Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:03 am
Jason, you seem to have received a lot of flak for your creation. Something I believe is unjustified. I enjoyed the book immensely. It’s a shame you have feel that you need to clarify things by creating this post, but I think it will help people to understand it a bit better. At first glance, I think it might be difficult to get a handle on how the Athanatos are integrated into the Nightbane world, but when read in detail, it is possible to see all the points you have made above. I liked the Athanotos. The amount of detail on them is necessary to flesh out the idea, but it is easy to see how this makes them seem like big hitters. If they were ‘a major new faction’ then I would agree with the people who have spoken out against them. But they’re not. I guess the same arguments to be made against the Strigoi. But for all the people who seem to hate Palladium Vampires for some reason, the Strigoi gives them an alternative to play with. And I think they are definitely ‘cooler’ than standard Palladium bloodsuckers.
Maybe the Athanatos and the Strigoi add a bit too much complication in, in my opinion, an already overstocked cast of protagonists. A cool additional idea, but one that tries to fill a gap that wasn’t really there to begin with. Many of the Nightbane books talk about adding a ‘third party’ to make things more interesting between the main battle between the mainly Nightbane factions and the Nightlords, which is definitely a good idea. However, this was done in the main book by adding Vampires. Then various astral beings were added to the fray. Then demons. Then Magical Brotherhoods. Then Athanatos. Then Strigoi. And the various original factions/humans/Guardians can also be used as ‘third party’ types. Too many additions makes it seem like a bit of a free for all and loses focus. But the problem doesn’t have to be with the new parties, just the way they are used in the game. If treated right, all of the above can add an interesting new element to a game without swamping it.
What I am trying to say really is, that I didn’t read anything in Shadows of Light that I didn’t like, and if that’s an example of your poor work, then your best work must be excellent. If there is a problem, then it may be that some of the items had a bit of an ‘additional’ feel: giving us fresh ideas, when maybe what people wanted (based on their moaning) was expansion on established lore. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. If people don’t want to add Athanatos to their game, fair enough. As a race, they are few enough in number to go unnoticed. And there are plenty of other things in the book to please people.
Maybe the Athanatos and the Strigoi add a bit too much complication in, in my opinion, an already overstocked cast of protagonists. A cool additional idea, but one that tries to fill a gap that wasn’t really there to begin with. Many of the Nightbane books talk about adding a ‘third party’ to make things more interesting between the main battle between the mainly Nightbane factions and the Nightlords, which is definitely a good idea. However, this was done in the main book by adding Vampires. Then various astral beings were added to the fray. Then demons. Then Magical Brotherhoods. Then Athanatos. Then Strigoi. And the various original factions/humans/Guardians can also be used as ‘third party’ types. Too many additions makes it seem like a bit of a free for all and loses focus. But the problem doesn’t have to be with the new parties, just the way they are used in the game. If treated right, all of the above can add an interesting new element to a game without swamping it.
What I am trying to say really is, that I didn’t read anything in Shadows of Light that I didn’t like, and if that’s an example of your poor work, then your best work must be excellent. If there is a problem, then it may be that some of the items had a bit of an ‘additional’ feel: giving us fresh ideas, when maybe what people wanted (based on their moaning) was expansion on established lore. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. If people don’t want to add Athanatos to their game, fair enough. As a race, they are few enough in number to go unnoticed. And there are plenty of other things in the book to please people.
