The Lurkers Guide to the Pak'ma'ra

[FuryMaster]

First off, great job with this book Bryan, you have really brought the Pak'ma'ra alive and made them something more than just annoying carrion eaters who appear in porn....you have shown that they are a complex race with many interesting features and a powerful race in their own rights...I think now I can expect to see more players being interested in playing them.

Now on to my disappointment with this book which has nothing to do with the content. I have bought every single B5 and Conan product and if i've ever complained about any of them its no more than 1 book...anyways, several thing disappointed me about this book;

1. What happened to the color that we always get in B5 products? I can't tell you how much this aspect disappointed me....I really, really hope this isn't a trend...I hope Freedom Station is in color.

2. Binding isn't so good on this book...I'm already seeing problems and it hasn't been in my hands 1 day....I know the printing bussiness is new so I wouldn't ordinarily complain about this particularly since I've seen complaints posted on other products already, but the color thing really annoyed me, so i'm just putting everything down.

3. A minor complaint is with the paper...I much prefer the glossy paper of all the other 2E products.

The price on this book was nice but if I have to give up color and other quality parts such as the paper then i prefer to pay more....these B5 books are more than just RPG books they are part of one's B5 collection and as such should be high quality and beautiful to look at.

My favorite book recently as far as appearance (content was also great) was the IPX book, this is an example of how any n-n module book should look like...was IPX done in the Mongoose Printing facility?

Thanks for hearing me out, and please bring back the color!

FM

 

[FuryMaster]

I just noticed that the first preview of Freedom Station is in color while the second is in black/white. Both previews of Pak'ma'ra and Telepaths are also in Black/white...it seems that B/W may be what we get for now on...that is most unfortunate.

 

[MongooseMatt]

1. What happened to the color that we always get in B5 products? I can't tell you how much this aspect disappointed me....I really, really hope this isn't a trend...I hope Freedom Station is in color.

The Lurker's Guide series is intended to be b/w for a number of reasons. First, it allows us to explore various areas of the B5 universe that might not be so popular as others. Also, they make sense for publications that will not have many film captures, using original artwork instead.

Colour books are still on the cards for B5 - The Rim, for example, will be the next one.

 

[FuryMaster]

Well there you have it, I can live with that explanation and even agree that it makes sense, thanks for the reply Matt, I guess variety is the spice of life and my B5 collection will have plenty of spice

FM

 

[Mouth of Sauron]

1. What happened to the color that we always get in B5 products? I can't tell you how much this aspect disappointed me....I really, really hope this isn't a trend...I hope Freedom Station is in color.

2. Binding isn't so good on this book...I'm already seeing problems and it hasn't been in my hands 1 day....I know the printing bussiness is new so I wouldn't ordinarily complain about this particularly since I've seen complaints posted on other products already, but the color thing really annoyed me, so i'm just putting everything down.

3. A minor complaint is with the paper...I much prefer the glossy paper of all the other 2E products.

I'd just like to say that I feel the same on all three points you brought up. I'm especially disappointed about the lack of color.

I'm also glad that I'm not the only one who noticed the slip in quality regarding the paper, binding, etc.

 

[Mouth of Sauron]

1. What happened to the color that we always get in B5 products? I can't tell you how much this aspect disappointed me....I really, really hope this isn't a trend...I hope Freedom Station is in color.

The Lurker's Guide series is intended to be b/w for a number of reasons. First, it allows us to explore various areas of the B5 universe that might not be so popular as others. Also, they make sense for publications that will not have many film captures, using original artwork instead.

Colour books are still on the cards for B5 - The Rim, for example, will be the next one.

The preview for "Legend of the Rangers" is in black and white, so I'm just assuming that it won't be printed in color either.

Since it doesn't have "Lurker" in the title and it's based around an entire movie it doesn't really fit into your explanation, especially the part that the b&w books don't have many film captures. The "Rim" on the other hand isn't based around a single episode or movie and so doesn't have a reason to have more film captures than "Legend of the Rangers."

So why is "Legend of the Rangers" going to be in black and white?

 

[Myrm]

On the paper note - and this may just be my archaic yearning for the days of 1E AD&D and D6 Star Wars - but Im not the worlds biggest fan of glossy papers except where there is a high level of colour plates in the book.

I find it much easier to flip through and read a matte surface - pencil marking my books for notes and errata is also possible and more removable as well.

So for me the paper in the lurkers guide is at least perfectly OK and potentially preferable.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Since it doesn't have "Lurker" in the title

It was going to in its early phases.

 

[thedarkelf007]

I just got a copy of the book myself and opened it for the first time today...

My first thoughts, besides the wince at the sound of the binding cracking at just opening the book, was did I get a photocopy by mistake?

I have always enjoyed the colour aspect of the books and appreciated the quality of the 2nd edition to the series. It is a shame to see that change.

The cover was warped, bubbled and all the corners were damaged. It is in worse condition than any of the first edition books I have or even the origional hardbacks mongoose published...

I have been buying mongoose books since the first slayer's guide, and this is the first time I have been so dissapointed...

I thought this was a one off and it was just first printing teething issues, but received "The Lurker's Guide to Freedom Station" at the same time and was also dissappointed to find it has similar problems with quality.

If the next book in the series has similar issues, I will need to seriously recosider whether I can continue accept this level of quality.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Hi there,

Drop me a line at msprange@mongoosepublishing.com, and we _will_ replace those books for you.

 

[Shadow Queen]

I was hoping that Legand of the rangers was in colour but nevermind im hapy with it.

 

[Sapphire]

Since this book is released on DriveThruRPG, very interesting book.

Who would have thought that they are far more than they appeared to be. No race is exactly what it appears. Pak'ma'ra especially

Quantiplasmic Hyperspace Eroder look fun. I wonder if it is known among ISA highest folks?

Cheers

Joe

 

[pitmodano12]

except for the pak'ma'ra, who like the flavor but generally won't say so be found in the second edition of the Interstellar Guide to Fine Dining.