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Message: <blockquote data-quote="evildmguy" data-source="post: 3699054" data-attributes="member: 6092">DS and other thingsI agree that the biotech was strange and not something I liked.  Perhaps it was because it was too weird in the DND ruleset.  It seemed clunky.  I might be able to do it now, as I use Alternity, but it seemed strange at the time.  A very rough add on, I thought.  As to the second paragraph, I agree.  However, perhaps it's because the designers didn't give us any good ideas on how to run in DS?  I mean, the first boxed set adventure killed Kalak, instead of showing how to run a campaign with them.  Further, it has to show why the ruler wouldn't squish the PCs but let them go on their way.  For me, there are two things that helped me figure that out.  The Emperor from Star Wars and the Gh'oald from Stargate.  The Emperor is obvious.  He has minions and he doesn't deal with the day to day stuff.  The bad guys from Stargate, though, are a good example of having a leader who is mostly in control and doesn't mind some rebellion, mainly because he thinks he can squish it at any time.  Or he thinks it is no threat against himself.  (Or herself.)  The "gods" only stepped in with things that really mattered to them.  See, here's my big issue with pre designed worlds.  The designers seem to want to hint at the cool things but never really say it.  Instead, we as GMs have to try and figure out what the designer hinted at.  If the designers would just **SAY WHAT THEY MEANT** instead of hinting at it, it would be so much easier.  I know, they can't give everything away, but I think they can do a lot more than they have.  Plus, it would allow us to run our stories in the same direction, and not be so irked when the new supplement comes out that changes the world on us.  Anyway, that's what I think was missing from DS, good advice on how to run the world, i.e. how the designers saw it working as a game world.  Further, I agree with what others said, that the other city-states were not well defined.  I re-read the main geography book from the first boxed set recently and it is sorely lacking in descriptions about the city-states.  There is not enough there to get the flavor of them or how things are supposed to work.  That's my coppers worth.edg</blockquote>

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