Topic: Random Updates from Terry Amthor

[Terry K. Amthor]

More Emer II work... something I should have included all along: linguistics skills for the various cultures, written and spoken, just for GM reference. We might forget that most of the populations of many places might be illiterate. So, I'm including some written/spoken linguistics skill levels (from Character/Campaign Law) in the Culture Summaries, and also where appropriate in the general text.

Working through the Spring allergies...

[Terry K. Amthor]

I must admit some lingering curiosity about why the old Grand Campaign aborted concept still inspires so much interest. Was it the pre-designed quest? The player-characters with integral backgrounds? The detailed, plotted-out adventures? All of the above?

[Takeyabue]

I must admit some lingering curiosity about why the old Grand Campaign aborted concept still inspires so much interest. Was it the pre-designed quest? The player-characters with integral backgrounds? The detailed, plotted-out adventures? All of the above?

For me it is the detailed, plotted out adventures. I am not really in the market for adventure ideas as I have way too many of those already... I way my job as a GM made easier not more jobs...

Secondly would be the player characters who are integrally involved.

Takeyabue

[yammahoper]

I must admit some lingering curiosity about why the old Grand Campaign aborted concept still inspires so much interest. Was it the pre-designed quest? The player-characters with integral backgrounds? The detailed, plotted-out adventures? All of the above?

For me it is the detailed, plotted out adventures. I am not really in the market for adventure ideas as I have way too many of those already... I way my job as a GM made easier not more jobs...

Secondly would be the player characters who are integrally involved.

Takeyabue

,,,and then there is the comparative talk amongst other gamers about what the GM changed, what special location or treasure was missed, what silly GM shoehorned in one encounter and totally blew it, which is far funnier than the actual Gully Dwarves.

It also offered a certain additional solidity to the world, certainly to an expanding setting that was dynamic. 

[JohnnyR]

All the above, especially the characters. Interesting differing cultures/ backgrounds, viewpoints, etc. Want more!
"Whirlwind tours" are not my style but this one was cool.
Plotted-out adventures are always welcome in my book.

[Vurkanan]

I used bits and pieces of the Grand Campaign. I liked the (potentially) epic scope of it and I read it as background and source material.

[Guillaume]

I must admit some lingering curiosity about why the old Grand Campaign aborted concept still inspires so much interest. Was it the pre-designed quest? The player-characters with integral backgrounds? The detailed, plotted-out adventures? All of the above?

I never cared much about pre-created characters... But the rest had it's appeal when I was lazy ( or didn't have enough time to prepare something ). I could just pop a GC adventure appropriate to where my players were and keep them busy for the session, without having to go fully ad-lib.
And there was something else too... The flexibility of the campaign... You could insert one of it's adventure in the middle of the rest of the campaign you were doing and keep your players completely unaware that it had a greater purpose...Last, the whole idea of the Grand Campaign... What is hinted by the notes on what has not been written is irresistible from my point of view....

[Turbs]

I must admit some lingering curiosity about why the old Grand Campaign aborted concept still inspires so much interest. Was it the pre-designed quest? The player-characters with integral backgrounds? The detailed, plotted-out adventures? All of the above?

I never cared much about pre-created characters... But the rest had it's appeal when I was lazy ( or didn't have enough time to prepare something ). I could just pop a GC adventure appropriate to where my players were and keep them busy for the session, without having to go fully ad-lib.
And there was something else too... The flexibility of the campaign... You could insert one of it's adventure in the middle of the rest of the campaign you were doing and keep your players completely unaware that it had a greater purpose...Last, the whole idea of the Grand Campaign... What is hinted by the notes on what has not been written is irresistible from my point of view....

this pretty much sums up my opinion.

the modular construction of each adventure part in each different region allowed for them to be cut out and used in my home campaigns.  I also didn't go much for the pregen characters as my own players always want to make thier own, but the back stories of how they fit into the campaign was priceless.. It allowed me as theGM to assign those tidbits of info to thier own characters and give each player a 'link' into the campaign to make them feel a part of the story.


having said that I do see teh value of having pre-gen characters as it shows a good guidline of what kind of character balance you will need to complete the campaign. It also helps for new characters who just want to jump in and have no experience in / desire to make a rolemaster character but still want to try the system.


EDIT : a million typos

[Terry K. Amthor]

re: Grand Campaign: Thanks for the input! In future books & revisions I intend to include some PC background bits (but no complete characters) that the GM can possibly integrate. Also good to know about detailed adventures vs. hooks.

Also slogging along on Emer II (and a bit on the Gryphonburgh adventure; I have files for both open in InDesign and flip back and forth. ADHD), though I keep making more work for myself. I realized that Emer II had no 'Other Powers' section, that the Thanor Wastes really needed some more detail, and I invented a few new fauna. This on top of greatly expanding the sections on all the major cultures, and the adventures section. We've passed 200 pages (the old book had 132 pp., more whitespace, and bigger margins!).

