|
sexpig by night posted:I dare say Alien is actually downplaying how RICH with smug this series is, with near every chapter having to have major parts about how if those drat minorities would have just run away and let the not-nazis take their homes this would all be peaceful. The entire point of this whole bit is just Kev smugly sitting back in his chair and rubbing his beard while asking 'perhaps by fighting the nazis...you become the nazis....' I have to maintain some ceiling room or otherwise I'll be hitting my head over and over. We've got a very long ways to go. I'll lose my poo poo later, don't you worry. Night10194 posted:Is Erin Tarn gonna whine some more about how bad it'd be to destabilize the murderous fascists by resisting them, too? Given that she's Siembieda's mouthpiece, what do you think?
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 01:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:47 |
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I have to maintain some ceiling room or otherwise I'll be hitting my head over and over. We've got a very long ways to go. I'll lose my poo poo later, don't you worry. This is true. You're still about 2 books I think away from the REAL dark 'actually fighting the nazis makes you the bad guy' poo poo so I get easing us into the coming pain.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 04:05
|
|
|
What Fire Has Wrought: The Worst loving People House Sesus, the Fire That makes the Shadows Strong, is a Fire-Aspect House whose colors are red and black. They know that any army can be defeated, that any land can be taken, that any resources can be stolen...but knowledge is invincible. It will always exist, as long as someone is there to know it. That is why it is the greatest weapon the House could wield. House Sesus has embraced spycraft, assassination and sabotage as their tools, hiding their strength until the time is right. Sesus herself was a daughter of the Scarlet Empress and the mortal Nellens, and she was a skilled courtier. She personally caused the destruction of House Chanos and claimed its lands for herself. Her descendants follow her example. House Sesus manages the most elaborate network of spies in the Realm outside the All-Seeing EYe itself, run by a secret cabal of elders known as the Masked Council. From the time a Sesus scion is a child, they are trained in intrigue, and before even entering primary school, they have been taught the basics of tradecraft and lies. By the time they're in secondary school, they have either showed themselves unable or unwilling to play the game of spycraft or have already begun reporting on the actions of their classmates to a handler working for the Masked Council. The other Houses have little understanding of how deep these intrigues go, though house Sesus has never been seen as trustworthy. Rumors of lies and blasphemies follow any but the most obviously upright of Sesus, and the other military Houses see them as honorless thugs. However, the Sesus socialites and artists are also renowned for their charm, to the extent that many often disregard the rumors surrounding them personally. The Masked Council runs the espionage network of the House through layers of misdirection. Sesus scions at the lowest level receive instructions indirectly, and some do not even realize it exists until they've been working for it for years. Instead, they report to handlers, who are mroe experienced spies that provide assignments and coordinate things. The handlers report to the House's nine spymasters, each of whom is the handpicked agent of one member of the Council. The Council itself is made of nine Sesus elders...probably. It meets in masked anonymity, after all, allowing them coordinate the network while ensuring that none knows the work or identities of all the spies. Gossip about the identities of the Councilors is a common pastime in the upper ranks of the intelligence network. Most agree that at least one member is the assassin responsible for a series of poisonings in the Deliberative and Thousand Scales, and probably one of them is a demonology of some sort. The only way to join the Council is to be given the mask of a retiring member. With this comes that member's spymaster and their portion of the Sesus intelligence network. House Sesus uses its military power and espionage skill to claim much of the trade opportunities in new satrapies, stealing them out from other Houses. Their centuries of intermarriage with the Cynis has meant they have many gifted merchants whom they have made their own. It's made them a fiscal powerhouse on par with the Nellens, but the vast sums of money the Sesus spend financing its spy network and also the common vices of its members mean it cannot equal House Ragara in this respect. They also make quite a bit of money off blackmail and spywork against the Realm's foes in the Threshold. The Guild often finds itself confronted by the work of Sesus commercial saboteurs, and the House has continually blocked their efforts to influence Realm affairs. The House legions also rent themselves out as mercenaries in the Threshold, occasionally even competing with the Guild's own mercenaries. House Sesus commands one of the three largest militaries in the Realm, having been allowed to maintain legions even before the Empress vanished. They have taken four Imperial legions, raising their total to seven. However, even at their best, the Sesus legions were never equals to Tepet and Cathak. Sesus officers have never been known for discipline or for mastery of standard military doctrine. They are the army of dirty tricks. masters of subversion, false intelligence and murder. They can't quite match the Cathak in sheer numbers, and certainly not in training, so the House has no plans for a head-on fight. Instead, they seek the protection of an alliance with the Cynis, playing the other Houses against each other in the hopes of whittling down their forces while building up the House ones. House Sesus has an exceptionally strong bloodline, rivaling even those of Mnemon and Cynis, with whom they are heavily intermarried. Other Houses do not like or trust the Sesus, but will happily marry their daughters to Sesus sons in the hopes of gaining more Exalts. House Cynis is easily their strongest tie, both by debt and by blood. The two Houses' scions are frequent companions and marriage partners, producing a blissfully debauched relationship. Cynis provides the exotic drugs and delicacies that House Sesus so often craves, and Sesus forces protect Cynis interests. The relationship between the two House spy networks, however, is complex, manipulative and very distrustful. Sesus is no less entangled with Mnemon for marriages, but the relationship is strained. While the more romantic or iconoclastic Mnemon scions tend to find House Sesus alluring, the strong moral streak of House Mnemon causes most to look down on House Sesus. Further, Mnemon wants the Throne, and the Sesus elders are fairly certain she sees them as a potential obstacle. In theory, the greatest enemy of House Sesus has always been the Tepets, and the Sesus certainly helped engineer the downfall of the Tepet legions, profitng off claiming the satrapies the Tepets could no longer control. They have since taken to ignoring House Tepet - what more is left to do? This means that House Cathak and House Nellens are the two great foes of the Sesus. House Cathak is a military rival, and the Sesus resent them for their might. They'd love the chance to ruin them as thoroughly as they ruined the Tepets. House Nellens, on the other hand, are thin-blooded upstarts whose use of the name of Sesus' father for their house is an insult to the Sesus lineage. It cannot be borne. House Sesus is also one of the few groups in the Realm to be aware that House Iselsi is still active. They keep tabs on any Iselsi agents they can identify. Chanos Prefecture is the seat of House Sesus, their headquarters being the Palace of Burning Wind in the city of Chanos. It's one of the most important ports of the Blessed Isle, and is home to the Air Fleet of the Imperial Navy. (Note: not airships, just the fleet designated Air.) However, relations with the PEleps remain prickly - the Sesus maintain a military presence in the city to prevent the Peleps forces from decapitating the House in a surprise attack. They also control the neighboring Ventus Prefecture, a rugged and wild land with fierce winters and dangerous landscapes but plenty of lumber, furs, mined ores and rare herbs. It is also home to the mountain jail known as Ice-Above-the-Water, where dangerous criminals, rebels and political prisoners are held. The prefecture also houses Silken Diamond, a palace-manse that Sesus scions go to either to relax in privacy or to study the art of spycraft, using hidden chambers in the mountains to train in tradecraft and secret martial arts. House Sesus also owns the Isle of Smoke, actually a small series of islands divided by tiny channels in the midst of the Tongma Archipelago. The atoll is always covered in a thick white fog that smells faintly of cedar smoke. This is where the finest officers of House Sesus are trained, using mock battlegrounds and obstacle courses. The largest islet is home to a small village where the trainees are housed, alongside the crew of slaves and peasants that maintain the facility. They have recently come into practical possession of Saltbreak, officially a Tepet satrapy on paper. It is a Northern nation that thrives on White Sea whaling and pays tribute in meat, oil, scrimshow and ambergris, plus the produces of its diamond, silver and copper mines. Since the fall of the Tepet legions, most of their garrison had to be recalled home, and House Sesus has "reinforced" it in exchange for most of the tribute. Salbtreak's satrap has been sending complaints home to the Deliberative over this highly illegal practice, but the other Houses have been ignoring it as long as House Sesus shoulders some of the Tepet debts. Still, the Sesus seem like they might renege on those, and that would trigger a massive political fight. Sesus herself died in battle long ago. She was a master general as well as a genius of spycraft and mind games, the founder of the House intelligence network. Her crypt is hidden below the Palace of Burning Wind, and discovering its location and paying respect to the founder is a rite of passage for many young Sesus. The current matriarch is her daughter, the retired general Sesus Raenyah. She focuses her work on the military and business interests of the house, holding no seat on the Masked Council. It was her work as much as theirs that allowed the House to gain four legions, and while she is aware of the House's spies, she chooses to not engage with them at all. She still serves as an occasional lecturer at the House of Bells and Pasiap's Stair, plus is a frequent sponsor of the Immaculate Order. The House has named her as a claimant to the throne, but she refuses to rely on their spycraft for it, so much of her support actually comes from outside the house proper. Some think she will be easily controlled, while others favor the claim of her husband, Oban, who has no House - he's the son of the Empress herself, and quite charismatic. Sesus Agelin is one of the major power players of the House, and is also known as Lady Smoke. Anyone who claims to have spoken to her is probably a