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shannon_aWhile at GenCon last month, one of the items I had pressed upon me for review was The Dying Earth RPG, by Pelgrane Press. I took it with some reluctance because--though both the designer & the subject material interested me--I haven't been doing reviews of RPGs, and I knew it would take a lot more time than the typical board/strategy game reviews I write, which usually only involve an hour or less or rules reading, 2-4 hours of play, and 2-3 hours of writing.
Well, I was right on the topic of increased time required for an RPG, but at the same time I'm glad I'm working on it. Currently I'm about half-way done with the rules, and have the hope I might be able to playtest it this Saturday, though it still may be one Saturday futher down the line. At the same time, the whole experience has gotten me going down several parallel lines of thought.
On the one hand, since Robin Laws is one of the most innovative designers of RPGs about, I've been thinking about the evolution of roleplaying games in general. I quizzed designers on the topic over on an industry list a couple of weeks ago, and expect to write a Skotos article on the topic, probably next week.
On the other hand, I've decided that in order to fully assess the Dying Earth RPG, I really need to reread the source material, so that I can understand how well done the adaptation is. Hence, and finally, the rereading of The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance (actually in print as part of Tales of the Dying Earth).
I've generally enjoyed Jack Vance's writing, though it's his newer works such as Lyonesse which strike my particular fancy. I've read some or all of the Dying Earth books before--I can't really remember which--and I'd found them a bit turgid before, which has a lot to do with the characters' polysyllabic language and something to do with Vance's very quickly sketched details. This time through, however, I found The Eyes of the Overworld quite enjoyable and overall a quick, fun read. How our tastes change, I suppose.
The convuluted language is really part of the charm of the whole setting, and I'm trying my best to ensure that I'm well-mired in the dialogue for the upcoming role-playing experience. I've also enjoyed the real amorality of the main character, which again I expect to see well translated into the RPG.
I'm next proceeding through the series with a book that I know I've never read before, Michael Shea's authorized sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld, The Quest for Simbalis.
I should comment that I purposefully skipped the first book in the series (The Dying Earth) because it was Vance's first published work, and thus somewhat more raw. Perhaps after I'm done with the three Cugel books ...
Well, I was right on the topic of increased time required for an RPG, but at the same time I'm glad I'm working on it. Currently I'm about half-way done with the rules, and have the hope I might be able to playtest it this Saturday, though it still may be one Saturday futher down the line. At the same time, the whole experience has gotten me going down several parallel lines of thought.
On the one hand, since Robin Laws is one of the most innovative designers of RPGs about, I've been thinking about the evolution of roleplaying games in general. I quizzed designers on the topic over on an industry list a couple of weeks ago, and expect to write a Skotos article on the topic, probably next week.
On the other hand, I've decided that in order to fully assess the Dying Earth RPG, I really need to reread the source material, so that I can understand how well done the adaptation is. Hence, and finally, the rereading of The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance (actually in print as part of Tales of the Dying Earth).
I've generally enjoyed Jack Vance's writing, though it's his newer works such as Lyonesse which strike my particular fancy. I've read some or all of the Dying Earth books before--I can't really remember which--and I'd found them a bit turgid before, which has a lot to do with the characters' polysyllabic language and something to do with Vance's very quickly sketched details. This time through, however, I found The Eyes of the Overworld quite enjoyable and overall a quick, fun read. How our tastes change, I suppose.
The convuluted language is really part of the charm of the whole setting, and I'm trying my best to ensure that I'm well-mired in the dialogue for the upcoming role-playing experience. I've also enjoyed the real amorality of the main character, which again I expect to see well translated into the RPG.
I'm next proceeding through the series with a book that I know I've never read before, Michael Shea's authorized sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld, The Quest for Simbalis.
I should comment that I purposefully skipped the first book in the series (The Dying Earth) because it was Vance's first published work, and thus somewhat more raw. Perhaps after I'm done with the three Cugel books ...