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<blockquote data-quote="Morrus" data-source="post: 6256331" data-attributes="member: 1">This&nbsp; is the (first) draft of my foreword for O.L.D. I'm not 100% sure it says&nbsp; what I want it to say, but I think it certainly says *something*!&nbsp;&nbsp;FOREWORD&nbsp;O.L.D.: more so than its companion fantasy game, N.E.W., I was aware&nbsp; writing this RPG that universal fantasy rule sets are a dime a dozen.&nbsp;&nbsp; Making O.L.D. stand out from the pack would be a challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course, O.L.D. uses the same innovative mechanics&nbsp; which I believe distinguish both games.&nbsp; The countdown mechanic, rules&nbsp; which make movement, the environment, and tactical positioning in combat&nbsp; important while keeping the action moving, the tradition system (called&nbsp; careers in N.E.W.) which helps you to build your character's history&nbsp; and have it affect his current abilities and traits, the open-ended&nbsp; skill system, and so much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;When conceiving this game,&nbsp; there were a couple of things I wanted to see dealt with thoroughly.&nbsp;&nbsp; One of those things was the concepts of herbalism and alchemy – the idea&nbsp; of experts preparing herbs for exotic uses or mixing substances to make&nbsp; things like medicines and beneficial treatments.&nbsp; These things are well&nbsp; grounded in literature, and I enjoy the idea that&nbsp; troll's blood can&nbsp; help you heal wounds, or certain herbs when mixed, drunk, smoked, made&nbsp; into soups or ointments, or burned as incense might have interesting&nbsp; effects.&nbsp; Appendix J of Gygax's 1st Edition AD&amp;D Dungeon Master's&nbsp; Guide contained a lengthy list of herbs and their alleged old-world&nbsp; remedies, and this served as a springboard into a whole chapter which&nbsp; would become a central conceit of the game world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Magic, too,&nbsp; needed a good look.&nbsp; A decade ago, I published Ryan Nock's revised&nbsp; version of Elements of Magic, a freeform spell system for D&amp;D 3.5.&nbsp; The system involved learning spell lists, and then spending magic points&nbsp; to combine those spell lists into whatever effect you desired, and it&nbsp; was very well-received and used by D&amp;D players to this day.&nbsp;&nbsp; Elements of Magic is, as you can see, a large chapter in this rulebook.&nbsp;&nbsp;With O.L.D. not being a class-based game, I was able to capture another&nbsp; “feel” that I enjoy in a roleplaying game.&nbsp; Anybody can learn magic,&nbsp; herbalism, or alchemy. Certainly, a dedicated mage, druid, or cleric&nbsp; will be better at it, but there's nothing to stop a knight learning a&nbsp; protective prayer, a farmer learning a couple of spells to help his&nbsp; crops, or adventurers learning enchantments which protect, aid, or lend&nbsp; them strength.&nbsp;&nbsp;But it's not just a magical game!&nbsp; Martial&nbsp; traditions are well served; watchmen, squires, knights, musketeers and&nbsp; more join those servants of skullduggery – the assassins and burglars –&nbsp; and the eclectic medieval assortment of bards, gladiators, and&nbsp; inquisitors.&nbsp;&nbsp;All in all, this medieval fantasy roleplaying game&nbsp; lends itself towards immersion while encouraging a broad range of&nbsp; settings.&nbsp; I hope that you enjoy it!&nbsp;&nbsp;What's O.L.D. is N.E.W.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.woinrpg.com%2F&amp;h=rAQH-U066&amp;enc=AZOK2oAAV3PNAind_AFEtta8D731guKYS1ttMsxJCtThYyef5dN5ewGXsOFJx6OUPqhJ6gAKsO12lEuyKq54KdaaYSrj8pjo5S1gBR1dQOCi-Cr8_4Ddz0krzQ0ysax27DHC0wepGIGN_qqLa4F3dBjT&amp;s=1" target="_blank">www.woinrpg.com</a></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Morrus, post: 6256331, member: 1"] This is the (first) draft of my foreword for O.L.D. I'm not 100% sure it says what I want it to say, but I think it certainly says *something*! FOREWORD O.L.D.: more so than its companion fantasy game, N.E.W., I was aware writing this RPG that universal fantasy rule sets are a dime a dozen. Making O.L.D. stand out from the pack would be a challenge. Of course, O.L.D. uses the same innovative mechanics which I believe distinguish both games. The countdown mechanic, rules which make movement, the environment, and tactical positioning in combat important while keeping the action moving, the tradition system (called careers in N.E.W.) which helps you to build your character's history and have it affect his current abilities and traits, the open-ended skill system, and so much more. When conceiving this game, there were a couple of things I wanted to see dealt with thoroughly. One of those things was the concepts of herbalism and alchemy – the idea of experts preparing herbs for exotic uses or mixing substances to make things like medicines and beneficial treatments. These things are well grounded in literature, and I enjoy the idea that troll's blood can help you heal wounds, or certain herbs when mixed, drunk, smoked, made into soups or ointments, or burned as incense might have interesting effects. Appendix J of Gygax's 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide contained a lengthy list of herbs and their alleged old-world remedies, and this served as a springboard into a whole chapter which would become a central conceit of the game world. Magic, too, needed a good look. A decade ago, I published Ryan Nock's revised version of Elements of Magic, a freeform spell system for D&D 3.5. The system involved learning spell lists, and then spending magic points to combine those spell lists into whatever effect you desired, and it was very well-received and used by D&D players to this day. Elements of Magic is, as you can see, a large chapter in this rulebook. With O.L.D. not being a class-based game, I was able to capture another “feel” that I enjoy in a roleplaying game. Anybody can learn magic, herbalism, or alchemy. Certainly, a dedicated mage, druid, or cleric will be better at it, but there's nothing to stop a knight learning a protective prayer, a farmer learning a couple of spells to help his crops, or adventurers learning enchantments which protect, aid, or lend them strength. But it's not just a magical game! Martial traditions are well served; watchmen, squires, knights, musketeers and more join those servants of skullduggery – the assassins and burglars – and the eclectic medieval assortment of bards, gladiators, and inquisitors. All in all, this medieval fantasy roleplaying game lends itself towards immersion while encouraging a broad range of settings. I hope that you enjoy it! What's O.L.D. is N.E.W. [URL="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.woinrpg.com%2F&h=rAQH-U066&enc=AZOK2oAAV3PNAind_AFEtta8D731guKYS1ttMsxJCtThYyef5dN5ewGXsOFJx6OUPqhJ6gAKsO12lEuyKq54KdaaYSrj8pjo5S1gBR1dQOCi-Cr8_4Ddz0krzQ0ysax27DHC0wepGIGN_qqLa4F3dBjT&s=1"]www.woinrpg.com[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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