It has arrived!

[Jhamin]

Just picked up my copy of Terran Empire at my FLGS.

I'm impressed at the way it manages to span several hundred years maintaining a consistant setting, but still giving a sense of time passing.

[Monolith]

And I still hate you. You get everything before I do! :)

[Jhamin]

Luck of the draw. I happened to walk in when they were opening their UPS shipment & stocking the new arrivals shelf.

[MisterVimes]

And for those that can't wait...

Terran Empire at RPGshop (http://enworld.rpgshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=32317&)

[Syberdwarf2]

Okay Herodom, here's my quandry...
Funds are limited. I'm trying to catch up on the books that I want. Needless to say, TE is high on my priority list. However I have also heard that the print run (?) is almost sold out for a lot of the earlier books. Does this mean they'll no longer be available? Unless demand warrants a reprint?
Should I get UMA while I still can, or get TE first?

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2
Okay Herodom, here's my quandry...
Funds are limited. I'm trying to catch up on the books that I want. Needless to say, TE is high on my priority list. However I have also heard that the print run (?) is almost sold out for a lot of the earlier books. Does this mean they'll no longer be available? Unless demand warrants a reprint?
Should I get UMA while I still can, or get TE first?
This is pretty hard to answer without knowing what your priorities are. TE is a great book, and if you are planning on running a TE game in the very-near future I would say grab it up. On the other hand, if you are just looking for something to read, and are not really planning on using TE for anything other than future source material, I would say get UMA because it has more wide-spread potential over many different games (martial arts are used in virtually every genre).

My TE game started last Saturday (from the playtest manuscript) so I know all my fellow TE players are awaiting it with baited breath; but the bait on the breath does not seem to get it here any quicker. :)

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by Monolith
This is pretty hard to answer without knowing what your priorities are. TE is a great book, and if you are planning on running a TE game in the very-near future I would say grab it up. On the other hand, if you are just looking for something to read, and are not really planning on using TE for anything other than future source material, I would say get UMA because it has more wide-spread potential over many different games (martial arts are used in virtually every genre).

My TE game started last Saturday (from the playtest manuscript) so I know all my fellow TE players are awaiting it with baited breath; but the bait on the breath does not seem to get it here any quicker. :)

In that case, I'll get UMA first. TE is definately next, though. I have an itch to run an SH game, and besides; I've got to support that SH line of books if I want mt favorite game company to produce more of them, eh?

[nblade]

Originally posted by Jhamin
Just picked up my copy of Terran Empire at my FLGS.

I'm impressed at the way it manages to span several hundred years maintaining a consistant setting, but still giving a sense of time passing.

I'm green with envy. I'm sure thought they my FLGS will have it around next friday then. They are at least good for something.

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by nblade
I'm green with envy. I'm sure thought they my FLGS will have it around next friday then. They are at least good for something.
FLGS?
Translation please? I know I've heard that one before, just not quite sure what it means.

[keithcurtis]

AAARGH!

I get nearly every Hero book before it hits the shops as an artist comp copy. No show so far for TE.

Keith "Tina! Why hast thou forsaken me!?" Curtis

[Old Man]

Originally posted by Jhamin
Just picked up my copy of Terran Empire at my FLGS.

I'm impressed at the way it manages to span several hundred years maintaining a consistant setting, but still giving a sense of time passing.

It's been over five hours now. Where's the review? I'm waiting.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2
FLGS?
Translation please?Friendly Local Game Store. :)

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth
Friendly Local Game Store. :)

I see, says the blind man. FLGSs must not exist in my area, I just cancelled my order through the local guys here. I ordered UMA two months ago, and I get a different excuse every time as to why it's not in. I bet if I had ordered a display box worth of Yu-Gi-O! cards, they'd be there in 3 days...:mad: But that's okay, we now have a debit card, so I can order online. My copy is being sent as we speak and will arrive at my door no later than Friday. Champions, then TE will be next.

[Chris Goodwin]

Ewwwwww. I'd be very careful when putting a debit card number online. That's your checking account, and if someone gets ahold of it they can clean you out -- and debit cards don't usually have the same protections that credit cards do.

</threadjack>

[Jhamin]

Originally posted by Old Man
It's been over five hours now. Where's the review? I'm waiting.

Sorry, there is alot to digest & I didn't read the playtest version.

I haven't been able to do much but a deep skim of the contents, a more extensive read through is still in progress. My thoughts, in no particular order:

>There is an emphasis on laying out the entire setting without an apparent bias toward one type of game or another. Champions Universe for example seems to assume you will be playing a hero team that protects a city, probably Milenium city. Star hero just describes the goings on in the Terren Empire over the course of three centuries.

>There isn't alot of detail on any one part of society. I consider this a good thing.
You aren't going to be getting this book and immediatly using the sample characters to run a game that weekend. On the other hand there are many games like "soldiers of the fleet", "Merchant Traders", "Planetary Archeologists", and "Wild Planet pioneers" that all fit equally well into the setting. The book gives you ideas then gets out of your way to flesh them out.

> I really, really like the history section. The empire waxes and wanes repeatedly over several centuries. It feels historical reading about it, and more importantly there are lots and lots of points that sound tailor made for campaigns.
You have a well loved emperess replaced by an unqualifed letch, you have galactic wars that both go well and poorly, you have contact with older decadent elder races, and a gradual shift from an iron-fisted dictator to an egalitarian republic to an idle sun-kingesce nobility.
The changes don't feel chaotic but are close enough together that the changes in time might actually matter in a game. For example: a character can live to see the idealistic empire of his youth become decadent and corrupt. If that isn't a whole campaign right there you aren't trying!
There is so much room for gaming in this settign it isn't funny.

> There is an overview of technology, but not a whole lot of extensive detail. Given the span of time involved that is understandable. They talk about what weapons are used, and who uses them, but there are not pages and pages of tech writups. This once again seems like a design choice. You know what a basic military rifle is like when your players cross swords with the Emperess' personal guard, but you don't get bogged down in the details. If you need more for your game, it is implied that there is a constant evolution of technology but you will have to make in more granular on your own.
I thought there were some nice touches, like including Absolute time sense and 1 point of disease resistance into the everyman skills because of the universal avalibility of miniaturized electronics and early childhood panimmunity treatments.

> Package deals are very serviceable, but seem a little dry. There are the expected military, criminal, and civilian packages with comments on changing them, but the setting covers such a large swath of history I thought it might be nice to see some comments about how an Imperial Marine from the reunification period differs from one found in the twilight of the imperium. Then again, it is already a thick tome.

> I was pretty unsure about the choice to link the Terran empire with the Champions universe. I am still not sure I will be doing it in my campaign but I was pleasently suprised by how well the Malivans, Persid, Thane, Ect fit into a space opera setting.:)

[Steve Long]

there are not pages and pages of tech writups

This is, in part, because we have The Spacer's Toolkit coming out. Knowing I had to cut material, I often cut from tech and ships, since we have a book where I can put the tech and ships coming out in another couple of months. ;)

[James_Kiley]

I'm probably not going to use the Champs linkage. It actually will matter for my game, as most of the PCs are starting off as 20th century humans who spend some time at .99... c. I have deliberately obfuscated the opening of the game, and I hope to get good results out of it. Lord knows I'll have the advantage that none of them know the setting. :-)