1 - It reminds me of DragonQuest (SPI) and other RPGs that were put out by primarily Wargaming companies, as it has numbered sections and subsections.
Example: Hit Dice, Combat and Damage Dice is #700, Hit dice Follows at #710, Combat follows at #720 and Use of Weapons ans Weapon Types follows at 721 (as it falls under Combat)
2 - Boobies. The art has boobies with nipples and such, but comes off looking like "artsy" art, not "fantasy" art. So, this isn't you Succubus from the MM type art ;)
3 - More on the art- It's vert "atmospheric" in a non-fantasy way. I'd compare it loosely to the art in Spears of the Dawn, which is African in type and not standard fantasy.
4 - The maps are individually priced at 5 bucks a pop - more than half the $27.50 asking price of the game box itself. Heck, the rule book alone was $12, which was more than the OD&D Boxed set.
5 - I'm going to need to find a way to ignore all this fancy language shit - if I had trouble learning a real second language in college, it certainly isnt happening in an RPG.
6 - At first glance it looks to be better organized and edited than the OD&D Boxed Set, but I'll see if that holds up with closer reading.
One of the reasons I've always been interested in the setting (though I have yet to dig in) is that it was created by a professor of Urdu and Southeast Asian studies, a linguist with an understanding of cultures the like of which aren't often used as inspiration in RPGs.
ReplyDeleteVery interested in your thoughts.
Sorry, "South Asian" not "Southeast Asian."
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things I love about EPT. The names of the "magical" Eyes .. I still prefer to make Wands in my usual fantasy games spherical Eyes instead, and call Wands of Fire "Eyes of Ineffable Conflagration".
ReplyDeleteThe main language (Tsolyanu) at least tends to come out in discreet syllables. After a while you recognize the look of the word, even if you never try to pronounce Tlokiriqáluyal. I've played the various EPT games, and imported EPT into other games, and never tried to pronounce that one in front of other people. The other languages get worse.
According to usinflationcalculator.com, $27.50 in 1975 would be the equivalent of $117.36 today!
ReplyDeleteI do love the 'map' on the box cover.
I agree with the language thing. It's the main reason I won't try to run the game and probably the main reason it never really caught on.
ReplyDeleteI fell in live with EPT from the start. The cool languages, the indian/aztec/thai cultural vibe, the totally new races and creatures, the take on gods (law/chaos but no good/evil), even the artwork was a change. Actually I found the languages a big draw--I even suspect this game may have been one of the subconscious reasons I majored in Chinese in college.
ReplyDeleteThe language is difficult, but it is also something that makes this setting feel more "alive" for me. I just ran my first session of EPT at a local convention and it went very well. A group of worshippers of Lord Sarku were hired to summon a demon by the name of Srukarum to obtain an artifact that could summon his Legion of the Despairing Dead for 1 full year. They surviving members were "rewarded" by being turned into intelligent undead called Jajgi.
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