Clamoring for a 2e Technology Guide

[keftiu]

BotBrain wrote:

Yeah that's pretty much the long and short of it. Cheliax doesn't exist. The Nazis did (or do, sadly.)

Yeah, the ongoing harm angle is worth saying, too - there are still hateful bigots using Nazi symbols and ideology today, doing very real violence to real marginalized people.

[Driftbourne]

The way I see it is it's not the time to be role-playing fighting fascism, it's time to be fighting fascism. I was walking back from my local game store, and the intersection was blocked off by an ICE raid. Must have been the end of it. When I started crossing the street at them, a bunch of masked men with assault rifles jumped into unmarked cars and armored vehicles and drove off.

[LandSwordBear]

Yep, it’s just as Pastor Niemoller said:

“And then they came for me, but by then all my roleplaying buddies had been interned, so nobody spoke up for me.”

[steelhead]

keftiu wrote:

BotBrain wrote:

Yeah that's pretty much the long and short of it. Cheliax doesn't exist. The Nazis did (or do, sadly.)

Yeah, the ongoing harm angle is worth saying, too - there are still hateful bigots using Nazi symbols and ideology today, doing very real violence to real marginalized people.

That’s why having bad actors like Cheliax is so important in our game, rather than having real ones - it allows people to fight against evil as escapism rather than tripping over a number of social / emotional / mental land mines that occur in real gaming groups. As someone who works in the executive sector of the government (for those not in the US, that’s the branch which goes to war and enforces laws), I really appreciate having reflections of the real world to take out escapist frustrations upon without the hint or messiness of current politics in our world.

[Master Han Del of the Web]

LandSwordBear wrote:

Yep, it’s just as Pastor Niemoller said:

“And then they came for me, but by then all my roleplaying buddies had been interned, so nobody spoke up for me.”

Considering the number of communists, socialists, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and religious minorities in the gaming space these days, this is just depressingly accurate.

[Ectar]

I don't think 2E even has a chainsaw yet.
Our Barbarian getting one in Reign of Winter was one of the hypest moments of that campaign.

To say nothing of the possibility of laser scalpels or monomolecular blades and such in Numeria.
There's a huge gap in potential story telling in 2E, given Numeria exists and hasn't been utilized yet.

[Driftbourne]

steelhead wrote:

keftiu wrote:

BotBrain wrote:

Yeah that's pretty much the long and short of it. Cheliax doesn't exist. The Nazis did (or do, sadly.)

Yeah, the ongoing harm angle is worth saying, too - there are still hateful bigots using Nazi symbols and ideology today, doing very real violence to real marginalized people.

That’s why having bad actors like Cheliax is so important in our game, rather than having real ones - it allows people to fight against evil as escapism rather than tripping over a number of social / emotional / mental land mines that occur in real gaming groups. As someone who works in the executive sector of the government (for those not in the US, that’s the branch which goes to war and enforces laws), I really appreciate having reflections of the real world to take out escapist frustrations upon without the hint or messiness of current politics in our world.

I read your profile. I can see why you need some escapism. It must be frustrating wanting to help build a Utopian Playland while working for people who wanted to build Alagator Alcatraz.

[Driftbourne]

Back to the original topic...

With the First Ones likely returning in SF2e, I see that as another opportunity to introduce retro Sci-fi tech into Starfinder and Pathfinder.

I wonder if the first ones have any connection or similarities to Iron Gods, since the first ones are described as an advanced civilization from antiquity, and Starfinder Society Scenario #1-01: Invasion's Edge starts with a crashed starship.

If the return of the First Ones doesn't bring new retro Sci-fi tech into the game, maybe an Iron Gods 2 could. It would be interesting for PF2e, and in SF2e, I like the idea of having ancient alien tech to dig up.

[moosher12]

I recall in a stream, James Jacobs voiced interest, not plans, to do a return to Numeria. But the condition was that it had to be a few years after Starfinder came out, so that Starfinder would have time to shine on its own.

Which to me sounds like if Starfinder does well and demand for Numeria content stays sufficiently strong, it'll be more likely to happen than less.

[Xenocrat]

moosher12 wrote:

Guess the issue is 7th rank casters can't just go to the shops they want. Interplanar Teleport says you spawn in a random location, and have no control of where. And all attempts to go back will take you to within 500 miles of the location you departed from. So it sort of becomes a luck of the draw on whether you get a lucky mercantile opportunity or nothing.

The only two ways to get to a reputable shop are:
A: Use Interplanar Teleport, but go on a journey from a random location within the entirety of the plane to find the location of the shop, which might be a campaign in itself. Assuming the distance is not so far it's basically impossible.
B: Use Gate, which is 10th rank magic.

I believe Rage of Elements introduced an item for each elemental plane that was a planar key to a specific location as well as having some other powers. Presumably outer planes can have similar keys to always go to a specific marketplace in Axis, court in the Spire, or forge on the 4th layer of hell.