Feedback: Explanation and Structure Barring anything unusual, this should be my last post here. After this feedback, excepting any general questions asked, anything further will probably be via PM. As Menzo mentioned in an earlier post what I have to say is more about improving and refining your applications/characters/etc than 'thing wrong'. So, I want to explain the layout a little bit (although it should be mostly self explanatory) and be sure that some things are clear.Firstly , there will be a few general comments and pointers for some specific character creation stuff - most prominently, but not only, examples for what the base classes could be in a Japanese setting. There are two caveats: 1) I'll only give a short description with the word, not a full description of the re-skin possibilities; and 2) I won't be doing sub-classes because there's too many of them and if you want to know about that, thats a PM thing. Secondly , everyone is going to get feedback because it's refining and improving not corrections; additionally it's entirely up to you what you do with the feedback, how much you use it and or to what extent. Thirdly , I will do my best to avoid repeating anything that Menzo has already said in the comments they have already given as well as try to avoid repeating anything I have said for people that might be currently in the middle of making changes.Fighter + Japan ≠ Samurai
Unfortunately there isn't a nice symbol for 'doesn't
always equal', at least not that I know of. Without belabouring the point too much, as much as I absolutely understand the Rule of Cool when it comes to Samurai and Ninja and so on, there are a lot of options out there if you want to give your character in a Japanese setting a more nuanced re-skin. I say nuanced because not every person that wielded a katana or katana+wakizashi pair in Japanese history has been a Samurai. Much the same way not everyone that has wielded a long sword or ridden a horse in European history has been a Knight. There are certain nuances to those roles and positions that sometimes go overlooked.
So, what I would like to provide everyone here is a list of some options for each class that give you some alternatives to the immediately obvious conversions - just in case you want to do something different. I pick on Samurai and Ninja because they are easy examples, not examples indicative of what I have seen in the applications.
If you're happy with 'Fighter' or 'Druid' or 'Barbarian' etc then
As I said earlier, I won't be giving a full explanation so much as 'Word' and 'brief description'. Some things may end up in multiple classes, and some classes may have less options than others because... well, Wizard, Sorcerer and Warlock can only be differentiated so much before it starts to become meaningless differences. I will use 'lit.' for literally and 'approx.' when the word isn't exactly 1:1 to the class but could apply easily enough. I will include Artificer just as an incase thing. If I missed a class, let me know and I'll add it. Also, I apologise for using the Kanji to list things, it just ended up being less of a mess to put Kanji + TT tags.
Artificer: Renkinjutsushi; Alchemist, herbs and potions and a little bit of mysticism 錬金術師 , Kanpoyakuzaishi; approx. Herbalist, traditional herbal pharmacist or apothecary 漢方薬剤師 , Jun no Seibishi; Lit. Gun Mechanic, even if firearms aren't a big part this could still cover artificer things 銃の整備士 , Kajiya; lit. Blacksmith, covers a lot of what the artificer does readily enough 鍛冶屋
Barbarian: Kyosenshi; lit. mad warrior, a bit of an academic term but is used for 'berserker' 狂戦士 , Yabanjin; a barbarian or savage, speaks more to the relative lack of cultural sophistication etc 野蛮人 , Ebisu; lit. brutish, sometimes a pejorative used for someone provincial and sometimes for other people that were distinct from Yamato Japanese 夷 , Sanka; mountain nomads, again 'different to Yamato Japanese' feel but not as much a pejorative 山窩 , Ketojin/Komoi; hairy foreigner/red-haired barbarian respectively, can be massaged to apply to a variety of D&D races etc 毛唐人/紅毛夷 , Ronin/Roshi; masterless warrior/samurai, in a Japanese-like setting a 'barbarian warrior' could be one that has no master 浪人/浪士
Bard: Miko; 'shrine-maiden', here because they do the Kagura dances and that could easily be a Bard-via-Dance character 巫女 , Maiko/Geisha; Maiko is junior to Geisha, theres so many possibilities for how these could be a Bard 舞子/芸者 , Kyogen-kata; Kyogen performer, pre-Kabuki comedic actor type thing 狂言方 , Shijin; poet, what it says on the tin and can bleed over a bit into singing or chanting 詩人 , Gakushi; musician, has a heavy implication of being an expert or trained in some way 楽士 , Ginyu-shijin; troubadour, wandering musician sort 吟遊詩人 , Reijin; court minstrel, likely very well trained or from a wealthy family or from a particular school 伶人
