Call for Playtesters: GURPS Low-Tech

[Puck Goodfellow]

Originally Posted by whswhs

The joke is "169 words." That's about 1/5 page at current GURPS typesetting densities, in a book that's, I think, 128 pages long.

And of course there's a reason for it. One of the big markets for Low-Tech is going to be fantasy GMs wanting an expanded catalog of gear from their Bronze Age or medieval campaigns; but an outer space campaign could perfectly well involve an encounter with low-tech aliens, maybe even stone age alien tribes. And they'd have stone age tools. For that matter, a fantasy campaign could have nonhuman races and have to deal with their tools and gear.

Bill Stoddard

128 pages? Wow, that just shows how much difference font and type size makes.

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by whswhs

The joke is "169 words." That's about 1/5 page at current GURPS typesetting densities, in a book that's, I think, 128 pages long.

And of course there's a reason for it. One of the big markets for Low-Tech is going to be fantasy GMs wanting an expanded catalog of gear from their Bronze Age or medieval campaigns; but an outer space campaign could perfectly well involve an encounter with low-tech aliens, maybe even stone age alien tribes. And they'd have stone age tools. For that matter, a fantasy campaign could have nonhuman races and have to deal with their tools and gear.

Bill Stoddard

Yeah, I had to guess something like that. Thanks for answering.

BTW, you're mentioning it will be (you think) a 128 page book. Because something Sean said, I thought it will be a 160-page hardback, instead.

I can understand that the final number of pages isn't clear at this point, but again, the difference between 128 and 160 is notorious.

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Well, 169 words is probably not a bad amount for referencing all the "aliens built the pyramids" and similar theories (e.g. the Nazca lines, etc). That's about two or three paragraphs, I'd wager.

Not my favorite class of speculation, but oh well . . . It was stated the book would try to include things for handling interactions between High-Tech cultures with Low-Tech ones. I guess the issue goes along these lines.

[Xplo]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

Yeah, I had to guess something like that. Thanks for answering.

BTW, you're mentioning it will be (you think) a 128 page book. Because something Sean said, I thought it will be a 160-page hardback, instead.

I can understand that the final number of pages isn't clear at this point, but again, the difference between 128 and 160 is notorious.

Either way... Is it just me, or are GURPS hardbacks getting smaller and smaller?

Are the bigger books not selling? Are they too hard to playtest and edit?

How big are those Companions? Seems to me like Low-Tech could have been one big book. Did SJG want to split it up so that they could sell the gear catalog for less?

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by Xplo

Either way... Is it just me, or are GURPS hardbacks getting smaller and smaller?

Are the bigger books not selling? Are they too hard to playtest and edit?

How big are those Companions? Seems to me like Low-Tech could have been one big book. Did SJG want to split it up so that they could sell the gear catalog for less?

You're not the only one worrying about this...

Personally, I would prefer a big 270+ page 4e GURPS Low-Tech, as the great Martial Arts and Thaumatology. All in a single book. Of course then we would need to wait for the entire release of the book, wich takes longer than the time needed for releasing the Low-Tech Companions.

Anyway all this was already discussed here. What can we fans do.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

I can understand that the final number of pages isn't clear at this point, but again, the difference between 128 and 160 is notorious.

You should trust Sean. I don't actually recall what the correct figure is. At this stage I'm not asking "how many pages?" I'm asking "what word count do you want in the submitted manuscript?"

Bill Stoddard

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Xplo

How big are those Companions? Seems to me like Low-Tech could have been one big book. Did SJG want to split it up so that they could sell the gear catalog for less?

In essence, yes. It was felt that the market for a big book of low-tech stuff is bigger than the market for a collection of essays on the history of technology, or a set of design systems for enthusiasts who want to build their own polearms. The former group are likely to complain about paying for information they'll never use. This way they can get just what they want, and the people who think cultural context is Cool (which includes me, of course) can get that material. And, who knows, if the Companions sell really well, they might get print editions; it's happened before.

Economists have a theory for this sort of thing; it's called "multipart pricing," I believe, or "price discrimination."

Anyway, the good thing is, the total page count is about twice what the previous edition had. So there's a lot more gear AND more cultural context. Best of both worlds. And important parts of the books were written by people who know more about certain topics than I do. . . .

Bill Stoddard

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by whswhs

And for the rest, well, a tentacled horror from Zeta Reticuli can use a chipped stone knife just as well as you or I can . . .

I believe catapults are the crucial technology here.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

I believe catapults are the crucial technology here.

Man, I remember reading that when I was in high school. Lotsa great stories in that Hall of Fame collection. Hmm.. maybe I should see about getting the series.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

Of course then we would need to wait for the entire release of the book, which takes longer than the time needed for releasing the Low-Tech Companions.

I think the plan is to release the companions at the same time as the core volume, so the prospective delay probably would not be materially different. They're certainly being written and playtested together.

At any rate, it's not like there's going to be less low-tech stuff than, say, Martial Arts or Thaumatology (core book looks to be 160 pages, companions 30-40 each). It's just going to be packaged in a more modular fashion. The core volume, which is mostly a catalog of gear more or less useful for adventuring, will be useful for everybody involved in low-tech games, while the companions will be more useful for GMs and tinkerers.

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by whswhs

You should trust Sean. I don't actually recall what the correct figure is. At this stage I'm not asking "how many pages?" I'm asking "what word count do you want in the submitted manuscript?"

That sounds better.

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

I think the plan is to release the companions at the same time as the core volume, so the prospective delay probably would not be materially different. They're certainly being written and playtested together.

I realize I was thinking for some reason the Low Tech Companions would be released before the core book because the lack of the slow printing process and something I read around here and I'm unable to remember. Thank you for the clarification.

Thinking only in myself, then I would definitely prefer a thicker, single 4e Low Tech volume. But surely there are really strong reasons for that "multipart" treatment of the product, as "the murderous costs associated with long hardbacks these days" (Sean).

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

At any rate, it's not like there's going to be less low-tech stuff than, say, Martial Arts or Thaumatology (core book looks to be 160 pages, companions 30-40 each). (...).

Sure, we aren't seeing here a smaller 4e Low Tech "book"(s), rather at the contrary! And after all, the former 3e one was 128 pages long.