tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post3265521247227980416..comments2024-03-29T06:16:21.012+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: [Review] The Gardens of YnnUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-67293099476880950252021-05-25T00:14:05.937+08:002021-05-25T00:14:05.937+08:00Unfortunately, the only Laputa I know is Swift'...Unfortunately, the only Laputa I know is Swift's. Though reading back my review, I do mention Ghibli.<br /><br />Less the size-changing Wonderland of madness, I suppose, and more the network of relatively mundane gardens filled with strange beings. The idea of the dream of Wonderland being that of a sunny afternoon into which the strange may drift rather than a lurid nighttime fever.Solomon VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763252777153908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-26587617168852136772021-05-24T21:45:29.235+08:002021-05-24T21:45:29.235+08:00Yes, I hated it - just lots of pretty verbiage sig...Yes, I hated it - just lots of pretty verbiage signifying nothing. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-2822784008042087462021-05-24T21:44:59.241+08:002021-05-24T21:44:59.241+08:00Yes, that's a good point - something that one ...Yes, that's a good point - something that one can rectify, though.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27672530391403679732021-05-24T21:44:32.476+08:002021-05-24T21:44:32.476+08:00I dunno. I know she cites that as an influence, bu...I dunno. I know she cites that as an influence, but I didn't get much of that vibe from it. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-14389430610855388852021-05-24T19:56:11.401+08:002021-05-24T19:56:11.401+08:00I am pushing myself through Little, Big right now....I am pushing myself through Little, Big right now. I feel like I've been reading it forever; somehow I haven't cracked 30% yet.<br /><br />The language is quite flowery, and some of the imagery evocative, but nothing seems to happen! I assumed it was me.<br /><br />Also: I wonder if the crunchy text will be improved in the updated edition coming out (a la Stygian Library).Yochai Galhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226464338061503830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-30177220116622624512021-05-23T18:15:44.174+08:002021-05-23T18:15:44.174+08:00I just bought this on the strength of this review,...I just bought this on the strength of this review, thanks.<br /><br />On thing I expected, but didn't find on the first quick read through, was mechanisms to reincorporate stuff already discovered, either through player action or the tables. There's a bit of it, in paths that can be discovered leading back to previously explored areas, but I was expecting at least one entry on the encounter table to be something like "someone you already met in the Gardens".shimrodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04135625733096882013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-32504939270762070802021-05-23T01:00:58.201+08:002021-05-23T01:00:58.201+08:00It clearly draws inspiration from "Laputa: Ca...It clearly draws inspiration from "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" by Miyazaki.Shahar Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02634595916850412548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-37680893802427300082021-05-22T01:09:00.376+08:002021-05-22T01:09:00.376+08:00Yeah, I was blown away when I first read it. I use...Yeah, I was blown away when I first read it. I used the same core design (with less entries because I'm lazy) to run a massive Ring World in Mothership. It's a really elegant and flexible thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-53793048482607614952021-05-21T19:17:26.209+08:002021-05-21T19:17:26.209+08:00The main literary inspiration I got from Ynn was m...The main literary inspiration I got from Ynn was more Wonderland than anything else - there is at least a modicum of whimsy in the list of puddings, for instance. <br /><br />(A touch more on Ynn here: https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-gardens-of-ynn-some-thoughts.html)Solomon VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763252777153908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-66061452095237998542021-05-21T13:44:18.005+08:002021-05-21T13:44:18.005+08:00Very underrated. I think the emotional heft would ...Very underrated. I think the emotional heft would be entirely missed in a game. But the core idea of post-WWII explorers of an infinite wood is very gameable. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-41537257885638123622021-05-21T13:41:19.313+08:002021-05-21T13:41:19.313+08:00Yeah, you could totally use the core mechanism to ...Yeah, you could totally use the core mechanism to run games in any other elemental plane too, now that I think of it...noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-77605993392233469662021-05-21T13:40:00.383+08:002021-05-21T13:40:00.383+08:00I have often wanted to run that kind of game, base...I have often wanted to run that kind of game, based on the "Halls of Mandos" mode in the old ToME roguelike, where you start as a lost soul in the Halls of Mandos and have to make your way to Middle Earth against impossible odds.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-26875751738282017082021-05-21T13:39:02.793+08:002021-05-21T13:39:02.793+08:00Maybe I will!Maybe I will!noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-39652282523693312252021-05-21T13:38:17.773+08:002021-05-21T13:38:17.773+08:00It's a long time ago since I read it, but I re...It's a long time ago since I read it, but I really hated the experience. It might be one of those things that I'll come back to, but there are so many other books to read in the mean time!noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-9911946357035845442021-05-21T09:05:13.646+08:002021-05-21T09:05:13.646+08:00The Mythago Wood cycle is probably the most underr...The Mythago Wood cycle is probably the most underrated "series" in the fantasy discussion circles I frequent.Owen Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02033345001593862263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-20075149231892986892021-05-21T08:11:10.171+08:002021-05-21T08:11:10.171+08:00An amazing book. I stumbled on it randomly around ...An amazing book. I stumbled on it randomly around 2018 looking for “garden” and “jungle” themed adventures on rpgnow for my 5e group’s upcoming visit to the Elemental Plane of Plants. It didn’t disappoint!Jason & Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08382538007150266805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-35511488220697367112021-05-21T07:22:48.478+08:002021-05-21T07:22:48.478+08:00"...that rarest of treasures - a largely impl..."...that rarest of treasures - a largely implied setting." <br /><br />:) <br />Venger Satanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04447932700800930510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-46836087203607230572021-05-21T03:02:20.668+08:002021-05-21T03:02:20.668+08:00I discovered this adventure long ago and reached m...I discovered this adventure long ago and reached much the same conclusion. Very worthwhile. Cheap too!PrinceofNothinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733680486570025367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-6773293218518017612021-05-21T02:09:02.628+08:002021-05-21T02:09:02.628+08:00"it is a procedural adventure creation system..."it is a procedural adventure creation system that could undoubtedly be used generically"<br /><br />Ms Allen has also used this same system in The Stygian Library, another weird, parallel extra-dimension, this time in the form of a library spanning the realms of life and death.<br /><br />I have half a mind to use this system to model an (eventually) escapable afterlife, in case I ever pull off an unintended TPK.subhumanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473278419449181642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-86560925138729431822021-05-21T01:29:41.230+08:002021-05-21T01:29:41.230+08:00Now you have to read the sequel, Stygian Library. ...Now you have to read the sequel, Stygian Library. It is the same layout with different contents. The ultimate source of knowledge, the problem is finding the right book before one's supplies run out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-35829566584795205112021-05-21T00:59:40.189+08:002021-05-21T00:59:40.189+08:00"I want to say that it actually reminds me mo..."I want to say that it actually reminds me most of Little, Big, but I should more accurately put it that it reminds me of what I thought Little, Big would be like before I had the misfortune of reading it."<br /><br />Ouch! (To be fair, Little, Big is a strangely baggy novel that seems to delight in being quietly unpredictable, and I find it slow going at times.)maimed autarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01519668649420482914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-59832575592228595462021-05-21T00:59:32.240+08:002021-05-21T00:59:32.240+08:00"I want to say that it actually reminds me mo..."I want to say that it actually reminds me most of Little, Big, but I should more accurately put it that it reminds me of what I thought Little, Big would be like before I had the misfortune of reading it."<br /><br />Ouch! (To be fair, Little, Big is a strangely baggy novel that seems to delight in being quietly unpredictable, and I find it slow going at times.)maimed autarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01519668649420482914noreply@blogger.com