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Author Topic: Native American RPG?  (Read 17846 times)

Acinonyx

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #15 on: May 23, 2006, 08:49:19 AM »
Quote from: Zalmoxis
Well, I have been looking into the mound builder cultures (started with me looking into Cahokia, which I hope to see this summer). Being from the southeastern US, I have long been intrigued by the natives from that region as well. I may take a crack at it. Don't know whether it would be better to make it a "historically accurate" RPG or integrate elements of fantasy (real magic, real fantastic creatures from native american myth, and so on). The fact no one seems to have done it yet does pique my interest. :)
I'd love to see something along the lines of the old 2E green historical D&D books for Native America. That way you could give the historical information and also include near-historical and fantasy options as well.
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Zalmoxis

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #16 on: May 23, 2006, 09:43:31 AM »
Quote from: Acinonyx
I'd love to see something along the lines of the old 2E green historical D&D books for Native America. That way you could give the historical information and also include near-historical and fantasy options as well.


That's what I am leaning towards. I'm going to use the same rules I used for the Phydea setting (pseudo-True20), maybe modified. I'm going to focus on the height of the mound-builder culture, and how it interacted with their neighbors. It will also be possible for there to be conflcits between them and central american/other cultures.

BOZ

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #17 on: May 23, 2006, 03:23:50 PM »
FR was supposed to have had some north american style native americans, but i don't think that has ever been developed beyond a strongly-hinted rumor.
don't quote me on that.  :)

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Zalmoxis

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #18 on: May 23, 2006, 04:27:11 PM »
Quote from: BOZ
FR was supposed to have had some north american style native americans, but i don't think that has ever been developed beyond a strongly-hinted rumor.


No doubt it will come out right before I get done. :heh:  I gotta say, doing this will not be easy, especially as I am trying to be as accurate as possible. But it will be fun. I'm already really into it. :)

L.W.Pickett

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2019, 02:50:22 PM »
Quote from: Zalmoxis;16872
I was reading tonight about ancient native American culture and it occured to me... I have never heard of an RPG that focused on pre-Columbian America. Am I wrong... is there a product I missed?


I realize that I am 13 years late to the party, but I am currently working on rules for a North American Pre-European TTRPG, I am, in respect to Native Americans, not using exact nations but nations inspired by the historical. Not being born into the culture I do not wish to cause insult anyone by any well meaning mistake. I would be happy to get feedback and share opinions on the subject.

PencilBoy99

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #20 on: March 01, 2019, 04:05:40 PM »
Here are some published products

Ehdrigohr (Fate)
Totems of the Dead (Savage Worlds)

jhkim

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2019, 04:38:59 PM »
Also tangential, but there are the story games _How We Came To Live Here_ and _Ganagakok_. Here's a BGG list of Native-American-related RPG products, though it's mostly about post-colonial times or parallels.

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/47332/native-american-rpg-resources

I ran for a while an alternate-history campaign set in the Hudson River valley with Icelandic settlers along with native Algonquin and Haudenosaunee.

Re: Cahokia...  Mississippian culture is intriguing, but not well understood - particularly in the height of the civilization (roughly 1000-1200, as I recall). That can be good for fantasy, but it lacks familiarity to most players - which means it can lack some of the archetypes they identify with. I chose going with the Hudson River valley because Hiawatha, Iroquois, Mohicans, and others are at least roughly familiar to players from stories and film.

Having a big London-size city in pre-Colombian North America is alien to most players despite being true - which makes it undeniably cool, but also hard for players to get a handle on playing, particularly when we know so little about the culture.

Omega

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2019, 05:01:44 PM »
Quote from: L.W.Pickett;1077230
I realize that I am 13 years late to the party, but I am currently working on rules for a North American Pre-European TTRPG, I am, in respect to Native Americans, not using exact nations but nations inspired by the historical. Not being born into the culture I do not wish to cause insult anyone by any well meaning mistake. I would be happy to get feedback and share opinions on the subject.


Hate to say it. But this wont save you. You have to remember these SJWs are insane. You cannot appease them. You cannot win except by making your game as you want it. Not as you think will please some bigots and lunatics.

