D&D 5E How should be the future Oriental Adventures.

[LuisCarlos17f]

I was thinking after publishing my last post if shen/spirit-folk are beaitufl, loves to live in the nature and can speak with animals, then the are perfect to be characters like Disney princesses. And the koropokurus could had got some kawai(cute) touch to the something like those innocent kid-friendly cartoons about little people who lives in the nature. They could be used for stories about conflicts for the honor, because not all have got the same codes, or even the painful dilleme among to choose the prestige among the rest of the society or fidelity to your own conscience.

Hengeyokai maybe need a little nerfing with the shapesifter powers, maybe more staggered between levels, but they are perfect for jianghu ("rivers and lakes"), and I mean stories about underworld, tricksters and criminal groups. They could vigilantes or survivors who want revenge against some mafia capo. Hengeyokai can be example of the hypocrite honor, prestigious members of high society in the cover, but cynical rasctas inside. Something like the fantasy version with superpowers/ki technique of the serie "Warrior".

* The nezumi PC is from the Legend of Five Rings. Can be used by WotC anyway or are they copyright by Fantasy Flight Games/Asmodee?

* My theory is WotC isn't going to create new IPs directly first for D&D and later adapted into other lines (cartoons or videogames) but the opposite, new IPs for movies, teleseries, videogames, and later adapted into D&D. The root of the trouble is wuxia are practically superheroes and this doesn't help to be easily adapted into TTRPG but if they are videogames created with game mechanics based in the d20 system. The challenge is most of cheators want to have over controll over their own work, not to be gaven after the pay.

* Some tropes and stereotypes are easier to be tolerated if we don't abuse. And we shouldn't be reported if those tropes appear in the fiction created by the own Asians.

* We can agree it's advisable to hire consultats about the Asian society but these may contradict each other. Let's imagine for example a consultant with Spanish origins and proud about this telling about the naives of the new world were better when Spanish conquerors arrived and stopped the human sacrifices, but other consult with also Spanish roots can tell all the classic tropes of anti-Spanish black-legend. We know the relations between China, Japan and Korea aren't very good, and naive for a country will not tell good things about the neighbours, or this could happen with 3PPs or the own players publishing his homebred settins. Not only WotC but the rest of Western publishers should be very careful. My advice to fight racism and xenophobia is to defend the respect of the human dignity. Without this we only change a poison with other and we go to fall to the dark side of the force.

* I have also thought about the main superheroes comic publishers, Marvel and DC, creating jianghu version of their universes, where "ordinary" humans with special qi techniques could defeat superhumans, for example Batman vs the kryptonian general Zord or Bizarro, or Daredevil vsThor or Hulk.

* The don't need the name of samuri for the warrior who serves a noble house, nor shinobi for the spy for the stealth class with some special tricks linked with qi techniques. But if there is a new "Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords" I advice classes whose concepts were easy to be used in wuxia adventures.

*

 

[oriaxx77]

Do you think Orient Express offensive?

 

[GreenTengu]

Is it absolutely necessary to stick with the races that were made up back in 2nd Edition?

Why not Kappa, Tengu, Oni, Snow-Spirits, Fox-Spirits, Tanuki, Nekomata, Dokkaebi, Mogwai, Vanara, Naga, Rakshasha...

There is quite a range of options with unique character and aspects beyond the very generic "hengeyokai". Many of which already exist in D&D in a form (kind of just need to make low-level versions of Naga and Rakshasha) or are very similar to races that already exist (Tengu/Hobgoblin, Dokkaebi/Goblin, Nekomata/Tabaxi, Oni/Ogre)

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Spirit Folk are both based on some very generalized concepts in a few different folklores in different places, and their also were an attempt for "let's have Elves in an Asian setting, but not actually have Elves".

In 3e I came to the conclusion that they are essentially the Planetouched of the Spirit Realm. They were also in that one FR book that sort of covered FR's Eastern Europe, so there's certainly can be things such as Slavic Spirit Folk in addition to Asian ones.

I think they should be included in whatever upcoming D&D product covers an Asian setting simply for legacy reasons. Though I think they should work a little already on giving Spirit Folk something to stand out on and make them more distinctive.

I also think any book on an Asian setting should just assume that Elves, Dwarves and the other core D&D races are native parts of that setting too, as not every group wants to throw out the core races.

 

[GreenTengu]

I also think any book on an Asian setting should just assume that Elves, Dwarves and the other core D&D races are native parts of that setting too, as not every group wants to throw out the core races.

