My earliest pure OSR ttrpg, I hadn't gotten around to doing a video about Arrows of Indra. So check out what it's all about, and how it's similar and different to my later games!
Though I doubt I could convince my guys to go for an Indian theme, I gotta tell ya - the Underworld organization and the monsters could very easily slip into mine or almost any campaign. As per usual, great video - tho the cats were surprisingly absent from making an appearance ... :D
Quote from: Azkaliban on February 24, 2021, 06:33:30 AM
Though I doubt I could convince my guys to go for an Indian theme, I gotta tell ya - the Underworld organization and the monsters could very easily slip into mine or almost any campaign. As per usual, great video - tho the cats were surprisingly absent from making an appearance ... :D
Yup, the underworld stuff, and some of the other random tables can be very useful in any campaign, particularly if you're playing a D&D/OSR campaign with an 'eastern' region.
As for the cats, they had just eaten, so were probably feeling too lazy to come sit on my book, as one of them usually does whenever I try to do a review.
Sorry for the thread Necro
Not sure where is the most appropriate place to ask this query
I'm very late comer to Arrows of Indra, I bought it recently on DrivethruRPG, and really like it
Just wondering if there is a form-fillable verson of the character sheet available somewhere?
Quote from: Mankcam on September 13, 2023, 08:41:00 AM
Sorry for the thread Necro
Not sure where is the most appropriate place to ask this query
I'm very late comer to Arrows of Indra, I bought it recently on DrivethruRPG, and really like it
Just wondering if there is a form-fillable verson of the character sheet available somewhere?
Hey Mankcam. I'm the publisher. Pundit may have other information but as far as I know there isn't a fillable character sheet (unless a fan put one together). I am not particularly skilled at that sort of thing so when those sorts of tools do emerge around one of my games it is typically from a player in one of my group for from someone who was involved in its development.
As for a fillable character sheet, were you wanting it for a VTT? You can easily create one using The RPG Engine if a 3D VTT interests you.
Thank you both for replying.
I'm not using it for a VTT like Roll20 or Foundry or whatever
We do play trpgs online over Skype with a diceroller chat room (currently dddice.com), although we aim for most sessions in-person at one of our houses if possible.
We print the sheets out, but just prefer digital copies so there is always a backup and digital record.
It's no biggie, I can easily make one myself in Word or Excel, especially if it is an uncluttered sheet like a D20 OSR game, but I always prefer if there is an official form-fillable variant.
I'm a real latecomer to this particular game, but would like to thank the author for his efforts; Arrows of Indra is really a great read and something to be proud of. Certainly I'll check out some of Pundit's more recent offerings at some stage based on this, but at present Arrows of Indra is grabbing me.
Thanks for the quick replies. it's greatly appreciated
I'm also gonna check out The RPG Engine on Skype, thank you for the recommendation
Sorry, I meant to type that I'll be checking out the RPG Engine on Steam (not Skype). I'm still havimg my morning coffee down here, heh heh
Thank you for the recommendation
Quote from: RPGPundit on February 24, 2021, 06:55:15 AM
Quote from: Azkaliban on February 24, 2021, 06:33:30 AM
Though I doubt I could convince my guys to go for an Indian theme, I gotta tell ya - the Underworld organization and the monsters could very easily slip into mine or almost any campaign. As per usual, great video - tho the cats were surprisingly absent from making an appearance ... :D
Yup, the underworld stuff, and some of the other random tables can be very useful in any campaign, particularly if you're playing a D&D/OSR campaign with an 'eastern' region.
As for the cats, they had just eaten, so were probably feeling too lazy to come sit on my book, as one of them usually does whenever I try to do a review.
I've been working on expanding and converting a massive Apocalyptic/Underworld campaign from AD&D to Castles & Crusades. I'll soon be getting to the Asian-inspired regions, starting with Diyu (Chinese Hell), and bringing in some Japanese (oni) stuff and the like. I also wanted to do something based on Indian mythology and I recalled that I grabbed a pdf of
Arrows of Indra a few years ago. So last night I opened that up and found all this great Underworld stuff that I totally forgot was in there, including wandering monster tables, Underworld passage generation, and of course, monster stats. And best of all, the generic OSR monster stats convert very easily to C&C. Because I hate working from a pdf, I quickly found a discounted copy of the physical book on Noble Knight (but hey, you got my money once, Pundit). So I can attest that this is super useful if you want to present your players with an alternative Underworld experience and/or some different foes.