liar, and her own children aren't certain what she really looks like. She is perhaps the single best spy to come out of the Silken Diamond, for good or ill. She both helps and terrifies the Masked Council, and several of its members have made it rather unsubtly known that they'd prefer her dead. The problem, of course, is that she is a mistress of disguise and impersonation. Most presume she's actually on the Masked Council, but it would be impossible to know for sure. Sesus Rafara is another problem for the House. At the age of 12, her mother slaughtered her nursemaids and tutors in a fit of rage while she watched. This triggered Rafara's Exaltation, for she had loved those servants deeply. The House sent her to the Silen Diamond for training as an assassin, and she till plays the role of the loyal spy, but in truth, she is loyal only to herself, trusting none of her family. She has in the past warned the Roseblack of an assassination attempt and covertly thwarted several of House Sesus' military efforts in the Threshold. She is still useful to House Sesus, but as far as she's concerned, she's useful to the Realm first. Sesus Raenyah Terel is a swordsman and graduate of the House of Bells. He's exceptionally popular, with many friends and lovers, plus many more who hope that he'll accept their affections. He reports to the House about all of them. Terel is a libertine who loves to indulge in sex, drugs and...well, whatever's being offered, rreally. He's also a bully, though, and while an excellent fencer, he's never allowed himself to fight someone that might be his equal. While witty and charming, his jokes are cruel and malicious. He likes to taunt people that annoy him, goading them into fights where he has the upper hand. His friends and lovers cheer when he inevitably wins, and he goes back to partying. Next time: House Tepet
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 14:55
|
|
|
 Rifts Coalition Wars 1: Sedition, Part 2: "I wish I could say that this is all the Coalition States' doing, but it is with a sad heart that I must warn those willing to listen, that this is not so."  Erin Tarn's Warning Erin Tarn is sad. See, it turns out Tolkeen has been preparing for war. According to Tarn, Tolkeen isn't fighting for freedom or peace, but simply to bloody the Coalition. And this is bad. It turns out Tolkeen reached out for an alliance with Lazlo. Lazlo refused, because... well, she doesn't say. She was actually for an alliance, but was shocked when the Tolkeen representatives considered this a betrayal, and swore they would one day take revenge on Lazlo. Propaganda now circulates in Tolkeen that Lazlo is jealous of Tolkeen and is inclined to see it destroyed. In any case, Tarn says that Tolkeen is just the other side of the coin from the Coalition, at they've taken on a "with us or against us" philosophy, and that they're encouraging the outright slaughter of the Coalition. Furthermore, apparently Tolkeen is making questionable deals for power. They're bad, and Tarn is never an unreliable narrator!... well, except when Siembieda retcons something from her long text in the corebook. That happens a fair deal.  "There's no place like bone... there's no place like bone..." Magic vs Technology Time for fiction chunks. First, we get a "Tactical Report 00132" by a Major Jan Yoblonsky with Coalition Intel. It seems the Coalition opened up hostilities with a tactical nuclear strike, but Tolkeen responded by opening several rifts, sending the missiles to some unknown place. It seems that Tolkeen had some intel on the launch from an unknown source. Yoblonsky recommends that a ground war will be necessary to take Tolkeen over the course of years, and with a major loss of life. This is followed by "A video-letter from Corporal Deon Canton", largely speaking on what it's like being a Coalition solider on the front. Sections of this are "CENSORED by the CS Military for security reasons" to both the fictional and real-life reader, but the take away is that they're having to deal with terrifying guerrilla fighting from Tolkeen, as they'll just pop a major spell or summon a monster and run. The Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers are vital to this conflict, as they're the only ones that can get any sort of forewarning of these attacks. Still, he's proud to fight now that he really knows what a threat Tolkeen is. We'll be seeing more of him, as he'll be our viewpoint character for the conflict. Why, no, there is no viewpoint character for Tolkeen, in case you're wondering... Then, we exit the realm of fiction, and go into an essay on the relationship between magic and technology. Siembieda goes on at length on how they really achieve similar effects by different means, but that the Coalition and similar "technocrats" have inherited pre-rifts attitudes towards magic as an aberration or deception. Furthermore, disasters and monsters born from the supernatural have poisoned their attitudes. Apparently, while Emperor Prosek has exploited this, he didn't create this attitude. On the flipside, Tolkeen is mean and bad, haven't you heard? What does this have to do with magic or technology? Nothing, they've just let the Coalition's persecution make them intolerant of the Coalition! And that's bad, son. Oh, right, we were supposed to be talking about the difference between magic and technology, or something...?  Magic is not to be used for kancho. Magic - The Great Equalizer Because of the ease in concealing magic and its use to call forth esoteric forces like destructive weather or elementals, the Coalition invaders have become increasingly paranoid. In addition, even the innocent may feed power to spellcasters voluntarily or otherwise. Hence, the Coalition will focus on eliminating border towns and other surrounding communities first, because anybody and anyone can conceivably be a threat (or at least a battery). Under a subsection entitled "Technology is good", it points out that unlike the Coalition, Tolkeen can use magic. However, it quickly turns the title ironic, discussing about how bionics can reduce one's magic power... because... they can, I guess. Similarly, we get a reiteration of how artificial armor can interfere with magic use from Rifts World Book 16: Federation of Magic, a rule that will be forgotten by the authors within this very series - we'll see spellcasters in all sorts of conventional armor, which means they're in theory loving up all their spells. It's also emphasized that trying to cast a spell from within a vehicle or power armor will just cause it to bounce back on you; the rubber-glue rule of magic, I guess. Strategic Use of Ley Lines Naturally, the Coalition wants to avoid fighting around Ley Lines, and Tolkeen uses them extensively. Use of Ley Lines for transportation is common, either via teleportation or techno-wizard vehicles like wingboards. Furthermore, it's in the interest for Tolkeen to attack any troops having to travel across or near a line.  "Man, I almost forgot we have these rifts around." Rift & Ley Line Magic Like it says above, these are specialized spells. It's recommended some spellcasting classes get some of these as bonus spells they "have always known", "but never really had the opportunity or inclination to use them in the past". Ley Line Fade, Ley Line Phantom, and Rift to Limbo let you hide on a Ley Line, whil Ley Line Ghost lets you survive as a 24-hour-only line-limited ghost if you die on a Ley Line. Ley Line Restoration and Ley Line Resurrection are powerful healing spells that require a Ley Line; the latter only has a 40-50% chance of success for your 2000 P.P.E. expenditure. Ley Line Shutdown makes you spend 3000 P.P.E. to shut down a line for... 15 seconds to a minute. Ley Line Storm Defense protects from magic storms, Ley Line Tendril Bolts is a solid multi-target spell that requires a you-know-what, Ley Line Time Capsule lets you time-freeze a container (doesn't work on living animals, humans included), Ley Line Time Flux lets you speed up or slow down time while on a line, Rift Teleportation is Ley-Line only teleportation, Rift Triangular Defense System lets you create a force shield at a Ley Line Nexus of at least three lines, Swallowing Rift sucks targets in and spits them out at a random locale along the line, and Summon Ley Line Storm is self-explanatory. There isn't much in the way of organization or structure in these books, so just be ready for subjects to be dropped or brought up at a whim.  Next: The Muggles Strike back.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 15:58
|
|
|
 Neotech 2 Part 36: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been. I didn’t think it was possible but Neotech actually managed to do it. It actually managed to create possibly one of the most blandest and uninspiring cyberpunk settings I have managed to come across. Sure, I could go on and on about how the rules are an awful and unfun mess. How the injury system is needlessly overcomplicated and how much I hate game developers who take pride in ultra lethal combat systems. But I feel like I’ve already made that point clear repeatedly. One issue I haven’t really brought up before is that the book’s language usage is awful. Sentences and phrases are repeated constantly, certain phrases require multiple readings to be actually understood. A lot of it feels like it needed at least two passes by editors to weed out all the various glaring issues and make it better to read. Then on top of all that there are the various typos and faulty page references. Not to mention there is a whole section missing from the book. What’s even more galling is that the version I’ve been going from is the second edition and for all I know neither of the spelling or phrasing issues has been fixed for all I know. But instead I’m going to turn my focus on the biggest crime that this book commits, namely the lack of a cohesive theme. The introduction talks big about the game is now a more action based thriller type of thing. Something which I hope to show has turned out to be a giant crock of poo poo. Because at no point through all the pages upon pages of various rules that notion has really been supported. Or at least in my eyes it hasn’t. In a way the game almost knows it has nothing to show you because the talk about their vision is incredibly vague about the themes it allows you to do. Neotech posted:N2 is a bit more towards the techno-thriller genre - that is, more clear-cut action, great technology, and more shiny hi-tech than ever. However, this will not overshadow the possibilities of running more down-to-earth cyberpunk, with cybertech-reinforced gangs that roam around in the urban streets and empty parking garages. There is the possibility of even more intriguing and scheming in the shadows. However, the opportunities for playing at a "higher level" within the hierarchies are not neglected. The player characters do not therefore have to be low-lifes at street level - they can alternatively choose to be "someone" from the higher social strata with the opportunity to influence their lives and others' lives considerably more. There is talk about overall themes here, but the key thing to me is that it’s all very vague and generic. Where does the player characters really fit into all of this? What roles can they have? The book never really answers any of this in a clearcut way. It makes general offers but refuses