The more I read about Arcana Unearthed...

[Piratecat]

Re: Yeah, a "me too" post

The bottom line is that Arcana Unearthed rocks!

- James

A better way to say this is that Arcana, through James, unearthed rocks.

What James means by this is that Monte made James dig in his back yard, using nothing for a shovel other than a copy of the new book, until James had dug up a number of badger-sized boulders! It's punishment for losing a wager on "sexiest game designer", if I remember correctly.

Man, what a rough industry.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

I was bummed about not getting in on one of the Arcana Unearthed games at GenCon

Yeah I know what you mean, whether I make the trip out from Japan or not may very well depend on whether I can get into an AU game or not...

 

[Thaumaturge]

I got into 1 session of both of the different AU events at GC.

Life is Good.


Thaumaturge.

 

[Kalle Palander]

Somebody has to censor Monte! Just read his FAQ, where he mentions that one of his new races is called the Faen. This is the most foul word in the norwegian language, similar too the english ****. I think its funny, but due to this AU will never make it too my gaming table, You just cant take it seriously

 

[Liquide]

Somebody has to censor Monte! Just read his FAQ, where he mentions that one of his new races is called the Faen. This is the most foul word in the norwegian language, similar too the english ****. I think its funny, but due to this AU will never make it too my gaming table, You just cant take it seriously

Actually Faen, or Fan/Fäen in Swedish, just means Satan or the devil. The reason the word has appeared is due to the fact that you couldn't say the name of the devil in older times and therefore we created new names for him.

In Swedish: (These are also curses)

Fan
Hin Håle
Satan
Djävul
Bastard (also means the same thing as bastard in english)

So it is really not a bad word , just a curse and the name of the devil himself.

 

[Harlock]

Well, the Swedes have spoken. And since I'm having trouble with the satire getting people all bent out of shape recently...

{engage satire mode} Monte said a bad word!! Ban him, ban him!!!{disengage satire mode}

For Faen's sake...

 

[Kalle Palander]

Just like b**h means female dog. But you wouldn't be glad if I called it to your face. But then again the word faen is still the worst word in the Norwegian language. Not that I'm uptight as the english say it, but it is a very naughty word.

 

[Valiantheart]

I read all the design diaries and find the book disappointing for the most part.

I really like some of the changes Monte has made to the magic system because I have grown very disappointed in the very limiting D&D memorization system. I like how he has folded psionics into the magic system to provide a fluid reason and usable mechanic. I also like the true name system.

However, I find most of the rest of the book pointless. The idea behind a Magister or MageBlade class that requires a staff or weapon as a focus is so Tolkien it makes me laugh. Also the new warrior classes do nothing. One of the few things 3E did get right were the distinctions between the Fighter and Barbarian classes. They provided two different approaches to the same problem. Also the Rogue class is perfect. I also see no reason at all for all these new classes or races.

Maybe I'm a D&D only mark, but I prefer rule systems that can be seemlessly folded into my exhisting world and 90% of AU cant be.

 

[Kalle Palander]

Not that i've read so much in his design diaries (simply havent got the time) but I must agree that I'm a bit sceptical. Yes, Monte has done some great work in the past, but not everthing is great. For example his take on the bard proved to be too idealistic and too little balanced. And the fact that Everybody loves Monte does make me back a bit off...

 

[ForceUser]

I'm starting a new campaign next week, and I am EXTREMELY bummed that AU won't be out for four more months, because I can't wait that long to run my game.

I may try to incorporate the idea of truenames into the current setting though, and I am definitely leaving things open-ended enough to allow some of the AU classes to be incorporated into my campaign.

Still, argh.