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...was that one game named Polish Worms? "Cigani" is the word for gypsies over here. Lithuanian version is "čigonai." Of course, Roma is the the preferred term.
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Jan 5, 2018 06:52
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occamsnailfile posted:
I want more monsters to play as. Plus, monsters don't have the racial baggage.
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Jan 5, 2018 07:01
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occamsnailfile posted:If anything Tamriel should have more 'humans' though assigning (even the modern, slight) racial stat differences among human peoples is a bit problematic. Dunno what you're talking about. The redguard's stats have never caused offense or dismay.
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Jan 5, 2018 07:57
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What game doesn't have racial differences between elves? Also, as of Skyrim, the biggest difference between humans is the once-per-day special power, which you often forget, which might not even be there in the first place (that's why you play orc). The starting skill differences aren't as important as they were in Morrowind remastered version when because of its hosed up combat system *gets killed by cave grub because character can't into daggers*
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Jan 5, 2018 08:21
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Oh, definitely. The fact that Skyrim doesn't have the old stats helps a lot. It's much less offensive than "Black people take a -10 to intelligence, but they get a +10 to Strength and they can run really fast!"
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Jan 5, 2018 08:53
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Tibalt posted:I'm really excited for this Neuroshima review. Games made in non-english languages, isolated from American tropes, always have these interesting veneers to them. Even when they follow the same Tolkien formula, cultural frameworks and the different local zeitgeist are reflected in these fascinating ways. Oh, it's not really isolated from American tropes. In fact, it mashes together an incredible number of them in a way that is unmistakably European because of its blind spots. I think the strongest telltale sign is that for a game set in the United States it only ever mentions two states by name.
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Jan 5, 2018 09:21
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Tevery Best posted:Oh, it's not really isolated from American tropes. In fact, it mashes together an incredible number of them in a way that is unmistakably European because of its blind spots. I think the strongest telltale sign is that for a game set in the United States it only ever mentions two states by name. New York and California? Or is one of them Texas?
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Jan 5, 2018 09:35
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Texas and Florida. New York is there, but only as a city, and Mississippi is there, but only as a river.
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Jan 5, 2018 09:41
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Hey Tev, be sure to dig up that Trzewiczek interview where he spills the beans on the original grimdark idea for Necropunk! I am also eager to look for last vestiges of Neuroshima apologia Hostile V posted:Oooh, Neuroshima! That's one of those games I keep remember existing, keep trying to find a copy of and then fail because I can't find an easy English translation. I'm pretty sure in practice it near-universally devolved to the lighthearted side of Fallout.
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Jan 5, 2018 10:00
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 LITTLE COTTAGE IN THE WOOD – PART TWO I couldn't think of something funny to say about todorovic Dr. Todorovic can be found at the Narodni Muzej where he's currently cleaning a statue of the Capitoline Venus. He's initially quite reserved and wary towards the investigators, suspecting them to be rivals from others museums. They'll either need to prove their academic cred or namedrop Professor Smith (or the Morics) before he'll warm up to them. When they do, he'll reveal that he has a supplier working out of the provinces who sends him artefacts of such high quality that they must have access to an undiscovered dig site. He can point them in the right direction – provided, of course, that they can get a permit allowing them to remove antiquities from the Kingdom, something which has become tightly regulated since the War. He'll be very interested if the investigators bring up the Simulacrum. A rare statue of opalescent marble? There's nothing like that in the museum's collection. Have they seen it? Has it been assessed by scholars for authenticity? Do they have a piece he'd be able to inspect? Why not? Todorovic's interest is purely academic, but the investigators won't necessarily believe that. The permit the team needs can be acquired at the Bureau of National Treasures, either by proving to the secretary the legitimacy of their request or by giving him a steep bribe to the tune of 25 pounds sterling. When they've got it, Todorovic will happily furnish them with directions to the village of Orasac and a letter of introduction – the village priest Father Kristijan Filopovic was an old friend of his back in college