Maidenheim/Amazon Adventures
- Thread starter Tuerny
- Start date
Kichwas
Half-breed
So they've got a setting book now?
I went to their site about a year ago and it looked very amatuer and full of stolen Boris Vallejo pics.
No opinions on the PDF though. Haven't seen it. Didn't know it existed until your post.
I can't recall if it was the setting where all women had extremely large always lactating boosums or if that was another one of the one's I bumped into on the net in this 'category'.
I went to their site about a year ago and it looked very amatuer and full of stolen Boris Vallejo pics.
No opinions on the PDF though. Haven't seen it. Didn't know it existed until your post.
I can't recall if it was the setting where all women had extremely large always lactating boosums or if that was another one of the one's I bumped into on the net in this 'category'.
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From what I have seen on their web site they seem to be a bit more mature than that. They even go so far as to deride overly sexual stereotyping of them.
You might want to look again.
The url is http://www.users.nac.net/corporal/skaldbooks/mheimd20.htm
You might want to look again.
The url is http://www.users.nac.net/corporal/skaldbooks/mheimd20.htm
Kichwas
Half-breed
That would be good.
I've run into a number of 'Amazon worlds' and most of them went for the 'sex-fantasy' angle.
I do remember specificly the art issue with these guys when I went to their site last year.
I noticed their in the top buy list at rpgnow, so maybe somebody will do a review.
I've run into a number of 'Amazon worlds' and most of them went for the 'sex-fantasy' angle.
I do remember specificly the art issue with these guys when I went to their site last year.
I noticed their in the top buy list at rpgnow, so maybe somebody will do a review.
Maidenheim Artwork
Arcady is right to comment about the Boris Valejo images in the early days of the Maidenheim website when the material was free to view. Those images were eventually removed because of the partial nudity his statements imply, but there certainly weren't any images of lactating breasts... that would have been quite gross and tasteless, in my opinion. For those of you who never saw these older pictures on the original Maidenheim website you might not have been aware that they were ever used, since I did remove them quite some time ago.
This artwork was also doing damage to the credibility of the actual setting material, putting viewers in the position to judge the quality of the site only by its cover. In retrospect, I never should have used them. Hence, there are only a few pieces of art posted for Maidenheim now, since I have to work with artists to create entirely new ones under more strict and plausible guidelines. Les Evans is doing a great job at meeting these standards, so you can expect to see a lot of work from him.
The artwork that is being developed for Maidenheim now will not be of the "cheescake in chainmail" variety. So don't worry, as more of it is finished and completed, you won't necessarily be looking at images of women you'd want to get personal with.
As for the maturity level, Maidenheim does take all of perceptions of the Amazons and turns the worst of these myths into realities, such as the manners in which they cripple their infant sons, the roles men are delegated to etc. Some liberties had to be taken with how these women could continue to thrive as a society with so few men, so slavery is also an issue. Due to events in their history and their current unbalanced gender proportions, it isn't in these Amazons' interests to kill every man they see (that would be a stereotype, by the way). There is a lot of ugliness and tragedy in the story behind Maidenheim, but it isn't anything that either can't be or hasn't been done to people in our own world. This may offend some people as well as disturb them, but I think basing these women more on the myths of the Amazons rather than the way we'd prefer them to be is the way to go here. Maidenheim is not a place even I would willingly want to go to...
So overlooking the past error of improper artwork from almost a year ago, I do think Maidenheim has some legitimate possibilities within any fantasy RPG, and is definitely something that DMs or GMs and players should at least consider if not use.
Arcady is right to comment about the Boris Valejo images in the early days of the Maidenheim website when the material was free to view. Those images were eventually removed because of the partial nudity his statements imply, but there certainly weren't any images of lactating breasts... that would have been quite gross and tasteless, in my opinion. For those of you who never saw these older pictures on the original Maidenheim website you might not have been aware that they were ever used, since I did remove them quite some time ago.
This artwork was also doing damage to the credibility of the actual setting material, putting viewers in the position to judge the quality of the site only by its cover. In retrospect, I never should have used them. Hence, there are only a few pieces of art posted for Maidenheim now, since I have to work with artists to create entirely new ones under more strict and plausible guidelines. Les Evans is doing a great job at meeting these standards, so you can expect to see a lot of work from him.
