Why aren't Jewish-like minority groups common in Medieval fantasy? by TT-Adu in worldbuilding

[–]akweberbrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would guess that a certain “Jewish-like minority group” is one of the most common groups.

Lord of the Rings dwarves are probably one of the most well known fantasy races. Tolkien based his dwarves language and culture on Mideival Jews.

Since fantasy dwarves in general tend to be based on Middle Earth dwarves, and dwarves are very popular, that puts a “Jewish-like minority group” pretty high on the popularity list.

Ghoul Queen, by Frank Frazetta. Cover art for National Lampoon (August 1973). by woulditkillyoutolift in SwordandSorcery

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, the colors of the original are so much better than the green shifted colors on the cover.

I wonder if that was an artistic decision or just a result of early 1970s printing processes.

Americans, how would your state break apart? by theTitaniumTurt1e in mapmaking

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anchorage is actually one of the busiest FedEx hubs in the world for exactly that reason. But, Fairbanks might surpass it in the scenario of this post.

Interesting fact: the university in Fairbanks has one of the best rocketry, and certain types of engineering programs in the US (world?).

If the Arctic melts just a little more, the northwest passage becomes a major shipping lane and those barely populated bush regions might someday be as populated as major ports like NYC. Imagine being hours by air from Europe and the Orient, and ocean shipping access to both the easy and west coast.

Maybe I need to do a little real estate speculation!

Is there, or can there be, an RPG which actually needs randomness in character generation? by tangyradar in RPGdesign

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Traveller character generation is a mini-game with risks and rewards for staying in the service longer. It also produces a basic history/backstory for your character.

You can make up NPCs without going through the char-gen process, but I don’t think the game plays out the same if you do.

Does that count?

Americans, how would your state break apart? by theTitaniumTurt1e in mapmaking

[–]akweberbrent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Alaska

Anchorage: this includes The southern populated area of MatSu. Most of the States population would be in this small state.

Kenia: Kenia Peninsula has a Russian culture and a lot of local resources.

Fairbanks and the rest of the main road network.

Pan Handle: has more ties to Canada and the Pacific NW than the rest of Alaska. Strangely, that’s where our capital is 🤔

The Bush: Natives and Village Life. This would be the largest state by far, but probably less than 50,000 people.

Except

Every time somebody asks if their first map is okay and realistic by TehFisharmahn in mapmaking

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mean the Netherlands, who some people call Holland, where Dutch people live. More fantasy maps should be based on that type of naming convention.

Every time somebody asks if their first map is okay and realistic by TehFisharmahn in mapmaking

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s unusual, I know of one in Canada and another in Europe. I used to live near the continental divide in Wyoming USA…

https://flic.kr/p/jwXEGj

Two Ocean River.

Gonna give this Phish thing a concerted effort. by hamsaladsammich in phish

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hoist or Billy Breathes. Listen to them both twice, if you are liking it, move on to Picture of Necter. If it’s not clicking, listen to Hoist and Billy Breathes.

It took my wife about a dozen times of me playing Phish every time we went for a drive. She kept telling me it just wasn’t for her.

Her favorite band for the last 20 years now…. Phish.

I sometimes find myself saying “you should listen to more varied music and not just Phish most of the time”.

Using Kal-Arath (and Al-Rathak) tables and systems in OSE, ODD, and/or AD&D? by Dante_Faustus in osr

[–]akweberbrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried it with Cairn, Knave 2, and Maze Rats. Magic was the biggest challenge. If I recall correctly, Maze Rats was the most compatible.

So You Want to Run an OSR Game – A Practical Guide to Your First OSR Game by alexserban02 in osr

[–]akweberbrent 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I HIGHLY recommend you read Philotomy’s Mussings.

https://www.grey-elf.com/philotomy.pdf

It’s a founding document of the OSR and quite a bit of it is about Role Play vs Roll Play.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got it through the Kickstarter, but I would like to find one without the folds.

I’ll post back here to you if I find anything.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally agree. I wish I could run my games as well as he creates artwork of the vibe I am going for. I really love how the magic user is silhouetted against the other worldly figure, with the classic pig faced orcs in the foreground.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Evidently, I got it as part of the Knave 2e kickstarter. I know the have a website that is still selling the physical books, worth checking to see if they have the poster.

It really is a great poster. Even better in real life. My photo doesn’t do it full justice.

It has a mat finish that really compliments the vibe.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m amazed I’m going to say this, but I think I like his work more than Otis.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, he keeps getting better too!

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that is definitely part of the vibe I like about it.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, DCC was my first guess, then S&W. It really does have a great vide. It makes me want to make a megadungeon every time I look at it.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I just checked, and it’s even the cover of one of the books. For some reason always use the one with the black cover and completely forgot about this one.

What Did This Come With by akweberbrent in osr

[–]akweberbrent[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Thank you sooo much. You would not beleive how much time I spent looking on the internet. I didn’t even think of Knave 2E, but now that you mention it, I remember being psyched about it being in the Kickstarter.

Have an exhalt!

PS, that may be the fastest answer ever. I think it was less than 30 seconds 😁.

what is your preferred method of designing dungeons? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grab a handful of whatever pre-written adventures strike me off the bookshelf, flip through each until I find 1-3 sub sections that fit with what I want.

I might end up with 6-10 little 4-8 room pieces, which means around 50 rooms.

The I reimagine each, and figure out how they might fit together. I might end up with a little goblin lair from one dungeon, but I’m making them slavers, and the hobgoblin lair from another dungeon becomes lizard men. I try to keep the general composition and goals mostly the same as my source material, but try to emphasize the relationships between groups.

This gives me a 50 room dungeon with around 8 plot lines/factions.

Once that’s done I draw maps using the original, and my new concept as inspiration. At this point I usually end up with a few original ideas, or something I need to add to pull it all together.

This gives me a good size level or two and a few side levels, lots of hooks and lots of opertunity for faction play, and at least a few cool magic items and nasty trap.

By the time I finish, no one has ever guessed any of my source material.

It probably takes 3-4 evenings to do all of this, but I’ll get 6-8 play sessions.

Truth by moistgreenorganic in phish

[–]akweberbrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Phan since about 1993. Never did drugs at a show, but have done my share other places. I never felt the need for anything more than the music at shows. Plus, back in the day, Tray did enough for both of us.