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What professions should we consider working on?
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Author:  Starkad [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Quote:
Which supplements do you have in mind?

"Friends or Foes" and "The Knight's Tale". Admittedly, both refer to Algandy... But this seems to have lead to a perception (in discussions) that sorcery is actively banned.
(No problems with distrusted, disreputable... or even feared.) ;)

Author:  wimlach [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 8:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Starkad wrote:
Quote:
Which supplements do you have in mind?

"Friends or Foes" and "The Knight's Tale". Admittedly, both refer to Algandy... But this seems to have lead to a perception (in discussions) that sorcery is actively banned.
(No problems with distrusted, disreputable... or even feared.) ;)


This seems to me a misconception brought about by trying to equate DW a little too much to medieval Europe, and forgetting the one small detail that in Legend, magic is real.

Indeed, there are DW adventures where Sorcerers are major characters - Cynewulf and Myrkyn being prime examples, and Selentium, "Bastion of the Faith", fields contingents of military trained sorcerers! To quote: "Nowhere else in the world of Legend are the magic using professions so organized."

It highlights a little bit of a disconnect between what is implied in "Friends & Foes" and what was established in the earlier published rules. Author bias I presume.

Author:  Starkad [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 8:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Quote:
It highlights a little bit of a disconnect between what is implied in "Friends & Foes" and what was established in the earlier published rules.

I agree. In DW, magic is real (and takes many forms). It may be mistrusted and feared, as any ill-understood force might be (consider the media's portrayal of nuclear power, for example), but I don't like this whole-hearted persecution/outlawing of sorcerers which has crept in with those two publications.

In fact, I'm afraid I don't much like the portrayal of Algandy in the recent supplements and am finding myself obliged* to write my own history, background and maps of the place. I may keep some of the ideas, but not to the extreme portrayed in recent publications (e.g. Father Alessandro in "Friends or Foes").
* Because my players have ended up in the vicinity and look likely to cross into Algandy.

Returning to the topic of professions...

It would be fun to see a bit of an expansion on NPC professions like merchant, apothecary, steward/seneschal... But if they're not to be played, you don't need too much detail.
(I note that "Friends or Foes" pages 62-64 has a bunch of game-stats for NPCs, so you might not need too much elaboration?)

On the other hand, has anyone done anything with any kind of mariner profession?
The Thules and Mercanians are covered by Barbarian, but this would not fit in well with a Coradian vessel. Nor would a "knight" fit well on a ship... From sailor to sea captain, there are possibilities here (and could be useful in play - if your campaign is set in any coastal region, e.g. Coradian lands). Basic "Sailor" stats are given in "Friends and Foes" page 64, but I feel this is an area ripe for expansion...

Author:  Cobwebbed Dragon [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 9:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

wimlach wrote:
This seems to me a misconception brought about by trying to equate DW a little too much to medieval Europe, and forgetting the one small detail that in Legend, magic is real.

Which, of course, it was to those real-world Dark Age folk, too. There's no difference between how the common folk of Legend and the common folk of Dark Age Europe believe in magic, or faeries, or bugbears.

wimlach wrote:
Indeed, there are DW adventures where Sorcerers are major characters - Cynewulf and Myrkyn being prime examples, and Selentium, "Bastion of the Faith", fields contingents of military trained sorcerers! To quote: "Nowhere else in the world of Legend are the magic using professions so organized."

And this is where DW offers the choice - do you want a high-fantasy campaign in which magic is a matter-of-fact part of society and culture or do you want a low-fantasy campaign where magic is relegated to the fringes? Battalions of battle-mages work when you want a medieval superhero campaign (a la D&D), but it's not where DW shines for me - I prefer to keep magic between the folds in the cloth, as it were.

But the choice, as they say in all the best game shows, is yours.

Author:  Starkad [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 9:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Quote:
And this is where DW offers the choice - do you want a high-fantasy campaign in which magic is a matter-of-fact part of society and culture or do you want a low-fantasy campaign where magic is relegated to the fringes?

It doesn't have to be so "either/or". You mention Dark Age beliefs, but "sorcerers" and pagan priests were around in the Dark Ages and the early Medieval period (there's a clear example in the Saga of Eirik the Red) and they weren't automatically hounded and burnt.* Nor do they appear to have been numerous.
* In Eirik the Red, the Christians simply leave so they don't have to be part of, or witness, the ceremony.

DW can have mages and doesn't need to be "high fantasy" as a result. A very few mages (whether Sorcerers, Elementalists or Warlocks) may well gain power and patronage - but they would be the exception. Others may be reclusive, avoiding society in the pursuit of their craft. Still others may have few skills and powers and simply try to blend in... In all cases, they are likely to be few and far between - not altering the basic "low fantasy" setting of the world at all. But they're still there, and folk would know they exist...

Quote:
Battalions of battle-mages...

...are pretty unlikely even in the New Selentine Empire, where even large-scale deployments are likely to see only a few dozen mages at most (and they appear to have a reserved position in society):
"The sight of the massed ranks of Selentine military strength – patrician Cataphracts in gleaming armour, riding forth on giant warhorses; hawk-nosed mages in their palanquins, surveying the disposition of troops and producing auguries; scurrying infantrymen closing into formation with immaculate precision." (DW book 6, page 36)

But yes, ultimately it's down to the individual GM and the world they portray. ;)

Author:  wimlach [ Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Cobwebbed Dragon wrote:
Which, of course, it was to those real-world Dark Age folk, too. There's no difference between how the common folk of Legend and the common folk of Dark Age Europe believe in magic, or faeries, or bugbears.


Regards Legend, the original published setting is fairly explicit in highlighting that while 'common folk' generally distrust and are suspicious of magic (or any arcane knowledge, scientific or magical), sorcery is not only tolerated, but is openly employed by those in power.

Some later 3rd party additions to the lore are somewhat contradictory in this regard.

High and low fantasy appear to co-exist in Legend - with the 'north' being a low, dark fantasy setting, becoming gradually higher and lighter the further south you go (in a broad sense).

Author:  Starkad [ Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

I've just re-read Cadaver Draconis and note that most of the professions we've mentioned (e.g. trader, sailor) are already developed in there... :shock:

Author:  Damian May [ Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Starkad wrote:
I've just re-read Cadaver Draconis and note that most of the professions we've mentioned (e.g. trader, sailor) are already developed in there... :shock:


Well you guys were having fun and someone might prefer even more options.

Author:  Kharille [ Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Does not have the Sapper!


Or the Archer for that matter.

Author:  Damian May [ Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What professions should we consider working on?

Kharille wrote:
Does not have the Sapper!


Or the Archer for that matter.


Well it has quite a few 'Archers' and I think we're all happy to leave the Sapper in your expert hands, sir. ;)

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