Rokushima Taiyō Atlas [Pathfinder First Edition]
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:41 am
Hi everybody,
Haven't posted in a while, but my spirit lurked in the forum from time to time. I came back to submit to the community the result of a long overdue work I completed a few months ago.
Almost ten years ago I started imagining a Ravenloft campaign set in the domain of Rokushima Taiyō. Did I say ten years? Maybe it was twelve. My problem was, well... that the domain was not very well fleshed out.
It was not fleshed out at all beyond a "THIS IS JAPAN IN RAVENLOFT".
So, I started creating a small player's guide for my players. Then, in a hot Kyoto night three years ago (no joking. I was actually in Kyoto), I dusted the document I started all those years ago and well... it became the huge THING you can find by clicking HERE.
I took my time to make sure that RT was still JAPAN IN RAVENLOFT (but not really), just like every domain is [INSERT NATION] IN RAVENLOFT (but not really). I also took the time to ask an artist (follow her on Instagram @Giuliart: when life allows it, she takes commissions) to draw some art for it.
The attached file is simply the pdf obtained from the Word file, without any layout. I still have to teach me to do that. Be kind.
Some quick explanations about this work:
1 - I love Ravenloft very much, as everyone in here, I guess.
2 - I love Japan very much. Not a guy who says "kawaii" every two words: I graduated with a thesis on Japanese theater and I have been going to Japan for years to study Noh and Nihonbuyo (I WILL NOT GO THIS YEAR WONDER WHY, but I will start going again to visit its post-COVID ruins). My relationship with Japan is the same one as I have with Ravenloft: I love it very much and this is why I look at it and say "REALLY? REALLY JAPAN? REALLY?!"
3 - Rokushima Taiyō unites Ravenloft and Japan... though sometimes it felt like everything was a poorly translated stereotype, almost completely separate from the rest of the setting. I felt the need to make it more interesting.
3a - In addition, I felt it was never well thought: Shinpi Haki ("Shinpi", seriously?) was not very interesting and, above all, he COULD NOT ACT IN ANY WAY; personal names were borderline cringey, place names seemed translated with a pocket-sized dictionary and so on.
3b - Above all, you read it and IT WAS JAPAN. Where all the other lands of Ravenloft were like "Ok, it's Transylvania/Scotland/France/Romania/Tuscany but NOT EXACTLY like in the real world, Rokushima Taiyō was... JUST JAPAN. And I didn't like it.
3c - Also: it didn't seem to understand what kind of horror he wanted to be. Monsters? The horrors of humanity? Why are all the isles identical? Why are you not capitalizing on the fact you have four islands?! WHAT TONE DOES THIS DOMAIN HAVE?! REALLY RAVENLOFT? REALLY!?
This file is based on (the little) information from the Ravenloft Player's Handbook, but otherwise it's all my work. I realized I took inspiration for the Poison Sea from a post in the forum I read AGES ago, but I really can't find it anymore. I'm sorry I can't credit anyone.
Now, if you have read all my rambling, you will find the pdf in the link above. Hope you like it.
If you are interested in stats you can find them in the Damnatis Personae/Who's Doomed section (because doing stat for everything FEELS GOOD and we all are nerds), if you are interested in the fluff you can find it at the beginning.
I hope you like how much I liked writing it.
Yoroshkuonegaishimaaaaaaas!
...
BTW, did I mention it's ENTIRELY IN ITALIAN?
(Seriously, though: sorry but I can't translate everything. I found out Google Translate can do an adequate job, though.
)
Haven't posted in a while, but my spirit lurked in the forum from time to time. I came back to submit to the community the result of a long overdue work I completed a few months ago.
Almost ten years ago I started imagining a Ravenloft campaign set in the domain of Rokushima Taiyō. Did I say ten years? Maybe it was twelve. My problem was, well... that the domain was not very well fleshed out.
It was not fleshed out at all beyond a "THIS IS JAPAN IN RAVENLOFT".
So, I started creating a small player's guide for my players. Then, in a hot Kyoto night three years ago (no joking. I was actually in Kyoto), I dusted the document I started all those years ago and well... it became the huge THING you can find by clicking HERE.
I took my time to make sure that RT was still JAPAN IN RAVENLOFT (but not really), just like every domain is [INSERT NATION] IN RAVENLOFT (but not really). I also took the time to ask an artist (follow her on Instagram @Giuliart: when life allows it, she takes commissions) to draw some art for it.
The attached file is simply the pdf obtained from the Word file, without any layout. I still have to teach me to do that. Be kind.
Some quick explanations about this work:
1 - I love Ravenloft very much, as everyone in here, I guess.
2 - I love Japan very much. Not a guy who says "kawaii" every two words: I graduated with a thesis on Japanese theater and I have been going to Japan for years to study Noh and Nihonbuyo (I WILL NOT GO THIS YEAR WONDER WHY, but I will start going again to visit its post-COVID ruins). My relationship with Japan is the same one as I have with Ravenloft: I love it very much and this is why I look at it and say "REALLY? REALLY JAPAN? REALLY?!"
3 - Rokushima Taiyō unites Ravenloft and Japan... though sometimes it felt like everything was a poorly translated stereotype, almost completely separate from the rest of the setting. I felt the need to make it more interesting.
3a - In addition, I felt it was never well thought: Shinpi Haki ("Shinpi", seriously?) was not very interesting and, above all, he COULD NOT ACT IN ANY WAY; personal names were borderline cringey, place names seemed translated with a pocket-sized dictionary and so on.
3b - Above all, you read it and IT WAS JAPAN. Where all the other lands of Ravenloft were like "Ok, it's Transylvania/Scotland/France/Romania/Tuscany but NOT EXACTLY like in the real world, Rokushima Taiyō was... JUST JAPAN. And I didn't like it.
3c - Also: it didn't seem to understand what kind of horror he wanted to be. Monsters? The horrors of humanity? Why are all the isles identical? Why are you not capitalizing on the fact you have four islands?! WHAT TONE DOES THIS DOMAIN HAVE?! REALLY RAVENLOFT? REALLY!?
This file is based on (the little) information from the Ravenloft Player's Handbook, but otherwise it's all my work. I realized I took inspiration for the Poison Sea from a post in the forum I read AGES ago, but I really can't find it anymore. I'm sorry I can't credit anyone.
Now, if you have read all my rambling, you will find the pdf in the link above. Hope you like it.
If you are interested in stats you can find them in the Damnatis Personae/Who's Doomed section (because doing stat for everything FEELS GOOD and we all are nerds), if you are interested in the fluff you can find it at the beginning.
I hope you like how much I liked writing it.
Yoroshkuonegaishimaaaaaaas!
...
BTW, did I mention it's ENTIRELY IN ITALIAN?
(Seriously, though: sorry but I can't translate everything. I found out Google Translate can do an adequate job, though.
)
), so I might not have a the time I'd need to do it in a reasonable amount of time. 
), in the campaign I was sketching the main antagonist was going to be Takami (the second son), since he is the only one capable of avoiding Shinpi's possession (thanks to his eidolon).