SHADOWTEXT'S PROFILE

author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=2174.msg36486#msg36486 date=1223423479
Like I said, it's not a perfect game. However, I never really understood the gripe with the symbolic stuff. The storyline is easily intact if you were to take it all away. If you were to change say, Kislev, Shevat, and Zohar to say, Bobtown, Lazy Village, and Giant Battery, the storyline would be exactly the same, so it's easy enough to ignore.

That's exactly the problem most people have with it. Because it's full of Abrahammic symbolism, people in the west get upset when it's used without making a point, even if they have no particular affiliation to Judaism, Christianity or Islam, because it's been such a big part of our history that it some people get a bit tetchy when it's treated the same way we treat the mythology of....well, every religion that doesn't descend from Abraham.

author=Max McGee link=topic=2080.msg36318#msg36318 date=1223353814
so basically a wizard and three hitter/hurter/bashers? Man are we gonna be smarting for healing.

Warlords are healers, Fighters are tanks, Rangers are damage dealers and Wizards control large groups of enemies. We've actually got a perfectly balanced party.

Spoilers ahoy:

The first half of the episode I wasn't paying much attention, so I take it not much happened to make me start PAYING attention until about the last thirty minutes.

author=NoblemanNick link=topic=2080.msg36254#msg36254 date=1223333010
Wait the point buy system is the same as the Standard Array right, because I liked the Point buy System the best.

Kinda. The standard array can be bought via the point buy system, so the point buy system implies a player can choose to go with the standard array if they want. Point Buy just lets people who want finer control over their stats tweak the standard array a bit, essentially.

author=Asalieri link=topic=1644.msg36161#msg36161 date=1223316798

author=Shadowtext link=topic=1644.msg36130#msg36130 date=1223307633
Your audience. They're the ones who have to read and remember these names. Never use the exoticness of the setting as an excuse for dropping elements of the real world that make it easier for the audience to relate to the characters or concepts within. Don't drop real world naming or language rules unless it serves a purpose to do so, and I rarely see a valid purpose for doing so--the most I usually get is that the writer has invented his own language and has the rules for it written down somewhere....but I have never seen a valid reason giving for making up your own language for a fantasy world, either, outside of intellectual masturbation. So that excuse doesn't fly with me either.

For the most part, the RPG itself should be more concentrated on the story than the superficial things like a character's name. One could argue that any name can happen given the whim of the parents. The name itself shouldn't distract too much from the character and how he/she is incorporated in the world in which they were wrought.
Oftentimes, the parents' excuse needs be little more than "My kid is special, and he/she deserves a name that sets him/her apart from the rest".

And which language rules would you propose constitutes valid "real world" representation? Shall I adopt the all-too overused Japanese or just call all my guys John and Peter to satisfy the rules of English? And where does that leave people like Frank Zappa and Penn Jillette who have given strange names to THEIR kids?

Maybe you should try to convince me that Dweezil and Moxie Crimefighter aren't valid as names?

Dweezil and Moxie Crimefighter are both pronounceable and reveal something both about the parents' personalities and the experiences the character would've had as a child. And Dweezil's a nickname anyway, so it reveals something about the character's personality as well. Aposajgpbn does not.

Even if they did, just because something is legal as a name in the real world doesn't make it a good name for story purposes. Stories are pieces of entertainment to be experienced by people. Every decision you make about aspects of your story and anything that makes it up (including the names and words you use) must be made while keeping in mind your duty to your audience, to tell an entertaining and accessible story.