tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post7096095835981602886..comments2023-04-18T05:14:17.524-07:00Comments on Runeward Games: Systems in my fluff? It's more likely than you think.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10367813349077594896noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post-6999856259532977732011-06-22T14:12:51.033-07:002011-06-22T14:12:51.033-07:00Oh, and no worries about the belated comment. I li...Oh, and no worries about the belated comment. I like talking about this stuff (mine or yours) any time. Welcome.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10367813349077594896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post-8722597431078295852011-06-22T13:27:25.007-07:002011-06-22T13:27:25.007-07:00(1) That's true but in play it hasn't been...(1) That's true but in play it hasn't been an issue. The words are so short (two syllables) that it is pretty easy for people to figure out what role each syllable plays. That is, first syllable is placement and second syllable is season.<br /><br />I remember reading Crime and Punishment, though, and just suffering with regards to the names. I think the challenge in identifying the words comes with length and lack of familiarity. The length here is short enough and people seem to get familiar quick enough, so it's worked out so far.<br /><br />(2) The idea here is that every gaming group seems to have that one player who just doesn't care about fluff at all. In our group, that guy could immediately recognize that Dalan (or whichever month) was a month and had something to do with the calendar. He still probably couldn't tell you which month it was, but he at least was on the same page as everyone else.<br /><br />But yes, it had to be initially explained.<br /><br />The reason that I wouldn't go with an idea like "types of rocks" is that there is no implied order. It is hard to order Granite, Obsidian, Basalt, etc chronologically because there is nothing to go on. I suppose I could alphabetize them, but even then you have to memorize 12 rocks. This is certainly better than 12 random words (i.e. Queserbay, Faltherbay, etc), but I don't think it is easier than the six mono-syllabic pieces presented above.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10367813349077594896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post-53893994948503073592011-06-22T03:15:45.865-07:002011-06-22T03:15:45.865-07:00I have a couple of comments:
1) The front of a w...I have a couple of comments:<br /><br /><br />1) The front of a word is important when people are trying to uniquely identify it, and so is the end to a lesser extent. You are giving 8 of the months only 2 beginnings between them (Da- and Tri-). You are also giving two seasons or 6 months only a single ending between them (-en).<br /><br />I understand your reasons, but I remember getting confused when I read novels by David Eddings containing the characters Belgarion and Belgarath. Their names make sense according to the system of the magical men's names all starting with Bel-, but it was still confusing, even though the characters came up in the books all the time. <br /><br />Don't you get the same problem with your calendar system?<br /><br />2)<br />>immediately recognizable even by people who didn’t take the time to memorize it<br /><br />You still have to to explain the system to everyone to avoid confusion, no? If all you want is for them to recognise month names, wouldn't a common theme both be simpler and draw them into the setting?<br /><br />For example, the calendar in the video game Dwarf Fortress is structured almost the exact same as yours apart from month names. It uses the theme of raw materials, mainly rocks, to achieve your goals. <br />e.g. if I know the 1st of Obsidian is a date, I have no trouble realising the 7th of Granite is a date as well; and you could explain that to players' satisfaction with as little as: "The calendar months are named after types of rock".<br /><br />Sorry for the belated comment, I only just got linked here from your signature on RPG.net. :-)<br /><br />Regards, <br />JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post-68912737520908165372011-05-24T05:06:51.021-07:002011-05-24T05:06:51.021-07:00Hi Neubert,
We've always went with the later ...Hi Neubert,<br /><br />We've always went with the later (i.e. 15th of Dalan) since dates typically don't play a huge role in plot and that is quicker. But, invariably, when a prophecy or something does reference a date it will end up being something like "In the midst of the second week of the second spring the aligning stars will..."<br /><br />Thanks for posting; hope you stick around.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10367813349077594896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038639802473593786.post-62503341786852594302011-05-23T23:57:11.958-07:002011-05-23T23:57:11.958-07:00Just found your blog through ENWorld and I am very...Just found your blog through ENWorld and I am very interested in what you are doing here. I'm tinkering heavily with 4e myself, so building a system from the ground up sounds very interesting.<br /><br />I really like the calendar, but you didn't mention how days and weeks are denoted. Is that simply "the third day of the third week" or "the 15th day of Dalan"?Neubertnoreply@blogger.com