tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post3232079531292593174..comments2024-03-27T22:32:17.055-05:00Comments on Jeffs Gameblog: Wigs? Tea?Jeff Rientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493878980535235896noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-77434750425640324002008-03-30T23:50:00.000-05:002008-03-30T23:50:00.000-05:00Hey, Melan -- Sorry I misattributed that phrase to...Hey, Melan -- Sorry I misattributed that phrase to you; I guess my memory isn't what it used to be. <I>Somebody</I> used that term to describe a setting where there's a lot of magic standing in for technology (like you find in Yggsburgh and <I>Living Fantasy</I>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-55472986481910025482008-03-30T06:48:00.000-05:002008-03-30T06:48:00.000-05:00I did not say it had a Wiz-o-Phone feel (I don't k...I did not say it had a Wiz-o-Phone feel (I don't know what a Wiz-o-Phone is), but there was just something about Yggsburgh that didn't click. It bored me in the same way The Village of Hommlet bores me... too much on mundane inhabitants, not enough swords and sorcerying.<BR/><BR/>I am curious about the East Mark Folio, which is supposed to have an adventure in the vein of B2, but there was always something else to buy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-31239369633575942992008-03-28T19:46:00.000-05:002008-03-28T19:46:00.000-05:00I feel the same way about Yggsburgh; there's a lot...I feel the same way about <I>Yggsburgh</I>; there's a lot about it that I really like, but I'm not fond of the "wigs and tea" aspects. It feels more "Prospero" from <I>Face in the Frost</I> than "Thulsa Doom." (Melan/Gabor Lux said Yggsburgh had the "Wiz-o-Phone" feel.) Fortunately, it's easy to ignore the wigs and tea stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-71817258144780424312008-03-28T13:37:00.000-05:002008-03-28T13:37:00.000-05:00Thanks Dave! I had forgotten about Leisure Time -...Thanks Dave! I had forgotten about Leisure Time - I had them classified mainly as the only local brewing supplier in town at the time.<BR/><BR/>I'll have to stop by next time I'm in or going through.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13120797876920082499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-68404353204302695802008-03-28T13:33:00.000-05:002008-03-28T13:33:00.000-05:00By the way, Jeff... Thnaks much for the plug!Dave ...By the way, Jeff... Thnaks much for the plug!<BR/><BR/>Dave =)the Red-Haired Maniachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824933276649607370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-12245417156312791512008-03-28T13:32:00.000-05:002008-03-28T13:32:00.000-05:00Armored Gopher is NOT in the same location as the ...Armored Gopher is NOT in the same location as the old Bear Productions, but we're close to it. We are just north of that location and on the other side of First Street, on the corner of Chester and First Streets.<BR/><BR/>Panoramically, from our windows we can see the back of Corson's Music, the south side of Manzella's Italian Patio, the back of Dallas and Company (including their huge parking lot), Glass FX (in Bear Production's last location, First Street Antiques, and the west side of Illini Plastics.<BR/><BR/>I know that means nothing to any non-CU local, but Stan was curious. =)<BR/><BR/>As far as game stores go in C-U, there's us at Armored Gopher and the Dragon's Table in downtown Champaign (near Jos. Kuhn & Co.). Other Realm (the comic shop on Green with a slightly different name than it started out with), Leisure Time Pet & Hobby, and a Master Consignment also sell game stuff, but it is not their prime focus.<BR/><BR/>Hope that helps folks...<BR/><BR/>peace...<BR/><BR/>Dave Hoover<BR/>Armored Gopher Gamesthe Red-Haired Maniachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824933276649607370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-53090653213019855582008-03-28T12:51:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:51:00.000-05:00(well, honestly I use undead a lot more than dinos...(well, honestly I use undead a lot more than dinosaurs, but I need to know that there's at least at least one Island That Time Forgot _somewhere_ around, in case the mood strikes)S. John Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12284417121877141161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-50186241227842553762008-03-28T12:50:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:50:00.000-05:00There is broad signifigance to the decades, but no...There is broad signifigance to the decades, but not to the particular years :) That's all kinds of awesome about the asteriod, though.