tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post6462035847668859589..comments2024-03-27T01:28:28.346-07:00Comments on False Machine: A Review of 'Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier' by Gus Lpjamesstuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288777018721199748noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-81256498655310775242023-02-06T12:33:35.290-08:002023-02-06T12:33:35.290-08:00I too enjoy the partition of the new orthodoxy and...I too enjoy the partition of the new orthodoxy and the diaspora based on game-design preferences and not ideology (lol, at least from this side) and sincerely hope both sides will produce material that is to their interest and delight. Products of interest to the other side will slowly trickle over after approval from the relevant cultural censors and innovations can be introduced gradually without disrupting cultural coherence. I am afraid your obsession with warhammer 40k and old obscure books will get you stuck solidly in the middle with Noisms (here's hoping you will throw us a few game-design bones with your next outing old bean).<br /><br />I don't know about BoC being the new focal point as its activity and engagement seems to be somewhat sedate, despite its list of notables. Skerples's project seems to be doing very good, Yochai Gal's Cairn (I will be polite and refrain from commenting about its merits or the merits of its author) is gaining traction and the old favorites like Ben L. and Arnold K. are still trudging along. OSE seems to be somewhere in the middle with its cutesy presentation but traditional ruleset as B/X is B/X at the end of the day. Everyone hates Mork Borg.<br /><br />Gus (I will refrain etc. etc.) is an interesting case because <br /> he, unlike most of his compatriots, is reasonably knowledgeable, has a genuine interest in old DnD (as far as his ideology allows), and this is reflected in his work. His exile is in a way voluntary, even if it is now utterly irrevocable.<br /><br />It remains to be seen whose predictions are true and whose model is the stronger, but I am optimistic. I look at the people writing and am excited for the future. May this be an age of chivalric trial by module. <br /><br />Crystal World was a fine book. PrinceofNothinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733680486570025367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-71159806208581459632023-02-06T11:21:12.324-08:002023-02-06T11:21:12.324-08:00I was never anti-crystal in the first place necess...I was never anti-crystal in the first place necessarily although I can respect your criticisms, but the comic book Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye along with the research by geologist Michael Russell, your own work in Veins, and a handful of other sources, has definitely made me more so appreciate the science fantasy or speculative fiction possibilities of minerals and metals. I wish I knew more about chemistry, physics, geoscience, etc., to fully explore the idea, but I've carved out a few of these ideas (pun intended) on my blog within the last few months or so.maxcan7https://www.blogger.com/profile/12504030224075149157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-23494752113164728632023-02-06T10:10:22.594-08:002023-02-06T10:10:22.594-08:00Thanks for the review!
A couple of thoughts in r...Thanks for the review! <br /><br />A couple of thoughts in response:<br /><br />Yes! I did the layout, I do all of my work (writing, art, lack of marketing, except editing and playtesting. It keeps my costs down so I can pass the savings on to YOU! Plus, I am of course not really in this to make money, RPG work doesn't pay that well even at the best of times and money just makes things stressful. The price of course is that I work very slowly. <br /><br />As you note crystals are fixed parts of the mineral world. I find that interesting, like the space of crystals in fantasy. Plus real crystals are amusing and uncanny -- have you ever been into a crystal shop? Pretty weird places. <br /><br />As you note, the reflective, refractive and other light warping aspects of crystals are right there to pick up. The "Place of Reflections", home to space elf sorcery, is mentioned a few times and so this sort of thing (including using reflections to make doppelgangers - though I have never figured out how to run doppelgangers well...) is certainly part of the setting's potential "lore" -- but oh how I hate lore... <br /><br />Which... gets to one of the key goals of Tomb Robbers, that is to offer a setting that's coherent, but with enough holes to fill them in how you like. Amidst Gygaxian orc holes and the vernacular fantasy ruins of elf cities or in the depths of the G+ era weird. Nice that it appears at least partially successful.<br /><br />The questions of dungeon design are well taken, I am not as pro-loop as some. I don't think super interconnected dungeons are ideal as they remove some potential for exploration/navigation to itself be rewarding. In Tomb Robbers the goal is to use the map to break the adventure into two sections, outer and inner tomb. They inner is smaller and more challenging. Jaquaysing is great, but Jennell's level design is more then just loops. <br /><br />The second spiral adventure is largely designed to encourage an appreciation for timekeeping and random encounters. I don't know how well it works, but tossing open coffins at 1 per turn should produce a large number of dangerous foes and deplete light fairly quickly. The simple question for the players is when to stop dilly dallying. How quickly will they note that maybe they don't need to loot everything, to "clear" the dungeon, for the best result and instead proceed to the end of the spiral where the best goodies are.<br /><br />Finally there's the question of how to design dungeons for playing in 3 hour online chunks. Still working on that one. Let me know if you run Tomb Robbers or want to play test the next one (a deep time barrow thing - crystal free - full of bronze and magic swords).Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.com