tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3264461851412625293..comments2024-03-28T09:41:39.187-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: White Dwarf: Issue #17James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11206381858093143952021-11-18T02:47:29.131-05:002021-11-18T02:47:29.131-05:00I love the TTA books, and have all of them. If I e...I love the TTA books, and have all of them. If I ever run a sci-fi game, that is the universe I would base it on Edwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04136911966123162269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60738604045245281772021-11-17T08:07:51.032-05:002021-11-17T08:07:51.032-05:00"I'd much rather see clever ways to use e..."I'd much rather see clever ways to use existing monsters – of which D&D already had an immensity in 1980 – than an endless menagerie of new ones."<br /><br />That's a good point. To some degree the various (and sometimes directly conflicting) "monster ecology" articles in Dragon did that sort of thing, as did books like Lords of Madness where they do a deeper dive into specific classic critters (aberrations, in the case of LoM) without adding a slew of new beasties.<br /><br />You might enjoy reading the 13th Age Bestiaries for that too. They're mostly filled with classic D&D monsters but the designer's take on many of them is quirky, to put it mildly. Lot of unusual ideas, some tied to the Dragon Empire setting, most not, and loads of suggestions on how you might break from the canon versions or reskin given critters for other uses. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83814586362759696472021-11-17T07:59:53.113-05:002021-11-17T07:59:53.113-05:00Definitely showed up in Spacewreck and I think may...Definitely showed up in Spacewreck and I think maybe the Space Wars: Worlds & Weapons book that came out around the same time as the TTA series.<br /><br />On a side note, why the heck doesn't that type of "IP-independent scifi" books exist any more? There were a fair few of them (TTA being by far the best known in the US) all published within a few years of one another, and then bam, everyone stopped making them and they've never returned. Closest we've gotten since are all based on franchises like Star Wars, Trek, etc.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5074987039744983932021-11-16T23:36:32.933-05:002021-11-16T23:36:32.933-05:00Good point about endless monsters without articles...Good point about endless monsters without articles discussing new ways to use them. I'd totally dig articles about new uses with same stat blocks. <br /><br />I really like this cover as I have a great fondness for the Terran Trade Authority books. I haven't played much traveller, but I have looted a few of the White dwarf scenarios for them and they usually run pretty well. I'll have to check out sable rose. Thanks for the write up. davebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07531919635590898334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70663397900096070652021-11-16T20:53:10.188-05:002021-11-16T20:53:10.188-05:00I can remember first seeing it in the Terran Trade...I can remember first seeing it in the Terran Trade Authority book "Spacewreck"akfu23https://www.blogger.com/profile/07850846883927606868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63149090544997567962021-11-16T19:28:22.063-05:002021-11-16T19:28:22.063-05:00That interview with Greg Stafford is great. I lov...That interview with Greg Stafford is great. I loved his description of transforming a perceived, and admitted, flaw in S&S into something that could be developed into it's own thing. ligehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05866236293322652977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-7150679318801542762021-11-16T18:54:57.927-05:002021-11-16T18:54:57.927-05:00A slightly different version of it is on my VHS co...A slightly different version of it is on my VHS cover of the movie DefCon-4.Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08847869326951067007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-68216204505053828372021-11-16T17:40:54.118-05:002021-11-16T17:40:54.118-05:00Good catch!Good catch!James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46662687845143839252021-11-16T17:20:28.334-05:002021-11-16T17:20:28.334-05:00The cover wasn't original - I recognised it wh...The cover wasn't original - I recognised it when the issue came out from a paperback I had. I think it was a volume in the Years Best SF series edited by Brian Aldiss and Harry Harrison.Shining Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06642858837797510666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13599132578442538002021-11-16T16:11:40.794-05:002021-11-16T16:11:40.794-05:00I can actually understand a blink dog's appeal...I can actually understand a blink dog's appeal slightly more than the lammasu, which is similarly lacking in opposable thumbs and much, much too big to fit many places a human could. Wouldn't play either myself, but some folks sure do love freak show parties.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58548300851401049192021-11-16T15:27:35.668-05:002021-11-16T15:27:35.668-05:00I played through it (in classic Traveller) but nev...I played through it (in classic Traveller) but never owned this issue so I haven't read the full thing. Now I wonder what "modules" we didn't see in that long-ago playthrough.<br /><br />Space Opera never caught on much locally, although the miniatures rules (and the T-Rex figure range connected with it) were popular for a few years.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82171026683538485612021-11-16T15:19:20.375-05:002021-11-16T15:19:20.375-05:00At some point one of my PCs ended up with a blink ...At some point one of my PCs ended up with a blink dog follower. DM pulled this WD issue out and I used the class. This was a loooong time ago. Details are really foggie, but the PC and NPC doggo died pretty fast. IIRC correctly over the years there were a lot of monsters as classes in issues of WD.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11666762623245042902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39182059443849075742021-11-16T14:29:55.076-05:002021-11-16T14:29:55.076-05:00Loved The Sable Rose Affair... I think I ran that ...Loved The Sable Rose Affair... I think I ran that using Space Opera rather than Traveller for some reason that escapes me.alastairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com