![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
FASA Syndrome and a possible game.
May. 15th, 2010 08:47 amOriginally a group of Traveller geeks, FASA went on to be one of the best game companies of the eighties and nineties, producing several games that developed large followings. The thing is, FASA had a problem. Their worlds were much better than the rules.
Take Shadowrun. The Seattle Sourcebook is still my choice for best RPG supplement ever. An entire metroplex given just enough detail and life to be playable without being overwhelming, and the web-like commentary gave dozens of adventure hooks. The rest of the books in the line were of similar quality; creating a vibrant world where technology and magic existed side by side and a dragon could run for President. The rules? Not so much. Shadowrun's core mechanic was a dice pool and target number system, but the sheer number of modifiers bogged down play. Especially when you had a firefight with mages involved. So many gamers took the setting and adapted it to their generic system of choice.
The same can be said for FASA's other offerings. The Renegade Legion series gave a great epic Space Opera setting to fight battles in, and the actually wargames were great. Legionnaire? Not so much. The RPG version was pretty much unplayable. Everyone knows Batletech, one of the most complete detailed SF settings ever. The House books remain examples of excellence in writing and presentation. But the MechWarrior RPG failed on many levels.
Finally, the one that really hurt. Earthdawn. Set in the same universe as Shadowrun, but much earlier in history, Earthdawn is based on the idea that the cyclic nature of magic results in a peak potential where Lovecraftian "Horrors" can cross into our world and wreck havoc. Forewarned of this disaster, most intelligent races built fortified underground "kaers" - entire cities designed to withstand a siege expected to last centuries. The game is set at a point where magic has ebbed to the point that most of the Horrors have been forced back into their own realm, and the kaers are beginning to open to reclaim the surface.
Does this not just rock as a setting? It includes all the elements I love for a good game. Exploration, mysteries, unknown threats, open frontiers, and since some kaers would have fallen to the Horrors, entire freaking cities acting as dungeons! Note to mention the old surface cities that have been standing empty for 400 years. This would be a time of legends! Of carving out new empires! when a band of adventurers could easily become kings! The problem here was twofold: again, some crappy mechanics in the game that slowed things down with excessive specialized rules, and when expanding the setting the writers added too much civilization.
I'm seriously considering doing a GURPS Earthdawn game. One big change I'd make is the nature of orcs in the setting. As written, they're just the usual Tolkienesque monsters. However, being a big fan of Heavy Metal, have the orks be humans whose kaer was breached by a horror who changed them over the centuries. Barking mad, sadistic, and devoted to keeping their God on Earth. I'd probably set the game in Greece, and have the Therans in Rome's location. Gives a little separation before the inevitable conflict.
What do y'all think?
Take Shadowrun. The Seattle Sourcebook is still my choice for best RPG supplement ever. An entire metroplex given just enough detail and life to be playable without being overwhelming, and the web-like commentary gave dozens of adventure hooks. The rest of the books in the line were of similar quality; creating a vibrant world where technology and magic existed side by side and a dragon could run for President. The rules? Not so much. Shadowrun's core mechanic was a dice pool and target number system, but the sheer number of modifiers bogged down play. Especially when you had a firefight with mages involved. So many gamers took the setting and adapted it to their generic system of choice.
The same can be said for FASA's other offerings. The Renegade Legion series gave a great epic Space Opera setting to fight battles in, and the actually wargames were great. Legionnaire? Not so much. The RPG version was pretty much unplayable. Everyone knows Batletech, one of the most complete detailed SF settings ever. The House books remain examples of excellence in writing and presentation. But the MechWarrior RPG failed on many levels.
Finally, the one that really hurt. Earthdawn. Set in the same universe as Shadowrun, but much earlier in history, Earthdawn is based on the idea that the cyclic nature of magic results in a peak potential where Lovecraftian "Horrors" can cross into our world and wreck havoc. Forewarned of this disaster, most intelligent races built fortified underground "kaers" - entire cities designed to withstand a siege expected to last centuries. The game is set at a point where magic has ebbed to the point that most of the Horrors have been forced back into their own realm, and the kaers are beginning to open to reclaim the surface.
Does this not just rock as a setting? It includes all the elements I love for a good game. Exploration, mysteries, unknown threats, open frontiers, and since some kaers would have fallen to the Horrors, entire freaking cities acting as dungeons! Note to mention the old surface cities that have been standing empty for 400 years. This would be a time of legends! Of carving out new empires! when a band of adventurers could easily become kings! The problem here was twofold: again, some crappy mechanics in the game that slowed things down with excessive specialized rules, and when expanding the setting the writers added too much civilization.
I'm seriously considering doing a GURPS Earthdawn game. One big change I'd make is the nature of orcs in the setting. As written, they're just the usual Tolkienesque monsters. However, being a big fan of Heavy Metal, have the orks be humans whose kaer was breached by a horror who changed them over the centuries. Barking mad, sadistic, and devoted to keeping their God on Earth. I'd probably set the game in Greece, and have the Therans in Rome's location. Gives a little separation before the inevitable conflict.
What do y'all think?