And a further shout out to the folks at Bedrock Games, who also put out the excellent
Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and
Strange Tales of Songling, both based on Chinese folklore & mythology. I don't even play those systems, but I'm cribbing material from those games for my Diyu material. Along those lines, for those interested in such things, you might also want to check out
Codex Sinarum, which is actually for Castles & Crusades, and Joseph Bloch's
Swords of Wuxia, which is technically written for Adventures Dark & Deep, but is easily ported to any D&D type game.
Quote from: Persimmon on March 10, 2024, 11:00:17 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit on February 24, 2021, 06:55:15 AM
Quote from: Azkaliban on February 24, 2021, 06:33:30 AM
Though I doubt I could convince my guys to go for an Indian theme, I gotta tell ya - the Underworld organization and the monsters could very easily slip into mine or almost any campaign. As per usual, great video - tho the cats were surprisingly absent from making an appearance ... :D
Yup, the underworld stuff, and some of the other random tables can be very useful in any campaign, particularly if you're playing a D&D/OSR campaign with an 'eastern' region.
As for the cats, they had just eaten, so were probably feeling too lazy to come sit on my book, as one of them usually does whenever I try to do a review.
I've been working on expanding and converting a massive Apocalyptic/Underworld campaign from AD&D to Castles & Crusades. I'll soon be getting to the Asian-inspired regions, starting with Diyu (Chinese Hell), and bringing in some Japanese (oni) stuff and the like. I also wanted to do something based on Indian mythology and I recalled that I grabbed a pdf of Arrows of Indra a few years ago. So last night I opened that up and found all this great Underworld stuff that I totally forgot was in there, including wandering monster tables, Underworld passage generation, and of course, monster stats. And best of all, the generic OSR monster stats convert very easily to C&C. Because I hate working from a pdf, I quickly found a discounted copy of the physical book on Noble Knight (but hey, you got my money once, Pundit). So I can attest that this is super useful if you want to present your players with an alternative Underworld experience and/or some different foes.
And a further shout out to the folks at Bedrock Games, who also put out the excellent Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and Strange Tales of Songling, both based on Chinese folklore & mythology. I don't even play those systems, but I'm cribbing material from those games for my Diyu material. Along those lines, for those interested in such things, you might also want to check out Codex Sinarum, which is actually for Castles & Crusades, and Joseph Bloch's Swords of Wuxia, which is technically written for Adventures Dark & Deep, but is easily ported to any D&D type game.
Thank you very much! And yes, I was especially proud of my underworld generation tables, and they are definitely easily usable for all kinds of settings!
Quote from: RPGPundit on March 10, 2024, 07:42:03 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on March 10, 2024, 11:00:17 AM
I've been working on expanding and converting a massive Apocalyptic/Underworld campaign from AD&D to Castles & Crusades. I'll soon be getting to the Asian-inspired regions, starting with Diyu (Chinese Hell), and bringing in some Japanese (oni) stuff and the like. I also wanted to do something based on Indian mythology and I recalled that I grabbed a pdf of Arrows of Indra a few years ago. So last night I opened that up and found all this great Underworld stuff that I totally forgot was in there, including wandering monster tables, Underworld passage generation, and of course, monster stats. And best of all, the generic OSR monster stats convert very easily to C&C. Because I hate working from a pdf, I quickly found a discounted copy of the physical book on Noble Knight (but hey, you got my money once, Pundit). So I can attest that this is super useful if you want to present your players with an alternative Underworld experience and/or some different foes.
Thank you very much! And yes, I was especially proud of my underworld generation tables, and they are definitely easily usable for all kinds of settings!
Thanks for the thread necromancy, Persimmon. I was thinking about posting on AoI. I had been looking at Arrows of Indra for a toe in the water for me with OSR systems. However, I have had a hard time picturing how an Arrows of Indra party comes together. I created a rough tool for rolling up characters, which I'm linking to in draft form here:
https://darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/oldschool/arrowsofindra/edit.cgi?shortname=generic
After rolling up a few sets, though, it seemed tricky for them to work together. Any thoughts on good ways for characters of different races and/or caste come together as a party?
