I greatly enjoyed the books you could find in the Elder Scrolls games, and I found I missed them in the Fallout games. They do such a great job of immersing you in the lore, folklore, and mythology of the setting, and I hope that something similar is implemented in Starfield.
In modern media portrayals, the Devil is often portrayed as this suave mastermind who is always several steps ahead of any mortal. But in German folklore, his portrayal was rather different - quite frequently he was the butt of jokes. The following tale serves as a good example (and one which would not be out of place in an old...
Die Kommentare unter dem Artikel sind mal wieder unterirdisch. Ist es echt so schwer zu begreifen, daß Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland zumindest für ein paar Stunden mal Ruhe vom Bullshit der weißen Mehrheitsgesellschaft haben wollen?
Basically, in this tale a farmer's girl lost her way in the forest and stumbled across a hut inhabited by seven dwarves. She asked them for a place to stay for the night, and received it (after the dwarves argued about who would get the honor of giving up his bed for the girl)....
This much is real: In the late Renaissance and Early Modern era, Venetians mined in the German mountain ranges - primarily so that they could find rare minerals for their famous glass production. Since the details of these were considered state secrets, their mining operations were likewise fairly secretive....
Für Leute, die sich an deutschen Sagen und Legenden interessieren: Viele der alten Sagensammlungen aus dem 19. Jahrhundert sind inzwischen digitalisiert und online erhältlich. Wikisource hat eine Link-Liste für diese Sammlungen (falls Ihr noch andere kennt, bitte hinzufügen!)....
Confession time: I am not overly enamored of "rules-lite" RPG systems. As long as the system is coherent and well-thought out, I prefer it when the system has rules for all sorts of things - from tactical combat to running chases to social encounters to falling damage and so forth. I like GURPS, I like D&D5E, I like Pathfinder...
During my study of German folklore, I was surprised to learn that one of the most common folk tale narratives featured treasure hunters - not just "people getting rewarded treasure for a virtuous deed", but people who heard that a treasure was at a certain location, and wanted to get it. They usually failed, but hope springs...
Modern media portrayals of the Wild Hunt have a fairly consistent portrayal - a huntsman on his steed, surrounded by his hounds. But when you actually start looking into European folk tales of "Wild Hunt"-type phenomena, you quickly notice that the portrayal is rather more diverse than you'd think. Here is one of my favorite...
So, religions in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy settings usually have some weird "Greek-style pantheism as viewed through the lens of Christian monotheism" thing, with worship of particular deities being fairly "standardized" and big religious conflicts occurring between the worshipers of different gods within the same pantheon....
People today underestimate just how much stuff was published in the 19th century - there were numerous journals and magazines dedicated to all sorts of topics. This magazine is definitely among the more interesting - it has lots of drawings, floorplans, and sketches of fantastic old buildings. I'll be sure to spend a lot of time...
Many legends and folk tales can be linked to specific real world locations. Here are my modest efforts at mapping the location of German folk tales, and I have included a few similar maps I am aware of in a links list....
When the Hogwarts Legacy video game was announced, there was a lot of controversy about whether the goblins in the Harry Potter franchise were an antisemitic stereotype....
I mean, how do you deal with something like that? There were so many buildings of that type because cities in the 19th century were growing rapidly thanks to growing populations and industrialization, and European Colonialism exported this kind of building style to the rest of the world. This is no great mystery, and there is...
"Night hags", or supernatural entities causing sleep paralysis, are apparently a global phenomenon in folklore (up to and including 20th century UFO abductions)....
Two years ago, I decided to make a list of all the public domain, English-language folk tale collections I could find, and deposited them at Wikisource. If you need to research the folklore of any given region, then I hope that this list has you covered!...
So what are some of your favorite books on mythology and folklore?
I could name any number of 19th century German works. But when it comes to English-language ones, I am particularly fond of Johannes Dillinger's "Magical Treasure Hunting in Early Modern Europe and North America". While I've often noticed that treasure tales from German folklore read like drug-induced fever dreams, this book gave me some much-needed context for this madness.
The Most Important Starfield Video Ever (The Jimquisition) (www.youtube.com)
Welp, that dampened my enthusiasm for the game. I won't preorder it, and maybe wait until it is on a Sale for a reduced price.
I hope we get Lore datafiles like the books in the Elder Scrolls games
I greatly enjoyed the books you could find in the Elder Scrolls games, and I found I missed them in the Fallout games. They do such a great job of immersing you in the lore, folklore, and mythology of the setting, and I hope that something similar is implemented in Starfield.
The Devil as a Fool
In modern media portrayals, the Devil is often portrayed as this suave mastermind who is always several steps ahead of any mortal. But in German folklore, his portrayal was rather different - quite frequently he was the butt of jokes. The following tale serves as a good example (and one which would not be out of place in an old...
Räume für Rassismusbetroffene : Ein Ort ohne weiße Menschen? (www.zeit.de)
Die Kommentare unter dem Artikel sind mal wieder unterirdisch. Ist es echt so schwer zu begreifen, daß Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland zumindest für ein paar Stunden mal Ruhe vom Bullshit der weißen Mehrheitsgesellschaft haben wollen?