So, because European mythology is "core", all Asian mythology should be thrown out and instead of drawing all the races who are companions to humans from Asian mythology, the European mythological races with all their Eurocentric assumptions should be imposed on the setting. Basically meaning your engagement begins and ends at "tourismy". It should be Europeans invading and exploring the "strange, mystical foreign land" rather than adventures that the denizens of those lands are having.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

So, because European mythology is "core", all Asian mythology should be thrown out and instead of drawing all the races who are companions to humans from Asian mythology, the European mythological races with all their Eurocentric assumptions should be imposed on the setting. Basically meaning your engagement begins and ends at "tourismy". It should be Europeans invading and exploring the "strange, mystical foreign land" rather than adventures that the denizens of those lands are having.

Some of it is back to concerns about having to "reinvent the wheel", when D20 had all these 3rd party materials they actually put the effort to rework existing D&D races into other settings. Like for example Nyambe, which had Elves in it but added a sub-race known as Wakyambi (which means "Sky-People"). There was some book on an Indian setting which had Gnomes in it, even if the art made them look like some cariacture stereotype of Sikhs.

I'm a strong advocate of Elves, Dwaves, Halflings and Gnomes can be of non-European backgrounds even if they come from European mythology. And I feel that since it's D&D an Asia should have Asian Elves, much like Africa should have African Elves and so on.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Some of it is back to concerns about having to "reinvent the wheel", when D20 had all these 3rd party materials they actually put the effort to rework existing D&D races into other settings. Like for example Nyambe, which had Elves in it but added a sub-race known as Wakyambi (which means "Sky-People"). There was some book on an Indian setting which had Gnomes in it, even if the art made them look like some cariacture stereotype of Sikhs.

I'm a strong advocate of Elves, Dwaves, Halflings and Gnomes can be of non-European backgrounds even if they come from European mythology. And I feel that since it's D&D an Asia should have Asian Elves, much like Africa should have African Elves and so on.

I think the issue is though that that may require such an extensive rewrite to make work, that you would wonder why they didn't just write a new race instead

 

[GreenTengu]

If one is trying to sell a new setting based on another mythology, how on earth does it make sense to take all the fairy people that they said lived in their forest and mountains, toss it all into the trash can and declare:

"We decided that Nordic is core. So now all mythologies MUST have short, beardy Nordic people who live in the mountains and are really good at smithery. They MUST have tall, slender, pointy-eared Nordic folk who are good at magic living in their forests. The MUST have short, plump Irish farmers with furry feet. Any mythology that does not have these things is unworthy!! Anything in their mythology that interferes with that MUST be stamped out, ground to dust and scattered to the winds!! All cultures and ideas shall fit our cookie-cutter demands and will be beaten into shape until they conform! Our superior Nordic mythology SHALL reign over all others!!"

But-- also-- you think you are being "perfectly reasonable" in that, so long as those other cultural elements are used as mere fringe decorations for your CORE Nordic mythology, that you are perfectly content with amusingly toying with the idea that you might allow those non-human races to have the skin colors of the other human phenotypes common in the area that you are using as fringe decoration on your core.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

But-- also-- you think you are being "perfectly reasonable" in that, so long as those other cultural elements are used as mere fringe decorations for your CORE Nordic mythology, that you are perfectly content with amusingly toying with the idea that you might allow those non-human races to have the skin colors of the other human phenotypes common in the area that you are using as fringe decoration on your core.

Some want a full rewrite, hence why we got classes like Bushi and Yakuza even though they really were just Fighters and Thieves, back in 1e.

But not everyone wants a full rewrite. Many I feel just want to drop-in things, yes even if it's just "Fringe decorations". What if someone wants Elven flying swordsmen or Dwarven Samurai in some extensive world-hopping campaign, to exist along side the Half-Orc Sha'ir and Gnomish Houngan?

 

[GreenTengu]

So I assume that the creatures from the stated mythology of the book would all just be "monsters", correct? All necessarily evil.

So to you-- the point of having a D&D game that takes place in a setting that is based on the mythology of other cultures....

Is to literally have the creatures from your European mythology, dubbed "heroes" for their activities of going out there and exterminating the creatures of that other cultures mythology. You literally want an Oriental Adventures for the express purpose of having European folklore go out and exterminate the folklore of Asia and be rewarded as heroes and praised for it-- that about sum it up?