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Swords of Cydoria


Evilschemer

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I did not mean hyjack this thread, but while we are on the subject...

Though the setting material for Numenara and Cydoria may be similar, I think they appeal to very different markets. Numenara has targeted the mainstream crowd of D&D and pathfinder players as well as the "Indi" crowd, a much wider market than the more "old school" BRP group that is fairly deeply fragmented in their gaming preferences, and would as soon play a set of rules from the '80s with their own setting, as buy a new monograph. I think there is a lot of love for BRP out there - I know nobody who dislikes or even has any complaints about the game - but I think it is a little hard to generate new interest for an old system. As great as any monograph may be, BRP has an uphill climb to get out of a niche market. I think that is the sad reality of it. BRP has a respectable % of the old school crowd as a diehard following; expanding beyond that is tough. It would require slick (and expensive) marketing, as well as some fresh and innovative ideas, though tampering with the game and streamlining carries the risk of alienating a fairly dedicated audience.

On the other hand, BRP does have a market. I respect Monte's marketing and some of his design innovations. I bought Numenara as a curiosity, but truth is, I'll never play it. Despite the innovations and slick presentation, BRP is still a better game, in my estimation. I could go into the reasons why I feel this way, but it is nothing that hasn't been said before.

I agree with fmitchel that in some regards BRP is showing its age, but I disagree that it is any more difficult for GMs to innovate on the fly than games that have come after. Numenara may be an exception, I don't know, but the ease of use for the GM is one of BRP's great strengths. I also agree with Mankam that a few refinements would help. A stronger relationship between skills and attributes is a great example (I prefer and use the RQ stat combo).

BRP and Chaosium has tended to be conservative in terms of mechanics. Changes from one addition of a game to the next have traditionally been slight. Magic World is a case in point (though there are some innovations in MW). On one hand, why fix something that isn't broken? on the other, my favorite monographs are those that dared to break the mold - like Classic Fantasy. This may be a bold statement, but I think the somewhat conservative, though effective mechanics of MW makes it an unlikely "flagship," at least in terms of carrying the game into Monte Cook type markets (whether or not that is the goal or even desirable is quite another question). As it stands, MW is more of a battle standard for the old guard. I will always support Chaosium, but as far as flagships go, my greatest hopes for pushing the game engine further into the market are with Design Mechanism and RQ6.

I probably derailed this thread far enough, as all of this is to say that I sure wish I could get my hands on a print copy of Cydoria.

Cheers

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I got my print copy of Swords of Cydoria from Chaosium quite recently, after enjoying the pdf. I hope to play it, though there have been a few monographs I've said that about before.

I feel your pain. I've collected many more rules sets and settings than I've ever gotten to play. Since I'm a pack rat and have never thinned my RPG collection, I could play for years with the stuff I've already got on my shelves, old school, new school or outta school. :(

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  • 1 month later...

My probability of running a Swords of Cydoria campaign has gone up from 'Quite likely' to 'Definitely, and soon!'

I had a hankering to run a science-fantasy campaign. I considered Chronicles of Future Earth, Empire of the Petal Throne and Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure (a GURPS supplement), and Swords of Cydoria.

CoFE - too much fantasy in the science fantasy. There are gods? Why?

Empire of the Petal Throne - Cool setting but I don't think enough of my players would dig it. Once again, more fantasy than science fantasy. There are gods, but at least there's some explanation for them. On a practical level, the Tekumel materials are hard to come by and expensive, though I have accumulated enough to run a campaign.

Planet of Adventure - loved the book, supplement not so much. Plus it's GURPS so there are conversion issues. I might steal some ideas for my Cydoria campaign though.

 

What sold me on Swords of Cydoria was that it scratches most of my science-fantasy itches, it's well-written, it's BRP, it is accessible to new players without any knowledge of the setting (and to new GMs too!). I especially like the player race illustrations and descriptions -- with enough adventure hooks to inspire players; and the NPC and creature stats (like my beloved Elric!'s Young Kingdoms Digest) for quick play. To tempt people to play I just say "SerenityJohnCarterofMarsWesternsNinjasJedi" very quickly, that usually works.

UPDATE:

My Swords of Cydoria campaign Rebels of Cydoria is up and running at: https://rebels-of-cydoria.obsidianportal.com/

I've run two adventures so far: The Mountain of Power and halfway through the introductory adventure City in the Mirage

My players are running techno-heretics, a Demetrian resistance fighter and a Cyberdroid assassin.

Edited by Questbird
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