At him while he feasts, my Fiendish Dwarven Pirates! At him!
So, oh unhallowed one, it is Ninjas versus Pirates again? You are indeed an evil, underhanded little puppy!
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Although I'm really going to be the last guy on Earth to understand where the whole pirates vs ninjas thing came from. What is all that about?
And now, a learning moment...
The first place I was ever aware of the pirate/ninja antipathy was from the website www.RealUltimatePower.net The site lays down the facts about the ninja
1) Ninjas are mammals.
2) Ninjas fight ALL the time.
3) The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.
and discusses how totally sweet they are, how they make you want to flip out and kick your mom in the head, and how they totally hate pirates, and wail on electric guitars, and make everything explode!!.
Now, I will admit that ninjas are cool, and by cool, I mean totally sweet, but I maintain that they Arrrrrrrgh inferior to pirates! I leave it to you do draw what side of the debate you stand on...
Thank you, Gavgoyle for showing what side shall prevail in the end. ~WEG~ Surrender now, Heathansson, and I shall have some mercy upon you! You will never be victorious!
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Thank you, Gavgoyle for showing what side shall prevail in the end. ~WEG~ I Surrender UNCONDITIONALLY to you now, Heathansson, and I shall BEG YOU TO have mercy upon you I MEAN ME! You will ever be victorious! ALL HAIL HEATHANSSON, WARLORD OF MARS, KING OF THE JUNGLE, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH!
You were a noble and just opponent, and I graciously ascept your sore-ender.
Thank you, Gavgoyle for showing what side shall prevail in the end. ~WEG~ I Surrender UNCONDITIONALLY to you now, Heathansson, and I shall BEG YOU TO have mercy upon you I MEAN ME! You will ever be victorious! ALL HAIL HEATHANSSON, WARLORD OF MARS, KING OF THE JUNGLE, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH!You were a noble and just opponent, and I graciously ascept your sore-ender.
~gloating in the background as my clone lures you into a false sense of calm before I unlease the storm of Wrath upon you~ Prepare for the attack, my Fiendish Dwarven Viking Pirates! Soon, we shall have our victory!
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I call upon the Demon Queen of Victuals and the Fake Healer to aid me in repulsing this abberation of nature (and good taste) from the realm! With my new allies, you shall surely fall, Heathansson!
SORRY BUT THE ALL CAPS THING HAS DRAINED MY DIVINE POWER, I SHALL NEED A MILLENIU..., A CENTUR....., MAYBE A COUPLE DAYS TO REGAIN MY FORMER RESPLENDIFERTUDE AND DIVINOSITY. THEN ALL SHALL PERVISERTATE IN MY OMNIFLUORENCE UNTIL THE TERVASITY OF TIME.
FH (I AM A GOD, I CAN MAKE-UP WORDS IF I WANNA!)
~GRUMBLES~ GEE, THANKS FAKEY! I HAD EXPECTED OUR ALLIANCE TO PREVAIL! Curses, Aluminum Foiled again!
Yes, Fakey! How did it go? We were rooting for you! The ground around here shows just how much rooting we were doing! (I hope it went well!)
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POST-PONED UNTIL LATE SEPTEMBER....MY CURSED ENEMY NEVER SHOWED UP IN COURT. THE JUDGE ASSURED ME THAT WHETHER OR NOT MY NEMESIS SHOWS THIS TIME, THERE WILL BE A RULING AND THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE IN MY FAVOR UNLESS SOMETHING UNFORSEEN OCCURS (WHICH WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN).
THANKS FOR THE CONCERN, NOT THE WAY I WOULD HAVE CHOSEN TO SPEND MY B-DAY (4HRS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY) BUT OH WELL.
FH (I THINK MY NAME IS MURPHY.)
And now, a learning moment...
Thank you for the lesson.
When I was a martial arts kid, it was ninja ninja all the way. I wasn't all that outgoing back then and personal prowess was my central focus.
