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Ok, for the pure heck of it after making a joke on another thread, started thinking of starting up a new genre. Farmpunk!
Here things are held together by chicken wire and a little spit, and everything runs on white lightnin'. Everything! Even Granny!
The ***** crowing really does raise the sun, the country boy can speak to animals, square dancing is a rite for survival, and the creak in Granddaddy's bones or the spots on a mule can predict all manner of events.
But most special of all is the Almanac, the source of all wisdom. Blessed is the keeper and purveyor of its pages.
What suggestions have you?
Last edited by The Vorpal Tribble : 11-21-2010 at 11:39 PM.
This just sounds like American folk lore. Midwestern to be exact. I don't see how you can make a whole genre around something there's already a whole genre for.
This just sounds like American folk lore. Midwestern to be exact. I don't see how you can make a whole genre around something there's already a whole genre for.
That just means it is all done up, and only needs translation to playable game mechanics. Don't know enough about the folk-lore to know what system would suit it. Could be d20 for all I know, but it doesn't pay to make assumptions.
Absolutely. Read some of the very old Appalachia Mountain stories
Well... yeah. I was raised there, that's what sparked the idea. Doesn't mean there is a fictional or gaming setting that ties it all in together into it's own world-wide setting.
I love stuff like this. If I had time, I'd take inspiration from Manly Wade Wellman's stories of Silver John. I'm not sure how it would translate.
What system would this be?
Debby
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P.E.A.C.H. Please Evaluate And Critique Honestly. Being nicer and kinder doesn't hurt either.
Please, please, please when using non-core material, cite to the books. There are too many books to wade through to find the one with the feat, special ability or spell you use.
Now this is exactly the sort of thing my Commoner Flaw PrCs could be geared towards in a game of this sort.
Let's not forget that whiskey is also literally fire-water and grants the ability to breathe fire, not yet granted by Bud Light (because it obviously doesn't exist yet).
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Strawberries is thanked for being an awesome avatarist.
You could also end up with a genre-mixer with Steampunk and one day have a Tractor Golem! Also, moonshine is created with Craft (Alchemy).
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Spoiler
DM: "Sunder the wall?! WT**** kind of tactics are these!?" Me: The kind that armies have been using for millennia. DM: They didn't do it with swords! Me: Which makes us so much cooler.
Player: Where are the babau in relation to everyone else? Me: They're right behind you. Vesil is covered in Loki's blood. That is their location in relation to you. Player: I was just wondering about a fireball.
I have the image of a straw-chewing farmer wielding a huge sword (think buster sword big) wrapped in straw. He then covers the hay in whiskey and sets it alight. Then smacks it into that pesky wererabbit that keeps eating his crops.
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You gotta' let me know, are we human,
Or are we dancers?
My signs are vital, my hands are cold,
And I'm on my knees, begging for the answer,
Are we human, or are we dancers?
- Human, The Killers
So is this a whole gaming genre based on American Folklore? Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, etc?
Can I kill me a bear when I'm only three?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Doctor
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-to-effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.
I have the image of a straw-chewing farmer wielding a huge sword (think buster sword big) wrapped in straw. He then covers the hay in whiskey and sets it alight. Then smacks it into that pesky wererabbit that keeps eating his crops.
The wererabbits are eaten by the weremoles!
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Spoiler
DM: "Sunder the wall?! WT**** kind of tactics are these!?" Me: The kind that armies have been using for millennia. DM: They didn't do it with swords! Me: Which makes us so much cooler.
Player: Where are the babau in relation to everyone else? Me: They're right behind you. Vesil is covered in Loki's blood. That is their location in relation to you. Player: I was just wondering about a fireball.
"You grab a line, and I'll grab a pole" Adventure for L.2 Farmpunk Players, involving Dire Crawdads, Talking Ducks, and the curious incident of the Crawdad's broken Sack.
The Man in Black should, of course, be a Higher Deity. (A little modern, but fitting I feel.)
Perhaps up there with a man named Mezuer Tharope, that or Ol' Sam C.
Maybe gods don't exist, but Legends do, and the Legend Spinners are the clerics of the Farmpunk world, spreading the tales of the ancient ones, much like holy men spreading the word of gods?
Definitely an opportune place to use Golden Fiddle Devil, if I could find the link.
I'm not sure if anyone here's a Jason Webley Fan, but the Song 'Mountain and the Moon' would certainly fit this... not sure what you could do with it though.
Greensleeves template? Too blue?
Sword of Bunker Hill, Artifact weapon?
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Thanks to PersonalSavior for the resplendent Monk and Eyes Avatar.
I play Legend.
My D&D 3.5 Homebrew.
The Bard must of course be changed to fit country music (including the ability to induce line dancing)
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You gotta' let me know, are we human,
Or are we dancers?
My signs are vital, my hands are cold,
And I'm on my knees, begging for the answer,
Are we human, or are we dancers?
- Human, The Killers
That's not really line dancing, but I see you're point
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You gotta' let me know, are we human,
Or are we dancers?
My signs are vital, my hands are cold,
And I'm on my knees, begging for the answer,
Are we human, or are we dancers?
