The book debuted at GenCon, and a copy or two was in fact bought.
Copies are now, or very soon will be, in the hands of my fulfiller. When I confirm that, I will compose a Paypal buy-button, and you will see it in the very same place that you buy everything else by me on-line. It'll be the same button used on my website too, when the website goes up.
Until I get the rudiments of the new site set up, payments sent to the current Trollbabe button (i.e. the old PDF) will be refused. I'll fix that as soon as I can too.
Best, Ron
Thanks Ron,
Being able to put my hands on Trollbabe soon is very good news.
Besides, I had some hopes that it'd be possible to order S/Lay w/Me at the same time. Will there be some hardcopies or a pdf soon ?
Sincerely,
Antoine
Good point. Everything I said about Trollbabe above applies to S/Lay w/Me in full.
I want to be able to provide PDFs for each as well, but I would prefer not merely to use the printer PDFs. I'd rather have documents designed for on-screen use and reading as well as for printing, i.e., good PDF products. Those still have to get made somehow, so tack "later" to that idea.
Best, Ron
Yay, of of those copies is on its way back home to me :)
You been very quiet in terms of promoting the new TB, Ron, so much in fact that I had no idea it was out on GenCon until Gregor contacted me with the good news.
Cheers, looking forward to it!
Per
Dang, I should have harassed a friend who made it to GenCon! Awesome news! Can't wait to get a copy.
Skatay, the minute either of us gets a copy, you're running it. We found a nice quiet park over by Artichoke.
Looking forward to it.
(In my best shill voice)
So, Ron, I'm wondering: what changes have you introduced to the game or the text to make it better? If I already owned the original edition, what additions would I be getting if I bought this new edition?
I don't even know where to start. It's a completely new book, re-written and re-organized from scratch. The rules will be familiar to you, but with absolutely crucial changes, specifications, and instructions.
This is my only dedicated teaching text for Story Now play. It explains everything and uses lots of diagrams for things that have, to my knowledge, never been addressed in an RPG text before. You know my range of knowledge regarding the hobby, and I can say confidently that this statement is not hyperbole.
Regarding the product as an object, the cover art is the same. I used a lot of the old art but have included many new pieces as well.
Overall, I don't enjoy describing or advertising my work very much, despite the obvious marketing benefit. I'd rather let someone who bought the book carry on from here.
Best, Ron
And I'm certainly interested in hearing more!
A Story Now teaching text.... That's definitely intriguing to me.
Yay! Trollbabe print! All Hail Tha!
That said... Ron finally writes a Story Now teaching text and chooses Trollbabe to do it with. Ron, you make the *weirdest* publishing decisions.
But I think that weirdness drills down into the designs themselves which is what I enjoy about them. Trollbabe, alas remains the only Adept Press game I haven't played (well S/lay w/ Me too but that just came out). Maybe with print book in hand I'll have an easier time inspiring people.
Jesse
Quotehat said... Ron finally writes a Story Now teaching text and chooses Trollbabe to do it with. Ron, you make the *weirdest* publishing decisions.
Makes perfect sense to me. Um, though now I'm having a hard time articulating why. Some of it has to do with the fact that Trollbabe was designed to be Vanilla Narrativism. Between that and a relatively simple system (though not a shallow system!), it makes for an easy introduction to this approach to roleplaying.
Actually, I was realizing that I have a daughter who is interested in roleplaying. I'm wondering if Trollbabe would be a good game to try with her. (Her brothers are also interested, but, you know, not
long term interested at this point.)
TB is a great game for little girls: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=26340
I was really expecting this.
Trollbabe was the first game that put me on the way to really understand some things about game design and narrativism. But I discovered it much later.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this one.
And at the same time, I am kicking myself for not asking my buddy/proxy on the Gen Con floor to pick up a copy for me along with Misery Bubblegum and RPGirl.
Now I will just have to be patient.
