Forum > Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion
Japanese influence in your campaigns
HappyDaze:
--- Quote from: caldrail on August 17, 2022, 03:37:21 AM ---During my longest running D&D campaign I used japanese inspiration for elven culture. No linguistic stuff and I had them using 'moon-swords' (similar to Klingon bat'leth's). I did this to make them more 'alien' than wishy washy Tolkien-esque concepts and even introduced a Warhammer 40k inspired idea of 'Craftholds', places like Rivendell but in pocket dimensions of their own, accessed through magical gates or event horizons in places like waterfalls, caves, or forest groves.
Wood elves were similar but worldly and less civilised. The one the players interacted with was walled off by a mystical hedge.
In retrospect it worked a little too well. Players more used to western mythology got a little confused as to why elves weren't pretty boy humans.
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It's not western mythology that portrays elves as pretty big humans, that's western pop culture. In most mythologies, they were quite different.
caldrail:
You think? In some respects I agree, but notice how often agents of mythology appear as human.
Rhymer88:
--- Quote from: Omega on August 12, 2022, 04:54:17 PM ---More interesting are the influences of western fantasy on Japanese fantasy. Even today I spot fantasy anime with the classic O/A/BX style dog-men Kobolds and even the occasional boar headed Orcs and so on. Clerics turning undead. Western style dragons. and so on.
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Yes, I was thinking of that when I saw the manga Delicious in Dungeon today. It basically seems to be old-school D&D, just a bit more satirical.
Omega:
--- Quote from: HappyDaze on August 17, 2022, 03:51:04 AM ---It's not western mythology that portrays elves as pretty big humans, that's western pop culture. In most mythologies, they were quite different.
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Very different indeed. Japanese Yokai would be a better comparison to some european elves. Weird, alien and half the time inhuman. And probably more than half the time dangerous in one way or another.
One thing I did in an OA meets Greyhawk adventure was showcasing the more classical faeries and elves clashing with the more classical yokai. With the PCs from both lands caught in the middle trying to sort things out and put down the worst of both sides that are running amok. Or more amok than usual. On one side was a Far Darrig causing trouble and on the other was a Bake-danuki aka a Tanooki who was doing the same and both were dragging other supernaturals into the war of deadly pranks.
vortexgods:
--- Quote from: MeganovaStella on August 10, 2022, 06:05:35 PM ---How much does Japanese media influence your campaigns? Their story, their characters, their world, and so on. In that vein, how does Japanese media influence your players and their PCs? And what specific titles do you select ideas from?
I pick from mostly anime and manga: Digimon (monster catching), Shin Megami Tensei (religious beings, law and chaos), Berserk (respectful depiction of the outcomes of sexual assault (with player consent of course), giant swords, CLANG), Xenoseries (giant robots, science focus, robot girls)
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I picked up the Goblin Slayer Japanese TTRPG translation recently:
https://www.amazon.com/Goblin-Slayer-Tabletop-Roleplaying-Game/dp/1975318315
(They have the wrong cover for it on both the Yen Press Website and the Kobo eBook store. I've written to them about it but not only didn't they fix it, the only effect it seems to have had was to have them mess up the cover on their Website as well. Basically they put the cover for a different TTRPG that they publish for it instead.) I got both the physical version and picked up the eBook version later. I'm not sure if I will ever play it, but I was interested in what is basically a Japanese take on simple AD&D using Sword World Rules. It does seem like a fun game, and the book is a complete RPG. The player races are human, dwarf, elf, lizardman and rhea(hobbits, more or less). Races get bonuses or penalties to various stats. Classes are fighter, monk, ranger, scout, sorcerer, priest, dragon-priest and shaman. For some reason they decided to call thieves, scouts. Shamans aren't exactly druids, they call on the power of elemental spirits. It has a decent section on spells for the various spell-casting classes and a decent bestiary for the various types of monsters. (Goblins are prominent but there are a lot of other varieties and types of monsters in it too.)
I notice that a considerable amount of fantasy stuff I read nowadays, if it isn't old stuff like Jack Vance or Clark Ashton Smith, tends to be Japanese light novels like Magic-User, Overlord, the Faraway Paladin, the Unwanted, Undead Adventurer or Goblin Slayer. I can tell the difference between Western fantasy and Japanese fantasy. For example, when I was playing D&D the idea that the party would go and register with the local adventurers guild in order to legally operate as adventurers never even occurred to me. Overlord even has unregistered adventurers who don't register with their local guild (called Workers to differentiate them from Adventurers) and they end up getting more disreputable quests from more dubious sources as a result, but with greater opportunities for personal gain.
If I ever manage to get a group together again, I'll probably consider suggesting that idea as a player or using it as a DM. I particularly like the contrast between reputable Adventurers who sometimes need to accept guild requests as part of staying in good standing, and disreputable Workers, who get more dangerous quests from quest-givers who might intend to betray them later.
As to other Japanese fantasy sources, I think The Ancient Magus Bride is a good attempt to portray European style faeries as the otherworldly creatures that they were in old legends rather than the typical AD&D elves.
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