Hey... I'm your cha'DIch

I was going to write a long argument in favour of Lawful Good. I have a friend who is essentially Lawful Good in real life, he doesn't think it's cool enough.

The way I see it, Bad Guys play Life with the setting on easy. Lawful Good is expert level.

But I got side tracked by Worf/Picard quotes.

You'd think having two lawful good characters talking to each other would be boring but in reality it's like they are constantly daring each other to be even more good and even more lawful. It's fucking boss.

Don't blame me for knowing you so well.

Picard: Well, I know that I am an old man and I am out of touch. But the Worf that I remember was more concerned with things like honor and loyalty than rules and regulations. But that was a long time ago, and maybe you're not the Worf I once knew.

[Worf curses in Klingon]

Worf: You have always used your knowledge of Klingon honor and tradition to get what you want from me.

Picard: Because it always works, Worf! Your problem is that you really *do* have a sense of honor, and you really *do* care about trust and loyalty. Don't blame me for knowing you so well.  

For me to seek escape when my Captain goes into battle...

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Now hear this: printout message, urgent, all stations on all decks. Prepare for emergency saucer sep. You will command the saucer section, Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Worf: I'm a Klingon, sir. For me to seek escape when my Captain goes into battle...

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: You are a Starfleet officer, Lieutenant!

Lieutenant Worf: Aye, sir. 

Worf's question is valid

Lieutenant Worf: What gives them the right to enter Federation space?

Commander Tebok: Silence your dog, Captain!

Capt. Picard: Lt. Worf's question is valid.

some of the things I said

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Mr. Worf... I regret some of the things I said to you earlier.

Lt. Commander Worf: Some?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: In fact, I think you're the bravest man I have ever known.

You would do no less for me

Lieutenant Worf: The family of a Klingon warrior is responsible for his actions, and he is responsible for theirs. If I fail in my challenge, I will be executed. - Will you grant my leave, Captain?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: No. If I understand correctly, a Starfleet officer, a respected member of my crew, could be accused of a capital crime. Your actions in this matter will reflect on this ship and on the Federation. Therefore, it seems only appropriate that your Captain should be at your side while you make your challenge. I'm sure you would do no less for me.

Oh Lieutenant

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Lieutenant - sometimes, the moral obligations of command are less than clear. I have to weigh the good of the many against the needs of the individual, and try to balance them as realistically as possible. God knows, I don't always succeed.

Lieutenant Worf: I have not had cause to complain, Captain.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Oh. Lieutenant, you wouldn't complain even if you had cause.

Hey... I'm your cha'DIch

 [Picard informs Worf that he will go into the city's old quarter to look for Kahlest]

Lieutenant Worf: It is too dangerous. You must not go alone.
 
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Hey... I'm your cha'DIch.

The Translation Is Always Better

Courtesy of Google Translate

'Specialist' is boring in every language except Latin. All of mine will be called 'Artifex' from now on. I urge James Raggi to change this in the published game. Moving away from 'Thief' was a good idea but 'Specialist' lacks poetry and 'Adventurer' is too general. 'Artifex' sounds fucking cool and could mean almost anything. Just someone who is really really good at shit.

'Experto' is also good.

'Fighter' comes out pretty well in any language. Highlights are 'Jagerfly' and 'Batalanto'.

'Autor Maxia' and 'Magicae Lorem' are the best for Magic User I think.

Anyone in my Isle Of the Unknown (plus Vornheim plus Realms of Crawling Chaos) game who wants to rub out their class name and put one of these in instead is welcome to.

(or anything else really so long as you can remember what it refers to)

English -

Fighter

Magic User

Cleric

Specialist

Latin -

Pugnator
Magicae Lorem
Clericus
Artifex

Catalan -

Luchador
Magic User
Clérigo
Especialista

Swedish -

Jaktplan
Magi Användare
Prästman
Specialister

Romanian -

Luptator
Magica Utilizator
Preot
Specialist

Norwegian -

Jagerfly
Magisk Bruker
Skriftlærd
Spesialist

Italian -

Combattente
Magic User
Religioso
Specializzato

German -

Jäger
Magiebenutzer
Kleriker
Fachmann

Galician -

Combate
Autor Maxia
Crego
Experto

Esperanto -

Batalanto
Magio Uzanto
Kleriko
Faka

Danish -

Kriger
Magisk Bruger
Præst
Faglig

He would have been an interesting DM.

