I think in this day and age its important to have more Frazetta-style art, not less!
Have to admit I am not a fan of the "chainmail bikini" either though, if Conan can run around bare chested so can Belit. Equal oportunity and all that stuff.
Anyway, back to the lizardman boob topic: Considering that in ACKS they are not a "natural" species but were created by magic I think its not far fetched to assume they might have some human vestigial traits left that serve no actual need.
In BCK, they were created by Serpentmen as servants - not from human stock; there weren't humans on that world back then. So more reptilian.
Indeed, with hybridization and a mad - and wealthy - enough Mage you could have something along the lines of the XCOM2 Viper - which does have boobs but is indeed based on human stock. In fact, now that I think of that, this would be a fun project for a Mage to mess around with: cross-breeding men with giant serpents and possibly chameleons as well...
Don't make it into a big deal.
EDIT: Lizardwomen having breasts is a big deal and makes it unplayable. 0/10 would not kickstart.
So, I don't want to make this too big a deal because I love ACKS and I trust Alex but I feel it is only fair to ask...
Can we submit our pledges and specify the opposite to Vox Day's post? Can I submit my pledge and ask for my commitment level to count against the money raised to support the "Dark Lord" additions?
Again, I love ACKS and my personal interactions with Alex have been nothing short of excellent but it seems only right to give fans with serious concerns about Vox Day and Castalia House the equal option to voice that concern with their money/support.
Instead of backing against Vox Day, why not make a group to contribute for another different class with another set of artwork that is contradictory to Vox Day's philosophy? I reckon that's a good idea but I have no idea what you could do.
That is a good idea. I have neither the internet reach nor the influence to do said campaign justice. If someone else has an idea, I say run with it.
But as Vox Day's campaign, "for the Dark Lord" is already sidestepping the rules (by pooling money to reach a donation level independent of giving additional money) I think it is not too much to ask that for those of us in opposition, it is not too far-fetched that we could write, "Against the Dark Lord" on our pledges and be counted as opposed to such inclusions.
Please note - I'm not advocating a boycott, or suggesting that Alex not agree to the "for the Dark Lord" campaign. I am backing the book(s). But I am "Against the Dark Lord" and its contributions. I'm sure others are as well, and I'm sure we'd like to be counted.
I would rather see a campaign for a counter force then trying to take away from what people have contributed.
[quote="Rodriguez"]
I would rather see a campaign for a counter force then trying to take away from what people have contributed.
[/quote]
Please don't take this the wrong way but your reasoning is somewhat flawed here. Nothing is being taken away from what people contributed.
As I pointed out above, this campaign is not contributing any additional funding to the KS. It is effectively a "bonus" reward to Vox Day because he asked others to add, "For the Dark Lord" to their comments. And I understand the argument that everyone loses a class, etc. if this is not put in, but if the class is so worthwhile that it needs to be added, then Alex has ways to add it to the game - Axioms for example - that he still makes money for the company from.
And - if someone wants to start a counter campaign, I'll support it. But that doesn't change the fact that some of us may have reservations about including Vox Day-inspired content. Even his blog post about his Dark Lord campaign is hateful. When I have reservations about a law, I call my congressperson (I'm in the USA). It doesn't always mean I have to propose an alternative bill, I want my voice heard on a bill that is before the legislature. Maybe that seems an odd example, but I think it illustrates that a counter-campaign, while worthwhile, is not the same statement as, "please don't include Vox Day-inspired content. They are two separate messages.
I hope that makes sense. Again, I'm not advocating that Alex should have said, "no" (whatever my personal feelings). I'm simply advocating that if Day and his followers will be rewarded for having their voices heard, then I would like the same opportunity to voice my opposition to said reward and have it be backed up by the money I am putting forth in support of the KS, just as they are.
It almost started with the "For the Shire" posts :-P
For what it's worth, having not heard of Vox Day until people started posting, I found everything that came up from google searching abhorrent. When I mentioned it to my wife, she HAD heard of him and also wasn't a fan. I certainly can understand the sentiment. I'm not prepared to say "Hell yeah!" to RG's idea because I believe Alex will take the appropriately fantasy parts of the Dark Lord class and leave out the unwanted parts.
You have some fair points, RG. I think a fair number of us are concerned about what the sudden presence of Vox Day means. Even though I dislike him I'm not eager to get into a pissing match. If someone were to propose a counter campaign, I should hope it's one meant to enhance the overall theme and tone of the book for every back, even the alt-righters.
It also probably shouldn't be "for the shire" unless you want Alex to take up day-drinking.