to explain or expand upon them with any ideas or suggestions and assumes the GM will have exactly all the answers. Let’s take Shadowrun as a comparison, because that is a cyberpunk system I’ve had experience playing with. Almost the moment you open the book it sets the tone. For both the setting and what the players are meant to do. There is red thread of a theme of what you meant to be doing in a campaign for that game. In Neotech there is absolutely nothing like that. At no point does the core book talk anything about what you as a player, or a group even, are meant to do in a campaign or even in a session for that part. There is no pre-written adventure at the end. The book simply ends right after the last equipment table. There’s a complete and utter lack of tone. What are you supposed to be in this? Troubleshooters? Average citizens thrust into impossible situations? Just what exactly? If I were to say there were any main campaign themes for this book I would have to say it’s either Criminals, Interpol agents or military service members. All of these ideas are actually backed by the book itself. The first one is obvious because there are at least three different kinds of criminal careers in the book and the overall vague feel is that it’s the street level that really matters. Not to mention there is all the talk about the criminal syndicates possessing enough power to challenge the corporations. The second one is supported by the fact that the Interpol agency has multiple different sections underneath its umbrella, all of which supporting different kinds of campaigns. Interpol in many cases appears to be organisation the PC’s are by default linked with because it gives them resources and clear cut themes to work with. Why the book doesn’t want to commit to this is unknown. The third one is supported by the sole fact there is a military officer career as well as several skills that directly deal with warfare. Not to mention there is a skill how to pilot military grade power armor. That is frankly not a skill you simply drop into a game just like that. Even if N2 technically does that because that’s the only mention of in the entire book. Not even the world building makes mention of them. You could also argue that the corporate campaign that I’ve joked about repeatedly is a valid option as well. The biggest issue, to me at least, is the career system. It’s the main thing that really muddles the water for deducing a clear purpose for what a PC can do when they can be something ranging from a store owning businessman to a rich playboy or someone who works exclusively in space. What exactly is the thing that brings all these together in a believable way? I mean yes, as a GM you can talk to your group about what campaign themes and such that you want to feature and what the players should focus on during character generation. But there should still be a theme! There should still be something there to work with from the beginning. For example: Bob wants to run a Shadowrun campaign and tells his players to make characters. When the session starts later on his players show up with a Face, a Street Sam, a Rigger and a Technomancer. Bob knows he has a team that can handle the various challenges he has in mind for them. Meanwhile Jim wants to run a Neotech 2 campaign and tells his group to make characters for it. When the first session comes around he suddenly has a Playboy, a Space Worker, a Solo and Corporate Suit. At which point Jim realizes he should’ve mentioned the campaign themes and ideas he had in mind and feels like a massive idiot because now he has wildly disparate elements that don’t really work together. Not the most perfect example I admit but it illustrates that the games career system is a massive mess of combat and strictly non combat careers that have no real way of working together without someone having to pull most of the load. Especially with how much the game really loves the Combat Experience skill and making it incredibly important at how to be effective in combat. At least none of the careers are portrayed as being combat types and isn’t supported at all by the rules like the CP2020 rocker. Also the fact you can’t get 100% success on a career due to nearly impossible entry requirements is bullshit as well. Anyway, those were all campaign ideas that I managed to filter out from what the book has content. Neither of those are actually directly suggested at any point in the book. Either in the introduction or in the later world building. Speaking of which, the world building for this is so incredibly underwhelming from start to finish. It’s nothing but clichés stacked upon more clichés with absolutely nothing to set it apart from other things. After reading all this, ask yourself the following question: What stood out to you with this setting? I certainly can’t remember much, the only thing I can really remember is the whole part about internet mysticism which generally sounded new and interesting. But beyond that it’s just a bland mire of the same things that usually frame the cyberpunk genre, misery, oppression and corporate power. It fails to use any of those things in any meaningful way. The mega corporations are repeatedly stated to be in control of everything but that is rarely seen in the text. The corporations just exist, they numbers of things they actively do in the setting can be counted on one hand. Of all the ones that get mentioned only one has any real motivation, and that is only because it’s run by an AI who wants to rule the world and that is it. None of them has any agency or motivations beyond “MONEY!”. The fact they added the actual Tyrell Corporations from Blade Runner is just lazy writing. Not to mention utterly squandered since there’s no hooks there to be found involving them in the setting. The book has a penchant to just drop hint after hint that stuff is going on but there is nothing meaningful to be found amongst everything. It’s all just vague allusions. It’s far too much tell but don’t show, things are mentioned a plenty but simply in passing. Nothing is ever looked upon more closely in any meaningful way. What are the issues with bioroids and Artificial Persons? Where do they come from? What makes them such a danger that Interpol made their own Blade Running division to deal with them? There are rumors and hearsay a plenty but there’s still nothing to grasp here. The only real conspiracy just exists as well, with no real agenda mentioned. What is They’s ultimate goal as they rule from the shadows? Who knows. Is the group actually controlled by an AI? Who knows because the game doesn’t even want to back that theory up and just instantly discards it. There is no “Maybe they are?!” to be found. It’s just mentioned briefly and then the text goes on. The whole setting feels like a massive afterthought, an excuse to push a different version of the ‘high quality’ Eon rules. This means that a lot of the world building chapters are trite and pointless as a result. Why spend a whole chapter detailing police departments organisation? Why is there a whole chapter about legal proceedings? Legal proceedings and police organisation that hasn’t apparently changed for 60+ years. That is another of the issues I have with this, nothing changes. Or at least a lot of things haven’t changed in massive obvious ways. Things have more or less stayed the same. There are still institutions and companies from today that are still kicking around just fine in 2059. Some have merged by others remain what they are now. It’s just lazy world building. With all that is being implied you’d think corporations have gone under and merged together a lot. But no, you still have BMW or even IKEA still kicking around as if nothing happened. The mega corporations in Neotech feel absolutely nothing like groups that have replaced nation states as the real power houses in the world. There are no real mega corporations like the ones you see in Shadowrun, they’re just corporations that work within one or two fields and that is it. They don’t have any global outreach because they’re sharing the pond with far too many others. None of them are really on the top of everything with fingers all kinds of areas. Now keen eyed people might have noticed that some things talked about in the introduction never actually showed up. There was never any mention of the NPC generation system. In fact, this book doesn’t even let you generate NPC’s on the fly at all. So any prospective GM would technically have to generate NPC’s as characters to actually have opponents. Also there isn’t any adventure seed generation for that part either. Because all that was relegated to a splatbook called Neotech Ultra.It’s essentially the second half of the core book because it has things such as adventure seeds, lists of names, random generators, more table, setting history with a timeline, wordlists, archetypes, rules for cinematic roleplaying, new careers and even more rules. Including expanded character generation rules…  What is hilarious is that book came out around 2003 as far as I could find out, four years after the core book came out, including the second edition. But that book costs money and like gently caress I’m going to spend 20 bucks on it. There is also Neotech Offensive, which is just guns the book from what I’ve been able to figure out. As well as the Neotech Euro book that is an actual setting information book, from the description I learned far more of parts of the setting than the book have actually told me. But those also cost money so gently caress that. Neotech is a game most likely written by engineers and for people who love simulationism and it shows. It’s an absolute bland mess that doesn’t offer anything stand out or remarkable about it other than a sense of growing horror as the tables and rules never stop. As you might remember from the introduction I mentioned there was a third edition, Neotech Edge, that was kickstarted last year. Amazingly enough it still sees active development looking at the kickstarter page, with a release slated to after the summer of 2019. Unlike its predecessor this one is supposedly using a more narrative engine based on the Noir game, which is another Swedish RPG in this case. Neotech 3 posted:The year is 2070. The world has been ravaged by climate disasters, class difference and wars. From a devastated countryside and sunken cities refugees flood towards the teeming mega cities, and become a part of their motley mosaic of subcultures that constantly fight to assert themselves in the overwhelming media buzz. Going by the intro there might be a chance the writers have managed to give the game a unified vision and idea of what you can do. The list of inspirational fiction is interesting in its own because it’s surprisingly varied: Black Mirror (2011, Netflix) Mr. Robot (2015, HBO) Cannibal Warlords of Liberia (Vice Media) Elysium (2013) Minority Report (2002) Gattaca (1997) Mirror’s Edge (2008, EA Games) Children of Men (2006) Dredd (2012) Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) District 13 (2003) Infinity (miniature wargame, Corvus Belli) HYPER-REALITY (2016, Vimeo). How will it all work out in the end? Time will tell I suppose. End.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 16:01
|
|
|
How is Kevin trying to write the dudes who opened their offensive war with a surprise nuclear attack the good guys?
