tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post6884202940510088617..comments2024-02-16T22:05:32.773+02:00Comments on LotFP: RPG: Isle of the Unknown - What Is It?JimLotFPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-83289631579083455272011-12-15T20:53:19.799+02:002011-12-15T20:53:19.799+02:00"Isle of the Unknown contains fifteen hundred..."<i>Isle of the Unknown</i> contains fifteen hundred new spells for the Paedophagist class..."huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-26879583014093361322011-11-30T00:17:04.743+02:002011-11-30T00:17:04.743+02:00Naked statues....OF BABIES!!Naked statues....OF BABIES!!Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884401206802336531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-43172353872425641502011-11-29T19:03:43.852+02:002011-11-29T19:03:43.852+02:00To clarify two points:
1. Whereas the world of Ca...To clarify two points:<br /><br />1. Whereas the world of Carcosa is weird through-and-through, the Isle of the Unknown (as I imagine it, anyway) is mostly mundane, which serves as a contrast to the points of weirdness on the isle. But I didn't waste any space in Isle describing the mundane. Only the fantastic is described.<br /><br />2. Isle of the Unknown doesn't have any of the sort of "controversial" content found in Carcosa. That said, I'm waiting for someone to complain about all the nude statues on the isle. ;)Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-62178567940709401302011-11-29T14:47:06.046+02:002011-11-29T14:47:06.046+02:00Isle of the Unknown is family-friendly, not family...Isle of the Unknown is family-friendly, not family-a-little-bit-too-friendly.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-89072696876212969492011-11-29T14:32:01.986+02:002011-11-29T14:32:01.986+02:00It is always fascinating to read designer commenta...It is always fascinating to read designer commentary like this. I am more of a middle ground person - weird in the context of the "mundane" and mostly logical fantasy world - but can see where a purely fantastic approach can work.<br /><br />And I am contemplating running an Averoigne / Hyperborea-style CAS-inspired campaign, so this may come in handy for it...<br /><br />@Blair: James should really make this the official tagline. <br /><br />James, I know you want to do it. .)Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-13880485044630410132011-11-29T12:39:53.167+02:002011-11-29T12:39:53.167+02:00"If you thought Carcosa was for baby-rapists ..."If you thought Carcosa was for baby-rapists wait until you get your baby raping hands on ISLE OF THE UNKNOWN..."Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884401206802336531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-86049760601646466312011-11-29T00:32:46.630+02:002011-11-29T00:32:46.630+02:00Oh, Nagora is one of Them.Oh, Nagora is one of Them.Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-19355056368351061222011-11-28T23:35:53.233+02:002011-11-28T23:35:53.233+02:00Well, I guess I don't have to budget for a cop...Well, I guess I don't have to budget for a copy of Isle of the Unknown, then. Unless there's a cheaper version coming out with just the map and the illustrations? I've been really excited about this for months but somehow missed that the Geoffrey who was writing the text was the same Geoffrey that wrote Carcosa. Gutted.Nagorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10805769538648631984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-39501857763437940122011-11-28T18:24:04.433+02:002011-11-28T18:24:04.433+02:00Remember playing D&D for the first time? Every...<i>Remember playing D&D for the first time? Every time a monster was encountered, we'd wonder, "What is that? What can it do?" Then we'd be freaked-out when we found out in the middle of combat what it could do.</i><br /><br />I think modules like this are a wonderful way to introduce RECG-style monsters.<br /><br />Think about how cool the Fiend Folio would have been if it had been a hexmap with each of the monsters presented in context. If that's what <i>Isle</i> is like, I will be very pleased.<br /><br /><i>Does anyone really need me to write hex descriptions such as this? "Hex 2207: Twenty orcs armed with spears lurk here. Each carries 2-8 gp."</i><br /><br />That being said, I <a href="http://untimately.blogspot.com/2011/11/l1-secret-of-bone-hill.html" rel="nofollow">recently finished reading</a> <i>L1 The Secret of Bone Hill</i>, and that above quote pretty much describes what <i>Bone Hill</i> is. And it's awesome, because of how everything is interrelated. I think there's a place for both styles.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-91457228122952570272011-11-28T18:14:19.702+02:002011-11-28T18:14:19.702+02:00Zak wrote: "it will all depend on the quality...Zak wrote: "it will all depend on the quality of the pictures, i suppose..."<br /><br />In my opinion, Isle of the Unknown is the single best-looking book to ever come out of the OSR. I say that based on the PDF I have of the final product. I can hardly wait to hold the actual book in my hands.Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-35518991333812458842011-11-28T18:13:29.664+02:002011-11-28T18:13:29.664+02:00@semiprometheus
