By James Mishler with Jodi Moran-Mishler
Nine years late and more than a few details short, here finally is the Incompleat Olden Lands, the gazetteer of my first new world.
Boy howdy, did I learn a few things NOT to do with building
worlds with this one. Lessons that were still not learned for a time; took a
while for the lesson to take, so to speak. Biggest lesson – start small, not
big! Too much, too many details, too many things to juggle in the design and development
eventually bogs you down and burns you out.
I got a good bit along with this one. Maybe three-fifths of
the way, perhaps somewhat more, from a glance. Some sections are mostly done;
other sections are skeletal, and some are in-between.
THIS PRODUCT IS INCOMPLETE AND DOES NOT DETAIL THE ENTIRETY
OF THE OLDEN LANDS!
The Incompleat Olden Lands includes the following sections,
some more complete than others:
Humans of the Olden Lands (Complete)
Demi-Humans of the Olden Lands (Complete)
Humanoids of the Olden Lands (Complete)
Languages of the Olden Lands (Complete)
Political Divisions of the Olden Lands (Various levels of
completion)
Geography of the Olden Lands (Various levels of completion)
Complete Monster List by Area (Complete)
Complete Resource List by Type (Complete)
Coinage by Realm (Complete)
Titles and Order of Precedence (Very Incomplete)
Gods of the Olden Lands (Incomplete List Only)
I must emphasize, THE CAMPAIGN INFORMATION INCLUDED HEREIN
IS INCOMPLETE. YOU WILL NEED TO FILL IN MANY DETAILS TO MAKE COMPLETE USE OF
THIS CAMPAIGN.
114 pages (108 containing material), $5.00
Any particular reason why you are releasing it as incomplete? The different entries for political divisions and geographic regions probably don't need encyclopedic entries, merely a paragraph or two to give the gist of each entry. Similarly with the list of deities in the pantheon a paragraph each would be sufficient for a DM to build his own ideas on. I'm thinking mainly of the World of Greyhawk gold box for 1st Ed AD&D and its brief outlines for nations and geographic features. Its approach to deities was a bit different, with several paragraphs for important and prominent gods but others were only left as entries on a table.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
DeleteUnfortunately, there are so many miles between me and where I was creatively with the Olden Lands, I'm not even sure what I was planning for a lot of the portions that are incomplete. Unfortunately, I cannot turn my creativity on and off like a switch; if something is working for me, I can write; if not, I cannot.
I tried on several occasions to return to the Olden Lands, but the creative spark just was not there. Maybe... someday...