mattingly Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 There's now a 16-page preview of Scott Bennie's "Gestalt: The Hero Within" up on BlackWyrm's site, at http://www.blackwyrm.com/extras.htm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theron Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mhoram Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjcurrie Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler The art looks great and the layout is clean and clear; however, I must say I really hate the font that you have used for the headings. I find it almost unreadable. But overall, it looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Y'know, some people say that reading Gestalt can potentially help reduce body fat, increase muscle mass, soothe chronic pain, support male health, and build valuable skills that will help advance your career. Just sayin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Walkur Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Rather than being tempting, this teaser is incredibly annoying! We're basically confronted with a random handful of unrelated pages, all of which seem to allude to some sort of unusual and complex metaphysical background -- but there's no explanation given. In fact, there's no effort made to include even the briefest and most cursory answer to the question of "What the hell is going on here?" This sampler left me feeling irritated and frustrated, and very discouraged over the whole "Gestalt" idea. After all, if this mess is what the authors are using to try and tempt customers to their new background (or whatever it is), just how disorganized and incoherent will the finished Gestalt product be? This "sampler" thing does the Gestalt product no service at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GestaltBennie Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler There'll be a player's primer to Gestalt coming out after I get a chance to finish Champions of the North. If you're looking for a more cohesive introduction to the world. you'll get it there, It'll probably be a similar size to this PDF. The sampler is only meant to give some ideas on what the book covers and what it'll look like, and hopefully has enough extractable packages and tidbits to make it worth the download. Gestalt covers a lot of material and has a pretty hefty scope; a preview based on one chapter wouldn't convey that. so we chose to give snippets of many chapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Ciaramella Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I'm excited! Other than a new edition of Strike Force, this is the setting book I have wanted to see most for about the last decade at least. Thank you so much for finally writing this, Scott! -- Gary Ciaramella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler There'll be a player's primer to Gestalt coming out after I get a chance to finish Champions of the North. If you're looking for a more cohesive introduction to the world. you'll get it there' date=' It'll probably be a similar size to this PDF.[/quote'] In the meantime, you can read a fairly detailed introduction to the setting on this webpage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I really enjoyed American Avenger. I like his look, I like the force wings, I like the feel. Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Oh, I also liked that the creator of the character was noted. Go Steve Perrin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler In the meantime' date=' you can read a fairly detailed introduction to the setting on this webpage. Or read an interview with the auhor here, or an overview of the book here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Or read an interview with the auhor here' date=' or an overview of the book here. or ask me. I am an expert on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Walkur Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler In the meantime' date=' you can read a fairly detailed introduction to the setting on this webpage. Thanks for the link, m'Lord. Repped (obviously). Looks like quite an interesting worldbook...though laced with metagaming issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Walkur Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler Or read an interview with the auhor here' date=' or an overview of the book here. Thanks mattingly for also stepping into the gap! Repped. The book overview didn't have much substance, but the author's interview was detailed and interesting. I like the idea behind "Gestalt" -- that's fascinating! -- but the worldbook was definitely not for me. Even just creating a character seems to involve players in too many non-immersive metagaming concerns.... The CharGen process as described sounds a bit like: "Select a Gestalt of the appropriate power level. Now write a brief essay about the effects of this Gestalt on the entirety of human history, paying particular attention to the development of the major world religions and philosophies." The other problem I have with the worldbook is that I don't like world-wide conspiracies as major arcs in a game. The author said in his interview that he was eschewing government conspiracies in "Gestalt," but with villains and groups like The Blood Red King and The League of Tyranny in play, there will have to be world-spanning conspiracies active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler When I try to download...I end up with a blank document....what am I doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I end up with a blank document.... It's almost a 10 MB document. Are you opening the link directly, or saving as? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I just hit the link and waited...maybe I need to wait much longer? (please understand I no Nothing about computers...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAVeira Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I so want this book now. Please get it up for sale before my wife notices I am buying any RPG pdf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted July 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler maybe I need to wait much longer? If you're on a dial-up connection, it could take several minutes to display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler While I'm pretty sure I'll never run a Gestalt game, I want the book for a number of reasons -- the very least of which is access to the numerous power builds and character design concepts Scott will have in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler While I'm pretty sure I'll never run a Gestalt game' date=' I want the book for a number of reasons -- the very least of which is access to the numerous power builds and character design concepts Scott will have in there.[/quote'] There's an interesting semi-template system for quick character builds, and charts illustrating an approach to balancing speed, DCs, CV, and defenses that many GMs will find useful. Some great NPCs as well, heroic and villainous, as well as many plot seeds. I don't plan to switch to a Gestalt campaign, but there's plenty of material that will make it into my games. It really is an exceptionally good book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler I'd like to pre-order the book from the website, but they don't have a purchase button available for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted July 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Re: Gestalt Sampler We're not taking pre-orders, I'm afraid. But for those going to Origins this week, our printer is expecting to ship us some advance copies for the show. Apart from that, the book should be available for order in another couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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