Coping with a horde of orcs or ot...@semiprometheus<br /><br /><i>Coping with a horde of orcs or other stock monsters is mainly a mechanical exercise.</i><br /><br />Seriously? Could World of Warcraft ever do anything like <a href="http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/" rel="nofollow">Tucker's Kobolds</a>? WoW monsters do zero planning, have poor tactics, no strategy, and no memory.<br /><br />And they never retreat intelligently.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-20819766314867427322011-11-28T18:11:19.958+02:002011-11-28T18:11:19.958+02:00Two considerations led me to exclude any "sta...Two considerations led me to exclude any "standard" monsters in Isle of the Unknown:<br /><br />1. Remember playing D&D for the first time? Every time a monster was encountered, we'd wonder, "What is that? What can it do?" Then we'd be freaked-out when we found out in the middle of combat what it could do. Unfortunately, familiarity blunts all that:<br /><br />DM: You see 3 tall, thin humanoids with noses as long as carrots and...<br /><br />Players: Oh, more trolls. Magic-user, cast fireball. Thief, have the flasks of acid ready in case some of the trolls make their saving throws.<br /><br />:(<br /><br />How many standard, "Oh, I know what that is" monsters did Conan encounter? Or appear in Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborean tales? Etc. I think a monster should be frightening and mysterious rather than a known and cataloged factor.<br /><br />2. Does anyone really need me to write hex descriptions such as this? "Hex 2207: Twenty orcs armed with spears lurk here. Each carries 2-8 gp." Nah. Instead, each and every of the 330 described hexes (whether with a monster or now) gives you something that you might not have thought of on your own.<br /><br />Monsters do seem weirder when seen against a mundane background. The assumed mundane background of the Isle of the Unknown is composed of 0-level humans and wild animals, rather than mundane, standard monsters.<br /><br />Of course, putting orcs and such in the island would be a snap. Just plop them in or roll on an encounter table in one of your books (OSRIC, AD&D, D&D, Hackmaster, or whatever).Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-13957040549817009972011-11-28T17:59:05.898+02:002011-11-28T17:59:05.898+02:00I didn't include mundane details in Isle of th...I didn't include mundane details in Isle of the Unknown for several reasons:<br /><br />1. It's boring to write and boring to read.<br /><br />2. What if you wanted to drop the Isle of the Unknown in a Polynesian-like archipelago, but I had included all sorts of details of a mundane society rather like 14th-century France? Then suddenly the majority of the book would be useless to you. Instead, I included only magical and weird stuff that can be included as-is in ANY type of society.<br /><br />3. Lack of chutzpah: I would feel silly asking for people's money in return for me writing page after page of stuff and stats like: "Guillome the guard is a 0-level human (AC 5, MV 90', hp 4, #AT 1, D by weapon) armored with chainmail and bearing a long sword, a short bow (with a quiver with 20 arrows), and a spear." That sort of thing can be made-up in one's sleep, and/or generated from the tables included in many free resources such as OSRIC.Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-10626463828621531332011-11-28T17:47:21.202+02:002011-11-28T17:47:21.202+02:00I like what Zak wrote here, which also applies to ...I like what Zak wrote here, which also applies to Isle of the Unknown (except that it's an island rather than a city):<br /><br />Is Vornheim really that weird?<br /><br />I mean, the only real difference I can see between it and other city supplements like it is they go: <br /><br />"This neighborhood has the fish market. The fish market has fish. Boats with fish on them sail in and out of this neighborhood. In the words of Granar Blazonhelm 'I smell fish, I must be in Fishinghood'. There are many adventures to be had in this place--you might not realize it, but boats can be exciting! Sometimes there are things on boats in addition to fish! Like cargo! Cargo comes into this fishing neighborhood from all over Worldimadeuppia, from as far as Vaguelysketchedoutjapanequivalentium. NPCs you might meet in this neighborhood include people who sell fish, people who buy fish, people who pilot boats, people who are riding on boats and people who fix boats. Here's a picture of a boat."<br /><br />And I don't.<br /><br />link: http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2011/10/ok-im-confused.htmlGeoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-23169493193062318372011-11-28T17:35:47.110+02:002011-11-28T17:35:47.110+02:00Hitchcock once said that story to him was life wit...Hitchcock once said that story to him was life with all the dull moments stripped out. Obviously games are not stories per se, but it's not a bad rule of thumb. <br /><br />Vornheim works because it doesn't get bogged down in describing each tanner shop and the like. I am glad to see the same approach here, guess we will see if it works as a whole product later in December.<br /><br />No one has really said it so far, but I appreciate you, James, putting aside the marketing and presenting the thought train behind the Isle instead. I am probably a quirky audience, but the "why" behind a product has become the most important factor in whether or not I put my money on the table for it.Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-12090592042150113672011-11-28T16:42:14.319+02:002011-11-28T16:42:14.319+02:00"Orcs may be 'old hat' ..."