Quote from: jhkim on March 11, 2024, 01:26:19 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit on March 10, 2024, 07:42:03 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on March 10, 2024, 11:00:17 AM
I've been working on expanding and converting a massive Apocalyptic/Underworld campaign from AD&D to Castles & Crusades. I'll soon be getting to the Asian-inspired regions, starting with Diyu (Chinese Hell), and bringing in some Japanese (oni) stuff and the like. I also wanted to do something based on Indian mythology and I recalled that I grabbed a pdf of Arrows of Indra a few years ago. So last night I opened that up and found all this great Underworld stuff that I totally forgot was in there, including wandering monster tables, Underworld passage generation, and of course, monster stats. And best of all, the generic OSR monster stats convert very easily to C&C. Because I hate working from a pdf, I quickly found a discounted copy of the physical book on Noble Knight (but hey, you got my money once, Pundit). So I can attest that this is super useful if you want to present your players with an alternative Underworld experience and/or some different foes.
Thank you very much! And yes, I was especially proud of my underworld generation tables, and they are definitely easily usable for all kinds of settings!
Thanks for the thread necromancy, Persimmon. I was thinking about posting on AoI. I had been looking at Arrows of Indra for a toe in the water for me with OSR systems. However, I have had a hard time picturing how an Arrows of Indra party comes together. I created a rough tool for rolling up characters, which I'm linking to in draft form here:
https://darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/oldschool/arrowsofindra/edit.cgi?shortname=generic
After rolling up a few sets, though, it seemed tricky for them to work together. Any thoughts on good ways for characters of different races and/or caste come together as a party?
Sorry, but I keep getting an error message when trying your link.
As for your question, that's definitely a tricky part when trying to roleplay a caste-based society. I think one possibility is to create a set-up scenario wherein that's taken out of their hands. Maybe they've all been kidnapped by bandits or a cult that needs members of different castes' blood for some kind of ritual. They only way they can survive is by working together. Or they're all on some ship, in different areas, and it wrecks, throwing them all together on some isolated shore. You could also do the old ruler forces them to work together due to some kind of prophecy he received from an adviser angle. Or bring in an outside force/invader who ignores the caste rules and tries to destroy them.
My own campaign setting has Asian-derived lands, but the one for India is basically a scattered set of ruins and minor trading posts, having been undone by demonic worship and invasion long ago. I'm much more familiar with East Asia so those lands, based on historical China, Japan, Korea, and Central Asia, are much more fleshed out and "Asian" PCs normally hail from those areas. My version of Japan, Mimana, is based on the Kamakura era, so there's not such a strict caste hierarchy like you get in the Edo period. For a fun take on a guru-type class called the Mystic, see Joseph Bloch's
Book of Lost Lore for Adventures Dark & Deep.
For the adventure/campaign I'm working on, the Underworld comprises basically all the traditional and fantasy Underworld mashed together, so the character party, which theoretically will consist of PCs from all over the campaign setting, will have those who now something about any given place. But you've got Hel, Hades, the Nine Circles of Dante, the Abyss, Diyu, Abaddon and more in there, so there's a ton of variety. And I'm more interested in interesting settings and encounters than historical or cultural accuracy, but even a small element of difference is fun for players.
Quote from: Persimmon on March 10, 2024, 11:00:17 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit on February 24, 2021, 06:55:15 AM
Quote from: Azkaliban on February 24, 2021, 06:33:30 AM
Though I doubt I could convince my guys to go for an Indian theme, I gotta tell ya - the Underworld organization and the monsters could very easily slip into mine or almost any campaign. As per usual, great video - tho the cats were surprisingly absent from making an appearance ... :D
Yup, the underworld stuff, and some of the other random tables can be very useful in any campaign, particularly if you're playing a D&D/OSR campaign with an 'eastern' region.
As for the cats, they had just eaten, so were probably feeling too lazy to come sit on my book, as one of them usually does whenever I try to do a review.
I've been working on expanding and converting a massive Apocalyptic/Underworld campaign from AD&D to Castles & Crusades. I'll soon be getting to the Asian-inspired regions, starting with Diyu (Chinese Hell), and bringing in some Japanese (oni) stuff and the like. I also wanted to do something based on Indian mythology and I recalled that I grabbed a pdf of Arrows of Indra a few years ago. So last night I opened that up and found all this great Underworld stuff that I totally forgot was in there, including wandering monster tables, Underworld passage generation, and of course, monster stats. And best of all, the generic OSR monster stats convert very easily to C&C. Because I hate working from a pdf, I quickly found a discounted copy of the physical book on Noble Knight (but hey, you got my money once, Pundit). So I can attest that this is super useful if you want to present your players with an alternative Underworld experience and/or some different foes.
