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Iron Lore: Malhavoc's Surprise?


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Dear Mr. Mearls and Mr. Ratbane:

There's really no need to compete. You see, that's why God invented credit cards...

I WANT BOTH BOOKS! NOW! :)

Looking forward to Iron Lore in August. I do hope you put it out on PDF as well as Hardcover.

And Mr. Ratbane?

Since you've already put out some supplements on PDF AND you don't ship outside the continental US, please be so kind as to release the Grim Tales book on RPG shop, so those of us out on the boonies can purchase a copy ASAP!

That Visa is burning a hole in my wallet and is rearing to go!

Thanks!

(On a serious note, thanks for both products. THough a long time DnD player/GM for over 20 years, I've always had a problem with the intrinsic reliance upon armor and magic for survival. Both books sound like they emphasize on the actual *prowess* of the warrior, rather than on his gear or magical buffs.)
 

As someone who has played both games, I don't actually think there is that much overlap between them. Iron Lore is not low magic in the same way that Grim Tales is low magic. They each have a very different feel and focus.

I think that will become more apparent as Mearls is able to reveal more about the system :)
 

mearls said:

"That disintegrate eye, OTOH, is a rules issue. It has X% chance to hit you, and then X% chance to kill you. There are story things that can help you deal with it, like running into a cave, but a designer has no control over those. I can't design a (good) game that tells the DM to include a cave that the PCs can hide in as part of every encounter."

This was the first thing that sprang into my mind.

DM:You're walking thru the darkening forest when you hear several harsh voices around the corner. You're only level 4 and alone and you see a group of 6 orcs come around the bend in the road. Off to the right of the road, you notice the mouth of a cave yawning open invitingly. What do you do?

Player:I hide in the cave!!

*snicker*

Hagen
 

Some new tidbits posted over at montecook.com. A FAQ, a pdf, and some product descriptions. Not much that hasn't been covered here already, but some neat pictures at least.

edit -- okay, now that i've loaded all the pdf, there is some new stuff. Skip to the last couple pages (6-7) for some class and feat info.
 

Greatwyrm said:
Some new tidbits posted over at montecook.com. A FAQ, a pdf, and some product descriptions. Not much that hasn't been covered here already, but some neat pictures at least.

edit -- okay, now that i've loaded all the pdf, there is some new stuff. Skip to the last couple pages (6-7) for some class and feat info.
Yeah, I had a chance to look at the preview stuff earlier today - very cool. So... 8 Warrior classes, 1 "Thief" class and 1 Magic-Using class. Hmmm, most of the names seem pretty good. I quite like the name Armiger... has a nice solid ring to it. "Executioner" though... maybe not so much. Doesn't quite convey the idea of a finesse fighter the description seems to suggest. The Harrier or perhaps the Hunter sound like the most interesting so far. Hmmm... :cool:

I'm diggin' the IL feat ideas - feats that can improve with you as gain levels and that each class has certain feats that it excels in over other classes. Also love the idea that different weapons have their own distinctive advantages. That's something I've been doing IMG for a while now too. The whole "Mastery Rating" thing is still a bit of a mystery - I wonder if they somehow tied to skill points or something similar.

I'm very interested in seeing how IL handles Stunts and how they are to use "in play". Hopefully we'll see an example of one in the near future...

All-in-all I am very hyped and only... 5... months... to... go... :uhoh:

Cheers!
 
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Very interesting.

Can you compare the feel of the game to any other game you have played?

For example, when we play my Grim Tales game it feels like PenDragon with better mechanics to me.

Is Ben's (Wulf's) Super Hero comparison a good one?

I'll probably buy all three books next year assuming the anticipated gushing reviews are forthcoming.

I think it is a shame you are not going to write a lot of adventures for this Mr. Mearls - I really enjoyed the WFRP mystery-style adventure you wrote.
 

Hey, Mike.

I'm really impressed with what I've heard. I'll chime in with another "I've wanted something like this for a while now" comments. I just need to make sure that I publish something you want between now and GenCon, so I can trade with you rather than actually buying one. ;)

I do, however, have one question/concern. By adding to the number of options in combat, it seems to me that one would almost have to add to the complexity of the game as well. While I love the idea of a system that deemphasizes magic items in favor of character abilities, I'm less sanguine about having an extra two-dozen details to keep track of, or waiting for people to decide what they're doing in combat, and then look up the rules to do it. In D&D, you only have to do that if you're doing something odd (grapple, or an unusual spell).

What would/can you say, in that regard? Does Iron Lore require much in the way of added bookkeeping/note-taking? Is it harder for people who aren't system-savvy (such as several of the players I know) to use? Is it still going to appeal to people who wish to deemphasize minis and calculation? (I know you already said it doesn't require any more use of minis than D&D itself; but can it be played to require less?)

Just to be clear, I'm getting this thing regardless. It's one of the few rules-heavy books I've been excited about in a long time. The above questions are just me trying to figure out if it's a perfect fit, not to indicate any concern for the book's quality as a whole. :)
 


I love Epic Magic. I love Epic magic using pcs. I love Epic magic items. I run a Epic game. Why should I get this at all? P.s.I love Mike's books;this is not a attack. elforcelf.
 

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