Well I realize there are a lot of gamers who want this much information about an adventure (for example, the old TSR 1st edition and Basic deedledee line always numbered every building on a map). But I tend to buy into an argument Vincent had made elsewhere, to the effect that numbering locations on a map is the same as carving it in stone. I'm making this simple argument because:
1) City buildings (sometimes even streets or districts) change with time. A tavern burns down, something else replaces it. A merchant loses his status and is shunned (something that happens almost frequently in Shadizar) someone else moves in, and if new person is rich enough changes it. If you reply "but an adventure is static" I'd counter that the Conan game is set in a time after Conan has been crowned king. I and other GMs have set our campaigns at different times (in my case 26 years earlier, others centuries earlier) and this level of detail means much is different.
1a) Well, not really different, but to use one example 23rd St in Manhattan and Times Square are wholly different than they were even 2 years ago. New buildings have gone up, subway renovations, to the point where every time I'm in Times Square (about 3 times a year) it's almost unrecognizable. This goes with (Vincent's) contention that cities are living, evolving, constantly changing.
I know it sounds like a copout, but I do happen to believe in the notion of "make your city our own, modify it to your heart's content." And while we all have jobs that make it hard to commit the level of dedication Mr. Darlage and the other writers have gone to to write these modules and sourcebooks, I'm more of an open-ended gamer myself than one who wants a FODOR's Guide to an adventure.
Besides, what if you get an adventure designed for 4-6 level characters and you wanna run it for 1-3? You have to change the encounters so they won't TPK the party. It's an indirect analogy, but what I'm getting at is that you have to do a lot of work no matter whether you create your own adventure from scratch or modify one for the party. Adventures from ICE or the HARN systems would need major renovations to be made workable to Conan; I turned two TSR 1st edition Conan adventures into editable Word documents, and the more I worked on it the less I liked the idea of using it for this game. (Too many monsters, too shallow plot hooks (beat on the PCs until they kill the NPCs plain and simple in the case of Conan:Unchained)).
Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that this forum is a great place to make suggestions to the very people who create the products and adventures, and I believe every opinion should be voiced. Frankly, your suggestion that buildings be mapped is a valid point for many gamers, despite my not totally agreeing with it. I'm just weighing in on the opposing side. Color, costume, city laws, well I think they're much better left in a sourcebook than an adventure, although a brief paragraph at best would be fine.
Anyway, hope this helps.
1) City buildings (sometimes even streets or districts) change with time. A tavern burns down, something else replaces it. A merchant loses his status and is shunned (something that happens almost frequently in Shadizar) someone else moves in, and if new person is rich enough changes it. If you reply "but an adventure is static" I'd counter that the Conan game is set in a time after Conan has been crowned king. I and other GMs have set our campaigns at different times (in my case 26 years earlier, others centuries earlier) and this level of detail means much is different.
1a) Well, not really different, but to use one example 23rd St in Manhattan and Times Square are wholly different than they were even 2 years ago. New buildings have gone up, subway renovations, to the point where every time I'm in Times Square (about 3 times a year) it's almost unrecognizable. This goes with (Vincent's) contention that cities are living, evolving, constantly changing.
I know it sounds like a copout, but I do happen to believe in the notion of "make your city our own, modify it to your heart's content." And while we all have jobs that make it hard to commit the level of dedication Mr. Darlage and the other writers have gone to to write these modules and sourcebooks, I'm more of an open-ended gamer myself than one who wants a FODOR's Guide to an adventure.
Besides, what if you get an adventure designed for 4-6 level characters and you wanna run it for 1-3? You have to change the encounters so they won't TPK the party. It's an indirect analogy, but what I'm getting at is that you have to do a lot of work no matter whether you create your own adventure from scratch or modify one for the party. Adventures from ICE or the HARN systems would need major renovations to be made workable to Conan; I turned two TSR 1st edition Conan adventures into editable Word documents, and the more I worked on it the less I liked the idea of using it for this game. (Too many monsters, too shallow plot hooks (beat on the PCs until they kill the NPCs plain and simple in the case of Conan:Unchained)).
Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that this forum is a great place to make suggestions to the very people who create the products and adventures, and I believe every opinion should be voiced. Frankly, your suggestion that buildings be mapped is a valid point for many gamers, despite my not totally agreeing with it. I'm just weighing in on the opposing side. Color, costume, city laws, well I think they're much better left in a sourcebook than an adventure, although a brief paragraph at best would be fine.
Anyway, hope this helps.
