Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Damnation Decade: Designer Discussion Thread
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Rob Toth" data-source="post: 2961413" data-attributes="member: 42451"><p><strong>Night on Disco Mountain</strong></p><p></p><p>Hey there--</p><p></p><p>Thanks again for checking in!</p><p></p><p>About the names: Everyone who saw the game early on had very strong opinions about this, pro and con. My friend Bill Simoni kept joking, "So what's Nixon's name again?" (In fact, he just checked out this thread, and said, "I love the one time in ten I happen to be right about something!") Shaylon nails the point about real people. There were just too many potential pitfalls, legal and otherwise, to using actual names.</p><p></p><p>With the countries, it was "in for a penny, in for a pound." It didn't seem right to have a made-up cast of characters and historical events, and then stick them all in the real world. If for no other reason than many of those characters and events don't precisely jibe with real-world locations. Ultimately, it came down to suspension of disbelief. I was counting on the made-up national names to reinforce the story of the game and the plausibility of the characters and events. </p><p></p><p>At any rate, I'm sorry if it's been a slog. Here's a quick translation. I'm going to leave out people's names for the reasons outlined above.</p><p></p><p>(As for my age, let's just say I'm heading into my late thirties. I think next year I lose a point off my Dex, but I get one back in Wis.)</p><p></p><p>Agaland: Australia. Reduced to Mad Max levels of savagery.</p><p></p><p>Alamo: Texas. Under military cordon. Radio silence. Bad things are happening.</p><p></p><p>Aleph: Israel. Surrounded. Facing no good options.</p><p></p><p>Americo: U.S.A.! U.S.A.!</p><p></p><p>Arcitan: Vatican City. Facing down the Red Army.</p><p></p><p>Arpad: Hungary. Invaded and occupied by Soviet forces.</p><p></p><p>Barrier Mountains: The Rocky Mountains.</p><p></p><p>Basta: Cuba. Sunk.</p><p></p><p>Bloc: The U.S.S.R. Hungry and on the move. Controls most of Europe and has designs on the rest. Will fight China for Central Asia and Vietnam.</p><p></p><p>Cartagh: Kinda-sorta Libya. The seat of power of OPEC.</p><p></p><p>Consortium: OPEC, reimagined as a quasi-mystical political empire.</p><p></p><p>Council of Nations: The U.N. Metric system, fluoridation, etc.</p><p></p><p>Daijong: Taiwan. Overrun by Chinese forces.</p><p></p><p>District One: Washington, D.C. Not very popular these days.</p><p></p><p>Dixon: Kinda-sorta Georgia.</p><p></p><p>Eden Atoll: No real equivalent. Somewhere between Samoa and Fantasy Island.</p><p></p><p>Elatic Ocean: The Pacific Ocean.</p><p></p><p>Esperanto: Europe. Currently looks like a "Twilight 2000" campaign map.</p><p></p><p>Faust: Germany. Fallen to the U.S.S.R.</p><p></p><p>Fleur: France. Threatened by the Red Army.</p><p></p><p>Fontana: Florida. An acidic swamp.</p><p></p><p>Fun City: New York City. Descending into "Warriors" levels of savagery.</p><p></p><p>El Gordo: Las Vegas. Now the Mos Eisley of the Southwest.</p><p></p><p>Great Inland Oceans: The Great Lakes, greatly expanded by melting icecaps.</p><p></p><p>Hardcastle: Britain. Descending into "Clockwork Orange" levels of savagery.</p><p></p><p>Hewland: Cleveland. The lake! The lake! The lake is on fire!</p><p></p><p>Hiko: Japan. Overrun by China.</p><p></p><p>Howe’s Chasm: Grand Canyon. Home to Native Americans fleeing environmental catastrophe.</p><p></p><p>Jencia: The Gypsies.</p><p></p><p>Kirbograd: Kinda-sorta Poland. A coastal nation where wildcat strikers are threatening the hegemony of the U.S.S.R.</p><p></p><p>Kish: India. Surrounded on all sides. No good options.</p><p></p><p>Kontan: Hong Kong. Overrun by China.</p><p></p><p>Lemuric Ocean: The Atlantic.</p><p></p><p>Leng: Peking/Beijing.</p><p></p><p>Maddamar: The Middle East. Oil, millennarianism...bad stuff.</p><p></p><p>Mango: Vietnam. Oil discovered offshore. The war's heating up again. No good options.</p><p></p><p>Middle West: Same as here.</p><p></p><p>Motor City: Detroit. Descending (prematurely?) into "Robocop" levels of savagery.</p><p></p><p>Mudack: Moscow.</p><p></p><p>Obelisks of the Elders: The Pyramids of Egypt.</p><p></p><p>Seawall Peaks: Kinda sorta the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades.</p><p></p><p>Simoni: Pompeii. Named for a buddy with lots of opinions! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>Sina: Asia.</p><p></p><p>Sphere: No real equivalent. China's empire, which controls most of the Asian continent.