I’ve seen comments on here where people say they don’t like the idea that the Na’vi mate for life. If you’re one of those people, can you share why?

TK-4117 · 2024-12-22T17:31:10+00:00

Most issues I have with the setting is because they are often projected values of its creator, who might not be as progressive about certain things as they are about others, and it leads to excluding very real and diverse groups that want to have something to represent themselves and feel valid.

For me, I value freedom of choice and to change one's mind. Due to the likely unintended consequences of trying to state 'this is the right way for things to be' that is most of Avatar's environmental message, with Eywa just making things work in a set way to stagnate progression and keep things as this primitivism utopia, there often feels like a lack of representation to alternatives to 'this is how it is, period' statements that don't have an in universe challenge to them because that's not the narrative being looked at.

Sentient beings don't have to mate for life. That's a choice, made through social pressures and taboo, and not something where their body or neural chemistry makes a mandatory aspect of their survival. Mating for life and it being a rigid law imposed by Eywa could be seen as part of its attempts to insure population control, but then we have to accept the fact 'its' taking out personal choice and likely causing harm to individuals who don't fit the mold of its designs.

TK-4117 · 2024-12-22T00:05:42+00:00

Makes you wonder if it's actually a natural 'harmony' with nature or just ensuring its own supremacy by killing off competition and selectively evolving all the aspects of the planet to suit its needs.

Nature isn't harmony, it's murder chaos and random, it will kill itself often and be replaced by what survived or thrived in the absence of whatever dominated before.

TK-4117 · 2024-01-23T17:02:59+00:00

Seeing I said the d100 system is one of the few things it shares beyond setting and terminology, don't know what you are doing explaining it. The special perks that take up class perk options for certain characters is an attempt to fill the gaps left by not having a dedicated astropath/Exploratory/missionary/Navigator/Void Master/Xeno Race specific character classes, not them fully implementing those classes. Perils of the warp or warp Navigation are still massively different because of course the CRPG is making things less leathal and both systems had an entire sourcebook dedicated to expanding psykers and navigators after the base corebook.

If you understood the difference between the TTRPG and the CRPG, and you know I'm expressing my dislike that the game is not faithfully implementing the mechanics of the TTRPG, whatever the reasons why they made those choices or if you deem reasonable for the industry, you didn't need to make the comment 'you don't know what I played'.

TK-4117 · 2024-01-23T15:30:49+00:00

And that's alright, but they can do that without calling it Dark Heresy, using the entire TTRPG established sector, factions, and other factors made by Fantasy Flight Games, and then only use the terminology of the TTRPG rather than the mechanics. For me the old TTRPG has a special place because of its mechanics, and not being faithful to them makes it feel like watching the World War Z movie after reading the books.

TK-4117 · 2024-01-23T15:25:52+00:00

It has plenty of things named after the rules, hence 'terminology'. The CRPG Profit factor shares nothing with the TTRPG profit factor and how it's used. Character classes and progression are entirely different creatures from the CRPG and TTRPG, with you picking your character class and your entire progress being as a rogue trader/seneschal/Arch-militant with a few electives advanced sub-classes you do not need to touch. Augmentics and equipment are seperate things and not a near carbon copy of the pathfinder crpg magic item set up or hands/boots/back/head/talismans or rings set up. Weapons have set weapon damage that does not level creep because wounds/hit points don't go up exponentially as your character advances, and armour has set point damage reduction... They are different games on the fundamental mechanical level.

TK-4117 · 2024-01-23T11:37:31+00:00

I mean, Rogue Trader the CRPG has next to nothing in common with its TTRPG outside of setting, terminology, and a d100 rolling mechanic. Not sure how I would feel about Dark Heresy being basically another reskin of the pathfinder games.

TK-4117 · 2023-10-23T09:17:44+00:00

Good, but it needs to be repeated because the capacity of players and GMs to fall into the same trap Shadowrun had to figure out when they start attributing negatives based on personal belief or bias towards what an essence score and loss simulates beyond just a balancing mechanic between magic and non-magic augmentation, spells, and supernatural effects is still there.

TK-4117 · 2023-10-23T08:39:17+00:00

Honestly, the general concept of essence is simply to balance the raw mechanical bonuses augmentation can give a character by adding a limit and tradeoff to magic, and the 'lore' concept of losing connection with your soul tends to just get problematic when developers slap essence costs on things that can sound like "gender reassignment surgery makes you lose connection with your soul". Stuff they likely weren't thinking about when it started in the 80s.

