Desdichado
Hero
Ready! Fight! Hadouken!
Seriously, though—although my own interest and exposure to chinoiserie in fantasy is somewhat limited, I'm curious what people who are familiar with both settings think about them compared and contrasted to each other. Which one would you prefer, and why? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? I'm marginally more familiar with the latter, having at least read the 3e Oriental Adventures book all the way through once years ago, and I've got a copy of the Alderac d20 Rokugan book sitting around in a box in my basement, I think, although I've only read a chapter or two of it. I think I even had and read a Rokugan novel once. Was there one based on the Scorpion clan? But given that Kara-Tur already existed, it seemed kinda superfluous to introduce us to another one. I can only presume that it was done so so that Alderac under the conditions of the license, could continue to support it so WotC didn't have to. And while that makes perfect sense as a business decision, it doesn't tell me much (if anything) about the merits of the two settings.
Heck, I probably am at least as familiar with Paizo's Dragon Empires as I am with either of these. Maybe it's better than either. Or maybe not. Don't know. Any thoughts?
Seriously, though—although my own interest and exposure to chinoiserie in fantasy is somewhat limited, I'm curious what people who are familiar with both settings think about them compared and contrasted to each other. Which one would you prefer, and why? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? I'm marginally more familiar with the latter, having at least read the 3e Oriental Adventures book all the way through once years ago, and I've got a copy of the Alderac d20 Rokugan book sitting around in a box in my basement, I think, although I've only read a chapter or two of it. I think I even had and read a Rokugan novel once. Was there one based on the Scorpion clan? But given that Kara-Tur already existed, it seemed kinda superfluous to introduce us to another one. I can only presume that it was done so so that Alderac under the conditions of the license, could continue to support it so WotC didn't have to. And while that makes perfect sense as a business decision, it doesn't tell me much (if anything) about the merits of the two settings.
Heck, I probably am at least as familiar with Paizo's Dragon Empires as I am with either of these. Maybe it's better than either. Or maybe not. Don't know. Any thoughts?