09-03-2019, 03:15 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Bestiary comment thread
The topic kind of took over the anniversary thread so I thought we could move it to its own topic.
A number of people complain about there being no bestiary for GURPS, the trouble is that is demonstrably not true. For Horror we have Horror plus 5 volumes of Creatures of the Night, plus Zombies. For DF we have 4 Monster books, three more for DFRPG, and monsters in various books of the seines. For animals we have mostly whats in Basic. Though more online, especially the Animilia pages. We also have Lands out of Time for dinosaurs and a Dragons book. So clearly its not an issue of does GURPS have or not have a Bestiary, its more a matter of individual expectations or definitions. I feel this is important as we keep seeing new books and the calls for a Bestiary remain. So, no blame or sticking defensively to our corners - what do various people think of or want when they ask for such a thing? What compromises will they accept to get something? If loyal GURPS people make that complaint you know it gets out to those looking at trying the system and they may just stop looking as soon as they hear it and we just lost potential players and GMs to help the system grow. So if you had your wish what would it be? What would it take for you to say "Oh, yes GURPS has a Bestiary, creature, monster, or whatever book" when someone asks rather than say we have been waiting for one since Fourth Edition came out. Some practical things to consider.
We know writers and staff read the forums, so lets see if we can make interesting pitches or requests that encourage. So to start off whats missing or scattered that you would pay for? Big books are harder to write and edit so take longer and of course money is often tight, especially for reprints. Smaller books with a consistent naming pattern seems to me to address that but others prefer bigger books over several smaller books. Whats your preference for size and content?
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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 |
09-03-2019, 05:04 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
I would suggest a series of Bestiary books. The first one should probably be longer, as it would contain any expanded animal rules or terms needed, much like how GURPS Spaceships 1 is longer than the other books in the series (69 pages, where most of the others are around 40 pages). The first book would be the most general, having a selection of the animals that are most common to campaigns in general, based on the experience of the authors and editors, and any research they do. Horses, cats, dogs, dragons, falcons and so on.
Later books would be specific categories, like Dinosaurs (partly covered by the adventure supplement Big Lizzie, but they could do with more detail and examples) or Birds, regional books like Australian Wildlife, or power-related creatures like Psychic Beasts. Given the variety involved, this would likely be a continuing series... if enough writers actually take that much of an interest in it. On a related note, the main GURPS Books site has a list of published books about Beasts, though it doesn't seem to include Pyramid issues (apart from one collection book, some of which have articles that would be useful, here.
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. |
09-03-2019, 05:20 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
I for one would accept either larger PDFs in the sizes of 3e's Bestiary/Fantasy Bestiary/Space Bestiary/Dinosaurs or a series of smaller PDFs with a focus on a given angle (e.g. "Modern Megafauna", "Classic Fantasy", "Cryptids", "Pre-Historic Megafauna", "More Dinosaurs", etc.). My preference would be the former, but I recognize that that's a lot of work; the smaller line would also help people grab just the ones that would fit their games - not every game needs have gryphons, brontosaurs, or yeti, after all.
The former would lend itself to POD sales. Not sure how that's working out for the company though, income-wise, and would be a larger project. (Also, I found out the hard way that the dinosaurs in Lands Out of Time are rather anemic compared to applying GURPS Update to 3e Dinosaurs....)
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09-03-2019, 07:20 PM | #4 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
Quote:
Except for articles or adventures the rest seems to be from Kromm. As for articles I would like to expand on my Animal Combat article. Quote:
I'd be willing to pitch a smaller project but I'm not well established and if sales were poor it might kill my chance to write the books I am keenly interested in writing (3 different magic systems and at least 2 more spirit related books). But I would so love to have someone, anyone finally stamp out the meme that GURPS needs a Bestiary. I'd much prefer to hear it needs more instead.
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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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09-03-2019, 07:29 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
Maybe they need a "GURPS Bestiary" series names, a la Thaumatology or Social Engineering, and just update all the existing titles to "GURPS Bestiary: Creatures of the Night", "GURPS Bestiary: Monsters", etc.
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09-03-2019, 07:39 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
Quote:
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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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09-03-2019, 08:40 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: The Land of Enchantment
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
I suspect that most people who complain that there is "no bestiary" actually mean "there is no dedicated fantasy bestiary" a la D&D's Monster Manual (or the prior GURPS Bestiary). Or at least nothing quite as rich as the Monster Manual.
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09-03-2019, 08:44 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
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Honestly, Dungeon Fantasy Monsters covers the kinds of creatures you'd find in the D&D Monster Manuals.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting |
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09-03-2019, 10:32 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
I once contemplated whether a Bestiary might better end up as a back-door compilation of other products. I realize thats the solution others fear, though it also seems a more likely way to get them written and sold. You might have titles like:
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09-03-2019, 10:37 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
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Re: Bestiary comment thread
Quote:
One thing to include in a bestiary would be how to GM animals, getting the right behaviour is at least as important as the stats.
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Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvφrn Last edited by (E); 09-03-2019 at 11:41 PM. |
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