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Author Archives: Confanity
Magic Monday: Introduction to YAOSC
+What is YAOSC? YAOSC is Yet Another Old School Clone. The name is a joke; the important thing to know is that this is an adventure game of wilderness exploration, dungeon bashing, and perhaps a little social climbing in a … Continue reading
For example, some day I might be good at this Japanese stuff
好きこそ物の上手なれ (Suki koso mono no jouzu nare; “People are good at what they like.”) Definition: The things that you enjoy, you’re going to more cheerfully spend more time and effort on, so your skill in those areas will improve more … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged classical grammar, 物, enthusiasm, good at, skill, things you like, 好き, 上手
1 Comment
Do what I don’t do, not what I do
反面教師 han.men.kyou.shi Literally: opposition – face – teach – expert Alternately: A negative example. Someone who sets a bad example and so teaches you what not to do.
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged negative example, un-teacher, World's Best Father, 反面, 教師
2 Comments
Magic Monday: Undoing, part 2ing
So last week we talked about counterspelling and dispelling rotes (normal “spells” in the D&D magic paradigm). This week we’re talking about the same for rituals and gnosis. Rituals This is magic-as-natural-philosophy. Like a chemical reaction or a Rube Goldberg … Continue reading
Posted in Rules
Tagged counterspell, dispel, gnosis, magic, Magic Monday, ritual, YAOSC
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Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters
Intro: A kotowaza from old Buddhist Japan, as relevant as ever in postmodern America. 地獄の沙汰も金次第 (Jigoku no sata mo kane shidai; “Even your sentence in hell depends on money”) Definition: “Money is the best lawyer in hell.” “Money talks.” Everything in the … Continue reading
Make like a perfect square and SCRAM
Of course. 三十六計 san.juu.ro-.kkei Literally: three – ten – six – plan Alternately: Discretion is the better part of valor. Sometimes you just need to retreat, regroup, and try again another day. Run away. Notes: Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems passed … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Book of Qi, discretion, 計, run away, stratagems, thirty-six, valor, 三十六
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Magic Monday: Undoing
Unlike Necropraxis, I’m not building this system on a base of Vancian magic, in which (even without spell levels) each bit of magic is like a bullet that you load, fire, and are left without. So while the post linked … Continue reading
Tiger ventured, tiger gained?
虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず (Koketsu ni irazumba koji wo ezu; “If you don’t go into a tiger’s lair you won’t get a tiger cub.”) Definition: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You won’t succeed at anything special if you’re not willing to stick your neck … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged Book of the Later Han, classical grammar, 虎穴, 虎子, nothing gained, nothing ventured, tiger cub, tiger den, 入らずんば
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How much tongue?
舌先三寸 shita.saki.san.zun Literally: tongue – before/tip – three – sun (pronounced like “soon”; a unit of measurement approximately equal to 1.19 in. or 3.03 cm) Alternately: Glib lies. Deceptive eloquence or flattery. The ability to control or influence people with … Continue reading
Magic Monday: governed by skills
One of the funkiest tasks in making a fantasy game has got to be the magic system. Rules for travel, combat, and any number of other mundane tasks can be modeled on real-world data, as in Justin Alexander’s famed breakdown … Continue reading
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