Be social
Thanks for taking the time to post a new comment or a reply to one! First scan these quick notes, if you please:
General
* Currently, previewing a post is optional; you're welcome to preview or post immediately.
* You should see plain text input by default; click "enable rich text" for fancy formatting tools. (Some people love that and some don't. Be aware that formatting tool performance may vary by browser.)
* With apologies to all, "captcha" questions may face unregistered posters. Otherwise, the spam flow will dwarf the Nile.
Registration and login
* Registration is available! Sign up here. Chief benefits at present include the ability to edit your own comments, bookmark favorite content, and manage subscriptions (newsletter, threads, etc.).
* If you'd prefer to post as an unregistered visitor, that's welcome too. Just leave "Your name" as the default "Esteemed Visitor", or type in some other name. (But if you happen to type in a name used by a registered user – say, "tbone" – you'll get an error telling you so when you hit "post comment". And while your post text should still be there, waiting for a revised user name, there's a chance it could disappear.)
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in and want to post a quick comment as Esteemed Visitor, that's fine; see above.
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in, and enter your user name under "Your name" when posting, you'll get an error saying that's the name of a registered user. That's a good thing; it means strangers can't make posts under your user name! But as above, there's a chance of losing your post text. It's best to log in first here, and then start your posting.
Final
All the above is standard stuff for community web sites, but reminders are good; I hate post-related glitches, and hate to see people run into them on this site. On this or any site, it's a good practice to do a quick "Select All" and "Copy" on your post text before hitting "Preview comment" or "Post comment" – just in case.
For more on the whole topic of interaction with the site, please see User Interaction (opens in new window).
Patron advantage
How's everything?
Enjoying your Games Diner meal? Is the wait staff attentive? Is the chef bathed? (Then it must be a Sunday.) You do know that a little eggshell in the French toast adds calcium, right?
If the cramps haven't set in yet, I hope you'll say Hi to the chef or check out the many ways you can contribute to the Diner.
Now eat. Eat up! You're as thin as a rail.
Build a site!
Cast Seek Spell
THE TAKEOUT MENU
For collaborators, contributors, or the curious. Notice of site updates; project announcements; calls for playtesting; etc.
Madlands and more
Good point about GM-oriented vs player-oriented material. GURPS is quite heavy on the former, IMO, and you're right that Banestorm (or any setting) would benefit from more material to make the players
say "Hey, we want to do this setting!". Alas, my idea for Enclaves is pretty much more GM-oriented material (as it's primarily gazetteer + adventure).
Re Fantasy II: Agreed, the setting faces a special challenge in terms of character power – not just initial power (low-tech tools and skills, no spells, no powers, no magic weapons, no supernatural allies, no real wealth, etc.), but also growth in power (a dozen adventures later, still low-tech tools and skills, no spells, no powers, no magic weapons, no supernatural allies, no real wealth, etc.).
The author is clearly appealing to "pure roleplaying", playing for the challenge and the stories, not for power, and I can respect that. But it's too much to ask of a lot of players, that they run (relatively) static PCs who never gain much power, instead placing the village's prosperity as their goal session after session.
Hmm, all I can think of as an improvement is that a Madlands GM hand out experience points at a mad pace. It makes sense given the ridiculous challenges PCs face, and it's about the only (non-story) reward the setting can offer!
Of course, even there the setting's limitations raise a challenge. PCs can spend those big point totals (for as long as they survive...) on good story-related stuff like Reputation, social skills, survival skills, and so on; and could purchase awesome (and much-needed) combat abilities too. But beyond that, the setting doesn't allow a lot to spend points on!
Challenging stuff for players and GM alike. Back to the first point, Madlands too could use some more player-oriented material, in terms of offering more varied personal goals and rewards worth surviving for.