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 16:51
|
|
|
They're not written as good guys so much as Equally Bad Guys. Mind, there'll be a lot of holes in that central thesis.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 17:01
|
|
|
Cooked Auto posted:
Seriously, I really enjoyed this write-up of this weird Cyberpunk Heartbreaker. Fantasy Heartbreakers abound, but a CP Heartbreaker is new and interesting in its own way.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 17:50
|
|
|
Cooked Auto posted:
I feel like as groundbreaking as Cyberpunk 2013 / 2020 was, most of its legacy failed to evolve from its beginnings. There are just too many there that are "okay, we've got future jobs, cyberware, and hacking, we're done!" No focus on any particular theme or with any particular story to tell, just take a much of sci-fi geegaws, give them numbers, and shake liberally.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 17:54
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I feel like as groundbreaking as Cyberpunk 2013 / 2020 was, most of its legacy failed to evolve from its beginnings. There are just too many there that are "okay, we've got future jobs, cyberware, and hacking, we're done!" No focus on any particular theme or with any particular story to tell, just take a much of sci-fi geegaws, give them numbers, and shake liberally. The 1990s added "...and here's a bunch of political cliques and factions and how they relate to each other. Um, have fun."
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 18:00
|
|
|
What Fire Has Wrought: Heroically Screwed Over House Tepet, the Air Stained By the Blood of Legions, is an Air-Aspect House with the colors blue and white. They are a house of heroes, named for the Scarlet Empress' consort, Tepet, rather than her daughters. Tepet was at first an enemy, a warrior-poet and heir to a Shogunate kingdom who led a war against her. He sought to conquer the Imperial City to solidify his claim as Shogun, and he asked, when he failed, only that the Empress spare his armies. Impressed by his bravery, skill and honor, the Empress took Tepet as her consort and adopted his kin into the Realm. In time, she elevated the line to a Great House, headed by Tepet. Their martial skill has proven her wisdom in doing so time and again. The House follows the teachings of Mela and maintains spiritual practices that date back to te Shogunate, teaching that the warrior's path is enlightenment, including the traditions of the sublime armigers, who wield ancient relics in emulation of their ancestors, who wielded them originally, and the yamabushi scouts, who make pacts with local gods to find strategic advantage. Strength is not enough - the Tepet must strive for excellence, distinguishing themselves from the peers by their leadership. The Tepet legions were renowned as the best in the Realm, rivaling the Cathak and even the Imperial legions. They were celebrated for their defeat of many of the greatest foes of the Empress. When they marched against the Anathema lord known as Bull of the North three years ago, another victory was expected. In its place, the legions suffered a devastating defeat, losing many of their greatest heroes, yamabushi and armigers, along with a full quarter of the House's Dragon-Bloods in general. With the fall of the Legions, so died any respect the other Houses paid to the Tepets. Now, the regent Tepet Fokuf is an idiot, chosen as a cruel reminder of the slim chances the House has for the throne. Defeat has left them weakened, and many await the destruction of their House entirely, like Houses Manosque and Akiyo before it. OThers sympathize, but sympathy is not alliance. Marriage to a Tepet husband is like marrying an outcaste, and marriage to a Tepet wife brings rumors of covered up scandals or hidden sins that prevent any better match. House Tepet's scions have been raised from childhood in the expectation that they will earn positions of power and glory, but now their House may well die out before they do. They face this with the same determination as they have always faced their foes. The legions had always been their primary source of income, and House Tepet was often paid by the Empress to impose peace on rebel satrapies and to secure the North at a sizable stipend, most of which they invested back into the legions. They never fought as mercenaries, but the skill of the Tepet legions was renowned across the entire world. Tepet generals and strategists were paid heavily to train and advise Threshold armies, and it was they who led the ghost-faced Ithen warriors when they marched with the Realm agaisnt the Weeping Princes. When the traitor five Thrones Hearth was defeated, it was by Tepet-trained resistance fighters. When Mogg the Devourer and her crocodile-folk were defeated by the Devil Quag marsh tribes, it was with Tepet leadership. And as a result, the Tepet now have nearly no income. The other Houses have cut the Tepet stipend near to nothing, dividing up the Tepets' best satrapies in exchange for forgiven debts or under the pretense of providing support. While on paper House Tepet retains control, their tributes are taken by other Houses, primarily Sesus and Ragara. Of all their holdings, only Medo still pays the yearly tribute in janissaries, and that only because of Satrap Tepet Niruz being so persistent. The rest are fallen to other Houses, who mistakenly believe the House has lost its will. Certainly, they made few investments in non-military venturs. When the cost of a legion rose above the stipends given, the House always resorted to taking loans and selling businesses to other Houses. The few it retains control of include some metalworks, silk farms, and nearly played out mines of marble, gems or jade. If these are lost, House Tepet knows, so too is House Tepet. The scions of the House have always strived to emulate the warrior-hero Mela, even from childhood. They train with weapons from a young age, often under mortal veterans who served under their mothers or aunts. They learn to read with The Thousand Correct Actions and play in childhood war games and riding competitions. A Tepet formally ends their childhood training when they choose a code of honor to exemplify their path, whether one that already exists or one they invent. Many aspire to valor and selflessness in emulation of Tepet, but a warrior's code is always her own to decide. However, once one has a code, she can't just fight - she must lead. Each scion is expected to be the perfect epitome of their code by achievement, inspiration of others through virtue and showing the nature of the ideal warrior. Tepet parents usually put great effort into securing officer's ranks for their children in the house or Imperial legions. Unfortunately, the Battle of Futile Blood left House Tepet with only half a legion's worth of rank and file, and even fewer officers. When the Houses handed out the legions, they rubbed salt in the wound by giving House Tepet the Vermilion Legion, better known as the Red-Piss Legion due to being made primarily of bandits, criminals and drunks. Only House Cathak objected out of respect for the skill of Tepet commanders - they knew that even a single legion would be a threat. Command of the Red-Piss Legion was given to Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack. While she was once an officer in the Imperial legions, she resigned that commission to serve House Tepet. Under her training, the Red-Piss Legion has successfully hunted pirates, subdued rebels and even defeated the midnless puppets of Kejiza the Centipede Witch. While they lack the numbers of other Houses, they may end up being the salvation of the House yet. It should be noted - while all Tepet children are raised as warriors, not all become soldiers. A sizable minority seek other work of all kinds. This is considered to be no shame at all, as long as they aspire to excellence. However, they are still held to a warrior's standards. A poet whose code of honor and ksill leads to hordes of disciples moved by her words is acclaimed, while even the most potent sorcerer is not if she can accomplish nothing of honor or leadership. Since the fall of the Legions, many of the most prominent remaining TEpet scions are those who did not join the military. Their efforts to secure a future for the House have made them nearly as admired as the fallen war heroes. Every Great House played some role in the downfall of the Tepet, either plotting it or profiting off it. House Tepet knows it can't survive if it holds all those grudges. Marriages have grown scarce, save with House Nellens and the occasional outcaste. House Sesus, however, profited the most off the fall, with their new access to the Northern satrapies. Sesus spymasters undermined the Tepet legions against the Bull, and have continued to sabotage potential alliances. The other Houses tacitly approved, on the expectation that Sesus would take on the Tepet debts. Whatever deals they made, though, may soon fall through - House Sesus seems to be planning to refuse to acknowledge those debts in the expectation that the civil war will prevent consequences. While there was once mutual respect with House Cathak, this ended when the Cathaks refused to march to the aid of the Tepets when the real power of the Bull's forces was discovered. House Sesus' scheming was to be expected; the betrayal of House Cathak was far more profound. They have refused all attempts at alliance and blocked efforts to rebuild. If any Tepet were to move for the throne, House Cathak would surely oppose them. Worse, while House Tepet was an ally to House V'neef from the start and V'neef's own husband is a Tepet, there is little to rely on there. Once, there would be reliable support. Now, it is a mere pretense out of politeness. The Tepets are not entirely alone, at least. House Nellens has made tempting offers of a military alliance - they'd provide the troops and money in return for Tepet command training. Perhaps more sinister, though, are the many senior officers, household matriarchs and other influential Tepets that have receiveed offers from fallen House Iselsi. It's a simple offer: join forces against the other Houses and take bloody vengeance. This alliance would be dishonorable in the extreme, but it would settle grudges and avenge many deaths. Some Tepets may well give up their honor for the chance at a final reckoning. The family stronghold sits in the ancient Shogunate capital of Lord's Crossing. The House's lleadership is still unstable, however, what with the lost of the matriarch Tepet Usala in the campaign against the Bull of the North. The family heads have formed a ruling council that meets in Usala's old manse, the Pagoda of Blood and Pearls. Power is shared, but largely because no one has made a decisive grab yet, playing more subtle games of