tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post6644187425679776675..comments2023-06-08T08:26:07.304-05:00Comments on Advanced Gaming & Theory: INVASION OF THE SUPER ELFRipperXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-58907790982269716042016-01-23T08:53:23.142-06:002016-01-23T08:53:23.142-06:00Well, I could, but no. Gothic Earth is a completel...Well, I could, but no. Gothic Earth is a completely different setting than my fantasy stuff. All of the magic in Gothic Earth is highly occult in nature. <br /><br />What I mean by Sitchin is that I like to put together elements that are totally insane until you can stand back and look at everything as a whole, then the brilliance hits you.<br /><br />Finding an ancient battlefield in the Sahara, recently exposed by a sandstorm, and then disappearing again just as fast is very GOthic Earth. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-60372033810680939762016-01-22T14:02:39.617-06:002016-01-22T14:02:39.617-06:00You have a gothic setting with extra-terrestrials?...You have a gothic setting with extra-terrestrials? Unfortunately I work the 6AM to 2 PM shift and I can't be up in the middle of the night. I used to listen to Art Bell when I was in high school. If you like Sitchin, try Rerikh.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-2037786810478557622016-01-21T21:02:05.777-06:002016-01-21T21:02:05.777-06:00Speaking of strange advanced technologies being wh...Speaking of strange advanced technologies being where they shouldn't be, I love listening to AM radio in the middle of the night, and my personal favorite program is Coast to Coast AM.<br /><br />On that program we talk about lots of interesting things, one of my favorites is Mars, there appears to be a lot of wreckage in photos taken by the rovers, one showed a picture that could either be a human skull in a helmet, part of a robot, or just a funny looking rock, but stuff like that, coupled with the theories of Zacharia Sitchin are very influential on my game. <br /><br />RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-85183796406470608302016-01-21T20:29:26.313-06:002016-01-21T20:29:26.313-06:00Tinker Gnomes! I'm no expert on them, but I th...Tinker Gnomes! I'm no expert on them, but I think that they first popped up in Dragonlance, either that or Warhammer. <br /><br />Ticktock men, automatons, bizarre prehistoric robots, a strange mixture of metal and magic, these things are definitely old-school! <br /><br />Most of their inventions are junk, but like magic, some of it isn't. From a creative standpoint, these kinds of gnomes can really push a fantasy setting. <br /><br />As PCs, Tinker Gnomes suck, but as NPCs or evidence of a weird culture now left in ruins, you can really let your imagination flourish.<br /><br />RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-75824877024999401332016-01-21T19:56:19.817-06:002016-01-21T19:56:19.817-06:00Thanks for the excellent breakdown of Dwarves and ...Thanks for the excellent breakdown of Dwarves and Gnomes. I didn't have much interest in either, nor in Halflings, Elves are a presence in my campaign. A sinister, seldom seen presence. Thieves, who steal their magical items end up getting skinned alive. That kind of lore. Now that you explained the Gnomes to me, they too should have an interesting role in Midlands. I have seen gnomes portrayed as watch makers, mechanical device crafters, messing around with gears and clockwork mechanisms. Where does that come from and what do you make of that trend in Gnome culture?Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-72879804055431146532016-01-20T19:11:21.432-06:002016-01-20T19:11:21.432-06:00Dwarves prefer gnomes over all other races. They h...Dwarves prefer gnomes over all other races. They have a lot in common, both are secretive and perfectly respectable of each others space, they work two different arts, the dwarf works metal, and the gnome works precious stone, both are artists that know no peer, but when they work together, it forms a sacred marriage and union. The need each other.<br /><br />Man considers gnome to be more rare than the dwarf, but this isn't true. The thing about gnomes is that once they find a nice vain they never leave it until it is exhausted, if they want more materials they primarily only trust dwarves. <br /><br />Now that is just a general assessment of my racial template, complete lore depends on the mines themselves. I also like my gnomes to be keepers of lore, they always know more then what they are willing to give. They are very fay and protect the gates and entrances to the underworld secret. One only sees a gnome out in the wild if it wants to be seen . . . which is rarely. Powerful wizards can find them, and use their lore to travel vast distances quickly, but these gnomes are way beyond the scope of PC characters, unless the gate that they were charged with has been compromised, I suppose. <br />RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-64679147834860497052016-01-20T17:50:40.216-06:002016-01-20T17:50:40.216-06:00I absolutely agree with you, but you seem to anthr...I absolutely agree with you, but you seem to anthropomorphize them and put more trust in them, than I do. The real world counterpart are the Aristocracy of old, and Royal Nobility at that. Dwarves are based on the gold-smiths and silversmiths of the Feudal Europe (two separate animals those two). What is your take on Gnome vs Dwarf, culture wise.