[Terry K. Amthor]

Burning out on NPC statting in Emer II. Feeling sleepy... Need more coffee...
 

[Mercenary30]

I want to echo the thoughts of some here in that the pregen characters really brought the text to life, but I never actually used them.

To me, like all Shadow World items, it is about the interest in how the GC was going to impact the timeline and bring even more definition to Kulthia.  I love the big picture stuff!

[Terry K. Amthor]

I think finally the home stretch from Emer II... then editing and more NPC conversions for our poor editors...

[Terry K. Amthor]

Now that MS office (really, Word is what I need) is finally available on the iPad, maybe I should finally get one, so I can do some Word file writing/editing away from the home office and the desktop machine. (Also considering that my laptop is an ibook running OS 10.3 that cannot handle any recent browser, and the battery fails after about an hour.) Now, how to afford that iPad...

[Valkrist]

Terry, what are you moving on to once Emer II is done? Emer I, Emer IV, Eidolon, Jaiman, or your adventure?

[Terry K. Amthor]

Terry, what are you moving on to once Emer II is done? Emer I, Emer IV, Eidolon, Jaiman, or your adventure?

I'd like to get the adventure finished next; it just needs the adventures done (sound familiar?) and a couple of maps. Then I'm not sure. Eidolon probably, then Emer I, Haalkitaine, then tackle Jaiman, which needs a complete rewrite. Emer IV is down there, after even the new NE Jaiman book, which will be similar in nature to Xa-ar.

[egdcltd]

I do wonder if there will be any point in redoing the Jaiman book now. It seems to be being made obsolete like the old Emer boxed set. There's the new Xa-ar and Wulriis books, the revamped Cloudlords and the proposed edit of Haalkitaine. With a few more, the entire continent will be largely covered, so maybe it would be better to take the relevant material from Jaiman and add it to those areas that haven't been covered.

[Terry K. Amthor]

I do wonder if there will be any point in redoing the Jaiman book now. It seems to be being made obsolete like the old Emer boxed set. There's the new Xa-ar and Wulriis books, the revamped Cloudlords and the proposed edit of Haalkitaine. With a few more, the entire continent will be largely covered, so maybe it would be better to take the relevant material from Jaiman and add it to those areas that haven't been covered.

That's a good point. Much of the old Jaiman module is actually dungeon layouts (well, tombs and citadels) rather than a continent overview, so it might be better off repurposed as two different books. Of course all the Fantasy Hero stats have to go, and RMSS/RMFRP added in....

[geh4th]

In keeping with this possible notion of further "regionalizing" Jaiman, do you think there'd be enough material (and interest) to do perhaps two additional separate sourcebooks, one for Zor/Ja'miil Targ/Saralis (whatever isn't covered in Xa-ar or Wuliris, that is), and one for the area from Norek/U-lyshak stretching west/southwest into Ly-aran and possibly Ulor itself?

Or maybe the two ideas could be combined.

[Mordred]

In keeping with this possible notion of further "regionalizing" Jaiman, do you think there'd be enough material (and interest) to do perhaps two additional separate sourcebooks, one for Zor/Ja'miil Targ/Saralis (whatever isn't covered in Xa-ar or Wuliris, that is), and one for the area from Norek/U-lyshak stretching west/southwest into Ly-aran and possibly Ulor itself?

Or maybe the two ideas could be combined.

That's what I've been waiting for a long time, specially an U-Lyshak+Ulor+Ly-Aran module.

 What's left after that to cover the whole continent? Plasidar/Urulan/Remiraith... maybe a "Jaimani elven lands sourcebook.

[Terry K. Amthor]

In keeping with this possible notion of further "regionalizing" Jaiman, do you think there'd be enough material (and interest) to do perhaps two additional separate sourcebooks, one for Zor/Ja'miil Targ/Saralis (whatever isn't covered in Xa-ar or Wuliris, that is), and one for the area from Norek/U-lyshak stretching west/southwest into Ly-aran and possibly Ulor itself?

Or maybe the two ideas could be combined.

That might be the best way to go at this point. The Wuliris module is basically going to cover all of the northeast, including northern Zor. I hadn't planned on including the Dragonlord's citadel since it was in Jaiman, but maybe best to add it in. Then a SW module featuring Ly-aran and Ulor and Norek/U-lyshak. Then SE, with Jaiman/Meluria, Urulan, and all the old layouts of that region from Jaiman. Still, a small 'overview' book of the whole continent might be nice.

Maybe I should start a new thread just to discuss how to handle future products...