influence via the younger memebrs of the House in order to maintain their honor while they plot betrayals. To the west is the Vale of Reverie, an unspoiled wilderness of primeval magic, where the spirits are strong. Packs of elementals and small gods are common, and Dragon-Bloods are welcome by ancient edict of the spirit known as the Worm-Eaten Woman, who claims them as kin. Tepet children are brought there for their first lessons on spirits, returning throughout their lives to meditate and pursue spiritual growth. Most of the Tepet satrapies are gone now, but Dezsofi, the capital of Medo, remains, its gates guarded by mixed Tepet regiments and Medoan soldiers. Other satrapies offer only meager tribute at best or have outright rebelled. Distant Ithen is neither a satrapy nor a Realm holding, but due to treaties of non-aggression and commercial exchange after the Tepet military advisors led the overthrow of the Weeping Princes and restored their hereditary tyrant, the nation is a Realm ally. In the absence of the Empress, House Tepet hopes to make Ithen loyal to them, an ally the other Houses do not expect them to have. Tepet is buried at Lord's Crossing in a tomb of unmelting ice. His deeds are legend, as a warrior so noble that he won the heart of the Empress even in defeat, the greatest foe she ever faced and a pious devotee of the Immaculate Dragon Mela that even devils respected. Tepet Cerino is currently the person people go to to make things happen in the House. She is a muscular, dark-skinned woman who served as the supreme quartermaster during the Northern campaign. She is the de facto House matriarch, with the devastation dealt to the high command and the respect the rank and file hold for her. She's doing her best with what money the House retains, and is focused on rebuilding the legions, though she has been unable to force a majority on the House's council of elders. She relies on favor trading and seeking out young Dynasts whose ambitions for personal glory can be used for her agenda. Tepet Arada, the Wind Dancer, went from living legend to black sheep. He was a general in the legions, an exemplar of the perfect soldier and warrior, and he even survived the Battle of Futile Blood after slaying Fear-Eater, one of the Anathema that fought alongside the Bull. However, he returned changed. Some thought he might lead, but he has grown drunk and cynical, believing the Relam to be shattered and broken. He is not weak, however, and if the civil war does come, he will tear the Realm apart if that is what is needed to protect his family. Tepet Niruz, Satrap of Medo, holds onto it with the fierce power of a cornered beast. They have rejected the Cathak offers of "reinforcment" and defeated the spying of the Sesus with this tenacity. Niruz is an archer of immense skill and has foresworn all gender. They are neither man nor woman, for they have sworn a warrior code that emphasizes above all else being true to one's self rather than conforming to others' expectations. Other Houses might find this strange or even scandalous, but for the Tepet, obeying a warrior's code makes the identity fully legitimate. Tepet Berel Gadurin is one of the finest playwrights of the Realm, known for his passionate rmoances and clever comedies. Since the Battle of Futile Blood, however, he has turned his skill towards crafting propaganda, seeking to influence prominent people in the Realm with dramas of heartbreaking tragedy, focusing on warriors sacrificing themselves in the name of love and honor. Next time: House V'neef
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 19:02
|
|
|
Tibalt posted:Wooo! Encore! Encore! As much as I would love doing the supplements I'm not willing to blow any money on them. But if I were to do another write up I'd probably do Mutant 2089 to continue on the Swedish cyberpunk game trend. A game I've actually had some playtime experience with. Even if that was a decade ago by now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 19:22
|
|
|
Might gently caress around and do a F&F about Deluxe Recon in May.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 19:24
|
|
|
What Fire Has Wrought: Baby House House V'neef, the Wood That Tenders the Garden's Grace, is a Wood-Aspect House with the colors green and purple. It is the youngest of all the Houses, made primarily of the adopted daughters of a woman only 60. With the Empress gone, they are beset on all sides, yet the endure. The House is well-liked, despite its youth, and V'neef herself is a charismatic woman who inherited all of her mother's savvy and beauty, allowing her to move forward with a reputation for boldness yet still not causing too much insult. The House is young, dynamic and adventurous - and it must be, to survive. V'neef herself has only a few children, and of those only the eldest have begun their own families. Rather, the majority of the House is hundreds of lost eggs and Exalted patricians, ranging wildly in age, who were given Dynastic status by the Empress' declaration. As a result, the House practically worships the missing Empress, and most hold V'neef herself in great reverence as well as the Empress' favorite daughter. (Well, they say she is, anyway.) Popularity is not enough, however. V'neef guards her adopted children closely, refusing to risk them in battle if she can avoid it and pursuing advantageous marriages for the adopted sons to consolidate as much power as possible. Her House is at a crossroads, and there seem only two paths - on one, the throne, and on the other, death. While V'neef made her initial fortune in wine, she has diversified her holdings aggressively, and House V'neef now runs businesses in horse breeding, brewing, tobacco, qat and safaris for wealthy hunters. Their greatest income, though, is the Merchant Fleet, given to them by the Empress on creation of the House to undercut the power of House Peleps. V'neef is thus responsible for the transport of all tribute to the Blessed Isle, and is paid a percentage of that tribute and the right to claim any prizes on hostile ships taken by force of arms. Because the satrapy system is the heart of the Realm's finance, even the tiny percentage that the Merchant Fleet is given is staggering, especially with the way V'neef has invested it. There's just one problem: the revenue is drying up. It was stable under the Empress, but the current crises have thrown it into chaos. The maintenance of the Merchant Fleet outweighs its income, forcing the House push Westward. They now rely on luxury imports and pirate hunting while outside their traditional convoy routes to make up for their loss of stability. House Peleps, which is still furious over the loss of the Merchant Fleet, has made life as difficult as it can short of open warfare, at that. The West is a war waiting to happen as Peleps and V'neef square off. House V'neef has only two legions, and one of them is kept stationed in Eagle Prefecture at all times. Fortunately, the many outcaste veterans adopted into the House mean that V'neef's legions are uncommonly well led and have high morale, though they're still no match for the polished machine the Imperial legions used to be. The Merchant fleet helps supplement the low numbers of V'neef's land forces, though. Less and less is actually assigned to tribute escort duty each day, and most of the ships are out in the West, jockeying with the Imperial Navy for power and wealth. While they are still vastly outnumbered, that is in some ways a good thing. The other Great House know that House V'neef can't blockade the entire Realm, unlike the Imperial Navy. Thus, House V'neef has a much freer hand to operate on the seas...as long as they can avoid the Peleps armadas. Politically, House V'neef is in a bad place. V'neef had expected decades of her mother's support to gain strength in, and with the Empress gone, that's not going to happen. Their only real solid ally is the dying House Tepet, the House of V'neef's husband. The Tepets respected the outcaste soldiers that fill much of V'neef's House, and before the legions fell, V'neef had subtly offered support of a Tepet claimant for the throne. Now, they are nothing but an anchor around her neck. She can't afford to alienate such a loyal ally, and doing so would break her beloved husband's heart. On paper, the two Houses are still close. However, V'neef has not finalized even one Tepet betrothal since their great loss. House Ragara undercuts V'neef at every chance, claiming they're just securing debt and need to ensure that V'neef can be relied on financially. Just about every property of any significance has been targeted by the Ragaras, either by leaning on the Honest and Humble Assessors of the Imperial Tax to adjust their valuations or by using less subtle methods like arson or sabotage. Even so, of all her siblings, V'neef fears Mnemon the most. Her elder sister is a potent sorcerous with a strong House who has spent a lifetime preparing for the throne...a throne that many of the other Houses would rather see V'neef sitting on. This makes her a target and she knows it, and further knows that Mnemon isu unlikely to suffer a threat for long. V'neef is terrified that her sister will crush House V'neef and drive them to the winds, hunting down her children the way she hunts the Iselsi. To prevent this nightmare scenario, V'neef has decided she must sit on the throne - it's the only way to keep her beloved family safe. House Peleps hates House V'neef, but this has proven to be a benefit more than anything else - it means that Ledaal, Cathak and Sesus all have reasons, among others, to give limited support. It counterbalances the power of the Imperial Navy, after all. Eventually they'll need to take sides and that's going to be a mess, so V'neef is working hard to make friends in these Houses to better influence their decision in the end. House Nellens is a business rival, though it's never escalated past that. While it might be a chance to end old grudges, V'neef is wary of siding with such a widely disliked House. She also has strong trade ties to House Cynis, along with numerous marriage ties as a result of V'neef's efforts to push her House further towards the Wood Aspect, but they can't be relied on meaningfully. V'neef is less interested in blood ties in general than ties of need. She has made Eagle Prefecture a haven for the Imperial magistrates, in the hopes that protecting these symbols of the Empress' power will help her. V'neef is based out of Eagle Prefecture and the city Eagle's Launch, which she is trying to make into the gate to the West, overtaking Peleps' own port, Bittern. Travel and wealth flow through the city, which has attracted plenty of smugglers and spies and made it the site of many intrigues. Magistrate Seven Cardinals, an outcaste with a talent with the knife, has been using the place to mess with