#worldbooks

[oldschoolfrp]

"The Wizard Tamerlin in his tower keep in Castle Sanctum, circa 586 N.A." (PD Breeding-Black cover, Talislanta Worldbook, Bard Games, 1990)

[nellarw95]

Happy Birthday Stephen 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

Stephen Edwin King

September 21,1947

Buon Compleanno 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

21 Settembre 1947

[theotherpages]

Rayla: Heartache

Celebrating World Book Day, April 23, 2023 by reading something worth reading. Third Citizen of Dreams - Episode 35: Heartache (Rayla) is publishing to Kindle Vella today. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/product/B0BKB3LTJ8/

--Steve

[fantasyfantasygames]

Scramble World

Scramble World, Jenny J. Jensson, 2011

Scramble World is an extremely badly named RPG with a fairly generic premise and fantastic execution.

The titular world is one of those weird mixed-up dimensions where dozens of different worlds have crashed into each other for unknown reasons. You play characters from different RPGs, teaming up to prevent catastrophes or at least be there to help afterward.

The setting is like Torg, but without our world as the base and without the cosms having well-defined boundaries. It's like Rifts but again without our world as the base, and with all the most flavor-packed parts of each worldbook crammed into an area the size of Pennsylvania. And with less racism. It's a world whose major powers did not evolve in each others' presence, so their mutual existence explicitly does not need to make sense. Scramble World is in constant catastrophe and will be until the sky stops being red and worldbergs stop crashing through the bleed.

Remember We Were The First, where the alien species were all randomized in ways that made sense together? Well, here your character sheet is randomized. I don't mean that you roll for your stats, no, I mean you roll to see which stats you get. You get pieces of the character sheet, suggested locations to place them (you can change those), and half-pages of rules that connect to them.

One character might end up with a standard-six-stats block that goes 3-18, an extensive skill list, and a set of emotional attributes that trigger XP conditions. Someone else might have the same stats but they go -2 to +4, a set of Apocalypse World style moves, some Merits and Flaws, and a Vancian spell system if you choose to pursue it. It's an amazing setup. It was clearly well-tested: there was a character generator online to speed things up for you, using the same mechanics as the random roll tables, and I've never seen it come up with a non-viable combination.

Because there are so many options, some of them boil down to the same thing under the hood. For instance, everyone ends up rolling for (or otherwise generating) a Likert-scale success measure and comparing with each other to see what the actual winner gets. Each character sheet fragment has only half a page to get in, explain things, and get out, so a lot of things have to do double duty. Kudos to Jenny for keeping this as small as possible, even if "as possible" does a lot of lifting in that sentence.

There are lots of "world fragments" described in the book. Out of 304 pages (in 6x9 / A5 format), they take up about 200. Each one is roughly 5 pages, with one piece of art, descriptions of their leaders and common people, a few key landmarks, and a "heroes from here are like X" section. A corebook overflow supplement ("World Omelette") adds another 20 pages of rule fragments and 60 pages of world fragments. They range from "pastiche" to "homage", but none of them feel like "ripoff".

The art is taken from a dozen different types of action-oriented RPG stock art, thrown together with slashes or tears or glitches between them. I'd like to see a version that showcases a small number of artists rather than just stock art, but it's used very well for what it is.

I've already spent a lot of words on Scramble World, so I'll stop here, but hopefully you can tell that I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

* For those of you who are less mathy, 1d100 has a max of 100, a minimum of 1, and an average of 50.5. All numbers are equally likely. 1d10 x 1d10 has a max of 100, a minimum of 1, but an average of 30.25. Not only is the average 20 points lower, but it's also more closely concentrated. Less than 5% of the results are 60 or above. 🌈The More You Know!⭐️

[warsofasoiaf]

what do you think of Race for the iron throne's new riverlands castle named The Tines?

As a tumblr pro-tip, it's best when referencing a post to provide a hyperlink in your ask. Otherwise I have to go find it. @racefortheironthrone did tag that post, but it may not always be the case.

It's not a bad idea. If it works out, you can enrich yourself on river trade and project power into the eastern Riverlands. While Bracken and Blackwood are the most infamous of the quarreling Riverlander vassals, the worldbook says that the Riverlands always has issues, so it's worth having a castle that can secure the valuable river crossings - the Riverlands depends on their rivers as natural defenses and so it's worth having a castle and dock there to secure Riverlander power away from Riverrun itself.

One thing I disagree with though is that while Daeron II could have given Daemon Blackfyre the right to raise a castle in the Crownlands by right of them being directly administered by him, it's also possible that castle rights could be an office within the purview of the king, in which case House Tully might need to ensure that they have a good relationship with the Iron Throne in order to be allowed to make that castle. That doesn't always come up in his hypotheticals - since the economic development plans come from the context of the region in itself acting as its own entity, but it's just a potential hiccup that an enterprising Tully might need to manage.