- Human, The Killers
You could include a sub-genre of horror/rural legends like: Sleepy Hollow, Rural Ghost Stories, Children of the Corn, etc. That would be pretty cool.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Doctor
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-to-effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.
You know, I've been running this as a straight/serious dark setting with some Native American mythology splashed in for a bit of flavor for nearly ten years now...
I tried posting it here, but nobody responded at all.
I'm reminded of my plans for a steam&magic punk setting based on the idea of the early American west. Like back east they have gaslights and all, but the lightning rails are just coming in out in the wilds. I think that these things could potentially jive very well.
I smell a community world building project...
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avatar is my tiefling "dervish" Wiley art by Tiffanie Lirle
Moonshine as the main power source, some sort of genemodding, legendary cattlehands will be legendary still, we can sure as heck guarantee there will be a Legendary Still. When do we start, I would assume sometime after Paul Bunyon & Babe but before Bonnie and Clyde. I do like the idea of granny from Beverly Hillbillies being the worlds greatest medical practitioner though.
You could include a sub-genre of horror/rural legends like: Sleepy Hollow, Rural Ghost Stories, Children of the Corn, etc. That would be pretty cool.
Like a part of the Farmpunk world from the Wrong side of the Tracks? That could get creepy. I also see a Paladin-esque class, or maybe a Hobo-esque class that roams the boarder-tracks Keeping the Creepy on the Creepy side, and the Non-Creepy on the Non-Creepy side.
Barbarian-esque Loggers... this sort of setting would be fantastic.
It would be based on DnD 3.5, yes?
Or it's own system?
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Thanks to PersonalSavior for the resplendent Monk and Eyes Avatar.
I play Legend.
My D&D 3.5 Homebrew.
There was a setting (now that I think of it) that was called "Dustlands" or something here on these boards. Was post-appocalyptic (literally, the final battle between Heaven and Hell had come and gone, everything on the prime material was SUPPOSED to have gone to its final reward/judgement/whatever but some people survived out of sheer stubbornness). But had a VERY Western flavor to it, a lot like Deadlands in that regard. Anyway, my major point was that it had a class dedicated to being able to summon dust-devils/tornandos and lasso them, then ride them. I am sure you can figure out which hero this is based on...
A keyword to help you find said thread might be "white-light shakes" although it might be a space or nothing at all instead of a hyphen.
Like a part of the Farmpunk world from the Wrong side of the Tracks? That could get creepy. I also see a Paladin-esque class, or maybe a Hobo-esque class that roams the boarder-tracks Keeping the Creepy on the Creepy side, and the Non-Creepy on the Non-Creepy side.
Barbarian-esque Loggers... this sort of setting would be fantastic.
It would be based on DnD 3.5, yes?
Or it's own system?
Heh. You could also apply the trope that only children or the drunk and crazy can see certain kinds of supernatural things. Yes, that's why hobos always carry moonshine in this setting.
“Not a promise, not an oath, or a malediction or a curse,” I said, sounding calm, probably inaudible in the midst of the screaming. “Inevitable. Wasn’t that how she put it? I told them. Warned them.”
-Taylor Hebert. Yes, I'm a proud Skittle.
This is getting so good. I might actually join a PbP (which I normally steer clear of) for this game.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Doctor
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-to-effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.
Like a part of the Farmpunk world from the Wrong side of the Tracks? That could get creepy. I also see a Paladin-esque class, or maybe a Hobo-esque class that roams the boarder-tracks Keeping the Creepy on the Creepy side, and the Non-Creepy on the Non-Creepy side.
QAGS is currently in the playtest phase for a version of it about just that, called Hobomancer. Set in the Depression, the players are all mystic Hobos who ride the rails, trying to keep the balance of forces intact. I played Thor Bumhammer, ex-park ranger and storm caller (a.k.a lightning rod).
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Rule of Cool Contributor and Goon
The Northern Crown setting by Atlas Games, despite being 3.0, would work well for this. It's easy enough to update to 3.5. See here: http://www.atlas-games.com/crown/
Debby
__________________
P.E.A.C.H. Please Evaluate And Critique Honestly. Being nicer and kinder doesn't hurt either.
Please, please, please when using non-core material, cite to the books. There are too many books to wade through to find the one with the feat, special ability or spell you use.
Farmpunk... but... uh... wa!
SO MUCH POTENTIAL!
*brain explodes into world crafting gear*
Moonshine seems to be floating in as the end-all. Healing, weapons, etc. Generally what Wizards of the Coast would call "a positive energy weapon.
Thus, one could assume a negative energy existed as well, the weapon of the creepies further mention that the hobos keep away(?).
But what is the opposite of moonshine?!
Water? Fast food (something intimately associated with the city)?
Got it.
Pesticides.
Also, I believe this is so far off the tracks of anything ever pioneered with 3.5 that we need to hand-craft a system to pull it off. I would help out, for sure, if it is agreed that we need to homebrew a system.
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Thanks to Terry for my irate Nightmare Alchemist Avatar!
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-to-effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.
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