[projectaon] Re: Outstanding Errata Sprint (Week 6)
- From: Jonathan Blake <jonathan.blake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: projectaon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 17:22:24 -0700
On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 3:07 PM, Simon Osborne <outspaced@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The Masters of Darkness:
>
> (er) 226: The black tendril retreats... [mh: I'm wondering if there's
> some text missing. The paragraph leading here (315) only said that something
> was rising, and asked if you wanted to get reading. Then in this paragraph
> the text assumes that the reader has already encountered the black tendril.
> Compare with 103, another choice from 315: in that case the tendril is
> introduced at the start of 103. I don't have the book to check, but there
> seems to be something amiss here.]
> [jc: "The black tendril retreats—it is as if the creature can sense that you
> pose a threat to its safety—until it is hovering directly above the abyss.
> You step forward, intending to hasten it on its way, when suddenly" -> "You
> step forward, ready for combat, when suddenly" In sections 303 and 315,
> which forego this section, there isn't mention about black tendril.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect226.htm>
OK, this is pretty radical but how about tacking on some text borrowed
from 103 and modified to suit this section? For example, add:
"With bated breath, you wait for the creature to appear, fearful yet
confident that your skill will put paid to the hostile intentions of
this malodorous cave-dweller.
"The tip of a thin, snaky limb rises from the abyss and glides slowly
across the ground towards your legs. Its skin is smooth and dark, like
black velvet, and it moves with alarming speed.
"Suddenly the black tendril retreats..."
> (er) 226, 276: Unless you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus
> and have reached the Kai rank of Archmaster -> Unless you have reached the
> Magnakai rank of Archmaster [BK: It's impossible to reach this section
> without possessing Nexus, and Archmaster is a Magnakai rank.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect226.htm>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect276.htm>
Note that these can't be reached without Nexus because they can only
be reached from Section 315 which in turn can only be reached from 303
if you have completed the Lore-circles of Spirit.
However, I'm not sure that it hurts anything to leave the note about
Nexus here. At the very least, it makes clear what Discipline is
helping you. At worst, people like us who scour the books will notice.
I don't think the average reader would notice let alone bothered
because they would need to know that they can only get here through a
specific sequence of sections: not something most readers realize.
And I don't think we've been changing Kai -> Magnakai in these
situations (have we?) because Kai is a generic term applying to
everything related to the Kai Lords.
> (er) 260: Giak crew allocate cabins -> The Giak crew allocates cabins
> [LeRoy McSwain, Jan 2007]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect260.htm>
Ben, regarding your suggestion of "Giak crew members allocate cabins",
that makes it seem like no one's in charge. Is that what you think is
intended?
> (er) 347: "You shoulder your bow... [dv: not if you're coming from
> sect. 232]
> [so: Suggest maybe moving "You shoulder your Bow" to somewhere in Section
> 119.]"
> [tp: makes sense if (and only if) you come here via 309 -> 77 -> 163 -> 119
> -> 347. The other paths from s.309 are:
> * 309 -> 77 -> 5 -> 232 -> 347; your Bow gets destroyed in s.5!
> * 309 -> 77 -> 163 -> 213 -> 232 -> 347; you already shouldered your bow
> in choosing to go 163 -> 213.
> * 309 -> 213 -> 232 -> 347; you never readied your Bow at all.]
> [bk: Seems like the best way out of this would be to change the text in
> section 119, but there's no obvious place to do it. Maybe something like
> changing "Just then the first of his troops appear at the rail" to "As you
> shoulder your bow, the first of his troops appear at the rail"? Changes the
> meaning a bit, but it does get the bow shouldered.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect347.htm>
I like your suggestion, Ben.
> (ft) 79: Apart from the armour [jfs: What happens with your armour
> (if carrying one)? Can you still carry a Waistcoast (either Padded Leather
> or Chainmail) if you have one?]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect79.htm>
I guess so?
> (ft) 159: The Bronin Vest may be worn with a Padded Leather Waistcoat,
> but not with a Chainmail Waistcoat. [DED: Do we have a canonical source for
> this footnote? The item is described as a "vest". I've always regarded a
> vest as an male undergarment, worn underneath a shirt (never mind a
> waistcoat). That would suggest to me that there is no problem with wearing
> it under the Padded Leather Waistcoat or the Chainmail Waistcoat. (Bronin is
> special non-tarnishing alloy of copper and tin? I imagined it is beaten very
> thin here to form a fine 'vest'). When Dever introduced the Kagonite
> Chainmail in the same book, he specifically mentioned in the text that it
> could be worn with other garments - so it's slightly odd that no explicit
> note was put in the text here: it suggests he either forgot, or considered
> the word 'vest' to obviously imply there no problem?]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/12tmod/sect159.htm>
I'm not aware of any canonical source that explicitly states this. The
best we have, I think, is Summer Special 1985:
http://www.projectaon.org/en/ReadersHandbook/NewsletterExcerpts#lwcnss85
So it would be better to offer guidance rather than dictate. Also
problematic in this regard is our current Reader's Handbook entry on
Armour:
http://www.projectaon.org/en/ReadersHandbook/TopicalA#Armour
> ====================================
>
> Grand Master Rules Queries:
>
> ====================================
>
> The Plague Lords of Ruel:
>
> (er) The Game Rules: If you have successfully completed any of the
> previous adventures in the Lone Wolf series (Books 1-12), you can carry ->
> ...you should carry [so: the word 'can' here is causing confusion among
> some readers, particularly non-native English speakers.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/13tplor/gamerulz.htm>
Agreed. In the errata we should make sure it's clear this is about the
CS and EP. At first I thought this was about equipment which didn't
make sense to me. Then I realized it was about the attributes.