Cop..."Orcs may be 'old hat' ..."<br /><br />Coping with a horde of orcs or other stock monsters is mainly a mechanical exercise. World of Warcraft or other computer-based games portray that far better than some guy at the head of a table with some funny looking dice.<br /><br />The strengths of the Some-Guy-With-Dice (SGWD) platform lie in its natural language interface and its stimulation of end-user's emotional, reasoning, and visualization subsystems; the low-tech random number generation and resource management features exist merely to support its natural language processing facility. To maximize the SGWD platform's advantages and end-user enjoyment, scenario designers should concentrate on creating a mood, producing descriptive content (within the platform's capacity), and making full use of the SGWD's improvisation and characterization capabilities.<br /><br />(Maybe someone should write "Game Masters: the Missing Manual".)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-55449412305248777532011-11-28T16:33:43.609+02:002011-11-28T16:33:43.609+02:00we had EXACTLY this "assume the mundane is mu...we had EXACTLY this "assume the mundane is mundane and skip it" conversation about Wilderlands last night on G+.<br /><br />and this:<br />"I write the sort of thing I wish other people would write and publish. "<br />yeah.<br /><br />it will all depend on the quality of the pictures, i suppose...Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-9856672236608558642011-11-28T16:33:28.843+02:002011-11-28T16:33:28.843+02:00>>I know I'm a little strange here but I...>>I know I'm a little strange here but I'd enjoy a setting like this:<br /><br />Geoffrey can correct me if I'm talking out my ass here, but I take it that the Isle's goal was not to be a fully fleshed out setting, but more of a setting overlay. "This island can go in ANY fantasy campaign, and when they go to the island there's all this neat stuff there in addition to why the PCs went there to begin with."<br /><br />The more mundane detail you add, the less convenient it is to use in ANY fantasy campaign.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-19938671425767189082011-11-28T16:29:54.942+02:002011-11-28T16:29:54.942+02:00>Any idea what sort of price we're looking ...>Any idea what sort of price we're looking at for both bundled together, or just Isle?<br /><br />Carcosa: 32,11€, Isle: 22,94€, plus 9% VAT if you're in the EU or plus shipping if you're not in the EU.<br /><br />Each will have a bundle of extras (cloth map + full color A3-size double-sided poster) available for +5€, limited to 250 each.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-3368596209266546042011-11-28T16:07:25.610+02:002011-11-28T16:07:25.610+02:00I know I'm a little strange here but I'd e...I know I'm a little strange here but I'd enjoy a setting like this:<br />"01-10 It rains.<br />11-20 You seen some rabbits.<br />21-30 You meet a peasant digging for mushrooms.<br />31-40 You step in cowshit.<br />41-50 etc.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />91-99 A dog barks at you.<br />00 You encounter the fantastic thing described in this product."<br /><br />the weird stuff is made much weirder by the non-weird stuff. One must also ask "what's that peasant doing gathering mushrooms in the same isolated wood that is occupied by the Gnawing-Jaws of Babblewrack"?<br /><br />A 1% chance of ruin or doom for a normal man out for a walk seems pretty extreme. Now if someone sets out to find the Gnawing-Jaws of Babblewrack the odds of an encounter should exceed simple stumbling chance. <br /><br />All that said The Isle of the Unknown has certainly interested me and I'm looking forward for the opportunity to give it a read and ref a party exploring it.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-75597914847198923802011-11-28T15:54:38.757+02:002011-11-28T15:54:38.757+02:00Any idea what sort of price we're looking at f...Any idea what sort of price we're looking at for both bundled together, or just Isle?<br /><br />http://osrandom.blogspot.com/Lee Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127805337560546059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-67821595377421540342011-11-28T14:09:14.764+02:002011-11-28T14:09:14.764+02:00"...weird merely for the sake of weird can be...<b><i>"...weird merely for the sake of weird can be tiresome..."</i></b><br /><br />Only if it seems nonsensical. If it seems like it makes some sort of at least self-consistent sense, then each additional weirdness comes across as a clue to a mystery. Though, I suppose, some people might find even that tiresome if they don't like mysteries.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14398295844409607075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-84075005061031173192011-11-28T13:33:01.286+02:002011-11-28T13:33:01.286+02:00Orcs may be "old hat", but weird merely ...Orcs may be "old hat", but weird merely for the sake of weird can be tiresome as well.phfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05500880186402356662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-5244922560216329222011-11-28T12:55:45.406+02:002011-11-28T12:55:45.406+02:00Looking forward to this one. The proofs I saw cert...Looking forward to this one. The proofs I saw certainly wetted the appetite.Simon Forsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01243845335993440168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-76491185710176076322011-11-28T12:53:02.028+02:002011-11-28T12:53:02.028+02:00I fully expect them to arrive from the printer and...I fully expect them to arrive from the printer and go on sale at the same time.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.com