tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post3636793923013508185..comments2024-03-09T19:23:22.482-03:00Comments on The RPGPundit: RPGPundit Reviews: Barbarians of Lemuria RPGPundithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-72250712271582342602022-01-25T07:57:58.981-03:002022-01-25T07:57:58.981-03:00This is perhaps the least media literacy and criti...This is perhaps the least media literacy and critical thinking I have ever seen in a person writing about games.<br /><br />You just go "it's not an opinion" and then go on to state an obvious opinion, and like a really ill-informed one at that.<br /><br />To use your own analogy, you're sitting here telling us wheelbarrows are meant for transporting firewood exclusively, and when someone goes "oh hey I can fill this with bricks and move them around too" you are just absolutely losing your mind over the idea that they might have a use different from the one you've been using it for.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07057814514237025816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-42381389344443006672019-12-26T00:14:43.645-03:002019-12-26T00:14:43.645-03:00Wooooh, my compliments. You are turning your perso...Wooooh, my compliments. You are turning your personal way to intend RpGs into "the only right way to play". And it's so old, outdated, and imho sad, way. <br />Men, we should all play railroaded D&D again and again, after 30+ years of hobby. <br />Well, this isn't my way. I changed. The hobby changed.<br />I play with Fate and PbtA engine, with Cortex+ and Shinobigami, and dozen of other RolePlay Games that are elegant, cool, fresh: they absolutely opened a whole new world to embrace and play with.<br />However, you can keep playing in your '80 systems.Ishmadradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00834485227221285582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-87513019104033512852018-03-17T11:16:03.188-03:002018-03-17T11:16:03.188-03:00Its a neat game but I'm not a fan of the art. ...Its a neat game but I'm not a fan of the art. The French edition, however, has phenomenal art (and comes with 2 more adventures). There is even an expansion in French that goes into the setting's version of Mongolia/China which is pretty cool (and also comes with 5 more adventures, a setting calendar and more beasties).<br /><br />Also, for those that play online, BoL is available for purchase on Fantasy Grounds and its very well implemented.<br /><br />As a parting note, BoL has a great system under the hood. If you want some more old school play, you can easily tone down the relatively few narrative elements. Honestly, though, I wouldn't. They aren't that obnoxious and they fit the genre the game is for perfectly.Data Lorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00968254267859790915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-24261167563535017232018-03-09T01:24:25.828-03:002018-03-09T01:24:25.828-03:00It's not an 'opinion'. It's not ab...It's not an 'opinion'. It's not about 'experts'. <br />All you have to do is analyze how the structure of an RPG works. If you do that without projecting your wishes of how you might like it to work, you'll see that the function of an RPG is to:<br />a) create a virtual world<br />b) have virtual characters existing in it<br /><br />And from this the natural conclusion is that Immersion into those characters and that world is the goal of the game.<br /><br />RPGs are horrible at "telling stories". If you don't try to somehow 'force' RPGs to tell stories, then the only stories you end up making out of them are COINCIDENTAL. They are for 'telling stories' only in the same sense that golf or fishing is for 'telling stories', that's not really the goal, and golfing stories or fishing stories are just something that happens but no one goes golfing or goes fishing to try to 'make a story' from those activities; and 9 times out of 10, the 'story' of any random Golfing, Fishing, or RPG session are going to be pretty rambling and pointless, if not outright boring.<br /><br />The guys at the Forge (which clearly influenced parts of this game) KNEW THIS, which is why they insisted that RPGs had to be CHANGED into some kind of "storytelling games" by altering how they worked. RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-33120618038317655032018-03-08T20:47:24.266-03:002018-03-08T20:47:24.266-03:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610024000468995331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-38601504199557633742018-02-27T21:56:31.695-03:002018-02-27T21:56:31.695-03:00It's not my "opinion". Its the very ...It's not my "opinion". Its the very nature of the structure of RPGs; that's like saying that the statement "a wheelbarrow is an object meant for transporting heavy objects along short distances" is just an 'opinion' and that someone else's idea that wheelbarrows are mainly for sleeping on is just as good an opinion.<br /><br />Simon Washbourne may have goals for his game, just like someone might decide to sleep in a wheelbarrow every night. It can feasibly be done, but not to any great effect, and not as well or as comfortably than if one used some other tool.