From: rhwolfe1@ix.netcom.com
Date: Tue 11 Aug 1998 - 20:47:38 EEST
On 08/10/98 22:11:47 Kevin Rose wrote:
>
>It should be pointed out that TSR went bankrupt. They didn't put out
>anything for most of a year. The reason WOC bought them was because the
>company was going to fold without it. Both TSR and GDW got killed by the
>book industry. Be careful what you wish for.
<< SARCASM MODE ON>>
Omigod. Not publishing anything new for a year? That'd be terrible.
I mean, that means that the game had to be completely supported by
a few fanzines and maybe an e-mail list while the publisher did
absolutely nothing. For a whole year!
Wow. I don't know if any game could survive that. I mean, think
what'd have happened to Runequest if a year went by without an official
release. Gosh, what if two years went by? Or three?
<<SARCASM MODE OFF>>
The bottom line is WOC bought TSR and continues publishing material.
Sorry for the bitter tone of my posts. But you have to understand
When I got to the local gaming store, there's piles of AD&D stuff,
much of it new, and just a few moldering old boxes of RQ stuff.
where I'm coming from. I've been playing RQ for about 20 years.
I think it's a great game. But Chaosium starved it and ignored and
then sold it into slavery. And now they've killed it. I'm in
the anger stage of survivor's remorse. I'll get over it in a few
years and move on to depression, bargaining, and, eventually,
acceptance.
Alex Ferguson wrote:
>
>R. H. Wolfe has a lengthy and exacting list of demands for the upcoming
>HW line, no actual suggestions as to how to achieve this, and the
>following cheerful expression of support.
>
>> I'll believe it when I see it. Issaries can _intend_ to conquer the
>> world, but I wouldn't stake _my_ money on it.
>
>Then I imagine you won't be, then. But if you don't want to support
>their efforts in a material fashion, then kindly quit whining,
>if-only-ing, and second guessing.
All I'm doing is looking around at a couple dozen other game systems
and companies and seeing how much product they've produced over the
past decade or so and compared that to the paltry amount of product
for RQ/Glorantha. I see other companies getting stuff out there,
but not Chaosium. Now, I'm not a businessman, so I don't know how
FASA or Warhammer or TSR/WOC or Steve Jackson or even Hero Games
manage it. I'm sure it's hard. But they do it and historically
Chaosium and AH didn't.
Shannon says that they're purposefully delaying the release of
HW so they can properly support it. To me, that's heartening. I
hope HW is great and I hope they sell buckets full. Like I said,
I'll buy it. I'll buy pretty much anything Gloranthan. I've
bought frigging French supplements that I can't even read. My
concern is that HW not meet the same ignoble fate suffered by
RQ2 and RQ3.
My specific, constructive suggestions are these:
1. Don't alienate the long-time RQ players. Provide them
2. Make sure at least half the material released comes
with a character conversion system so they can continue
existing campaigns using the new rules systems. Include
it in the initial release.
in the form of playable scenario packs, complete with
maps and bad-guys, so that any mook can start a
campaign just by opening a box or two.
3. Make the game accessible. As fun as the whole Yelmalio/
5. I'd also consider a good campaign supplement with
Elmal thing was, it'd be confusing as hell for the
new player. When it comes to the munchkins, the
ironclad consistancy of the monomyth is a good thing.
4. Keep the number of books needed to play as small as
possible. To play RQ2 you only needed two books,
the Rulebook and Cults of Prax. To play RQ3 you
needed the Players Box, the GM's Box, Gods of Glorantha,
and the Genertela set. Four products and over a dozen
books in all with a publishing gap of over four years.
plenty of pre-generated adventures essential to starting
out. RQ3 didn't have one of those until Sun County
came out 8 years after the initial rules. The Sartar
book better be the HW equivalent of Sun County or
Big Rubble and it better come out fast.
>I think no reasonable person would disagree that the Official Glorantha
>base is currently lamentable, will surely get better over the next year
>or so
God, I hope so. But I'll believe it when I see it. I've been burned
way too many times to be anything but cynical.
------------------------------
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