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: Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?  (Read 2054 times)

Cole

  • Factotum
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2427
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #45 on: May 18, 2011, 08:16:38 PM »
Quote from: RPGPundit;459091
Of course not, don't be silly.  My point is that often the whole "you are guys from a bog-standard fantasy setting, but we start out in this weird alien culture you don't actually need to know anything about" is the gaming equivalent of "tl;dr"; the GM being too lazy to want to explain the cultural context and the players being too lazy to learn about it; so they just want to be Greyhawk characters in Tekumel or whatever. It is too often a way for player characters to avoid having to follow cultural mores.


I am not that familiar with Tekumel itself but isnt the starting premise of Empire of the Petal Throne that you are barbarians fresh off the boat? I don't really see why "From Greyhawk, In Tekumel" is all that different from "From Kansas, In Oz." If the point of  campaign is to travel around in a weird alien culture, why is it better to have learn about through a homework assignment than just find out about it through play, as the PCs do? Or doeswhether it's okay or not depends on if everyone is pure in their hearts about their intention?
ABRAXAS - A D&D Blog

"There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."
--Lon Chaney

Ulas Xegg

Cole

  • Factotum
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2427
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #46 on: May 18, 2011, 08:17:24 PM »
Quote from: Benoist;459097
I give up. The serial assumptions are too much to bear. It would require a ten pages back and forth to go over this, and I just don't feel like doing the paddling myself.


Serial assumptions? I don't understand.
ABRAXAS - A D&D Blog

"There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."
--Lon Chaney

Ulas Xegg

Benoist

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 22049
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #47 on: May 18, 2011, 08:26:26 PM »
Quote from: Cole;459100
Serial assumptions? I don't understand.
Pundit is making a whole series of assumptions about the setting being played, the reasons behind the choices to play the campaign and introduce characters this or that way. And from there he draws a series of conclusions (i.e. it's laziness). This is what I call the "serial assumptions". It'd take ten pages to go through it and honestly, I don't really want to bother, because it's obviously very silly, and I suspect he already knows better than this. So it's pointless.

Cole

  • Factotum
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2427
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #48 on: May 18, 2011, 08:36:21 PM »
Quote from: Benoist;459106
Pundit is making a whole series of assumptions about the setting being played, the reasons behind the choices to play the campaign and introduce characters this or that way. And from there he draws a series of conclusions (i.e. it's laziness). This is what I call the "serial assumptions". It'd take ten pages to go through it and honestly, I don't really want to bother, because it's obviously very silly, and I suspect he already knows better than this. So it's pointless.


Sorry to hear.

For my part, I have tried to phrase the question as broadly as possible so that people could look at a bunch of related topics - whether it's PCs are in the next village vs. PCs are in oz; and the difference between.
ABRAXAS - A D&D Blog

"There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."
--Lon Chaney

Ulas Xegg

Benoist

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 22049
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #49 on: May 18, 2011, 08:49:06 PM »
Quote from: Cole;459111
Sorry to hear.
It's not about the thread as a whole, or you. I'm sorry if I come off as cranky right now. I'm sick since this afternoon, and my patience is wearing thin. I'm happy to go on talking, if you want to. I just won't address Pundit's 'argument'.

Aos

  • Huge Member
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7724
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #50 on: May 18, 2011, 08:55:37 PM »
My players are lazy bastards.
You are posting in a troll thread.

Metal Earth

Cosmic Tales- Webcomic

Cole

  • Factotum
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2427
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #51 on: May 18, 2011, 09:33:39 PM »
Quote from: Benoist;459119
It's not about the thread as a whole, or you. I'm sorry if I come off as cranky right now. I'm sick since this afternoon, and my patience is wearing thin. I'm happy to go on talking, if you want to. I just won't address Pundit's 'argument'.

It's okay. Don't worry about it.


Quote from: Aos;459124
My players are lazy bastards.

What impact does that have on how you present them with setting?
ABRAXAS - A D&D Blog

"There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."
--Lon Chaney

Ulas Xegg

Aos

  • Huge Member
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7724
Player Characters - Natives or Newcomers?
« Reply #52 on: May 18, 2011, 10:00:44 PM »
Quote from: Cole;459138
It's okay. Don't worry about it.




What impact does that have on how you present them with setting?

I use cartoons.

For my Earth Zero supers game: a fucking (chemically enhanced) marathon of Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Followed by, "Kind of like that, mashed with Hellboy comics, and old Jack Kirby stuff," and we were off.

The Metal Earth is actually kind of easier because there has been some independent interest and they've both read stuff and asked a lot of questions. Really, though, that is a first and I'm not sure what got them going.

Also, I do a lot of  (rushed and half assed) drawings of stuff, which i introduce during the course of play. I almost wish I'd never stated on that though, because although they really appreciate it, they also expect it and are disappointed when I don't come through (I'm working on some drawings for Monday's ICONS game between posts tonight).
You are posting in a troll thread.

Metal Earth

Cosmic Tales- Webcomic