Re: [DL] The Sidhe in Deadlands [rant]

[James Knevitt <jknevitt@yahoo.com>]

<rant>

--- Soothsprayer <hercubadger@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Ah hell maybe I just don't like the idea of
> Manitou being Bad Fairies :)

Just the sentiment I wished to avoid *sigh*.
 
> I have never been a fan of Changeling, nor of the
> Fae
> in general. To me and my characters (in general)
> they
> were things to be hated and killed. Not respected.
> Which is, of course, another story entirely.

To each his own, I guess. I personally did not like
the idea of Changeling when it was first released, and
to an extent a few concepts are still a bit alien to
me (unlike Kindred of the East, which my mind refuses
to comprehend, but that's another story), but once I
actaully looked at the setting, certain darker
elements appealled to me.

 
> Rather than Changeling I would have thought Mage
> would
> be an easier setting to transplant. They're all Mad
> Scientists to a degree, merely with different
> opinions
> as to what is the real Mad Science that should be
> funded to the denial of all else. 
> 
> For example:
> "Electricity? Electrickery I tell you! Any fool can
> see that it is biology that we should be enhancing!
> Not your soul-less machines!"

Mage was one possibility I considered, power level in
Mage was one too high for the feeling I wanted to
evoke. If there were people who had the ability to
warp reality as they do in Mage, no-one would be
anything else.

> Wraith would fit in pretty well also. There are
> enough
> angry dead people in Deadlands already that a few
> more
> couldn't hurt. Harrowed make pretty good Risen as
> well
> when you come down to it. 

Wraith is fine in print, but have you actually played
that monster? It is nigh impossible to have a coherent
group, let alone a coherent story arc, as most
campaigns require. I agree that the Wraith game has a
place in the World of Darkness setting, I feel it was
written to be read instead of being played. Much like
Höl. I'd gain much more enjoyment by frappeing my hand
in a blender than I would angsting my way through a
Wraith game.

As for the use of the Wraith setting in Deadlands,
Harrowed and Risen do indeed share some similar
qualities, but there still remains the fact that the
Shadowlands of Wraith is not the primordial spirit
world shared by both Deadlands (the Hunting Grounds)
and Changeling (Arcadia).

I took the idea of that spirit world and molded
Arcadia from Changeling to fit the shape of the
Hunting Grounds of Deadlands. I did not tear out the
basic mythology of the setting, I did not decide that
Hucksters can suddenly turn everyone to maggots with a
mere thought, and I did not decide that Shamans have
to interact with Leprechauns in order to perform a
ritual. I merely took a single slice of one particular
type of mythology and fashioned it to fit a niche in
the game that I thought was both poorly portrayed
(even in Ghost Dancers) and severely lacking,
considering the supernatural setting that it shares a
home with.

Incidentally, I ran my first game that deals with
Arcadia and the Changeling-inspired alterations I've
used. The players loved it. I also hinted I'm going to
use elements from the Midnight Circus from World of
Darkness. They loved that idea too.

I base the popularity of my ideas on what my players
think. Nothing more. I think this thread is great for
the list, and I love to see what people think, even if
it goes against my ideas, but it all boils down to the
players' opinions. :)

Here endeth the sermon.

</rant>

OK, I'm not out to anger or alienate people on the
list. that's just my two cents. I may have been a bit
harsh in my defense. If you were offended, feel free
to flame me.

James

=====
Knowledge is Power. Power Corrupts. Study Hard. Be Evil.

"Lend me your dark & nasty stuff, O my buddy Bert !"
- Paul Jacoby

"Should you choose to test my resolve in this matter, you will be facing a finality beyond your comprehension, and you will not be counting days, or months, or years, but millenia in a place with no doors." - Joe Black, "Meet Joe Black"

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