Re: [BNW] Weak Powers

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

>     If you've ever seen Saving Private Ryan, you know that in one unit 
>there is
>usually only one person who is fluent in the language. Even then, their 
>fluency
>is marred by the forced, sped up learning that they received. In America in 
>the
>1940's we we HIGHLY isolationist and we didn't like other countries.
>Consequently -very- few people spoke foreign languages of any type (and 
>they
>weren't taught in schools), let alone Japanese or Chinese. Almost assuredly 
>not
>German. Perhaps some French (Canadians being so near) and maybe some 
>Spanish
>(for mexicans in the south). Other than that Americans really didn't 
>frequently
>know any languages and didn't want to know. Over time some of the soldiers
>picked up some words in the foreign countries, a very small percentage 
>learned
>to actually speak the language. The Translator is invaluable n the WW2 
>setting.
>

Again, I'm not disputing the usefulness of being able to speak foreign 
languages. I'm not even disputing the benefit of _every_ PC in a group 
speaking the language of the foreign country they're in (why I put forth a 
Share Translation Trick).

But this ain't real-life - it's a RPG adventure setting run through a 
semi-theatrical/semi-"cowboys & indians" mechanism.  How interesting would 
playing Cowboys & Indians be at the age of 5-10 if you insisted one of your 
players do nothing but sit there and translate, "Bang you're dead" for 
everyone from Sioux to English and vice versa?  :)

Different languages in a movie can be handled through subtitles, or a 
narrator, or simultaneous translation (see Witness and any movie with 
Marlene Maitlin for an example).  In a RPG, it's best ignored.  You 
shouldn't have to have a PC there whose primary purpose is to facilitate a 
game mechanism that should remain transparent.

>Steve Crow wrote:
>
> > >There has been some discussion over "weak" power packages (especially 
>the
> > >Translator).  Maybe I'm a strange Guide, but I have not found any 
>powers to
> > >be weaker than the others.


---

Steve Crow

"Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority."

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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