the spy networks of others and establish his own, alongside a few other magistrates. He's taken out three Sesus operatives in the last year, and they are quietly preparing an operation to get rid of him. They also control the Sideshores along the northwestern coast of the Isle and have been quietly fortifying the islets there, due to the Peleps being so close. V'neef Ostoka, one of the local residents, has even made an extremely impious deal with the water elementals of the Isle of Salt-Spray to help in defense of his estate. As long as his people aren't foolish enough to report him to the Immaculates, he's sure, then he can keep at least that island safe. Nansha is a treaty port south of Wavecrest and is a key staging ground for the V'neefs. The port sees massive amounts of wealth and is a vibrant, lively place of music and entertainment. Satrap V'neef Savatera maintains the discipline of Pasiap's Stair despite this, heading into the hedonistic homes of the locals only when she is forced to. Instead, she prefers to patron the more refined arts, most notably a theater company that she's brought in from the Blessed Isle. Her biggest problem outside of overindulgent subordinates is the constant problems with the urban poor. Once, the island had many fishing villages that only occasionally feuded, but the spread of Nansha's urban area across the entire atoll has meant that the fishers have turned to labor, and the labor gangs fight each other constantly, no matter what the garrison does. Worse, they reserve their biggest hatred for the Dynasty, and the garrison's preparations for defense against the Imperial Navy is giving them an opening to attack. Faxai-on-the-Caul is home to plenty of V'neef, though most are not Exalted. The House needs many new members, and so they have focused on establishing a base for pilgrims and worked to prevent the Peleps from taking the city, which would greatly reduce their Western access and therefore their revenues at the worst possible time. Their main stronghold is the House of the Rootless Tree, a dockside structure that heads out over the water. Its interior is a maze of corridors and stairs meant to disorient, and it's full of weapons and supplies. If needed, the entire thing can be magically decoupled from its pilings and dropped into the harbor, then frozen solid by wards to deny access to its foes. V'neef Lanusa, an adopted Water Aspect ex-patrician, is the House's representative in the Caul. V'neef, and her husband Tepet Igan, form the heart of the House with their handful of children. While the outcastes adopted in are legally siblings to these kids, they know that V'neef loves her blood children in a way she will never love them. V'neef is young by Exalted standards, only sixty, and some of her adopted children are much older. Igan is barely 70 himself, though he seems far older. The deaths of his cousins, sisters and mother have left him broken, and he's still in mourning three years later. He and V'neef spend most of their time in the Imperial City, where she is hard at work using her considerable charm to make friends and allies. Her House adores her, and more than one adopted child has commissioned epic songs and poems in her honor. V'neef S'thera, a blind fencer, lost her fiance, Tepet Kedus, to the Bull of the North. She wants nothing more than to get revenge, but V'neef refuses her each time she asks to raise a Wyld Hunt. To V'neef, S'thera is better spent on having a family then on a death in the ice, and she hopes to marry S'thera to a Cathak in hopes of securing an alliance. So far it has gone poorly, and S'thera drowns her sorrow and desire for vengeance in drink and young women. V'neef Dancing Boar is a former outcaste from the Imperial Legions, adopted into the House when it formed. He's an excellent lancer and renowned for leading his wing to triumph over the rebel Six Amethysts Coalition. However, he sees no glory in the slaughter and in fact would prefer to never fight again. Instead, he serves as a trainer for the new legions and the Merchant Fleet marines, drilling them on the fundamentals so they can hold their own against pirates and House Peleps. V'neef Agayo is a sorcerer and shipwright set to the task of repairing and building new ships for the Merchant Fleet. House Peleps has been trying to raise a scandal over the demon workforces she summons and binds to service the docks, along with her frequent consulting of demonic savants in her designs. They claim she lacks the necessary caution to properly treat with Hellish forces. She ignores it as a sign of their envy over her work. In truth, her real unwise dealings are with House Ragara, whose pursuit of First Age artifacts has revealed several secrets to the creation of magical ships. Agayo has been paying massive amounts of money under the table for the blueprints they find, and soon the debt may end up destroying her. Next time: House Iselsi
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 22:06
|
|
|
It's really a pity that the Rifts war books are so bad honestly, because 'not-Nazis invade magic land and deal with that poo poo' is a fairly fun idea. You can even still humanize the rank and file with video logs and making it clear they're the victims of propaganda about magic and all, and every so often it feels like that WAS the original tone before someone (you know who would) came in and demanded both sides be bad because what if your group is playing nazis are you gonna make them the BAD guys????
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 23:17
|
|
|
sexpig by night posted:It's really a pity that the Rifts war books are so bad honestly, because 'not-Nazis invade magic land and deal with that poo poo' is a fairly fun idea. You can even still humanize the rank and file with video logs and making it clear they're the victims of propaganda about magic and all, and every so often it feels like that WAS the original tone before someone (you know who would) came in and demanded both sides be bad because what if your group is playing nazis are you gonna make them the BAD guys???? That's really the fundamental problem with Rifts*, it's full of really goofy fun "wouldn't it be stupid-cool" premises and then it's buried under a mound of weird habits and hangups, some of which are ongoing "quirks" up to…Christ, almost 40 years old? * And, like, 90% of RPGs, but boy howdy is Rifts sort of the platonic ideal of this problem.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 23:26
|
|
|
V'neef is such a bad name that it stands out in a sea of extremely poor names.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 00:17
|
|
|
What Fire Has Wrought: Gone Native House Iselsi, the Water That Hides the Deepest Dark, was a Water-Aspect House with the colors black and silver. It no longer exists. What remains holds no seats in the Deliberative, controls no prefectures nor satrapies nor legions, and is spoken of solely with derision. House Iselsi is gone. But it existed, once. In Realm year 643, the elders of House ISelsi attempted to assassinate the Empress and failed spectacularly. She made a public example of them, taking the better part of a century to carve them up, but by bit, before finally removing them from the Imperial ledgers in 740. The other Great Houses tore the Iselsi apart. Only a few households yet remain, clinging to what they can - practically no better than Threshold clans. That there should be no Iselsi was the will of the Empress, and everyone believes. In truth, however, the House lives on. It was made into a weapon, kept controlled solely by the Scarlet Empress. With her gone, House Iselsi plans to complete what they know as the Vendetta. The Great Houses did most of the work of destroying Iselsi, with the Empress simply starting the job and sitting back. It was the Empress who prevent their utter destruction, and it was she who gathered the remnant up and scattered them through the Realm. She made for them new identities, training them in esoteric arts, turning them into her secret eyes and hands. For those who were not chosen and were lucky enough to survive, other ways existed. About a quarter of the Iselsi survivors joined the Immaculate Order, officially to atone for their elders' sins. In truth, they were yet another arm of the House's espionage network. The rest took on new identities of their own make or carried on the charade of the broken House. The hidden Iselsi go about their lives, acting as if nothing is amiss, but they watch and they wait and they plan. It can be hard for them to hide their murderous desires at times...but honestly, it's a bigger worry that they will come to genuinely care about their targets. The bonds of Hearth and of marriage are strong ones, and while no handler wants to kill another Iselsi, better that than the shame of forgetting the Vendetta. And so, many Iselsi have two masks - the one they wear in public and the one they wear among their kin. It was the Empress' will that the Iselsi should develop their hatred for their cousins in secret. She turned the entire House into a weapon to match the All-Seeing Eye...and then she vanished, without ever telling them why. Iselsi messages often speak of receiving orders from the Voice of Dark Water and the Daughter of Mist, but they don't actually exist. They are mere fabrications to prevent rival agents, like the Sesus or the Eye, from realizing the truth: the elders largely work alone, each pursuing their own methods without any orders from above organizing them. House Iselsi is practically penniless. The patricians that remain govern nothing, collect no tax and receive none of the normal stipends of the Great Houses. What few holdings they have are privately leased, paid for by personal business ventures, lucky wealth and a small Imperial grant for the upkeep of shrines and temples in Incas Prefecture, which is in theory the final stronghold of the Iselsi. In practice, Mnemon and the Sesus have been very busy erasing that grant. While the Iselsi remain quite wealthy by peasant standards, they see themselves as impoverished - another insult to be repaid in blood. The Iselsi have no legions, even in name. However, they do not need any. Their hidden children exist in secret throughout the Realm, watching for information on the plans of others. Once, this was the specialty of the House - inserting themselves through the Imperial Service and gathering information on everyone. This web of espionage has been battered, but it remains in places, holding onto many secrets, and now armed with vicious knives. Most of the other Houses, given the chance, would stomp out the last remnants of the Iselsi. House Sesus in particular is devotyed to doing so, to get rid of their old espionage rivals. Mnemon would love to purge the Immaculates of the Iselsi traitors and has sponsored several bills in the Deliberative