Ian Absentia

6 hours ago, Kloster said:

As you have already 3 from homeland and 1 from cult at chargen, it seems to me difficult to have fewer than 5 or 6, once personal history kicks in.

Yep.

!i!

22 minutes ago, Kloster said:

More passions can mark a character with a tortured soul, conflicting interests, or more simply a broad pattern of interests.

Honestly, more than 3 or 4 begins to dilute the definition of the word "passion" and becomes just-another-game-mechanic.  Too many Passions begins to look like a personality disorder.

!i!

@soltakss noted his book for Legend up above:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139266/Legend-Land-of-Ice-and-Stone

Not exactly BRP, but d100 and a kissing cousin.

!i!

I ain't no mod, but the moment we start discussing "species" and "subspecies" relative to humanity, I need to:

a) Acknowledge that I started us down this path;
b) Assert that I've made exactly my point; and,
c) Suggest that we tap the brakes on the subject.

Mea culpa.

!i!

On 11/12/2021 at 4:12 AM, svensson said:

See, I have a problem with 'cute'.

This I do not doubt.

You must open your mind to ducks as PCs.  And, as long as the barn door is open, midget slashers, too.  Small needn't be cute.

!i!

Oh, and to keep the discussion on-topic, there are plenty of examples in Japanese literature (because when we consider KAP, we're taking a literary approach) of warrior princesses.  Sometimes anachronistically, sometimes fabulously, but that never stopped anyone in Arthurian literature.

!i!

3 minutes ago, Al. said:

Dave Morris (of Dragon Warriors and early White Dwarf fame) wrote a really interesting adventure where the 'Orcs' were actually Neanderthal survivors; ostracised, bullied, killed for their Exp and their stuff by humans.

Kiril Eskov, in his deconstruction of Tolkien, The Last Ring Bearer, presents the term "orc" as a typical dehumanisation of another human cultural enemy.

As I've stated elsewhere, like the status of the planet Pluto, the affinity of Neanderthals to modern humans has gone up and down the disciplinary score card according to prevailing opinions, and in several instances evident bigotries, in the scientific community.  At the practical level of RPGs, they're just other people, unless one intends to treat other people as monsters as Eskov suggests.

If we must differentiate Neanderthals, I suggest granting them psychic powers and flying saucers.

!I!

My Genpei project dated back to the early '00s independently (rooted firmly in the 4e), then '04-'06 with Greg during the 5e Arthaus days.  Another approach came later with a Japanese author, but ultimately not near publication.  More recently, David (@sirlarkins) has been working on a separate approach.  All based in the Heian period, which is very "Arthurian" in nature (and less crowded in terms of RPG treatments).

!i!

4 minutes ago, Meleros said:

I mean, if one wants vegetarian morokanths, one can claim that this religious practice requires eating herd-men maybe once every year.

Perhaps they simply classify herd-men as "vegetables".

Feel free to move this post over to "Your Dumbest Theory".

!i!

On 11/6/2021 at 9:26 AM, Zenith Comics Presents... said:

• Neanderthals

Standard Human stats in every way.  Except, perhaps, EDU if you're using it.  Resist the urge to treat Neanderthals as "monsters" -- they're people, not orcs.  The BGB "Primitive" (p.365) is probably your go-to for stats and skill set, though it still has its problematic assumptions (like the plural of shaman 😅).

!i!

I'm still trying to track down the copy of the AH Player's box that I gave to my nephew way back when.  Almost a complete game, but a really neat package.

!i!

10 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

Interesting plural there, @GMKen.

For heaven's sake, people are entitled to their opinions.  Stop assigning motive, Nick.

!i!

18 hours ago, SDLeary said:

An absolute bargain compared to what I found on Abe's Books. Everyone look, you'll get a real laugh!

Given the following description...

"Item is in good condition. Some moderate creases and wear. This item may not come with CDs or additional parts including access codes for textbooks. This may not have a dust jacket. Might be an ex-library copy and contain writing/highlighting. Photos are stock pictures and not of the actual item."

...I'm not convinced they actually know what they're selling, or it's worth the month's rent they're asking for it.

!i!

4 hours ago, Rick Meints said:

The books all suffer from poor binding, and it is common that pages become loose very quickly.

More or less a standard for GW books of the era, including other lines.  Our local shop owner was very indulgent with exchanges for books with defective binding, and taking it up with his distributor.

!i!

Once you label me, you negate me. 😑

!i!

1 hour ago, MoonRightRomantic said:

I've heard several people mention they played games from the perspectives of the secret societies fighting the evil body-thieves...

Which is like the double-reverse of the classic "Call of Cthulhu from the Monster's POV" complaint.  Which is also, essentially, the premise of Delta Green, so knock yourselves out with another very good game, folks!

1 hour ago, MoonRightRomantic said:

...I think the reframing of nephilim as sums of souls and elemental fusions makes them more sympathetic to players [...snip...] and makes the secret societies unambiguously evil or at best deluded.

One hopes, though it can be a bumpy road for player and character alike (see Philip K. Dick's VALIS).  Minus the elemental metamorphosis, this is the approach I'm taking with White Rabbit Green.

!i!

On 11/2/2021 at 3:10 PM, PhilHibbs said:

A friend of mine has played a wind child and a trollkin.

Just making a note for a wish-list.  And maybe the "Your Dumbest Theory" thread.

!i!

Just now, Jack Tar said:

How blind am I?!

That's like a Zen koan that we must all ask ourselves.

!i!

2 hours ago, g33k said:

I suspect (with no specific knowledge) that they are explicitly precludes all-things-Cthulhu, unless separately licensed.

Agreed that public speculation is pointless (and possibly ill-advised), so let's turn to an actual Mythos product just released under license using the Mythras game system: Weird of Hali.

https://www.aeongamespublishing.co.uk/product/weird-of-hali-roleplaying-the-other-side-of-the-cthulhu-mythos/94553/

So, there it is.

!i!

I've mentioned them before.  My best friend and I played Alecks and Oddo Gruntfart, the Great Troll twins, which, technically, classified them as trollkin.  Heroically stupid and yet independently minded.  Alecks favored wielding an oaken door as a combination bludgeon and shield; Oddo would just grab the nearest opponent by the ankles and use them as a club.  The party tended to follow them because of the gaping path of least resistance that opened in their wake.

I lobbied to play a panda hsunchen once, but was rebuffed. 😒

!i!

Yeah, sorry -- I meant to connect those dots.  Despite its association with the Aldryami, the nature of the Wooden Sword is anathema to the productive, growth-minded nature of dryads.

!i!

In brief...

!i!

Don't the sequential phases represent her descent to and ascension from the Underworld?

Oh, wait, no.  That's Ishtar.  Totally different goddess.  Never mind. 

!i!

On 7/16/2021 at 8:05 AM, AlHazred said:

Candlefire had one or two weird bits in it that I ended up changing at my table (who put's a "2" in the middle of a name?)

You mean Vrang 2jhomang? 

9-Jack-9 might have an opinion or two on that matter.

!i!

I get it.  I used to enjoy it, too, when Illuminatus! and the Weekly World News poked fun at an invisible fringe or featured obviously -- and badly -- manufactured hoaxes that we could all laugh at together.  And then the Internet connected the True Believers in safe spaces to legitimise the horseshit and then amplify it.  Now it's metastasising.

I'm on a soapbox again.  But making a comedy about this sort of thing is like marketing menthol cigarettes.  Smooth, cool flavor and 25% less tar and nicotine is still part of the problem.

Besides, it's a poor man's Rick and Morty.

!i!