Not much explanation needed for these other than differentiating between Shinto (animist spirits/Kami) and Buddhism (Boddhisatvas and gods) Cleric: Shinshoku; Shinto priest, 神職 , Shinkan; Shinto priest 神官 , Hafuri; junior Shinto priest 祝 , Bozu; Buddhist priest 坊主 , So; Buddhist priest 僧 Risshi; Buddhist priest 律師 , Shisai; generic priest word 司祭 , Miko; Shinto, commonly known as 'shrine maiden' 巫女 , Fusha; shrine maiden, more so than a Miko this is a woman that is sacred or consecrated by the deity of her shrine and less generic than Miko with a tiny bit of an exorcist feel 巫者 , Onna-miko; sorceress or medium, though in the Sorcerer class the holy aspect of this is very much dispelling evil and casting out spirits exorcist stuff so could work here 女神子 , Onmyo-ji; diviner meets exorcist, can be a wizard but these things are a bit murky in Japan so could also be a niche priest kind of deal 陰陽師 , Kanagi (same rading, different character for Female/Male); shaman or oracle; this has a shaman or medium possesed by another spirit while doing their magic feel and the female in particular (although for this game male too) has certain casting out spirits and de-possession type functions in some cases too 巫/覡 Druid - For reasons, the Shinto Cleric options and various Wizard/Sorcerer/Warlock options can apply here. Something more specific, like based on a sub-class, would require making a word. PM me if that interests you. SPECIAL
Fighter: X + (Jutsuka, Shi, Mushi or Senshi); generally if X = a weapon, you have different kinds of fighter X+(術家, 士, 武士 or 戦士) , Samurai; speaks for itself, is most often a 'knight like' warrior 侍 , Musha; generic warrior, as compared to a Samurai is more likely a commoner or non-'Knight-like' sort 武者 , Buke; Samurai, but specifically of a noble family 武家 , Heitai; Soldier, more part of an army than knight or duellist 兵隊 , Ronin/Roshi; masterless warrior/samurai, could be lord died or you struck out or your own, etc 浪人/浪士 , Onna-bugeisha; female warrior or female martial artist, so called 'geisha warriors' and almost exclusively of the same social station as Samurai 女武芸者 , Yoriki; constable, Samurai that is a policeman-like constable 与力 , Doshin; lower rank than Yoriki, same social class and same overall function but more like a guardsman 同心
Monk: So; Buddhist priest, monks and priests are kind of interchangeable in Japanese buddhism 僧 , Yamabushi; approx. mountain hermit, a particular kind of estoeric contemplative that often appear as warrior-monks and are different to Shinto or Buddhist equivalents 山伏 , Sohei; lit. warrior-monk, like it says on the tin 僧兵 , Tetsujin; lit. philosopher, speaks more to the esoteric spiritual side of the Monk class 哲人 , Kenjin; sage, wise person with esoteric knowledge and potentially strange powers 賢人 , Shugenja; earlier form of Yamabushi, slightly more associated with weird mysticism than warrior-monk 修験者 - Special: Buddhist Cleric options could also apply here.
Paladin: Shinpei; warrior given a mission by a god, about as paladin as you can get in that this is a warrior given a mission by a god/kami 神兵 , Gikyo no Shi; lit. paladin, has a 'religious principle' feel to it as opposed to 'blessed by god' 義侠の士 , Kensai/Kensei; sword-saint, although D&D puts this as a Monk sub-class it has more of a holy version of Warlock: Hexblade feel to it 剣聖
Ranger: Yama-mamori; lit. mountain protector, ranger protects the wilds and looks after them 山守 , Yamaban; basically the same as Yama-mamori, but has a bit more of a more modern 'Forest Ranger' feel 山番 , Ryoshi; hunter, basically what it says on the tin 猟師 , Yokujin; hunter, but is a bit more specific to an archer 弋人 , Yamadachi; lit. standing in the mountains, refers to bandits and rangers and hunters and carries a wilder feel than other options for the Ranger 山立
Rogue: Yamadachi; like in Ranger, but for a rogue has more of a Bandit way laying travellers feel 山立 , Tozoku; thief, does what it says and has a slight implication of being an 'outlaw' versus a 'criminal' 盗賊 , Gizoku; 'gentleman thief, think Carmen Sandiego or Sly Cooper 義賊 , Ansatsu-sha; assassin, for those who are going with a stabby stabby focused rogue 暗殺者 , Shinobi; spy or assassin, sneaky sneaky and paid to do things that are beneath the station of samurai 忍 , Ninja; like shinobi, arguably has a more 'trained' and 'special powers' slant 忍者
Sorcerer: Onna-miko; sorceress or medium, has a bit of a holy feel to it but is otherwise a word specific to sorcereses so something like Morgana le Fey from Arthurian legend kind of thing 女神子 , Maho-tsukai; sorcerer, closest in feel to the 'uses power intuitively' aspect of the sorcerer 魔法使
Warlock: Kanagi (same rading, different character for Female/Male); shaman or oracle; this has a shaman or medium possesed by another spirit while doing their magic feel 巫/覡 , Inugami-tsukai; evil shaman that typically draws power from an Inugami, very much evil and badness but one of the closet options to the Warlock/Patron idea 犬神使