TIL of a folk tale named "Death of the Seven Dwarves" (www.digitale-sammlungen.de)
Basically, in this tale a farmer's girl lost her way in the forest and stumbled across a hut inhabited by seven dwarves. She asked them for a place to stay for the night, and received it (after the dwarves argued about who would get the honor of giving up his bed for the girl)....
Venetians - The Magical Strangers
This much is real: In the late Renaissance and Early Modern era, Venetians mined in the German mountain ranges - primarily so that they could find rare minerals for their famous glass production. Since the details of these were considered state secrets, their mining operations were likewise fairly secretive....
Linkliste für Sagensammlungen auf Wikisource (de.wikisource.org) German
Für Leute, die sich an deutschen Sagen und Legenden interessieren: Viele der alten Sagensammlungen aus dem 19. Jahrhundert sind inzwischen digitalisiert und online erhältlich. Wikisource hat eine Link-Liste für diese Sammlungen (falls Ihr noch andere kennt, bitte hinzufügen!)....
9 Tales of Cats in Folklore | Fireside Fairy Tales (www.youtube.com)
Listen to a number of cat tales from folklore - including one of the most bonkers stories from German folklore that I know, which is saying something!
Collections: Practical Polytheism, Part I: Knowledge (acoup.blog)
Since we discussed polytheism recently, I thought this article series might be of interest.
NPC Creation Complexity
Confession time: I am not overly enamored of "rules-lite" RPG systems. As long as the system is coherent and well-thought out, I prefer it when the system has rules for all sorts of things - from tactical combat to running chases to social encounters to falling damage and so forth. I like GURPS, I like D&D5E, I like Pathfinder...
Treasure Folklore!
During my study of German folklore, I was surprised to learn that one of the most common folk tale narratives featured treasure hunters - not just "people getting rewarded treasure for a virtuous deed", but people who heard that a treasure was at a certain location, and wanted to get it. They usually failed, but hope springs...
Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Review: Delightful Heavyweight (www.yankodesign.com)
I am curious - has anyone tried out these color e-ink Android tablets with some popular drawing/painting apps?...
What happens when a giant drops its spectacles? | Fireside Fairy Tales (www.youtube.com)
Tales of the old days when giants walked the Earth.
The Hübichenstein near Bad Grund - home of the dwarf king Hübich
Frau Gauden - Leader of the Wild Hunt (commons.wikimedia.org)
Modern media portrayals of the Wild Hunt have a fairly consistent portrayal - a huntsman on his steed, surrounded by his hounds. But when you actually start looking into European folk tales of "Wild Hunt"-type phenomena, you quickly notice that the portrayal is rather more diverse than you'd think. Here is one of my favorite...
Religious denominations for pantheistic worship? (en.wikipedia.org)
So, religions in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy settings usually have some weird "Greek-style pantheism as viewed through the lens of Christian monotheism" thing, with worship of particular deities being fairly "standardized" and big religious conflicts occurring between the worshipers of different gods within the same pantheon....
TIL of "Deutsche Bauzeitung", a long-running German architecture and civil engineering magazine that was first published in 1867 (archive.org)
People today underestimate just how much stuff was published in the 19th century - there were numerous journals and magazines dedicated to all sorts of topics. This magazine is definitely among the more interesting - it has lots of drawings, floorplans, and sketches of fantastic old buildings. I'll be sure to spend a lot of time...
Mapping Folklore (sunkencastles.com)
Many legends and folk tales can be linked to specific real world locations. Here are my modest efforts at mapping the location of German folk tales, and I have included a few similar maps I am aware of in a links list....
Antisemitism and Jew-coding in German Folk Tales (sunkencastles.com)
When the Hogwarts Legacy video game was announced, there was a lot of controversy about whether the goblins in the Harry Potter franchise were an antisemitic stereotype....
Folklorists, introduce yourself!
Introduce yourself in this thread! You can use the following template (or write freeform):...
TIL I learned of the "Tartarian Empire" conspiracy theory, which holds that all those large 19th century buildings were actually built by a prior global civilization that was destroyed by "mud floods". (en.wikipedia.org)
I mean, how do you deal with something like that? There were so many buildings of that type because cities in the 19th century were growing rapidly thanks to growing populations and industrialization, and European Colonialism exported this kind of building style to the rest of the world. This is no great mystery, and there is...
The "Night Hag" phenomenon (en.wikipedia.org)
"Night hags", or supernatural entities causing sleep paralysis, are apparently a global phenomenon in folklore (up to and including 20th century UFO abductions)....
Folk Tales for Gaming! (en.wikisource.org)
Two years ago, I decided to make a list of all the public domain, English-language folk tale collections I could find, and deposited them at Wikisource. If you need to research the folklore of any given region, then I hope that this list has you covered!...
Google Maps for Gaming (www.google.com)
Normally, I run game set in entirely fictional settings, and draw my own maps....