I've been an amateur Esperantist since high school, probably due to the Stainless Steel Rat books. In Thousand Suns, I use it as a stand-in for the common Terran language.
James, given your facility with languages, have you considered writing up advice for not-so-talented GMs on the creation of plausible language excerpts and names, especially for settings/cultures either not descended from Earth or at a far remove in time from the modern era? A guide to resources for different plausibility levels would be really helpful.
Yeah, that’s why I thought your expertise would help. I know the topic runs from simple assembly of phonemes, to grammar design, to vocabulary collection, to writing systems, and to evolution - and I have no question I’m unaware of stuff and leaving things out. So, what you found suffices in practice without pursuing a degree in linguistics would be great!
The second edition will be a bit more specific than first edition was, largely because – much like GDW discovered – not as many people want a toolkit RPG as those who want one with a setting. My goal is to still to be pretty loose about the setting when possible, but I also want to nail down a bit more to give GMs something to chew on.
Do you plan to keep the toolkit and setting-specific parts somewhat apart, e.g., starting with a general discussion of communication limited to speed of travel, followed by a lengthy subsection (what you wrote above) on how this works in the default setting? That would help those of us looking more for the toolkit - though I did enjoy reading that post, it went a bit into the weeds, as in how dates and times are written in-setting.
I plan to keep things as separate as I can, taking into account limitations of space, as I can.
One of the difficulties I've encountered is trying to accommodate wildly different expectations about what the game should be. I don't want to spread the game too thin and risk diluting its distinctive elements, but I'm also not interested in developing a setting in exhaustive detail either, so I'm trying to strike a balance.
Finding that balance will be part of what I hope the playtesting achieves.
Nice to see Esperanto getting put to use.
ReplyDeleteI've been an amateur Esperantist since high school, probably due to the Stainless Steel Rat books. In Thousand Suns, I use it as a stand-in for the common Terran language.
DeleteJames, given your facility with languages, have you considered writing up advice for not-so-talented GMs on the creation of plausible language excerpts and names, especially for settings/cultures either not descended from Earth or at a far remove in time from the modern era? A guide to resources for different plausibility levels would be really helpful.
DeleteThat's an interesting idea! Maybe I will write something about it in a future post, though it's a very big topic.
DeleteYeah, that’s why I thought your expertise would help. I know the topic runs from simple assembly of phonemes, to grammar design, to vocabulary collection, to writing systems, and to evolution - and I have no question I’m unaware of stuff and leaving things out. So, what you found suffices in practice without pursuing a degree in linguistics would be great!
DeleteI’m digging the artwork, though your setting doesn’t seem as feudal as the ones implied in Classic Traveller.
ReplyDeleteIs the 2nd edition meant to have a default setting like the Third Imperium became for Traveller? What you wrote seems awfully specific.
The second edition will be a bit more specific than first edition was, largely because – much like GDW discovered – not as many people want a toolkit RPG as those who want one with a setting. My goal is to still to be pretty loose about the setting when possible, but I also want to nail down a bit more to give GMs something to chew on.
DeleteDo you plan to keep the toolkit and setting-specific parts somewhat apart, e.g., starting with a general discussion of communication limited to speed of travel, followed by a lengthy subsection (what you wrote above) on how this works in the default setting? That would help those of us looking more for the toolkit - though I did enjoy reading that post, it went a bit into the weeds, as in how dates and times are written in-setting.
DeleteI plan to keep things as separate as I can, taking into account limitations of space, as I can.
DeleteOne of the difficulties I've encountered is trying to accommodate wildly different expectations about what the game should be. I don't want to spread the game too thin and risk diluting its distinctive elements, but I'm also not interested in developing a setting in exhaustive detail either, so I'm trying to strike a balance.
Finding that balance will be part of what I hope the playtesting achieves.
wow
ReplyDelete