Fantasy Tech 1 - Wait, there's going to be more than one?

[PK]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Oh, and I finished reading it. Excellent stuff. My only gripes is how much it's going to contradict Low Tech ;)(Mainly things like Gothic/fluted armor,extra thick armor,...

Well, thats rather the point, isn't it? I mean... a Fantasy-Tech book that didn't contradict anything in Low-Tech would be... Low-Tech. :)

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Oh, and I was careful to say "might get" instead of "will get"

I know. I just wanted to be sure expectations were appropriately set.

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

My only gripes is how much it's going to contradict Low Tech ;)

Here's the clever bit: it won't. Where FT touches on the same items as LT and the Basic Set, there are distinct names for the items in question, so you can easily distinguish the realistic and wildly unrealistic versions. Basic, for example, has the longbow and the katana, whereas FT has the Welsh longbow and the legendary katana. FT has Gothic plate whereas LT has fluted plate. And so on. And the Ethnic Cool rules in LT (or was that LTC2?) generically discuss how to make your own Ethnic Cool items without conflicting with descriptions of items which happen to be the subject of ethnic coolness.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

I know. I just wanted to be sure expectations were appropriately set.


Here's the clever bit: it won't. Where FT touches on the same items as LT and the Basic Set, there are distinct names for the items in question, so you can easily distinguish the realistic and wildly unrealistic versions. Basic, for example, has the longbow and the katana, whereas FT has the Welsh longbow and the legendary katana. FT has Gothic plate whereas LT has fluted plate. And so on. And the Ethnic Cool rules in LT (or was that LTC2?) generically discuss how to make your own Ethnic Cool items without conflicting with descriptions of items which happen to be the subject of ethnic coolness.

Clever way to dodge the issue, but I fear that it might cause confusion. Still, I can't wait for Low Tech (if it's coming out in hardcover before the end of the year, that means that it's coming out in PDF before that). I really want to see how certain things I commented on ended up.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Still, I can't wait for Low Tech (if it's coming out in hardcover before the end of the year, that means that it's coming out in PDF before that). I really want to see how certain things I commented on ended up.

I'm just waiting for the book to come out at all. I promised myself that if it came out any time soon, I would plunk the money down for it, and start up a GURPS HARN campaign at my local gaming store - or at least try. Considering that I purchased my GURPS 4e stuff from that store at 1/2 price as they dumped all SJGames products related to GURPS or IN NOMINE, I can't help but wonder if GURPS is a dead product in their eyes.

I am tempted to look at Fantasy Tech 1 - but I'd have to wonder just how much "value" I'll be getting for the buck.

[Mailanka]

This sounds like a fantastic book. Sure, you can use it for gnomish inventors, but you can also use it for alternate earths, alien pasts, or interesting fantasy settings. I've wanted a "speculative LT/HT book" for awhile, and this series sounds ideal.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by hal

I am tempted to look at Fantasy Tech 1 - but I'd have to wonder just how much "value" I'll be getting for the buck.

Well, it is full of all sorts of cool stuff that will fit in many typical fantasy settings. Did you look at the preview pdf?

[Astromancer]

Seeing that Fantasy-Tech-1 is mainly near posible and folkloric tech, I'm guessing that FT-2 gets into steampunkish improbible to impossible tech, and that FT-3 gets possitively pulpish to comicbookish.

To my mind, that would still leave an Alchemical-Tech book, and Magi-Tech (ala Pulver's Merlin-1), and at least two flavors of retro-tech sci-fi gizmos.

So I disagree that the line would get repetitive after three books.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

So I disagree that the line would get repetitive after three books.

Note that I didn't say that the line would get repetitive after three books owing to lack of material. There's enough material to fill more than three books! What Matt and I were talking about was structure . . . Giving all three books similar chapter headings and an equal balance of end-user items to society-level items to general tech rules would probably make them look boringly plug-and-play. Changing up the landscape some would give each book its own feel. For instance, you'd probably want lots of hand-waved end-user items for superheroes, but more invention rules for steampunk and pulp settings. Forcing both to have the same proportions would be less-than-ideal.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by hal

I'm just waiting for [Low Tech] to come out at all.

As are we all.

Originally Posted by hal

I am tempted to look at Fantasy Tech 1 - but I'd have to wonder just how much "value" I'll be getting for the buck.

Depends on what you'll find valuable. It's basically a fanciful gear catalog, and I like to think it's pretty good in that capacity. Imagine da Vinci's notebooks with GURPS stats. If you find yourself wishing you had stereotypical but discredited knights' armor (the kind so heavy it's almost impossible to walk in), Daedalus-style wings (don't get too close to the sun!), or "Baghdad batteries" written up for GURPS, this is your book. If you want Harn-esque realistic and thickly described background material and $8 is above your impulse buy threshold (and steam cat on the cover isn't enough to convince you)...you may want to wait for LT and the Companions.

[panton41]

I'd love to see a FT book centered around the TL X+Y model of technology where magic is the source of Y - which fits well with many fantasy settings.