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Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:41 am
by foxroe
The Wanderer wrote:I have two ideas. One is big, the other is small. The big one would have all terrain and be inspired by Wayne Rossi's OD&D setting PDF. The smaller one would be way smaller, like maybe 60 x 60 miles. I think the big one would work better with lots of contributors. But I doubt we could get enough. So I think doing the smaller one would work better. It could be an intro sandbox.
I say middle of the road - "big" setting (big as in the original OS map size), but light text (maybe only detail a small portion of it and provide tables/ideas for the referee to flesh it out for him/herself). Rossi's original setting PDF is gold, so an inspired nod to that and the original OS game would be epic - and I think a huge win for SW:FMAG.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:20 pm
by The Wanderer
I posted about this a couple weeks ago on G+. The outdoor survival map is exactly what I was thinking about. I downloaded hexographer so I'll get to work on making a map. Then start to fill in hexes with what I have already. I'll post the map here and anyone who wants to contribute some hexes can do so. More to come soon.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:52 pm
by The Wanderer
Mach Front wrote: I strongly recommend looking at the text of a game like Pits & Perils if you want to see short and simple descriptions of this or that bursting at the seams with flavor. :!: :idea:
Okay, these folks don't have a free version of the rules :( What book has flavor text you are referencing? I would like to read as little of it as possible because that old type writer font is... Not to my liking.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:55 pm
by Mach Front
The Wanderer wrote:
Mach Front wrote: I strongly recommend looking at the text of a game like Pits & Perils if you want to see short and simple descriptions of this or that bursting at the seams with flavor. :!: :idea:
Okay, these folks don't have a free version of the rules :( What book has flavor text you are referencing? I would like to read as little of it as possible because that old type writer font is... Not to my liking.
Oh, that's true. I wasn't thinking of that. Apologies. The samples on DriveThru/RPGNow are pretty generous as to get an idea of what I mean, in the core rules as well as the supplements Fear! Fire! Foes! and Infernal Realms.
I can't explain how or why but what James writes for the game somehow grants a lot of flavor in few words. This may mainly be simple things such as slightly more archaic terms ('porter' is on the henchman list; on thieves: "...all seek wealth through guile and treachery." ...that sort of thing) here and there. Nothing earth-shattering of course, but such small things really add to the text IMO.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 4:31 am
by geordie racer
Does the OS map look legible at digest size ?

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 4:45 am
by The Wanderer
I haven't printed it at that size But I highly doubt it. It would have to be changed in some way. Either change the size a bit or perhaps split it in two.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:23 am
by geordie racer
I suppose having the entire map is the nostalgic draw but I'd be tempted to focus on a portion of it, a map of maybe 20 x 20ish hexes from the middle, from the edge of the marsh on the left to the desert on the right. That's about Blackmarsh size, allows a range of terrain and settlements and big enough for a few empty hexes in it with blank entries for the Referee to fill. Maybe put the whole two-page map at the back of the book, 'for further exploration..'

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:43 am
by The Wanderer
So you think we should use the actual OS map?

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:13 am
by foxroe
The Wanderer wrote:So you think we should use the actual OS map?
I don't think so - not sure we legally can. I think that he was just giving an example of scale based on the OS map. I would experiment with hex grid sizes; print them "digest size" and make a judgment call on map scale/size.

You could of course make the map 2 digest pages and make it the center pages of the document. I think Blackmarsh and Carcosa do this, so those would be a good starting place for establish a legible map size.

Re: What Should Come Next for White Box?

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:25 am
by geordie racer
The Wanderer wrote:So you think we should use the actual OS map?
No, just an 'inspired by' map. I like how the OS map forces you to cross at least 2 types of terrain when travelling settlement to settlement, also encourages player options 'do we traverse the mountains, use the pass or go round'.

I'd prefer a smaller intro sandbox, Blackmarsh-size, with interesting features e.g. an island in a lake in the mountains.