Re: SotSM and Re: Dragon 315 Revists Old Settings

Okay, I chose my words poorly. I still am glad of the feats, PrClasses etc.
as they are a good starting point for me trying to do a 3e take on the
setting.
As to what will or won't attract more people to it, your points are valid.
However, I am not going to pursue a conversation on relative value of
marketing. No offense, but my time is overburdened and I would need more
free time to pursue it.
I will bow out of this one and leave it for those who have more time and
knowledge of the subject to pursue.
Loki, DM
Warriors of the Balance: The Rise of Dukagsh Campaign
New Orleans, La

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thatotherguy" <spellj@??????????.com>
To: <SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 8:17 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] SotSM and Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Dragon 315 Revists
Old Settings


> > I fail to understand the emotion here.
>
> You fail to understand the excitement of people for potentially getting
> new stuff for settings they love (that's the only way you can describe
> the many hours people put into developing and bringing alive any
> setting)?  Or you fail to understand the trepidation people have with
> hacks like Eric Mona having a say in how one of their favorite settings
> is handled and presented to the world?
>
>  If you don't like it, don't
> > use it. I
> > for one would be glad of anything that puts SJ in the eyes of those
> > who are
> > unfamiliar with it, any chance of getting a new generation of people
> > interested in the setting helps push towards truly reviving it rather
> > than
> > sustaining it.
>
> And here's where your idea falls on its face in the mud and is run over
> by a baluctherium team pulling a doomgrinder (bonus points to anyone
> who can name both settings that inspired that picture!).  Spider Moon
> is far less than inspiring, it is, in fact, a waste.  SJR4 Rock of
> Bral, one little city, inspires in a whole setting of innumerable and
> worlds and vast distances.  SJR? Greyspace inspires me (SJR2 Realmspace
> less so and SJR7 Krynnspace not at all) because it has adventuring
> opportunity.  And it's different.  Here there are elves who aren't in
> decline (until the uninspiring 2UW), mighty slaver races, trade,
> asteroid spheres full of colonies and DM created empires (see my
> asteroid empire series), planets full of factions fighting (Ginsel),
> and so on.  Eric Mona decries others fr being unoriginal but there's
> nothing original in Spider Moon.  Drow vs. elves with the elves above
> and drow below but fighting to come up to conquer?  Yawn.  Been there,
> done that, seen the innumerable FR accessories.  Space travel is
> treated haphazardly (in fact, it's basically ignored by saying roll a
> couple dice) in favor of prestige classes and feats, some of which
> really have nothing to do with SJ (in other words, they are generic).
> And the setting is worthless.  There's lots of overarching, big enemies
> and no little stuff.  No nice asteroid fields where I can place Rock of
> Bral when I'm inspired by this article to buy the pdf (but since the
> article doesn't inspire...).  No detailing of how SJ travel (that thing
> that's left out, remember?) affects the military, communications, and
> economy of the planets (the planets are all self-sufficient so how des
> it affect economics on the planet?).  None of the things anyone who
> spent a couple weeks on this list would find still vexes dedicated DMs.
>  The Spider Moon article will not inspire anyone to come to SJ.
>
> You say anything that moves the setting forward is good.  Spider Moon
> ignored the existing setting so obviously it didn't move it forward.
> You say anything that inspires people to turn to SJ is god but Spider
> Moon turns people away.  In case it hasn't occurred to you, SJ has so
> few fans because the premise, as it appears on the surface to be, is
> not one that inspires most gamers.  I only got interested in it when I
> read the first Dungeon module a few times.  And those modules were the
> best SJ modules produced (SJR2 and SJR1 are great but they don't
> contain any full length modules the way I'm referring to).  I liked the
> idea of fleets and ships.  Honestly what attracted me to SJ wasn't
> really ships in space but it's the first thing I've seen for AD&D (and
> now, the only) that really dealt with with a naval feel and naval
> possibilities.  Every other resource skims it or skips it (FOR3
> included).  But no one will ever know that unless they get good SJ
> articles that show this possibility.  And from the outside, SJ just
> looks like a fantasy space setting.  And Spider Moon is the worst SJ
> setting I've seen (and I have many poor ones to choose from given the
> SJ modules that were released...).  So simple "exposure" to SJ will do
> nothing for growing the fan base.  Bad articles will turn people away
> from BtM and the .pdfs as much as the $20 price tag kept me away from
> the boxed set until something else attracted me.
>
>
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