I wish all publishers would go systemless.

[Pramas]

The Pirate's Guide to Freeport is out and has been in stores for a few weeks now, along with the True20 Freeport Companion and the adventure Dark Wings Over Freeport (which has both d20 and True20 stats).

The companion books are an important adjunct to the new core book. While the Pirate's Guide to Freeport details the setting, the companion books tackle the rules. Each companion book provides all the rules support you need for a specific system. The first of these is the True20 Freeport Companion and it will be followed by the d20 Freeport Companion (a 3.5 book). Each one is tailored for the system it supports. The d20 adaptation will have new core and prestige classes, for example, but such things are not required in the True20 version. Every companion will include a short adventure that can be used to kick off a new campaign, as well as stats for important NPCs. We are planning Freeport companions for other rules systems as well, some in print and some in PDF format. Now many GMs can just take the Pirate's Guide and the game system of their choice and go with it, but for those who want more rules support we will be providing it.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

For anyone interested, the WereCabbages are working on a semi systemless book full of the kind of stuff you used to see in Dragon and Dungeon magazines and written by essentially 80% of the same authors. Because contracts haven't been signed yet and the publisher will need to announce it on their website first before I (we) can say more, that's about all I can say, but this sucker is sure to become a mandatory part of every overworked GM's library (whatever version of D&D or similar RPG they play).

 

[Desdichado]

Freeport hasn't gone entirely systemless as Green Ronin also released a True20 rules version.

No, of course not, but the main new setting book itself is systemless, and the rules companions for different systems are separate books.

To try to encourage third-party development. But maybe it's too much of a leap of faith for some. I could write an essay on the reasons to make fluff open.

But it doesn't need to be either. You can still do that without opening up anything from the book itself.

Now many GMs can just take the Pirate's Guide and the game system of their choice and go with it, but for those who want more rules support we will be providing it.

Yep, that's me. I'm running a 3.5 E6 game in Freeport right now with just the Pirate's Guide. I'm not finding that the lack of "crunch" is hurting me in the least.

 

[Ry]

But it doesn't need to be either. You can still do that without opening up anything from the book itself.

Not really. I mean, you can choose to license it to third parties but that's a different kettle of fish. I think more fluff should be open game content because seeing a book with a great take on dwarves but a boring take on elves and vice-versa is painful.

Why is reinventing the wheel (with little grooves chiseled into it to keep it from being THE WHEEL (TM) ) only a bad idea when it's a game mechanic? But I shouldn't threadjack.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, really. Except for some rules about names which are trademarked there is no reason you can't refer to another work in your own work.

The courts have hashed out some rules about exactly how this would work with which I'm not familiar in detail, but the basic principle is sound.

Not only that, Freeport was already open back when it was a d20 book a few years ago. I can't remember how much of that fluff was open (or not) but since it never expires, and much of the fluff is still the same, arguably there's no need to make Pirate's Guide open because there's already another source for open Freeport.

 

[GreatLemur]

I would rather they not. Making crunch is work. Making fluff is fun.

Yeah, this is about where I'm at, too. It's not so much the work I mind, but I don't exactly trust myself to come up with balanced crunch, so I love books that are big, flavorless, mechanical toolkits for me to use in implementing my own fluff.

 

[Desdichado]

I like books with a lot of fluff that gives me ideas I can build off of. Making fluff up from scratch is fun, but I don't do it all the time; I steal tons of it.

For my latest setting, for example, I needed a goblinoid kingdom. They weren't the main center of the action yet, but I thought they might become important later. So I checked out Darguun from Eberron and the Skorne Empire from Iron Kingdoms, swiped the latter, and saved myself a bunch of work that I wouldn't have had time to do otherwise.

In terms of crunch---I've already got a considerable amount more than I ever need. I want books that I can mine for ideas, not yet another book that reads like a dictionary and adds to my voluminous collection of d20 material. I really, really don't need more 3e crunch.

Even for homebrewers who like to make up their own fluff, books of fluff are very useful, IMO.

 

[Geoffrey]

We are planning Freeport companions for other rules systems as well, some in print and some in PDF format. Now many GMs can just take the Pirate's Guide and the game system of their choice and go with it, but for those who want more rules support we will be providing it.

That's the ideal way to do it, IMO. Publish systemless books. Then, for those who are interested, sell companion PDFs of stats for various systems.

 

[Voadam]

Has any publisher attempted a system where multiple game systems are supported for their FRPG modules?
Say pick the 5 most popular games and supply HPs and basic stats for each. So in your example: the group encounters an ancient red dragon (see page 61 appendix B). The GM goes to the appendix and sees Room 11: Red Dragon 1E 64 HPs followed by HD and AC, then do the same for 3E followed by a few other popular systems.
Supply just enough so the GM can get by without having to look and role everything up, but still can flesh it out if they have the time.


BTW I am strongly in favor of systemless modules, always have been.

Final Redoubt Press has made OGL, Rolemaster, HARP, and HERO versions of their campaign setting and each of their modules in their campaign setting's adventure path. There is a bundle option to get all four systems for each product.

http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=729

 

[Choranzanus]

I like fluff like everybody else, but publishing systemless is not so good idea. Just give me stats in a well known system (such as D20); this makes conversion to any system much easier.