The artwork that is being developed for Maidenheim now will not be of the "cheescake in chainmail" variety. So don't worry, as more of it is finished and completed, you won't necessarily be looking at images of women you'd want to get personal with.
As for the maturity level, Maidenheim does take all of perceptions of the Amazons and turns the worst of these myths into realities, such as the manners in which they cripple their infant sons, the roles men are delegated to etc. Some liberties had to be taken with how these women could continue to thrive as a society with so few men, so slavery is also an issue. Due to events in their history and their current unbalanced gender proportions, it isn't in these Amazons' interests to kill every man they see (that would be a stereotype, by the way). There is a lot of ugliness and tragedy in the story behind Maidenheim, but it isn't anything that either can't be or hasn't been done to people in our own world. This may offend some people as well as disturb them, but I think basing these women more on the myths of the Amazons rather than the way we'd prefer them to be is the way to go here. Maidenheim is not a place even I would willingly want to go to...
So overlooking the past error of improper artwork from almost a year ago, I do think Maidenheim has some legitimate possibilities within any fantasy RPG, and is definitely something that DMs or GMs and players should at least consider if not use.
Kichwas
Half-breed
Very well.
Final judgement will be reserved for when a review comes out. Well; pre-final judgement as you really can't judge it till you actually see it.
Dealing in an Amazon book is a risky venture because there's a lot of bad stuff out there for you to get easily confused into and lumped together with.
And if I've done that then I apologize for it.
It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Mongoose Amazon book. Hopefully whoever does do the first review will have seen both books.
Final judgement will be reserved for when a review comes out. Well; pre-final judgement as you really can't judge it till you actually see it.
Dealing in an Amazon book is a risky venture because there's a lot of bad stuff out there for you to get easily confused into and lumped together with.
And if I've done that then I apologize for it.
It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Mongoose Amazon book. Hopefully whoever does do the first review will have seen both books.
Skald vs. Mongoose?
I was rather pleased to see that at least someone else had published an RPG supplement about Amazons, although I have yet to actually read through Mongoose's "Slayer's Guide to Amazons." I certainly did not use it for research material. I'm considering purchasing it just to see what the other author has come up with, but from what I've read on reviews so far was that the Slayer's Amazons has lots of cheescake art, a centerfold (oh my...), and a rather stereotypical portrayal of these women.
I would definitely look forward to a comparitive review between the Slayer's Amazons and Maidenheim, and would gladly post it on the Skald Books website. It should be an interesting and fun read to say the least.
I was rather pleased to see that at least someone else had published an RPG supplement about Amazons, although I have yet to actually read through Mongoose's "Slayer's Guide to Amazons." I certainly did not use it for research material. I'm considering purchasing it just to see what the other author has come up with, but from what I've read on reviews so far was that the Slayer's Amazons has lots of cheescake art, a centerfold (oh my...), and a rather stereotypical portrayal of these women.
I would definitely look forward to a comparitive review between the Slayer's Amazons and Maidenheim, and would gladly post it on the Skald Books website. It should be an interesting and fun read to say the least.
Here´s a review of the first book:
The first part of Amazon Adventures (Book 1 of the Maidenheim Campaign Setting) is a true and consistent introduction to the Amazon subject. Here you can get the answers for all the questions you may have (and even to those you haven´t thought about yet) in a very clear and informative manner. Mythological background mixed with historical knowledge gives GMs just what they need in order to prepare an Amazonian campaign without portraying only stereotypes and related assumptions. The information is useful to players who wish to play Amazon characters also. By the way, the statements about the concept of who are (or were) the Amazons and the breaking away of stereotypes are very appropriate since these are the first issues encountered when dealing with a subject such as this.
There are some new Feats and Prestige Classes specific to Amazon characters. Even though some of these Prestige Classes may seem very similar to others that already exist, their descriptions are very evocative, and we even have some nice surprises such as the Amazon Horse Whisperer, which besides game information also gives some historical and even etymological notes (as to explaining the origin of the term "amazon" used to assign the women who mount these animals in horse riding sports today).
The second part of the book has a brief introduction to the Campaign Setting and details some basic information like Races and Classes by adapting the standard D&D ones to the setting. There is even a new race of half-gnomes that a willing GM may choose to use. "New" Deities are outlined too. They are not completely new since they are based in current existant pantheons (even if they are from ancient cultures) or the standard D&D (Greyhawk) ones, but the way in which they are portrayed and especially the explanation as to why some things have happened in this world the way they have is just amazing and very consistent.
