Mataxes wrote:Ideas on how to expand our reach and awareness of the game are welcome.
One of the [multiple] things I was sad to lose with the old Developer's Blog was the one-shot adventure that was posted there. The adventure did a good job highlighting what, for me, is one of the coolest aspects of ED - Horrors - while being very tightly on rails.
Anyways, my recommendation would be a very small, free-to-download one-shot that tried to pack as much coolness of ED into as small and easy-to-use package as possible. It'd need to be as friendly to the GM as to the players as the goal would be to scratch that "so your play group has heard of ED and want to know what it's like" versus a "so you're a GM that loves ED and wants to trial-run it for a group." I'm thinking:
- A one page front-and-back "Welcome to ED" slick sheet. Front page is the no-kidding "what is the ED universe" description. Second page would be very very brief highlight of core system and universe things that make ED stand apart: Thread Items, Horrors, Disciplines (specifically as how they frame world-view versus being a class), Talents (specifically as magical things versus just skills), The Step System [this should be last - it's great but daunting], etc.
- Maybe six pre-made characters with relevant background and Circles for the one-shot. I see each of these as a two-pager. Front of first page is the character profile (art would be nice, but I know that costs money): racial description with focus on their personality quirks, Discipline description with focus on their primary role in ED and how others see them, character description specifically helping the player understand how this character should be played both from a role-playing and mechanics point of view. Back of first page is the meat, providing simplified Talent descriptions with both Rank and Step, etc. Each character should have a Thread Item, and the description should focus on the LEGEND of the item and why/how the item powers are a manifestation of the legend, versus "he got a thread sword, it is +2 attack, Step 6 lightning damage on hit, other effect, other effect."
= Magician second page covers spellcasting and their spells - front is probably the same for all magicians and describes the nature of magic, threadweaving, and spell combat. The back is the spells they magician knows - simplified, probably completely glossing over matrices but still working within the framework by only including the spells in matrices versus all known spells, and only specifying base spell cost/effect and 1 or 2 "enhanced" versions (that use the extra thread mechanic underneath) rather than trying to explain how extra threads work and the many ways they can be applied.
= Non-Magician second page covers both close/ranged combat, specific examples of how that character's Talents can either be individually employed or stacked, and one or two applicable combat options / modifiers.
- Maybe a five-page front and back (10 total) GM guide providing only the framework necessary for the adventure. Throw out any depth that requires too much explanation unless necessary.
- Another page, maybe one-sided but maybe dual, highlighting some of the complexity (but only in general summary) the system has to offer that is skimmed over in the package.
- The scenario information, with enemies, tests, etc. Focus really needs to be on flavor versus completeness, correctness, or versatility (e.g., how to adapt it to other groups).
- Maybe a three or four page (i.e., two pages front and back) example narrated session of hypothetical players engaging in a scenario and mini-combat immediately before the played scenario. This helps bridge the gap between people that want to see the mechanics and figure it out versus people who want to see how it plays in order to replicate the method.
I'm a bit partial to kaer starts as a whole for new players, but I think this has the potential for a pretty epic finish. Scenario doesn't need a huge amount of setup, it's basically the final moments of the conflict of an uncovered Horror imprisoning the kaer. End is the kaer people being freed from suffering, the door being thrown open, a cinematic "eyes momentarily blinded as the first rays of sun in hundreds of years shine in through the gate" and a people both overjoyed to finally be freed but equally afraid of the world that lies outside the doors. It'd be absolutely critical for each PC to have a moment to shine in line with their talents, which would require some carefully balanced scenarios and combats - to me, there's little worse than "I'm a Troubadour, but we aren't doing anything social, so I guess I'm just a sub-standard Warrior" or "current magician Disciplines aren't combat-focused, but the one thing in this scenario is stand-up-knock-down fight against one or two opponents, so enjoy standing in the back plinking." It also needs to be really tightly on rails.
[Note on character art: depending on what rights you have for Discipline art in the Player's Guide, I guess you could always do that, although that would restrict your racial selection for each character]