These days I'm decidedly less martial, yet longwinded enough to lecture a masted vessel through and past the doldrums with little effort. It behooves me to be a pirate and not let all of this delicious charisma and bluster go to waste. ARR!
Then again, I'm a vegetarian and I don't think they serve vegan fakemeats on pirate ships. arr?
FINE then. I'll be a ninja. Whatever.
::off in a sulking huff::
My parents are from Pittsburg, PA, so I am genetically a Pirate! and a Steeler! Go Pirates!
The Jade, I will let you be a Pirate if you join me agaist Heathansson.
My parents are from Pittsburg, PA, so I am genetically a Pirate! and a Steeler! Go Pirates!So...you're a rogue/dread pirate half-penguin.
DAMN STRAIGHT! I AM INDEED THAT! ALL SHALL FALL TO MY FOUL DREAD ROGUE PIRATE HALF-PENGUIN GODLY POWERS!
(P.S. - Have a great weekend everyone! Even you, you pseudowerewolf puppy!)
The Jade, I will let you be a Pirate if you join me agaist Heathansson.
I'm afraid I have too many friends in both camps.
Therefore... wait for it...
From henceforth I shall be known as...
The PINJA!
Let your call slide up high like Bruce Lee then merge into a guttural descent like Bruce Springsteen gargling Ajax and rum. Try it with me now.
"WOOAAAAA-AAARRR!"
If I may re-rail the topic for a minute...
I picked up the Book of Nine Swords yesterday and I find it very interesting. I am not a big fan of the bamboo hopping stuff - when I first saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon I almost choked on my popcorn. But I like the material presented in this book. (It helps me to think of it more as magic ability). I am seriously considering featuring it for STAP, if I can convince the players. My working theory is instead of being eastern in origin, these mysterious ways of the sword could be remnants from the Olman Empire far to the south. I might incorporate some/all of the Nine Swords of Legacy weapons as well. Maybe some are hidden on the Isle of Dread or could be sought while the party is spending that long travel time to get down there.
Oh, and Heathansson: one of the disciplines allows you to trip and throw your opponent from a distance. Can you imagine the consequences of "throwing" your opponent off the side of the ship?
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Yeah, the Witchwardens in my game have a small branch of the Ruby Knight Vindicators attached to it--in fact, Book of Nine Swords will get its debut in my AoW campaign when one of Sasserine's Knights is sent to Diamond Lake to investigate some of the strange things going on in Diamond Lake (one of my PCs is involved with the church of Wee Jas, and we need a fourth character to stave off inevitable death). Erm, well, she was born and trained in Sasserine. She had to move to Greyhawk because she was a bastard child of a prominent noble and would draw too much attention. Hence the 1500-mile ocean voyage.
But I digress. Glad you're enjoying it--it's possibly my favorite WoTC book purchase in months (erm... aside from Hordes of the Abyss, of course!). The combination of fluff and crunch, combined with a system that honestly is easy to retrofit into any campaign, is awesome. And hell, every base class in the book has Balance as a class skill, and two have Climb and Swim--can anyone say, "ship combat"?
Oh Celeste! My beautiful Celeste! Oh how I yearn for thee in thy celestial bikini swimsuit on the beaches of the Isle of Dread! Oh, how I would claim thee and thy treasures as my own, to add to my hoard! Oh, how jealous the lunatic lupine would be that I and not he have your affections! Oh, how I desire your celestial radiance!
~turns and observes Heathansson~ Get him my Fiendish Penguin Pirates of Doom! Get him with your silver cutlasses! Take no prisoners and quarter him! He is lusting for poor Celeste!
Noooo!!!! Not the Gators! ~WEG~ Actually, I tend to root for the Gators since I lived in Jacksonville for 5 years. As for your new martial skills, try doging a Dragon's Breath Blast, you Lunatic Lupine!
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I gotta find my Book of Five Rings, to see if I can intuit what the Tenth Sword is.
Er, sorry to interrupt mid-duel. Hope I don't throw you off by babbling at you.
