Old Gods of Appalachia

[Fenris-77]

And the game isn't set in all 9 of those. It has info about the places it is set. I guess if your whole issue is that one list then that's a thing.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Even if we reduce Appalachia to the minimum area to be considered culturally Appalachian that still includes nine states.

This argument doesn’t matter. It’s a game based on a specific set of stories, not a guide to roleplaying in Appalachia.

 

[Randy J Mull]

This argument doesn’t matter. It’s a game based on a specific set of stories, not a guide to roleplaying in Appalachia.

And yet that is what the game is about isn't it or should we say its a system book with a small portion dedicated to playing in specific locations.

418 page book roughly
335 pages dedicated to the system
73 pages to the setting covering 6 regions
12 pages to adventures

I guess my problem is instead of getting a lore rich book that covered many areas, points of interest, and plot hooks I got a reprint of the Cypher system with the basic setting tacked on.

Best to ya'll I'm off to other things

 

[CleverNickName]

And yet that is what the game is about isn't it or should we say its a system book with a small portion dedicated to playing in specific locations.

418 page book roughly
335 pages dedicated to the system
73 pages to the setting covering 6 regions
12 pages to adventures

I guess my problem is instead of getting a lore rich book that covered many areas, points of interest, and plot hooks I got a reprint of the Cypher system with the basic setting tacked on.

Best to ya'll I'm off to other things

I mean, it's an RPG that uses the Cypher system--it's not a system-neutral encyclopedia of the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast.

I don't think your page-count analysis is fair--you make it sound like the writers are just padding out the page count. The thing is, those "335 pages dedicated to the system" you complain about are describing how to play. They're describing how the different characters in the podcast are described in the game, and how the conflicts in the podcast might be resolved in the game, and how the different creatures and entities and events might look in the game. Because the OGoA RPG is a game, and this is the rulebook.

I appreciate that the writers don't assume that the reader will automatically be familiar with all the rules. If WIzards of the Coast had picked up the project, OGoA would probably use the d20 System. And if Chaosium had picked it up instead, OGoA would probably use the Basic Role Play system like Call of Cthulhu does. But Monty Cook Games picked it up, and they use Cypher...probably one of the newer and lesser-known systems out there.

 

[MGibster]

A quick google lists 12 Appalachian states (based on who knows what criteria) including New York. Should we be up in arms about he Empire State as well? IĎK. Perhaps the issue is being overthought.

Let me tell youse guys about 'da best pizza in all of Appalachia!

 

[Umbran]

I mean, intentional design can also be a design flaw, so…sure?

Is not being able to tighten a nut a design flaw of a hammer?

The past weekend, I went on a quick trip to Nevada (to see a ballet, of all things), and had to rent a car while I was there. For reasons of availability, they swapped out the compact I had requested to an SUV. This thing was a boat, had issues fitting in some parking spaces, and guzzled gas like there was no tomorrow. I needed a thing for taking my wife and I from point A to Point B on some highways, and a bit of urban driving for sightseeing. What I got was not great for those things.

But not meeting my particular needs didn't mean the SUV was flawed, in and of itself. It would have been fine if I needed to move a crowd of people in notable comfort. It would have been fine if I'd needed to move significant cargo. The design was fine for those tasks - they just weren't my tasks.

"I got the wrong tool for the job," is not a flaw on the part of the tool.

Mostly, if it’s gonna be possible to be an explorer that can talk to spirits, let Fears No Haints give training in one magic skill. It’s just not doing that narrowness you refer to very well, going partway to allowing niche-combining, but doing so awkwardly.

But allowing niche-combining would mean it wouldn't present the desired genre well - in the original fiction (at least, what I've listened to - I'm not fully caught up), they don't combine niches much. Specifically, characters don't usually have small bits of magic - they are either largely focused on it, or have none.

So, your desired goal of niche-combining seems at odds with the design goal of a game that represents their particular fiction. That's not really a flaw, merely a choice of goals.

Also that text that you quoted was about features having built in specific drawbacks, not about the narrow niche protection of the game.

I didn't quote you any text in this thread. You seem to be confusing me with someone else.

 

[CleverNickName]

A quick google lists 12 Appalachian states (based on who knows what criteria) including New York. Should we be up in arms about he Empire State as well? IĎK. Perhaps the issue is being overthought.

I don't think anyone would dare describe the State of New York as "part of Appalachia."

I agree, some folks are definitely over-thinking the matter. "Appalachia" is a cultural boundary more than a geographical one. The absence or presence of the mountain range alone does not define it.

 

[Fenris-77]

I don't think anyone would dare describe the State of New York as "part of Appalachia."

View attachment 292174

"Appalachia" is a cultural boundary, more than a geographical one. The absence or presence of the mountain range alone does not define it.

I was just reporting the results of a casual Google, nothing more.

 

[FrogReaver]

I don't think anyone would dare describe the State of New York as "part of Appalachia."

View attachment 292174

"Appalachia" is a cultural boundary, more than a geographical one. The absence or presence of the mountain range alone does not define it.

So this has whole tangent has prompted me to do some additional research.

I think this map is helpful.

What I consider Appalachian culture is primarily what is listed as central Appalachia here - though I would expand it just a little further into the bordering orange and purple areas.

Doing some additional research also reveals why areas in Pennsylvania and Georgia tend to get left off when people mention Appalachian culture. It’s not that they don’t share some - it’s that there’s other large influences from other cultures like the cities in PA to general southern culture for ga.

 

[Umbran]

Leaving out North Georgia in particular was beyond ignorant in my opinion with its rich lore.

None of the stories in the podcast have been set in North Georgia. I am not sure why it is "ignorant" to not include areas that don't appear in the stories.