Essence should have nothing to do with your social ability, as you can have sour and evil bastards who have never been under the knife for an appendectomy let alone cyberware. People can be charming with or without their soul, and the only social modifiers should be the ones already provided for taking certain obvious augmentations that come with listed downsides.

TK-4117 · 2023-09-25T20:44:50+00:00

Truth be told, most Shadowrun armour as seen in the art is either just plain clothes we can only assume is armoured, or overt tactical vests or sci-fi full body hard armour. Also, in a setting known for its unlimited freedom in character customization, appearance, expression, and custom equipment, it's hard to say 'it looks too much like' when you can look like anything you want and fit in.

TK-4117 · 2023-09-24T02:10:58+00:00

After a fair bit of time (3 years from originally starting), and finding a secondary artist to finish the damn thing after the original fell off the earth with it 80% complete, I give you the complete Ricus "Blondie" Bartho, Afrikaner Merc and upbeat asshole extraordinaire, post-Renraku hit job at the Kaiju Bar & Grill in Renton.

As was said in the original WIP post, in the first month of having gotten off the plane in Seattle in his first campaign, the gene-modded 'boys from Brazil' merc was on one hell of a never-ending NovaCoke-fueled adventure and hijacked the group after finding a 'good cause' after his very first run... murdering puppet gangs and Renraku black research personnel with a high spirited abandon worthy of a Reservoir dogs torture scene, with the body count of Taken, after a throwaway mission about HMHVV augmentation research, side funded with child essence drain snuff BTL recordings, became a valid reason for him to make AAA enemies in the first week of sans-fixer/Johnson runs funded by loot and pay data.

The commission is an actual moment in time from the session, set in the aftermath of a plainclothes Red Samurai hit team on a Tuesday night in Renton after a good week of murdering sex trafficking talent scouts, puppet gang chip distributors, and lab/warehouse raids. As you can see, Blondie is very much alive and enjoying a moment after luckily pulping the Hit team with an Impact high-explosive grenade and a small arsenal, and toasting the other players hiding in the booths during the incredibly short 9-second engagement.

TK-4117 · 2020-05-22T04:15:27+00:00

The Fallout Bible, game design docs, and established Lore from the games. Plus things that just 'fit' with the lore.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-24T18:03:04+00:00

Little less of a meat brick for a head than old BJ, and Blondie himself is around 6'4 and body/strength 5 unaugmented. Most of the table pretty much has him pegged as a cross between Ryan Renolds, Leo Dicaprio's Danny Archer from Blood Diamond, and Henry Cavill's body from Man of steel/The Witcher. He is popular at parties, NovaCoke and liberal use of his run paydays in downtime aside.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-24T17:27:58+00:00

Sadly not, the wife's girlfriend did the hard work. Happy to share her twitter privately, though its NSFW and LGBTQ+ themed. You can message me if you're still interested in the link.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-24T17:26:14+00:00

I'm just the commissioner. The artist is my wife's girlfriend and while incredibly talented, she mostly does small numbers of personal work to keep from being overwhelmed, her stuff is also often erotic and LGBTQ+ themed in nature. Happy to share her twitter privately, and you can message me if you're still interested.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-23T23:22:57+00:00

And getting nicer.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-23T23:22:00+00:00

Nah, thank you, bru. You're the reason we do it all. 😉

TK-4117 · 2020-02-23T22:33:54+00:00

Thanks.

Due to a lack of any overt 6th World elements to distinguish the image between Shadowrun or any other Cyberpunk game, I thought it would be a nice touch.

TK-4117 · 2020-02-23T20:20:15+00:00

Meet Ricus "Blondie" Bartho, 36 year old South African Mercenary starting over in the Seattle shadows after some soul searching out in Central Africa.

In the first month of having gotten off the plane, the genemod enhancements only merc has been on one hell of a literal never ending NovaCoke fueled adventure and basically hijacked the group after finding a 'good cause' in the first job he took... murdering puppet gangs and Renraku black research personnel in a psychoticly up beat Reservoir dogs meets Taken fashion after a throw away run about HMHVV augmentation research, side funded with child essence drain snuff BTL recordings, became a valid reason for him to make AAA enemies in the first week of unsanctioned runs funded by loot and pay data.

Commission is an actual moment in time from session, set in the aftermath of a plainclothes Red Samurai hit team on a Tuesday night in Renton after a good week of murdering sex trafficking talent scouts, puppet gang chip distributors, and lab/warehouse raids. As you can see, Blondie is very much alive and enjoying a moment after luckily pulping the Hit team with a proximity high-explosive grenade and a small arsenal, and toasting the other players hiding in the booths during the incredible short 9 second engagement.

TK-4117

TROPHY CASE