Les Ombres d'Esteren - Forum officiel

Hi everybody, I was wondering if the lack of an SRD (System Reference Document) for Esteren is a conscious choice or if it's simply that nobody though of making one

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Reference_Document) says that The System Reference Document (SRD) is 'a set of reference role playing game mechanics licensed under the Open Game License by Wizards of the Coast (or WotC) and based upon their Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. The SRD forms the basis of WotC's various d20 System role-playing games.'

In truth, now the term SRD is simply used as a synonym of OGL or, to put it in simpler words, the part of a game system (usually 100% of it) that gets released for free to the public the help people get acquainted with it. Of course this content does not include art, scenarios and fluff (background, info about the world...). Check for example this list:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?658 ... ailabe-SRD

Now to get to the point: I'm trying to get people to play Esteren and a lack of SRD is a major hassle. Why don't we just release Chapter IV of Book I and call it a day? I'm willing to compile it (which basically means, formatting a document without art), and it could be hosted on the main site here or somewhere else with great visibility. I'm sure it will do wonders for Estern's visibility (and sales).

So, what do you think? I'm asking the major powers of course, I'm sure players will be most willing to have it

Actually, it's been severely debated in the french forums (starting from my post here), in a discussion about the future of the Book 1 - Universe and potential new contents when the current prints will all be sold out.

I proposed to separate the game system from the universe, to have a Book 1 - Universe entirely made of backgrounds and scenarios, and having the rules on Github or something else in order to allow people to modify the rules, create SDKs and APIs for video games or other games.
It hasn't been very answered by Nelyhann, but Iris provided a good answer about economics: when authors create game rules/aids in a specific book, they have meanings and are important in different contexts, so they have kind of a "soul" from the author. So, proposing them as totally free would be a bit of an economic loss.

Plus, about OGL, making Esteren's system "standard" is not a good idea, because unlike d20 rules, some elements of the system are bound to the universe, like the 4 specific domains : Occultism, Demorthèn mysteries, Magience, Prayers which belong to 4 factions. We could also add the disciplines "Stermerks" or "Crossroads" which are linked to the Varigal job. We could add the character sheet in which you have Ogham, Miracles and Flux sections, the jobs that are linked to the universe (Damathair, Varigal, Demorthèn, etc.)

Actually, the d20 system is "so generic" that you need to add "specific" parameters all the time to fit one universe, and Esteren already have this. Any other classic d10 system can be used, even homemade, if you want a similar system.

But actually, publishing a "light" version of the rules could be good, and I'd support it, but if you look at economical terms, I don't see where the original game could find any benefits in it.

Hi! Excuse my tardiness in replying: I though I had automatically subscribed to this thread by posting, but it turns out I didn't -- every forum behaves in its own way

You're right that the 'Game System' chapter in Book 1, as it is, is not suitable to be simply distributed: it's very specific to Esteren and it contains stuff (like the 'magic' systems) that a DM may not even want his players to know about (at the beginning, at least).

On the other hand, having the mechanics available to the public would be very useful, for the simple reason that players want to know about them before committing to buy a book. I had some difficulty finding players to play Esteren for free just for this reason.

That's what I was volunteering about: to compile a bare-bones document with stuff like skills, check resolution, combat, that kind of stuff. The intent would not really be "modding" the system, the way d20 has been (let's not even compare the respective games' diffusion, celebrity and player base...). The purpose, as I said, would simply be to draw new players to the game. I really can't understand how the authors don't see that, in this time and age, this is something that players simply expect to have.

stepanxol a écrit :On the other hand, having the mechanics available to the public would be very useful, for the simple reason that players want to know about them before committing to buy a book. I had some difficulty finding players to play Esteren for free just for this reason.

That's what I was volunteering about: to compile a bare-bones document with stuff like skills, check resolution, combat, that kind of stuff. The intent would not really be "modding" the system, the way d20 has been (let's not even compare the respective games' diffusion, celebrity and player base...). The purpose, as I said, would simply be to draw new players to the game. I really can't understand how the authors don't see that, in this time and age, this is something that players simply expect to have.

I think the Prologue is available for free: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/109 ... 0-Prologue
It contains a light version of the rules, isn't that suitable to your needs?
If you don't want your players to have access to the scenarios, you may try to "split" the pdf (it works for the pdf distributed with the crowdfoundings, I don't know for sure for this one on DriveThruRPG).

This is kinda funny - that's exactly what I did, splitting the scenarios out and giving away the rest of the prologue. Still, the crunchy info in Book 0 may be (barely) enough to get through the scenarios, but... mmmhhhh.
I know this is a rules-light system, and I like it for it, but c'mon... the pregens have skills that aren't detailed anywhere, the combat is roughly sketched, etc. It's no wonder, since Book 0 includes a grand total of 6 pages of system!

Once again, I'm not complaining. Book 0 is great and without it I'd never have managed to get people to play Esteren, hell, I'd never have checked it out myself! What I'm saying is: if Book 0 is a good thing, let's give the world more of a good thing

Personally I believe that if you just gave away Book 1 for free (or for, like, 2.99 on drivethrough), the following week you'd sell many hundreds copies of the physycal book.
If this was a kitchen-table game made by kids in Word it may be different, but since one of the better assets of Esteren is the art, people will always want to have a nice copy. The problem is getting them to know it exists, making the game widely known.

We're gonna have a meeting with the team at the beginning of October for a RPG convention in Lyon, France. I'll introduce the idea to Nel and Iris if we have some time to discuss about it.

The main problem with the idea is that it would be mandatory to first choose whether "standardizing" the system for any game and second choose a licence for the system availability.

Stay in touch

Don't worry, I'm right here... playing Esteren

I think releasing Book 1 as a free (or pay-what-you-want) PDF is interesting depending upon how well it's actually selling. If it's turning a decent profit on a regular basis I wouldn't. But if it's not? What's to lose? In America I'd write it off as an advertising expense.

I know there's an RPG I follow that did something like that for one of their books. It had been in development for so long they released the PDF for free and wrote it off as an advertising expense. I think it was a CthulhuTech sourcebook.

A game you should check out if you haven't!