FASA Games, Inc.

I can't think of a polite way to approach this, so I apologize if it sounds rude.

I ordered 1879 from my FLGS, never having seen it. When it arrived, I was disappointed in the layout. The phrase "data dump" keeps coming out mind. I appreciate there is a lot of info, and the book is already almost 600 pages, but I had been hoping for something like my 1st edition Earthdawn book. The biggest example is character options: in 1st edition ED it was Discipline on the left page, example character on the right...players could flip through and get a good idea of their options. In 1879, I can't even tell you how many character options there are because they run together....there isn't even an index in the front listing them. I would literally need to go through and write them down/add them up. The truth is, it's on my shelf. For a game I know nothing about, it's just too big a commitment to tackle - again, not knowing the game before hand.

So now I am thinking about looking at the newest edition of Earthdawn. I am just going to ask: if I order this, should I expect a similar small book and stream of words like 1879? Or is it more like the layout I see in most RPGs?

(Side note: I'm sure 1879 is a fantastic game, it's just with no prior knowledge and nobody else around here knowing about it...I can't see myself committing to 600 pages - with no monsters - to see if I like it, or to figure out if my players will. But again, I'm sure it's a fantastic game.)

ED4 uses the same digest format.

It is a little different in how it presents the Disciplines. Each is a two-page spread:
So going through to see your "options" is more straightforward. The table of contents also lists them. (The ED4 TOC is two pages, double-column, so it's a lot more comprehensive.) Beyond that, the layout is pretty clean. It's intended mainly as a reference book, and not so much a book you sit down and read cover-to-cover.

Taking a quick look at my 1879 book, I can definitely see where you're coming from. I wasn't involved in its production at all (outside the CoreStep rues framework). I know some of the layout issues are the result of running up against the physical realities of offset printing (page count total, for example, needs to be a multiple of 32) and the physical capabilities of the binder (I seem to recall the 1879 Player's Guide is pretty much at the limit for what our printer/binder can do).

Honestly, I go back and forth on the digest layout. Sometimes I really like it (especially when referring to it on my tablet or phone). Other times it bugs me.

As a note, the "Example Adept" portion of the layout was collected for the GM Screen for each Discipline, with example stats for each odd-numbered Circle. Very handy to have it broken out like this, it cuts a huge amount of time from NPC creation. I have notes to make a table of attribute modifiers and approximate LP totals to go with it.

Mataxes wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:26 pm

It's intended mainly as a reference book, and not so much a book you sit down and read cover-to-cover.

I feel like if I was already familiar it wouldn't be such a hurdle for me.

Thank you for the resp Need!

I vastly prefer the old larger books.