to undercut what revenue they have left. Every House but the V'neef played some part in the destruction of the Iselsi, and the V'neef exist at their expense, raised up to take their place. The ISelsi rank and file officialy shun all ideas of alliance with their hated kin, but the elders know that if they are to survive to complete the VEndetta, they will need protection unless and until the Empress returns. House Nellens seeks to turn the Iselsi into their own weapon by offering them a chance to be reinstated, but obviously this can't be taken at face value. Covert messages to key figures in the nearly destroyed House Tepet are seen by the elders as a mere vehicle to fulfill the Vendetta. When the other Houses fall, House Tepet will be the next, snuffed out in Iselsi vengeance. The only true allies of the Iselsi are those who also nurse a grudge or those whose ambition rids them of sense. These assets can often be found in or near power, and it's rarely very hard for such practiced spies to help remove their assets' competitors, one way or the other. Outcastes are often allies of convenience, for even a disgraced Iselsi is still of a potent lineage and can offer comparative wealth or power to what most outcastes know. The Iselsi Immaculates can also suborn gods with bribery in the form of subtle alteration to prayer calendars, and several deities of revenge anf feuds serve as House patrons. While Incas Prefecture is officially Ledaal territory now, the Iselsi manses and homes still dot its landscape, including the House of Black Waters, where Iselsi herself was entombed. The House lives openly there, to convince their cousins they are truly fallen. Elsewhere, they hide themselves away in secret places, waiting for when they can finally use their skills. The Imperial City is full of Iselsi agents, but their favorite site for drops is the Last Little Sapling, a famous teahouse on the riverfront. It is run by Kiera, a middle-aged woman and cousin to the Iselsi, who hands out notes under teacups and speaks in code to key visitors. She hears everything and passes it on to the right recipient. She knows a lot - perhaps too much for comfort - but the elders trust her. Many are unsure why, but she never explains herself. In the mountains of Dejis Prefecture is the small Ditola Village, in theory a Mnemon mining village of peasants. However, deep in the mines, where no one else goes, the peasants meet and train with their Iselsi masters. They are slowly going blind from dust and dark, but it won't matter. When smoke chokes Mnemon-Darjilis and battle is everywhere, they will not need to see. Their sole purpose is to kill the Mnemon in a single decisive strike when the time is right. Until that time, they wait and they train. Iselsi was a brilliant mathematician and economist who won the favor of the Empress by ruthless outmaneuvering her rivals in the Imperial Service's early days. She was a quiet woman who died on a Wyld Hunt centuries before her House fell. Her name is spoken of reverently by her descendants as they swear themselves to a revenge she would never have imagined. Iselsi Dileko lives under an assumed name, like most Iselsi, and is a member of a Sworn Kinship of other Dynasts. They believe him Naret Kikela, an outcaste fencer whom they have welcomed openly. He reports on their actions and plans to the Iselsi, but his standing orders are to wait for the signal to murder them in their sleep. This is standard for undercover assets in his position. Privately, he hopes the order will never come - playing at being a sworn brother has cut far deeper into his hate than he thought it would when he began the job. Moonless River is an Immaculate stationed in the city of Pneuma. She has spent decades advising those seeking to emulate Pasiap, and has become so famous that she regularly dines with Ragara himself. The two are quite friendly, and she adores the Immaculate lifestyle, feeling elevated on a spiritual level by the work she does for the Order. When she slams her fingers through Ragara's skull, she knows it will not be for the House that orders it, and it will not be out of hate. It will be done to rid the Realm she loves of the symbol of greed that hangs around its neck like a stone, dragging it down. Iselsi Takura, meanwhile, has just returned from a decade of study in the Threshold, seeking out lost magics. Her face, name and even gender are new, thanks to the sorcerous alchemy she learned in the Southeast. She supplies the Iselsi with toxins unknown to the Isle - poisons that can kill passions, venoms that empty the mind, cures that can stop death for a day and a night. She has risen highly in their esteem, and none suspect yet that she serves a different master. Iselsi Shenesh, Minster of the Imperial Gardens, is one of the few Iselsi to remain in high rank in the Imperial Service. He is old, dignified and charming as the occasion demands, and the family is unsure how to feel about him. Most assume he is one of their top agents in the All-Seeing Eye, and therefore crucial to the Vendetta. However, he was also a member of the Council of the Empty Throne, which oversaw the sundering of the Imperial legions. Suspicions that Shenesh betrayed the House's attempted coup years ago are kept unspoken. You may have noticed that essentially none of the listed Iselsi NPCs are actually, definitely 100% loyal to House Iselsi, and most of them have explicitly gone native. It is my personal take on things - though not necessarily canon - that the entire House has gone native, and that the entirety of the Vendetta is them keeping up appearances to ensure the rest of the House doesn't realize that they are no longer loyal to the cause. I find the idea of an entire conspiracy whose every member plans to betray it for one reason or another hilarious. Next time: The Cadet Houses
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 00:25
|
|
|
I feel like Savage World Rifts is better about keeping the CS as something to fight and not to aspire to.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 01:02
|
|
|
Given that K-Siem grew up in Detroit and would have been 11 during the long, hot summer and is incessantly trying to make his fictional Nazis the good guys I'm starting to think he may in fact be a racist piece of poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 01:30
|
|
|
I love Iselsi. It's really nice that Exalted actually makes an effort to talk about how genuinely hard their whole 'we infiltrate other houses and are ready to slit their throats in their sleep on our signal' actually is under the badass edgelord broken house stuff. Like, yea, these guys are being told 'you need these people to think you're kin to them, love and trust you' and then 'oh also be ready to kill them all without hesitation when we say so'. Then again I guess I'm a sucker for emo rear end tragic villains but not villains, Scorpion are my favorite L5R clan and all that jazz
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 01:54
|
|
|
The Iselsi are good precisely where they diverge from being unstoppable vengeance assassins, and arrive at 'the deeply embittered remnants of one of the Empress' political games who are now on a course to destroy themselves and the Realm unless enough of them can be convinced to abandon the Vendetta.' Plus it means that the core theme of the DBs as heroes, friendship and camaraderie, are the tools that will save the Dynasty from the specter of its brutal backstabbing ways, if anything can. On the other hand, we can all agree that Iselsi Takura is obviously a Lunar pretending to be Iselsi Takura right? Like, seriously, 'I came back from learning about sublime mystic poisons with a different face, name, and gender identity... but it's definitely me' seems like the loudest possible shout of 'I am a Lunar Anathema here to make sure your Vendetta destroys the Realm' one could let out.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 02:17
|
|
|
Midjack posted:Given that K-Siem grew up in Detroit and would have been 11 during the long, hot summer and is incessantly trying to make his fictional Nazis the good guys I'm starting to think he may in fact be a racist piece of poo poo. I don't really think so. Culturally insensitive? Sure. I mean, Rifts World Book 4: Africa demonstrates that exceedingly well. But he's had a fair number of employees of color over the years, probably more than a lot of game companies of Palladium's size. So it's possible, but there's not much direct evidence to point to. The Coalition aren't, of course, literal Nazis through I refer to them as such, as the parallel is an easy one to make with their symbology and leadership. It's been pretty clear over the years that they aren't supposed to be racist towards other humans - well, save Native Americans, because Native Americans are magically special, which... is a whole other thing. The Coalition's racism is literally towards other races - which isn't to excuse it, but it exists purely in the realm of fantasy. Ultimately, his excuses seem to come down to cultural relativity, the superior orders defense, etc. Which I don't think holds much water, but I feel like he doesn't want the Coalition to just be, say, classical orcs where murder is always justified. And that can be a point to make, but he intensely overcorrects. Also that moral relativity generally also only ever comes up where humans are involved. It's still okay to kill as many demons as you like. So it flops as a message when "well, you can't just brand everybody like this as evil except these fuckers."
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 02:36
|
|
|
Joe Slowboat posted:The Iselsi are good precisely where they diverge from being unstoppable vengeance assassins, and arrive at 'the deeply embittered remnants of one of the Empress' political games who are now on a course to destroy themselves and the Realm unless enough of them can be convinced to abandon the Vendetta.' Plus it means that the core theme of the DBs as heroes, friendship and camaraderie, are the tools that will save the Dynasty from the specter of its brutal backstabbing ways, if anything can. I mean, if it’s a Lunar, why look like someone else? That’s the one thing a Lunar doesn’t have to do.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 02:39
|
|
|
Joe Slowboat posted:On the other hand, we can all agree that Iselsi Takura is obviously a Lunar pretending to be Iselsi Takura right? Like, seriously, 'I came back from learning about sublime mystic poisons with a different face, name, and gender identity... but it's definitely me' seems like the loudest possible shout of 'I am a Lunar Anathema here to make sure your Vendetta destroys the Realm' one could let out. "That time you saw me wearing a different face? That was, uh, Sorcery. It's southeastern, you wouldn't have heard of it."
