[RPG]: A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture, reviewed by Kevin J Chase (2/5)

2nd Level RPGnetter · #1 01-17-2005, 01:00 AM

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10973.phtml

Kevin J. Chase's Summary:

A solid mix of atlas, ecology and sociology texts, and GM's manual. It's packed with information, but you'll have to fight some severe layout problems to get at it.

Go to the full review for more information.

2nd Level RPGnetter · #2 01-17-2005, 06:09 AM

Post originally by committed hero at 2005-01-17 05:09:22
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For a book with quite a few inspired ideas, I was disappointed that it didn't consider unusual world ideas like a flat earth or a world made from the corpse of a dead god.

2nd Level RPGnetter · #3 01-17-2005, 03:51 PM

Post originally by tetsujin28 at 2005-01-17 14:51:12
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This started with the horrible grey-on-grey pages of WW books, and I can't for the life of me figure out why it's still done. Testament, for all it's nift, is almost unreadable except in direct sunlight. The Iron Kingdoms guides are even worse. When are folks going to learn?

2nd Level RPGnetter · #4 01-22-2005, 06:50 AM

Post originally by Kevin J. Chase at 2005-01-22 05:50:26
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The authors stated numerous times that their goal was a realistic, Earth-like world with a minimum of magical or godly hand-waving required. They achieved that goal, with only a few magiovores landing out of bounds.

That said, I can see how the fiction's focus on Kierian and all the other little godlings throwing together test worlds could lead one to expect more fanciful results.

If you're looking for mythical origin stories, GURPS Religion would be an excellent place to start.

2nd Level RPGnetter · #5 01-26-2005, 06:39 AM

Post originally by committed hero at 2005-01-26 05:39:43
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A flat earth need not have a mythical origin - just a way to mimic the water cycle! As you point out, the insistence on realism made swallowing the divine asides a little harder.

2nd Level RPGnetter · #6 02-03-2005, 12:58 AM

Post originally by Joseph Browning at 2005-02-02 23:58:19
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We're listening.

The PDF version has a no-background PDF that many people have told us is easier to read. Our next big Magical Society book, Beast Builder, won't have a background because of comments such as this. So, we're listening...

Thanks for the review and comments guys, I always appreciated people who take the time to do either.

Joseph Browning
Expeditious Retreat Press