who was persuaded by his wife to move out to the country. Fastest way to Orasac is by train. Not the Express, oh no, a real peasant-rear end train. The investigators will find themselves sharing their crowded carriage with dozens of locals and more than a few farm animals. They're all very friendly and will happily share food and gossip with the team on the way there. At one point in the journey, an investigator returns to their seat to find it occupied by an ornery black rooster. It refuses to budge and will get violent by any attempts to force it out of its usurped seat, much to the amusement of the other passengers. The train doesn't go all the way to Orasac and a conductor tells them to get off at Kopljare, some three miles away from the village. They are the only passengers going to Orasac, so getting someone with a cart to take them is going to cost them. At least the walk is pleasant.  The Simple Life As the investigators approach Orasac, dogs bark at them and the village children stop playing to hide while housewives call out to them in Serbo-Croatian. If they can't speak the language, invoking the name of Father Filopovic soon gets them results. Failing that, a posse of village men come in from the fields to talk to them. The villagers are actually quite pleased to have these accomplished foreign travellers come to their little burg, and they welcome them without any reservations. There's nothing like an inn, but two investigators can stay with the mayor, while the rest can stay with Filopovic. There are three main 'factions' in the village: The Filopovics: Father Kristijan Filopovic and his wife Ana have been married for twenty-odd years. They moved here because Ana wanted to be closer to her family, but as time has passed she has come to see the villagers as backwards hicks while Kristijan has warmed up to country living. They have a large house but no children, and though they're about the same age Ana looks nearly twenty years younger. Of course, Ana is one of the Baba Yaga priestesses, but Kristijan has no idea of that. Kristijan is the only person in the village who speaks fluent English. Ana's English isn't as good and she is more reserved towards the investigators, but Psychology reveals she's pleased to be hosting these sophisticated visitors. Kristijan is happy to set up a meeting with the antiquities supplier, a batty old woman who lives in the woods that everyone knows simply as Grandmother ('Baba') and an old friend of Ana's family. He'll advise that the investigators wait until tomorrow to make the trek into the woods, and that they prepare themselves – she drives a hard bargain. If the investigators mention the Romani, Ana is quick to call them thieves and warn that they're not to be trusted, an assessment that clearly makes Kristijan uncomfortable. The Nedics: The mayor of the village is a jovial middle-aged man named Todor Nedic who can speak conversational English and German. He lives with his wife, his sister, four grandparents, two sons, their wives and no less than seven grandchildren. He invites the investigators to a hectic dinner where the extended family gather around several tables and fight over enormous communal platters. Todor mentions that dinner is being served earlier than usual to accommodate a special annual ritual taking place tonight. The Nedic family home is comfortably decorated with a selection of furniture passed down through multiple families over several generations, but of more interest to the investigators is the selection of strange antiques that decorate the shelves and window sills. Todor explains that he and the other farmers occasionally dig up ancient potteries and metalworks while ploughing the fields. Spot Hidden draws the investigators' eyes to a unique piece, an elegantly-crafted bone whistle. If they express curiosity about it, Todor immediately makes a gift of it to them and refuses to accept any payment. If the investigators ask the Nedics about Grandmother, they are very wary about talking about her, as if she might hear them. Todor says she was a scholar in her youth, but must have gone mad if she chooses to live in the woods, a dangerous place that the other villagers are reluctant to enter. No-one remembers her real name, and the last time she visited the village Todor was in his teens. Last year, Todor's sister actually saw her arguing with a Romani man near the fields; he cursed her, but she laughed and called his people ignorant heathens.  The Romani: The Romani have a semi-permanent camp near the village. Unusually for Balkan Romani, they are Orthodox Christians instead of Muslims, and this common ground with the villagers has formed the basis for their cordial relationship. Father Filopovic has encouraged the growing bonds between the two communities, much to his wife's chagrin. They are led in part by Marko Markovic, a strong-willed man who respects Kristijan but understandably dislikes Ana. More important to the community is the wise woman Luminitsa Venclovic, who is the custodian of traditional lore that has been passed down through matrilineal lines over generations. She knows that there's more dangers in the forest than wolves and the rituals she performs are more than just superstitions. She has extended her protection to the people of Orasac and fears what would happen to them if they refused to let her perform her rites for them. There's also Tsura Ljubisa, a young woman who used to have an identical twin. When they were children it's believed that a bear took her sister in the woods, but Ljubisa doesn't believe that. She saw a glimpse of her sister in the woods when she was 12 and feels in her heart that she's still alive. She is absolutely right. Next time: paganism! Down With People fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Jan 5, 2018 |
