I'm going to go out on a limb here with an anecdotal observation from having run Kara-Tur since Oriental Adventures 1e, as well as a lot of Rokugan mishmashed into my homebrew campaigns over the last three-decades with lots of players that have drifted into and out of my group between the pre-culture war and whatever you want to call what we're doing now...

I think most players and GM's generally aren't deep into the Kamakura, Ashikaga, Sengoku or Edo periods at all. What they like are the trappings and amalgamations of all these different eras used much like popular European cultures of different eras to make it fun and syncretic.

I'm *not* saying not to put details of any specific era into it, but those work as great window dressing for the GM to immerse players that 1) don't want a history lesson 2) don't really care, because they just wanna use a katana and fight/be ninja.

Naturally context is king, I'd have MUCH better reception to simply saying to my players "It's going to be a fantasy Japan-style game, and give them the parameters without telling them overtly I'm *strictly* using a specific period to inform the sandbox.

This game linked in the thread would not be a draw to my players (or me - even though I'm super into Japanese/Chinese settings). It's not a draw for me simply because I don't need another system, which I could replicate literally all of this in with zero effort. 2) it wouldn't be a draw to my players over way too many other options as noted above.

If couched the campaign as some Shogun-like thing where the PC's are from our European sandbox and dropped them in there, they'd be much more receptive. I find this is *generally* (but not always) true of players.

The players that *ARE* into Japanese games tend to be *really* into them and end up clashing over details that they find out aren't even in play. And it almost ALWAYS comes from their assumption we're playing with very specific period ethos that may not even be a thing in our fantasy version. I'm less about real-world historical purity than I am about having a fantasy Japanese-esque setting that conforms to it's own historical setting conceits which are informed by and for similar reasons that arose for Japan itself.

For the same reason I don't cleave too closely to European history in some absolute sense in my fantasy gaming. Cultural myths? Absolutely. But there is a pretty real line between playing a die-hard historical RPG and a fantasy one. And somewhere in that gray-zone is where I find I lose a lot of players really fast once I leave European-style fantasy behind. They can take it in deep doses if I'm on my game. But rarely do they want to play entire campaigns of it.

Where it HAS been successful, it should be said, HAS ALWAYS been Fantasy Japan. And a couple of fantasy Arabias too.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/488075/senshi-roleplaying-game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVeZAewVmug&t=1147s

Quote from: Batjon on September 01, 2024, 01:49:57 PMhttps://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/488075/senshi-roleplaying-game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVeZAewVmug&t=1147s

Thanks; looks worthwhile though I want a dead tree version.  The explicitly apolitical stance is most welcome in a world where Wokeugan has taken over much of the Japanese-inspired RPG landscape.

Saw it at GenCon and almost bought it. If I had, several other guys I was with would have too. I saw the line about "Sexists, Racists, Homophobes and Transphobes, put this down and FUCK OFF."

Despite not being any of those, I know what they mean and don't give money to people who hate me. So I put it back and they lost out on several sales.

Quote from: dungeonmonkey on July 14, 2024, 05:41:41 PMThe final day of the kickstarter for Ronin, they sent an update that included the following text:

"At Slightly Reckless Games, we are committed to making Rōnin an inclusive game for everyone. We firmly believe in creating a safe and welcoming space for all players. Our game will not include or tolerate homophobia, racism, transphobia, or sexism. We believe in the power of diversity and inclusivity, and we're dedicated to ensuring Rōnin reflects these values."

This message was accompanied by a screen shot from the book reading:

"Sexists, Racists, Homophobes and Transphobes, put this down and FUCK OFF."

This message wasn't provoked by anything that happened in the kickstarter or by anything else as near as I can tell.

Were they at least honest enough to post that with enough time for people to cancel pledges or was that their "SUCKERS!" post?