tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post7298725033064675575..comments2024-03-29T06:16:21.012+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: Setting Fetishism and the Kofun-eraUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-52521663380560984002009-03-17T21:03:00.000+08:002009-03-17T21:03:00.000+08:00Awesome, thanks men!Awesome, thanks men!brandykrusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00188759625786631969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-69467860504939388502009-03-17T09:09:00.000+08:002009-03-17T09:09:00.000+08:00Good show Noisms, I'll have to check those out som...Good show Noisms, I'll have to check those out someday.<BR/><BR/>I actually know a bit of the <I>Heike Monogatari</I>, namely the bit about the fabled sea battle of <BR/><I>Dan-no-Ura</I>. Courtesy, once more, of Mr. Stan Sakai and his Usaji Yojimbo comic. <BR/><BR/>Yeah, yeah call me a fanboy. :)<BR/><BR/>The song of Dan-no-Ura played with a Biwa (you can find renditions at YouTube.com) is also some very nifty stuff. It can bring tears to your eyes even if you can't understand what the singer is sayingEdsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11619248696115787815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-48071923916996269582009-03-17T08:58:00.000+08:002009-03-17T08:58:00.000+08:00crazyred: I'm not in the least into manga so I can...<B>crazyred</B>: I'm not in the least into manga so I can't tell you much about that, but in terms of straight history George Samson's three volume History of Japan can't be beat. It was written in the 60s so it might not reflect the most recent scholarship, but it's very easy to read and written for the lay reader, not history students or academics. It goes right the way from prehistory up to the Meiji Reformation in 1867.<BR/><BR/>I also recommend the <I>Genji Monogatari</I> and the <I>Heike Monogatari</I> (Tale of Genji and Tale of Heike). The Tale of Genji was written in the 11th century and is often called 'the world's first novel'. It's the story of an imperial prince who is forced to begin life as a commoner and work his way up the ranks. Full of sex and death.<BR/><BR/>The Tale of Heike is the story of the Genpei war, when two great clans - the Taira and Minamoto - struggled for control of Japan during the 12th century.<BR/><BR/>Both of these are available in English, certainly to buy in a book shop but also maybe for free on the net.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-68557664969339636522009-03-17T07:29:00.000+08:002009-03-17T07:29:00.000+08:00Unless you are asking for real scholarly works I w...Unless you are asking for real scholarly works I would recommend watching a couple of 50-60's chanbara movies, plus "Shogun" (the book or the series), the "Lone Wolf and Cub" manga and of course, Usagi Yojimbo, mainly the earlier stuff where he meets more supernatural creatures. That would get you in the right mind-frame for a R&R game I think.<BR/><BR/>For the Kofun era I would reccomend an awesome manga I read in French once if I could rememebr the name of the bloody thing. <BR/><BR/>It dealt with the queen-ruled kingdm of Yamato, the machinations of the kingdoms from what will one day become China and the rise to power of the legendary first Japanese Emperor.<BR/><BR/>It was pretty high-powered, ninjutsu, old-school, tradionatlly-drawn stuff but the visual and political backdrop gave me a nice picture of an era of Japan I didn't even knew it existed before.Edsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11619248696115787815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-6253669110191336562009-03-17T00:36:00.000+08:002009-03-17T00:36:00.000+08:00Love it!Like Edsan says, we're all at least remote...Love it!<BR/><BR/>Like Edsan says, we're all at least remotely familiar with King Arthur and the Hobbit, but for those of us not up on feudal Japan, what would your bibliography be?brandykrusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00188759625786631969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27793844692159815002009-03-16T14:09:00.000+08:002009-03-16T14:09:00.000+08:00Well, I'm an ecletic gamer myself. I am runnin...Well, I'm an ecletic gamer myself. I am running a S&S EPT game true, but my tabletop campaign is the Great Pendragon Campaign.<BR/><BR/>That's as setting fetishistic as you can get. The whole thing is an 80-year metaplot!<BR/>Plus who the hell is not even remotely familiar with King Arthur?<BR/><BR/>From a GM prespective my preference is leaning more and more towards the rules-light and fuzzy setting kind of game I'm betting Ruins & Ronin will turn out to be.<BR/><BR/>While I will certainly run something as the GPC there's no way I would waste the time making an equivalent from scratch. There was a time when I toyed with deeper seeting-building but that was before I found most campaigns (at least in my experience) don't last enough for the players to perceive beyond the local pond and the shapeless countours of its unknown vistas. So why bother with detail until (if) they actualy get there?Edsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11619248696115787815noreply@blogger.com