Re: [DL] LS question (not really for Christopher) - remains long

[Reemull <reemull@yahoo.co.uk>]

 --- Hank Woolsey <hwoolseylists@yahoo.com> wrote: 
> OK, I would like to get some info from people who
> already have Lone Stars. Can someone give me a rouhg
> comparison of pages taken up by dual-statting versus
> total number of pages? And was the design changed
> (maybe to a slightly smaller font) to allow for the
> same amount of info in spite of the dual stats?
> 
> >snip a bit<
>
> This possibility is disappointing to me. I have very
> much enjoyed Christopher's other writings for DL and
> was excited about LS. I sope the space used for the
> dual stats is not so much that PEG roducts drop down
> my priority list.

I think I posted back when the dual stat books were first mentioned,
that I was concerned about how much space/information would be lost to
dual statting of equipment, hexes and characters.  After purchasing
Lone Stars I would say that that I, in no way feel, short changed by
what I received - quite the opposite in fact.  

To answer your questions - the format is pretty much the same as
previous Pinnacle books with the font size being unchanged.  The book
covers 66 pages before you even reach a section that includes dual
stats.  the main sections that include dual statting are as follows

Equipment: This is generally only a couple of lines after the
description.  In most cases the classic Deadlands stats are described
during the blurb with the D20 information coming in a paragraph
afterwards.  The space for stats is roughly similar for D20 and the
classic system - however both combined are about half of the length of
the description (i.e. a third of the space taken up for the item in
question).

Characters:  This tends to be where there is the largest chunks of
classic/D20 dedicated information.  This again is roughly the same with
equal space being required to stat the character for both systems.  I
made the mistake of assuming that the blurb after the D20 Advancement
description was only for D20 - it might be meant for D20 however it
actually provides some additional information on the character and I
found it of value.  I would say that Lone Stars is quite light on stats
for this section which I've since found out was intentional.

Hexes: Is probably where you notice the separate systems most.  In Law
Dogs the hexes took up around 3 pages - here they take up 8 - however
there are also 3 times as many pictures in Lone Stars in comparison
with those in Law Dogs, plus the descriptions (i.e. classic system) are
considerably longer than in Law Dogs.

For a calculation into how much of the book is D20 related I'm taking
roughly 50 lines per column (with 2 columns per page).  From this I
calculate that approximately 6 pages are completely D20 related.  There
are also 4 pages at the back which cover converting between the systems
and the open gaming licensing information - so that would take the
total to 10 pages out of 128.  Which to be honest I don't view as a
dead loss.  Actually in some cases (like with the whitworth sight) I
found it quite helpful for the stats for the sight to be talked about
in feet (in the D20 descritpion) rather than in the usual range
increment method (in the DL classic description).

I cannot speak for future products - however it seems to me as if
Pinnacle are aware of the concerns of their fan base concerning dual
statted books and in my mind have wisely concentrated stats where they
are critical (equipment, hexes, fighting moves, aptitudes) and gone
easier on the stats for characters/archetypes as this would take up
large amounts of space.  

Hope this is of help, 

Roy


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com