Synnibarr vs WotC

[Mannahnin]

Edited my first post as I went to add a few more details and recollections as they came back to me.

@bedir than I'd love to hear some Raven stories from you, from back in the day.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Indeed!

I spent a few hours talking with Raven at a Con in 1992. He was pretty convinced Syynibarr was a revolutionary game. I read through it, and it was akin to seeing a tractor trailer turned upside down next to the highway: It's interesting, and you wonder just how it happened, but it's still a total wreck.

The history of RPGs is littered with people claiming "I wrote the first ___ RPG!" 5-10 years after someone else actually did it first.

Tom Moldvay's Lords of Creation came out in 1983.

And with that I have now made a (somewhat) serious post in a thread about Synnibar. The unimaginable just keeps happening. I guess sort of like Synnibar.

I agree, his claim is entirely implausible and he would have died or suffered some terrible effects of such a diet at best.

As much as I hate to say anything in his defense, however, unless a person is actively counting their calories, it's really easy to underestimate how much you're taking in. Stuff adds up when you're not looking.

Which is blatantly untrue. He'd have lasting damage after a month, and dead shortly after, let alone 6-10 years. For reference, the average person will lose 20 pounds at 500 calories a day after a month. And that's on a supervised diet to get minerals. Heck, two years ago I had to go on a liquid diet for medical reasons for a month, and that was 1400 calories a day. And I had to take supplements. And I still lost 20 lbs that month and felt like crap. Irritable and couldn't concentrate.

500 calories a day for 6-10 years is simply impossible, and it's not close.

I strongly suspect that there's some degree of jealousy at work, considering how successful Peter Adkison has been.

 

[the Jester]

A “Native American” class. Ugh.

Ok it’s from the 80s, which isn’t an excuse, but that’s not great.

At least it wasn't the "Injun" or the "Red Indian" or something. Using "Native American" in the 80s was pretty progressive.

 

[Sacrosanct]

At least it wasn't the "Injun" or the "Red Indian" or something. Using "Native American" in the 80s was pretty progressive.

Yeah, I'm not gonna bust on him for something he wrote in the 80s. I go back and look at some of the stuff I wrote and said back then? Cringe...

Like how in his bio in the SA article says how he really wants to meet the Donald. (Trump). That was 10ish or so years ago. I bet he doesn't still want to meet him

 

[darjr]

Yeah, I'm not gonna bust on him for something he wrote in the 80s. I go back and look at some of the stuff I wrote and said back then? Cringe...

Like how in his bio in the SA article says how he really wants to meet the Donald. (Trump). That was 10ish or so years ago. I bet he doesn't still want to meet him

Yes I get that. The thing is does the newer version retain that?

 

[Blue Orange]

I bought a copy ages ago, though it was quite creative even if it didn't work as a whole. Fun in a 'Rifts, but only more so' way. Even if the system didn't work it was worth mining for ideas. I don't see why it gets put up there with stuff like F.A.T.A.L. and RaHoWa that's actively hateful.

 

[darjr]

Oh I guess that wasn’t the name, it is “Shamans”.

Shamans are a special type of spell user and warrior....

As a race, the Shamans are North American Indians, although not all tribal Shamans are Indians...

📖 Let's Read! - (Let's Read) The World of Synnibarr | Tabletop Roleplaying Open

What is Raven c.s McCracken's Synnibarr? It's the RPG of everything you thought was cool when you were fifteen. It's D&D with spaceships, dragons, cyborgs, ninja, talking raccoons and super-mutants, all at DBZ power levels. When you're writing up a Vampire character and trying valiantly to focus...

forum.rpg.net

 

[RivetGeekWil]

The locals at one of the game stores here in Tacoma apparently know him. They playtested Synnibar and are unironically proud to share it. Like he's their local game designer celebrity. They enjoyed playing the game, that's all that counts.

Oh, and I forgot, there is a new edition in the works according to them.

EDIT: And I guess there have been some responses from at least one of them here in the thread

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'll just add, if it took him 10 years to write it to a point where it could be published, thank God that happened before the Kickstarter days....

 

[Fenris-77]

I'll just add, if it took him 10 years to write it to a point where it could be published, thank God that happened before the Kickstarter days....

Hey, the whole Far West fiasco has been comedy gold for a decade, it might have been great.