Runequest do Heian Japan

[Salar]

Hi all,
I'm still trying to get my local gang to get a tBaF game going, but they're still having too much fun in the land of BW fantasy. I have noticed that Runequest have released Land of the Samurai (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1443&qsSeries=39) which is described as...
Set in the Heian Period of Japanese history, when the Shinto faith was starting to give way to Buddhism, when the Samurai were making their climb to power, in a land of legends; Land of the Samurai is a stand alone RuneQuest game, designed for those of you who enjoy a huge pile of reality mixed in with your fantasy.

Included are new professions and backgrounds along with advice on creating exciting characters, with which to explore this fascinating period. Also an in-depth look at the Shinto and Buddhist faiths, along with the variety of other factors that influenced life in Japan at this time. Predominantly, this book covers the rise of the Samurai and other martial classes and even gives the option of introducing Ninjas…not technically of this period but a whole lot of fun to utilise none the less!

Encounter the monsters and myths that have been the stuff of legend for over a millennium. Experience the Imperial life or that of a Samurai. Understand the importance of defending the honour of you and yours – no matter what it costs...

So, does anyone have this? Does it make good background reading to a tBaF game? Would it provide a useful source of information that I can provide to prospective players on top of Blossoms?

John

[Fourth Horseman]

Hmm, thanks for the heads up. I'll have to take a look and see if they infringe our IP ... err, I mean see if its good background material.

[stormsweeper]

I'm sure you'll learn awesome stuff like:

"Kanji is the alphabet of the Imperial Court and taught to all those who must prepare official, legal and administrative documentation; it is also the language of poetry and literature. As much an artwork as an alphabet, kanji is made up of many kana, which equate to syllables and convey not just sounds but also emotional inflections."

[Salar]

Well, it must be superior to tBaF, Land of the Samurai has Ninjas! And everyone knows that's what makes a great RPG.
John

[luke]

Characters committing seppuku or wanting to, should
have very good reason for doing so and the moment
should be treated with great reverence. For each cut,
the character must make a Persistence test. If the roll
succeeds, then the cut has been made successfully. If
the test is a critical success, the character can ignore the
Persistence penalty for the second cut. If the test is failed,
then the character lacks the nerve to continue with the...

Oh my. Captain. Shields down.

[Trithemius]

I do not 'get' the revised RuneQuest. Does that make me a bad person?

Interesting that you have to roll in order to die. It inspires any number of cruel and petty observations that I shall gallantly refrain from mentioning at this point.

[buzz]

I do not 'get' the revised RuneQuest. Does that make me a bad person?
Dude, no one should get the revised RuneQuest.

"Mongoose: Buying up IP and pooping out supplements as fast as we can."

[Trithemius]

Dude, no one should get the revised RuneQuest.

"Mongoose: Buying up IP and pooping out supplements as fast as we can."

Burn.

I was going to say that any game that has prohibitive rules about PC suicide probably has player-retention issues, but I've been told I'm better as a straight-man.

[stormsweeper]

I worry about their research quality at all when the language section is completely wrong.

[Trithemius]

I worry about their research quality at all when the language section is completely wrong.

Oh! I am afraid I didn't get that - there is clearly a weakness in my Wall of Pedantry.

I figured the presence of ninja was pretty indicative of poor research anyway.

(And it is not like much research is needed to get basic things correct! Look at the reference list for BaF!)

[Andy K]

Yikes. Yeah, the Heian era is more like the "Land Of No Samurai" (Yet).

Interesting sample. Accurate and boring in some places, inaccurate (and still kinda boring) in others. But who knows, maybe the next chapter is all about how to actually use this disjointed info in an actual tabletop game. I'll have to give it a peek this summer.

