Quote from: Votan on May 13, 2024, 08:36:17 PMSo clever sculpting but if they wanted to highlight cool female characters, the Red Box has Aleena, who is both memorable and taught players important lessons about the way that the game was meant to be played. Sure, the character has a typical female presentation, but that isn't necessarily a bug in a game about heroic fantasies. Archetypes are good, right? Right? Or am I too old fashioned?

Some years back there was much bitching by the woke about how she was "Sexualized" and "pornographic" even. Because these idiots have no clue what those words even mean.

Quote from: RPGPundit on May 13, 2024, 11:39:02 PM

Quote from: BadApple on May 13, 2024, 05:25:03 AM

Quote from: Slipshot762 on May 13, 2024, 02:43:17 AMInteresting to me is the lore surrounding how magic users are regarded. What is that dividing line between "muh court whyzhard" and "burn her before she turns us all into newts!" I've often wondered?

Historically you had magicians like dee and kelly, who worked for the crown as magicians, known to be engaged with divining contact with angels to learn from them the enochian language, the language of creation, in order to work magic...the whole thing appearing to have the approval of both government and heaven, as opposed the hated reviled witch or sorceror in lore.

I suppose it likely has something to do with the nature of the practices in question; if man is given earthly dominion by god then it would be contradictory to serve or deal with as equals any demons, devils, undead, entities, or spirits...yet it would seem there is an implication i am detecting which says that conjuring an old bitch-devil and beating it into submission with your wand in the name of god and making it teach you featherfall is perfectly ok or something.

Never quite nailed this down but thats the best i came up with.

In Christian tradition, any use of magic is considered a contract with the devil.  There were no officially recognized court mages in Christian European nations.  This is also true in Islamic countries.  There was no distinction between witches and great wizards, they were all sinners in need of burning.  Many western magic users practiced in secret, always afraid of getting caught.

That's completely wrong. For most of the middle ages there was no distinction between science and magic, and for that matter some of the humanities and medicine too. And there was no notion whatsoever that high magic was "of the devil". Folk magic was a bit different but for most of the middle ages the main view of both Church and Crown to folk magic was that most of it was just empty powerless superstition.

Only certain very specific forms of magical activities were either illegal or banned by the church or both. Poisoning and enchantment were illegal. Making pacts with demons (summoned by evocation) was banned by the church (note: binding demons was not). Doing divinations about the King without the King's express permission was illegal, as it was seen as somewhere between espionage and treason. The church forbade certain practices of Alchemy which required dead bodies, and these were typically outlawed by the crown too.  Magic that attempted to spontaneously create life (homunculi, for example) was banned by the church. And trying to make gold using alchemy required a costly permit.

There were absolutely court magicians in various Christian nations. Dee was Queen Elizabeth's astrologer (and also one of the first spies in Her Majesty's Secret Service, with the code number "007"); he selected the date for her coronation using astrology, everyone knew it, and thought it was perfectly fine. He was later courted by various monarchs of Europe who wanted him to be THEIR court magician. Likewise Edward Kelley.

Of course, a MUCH bigger patron of magic than the royal crowns was the CHURCH. Countless monasteries engaged in the studies of "natural philosophy", including alchemy and all kinds of conjuring. There were popes who had practiced magic. And great saints; including Thomas Aquinas, who studied under the great and renowned philosopher-friar Albertus Magnus, who as not only a Dominican monk but also the CHAIR OF THEOLOGY at the University of Paris in the 1240s.

So you're just unbelievably, ridiculously, moronically wrong.

I fully acknowledge that my statement was way overly simplified.  The middle ages covers a lot of time, a lot of perspectives, and a lot of cultures.  Doctrinal interpretation was spotty at best and so was what magic was understood to be.

If you mean that magic is an umbrella term for anything that doesn't have an immediate corporal explanation, then you are correct.  However, there is a lot of distinction made between "divine mysteries" and "magic" from a Roman Catholic perspective.  The exploration of the first was encouraged while the second was heresy.  Natural philosophies were largely seen to fall into the divine mysteries camp.

I don't have access to my library right now so I can't give you references and I'm unable to give a counterpoint in the developed and intelligent way I would like to.  What I can say is that the Roman Catholic church has reclassified many fields of study but the principle idea that messing with the supernatural for personal gain is magic and heretical just like it was a thousand years ago.

Quote from: ForgottenF on May 13, 2024, 10:07:40 PMAll that said, 5e is still the most played game and the easiest to find people playing. If you're looking for games in that realm, it's mostly just a matter of scoping out the game a little before you ask to join. The hyper-woke usually can't resist advertising it, so if you read the game listings with a critical eye, you can often pick up hints at what kind of game it is. Obviously keywords like "safe space", "LGBTQ+ friendly" etc. are to be avoided. You can also look at the players' avatars and on Roll20 at least, read the DM's profile to see what they're about. Don't be afraid to profile; if all the posters in the player applications are asking about pronouns and triggers, it's probably a game to avoid. But also don't write people off too quickly. I've played with multiple trans players in the last few years, and not a one of them has made an issue of it. Don't give up too easily. Even in 5e world, most people just want a good game to play, and will prioritize that over making political beefs.

I've already started doing so, hence this post, I don't want to happen on a situation where I'll get into a game because there's been no prior flags, then I'll have to leave because woke is inserted anyway.

