There is a Quickstart Review on RPGnet

[Shadeling]

I just saw it!

[Stephen]

That is so cool.  This is my first game-related review, and I gotta tell you, Blake, I'm really pleased.  Thank you.  (And thanks to Jake for letting me play with his game!)

For the record, here, I'll note that the choice of countries to present (Angharad, Stahl and Cyrinthmeir), which was the only bit criticized as being somewhat bland -- and was also my choice, as opposed to simply rewriting Jake's excellent original product -- was for two reasons:  those three are in some ways the most "traditional" styles of fantasy kingdom to start from, which has the recognition factor, and they're also quite different from one another and allow differentiation between starting PCs.  I wanted to leave the cooler, weirder places, like Gelure, Otamarluk, Odeon and Vedij (sp?) in the main rulebook for purchasers to discover.

(Noting this here, rather than at RPG.net, because I don't want to look like I'm complaining about not getting a perfect review -- I just want to explain my reasoning to those who might be interested.)

[Irmo]

For the record, here, I'll note that the choice of countries to present (Angharad, Stahl and Cyrinthmeir), which was the only bit criticized as being somewhat bland -- and was also my choice, as opposed to simply rewriting Jake's excellent original product -- was for two reasons:  those three are in some ways the most "traditional" styles of fantasy kingdom to start from, which has the recognition factor, and they're also quite different from one another and allow differentiation between starting PCs.  I wanted to leave the cooler, weirder places, like Gelure, Otamarluk, Odeon and Vedij (sp?) in the main rulebook for purchasers to discover.

I think it's a sound decision.... Gelure would only draw the issue of its ruler into the fray, who he (really) is and what he (really) wants... allowing Gelure but leaving that out can lead to nasty surprises when people try to port a character from quickstart rules to the full game.

[Blake Hutchins]

Thanks, Stephen:

I'm pleased you liked the review.  FWIW, from a style perspective, it would have had to match Nobilis or maybe Mutants and Masterminds or Castle Falkenstein to grab a 5.  The TROS QS really is an excellent piece of work.   Other stuff I called it as I saw.  I'm undoubtedly jaded, but the kingdoms you picked just didn't stand out from the run of the mill Western European tropes.  Hence the nitpick.

Thanks for being so gracious.  I enjoyed writing it.

Best,

Blake

[Stephen]

The TROS QS really is an excellent piece of work.

Well, a lot of it was adapted almost without alteration straight from the original, so Jake and Rick are due more credit for that than I am, but the thanks are muchly appreciated.

----SJ "a new career!" B

[wpbarr]

I read the review;
I downloaded the quick-start guide;
I ordered the rule book.

Congratulations to all the authors on your excellent work!

[arxhon]

I downloaded the quick-start guide;
I ordered the rule book.

I got the book 2 days later.

I had read the review of the full game first. However, the quickstart rules sold me on the game right away. You did a great job compressing the game into 40 pages in a way that it was playable as well as comprehensible.

[Callan S.]

Yeah, I'll second that having read the main book now. It'd take pretty vast knowledge of a quite complex system, then the grey matter to condense the sweet bits, all without giving away too much. Jeez, I realise now that it was even more work than I thought previously!