[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [DL] The Worldview
> The Weird World Project:<
>I wish this project well, but I hope you can avoid
the issues that have kept Pinnacle from covering the
rest of the world (Err, not including shortage of
staff, but that counts, too).<
Thanks for the support.
>Basically, I hope it doesn't turn out like some
other RPG efforts to cover the world where many
setting books have a radically different tone that
essentially might as well be another game.
As an example, back in the day I was lured into the
fold of Palladium books, and have a sizable chunk of
the original After The Bomb series. The first few
tried to keep the setting deep in a very post-
apocalyptic feel, specifically the world so far after
the cataclysm that new cultures are sprouting up and
moving on. Not bad, and one of Palladium's better
lines, even if the rules seem somewhat antiquated by
modern standards.
The setting books often took a radically different
tone. Much of North America remained the same, but
some of the other areas had a very different tone.
Shadowrun did it a bit better... I only have a few of
their setting books, one covering the UK and one
Germany, but they seem to work a bit better. They do
a very good job of describing the setting from the
viewpoint of the 'generic' runners that were the core
of the setting, so while your Seattle sprawl street
sam might have some problems getting into the UK and
would be a foreigner and treated as such, he wouldn't
be completely out of his genre.<
Since it’s planned as a volunteer project with dozens
of sections that might come from dozens of writers,
there will be a element of this problem no matter
what. That why I’m hoping using the List serve as a
feedback device for the writers will correct most
problems. For the most part the members of the list
have always been polite so using them for feedback
should be painless (your post being a case in point,
I had not thought out this specific problem and can
see the need for a better guideline for volunteers.
Thanks)
>Are these being looked at for use in existing games,
as alternate settings, or both? use in standard games
may be difficult... Travel to these locales could
take weeks, and really removes the focus from the
American frontier, which is really pretty big when it
comes down to it...
Anyways, best of luck, but please keep in mind that
Deadlands is a 'western' game so 'western' themes
win. Please try to avoid adding Arcane Backgrounds
when the current ones work, if possible.<
I think the main idea is to provide inspiration to
players and Marshall for background information on
what’s happening elsewhere in the world, if I decide
to play a Russian immigrant character, it might help
to know what’s been happening in the country he came
from. Then its to provide a overview of a area for
Marshall who want their posses to go on a one shot
trip to say, Scotland, so that if they cause a lot of
trouble, the Brits with black umbrellas show up to
chew them out and clean up the mess.
Thirdly the overview is meant to provide a Marshall
who does want out run outside of North America a
starting point for him to assemble his game on.
As far as New Arcane Backgrounds go, I was thinking
more about variation of a theme, the hexslinger is a
variation of a Huckster, but their both Arcanes who
contest the Manitou to get them to power spells.
If I want to make a Cabbalist Arcane background, I
think about the whole decoding the bible for secret
words that can command spirits to do tasks, that
sounds like a Huckster.
The Cabbalist AB: become a huckster that recites
unnatural sounding words to do spells instead of
having ghostly cards appear in his hand, different
flavor, same game mechanics.
> Europe:
> The far north: (Norway, Viking)
>Allowing a VERY rare shaman in these regions might
be flavorful. The main question is if the local
spirits have the pact the Native American shamans do,
or are using other techniques. <
Pretty much how I was thinking, with the addition of
using the Old Norse gods as the Totems for local
flavor.
> The southeast: (Return of Greek myths, Transylvania)
> The rest of it. (The Black forest, Grimm’s
fairy
> tales, Prussians)
>One specific concern is that I wouldn't want to see
things get too 'happy' at any point. The tone of
Deadlands is ultimately somewhat grim, and I worry
that some fairy tale critters could ruin it.
Admittedly, the original version of the Grimm's Fairy
Tales are
generally quite dark.<
I was thinking along the lines of a “Weird World” Law
of the supernatural. Anything supernatural is at best
indifferent to you well being (nature spirits), or on
average is out to kill you. (Manitou)
For the most part the supernatural element of the
Weird west is based on Indian mythology, the Grimm’s
fairy tales comment was just a suggestion to use the
local myths as a basis for creating the supernatural
creatures who want to pop open the characters skulls
and stir up the contents with a clawed finger.
> The orient:
> China (boxing day, return of magic, celestial
> bureaucracy)
>Isn't Boxing Day that thing they do in Canada? Do
you mean the Boxer rebellion, or am I jsut hopelessly
ignorant? Both are equally possible, and not
exclusive...
There's some notes on China ad the asian conturies in
the Great Maze,
as I remember. My personal opinion is that the magic
never left these
areas, but has become easier to access with the
reckoning, allowing
things like Kang;s Ogres to be much more common.<
I knew it was boxing something, the whole deal had
something to do with a violent revolt in the early
1900’s against foreign occupiers of china, but the
conditions that caused the rebellion existed long
before that. Besides, angry natives fighting the
white invaders while the zombies run wild would make
china seem like home for a posse of Weird West
characters.
I agree with the “magic never left part”, at least as
far as the belief in magic having never left. I would
think of china as being better able to deal with the
sudden return of magic then any other non-tribal
civilization.
> Gypsy: (Tarot hucksters, crystal balls, curses)
> Secret societies: (World crime league, The
Illuminati)
>I think you're really drifting into the 'pulp' genre
more than Western here...<
I don’t think I can stop that, pulp fiction was
written by people who grew up reading dime novels and
Victorian fiction, and I grew up reading the Pulp
fiction, I don’t think I can avoid adding
in “backwards echoes” when some pulp elements are
written into the system.
Deadlands is steampunk set in a Western horror game,
If you add Captain Nemo to it, it will start to drift
back toward Victorian literature, but a crazed Mad
scientist destroying warships to end all war just
fits into the Deadlands setting so well, its just the
scale that don’t. Make captain Nemo a crazed miner in
a minisub out to blow up both confederate and union
naval vessel in the maze, and he fits in seamlessly.
But again, thanks for the feedback.
To try to keep the project under control here are
some guidelines I’m thinking about.
1: The majority of all supernatural elements should
be out to harm mankind.
2: All advanced devices created by Mad science should
be used only on a personal scale, they should not
chance the real historical setting on any major scale.
3: As the Recongners have concentrated their efforts
on North America, real world history should closely
match Weird world events.
4: Remember that not every Historical figure becomes
Harrowed or otherwise acquires Arcane powers.
Anyone have suggestions for revision of the above or
additional guidelines?