I tried Roll20 but there's been more woke listings than not recently.

Quote from: yosemitemike on May 13, 2024, 10:59:31 AMI would guess that, since WoD/CoD is mostly moribund now, people don't have the motivation to publish that WoD Heartbreaker that they did when it was big.

All except #OnyxPath themselves, who are working on a new line called #CurseBorne.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 13, 2024, 07:14:33 PMThere's been precisely zero conspiracy thriller rpgs released in the last decade to my knowledge, which is weird because cryptids are more popular than they've ever been, the government has publicly acknowledged UFOs, the WEF is openly trying to conquer Earth, Resident Alien is airing on Syfy, and the X-Files is getting a reboot.

That's entirely due to the industry being dominated by left wing ideologues who view any 'conspiracy theories' as an alt-right thing despite having plenty of their own.

Quote from: yosemitemike on May 11, 2024, 05:43:49 AMThe SJW crowd can't seem to decide if sex work is empowering and sex workers must be respected or whether it's exploitation and bad.  Their outrage or lack of it seems highly instrumental. 

They are nothing if not incoherent.

Quote from: RPGPundit on May 11, 2024, 09:22:32 AMReleasing the older editions to creative commons is a minefield for them.

Not really, because the only people who will be playing them are the folks who already were. Meanwhile most players and services will continue to focus exclusively on supporting the 'current' edition.

I'll add that Michael Scotus served in a similar capacity as Dee for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in earlier times.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on May 13, 2024, 01:07:42 PM

Quote from: Omega on May 13, 2024, 01:35:07 AM

QuoteI never understood classifying Darkman as a superhero movie. It's like saying Evil Dead 2 is a superhero movie. Kinda, sorta, maybe if you squint and broaden the definitions to their maximum.

er. The Darkman movie about the scientist who is disfigured and fights crime using synthetic skin to disguise himself as different people?

Thats like claiming Batman isnt a superhero because he has no superpowers?

Darkman is a deranged psychopath. He doesn't fight crime. He wants cruel and bloody revenge on the specific criminals who caused his situation. Even at their worst, "dark and gritty" superheroes like Batman or Punisher still have some kind of code of morals and a goal to help people. Darkman is just some poor guy's ID run rampant. If anything, he has a lot more in common with supervillians.

Agreed but then... Isn't The Crow the same? He's NOT fighting criminals, hes getting cruel and bloody revenge on those who killed him and his fiance.

And I looooove them both.

Furthermore, isn't Batman, Punisher, The Executioner (especially those who do kill) just extending his revenge to ALL criminals? Just playing devils advocate here but you could make THAT argument and not be 100% wrong.

Quote from: HappyDaze on May 14, 2024, 12:33:50 AM

Quote from: Zelen on May 13, 2024, 09:22:41 PMMy stance is that lore is incredibly important, but anyone who cares about lore at this point should see the writing on the wall for Battletech.

It's a lot less damaging for "the lore" to accept a spin-off with renamed factions + characters that keeps the underlying themes, tone, style, than to continue on supporting a game/IP which is compromised by malicious actors whose expressed goals are to subvert that story/setting.

What part of the Battletech story/setting has been subverted? How has it been subverted, and what do you believe is the "writing on the wall" and anyone should see?

Oh I don't know, maybe go buy the Battletech Pride Anthology 2023? Since you seem determined to play defense for Catalyst and want to give them money.

Quote from: HappyDaze on May 14, 2024, 12:31:43 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 13, 2024, 10:50:04 PM

Quote from: Zelen on May 13, 2024, 09:22:41 PMMy stance is that lore is incredibly important, but anyone who cares about lore at this point should see the writing on the wall for Battletech.

It's a lot less damaging for "the lore" to accept a spin-off with renamed factions + characters that keeps the underlying themes, tone, style, than to continue on supporting a game/IP which is compromised by malicious actors whose expressed goals are to subvert that story/setting.

100% Let Catalyst and it's IP burn, make a new thing or embrace an existing one, if possible one that (while keeping the game free from IRL politics) is made by explicitly anti-woke people.

If it's free from IRL politics, then why would it matter who it's made by?

Because I won't give my money to people that have made it very clear they hate me and want to see me and mine dead. Something all the woke assholes have made perfectly clear.

Feel free to give YOUR money to those who want to see you and yours dead if you like.

Quote from: yosemitemike on May 11, 2024, 05:43:49 AMThe SJW crowd can't seem to decide if sex work is empowering and sex workers must be respected or whether it's exploitation and bad.  Their outrage or lack of it seems highly instrumental.

I'd settle for the GenZ and GenAlpha 'tards simply not being schizos that can't differentiate fiction from reality. They seem to alternate between porn brain and shrieking like banshees if they see anime tiddies or something. Or them clutching their pearls over the cover of Eldritch Wizardry. It's frustrating that we have to put up with absolute slop like Aphrodite Pandemos being a tranny in the Hades 1 videogame, which was celebrated as being 'representation', only for them to scream bloody murder when someone altered the art to make her stop looking masculine. And yes, I get that 'art fixers' are hypocrites, but it's friggin hilarious when their BS is flipped back on them causing them to go apoplectic. These ESG/DEI/BRIDGE nimrods are going to run out of money one day and all the house of cards they've built will come crashing back down on them.