<br /><br />Elves have their own baggage and issues, not apparent to most gamers. Elves who run with men, like Aristocratic gentlemen of old they despise death and at times stake their inheritances on a single poker bet, fight duels at a drop of a hat, and they have this unique manner of death, called falling into human hands. A couple of good examples, if you ever get a chance, read Christopher Isherwood's Good-Bye to Berlin (the heir to the supermarket chain), and Walter Tevis' The Man Who Fell To Earth. Profiles in Elven downfall.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-61030947335902148912016-01-20T09:04:56.611-06:002016-01-20T09:04:56.611-06:00Elves are interesting creatures, I think that huma...Elves are interesting creatures, I think that humans frustrate them; In elven society a lovers tiff can last longer than most kingdoms. They see us as having a glimmer of sentience but we are too short lived and have terrible memories. When elves speak to humans, they expect their words to be remembered through our generations, which is how they work, and they become extremely agitated when we don't comply to this simple order. <br /><br />Humans have taken from both elven and dwarven cultures, we are capable of creating great beauty, and we have perpetuated the dwarven money system, which elves probably wouldn't even be interested in. We fight and kill seemingly without thought, and we don't appear to be able to control our populations, or perhaps the elves just don't want to bring more elves into this world that we've created.<br /><br />Elven lore practically writes itself!RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-33874987991647266602016-01-19T20:02:59.540-06:002016-01-19T20:02:59.540-06:00Political Correctness has nothing to do with it. I...Political Correctness has nothing to do with it. Introducing racism into D&D as a theme will add complexity to your game. Taking at face value the tropes of colonial racism inherent in D&D will only perpetuate them.<br /><br />The ultimate irony is that Tolkien's conservatism was unique in 1920's UK and it flew in the face of the American sword and sorcery authors, such as Fritz Lieber, and ghostwriters of children's series such as Nancy Drew, who were extremely progressive. In England after trenches of WWI, the overwhelming majority of Tolkien's generation were anti-war and Socialist, and none wanted to go back to the bad old days of serfs and feudalism. Along comes Tolkien and the Inklings, who pretty much wanted to bring back the good old days of kindly Kings and knights and bishops and of grateful unquestioning peasants, who knew their place in society.<br /><br />None of Tolkien's writings would have survived or been remembered today, had it not been for his extreme popularity of it with the American gamers of the 1960's on college campuses, who kept up the market demand for Tolkien's writings.<br /><br />Here is the supreme irony, while gamers may dismiss all this as mere political correctness, most persons of color are painfully aware of any negative stereotyping, having to live with it, and were not fans of fantasy in general or Tolkien in particular. That is why, D&D Second Edition introduced Humanoids as player characters, and D&D 3rd edition onwards introduced diversity into game illustrations, and 4th edition changed Halflings into Kender, making them slim and svelte, vaguely elfin.<br /><br />If Orcs were real and lived in a Democratic society, they would be entitled to a proportional representation of their interests. Since Elves have driven them out of the forests and into the crags, swamps, and wastelands, much like the white American settlers did to the indigenous people here, Orcs will be entitled to arable agricultural land, better living and hunting environments, likely taken out of the Elven holdings. <br /><br />Which begs another question, does anything in your knowledge of history lead your to believe that Elves, with their huge life spans and their tremendous power, will (1) go for democratic rule of law and (2) Would tolerate Orcs (or men for that matter) settling on their pristine preserves?Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-39480676560368819262016-01-19T16:18:50.270-06:002016-01-19T16:18:50.270-06:00Elves are a solid staple in fantasy, in some form ...Elves are a solid staple in fantasy, in some form or another, they are there. As far as "The Lord of the Rings" elves go, they inspired all players of this game in some form or another.