Psyched for The Black Company!

jaults · Sep 15, 2004

I got to play in the Black Company preview at GenCon this year. It was pretty darn cool. I played a wizard, and while my experience was fairly limited, it certainly seemed to match the tone and flavor of the books...

I will definitely buy this when it comes out.

Jason

Liminal Syzygy · Sep 15, 2004

Steven Erikson had this to say about the novels in his interview (original here: http://www.tor.com/erikson/meet.html ), which I think is an excellent summary of why these are great books (despite the spartan writing style):

The thing about Glen Cook is that with The Black Company he singlehandedly changed the field of fantasy — something a lot of people didn't notice and maybe still don't. He brought the story down to a human level, dispensing with the cliché archetypes of princes, kings and evil sorcerors. Reading his stuff was like reading Vietnam War fiction on peyote. He also showed what could be done with first person point of view, so very rare in fantasy, where the first person was not some wide-eyed farmboy, but a character with history and years under the belt, a jaded eye and a droll sense of humour — as jaded as the modern world. This was ground-breaking stuff, and maybe one day, just one day, he will get the recognition he deserves.

Hey Green Ronin maybe you can tap him for an intro.

Dragon-Slayer · Sep 15, 2004

As a long time fan of the Black Company series since the first novel in 1984, I think that this setting will be a hard sell for the diehard fans as well as those new to this world.

To explain my point--Cook's world is very dynamic, it isn't what you think or expect fantasy to be. There is witty military dialog and horrific demigod magi tossed into one world. A world where a concept of alignment is very off--men who kill without thought as part of their jobs are reduced to tears at the suffering of a child. Creatures filled with hate and evil are sometimes your bosses. While I am a big fan of the world as a series, I am not so sure I want to see Raven or Croaker statted out. These are literary figures that I have been around for 20 years, figures I grew up with, the Elric and Fafhrd's and Gray Mousers of my formative years.

Alaric_Prympax · Sep 15, 2004

I've been looking forward to this since they annouced it. My game purchases have dropped quite a bit this year but this is definately on my "Must Buy" list.

Tharen the Damned · Sep 16, 2004

I read the series twice and still love the books.

That said:
I had the honor of being a playtester for the BCCS.
No Infos because of the NDA, but I can say:

The Designers worked hard to transport the Grim/Gritty Flair of the books into rule mechanics.
They did a fantastic job!
There was also a lot of Fluff in the BCCS which will help non BC Readers to get a feeling for the Flair.

I will definetly buy the BCCS when it is out in nov.

Soldiers live and water sleeps!

Rugger · Sep 16, 2004

Can't wait for this... at Gencon I outright offered Chris Pramas my credit-card to keep on file, cause they end up with so much of my money anyhoo!

-Rugger

Dragon-Slayer · Sep 16, 2004

Tharen the Damned said:
I read the series twice and still love the books.

That said:
I had the honor of being a playtester for the BCCS.
No Infos because of the NDA, but I can say:

The Designers worked hard to transport the Grim/Gritty Flair of the books into rule mechanics.
They did a fantastic job!
There was also a lot of Fluff in the BCCS which will help non BC Readers to get a feeling for the Flair.

I will definetly buy the BCCS when it is out in nov.

Soldiers live and water sleeps!

That is very encouraging news indeed. Thank you for posting this.

Maester Luwin · Sep 17, 2004

Hey JoeGkushner!!! I thought the same thing about the Company going to Sanctuary! Raven could have fled there with Darling (they would have to hide in the Maze right?). The Lady declares war on Ranke. Ilsig falls with help from the resistance (the silly Wrigglies think the Lady means to give them freedom) & the company marches south thru the secret pass to take/ hold Sanctuary becuase it holds the Emperor's half-brother/ is barely defended... I can't wait for both of these settings!!! Thanks Maester Luwin