More Two-Book Musings

Further Thoughts on Presentation and Setting

Now that I have been home two weeks, I feel as if the enervation that recently overtook me has subsided and I’m ready to get back to work more seriously. Consequently, expect more regular posting here. I’ll also be sharing new drafts of the second edition of the Thousand Suns rulebook with my patrons throughout the end of this month, with the goal of, as I mentioned, completing the first draft in time for July. I’m not 100% certain I’ll make that goal, but I’m making every effort to do so. Even if I fall short of it, I’ll have enough draft material done that I can begin some playtesting. I’ll be talking more about that here and over at Patreon when the time comes.

In the meantime, though, I’d like to share my current thoughts on the presentation of Thousand Suns, specifically with regards to my current work. Back at the end of February, I floated the idea of breaking with the first edition by splitting the rulebook in two. By and large, the reaction to that approach was lukewarm at best, with many people expressing dislike of the idea.

I can understand that perspective and indeed largely share it. One of the things I very much like about the first edition of the game is that it’s complete in a single 276-page 6”×9” book. That’s nice and compact and, from experience, it’s easy to handle and to flip through at the table. When running a game session, I don’t have to fumble with multiple books. Everything is well laid out and accessible. That’s my ideal when it comes to RPG rulebooks.

At the same time, one of the ways that the game’s second edition differs from its predecessor is that it’s not quite as generic. What used to be called the “meta-setting” of Thousand Suns is getting a bit of a rewrite, solidifying it into something more unique and cohesive. I explained why I’m doing this in a previous post and, by and large, I remain convinced this is a good and welcome change, one that will help distinguish Thousand Suns from other sci-fi roleplaying games.

Nevertheless, there’s a part of me that worries — maybe that’s too strong a word — that, by tying the game much more closely to a specific setting that I’m potentially limiting its appeal. That’s why, as I work on the drafts of the new edition, I’m constantly tweaking the way I present the setting, my thought being that, if I do so in the “right” way, the presentation won’t get in the way of those who simply want to use the rules with another setting of their own devising.

Which brings me to a thought I’ve been having lately. What if I shunted most of the setting detail over into a second book released at the same time as the rulebook? Obviously, the rulebook would necessarily include setting-specific elements, like various playable species, but I think it’s possible to keep these to a minimum and keep the rulebook broadly “clean” of such details.

The heavy setting details I’d place in a second book, one I’m tentatively calling the Encyclopaedia Galactica. Since the Encyclopaedia Galactica Foundation was established in the first edition as an interstellar organization and potential patron, it makes sense, I think, to employ it as a framing device for the dissemination of information about the setting itself. Plus, for good and for ill, it’s been my experience that a lot of roleplayers really enjoy this kind of information. However, by placing it in a book separate from the rules, those who do not want this kind of detail don’t need to see it. Instead, they can simply use the rules to make up their own setting.

Part of my thinking at the moment is that this proposed Encyclopaedia Galactica volume would be written, at least in part, as an in-universe document, one that doesn’t necessarily present The Truth so much as a particular point of view (that of the EG Foundation) that the Game Master can take or leave as he wishes. Ideally, the information will be presented with sufficient ambiguity and openness to interpretation that even those GMs who make use of the setting still have a lot of scope for making it their own. My intention has never been to curtail creativity or bind anyone to a single setting — quite the contrary! If I do it right, this proposed Encyclopaedia Galactica book will aid and encourage Game Masters toward this purpose.

As ever, I’m curious to know what you think about this. Is this an approach you’d like to see me pursue or would you prefer a different one? I’m not fully committed to it yet, so now’s the time to offer me your thoughts.