[PnP] Hello and a question

[Paul L. Ming]

Hiya.

[Burton Choinsky wrote...] 
While we may enjoy the nit-picky fiddly bits, assuming the RPG population
doesn't finally get blanded away by the damned d20 crapola, any sort of
resurgence in new games will probably require a streamlining rewrite of some
sort. The trick is to have a set of mechanics that retain the original P&P
flavor.
[/B.C.]

   I agree that P&P would benefit from a "re-written" version. I've *almost*
sat down to re-do it myself a few times, but converting everything to text I
could work with on the computer was just too much. Hey, that brings up a
question?

...Who did the "v1.2 Revised" PDF's on Wout's site? Does whoever did that
still have the 'text' form of those documents? If so, could I perhaps get
them? At least I could make an attempt at a 're-structuring'?

   Ahem, back to the main theme. One thing I've always thought would be a
HUGE help for new players would be to have a consistant, "Example
Character(s)" throughout the books. The first place I remember seeing this
done was in RuneQuest 3 (the one by AH/Chaosium; boxed set), with 'Cormack
the Pict' I think his name was. It starts with rolling up his stats, then
moving on to choosing his background, then skills, etc. The reason I liked
it was that when I came to some formula, when it was explained, I could
"trace backwards" all the numbers they were using and I could see where they
got those numbers.

   From an experienced P&P Referee/Player another thing I think would help
is to have a "Quick Step-by-Step" listing of character creation formulae in
the order of creation. The list of "steps to do" at the beginning of Book 1
is helpful, but still involves trudging through the book, page by page, in
order to find the charts/formula for any particular step.

   Anyway, what I've found with P&P is this: Initially it is pretty
daunting...but after 2 or 3 games, everything "falls into place" and the
game runs pretty damn smoothly. Keep at it, it's worth it! :)

Paul L. Ming