<br /><br />RPGs are a means of creating a virtual world, for the purpose of the players immersing in it. <br />+1 swords and magic missiles are PART of that world. They don't try to let players jump out of their character and back into the meta-world so they can change reality for their character.RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-61765581835477469612018-02-27T14:52:32.613-03:002018-02-27T14:52:32.613-03:00Immersion is NOT the real goal of these games. You...Immersion is NOT the real goal of these games. You are not to say YOUR PERSONAL goal must be everyone's goal, or that there cannot be other different goals.<br /><br />Simon Washbourne is pretty clear on what his game's goals are, what kind of adventures he is interested in, and to what purpose he made his ruleset. You don't like his approach? It's fine, nobody has to like everything. There are weak parts? Sure, as in every other game. But assuming and presuming to know without a doubt what the goal of every single game is (and that only there is one)? That's beyond, beyond pretentious!<br /><br />You want immersion? Go snorkeling! RPGs are games and games are not about immersion, mostly. Some are, but some aren't. Games are about socializing, competing, having fun, team work, telling stories, and any other thing you can think about. Immersion is not the main trait of games. But your games can be about immersion, if you like, but then, why rolling dice? Dice gets you out of the imaginary world, especially when they fall out of the table. Having pizza and soda takes immersion away all the same. You don't seem to have any problem with dice and characters sheets and stats and concepts like +1 sword or magic missile, yet you think hero points ruin your games! Man, I would not like to play your games, so fragile.Jorge Jaramillo Villarruelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09173856214194315781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-81868784672677711162018-02-14T02:21:27.416-03:002018-02-14T02:21:27.416-03:00Simon Washborne's company is Beyond Belief Gam...Simon Washborne's company is Beyond Belief Games. Filgree Forge published it. infocydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06717475066074726136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-24534698631361385672018-02-14T02:19:44.467-03:002018-02-14T02:19:44.467-03:00Agree. I didn't think I would like BoL but I ...Agree. I didn't think I would like BoL but I actually have grown to love it. I come from an old school background and was initially turned off by FATE-like story telling games but the more I play them giving the characters a slight amount of narration changing ability draws them into the game from my experience not the opposite. I love BoL's magic system as well, where you can sit down and make a dark tomb of evil spells for characters to find fairly easily. You can be imaginative and magic is less of a "magical science" then something alien that the GM can tweak how he or she wants to suit the game. What I love about BoL is you can take the base concept of the game and drop it into just about any gendra and run it. Last Halloween I ran an alien zombie invasion scenario using BoL with only about a half hour of prep and it went pretty well. You do have to be very careful with scale though, one point of something means a lot in BoL as your numbers are smaller to play with and there are less dials to fidget with.infocydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06717475066074726136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-1671107266366566482018-02-10T23:28:46.463-03:002018-02-10T23:28:46.463-03:00The original version of the game was straight up b...The original version of the game was straight up based up on Thongor of Lemuria by Lin Carter. World guide, map, and all.David Baymillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18345422887590571509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-26779175111403235272018-02-10T13:43:15.779-03:002018-02-10T13:43:15.779-03:00As someone with an old-school D&D background w...As someone with an old-school D&D background who has run a LOT of BoL over the past 5 years, I can confidently say that BoL is my favorite RPG rules engine. It's incredibly flexible and tinkerable, at least as much so as old-school D&D (gasp!) <br /><br />Want rules for encumbrance, resource management, and D&D-style dungeon crawling? The BoL fan community isn't as widespread or productive as the OSR, but there's a handful of variants for that style of play -- grab one of those or make your own.<br /><br />Want equipment lists? Choose one from your favorite OSR game and go! It's ridiculously easy to map weapons and armor to the appropriate BoL type, even on the fly.<br /> <br />Don't like all the Hero Point options? Change them! Dropping the "edit a scene detail" option won't break the game.<br /><br />Want to power your Wilderlands of High Fantasy sandbox hexcrawl with BoL (instead of individual sagas?) No problem, you don't have to be a "railroady jerk" to run this game!Jason V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07690101920459036839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-44584801414911448422018-02-09T19:02:51.134-03:002018-02-09T19:02:51.134-03:00Yes but NONE OF THAT COLLABORATION SHOULD HAPPEN.
