Troll Lord Games

LordMidnight wrote:
Tervehdys!

Ropecon has nothing to do with ropes, bondage, or stuff like that.

I am sorry if I have ruined your expectations for something... Kinky.

dachda wrote:
Welcome LordMidnight. Great job spreading the crusade in the far northern lands! Has C&C been received well in Finland?

The woman in the background is your concept artist? Curious as to what you mean.

LordMidnight wrote:
The reception of C&C has been overwhelmingly positive.

When the people realize how the SIEGE-engine works, they usually fall in love with its undeniable beauty.

Fantasy has always been a huge thing around here. From one generation to another the passion for the classic fantasy just refuses to die out. Yes, of course there are all sorts of fads, but the fantasy remains as the main course of your typical Finnish gamer.

You know, in Finland (and in the Nordic countries in general) LARP is a huge thing. It is more visible and and gets more attention from the media than its table-top counterpart. Most of the non-roleplaying population seems to think that all roleplaying is larping.

Finnish LARPs tend to be really rules-lite.

Many of the people who larp actively don't really play traditional RPGs. They might have a negative experience with the heavier rules-sets (D&D 3.5, Rolemaster, etc) so suddenly this side of the hobby seems like a threatening, daunting and complex boardgame with myriad byzantine rules.

Of course there are gamers who love crunch and games with clunkier mechanics etc. But I really think there is a hidden demographic of potential Crusaders among the Finnish roleplayers. I dare even to propose (by my own experience as a CK) that C&C and a Finnish gamer are a match made in Heaven - they just don't know it yet.
The only problem has been the availability of the game itself.

Our FLGS seems to have major problems in getting the books I (and few others) would like to have.

Make no mistake, Finnish RPG Shops have a wide and prestigious selection, but for some reason (though you are able to order the Players Handbook and the Monsters and Treasures through your FLGS) - the C&C ad-ons and the adventures seem to be out of question.

I wonder why? For it seems that we have a wide selection of games that are not that mainstream, so whats up with C&C? Is there some sort of Anti-C&C conspiracy going on?
Well, the truth is out there but the future seems bright. By the way, my CK Screen was bought from Finchley, London. It took far too long for my FLGS to get one, so if the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain.
Leisure Games had a good selection of TLG-products. I have been able to order the books I won't get from my FLGS by buying them from the Internet. I am by no means demeaning the fantastic selection of good games in my FLGS, they just seem to have a problem with this one game.

I have been succesful in proselytizing more and more good people from near and far. My current gaming group consists of me and my five loyal gamers. The demand for my games (no boasting though) is high, so its not hard to acquaint people with the game I love.

The horned lady you see in the picture is (as I said) my concept artist. She has created tons of brilliant artwork for my campaigns and other projects. She shares with me my love for C&C and multiple other gems of geekdom.

dachda wrote:
Interesting that LARPing is more mainstream in Finland. Here in the US it seems to fit in below pen&paper RPGing in acceptability. Have you seen the documentary "DARKON"? About Larpers in Maryland.

Ahh. so that's what you meant by a concept artist. That is a fantastic luxury to have a personal artist for your campaign creations. I'm jealous. Feel free to post some of your work for us. Or have her post in the Artist's Alley section. It's always fun to see the creative work of others.

Screenmonkey wrote:
Tervehdys!

Another one from Finland joins the Crusade. (Hopefully.)

I'm still waiting for my PHB to arrive in mail but for what I have learned by reading the reviews and lurking here it should be perfect for my gaming needs. I haven't gamed in years and I'm hoping to revive my interest.

Why C&C? I have yet to try the system, obviously, but I have high hopes for it. It feels right. Most other games have felt somewhat soulless. But I'm going ahead of myself here. I'll read the PHB first and if it delivers I'll gather a group and start a campaign.

Good gaming!

Aladar wrote:
Welcome to the Crusaades one and all! There are good folk here.

Sir Osis of Liver wrote:
I remain torn on this whole notion.

There isn't a question in my mind that The Crusader is among the best gaming mags I've read.

Given the direction that the Trolls have taken (a healthy business decision, imho) with re-releasing The Book of Familiars for Pathfinder, they're opening themselves up to a bigger audience. One of my biggest quandaries in which I currently find myself is whether or not I think it would be healthy to incorporate PF material in The Crusader. Is it a matter of saying to them, "Hey, check out this other cool game" or simply accepting that that audience is out there, and not trying to convert them to C&C?

It wouldn't bother me to see PF material showing up in Crusader, but I think the focus needs to remain C&C. That being said, however, perhaps by hyping up The Crusader to that audience, we might draw in more readers for the magazine and, thus, more players of C&C?

I'd be curious to hear what others have to say on this one.

Jackal wrote:
Given that Pathfinder has its roots in 3e D&D, I don't mind seeing some Crusader space given over. This is especially true if a single article provides both Pathfinder and C&C crunch. I would think something like that would be a simple matter. Just a question of writing up the text and adding in an extra set of rules that are a close cousin to C&C anyway. As past Crusader articles tended to focus on how-to options, interesting concepts and great back stories, I see few problems with this possibility.

Sir Osis of Liver wrote:
As long as both games share something in the way of a common ancestor, this is a good point.

I guess I'm thinking that as long as the Trolls are now supporting PF, it would make sense to try including that crowd in the pool of potential subscribers. Until now, the magazine has catered to a distinct niche in the gaming community. With Familiars, I see a great opportunity to open the mag up to a much larger demographic.