Thanks for the question, Mr.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[royalchildreneurope]

Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau presents her worldbook Clothes Enough about sustainability and second hand clothing in Hilversum, Netherlands -November 3rd 2023.

[unsoundedcomic]

Apologies if this has been asked before! Have you considered putting together some kind of worldbook/encyclopedia based off the answers here and on askfm/formspring and the old wiki/other such things after the comic is done? There might be some kinda market for it as an ebook.

I always thought it would be fun to polish up the prose side stories, add a few new ones, and publish that as a book. But I have no idea if there's a market for such a thing.

As for the general lore and mechanics, I don't know how I'd format that into something readable :(

[matty-from-megalos]

MEGALOS, my aetherological crystalpunk tabletop roleplaying game, is currently in a state of very near-complete early access. Cover art by the wonderful & skilled @venx_artonly over on twitter

MEGALOS is currently on sale until the 25th over at itch!

The book is made up of two parts, the Core Rulebook, which is around 230 pages of rules & character options, and the Oradam Rift Worldbook, which is around 100 pages of setting info, scenario prompts, monsters, and more for the game's first setting, the Oradam Rift.

The Worldbook is not yet finished, so the current offering is just the Core Rulebook, but the Worldbook will be added as soon as it's done & the work is completed.

[livqueer]

Faerie Tale

HI! I’m Looking for 3-4 friendly ttrpg players who are interested in a GURPS 4e game set in my own fantasy world. Be the hero the mortal world needs. A worldbook, with background information, ancestry/cultural templates, item costs, and (optional) professional templates is available. Previous GURPS experience is not necessary.

Game time: 1900-2130 UTC-5 (EST). Mondays (bi-weekly); Session 0 slated for 12/19.

Online on: Foundry; voice on Discord

Set Up

Refugees have been streaming into the town of Westlake, where you live (or maybe you are just passing through), on the western edge of Alfarnia. These refugees have been telling stories of strange creatures coming through a magical rift in space, mystical effects making the land hostile, and an organized force forming in the plains to the southwest. Maybe these are the end times from prophecy, maybe it's demonic forces invading (again), or maybe it's the long awaited return of fae driven from this world in ages past. Whatever it is, the Lord of Westlake needs help, and that at least means gold and adventure.

[allthingsroleplay]

[★ Mighty As The Quill ★] is an 18+ Jcink Premium RPG based on the Fourth Wing series by Rebecca Yarros. We fully encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with the series to check out the lore on the site, and join anyway! We would love to answer questions!It has been roughly 100 years since the wards went up, isolating Navarre from the rest of the world. The truth of much of what has happened has been long since changed to fit their narrative, though oral legend still lives on. These days most look to the strength of the dragon riders of Basgiath, but they forget the Might of the Quill, and how the work of the scribes will change everything. 

[Discord] ★ [Index] ★ [Advertising] ★ [Guidebook]★ [Worldbook]

[lemonhemlock]

If you’re pro-woman, why do you support a rapist?

oh no, you got me

infinitestalia already gave a v good answer here, as well as elinor-bolton here (i'm including my reply). gojuo also talks abt this here

we've been over this many times, if you ever bothered to open a copy of the worldbook, fire & blood or rise of the dragon, you could see for yourself how whitewashed rhaenyra is, in comparison to her show version

they swept her crimes under the rug and gave aegon the worst possible account, so that they could frame her as a feminist heroine

this type of narrative (woman fighting the patriarchy) draws the casual crowds in, who bring the big bucks

and you're all falling for it

[lutethebodies]

Deleted some mildly annoyed posts here and elsewhere about today's Patch 7 news because 1) until we get the actual notes, we have no idea how much will be in it and 2) I don't want to put needless negativity onto social media, which of course has more than enough of that already.

So instead I'll reiterate what I'm most excited about: mod support (hopefully on Mac). My sincere hope is that with all the cosmetic and equipment possibilities, I'll finally be able to make my BG3 Tavs' builds and appearances even closer to what they are in 5e.

I've tried (and sometimes succeeded) to keep this blog focused on the eight jokers in that montage above (though there are many more), because as much as I love certain BG3 companions and NPCs they will never mean as much to me as my own characters do.

That won't get much juice in any fandom on any platform, and that's fine, because it's always been on me to present them as compelling people regardless of attention (or lack thereof). I feel like that will be easier and/or more interesting for me when they look and feel more like themselves, instead of wearing the same faces as random NPCs.

