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Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:56 pm
by nightstorm
Oh I missed that.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:30 am
by Treebore
Well, it definitely sounds like its going to have tons of ideas in it for me to tinker with at the very least. So that is good.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:38 am
by Treebore
Rhuvein wrote:
Lord Dynel wrote:Tree, there's been supplements before that have tried to up the power level. Gods & Monsters comes to mind. So does some of the stuff from Tainted Lands. Like those products, The Codex will only up the power level of your game if you let it. ;)
Yep, that's what I think.

And "power creep" is easily countered by a CK's "power down", "power countered" or "power smashed" abilities thru creative or manipulated dice rolling (or just plain high powered monsters kicking ass on PCs).

No worries for me.

Looking forward to the release.

:)
True. But do you know why 2E AD&D and 3E are so disliked by people for all the feats, skills, kits, special rules, etc.... all the stuff that contributed to the "power creep"? Because they were created and put into print. Same thing is going to happen to C&C among a certain percentage of the customer base. Just what that percentage is going to be, no idea. May be essentially insignificant, or it may be sizable. Considering how big it (power creep) is in 3E, Pathfinder, and 4E, maybe it will be so insignificant in comparison that it won't be an issue for anyone in C&C, because we have all seen and dealt with worse. Then again, a certain percentage of us like C&C because of how similar it is to 1E AD&D, so maybe the power creep will irritate us just like it did when it showed up in 2E.

Just going to have to wait and see.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:02 am
by Peter
Good to see you back Treebore.

AD&D2 was the middle ground. Yes it added all those options, but they were not integrated into the core rules. 3E was none or all, that's why i passed on it. AD&D1E and BECMI had tons of classes, races, magic items, spells, rules, etc. spread throughout magazines and modules. All AD&D2E did was collect and expand. Just because it is in print, doesn't mean it is in stone. A DM can still shut it down. I personally would like to see a Bard's handbook, I may do it myself if time permits.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:52 am
by Celticgamer
As a GM I want as many 'toys' in my toy box as possible to diversify and open up endless possibilities and I gobble up this kind of material for my games, to make them the best they can be. Players should never know what to expect if you such an unlimited canvas as 'splatbooks' to draw from. The less a GM has the less they can excel in their art and craft as a story-teller. I think Game Masters should earn their 'Master' term by the skill of their story-telling and how much they have access to, a repertoire, like the Celtic Senachies or Cyfarwyddwyr in times of old!

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:39 am
by serleran
I disagree, and I partially agree.

Mastering the game is not about having resources... it is about knowing what to allow, how to fairly adjudicate, and how to flex the rules, wherever they derive. Having multiple resources simply provides more guidance, but they should never be the only support -- being a good game master is being able to create, and that means going outside of what is written somewhere. In fact, the best game masters don't need books at all.

I have a fairly large selection of stuff to choose from (in recounting my collection, on just two shelves, I have cataloged over 200 items) and yet I find myself rarely using anything from them. Perhaps I am not a good game master... but ask those whom I have gamed with if I can be a good player, which is the other facet -- understanding both halves of the system is very important.

However, where I agree is that the font of knowledge certainly can get one to think of things they may not have otherwise, and that can lead to great development in a game. So, on the front, I would definitely say the page has been flipped to "synchronize."

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:56 am
by Celticgamer
serleran wrote:I disagree, and I partially agree.

Mastering the game is not about having resources... it is about knowing what to allow, how to fairly adjudicate, and how to flex the rules, wherever they derive. Having multiple resources simply provides more guidance, but they should never be the only support -- being a good game master is being able to create, and that means going outside of what is written somewhere. In fact, the best game masters don't need books at all.

I have a fairly large selection of stuff to choose from (in recounting my collection, on just two shelves, I have cataloged over 200 items) and yet I find myself rarely using anything from them. Perhaps I am not a good game master... but ask those whom I have gamed with if I can be a good player, which is the other facet -- understanding both halves of the system is very important.

However, where I agree is that the font of knowledge certainly can get one to think of things they may not have otherwise, and that can lead to great development in a game. So, on the front, I would definitely say the page has been flipped to "synchronize."
For most GMs, resources matter the most as a means to kick-start things. I have ran campaigns with nothing, lasting a few years at a time too, but I also have ran them with all sorts of additional things that persisted for 15 years. It all comes down to being the story-teller in the end and putting the players through a great time, if not a brilliant one that will last with them for years afterwards.

At the present (my once vast collection of gaming books and resources were as large as yours) is now less than twenty books of many mixed genres and game-systems. I don't need them all, not after nearly three decades of constant gaming with big groups and creating my own campaigns and not relying on other sources much at all. These sources, and all like them out there, should be a way to help GMs see things in a new way, change their paradigm and evolve their craft. Even if they don't use 50% of what is given, they can change the flow of their creativity in some way not had before.

