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<blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5578208" data-attributes="member: 54877">I'm not sure, and I'm well aware that there are trade-offs merely in teaching the game, versus making it engaging, versus making the book a good reference tool.&nbsp; And that doesn't even touch elegance and customization issues.&nbsp; So that said:&nbsp;I'd be really interested in how far one could push a project like this into the organization that Mouse Guard used.&nbsp; If you aren't familiar with it, it basically is broken down into:&nbsp;<ol>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">What the game is about</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">Picking a starting character (mostly pre-gen)</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">How to play</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">How to run (though some overlap with previous section)</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">How to make a custom character</li>
</ol>A neat thing about this is that it finesses the &quot;teach&quot; versus &quot;reference work&quot; issue.&nbsp; And I don't know which came first, the discipline or the organization, but this tactic would seem to encourage the author to move things where they naturally do the most good.&nbsp; Is spell research something that is expected to happen in play?&nbsp; Well, then it goes in &quot;How to play&quot;.&nbsp; Or, if it doesn't come up that often, maybe in &quot;How to run&quot;.&nbsp; But it doesn't belong in &quot;How to make a custom character&quot; unless it is primarily color, and it doesn't belong earlier than &quot;How to play&quot; unless it is absolutely crucial to getting a character concept.&nbsp;Note that this might necessarily mean broaching the subject in one place and going into more detail later.&nbsp; It might make perfect sense to note early that thieves get special talents (and here in your starting character, you get these two).&nbsp; Then in &quot;How to Play&quot; you show the whole list and how they work.&nbsp; Then in customizing characters, you show how the thief gets to pick from the list and when.&nbsp;Even if the final product isn't organized this way, I think it a useful exercise when answering such questions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crazy Jerome, post: 5578208, member: 54877"] I'm not sure, and I'm well aware that there are trade-offs merely in teaching the game, versus making it engaging, versus making the book a good reference tool. And that doesn't even touch elegance and customization issues. So that said: I'd be really interested in how far one could push a project like this into the organization that Mouse Guard used. If you aren't familiar with it, it basically is broken down into: [LIST=1] [*]What the game is about [*]Picking a starting character (mostly pre-gen) [*]How to play [*]How to run (though some overlap with previous section) [*]How to make a custom character [/LIST] A neat thing about this is that it finesses the "teach" versus "reference work" issue. And I don't know which came first, the discipline or the organization, but this tactic would seem to encourage the author to move things where they naturally do the most good. Is spell research something that is expected to happen in play? Well, then it goes in "How to play". Or, if it doesn't come up that often, maybe in "How to run". But it doesn't belong in "How to make a custom character" unless it is primarily color, and it doesn't belong earlier than "How to play" unless it is absolutely crucial to getting a character concept. Note that this might necessarily mean broaching the subject in one place and going into more detail later. It might make perfect sense to note early that thieves get special talents (and here in your starting character, you get these two). Then in "How to Play" you show the whole list and how they work. Then in customizing characters, you show how the thief gets to pick from the list and when. Even if the final product isn't organized this way, I think it a useful exercise when answering such questions. [/QUOTE]

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