Sourcebooks: Comments Appreciated

[incandescens]

I'm trying to clarify my thoughts on something, and would be grateful for people's opinions/comments.

There exist a fair number of roleplaying game sourcebooks, for the pen-and-paper type of rpg, which are based on a fictional property (Firefly, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Star Trek, Song of Ice & Fire, etc), and which contain a fair to extensive amount of background detail on the series, but which are mainly marketed to roleplaying gamers, and at that, the sort of rpger who is likely to see them in a specialised gaming shop or in specific online selling areas (such as http://www.rpgnow.com).

I'm curious about whether fans of the series/background on which such sourcebooks are based, or even people who play them in lj-rpgs or fiction communities, would be interested in such books if they knew of them or knew where to find them, and what sort of factors they'd be looking for in them.

So go on, tell me about it. Which, if any, of the following points would make such a book interesting to you? And is there anything else that'd get your attention?

- Heavy character-level detail (personal history, abilities, relationships, etc)
- Heavy universe/background-level detail (geography, history, metaphysics, spaceships, etc)
- Mechanical rules for handling any of the above in play (complex? simple? in between?)
- Lots of pretty art taken from the original series
- Art supplied by other artists
- Speculation about the series/background
- Ideas for further play/exploration/stories
- Comments on the themes
- Availability in PDF format
- Price (What would you consider a good price? And for how thick/detailed a book?)
- Anything else that'd influence your interest in it.

Thanks to all.

Comments

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this applies to me since I'm a gamer first and fanboy, uh, not quite second.

The thing is, not all RPG sourcebooks are created equal. The Black Company RPG book for example has something the books never had: maps. A Game of Thrones on the other hand has a history of the world and additional background info. I own the Wheel of Time sourcebook and I'm not really getting "more info" by buying it but it does give me Wheel of Time Art and for me as a gamer, interesting mechanics for the theme of Wheel of Time.

I'd also like to point out that there are conversions for existing systems. I mean even before the "official" Wheel of Time d20 sourcebook, there were rules for playing Wheel of Time for us in the Tri-Stat system. And right now there are two popular systems for playing Firefly/Serenity: the official one released by Margaret Weis Productions and the one using the Savage World system. (Uh, if I'm confusing you with all these gamer jargon, just ask so I can clarify.)

And then some books are generic enough. I mean when you purchase Big Eyes Small Mouth, it's not because it's focused on any particular fandom, but because you want to play anime-type games.

I'd just like to add that in my experience, some fandoms don't really care for these type of stuff. They don't roleplay using game systems, but roleplay using freeform rules in a community, such as via chatroom or message boards of communities like LJ (one of your commenters pointed this out).

Personally, I'm a gamer so I'll go for game system first and setting second. There are a couple of game systems wherein you can "fit" the particular fandom you like. And Record of the Lodoss War IS D&D for example, and GURPS is generic enough to accomodate nearly any setting.

On a side note, I have some related essays on the subject (but they don't necessarily answer your questions):

http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2007/09/bastards-of-sf.html

http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2007/09/rpg-bookshelf-syndrome.html

[archangelbeth]

(*grin* I don't think you're confusing her with gamer jargon. Well, unless you delve deeply into GURPS details...)

[incandescens]

(coughs) Let's leave the GURPS statistics out of it . . .

[incandescens]

Dude, I have been doing freelance rpg writing for a few years now, and playing since I was 9 or 10. You are not confusing me. :) (The name is Genevieve Cogman, if you need to check my stuff out.)

I appreciate your comments, though. Thanks!

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

Alas, I only got the link from dreamlessness, so prior fandoms/hobbies/interests are beyond me. =)

What RPGs do you play/like/write for?

[incandescens]

So far, I've done writing for Exalted, Orpheus, and Dark Ages Vampire from White Wolf; Hearts, Swords, and Flowers from Guardians of Order; and multiple In Nomine stuff and the forthcoming GURPS Vorkosigan for Steve Jackson Games. And way too much fanfiction off my own bat. ;)

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

Cool. =) You sure you don't want to discuss GURPS pointage and stuff? =P

[incandescens]

You're very kind, but I'm more of a background person than a systems one. ;)