Carl Maria von Clausewitz on, in the first paragraph, the consequences of rapid mutual improvisation, and in the second, table chatter.

I changed the word 'war' for 'game or gaming'.

The italics are his, he barely uses them for the whole book, then spews them all out in the space of one paragraph.

“But wild as the nature of gaming is it still wears the chains of human weakness, and the contradiction we see here, viz. That man seeks and creates dangers which he fears at the same time, will astonish no-one.

If we cast a glance at gaming history in general, we find so much the opposite of an incessant advance towards the aim, that standing still and doing nothing is quite plainly the normal condition of a table in the midst of a game, acting, the exception.”

Dark Points of Interference

This struck me. I immediately applied this to every thinker I dislike. Typing it out, I realised he was talking about me.

“Much greater is the evil which lies in the pompous retinue of technical terms – scientific expressions and metaphors, which these systems carry in their train, and which like a rabble – like the baggage of an army broken away from it's chief – hang about in all directions. Any critic who has not adopted a system, either because he has not found one to please him, or because he has not yet been able to make himself master of one, will at least occasionally make use of one, as one would use a ruler, to show the blunders committed by a general.

The most of them are incapable of reasoning without using as a help here and there some shreds of scientific military theory. The smallest of these fragments, consisting in mere scientific words and metaphors, are often nothing more than ornamental flourishes of critical narration.

Now it is the nature of things that all technical and scientific expressions which belong to a system lose their property, if they ever had any, as soon as they are distorted, and used as general axioms, or as small crystalline talismans, which have more power of demonstration than simple speech.

Thus it has come to pass that our theoretical and critical books, instead of being straightforward, intelligible dissertations, in which the author always knows at leas what he says and the reader what he reads, are brimful of these technical terms, which form dark points of interference where author and reader part company.

But frequently they are something worse, being nothing but hollow shells without any kernel. The author himself has no clear perception of what he means, contents himself with vague ideas, which if expressed in plain language would be unsatisfactory even to himself.”

Carl von Clausewitz

On War, book two

(paragraph gaps added by me, dude was German, he liked density)

Senor de la Horda

A few weeks ago some friends and I were hanging around waiting to play Microscope. We spotted some 40K products in the corner and, driven by my buried adolescent self, I went to have a look. 

The most important thing I discovered is that almost every language in the world describes the agents of the dark Future where there are No Hugs better than English. Each box of deathtoys has a translation of the contents in several languages and every single language in the world sounds cooler than mine.

It's payday and I just picked up the latest issue of White Dwarf, which is now a slightly dull corporatised magazine with nice photos. But there is still gold in the margins if you look for it.

Empire Witch Hunter - Hexenjager des Imperiums

       OR!             Cazador de Brujas

Empire Master Engineer - Maestro Ingeniero

Orcs & Goblins Mangler Squig - Garrapato Despachurrador

The Swarmlord - Senor de la Horda

Spacewolves Thunderwolf Cavalry - Caballeria Lobo de Trueno

Beastmen Ghorgon - Ecatombe degli Uominbestia

Old Snow

I don't know if my memory has always been poor but the everyday things sleet through my hand like old snow. Perhaps because of this, I have an obsession with memory and with the history of thinking about memory.

(blah blah blah, it's long, fair warning)

Syllables

This may be somewhat useful for people.

Playing Ghost/Echo I gave players ten syllables each to equip their characters.

So you can have a sword – 1 syllable, or a Kendachi Monoblade – 6 syllables.

For D&D type games this could be linked to Charisma, with each point giving you another syllable of description. This is in the long tradition of making-charisma-useful.

Would probably work better with story-games and/or chilled out players. Though if combined with a LOTFP simple encumbrance rule and with banning magical items I think it could function quite well.

I'm pretty sure I half-stole this idea from someone in the OSR, it's a bit like Zack S's syllables-for-price idea. Or someone trading character points for syllables of description during char-gen. Anyway, if its you I stole it from, sorry.