Ed Stark
11-08-1997, 10:28 PM
The question about the 1998 Spring Catalog prompts me to send this message
to the list as well, regarding TRIBES OF THE HEARTLESS WASTES, the campaign
expansion for Vosgaard.
Okay, as many of you already know, in order to put out TRIBES without
raising the cost, we simply HAD to get it out of that box format. Plus,
Vosgaard isn't a place like any other on Cerilia--there just aren't two or
three dozen suitable PC realms, and we think DMs WON'T want their players
to read through NPC-only information, so we made the following changes to
the format:
*This is a two-book set, one 32-page Player's Chronicle and one 64-page
DM's Guidebook.
The PC contains several realms that we (the author, myself, and the BR
group--including Anne Brown, Harold Johnson, and, of course, Carrie Bebris)
thought appropriate for player character rulership. It also includes
information players should know about Vosgaard (the history, the culture,
etc.) and SOME info about the other realms (some rumors, legends, and false
information is included).
The DG describes the rest of the realms in varying ways. There are NPC,
Awnshegh, and Monster realms (like Molochev, the Raven's Domain, and Kal
Kalathor), but there are also "Wild Lands" that have never been tamed.
These realms, such as areas like the Mistmoor, the Icemarch, and the Battle
Fens, have descriptions addressed to the DM as places heroes can go to
adventure or forge their own realms. The DM and the players will have to
use the information presented in the BR Basic Set to create their own
domains and set their own province levels (it's pretty easy, as most of you
know), and the DM has plenty of legends and rumors to set up adventures in
those areas with.
*There is only passing information on Torova Temylatin.
I intend to cover "Fish Island" in more detail in later product--and not
much later. There are a few hints, but you'll just have to trust me ...
*There are fewer war cards.
We tried to cut costs enough to include a full set of war cards, but it
just wasn't possible. So, instead, we focused on creating all the "generic"
Vos units you should need, plus a few notable units of Vos and monsters.
We're looking at 32 war cards. Sorry if this doesn't seem like enough, but,
honestly, I think you'd rather we cut the numbers down than out altogether.
*These books have a LOT more interesting info crammed into them.
This is my opinion. I wrote HAVENS and liked both CITIES and RUINS. I
think Vosgaard, word for word, has more information you, as players and DMs
in the BIRTHRIGHT campaign, than any of our other expansions. We cut down
some of the components, but we made every effort to cram as much cool info
into these books as we could. They'll be out next month; you'll have to let
me know if we succeeded.
*BTW, in my opinion, this book has the best art of all the BR stuff so far.
Tony Szczudlo did the cover (and had a lot more freedom than he's every had
before) and he and Randy Post (I believe) did ALL the interior B&W artwork.
It looks FANTASTIC (I just saw it again on its way through layout).
Hope this answers upcoming questions ...
-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)
to the list as well, regarding TRIBES OF THE HEARTLESS WASTES, the campaign
expansion for Vosgaard.
Okay, as many of you already know, in order to put out TRIBES without
raising the cost, we simply HAD to get it out of that box format. Plus,
Vosgaard isn't a place like any other on Cerilia--there just aren't two or
three dozen suitable PC realms, and we think DMs WON'T want their players
to read through NPC-only information, so we made the following changes to
the format:
*This is a two-book set, one 32-page Player's Chronicle and one 64-page
DM's Guidebook.
The PC contains several realms that we (the author, myself, and the BR
group--including Anne Brown, Harold Johnson, and, of course, Carrie Bebris)
thought appropriate for player character rulership. It also includes
information players should know about Vosgaard (the history, the culture,
etc.) and SOME info about the other realms (some rumors, legends, and false
information is included).
The DG describes the rest of the realms in varying ways. There are NPC,
Awnshegh, and Monster realms (like Molochev, the Raven's Domain, and Kal
Kalathor), but there are also "Wild Lands" that have never been tamed.
These realms, such as areas like the Mistmoor, the Icemarch, and the Battle
Fens, have descriptions addressed to the DM as places heroes can go to
adventure or forge their own realms. The DM and the players will have to
use the information presented in the BR Basic Set to create their own
domains and set their own province levels (it's pretty easy, as most of you
know), and the DM has plenty of legends and rumors to set up adventures in
those areas with.
*There is only passing information on Torova Temylatin.
I intend to cover "Fish Island" in more detail in later product--and not
much later. There are a few hints, but you'll just have to trust me ...
*There are fewer war cards.
We tried to cut costs enough to include a full set of war cards, but it
just wasn't possible. So, instead, we focused on creating all the "generic"
Vos units you should need, plus a few notable units of Vos and monsters.
We're looking at 32 war cards. Sorry if this doesn't seem like enough, but,
honestly, I think you'd rather we cut the numbers down than out altogether.
*These books have a LOT more interesting info crammed into them.
This is my opinion. I wrote HAVENS and liked both CITIES and RUINS. I
think Vosgaard, word for word, has more information you, as players and DMs
in the BIRTHRIGHT campaign, than any of our other expansions. We cut down
some of the components, but we made every effort to cram as much cool info
into these books as we could. They'll be out next month; you'll have to let
me know if we succeeded.
*BTW, in my opinion, this book has the best art of all the BR stuff so far.
Tony Szczudlo did the cover (and had a lot more freedom than he's every had
before) and he and Randy Post (I believe) did ALL the interior B&W artwork.
It looks FANTASTIC (I just saw it again on its way through layout).
Hope this answers upcoming questions ...
-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)