Quote:
Originally Posted by puška
More than debate using political buzzwords about the intent of art or writing my concern from FL (other than having a system that feeds the setting and vice versa), is their flirtation with the recent trend to have a low-prep or non-prep game session.
Maybe we're just old grumps who enjoy research, but having a gm and/or players prepare for a game they wish to be meaningful (if no other meaning than the often used excuse of "fun"), isn't a lot to ask. I really hope FL doesn't step towards this for their new edition.
That which we obtain too easily and all that...
~*~
P.S. a 1e aside here: c'mon, Raellus—Tim Bradstreet's art generic?  |
I understand the concern regarding the potential lack of crunch, but I really don't think a system can remove research or prep from a GM's tool-bag. I see no reason why a GM can't make the setting or encounters as complex as they like, or include house-rules to up the crunch factor. In fact, I think it's easier for a GM to add complexity to an existing system than it is to simplify a complex one.
To run my T2K campaigns, I taught myself Polish history and geography. I don't see how Free League's system can stop GM's from doing that sort of thing.
Keep in mind that people from Gen X and later have grown up with
a lot of other gaming options. Too much crunchiness can make learning/using a system a chore. Why bother learning how to read multiple cross-referenced tables and roll six kinds of die for every interaction when you can just turn on your XBox and it does it all for you? It's a generalization, I know, and there are plenty of youngins out there who aren't afraid of tables and dice, but I'm confident the majority aren't looking for too much of that in gaming nowadays. Tabletop game developers have to consider this as they develop new products. I think going the simple-to-complex route is a better idea than complex-to-simple.
Regarding art, I didn't mean "generic" in style- Bradstreet's art is iconic in its own way. I just meant that 90% of all interior art from v1 & 2 could be from just about any RL conflict from 1945-1991. The only reason we consider it more T2K that Free League's samples is that we've been associating the two for 30 years! The covers, on the other hand, some of them are beautiful (Pirates of the Vistula is my favorite).