Thoughts on Elfs

[DaR]

So I finally bit the bullet and bought Elfs the other day, and I thought I'd share some thoughts and observations.

Presentation and Content

The book is a blast to read.  The art and writing were both excellent, as expected.  No complaints at all.  The mechanics work well, and support the game's goals without becoming overbearing.  Again, as expected.

For those of you who like hard copy, Kinkos will take the PDF file, print it out 4 pages to a sheet in landscape mode, cut it, add a vinyl cover (clear front, black back), and then wirebind the whole thing into a very nice and portable trade-paperback sized booklet for just about $8.  Highly recommended.

Reactions

I showed the booklet to one of the groups I normally game with.  The overall reaction was quite positive.  Most people thought it was a clever idea, and nearly everyone laughed as they were reading it over.

Surprisingly, the reactions I was anticipating were somewhat reversed.  Several people who I thought would scoff and call it "gimmicky" were the ones who seemd to like it best.  And similarly, several people I expected to enjoy it, both for the satire on D&D gaming and the Director Stance aspect, were the ones who panned it.  In one case the somewhat condescending comment was:

I don't need RPG mechanics to make me  aware of the dichotomy between character and player.

Needless to say, I was surprised.  This same person was also one who has railed against traditional industry games and the ruts they generally fall into.

Suggestions

• The combat section could probably use a more extended example.  It took me several read throughs to get all the various aspects down, and even then I had to run a sample combat or two before I really felt comfortable with it.
  
• More examples in general would be good.  An outline list of example Dumb Luck and Low Cunning options would be a good base for people just learning the game to start from as a way to "get into the swing of things."
  
• A character sheet.  I know there was some discussion here about it, but having one in the book would be useful.  Even having one for download on the Elfs page at adept-press would be good.
  

Overall

Superb job.  If all the games I ever bought were this quality, I'd own a far fewer number of them :smile:.

[ This Message was edited by: DaR on 2001-08-01 22:44 ]

[Ron Edwards]

Hi,

Many thanks for the kind comments. I really love my little Elf game and so positive reactions mean a lot to me.

I agree about the character sheet, but for the last couple of months, getting Sorcerer into book form has been the only priority for me. Now it's to complete the revision of Sorcerer & Sword and hit the printer's with that.

So if Elfs can get a bit of a site face-lift and a downloadable character sheet, maybe a few examples on the site itself ... well, I'd like to see it too. As soon as possible, but that might not actually be soon at all.

As for your player who scoffed at the mechanics, I think that's pretty interesting. Doesn't he think that people less elevated than himself might need some mechanics support as they struggle with the concepts that he, personally, has so thoroughly mastered? No? Oh.

Best,
Ron