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Author Topic: Great Art Betrayed a Crappy Game  (Read 3152 times)

beeber

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« Reply #15 on: May 16, 2011, 03:43:30 PM »
don't forget the tBP darling, Eoris ;)

misterguignol

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« Reply #16 on: May 16, 2011, 03:49:19 PM »
Quote from: beeber;458356
don't forget the tBP darling, Eoris ;)


There is an Eeyore role-playing game?

FASERIP

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« Reply #17 on: May 16, 2011, 03:59:15 PM »
Quote from: Loz;458312
Skyrealms of Jorune.

Fabulous art, intriguing setting, but the system was an utter mess. The second printing of the game came with a 20 page errata that still didn't make the system work.


I really think this should be a contender for the top spot. Teves' artwork is some of the best to ever appear in an RPG.

The third edition has a GM screen and ~80-page errata booklet as one of its modules.
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jibbajibba

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« Reply #18 on: May 16, 2011, 05:19:35 PM »
Quote from: FASERIP;458361

Quote

Originally Posted by Loz View Post
Skyrealms of Jorune.

Fabulous art, intriguing setting, but the system was an utter mess. The second printing of the game came with a 20 page errata that still didn't make the system work.

I really think this should be a contender for the top spot. Teves' artwork is some of the best to ever appear in an RPG.

The third edition has a GM screen and ~80-page errata booklet as one of its modules.


I would agree though I add the original Games workshop Judge Dredd Game as a contender.
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Tetsubo

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« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2011, 05:23:26 PM »
Quote from: Loz;458312
Skyrealms of Jorune.

Fabulous art, intriguing setting, but the system was an utter mess. The second printing of the game came with a 20 page errata that still didn't make the system work.


Some of the best artwork in a RPG product that I have ever seen. But I have no memory of the system itself. I read it once when it was released.

Pseudoephedrine
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« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2011, 06:33:04 PM »
Quote from: beeber;458356
don't forget the tBP darling, Eoris ;)


x10,000%

I'm not sure Eoris can actually be played without extensive houseruling. Certainly, no one seems able to understand the actual mechanics or large parts of the setting if the threads on rpg.net are anything to go by.
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Justin Alexander
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« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2011, 06:37:29 PM »
Quote from: Lawbag;458249
Id blame Tim Bradstreet personally for the success of Vampire:TM, because without him, Im sure the game would have died a death the day it got published...he made vampires too cool to not want to play them


Possibly. But vampires were hot, dice pools were hot, goths were hot, and "we're telling a story" pretension was hot. That game was pretty much perfectly positioned in all sorts of ways.

And it's still one of the best covers in the history of roleplaying games.
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GameDaddy
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« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2011, 09:43:33 PM »
Quote from: misterguignol;458358
There is an Eeyore role-playing game?

In Eoris the art is incomparable and inspiring. The system is more complex than the art, however might be salvageable (based on my discussion with one of the authors, Daniel).

My daughter picked it out as a game she wanted to try (based on the art).

Alas... they won't accept credit cards for International orders (The publishing company is in Columbia), and the last two years at GenCon, they had sold out before I made it to the dealers hall.
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Lawbag

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« Reply #23 on: May 17, 2011, 03:23:59 AM »
Quote from: Loz;458312
Skyrealms of Jorune.

Fabulous art, intriguing setting, but the system was an utter mess. The second printing of the game came with a 20 page errata that still didn't make the system work.


The art was very evocative, especially the front cover. That one image made me want to buy it. Don't know why, then or now.

But agree the rules are tired and just not very clever.
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Lawbag

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« Reply #24 on: May 17, 2011, 03:30:46 AM »
Quote from: danbuter;458322
I'm surprised Engel hasn't been republished with it's original system. I know I'd buy it.


Some guy did print up a set of translated rules and arcana cards on the 'net.
A Google search should reveal it, if not I have the PDFs.
It attempted to provide a set of rules as close to the original German game as possible and not the shoddy and lazy D20 conversion we ended up with.
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Ghost Whistler
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« Reply #25 on: May 17, 2011, 05:49:47 AM »
Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;458410
x10,000%

I'm not sure Eoris can actually be played without extensive houseruling. Certainly, no one seems able to understand the actual mechanics or large parts of the setting if the threads on rpg.net are anything to go by.


I'm not sure the character sheet can be viewed without going insane.

I dont' think it exists in fewer than 5 dimensions.
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« Reply #26 on: May 17, 2011, 06:41:12 AM »
Quote from: Lawbag;458567
The art was very evocative, especially the front cover. That one image made me want to buy it. Don't know why, then or now.

But agree the rules are tired and just not very clever.


The rules are full of holes and barely function, and the setting is patchy and appallingly explained (it wasn't until someone else pointed it out to me that I had even the slightest idea that the main city in the setting is explicitly modelled on Classical Athens). But the artwork is perfect. Somehow with just 30 or so spot illustrations they created the illusion that this was one of the most realistic and detailed RPG settings ever.

There's probably less setting material for Jorune across all it's editions than there is in the current core book for any of the D&D settings - but people often seem to think it's one of the most detailed settings out there, up with Tekumel and Glorantha. I can only assume that the artwork is why

Opaopajr

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« Reply #27 on: May 17, 2011, 12:31:52 PM »
OMG, the artwork for Eoris is amazing! It's like they borrowed graphic artists from Avatar on their downtime or something. How on earth did they get such a budget to spend on the art? Or is that where the majority of the budget was spent on in the first place? Perhaps their price reflex an attempt to recoup investment -- $95 is quite a bit for an rpg box set, for me.

I'm wondering how heavy the setting is tied into the conceits built into the system. I usually could care less about a game system because I mainly buy games for their settings. Only two things stop me from porting over things: one, too much background material to convert, or two, the "setting is the system is the setting." But that world map alone is gamercrack to me.
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Nicephorus

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« Reply #28 on: May 17, 2011, 12:59:32 PM »
Quote from: Opaopajr;458684
OMG, the artwork for Eoris is amazing! It's like they borrowed graphic artists from Avatar on their downtime or something. How on earth did they get such a budget to spend on the art? Or is that where the majority of the budget was spent on in the first place? Perhaps their price reflex an attempt to recoup investment -- $95 is quite a bit for an rpg box set, for me.

I'm guessing the creators are the artists.  I've seen things like this before among movies* and games.  The artist are in the lead and none of them has enough other skills so there is no strong hand that shapes the plot or crunch so all you have is evocative art that doesn't hold together in the end.  
 
 
*I think Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow is like this.  There's also a French animation with a giant tree whose name escapes me.  The games were all doa so I can't remember any names.

Lawbag

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« Reply #29 on: May 17, 2011, 02:42:36 PM »
Lol@Grymbot,

If you strive for realism you end up with RoleMaster or F.A.T.A.L.
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