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The problem with multiple colours is that for many the brown and grey and dark brown is an aesthetic borne out of the grimy and human-defying oppressive mood of the era as recreated in the 1930s, where people needed something to look down upon and the past century was a great place to do that. Itīs the same problem with ancient rome, or greece, where everything was coloured AF, but people only ever see the statues and models etc. after the colours washed off and believed the "noble white marble" to be the aesthetic of an entire era when in truth it was as rainbowy as possible because people like colours. But hey...
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Jun 13, 2017 18:32
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Halloween Jack posted:Oh, I forgot that I'd brought up Fallen London so that I could add this: The only way Hc Svnt Dracones multiple finance stats makes sense to me is if they were inspired by Storynexus type games where you gain and spend reputation with multiple important factions, and/or you have multiple intangible currencies (like trading knowledge and gossip).
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Jun 13, 2017 18:48
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Mr.Misfit posted:The problem with multiple colours is that for many the brown and grey and dark brown is an aesthetic borne out of the grimy and human-defying oppressive mood of the era as recreated in the 1930s, where people needed something to look down upon and the past century was a great place to do that. Counterpoint, those statues look way better in the plain white marble, because they were painted in like this:  An aesthetic is all about what metaphors you want your setting to evoke. Industrial dehumanization works in sepia and gunmetal, people associate heavenly marble columns with enlightened philosophy. There will eventually be a day when we are old and complain that "not everyone in the 2010's wore yoga pants and Nazi haircuts."
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Jun 13, 2017 18:56
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Halloween Jack posted:Oh, I forgot that I'd brought up Fallen London so that I could add this: The only way Hc Svnt Dracones multiple finance stats makes sense to me is if they were inspired by Storynexus type games where you gain and spend reputation with multiple important factions, and/or you have multiple intangible currencies (like trading knowledge and gossip). E: Zereth posted:They aren't. They're like, your Money Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Fourth Stat. I forget what Fourth Stat is. But you've got physical and mental and social and financial and they all have those four stats. darthbob88 fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jun 13, 2017 |
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Jun 13, 2017 19:04
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Robindaybird posted:I would love if the steampunks and cogservatives realize there's colors other than brown, brass, gray, white, and black - because if you look at actual Victorian homes and fashion they love their bright gaudy colors - if Day-Glo and Neon existed back then, they'd be wearing those colors. Like this fetching number:  A super-bright chemical compound made these stunning iridescent emerald green gowns possible, and they were the toast of high society in the early 1860s - at least until women started dropping dead by the score because of the high levels of arsenic in the dye.
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Jun 13, 2017 19:05
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The Xiticix killer disappoints me just because it isn't a giant interdimensional parasitic wasp. But I guess someone did a cool painting and Kev had to give it stats.
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Jun 13, 2017 19:12
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Many ancient cultures used a lot more color than people today think, because color is a sign of wealth. Even the columns were painted in Rome.
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Jun 13, 2017 19:18
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ZorajitZorajit posted:An aesthetic is all about what metaphors you want your setting to evoke. Industrial dehumanization works in sepia and gunmetal, people associate heavenly marble columns with enlightened philosophy. There will eventually be a day when we are old and complain that "not everyone in the 2010's wore yoga pants and Nazi haircuts."
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Jun 13, 2017 19:22
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Halloween Jack posted:As Mr Aldous Huxley has truly remarked, a dark Satanic mill ought to look like a dark Satanic mill and not like the temple of mysterious and splendid gods. Fair play, I didn't mean to suggest that we shouldn't sometimes juxtapose contrasting visuals to put an audience at odds with their expectations -- or any other motivation for that matter. Only to quip that sometimes it's okay to lean on popular perception because the truth of the matter is more nuanced than the narrative needs. (Which sounds like a really lovely thing to say, I don't want to sound like an apologist for reactionary portrayals.)
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Jun 13, 2017 19:40
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wiegieman posted:Many ancient cultures used a lot more color than people today think, because color is a sign of wealth. Even the columns were painted in Rome. The pyramids were all white and had tips made of electrum The statues were probably also garish as gently caress.
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Jun 13, 2017 20:34
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Rigged Death Trap posted:The pyramids were all white and had tips made of electrum
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Jun 13, 2017 20:37
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Rigged Death Trap posted:The pyramids were all white and had tips made of electrum The pyramids in their original form were loving glorious.  (Best I could find, they were supposed to basically be blinding to look at) I think there are actually more examples of painted Egyptian statues than Hellenic ones because of tombs and such. The Sphinx still has flecks of its paint behind its ears, though.
