Quote from: insubordinate polyhedral;1140528Does that mean you're considering running those classes online, or publishing a video/podcast series? Or both?

Actually... funny you say that...

My wife does a service as part of her editing business called a "Plot Accelerator" for writers, on top of doing one-on-one consulting for plot development and story development. She's in the middle of creating lesson plans and creating a workshop, and has suggested we do it for GMing too.

I waved off because the gaming world is such a toxic hellhole and my presence here on this forum would no doubt bring the screaming SJW's in and my general impulse is to pull out the axe and go to war. It probably would more disruptive than its worth to my life.

Given the fact I'm trying to transition to full-time writing and getting out of the corporate world - I'll have to re-establish my social-media presence anyhow, so that concern may be moot.

So I'm reconsidering it, since I care about the hobby itself. I just don't care about a lot of the self-important people in the industry currently ruining the hobby. And I'll have to get back into the social-media space anyhow... so that fight is going to come to my shores regardless.

I recommend people just read the Codex Magicus 4e - and dive into the timeline of the History of Talislantan Ages. It's crazy epic. Each age could be it's own game in their own right. The context of each age underscores not just why Talislanta in the modern era is so... odd, but it underscores how relatively primitive it is compared to the ages that came before. It's the beginning of a new renaissance where the surviving cultures of the magical apocalypse of the Great Disaster have finally moved out of the dark ages.

Very few games approach their settings with this kind of lore that ends in such a radical different place from its start. There are some - but Talislanta isn't considered the weird setting it is for no reason. Whole races and cultures have been rendered extinct - leaving only their lore, or artifacts, which still impacts these later cultures millennia later.

Obviously that's some of the stuff we touched upon in Savage Lands which takes place right after the Great Disaster. But even then, there is several *thousand* years of history that existed before that when the Archaens were veritable gods in terms of power.

Half the fun of Talislanta is rediscovering all this stuff - which had magitech dragon mechs, and collossal automatons that stand hundreds of feet tall, magic that is so earthshakingly powerful that most modern casters can't even figure it out (until you get your skill up super-high). Weapons and armor so powerful that the techniques of their manufacture are lost - but can you figure out how to re-engineer them? But in the meanwhile you'll wield them in the name of your respective cause.

Then the crazy cultures! Many emerged from the survivors of the Cataclysm, some emerged as mutations from those survivors, who were subject to the magical radiations of the Gyre. Others were the survivors of races that barely survived the event, and winnowed down to the remnants that clung on by the barest of margins having lost much of their old lore and replaced it with a culture more bent on survival and pragmatic needs.

So it really is a S&S renaissance - city states and kingdoms emerging and establishing trade in a world filled with ancient ruins filled with lost magical gear and lore, academies of magic (Lyceaum Arcanum in Cymril, the Death Cults of Rajan, the Cabal Magicus of Phantasia) hire adventurers to discover relics and secrets from all over the continent (most of which are controlled by the many different tribes of the "Beast Men" and scarier things).

Just travelling in Talislanta is an adventure. Getting to your destination is an adventure. Getting back? If you're lucky. You'll get to spend your hard-won gold-lumens on Cymrillian Aquavit, Tazian Fire-Ale, Amber-wine, maybe take a few hits of Euphorica before going to the pleasure-dens of the local brothel? Or maybe you'll spend your nights playing Pentadrille? Or if you're more daring - you'll be hanging with a rougher lot, and play Ska-Wae with other corsairs and freebooters using your favorite dice and sharpest dagger? Secret societies, death-cults, imperial espionage, rumors of Beat-man uprisings, newly found ruins, ancient tombs with Achaen treasures circulate.

Who cares if your skin is green and everyone has pointed ears? This is game is about adventure. And it's all there to be had.

Hey tenbones, I never picked up Codex Magicus - is it basically a reprint of the Archaen Codex?

yep. But they keep it largely high-level so you can just get a good read to fill up on the lore. I recommend the Codex because it's 4e.

Griphammer, come on down to the Play by Post Forum and see if you wanna join my Talislanta game! We are still in the campaign & character creation phase. My aspiration is Heavy Metal (Metal Hurlant) magazine with a Disco-Italo-Funk sound; basically sex, violence, & fashion, "look cool as you turn on the heat!" :cool:

Let's make gonzo together and embarrass onlookers! :cool:

If I wanted to bring archetypes from TSL into the New Age, or vice versa, is there anything in particular I'd need to keep in mind?  I've learned that there's really no such thing as balance between the templates in these games, but if we wanted to run a game where you could have an Imazi Hunter and an Arimite Knife-fighter (just to pick two templates as an example) in the same party, would there be any hidden gotchas we'd need to look out for? The only thing I can really spot are that HP totals tend to overall be a bit lower in TSL.

Quote from: SavageSchemer;1141582If I wanted to bring archetypes from TSL into the New Age, or vice versa, is there anything in particular I'd need to keep in mind?  I've learned that there's really no such thing as balance between the templates in these games, but if we wanted to run a game where you could have an Imazi Hunter and an Arimite Knife-fighter (just to pick two templates as an example) in the same party, would there be any hidden gotchas we'd need to look out for? The only thing I can really spot are that HP totals tend to overall be a bit lower in TSL.

There are no "gotchas" once you decide which edition-system you want to lean on. Racial stats and core skills work off the same task-resolution system, so it should be pretty trivial to mix-and-match.

3e does have some small considerations - in terms of their templates being based on a leveling mechanic. But it's easy since all you're doing is denoting which skills are Primary/Secondary. The leveling mechanic is uniform in progression. 4e is pretty straightforward. TSL is closer to 2e - which is *really* simple.

Just go with what "feels" right to you in terms of archetype. Some GM's allow a little more flexibility in allowing players to swap more than 2-points of stats around. (I'm pretty generous in that regard).

Thanks, tenbones. Your advice and insights on this and other related threads have been invaluable. Much appreciated.

My pleasure. As always - if you have any questions, I'm always willing to toss in my two-lumens.

I just wanted to say that I've very much enjoyed reading this thread, though I've never cracked open a Talislanta book. This here thread is a prime example of what RPGs are really about: wonders of the imagination, friendship, unbridled creativity, the raw stuff of stories and legends.

My hat(s)* off to you, gentlemen !


*In true Jäger fashion, I haz many hats !