</p><p></p><p>Stanard: Canada. Now a marshland.</p><p></p><p>Suramerico: Central and South America. Revolutions, strongmen, Cold War proxies.</p><p></p><p>Swelt: Africa. Revolutions, strongmen, Cold War proxies.</p><p></p><p>Tang: China. </p><p></p><p>Tasmadar: Jerusalem. No good options.</p><p></p><p>Taza: Kinda-sorta Egypt. OPEC's cultural capital.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rob Toth, post: 2961413, member: 42451"] [b]Night on Disco Mountain[/b] Hey there-- Thanks again for checking in! About the names: Everyone who saw the game early on had very strong opinions about this, pro and con. My friend Bill Simoni kept joking, "So what's Nixon's name again?" (In fact, he just checked out this thread, and said, "I love the one time in ten I happen to be right about something!") Shaylon nails the point about real people. There were just too many potential pitfalls, legal and otherwise, to using actual names. With the countries, it was "in for a penny, in for a pound." It didn't seem right to have a made-up cast of characters and historical events, and then stick them all in the real world. If for no other reason than many of those characters and events don't precisely jibe with real-world locations. Ultimately, it came down to suspension of disbelief. I was counting on the made-up national names to reinforce the story of the game and the plausibility of the characters and events. At any rate, I'm sorry if it's been a slog. Here's a quick translation. I'm going to leave out people's names for the reasons outlined above. (As for my age, let's just say I'm heading into my late thirties. I think next year I lose a point off my Dex, but I get one back in Wis.) Agaland: Australia. Reduced to Mad Max levels of savagery. Alamo: Texas. Under military cordon. Radio silence. Bad things are happening. Aleph: Israel. Surrounded. Facing no good options. Americo: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Arcitan: Vatican City. Facing down the Red Army. Arpad: Hungary. Invaded and occupied by Soviet forces. Barrier Mountains: The Rocky Mountains. Basta: Cuba. Sunk. Bloc: The U.S.S.R. Hungry and on the move. Controls most of Europe and has designs on the rest. Will fight China for Central Asia and Vietnam. Cartagh: Kinda-sorta Libya. The seat of power of OPEC. Consortium: OPEC, reimagined as a quasi-mystical political empire. Council of Nations: The U.N. Metric system, fluoridation, etc. Daijong: Taiwan. Overrun by Chinese forces. District One: Washington, D.C. Not very popular these days. Dixon: Kinda-sorta Georgia. Eden Atoll: No real equivalent. Somewhere between Samoa and Fantasy Island. Elatic Ocean: The Pacific Ocean. Esperanto: Europe. Currently looks like a "Twilight 2000" campaign map. Faust: Germany. Fallen to the U.S.S.R. Fleur: France. Threatened by the Red Army. Fontana: Florida. An acidic swamp. Fun City: New York City. Descending into "Warriors" levels of savagery. El Gordo: Las Vegas. Now the Mos Eisley of the Southwest. Great Inland Oceans: The Great Lakes, greatly expanded by melting icecaps. Hardcastle: Britain. Descending into "Clockwork Orange" levels of savagery. Hewland: Cleveland. The lake! The lake! The lake is on fire! Hiko: Japan. Overrun by China. Howe’s Chasm: Grand Canyon. Home to Native Americans fleeing environmental catastrophe. Jencia: The Gypsies. Kirbograd: Kinda-sorta Poland. A coastal nation where wildcat strikers are threatening the hegemony of the U.S.S.R. Kish: India. Surrounded on all sides. No good options. Kontan: Hong Kong. Overrun by China. Lemuric Ocean: The Atlantic. Leng: Peking/Beijing. Maddamar: The Middle East. Oil, millennarianism...bad stuff. Mango: Vietnam. Oil discovered offshore. The war's heating up again. No good options. Middle West: Same as here. Motor City: Detroit. Descending (prematurely?) into "Robocop" levels of savagery. Mudack: Moscow. Obelisks of the Elders: The Pyramids of Egypt. Seawall Peaks: Kinda sorta the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades. Simoni: Pompeii. Named for a buddy with lots of opinions! :) Sina: Asia. Sphere: No real equivalent. China's empire, which controls most of the Asian continent. Stanard: Canada. Now a marshland. Suramerico: Central and South America. Revolutions, strongmen, Cold War proxies. Swelt: Africa. Revolutions, strongmen, Cold War proxies. Tang: China. Tasmadar: Jerusalem. No good options. Taza: Kinda-sorta Egypt. OPEC's cultural capital. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Damnation Decade: Designer Discussion Thread
Top