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Jun 13, 2017 20:46
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Kavak posted:The pyramids in their original form were loving glorious. Ancient Egyptian Weapon of Mass
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Jun 13, 2017 20:56
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Night10194 posted:My first ever exposure to Steampunk was Arcanum. Man, did that ever give me the wrong idea about the genre. I actually thought the whole thing was about being in a liminal period in history between two eras where the old fantasy and the coming industrialism conflict, and the ancient horrors and fresh injustices of the two compete to bring down the world as the better natures of both seek to win out. The problem with steampunk is that everyone cosplays the elite.
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Jun 13, 2017 20:59
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ZorajitZorajit posted:Counterpoint, those statues look way better in the plain white marble, because they were painted in like this:
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Jun 13, 2017 21:02
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Angrymog posted:The problem with steampunk is that everyone cosplays the elite. Note the "punk" in the genre name. Originally, it wasn't about being The Man. The genre got started as a rough and tumble genre involving poorhouses, debtors' prisons, smog-choked cities, children selling matchsticks on the street or sweeping chimneys or working in horribly dangerous factories while the clean, fancy dressed elite look down at everyone from their airships.
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Jun 13, 2017 21:33
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Kurieg posted:No, I get steampunk. The point is that these things don't become issues if you don't draw attention to them. Drawing attention to them and then handwaving away the issues you create with something that's patently impossible is doubly stupid. So which side of the line would you say the brain dissection balancing level thing falls on?
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Jun 13, 2017 21:36
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Hrm.. difficult to say, it's dumb but it's dumbness is also outweighed by it's needless grimdarkery? It helps that "Balance center of the dwarven brain" is already a fairly big ask.
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Jun 13, 2017 21:48
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Cythereal posted:Note the "punk" in the genre name. Originally, it wasn't about being The Man. The genre got started as a rough and tumble genre involving poorhouses, debtors' prisons, smog-choked cities, children selling matchsticks on the street or sweeping chimneys or working in horribly dangerous factories while the clean, fancy dressed elite look down at everyone from their airships. Exactly. An actual steampunk game would be from that angle, not gallivanting around the world in your airship. (Unless it was an airship you stole from The Man, I guess)
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Jun 13, 2017 22:17
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Dwarves are nature's spirits level to begin with. And I have long fantasised about getting a steampunk rabble together to terrorize the be-monacled bourgeoisie.
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Jun 13, 2017 22:32
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Barudak posted:It looks more like a Dong-Adapter Socket. Compatible with any Dong Device version 4 or earlier, from steam canon to light projector. I'm imagining Fantasy Steve Jobs extolling the virtue of the Lightning Dongle over traditional USD (Universal Serial Dongle) ports. That visor is Cyber City Oedo as gently caress, and I'm OK with that. Green Intern fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Jun 13, 2017 |
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Jun 13, 2017 23:18
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oop
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Jun 13, 2017 23:35
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Angrymog posted:Exactly. An actual steampunk game would be from that angle, not gallivanting around the world in your airship. (Unless it was an airship you stole from The Man, I guess) Let's be fair. It could also be an airship you're sabotaging.
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Jun 13, 2017 23:48
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 Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star - Part Six: "Felines, rodents, and those bonded with alien organisms, are among the coldest and least likely to trust humans rats are downright evil."  It's hard trying to leave the furry community. Runaway Mutants We get a fiction chunk about a mutant cat kid fleeing the Coalition- Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star posted:Another leap sent her tumbling behind a giant boulder amidst bolts of searing light. Chunks of rock and dirt flew all around her as the Dog Boys on the other side of the ravine let lose with their C-14 laser rifles. It didn't matter now. They should have gunned her down when they had the chance. The boulder could take a hundred blasts before being pulverized by their onslaught (they'd give up long before then). Wait, aren't C-14 "Fire Breathers" mega-damage? Doesn't that mean they'd just slice right through a boulder? Well, apparently not, since she survives and flees. It's revealed that very few mutant animals escape on their own, but that most are allowed to escape by Bradford so he can essentially have them tagged and observed "in the wild". These mutants are labelled "feral", but aren't really, with most building or joining communities. Apparently Native Americans tend to accept them as "god's children" and make them full tribal members (like you do), and Simvan and psi-stalker tribes often do the same because they're in tune with nature. Hippies that'll eat your face, more or less.  "Wait, I'm confused, are you a D-Bee or a mutant?" "Which one gets you not pull the trigger? I'm that one." The Animal Underground So, this is a disparate group of mutants and non-mutants alike that try and help mutant animals escape the Coalition - though the Coalition also has agents that pose as underground members to find and execute escaped mutants. Most attempt to escape westward, though some have migrated to Tolkeen or the Pecos Empire for the opportunity to strike back against the Coalition, and both welcome the talents of mutant animals. Most underground members can provide supplies and try and direct mutants to find a new life rather than throw it away against the Coalition. But they're not slaves!  Mutant Communities Sometimes mutant animals congregate, typically amongst their own type, though some are more accepting of others- Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star posted:Rats never join mixed groups with any sincerity and only associate with other races to get something from them or to use or kill them.  We get some numbers (killhounds are loners, rats go in swarms, etc.) and can move on.  Mad dog. Other Areas of GED Research M.O.M. Technologies So, Bradford has been mucking about with crrrazy technology on dog boys as test subjects to try and reduce the side effects of them on humans, in addition to using them to try and modify personalities (it doesn't say exactly how). This has been disastrous and most dog boys go insane and become a threat to themselves or others. But maybe they'll work someday? It's the work of a genius! Mutant Humans The Coalition explicitly bans genetic experimentation on humans, but Bradford gives no fucks. He's basically trying to find ways to enhance human talents with some success, but can't create specific psychic abilities. If the GM allows it, you can play one of these enhanced humans, but enjoy a random roll for a special talent. In fact, any human character can roll on this table, buried as it is two dozen books into the line in the middle of a book. And with a 40% chance of getting a special ability, it's worth rolling on. Mutants can get between 1 and 3 special abilities, such as...
