Topic: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Started by: Jake Norwood
Started on: 11/3/2002
Board: The Riddle of Steel
On 11/3/2002 at 10:08pm, Jake Norwood wrote:
Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
The discussion in the money thread about Odeon and their "teeth" system got me thinking...I would love to see more information on the various nations of Weyrth--history, peoples, stats, etc.
So would many of you...
So I'm proposing that some of us (er, not me for now) write up mini-supplements on our favorite nations. If they're long enough (20 pages or more) than you can even charge for them *and* reap the rewards. All these mini-supplements will be hosted on www.theriddleofsteel.net in PDF form. If they're big enough to charge for I don't imagine that they'll be too expensive.
To write one just run your country of choice by me and any "big ideas" that you have for it, as well as how long it's going to be and what kind of visual ideas you have for it. There's a few places that are "mine," but we'll only worry about that if one of you tries to do one of them.
Appropriate material includes history, politics, culture, creature/NPC stats, maps, adventure ideas, and so on. I don't want to spend lots of time editing and proofreading, so I'll expect you to present a "finished product." I'll be happy to read over stuff and offer some feedback, however.
Jake
On 11/3/2002 at 10:28pm, Irmo wrote:
Re: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Jake Norwood wrote:
Appropriate material includes history, politics, culture, creature/NPC stats, maps, adventure ideas, and so on. I don't want to spend lots of time editing and proofreading, so I'll expect you to present a "finished product." I'll be happy to read over stuff and offer some feedback, however.
Jake
Hm, would love to, though I am not running a game so far...however, I am a bit short on the time side at the moment....have to think of something.... though as a native speaker of German I'd be glad to help anyone thinking of doing one of the "german" areas ... I hate the Warhammer syndrome where rather than invoking a certain atmosphere, the names let anyone who knows what they mean cringe..... So please, please, no Demons called "Dentist" or people called "ballpoint pent", let alone traitors bearing the inconspicious last name of "Traitor"
On 11/4/2002 at 1:05am, Jake Norwood wrote:
RE: Re: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Irmo wrote:
Hm, would love to, though I am not running a game so far...however, I am a bit short on the time side at the moment....have to think of something.... though as a native speaker of German I'd be glad to help anyone thinking of doing one of the "german" areas ... I hate the Warhammer syndrome where rather than invoking a certain atmosphere, the names let anyone who knows what they mean cringe..... So please, please, no Demons called "Dentist" or people called "ballpoint pent", let alone traitors bearing the inconspicious last name of "Traitor"
Doh! Heh heh...
I'm a fluent speaker of Polish, and I have to confess that just for kicks all of the place names in Sarmatov are pretty dumb. The "river" river, The capital city of "capital city," the "lake" lake. Yeah...mea culpa.
Nonetheless it's a fun gag for Polish, but I agree about the German names and others. I mean, I do want them to mean something real (not just be made up words), and I want those meanings to "work."
Jake
On 11/4/2002 at 1:37am, Brian Leybourne wrote:
RE: Re: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Jake Norwood wrote: I'm a fluent speaker of Polish, and I have to confess that just for kicks all of the place names in Sarmatov are pretty dumb. The "river" river, The capital city of "capital city," the "lake" lake. Yeah...mea culpa.
Heh.. I like it.
Hell, it's artistic license, right? When I'm programming, I always put some back doors and funny menus and so on (there's a few in the combat sim, but nobody has ever mentioned them so I may have hid them too well), which is the same thing as your bogus names - something that makes you smile but nobody else might ever see or understand :-)
I even put a few things like that into OBAM, only one bugger in a million will "get" them, but it's amusing, right? :-)
Brian.
On 11/4/2002 at 1:53am, Irmo wrote:
RE: Re: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
BrianL wrote:Jake Norwood wrote: I'm a fluent speaker of Polish, and I have to confess that just for kicks all of the place names in Sarmatov are pretty dumb. The "river" river, The capital city of "capital city," the "lake" lake. Yeah...mea culpa.
Heh.. I like it.
Hell, it's artistic license, right? When I'm programming, I always put some back doors and funny menus and so on (there's a few in the combat sim, but nobody has ever mentioned them so I may have hid them too well), which is the same thing as your bogus names - something that makes you smile but nobody else might ever see or understand :-)
Brian.
Well, the problem, though, is that for people who DO understand, it can have a significant impact on their enjoyment on the game, and there is no way of telling whether it is a positive one. As for me, I was seriously turned off by the Warhammer names, since my suspension of disbelief is seriously jeopardized by running ballpoint pens.
On 11/4/2002 at 2:11am, Brian Leybourne wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
So just change the name. Nobody is forcing you to run it with funny names.
Sorry if I sound flippant, but saying things like "my enjoyment is lessened" is just silly. Get over it, change the name, move on, and then everyone is happy, right? :-)
Hell, I changed "Uglub" because it sounded far too silly to instill any kind of fear into my players hearts. YMMV.
Brian.
On 11/4/2002 at 2:52am, Jake Norwood wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Ah, now aren't you going to wonder where I did get that silly name, as it's very old...
Jake
On 11/4/2002 at 2:55am, Brian Leybourne wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Off you go then, I figured there had to be a story behind it...
On 11/4/2002 at 3:00am, Irmo wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
BrianL wrote: So just change the name. Nobody is forcing you to run it with funny names.
Sorry if I sound flippant, but saying things like "my enjoyment is lessened" is just silly. Get over it, change the name, move on, and then everyone is happy, right? :-)
Brian.
I'd do that, if I were the GM. Which I wasn't.
On 11/4/2002 at 5:45pm, Valamir wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Fantastic idea Jake.
1 caveat that is probably understood explicitly (I hope) but probably should be made explicit in your call for proposals, is the absolute right to veto. Personally, I'd give yourself the power of line item veto (and line item modification and addition too).
On 11/5/2002 at 4:56am, Jake Norwood wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Valamir wrote: Fantastic idea Jake.
1 caveat that is probably understood explicitly (I hope) but probably should be made explicit in your call for proposals, is the absolute right to veto. Personally, I'd give yourself the power of line item veto (and line item modification and addition too).
Of course.
Jake
On 11/5/2002 at 3:05pm, Stephen wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Jake Norwood wrote: Ah, now aren't you going to wonder where I did get that silly name [Uglub], as it's very old...
Okay -- where DID you get it?
I must confess I'm with the "sounds kinda goofy" crowd, but the subjective sound of a name can vary widely to different hearers. I'm sure there are some who found the name Mordor funny.
On 11/5/2002 at 4:28pm, Jake Norwood wrote:
RE: Nations of Weyrth Mini-Supplements
Actually, it does sound goofy, even to me. Oh well.
The name and character or Uglub come from an evil PC from years of play in a well known but unnamed fantasy game where you can fall 100 feet and not die...
The guy really was one evil bastard, and most every element of him in TROS (especially in *my* Weyrth) comes from this guy. Including the goofy name. It isn't his real name, though...he's afraid that if anyone learns his real name that they'll have power over him, so he hides it behind the title "Uglub," which he got from goblins.
There you go.
Jake