Magical Society: Ecology and Culture PRAISE

[d4]

thanks for the information on Universalis.

The part that i find interesting is that these things aren't linear, but are apparently multi-axial. That is, i'm not at all surprised we have different ideas of what is "hard to read". I'm surprised that we can read the same books, and one of us think X is a harder read than Y, and the other think the precise inverse. I would've thought that reading difficulty came on a nice neat line, like the grade-level ratings imply it does. We wouldn't necessarily agree on "how much harder" one thing is than another, but i would've thought we'd all agree on which direction something was (harder or easier, that is). I'm a little baffled by how, frex, i can find the D&D3E PH a difficult read and Aria an easy read, while d4 finds Aria difficult and the PH easy. To be clear, i'm not questioning these assertions, just trying to reconcile them.

i can definitely see how it would be multi-axial. different forms of writing are going to "speak" to different people. writing that is similar to a person's own thought processes is going to be easier to read than something that comes from a different point of view.

for example, some RPG books are written more as a narrative or as creative writing, with the "fluff" and the "crunch" flowing together, sometimes within a single paragraph or even a single sentence. other books are written more along the lines of technical writing, with the rules being kept very separate from the narrative material.

i find the latter easier to read. i have heard people complain about rule books (especially 3e and GURPS) by saying they are "written like stereo instructions." i actually prefer that -- and i find 3e and GURPS among the easiest RPG books to read.

(would it help to explain that i am a mathematician by trade?)

 

[tauton_ikhnos]

Woodelf, I did read it, ergo it was readable on some level (hence, "perfectly readable"). But was difficult and required work. During course of my reading, more time was spent cross-referencing, sticking fingers between pages, looking up words, realizing they weren't using dictionary meaning, and staring in abject horror at syntactical structures that would have made Claude Levi-Strauss proud, than actually playing. By comparison, I breezed through Magical Society. Please pardon the syntactic pun.

And sorry I got snippy about it.

I don't world-build much (current campaign notwithstanding), but I like to own world-building books. I'm using thread as a shopping list .

 

[woodelf]

I don't world-build much (current campaign notwithstanding), but I like to own world-building books. I'm using thread as a shopping list .

Found the other book i was thinking of:
Medea: Harlan's World Not easy to get a hold of (though you may find it in a library), but it is a must read for anyone building a world noticably different from our own. It chronicles the building of a world for a series of SF stories, and they have not only some of the best SF writers in on it, but some of the best scientists of the day, too.

Edit: check that, unlike the last time i checked, it is actually fairly available, and quite affordable. I just bought a copy for ~$5 on Alibris.

And, in a slightly more esoteric vein, i've had Niven's essay "Bigger Than Worlds", which has apparently been printed in A Hole in Space and Playgrounds of the Mind, recommended to me several times--it's all about things like Dyson Spheres and the like.

 

[drnuncheon]

The part that i find interesting is that these things aren't linear, but are apparently multi-axial.

The perceived ease of reading can be affected by a great number of things - the 'type' of reading a person is using (taking in entire sentences at a glance, vs mentally speak the sentence to themselves - which kind are you using for Aria?), the interest in the material (I'm going to assume that the reference to "damn books-full-o'-crunch" indicates that you are less interested in mechanics as opposed to other things, which would make the PHB slow going as it's all mechanics), etc.

I've wanted to like Aria: Worlds, but I feel my eyelids getting heavy every time I pick it up. I suspect I'd enjoy it more if I could play it once with a decent GM, to give me a point of reference to work from. I had the same problem with HERO when I first picked it up - I needed an actual game to provide a framework for my understanding.

J