So the TDM guys do it again
http://thedesignmechanism.com/resources/Press_Releases/Lyonesse%20RPG%20Press%20Release.pdf
Between the Mythic Lines, Thennla and this...just quality gaming.
Excited about this! Will be a must-buy.
If I could extend one caution to the authors: please go easy on the attempted Vance-speak in the book. The man had a way with words, but imitations generally fail hard (see: the prose of the Dying Earth RPG). Somehow rather than evoking Vance, it always sounds like a bad parody of Edward Gibbon. Vance is actually easy on the adjectives, and the key is, his 10-dollar words (the Latinate vocab) are used sparingly, not strung together in a sentence.
Lyonesse is in my top 10, and probably top 5. I don't dislike Mythras. But it is not the first system that would have occurred to me to use for a Lyonesse game. So I'll be interested to see how they tweak to make it work. I'll probably buy it just for the source material.
I got the impression ( possibly wrong ) that this was a new system and not Mythras.
Quote from: LouGoncey;1034210I got the impression ( possibly wrong ) that this was a new system and not Mythras.
From the press release:
QuoteLyonesse is a standalone game based on the acclaimed Mythras system.
I have read the first two books but found them exceptionally boring (Tolkien-esque even) and never read the third. Which is odd, since I like almost all his other stuff, including Dying Earth and his sci-fi stuff. I'd really like to see a RPG based on his Gaean Reach stuff (which is a lot of his Sci-Fi)
Quote from: JeremyR;1034211From the press release:
I have read the first two books but found them exceptionally boring (Tolkien-esque even) and never read the third. Which is odd, since I like almost all his other stuff, including Dying Earth and his sci-fi stuff. I'd really like to see a RPG based on his Gaean Reach stuff (which is a lot of his Sci-Fi)
Pelgrane do a Gaean Reach rpg. http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/the-gaean-reach-2/
So the ad above says almost nothing about what the system will be like.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1034583So the ad above says almost nothing about what the system will be like.
Check out the free Mythras Imperative. That should give you a solid basis for how Mythras (Formerly RuneQuest 6e...) works.
I refuse to fund them because of their American hate speech.
Quote from: Hermes Serpent;1034218Pelgrane do a Gaean Reach rpg. http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/the-gaean-reach-2/
This definitely intrigues me:
Quote from: Pelgrane PressDo not succumb to wistful visions. Every moment you hesitate to purchase this essential exemplar of the roleplaying art, Quandos Vorn gains time to strengthen his hand against you. Buy now, read with relish, and embark on your mission forthwith!
My guess is that Mythras Imperative will be the core of the system for Lyonesse with a specific custom Vancian magic system to mimic the way magic is done in the Lyonesse books. After all with only three books there is limited material to work with and the 'feel' of the setting will set the tone for the game in play. So high fantasy with a custom magic system and teh possibility of political intrigue being high on the agenda.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;1034649I refuse to fund them because of their American hate speech.
I'm going to regret asking but wha?
I suspect it's either because it's Shawn or he's confused TDM with someone who gives a fuck about US politics.
Quote from: Hermes Serpent;1034679I suspect it's either because it's Shawn or he's confused TDM with someone who gives a fuck about US politics.
Yeah I've never known the guys to be overly political so it was a surprise response. That said I'd never let politics get in the way of buying something fro TDM.
I actually finished the Lyonesse trilogy a few months ago. It´s full of ideas that´s easily lifted into any fantasycampaign.
As for the story, it´s not my favorite Vance but still better than most (of other writers - EDIT).
I do play BRP fantasy, and I since I read a lot of Vance I probably steal more than I know from his books, but I dont think I´ll by this.
EDIT AGAIN: This came out pretty negative... Lyonesse would probably make a great RPG setting and I know nothing at all about Mythras.
Sometimes my fingers are faster than my brain.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1034583So the ad above says almost nothing about what the system will be like.
The system is core Mythras - you'll be familiar with it Pundit; 'Riders of R'lyeh' uses a great deal of Mythras's rules, and copies its structure quite closely in some areas. There will be considerable tweaks for magic, cultures, skills and so on, but the underlying engine is the Mythras d100 engine.
And as Trechiron says, you can download Imperative to see the kernel of it for free.
Quote from: Hermes Serpent;1034679I suspect it's either because it's Shawn or he's confused TDM with someone who gives a fuck about US politics.
I seem to recall Shawn took exception to one of the supporting videos we did for our RQ6 hardcover Indiegogo campaign a few years ago. In a very light-hearted video, where we had a selection of historical figures supposedly endorsing the game, we also had a selection of well known figures that we
didn't want endorsing RQ. One of them was Sarah Palin. Another was Justin Bieber. This obviously qualifies us as being completely anti-American (and, presumably, anti-Canadian, too, despite the fact I live in Canada). So there you have it. Of course, I'd be very interested in seeing the copious amounts of anti-American hate speech we're guilty of, so I'm looking forward to the examples Shawn can no doubt provide.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1034583So the ad above says almost nothing about what the system will be like.
Mythras is Runequest with the skill list gutted, unecessary complication added to the combat system along with D&D style initiative and saving rolls.
Quote from: waltshumate;1034766Mythras is Runequest
Pretty much, yeah
Quote from: waltshumate;1034766with the skill list gutted
No, not really
Quote from: waltshumate;1034766unecessary complication added to the combat system
In the eye of the beholder I guess. It is different and more detailed than old RQ.