I've been hesitant to jump into writing anything because, well, I've already done that in certain ways for some of them (songs, worldbooks), and anyway I've already written a novel (unrelated to anything BG3/5e) and I don't really think I want to do that again. So I guess for better and worse a lot is riding on this patch for me.

[angelbooks]

Happy #worldbook day ❤️

[librarytiem]

Evaluation of a Resource

Amazing Animals of the World is a set of encyclopedia with entries about a wide variety of animals. It was published in 1995. It comes in 24 slim volumes. Each volume has one-page entries for animals in alphabetical order, with photos, maps, basic facts, and writing about behaviours, lifestyles, and habitats. There are about 1000 entries total. The final volume also includes a glossary of terms and an index of all the animals listed. It’s in the reference section of my school’s library, so there isn’t circulation data on it.

My first impression of the series was that there is no way it could compete in breadth with the internet. But I considered the specific species of animals that students in my class have picked for their current genius hour projects, some of which are quite obscure (such as an axolotl or a proboscis monkey), and from that list there were only two animals I couldn’t find entries on: dogs, because the encyclopedia doesn’t include any domesticated animals; and narwhals. So maybe 1000 entries is enough for the purposes of most of this resource’s audience. The organization of the entries is also about as well done as a print collection could be. The entries themselves are in alphabetical order by the full name listed (so “plains zebra” is under P, not Z), but the index has double listings with and without adjectives, and also sorted by family. Any student who knows how to use an index should be able to find what they’re looking for, if indeed there is an entry for it. The age of the resource is also not a huge concern. Achieving Information Literacy recommends a shelf-life of ten years for the average book, and the CREW method (see: The Collection Program in Schools), which gets more granular by subject, also recommends a shelf-life of ten years for natural history books. For the level of depth the entries get into, though, not much can have changed for most of these species in the past 30 years. They are likely to still be factual, and this resource would have been a big investment when it was purchased. It deserves some leeway.

The main shortcoming of this resource that I can see, then, is the brevity of each entry. One page of information, even one page that is written at the right reading level, presented in a consistent, easy to understand format, with reasonably current information, is not enough to spin a whole research project out of. This resource cannot replace the internet, and would not serve intermediate students for much more than casual browsing. Perhaps its biggest asset would be for primary students. Despite being written at a more intermediate level, it is definitely easier to read for primary students than Wikipedia could ever be.

Let’s test it against some criteria. These are obviously based on Riedling and Houston.

Accuracy/Authority: Published by Grolier. Seems legit. Also it’s in the library so at some point it was vetted by a professional. Currency: 20 years behind CREW. Willing to give it leeway for the sake of merit. Format: Relatively easy to navigate. Indexing: As good as print will allow (entries are triple indexed by noun, adjective, and animal family). Objectivity: No biases evident on casual inspection, or rather, biases seem in line with the same biases students might have in terms of which animals interest them. Scope: Age appropriate, intermediate reading level, 1000 entires. Curricular fit: K (animal basic needs, adaptations), 1 (animal classifications), 2 (metamorphosis), 3 and 4 (biomes), All (inquiry— animals are a popular topic).

A New Resource

Even if it’s not time to weed out Amazing Animals of the World, the age of the series that I’m willing to give it leeway on will only grow with time, so a supplementary resource, at least, seems appropriate. Finding a resource that can replace (or supplement) this series is a challenge. Our library already has the online resources National Geographic Kids and Worldbook Kids. Online resources like these are best suited to the task of providing age-appropriate information on a wide range of searchable topics. Both resources seem to have a similar level of breadth and depth to Amazing Animals. So what we don’t have, then, is a resource that can fulfill Amazing Animals’ other assets, its browsability and its visual appeal to younger students.

Arcturus publishes a series of animal resources that might fit that bill.

Children’s Encyclopedia of Animals (by Dr. Michael Leach and Dr. Meriel Land) ISBN: 1788285069 Children’s Encyclopedia of Ocean Life (by Claudia Martin) ISBN: 1789506018 Children’s Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (by Clare Hibbert) ISBN: 1784284661 Children’s Encyclopedia of Birds (by Claudia Martin) ISBN: 178950600X

Focused Ed, CM Magazine, and Quill and Quire don’t have reviews on any of these books. Goodreads has little, and the reviews that Amazon has are positive, but written by parents rather than educators. Nevertheless, from what I can see of the books, they look appealing. Collected together these books won’t have as many entries as Amazing Animals. But what they lack in breadth they make up for in visual appeal and in currency. Amazing Animals does have some entries on extinct animals, and that is one area where the 20 years of additional research between its publication and Children’s Encyclopedia is likely to make a significant difference. According to the Arcturus catalogue, they have two additional encyclopedias to be released this year: Children’s Encyclopedia of Biology, and Children’s Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Life. They also have other books in the series that are not about animals. On Amazon each title is listed for $20, and in the Arcturus catalogue they’re each listed for 10 pounds (about $17 CDN).