> (er) The Story So Far: Some factions which comprised this huge army
> -> Some factions which composed this huge army [tp: or "constituted", or
> "made up", or "were part of". Also affects other GM books]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/13tplor/tssf.htm>
I don't find this in any of the books. Already fixed?
> ====================================
>
> The Captives of Kaag:
>
> (ft) The Game Rules: If you have successfully completed any of the
> previous adventures in the Lone Wolf series (Books 1-13), you can carry your
> current scores of COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE points over to Book 14. These
> scores may include Lore-circle bonuses. You may also benefit from the
> Disciplines that you've mastered (e.g. Weaponmastery, Curing, and Psi-surge
> bonuses)
> [DED: The text from the end of the Grand Master Disciplines section, namely
> "For every Grand Master Discipline you possess, in excess of the original
> four Disciplines you begin with, you may add 1 point to your basic COMBAT
> SKILL score and 2 points to your basic ENDURANCE points score" should surely
> be here too? Otherwise it almost implies that the +1CS +2EP per book bonus
> doesn't kick in until you complete The Captives of Kaag. I get the
> impression Joe Dever updated the rules for each book by cutting and pasting
> on his new-fangled word processor, and missed a few things! I know we've
> already put a footnote here to our "Rules Handbook", but it seems to me
> easier for the readers if we just insert this missing sentence.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/14tcok/gamerulz.htm>
I sorry, I don't follow. What are you suggesting and why?
> (ft) Equipment: If you have the Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery
> with a Bow, you may add 3 to any number that you pick from the Random Number
> Table, when using the Bow. -> If you have the Discipline of Grand
> Weaponmastery with a Bow, you may add 5 to any number that you pick from the
> Random Number Table, when using the Bow.
> [DED: I remember raising this before, and we decided not to change it, but
> re-playing Captives of Kaag I now feel sure it is a cut-and-paste error
> Dever has made from updating the Magnakai rules, because several of the
> sections where you use a bow have an explicit reminder that you should add 5
> to the number you pick (e.g. 227, 335). This also makes sense in terms of
> Grand Weaponmastery being a cumulative improvement on Weaponmastery, as you
> have the original +3 bonus, combined with the +2 missile/projectile bonus
> gained with the rank of Mentora.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/14tcok/equipmnt.htm>
I searched the XML to find intstances where the reader is explicitly
told to bonus (i.e. "add" followed by a number) for having "Grand
Weaponmastery" with a "Bow". Here's the count from Grand Master and
New Order series:
3 point bonus: 36
4 point bonus: 1
5 point bonus: 7
For reference, here is the *nix command line I used:
grep -i "grand weaponmastery" *.xml | grep -i bow | grep -i "add [0-9]"
Using that list, I manually culled real matches from the false.
Also, in the New Order series, we start to see language like the
following: "If you possess Grand Weaponmastery with Bow, remember to
add 3 to the number you have picked." This seems to imply that the
reader has already been instructed of the bonus and that this is the
standard bonus. In all cases, these passages mention a 3 point bonus.
(I don't remember, did the original books mention this bonus?)
Unless I missed other occurrences in the books, it seems pretty clear
that Joe thought of the Grand Weaponmastery bonus when using a bow as
typically +3.
> ====================================
>
> The Deathlord of Ixia:
>
> (ft) The Game Rules: [DED: We have a footnote about the permitted special
> items, noting that the Korlinium Scabbard and Silver Bracers are back... but
> the Dagger of Vashna and Helshezag are now gone! Should we not mention this
> too? I know they can get destroyed in the previous book, but not if you
> leave them in Safekeeping. Helshezag's +5CS would be very handy if you can't
> use the Sommerswerd for most of this book.]
>
> <http://www.projectaon.org/test/en/xhtml/lw/17tdoi/gamerulz.htm>
Yeah, we should probably explain the possibility of leaving them in
safekeeping. The story won't unravel if the reader still has these
items, but they should probably be warned that the author is going to
assume that they have been destroyed.
Phew!
--
Jon
~~~~~~
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