Re: The Hunt for Official Material

>I just had a thought. We have a ton of material on the Beyond the
>Moons site, and some of it is certainly of a quality to count as
>official? What do you folks think of us as a group holding a sort of
>Official material scavenger Hunt?:)

I agree with this thought: it is a great idea, IMO.  After all, has Adam
*ever* made a SJ accessory that wasn't at least twice as good as anything
officially published?  Ditto for guys like Paul and Noah and Leroy and...
Of course you'd have to get permission from the author, but I strongly doubt
anyone who's posted to BtM is suddenly going to say "My work, become canon?
Horrors no!"

Also, my own take on what to do with Compendium/promote SJ as alive and well
(which really I have no right to chime in, as I never write up
adventures/accessories and contribute them, sticking to fiction only, but
still being a big mouth know-it-all... :)

I think one of the problems with SJ is that it's not really a setting; it's
a set of rules/physics/suggestions.  I've heard it mentioned that the
setting's problem is that it's based around Greyspace/Krynnspace/Realmspace
only, but that isn't really true: there is no over all 'joining' of those
spheres or special focus on them, they just happen to be more officially
detailed.  Yet at the same time I can't help feeling from the official
material that's out there that those spheres are really kinda backwater.
Wasn't it mentioned that there was a 'Living Spheres' project to make a true
setting for SJ?

I think the page should be set up just as if it were a real line of products
from a real company:

1: A real campaign setting, which absolutely resolves any SJ physics
contradictions (and I know that'll step on a few toes, but IMO take a vote,
go with what works best, present a united front on it to new gamers who
might take a look at SJ for the first time, and include a chapter on
alternate ways to apply SJ physics)  The setting should also present a clear
picture of how the spheres are arranged, inclusive of all spheres there are
with maps showing how they're officially joined, but with a specific focus:
these spheres here are where the 'heart' of the setting is, here's the power
players, here's the space empires and their races and affiliations, here's
the current politics and here's the history section.  Then there should of
course be a section on ships, helms, races, prestige classes, etc, etc.  In
other words, a clear 'setting' as opposed to a set of rules and suggestions.
  It's the difference between the Players and DM Guide vs the Forgotten
Realms core book.

2 Accessories to the core setting.  Once the really hard job of setting up a
real setting is done, than it's time to flesh it out.  More detail for
specific spheres, add-on compendiums of new ships, races, etc

3 Adventures to support the setting.  Personally I'm much more a fan of
accessories than adventures, but really good adventures (maybe even one
excellent quick-start adventure for newbies like so many settings have)
would of course be a must.

4 Fiction to support the setting.  :)  This could take the form of little
blurbs here in there throughout the setting/accesories (planescape and dark
sun both did this, and so did SJ with it's quotes on the bottom of the
pages)  Also in the form of stand-alone stories.  Fiction would both be
unimportant to actually playing (aside from giving some ideas for campaign
tone) and yet if done right would be a hook for newbies who just happen to
cruise the site and click in to get an idea of what SJ is all about.  I
think that's why all of TSR's successful campaigns had fiction support.
Besides, that's where I can contribute something, so of course that's why I
make special mention of it.  :)

Now, that's what I'd do if I had the money to get the rights to SJ and form
a company to put out SJ products, so I know how unrealistic that template
is.  But since we're talking dream settings, that's the way I'd love to see
the official page set up.  Just like it was a real licensed product, like
the upcoming Dragonstar, instead of when you click on the setting hyperlink
you don't get a mere description of an upcoming product you'll be able to
buy in stores but rather you get a hyperlink right to the product.

Enough, I know this is a pipe-dream.  :)  Still, that's how I'd do it.

- Sebastian



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