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[Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon
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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8008609" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Polyhedron Issue 15: Nov/Dec 1983</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 6/6</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Casin' the Joint: The attempt to keep you from running out of Gangbusters ideas continues with a reminder that reprints (or nowadays, scans) of material actually written in the 1920's and 30's are still readily available, (in fact, they're probably easier to find now than back in the 1980's) so unlike a lot of historical eras, you have a ton of primary sources that you can use for inspiration. The rest of the page is just a list of examples, focussing heavily on the obvious choices over any deep cuts. Another of those cases where the article is not exactly bad, but aimed way too far below my experience level to be of any use to me. We could do so much better now with a forum thread. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Cash & Carry for Cowboys: Another of those irritating reminders of how ephemeral publications could be back then, as they reprint an article that's only 2 years old from Dragon. Were back issues of it even out of print by then? This little list of extra items for Boot Hill must have been more in demand than I thought, because I found it pretty dry the first time around, and I still do. Just goes to show that my tastes don't reflect the average reader of these things, or that of the staff, as this definitely isn't one I would have chosen to reprint if I were in charge of something like this. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>College Courses & Vital Statistics: Our second reprint is also very much not one I would have chosen; the detailed list of college courses for Top Secret, making tracking advancement slow and expensive in a way that seems somewhat out of character with the source material. (or at least, the TV side of it, as books can elide months or years of tedious data gathering and undercover work into a few sentences) And Blood Group?! When has that ever been a relevant detail in an RPG? This just seems to be a fundamental disjunction between what Merle wanted out of his game, and what the average player wanted, and I'm not surprised they went the other direction hard in the next edition, playing up the cinematic globetrotting. We have more than enough grinding for cash and delayed gratification in our everyday lives. Do we really want to create more of it in our recreation?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A fairly boring issue, as both the GM advice and reprinted articles are focussed on a very different audience to my tastes, while the interesting stuff is also somewhat goofy and irritating. Another of the ups and downs in general quality. At least they're still going by fairly quickly. Let's see if 1984 will be suitably dystopian when viewed from this particular angle.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 8008609, member: 27780"] [b][u]Polyhedron Issue 15: Nov/Dec 1983[/u][/b] part 6/6 Casin' the Joint: The attempt to keep you from running out of Gangbusters ideas continues with a reminder that reprints (or nowadays, scans) of material actually written in the 1920's and 30's are still readily available, (in fact, they're probably easier to find now than back in the 1980's) so unlike a lot of historical eras, you have a ton of primary sources that you can use for inspiration. The rest of the page is just a list of examples, focussing heavily on the obvious choices over any deep cuts. Another of those cases where the article is not exactly bad, but aimed way too far below my experience level to be of any use to me. We could do so much better now with a forum thread. Cash & Carry for Cowboys: Another of those irritating reminders of how ephemeral publications could be back then, as they reprint an article that's only 2 years old from Dragon. Were back issues of it even out of print by then? This little list of extra items for Boot Hill must have been more in demand than I thought, because I found it pretty dry the first time around, and I still do. Just goes to show that my tastes don't reflect the average reader of these things, or that of the staff, as this definitely isn't one I would have chosen to reprint if I were in charge of something like this. College Courses & Vital Statistics: Our second reprint is also very much not one I would have chosen; the detailed list of college courses for Top Secret, making tracking advancement slow and expensive in a way that seems somewhat out of character with the source material. (or at least, the TV side of it, as books can elide months or years of tedious data gathering and undercover work into a few sentences) And Blood Group?! When has that ever been a relevant detail in an RPG? This just seems to be a fundamental disjunction between what Merle wanted out of his game, and what the average player wanted, and I'm not surprised they went the other direction hard in the next edition, playing up the cinematic globetrotting. We have more than enough grinding for cash and delayed gratification in our everyday lives. Do we really want to create more of it in our recreation? A fairly boring issue, as both the GM advice and reprinted articles are focussed on a very different audience to my tastes, while the interesting stuff is also somewhat goofy and irritating. Another of the ups and downs in general quality. At least they're still going by fairly quickly. Let's see if 1984 will be suitably dystopian when viewed from this particular angle. [/QUOTE]
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