Basic Fantasy RPG Core Rules 3rd Edition
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:14 am
That's right, I'm going ahead with it. Sometime in the next week or two, I plan to post R76 of the Core Rules.
Here's my plan:
1) Collect the whole rule system into one file, then hammer out the known formatting issues. R75 was created in July 2008; since then, changes to OpenOffice.org, and then to LibreOffice, have screwed up my carefully-planned layout.
2) Correct the known errata, from the errata thread here and from the Dragonsfoot.org Core Rules thread, plus anything else anyone points out.
3) Add some stuff that I think would benefit the game. A handful of new monsters and one or two magic items are what I have in mind right now.
What I WON'T Change:
1) Player-facing rules. Except with respect to the errata, I won't change anything players need to know to create and play characters. No new combat rules, no additional classes or races. I'm considering adding the Magic-User/Thief combo class, but that would be the biggest planned change.
2) Organization. Don't whine about it, okay? The rules stay in the same order they are in now. Consistency was the reason when I wrote 1st edition (consistency with the coverage target, that is), and with the 2nd edition I made just one change (swapping races and classes). For the 3rd edition, everything stays in the order it was in the 2nd.
I will NOT invalidate anything substantial from the 2nd edition, whether by changing rules, omitting rules, or adding sufficiently to the rules to change their nature. My games are run with two copies of 1st edition and two of 2nd edition on the table; I don't want to have to throw any of them out, nor do I want anyone else to do so.
To the Italian Translation team: Take heart, guys. All the above means is that your efforts will not have been wasted. I'd like to ask you to finish translating R75 as is, and turn it over to me finished. I'll deal with getting it into a single file and fixing the formatting, and we'll probably publish it that way. It may take a few iterations back and forth between myself and you guys to get everything right (for instance, I won't know if a piece of art is inappropriately placed after reformatting without one of you reading it) but we'll get it done. Then, at your convenience, you can read through this thread to find the changes, translate and apply them, and with any luck we can keep the Italian version in sync with the English version so that 3rd Edition can go to print in both languages at the same time, or at least, within a few days.
Regarding Artwork:
I do not see the cover art changing substantially; I will maybe add a corner-banner identifying it as 3rd Edition, so you can tell at a glance what you're holding.
However, interior art is welcome. I'd love to see monsters not illustrated in 2nd Edition get their mugshots into 3rd. I'm expecting newly minted Art Director Shonuff to be busy wrangling artists and drawing some himself for the new release.
The Tagline
When I released 1st Edition, I used the tagline "make mine Basic" a lot. The 2nd Edition tagline is "Adventure Lurks Within." Both are worthy, but if someone should think of something cool to say about 3rd Edition, this would be the thread to air it in.
Well, that's what I have to say for now. Thoughts?
Here's my plan:
1) Collect the whole rule system into one file, then hammer out the known formatting issues. R75 was created in July 2008; since then, changes to OpenOffice.org, and then to LibreOffice, have screwed up my carefully-planned layout.
2) Correct the known errata, from the errata thread here and from the Dragonsfoot.org Core Rules thread, plus anything else anyone points out.
3) Add some stuff that I think would benefit the game. A handful of new monsters and one or two magic items are what I have in mind right now.
What I WON'T Change:
1) Player-facing rules. Except with respect to the errata, I won't change anything players need to know to create and play characters. No new combat rules, no additional classes or races. I'm considering adding the Magic-User/Thief combo class, but that would be the biggest planned change.
2) Organization. Don't whine about it, okay? The rules stay in the same order they are in now. Consistency was the reason when I wrote 1st edition (consistency with the coverage target, that is), and with the 2nd edition I made just one change (swapping races and classes). For the 3rd edition, everything stays in the order it was in the 2nd.
I will NOT invalidate anything substantial from the 2nd edition, whether by changing rules, omitting rules, or adding sufficiently to the rules to change their nature. My games are run with two copies of 1st edition and two of 2nd edition on the table; I don't want to have to throw any of them out, nor do I want anyone else to do so.
To the Italian Translation team: Take heart, guys. All the above means is that your efforts will not have been wasted. I'd like to ask you to finish translating R75 as is, and turn it over to me finished. I'll deal with getting it into a single file and fixing the formatting, and we'll probably publish it that way. It may take a few iterations back and forth between myself and you guys to get everything right (for instance, I won't know if a piece of art is inappropriately placed after reformatting without one of you reading it) but we'll get it done. Then, at your convenience, you can read through this thread to find the changes, translate and apply them, and with any luck we can keep the Italian version in sync with the English version so that 3rd Edition can go to print in both languages at the same time, or at least, within a few days.
Regarding Artwork:
I do not see the cover art changing substantially; I will maybe add a corner-banner identifying it as 3rd Edition, so you can tell at a glance what you're holding.
However, interior art is welcome. I'd love to see monsters not illustrated in 2nd Edition get their mugshots into 3rd. I'm expecting newly minted Art Director Shonuff to be busy wrangling artists and drawing some himself for the new release.
The Tagline
When I released 1st Edition, I used the tagline "make mine Basic" a lot. The 2nd Edition tagline is "Adventure Lurks Within." Both are worthy, but if someone should think of something cool to say about 3rd Edition, this would be the thread to air it in.
Well, that's what I have to say for now. Thoughts?