To put this series up against the same criteria, then:

Accuracy/Authority: Published by Arcturus. The collection in their current catalogue looks professional. Currency: Publishing dates between 2017 and 2020. Well within CREW standards. Format/Indexing: Unknown. Well-designed interior pages, though. Objectivity: Unknown, but no obvious problems evident. Scope: Age appropriate, intermediate reading level, 128 pages per book, maybe 250 entries total in the set of 4. Curricular fit: K (animal basic needs, adaptations), 1 (animal classifications), 2 (metamorphosis), 3 and 4 (biomes), All (inquiry— animals are a popular topic).

So while I don’t recommend weeding Amazing Animals out of the collection yet, I do recommend adding a set of Children’s Encyclopedia to the reference section in anticipation of the former eventually needing to be removed.

Sources:

Amazon.com Inc. (2024) Amazon. http://www.amazon.ca

Arcturus Publishing. Arcturus Children’s Catalogue. (Spring 2024). https://arcturus.egnyte.com/dl/usGr7upzWQ

Asselin, M., Branch, J.L., Berg, D. (2006) Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian Association for School Libraries.

Gale. Nat Geo Kids. https://go-gale-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/ps

Grolier Inc. (1995) Amazing Animals of the World. Grolier Educational Corporation.

Mardis, Marcia A. (2021) The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts and Practices (Seventh Edition). Libraries Unlimited.

Province of British Columbia. (2023). BC’s Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

Riedling, Ann Marlow; and Houston, Cynthia. (2019) Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips (Fourth Edition). Libraries Unlimited.

World Book Inc. (2024) World Book Kids. https://www-worldbookonline-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/kids/home

[fantasyfantasygames]

Tales of Pandora

Tales of Pandora - Avatar Book 1, Unlimited License Publishing, 2016

This game about the planet Pandora, of the Avatar series of movies. I'm reviewing it back-to-back with Pandora, the game about the mythological Pandora's Box. I did this partly so people wouldn't confuse them with each other. Neither of them has anything to do with airbending.

Tales of Pandora is an extremely commercial game. This probably doesn't surprise you. For maximum market share, it's based on a D&D5e engine with some name changes and the serial numbers left firmly in place. For minimum effort, it reprints a lot of material from the Na'vi Guide to Pandora, one of those worldbook movie tie-ins that got sold at whatever theme park whose controller owns the Avatar series. Art is entirely screen captures, which are at least pretty, but outside of the character classes it doesn't have much connection to the text.

The thing I like about it is that it's set before the arrival of humans on Pandora. That opens up space to tell tons of cool stories that won't be overwritten by the planned armada of sequel movies. The down side, of course, is that "sensitivity reader" does not fall under "minimum effort" for an extremely commercial product, and the Na'vi borrow heavily from some not-so-great tropes. You'll have to make your own decision as to whether the writers managed to skirt the usual "primitive natives" stuff, but from my point of view they weren't successful there.

Rules-wise It's much more reskin than rewrite. Combat remains a major focus. The Na'vi have access to Ranger, Fighter, and versions of Bard and Druid with restricted spell lists. There's a supplement mentioned in the backpapers that would add in regular-sized human characters (as rogues) and their mecha-like battle suits (as barbarians), and another one that would bring in specialist medic, engineer, and sniper characters (you can guess which ones those are). No new mechanics are added to the game, not even aerial combat. The spells and such that are included are not particularly well-balanced against each other or against other 5e supplements. Again - minimum effort, which means no playtesting.

As one of the earliest licensed 5e products, the book sold out pretty quickly. They were planning a reprint before The Way Of Water came out, but, well, pandemic. Supposedly they'll have it ready for release just before whatever the third movie is. There's no PDF version.

[warsofasoiaf]

Do you think the Reach will stay a unified kingdom under the Tyrells or Bronn or whoever, or will it balkanize into smaller kingdoms, the way the worldbook says the Reach has distinct regions?

I don't think the Reach will be under Bronn.

The Reach does seem like a prime candidate for balkanization, but I think Euron's magical WTF'ery that he pulls will harm Oldtown enough that the Hightowers won't be able to make a play and sink most of the Redwyne navy. Couple that with Willas and Garlan, who are primed to make big moves and show their skills in handling the resulting crises will prime them to make a play for Willas as the King of the Reach.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King