Languages and currencies are rather numerous and diverse, and seem to be realistically in tune with the Amazonian nations. The available and specific armor and weapons are also outlined in this section. The Magic section is more a descriptive than a practical one, but it´s very useful to improve the setting.
It seems like the "Men as Characters in Maidenheim" section was created as a means to not "intimidate" the male audience (since the majority of RPG consumers are still men) by giving them a chance to portray male characters in an otherwise almost completely female setting. It´s not a bad section at all, but it´s rather useless if you bought the book with the Maidenheim Campaign Setting and/or the Amazon characters in mind. However, it´s always good to have options and they are never enough. Humanoids and monsters are briefly mentioned as are the ways in which they are placed within the setting. "Using Other Campaign Settings" gives various examples on how to include Maidenheim in another Campaign Setting with various tips and suggestions.
If you keep in mind that this is only the first book of the three basic ones, and that there are other supplements coming that will portray Magic, Priestesses and Wizards, the role of Man and other things in more detail, you can be rest assured that this is a unique and very consistent Campaign Setting. For a very low price you can get this material at a level of quality rarely seen in even the "professional" RPG books. Not to mention the "References" indications, which are really interesting.
The entire Maidenheim Campaign Setting is worth purchasing because it outlines the setting in even more depth and detail. But I´ll be reviewing that later.
The first part of Amazon Adventures (Book 1 of the Maidenheim Campaign Setting) is a true and consistent introduction to the Amazon subject. Here you can get the answers for all the questions you may have (and even to those you haven´t thought about yet) in a very clear and informative manner. Mythological background mixed with historical knowledge gives GMs just what they need in order to prepare an Amazonian campaign without portraying only stereotypes and related assumptions. The information is useful to players who wish to play Amazon characters also. By the way, the statements about the concept of who are (or were) the Amazons and the breaking away of stereotypes are very appropriate since these are the first issues encountered when dealing with a subject such as this.
There are some new Feats and Prestige Classes specific to Amazon characters. Even though some of these Prestige Classes may seem very similar to others that already exist, their descriptions are very evocative, and we even have some nice surprises such as the Amazon Horse Whisperer, which besides game information also gives some historical and even etymological notes (as to explaining the origin of the term "amazon" used to assign the women who mount these animals in horse riding sports today).
The second part of the book has a brief introduction to the Campaign Setting and details some basic information like Races and Classes by adapting the standard D&D ones to the setting. There is even a new race of half-gnomes that a willing GM may choose to use. "New" Deities are outlined too. They are not completely new since they are based in current existant pantheons (even if they are from ancient cultures) or the standard D&D (Greyhawk) ones, but the way in which they are portrayed and especially the explanation as to why some things have happened in this world the way they have is just amazing and very consistent.
Languages and currencies are rather numerous and diverse, and seem to be realistically in tune with the Amazonian nations. The available and specific armor and weapons are also outlined in this section. The Magic section is more a descriptive than a practical one, but it´s very useful to improve the setting.
It seems like the "Men as Characters in Maidenheim" section was created as a means to not "intimidate" the male audience (since the majority of RPG consumers are still men) by giving them a chance to portray male characters in an otherwise almost completely female setting. It´s not a bad section at all, but it´s rather useless if you bought the book with the Maidenheim Campaign Setting and/or the Amazon characters in mind. However, it´s always good to have options and they are never enough. Humanoids and monsters are briefly mentioned as are the ways in which they are placed within the setting. "Using Other Campaign Settings" gives various examples on how to include Maidenheim in another Campaign Setting with various tips and suggestions.
If you keep in mind that this is only the first book of the three basic ones, and that there are other supplements coming that will portray Magic, Priestesses and Wizards, the role of Man and other things in more detail, you can be rest assured that this is a unique and very consistent Campaign Setting. For a very low price you can get this material at a level of quality rarely seen in even the "professional" RPG books. Not to mention the "References" indications, which are really interesting.
The entire Maidenheim Campaign Setting is worth purchasing because it outlines the setting in even more depth and detail. But I´ll be reviewing that later.
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