Hullo, Scrumptrilescent,



You make valid points above, and I apologise for reacting to the original post about this the way I did. May have come off a bit too harsh. I certainly respect the ideas that you suggested and have come up with, even if I may not totally agree with them. I suspect that the introduction of the languages as you're postulating would work very well with the group you have. While I've been gaming with my Friday night group for several decades (two of the players have been with me since 1980 or so!), I'm not related to any of the gamers. That's definitely an interesting twist on the gaming group equation, n'est pas? And it sounds to me like a great group, too.



The material that's found in the main Desolation rulebook is more a framework for the world, both Before and After. Like you, I want to see background material on the world itself, mostly the cultures of the Before (since that can provide an idea of what those people are like in a basic fashion during the period After). but I want material on both the Before and the After. While I can see where languages and linguistic concepts would enhance the DESOLATION experience, I personally don't want to run the game needing a dictionary of Sconderan terms by my side to do so. I have no objection to that sort of material in the book to give flavour, but the amount of it may well hinder the game more than it helps.

That said, I understand the decision on the part of the folks at GMD to not provide a map of the After. This allows the GM to customize the world and Scondera to their own tastes and style, and that is also one of the main themes of Desolation as well, methinks. One of the great things about the Desolation rulebook and the Desolation: Survivors supplement is that both books are written in broad strokes for the most part, but they actually contain a lot of cultural material, somewhat concealed (at times), and makes the reading of the two books more fun and interesting to me.

In any event, I look forward to hearing about your DESOLATION campaign, and how the game group works out with the system.

Enjoy!

Hullo, Nestor,



That is a truly valid point, Nestor, and one that as I get older proves even more correct. I think that the real problem is likely to be that while we all want to see Scondera expanded, the problem we face with it is that for the most part, we all want to see different aspects of Scondera brought to life in a more detailed fashion. Even if there are some things we can certain agree on.



Agreed.

I also have to say that I really like the settlement descriptions, because as you say, they are self-contained bits that the GM can drop into the game world if he decides to use them as such. And they provide such an interesting, tantalizing look at cultural and social aspects of the Sconderan environment in the After.

I have no problem with the settlements provided either, I really enjoy them. Take Cynosure for example. I loved reading through that 10 page bit, and will probably use that community. However, I wasn't asking for details of cities in the after. I want to know about the before. Then I want to twist the cultures provided because of the after, or even run games in the Before. Sounds like there is a book coming out that has some of this information.

My brain is somewhat strange. I love the freedom provided in this game, but I need guidelines to create. I love that there is only a map of the before, I've begun brewing my own with a fractal mapper. I was the one asking about cultural names; it would allow me to generate names quickly if needed, but keep the same feel I'm trying to represent. It probably wouldn't have an effect on the majority of my players, but inconsistencies would throw me off. I wasn't asking for names to be put in earlier, though it would be cool to have more examples. I was only asking what the community thought.

And, yeah, I do have a pretty good group here. We've been playing together since most of us were in highschool. We've had a long break since we've played anything, so they are as eager as I.

By they way, thanks for the quick and detailed responses. Much appreciated.

No worries, Scrum. Glad to have your input.

If information about the Before is what you're after, you might enjoy seeing these news:

http://frpgames.irook.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=64503

Ask and ye shall receive.

(Apologies if this is old news to you. And I apologize once again to the Greymalkin folks for stealing their thunder. )

Hullo, Scrump,

Can I call you Scrump?

Cynosure is a lovely city, but I think both Nestor and I were referring to the small communities detailed in both Desolation and Survivors more than the larger city. Both have their appeals, I think, as the Cynosure area will allow for a more "urban" settting whereas the smaller towns and villages have a more "rural", not to mention wilderness, feel to them.

The new supplement due out likely at GenCon that Nestor referenced will definitely provide some of what you want for the Before stuff, and I'm really hoping that other supplements are also in the works for Desolation as well.

