D4: G+ Game Tips and FAQ for those going to Constantcon 2011
How big is Constantcon 2011? Big enough that my "I play RPGs as a social activity which means other people in a room not chatting on the Internet" self is going.
I may even try to run a game.
D6: My newly found blogging love
Very interesting ideas and very prolific.
D8: Orientalist Adventures
A very old (April 2008) post but one I read for the first time last week. It really got me thinking and had me looking to buy a copy of AD&D OA, which I've never owned. His challenge to use the old rules but just gut the meta-data (classes, spells, etc) has come to fruition at least once with Matt's Pars Fortuna. It would be interesting to do an Indian Adventures (IA) that was a mismash of everything from the Mahabharata forward. Instead of cavaliers we'd have bow specialists who ride in chariots while the general fighter would remain the same. Assassins (or thieves if just doing B/X versions) would be replaced by the thugee. I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest variations of clerics (lots of options, but how to make them "Indian" in some generic western stereotype sense) or magic-users.
D10: Fantasy India D&D Resources
Someone gathered what they could find in physical books at Amazon though. He does mention the pdf only Sahasra which is for 3.5. There are several books which are on my wish list.How big is Constantcon 2011? Big enough that my "I play RPGs as a social activity which means other people in a room not chatting on the Internet" self is going.
I may even try to run a game.
D6: My newly found blogging love
Very interesting ideas and very prolific.
D8: Orientalist Adventures
A very old (April 2008) post but one I read for the first time last week. It really got me thinking and had me looking to buy a copy of AD&D OA, which I've never owned. His challenge to use the old rules but just gut the meta-data (classes, spells, etc) has come to fruition at least once with Matt's Pars Fortuna. It would be interesting to do an Indian Adventures (IA) that was a mismash of everything from the Mahabharata forward. Instead of cavaliers we'd have bow specialists who ride in chariots while the general fighter would remain the same. Assassins (or thieves if just doing B/X versions) would be replaced by the thugee. I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest variations of clerics (lots of options, but how to make them "Indian" in some generic western stereotype sense) or magic-users.
D10: Fantasy India D&D Resources
D12: Need A New TV Series?
One last link on the India theme is this series from the late 80s of the Mahabharata. I've watched the first episode and enjoyed it although I suspect I'm missing most of it. Sadly, it is not on Netflix although Michael Woods's The Story of India is (also in book form
). His In Search of the Dark Ages
and In Search of the Trojan War
have been useful in the past (the former has no TV series, the later's series is also on Netflix) and I suspect all of his books are a good source for GMs.
I recall a DRAGON magazine with several articles of Indian material (weapons, armour, monsters, and a few others). I'll see if I can locate the issue on the ol' DRAGON-MATIC...stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteSay, thanks for the pointer to Jeff's blog and the "orientalist adventures" discussion. That brings up a lot of things I think I'll be commenting on in some forthcoming blog posts.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I mentioned at his blog that I'd like to repeat here, if I may, is that I used to do game design for TSR, starting out with OA, and including the design of medieval Japan (Kozakura) in the Kara-Tur boxed set (other side of the Forgotten Realms world).
I've just released a free fantasy novel (in ebook form) called Dragonsword, which had it's origins in OA design work I did back when (although it started with original work of my own). You can check out the book here: www.dragonsword.info. The Oriental Adventures roots of it are discussed here.
I also like your touching on the Indian culture things, too. That is one area that is largely unaddressed in American gaming publications. I think part of the hesitation to go there has to do with a general lack of knowledge about the place and how things were back when - i.e., not enough fodder for the adventuring imagination, other than to transplant a western European ethos to a subcontinent that is clearly neither. I'd like to see a treatment of India that gets into the cultural issues so the gamer can develop a better feel for "being there."
-Teramis
The Amazon list includes Dragons 189, 225, 226, and 229 as having Indian weapons and armor, character classes (actually 2nd edition kits), spells, and magic items respectively.
ReplyDelete