tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post5053837605455470477..comments2024-03-27T03:37:22.778-04:00Comments on Age of Ravens: Legend of the Fading Suns (Part One)Lowell Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-10315660718148807252014-05-28T13:11:10.544-04:002014-05-28T13:11:10.544-04:00@Lowell Francis If you look at the Muster as "...@Lowell Francis If you look at the Muster as "Slavers" you're only looking at one facet of the Guild. They're also Bounty Hunters, Technologically driven Mercenaries, space-age Port Authority workers, and the Freemasons, and the temp agency of the Known Worlds (Although comparing temp agencies with slave traders isn't an unfair characterization). Additionally they're a huge administrative organization with it's own functionaries and internal security. There's a wealth of different stories you could tell just within that guild but you don't really need to treat the Slavers as NPCs. The ethical and economic challenges of dealing with the slave trade on worlds where it's semi-legal makes for an engrossing character-driven story. One of the earlier campaigns I ran was a Muster Slaver who was trying to get out from under the thumb of his superior.~Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08997769570787840275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-50161315682453439412011-08-10T15:23:49.613-04:002011-08-10T15:23:49.613-04:00@postgygaxian: Absolutely. And it does become a li...@postgygaxian: Absolutely. And it does become a little strange when the game essentially presents those slavers as one of the dozen and a half character path options given. It does seem like more of an NPC path. The monolithic nature could hold true- even in a place with such distances, but as you say, it doesn't necessarily make for a good set up or hook for the players. That's what I'd like- a more playable and interesting set up.Lowell Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-63466350200297419552011-08-10T15:20:51.377-04:002011-08-10T15:20:51.377-04:00@Peter: Am I right in thinking what your objecting...@Peter: Am I right in thinking what your objecting to is more of the straight fantasy or fantastical elements in things. And with that the lighter tone which often accompanies it? IIRC you liked SLA which always seemed to have an element of the fantastic to it. That seems a reasonable position- and certainly I've always seen that as Derek's approach as well (though I don't want to misstate his position). Fantasy can work as a background element, but perhaps only with a darker or horror tone to it?Lowell Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-76366275350717902722011-08-10T15:16:27.599-04:002011-08-10T15:16:27.599-04:00@Barking Alien: I get your point about it not bein...@Barking Alien: I get your point about it not being "sci-fi" in the classic sense, but at least in the sense of my thinking about sci-fi it falls in there. I'd agree it isn't what you'd call hard sci-fi- and by many reckonings as you suggest Dune wouldn't be that either. I've been a hard sci-fi reader (Niven, Asimov, Clarke, Pournelle, portions of Cherryh, Brin, Stross) but that's certainly not where my interests have fallen. I mean broadly sci-fi hasn't really grabbed me for that, with the subset of hard sci-fi even more distant I expect. <br /><br />And I expect that for me to find sci-fi palatable, I do have to have those softer elements- character centered approaches, things appearing without the logical rules front and center, things more fantastic (like decadent technology, psychics, etc- I guess the stuff that you don't want to look too closely at or else you have to put in a "And then a miracle occurs" moment.)<br /><br />So I'm not sure I could find a solution within the realms of hard sci-fi, but at least on the broader definition I'm using I think I might be able to. But it does require there being some of the fantastic in the broader sense. You've got a good point.Lowell Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-53290498320363662192011-08-10T05:41:11.910-04:002011-08-10T05:41:11.910-04:00I think Fading Suns is supposed to be dark. A Sla...I think Fading Suns is supposed to be dark. A Slaver's Guild would make a lot of sense - that doesn't mean the players must work for it. <br /><br />The monolithic nature of the houses might be explained by fanatical group psychology. However, even if this could be made convincing, it wouldn't necessarily be playable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-68574870595279857632011-08-09T23:52:20.902-04:002011-08-09T23:52:20.902-04:00Fading Suns is one of those games I never picked u...Fading Suns is one of those games I never picked up and read even though I always meant to. Even from the beginning where there was talk of Bill Bridges bringing some of the ideas from the dead WW game Exile. <br /><br />SciFi is a hard concept to capture it seems. Especially considering all the different directions that various authors have made popular. What one likes another will not. I have played in a campaign that lasted years. The setting was a melding of Traveller, Battletech, and several other games and sources that the GM kept all together in a big binder. Some of us loved it and got deeply involved while others just stood by a lot of the time.<br /><br />For me fantasy was the area I had the most trouble grasping. Horror and scifi were what I held onto the most.PeterAmthorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190359101341763641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-1029835131278720912011-08-09T22:23:24.339-04:002011-08-09T22:23:24.339-04:00While I have always considered Fading Suns an inte...While I have always considered Fading Suns an interesting take on the type of Science Fantasy that might include Warhammer 40K and Dune, it's not really Science Fiction in a classic sense. Therefore, while cool, it wouldn't solve the conundrum for me that is suggested by your first paragraph.<br /><br />You "want to see the appeal and be able to picture the scale, grandeur and majesty of a campaign as I can with fantasy, modern horror, and supers."<br /><br />OK. My question is, are you seeing the appeal of Sci-Fi the way you can with fantasy if you need to add fantasy to it to do so?<br /><br />I am much more of a Sci-Fi fan than a Fantasy one so I often have the opposite question for myself. To me, Fantasy is only really cool if it's Fairy tale/Folkloric or if it makes sense. But if it makes too much sense, is it Fantasy or Science Fantasy or Sci-Fi?Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-50858243779120255322011-08-09T16:19:57.773-04:002011-08-09T16:19:57.773-04:00Fading Suns has always attracted me for its settin...Fading Suns has always attracted me for its setting and repelled me for the same reason. I look forward to seeing more your thoughts on it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com