No, really. I think every gamer should own a copy of this game. Not necessarily to play it -- I'm not sure I could manage that trick myself. No, just to remind yourself of those bygone days when you were a hyper 13-year-old gamer so jazzed about the endless possibilities of gaming, and man, wouldn't it be cool if there were a game that let you play, like, dragons, and ninjas, and robots, and giants, and superheroes, and...
Oh, and there are giant mutant fire clams and flying grizzlies with laserbeam eyes.
That actually sounds like fun. Then again, it would need a good system to go with it.
Quote from: danbuter;457782That actually sounds like fun. Then again, it would need a good system to go with it.
Yeah... not so much. :)
It does, however, have grainy linear attribute scores designed to go up to godlike levels, so if you ever wanted, like, a
million trillion bajillion Strength, this is the game for you. :D
Also, the author has jumped off of diving boards.
I know this because it's listed on the back cover as one if his game design qualifications.
But did he make shoes?
Quote from: Dan Davenport;457777No, really. I think every gamer should own a copy of this game. Not necessarily to play it -- I'm not sure I could manage that trick myself. No, just to remind yourself of those bygone days when you were a hyper 13-year-old gamer so jazzed about the endless possibilities of gaming, and man, wouldn't it be cool if there were a game that let you play, like, dragons, and ninjas, and robots, and giants, and superheroes, and...
This is pretty much what Rifts was to me. I was 13 or 14 at the time I bought it.
And I don't know about Synnibar, but Rifts is playable out of the core book. Especially if you stick to the core book and the first few books... I sure as hell had a blast playing a game which truly let one's imagination run wild.
My 13 year old alter ego would have hated Worlds of Synnibarr. I have never liked gonzo, not even when I was 13. When I was 13, I fell in love with RQIII.
A friend of mine owns a copy (of Synnibar), and he claims it sucks. A lot.
I'm with Claudius on this. At 13 I was fascinated by the possibilities offered by rpgs and just barely scratching the surface. But full on gonzo wasn't my cup of tea and still isn't.
Squealing about dinosaurs vs robots or whatever is simply an internet forum trope to me, which for some reason grizzled old gamers seem to think makes them seem charmingly childlike. It doesn't.
I own a copy of this (and the only supplement, the Adventurer's Guide), though I've never managed to convince anyone to play it with me. Its one of three or so softcover books I love so much I had to laminate them, though it is badwronglove.
Anything bad you have heard about this game on the internet is probably true (Except the bit above about bajillion Strengths; mortals have a Strength maximum of 1,000 for a x600 damage adjustment). The rpgnet review is rather harsh too, there are a number of good ideas hiding in the game system in various places, if obscured behind some shockingly bad implementation.
The setting is fun if silly, but the amount of drinking required to maximally enjoy it may make using the system problematic for most people.
I like science fantasy, but gonzo is a thing of degrees, like anything else it's best not take to extremes. At 13 i was far too inflexible to engage in anything even remotely like Synnibar.
This is a lovely straw man:
Quote from: The_Shadow;457837Squealing about dinosaurs vs robots or whatever is simply an internet forum trope to me, which for some reason grizzled old gamers seem to think makes them seem charmingly childlike. It doesn't.
Translation- my way of pretending to be an elf is best.
I don't enjoy vanilla fantasy in the least, but I somehow lack the compulsion to characterize its adherents as hidebound zero imagination fatbeards riding the horse of same old same old down into oblivion whilst caressing the crotch of their stratigraphically semen crusted pants. Instead I just take it as a given that different people have differnt tastes.
Yeah, from my early teens into college years and beyond, I was a frowny anti-gonzo curmudgeon. And Runequest was the game I wanted to play, with the fantastic elements dialed down to 1 or 2.
Nowadays I see some attraction but Waste World, not Synnibar or Rifts, is my gonzo fairy princess.
Quote from: Aos;457843Translation- my way of pretending to be an elf is best.
Pretending to be an elf is for geeks. When I roll the dice, I
become the elf. Needless to say, this would be impossible without my home-brewed system where elves no longer have artificial restrictions like race as class and level caps. But Aos, you need not apply as it's for Master Gamers only.
Quote from: The_Shadow;457852Pretending to be an elf is for geeks. When I roll the dice, I become the elf. Needless to say, this would be impossible without my home-brewed system where elves no longer have artificial restrictions like race as class and level caps. But Aos, you need not apply as it's for Master Gamers only.
You only think you're having fun.
Quote from: Aos;457843Translation- my way of pretending to be an elf is best.
Translation - You hit WAY too close to the mark for Aos' comfort. :rotfl:
Nah, I only squeal when I'm jerking off to drow porn. That's the best way to pretend to be an elf.
I own the game, I own its one supplement (Nazi Gestapo Elves!), played it and run it. Yes, the game does work. Despite the seriously objectionable parts, it does work. I still would not recommend it, but it is false to claim that it's a game that does not work as intended; the problem is with the intention, not with the mechanics.
Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;457839I own a copy of this (and the only supplement, the Adventurer's Guide), though I've never managed to convince anyone to play it with me. Its one of three or so softcover books I love so much I had to laminate them, though it is badwronglove.
Anything bad you have heard about this game on the internet is probably true (Except the bit above about bajillion Strengths; mortals have a Strength maximum of 1,000 for a x600 damage adjustment). The rpgnet review is rather harsh too, there are a number of good ideas hiding in the game system in various places, if obscured behind some shockingly bad implementation.