Those Seppuku rules are... yeah... wow. The only Seppuku rules should be "Make a single extremely difficult (Willpower equivalent) roll: If you succeed, you calmly and coolly cut yourself apart before your second lands the killing blow which takes off your head. If you fail, you cry like a bitch and beg for death before your second lands the killing blow which takes off your head. In both cases, you're fucking dead". (plus, and I'd have to check into this; I don't think all that seppuku stuff started getting popular until later, in the "manly samurai days" of the 1500s and later. I could be wrong).

Reference: Mishima Yukio, a badass gay author who was all about manliness and conservative values (imagine the Conservative Moral Senator who's actually Totally Gay in private, and you have an idea of what he spouted):

<img src="http://www.meaus.com/mishima2.GIF">

<img src="http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i61/andreochka/mishima3.jpg">

A man's man. Totally up on samurai values. Decided to kill himself at an airforce base.

Wailed. Like. A. Bitch. Begged for death, until his pimply nervous lover/assistant dropped the blade to cut off his head (apparently there was multiple strokes there, too). One of my professors in Japan was actually right there when it happened, and was pretty mortified: Apparently it's way the hell more painful than people imagine.

But the reaction should not be: "Oh, fuck, this hurts. Fuck that, I'm done! Where's a bandage?", it's "Oh fuck this fucking hurts! Hurry that shit up and cut my fucking head off! HURRY IT UP!!!!! CUT OFF MY FUCKING HEAD NOW!!!" (screaming through tears).

Aaaanyway.

-Andy

[wanderer]

Besides, why should a player get to decide that his character commits ritual suicide at a dramatically appropriate moment? That's why we have dice, right?

(Comment directed toward the rules, not you, Andy.)

I've also been imagining the following dialog since Luke posted that excerpt:

Player: "This campaign blows. I commit seppuku."
GM: "OK, roll your Persistence."
Player: "I fail."
GM: "You're unable to go through with the act. Now go on the adventure I wrote."
Player: "Nooooo!"

[luke]

To be fair, I think that's the intent of their rule. You either have the nerve to do it yourself or your second has to do it. Can't tell because it's a truncated clip.

You'll note the difference in philosophies between the two systems. Their system: roll to commit suicide and not cry. Our system: Roll to resist the obligation to kill yourself. If you fail, you're dead. If you succeed, you're outcast.

[Trithemius]

I've also been imagining the following dialog since Luke posted that excerpt:

Player: "This campaign blows. I commit seppuku."
GM: "OK, roll your Persistence."
Player: "I fail."
GM: "You're unable to go through with the act. Now go on the adventure I wrote."
Player: "Nooooo!"

Exactly what I imagined!

[Ikirouta]

I would say (without reading the book) that it is like what Luke wrote at the later post.

You (as a player) can decide that you (as a character) are going to commit the seppuku. As cutting your abdomen is actually not as easy and painless as you might think it takes some nerve to commit so that you can keep your cool while doing this extremely painful act.

I would guess that if you fail those rolls and your second (possibly) acts (I don't know if they are allowed to do their job until you have done 3 cuts, I think that I read that somewhere, could be wrong) then you bring shame to your family and that's a bad thing (obviously).

I have to admit that I don't own either of those Japan books, for the record...

[Tyger Tyger]

Hi. I don't think this is too off topic...

Before Blossoms was announced I was tinkering with a Heian setting for HeroQuest.

I liked the idea that you could use suicide in a contest. I could see it as an extreme form of "healing" - for want of a better word - for a character "damaged" by shame. Or as a form of social "attack", by way of an albeit last ditch attempt to reprove one's superior - it's wouldn'd be called a desperation bid for nothing!

But then along came Blossoms, which got me very much into Burning Wheel.

[Z-Dog]

OK Andy, you just gave me freakin' nightmares.

[Kublai]

Man. Ninjas? I guess they didn't have the balls NOT to include them. Tsk.

::admire's Luke and Rich's balls::

[Salar]

...Does it make good background reading to a tBaF game? Would it provide a useful source of information that I can provide to prospective players on top of Blossoms?...

Cheers for the responses. I'm getting the vibe that maybe it would be useful as background, but it should be used with care.

John