D&D General (Anecdotal) conversations with Asian gamers on some problems they currently face in the D&D world of RPG gaming

[Panda-s1]

Got it. And I think we're on the same page there.

I was only meaning that the mechanical parts might be useful for someone building it better for 1e. Using it something like the old 3.5 SRD, that was pretty much just crunch with the flavor and background stripped out (iirc). So, for the Samurai, if honor is in the crunch, then that would be a part to either sub out for something better, or a reason to just base it off of Fighter.

yeah, I'm sure some of the mechanical parts are actually good and useful. but anything that might be "lore" based... probably not so much.

once upon a time I wanted to buy Oriental Adventures, I have a 1e collection and I knew that's where non-weapon proficiencies started. I'd find it from time to time at used book stores so I knew the stuff inside was pretty dated, but it was still a historical curiosity. still $15-20 is a lot for a book I'll basically never use, so I didn't buy it. now? it's skunked. I don't wanna buy it. maybe one day in the future, but it'll be more expensive than it's worth because of people who can't stand the idea of change.

 

[briggart]

EDIT: Nevermind. Posted a reply before reading mod's request to drop the subject. Apologies.

 

[Aldarc]

IME, as an American living abroad in Europe, I get the feeling that Americans have a hard time of grasping that democratic national understandings of free speech apart from anything that does not involve free speech as filtered through the First Amendment.

 

[Mirtek]

. I'm mostly in the "samurai are fighters" camp if I'm honest. but AD&D wasn't,

They really couldn't. People were buying splatbooks for new game mechanics. An OA with tables like:

Katana = see Longsword
Sai = see Dagger
Samurai = see Fighter

Would not have been bought.

All the cultural might not even have been read by mist players, who just wanted the ninja class mechanics to use for their halfling character in their Dale Lands campaign where no one ever heard of Ksra Tur

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I mean I said I already know that, and this was something I was taught in high school when I took Mandarin as well. but the issue here is "fan". 饭 is also used to mean just food. that's not to say rice isn't important, but it's just a language thing. in Spanish "papas" means potatoes, but for kids (and to kids) in Latin America it also just means food. my own Mexican grandma would tell me and my siblings "here's papas" and whatnot (I can't exactly remember). it's not like potatoes aren't important in Latin American cuisine, it's just that's how language is.

Are you sure it's a good look for you to be lecturing someone who is from Singapore about their culture and language because you took some Mandarin in high school?

Given the topic of conversation .... that's some chutzpah.

 

[Aldarc]

It seems like he’s making a larger point about how language can be deceptive about the modern cultural importance of foods using examples he is familiar with rather than lecturing about someone’s language and culture. We could, for example, also see this in Greek. In the Lord’s Prayer, the whole “our daily bread” is just a reference to a daily meal. Examples of this exist aplenty.

 

[FireLance]

Are you sure it's a good look for you to be lecturing someone who is from Singapore about their culture and language because you took some Mandarin in high school?

Given the topic of conversation .... that's some chutzpah.

He's not wrong, although the way it was explained to me when I was young was that rice was equated with food because it was so important to us.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

He's not wrong, although the way it was explained to me when I was young was that rice was equated with food because it was so important to us.

He might not be wrong, but isn't this just another Westerner explaining things to you based upon an academic class, with no real exposure to your culture? After all, a westerner with Korean/Mexican ancestry does not have any special insight that any other westerner would have, and should not speak for all Asian cultures.

I kid, but only to make the point. You have had a lot of valuable input into the issues here, yet your input is diminished by some people because they claim you can't speak for the experience of Asian-Americans (as if that group is a monolithic whole). Nevertheless, others choose to speak to your experience based only on academic classes. Which is weird.

That said, I agree with you and think that true understanding of positions is best achieved by sharing opinions.

 

[amethal]

IME, as an American living abroad in Europe, I get the feeling that Americans have a hard time of grasping that democratic national understandings of free speech apart from anything that does not involve free speech as filtered through the First Amendment.

Some Americans seem to think freedom of speech was created by the First Amendment and seem genuinely unable to grasp my argument that it is a universal human right that is independent of what the US Constitution has to say on the subject.

It's not just that they disagreed with me - I'm fine with people disagreeing with me, it happens all the time - but rather the words I use seem to make no sense to them.

 

[FireLance]

Anyway, here's one piece of unsolicited advice for any game designers who haven't been scared off and still want to use the "Have you eaten rice already?" greeting as a bit of flavour for an Asian-inspired fantasy culture or country. It's even based on a bit of Singapore history.

During the Second World War, rice was in short supply in Singapore, so most people had to rely on sweet potatoes as a staple. An Asian-inspired fantasy culture or country which went through a similar experience might thus be especially fond of using that greeting as a comforting affirmation that the hard times are over. I make no claim that this actually happened in Singapore, though.