Wizard: Yojutsusha; magician, has a mild element of 'enchanting' or 'bewitching' 妖術者 , Sen; wizard, hermit-y feel with a bit of a mountain/remoteness texture 仙 , Madoshi; wizard, particular emphasis on a sense of expertise or training and regimentation 魔道士 , Onmyo-ji; diviner meets exorcist, is a wizard of a particular sort that focuses on abjuration and conjuration type things 陰陽師 , Genjutsushi; wizard, with a conjuration/illusion/sometimes enchantment feel 幻術士 , Kitoshi; wizard, has a bit of a nature/shaman feel with a protective 'cast the bad things out' texture 祈祷師 , Reibai-jutsushi; Lit. Necromancer, more like a medium or 'nice' necromancer than a 'army of the undead' kind of thing 霊媒術師
N.B.1.: If you are looking for the female-specific ones, let me know. N.B.2.: I'm only listing things for Sorcerer and Warlock that are meaningfully distinct from words listed in Wizard. Otherwise, for the most part anything listed in Wizard can probably be used for Sorcerer or Warlock.
N.B.3.: Some of these, namely Ranger, Warlock, Paladin, don't convert very well as ideas into a Japanese setting. I've done my best to provide some options but these might require a bit more 1:1 crafting if you want a re-skin for them.
Japanese Feel - General Writing Points
These are some general points to keep in mind when trying to find that Japanese feel in D&D:
- Names: This is well trodden ground by both myself and Menzo, however generally speaking there are still a number of applications that need some work on their character names. (As always, if you want help, PM me).
- Race: The Emperor is a dragon and it is D&D so there is a number of races you could be. However, in a Japanese setting (and in line with what Menzo has said previously) you really need to consider the how's and why's and so on of the integration of your character's race into what is, historically if not explicitly in the game, a homogenous society. For example: Emperor is a dragon, therefore are all Dragonborn noble-born? Do Tabaxi only exist in coastal regions and carry a (perhaps stigmatised) association with fishing and sailing? Where do elves, half-elves, orcs and half-orcs feature? This is important because...
- Society/Background: Japanese society is highly regimented and structured. Names, and in this case Race, and Social Status/Background all roll into one. Your social rank is, in this case, mostly likely somewhat determined by your Race and that in turn has an impact on what types of names would 'feel' most Japanese for your character. What even would a 'Foreigner' be in this case?
- Honour: I've seen this in at least a couple of places as a trait or whatever - and I recommend avoiding it. Not because it is a cliche, but because the idea of Honour in Japanese society is not what most people imagine it to be. (PM me if you're super hard set on having it).
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Bond, Flaw, Ideal, Personality Traits BFIPT : If you can, for a game like this I highly recommend using these to pull double duty and convey not just the exact BFIPT of your character, but also details and elements that flesh out the character more. The
hardest version of this to achieve is having a customised/self-written/re-tooled BFIPT name/title and text that can both tell the reader more about the character or their history etc
and convey BFIPT at the same time.
These are things for everyone to keep in mind not just for those basic character parts of their application but also the Background portion. Even though the characters are Lvl 1, barring outright child characters, these are I believe that Menzo has outright stated that all characters will be/must be Shikoku natives, which means intra-character interactions will inevitably involve some degree of influence from Who You Are in Society. This only makes things like Name, Race and Background more likely things that other players will refer to and bring up in their writing. A Samurai wouldn't simply allow a commoner to speak to a Geisha, and a Monk or Cleric will likely speak in particular ways depending on who they are talking to. Having those details clear in your own mind will basically mean you're better equipped when the time comes to use them.
Feedback for Everyone Now for everyone's feedback. How I will do it is I will give a few lines about the general impression I get and how well (or not as the case may be) the character 'feels' Japanese and then 5 dot points for things that could be improved or refined. Barring applications that are WIP enough that there's not much to give feedback on. Everyone gets 5
Final Notes Overall, a lot of the characters that I've seen just require some TLC in the form of detailing, which is ultimately the heart and soul of refining any character. Thematically the details will make all the difference, and how those details are handled depends on the application.Still working on the class name alternatives, keep an eye on them as I fill them in. They are filled in. It's not a complete list, probably, but should be enough for interested applicants to play around with.
Last edited by Oghain; Oct 28th, 2020 at 06:37 AM .
Oct 27th, 2020, 06:33 AM