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Jan 5, 2018 10:30
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drat. I decided to do a writeup of a Polish game some time ago and I'm actually near halfway through it. I was torn between Monastyr and Neuroshima and boy am I glad I picked the former.. e: now that I mentioned it there's probably no point waiting till the end so I'll  it in a day or so
RedSnapper fucked around with this message at 10:42 on Jan 5, 2018 |
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Jan 5, 2018 10:38
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I like how, rather than being grumbly about THEM DARN CITY FOLK FOREIGNERS, the country locals are, instead, almost uncomfortably friendly, and the gypsies are solving problems, not causing them. It practically feels subversive.
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Jan 5, 2018 10:51
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PurpleXVI posted:I like how, rather than being grumbly about THEM DARN CITY FOLK FOREIGNERS, the country locals are, instead, almost uncomfortably friendly, and the gypsies are solving problems, not causing them. It practically feels subversive. Even the insane goat cultists are at least pretending to be nice. It's great!
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Jan 5, 2018 13:13
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Treants resent the use of paper products such as The Deck of Encounters Set One Part 69: The Deck of Treants, Vampires, and Whales 387: A Peace of Wood The PCs are in a small port city near a coastal forest, and are approached by townspeople with a job. A handful of woodmen who were sent out to gather lumber never returned. They’ll be offered 1000 gp to watch over the next group of woodmen as bodyguards. The woodmen are annoyed at taking along “babysitters,” but they’ll change their tune when they reach the logging spot and are attached by 15 treants. The PCs can resolve this diplomatically by convincing the treants that the wood is being used for a good purpose (unlikely) and convincing the city to use much less wood to construct ships and crafts (also unlikely). I like that this doesn’t have an obvious solution, not even murder. Keep. 388: Guano Caravan First paragraph: “This is a rural area that has recently been plagued by many mages throwing fireballs. There is hardly a square acre that has not been singed or burnt. A rural farming town, it is also a favorite hang-out of fire wizards and others who attend mage-fairs, and practice for them here.” Hahaha, what? This is already goofy as heck. There are county fairs with fireball sharpshooting competitions? How many 5th+ level wizards hang out in this area, anyway? Is this card going to be about dissuading a bunch of redneck wizards from fireballing tin cans off fences? No, actually. Almost the opposite. The encounter is about a vampire named Willis V. who has “recently decided to settle down here.” (Why here? Also, Willis V.!?) But vampires aren’t fond of random fireballs exploding everywhere, so this vampire has “instituted sanctions against all bat guano” (which is, famously, a necessary material component of fireball). Willis uses his powers to keep the area clear of bats, and sets wolves upon caravans carrying it in for trade. Wizards who try to smuggle guano in personally have it stolen on a misty night, etc. “The PCs should be able to put the clues together fairly easily…the hard part is finding [the vampire’s] lair.” Completely bonkers. But you know what? I’d shell out thirty bucks this very instant for a deck full of encounters like this one. Keep. 389: Master of the Night The PCs find a dead body lying in the road, drained of blood. While they’re distracted checking that out, “some members” of the party have a 15% chance to notice a dark mist forming in the shadows and becoming man-shaped. The vampire will step out and and try to charm someone. “Afterwards, the vampire begins to attack, hoping to gain whatever advantage it can from its surprise entrance.” Just a thought, but it might have been more of a surprise if you hadn’t left a blood-drained body in the middle of the road? Anyway, it starts combat by summoning bats, will flee in gaseous form if it can, yadda yadda. Just a monster attacking in a dumb way. Pass. 390: Turnabout Takes place out on the seas. The players run into a whaling ship chasing down a family of blue whales. “If they wish, the party may stop the whalers and attempt to dissuade them from their occupation.” But that’s going to be tough because this is literally their job. Otherwise, two parent whales attack both the whalers and the PCs’ ship. They can fight the whales off, or communicate using magical or psionic means and try to negotiate. It feels weird to have this whaling ship seriously threatened by its regular, mundane prey. I’d probably have a giant whale show up to protect its cousins (which would make negotiation a lot more pressing), but I’m also not sure why the PCs are involved. It’s kind of implied that they’re very close to this whaling ship. But on the open ocean, why would that be? Are they pirates? Are they chasing down this ship because they’re environmental activists? It’s awkward. Pass.