I don’t think it would be possible to have an “Against the Dark Lord” campaign that would in some way take away from the pledges made “For the Dark Lord”. That would be changing the terms after the the agreement was made between Vox Day and Alex. (Not a huge fan of Vox Day myself even though I’m definitely on the conservative/libertarian end of the spectrum.) However, I think you should be able to attempt a “For the Light” campaign where the money gets pooled to create content with a more liberal bent. Given the baseline assumptions of ACKS (slavery, advancement by conquest, feudal hierarchies, etc.) I wouldn’t expect to be able to get anything in that outright equals the Blue Rose in tone, but maybe some art where the Dark Lord gets taken down by the forces of Light? Maybe there’s a class concept that can be created that promotes harmony and progress?
Hello Rhetorical Gamer, I try to maintain open lines of communication throughout the Autarch community and certainly I've taken note of your comments as well as those of the others in this thread. If you'd like, I can count your pledge as "against the dark lord", yes.
That said, Vox Day had already made one of the five largest pledges to this Kickstarter at the time he approached me about the dark lord class (He has been a major backer on many of our prior KS under his real name). Since then we have received an amount considerably in excess of the goal, as for every public comment in the forums there were also private emails from backers quietly voicing their support, and many of those backers added extra in beyond their pledge level - e.g. $15 for an Adventurer pledge, or $70 for Conqueror. Finally, overall positive and neutral feedback has been about 5:1 over negative feedback from existing backers.
So, given the above, I think a more fruitful effort would be to organize around something you want, rather than something you don't want, as Shub-Null said. I suspect the vast majority of backers would enjoy getting a cool "dark lord" class, and equally enjoy getting a cool "avenging angel" or "reluctant hero" or whatnot oppositional class.
Put another way, if my community is going to be politically divided, I'd rather the two divided factions be competing to fund cool stuff not competing to de-fund stuff that the other side funds, because the majority in the middle will benefit from the former and not from the latter.
Wmarshal / Jard,
Thanks for your feedback.
Certainly, anyone who'd like to pledge "For the Light" can do so. ACKS's vision of the fantastical past is a fairly harsh one, largely because that's what resonates with me; I suspect that the tragedy of LOTR and nihilism of Conan probably appeals to me because its tragic and nihilistic, and I doubt I could even write something like Blue Rose with any authenticity. But I could try to provide some tiny glimpse of hope and light. Maybe. A little.
And anyone who'd like refunds can pledge "For the Shire". O.o
Somehow I don’t think a campaign to add less content to a game is going to gain much traction, unless said content was completely out of bounds of what the game is. Which this is most certainly not.
I’m not a fan of Vox Day, but I did read his post where this campaign started and I have to say calling it “hateful” is rather over-reactive. Almost to the point of living up to the sorts of stereotypes that people like Vox Day put forth about their opponents to begin with.
It looks like Dr. Pete has started a campaign for The Chosen One:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/autarch/heroic-fantasy-and-barbarian-conquerors-collection/comments
A proof of concept. Does it sound interesting?
[quote="Alex"]
It looks like Dr. Pete has started a campaign for The Chosen One:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/autarch/heroic-fantasy-and-barbaria...
[/quote]
I like the direction. Not sure how it'd be implemented. The farm boy and zatoichi, while heroes of humble origin seem like they'd be rather different in implementation. Still, it'd be interesting to see what could be designed. Alex, I've already made my pledge, but I pledged $5 above the required pledge for the reward I selected. Could I have that $5 apply to The Chosen One goal if this gets going? Not much, but I'm tapped out.
I guess I was thinking about Donnie Yen in Rogue One “I am the force the force is with me” rather than the full-on zatoichi.
I dig it. It kind of reminds me of the alice class from red & pleasant land. Very much in theme with heroic fantasy imho.
wmarshal - of course you can! done.
Dr Pete - there is actually a fate point mechanic in the rules that could tie in nicely to this class.
“I can put it no more clearly than to say that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its Master. Therefore you, Frodo, were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.” – Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Sometimes, heroes have a destiny that sets them apart from ordinary mortals. Different cultures may refer to it as destiny, fate, doom, or weird. Whatever it is called, heroes may live when others die, or succeed where others fail, due to the mysterious hand of fate. To represent the powers of fate, characters in Heroic Fantasy Handbook campaigns may be awarded one or more Fate Points.
Characters may begin with one or more Fate Points. We have provided a variety of methods by which starting Fate Points can be determined. While we have provided some recommendations, it is up to the Judge to decide which method to use based on the desired tone of his campaign setting. The Judge may use one method for player characters receive and another for NPCs if desired.