vs. Railroads and gives not only a good explanation but help towards running either. It codifies what I already knew from experience but benefits from laying it out plain and simple. It even prompted a blog post
It confirms that Christopher's experience is quite different from mine, and frankly, I think the very title "The Sandbox Is a Lie" has no place in an issue of Pyramid. It's telling a segment of the community that we're having badwrongfun. I think SMarsh should go back and edit this title out of Pyramid and reissue it as a correction; I'm actually insulted. (And that's tough to do. I liked "I Hated Them, So I Killed Them!" from Roleplayer, and got a good chuckle out of it.) Much of the advice in this section otherwise was actually pretty good, especially about having active players, but that's the case in any game. (Even in a Pathfinder railroad, life gets pretty boring if you're trying to hold back to give seven passive players their chance to shine and they just sit there.) Strangely, I liked it better than the section about railroading; roleplaying games aren't all about "collaborative storytelling." We're talking past each other, which wouldn't be bad except for calling a contrary play style a "lie."

I honestly wonder if I'm in the target market for this issue, for once. The solo adventure was the best bit, an updated "All in a Night's Work" for DF, but that's best as an intro for new GURPS players, who aren't the type who read Pyramid. I'm unlikely to go through it more than once. It might not be a bad teaching tool for one of my players, however.

The crunchy bit of "It's a Quest!" is a DF-specific version of the Adventure Generator Tables from the d30 Sandbox Companion, which happen to be two pages in that supplement that I never use, which is the exception to the rule for said supplement. After "It's a Trap!" and "It's a Threat!" I had very high hopes for the third part of that trilogy after Ghostdancer had mentioned it. Evaluating it as what it is rather than what I wanted, it seems alright but the extra layer of terminology of "tiles" and "touchstones" is a barrier to access. My gut reaction upon seeing "tile" was to start hunting Pyramid for the pre-printed tiles.

The "Heroic Background Generator" isn't bad, again a DF-specific version of another supplement (Central Casting) that I use often, but more and more, I find background is something that we tend to overblow, at least in supplements. If a background leads to interesting play, great; otherwise, it's mental masturbation on a character sheet. Having just said that, I kind of want to try it, but would have liked some suggested GURPS disadvantages or other traits for some of the entries. I'm also seeing these as being more heroic than my own games tend to be (when I first read "Eyes of the Overworld," I thought Vance was actually describing my game).
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Old 06-22-2017, 09:29 PM   #8
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rasputin View Post
It confirms that Christopher's experience is quite different from mine, and frankly, I think the very title "The Sandbox Is a Lie" has no place in an issue of Pyramid. It's telling a segment of the community that we're having badwrongfun. I think SMarsh should go back and edit this title out of Pyramid and reissue it as a correction; I'm actually insulted. (And that's tough to do.
I actually had similar but less severe reaction at the title but it is a point of view and he quickly explains what he means. And it is a valid point
I run sandbox games more than any other and the truth is I often have to prod a little during a campaign and conflicting motivations from various players can create more of a railroady effect even if its not coming from the GM.
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My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
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Old 06-23-2017, 01:03 AM   #9
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
Is it legal for me to print and distribute copies?
You have the right to print one hardcopy of any PDF that you buy from us and use it however you want. And as I said in my OP, I hope and expect that people will lend their copy to as many newbies as possible, before drawing them into a full game of GURPS!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rasputin View Post
I think the very title "The Sandbox Is a Lie" has no place in an issue of Pyramid. It's telling a segment of the community that we're having badwrongfun.
I'm sorry to hear that it bothered you. Let me ask something -- did you catch that it was a reference to the popular meme, "The Cake is a Lie!"? Because, as you mention, the text itself isn't really anti-sandbox in any way, and I'm quite certain that Christopher didn't mean that title to come across as anything other than a joking reference to something prevalent in geek culture.
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#SJGamesLive: I answered questions about GURPS After the End and more!
{Watch Video} - {Read Transcript}
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Old 06-23-2017, 02:17 AM   #10
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

A good rule for writing and editing generally; be extremely careful of "popular" geek catchphrases and memes. (And by "be extremely careful" I may mean "automatically kill them with fire".) They probably work for a smaller proportion of your audience than you think (while looking like dull cliches to some of the readers who do recognise them), may come across as insufferably smug and clique-ish when explained, and have a strange tendency to sound insulting to the uninitiated. And they'll probably date your work horribly in a year or two's time.
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