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Jan 5, 2018 16:30
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Willis V. Is there any reason for the anti-poo poo vampire's name. That encounter rocks. It goes up there with Fear of Rejection Medusa and Friendly Bar Bouncer Mimic.
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Jan 5, 2018 16:33
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Also, a vampire who fuckin' hates bats.
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Jan 5, 2018 17:27
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Dallbun posted:390: Turnabout Wait why do the PCs hate the whaling industry? Isn't this game set in the far off year of long long ago? How did modern western sensibilities about whales get in here?
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Jan 5, 2018 17:28
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AD&D whales (and dolphins, which lol) in AD&D 2E are above human average intelligence and lawful good so presumably paladins are all over defending their sea buddies.
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Jan 5, 2018 17:33
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unseenlibrarian posted:AD&D whales (and dolphins, which lol) in AD&D 2E are above human average intelligence and lawful good That's so loving 1970s I just might paint it on the side of my van.
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Jan 5, 2018 17:36
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unseenlibrarian posted:AD&D whales (and dolphins, which lol) in AD&D 2E are above human average intelligence and lawful good so presumably paladins are all over defending their sea buddies. According to the link they have 5-7 intelligence and are Neutral. I think it's just because the book came out when it did. Save The Whales was hitting pretty hard right about then, so it was probably safe to just assume any player was on board with it even if whaling was probably viewed as a pretty valiant profession in Greyhawk or whatever (it's dangerous enough without 400' sperm whales showing up).
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Jan 5, 2018 17:38
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If you're going to make whales intelligent you have to do the same for apes and parrotsAweStriker posted:So is Elder Scrolls. They've got high elves, wood elves, dark elves, snow elves, deep elves (also double as the setting's dwarves), wild elves, sea elves, left-handed elves as an entire subrace for some reason, and technically orcs even though they're not popularly considered elves.
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Jan 5, 2018 17:43
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Just so we have the facts straight, whales have Low (5-7) Intelligence and are Neutral, dolphins are Very (11-12) Intelligent and are Lawful Good, they're both 100% sapient, and narwhals are just dumb animals, obviously.
Dallbun fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jan 6, 2018 |
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Jan 5, 2018 17:47
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I feel like there could be an interesting setting conceit from an otherwise normal fantasy world where whales and dolphins have explicitly human-level intelligence. Maybe they develop their own magic/psionic/whatever traditions and use them to form a society, but they're so different than land-dwellers that even telepathy can't help them communicate. Seafaring is still a thing, but ships are constantly watched over for any sign of suspicious behavior. Also a whale-wizard vs octopi cold war.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:15
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I just googled, and the bribe of 25 bongs in 1923 is equal to 1305 bongs today. Those must be some valuable antiques! Also, I've been read HSD F&F and just saw this image  I know it's space future and whatever, but isn't the hole in... 10 centimeter-thick window a little burning hot? Like, wouldn't the snake be burned horribly while slithering through?
