Quote from: D-503;453951I'm interested to learn that one of the novels (I've only read King Rat so far by Mieville) addresses flaws of socialism from an insider perspective.

It's not really about "the flaws of socialism" like so much shitty Yank sci-fi is. It's a retelling of the Paris Commune's story (a true utopia, while it lasted) combined with a parody of sea-based libertopias

Quote from: D-503;453951GMS, how accessible will this be to people who haven't read the Bas-Lag books? Will it assume knowledge of them? Will it contain spoilers for them?

First:  Gareth please -- not GMS.

Second:  No knowledge assumed -- we'll present the city of New Crobuzon as a setting, with some brief notes about the rest of Bas-lag.   But our focus is the city itself -- there will be some spoilers for PERDIDO STREET STATION, since the core campaign assumption will be that the game takes place afterward (but before the events of THE IRON COUNCIL -- which means we've got 20-25 years of game time).

Quote from: D-503;453951Also, are you aiming this at exploring what it would be like to live in that world or in terms of exploring the themes raised by the books?

Not sure I get the distinction, entirely -- I suppose the best answer is "a little bit of both."   Certainly a concentration on the former, but with a writer like Miéville, it's not really possible to ignore the themes.

Gareth, I'm wondering about the illustration of the book...is this going to be a full-color affair or black-and-white? Who will be providing the artwork? I love maps, I imagine this one is going to be pretty cool.

How is the RPG going to handle magic/alchemy?

This thread piqued my curiosity, so I picked up "Perdido Street Station" on my Kindle to kill some time while waiting for an interview. I'm about a quarter way through and I love it. I'm eagerly looking forward to this game now. Thanks!

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;453824In the Dawnlands 4e setting...
In my Emern setting for D&D 3.5...
In Moragne....

Are any of these online in a format that otheres can peruse them?

Hmm. I'm really torn on this one.

On the one hand, I found the setting of PSS fascinating, if a bit incoherent -- why is firearm tech limited to flintlocks, for example?

On the other, I'm no fan of games that require a specific political mindset of the players.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454455On the other, I'm no fan of games that require a specific political mindset of the players.

I really can't say for sure but I doubt that the game will require a particular political view any more than real life does. Rather, players of all bends will have to deal with the situation presented. Instead of living in a faux feudal world, they live in a city dominated by corrupt lifelong politicians in a system that is supposed to have democratic elements but is far from representative. Many benefit greatly from this set up but most get screwed. A few fight against it but most just try to get on with their lives despite the unfairness and crime.
 
I have no idea what it must really be like to live in a world like that.
 
I doubt that the game will allow only freedom fighter characters.

Quote from: Nicephorus;454460I have no idea what it must really be like to live in a world like that.

I see what you did there.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454455Hmm. I'm really torn on this one.

On the one hand, I found the setting of PSS fascinating, if a bit incoherent -- why is firearm tech limited to flintlocks, for example?

On the other, I'm no fan of games that require a specific political mindset of the players.

Do you believe that playing D&D in Greyhawk requires the players to embrace feudalism?  The mind boggles...

KoOS

Quote from: King of Old School;454519Do you believe that playing D&D in Greyhawk requires the players to embrace feudalism?  The mind boggles...

KoOS

Noooo... but last time I checked, the point of D&D in Greyhawk had little to do with supporting or opposing feudalism.

It sounds like in this game, the assumption will be that the PCs are out to "fight the power".

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454455Hmm. I'm really torn on this one.

On the one hand, I found the setting of PSS fascinating, if a bit incoherent -- why is firearm tech limited to flintlocks, for example?

On the other, I'm no fan of games that require a specific political mindset of the players.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454526Noooo... but last time I checked, the point of D&D in Greyhawk had little to do with supporting or opposing feudalism.

It sounds like in this game, the assumption will be that the PCs are out to "fight the power".

I am not really familiar with the setting, but if it's just a straightforward RPG how strictly can it require the players (or the PCs) to have a certain stance as regards the power structure in the campaign? Let's take a pretty black and white setting like Star Wars as a comparison; the RPG might assume you are going to be with the rebels against the evil Empire but with the setting developed out it's not implausible for your PCs to be working for the empire, or just grifting.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454526Noooo... but last time I checked, the point of D&D in Greyhawk had little to do with supporting or opposing feudalism.

It sounds like in this game, the assumption will be that the PCs are out to "fight the power".

It was good enough for Star Wars. I'm not seeing the problem.
I doubt players will be forced to read Karl Marx.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454526Noooo... but last time I checked, the point of D&D in Greyhawk had little to do with supporting or opposing feudalism.

It sounds like in this game, the assumption will be that the PCs are out to "fight the power".

There's no specific political slant (esp. in terms of the limited and largely retarded left/right dichotomy specific to modern US politics) inherent to the premise of "the PCs emerge from a politically subversive underclass struggling under an oppressive and corrupt regime."  It's the narrative of the American and French revolutions, after all (although one could argue about the precise meaning of "underclass" I suppose).  Also, like others have said, Star Wars.  In any case, PSS at least would suggest no requirement for the PCs to embrace any sort of political consciousness, to say nothing of the players.

And by comparison, old-school D&D assumes that PCs of a high enough level will eventually attain feudal title and lands as the reward for their efforts, but I never thought that required the players in my old Greyhawk campaign to endorse feudalism or serfdom as political and social models.

KoOS

Quote from: Dan Davenport;454526Noooo... but last time I checked, the point of D&D in Greyhawk had little to do with supporting or opposing feudalism.

It sounds like in this game, the assumption will be that the PCs are out to "fight the power".

I can't say anything about the game, but I bet it would be a lot of fun to play "the power".

Does anyone know if options for playing ruling class or aristocratic characters will be provided?

Quote from: hanszurcher;454629I can't say anything about the game, but I bet it would be a lot of fun to play "the power".

Does anyone know if options for playing ruling class or aristocratic characters will be provided?

I hope so. I'd like to game in the setting of the books moreso than the situation of the books.