Beginner's Essentials

[Sir Bedivere]

I've started a new thread to discuss my proposed 'Starter's Kit':

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=254

[frzntoz]

I'd like to give some feedback on Beginner's Essentials as I spent some free time tonight editing the document. There are too many changes to post it here (most are minor formatting-type edits), but I don't really have anyone's email address. Therefore, I've forwarded my changes to Solomoriah as a source file with record changes on and an updated pdf (to show what the changes look like). I focused on the beginning of the document - up to the 'Day to Day Survival' Section. Many of my changes were simple formatting changes to keep things consistent, such as D8 vs. d8. I'm also did some editing on the written parts in front sections.

I know it was mentioned earlier in this thread that it might be a good idea to add a character sheet to the document. Has anyone been able to do this? Is a new character sheet design needed? I think that adding this would be a really great addition. I have a few other ideas if there is interest, such as adding a short description of classic role-playing and some minor reorganization/editing.

Again, I hope this is helpful.

[Sir Bedivere]

I'd like to give some feedback on Beginner's Essentials as I spent some free time tonight editing the document. There are too many changes to post it here (most are minor formatting-type edits), but I don't really have anyone's email address.

Thanks for taking an interest! You can upload attachments here, which is the best way to do it.

I focused on the beginning of the document - up to the 'Day to Day Survival' Section. Many of my changes were simple formatting changes to keep things consistent, such as D8 vs. d8. I'm also did some editing on the written parts in front sections.

Thanks!

I know it was mentioned earlier in this thread that it might be a good idea to add a character sheet to the document. Has anyone been able to do this? Is a new character sheet design needed? I think that adding this would be a really great addition. I have a few other ideas if there is interest, such as adding a short description of classic role-playing and some minor reorganization/editing.

It's not a matter of 'being able to.' That's easy. The problem was that no one could agree on which one to add (there are quite a few available on the downloads page), and the one sheet that Hyway wanted to add isn't available in ODT format. I did recommend in the character generation section that a character sheet be downloaded and used, but that's as far as it went.

One of the goals of BE is to be as short as possible, so I didn't add a description of role-playing, etc. I'm assuming there is an experienced GM available who can do a much better job of explaining the way things are done in Basic Fantasy.

However, if you want to add anything, write it up and post it here as a proposal. I'll look it over and, if it seems like a good addition, I'll add it. I do plan to put out a new version when the next release of the Core Rules comes out (in the fall?), so I'll reconsider these suggestions then as well.

You might also want to think about my 'Starter's Kit' proposal (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=254), as it would have more of that kind of thing in it.

[frzntoz]

Thanks for taking an interest! You can upload attachments here, which is the best way to do it.

Lol. I can't believe I missed the upload tab button. How embarrassing. In any case, I enjoyed spending some time digging through the document (I love that feature of Basic Fantasy). I think the current version of BE is good; it is a really handy to help new players hit the ground running. I've attached my edits to this post.

It's not a matter of 'being able to.' That's easy. The problem was that no one could agree on which one to add (there are quite a few available on the downloads page), and the one sheet that Hyway wanted to add isn't available in ODT format. I did recommend in the character generation section that a character sheet be downloaded and used, but that's as far as it went.

Yeah, that is what I derived from reading the earlier posts and then all talk about it just seemed to stop. Maybe someone should just add one in, and seek forgiveness later.

One of the goals of BE is to be as short as possible, so I didn't add a description of role-playing, etc. I'm assuming there is an experienced GM available who can do a much better job of explaining the way things are done in Basic Fantasy.

However, if you want to add anything, write it up and post it here as a proposal. I'll look it over and, if it seems like a good addition, I'll add it. I do plan to put out a new version when the next release of the Core Rules comes out (in the fall?), so I'll reconsider these suggestions then as well.

This is one of the qualities that I really like about Basic Fantasy. No need for gobs of text just for the sake of filling pages. So that isn't really the goal for my suggestions. A key motivation for my edits to BE is to help polish the document. BE may be the first point of contact for new players, and I think that this document should be therefore be top shelf quality (I need to stress that I don't think what you've already done isn't good, rather I'm just trying to help a little to make it even better). I'll tinker some more with it to see what I can come up with and post it when I have something that closer captures what I have in mind.

[Sir Bedivere]

frzntoz, thanks for the edits! I'm going over them and will post a working copy when I get through.

Also, just FYI, the spell descriptions were copied from the rule book. If you want to rewrite any of them, you should probably start with the Core Rules thread and convince Solomoriah to change the description there. Then, I'll pick up the changes from that.

[Sir Bedivere]

Let's hash out the idea of adding a character sheet to BE.

Hywaywolf, jackel, and frzntos have all suggested adding one. However, everyone seems to prefer a different character sheet. This makes me think that, if we added one, it would just be ignored in favor of whatever character sheet the GM preferred. So, right now, I am not inclined to add one.

Hyway made a good point that a character sheet that had BE page references on it could make play even quicker. I like that idea, and I may make one up for BE for my gaming group. The answer to this might be for people to modify the character sheets they like and upload them to this thread, or to a new thread just for them. Once one was done, I could mention this in the text of BE and people could find the one they want.

What does everyone else think?

[Sir Bedivere]

Here's a working copy of the 6th release.

frzntoz has made some good editorial suggestions and fixed some errors. I've taken some of his suggestions and made my own changes as well.

frzntoz: For levels, the Core Rules use 'first level,' not Level 1. For the sake of consistency, I'm doing the same. Thieves CAN use a sneak attack more than once in a combat, but not more than once on the same opponent. If I haven't made some other change you recommended and you think I should, please let me know the reason you think the change should be made and we can discuss it.

[frzntoz]

I like the changes; I think it reads better now. I haven't had much time to tinker today, but possibly in the next few days. I don't intend to modify much of the content, just fiddle with the layout a bit. I'll upload a draft when I've had time to work on it.

Also, after some thought, I agree that not including a character sheet might be the way to go. I would imagine in most cases the GM would have given players something along with this short document, and most people won't want to tear out the sheet or bother with photocopying it. Therefore, I (now) struggle to see the benefit of including one. The pointer to download one should be sufficient.

[Solomoriah]

When you guys hash out a version you want posted, email it to me. I'm a little behind on site updates (real life and all that) but I'll get to it.

[Sir Bedivere]

When you guys hash out a version you want posted, email it to me. I'm a little behind on site updates (real life and all that) but I'll get to it.

Will do. I don't think it will be too long, maybe sometime this week?