I am waiting anxiously for the buy button to appear! and it is to consider itself "pushed" once it arrives :)
I read a good half of the book on my flight from Chicago to Seattle. I'm leaving the second half for my flight from Seattle to Newark on Sunday. I'll then re-read the book on my flight from Newark to Edinburgh.
It's a great read. Clear, to the point and unlaboured.
So far, I particularly enjoyed the stuff about the pivots and turning the screw. There are some good examples teaching how to "read" which phase of play you are in. Absolutely practical.
Rock on.
And it's aarived in Scotland, along with a copy of S/Lay w/Me, and the "Naked Went the Gamer" essay, both of which were also until this moment unknown to me.
Going to a work conference the next two days, lost of time on trains and in hotel rooms to read and digest. Nice :) Blog post(t) to follow.
Cheers,
Per
Well, I'm bummed because I was at GenCon and somehow missed seeing these. I would have bought one, too. :-(
ordered! now, the waiting...
I went to the unstore to buy it, and it says $25 + $3 shipping. But is the same for shipping overseas?
Hi,
Overseas orders may use the listed shipping cost. Consider it a gesture of goodwill, at least until I decide otherwise. Some overseas customers voluntarily pay a couple of dollars more.
Best, Ron
And it's ordered.
I always liked the beautiful simplicity of Trollbabe. I can't wait to see how it's improved, and the Story Now stuff sounds very intriguing.
Thanks Lars!
Orders are fast and furious. I just sent another box of books to my fulfiller to keep up!
Best, Ron
Ron, are you prepared to elaborate on what you've done to the game text here or in a separate thread?
I'm not through the entire book yet, but I noticed that it's now basically presented in three chunks:
1. Story Now as an activity and how to do it (within the TB "setting")
2. The Scene as a key rule and structural element
3. How to resolve conflicts within scenes (BIG chunk, perhaps 3/4 of the entire text) The conflict rules are the same as far as I have read, but they are presented in a mcuh clearer way.
OK, there's a chunk at the end on how to play, but that's pulling all the above together I presume.
Would that be a fair description?
Per
Hi Per,
I have a hard time summarizing "what's different" because it's an entirely different book. I mean, it's about something else, beyond the the first version. I guess the only thing I can do is explain that it's written completely as a manual too, with nothing in there except instructions for and explanations of play.
That's why I don't really understand what you mean by a Story Now chunk. I mean, the text begins very specifically with an introduction to the setting and launches straight into the first steps of play. There isn't any orienting or generalized explanatory text beyond the explicit instructions.
I don't think of the text as chunks, but as a simple linear explanation of what to do. What to do operates at different levels, but the procedures at the different levels are all integrated with one another. That's what the diagrams are for. You should be able to take them all and conceivably make one big huge diagram that might be a couple of meters squared. But in using those parts in play, you're experiencing them linearly, so I was able to present the pieces linearly, in (how many?) about eight or nine sections.
I guess what you're seeing as chunks are merely different levels of the rules. You can look at it that way and not be wrong, but I think it's more helpful to think of the rules as a linear, additive set of instructions, like a curriculum, with the organization being exactly represented by the designated sections.
Overall, I'm not sure what you're asking. I'm having a hard time answering a question which is framed in a kind of middling state in between (1) not having the book and (2) having fully read it. Can you state the question again after you're done?
Best, Ron
Quote from: Ron Edwards on September 01, 2009, 10:23:01 AM
I guess what you're seeing as chunks are merely different levels of the rules. You can look at it that way and not be wrong, but I think it's more helpful to think of the rules as a linear, additive set of instructions, like a curriculum, with the organization being exactly represented by the designated sections.
You're absolutely right - and in that respect "chunk" was a bad choice of word.
Will sit on my hands until I've finished the book.
Per
Ordered... Intrigued by the "pay what you like" behavior of the buy button :)
I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be like that myself, and will check. However, yes, you may pay what you like, except that if it's less than $28, you won't get Trollbabe mailed to you.
Best, Ron