Earwa: The Second Apocalysing

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« on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:11 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
Seeing as we have music threads and art, I went ahead with this. Bit of a fuff post, but what the hell.

We've all known for ages now that Mr. Bakker's great work developed out D&D sessions he played with his brother some 20 years ago. And I've wondered since I got hooked into the series: anyone tried reclaiming those roots? I mean, surely there are some tabletop gamers among us with an interest. I know I'm no great philosophical mind, but I love the story, the questions it raises, and the magnificent world-building. I've been pondering building a module for the series using White Wolf's World Darkness (new) mortals and some of the other base supplements (no supernaturals, obviously). I've had a hell of a time modeling sorcery, seeing as it is an 'I win' button in purely man-to-man terms. Still pondering Gnosis and I feel Anagogis will be far easier to model.

So, has anyone ever tried this? Run a tabletop game for it?

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« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:18 pm »
Quote from: sciborg2
I plan on getting back to D&D later this year, but it'll be awhile before I'm comfortable statting up the Inchie brothers who may be the best use of the aberration subtype in D&D history.

I actually wanted to go back and make a spell system based around Earwa's magic but that, as you point out, is a pretty big undertaking.

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« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:29 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
It's madness, really. I've looked at Second Sight and Mage: The Awakening for ideas. It can be done, but I don't know if I'm able enough to get it done properly. So many variables. I may, for the moment, just have it be a set piece sort of thing. It'd certainly keep a cinematic flair for the whole story. I'm pondering running a story based around a core of Scalpoi and seeing where it runs from there. Stating out Aurang and Aurax would be rather crazy. Millennial experience and utter depravity...actually...you could use the Vampire: The Requiem book on ancients for some of that work. Save the sorcery. That may not be terrible.

I would wholly support seeing that pair of freaks as aberrations in D&D. Let me know if you get to that.

But sorcery is the ever slippery conundrum. I still maintain that Anagogis will be the easiest to model. The mechanics wouldn't be too bad and you tack on all the prose and poetry it demands fairly easy.

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« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:35 pm »
Quote from: Cynical Cat
The world would be particularly hard to model in D&D on anything other than a superficial level.  Sorcerer is fairly easy to convert to most game systems, but the Gnosis is hard to balance against other types of sorcery.  If PCs don't have access to being Gnostic Sorcerers or Dunyain, then the balance issues become more manageable.  I'll go into detail about what I perceive to be the issues if you want.

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« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:45 pm »
Quote from: Curethan
Nerf sorcerer...
I really can't see how you would balance them for PC's.  Plus leveling would be at least as problematic as their power levels.
Maybe allow hedge witches only.

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« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:51 pm »
Quote from: Cynical Cat
Quote from: Curethan
Nerf sorcerer...
I really can't see how you would balance them for PC's.  Plus leveling would be at least as problematic as their power levels.
Maybe allow hedge witches only.

In a D&D system?  No chance at all.  Which is going to be a problem, because being a sorcerer in Earwa is really cool and that's going to make some players unhappy.  That's not true with every game, because game balance isn't necessarily just about combat.  Black Crusade, for example, divides characters into Traitor Legionaries and mere mortal humans and the Traitor Legionaries are quite superior at direct combat.  The key isn't to get obsessed with "equality" but make sure everyone has something useful to contribute.  Given the social prejudice against sorcerers and the existence of chorae, this is doable.

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« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2013, 06:29:58 pm »
Quote from: Swense
Of course, there's only maybe one sorcerer in every couple hundred thousand people - the Schoolmen are impressed by maybe 200 sorcerers, so sorcerers are fucking rare. Hedge witches, such as the ones who make whore's shells and wathi dolls and all that good stuff would be much more likely. Even a few wizards, who've cobbled together a few basic shamanistic cants on the border of Earwan civilization would be more likely than full-blown sorcerers of rank.

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« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:07 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
Well, if I began using WoD, it'd be somewhat easier, but sorcery is the 'I Win' button even with Damnation hanging over their head. And really, we all know how PCs would like their shiny awesome power. :P Damnation is something to be roleplayed out (or outright ignored by twinks). Wizard cults would be a fine balance to that, hrm. Dunyain wouldn't be accessible, too game breaking in power comparison. No, these would be worldborn men running round the wilderness of Galeoth and Meori shimming skinny skulls for a test bed. Sorcery would purely be set piece mayhem right now. I would make Chroae available at a ridiculous cost in merit or bonus point costs (in the WoD tradition), but I doubt they'd be readily taken.

May even make the players part of the original company The Captain once ran before they were whittled down.

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« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:14 pm »
Quote from: cielago
the whole sorcerer balance issue is one i've grappled with myself. i actually made a very good start on skinning D&D 4e, way back in the day, but my group rebelled when they were informed there were no magic items, and sorcerers started at 15.

i think its possible, but you'd need your players to all be fans, so they can swallow the sorcerer issues. cause you have to have a sorcerer. c'mon. whats the fun without at least one?

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« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:20 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
Quote from: cielago
the whole sorcerer balance issue is one i've grappled with myself. i actually made a very good start on skinning D&D 4e, way back in the day, but my group rebelled when they were informed there were no magic items, and sorcerers started at 15.

i think its possible, but you'd need your players to all be fans, so they can swallow the sorcerer issues. cause you have to have a sorcerer. c'mon. whats the fun without at least one?

I admit, I got a good laugh.

"No magic items?! What is this bugger shit?!" Just give them some Wathi dolls and free damnation, everyone will be sated. Unless everyone's running around on topoi and have a Chroae to smote some Wights, people wouldn't be too keen at first. But with the right group, you could make it sing.

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« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:27 pm »
Quote from: The Sharmat
I vote the name be Earwa: The Censoring

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« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:41 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
Tempting! I'll see if I can get to work on some mechanics for Anagogis sometime soon. Hash out something workable. I know I've got half done stats for Sranc and Bashrag around here somewhere.

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« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:47 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
A thought: instead of modeling sorcery outright, why not a stopgap similar to Inrau's badly truncated learning? Sure, Aurang's Synthese wiped the floor with him, but the boy had one of the most awesome pre-death moments in the whole first book. Amplified strength, speed, and fiery blood of your enemies? Yes, please.

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« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:53 pm »
Quote from: Cynical Cat
Quote from: Sideris
A thought: instead of modeling sorcery outright, why not a stopgap similar to Inrau's badly truncated learning? Sure, Aurang's Synthese wiped the floor with him, but the boy had one of the most awesome pre-death moments in the whole first book. Amplified strength, speed, and fiery blood of your enemies? Yes, please.

It would be one way of including the Gnosis without overshadowing everyone else.  A handful of spells, and middling ones at that, but enough to seriously throw down when necessarily.

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« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2013, 06:31:00 pm »
Quote from: Sideris
Aye. It was probably one of my top moments from the first book. Boy died like a champ.