Nine Worlds Revised for GenCon 2005!

[Matt Snyder]

I'm in the middle of revising Nine Worlds. It is a very strange feeling to return to the text and find a distant voice, as well as a muddied tutorital of how the game should be played.

This really interests me, because I set out to create a game that defied my tradition and rituals as a role-player. I had a vision of this new way to play that really challenged that tradition and ritual.

But, I was poorly equipped to explain my vision toward others. My playtest was too limited. It suffered from my inability to explain this vision to my fellow players and my inexperience at running the game competently. Simply put, my practices did not match my ideals.

These excellent actual play posts about Ron Edwards' group and their Nine Worlds campaign were a relief to me. That group has much more experience with this kind of play, so in one sense they were better suited than my own for "learning" how to play Nine Worlds. Fortunately, they shared their experiences with everyone.

Now, I'm re-writing the entire rules chapter titled "Metaphysics." And, I'm significantly altering the "Philosophy" chapter on how this game is played. In addition, I'll be expanding the profiles and characters in the "Cosmology" chapter. Included now will be many more sample characters, entities, immortals, and beasts. These will not simply be write ups of canonical characters and entities. They will be models for how to create non-player characters, and how they might changes as the player characters changes, especially in terms of their Muses.

Of course, my ambition is to revise the game and release in a new print edition for GenCon 2005. Here are some of the things on the list for revisions:

[*]A new quick rules summary to kick off the rules chapter.
[*]Greater emphasis in the text on conflict resolution and victory rather than all the current emphasis on resource management.
[*]A new rules section on declaring conflict opponents -- very important!
[*]Editing to clarify who gets to narrate (i.e. victors do!).
[*]Clarification on increasing attributes (there are no limits!)
[*]Explain that one must use Arete to Champion and Hubris to Challenge a Primarch.
[*]Simpler, more sensible play examples that make better sense in the context of a game.
[*]More advice on creating Muses, including more direct suggestions to mine the setting and Greek mythology for ideas.
[*]Changing "Tricks" to the simpler and less confusing "Points."
[*]Expanded rules on advancement, including important changes to how Talismans work (now, players can improve Talisman attributes permanently with Pride!).
[*]Revised rules on death and dying for NPCs.
[*]Much more helpful advice on running the game, including making NPCs that change and grow (via Muses) in reaction to the player characters.[/list:u]

Finally, I'm considering ways to "neutralize" the anti-immotals voice in the text that has bothered some readers. We want to see some interesting ways that Championing is a good a choice as Challenging in the right context.

When I release the revised edition of Nine Worlds, PDF buyers will receive an email to download the new edition for free. I'm working on a way for print customers to purchase the new edition with a discount of some kind, but I can't yet promise how siginficant that will be.

[Thor Olavsrud]

Sounds awesome Matt! I'm really looking forward to seeing the changes.

[Andy Kitkowski]

I just caught this post, and am very much looking forward to this.

-Andy

[Rob Donoghue]

When I release the revised edition of Nine Worlds, PDF buyers will receive an email to download the new edition for free. I'm working on a way for print customers to purchase the new edition with a discount of some kind, but I can't yet promise how siginficant that will be.

Y'know, that's classy and appreciated.  I'd been curious about 9W for a long time, and was reminded of that interest with the indie-rpg nomination.  Problem was, I was a bit put off by the prospect that a new edition was coming.

I eventually broke down, and didn't regret it, but this windfall (from my perspective) just reinforces what a good idea that was. :)

-Rob D.

[Pilgrim]

I've got to admit I'm looking forward to this. Especially that e-mail saying there is a new version for download.

[Matt Snyder]

Excellent! Thanks for saying so, Rob and Pilgrim!

It's VERY likely that I won't get the revised PDF released until after GenCon when my mind isn't filled with print deadlines and such. Please bear with me! I hope it will be worth your wait!

[Pilgrim]

Matt,
You think it won't be? I kid. Honestly, I'm willing to wait.