When I first saw the title, I thought it may have somethying to do with Kelanen, the Prince of Swords, or the swords of answering.
Heh, I had to look both of those up in old Dungeon issues before I went and made an ass of myself by calling them "That one Sword God" and "those magic alignment sword thingies".
But I digress. According to those Greyhawk-y sources, the tenth sword would be Fragarach. Rumor has it, the thing is huge--supposedly huge enough to support the livelihoods of about a dozen small muppets living off of radishes, and thier innumerable Doozer slaves.
Also, though I swear I've heard of the Sunspire Mountains, I can't seem to find reference to either them or the Deluge Jungle. I'm sure they're purpose-built to be generic enough to either be changed, dropped in without too much damage to the campaign, or (gasp! Why does no one do this?) used as nicknames for existing geographic features. I could be wrong though--I mean, they could be anywhere, in any old campaign setting. My guess: somewhere sunny and wet.
Yeah. But still wondering on the whole Kelanen/sword of answering thing.
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I gotta find my Book of Five Rings, to see if I can intuit what the Tenth Sword is.Er, sorry to interrupt mid-duel. Hope I don't throw you off by babbling at you.
When I first saw the title, I thought it may have somethying to do with Kelanen, the Prince of Swords, or the swords of answering.
Heh, I had to look both of those up in old Dungeon issues before I went and made an ass of myself by calling them "That one Sword God" and "those magic alignment sword thingies".
But I digress. According to those Greyhawk-y sources, the tenth sword would be Fragarach. Rumor has it, the thing is huge--supposedly huge enough to support the livelihoods of about a dozen small muppets living off of radishes, and thier innumerable Doozer slaves.
Also, though I swear I've heard of the Sunspire Mountains, I can't seem to find reference to either them or the Deluge Jungle. I'm sure they're purpose-built to be generic enough to either be changed, dropped in without too much damage to the campaign, or (gasp! Why does no one do this?) used as nicknames for existing geographic features. I could be wrong though--I mean, they could be anywhere, in any old campaign setting. My guess: somewhere sunny and wet.
Yeah. But still wondering on the whole Kelanen/sword of answering thing.
I'm gonna have to look into that stuff.
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Kelanen is somewhat hard to dig up info on (they don't even mention him in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer), but he's given a lil' write-up in the "Backdrop: Istivin" article in Dungeon 117, including his domains and favored weapons (in the little "Gods of Istivin" sidebar on page 35). Dungeon 106 covers a wee bit more on him, as well as the swords of answering, in "Critical Threats: Dantalion" (pages 52-53).
Thanks to old Dungeon issues, even I can sound like I know what I'm talking about from time to time.
My guess as to the mystery is that while many fighters and combat-oriented types might pay him homage, he has very few actual clerics. Also, they call his religion a "cult"--usually not a sign of an openly worshipped diety. Heck, they even reference his cult teaching secretive combat techniques. They'd make a perfect semi-secret group for a PC to learn his Sublime Way skills from.
...And what's this? Check out location #34 in Champion's District in the Savage Tide Player's Guide. Hmm... how con-veeenient.
I really need to put my books away. This table's covered in 'em.
I am definitely going to use the Kelanen/Nine Swords connection for this AP. I am planning on having the Temple of the Nine Swords (the one that's chronicled in the chapter artwork of the ToB) be located somewhere along the journey, maybe Isle of Dread. I'm thinking of replacing Reshar with "Quelhuanen", an Olman warrior who founded the academy ceturies ago. Over the course of time, sailors, merchants, etc carried his tale back to the Flanaess. It has been embellished and twisted to fit the current description of "Kelanen". I'm thinking along the lines of how the the King Arthur legend was born.
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The Coming Storm, in Dungeon #136. That's the stuff.
Yeah, I love that adventure. Mur's a bit far from Sasserine, but it can be easily adapted--hell, who said Mur's the be-all and end-all of the belief in the 3,000 Obahs? Take it to the house (of the southern jungle), Heath!