 E.T., flee home! Psi-X Aliens These are the result of Bradford attempting to enhance the psychic genes of humans over decades, but he considers it his greatest failure. Because they were children, apparently, he couldn't bring himself to destroy them (given he's a megalomanical sociopath who experiments on humans, this seems like a fishy excuse to me). He gave them the name "Psi-X Alien" because of the test subjects screamed about being turned into a "bug-eyed, Roswell alien". Wait. He's a future kid, what would he know of Roswell or 20th century mythology? Well, apparently somehow he did. We'll see this kind of notion in spades in the next book (New West) where people model themselves after cowboys and gunfighters despite having little or no seeming access to westerns. So, these are basically humans mutated into grey alien-styled forms - a similar notion to the earlier Palladium book, Transdimensional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Wujcik, which had human mutants gaining psychic powers but regressing physically into more fragile alien-like forms. Predictably, they're highly intelligent, but aren't particularly charming (but are more charming if they're good, in a rare alignment-based mechanic). Their physical capabilities are below normal across the board, from strength to beauty, and they barely even get any S.D.C. They do get pretty much all the special types of sight (but need to wear sunglasses in daylight or be blinded), some sensitive psychic powers, can float (but not fly) instead of walk, bonuses against fear and illusion. They also get double damage and range on bio-manipulation or empathic transmission, but only one of those does any damage (now you can do 2 points instead of 1!), so mostly just double range. Also you only have a 15% chance of getting access to those powers, good luck! Because - yes - they roll randomly for their other psychic powers, which range from the pretty useful (getting all the kinesis powers) to nearly useless (immune to most mind-affecting powers). They have a miniscule chance of getting a boosted version of the mind melter (somewhere around 1%) but nothing to really justify all the drawbacks this R.C.C. takes. They also get one skill category at a significant bonus but almost no other skills. In general, their niche effectiveness doesn't really offset the plethora of drawbacks they get and the randomness of their powers.  "Put more alien stuff around, I'm not sure they get what we're going for." Next: 
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Jun 14, 2017 00:16
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Cythereal posted:Note the "punk" in the genre name. Originally, it wasn't about being The Man. The genre got started as a rough and tumble genre involving poorhouses, debtors' prisons, smog-choked cities, children selling matchsticks on the street or sweeping chimneys or working in horribly dangerous factories while the clean, fancy dressed elite look down at everyone from their airships. Steampunk is fascism for nice people. 
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Jun 14, 2017 01:20
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Jeff and John have started their Star Wars Expanded Universe spin-off, and I can't help but remember that I have the entire run of The New Jedi Order gathering dust somewhere. I wonder what I could do with it...
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Jun 14, 2017 01:41
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MonsieurChoc posted:Jeff and John have started their Star Wars Expanded Universe spin-off, and I can't help but remember that I have the entire run of The New Jedi Order gathering dust somewhere. I wonder what I could do with it... That's a lot of mediocre to bad books to read but it does have light saber elbow/knees. Anyone else remember how they were building up Shadows of the Empire in advertising to be a transmedia venture that was as good as the trilogy according to Lucas et al? The reading is even better when you have that context.
