Prax Pak

From: chris ward <chrisward_at_ed.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 10:35:53 +0100


Hi All,

everything below is IMVHO...

>Runemaster.Greg asks:
>"Will this work include the wastelands, the sun county, Pavis, the rubble,
>and so on ?<

Chris Lemens replies:
>I think we ought to find out from the authors/owners of the existing
>publications (Pavis, Big Rubble, Sun County, etc.) whether they are willing
>to let us adapt their work to HeroWars. If so, I would think we would want
>to use a format that retains the intensive, localized geographic approach of
>those works. PraxPak would then become an over-arching description of
>Sacred Prax and the Wastes. I would think we would draw a lot from Drastic:
>Prax 1 and 2 (especially those maps, which I love). If I recall the Drastic
>copyright statement correctly, we would have a lot of permissions to obtain
>(which I am willing to work on if need be).

I personally think Praxpak should concentrate on the plains of Prax and the Wastes. Rick et al recently republished the excellent Pavis and big Rubble and I believe are planning to redo Borderlands too. Sun County and River of Cradles are still reasonably available and RoC overlapps with a lot of the stuff that Rick and chums are reprinting. So I think any Prax Pak should concentrate on Prax proper and the wastes.

 I also think Cults of Prax should NOT be reprinted in whole as part of Prax Pack. I love CoP yes, but I no longer believe it is as relevant to the native Praxians than I once did*. Much of it looks far more like religion for the various settler cultures in Prax - the 4 invader deities of humakt/pavis/ 7 mas/yelmalio; the lightbringers and the 3 non-human cults make up the large majority of the book and IMHO should be ommitted from CoP, or redone in a shorter nomad friendly format. OTOH the whole spirit cult aspect should be greatly, nay, hugely expanded a la tales and drastic. In fact tales and drastic together with nomad gods make a much better starting point for any Prax Pak than any of the wonderful, but settler rather than truely Praxian centered RQ2 and 3 official material.

I think the Wastes would actually be a better setting for any campaign material than Prax itself. Most Praxians live there and it means that players can be introduced to tribal stuff without the lunars and RoC influence in the early games. Later visits to Prax/Pavis/Sun County could be figured in and the Lunar occupation of Prax itself encountered. Although I don't think Pavis and Sun County should be major settings for included scens as there is enough good material that could be adapted out there already. Paps and other locations withouit existing published scens would be better IMHO. Setting campaign material in the wastes makes Pavis less central to a campaign and encourages possible trips to Teshnos, or up to the snow line etc. Making possible links to campaigns in those unexplored areas.

Chris Lemens:
>As much as I love purely collaborative efforts, it seems to me like someone
>ought to be coordinating the various efforts, at least to the degree of
>tracking who is working on what, when they will be done, if they are still
>doing it, and that sort of thing.

I have to agree with this wholeheartedly. I have limited experience in putting stuff together, but even I have found out that someone needs to take control. That needn't mean heavily influencing the content of individual pieces or loss of collective input. But if someone doesn't take charge, then *no-one* will.

>Looking back at the Issaries future plans lists
>(http://www.glorantha.com/products/future-plans.html) tells me that the
>high-level book, plus lots of smaller geographic level books would be the
>right approach. The first would be termed a "Player's Book" and would have
>a title like "Beast Riders" or some such. ......surely separating Pavis
>and Sun County is not too far a stretch.

Given the recent reprintings and the availability of the RQ3 stuff, I don't think sun county and pavis need really be done again. They should be mentioned of course, but why repeat the descriptions which won't change ? Key words and similar stuff maybe, but not the whole thing again. I think one book on the plains should do it, this could cover the people and the places and give some campaign or seperate scenarios. I don't really see the need for a whole series of books.

Nice to see practical suggestions from Chris Lememns and Philippe - Chris

*Any reprint of CoP would be nice, but better as a seperate project, perhaps along side CoT ? I think these would be better done as straight reprints rtaher than updates if tackled, however.

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End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #670


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