Me personally, I'm adapting the Amedio culture to the concept I came up with in my own homebrew--that the deities correspond to the waxing and waning of a complex cosmic calendar.
Every few thousand years, the major god of the Amedian people shifts from law to neutrality of chaos and/or good to neutrality or evil, with different portfolio focuses depending on the phases of the solar bodies. I haven't worked it all out (and with a glacially moving calendar, I hope not to), but I suppose if people cared enough, I might have to.
But basically, I rely on the different focuses of the Amedian culture(s) over the years. One century, they're exploring the seas; the next, they're building empires; a few centuries later, they're tearing each other apart. So goes the cycle. Who knows what's next? Demon cult worship? Cultural development? Rediscovery of their old golden age? Simple pacifism? Only the stars, heavenly bodies, and will of the gods may know.
I don't know whether I'll tie one (or more) of the Nine Steps to the native Amedians, but I'm totally into anyone coming up with an awesome idea I can steal.
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You know, whenver you're ready.
One more head! One more Red Nail for the wall!
That was actually a pillar.
...Is that Heidi Klum? -drool-
Sorry all, but I choose "Viking" in the pirate vs. ninja wars.
Can I have a gladi--err, sorry.
CAN I HAVE A GLADIATOR INSTEAD?!?
(better? I understand someone has hearing loss.)
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I don't know whether I'll tie one (or more) of the Nine Steps to the native Amedians, but I'm totally into anyone coming up with an awesome idea I can steal.
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You know, whenver you're ready.
My first thought on this is to make the Tiger fellers (can't remember exact name--book's at home) like the jaguar knights of the Aztecs.
I'm really grocking to the Mayan calendar thing. Maybe...there's a visible twin star system...Demogorgon...it's in phase...the prophecy of entropy stands lucid; the end waxes near!
Hmmmm... reading the last couple of posts got me to thinking. Oerth has two moons. Maybe the Amedians/Kopru/ixitixchl(sp) interpret this to be Demogorgon's two heads. Astomonomers have tracked their courses and they are tied to the changes happening on Oerth. Typically this results only in the suggested alignment changes, but rarely a cataclysm results - the Savage Tide. Unleash Demogorgon's Lunatics!
Of course this is all speculation.
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Hmmmm... reading the last couple of posts got me to thinking. Oerth has two moons. Maybe the Amedians/Kopru/ixitixchl(sp) interpret this to be Demogorgon's two heads. Astomonomers have tracked their courses and they are tied to the changes happening on Oerth. Typically this results only in the suggested alignment changes, but rarely a cataclysm results - the Savage Tide. Unleash Demogorgon's Lunatics!
Of course this is all speculation.
Speculation is groovy.
I didn't even think about the two moons.As a result of that,...I wonder what tides are like on Oerth?
And, maybe the "Savage Tide" is an environmental phenomenon that is caused by some screwy alignment of the moons anyway?
It's dead at work and I'm reorganizing folders on a shelf, so I need to keep my brain nimble somehow.
The whole moons & tides things got me thinking. If the moons were each the same size as our moon, then the tides and erosive effects would be much greater. If together they were the same size as our moon, then I doubt they would have any different effect.
Makes me wonder about Eberron's twelve moons. :)
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The whole moons & tides things got me thinking. If the moons were each the same size as our moon, then the tides and erosive effects would be much greater. If together they were the same size as our moon, then I doubt they would have any different effect.
Makes me wonder about Eberron's twelve moons. :)
There was a book by Larry Niven called the Flying Sorcerers, which occurred on a world with many moons. The whole ecosystem was a chaotic mess. The weather and tides were a nightmare.
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What else would be badass would be to put the party up against a warblade. They think he's a fighter until he starts breaking bad all Wuxia style on them. Like when the British had to fight the shaolin during the "Boxer" rebellion. They didn't know what kung fu was so they called them boxers.
Then the players can go to a Nine Sword dojo and get some kung fu skills.
Schweet!