BFRPG Kickstarter

[Solomoriah]

An art direction that absolutely captures the feel. Some pieces would need to be changed, and the others colored. The cover art kept, the layout of it changed. The whole goal would be a "sexier" product with a more "modern" feel. Think moldvay/cook done in 3.5e or 4e style layout/art style, but with same original rules reorganized and clarified.

I honestly don't understand this. I hate, with the burning passion of a thousand exploding suns, the art style of 3.5e/4e. The art style of the Moldvay/Cook rules is exactly what I was aiming for with the Core Rules, because it "absolutely captures the feel" of the game as I most enjoy it.

[Ogre]

the feel is different for everyone, changing it to suit one opinion alienates others, there is nothing wrong with the feel as it stands now, it won't please everyone, but nothing will.

[SmootRK]

An art direction that absolutely captures the feel. Some pieces would need to be changed, and the others colored. The cover art kept, the layout of it changed. The whole goal would be a "sexier" product with a more "modern" feel. Think moldvay/cook done in 3.5e or 4e style layout/art style, but with same original rules reorganized and clarified.

I honestly don't understand this. I hate, with the burning passion of a thousand exploding suns, the art style of 3.5e/4e. The art style of the Moldvay/Cook rules is exactly what I was aiming for with the Core Rules, because it "absolutely captures the feel" of the game as I most enjoy it.

While I am generally open to different stylizing and re-interpretation, I would still want a very old-school look/feel. More artwork - YES... definitely YES! Changes to fonts and such, sure I guess, but the change would need to be just into something roughly equivalent. Some slightly different approaches to tables, columns, spacing, headings, etc. - another sure, I suppose, and again such would need to be a rough equivalency.

Understand, that overall on this aspect of change... I am with Solomoriah as well (with some flexibility). I do not want new dungeon-punk, dwarves with mohawks, elves with body piercings, tribal tatoo halflings, and weird styling of using modern (yet rather difficult reading) fonts and styles that might look good on their full-color backgrounds, but are otherwise non-useful for reading/reference.

I would be open to seeing examples of a new stylizing, but honestly see no real point in such experiments. Solo's style choices have rhyme and reason behind them, and are great for reference.

[Hywaywolf]

There is no point to changing BFRPG to something else that already exists. BFRPG IS B/X made cleaner and complete. Its old school in both look and execution. The only things it needs from modern gaming it already has - Ascending AC and splitting race from class (and a few other minor nuggets). It doesn't need anime warriors or ridiculous looking weapons twice the size of the PC. But BFRPG as it is so well done that if that's what you want in the game there is no problem creating a supplement that works with it. Just add that artwork into the supplement. Or choose a supplement that already exists.

Now, and I have said this before, what I do miss in BFRPG from the B/X rules is the game dialogue that was in the B/X rulebook in two different places that showed you how to run the game. Who can forget "It's okay; Gary sent us." I know that Chris used the storytelling method of describing the game in its place and I like that too. I wouldn't want to see it go. I suppose a "A beginners guide to how to play and GM BFRPG" would be a nice supplement. It could incorporate examples of actual dialogue between players and GM. It could have the beginners essentials built in and the GM screen. And since I'm barnstorming here we could pretty it up and throw it into the boxset as well

[Solomoriah]

Several of us who wrote retro-clones have kicked around the idea of a general guide to GMing old-school games. We've just never gotten enough interest going to write such a thing.

It's worth thinking about. Regardless of whether you are playing OSRIC or S&W or LL or BFRPG, there are universal features of the style that differ from modern games. The mortality factor is the one everyone brings up, but it's not the only thing that sets old-school apart from modern. Heck, non-class-and-level games from the old school share these features... games like Traveller (where you could die during character generation!) for instance.

[Hywaywolf]

darn it, my trip down memory lane has added the thought that a small beginner book for DMs should contain not only the example of game dialogue and combat (like Basic) but a minor dungeon like the haunted keep. The more I keep thinking about this the more I appreciate how much was packed into that little basic rulebook.

[Hywaywolf]

Several of us who wrote retro-clones have kicked around the idea of a general guide to GMing old-school games. We've just never gotten enough interest going to write such a thing.

It's worth thinking about. Regardless of whether you are playing OSRIC or S&W or LL or BFRPG, there are universal features of the style that differ from modern games. The mortality factor is the one everyone brings up, but it's not the only thing that sets old-school apart from modern. Heck, non-class-and-level games from the old school share these features... games like Traveller (where you could die during character generation!) for instance.

I wasn't thinking about a primer on how to be the best DM you can be. I was thinking about a quickstart guide to get a group (kids or people who have never played rpg) playing a game of BFRPG without any prior knowledge of rolllkaying games. The way it was done back in the early 80's. A mom or aunt or grandmother buys this box thats looks like a board game and gives it to a kid as a present. The kid reads it thropugh once, calls his friend over and wham, bam thank you Gary they are playing a game. And no one looking over their shoulder telling them they are playing it wrong.

[Solomoriah]

Ah, I see.

I'm not sure I'm the best person to write such a thing. I'd be willing to edit or collaborate, if someone else wanted to take lead.

The Essentials document might be a good place to start, with maybe one of the AA series modules added. I'll admit, though, that I'm leery of distributing an "incomplete" game. Such a book, giving guidance on creating characters and playing through maybe first level only, combined with a full copy of the Core Rules might be a good thing.

[Hywaywolf]

Yeah, I was thinking on how this could be done without trying to making it bigger than the actual ruleset and without splitting out into a players manual and a DM guide. So yes, the beginners essentials, some short passages on running a game, actual game transcript of both exploration and combat, a small dungeon, a character sheet and a DM screen.

[Solomoriah]

We'd need a stripped-down screen, if we do one at all. The standard screen has several pages to it.

I looked at that board game site; if there was a way to combine nicely printed (Lulu-style) books with their other materials, I'd go for it. But reproducing paper output is expensive in their system.