This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Author Topic: A Philippine Gamer  (Read 600 times)

David R

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • D
  • Posts: 6874
A Philippine Gamer
« on: September 30, 2008, 09:03:01 PM »
I got this link from the EvilDM's blog. Thought some of you might be interested in a gaming perspective from this part of the world.

http://philgamer.wordpress.com/

Regards,
David R

GameDaddy
BANNED

  • BANNED
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2931
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2008, 11:51:42 PM »
There's plenty of culture in the pacific/polynesian islands. Plenty of Adventure. In Magellan's time they just didn't write it down. There should be stories though. Legends. handed down by word-of-mouth.

There is archaeological evidence too, in the ruins, and graveyards of the early polynesians, as well as underwater in shallow lagoons.

This is where home brew settings and house rules shine.

Reference:
Nan Midol
http://www.janesoceania.com/micronesia_pohnpei_madol/index.htm

and...
http://www.janeresture.com/micronesia_madol/index.htm

Yonaguni, the sunken pyramid off Japans coast
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/japan-pictures/index.html

and...
http://www.morien-institute.org/yonaguni.html

I'm sure there are places like this in the Phillipines too.
http://books.google.com/books?id=AEn9J3tXFS8C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq="megalithic+ruins+in+th+phillippines"&source=web&ots=LDGN-9zJ5B&sig=L-akrxsk7VYzKOMJOM0R3tecdTo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result

Archaeology in the Phillippines
http://homepages.uni-tuebingen.de/alfred.pawlik/Solheim/philippine_archaeology.html
« Last Edit: October 01, 2008, 12:13:39 AM by GameDaddy »
Blackmoor grew from a single Castle to include, first, several adjacent Castles (with the forces of Evil lying just off the edge of the world to an entire Northern Province of the Castle and Crusade Society's Great Kingdom.

~ Dave Arneson

Kellri

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 834
    • http://kellri.blogspot.com
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2008, 06:06:12 AM »
Right now some of the OSRIC v2 authors are working on the first new setting for the game - a Polynesian Tiki-type ocean world full of islands, dungeons, and more cannibals than you can throw a sharpened stick at.

The Philippines does have some very cool places to visit. Just north of Manila, in the mountains, is an area where tribespeople hang their dead from the cliffs or bury them in niches on the side (it's also a great place to score hand rubbed hashish). There are also several tales floating around the Philippines about buried Japanese gold hidden during the war. Philippine martial-arts is also really hardcore - matched only by Brazilian jiujitsu in bloodthirstiness.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2008, 06:11:57 AM by Kellri »
Kellri's Joint
Old School netbooks + more

You can also come up with something that is not only original and creative and artistic, but also maybe even decent, or moral if I can use words like that, or something that's like basically good -Lester Bangs

flyingmice

  • Flunchist-Cruftist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9757
    • http://www.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2008, 09:37:14 AM »
Yeah - Game daddy's essential point - in spite of the fact that he's got Filipinos mixed up with Polynesians - is what I was thinking. Why doesn't he set his games in an area he's familiar with? I know you've run games set in Malaysia, David. Was it easier for you than setting them in - say - Europe or the US?

As for myself, I don't have problems setting my games in different places. My current Blood Games campaign has gone from Jamaica to London to Alexandria to Freetown to Rio to South Georgia Island. Of these, the only one I've ever been to was Jamaica. Watch movies, read books, search the internet, and you can capture the feel of the place.

Speaking of Blood Games, which I know you have, one of my players has adapted the Magus path to Mahayana Buddhism, using Bodhisatvas instead of Angels. It makes sense, and works well. :D

-clash
« Last Edit: October 01, 2008, 09:39:27 AM by flyingmice »
clash bowley * Flying Mice Games - an Imprint of Better Mousetrap Games
Flying Mice home page: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
Currently Designing: StarCluster 4 - Wavefront Empire
Last Releases: SC4 - Dark Orbital, SC4 - Out of the Ruins,  SC4 - Sabre & World
Blog: I FLY BY NIGHT

David R

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • D
  • Posts: 6874
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2008, 10:28:50 AM »
Well I didn't mean for you guys to concentrate on that one blog entry....:D (poor guy if he's reading all of this he's going wtf.....)

Quote from: flyingmice;253432
I know you've run games set in Malaysia, David. Was it easier for you than setting them in - say - Europe or the US?


Easier...yeah*. Although I have to say nobody in my country has any real problems running games set in the US or Europe because it's no big deal getting info, with the internet and all. Funnily enough setting campaigns in foreign locations - US and Europe - is actually the norm. The gamer demographic is mostly  (IMO & IME) made up of folks who have studied or spent some time overseas, so they really would not have problem with these locations. Of course for the most part it's the America or Europe of televison and the movies....so not much difference from you guys, I reckon.

*By easier I'm talking about RL details, something a native would be aware of.

Regards,
David R

flyingmice

  • Flunchist-Cruftist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9757
    • http://www.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2008, 11:08:24 AM »
Quote from: David R;253454
Well I didn't mean for you guys to concentrate on that one blog entry....:D (poor guy if he's reading all of this he's going wtf.....)



Easier...yeah*. Although I have to say nobody in my country has any real problems running games set in the US or Europe because it's no big deal getting info, with the internet and all. Funnily enough setting campaigns in foreign locations - US and Europe - is actually the norm. The gamer demographic is mostly  (IMO & IME) made up of folks who have studied or spent some time overseas, so they really would not have problem with these locations. Of course for the most part it's the America or Europe of televison and the movies....so not much difference from you guys, I reckon.

*By easier I'm talking about RL details, something a native would be aware of.

Regards,
David R


That's about what I figured. It's generally the little things that aren't quite there, but the broad strokes are OK. Even here in the US, gamers get most of their ideas about other areas of their own country from TV or movies. For example, unless you've been there, you may not realize that the countryside around Chicago to Indianapolis and southern Florida is incredibly flat, and put the party in hilly country. I remember as a kid thinking the mountains in Chinese paintings were just the product of different artistic conventions, as no mountains could ever look like that, but when I saw pictures of - and movies set in - certain areas of China, I realized those artists were just painting what they saw. Those mountains really do look like that! :D

It's so easy to find films and books - not to mention pictures on the internet - about or set in different places, it's not all that difficult to deal with it. Still, there are some things that don't come across. The strong smell of pine and woodsmoke in Maine is difficult to comprehend unless you've been there.

-clash

-clash
clash bowley * Flying Mice Games - an Imprint of Better Mousetrap Games
Flying Mice home page: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
Currently Designing: StarCluster 4 - Wavefront Empire
Last Releases: SC4 - Dark Orbital, SC4 - Out of the Ruins,  SC4 - Sabre & World
Blog: I FLY BY NIGHT

GameDaddy
BANNED

  • BANNED
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2931
A Philippine Gamer
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2008, 04:44:33 PM »
Here's an even better flash presentation of Yonaguni:
http://www.b4ok.com/flash/yonaguni.swf
Blackmoor grew from a single Castle to include, first, several adjacent Castles (with the forces of Evil lying just off the edge of the world to an entire Northern Province of the Castle and Crusade Society's Great Kingdom.

~ Dave Arneson