<br /><br />I personally like racism in games, it adds that element of complexity to travel, and an element of surprise. Through racism we can isolate the players, even in town, and it does show us our history in a none preachy way. <br /><br />The funny thing is to ponder how our Politically Correct Culture would attempt to treat Orcs if they were real. Maybe if we just show them some understanding and teach them to fish then we can get them to integrate and serve our peace loving communities? Can you imagine the political candidates going after the Orc votes? <br /><br />And THAT is how fast I get distracted. <br /><br />Perhaps I just find it offensive that the guide tells me what I have to do. Most of the core rules don't limit creativity, but the definitions of the races do. <br /><br />Most of my investigations under the hood suggest a game that can be ran as written, but this is clearly a check against the stability of the core rules. It tells the players that THIS is in the world and it should be, but when it isn't, then you can make the claim that the DM is cheating. I hate changing core rules because of book keeping. I've got a folder with the few rules I've changed, but the thing is, that for the most part, those rules only effect me as a DM, this one effects the PHB. Needless to say, this article isn't finished, not until I've heard more opinions about it.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-10078247113763150942016-01-19T13:00:39.626-06:002016-01-19T13:00:39.626-06:00D&D inherited the Elves from JRR Tolkien, who ...D&D inherited the Elves from JRR Tolkien, who was a product of the British colonial culture in Africa and who perpetuated some of the colonial racism in his writing, with sub-human Orcs and the master race Elves. Tolkien was a big fan of Wagner, and the advent of Naziism had severely embarrassed him. After WW2 Tolkien said that the Nazis had perverted all of his ideals about the European Golden Age.<br /><br />For whatever reason, probably mostly ignorance, TSR perpetuated Tolkien's colonialist views by keeping Race as class and Race as Personality trait, and furthermore, by defining sub-human Humanoids and, often, super human Demi Humans. Funny thing is, when Nazis were in power, they tried inventing their own Nazi culture, and part of it was Nazi Literature, which is not all but forgotten. The defining feature of the so-called Nazi Literature was Racial and Ethnic Stereotype as Character. Of course, instead of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits and Men, Nazi authors invoked Jolly Bavarians, Idealistic Prussians, Westphalians, Berliners, also Frenchmen, Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, Jews and others, as purely negative stereotypes. The only place where this literary form survives is in D&D and D&D inspired fantasy.<br /><br />When I was setting up Midlands, I decided to do away with racism and colonial stereotyping in my game. Then I realized, that like magic and supernatural, multitude of sentient races competing with humanity will make the game experience richer, so I kept the Elves and others, but made them off limits to players, as well as some other human ethnicities and character types, which will give away most secrets of the setting, since these types know most of what the players need to win the campaign.<br /><br />Having said that, here is my rationale for the power of the Elves and why non-human player characters are limited in how high they can advance in levels.<br /><br />The level restriction, simply reflects the fantasy's equivalent of the glass ceiling. Demi humans are outsiders in the fantasy world, regardless of how powerful they may be. Compare the odds on Wall Street of a woman from the street versus those of a WASP male with the right Ivy League education and proper pedigree.<br /><br />Regarding power of Elves, consider that Elves can live for over 1000 years, Gray Elves for 2000 years. Let us take a Mature 700 Wood Elf and 1800 year old Gray Elf. The first one would have been born before Columbus discovered America, and would have lived through the discovery of the New World, Renaissance, Mercantilism, Napoleonic Period, Colonialism, Both World Wars, Cold War. The Gray Elf would be older than Western World, His father would have known Moses, and his Grandfather would have seen the rise of Mesopotamia. Considering the accumulation and inter-generational transfer of family wealth and knowledge, had Elves lived among us, according to our economics, Elves would have been the wealthiest people on earth, and with Wisdom and Money buying influence and power, Elves would be ruling humanity.<br /><br />For that reason, Elves are seldom seen in Midlands. Individuals Elves can be seen among men, but Elven cities and communities are a thing of legend. Elves have their own enclaves in big cities, but they are closed and clannish, isolated in their mansions and pent-houses much like Vampires and Liches would be, with a large number of hirelings and followers conducting day to day business with the humans on their masters' behalf. Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.com