[RPG]: The Phoenix Barony, reviewed by The Fiendish Dr. Samsara (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13777.phtml

Matt Slepin's Summary:

A new, "old-school" setting produced for Labyrinth Lord. A great little "Go Play" product that says, "Roll up a character, put him here, and let’s slay something."

Go to the full review for more information.

[jfiz]

Nice review - and - Phoenix Barony sounds great, can't wait to check it out in proper myself. I'm firmly in the same world-building camp as the reviewer...

Quick question though -

How adaptable would Phoenix Barony be for use with other rules systems? Specifically, with Microlite d20, if you're familiar with that system?

I don't have anything against LL directly - not real familiar with it overall - but I have been looking for a nice open setting to use with M20 specifically. Phoenix Barony sounds good to me - so I'm wondering how much conversion work might be involved.

I guess this might boil down to how many npc's and related mechanical bits are detailed in the setting - is that done in a way that would make conversion to M20 pretty straight forward?

Thanks.

[Tori Bergquist]

I think that most of the stat conversion from LL to Microlite D20 (which I admit I am unfamiliar with) ought to be fairly simple. LL stats in the Phoenix Barony are pretty basic (name alignment, armor class, hit points, what the thing hits you with, and, er, well....that's about it). Assuming Microlite D20 uses the same basic conventions as straight D20, then any LL armor class, for example, would just be converted by subtracting the LL AC from 20. But given that LL is very rules lite by nature, and I'm betting Microlite D20 is too, then the conversions should be a snap.

By the way, good review of phoenix Barony! I hope Grubman reads this; he did a great job on the module, and all old school fanatics should add it to their collection!

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

Yep, pretty simple. The only slight consideration would be the Elves, in BD&D/LL are all, essentially, Figher-Magic-users, whereas they aren't in M20. However, that's not much of a problem.

Originally Posted by Tori Bergquist

By the way, good review of phoenix Barony! I hope Grubman reads this; he did a great job on the module, and all old school fanatics should add it to their collection!

Thanks.

[grubman]

Originally Posted by Tori Bergquist

I hope Grubman reads this

I just did ! I have to say that it is both humbling and a huge rush to read this. Thank you very much (The) Fiendish Dr. Samsara for taking the time to not only write the review, but to also fully read and appreciate the setting. The enjoyment that a small handful of people will get out of the setting makes the work (and money) to produce it more than worth the while. I’ve enjoyed so many other people’s work that it is really an honor to find that some people are getting some use out of mine.

There must be something wrong with me, because I found the criticisms (although tFDS was extremely courteous…as I know there are grammatical errors he didn’t beat me over the head with ) to be the most enjoyable part to read. I guess it’s partly because it helps to know what honestly needs improving, but also because it’s nice to know that people will “fix” some of this stuff and in doing so make it more their own. Since tPB has an OGL in the back, I’m hoping some people take it further and share their own adventures and additions to tPB, expanding it in directions that I can enjoy.

Just for the record, I haven’t…wait for it…read Harry Potter or seen the movies :O. Now I’ll have to check online and see what colossal copyright infringement I made without knowing it.

[Akrasia]

I own both the pdf and print versions of the Phoenix Barony, and agree 100 percent with Dr. Samsara's positive assessment of it. It's a wonderful piece of work that oozes with enthusiasm and fun. There are many cool ideas in it that I plan to plunder for my own games.

Originally Posted by grubman

... Just for the record, I haven’t…wait for it…read Harry Potter or seen the movies :O.

Neither have I. I tried to read the first book, but just couldn't get into it. Strangely, I feel as though I've missed nothing.

[grubman]

Announcement:

In August 2008 I will be releasing a new version of The Phoenix Barony on Lulu.

I was happy enough with the original, but, to be honest there were things I changed from the original concept in order to try and appeal to more people. The new version will be more true to my original setting, and a better product IMHO.

There will be some changes. Geographically, the area of the barony is much smaller (less than half the size actually) and the location of a few places have been moved back to their original locations (mainly Tathor and Sunderia, the former of which appeared as Humble in the current version and the later being located on the coastline of an ocean to the south). My section on religion will revert back to my original concept of one patron deity (Irnoch) and his evil nemesis, the demon Vulcoo, while the other gods revert back to being saints (like they originally were). The story behind the religion lost some of it’s meaning when I warped it to include a larger pantheon. Geltsberg is also reverting back to its original state as a large city/fortress in the Skeeter Fen, rather than a Mordor-esque nation of evil.

Other than that, I am trimming the fat (things I thought I needed to add that I really didn’t), streamlining, and putting out what I think is a tighter and easier to use product. All that said, the new version isn’t a whole ton different, and subsequent products will remain fairly compatible.

The new version is going to be more concise and available in B&W PDF only, probably at $1-$1.50. Supplements and adventures will follow the same format and pricing (with some free stuff). When I have finished everything I want to (in about a billion years ), I will combine it all into one book and have it available in hardcopy. If you want a dead tree book copy of the current version, I suggest buying it before August, because when it disappears from Lulu, it's gone (who knows, it may be a collectors item some day).

If you feel like I’m punking you like the big guys, revising something you just bought this year and you don’t want to waste another $1 to support my work, just PM me and I will make sure to send you out a free copy (I’ll do this for all of August).

August will also see the release of the following (yes, I’ve finally gotten off my ass and started finishing things, so I’m willing to commit):

-The Tathor Gazetteer (setting expansion)
-Lost Daughter (a free mini-adventure)

In August or September I’ll release the following:

-The Legend of Jub Jub Lake (adventure)
-Secret of Dragon’s head Peak (adventure)

Stuff in the pipeline but mostly only notes right now, so no commitment at all to any timeframe of release:

-Vermin of Tathor (adventure)
-The Frunder’s Rest Gazetteer (setting expansion)
-Dark Days in Aleton (Adventure, subject to change)
-Blooming Fairies (Adventure)
-The Kragagor Gazetteer (Setting Supplement)
-The Kragagor Dungeon Crawl (adventure, subject to change)

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

Hey, sounds good to me.

I definitely like the religion change. I've never quite understood why a game so intent of doing Medieval (or Faux-medieval or whatever) shied away from monotheism.

I like the Geltsberg change too.

But, I must say, I kind of like "Humble" as a name better than "Tathor". Humble sounds authentically Middle English; Tathor sounds made-up-fantasy-land.

[grubman]

Originally Posted by The Fiendish Dr. Samsara

Tathor sounds made-up-fantasy-land.

It is . But as Andy Circus (sp?) said about his spit, "It's mine, my own!"

It was the first real town I invented and developed. It has a very soft spot in my heart. The 3-D illustration of the town in the current edition is one I did when I was about 14 years old...I still like it enough to have include it in the book

[FASERIP]

Originally Posted by Matt Slepin

John Ronald Reul Tolkien has a great deal to answer for...

LOL d00d... he just wrote books, okay? It's too late to arraign him on war crimes so plz don't pray for his damnation.

I'm not a LotR fan at all... but please, take things less seriously next time, at least in terms of style and tone. Frex, no one 'opines' in first person on less they're a total a-hole... Peace...

BTW, good book. The pdf is nice, but I may have to get the deadtree, Grubby. Congrats on a wonderfully scaled setting.