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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 9:47 am 
 

Anyone know anything about Better Games out of Burbank, Canlifornia?

The company who seem to have published something called Conrad's Fantasy Role-Play Game in 1990, and a series of what appear to be random dungeons called HUGOs? They also seem to have published Designing Fantasy Scenarios, also in 1990.


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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:21 am 
 

Better Games published a bunch of stuff.  They had a fantasy RPG, Sci Fi RPG, Superhero RPG and probably their most sought after RPG, Crimson Cutlass.  They also produced Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer magazine.

Most of their RPG bundles include the sourcebook, then a book for Designing Scenarios and a Designing Encounters book.  So Contrad's Fantasy should be a 3 book set with a wrap around cover sheet that also acts as a screen.

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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:47 pm 
 

I have a booklet called Designing Fantasy Scenarios and now this HUGO (Heuristic Underworld Generated Output) Dungeon. It's just that I only just twigged they were from the same company and I'd never heard of them. Couldn't find them on ToT. Do you have a list of products and any pictures of them?


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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:58 pm 
 

Designing Fantasy Scenarios was available separately or as part of the Conrad's Fantasy RPG.  I haven't got around to added them to ToT yet.

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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:11 pm 
 

Are Designing Fantasy Scenarios or HUGO worth checking out, as sources of good adventure design ideas?  I've never heard of these.


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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:19 pm 
 

There are both Designing Fantasy Scenarios and Designing Sci Fi Scenarios books.  As well as Designing Fantasy Encounters and Designing Sci Fi Encounters.  As far as I recall, these books are fairly good.  I think some (maybe all?) of the content was also published in the Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer magazines.

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Post Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:24 pm 
 

HUGO is presented as a somewhat random computer generated dungeon, akin to Mammoth Dungeons, but smaller and with keyed encounters which the writer claims are 'heuristicly' placed, meaning with some sort of logic and relation to one another. You get a few pages explaining how and why the HUGO system was developed, then an overview of the dungeon, a stack of keyed locations and encounters, and corresponding dungeon maps. All xeroxed dot matrix computer printout presented in a folded card cover.

Designing Fantasy Scenarios: Complete Mission Generation System is what I can only describe an an expanded version of what David Emigh tried to do in The Quest. Instead of just presenting six 'quests' Better Games try to present a system for creating adventure plots and paths. It's not a 'create a dungeon' type book, more a 'create a storyline' type book.

I'm about to part with my copy, as it is surplus to my needs, if you want it, Allan.


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