t_m_ellis wrote:
>
> >
> >But hang on, this is from the same publisher that says they don't
> >want to give us accurate maps because they don't want to threaten
> >our artistic freedom! This is at best inconsistent.
> >
>
> As others have pointed out, I think this has been more of a statement
> from individulas ("...I don't want Sartar mapped dpwn to the last
> tree...") rather than a statement of policy from Issaries.
This has been my understanding as well.
> >NARRATOR characters, not necessarily pregenerated NPC's. I quite
> >like some NPC's from the game authors, but frex L5R suffered from
> >having far, far too many at the expense of actually useful
> >information. The question is not whether I want pregenerated
> >characters - the question is, is a pregen character an effective and
> >valuable use of page count?
>
> L5R suffered from mostly including Stats for people that the average
> PC was unlikely to meet /interact with in a way that needed the
> stats. The NPC's given in BA are people who you might meet. Under
> the L5R model we would have had Leader Sheets for Kallyr, Harrek,
> Broyan and Termatain...
To be honest, I find folks like 'the typical lunar/typical raider' a bit more useful than I would find Kallyr - at least at this state of the game. Knowing how tough/good my local Clan and Tribal rings are is also useful. I think I'd have preferred more low level examples but that's fine. The folks we ended up with are a bit too high end for my tastes, BUT, the players are getting to the point where they are interacting with them as more-or-less equals at long last.
>
> I'd settle for a good map of a typical/sample Heortling Tula. I
> don't need a detailed map of, say, the route from "my clan" to
> Jonstown, it is enough to know it is x days travel, and the needs of
> the story can largely determine the rest of the details (If all I
> care about is the destination then it can be dealt with in a sentance
> or two. If part of the object of the journey is to meet potential
> allies or enemies then they will be there at the apropriate time).
I'd like a map which shows all the points of interest in Sartar at least as best we can. I think that a clan-level map would probably annoy me though I like to know _where_ the clans are, more or less. We have to know which way the Black Oaks are, for consistency's sake.
> Loads
Almost too much, at least for me.
> > The avoidance of material culture - population distribution, proper
> > mapping, mechanisms of production, common sets of tools - have been
> > touched upon but probably less deeply than in almost any other RPG
> > I possess (given that I no longer possess any D&D).
>
> I'd say we have far more cultural information in ST/TR/BA than the
> whole of the L5R product line, for example, since AEG is more
> interested in selling us a story than a setting. With the exception
> of City of Lies, most of L5R's cultural information is like much of
> its original history - throw a load of random facts at the page and
> hope no one looks too deeply... (or compares one page with another)
Frankly, I don't want to know the GNP of Sartar or all those socio-political-ramification intense bits. If someone were to produce a Fordor's Guide to Sartar, or Lonely Planet: Sartar I'd like that but I don't think I want to read something like a 'White Paper on the Economic Situation of Quiviniland with special reference to population density and available dentistry.' that level of detail is what turned both MERP and Harn off for me.
Sadly, as much as I like L5R, I have the same problem with it as I do with 7th Sea - its a frankenstein monster in some ways. Many bits from different sources stitched together and given life. At least, in Glorantha, the stitches are smaller. But that's getting OT.
Jeff
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