Mythic India?

[Brennin Magalus]

Feat
Bollywoodsmanship

Prerequisites: 15 Cha, Bardic Music

With this feat, the character can spontaneously launch into a musical number during an encounter, and all other characters in the encounter must save vs. DC 15 plus the character's Cha modifier or be compelled to sing and dance in time, as well as to grab any nearby objects and use them as improvised musical instruments, which mysteriously will sound like exactly like normal instruments such as sitars and tablas. This effect persists until a Western audience would become antsy and restless, plus 1d5 minutes. At the end of the duration, all participants will be aware that the encounter has been resolved somehow, but onlookers will be at a loss as to say what happened exactly.

LOL! What's next, Summon Aishwarya Rai?

 

[shilsen]

right now they are on the Eastern coast of "India" near the mouth of the "Gangies"

Sounds like they're close to what was home for me (West Bengal). And it's Ganges or Ganga.

More along the lines of geographical and political names. I could fudge it while they were within Cathay (China) but Indian names throw me for a loop...

Do a search for Bengali names and it'll be appropriate for the area. But if you're going for mythic India anyway, it's not like you need to be geographically/historically accurate.

LOL! What's next, Summon Aishwarya Rai?

That's vile, dude

 

[talinthas]

Hey look, my favorite topic =)

The question i have before i can even start to approach this is what type of game are you running? Is it D&D with dwarves and elves and things, or are you entering 'real' mythic india?

Cause there are ways to approach it from either angle. Mindshadows and Mahasarpa (two books i'm not particularly fond of) use the D&D angle.

 

[Hjorimir]

This topic keeps popping up. I wonder when a company will jump on it.

 

[Knightfall]

Anyway, I'll second Mindshadows and also point you toward the old OA web enhancement, Mahasarpa:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/we/we20011019a

Dead link

This one should work:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20011019a

 

[mythusmage]

I believe Steve Jackson Games had a GURPS India book in playtest at one point.

They did, but there were author problems, and currently SJG has pretty much shelved the project. What with GURPS 4e and all Evil Stevie and crew are in the process of re-thinking the historical supplements line. The aim now appears to be releasing any historical titles as PDF via their E23 outlet.

As I recall, the playtest version had tons of info. But the NDA, the fact I no longer have the files on my machine, and my cruddy memory keeps me from divulging anything.

 

[tarchon]

I wonder if classes would belong to varnas?

quasi-Brahmins: (quasi-Hindu) clerics, wizards
quasi-Kşatriyas: fighters, rangers, paladins, monks, warriors
quasi-Vaiśyas: bards?, rogues?, commoners, experts
quasi-Śudras: commoners
Outcastes: barbarians, sorcerers

Maybe caste adventuring classes correspond to jatis as well.

 

[Garnfellow]

What with GURPS 4e and all Evil Stevie and crew are in the process of re-thinking the historical supplements line. The aim now appears to be releasing any historical titles as PDF via their E23 outlet.

I hadn't heard this, and I'm really not sure if I would like that move or not.

 

[Ibram]

Hey look, my favorite topic =)

The question i have before i can even start to approach this is what type of game are you running? Is it D&D with dwarves and elves and things, or are you entering 'real' mythic india?

Though it is part of my larger campaing world (which does enclude Dwarves, Elves, and the like) Ind is very far from the areas where the "traditional" Dwarves and Elves live.

The "Dwarves" in the Orental area of my campaing world are a race of degenerate canabalistic jungle dwellers who worship daemons and eat people. The only Elves are rare travelers from abroad. so its more of a "real" mythic India.

Cause there are ways to approach it from either angle. Mindshadows and Mahasarpa (two books i'm not particularly fond of) use the D&D angle.

Havent read Mindshadows... have Mahasarpa, but dont like it all that much.

 

[talinthas]

well then, i advise you to remember that demons, ghosts, and spirits are all great bad guys, and the government should have administrators, teachers, clerics and mages on top, followed by a strong warrior system in charge, etc. very very stratified society.

Your party should be treated by the common folk based on their class, so bards and clerics and casters would be higher ranked and looked on with respect, while theives would be spit on and denied entrance to temples or what have you.

oh, and if you're playing along the banks of the Ganges, then make sure to have loads of marble temples, with ash coated yogis sitting outside in saffron colored robes, tending holy fires, and cremating bodies. And the river itself should have lots of pilgrims bathing, and little lotus flowers with candles floating down.

and stuff.