<BR/><BR/>And to clarify: that's the bracket I tend to center (very approximately) on for the _most_ developed part of the worlds I run. There are always entire countries far less along the track (in Uresia, for example, Orgalt is very 10th/11th-Century ... in contrast to the Rindenland, which is much more 14th/15th, etc). I always prefer a world where the party can include both an honest-to-thor Viking _and_ an Inigo Montoya you-killed-my-father-prepare-to-die type, along with Red Sonja, "mouse" from Ladyhawke, and a mutant with a magic sword that just _might_ be some kind of lightsaber, but we never say it out loud.<BR/><BR/>Fighting dinosaurs.S. John Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12284417121877141161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-88558431844871128432008-03-28T12:40:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:40:00.000-05:00I looked up their location. Is Armored Gopher in ...I looked up their location. Is Armored Gopher in the same strip that Bear Productions was in the 90s? I can tell it's in the same part of town but can't remember if it's the same location.<BR/><BR/>When I lived in Champaign, Bear Productions and the comic store on Green were the only rpg sources.<BR/><BR/>StanStanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13120797876920082499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-28435754293270369762008-03-28T12:24:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:24:00.000-05:00So now I'm over at wikipedia trying to see what si...So now I'm over at wikipedia trying to see what significance S. John is placing (if any) on the years 1330 and 1490. So far I'm not sure what the deal is, but I did find this item for 1490:<BR/><BR/><B>*A small asteroid kills thousands in China.</B>Jeff Rientshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17493878980535235896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-14826648117807989112008-03-28T12:19:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:19:00.000-05:00I've always gone for the shameless stew approach, ...I've always gone for the shameless stew approach, setting my games in a time period unrelated to earth, but broadly evoking everything from the 8th to 18th century [with some remote areas evoking earlier periods, and the occasional crashed spaceship evoking later ones], with the bell-curve usually peaking somewhere between 1330 and 1490 :)<BR/><BR/>Tea ... yeah, my games always include at least a tea analogue. No wigs, though. I like to leave open the <I>possibility</I> that a given noble isn't pure evil, and if he's dolled up in a powdered wig, there's just no question anymore. :)<BR/><BR/>As for Yggsburg, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Maybe I should give it a second attempt ... dunno.S. John Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12284417121877141161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-12658768031787646332008-03-28T11:40:00.000-05:002008-03-28T11:40:00.000-05:00Jeff,I had some of the same reactions and some of ...Jeff,<BR/><BR/>I had some of the same reactions and some of my own. I recently asked Dr. Rotwang what tables he used and was surprised to hear him mention Yggsburgh as I remembered being sorta disappointed by it. So I got it out and the first thing I found was the the random charts are indeed pretty cool. Must have glossed over them the first time. But I was disappointed by the town, far too quaint feeling for me, in part that's matter of my own tastes, I tend to prefer a grittier Swords and Sorcery feel, like Lhankmar, or City State of the Invisible Overlord. <BR/>But I also sorta felt like it was ground Gygax had covered before and to better effect with Hommelet.GrayPumpkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12776658442266878498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-38088683480775934482008-03-28T11:32:00.000-05:002008-03-28T11:32:00.000-05:00Not that it will help your reaction to the tea and...Not that it will help your reaction to the tea and wigs, but Gygax is on record in multiple places as having said that he always felt a more Renaissance/early modern feel jibed better with his conceptions of <I>D&D</I>, in part because the implied social structure of the game doesn't sit well with the existence of rootless adventurers. If you think on it and realize guys like Francis Drake and Hernando Cortes are good historical analogs for your average <I>D&D</I> character, it seems less bizarre.<BR/><BR/>That said, I can understand the culture shock. Me, I'm coming round to the notion that the use of creative anachronism is a hallmark of old school fantasy gaming. Bits of weird, alien, and downright goofy "But they didn't have that in the Middle Ages" stuff is what makes <I>D&D</I> for me. Truly, anything that gets it away from trying to accurately model European history is alright by me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com