Wilderlands too old?

[Turjan]

Just to make it clear: I like the Wilderlands setting. I find it very evocative. I just agreed with Joe that the cities are not detailed in this product, and no talking around this fact will change this. It all boils down to whether you like this kind of setting or not, and that's personal preference, nothing else.

It's really not worth arguing about this ad infinitum. There's the 'Lenap' chapter available for free. It's a very good example for the whole product. It's a decision made easy .

 

[Psion]

What I think is weird in this thread, though, are the people who don't want to buy the Wilderlands set aggressively defending their reasons for not buying it.

And who would that be? Certainly not me. I simply am relating my reasons that my purchase is becoming less likely, and having a back-and-forth discussion about people's response to that. Is that "agressive"?

 

[dorentir]

I haven't bought the new one...

I haven't bought the new "Wilderlands" box set simply because:
a) I own the old one (well, most of it, anyway --- I think I'm missing 1 map--- whatever is south of Barbarian Altanis (don't remember the name -- had it but lost it))
b) I can't afford it right now. Due to mergers and acquisitions, I have been "rightsized" out of my job so things are a little lean financially for me right now. I'd love to have a copy, but don't have the mean sto pay for it.
I've always liked the maps of the old wilderlands setting and used them for several different games I have run -- to the point that the maps have gotten rather tatty. We almost always played in "Valley of the Ancients," "Tarantis" or "Valon." I used the maps a lot, the books less so. Sometimes I'd make stuff up or use maps of other fantasy cities for cities in the game. I'd sketch out a rough map --- "Duke's Palace, Golden Coin Inn, Thieve's Guild," add a detail or two and be good to go. Usually I'd just plop a module down where it seemed appropriate. "Horror on the Hill" got stuck into the Valley of the Ancients near one of the border towns for instance.
I really love these maps and would plop down the money just to have better copies than my old, brittle, pencil marked and tattered copies. To me, that would make whatever was in the book pure gravy --- I like making that stuff up by myself (in fact I almost enjoy that as much as playing) but would love to have a better organized and edited copy of an official version of the setting to dip into for inspiration. Just can't afford it right now so I guess I'll stick with the original.

 

[KenSeg]

You can download PDF copies of the old material online at very low prices. Especially good for those whose old maps are in tatters.

I have seen several people complain about the lack of fully detailed cities. While the fluff is nice, it isn't really needed. We have played in our homebrew world for almost 20 years now and have never had detailed maps or info on the cities. If you do need that kind of detail however, the FR book does have really beautiful maps. (sighs, loves maps!)

-KenSeg
-Gaming since 1978

 

[JoeGKushner]

You can download PDF copies of the old material online at very low prices. Especially good for those whose old maps are in tatters.

I have seen several people complain about the lack of fully detailed cities. While the fluff is nice, it isn't really needed. We have played in our homebrew world for almost 20 years now and have never had detailed maps or info on the cities. If you do need that kind of detail however, the FR book does have really beautiful maps. (sighs, loves maps!)

-KenSeg
-Gaming since 1978

To be fair, it's generally only the older products that have maps that aren't part of the book itself. One of the most annoying things about the 3.5 books is that there are no removable maps. Waterdeep and Sharn suffer deeply from it.

How are those PDF copies? I've heard some complaints about them but as I have much of the old material, haven't investigated it myself.

One thing that might be interesting is seeing how well some of the Conan cities fit into the Wilderlands as they both have that "old" feeling to them.

 

[Turjan]

How are those PDF copies? I've heard some complaints about them but as I have much of the old material, haven't investigated it myself.

I complained about the pdf copies earlier in this thread. Drivethrurpg is very open about this, because you can download a few demo pages for free. They are not OCR'ed, but plain scans, and the pages were not put straight on the scanner. The pdf doesn't look pretty.

 

[BWP]

And who would that be? Certainly not me. I simply am relating my reasons that my purchase is becoming less likely, and having a back-and-forth discussion about people's response to that. Is that "agressive"?

Well, I wasn't paying that close attention to who was saying what; but since you bring it up, yes, aggressively denying that you're being aggressive is aggressive.

What I don't get is why you (or anyone else) would be looking for reactions. "I won't buy Product X. Discuss." My reaction is "OK -- so?"

<shrug>

 

[Psion]

Well, I wasn't paying that close attention to who was saying what; but since you bring it up, yes, aggressively denying that you're being aggressive is aggressive.

What I don't get is why you (or anyone else) would be looking for reactions. "I won't buy Product X. Discuss." My reaction is "OK -- so?"

I think you reading into other people's motives just a bit much. I am not looking for reactions. I am looking for information and insight. That I am drawing conclusions that some might disagree with is hardly grounds for being labeled agressive.

FWIW, I made this post in a time shorter than a commercial. Put my emotional investment in perspective.

 

[clockworkjoe]

the boxed set is great. It allows a level of immersion that no other fantasy setting allows simply because the GM never has to completely improvise or bar the players from an area because there's no existing material for it. No more "HERE BE DRAGONS...now get back to the area I am familiar with" Each region is given an overview and every major geographic feature in the region is described.

If the PCs travel through a forest, over a mountain and march through a plain, most GMs simply describe it in generic terms with few if any unique features. In the wilderlands, each forest, mountain and plain is different and unique. One forest is plagued with spiders and is heavily logged by nearby villagers while another is protected by xenophobic elves. This mountain is used by druids for secret rituals and legends speak of a roc nesting on its peak. The plains are the site of an ancient battle, where thousands of warriors are buried with their treasures and guarded by angry undead. Every single valley, lake, meadow, river, bay, island and desert has something.

Saying that a roll on the random encounter table or improving something off the top of your head or from a generic supplement is the same is a fallacy. The wilderlands transforms the setting from a stage with a few bare props to a living world with a history.

Edit: Imagine the difference between a typical japanese RPG and Morrowind. The japanese games typically focus on story related locations while the others have random monsters and a limited palette of graphics. Morrowind features a rich continent in which there's something interesting nearly everywhere and it is HUGE. Hell, you can do a travelogue campaign with the Wilderlands. Look at historical epics and how much they focus on geography and the differences between lands.