You use real tribes and locales? You monster! That is appropriation!
You use made up names and locales? You monster! That is exclusionism AND appropriation!
You replace them with Dinosaurs... You monster! That is exclusionism AND appropriation AND whitewashing as you are obviously not a velociraptor!

Oh and we are on to your dirty little secret that the lemurs the velociraptors are struggling against are really representations of the oppressed black minority and your dinosaurs are the priviliged white males!

I'd love to say any of this is an exaggeration. But in the last two years alone all of the above have been levelled at games at some point, and more.

jhkim

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2019, 05:43:59 PM »
Quote from: L.W.Pickett
I realize that I am 13 years late to the party, but I am currently working on rules for a North American Pre-European TTRPG, I am, in respect to Native Americans, not using exact nations but nations inspired by the historical. Not being born into the culture I do not wish to cause insult anyone by any well meaning mistake. I would be happy to get feedback and share opinions on the subject.
Quote from: Omega;1077255
Hate to say it. But this wont save you. You have to remember these SJWs are insane. You cannot appease them. You cannot win except by making your game as you want it. Not as you think will please some bigots and lunatics.
You can't please everyone, certainly - but more importantly, don't suck! Regardless of whether anyone hears about it and is offended, make a game that is up to your own ethical standards and treats the subject and people the way you'd want to be treated.

Kiero

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2019, 05:53:02 PM »
There was also Northern Crown, from the D20 glut.
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GnomeWorks

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #25 on: March 01, 2019, 08:52:41 PM »
Quote from: jhkim;1077248
Having a big London-size city in pre-Colombian North America

Any useful non-internet sources you could point folk at, for reading more about this?

I'll take online too, I suppose, but would prefer dead tree.
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Omega

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #26 on: March 01, 2019, 09:40:23 PM »
Quote from: GnomeWorks;1077287
Any useful non-internet sources you could point folk at, for reading more about this?

I'll take online too, I suppose, but would prefer dead tree.

Possible he refers to Cahokia

https://www.livescience.com/22737-cahokia.html

And there is also Chan Chan in South America which was pretty large and looks downright alien in its design in places.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/13/chan-chan-the-largest-pre-columbian-city-in-the-americas/

jhkim

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #27 on: March 01, 2019, 09:51:54 PM »
Quote from: GnomeWorks;1077287
Any useful non-internet sources you could point folk at, for reading more about this?

I'll take online too, I suppose, but would prefer dead tree.

EDITED TO ADD: Yeah, I was referring to Cahokia - since in post #5, the OP poster zalmoxis said that he was inspired by a visit there.

The best reading I had on the subject was a survey book called 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles Mann.

https://smile.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Columbus/dp/1400032059/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g3905707922?_encoding=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0&ie=UTF8

It's not about Mississippian culture, but rather about revising views of pre-Columbian civilizations all over North and South America. I found it to be fascinating topics, and engagingly written.

I've browsed some books about Mississippian civilization at the library, but nothing that particularly grabbed me. Below is a rendition of Cahokia, by the way - the largest city in North America north of Mexico in its time, and arguably larger than London at the time (though admittedly, London of 1200AD was nothing like Rome or Constantinople).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3217[/ATTACH]

worrapol

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #28 on: March 02, 2019, 12:24:48 AM »
13 years and nobody mentions GURPS Aztecs?
 http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Aztecs/

and then there is Design Mechanism with Mythic Aztecs for their Mythras game, not out yet but Ken St. Andre is writing it!
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/designmechanism/press-release-ken-st-andre-to-write-mythic-aztecs--t2816.html
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jhkim

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Native American RPG?
« Reply #29 on: March 02, 2019, 02:19:28 AM »
Quote from: worrapol;1077318
13 years and nobody mentions GURPS Aztecs?
 http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Aztecs/

and then there is Design Mechanism with Mythic Aztecs for their Mythras game, not out yet but Ken St. Andre is writing it!
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/designmechanism/press-release-ken-st-andre-to-write-mythic-aztecs--t2816.html
GURPS Aztecs is good, but in Post #3, the OP specified that he was looking for North American, not Central or South American.