PDA

View Full Version : oriental game



bignate
2007-12-08, 09:33 PM
I have been thinking about putting together an oriental game and I was wondering what you guys think are the really important elements of an oriental game.

I don't want it to be just a regular old game. I would like it to have a nice oriental feel.

any advice would be appreciated...

DraPrime
2007-12-08, 09:44 PM
Just buy oriental adventures. It's a pre-made oriental campaign setting for people just like you. Even if you don't like the actual setting, there's still base classes, monsters, and feats that will help any campaign feel oriental. So the worst case scenario is that you'll have a great resource for creating an oriental campaign setting.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-12-08, 09:46 PM
In case you're wondering, there are TWO OA's. A 3.0 one, and a 1ed version. watch out for that.

Matthew
2007-12-08, 10:11 PM
There was a good Oriental Thread a few months back. The up and down of it is that there are as many types of 'Oriental' Setting as there are 'Occidental'. It's really up to you to define the terms. If I were going to run an Oriental Campaign, I would probably run it in a fantasy version of Japan somewhere between the 6th and 15th centuries, as that's the Orient I am most familiar with.

Rachel Lorelei
2007-12-08, 10:18 PM
Whatever you do, *don't* make it just plain "Oriental". Japan and China are nothing alike, and that's to say nothing of, say, Korea. There seems to be a tendency to randomly mix in Chinese and Japanese stuff and call that a generic Orient.

"The Orient" has distinct cultures just like everywhere else does. Keep that in mind. If you want to imitate one specific one, do that--don't stick Samurai with katanas in your fantasy-China, for example.

Kojiro Kakita
2007-12-08, 10:31 PM
Hmm, I would recommend looking up the old l5r line. Its fairly oriental.

Attilargh
2007-12-09, 04:07 AM
Do you mean "old" as in "the edition with d20 rules" (second, if I recall), or some other old? Because Legend of the Five Rings is currently in its third edition and still supported.

random11
2007-12-09, 04:35 AM
Whatever you do, *don't* make it just plain "Oriental". Japan and China are nothing alike, and that's to say nothing of, say, Korea. There seems to be a tendency to randomly mix in Chinese and Japanese stuff and call that a generic Orient.

"The Orient" has distinct cultures just like everywhere else does. Keep that in mind. If you want to imitate one specific one, do that--don't stick Samurai with katanas in your fantasy-China, for example.

Why not?
The classic fantasy setting is a mix of at least three cultures, four mythologies and two different forms of government.
So why not make a similar mix that is closer to the far east?

As long as he doesn't make a single culture in multiple different countries, or treat it as historical China/Japan with magic, I think it's okay.

Tengu
2007-12-09, 04:43 AM
Do you mean "old" as in "the edition with d20 rules" (second, if I recall), or some other old? Because Legend of the Five Rings is currently in its third edition and still supported.

Eeew! L5R is a standalone game with a completely different mechanic that was converted to d20 in the same hype that gave us the monstrosities such as Deadlands D20 and Cthulhu D20. Support the original, not the watered-down clone made for the convenience of people too stupid to learn more than one gaming mechanic!

Attilargh
2007-12-09, 05:14 AM
I will, as soon as the my favourite webstore orders the book.

To the OP: Watch a lot of movies. Kurosawa's flicks are pretty darn good.

Talic
2007-12-09, 05:25 AM
Just remember, some things that are considered kind and normal in most D&D will be considered evil and wrong in an oriental setting.

Ressurrection, for example. One of the biggest themes in Japanesque oriental is a belief in the will of the gods and a strong adherence to destiny. To come back after you've been destined to die is usually the height of bad evil juju.

Even if you use the L5R books for nothing else, it is an excellent source of information about a well themed campaign setting, as well as what things are considered honorable and dishonorable... Which isn't the same as good and evil. It's well researched, and wil give you the flavor of a japanesque setting. Beyond that, use OA for mechanics, and ad lib where you have to.

Closet_Skeleton
2007-12-09, 05:54 AM
In case you're wondering, there are TWO OA's. A 3.0 one, and a 1ed version. watch out for that.

So, there are first edition versions of Dieties and Demigods and the Monster Manual, doesn't mean they'll as available at the same time.

DraPrime
2007-12-09, 10:01 AM
Ressurrection, for example. One of the biggest themes in Japanesque oriental is a belief in the will of the gods and a strong adherence to destiny. To come back after you've been destined to die is usually the height of bad evil juju.

Morality is always a bit of an issue in oriental campaigns if you want to truly stick to the oriental theme. However, the whole resurrection thing only makes vampires and lichs more evil.