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Jun 14, 2017 01:53
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ZorajitZorajit posted:Fair play, I didn't mean to suggest that we shouldn't sometimes juxtapose contrasting visuals to put an audience at odds with their expectations -- or any other motivation for that matter. Only to quip that sometimes it's okay to lean on popular perception because the truth of the matter is more nuanced than the narrative needs. (Which sounds like a really lovely thing to say, I don't want to sound like an apologist for reactionary portrayals.) LatwPIAT posted:Steampunk is fascism for nice people. gently caress
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Jun 14, 2017 03:22
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MonsieurChoc posted:Jeff and John have started their Star Wars Expanded Universe spin-off, and I can't help but remember that I have the entire run of The New Jedi Order gathering dust somewhere. I wonder what I could do with it... Mail the books to them.
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Jun 14, 2017 03:33
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LatwPIAT posted:Steampunk is fascism for nice people. In reality, communism is the true steampunk. There really should be a steampunk fictionalization of Karl Marx. The more anime the better, with hot-headed Karl, his girlfriend Jenny, and a bishonen gender-bending Friedrich Engels fighting Queen Victoria and her caste of cannibalistic nobility feeding on freshly-mummified Egyptians and free range Irish.
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Jun 14, 2017 03:34
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Karl Marx is a level 25 Paladin of the People, while Engels is a level 23 Cleric of Coin who spends all his daily spell slots on trying to somehow cover Karl's ludicrous debts. And Bakunin is that unfortunate character you really wanted to like but then he turned out to be a Ranger who put all his favoured enemy slots towards 'the jews' rather than 'capitalism'.
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Jun 14, 2017 04:39
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RocknRollaAyatollah posted:That's a lot of mediocre to bad books to read but it does have light saber elbow/knees. We addressed it a little bit in the first one, but I am gathering all kinds of stuff to talk about next. Most notably the score. Shadows of the Empire has a score like it was a real movie. Xizor has his own theme! There's a song called "The Seduction of Princess Leia"! theironjef fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Jun 14, 2017 |
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Jun 14, 2017 04:50
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theironjef posted:We addressed it a little bit in the first one, but I am gathering all kinds of stuff to talk about next. Most notably the score. Shadows of the Empire has a score like it was a real movie. Xizor has his own theme! There's a song called "The Seduction of Princess Leia"!
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Jun 14, 2017 05:18
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Nessus posted:Is the seduction of Princess Leia "punk" or not I would describe it as a "Waltz by circuslight," but it's hard to tell for sure because the composer seems to think that any given song should be generally around 8 songs.
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Jun 14, 2017 05:33
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theironjef posted:I would describe it as a "Waltz by circuslight," but it's hard to tell for sure because the composer seems to think that any given song should be generally around 8 songs. I'm having trouble parsing that last part. I assume you're not just talking about a leitmotif reused ad absurdum, worst-case scenario the composer has just flung eight songs at the ear at a time like the worst mashup "artist" ever. (I was an unfortunate witness to a truly execrable mashup at one point. One of the comments was "This is just both songs playing at the same time," to which the uploader replied "What did you think a mashup was?" I mean, aesthetically pleasing, complementary, and in the same time signature are technically supposed to be on the table there.)
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Jun 14, 2017 10:26
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LongDarkNight posted:Mail the books to them. Only if they want them. I'm not evil enough to send those unwanted. So, theironjef, do you want to experience The New Jedi Order?
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Jun 14, 2017 13:48
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MonsieurChoc posted:Only if they want them. I'm not evil enough to send those unwanted. Hey, it could be worse, you could send them The Crystal Star.
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Jun 14, 2017 16:10
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Dareon posted:I'm having trouble parsing that last part. I assume you're not just talking about a leitmotif reused ad absurdum, worst-case scenario the composer has just flung eight songs at the ear at a time like the worst mashup "artist" ever. There's leitmotifs aplenty (the Xizor theme starts out sounding like it's a seductive Jawa dance), but I was referring to movements. Most of these tracks contain several with full stops and not a lot of direct connection between them.
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Jun 14, 2017 16:34
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MonsieurChoc posted:Only if they want them. I'm not evil enough to send those unwanted. Heck yeah, but be warned we're doing this in chapters so it might be even slower than System Mastery. OvermanXAN posted:Hey, it could be worse, you could send them The Crystal Star. Oh I have that. We are already going to Crseih Station. Justice Hethrir and Waru will know my anger.
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Jun 14, 2017 16:36
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What were the issues with The Crystal Star, in short? I last read it and a number of other Star Wars novels almost two decades ago, and my sense of literary taste was considerably less developed then as a middle schooler. (The last time I paid serious attention to the EU was when the Hand of Thrawn novels came out, and even then there was just too much to keep up with.) At this point I only have a few pieces remaining - the Rogue Squadron set, mostly for Wraith Squadron, and NGDBSS fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jun 14, 2017 |
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Jun 14, 2017 17:09
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