...Yes but NONE OF THAT COLLABORATION SHOULD HAPPEN.<br />Any time the player is jumping out of immersion in his character, and looking at the world as this totally imaginary thing that he can personally edit (with or without GM permission), he's MADE THE WORLD NOT REAL, and that destroys the immersive effect.<br /><br />And Immersion, NOT STORYTELLING is the REAL goal of RPGs. RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-16886738445515365022018-02-09T19:01:37.113-03:002018-02-09T19:01:37.113-03:00In the credits it seemed to say Beyond Belief. I&#...In the credits it seemed to say Beyond Belief. I'll check it again later. RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-76622121931672123882018-02-09T15:22:30.436-03:002018-02-09T15:22:30.436-03:00"Maybe there actually was a loose stone but w..."Maybe there actually was a loose stone but why check when I can spend a point and make it so?"<br /><br />Because it's funner that way. <br /><br />Fate\Stunt\Hero points or whatever don't keep you from roleplaying, they just give you options. The GM also has the option in what wacky ideas to allow and at what cost. <br /><br />And for those that for whatever reason just don't particular feel like coming up with an escape plan (my friend's mother for example) then it allows you to just hand-wave it and get on with the game. As many S&S stories do! <br /><br />That said, yeah, I'd add real money, encumbrance, price lists and treasures myself! ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07420577894501394702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-18694801249348510152018-02-09T08:26:31.447-03:002018-02-09T08:26:31.447-03:00Your criticism of the storygamyness of the system ...Your criticism of the storygamyness of the system assumes a weak GM who will say "yes" to every player petition made via the system and that the rules are absolute and context-independent. <br /><br />This need not be the case.<br /><br />The BoL system requires a two-way collaborative attitude from the players and GM. Players will often petition the GM for particular outcomes based on their characters/situations/etc. and it's for the GM to grant it (wholesale or modified) depending on how convincing that case is and how it will impact on the story. It's completely legitimate for the GM to counter the petition, either with a counter argument or by fiat. The game therefore requires fairly mature players who can overcome their obsession with rules literalness and hapless attempts at simulation in favour of shared story development. It's certainly not a game for the autistic.Stainlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066911106921793575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-20101981728278670182018-02-09T08:11:39.415-03:002018-02-09T08:11:39.415-03:00Thank you for this review. I like it. :)Thank you for this review. I like it. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00882425751702692885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-87856744529135549282018-02-09T07:43:22.136-03:002018-02-09T07:43:22.136-03:00The game is published by Filigree Forge, not Beyon...The game is published by Filigree Forge, not Beyond Belief Games. <br /><br />Conan is nearly always in medium to heavy armour in the stories, however this isn't about Conan! :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05800895334518532595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-55628247154547214752018-02-08T21:17:49.266-03:002018-02-08T21:17:49.266-03:00This sounds like a good game. I would play in the ...This sounds like a good game. I would play in the campaign but not run it. And I would expect the guy who was geeked enough to run it to be a railroady jerk, and live with it. <br /><br />It seems a lot like WEG's Star Wars D6. <br /><br />I'll stick to D&D, but that's not a knock on this product. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-63864792130154405612018-02-08T15:12:46.716-03:002018-02-08T15:12:46.716-03:00I would tone this subsystem down : something like ...I would tone this subsystem down : something like spend a point and your character gets a lucky break (described by the DM). At least this looks somewhat less storygamey than FATE is.Kyorouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03039756343930755030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-69768450837418820432018-02-08T15:06:09.362-03:002018-02-08T15:06:09.362-03:00Good review...does not sound like a game I would w...Good review...does not sound like a game I would want to play. I don't like the idea of spending abstract points to find a loose stone to escape a prison; I would prefer the player actually use his brains and figure out something. Maybe there actually was a loose stone but why check when I can spend a point and make it so? Among other aspects you touch on in a negative sense and with which I agree.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-5513542848164491222018-02-08T14:33:40.192-03:002018-02-08T14:33:40.192-03:00To be fair, they are both half naked on the cover....To be fair, they are both half naked on the cover.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.com