Beyond all else, I think the ultimate Mastery of a GM is if s/he always has a table full of ready and eager gamers whenever they want to run. If there are no players willing to come to the game, that should say it all and give an indication that a change is needed for it to improve.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:58 am
by Treebore
Yeah, the last few years I have found myself using fewer and fewer books. Certain books I still find useful, such as Ultimate Toolbox, a variety of "gear" books, and I will use Gary's World Building books to make sure I cover everything. However, I have found story resources far less interesting.

I think this is because I have realized I don't need them. Never have. Just start and adventure and respond to what your players do in a logical, and sometimes irrational (there are crazies out there!), manner, and the story will organically grow out of that. Which are far and away my favorite campaigns.

So I will buy a book like this, but I have no idea how much, if anything, I will use from it until I see what ideas it gives me. At the very least I hope to get a nice story seed, which I will plant, fertilize with the blood of a few PC's, and see what grows.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:28 pm
by serleran
Celticgamer wrote:Beyond all else, I think the ultimate Mastery of a GM is if s/he always has a table full of ready and eager gamers whenever they want to run. If there are no players willing to come to the game, that should say it all and give an indication that a change is needed for it to improve.
On this, we'd have no discordance.

I just had a knee-jerk reaction to the thought that a larger library made one a better, or more suited, gamer. That may be true in some way, as exposure is rarely a bad thing for imagination, but some of the most creative people I have gamed with are those who own only the needed elements of play, such as the PHB and some dice.

Anyway, I think I'll look this over (I still think the name could have a more flowing name) and implement some of it. After all, I am not unknown to introduce, even to these boards, a wide array of "stuff."

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:28 pm
by Celticgamer
serleran wrote:
Celticgamer wrote:Beyond all else, I think the ultimate Mastery of a GM is if s/he always has a table full of ready and eager gamers whenever they want to run. If there are no players willing to come to the game, that should say it all and give an indication that a change is needed for it to improve.
On this, we'd have no discordance.

I just had a knee-jerk reaction to the thought that a larger library made one a better, or more suited, gamer. That may be true in some way, as exposure is rarely a bad thing for imagination, but some of the most creative people I have gamed with are those who own only the needed elements of play, such as the PHB and some dice.

Anyway, I think I'll look this over (I still think the name could have a more flowing name) and implement some of it. After all, I am not unknown to introduce, even to these boards, a wide array of "stuff."
More resources can widen the vistas available to GMs, and they should, but all of the supplements, sourcebooks, etc in the world won't save them if their games are bad. I could tell stories about examples I have seen in my years in this town alone about how this is true, but I think you know already the same thing. I was thinking of several names during its many years of play-testing but never settled on anything. For the first ten years I called it 'Tir na nOg' and was content with it but then Shadowrun put out their Ireland sourcebook using that name and it ruined my mojo, so then I changed it to 'Tir nAille' and had that up until just a few years ago. Ugh, the naming process alone has a history! Soweth!

I think you and I are akin to the same ideas in gaming!

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:28 am
by serleran
Indeed, FASA took the best names for Shadowrun, using both Tír Taírngire and Tír na nÓg, but there are numerous other options. Perhaps a more fitting term, as it effectively encompasses both a Codex and a Cycle is an "encyclical." However, that tends to have a rather religious (specifically Catholic) connotation so I can see why one would choose to not utilize it.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:45 pm
by Julian Grimm
I have a hard time seeing how that would ruin an idea. I was using the names Albion, Caledonia, and Hibernia long before the Epic of Aerth came out and still use them.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:14 am
by Celticgamer
Julian Grimm wrote:I have a hard time seeing how that would ruin an idea. I was using the names Albion, Caledonia, and Hibernia long before the Epic of Aerth came out and still use them.
Albion is an ancient Celtic name but it has been influenced by Greek explorers, as Hibernia was and both lost their native forms by the time of recorded history of the isles later. Caledonia is a jumbled, and conflated name deriving from a confederation of tribes, the Caledonii (the 'Hard/Difficult Ones') and was strained through Latin by the Romans. Without getting into a doctoral dissertation about each, they were no longer directly the native Celtic forms, either P or Q, and were greatly amplified by the Classical world that first documented them. Plus, they are not the mythical names for the Otherworld, but real world places.

One of my areas of expertise in Celtic Studies is onomastics and Celtic linguistics too.

None of it ruined my idea or project, but stalled the ideal name suited for what it is about, and so I diverted it to other names instead over time.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:51 am
by Relaxo
I'm psyched to see this.

But I would LOVE a pronunciation guide, or even phonetic explanations next to the words in line with the text. It would really help people. There are people out there who can't pronounce Sean or Seamus, let alone Siobhan, and these are 21st century words! :D
Sláinte!

(and maybe a clue separating the various languages, Welsh, Irish, Scot, etc... and that "gaelic" isn't a language").

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 2:26 pm
by nightstorm
So where do you buy it again? I couldn't find it.

Re: Codex Druidum

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:04 pm
by serleran
I don't think the book is released yet.