Quote from: waltshumate;1034766along with D&D style initiative and saving rolls.
No,
really not really.
Quote from: baragei;1034770Pretty much, yeah
No, not really
In the eye of the beholder I guess. It is different and more detailed than old RQ.
No, really not really.
Lol I did not bother responding when I realised he was talking out his ass.
Quote from: Loz;1034710I seem to recall Shawn took exception to one of the supporting videos we did for our RQ6 hardcover Indiegogo campaign a few years ago. In a very light-hearted video, where we had a selection of historical figures supposedly endorsing the game, we also had a selection of well known figures that we didn't want endorsing RQ. One of them was Sarah Palin. Another was Justin Bieber. This obviously qualifies us as being completely anti-American (and, presumably, anti-Canadian, too, despite the fact I live in Canada). So there you have it. Of course, I'd be very interested in seeing the copious amounts of anti-American hate speech we're guilty of, so I'm looking forward to the examples Shawn can no doubt provide.
Wait, you're Canadian? I
KNEW there was a reason I liked you!
;) :D
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1034794Wait, you're Canadian? I KNEW there was a reason I liked you!
;) :D
Ah, no. British expat. Lived in southern Ontario for 9 years now.
Quote from: baragei;1034770>along with D&D style initiative and saving rolls.
No, really not really..
Obviously you have never played proper Runequest or your a stupid twat. Runequest has strike ranks not rolled initiative and resistances are characteristics and do not increase by experience, as they do in Mythras and the rules that spawned it, which means they act just like saving rolls in D&D.
Quote from: waltshumate;1034830Obviously
I really need to stop being so naive as to think the internet will cease to amaze.
It's all just d100 for me.
Really loved RQ6 and I am told that it is nearly identical to Mythras, so this could be interesting.:)
Mythras is RQ6 with minor revisions and clarifications, but mostly just a revised layout and change in font due to complaints about readability that varied from person to person (the ligatures in the original font caused some people to have issues reading the text). The layout and font changes altered the book from 458 pages down to 306 pages. Animism had some material clarified, but that was the only major change to any text.
Is it worth buying Mythras if I have RQ6 or is there an errata? Much appreciate any answer.:)
Quote from: Mike the Mage;1035656Is it worth buying Mythras if I have RQ6 or is there an errata? Much appreciate any answer.:)
Probably not, but if you're interested in some of the supplements, you can get a good deal on a package now at the Bundle of Holding (http://bundleofholding.com)
Wow, cheers AG! I will be checking that out!:cool:
This is cool. I loved that series. I won't likely play the system, but I look forward to plundering it for ideas.
As someone who hasn't read Vance and has never heard of Lyonesse, can someone briefly encapsulate the awesome of this?
Quote from: RunningLaser;1035696As someone who hasn't read Vance and has never heard of Lyonesse, can someone briefly encapsulate the awesome of this?
I'm fairly certain you are going to get some difference in the answers, because Lyonesse is an odd-duck written by a person with a distinctive style--who tempered the style writing that work. That said, here is why I enjoy it so much:
1. If Dying Earth (and the various sequels) was Vance and his love for language and word play turned up to 11, then Lyonesse is the same thing with the volume turned down just enough to avoid distortion and feedback. Those familiar with him will see outbursts where he goes full out, but it is much more artfully crafted into the whole story, instead of a thing in its own right. It also makes the characters more distinctive, in that Vance has altered the voice by character.
2. It is a slow developing story at first, but the pace is fast at the end, and the entire arc is a masterpiece of pacing. Ideally, you'll read the first book in snippets, slow--and the last book you won't put down for the last 100 pages. This can be deeply satisfying to read if you go in with those expectations, and plan accordingly. It is not, for example, a story to read on a train while commuting to work. Contra to what we so often see out of current fantasy, it is well-plotted. So all of those slow developing scenes early matter at the end. You can have such a satisfying and rollicking ending with multiple meanings because of what has been so carefully developed up until that point.
3. A lot of people say they like a mix of mythic, fairy tales, and more cynical/worldly fantasy. More than a few authors (and gamers) try it. Vance is one of the few people I know that has made a world and a story that does it with so few false steps. (This is the big thing in the translation into a game that I'll be watching. If you can't translate this, it isn't Lyonesse, but only a game set in the world of Lyonesse.)
4. The humor is in the characters and their natural reactions to at times wildly fantastical events. As opposed to, say, other works that I won't name that get that exactly opposite, to so little effect, humorous or otherwise. The exceptions (the wildly fantastical characters in Lyonesse) stand out for being the exceptions.
5. Vance isn't afraid to let his heroes be heroes and his villains be villains. He can make a flawed hero still heroic and an understandable villains still dastardly even as you empathize a little with how he got there.
6. For fans of Vance, it is a culmination. So much of his material was written as short stories or serialized originally, or when he was still thinking in those episodic terms to secure a paycheck. Here, we get to see a full work using all the craft developed in those shorter works. There are slow places, but almost no "filler". For so few fantasy novels can you say that--or even in literature as a whole.
Quote from: Mike the Mage;1035656Is it worth buying Mythras if I have RQ6 or is there an errata? Much appreciate any answer.:)
From a basic rules point of view, no, but Mythras has a lot of extra stuff that you will like if you liked RQ6.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1035704Ideally, you'll read the first book in snippets, slow--and the last book you won't put down for the last 100 pages.
Funny - that is actually how I read it!