And a further shout out to the folks at Bedrock Games, who also put out the excellent Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and Strange Tales of Songling, both based on Chinese folklore & mythology. I don't even play those systems, but I'm cribbing material from those games for my Diyu material. Along those lines, for those interested in such things, you might also want to check out Codex Sinarum, which is actually for Castles & Crusades, and Joseph Bloch's Swords of Wuxia, which is technically written for Adventures Dark & Deep, but is easily ported to any D&D type game.
Thanks Persimmon. The underworld material in Arrows of Indra is something I always liked about it.
Appreciate the shoutout on our other books. I am working on a follow-up to Strange Tales of Songling now (but it is modern New England Horror)
Quote from: Persimmon on March 11, 2024, 11:12:05 AM
Quote from: jhkim on March 11, 2024, 01:26:19 AM
Thanks for the thread necromancy, Persimmon. I was thinking about posting on AoI. I had been looking at Arrows of Indra for a toe in the water for me with OSR systems. However, I have had a hard time picturing how an Arrows of Indra party comes together. I created a rough tool for rolling up characters, which I'm linking to in draft form here:
https://darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/oldschool/arrowsofindra/edit.cgi?shortname=generic
After rolling up a few sets, though, it seemed tricky for them to work together. Any thoughts on good ways for characters of different races and/or caste come together as a party?
Sorry, but I keep getting an error message when trying your link.
Whoops. I had been playing with it to add in support for skills, but I broke it. It is at least nominally working now, and I'll try to keep it stable and test at another URL.
Quote from: Persimmon on March 11, 2024, 11:12:05 AM
As for your question, that's definitely a tricky part when trying to roleplay a caste-based society. I think one possibility is to create a set-up scenario wherein that's taken out of their hands. Maybe they've all been kidnapped by bandits or a cult that needs members of different castes' blood for some kind of ritual. They only way they can survive is by working together. Or they're all on some ship, in different areas, and it wrecks, throwing them all together on some isolated shore. You could also do the old ruler forces them to work together due to some kind of prophecy he received from an adviser angle. Or bring in an outside force/invader who ignores the caste rules and tries to destroy them.
I think the "thrown together by circumstance" only works for a short adventure. For a long-term campaign, the PCs really need a stronger bond. In my current Incan-inspired campaign, the PCs are all agents of an ancestor-king -- so they effectively have a semi-religious status that is different than their birth status.
Really, birth status is really important in medieval Europe, but it's largely ignored in most D&D and OSR games. My Incan game tries to be more D&D-ish, but I think Pundit is trying for more "authentic medieval" in Arrows of Indra as well as Lion & Dragon.
Quote from: Persimmon on March 11, 2024, 11:12:05 AM
My own campaign setting has Asian-derived lands, but the one for India is basically a scattered set of ruins and minor trading posts, having been undone by demonic worship and invasion long ago. I'm much more familiar with East Asia so those lands, based on historical China, Japan, Korea, and Central Asia, are much more fleshed out and "Asian" PCs normally hail from those areas. My version of Japan, Mimana, is based on the Kamakura era, so there's not such a strict caste hierarchy like you get in the Edo period. For a fun take on a guru-type class called the Mystic, see Joseph Bloch's Book of Lost Lore for Adventures Dark & Deep.
For the adventure/campaign I'm working on, the Underworld comprises basically all the traditional and fantasy Underworld mashed together, so the character party, which theoretically will consist of PCs from all over the campaign setting, will have those who now something about any given place. But you've got Hel, Hades, the Nine Circles of Dante, the Abyss, Diyu, Abaddon and more in there, so there's a ton of variety. And I'm more interested in interesting settings and encounters than historical or cultural accuracy, but even a small element of difference is fun for players.
Yeah, it's little touches that help with making the campaign flavorful even if it's not historical. In my Andean game, I've tried to use broad strokes for bits of flavor, like bringing pictures of locations, and having references to styles.
Keep in mind that aside from Untouchables, people of the other castes did interact on a regular basis. The main difference from a D&D group is that those caste features would mean that there would be PCs that would be social superiors to other PCs, whereas in regular D&D everyone is just "generic renaissance faire attendee" where peasants and princes act like they're all equals. Also, some members of certain castes could potentially be unable to do some things that other members of the party could.