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 02:51
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I don't really think so. Culturally insensitive? Sure. I mean, Rifts World Book 4: Africa demonstrates that exceedingly well. But he's had a fair number of employees of color over the years, probably more than a lot of game companies of Palladium's size. So it's possible, but there's not much direct evidence to point to. The Coalition are Nazis, full stop. The aesthetics alone are Nazi-similar enough that the only way you can say they're not Nazis is if you completely subvert it by making them 100% pacifists who welcome all with open arms. The fascism and racism are just running up the score. This would all be a little less alerting if there weren't a rich history of orcs/black elves/zombies etc being stand-ins for minorities in the gaming hobby, so being racist against D-Bees isn't much better than going after other humans. And besides, Siembeda also did the Empire of Humanity in After the Bomb, which was the exact same thing; humanity uber alles and kill all those filthy mutant animals, so it's not like this is anything new for the guy. He just doesn't have anyone around to hold him back now that Wujcik is gone.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 02:58
|
|
|
Midjack posted:He just doesn't have anyone around to hold him back now that Wujcik is gone. Erick Wujcik wrote After the Bomb. And was still alive at the time of this supplement - the last books he would write would be the Rifts China books that follow after.. And if you think Wujcik was holding him back, wow. Read the backmatter of Ninjas & Superspies sometime, if you haven't already. On second hand, maybe don't? In any case, all I meant is that there are differences - they're obviously descendants, both in fiction and in reality, of Nazism. And you make a good point of fantasy races being used at times as analogues for minorities. And all this is a problem, I don't meant to discount that. (It gets so much worse.) But do I think it's evidence of him being a card-carrying member of the American Nazi Party? No. Does that excuse it? No. I'm not just going to hold up the dullard defense for him - he should know better by now - but people are complicated and capable of holding deeply incompatible beliefs. After all, this was co-written to some extent by Bill Coffin, who has stated his discomfort with having to write the Coalition-as-protagonists. He was just following orders. To some extent, I have to wonder if the Coalition would have ever been as omnipresent in Rifts if it wasn't for the fandom that embraced them. I think they still would have been prominent, but I feel like to some extent Siembieda was following the fandom there. Once again, that's not an excuse. But I think there's more than one predictable reason behind it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 03:29
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:After all, this was co-written to some extent by Bill Coffin, who has stated his discomfort with having to write the Coalition-as-protagonists. He was just following orders. You would think at some point someone would realize you could, like, model your empire on Rome and still have them be evil assholes who fight the plucky
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 03:36
|
|
|
Coffin got into writing at Palladium because he's one of the rarest breeds: a Palladium Fantasy fan.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 03:40
|
|
|
Nessus posted:Heyooooo There's other empires to model fiction on, like the Persians and the Mongols, who would take the best of the occupied culture to incorporate it into their own, instead of impose their ideals in the occupied.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:07
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I don't really think so. Culturally insensitive? Sure. I mean, Rifts World Book 4: Africa demonstrates that exceedingly well. But he's had a fair number of employees of color over the years, probably more than a lot of game companies of Palladium's size. So it's possible, but there's not much direct evidence to point to. Using “Culturally Insensitive” as code for “Really Racist, But Like Also Ignorant” is very 2005. “He May have written Native Americans as metaphysically different from other humans, BUT..”
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:09
|
|
|
Young Freud posted:There's other empires to model fiction on, like the Persians and the Mongols, who would take the best of the occupied culture to incorporate it into their own, instead of impose their ideals in the occupied. I want empires other than Rome and Nazi Germany dammit.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:14
|
|
|
The problem is that putting a huge, intolerant, ideological, militaristic empire with flashy uniforms smack dab in the middle of your setting, and then surrounding them with enemies that are blatantly evil and/or inhuman for them to "heroically" fight, is irresistible bait for a certain kind of person to play whatever the Nazi-sympathizer equivalent of Dress-Up is. So much so that I find myself hesitant to believe it's just an unintended coincidence of harmless worldbuilding. See also: Exalted, 40k, L5R, etc. etc. etc. Dear game creators: please stop loving doing this. TIA e: to be somewhat constructive, are there any game settings with a big central state that's not super fascist megane fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Apr 29, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:20
|
|
|
jakodee posted:Using “Culturally Insensitive” as code for “Really Racist, But Like Also Ignorant” is very 2005. Wayne Breaux wrote that book. Kevin Siembieda published it, so he's still responsible, of course. But that was Breaux. The words we have to discuss this sort of problem are poo poo. I do what I can.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:22
|
|
|
megane posted:The problem is that putting a huge, intolerant, ideological, militaristic empire with flashy uniforms smack dab in the middle of your setting, and then surrounding them with enemies that are blatantly evil and/or inhuman for them to "heroically" fight, is irresistible bait for a certain kind of person to play whatever the Nazi-sympathizer equivalent of Dress-Up is. So much so that I find myself hesitant to believe it's just an unintended coincidence of harmless worldbuilding. Ok, the Realm in Exalted is significantly different. They're actually based on empires like Persia, for example, and to a lesser extent Rome, China, and the modern USA. Satrapies, wealth extraction, second-class citizenship for conquered peoples, and enforced religious syncretism; none are good, but really, not Nazis. Not even meaningfully fascistic, they're the British Empire but with a more intense aristocracy-worship. They also, uh... mostly oppress and kill humans. They really don't have a 'blatantly inhuman' enemy to fight, unless you mean the raksha at the edge of the world? The vast majority of the Realm's conquests and ongoing wars are human nations they grind beneath their heel. I just really don't see any of your accusations fitting the Realm, even though it's the big central state of the setting and is intended to be primarily antagonistic.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:42
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:Wayne Breaux wrote that book. Kevin Siembieda published it, so he's still responsible, of course. But that was Breaux. That’s fair and Very True.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:44
|
|
|
Joe Slowboat posted:Ok, the Realm in Exalted is significantly different. They're actually based on empires like Persia, for example, and to a lesser extent Rome, China, and the modern USA. Satrapies, wealth extraction, second-class citizenship for conquered peoples, and enforced religious syncretism; none are good, but really, not Nazis. Not even meaningfully fascistic, they're the British Empire but with a more intense aristocracy-worship. He’s not arguing the Realm are fascists, he’s arguing that fascists love big, oppressive, militaristic empire that are portrayed as sometime or mostly justified by the evil and danger of their enemies. I agree that the Realm are a pretty mild example of that problem that are mostly shown as antagonists however.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 04:47
|
|
|
Exalted is a very good example of the challenges of writing a "realistic" (within a fantasy setting) imperialist antagonist: no matter how much you intend to clearly spell out that they are awful people doing irredeemable awful things, some of your most dedicated fans are always going to side with the fasc because the only thing holding them back from identifying whole hog as fascist in real life is generic westernized americana "We beat the germans and they were bad and fascist but we are good and not, because we beat them." Take away the aesthetic flavour, present the raw politics of imperial exploitation, and you're guaranteed to have some people gleefully lining up to toe the oppressor's line. Which is not to say that you shouldn't write imperialist and fascist antagonists into fiction. It's an important narrative space to probe and attack in play. You just need to be ready to own up to the price of people declaring allegiance with the enemy.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 05:01
|
|
|
jakodee posted:He’s not arguing the Realm are fascists, he’s arguing that fascists love big, oppressive, militaristic empire that are portrayed as sometime or mostly justified by the evil and danger of their enemies. I agree that the Realm are a pretty mild example of that problem that are mostly shown as antagonists however. Yeah, this is what I meant. They don't have to be wearing jackboots with skull patterns on the soles to enable... that sort of interpretation. And it's also true that the Realm is more palatable than the others. Some actual nuance was put into the writing, and the Realm is generally presented as a bureaucratic nightmare on the verge of falling apart under the weight of its own assholery, instead of a glorious military giant filled with Hard Men making Hard Decisions. The other points Joe Slowboat mentioned are important as well, especially the fact that the Realm's primary enemies are people, instead of irredeemable monsters. I do think the Wyld could have been written much better, though. Oh look, it mutates people against their will and then there's no hope of fixing them and Good Pure Humans hunt them and this is justified because they are dangerous and different and  It'd be much better if it was just cool alien faerie courts without the dumb mutation bullshit.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 05:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:47 |
|
|
megane posted:I do think the Wyld could have been written much better, though. Oh look, it mutates people against their will and then there's no hope of fixing them and Good Pure Humans hunt them and this is justified because they are dangerous and different and I heartily agree, any 'mutates people into monsters!' thing drives me up the wall. Warhammer is of course the most blatant offender. Thankfully 3e Wyld Mutants seem to be mostly steering towards less 'these are monsters to kill' and more 'people get real weird out on the edge of reality, and it's really dangerous to live out there. Plus there's raksha, who are soul vampires.'
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2019 05:34
|
|