[PnP] Hello and a question

[Choinski, Burton]

Given the fact the even the old warhorse AH is no longer alive
(bankrupt, sold out to parker brothers, dead), anything form that
quarter is unlikely.

It's a tough environment.  A rewrite project today, with no assurance of
payoff for Richard in terms of being picked up and published, is hard to
justify for his time.  I would think nearly any of us would put in time
if he decided to rewrite a framework and then farmed out chunks to each
of us to develop and then return for discussion and polish.

I'd love to see something out there then the damned d20 kudzu plague,
but it's tough for retailers.  A shop I have gone to for a while has a
WALL of games and system that primarily gather dust.  He can hardly
justify getting much in that is new, unless specifically asked for
and/or ordered simply because the market is so dead for stores.  Many
people are ordering online or are not doing boardgames/wargames/rpgs
anymore.  Like Scott said, only the big guns (GURPS, D20, White Wolf)
are doing OK, with others hanging on.  I see many one-shot ideas in that
game store (nice bound books, interesting concepts, complete POS systems
and mechanics).  And online MMRPGs don't help.



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Burton Choinski | Principal Software Engineer | ENOVIA MatrixOne
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-----Original Message-----
From: pnp-bounces at abroere.xs4all.nl
[mailto:pnp-bounces at abroere.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Scott Adams
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 10:02 PM
To: The Powers and Perils Mailing List; The Powers and Perils Mailing
List
Subject: Re: [PnP] Hello and a question

At 10:01 PM 7/31/06, Franklin Robertson wrote:
>Well I think that people look at all the formulas and feel as if the
character creation is a daunting task...kind of like what a 9th grader
in pre-Algebra would think if given a book on quantum physics! What
helped me out was that I took the rule book and a character sheet and I
put in each information slot the outline number and page number the
information could be found on. I think that, at least for me, when I
first read the P&P I would quickly get lost in all the math that is
needed to be done.  That of course was a long while back.  If you
compare say, the BL's Warhammer 2nd edition (again, I prefer a more
thinking rpg than what D20 has to offer even on a good day's worth of
printing!) to that of P&P, Warhammer has the character information
sectioned in distinguishable portions...a clear "how to role for main
statistics" then "carreers" then the combat, et al. For P&P's Book One,
Character Book, someone just picking up the game for the first time, you
see so many diffe!
 rent charts and diagrams and analysis...there's so much there for
creating such a unique character that one might if not careful, get
lost. Now please understand that I dont think badly of P&P, I wouldn't
have kept it all this time and play it when able to get players if I
didn't like it, and I will clearly state that it is one of the best
created roleplaying systems and world systems. Again, what helped me was
to take a character sheet and jot down the page and section number that
particular character information would be found.
>
>Then again, P&P was written in that golden age of roleplaying games
when the creators of the games were trying to create something special
and something that could be treasured by both Game Masters and players
alike.other games I would suggest placing in that "golden age" opinion
would be those like Arduin Grimoire, RuneQuest (original 1st and 2nd
edition RQ), Lords of Creation, Warhammer, and those like that.sadly, as
I see in the game stores and even in the bookstore I work at, all game
companies want to do is hitch a ride on the D20 bandwagon and that
really saddens me.  You just dont see a lot of on the shelf action for
creative and exploring game systems like P&P. Of course I am probably
preaching to the choir, but I would think there would be agreement with
me.  Still, it is good thing that one can still find here and there over
the net games like P&P and also find a community like this one to go
along with the game system. Maybe the gods of the Perilous Lands will
co!
 me forth and bring about a renaissance in games and we'll see P&P there
on the shelf one day, kicking the D20 parrots off the shelf.  I can only
hope!

Well like you said the Golden Age of rpgs are over.  Rpgs are in a Wane
now and the dark ages have set in.  Only the true classics and ultra
rich game companies can afford to continue rpg projects.  We must face
some facts here that AH won't continue the game.  The chances of finding
another company to publish is slim and nill as 1) the game system itself
wasn't a huge one (though should've been in popular circles) and 2) if
AH dropped it that's a bad negative sign for other companies.  Next we
must face only Richard is a true game writer.  Yes we can do fan fiction
and stuff like my ship project but by far we aren't professional in it.
He has the credit.  If anyone is to do a re-write it would be him.  Next
We've talked about this for years now and nothing has happened.  Sadly
unless someone steps up and starts the rewrite it won't be done.  Even
if someone does and finds the time of that daunting task it won't be all
appreciated.  Look at my posts I've added to pnp via my!
  ship stuff - so far no one has commented on them.  That's fine.  But
what I do someone else will argue and not like.  To satisfy each person
would be a very daunting task.  Don't mean to be a party pooper here but
just reality.   I think pnp is fine as is.  Granted the edges could be
expanded like supplements to rules but the core rules are fine for me.
Course if someone did rewrite I'd be tehre to support it.  to Organize
usch a monster would take a few years.  then it would hav eto be self
published likely or web published.  If folks want we could pool our
money and get Richard to quit his job and hire him full time to redo
pnp?  Any takers? :)





>And yes I'd be interested in the P&P play by email.

Check out the the game website
www.funport.net/longshot/pbem
The top 10 or so links will give you some info.  Check out some random
links to see the style of the game.  If your still interested email me
privately and we'll go forward.  For Adventure #3 theres a few ways
folks can join.  It does require a bit of time and dedication though.
Adventure #1 lasted 6 years #2 about 10 months and is almost over.  :)
#3 might be even shorter. 



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