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Jan 5, 2018 18:18
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This is a thing in posthuman cyberpunk. I can't say I've seen it be particularly interesting, though... Well, okay, except for the Eclipse Phase cyber-whales that live in the orbit of the sun.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:20
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JcDent posted:I know it's space future and whatever, but isn't the hole in... 10 centimeter-thick window a little burning hot? Like, wouldn't the snake be burned horribly while slithering through? That's just lube. In the post-human libertarian futuretopia, lube glows bright orange.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:27
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wdarkk posted:I feel like there could be an interesting setting conceit from an otherwise normal fantasy world where whales and dolphins have explicitly human-level intelligence. Maybe they develop their own magic/psionic/whatever traditions and use them to form a society, but they're so different than land-dwellers that even telepathy can't help them communicate. Seafaring is still a thing, but ships are constantly watched over for any sign of suspicious behavior. Barbara Hambly had a series of books about dragons and demons; whale song wizards showed up in one of them whenever aquatic, possessing demons became a running concern. I don't remember of whaling ever came up.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:31
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Night10194 posted:Willis V. Is there any reason for the anti-poo poo vampire's name. Honestly, Willis has valid concerns about wizards just chucking fireballs around all the time near his home. Now, the real question is, what made a vampire decide that Fireball Plains, Home of the Fireball Plains Fireballs, Site of the 331st Annual Fireball Festival and location of the Fireball Brewery (It's Fiery!), was a good place to live.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:37
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An RPG where all the player races are slightly different types of dolphins, orcas are dangerous giants ....
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Jan 5, 2018 18:39
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Idunno, Dolphin Guard sounds like car wax.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:41
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we absolutely should have games where apes, parrots, and sea mammals are all smarter than humans
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Jan 5, 2018 18:45
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Mors Rattus posted:Honestly, Willis has valid concerns about wizards just chucking fireballs around all the time near his home. Real estate salesman was really good at emphasising some aspects, minimising others.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:46
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Night10194 posted:Willis V. Is there any reason for the anti-poo poo vampire's name. Five bucks says the author intended it to be a clue of "Will is V.ampire" Also all the whale stuff really makes me want to write an adventure where townsfolk beg the passing PCs to help because older children are using peer pressure to convince younger children in town .... to smoke! theironjef fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Jan 5, 2018 |
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Jan 5, 2018 18:47
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theironjef posted:Also all the whale stuff really makes me want to write an adventure where townsfolk beg the passing PCs to help because older children are using peer pressure to convince younger children in town .... to smoke! I legit ran Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue as a one-shot in a long-running modern+supernatural type campaign. One of the players was an agent of Heaven on Earth, and he and his friends were sent off to counter the influence of the demon Smoke on that kid. However, due to unfavorable fine print in the extensive treaties between Heaven and Hell, they were only allowed to manifest as children's cartoon characters. They showed him some pretty horrifying poo poo. So just like the source material, really.
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Jan 5, 2018 19:01
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Dallbun posted:388: Guano Caravan This is loving amazing. Also, I'm imagining whale paladins smiting whaling ships.
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Jan 5, 2018 19:51
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Dallbun posted:388: Guano Caravan This may legitimately be my favourite thing from the Deck of Encounters you've posted so far.
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Jan 5, 2018 20:26
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A swarm of bats, high on ether, swoops down into a low passage. "We can't stop here," one says to the other. "This is wizard country."
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Jan 5, 2018 20:30
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I love the idea of one of the Baba Yaga priestesses stamping her foot and demanding her husband gets more racist. Really enjoying this adventure so far.
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Jan 5, 2018 20:49
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Willis V. is the Chris R. of the D&D-iverse.
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Jan 5, 2018 20:55
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Willis V. borders on a Rifts NPC in the best possible way.
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