A Comment on the "Companion"/Advanced Question

[SmootRK]

Falling back to Longman's post. He made a little point about the plethora of stuff available:

On a related note: some of the older posters here are obviously fine with working your way through all the different options and picking the ones you want. That's great for you. You've been here for years. You might consider that a lot of newer posters here might find the array of materials far more confusing than you do.

This says to me, that perhaps we need more organization or indexing of offerings... exactly what his proposed blog post might be able to cover the best. A dialogue about options including links to various items (whether in the Downloads, Showcase, Forum posts, or even elsewhere), and some guidance on Campaign building in general. I think it would be a great idea.

And, if anyone needs yet another example of a houserule document, I have my own that I can share as well.

[Dimirag]

Is it possible to subdivide the workshop into independent categories like "Rules Supplements", "Classes and Subclasses", etc? Would it make easier or harder for people to find stuff?

[Longman]

I've been having a shot at the blog post and already hit a snag - -

The individual items on the Downloads page do not have their own pages. There's no easy way to link directly to those. For example, I can't link directly to the Rangers and Paladins supplement page - only to the current pdf file. As Dimirag has pointed out, this is highly vulnerable to change.

I can bypass this with the header:

http://www.basicfantasy.org/downloads.h ... ndpaladins

Is that the best system to use? The pages on the showcase do have their own pages. If that could be applied to Downloads page as well, it would make this a bit easier.

...perhaps we need more organization or indexing of offerings... exactly what his proposed blog post might be able to cover the best. A dialogue about options including links to various items (whether in the Downloads, Showcase, Forum posts, or even elsewhere).

I do suspect that some new users are looking for a more cohesive view of how this all operates. My guess is, that's why there are repeated calls for a "UA" type document of some kind. (Requests for a map also fit in this category, I think.)

I'll keep working on the blog posts but this could turn out be more of a structural issue than a need for new content.

[Solomoriah]

Is it possible? Yeah. Will it help? Dunno. Discuss...

[Solomoriah]

I can bypass this with the header:

http://www.basicfantasy.org/downloads.h ... ndpaladins

Is that the best system to use? The pages on the showcase do have their own pages. If that could be applied to Downloads page as well, it would make this a bit easier.

Presently, it's the only good option. The Downloads page is a static entity, whereas the Showcase pages are generated automatically. Static pages load faster, and index (search) more reliably. The Showcase is automatic only because it can't really be static at all.

[chiisu81]

Is it possible to subdivide the workshop into independent categories like "Rules Supplements", "Classes and Subclasses", etc? Would it make easier or harder for people to find stuff?

I personally would like it, as it would give adventures/modules their own sub-space. But that's because for me personally that's what I like to work on (mine and others), not the rules or sub-/classes...

[Koren_nRhys]

Interesting discussion - and yes, one we've seen before...

My option, for what that's worth as a very infrequent poster here, is this. I personally do like the fact that everything is available as discreet additions, which does allow GMs to pick and choose, to build out their worlds as we see fit, or simply find a small addition to the basic rules to satisfy the request of a particular player. I have a copy of Smoot's compiled houserules that were posted at some point - no idea how current that one is, but that is irrelevant really - as mentioned above, it does provide a nice format that I or anyone could follow to build my own. I'd love to see Chris' Glain Companion once he's ready to share it as yet another example.

All that said, I DO think it would be worthwhile to have an official BFRPG version of the "Advanced Edition Companion." Labyrinth Lord did that, as I'm sure you (Chris) know, and it's fantastic. The Core rules, as you point out, include only what is presented in the '81 "target edition" (love that verbiage). An official companion would then add only the additional options (races, classes, spells, etc) that are in the "Advanced 1st Edition" target edition. Sure, you/we would need to settle on "official" versions of some of the classes (looking at you, ranger), but I think many of the multiple options found here are more houseruled versions, where you'd want to stick to versions that hew closer to the originals, just with simplified language and mechanics that fit better with the BFRPG ruleset. Again, just as Dan Proctor's AEC does for the Lab Lord basic rules.

For those who want to pick and choose and build their own, they have what they need already. The new book would compile it for those who want a 1E experience, or at least all it's options, but at a Basic level of crunch. I'd buy that.

[Solomoriah]

The new book would compile it for those who want a 1E experience, or at least all it's options, but at a Basic level of crunch. I'd buy that.

But I'll never be able to write it.

BFRPG contains everything its target edition included, and very little that it did not. But it does vary in some details, such as race as class, AC, and so on.

I can't do an "advanced" supplement in the same way. I'm not that sold on that edition... I'd need too many things different to suit me, and that would mean it wouldn't really be an "advanced edition" supplement. For example, I would never, ever include monks in my game.

So the exact book you are describing, I could never write, nor would I bless such a book written by anyone else.

Seem to have painted myself into the corner, eh?

[chiisu81]

Because this topic keeps coming up, personally I think this thread should be locked and stickied.

[Dimirag]

I think that if we ever get to see an Advanced Fantasy it will more like what Solo's presenting here, his upgrades on the BF rules instead of his take on the advanced version of the target game.