Re: Bluffside: City on the Edge - Was: Ptolus

Thanks for the comments, I have been contemplating adding Bluffside to my
list of things to buy as 3.5 stuff drops off the market, your comments have
cemented that.
-Loki

On Nov 14, 2007 3:35 AM, Tauster <chefseehund@???.de> wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:30:57 -0000, David Shepheard
> <david_shepheard@???????.com> wrote:
>
> >IMHO, I think it is better to keep published RPG settings within their
> own
> >crystal sphere.
> >
> >Campaign settings often have special rules about magic, races or gods. I
> >would personally prefer to see all of those sorts of rules pushed out to
> the
> >edges of the crystal sphere. If you mix and match different campaign
> >settings, it isn't so easy to do this. (Imagine for example, trying to
> put
> >Krynn, Oerth and Toril in the same crystal sphere. It just wouldn't feel
> >right.)
>
> I agree, mixing different sets of rules is not always a good thing in a
> campaign, and almost always a bad thing when writing a new setting.
>
> However since I'll use the writeup of Mirrorspace mainly for my own
> campaign, this is of no concern to me. We have an extensive set of
> houserules, so a few new rules are not going to wreak havoc in our game.
>
>
> >So I'd probably want to create a crystal sphere (called Bluffspace) to go
> >around this product. I'd probably also want to put it well outside The
> Known
> >Spheres. (Once The Known Spheres was sorted out, I'd probably want to see
> >regions of unexplored space built up during d20 System campaign settings
> >and/or out of print TSR campaign settings. If all the d20 System settings
> >were kept to one area, it might help AD&D DMs as they could ignore the
> >entire sector.)
>
> I said I do the write-up of Mirrorspace mainly for my own game, but as I
> want the sphere eventually to make it onto BtM, I'll find a way around the
> problem: I'll use the original Bluffside as inspiration for one of the
> cities in the section "Ports of Mirrorspace". I'll rename it and give only
> a brief overview over the city with all the main attributes staying
> roughly the same (being located on the edge of a cliff, deposits of
> adamantium being mined, smelted and traded with, ruins of an ancient
> race...).
>
> I'll add a small paragraph mentioning that there is (or _was_ as it seems
> to be out of print to me) a gaming product called "Bluffside" out there
> that can be used, but the overview will be large enough to give the DM the
> general idea for creating his own city without having to use the original
> accessory.
>
> You wrote "Once The Known Spheres was sorted out..." - I think it will
> take YEARS until we have described the Known Spheres in enough detail to
> feel confident turning towards the frontier spheres.
>
> Besides: Frontier places are always exciting places for adventures, and
> spelljammer is no exception here. I don't think we should wait until we
> have done the Known Spheres.
>
> While I see the sphere of Mirrorspace among the Known Spheres and easily
> reachable for spelljammers, it has a distinct "frontier-flavour" due to
> it's history (the fall of Mirror Prime) and other properties (like being a
> high-psi-sphere). It's location is still well-known but nobody in his
> right mind would go there without good reasons (buying adamantium from
> Bluffside, treasure-hunting, being brainwashed by the Aboleth of Melodya
> or the Mindflayers of Thoon, being a Wonderseeker with ties to the sphere,
> etc).
>
>
> (I just realised I am mixing the discussion about world-building in
> general with specific points about Mirrorspace and Bluffside. Sorry for
> that bad style!)
>
>
> >I think it would normally be possible to take an entire line of products
> and
> >infer that they are set on the same planet. And I think that it might be
> >possble to take several different product lines from the same publisher
> and
> >infer that each product line is set on a different planet within the same
> >crystal sphere.
>
>
>
> In general, you're right, but I see a few obstacles in that way:
>
> 1) Not every good product worth including has follow-ups (and not all
> follow-ups have the same good quality). Companies going belly-up like
> thunderheadgames seemingly did show that.
>
> 2) Not every DM wants to use the whole product line only because he likes
> _one_ product. and those who want to do so often don't have the money
> (myself included).
>
> 3) Another reason for not giving _every_ product (-line) it's own sphere
> is that this would be far too time-consuming. So much work goes into a
> write-up of a sphere...  If I'd start writing up a sphere for every city I
> want to use in my game, there wouldn't be time for the game itself
> anymore.
>
> Again: I agree that what you suggest would be the best way to deal with
> 3rd party products, but I think it is not the most workable way.
>
> Spelljammer was partially created to provide a way to integrate and link
> different game worlds (apart from planescape). If that means that I have
> to adapt those worlds a bit to fit in "my" gaming universe, so be it. ;o)
>
>
>
>
> >Have you got anything else from Thunderhead Games?
>
> No, only "Bluffside, City on the Edge". It was a bargain buy on ebay and I
> was positively surprised about the great quality. Amazon lists one other
> Bluffside product: "Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside" but I have
> yet to get this one. Its written by one of the authors of the original
> accessory so I hope the quality is the same.
>
> Tauster
> }:o)
>
> >David "Big Mac" Shepheard
> >Virtual Eclipse Role Playing Club
> >
> http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071
> 937434/Spelljammer_001071430476
> >http://spelljammer.wikia.com/
> >http://www32.brinkster.com/virtualeclipse/
> >
> >From: "Tauster" <chefseehund@???.de>
> >Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 1:19 PM
> >Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Ptolus
> >
> >
> >> [hijack]
> >> Btw: Has anybody used Thunderhead Games' "Bluffside: City on the edge"
> in
> >> a campaign? It seems the company doesn't exist anymore, at least thats
> my
> >> impression after not finding any recent activity on their homepage. The
> >> latest update was in 2003:
> >> http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://thunderheadgames.com
> >>
> >> I plan to use Bluffside on a planet in Mirrorspace, so any experiences
> >> from gaming would be welcome.
> >> [/hijack]
> >
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-- 
George "Loki" Williams, writing and other aberrations

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