From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Wed Sep 22 10:33:39 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id KAA00804; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:33:39 +1200 Received: from enterprise.iconz.co.nz (enterprise.iconz.co.nz [210.48.22.40]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with SMTP id KAA00800 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:33:32 +1200 Received: (qmail 1715 invoked from network); 21 Sep 1999 22:24:02 -0000 Received: from e0.firewall.ak.iconz.net.nz (HELO schroedinger) (202.14.100.208) by enterprise.iconz.co.nz with SMTP; 21 Sep 1999 22:24:02 -0000 Subject: RE: Calendar Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:18:55 +1200 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 From: "Mandos D Shadowspawn Esq" To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Precedence: bulk X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz > God, George. Make it up, if it means that much to you. You don't need to > research it, unless you really want to look at what might have happened in > the 'real' world'. Tis not a case of research, it is a case of not railroading all other GM's and taking any work they have done and discarding it. If GM's have celebrations that have featured in adventures than it adds to the world to have that included in a calender. If no-one has done any major holidays in adventures or dosn't care enough to include them that I will just make em up, but it takes no effort to check with people and be courteous. Mandos /s -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers -- From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Wed Sep 22 16:42:57 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id QAA01230; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 16:42:57 +1200 Received: from smtp2.ihug.co.nz (tk2.ihug.co.nz [203.29.160.14]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with ESMTP id QAA01227 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 16:42:56 +1200 Received: from jimarona.ihug.co.nz (p382-tnt2.akl.ihug.co.nz [203.109.255.142]) by smtp2.ihug.co.nz (8.9.3/8.9.3/Debian/GNU) with SMTP id QAA09789 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 16:30:32 +1200 Subject: Re: Calendar Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 16:30:38 +1200 Message-ID: <01bf04b3$38c42920$8eff6dcb@jimarona.ihug.co.nz> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.71.1712.3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.71.1712.3 From: "Jim Arona" To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Precedence: bulk X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Jim wrote: >>You don't need to >> research it, unless you really want to look at what might have happened in >> the 'real' world'. George wrote: >Tis not a case of research, it is a case of not railroading all other GM's >and taking any work they have done and discarding it. > >If GM's have celebrations that have featured in adventures than it adds to >the world to have that included in a calender. If no-one has done any major >holidays in adventures or dosn't care enough to include them that I will >just make em up, but it takes no effort to check with people and be >courteous. > I think this is micro-management. If a DM wants to have a truck load of important dates in their game, then they can do this. Another DM may not want to have this particular bit of colour in their game. Things like dates are like geography. You really can't avoid it. So, when running a game, you have no choice but to except the dates, as you don't really have a choice about accepting the fact that Seagate is a coastal port, with a climate materially similar to Spain. Now, while a DM can move the game away from Seagate, to a northern climate or a desert, it's not as easy to move it to a place where the dates would have less impact. In many ways, establishing a pile of important dates that are, ipso facto, fairly universal, denies an individual DM the opportunity to excercise creativity within their games. And, the return is merely that there is now some more stuff they have to swot up. Now, while I think it's fine that a DM work out important days for their game, I don't think it's fine to have those days applied to MY game. After all, I may not want to have a high holiday of the powers of Darkness fall on a particular day of my campaign. It may be more important to my story that a particular day should, in fact, be sacred to the memory of St.Euphemia. If that day is also important to, say, Ash, because it is a feast day of her deity, then that's fine. After all, Chanukkah falls on or about the same day as Michaelmas, I think. It does not strain disbelief if some holy days are shared between religions, or that a date has significance for more than one reason. It beggars our ability to tell interesting stories if we nail everything down. For example, if Martin's astrological system were accepted as part of the game, that means that my system would be pretty useless. Martin's system replaces the one that I have established, and I would have to work very hard to make my one relevant to the players. His has, after all, been established as part of the world. I am therefore forced, assuming that I still want to run with an astrological motif, to learn Martin's system and make it a part of my game. I believe that there ought to be some days of universal significance. I suggest that the equinoxes and soltices are important, mostly for mechanical reasons. Other days of importance should be Hallowe'en, Walpurgisnacht, May Day, Easter....Maybe a few others. If a player wants to have days of significance, then let them approach a DM and have them assigned to them. But, let us not involve ourselves in too great a labour over the calendar. Less, I think, is more, in this case. Jim. -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers --