So, I just finished reading Maztica from beginning to end (OK, I skimmed some parts, shhh!). And there's some things I want to do with it. Granted the author has an admitted point of view, and the tropes play painfully unfavorably and old knowledge about Mesoamerica and its Colombian conquest. But without apocalyptic disease on the same scale I can easily deal with even post-conquest Maztica.
First, I just love the awesome pyramid cosmology reflecting the Manual of the Planes (Maztica Alive! p. 49).
Second, the idea of pluma and hishna is cool, even if the execution is painfully weak. No, I'm not interested in reading the novels to get a sense of how powerful it can be. (Most "game novels" read as warning labels of bad writing to me. Yes, I'm an elitist. I can live with that.)
Third, as written, the magic system and class system clash with standard readings of AD&D core. But this is more an exciting opportunity than a problem.
(I actually read only the 4 core archetypes and their base classes, and all the kits are just unfleshed out optional classes. i.e. Paladin Samurai or Ranger Myrmidons are not really something I allow or want to encourage. So the idea of Jaguar/Eagle Knights and Pluma/Hishna Weavers sound quite cool as classes unto themselves.)
My first challenge is -- what to do with super-weak Pluma and Hishna. Well, the first obvious thing is that they should be considered incomplete spell lists. That's a standard thing for spells of all sorts since the beginning. These spell spheres just need more spells, period.
Gameplay-wise it asks the question, though, how is such weak magic functional in a Faerun-Maztica game? Short answer, it's not. Easy answer, you don't play mash-up games -- or you fix it yourself!
So my next post is going to be how I take Pluma and Hishna, tie it into cosmology and alignment, and try to make it a fun something unto itself... See you around!
First, I just love the awesome pyramid cosmology reflecting the Manual of the Planes (Maztica Alive! p. 49).
Second, the idea of pluma and hishna is cool, even if the execution is painfully weak. No, I'm not interested in reading the novels to get a sense of how powerful it can be. (Most "game novels" read as warning labels of bad writing to me. Yes, I'm an elitist. I can live with that.)
Third, as written, the magic system and class system clash with standard readings of AD&D core. But this is more an exciting opportunity than a problem.
(I actually read only the 4 core archetypes and their base classes, and all the kits are just unfleshed out optional classes. i.e. Paladin Samurai or Ranger Myrmidons are not really something I allow or want to encourage. So the idea of Jaguar/Eagle Knights and Pluma/Hishna Weavers sound quite cool as classes unto themselves.)
My first challenge is -- what to do with super-weak Pluma and Hishna. Well, the first obvious thing is that they should be considered incomplete spell lists. That's a standard thing for spells of all sorts since the beginning. These spell spheres just need more spells, period.
Gameplay-wise it asks the question, though, how is such weak magic functional in a Faerun-Maztica game? Short answer, it's not. Easy answer, you don't play mash-up games -- or you fix it yourself!
So my next post is going to be how I take Pluma and Hishna, tie it into cosmology and alignment, and try to make it a fun something unto itself... See you around!
Maztica, the re-working
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