04-21-2005, 02:06 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: U.K.
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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But I agree with the theory that Fantasy II has several rather cool and interesting ideas for a fantasy game - which it dismisses in about a paragraph each, telling readers that they have to play in the most depressing and futile bit of the game-world instead. Of course, Robin ran an apparently quite successful campaign in the setting. So it's possible. De gustibus non yadda yadda.
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04-21-2005, 06:53 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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For starters, I'd use the Barbarian Template from GURPS Fantasy (p116), which is a balance between actual tribal peoples and mighty-hewed warriors. Let's face it, if any region's going to breed Conan-like barbarians, it's going to be the Madlands, with it's harsh environment, deadly beasts, chaotic magic and mad gods. Heck, they even had one on the cover... Secondly, I'd make Shamans a little less ostracized. While they'd still be considered dangerous "God-touched" and regarded with suspicion, most Madlanders would be pragmatic enough to realize that the Shamans have useful powers, and can possibly keep their "patron gods" at bay. So, they keep their Shamans close at hand (but not too close, lest their attract their god). Of course, if things go very wrong, the Shaman will have to do something to improve the situation, lest he become a scapegoat.. ...That's about it for my ideas. |
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04-21-2005, 07:41 AM | #13 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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04-21-2005, 08:56 PM | #14 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Eden Prairie, MN
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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Before reading your post, I would have compared the gods to the Elder Gods of CoC. But you had to go and ruin one of my two favorite parts of the setting. (My other favorite part is the various undead-type guys. Skinless, Boneless, etc.) My brain is still blown from that revelation.
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04-21-2005, 09:28 PM | #15 |
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
Fantasy II: Madlands was one of about 4 Gurps books I had that were ruined due to some flooding. Add to that I lost my boxed set during a Typhoon on Guam. Over the years I have been slowly trying to replace them via e-bay, but that can be quite pricey. Now you guys have me hunting for it again.
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04-22-2005, 04:31 AM | #16 |
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Oslo, Norway
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
To me it was the Kikavo Vo (Big Leaper) and Kikavo Dat (Little Leaper) that broke the Winnie the Pooh code. Kanga and Roo...
I have not played in the Mad Lands, but I find it one of the most original and interesting Fantasy settings. I think the combination of the sword and sorcery elements with Northwestern Pacific Indian culture is very interesting. It does suffer from excessive nihilism, though, which is particularily annoying, both because the setting encourages building characters with developed backgrounds and meaningful goals, and because GURPS is not the best system for building cannonfodder characters.
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04-22-2005, 03:34 PM | #17 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Saint Louis or thereabouts
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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I owned the Mad Lands once, but it's been so long, I can't remember all that much from Fantasy II. Could someone give us a brief rundown on the parallels with the Pooh stories? Pretty please?
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04-22-2005, 10:26 PM | #18 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Warner Robins, GA
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
The parallel that I'm familiar with is the animal types.
1 bear, 1 rabbit, 1 owl, 1 tiger, and 2 kangaroos(one of which is the child of the other, without any logical explanation). If there are deeper parallels, I'd also like to know. |
04-23-2005, 05:41 AM | #19 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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04-23-2005, 09:21 AM | #20 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Eden Prairie, MN
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Re: Have you played in the Mad Lands?
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For some reason, Eeyore the Donkey is The Moose in the Mad Lands, but the rest share the race of their respective God. But it's not just that they are the same race, they have the same personalities, too. Eeyore is very deppressive. Rabbit is a know-it-all that uses big words, gets lost in his train of thought, and isn't very helpful. Etc. If you want to check out the similarities, you can look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_the_pooh
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Paragraph 4 said: If Trapped by Fire, Endeavor to Escape. Do Not Open Doors If Warm. Do Not Use Stairs If Burning. If No Exit Presents Itself, Remain Calm and Await (a) Rescue or (b) Death. |
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