The setting is fun if silly, but the amount of drinking required to maximally enjoy it may make using the system problematic for most people.
This review makes far too much sense to me.
Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;457839Its one of three or so softcover books I love so much I had to laminate them, though it is badwronglove.
Oh god the mental images.
Quote from: The_Shadow;457852Pretending to be an elf is for geeks.
All professional actors pretend to be elves.
Heck. All professionals -period- pretend to be elves.
We ALL pretend to be elves.
Sorry - I never was a 13 year old gamer. I didn't start roleplaying 'til I was 21, in 1977.
-clash
I attended a game design workshop that featured several local gaming celebrities, including Synnabar author. I honestly don't remember anything else about that workshop except for his input on game design.
I went looking forward to the chance to revile his game design philosophy but and hopefuly discover he was some grotesque cripple, but no, he actualy presented himself quite well.
He had a very distinct thought process. He'd brainstorm, pick a goal, achieve it and then move on to the next brainstorm. It was unusual because he seemed completely free of, I dunno, introspection? shame? Anyway he said that he copied the layout for his Char Gen section from the IRS. Everyone in the room groaned and complained that they don't like tax forms, but he was steadfast to the idea that if it was easy enough for millions of American Taxpayers, it was easy enough for roleplayers. He was particularly proud of how each line on his picture of a character sheet has it's own page number -- JUST LIKE A REAL TAX BOOKLET!
It was very axiomatic. "Easy is good. Taxes are easy, therefore tax form character sheets." He modeled the gunfire by hiring children to blast him with squirtguns. He wanted the PCs to be as powerful as martial artists amongst children, he's a martial artist they're children, therefore it's science. He wanted monsters no one had ever seen in a roleplaying game. Fire breathing clams were not in a roleplaying game. Therefore....
One of the legends that surrounds Synnabar is the missing boat die roll. The game says something like: When the players abandon their boat roll 1d100 and record that number. When they return roll again and if the second roll is higher their boat is gone forevar, if it's lower they still have a boat. He was aware, when I saw him, that the odds are 50/50 despite all the extra work. So, anyway he's not as dumb about probability as the internet would have us believe.
As a kid I had no patience for Synabarr, but after meeting him it made me see Synnabar as the successful achievement of a goal I do not want. But still a success.
Quote from: Malleus Arianorum;457908He modeled the gunfire by hiring children to blast him with squirtguns. He wanted the PCs to be as powerful as martial artists amongst children, he's a martial artist they're children, therefore it's science.
Oh, like that episode of
Seinfeld where Kramer joined a karate class. :D
JG
Wow, after Malleus' explanation of the author's way of thinking, this sounds like an absolute must have! It's like capturing for posterity an obscure, dying foreign language that turns the accepted assumptions within anthro-linguistics on its head. Like a testament to the near-limitless ingenuity of the human mind to solve problems.
:worship:
Eat your heart out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmiG4IcGkU4), Greg Stafford.
Funny thing, it was never the gonzo that bothered me, and I tend to enjoy a bit more serious gameplay (and always have.) Yet the numbers--huge numbers, that had little real need for all those zeroes. That kept me from ever owning it.
Quote from: flyingmice;457892Sorry - I never was a 13 year old gamer. I didn't start roleplaying 'til I was 21, in 1977.
-clash
Yeah, I was never a 13 year old game either as I got only started in my late twenties. Even so flying grizzlies with laserbeam eyes never lost their appeal. Class is class regardless of age.
Quote from: TAFMSV;457919Eat your heart out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmiG4IcGkU4), Greg Stafford.
Hey, he's not half bad.
Each time I discover something new about Synnibar and/or Raven C. S. McCracken, my respect for the man only increases. :D
Quote from: Dan Davenport;457777No, really. I think every gamer should own a copy of this game. Not necessarily to play it -- I'm not sure I could manage that trick myself. No, just to remind yourself of those bygone days when you were a hyper 13-year-old gamer so jazzed about the endless possibilities of gaming, and man, wouldn't it be cool if there were a game that let you play, like, dragons, and ninjas, and robots, and giants, and superheroes, and...
No, RIFTS is for that. Synnibarr is so that you understand that it can have all that and still suck if you can't actually have rules that work.
RPGPundit
I own a copy. I consider it the cornerstone of my Bad RPG collection.
Quote from: thedungeondelver;457886Oh god the mental images.
Well consider yourself repaid for that time you linked an image of the worst ever Vampire art from Something Awful :)
Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;458107Well consider yourself repaid for that time you linked an image of the worst ever Vampire art from Something Awful :)
Have we had a 'worst art in an RPG product that actually saw print' thread?
Quote from: Tetsubo;458119Have we had a 'worst art in an RPG product that actually saw print' thread?
Not to my (limited) knowledge.
Quote from: Tetsubo;458119Have we had a 'worst art in an RPG product that actually saw print' thread?
I'd have to give my vote to two of my favorite games if we did: D&D (1974) and ICONS.
Quote from: Dan Davenport;457777No, really. I think every gamer should own a copy of this game. Not necessarily to play it -- I'm not sure I could manage that trick myself. No, just to remind yourself of those bygone days when you were a hyper 13-year-old gamer...
I was 28 and just married in 1993...
I was 13 in 1978, I had just started playing Wargames and RolePlaying... ;)