Insofar as the responses are concerned, I try to be timely and all, but some of the folks are quicker than me here. As for the detail, mate, oh, my aching fingers!

Sure you can, I don't mind.



Don't get me wrong, I just liked the depth provided. I plan on useing quite a few of the smaller communities, particularly from Survivors. I would have liked to have taken the siad depth for Cynosure and use it in the before - only for other major cities. For example I could see a chapter, at least as large as Cynosure, for the capital of Ascondea or Cair Dhurn or Loslolin.



Thanks for showing me this. That could be exactly what I'm after. Though I am afraid when I see "scenarios." While it could be an excellent example of how I should run this, because I want to start a few days before and play the entire thing out. I hope it's not too predetermined. I do like that they are stand alone scenarios. It's all speculation, and I'm sure it will be an excellent product. I haven't had any issues yet.

Hullo, Scrump,



Good stuff.



I don't think that there is a problem with doing exactly that, and suspect that a supplement or three down the line may well contain 10+ page sections on the major cities of the Before. (Check out the maps on the inside front and back covers of the main book; the main cities are all listed there, it appears, with the exception of Cair Dhurn. I still want to know what happened to Ascondea itself.)

While this was directed at Nestor, I will just say...



One of the things that I've really liked about the Desolation scenarios is the fact that each of them has been about an interesting theme, but also about an interesting facet of Sconderan life in the After, while giving hints and clues about what life was like Before. Some of the scenarios that have been run at conventions by the GMD folks (and others, including myself) have been even more interesting with some truly bizarre (and at times hilarious) situations. That's what is really great about Desolation and potential scenarios for the game - there are so many different facets of the post-apocalyptic world of Scondera that can be fodder for adventures, and the Before offers a few as well from what I've seen.

Greetings everyone!

As I finally received Journeys today, I thought it was about time to dig out this topic again. What do you guys plan next for Desolation?

please say monster book

Agreed. Maybe throw in a tool to help create new playable races too.

It's been nearly a year since the last post on this topic, so I'll ask the question. Anything on the horizon?

You can't 'die' on us,we are just getting started!

keep the creative potions brewing

Is there anything planned for 2012? Another year without something new from Desolation would be a shame!

Hi guys,

When I met Stephen Herron back in 2000, I think it was, he shared a roleplaying game concept he had been working on for years. It had 13 worlds, and you could travel among them. He said he had to be careful, or it could become all consuming. Turns out, he was right.

Desolation, with the Before and After time periods, was a bit like creating two worlds. But, that's nothing like creating 13. We've been seriously working on Broken Rooms for the last two years, and it's nearing completion. However, working on it with full-time jobs, family, etc. hasn't left any time for much else. We haven't forgotten or abandoned Desolation, but we're only three people and right now we're all focused on making Broken Rooms.

I don't want to make excuses. I just wanted to let you know that we're still here, we're in the final playtesting stage and we expect to release Broken Rooms at Gen Con. I fully expect we'll then get back to Scondera.

Well, we got Broken Rooms finished and printed a limited release run for Gen Con. Now we're nearly ready with the final release version, which will receive a bigger print run and distribution via Studio2, which means you should start seeing the book in game stores and online very soon.

As well as that, we'll have the PDF version available online soon as well, along with character sheets, etc.

After that... we're taking a break. Five years of work and we've earned a brief respite We'll be playing games, instead of writing them, getting back to our roots and rediscovering what we love about gaming instead of it just being a part-time job.

I think we'll be playing Pathfinder, and I know I want to run some D&D Next, so we'll be busy with that for a bit, hopefully.

But we have other ideas. I have a new setting concept for a fantasy game, though it could easily be tweaked for a Desolation supplement. If Broken Rooms does well, it may generate new material as well, depending upon how it's received, etc.
Matt's got his card game that we playtested again at Gen Con 2012. That could come out next year.

All in all, we're still busy, even when we're resting...