Quote from: RPGPunditHonestly, while Dragonlance and Planescape were bad...

Any reason in particular Planescape isn't to your taste?  I know some people find the obssessive symmetry annoying, or don't like the sort of surreal Cockney quality of the Sigilian cant (and, of course, there are purists who find the whole gonzo mythological approach too alien compared to standard/vanilla D&D i.e. Greyhawk and the Realms).  Just curious, as it's on of my all-time favourites.

I think it's hard to be too down on Kara-Tur since stereotypical 'Asian' with fantastic elements is exactly what people wanted (just like standard D&D evolved as stereotypical 'European' medieval with fantasy elements.

People wanted samurai, bushido codes, Chinese Emperors, mongol hordes etc, and not only did they want them to exist only as they did in the imagination, they wanted them to all exist simultaneously despite their differences in culture, geographic region, and real-world temporal relation.  

Rather than blame the setting for being shallow, blame everyone who wanted to be a Ninja.

I think you're absolutely right, but I don't think those things made Kara Tur suck less.

Quote from: deadDMwalking;705575Rather than blame the setting for being shallow, blame everyone who wanted to be a Ninja.

I don't leave them out of my hate. Them and their close relatives in Clan Wolverine.

Quote from: deadDMwalking;705575I think it's hard to be too down on Kara-Tur since stereotypical 'Asian' with fantastic elements is exactly what people wanted (just like standard D&D evolved as stereotypical 'European' medieval with fantasy elements.

People wanted samurai, bushido codes, Chinese Emperors, mongol hordes etc, and not only did they want them to exist only as they did in the imagination, they wanted them to all exist simultaneously despite their differences in culture, geographic region, and real-world temporal relation.  

Spot on.

In short: people wanted Legend of the Five Rings.

I'm playing a L5R d20 game right now and well, what can I say? Not a fan of the approach. Feels bland and dumbed-down. And the clan-splats, merciful Buddha, the clan-splats can fuck off straight to the Ten Thousand Hells for all I care. The only part I really like is the over-the-top, quasi-WFRPish oni and their Shadowlands enclave.

What I need is a game where a deadly ronin, a righteous sohei, a wise yamabushi and a despicable yakuza (and maybe even a far-traveling Chinese sorcerer or monk, or an Okinawan pechi seeking to hone his kobudo) team up and go save a village from malicious tengu, or child-snatching oni, or even an angry kami. Were I a more enterprising sort of gamer I'd get a crack at an OSR East Asian-inspired game complete with sandbox setting. But that would require watching more chanbara and reading more katana porn than I possibly could on my current schedule.

Quote from: deadDMwalking;705575Rather than blame the setting for being shallow, blame everyone who wanted to be a Ninja.

I suppose it was a big thing during the 1980s and 1990s. At my game table everyone wants to be a frickin' Samurai. I got odd looks for wanting to play a Sohei. And sohei were pretty badass.

Quote from: The Butcher;705585. Were I a more enterprising sort of gamer I'd get a crack at an OSR East Asian-inspired game complete with sandbox setting. But that would require watching more chanbara and reading more katana porn than I possibly could on my current schedule.

Well there's Ruins and Ronin and the hexcrawl made for it in Nod magazine.

Quote from: The Butcher;705585What I need is a game where a deadly ronin, a righteous sohei, a wise yamabushi and a despicable yakuza (and maybe even a far-traveling Chinese sorcerer or monk, or an Okinawan pechi seeking to hone his kobudo) team up and go save a village from malicious tengu, or child-snatching oni, or even an angry kami.

That game does exist.

Quote from: therealjcm;705580I don't leave them out of my hate. Them and their close relatives in Clan Wolverine.

I blame Murder Hoboism more than Ninja's or Wolverine.

I'd take Wolverine clones and ninjas any day over the Highlander Trenchcoat katanas of the 90s

Quote from: TristramEvans;705884I'd take Wolverine clones and ninjas any day over the Highlander Trenchcoat katanas of the 90s

Wolverine would be pretty much at home in the highlander setting.

Ninjas...never really identified with them myself.

Quote from: Bill;706087Wolverine would be pretty much at home in the highlander setting.

Ninjas...never really identified with them myself.

80s. Everything had to have a damn ninja in it. Transformers had a ninja episode!

Quote from: Omega;70626780s. Everything had to have a damn ninja in it. Transformers had a ninja episode!

If you were a kid growing up the 80s, ninjas were a special kind of awesome.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;706281If you were a kid growing up the 80s, ninjas were a special kind of awesome.

When used in moderation. But after a while it was WTF Ninja. You know somethings wrong when Daredevil and Batman become ninja students. For a while before that it was Samurai or Martial arts.

OA came out before the whole genre became more cliche. 5-10 years later and it might have done worse. Depending on timing.

Quote from: bedrockbrendan;706281if you were a kid growing up the 80s, ninjas were a special kind of awesome.

Ninjas are totally sweet. REAL ULTIMATE POWER!

Quote from: Raven;706284Ninjas are totally sweet. REAL ULTIMATE POWER!

Power Rangers Ninja Force...

And I am surprised there has not yet been a straight up sentai themed RPG. Or maybee I've just been lucky... BESM doesnt count.