Rating out of five: 1.5
- Lack of imagination, lack of illustrations, too pulp viking.
- Lack of imagination, lack of illustrations, too pulp viking.
Mongoose Traveller: Sword Worlders
- Thread starter Meteoric Assault
- Start date
captainjack
SOC-13
Oh come on. If you are going to pan it, give some detail for heaven's sake. This isn't much more helpful than nothing.
More in-depth review on RPG.net has lots of good things to say about it. But where did the Norse stuff come from?
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15392.phtml
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15392.phtml
captainjack
SOC-13
Much more helpful. Thanks.
The Norse stuff ?
From their history; originally inferred, I guess from the planets they named? Always been kind of a scandahoovian core to them. And, obviously, too, they are surrogates for H. Beam Piper's Space Vikings -who aren't Norse, but are vikings....
The Norse stuff ?
From their history; originally inferred, I guess from the planets they named? Always been kind of a scandahoovian core to them. And, obviously, too, they are surrogates for H. Beam Piper's Space Vikings -who aren't Norse, but are vikings....
Not really. Some of the names came from Scandinavian mythology, but others came from English, French, and Spanish sources. Half a dozen were named from Tolkien and one from a Dunsany short.
Loren Wiseman's original article doesn't mention Vikings at all. It just says that the original settlers were of Germanic and Nordic stock and that the language is a variant of Icelandic with a heavy leavening of words from "other Nordic languages as well as from Germanic tongues and from Vilani".
The Viking element seems to be pretty much fanon, but when Paul and Robert and I began to write GT:Sword Worlds it was a pretty well-established trope. It's possible that we were actually the first to make it official, though I could be wrong. It's interesting to contemplate that we might actually have been in the clear if we'd completely omitted any reference to Viking elements (Other than the world names, natch).
Be that as it may, we instead tried to mitigate the whole Viking trope by making it a relatively recent social phenomenon, the "Viking Revival", a romanticized (~ pretty flawed) recreation of the values of earlier days mixed with an even more romanticized version of the Viking Age. (Also, I just didn't believe in a Sword World culture that lasted unchanged for 14 centuries; the "Traditional Sword World Culture" is actual only a bit over a century old (And IMO due for a counter-culture upheaval; perhaps even overdue
)).Basically, we were trying to make them as "Not Really Vikings After All" as we could and still leave them as the Sword Worlders we knew and loved.
Hans
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Its is what is .... to waste anymore time discussing it would be exactly that. Is that clear enough for you?
Not worth discussing but worth starting a thread? Okay...
As clear as mud. :rofl:
RockyMountainNavy
SOC-12
Slashing Up Sword Worlds
I would say the RPG.net review is generous. Here is my (personal) take:
http://rockymountainnavy.wordpress....y-traveller-sword-worlds-or-i-did-what-again/
My Bottom Line:
I would say the RPG.net review is generous. Here is my (personal) take:
http://rockymountainnavy.wordpress....y-traveller-sword-worlds-or-i-did-what-again/
My Bottom Line:
In the end, I can only recommend you get this supplement if you are willing to accept “swords in space” and overlook the format quality issues and rectify yourself the differences and lack of explanation this book has. I surely would avoid the the printed book, because at $24.99 you are not getting your moneys worth. Wait for the lower price digital download if you have to.
Disco Soup
SOC-9
So, does this book have any new careers? Is any of the new crunch presented different than the Sword Worlder article that appeared in Signs and Portents?
RockyMountainNavy
SOC-12
Have not compared it to the Sword Worlds article in S&P but as far as careers go:
Chapter 1: Sword World Characters (17 pages) – Covers character generation and information such as physiology, culture as it affects chargen, career path modifications, as well as three new Sword Worlds specific careers; Aesirist Church, Confederation Patrol, and Jager Kommand.
I would like to compare it to S&P but the new website does not make it easy to find older S&P articles. What issue was the Sword World stuff in?
Chapter 1: Sword World Characters (17 pages) – Covers character generation and information such as physiology, culture as it affects chargen, career path modifications, as well as three new Sword Worlds specific careers; Aesirist Church, Confederation Patrol, and Jager Kommand.
I would like to compare it to S&P but the new website does not make it easy to find older S&P articles. What issue was the Sword World stuff in?
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I can't speak for the game content, but I do have to say that that is the worst cover art I've seen on an RPG product in quite some time.
It's like the artist sent over a rough sketch saying, 'is this sort of what you have in mind?' and the 'art director' (I use the term loosely) said, 'Wow! That's great! We'll print it. The cheque is in the mail.
Crow
It's like the artist sent over a rough sketch saying, 'is this sort of what you have in mind?' and the 'art director' (I use the term loosely) said, 'Wow! That's great! We'll print it. The cheque is in the mail.
Crow
RockyMountainNavy
SOC-12
Sword Worlds vs S&P 80
OK, gave it a quick look.
The first part of the article, historical background, can be found in the Sword Worlds book but not in the same manner. All spread out but at first look does not seem to have any major contradictions.
The second part, Creating a Sword Worlds character, is basically a lighter version of the Sword Worlds Characters chapter in the book. The biggest difference is the planet descriptions are in the article but elsewhere in the book.
The Confederation Patrol career is the same except for the Ranks & Benefits table.
I will also point out that the S&P article has a bibliography that acknowledges prior works. To bad I have not found anything like this in the Sword Worlds book.
OK, gave it a quick look.
The first part of the article, historical background, can be found in the Sword Worlds book but not in the same manner. All spread out but at first look does not seem to have any major contradictions.
The second part, Creating a Sword Worlds character, is basically a lighter version of the Sword Worlds Characters chapter in the book. The biggest difference is the planet descriptions are in the article but elsewhere in the book.
The Confederation Patrol career is the same except for the Ranks & Benefits table.
I will also point out that the S&P article has a bibliography that acknowledges prior works. To bad I have not found anything like this in the Sword Worlds book.
captainjack
SOC-13
Laconic quips aside, this all is (unfortunately) very helpful. I say unfortunately, because although I like supporting the new traveller line, I guess I'll be giving this one a pass. I was on the edge anyway, as I have the GURPS book, but currently no driving interest in the swordies; the reviews (in both directions) made up my mind.
Ta !
Ta !
Theophilus
SOC-13
Hello Hans,
I guess I never put two and two together. You worked with Paul on GT:SW; I have some of the early fanzine stuff Paul did. Specifically issues 1bis and 2 of Coreward. I was always curious as to whether he ever did any more issues. I've tried to contact him in the past, any chance you know how to reach him?
(sorry to have hi-jacked the thread with a personal query)
BeRKA
SOC-13
My review can be read here:
http://zho.berka.com/2012/05/17/sword-worlds-revisited-by-mongoose/
http://zho.berka.com/2012/05/17/sword-worlds-revisited-by-mongoose/
